Miscellaneous Collective Haul!

I've been doing an embarrassing amount of hauls lately but I thought I would do one more before I stopped buying things for a while. Now again, if anyone is curious, I am still on project pan. However, I have never counted nail polish in my project pan and the two makeup products I did buy I knew I'd use. 

First I got this mint green chiffon shirt from Garage. I had seen this in the window a few times and love it - it's a button down with a sharkbite hemline (I think that's what it is called) and I think this would look great with skinny jeans or tucked into a skirt with a bandeau underneath. This was $30.

I also got three nail polishes recently (all on different trips). The first is Bikini So Teeny by Essie, which I did a nail of the day post on here.

I also got Essie's Ballet Slippers, and I talked about this in my July Favorites post here. I also am planning on doing a nail of the day post on this, which I will link here when it is up. Both polishes were $8 each.

The last polish I got was a Sally Hansen Hard as Nails polish in Pacific Blue. I know a lot of people have mentioned this and I really like it - it is like a darker version of Bikini So Teeny. This was only about $4.

From The Shoe Company, I got this pair of shoes which my sister and I will be sharing. They are Steve Madden wedges with a cream-coloured crochet T-strap and they are incredibly comfortable to walk in, despite the fact that they are pretty tall. I believe these were discounted to around $70.

Moving into some more beauty products really quickly, I also got the Soap and Glory Clean on Me Creamy Clarifying Shower Gel. I'd like to do a review on this so I won't say too much, but it is a huge bottle, smells amazing, and was $14. I'm really excited to try this.

I also happened to find the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains at my drug store so I picked one up in the colour Precious. This is a really natural colour but I loved the way it felt on my lips when I tried it on. I just might have to go back and get another brighter colour.

The last makeup product I got was the bareMinerals Multi-Tasking SPF 20 Concealer in Summer Bisque. I'm a huge fan of mineral concealers and am really enjoying this one. This was $23.

I also went to Aerie to check out new underwear and bras. Now I'm not going to show the underwear simply because I've already worn some of it but I got 7 pairs of the lace ones for around $20 ($26 and my discount because I work at American Eagle). I also got two other bras that I've also worn - one was white and the other nude, and they are both the Ella Gel bra if you're interested in googling it. 

Additionally, I picked up two bandeaus. One is a nude lace, as pictured below.

The other one I got was a white lace. These were both under $10.

The other bra that I got was a nude bra with this gorgeous black lace overlay. I've never had a bra as pretty as this and I love it. For those wondering, this is the Brooke style (and I wear a 34A. Wooo).

My friend also went to New York and she brought me back this bag, which also included a little phone case. I love this and have already used it!

My mom also got me a few things from Seattle. 

She got me the Someday by Justin Bieber rollerball partly as a joke and partly because she knows I'd use it - this is one of my all time favorite perfumes. I don't like Justin Bieber much, but this perfume is amazing.

The other thing that she got me from Seattle was the NARS Foreplay cheek palette. I don't want to say too much about this because I have a review coming up soon, but though I didn't ask for this or anything I am in love. I can't wait to travel because this will be the only cheek product I bring.

The last last thing I have to show is something I got from Dailylook - I've looked at the website lots of times but never purchased anything until now.

I saw this skirt maybe a couple of weeks ago and found it gorgeous, and so I bought it. I can imagine this with a flowy chiffon shirt like I showed from Garage tucked into it and with some simple black flats or heels. It is on the fancier side so I probably won't wear it a heck of a lot, but I will get some use out of it. This is from the brand "English Rose" and it was around $30.

That concludes this incredibly long collective haul! Sorry for all the haul posts - I promise I'll have some good material coming up soon :)

Nail of the Day - 08/17/12

I've been absent from my blog for a while but I have a few posts planned, so I thought to kick off my return to the blogging world I'd show you all a nail of the day.

The polish in question is Essie's Bikini So Teeny from their summer line, and I searched everywhere to try and find this. It actually was sold out almost everywhere.

Bikini So Teeny is a beautiful cornflower blue colour with a hint of silver shimmer to it, but for the most part it is a creme finish. The picture below shows the polish more true to colour than any of the others - and as you can see, it is almost more of a purple-blue colour.

This polish was opaque in 1-2 coats, which was incredibly impressive, particularly for Essie.

I picked this up from Rexall for about $8 and it's safe to say I am officially an Essie convert. I would definitely recommend checking out some of their collections, because some of the colours I've seen are truly unique and beautiful.

That concludes today's nail of the day! Keep your eyes peeled for another Essie post coming soon, because I have another nail polish I'd like to share. Thanks for reading :)

July Favorites!

Seeing as it's August now, may I present my July favorites! I have a pretty wide variety this month and I'm very pleased with all of them.

1.) The Body Shop Body Butter in Satsuma

I've been loving using this on my arms to help with the bumps that I get. It's incredibly moisturizing and smells amazing, like oranges. My love for this particular product has made me really want to go out and try more of The Body Shop's body creams!

2.) Victoria's Secret body spay in "Sexy Little Things Noir Tease"

Even though the name is a bit of a marathon, I love this fragrance. I featured it in a haul recently and have been loving it instead of perfume. It's light but still smells amazing, and I would definitely recommend checking it out.

3.) T&M Hair Perfume in "Social Butterfly"

This is an amazing product. I received it in my Glymm box this month and love the scent - it smells like vanilla and coconut, with a little bit of musk. It lasts forever when sprayed in hair and is a very cool product.

4.) Essie polish in Ballet Slippers

This is my new favorite nail polish. I bought it for a very frugal reason (Emily from the Bachelorette said she liked it.... Don't judge) but as it turns out it is phenomenal. This polish is opaque in just two coats, which can't be said for most light pinks. I love how finished it looks on the nails as well. Keep a look out for a nail of the day post on this soon!

5.)  OXY Triple Action Medicated Acne Pads

I got these from my mom because she happened to have them and gave them to me when my skin was acting up. I've been loving how they really clean my skin well and I'm positive they have significantly reduced the amount of blemishes on my skin while I've been using them.

6.) Makeup Forever Mist and Fix

Since it's been so hot where I live, this is amazing just to cool off and revamp my makeup. It's also amazing to spray on after applying powder to avoid cakey-ness, and it sets my makeup very well so it lasts all day.

7.) Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream in Light/Medium

I did a whole review on this product in a past blog post (link here), so I won't say too much. However, this gives me a bit of colour, smells amazing, and has a decent amount of coverage. I truly love this product.

8.) My brow routine: MAC "Omega" eyeshadow or Two Faced "Velvet Revolver" eyeshadow, Tweezerman Browmousse gel, Two Faced brush from the Natural Eye palette

I've been loving this combination of products for my brow routine lately. The brush is amazing and thin so the powder looks natural, and these shades of eyeshadow suit my hair colour perfectly. The gel is also very good, particularly because it doesn't get crunchy or visible.

9.) Highlighting routine: Hana K. brush and MAC Mineralized Skinfinish in "Lightscapade"

I love this highlighter because it isn't shimmery or glittery, but rather leaves an amazing glowy sheen on the skin that looks incredibly natural. I used to apply it with a fan brush but actually prefer this much denser, flat-top brush because it fits the shape and size of my cheekbone perfectly. I highly recommend the MSFs from MAC - though they're pricey, I think they're definitely worth the investment.

My song of the month has been "Bare" from the musical by that same title. It's an amazing song, full of emotion and beautiful music. 

That concludes my July favorites! I'm sorry they're going up so late - I had the pictures taken on the first of August, but didn't get around to typing and arranging this post until today. What has been your favorite product this month?

How to - My Steps to the Perfect Pedicure!

I've had this blog post in the works for quite a while because I haven't gotten around to finishing it, so finally, here are my tips to really pampering your feet!

1.) Take off any nail polish! I've been trying out butter London's Powder Room nail polish remover and am thinking about doing a review on it. Use whatever nail polish remover you prefer!

2.) Moisturize. Give your feet some TLC - I like to use Principessa beauty's Pretty Piede foot balm and massage the arches of my feet really well. Not only is it relaxing, but it feels great and makes your feet and hands smell lovely.

3.) Cuticle oil. This is an extra step I like to take for a little bit more moisture. This is the Q.Tickles Scented Botanical Cuticle Oil in the rose scent. You can see the bottle actually contains rose petals - part of what makes it feel so luxurious.

4.) Anything else you might want to do before polish - filing, clipping, anything. I would do that sort of grooming now.

5.) Start with a separator. I know these look and feel pretty stupid, but toe separators are actually very useful. If you find you have a hard time getting every toenail properly painted, this is a tool that will make everything a whole lot easier.

6.) Base coat. I always use a base coat to protect my nails from yellowing, and this one (Sally Hansen's Insta-Brite) is great because not only is it a base coat, but it actually is supposed to whiten the nails as well.

7.) Polish. I like to pick a nice natural colour that doesn't attract a lot of attention, because then I don't have to take it off as early on. (I'm not sure if that makes sense.... but if you have a bright neon pink on your nails and it chips, it's going to be more noticeable than a nude). I used butter London's Yummy Mummy, a nude with subtle shimmer.

So that's it! What is your top tip for tip top toenails? ;)