Buying Sigma, Real Techniques, Coastal Scents in Canada

There are some beauty products which I love to have and try but since they are not available in Canada, have to buy them online. Some US companies do ship to Canada but the shipping charge is outrageous. 

Came across this Canadian online website, FTB Beauty and they carry a variety of beauty products, including Sigma, Real Techniques brushes, Coastal Scents, NYX, Z palette etc. They are in Toronto and they ship very fast. Shipping fee is very reasonable and I got my order within 2 business days which is so rare for us Canadian online shoppers.

Real Techniques Setting Brush

Sigma F80

Coastal Scents Go Palette(Beijing)

I love Sigma brushes. They are affordable and quality is good. I got my other brushes from Sigma directly but the shipping fee is high and it usually takes 10-14 business days at least before I receive my order.

I have all of the Sigma Sigmax Synthetic brushes except the most popular F80 brush. I don' know why but I want to get it to apply my foundation. I have been using the F84(angled kabuki brush) but feel need a flat top kabuki for easier application.

Walmart is now carrying Real Techniques brushes but I have not yet seen individual brushes for sale yet. I want to get the setting brush for my under eye concealer and applying highlight on my cheeks.

I tried a small palette of eye shadows from Coastal Scents from my Feb Ipsy bag. I am very impressed with how pigmented their eye shadows are. A bit chalky but I can always tap my brush off. Not sure if these Go Palettes are new or not. There are seven different palettes to choose from.

It comes in a palm-sized palette. Very convenient for traveling.

It comes with 12 shadows which range from some neutrals to warm-toned. I have only swatched a few and their pigmentation is absolutely amazing. Excited to try this palette out and other products from Coastal Scents in the future. 

I am very happy with my first order with FTB Beauty. Shipping is fast and reliable as they provide tracking once package is shipped. Also, don't have to worry about paying extra for border duties. 

MAC in Extra Dimension Shape the Future Skinfinish

I promise, this is my last purchase from In Extra Dimension from MAC. I have never been a fan of limited edition collections from MAC before. I thought it is the company which made these limited edition products to stir up a hype from customers. Either you get it NOW or Never kind of mentality. 

Extra Dimension Skinfinish(Shape the Future)

If you have read my previous posts about how "hot" these products are, you would know that I stalked MAC website for days to hunt down these pretty skinfinish. I don't have a MAC store or the Bay near where we live and I rely heavily online to get my hands on these.

Not exaggerating but I stalked online for these for a whole week. The Canadian website kept saying the products are coming soon. I was tired of waiting around. 

They released 3 limited edition skinfinish in this collection. The ones which stir up most love from the bloggers' world is Definitely Defined(check out my post on this). As beautiful as it is, I think Shape the Future would suit my skin tone better.

There is this beauty forum which I visit frequently. There are trades on the forum and you can buy and sell products there. I have never bought from anybody from that forum before and was a bit skeptical about it. But since I did the payment through paypal, I felt ok with it.

I received this not too long ago and was so excited. It is more beautiful than I have anticipated.

The lighter shade is a more champagne beige. Darker shade has a bit of bronzy peach beige touch to it.

Left: lighter shade

Middle: darker shade

Right: blended together

Definitely Defined is very pretty also. I have been applying it as a light blush and highlighter. But for Shape the Future is such a pigmented shade that you only need a little. In the picture, it looks a bit coppery bronze. I like to swirl it around in the pan and apply it as a blush. Gives my cheeks a very healthy glow. And depends on how the product catches the light, it really extra dimension on your cheeks. Don't know how to explain it properly but it gives my cheeks more dimension and not so "flat". 

April Favorites

This month passed very fast for me since I only came home from Toronto 2 weeks ago. 

I tried on quite a number of new beauty products since I was in Toronto for an extended stay and it was just too handy to pick up items I forgot at home.

Target brand Cleansing Cloths

Revlon Lip Butter in Pink Lemonade

Lush Tea Tree Water

Tarte Lip Surgence in Charmed

Ben Nye Banana Luxury Powder

MAC in Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Definitely Defined

MAC Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in Emerveille

Rimmel Scandal Eyes waterproof kohl liner in nude

Urban Decay palette

Picked up a couple of packages of cleansing cloths from Target. The towelettes have a bit of texture in them so making it easier to remove all my makeup, including eye makeup. Also, they are a bit cheaper than my regular Simply cloths. 30 towelettes for $5.99.

Lush Tea Tree Water is a toner water. This is my second bottle. I use it in the mornings as a toner. I sometimes apply it to cotton pads and sometimes I just spray some onto my face. Really helps with my random break-outs.

Ben Nye Banana Luxury Powder is my new purchase this month. Heard so much great reviews about this very fine powder. It is quite hard to buy it here so I got mine from Makeup Mania. I got the smaller bottle(1.5 oz/42gram) for $7.95 but the shipping is also the same amount which is ok. I use the powder to set my undereye concealer. I find it really helps with setting my concealer and brightens the area. (** I just got an email from Makeup Mania. They are increasing the price on these. Guess Ben Nye increased their prices on these popular powder due to demand **)

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in Emervelle has been my favorite for a while but this month I tend to grab it more. The soft champagne pink is perfect for everyday wear. It is still my favorite brand of cream eye shadow. Very creamy and soft.

MAC Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul is a very natural blush on my skin tone. Looks quite pinkish brown in the pan. When I apply on my cheeks, really gives my cheeks a sun-kissed look. Love it.

Yes, another MAC product this month. MAC in Extra Dimension skinfinish in Definitely Defined is such a pretty skinfinish. Thought it wouldn't show up much on my skin tone. I use the darker shade for my cheeks as a blush and the lighter shade for highlight. See my post on this gorgeous skinfinish for swatches.

I haven't used this custom Urban Decay palette for a while. But glad to dig it out and give it some love. 

The shades I love is the one on the bottom right: Mushroom. Gorgeous charcoal grey with some some grey shimmer. I usually do the neutral shade on the middle of the lids, like the one in the top row left: Walk of Shame and apply Mushroom on the outer part. I still need one more to complete my palette. Will have to go to Sephora to pick one out.

As the warmer weather arrives, I like pink lips. Tarte Lip Surgence in Charmed is my go-to lip stain these days. Gives a very moisturizing stain on your lips. Top it off with my new Revlon Lip Butter in Pink Lemonade. 

Rimmel Scandal Eye waterproof kohl liner in nude is my newest liner. I got it in the shade nude to apply on my waterline. Really brightens my eyes and seem to last all day(so far). Really reminds me of the Urban Decay 24/7 liner which I have in black and aqua. 

What are your favorites this month? Leave me a link below. Love to read what everybody's favorites are.

Bath & Body Works Haul

I love candles but set up this no-buying-rule for myself until I use up all my existing ones. I always buy the 3 wick candles from Bath and Body Works. I just finished up my last one from their winter collection(the Fireside Marshmallow one is my all time favorite from that collection). So time to get new ones from their spring collection.

Gelato, Honeysuckle, Watermelon Lemonade & Sicilian Orange

Gelato - A creamy, sweet blend of raspberry and strawberry with an effervescent sugar-spun finish form the perfect Italian indulgence. Bravo, Bravo!

Watermelon Lemonade - The coolest sip of summer! Quench your thirst for long summer days with this refreshing blend of watermelon ice, sparkling water and freshly squeezed Meyer lemons.

Honeysuckle -An alluring blend of sweet honeysuckle, pink peony and a touch of creamy vanilla capture the essence of walking through a garden in bloom.

Sicilian Orange -Sundrenched Italian groves grow the sweetest and juiciest oranges. This glamorous blend of orange, Sicilian bergamot, sun-kissed lilies and mandarin blossoms perfectly captures Sicilian citrus.

I have only tried 2 of the 4 so far: Gelato and Sicilian Orange. 

Gelato is a very sweet scent. Not as scented as I would like to be. But you can definitely scent the sweet raspberries and strawberries.

Sicilian Orange is a much sweeter scent. I love citrusy scents. Besides lemon, orange is my favorite scent. I love orange body butter and hand cream so no surprise that I picked up this and I'm burning this as I'm writing this post. Absolutely love it.

Bath and Body Works run promotions very often. I always pick them up when they are running a sale. I got these when they had the 2 for $22 deal. 

Have you picked up any new candles from their new spring collection? What is your favorite?

What I'm Loving from J. Crew May Style Guide

My J. Crew personal shopper sent me an email giving me a few sneak peeks from the May style guide.

Stitchwork Stripe Top $ 78

Chino Shorts $49

I love stripes but mostly they are navy/white stripes. Who doesn't love a pink/peach stripe top in the spring? I'm loving this top.

Left: linen eyelet top $98, Midrise toothpick jean $125

Right: Jeweled Medallion Sweater $138, Pleated shorts in seersucker $69.50

I love seersucker and this pair of shorts caught my eyes. Really can't wait for the warmer weather to arrive. Seem like spring wants to come but last week we were hit by a winter storm with 10 cm of snow and freezing rain. 

MAC Extra Dimension Definitely Defined

Cannot tell you how excited I am to receive my MAC order. MAC released their Extra Dimension collection online 2 weeks ago(one week before in stores) and the one product that I wanted the most is the Skinfinish. The shade I want is Definitely Defined, which is a silvery pink with soft rose shimmer. 

 

As I have mentioned in my previous post on the review on the Extra Dimension blush in bareness, the texture of these products is very interesting. It is not powder and it is not cream. It is somewhere in between. With the blush, I find it you have to swirl on the product a few more times to break down the top layer and once the top layer is gone, it is much better and easier to get the product out and apply easier on your skin.

Such a gorgeous combination of colors. Lighter shade has a more silvery pink finish. The darker shade is more rosy. 

Left: swatch from the darker shade

Middle: swatch from the lighter shade

Right: 2 shades blended together

When the 2 shades are blended together, it gives the most beautiful rose gold shade. Quite shimmery so I would use it with a light hand and sweep on top of my cheekbones.

Here is what it looks on my cheeks( I have MAC Extra Dimension blush Flaming Chic on as well which I will do a post on later). I did not apply a lot, just on top of my cheekbones as a highlight but you can see that it gives a nice glow. I just got it so I will have to play with it some more. I also want to use the darker shade as my blush and the lighter shade as a highlighter. 

New Revlon Lip Butter Juicy Papaya Pink Lemonade

I am a big fan of Revlon lip butter. I just love how the texture of the lipstick and how moisturizing it is. Also love the fact that I can always apply that without a mirror, just like a lip balm as it is not super-pigmented and very forgiving.

Picked up 2 of the newer shades last week: 

Shade 027 Juicy Papaya

Juicy Papaya is a peachy-coral shade, has a bit of brown, pinkish tone.

Second one I picked up was shade 047 Pink Lemonade

It is in the same color scheme as the Juicy Papaya, just has a bit more pink in it.

I like to layer the two to give a softer look. This is how it looks on me in natural light. Really loving the color combination. I sometimes wish I could wear brighter colors but find softer, natural colors look better on me.

MAC Baking Beauties Collection Haul

Just thought spring has arrived but nope, mother nature has other plans. We just got snow mixed with ice pellets overnite and still coming down.

Oh well, I got my MAC order which is from their latest launch: Baking Beauties Collection, which has a hint of spring/summer.

When I previewed this collection a while back, I knew I just had to get my hands on a few items.

Mineralize Tinted Lip Balm in Cherry Cherry

Pearlmatte Face Powder(In for a Treat)

Lipstick in Raspberry Swirl

I didn't get a whole lot as most shades are very pastel and frosty. But I'm so excited to try these out.

This is their collection. Even though I'm not a baker, I love desserts :)

I missed out on the Archie Girls' Collection pearlmatte face powder. So I was so excited when I saw they have something similar from this collection.

There are 2 shades offered and I picked this one as I think the color payoff will be better on my NC30 skintone. A frosty white on the outside rim, peach and coral pink with mint in the middle. 

When it is all blended, it gives the most beautiful pearlmatte finish as the product name suggests. Very pretty.

I have not tried MAC mineralize tinted lip balm. I am not a big fan of their lip glass as it is super-sticky. I picked the shade Cherry Cherry which is a very nice baby pink. Very sheer and not much pigmentation, which is what I like contrary to what most people prefer. I just like the glossy hint of color gloss on my lips over lipstick.

Raspberry Swirl

Very pretty pink with a hint of lavender. I didn't pick the ever-so-popular Lavender Whip which has more of a purple/lavender feel. Think pink would look much better on my lips.

Think the tinted lip balm will go well with this lipstick. What do you think?

Left: Raspberry Swirl lipstick

Right: Cherry Cherry tinted lip balm

Are you getting any goodies from the MAC Baking Beauties Collection? 

Rimmel Apocalips Celestial

Finally got my hands on one of the most-hyped lip products: Rimmel Apocalips. This has to be the most-talked about lip lacquer in recent months. I'm in Canada and we are usually delayed in receiving new beauty products. 

Rimmel Apocalips(celestial) buy here online

I got mine from Asos.com which offers free worldwide shipping. At the time of my order, they only had a few shades available. Fortunately, they had celestial which is the only shade I'm interested in.

Very sleek packaging

in the shade celestial

It is a beautiful mauve/purple pinkish shade. I am drawn to shades like this as I don't look good in super bright and vibrant lip colors.

The formula of this lip lacquer is not too sticky to my liking. It glides on quite smoothly and does not dry out my lips. It does not have a really glossy finish to my surprise. I was expecting a more glossy touch. 

The only complaint about this lip gloss is the scent and taste of it. I just cannot get over the scent. It is obvious when I apply it and can still smell it hours after I first applied. Don't know how to describe the scent but let me tell you, it is not a pleasant one. As gorgeous as all the shades I may or may not want to try, don't think I will be buying any more of these.