Happy Nail Polish Day, everyone!

I am still reeling from the effects of watching the series finale of one of my very favorite shows of the last decade, The Americans. (It aired on Wednesday, but Mr. Fivezero and I didn’t have time to watch it until last night.) It was the best series ending I’ve seen for…I don’t even know how long. It was brilliantly written, brilliantly acted, brilliantly directed. It’s gut-wrenching, haunting, and the show remained true to itself to the very last frame. I cannot recommend this series enough, if you were not lucky enough to have watched it from the beginning.

The Americans Season 6,
with Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell.

Anyway, onto the polish! This is my first nail polish swatch in eons. Pardon my cuticles.

Bleu Nu (442) is a newer release in L’Oréal’s fantastic line of Colour Riche Vernis à l’Huile nail polishes. I spotted it in stores earlier in the spring, but didn’t feel like ponying up $11.99 for a couple of bottles. Luckily for me, I did manage to pick up two from the collection on clearance last month. I got Bleu Nu, Sable Tuileries, and I thought I was getting Rouge Opéra, the red from the collection, but it was just Rouge Amour which I already owned. D’oh! Ah well, can you ever have enough red creams?

This one is a deeper, electric blue shimmer. My favorite thing about this shade is that it should seem flashier, but actually it has an elegance to it. Really quite nice, though probably fairly easily duped elsewhere.

L’Oréal Le Vernis à l’Huile Nail Lacquer in Bleu Nu

Perfume Notes (March 2018)

2018-04-132018-04-13 fivezero5 Comments

It’s Friday the 13th!

My March perfume roundup took a while to compile; as you can see, I was a busy sniffer!

Cacharel Anaïs Anaïs EDT
Cacharel Scarlett
Cacharel Yes I Am
Cartier La Panthère
Chanel Chance Eau Tendre
Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Intense
Chanel Cristalle EDP
Chloé Fleur de Parfum Chloé
Chloé Love Story EDP
Chloé Nomade
Clinique Aromatics Elixir
Dior Addict EDP
Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Eau Intense
Elie Saab Le Parfum in White
Elizabeth Arden Untold Eau Fraîche
Giorgio Armani Code Cashmere
Givenchy Dahlia Divin EDP
Givenchy Play for Her EDT
Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Pera Granita
Guerlain L’Instant EDP
Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire Eau Fraîche
Jennifer Lopez Blue Glow
Lanvin Eclat d’Arpège
Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh
Marc Jacobs Decadence EDP
Mugler Angel Eau Sucrée (2018)
Mugler Aura
Oscar de la Renta Bella Blanca
Ralph Lauren Romance Rosé
Ralph Lauren Tender Romance
Reem Acra Reem Acra
Stella McCartney L.I.L.Y
Yves Saint Laurent Mon Paris EDP

CACHAREL
Anaïs Anaïs EDT

1978 | Roger Pellegrino, Robert Gonnon, Paul Leger, Raymond Chaillan
Top Notes: orange blossom, hyacinth
Heart Notes: rose, lily, jasmine
Base Notes: amber, sandalwood, incense

This one has been around for a long time, and while it’s never been one to which I paid much attention, I recently thought I’d resniff it. It has also recently been relaunched in EDP and EDT; I am pretty sure I tested the old version, since the bottle had the old style cap, which is as wide as the bottle itself.

Anaïs Anaïs is perfectly fine, and very 1980s-smelling. Strong, big florals, lots of powder. I don’t really have a reaction either way—I wouldn’t choose to wear it myself, but it smells fine.

I have seen this (and Cacharel Amor Amor) on the $19.99 rack at Shoppers Drug Mart, but maybe that’s just been to clear out the old bottles over the last year or two.

CACHAREL
Scarlett EDT

2009 | Honorine Blanc, Olivier Cresp, Alberto Morillas
Top Notes: citrus, tea, pear
Heart Notes: jasmine, orange blossom, honeysuckle
Base Notes: white musk, honey, sandalwood

Named for the character Scarlet O’Hara from Gone with the Wind, Scarlett is initially fairly pretty and clean-smelling, with bright citrus notes mingled with delicate white florals. It quickly turns into something musky and a little cloying—honey is often tricky for me this way.

I was quite surprised to see a tester for this older perfume at Shoppers Drug Mart recently! The adorable bottle doesn’t have anything written on it, and the box was nowhere to be found, so I had to squint at the tiny sticker on the bottom to figure out which fragrance it was.Read More »

Rebecca Minkoff, Je t'aime Medium Crossbody in Opal Iridescent

Holiday Haulage! Christmas & Boxing Day 2017

2018-01-11 fivezero8 Comments

I still need to browse through other bloggers’ holiday hauls (I love haul posts!), but here’s my beauty-related Christmas and Boxing Day sale haulage for 2017.

CAKE BEAUTY
Deck the Haul Gift Set

The ‘Do Gooder Volumizing Dry Shampoo Spray (7 fl oz)
The Locks Smith Hydrating Dry Conditioner Spray (7 fl oz)
The Wave Maker Texturizing Beach Spray (2 fl oz)
The Brush Crush Dry Styling Dual Bristle Brush
2 × The Grip Clip Dry Styling Hair Clip

The MSRP was C$73 (really?) but I got it after the holidays at Shoppers Drug Mart for $11!

CHANEL
Le Vernis Longwear in Fiction (582)

Essence Winter 2018 collection, Winter Dreamin'

New Release: Essence — Winter Dreamin’ (Winter 2018)

2018-01-052018-01-04 fivezero2 Comments

Collection: Essence 2018 Winter, Winter Dreamin’

Germany-based Essence Cosmetics has just released a new collection, Winter Dreamin’, to kick off 2018. The online exclusive, limited edition collection consists of four new nail colors (US$1.99), a snow ball top coat ($3.99), and nail stickers ($1.49), as well as an eyeshadow palette ($9.99), sheer lipsticks ($3.99), inner rim eye pencil ($1.99), 2in1 highlighter & blush powder ($5.99), and fluffy snow touch hand cream ($4.99).

Cozy Mountain Mornings (01)

Hot Cocoa & Fuzzy Socks (02)

Sleigh Rides & Snowball Fights (03)

Girlstalk at the Fireplace (04)

Ready Set Snow
Snow Ball Top Coat

Sprinkle Me With Snowflakes
Nail Stickers (01)

These are marked as online exclusives on the US site. They are not (yet?) available on the Canadian site.

Happy Shopping!

[Images via essencemakeup.com]

Essence Nail Polish in Outta Space Is the Place, swatch

Essence — Outta Space Is the Place (Nail Polish) Swatch & Review

2017-12-142017-12-14 fivezero6 Comments

Brand: Essence 2017 Fall, Out of Space Stories

Essence recently released a collection of outer space-inspired nail colors, and over the course of several trips to Shoppers Drug Mart, I couldn’t help picking up, well…all of them:

Outta Space Is the Place (01)
Across the Universe (02)
Space Glam (03)
Beam Me Up! (04)
Intergalactic Adventure (05)
We Will Spock You! (06)
1000 Light Years Away (07)

The packaging is very sleek and feels a bit fancier than their usual product packaging, with squared glass bottles and mirror-shine caps. All the shades are also various types of iridescent shimmers and glitters. The price reflects these details, and the 9 mL polishes retail for CA$3.99 instead of the usual $2.99 for the 8 mL Gel Nail Polishes.

Today, I’m reviewing Outta Space Is the Place (01), a pearly iridescent white that is—very happily—opaque!

Oscar de la Renta Blue Orchid EDT (100 mL)

Oscar de la Renta — Blue Orchid EDT Review

2017-12-042017-12-04 fivezero6 Comments

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been spotting mysterious 100 mL bottles of Oscar de la Renta perfumes on the $19.99 shelf at various Shoppers Drug Mart locations. Googling does not help at all—especially couple of months ago—when just about nothing turned up on these scents.

I was beyond curious! The first ones I saw were Rose and Jasmine. The bottles made them look like flankers of the very wonderful Esprit d’Oscar, the brand’s younger, more modern version of their 1970s classic, Oscar.

But I did not bite.

Then, over the last week or so, I’ve been seeing more of these popping up! Midnight Amber! Blue Orchid! Tropicale! Online, there is brief chatter of Ruby Velvet and Orange Flower. Curiouser and curiouser.

And a little less curious today, because I just picked up a bottle of Blue Orchid. I hemmed and hawed between it and Tropicale, but decided to go with Blue Orchid because I didn’t think I needed more coconut/pineapple/suntan lotion-smelling perfumes. Blue Orchid sounds more mysterious, doesn’t it? And I’m always game for a blind-buy.

Julep Life of the Party GWP (November 2017)

Haulage! Julep — Mystery Box, Holiday Holos, & a GWP (November 2017)

2017-11-212017-11-21 fivezero2 Comments

I thought I was being good by skipping my November Maven Box (not a great fan of frosts), but in the end, I bought a bunch of stuff from Julep, anyway. Blast these holographic holiday sets, Mystery Boxes, and GWPs!

Total Haulage:

Bling It On Mystery Box
Royal Suite Mini Holographics 6 Piece Nail Set
Life of the Party GWP

Consisting of:

14 Nail Colors (6 of which are minis)
1 Cream Blush
2 Lip Colors
1 Lip Oil
1 Cream Eyeshadow
1 Eyeliner
1 Skincare sample

Bling It On Mystery Box

$24.99. This box is currently still available at Julep (referral link) through today, plus you get a chance to win a pair of 1 carat diamond earrings—and don’t forget eBates cashback if you do buy anything!

Products in the Mystery Box may vary, except for Maxine and Reina polishes which are guaranteed.

$150 value

Who needs a diamond ring? Let every finger shine bright with this dazzling mystery box.

Includes two NEW multi-faceted nail colors (including our most brilliant holographic EVER!) + other beauty & nail surprises.

Plus, one special mystery box includes a pair of 1 carat diamond stud earrings! Will you be the one to find them?

This mystery box definitely includes:

Maxine (Bombshell) – Prismatic Ultra-Holographic

Reina (It Girl) – Black Holographic Textured Microglitter

Make it yours, make it fun. BRAVE PRETTY

Offer expires on 11/21/2017 at 11:59PM PT, or while supplies last. Every Bling It On Mystery Box will include Maxine (Bombshell) and Reina (It Girl). Other products vary.

Well, I doubt I’ll be lucky enough to win the diamond studs (imagine my mom’s face at Christmas, eh?), but I am still really pleased with the selection of products I got!

I’ve been dying to try a Julep Mystery Box, but the only ones (one?) they’ve had since I’ve been a subscriber have not come with polishes I’ve been interested in. This time, they had two new holo/metallic shades, so I was definitely in—and I was not disappointed!