MUA Makeup Academy Haul

Ever since I started blogging, I got the pleasure of meeting a lot of new bloggers all around the world. Sometimes, when I read UK beauty blogs, I realize there are some cosmetic brands which we Canadians cannot get here. 

One very popular drugstore brand in UK is MUA Makeup Academy. A very affordable and high quality makeup brand. Guess it is like the Wet n Wild. Drugstore brand and very affordable. I have used a few of their eye shadow palettes and am thoroughly enjoying them. High-pigmentation and easy to apply. Who said drugstore brands are no comparison to high end brands? 

As much as I love my Urban Decay Naked Palette 2, I want to branch out and try other similar palettes. There is the MUA 12 Shade Undressed Palette which is very similar to the Naked Palette which I want to try. I went to their website and very surprised to find the shipping is not bad at all. So decided to make my first online order with MUA.

this is my first haul from MUA

Top left: 12 Shade Starry Night Palette (Buy here)

Top right: 12 Shade Undressed Palette (Buy here)

Bottom: 24 Shade Immaculate Collection Palette (Buy here)

This is a whole lot of eye shadows for one purchase, right?  I was just going to get the 12 Shade Undressed Palette but then the shipping is going to be the same. When I placed the order last week, there is a promo of when you placed an order for £8.00, you would get the 24 Shade Immaculate collection palette for free. Isn't that a great deal? (I believe the promo is still available)

12 Shade Undressed Palette

The shades are more similar to the shades in the original Naked Palette which I don't have and have been contemplating to get. But so glad I didn't and got this palette instead. 

12 Shade Starry Night Palette

24 Shade Immaculate Collection Palette

The first 2 palettes are £4.00 each and I got the 24 shade immaculate collection palette for free. Shipping is £7.50. My total for this order is £15.50 which converts to Canadian $ 24.23, which is not a bad deal at all. 

I only did a few swatches of the shades and they are very pigmented and silky. So excited to try them out. Have you tried MUA cosmetics and what are your thoughts on these and your favorites?

J Crew Mila Cap Toe Leather Ballet Flats

Placed a J. Crew order last week with new ballet flats and a few sweaters. I was so excited to get my order yesterday.

I was a little skeptical about getting the Mila cap toe leather ballet flats online. I really wanted to see them in person and try them on before ordering but they were not available at the Yorkdale Mall last time I went home.

Mila cap toe leather ballet flats (buy here)

I went with my regular shoe size (7.5) and they fit perfect. 

I love them as I can wear them casually with jeans or dress them up a little wearing skirts or dresses.

Like the stitching around the black

Very happy with my purchase. After I got them, I realized how much these resemble the Chanel version:

It has been cool for the past couple of days and I am happy to get into sweater season.

Old Navy boat neck sweater (buy here)

The thin cotton of the sweater is perfect for late summer days. 

Essie Pilates Hottie & Don't Sweater it

I am drawn to certain colors for nail polish and I only wear certain colors. That is after my subscription to Julep Maven boxes( a monthly subscription service to Julep nail polishes). I thought I would be open to trying out different colors out of my comfort zone. It was a good time to try out new summer shades and I did enjoy a lot of the Julep colors. 

For the months that I had the Julep Maven boxes mailed to me, I tried to limit myself to buying any more nail polish as I have way more than I need. After all, I only have 10 fingers and 10 toes to play with, LOL! 

Essie Pilates Hottie

A lilac shade with a pinkish undertone

In this lighting, you can see the pink in it

The other one that I picked up is from the Essie fall 2012 collection. I love all the shades in the collection. Decided to go with don't sweater it.

(please excuse the sight of my foot and my flip flop tan :)

Reminds me a lot of the OPI Don't Know Jacques from a few years back. And yes, I have that polish and I love it. It would be funny to see my nail collection. I mainly have the pink shades and the dark brownish/purple shades. 

Have you picked up any of the Essie fall 2012 collection polish? Which is your favorite?

My First Lush(UK) Haul

My first Lush order from UK arrived today. I am so excited. It took less than 7 business days from UK to Canada, which I think is super fast delivery. I have placed orders from US and they come in more than 10 business days. Considering how much closer US is to Canada, I am sometimes disappointed in the delivery times. 

My first online order was not a huge one. I just want to make sure I am taking it slowly into the Lush world and enjoy all the products in a timely fashion. 

Very well-packed

My goodies: 

Rub Rub Rub(buy here)

Ocean Salt(buy here)

You've been Mangoed (buy here)

Catastophe Cosmetic (buy here)

MMM Melting Marshmallow Moment (buy here)

Aqua Mirabilis Body Butter (buy here) in Body Butter Tin (buy here)

I have tried samples of Rub Rub Rub(body exfoliate) and Ocean Salt(facial exfoliate). They are amazing and smell amazing. Not a fruity kind of scent but a very refreshing wake-you-up kind of scent. 

I was a bit worried about buying Catastophe Cosmetic (blueberries facial mask) online as you never know the Canadian weather in September. It can be hot or it can be mildly cool. As it is a fresh facial mask, I don't want it to melt in the hot weather. I went to pick up my mail within an hour of my mailman's regular delivery time. It is not all liquidly but started to melt a bit. I put the container in the fridge right away so I think it should be ok.

I sniffed the You've been Mangoed soap in the store when I was in Toronto. Love mango and the scent is very fresh. Perfect for those mornings when your eyes are still half shut in the shower. 

I got a couple of bath melts when I was in the store. As I have mentioned in my previous posts, I am not a bath person. Actually don't recall the last time I took a bath. Maybe when I was a toddler?! To my surprise, I took a couple of baths already in the past 2 weeks and thoroughly enjoyed them. I think it is going to be my treat to myself when I feel overly tired and stressed. What a nice way to relax in a bathtub in your own home! 

I want to try the Body butter and read the review that body butter will melt easily in the shower. So got the body butter tin for it. The Aqua Mirabilis body butter is not a scent that I would usually go for. It is not fruity. It has more of a earthy scent. I decided to go with that as I now use the Sweet Pie or the Whoosh shower jelly in the morning. Use Rub Rub Rub every other day. I don't want a whole lot of scents going on and I put perfume on occasionally. So went for this earthy, neutral scent to balance things out.

I am so excited to try out all my goodies. I am sure I will place orders once I use up most of my items and highly recommend to buy them online.

Glossy Box August 2012

I have been subscribing to Glossy Box for 4 or 5 months now. For the exception of my first box, I am not too happy with the rest of my boxes. Mainly is because the boxes are lacking makeup or skincare products which I am most interested in. Instead, I have more than enough shampoo and conditioner and other items I don't need or have the desire to even try out.

I have decided if my August box is another disappointment, I will cancel my subscription.

Don't know if Glossy Box hear me or not, but the August box is such a pleasure and exciting box to open to.

Here is what I got: 

Befine Fine Food Skin Care

Package includes exfoliating cleanser, gentle cleanser, night cream, pore refining scrub treatment and the warming clay mask

2 Full sized Kryolan lipsticks(left is glossy pink, right is LC101

Sebastian potion 9 Lite

Biore make up removing towelettes

Another 2 items which were not photographed: A Trend Trunk mystery gift card and a full -sized Elastoplast SOS blister( as if they know my feet desperately need these!)

I am still waiting for my Lush UK online order to arrive so I am currently out of facial scrub and mask. Very excited to try the Befine fine food skin care items. From the packaging, there are pictures of chocolate, almond etc for the products.  I love dessert/fruit scent on my facial masks and scrub and they are right up my alley.

The Kryolan lipsticks look very nice and moisturizing. I will probably try the glossy pink shade. The other one is just too red for me.

I always love Biore products and happy to receive the makeup removing towelettes. Mind you, I still have two Simple towelettes to go through before this.

Overall, very happy with my August box. Are you happy with your August Glossy Box?

Toronto Beauty Purchases(Lavanila deodorant review)

Stayed in Toronto for almost 2 weeks and got a few things. Not a whole lot since it was still hot during my stay and I did not feel like trying on fall/winter clothing items.

Got a few things from Sephora. Convinced by Canadian Beauty Reviews, I have decided to try the Lavanila healthy deodorant.

Lavanila The Healthy Deodorant (buy here/here(Canadian))

You can read Canadian Beauty Reviews' awesome review on this product. She has suggested to go to ebeauty.ca to get more product for cheaper. It is in fact cheaper than Sephora. I was tempted to order but want to make sure I sniff all the scents before I decided which scent I love best. 

I spent a good 10 mins sniffing all the available scents at the Lavanila deodorant section. All the scents are amazing. I had a hard time deciding. In the end, decided to go for Vanilla Passion Fruit.

I have been using this deodorant for a good 2 weeks now. Some people say it does not work. I totally disagree. This is a deodorant, not an antiperspirant. It does not prevent you from sweating. On the first couple of days after use, I did frequent "check-ups" on myself during the day. I did notice that I needed to reapply to smell fresh again. But after the third day or so, I did not have to. When you first apply, it is more wet than your regular deodorant. I just wait a minute or two until it dries up before putting on my clothes. So don't just apply it and put your clothes on. You may get marks on your clothes.

I am extremely happy with this deodorant. Yes, it is pricey. I got it for $24 at Sephora. Who would think I would spend more than $20 on one single deodorant?! I have been using drugstore brands(Dove) the majority of my adult life. But if you are like me, decided to go on a healthier route for picking the products you use on your body, I strongly suggest you try this and you would not regret.

Now that I know which scent appeals me the most, I will go to ebeauty.ca for my future purchases and who knows, maybe will try their perfume too.

Benefit creaseless cream shadow

Got the shade: Birthday suit

A light brownish color

I love Maybelline eye tattoo and have almost all the shades available. As much as I love the colors and staying power, I find that they dry out quite fast, making it flaky and extremely hard to apply. So I was contemplating on getting MAC paint pot or Benefit. Since I was at Sephora getting the deodorant, I checked out the Benefit version and am so impressed with how silky the cream shadow is. 

Dermaglow anti-age eye treatment

Impressed by its ingredients

This is what it claims 

Tip-applicator. Very silky and smooth

I am always in search of a good eye-cream/treatment. I have used many brands of all different price points. Haven't found my perfect eye cream  yet so I am willing to try different brands.

Went to Winners(something like TJ Maxx) and always manage to find great brands at the cosmetic section. I have got Bliss baggage handler eye gel(see post here) there a few months ago. Almost used up the tube. But unfortunately have not found it do much for helping with my puffiness in the morning. This time, found the Dermaglow anti-aging treatment. Only a fraction of its retail price( $8 as compared to $36). Could not resist and decided to take it home with me. I have not tried it yet as I want to finish all my existing eye cream before starting it fresh on this. I found myself loading up with products and never be able to finish anything. So I have decided to test out new products, I have to finish what I am using and see the true impact of the new items.

Decision, decision

School is going to start after Labor Day here. I went home to Toronto for an extended stay. It is so hard not to get anything while shopping in the city. I grew up in the city and moved to a small town by marriage. As much as I dislike living in a small town, sometimes, I am glad I do. It would be so hard to resist materialistic temptation on a daily basis.

I was not shopping for a pair of flats. But when I was at Yorkdale, went to Holt Renfrew(like Bloomingdale's) and was just browsing at the shoe department. 

Yes, I know. Nude flats are more for the spring/summer. But I think they are so classic and can easily be incorporated with fall items.

I have a pair of Tory Burch Reva flats. After breaking them in, they have become my go-to flats these days. These Tory Burch nude flats have an elastic band around the edges and make them very comfortable. Don't think they need any break-in period.

They are priced at $250 at Holt Renfrew. And even summer is coming to an end soon, don't think they will go on sale any time soon.

Since J. Crew fall rollouts, I have been eyeing on these: 

J. Crew Mila cap toe leather ballet flats(buy here)

They are pretty similar to the Tory Burch nude flats with elastic band around the edges. These are with cap toe making it a bit dressier.

I was going to go try them on at J. Crew store but they do not have these available. I really want to try them on in person before I buy them. These are $170.

So the price is very comparable and similar style. Which one you prefer?

The Yorkdale Mall has its food court relocated and totally renovated.

Went to Glow Press for lunch. This is my second time already. Last time went with my niece and we had a great lunch. They are fancy grilled cheese sandwiches. We tried the pulled pork and grilled veggies cheese sandwiches and they were awesome. 

This time, I had the steak grilled cheese sandwiches with veggies and potato leek soup. De-li-cious!