Tarte Radiant & Rested Complexion Set

Illuminating Serum, Cheek Stain, Primer, Eye Brightener & Bronzer

Hi Ladies! Hope you are all having a great start to your weekend! I thought I would start mine off my sharing one of my latest purchases with you!

As you may know Sephora sent out coupons earlier this month for Beauty Insiders and VIB's ranging from $15-20 off when you made a $40 purchase. Seeing as I spend WAY too much money there, I am now classified as a VIB so I got the $20 coupon!

After much deliberating I decided on the Tarte Radiant & Rested Complexion set. I decided on this because I figured I would get the most use out of complexion products (as they are my weakness) as opposed to a giant set of eye shadows! This set retails for $55 CAD, so a little more than I wanted to spend but for the use I would get out of it, it was worth it! Heres what is included in the kit:

First up, and the main reason I purchased this, is the Smooth Operator Illuminating Serum. This product is not for single sale yet, but Tarte says it will be soon! This is a great, lightweight illuminating all over serum for giving you a nice glow under (or instead of) your foundation. 

Before Blending

After Blending

I hope you can see the great "glow" this gives to the skin without being sparkly or glittery! Its really gorgeous and adds just enough luminescence to the skin to make it look healthy and youthful! It also doesn't leave my skin greasy or "shiny" which is a big bonus. I've been using this almost everyday and it looks great under foundation or alone! I'm really glad I purchased this set JUST for this! I hope it becomes part of Tarte's permanent line soon!

Next is a Mini Cheek Stain in Glisten. I love stains, gel blush, cream blush anything but powder for the cheeks so I was very excited about this little guy! I actually haven't owned a Tarte Cheek Stain before this one but I've swatched them a lot in store and have always liked them!

Here is the stain applied to my hand with no blending, just a swipe back and forth! This is much more of a glow than a colour, once blended the colour is SO light that it actually doesn't like a blush at all. It does add a great healthy sheen, but I do prefer more colour in my blush. That being said, I will still be using this as it is very pretty!

Now we have a mini, travel sized ReCreate Silicone Free Primer. This primer is aimed towards more mature women stating that it has "wrinkle rewind technology". 

This primer is a light, lotion base that disappears almost instantly when worked into the skin. I must admit I haven't tried this on my face yet because it does feel a little thick and too moisturizing for my skin type. I prefer a mattifying primer. This one might go to my mom!

Next up is one of my favourite products from Tarte (which I already own) Park Avenue Princess Mineral Bronzer. I usually prefer more of a matte bronzer, but this one has forever changed my mind! This has no noticeable shimmer/glitter in it, but it does leave behind the prettiest sheen! Its also a great bronze colour that is good for us fairer skinned girls, and it doesn't contain any orange undertones!

I hope you can see the great golden sheen this has in the photo! It really is a gorgeous bronzer and I highly recommend it so I'm really happy there was a travel sized one in this kit!

This is actually the second reason I bought this kit, the EmphasEYES Inner Rim Brightener. I have been lusting over Stila's peach coloured Kajal pencil so I was super happy to see that a peach rim brightener was included in this kit! This is also not sold separately but should be available soon (hopefully!). I like to line my inner rims with a brighter colour to make me look more awake in the early mornings but white can be too much at times so a peachy/flesh tone is a great option!

It really is flesh-toned so you can't see it very well on my hand, but it is great for the inner rim! It comes in an automatic twist up pencil like Tarte's other emphasEYES pencils, but isn't quite as thin. I like that because it gives more chance that I will actually get it on the rim of my eye! I am so squeamish when it comes to anything to do with eyes that its hard for me to put a pencil on my inner rim!

I know this was a long post with a zillion photos but I wanted to get the full effect of the products across to you! I'm super happy with my purchase of this kit! Although I probably won't wear all the products together (a little too much "glow" for me) they are great to have to give your complexion a much needed boost!

Thanks for reading and bearing with all the photos! XOXO

The Shopping Channel - Heard of it?

Beauty Surprise Box!

Of course you guys have heard of it! (if you are Canadian!) Its such an underrated and too unknown place for beauty at amazing prices! If you haven't check it out, they have everything from Clarisonic to Cargo, Fusion Beauty, Pur Minerals, IT Cosmetics and Smashbox... To name only a FEW! They offer much better prices than in store, especially with their "Today's Showstoppers" and "Blockbusters"! Recently, I picked up one of my most anticipated items of the year! The Surprise Holiday Beauty Box! The Shopping Channel offers a "Beauty Box", usually, for each season! This is the first one I have purchased and now I regret not purchasing every other one I've ever seen!

The Holiday Beauty Box consists of some of The Shopping Channel's best selling products (that are kept a surprise except for which brands you will receive)! This box is seriously packed FULL of great things! It cost me $25 CAD + $6.95 for shipping, but the best part is that sometimes The Shopping Channel offers "Easy Pay" which spreads your payments out with no interest! (YAY!) But look at all I got:

Getting Closer!

Before I get into what came in the cute little box, I must say that I appreciate that they took the time to actually put it in a nice box with a nice black, silky pouch inside! These little touches make my experience so much better when shopping anywhere online!

First Photo

The amount of stuff you get in this package is insane for the $25 you spend! One of the products above is more than $25! LOVE IT!

Clockwise from Left:

- Skinn Olive & Enzyme Cleanser/ Deep Cleaning Mask (Full Size)

- Cargo Multi-Mix Bronzer (Full Size)

- Pur Minerals Mineral Light Highlighter (Full Size)

- Aloette Dual Action Bio-C Powder (Full Size)

NOTE: I haven't used any of these enough yet to review them, those will be coming up though so keep an eye out! :)

Photo #2

Left to Right:

- Proactiv Green Tea Moisturizer (Full Size)

- Ojon Animated Styling Balm (Deluxe Sample Size - Still huge!)

- Elizabeth Grant Biocollasis Complex Total Regeneration Wrinkle Repair Concentrate (Full Size)

- Proactiv Daily Oil Control (Full Size)

Photo #3

Clockwise from Top Left:

- 100% Pure Organic Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream (Deluxe Sample Size - Will last forever!)

- Leaf & Rusher Tx Formula (Deluxe Sample Size)

- Nick Chavez Leave-in Thickening Cream Conditioner (Deluxe Sample Size)

- StriVectin Instant Moisture Repair (Sachet)

- Elizabeth Grant Advanced Cellular Age Defence Night Creme (Sachet) 

- Perricone MD Face Finishing Moisturizer (Deluxe Sample Size)

- Elysse Liposomal Cream (Deluxe Sample Size)

- Calvin Klein Euphoria for Men & Women (sample sprays)

- Prai Ageless Hands (Sachet)

- Perlier (Elariia) Mimosa Body Cream (Deluxe sample size)

- Luxuriant Cracked Heel Soap (Deluxe Sample Size)

Man, thats a lot of stuff! I don't even know where to start with my testing! I know a few of these items will be given as Christmas Stocking Stuffers to my mom, mother-in-law and sister-in-law as I either already own them or they are not for my skin type! 

I love getting sets like this especially for such an amazing price and that include such well known product brands! Unfortunately, after showing you guys this great value, they are now sold out! :( But keep your eyes open for future Surprise Beauty Boxes because they only get better!! Also, check out their other great deals, they always have very competitive prices so make sure to check here first!

http://www.theshoppingchannel.com/beauty

PS. The "Today's Showstopper" tomorrow is by Clarisonic! If you have been looking at getting one they will be on for (I'm sure) great prices! (I've sent my mom the link for my Christmas Present lol) We won't know what the price is until tomorrow but be sure to check it out!

Deals & Steals: E.l.f. Conceal + Beauty SOS Set Review

Conceal Set

Hey Girlies! As you may know from my recent posts, I have not always had the best of luck with the e.l.f. cosmetics line. I recently purchased their Holiday Natural Eyeshadow Palette (click for review!) and wasn't entirely thrilled! But, I decided to press on, determined to find something I like from the e.l.f. line! With that being said, I this was my next purchase, the Conceal +Beauty SOS kit.

1st Product - Tone Correcting Concealer

I picked up this kit at Zellers for $4.99, which is a pretty good price for 3 products! (Not as good as the US price, but still! haha) The first item this kit contains is the e.l.f. Tone Correcting Concealer. I hadn't tried any of e.l.f.'s concealers so I was really eager to test this out! 

Concealer Shade - Light Beige

Surprisingly, this kit only comes with one shade option. I've always been curious why companies do that, it doesn't seem like something that would increase sales! The shade it comes with is light beige, which is great for my light skin! I think it would be a good fit for anyone with light/light-medium skin tone as it is very forgiving and blendable!

Swatch

I find this concealer to have quite a yellow base, which is good for me because I have no pink undertones and hate when I get pink-based products! I'm quite impressed with how well this colour fits my skin tone, so that was a nice surprise!

Pros:

- Creamy, blendable

- Forgiving colour (will work on many skin tones light/light-medium)

- Not cakey

- Doe-foot applicator for precise application

- Dewy finish: good for undereyes

- Moisturizing

Cons:

- Sheer: not much coverage but good for under eyes

- Dewy Finish: not good for blemish coverage

- Contains ingredients known to potentially clog pores (mineral oil, microcrystalline wax)

- Again, so sheer, will not cover blemishes

Final Verdict

I'm confused about the marketing for the product. It is said to be a blemish covering concealer but no matter how much I built it up I couldn't get it to cover a blemish! That being said, I really like it as an under eye concealer or slight redness concealer! Its soft and blendable and gives a nice moisturizing finish to under the eyes! I wouldn't say "don't buy this" I would say, "don't buy this for covering blemishes" though! There are many other better concealers for blemish coverage (I'm sure some of e.l.f.'s other concealers work great for this!) But, I would recommend this as an inexpensive concealer option for light/sheer under eye coverage and moisturization!

Concealer Brush

The 2nd product in the kit is this cute little concealer brush! I was actually quite excited for this, I can never have too many concealer brushes! I also have had really great experiences with e.l.f.'s brush collections!

Synthetic hair

I think this is a great all around concealer brush to have! I really like the "smallness" of it for pinpoint application of concealer to blemishes! Its very easy to use, has great hairs and works well! I won't do a full list of pros & cons for this, its a good brush especially for a $1 USD! Another point, I'm not sure why they included this as the concealer has a doe-foot applicator but good for me because I like it and can use it with all my other concealers! :)

Zit Zapper

The 3rd product is the most exciting for me! I've been wanting to try e.l.f.'s Zit Zapper since I saw it on their website sooo long ago! I'm always on the look out for the "miracle cure" for my breakouts and am constantly trying new products! This is a really handy little stick you can take with you and apply throughout the day. I love that it is clear because that is rare for breakout busters!

Roller Ball top

It also has a super convenient roller-ball top! I love not having to touch the product, it makes it so easy to use! This contains some known breakout fighting ingredients and is great to use in the day time!

Pros:

- 1% Salicylic Acid - to fight breakouts and clogged pores

- Witch Hazel, Tea Tree oil - to further help with breakouts

- Clear: able to use during the day

- Non-Drying (Finally!)

- Price $1 USD!

Cons:

- Salicylic acid is a better preventer than treatment

- Roller-Ball (although I love it!) may not be very hygienic

- Contains Alcohol: not my favourite ingredient

Final Verdict

Honestly, this product isn't perfect. It does have a few cons but I really feel like in this case the pros outweigh the cons! Its a good option for people struggling with breakouts. I'm happy you can use it during the day with no signs that it is there! I will continue to use this, and I will recommend it for minor/rare breakouts. It probably won't help much with large breakouts or chronic breakouts! For the price, I would definitely recommend trying it out to see how well it works for you! It has worked for me (although I don't think the test was fair because it was "my time of the month" and nothing would help!) by decreasing the size of my breakouts. If you are curious at all, try this out! The price is definitely worth it! :)

O.P.I. Go Goth!

"Go Goth", Halloween Collection

Hey everyone! Here is my latest purchase and I am so excited about it! I've been looking at this set since it came out because I love dark polish, especially in the fall! This is a collection of 4 different dark polishes so I was sold right there! The second thing that hooked me was these sets (along with the "Swiss" collection minis) were on sale for $10.99 at London Drugs, which is a great deal considering they are regularly $16.99! This set includes Unripened, Nevermore, Sanguine and Obscurity. It also comes with this random stretchy lace "bracelet" that my cat will probably get ahold of and tear to bits. (She loves anything stretchy, especially my hair elastics...)

How-Tos

Another thing I loved about this kit is it has a bunch of "How-Tos" on the back for different nail art designs! This is great for people like me who want to try something new but need step by step instructions haha!

Unripened

This is the first shade in the box, Unripened, and by far my favourite! The picture doesn't do it justice but its hard to capture glitter on camera. This is a black base with green and sometimes purple glitter, depending on what kind of lighting you are in. I just love it because of the different coloured glitter! This one is definitely amazing and a great fall/winter colour!

Nevermore

Number one, I love purple. Number two, I love glitter. Perfect! This is the second one and is called Nevermore. Its a gorgeous blackened purple with purple glitter LOOOVVEEE!

Sanguine

Here is the third colour in the collection and again, another LOVE! This is such a pretty blackened red (darker than the photo shows, the flash picks up on the red not the black) and will be fantastic for christmas! I love that all these colours have a black base to them because I love dark polish! This one doesn't contain glitter but does have a little shimmer!

Obscurity

"Obscurity" is right! I was so shocked when this came out matte! I haven't owned a matte polish yet and I am so happy that there was one in this collection! This is a true black and very matte, great for anytime I think because I'm obviously an advocate of dark polish! haha I love the matte but its going to take some getting used to, I desperately want to put a top coat on it haha!

Honestly, SO happy with this set! I think its one of the best mini sets I've ever bought from O.P.I.! I really hope these are all available in full size still, especially Unripened, because I NEED MORE of it! If anyone knows if they are still available, or ever were, in full size let me know! :)