I know I have been AWOL for a while, now—among other things, I have been hard at work on the nail polish database—a brand spanking new version is coming, with the ability to track your own collection. (‘Cause I personally really, really need to do that!)
For now, I can only offer up this rather long list of perfume notes that I have compiled over the month of January. As you can see, I’ve been doing a lot of huffing. This comes just in time for Valentine’s Day, which is tomorrow, in case you need some gift ideas for a lovely lady in your life!
Happy Valentine’s Day to you all! 💝
The full list for January:
adidas Born Original for Her
Ariana Grande Ari
Bvlgari Splendida Iris d’Or
Calvin Klein Obsessed for Women
Calvin Klein Reveal
Chanel Allure (EDT)
Chanel Allure (EDP)
Chanel Coco Mademoiselle (EDP)
Dior Miss Dior Absolutely Blooming
Dior Hypnotic Poison
Dior Pure Poison
Escada Sorbetto Rosso
Estée Lauder Modern Muse Le Rouge
Etat Libre d’Orange Jasmin et Cigarette
Etat Libre d’Orange Putain de Palaces
Giorgio Armani Sí
Givenchy Ange ou Démon
Guerlain Mon Guerlain
Jason Wu Jason Wu
Jean Paul Gaultier Classique Essence de Parfum
Lacoste Eau de Lacoste
Lancôme La Nuit Trésor EDP
Prada La Femme Intense
Paco Rabanne Lady Million
Paco Rabanne Olympéa
Rihanna Rogue
Salvatore Ferragamo Signorina Misteriosa
Sofía Vergara Love (Fragrance Mist)
Sofía Vergara Sofía (Fragrance Mist)
Mugler Angel (EDP)
Mugler Womanity
Vera Wang Princess of Hearts
Vera Wang Princess Noir
Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium
Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium Floral Shock
Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium Nuit Blanche
I also got minor sniffs of these on cards, so I won’t talk about them today. Several are scents I had tried once and forgotten—I’ll have to revisit some of them on skin!
Chanel Beige
Chanel Chance
Chanel Cristalle (EDT?)
Chanel Gabrielle
Dior J’Adore Eau Lumière (EDT)
Mugler Aura
[Quick edit note: I had to fix quite a lot of things in this post; WordPress appeared to have not saved some of the bits I wrote, so certain entries were just incorrect. I think I’ve fixed everything, now! (Feb 13, 2018 at 11:55 PM)]
This post covers two Optimum Points redemption orders I placed in July and September 2017.
I’ve been racking up the points via the Shoppers app, and redeemed 95k points for $170 worth of product (all prices in CA$) in both July and September during two PLUS Bonus Events. Here’s July’s order:
ARTDECO Art Couture Nail Lacquer in Silver Willow (978)
Elizabeth Arden Advanced Ceramide Capsules (60 Capsules)
Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup in 1N2 Ecru
Soap & Glory Flake Away Spa Body Polish
Free samples (I forgot to take pics of these):
Elie Saab Le Parfum EDT (sample)
Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Overnight Firming Mask (sample)
Vasanti Brighten Up! New Skin Amplifying Moisturizer (sample)
beautyBOUTIQUE actually made the first ever mistake I’ve ever had with them: they sent me the wrong shade of ARTDECO Nail Lacquer.
ARTDECO Art Couture Nail Lacquer in Rose Peony (953)
They only asked me to send a picture, which I did, and then they sent out Silver Willow right away. I got to keep Rose Peony, as well. I was really pleased with their excellent handling of an error. Plus, when they sent me the correct nail polish, they also included three free samples!
Lise Watier HydraForce Hydra-Protective Creme-Gel (sample)
This Saturday and Sunday (September 23–24), Canada’s beautyBOUTIQUE by Shoppers Drug Mart is offering a Spend Your Points PLUS Event (see details in this post).
Don’t forget to use ebates Canada [referral link], as well! It’s 4% cash back for beautyBOUTIQUE today.
I’ve been racking up the points via the Shoppers app, and redeemed 95k points for $170 worth of product (all prices in CA$), including my first ever Chanel blush:
Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Élégance (370) [$53]
Chanel Le Vernis Longwear Nail Colour in New Dawn (578) [$32]
Dior Vernis Couture Colour in Metallics (612) [$33]
Estée Lauder Pure Color Love Lipstick in Moon Rock [$28]
Estée Lauder Pure Color Love Lipstick in Sly Wink [$28]
My subtotal was $174, so after tax, I paid a total of $22.62 plus 95k Optimum Points. Another $30 worth of Optimum Points will be added to my account in a couple of weeks, since this was a Spend Your Points PLUS Event.
Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Élégance (370)Chanel Le Vernis Longwear Nail Colour in New Dawn (578)
The very very big thing has happened. It will change everything and yet nothing will change at all! @esteelaudercompanies (a really really big company behind really really big brands) has today acquired a minority stake in DECIEM. The ELC team embraced us like a loving family from the very first meeting to the emotional hugs at closing. Instead of trying to control things like big companies sometimes do, ELC insists that we continue to be who we are. We are really emotional today because we know that, together with ELC, we are going to lead innovation in beauty and bring you more and more of very good things (and less and less of very bad delays). We are here today because of your support and love for us along our journey in the past few years. We promise that every step we take will be one to continue to recognize your support. (PS1- No, we won’t change who we are in any way; PS2- Brandon is and will still be the CEO; PS3- Yes, we have a lot of money now to invest in big infrastructure so we can serve you very promptly; PS4- Yes, we will have many more stores in many more places; PS5- We never have and will not test on animals. ; PS6- No, we won’t raise the prices of products we sell to you; PS7- ELC may seem like a big conglomerate, but please believe us when we say that it has a big soul and a team of truly loving people; PS8- The release is here: elc.deciem.com) 🙈🐒🐒🐒❤️❤️❤️
The optimist in me wants to say good for them! And that this new injection of money will seriously improve their production and distribution, particularly considering the issues they had upon the recent launch of their first colour cosmetics.
The pessimist in me realizes that The Estée Lauder Companies is one of the world’s largest cosmetic conglomerates, with brands like Clinique, MAC, Too Faced, Bobbi Brown, Tom Ford, Becca, Origins, Smashbox, La Mer, Aveda, Jo Malone, Le Labo and more under its umbrella. It seems possible that formulations might become altered, prices may start to increase, and some of the things that I personally liked about the company will change: being local, cruelty-free (Estée Lauder is not cruelty-free), and the values they claimed to have about honesty in skincare.
Each box DECIEM mails out has ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY emblazoned on it in bold, sans-serif letters. It rings a bit false now that there’s a beauty behemoth behind the scenes.
In any case, Brandon Truaxe will remain DECIEM’s CEO (he has previous with launching a company only to sell it, and was also a founder of Indeed Labs). The company’s fans, including myself, will have to hope that this move allows DECIEM to grow comfortably, without losing sight of what made them so very popular in the first place.
•••••
This week, I test drove Canadian skincare brand DECIEM’s first foray into color makeup with one of their two new foundations.
In April, they released a Serum Foundation and a Coverage Foundation under one of their brands, The Ordinary. I picked up both in the color 2.0YG (Light Medium, Yellow Undertones with Gold Highlights) for my NC25–30 skintone.
Last week, I reviewed the Serum Foundation, and I wasn’t a huge fan.
Today, I’m reviewing the Coverage Foundation, which, obviously, is meant to provide more coverage. It claims a light cream texture, full coverage, higher pigmentation than the Serum Foundation, and a semi-matte finish. The shade I got, as indicated by the “G” in the name, has additional subtle gold highlights mixed in.
I missed getting a post up yesterday—it was so freaking hot in the city, our air conditioning isn’t working 100%, and I could barely think. Uggggh, I hate hot weather. I believe that if I had grown up in a hot place, I’d never have made it through school as my brain shuts down so badly when it’s very hot and humid. We’re talking a mere 27°C/80°F that will do it.
But hey, it’s only fitting that this month’s Ipsy Glam Bag (referral link) is posted on a Friday! It’s also much cooler today, thankfully.
And, once again, Ipsy sent me a Glam Bag that color-coordinates, in shades of bright aqua, bronze, and cherry red. I don’t know if it’s coincidental (or that a lot of their products this month just happen to coordinate), but it sure makes for a nice photo op.
Ipsy May 2017 Glam Bag: “Summer Friday”
Image: ipsy.com
Thanks to some referral points (many thanks to those who used my link!), I was also able to redeem some of my Ipsy points for a full sized Estée Lauder foundation.
What I Redeemed Points For
Estée Lauder Double Wear Makeup To Go Liquid Compact in 2N1 Desert Beige (12 mL full size; US$45 / CA$50) [750 pts]
What I Received
Adesse New York Organic Infused Nail Lacquer in Surfer Girl (11 mL full size; US$18)
BeneFit Gimme Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel in Deep (5) (1 g sample; 3 g full size US$24)
Jelly Pong Pong Supercharged Super Intense Eyeshadow Duo in Electric (2 g full size; US$22.95)
Pixi by Petra Endless Silky Eye Pen in BlackNoir (0.8 g sample; 1.2 g full size US$12)
trèStiQue Mini Matte Lip Crayon in Tuscan Wine (0.025 oz sample size of just the matte crayon color; full size is a double-ended Lip Crayon + Shiny Balm, US$28)
Ipsy makeup bag
fivezero’s Ipsy May 2017 Glam Bag: “Summer Friday”
Image: ipsy.com
Ipsy Coupon Codes
Adesse New York: 20% off any purchase + free US shipping with code IPSY20 (through 06/30/2017; US only)
Estée Lauder: 20% off all Double Wear with code DWIPSY20 (through 05/31/2017; US only)
Jelly Pong Pong: 30% off any purchase with code IPSY20 (through 06/30/2017)
Pixi by Petra: 25% off any purchase with code PixiIpsyMay (not case-sensitive; through 6/30/2017; US only)
trèStiQue: 30% off any $40+ purchase with code IPSYSPRING30 (through 06/30/2017; US only)
I never did get around to posting my beautyBOUTIQUE hauls (gotta love those Shoppers Drug Mart coupons and Optimum Points events!), so I’m combining five of them into one post.
Perhaps these will provide some inspiration for Mother’s Day gifts? Speaking of which, today was a special day for me because I received my first ever Mother’s Day gift from our little peanut!
Behold (the peanut clip art is covering his name):
I am totally wearing that necklace on Sunday.
Anyway, here’s my fairly reasonable damage! All prices are in CA$.
Orders 1–2
First up, I received two $10 off coupons for beautyBOUTIQUE.ca when I was buying stuff at Shoppers Drug Mart. Cool. Of course, I had to use them on two orders:
Shoppers Drug Mart have been handing out $10 gift cards for beautyBOUTIQUE (online only) with any purchase (from February 25, while supplies last), so I’ve recently collected two such gift cards.
Since beautyBOUTIQUE offers free shipping for $50 purchases, I ended up placing two slightly-over-$50 orders, since you can only use one gift card per order. I would hate to have to spend $8 on shipping just to use a $10 gift card!
I’ve recently been on the lookout for a new everyday foundation, because Revlon have seen fit to discontinue my tried-and-true Nearly Naked. They actually did this last year, but I haven’t had to buy any bottles since I stocked up in 2015 and so I didn’t realize. I’ve gone and bought up the remaining bottles at SaleEvent, but obviously, I need to find a replacement.
Some other liquid foundations I really like for my dry skin are Estée Lauder Double Wear, Lancôme Teint Miracle, Missha M Signature Real Complete BB Cream, Almay Clear Complexion Makeup, and L’Oréal True Match. But Nearly Naked took the cake for overall best: ease of application, good color match, natural look, easily found in stores and online, and of course it was quite inexpensive (CA$10–11 on sale). The EL and Lancôme are much pricier, plus Teint Miracle has been reformulated and had the shades renamed, and I haven’t gotten around to being colormatched again; Missha and Almay (believe it or not) are not easily obtained in store; and L’Oréal True Match has a tendency to make me a little bit greasy, which is pretty impressive considering I have dry skin.
So, I hit up Shoppers and headed for the Bourjois display to test out their foundations. I’ve never tried much of their makeup before (just some nail polish and blush) and decided I should really give them a proper look. I saw three main liquid foundations on display: Healthy Skin Serum, Healthy Skin Serum Gel, and 123 Perfect. I was in a little bit of a rush so I didn’t stand around Googling reviews for each formulation—I just did a bit of swatching.
fivezero 