Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Best of 2015 || Huge Round-Up of 2015 Favourites + My Top 15 of 2015!

Hi there guys! I hope y'all are doing well, have had an awesome Christmas, whether you celebrate or not, and also a great 2015!

Today I have for you my huge annual favourites round-up, as well as 2 videos you will find at the bottom of this post, featuring my Top 15 of 2015, because I wanted to do my yearly favourites in video form, but couldn't handle how many products I usually cover! So I did the best of both options! Also, it's in two parts because it started as a 22 minute long video... O_O

Last year, I set up my favourites post pretty nicely (check it out here, if you want a look), so I'm following a very similar format, with only a couple added categories! And I'll make sure once again to denote any returning champions with a pair of asterisks (**).

This post, aside from my top15 videos, will just be pictures and a list of my picks, but if there is anything you want a full review of, make sure to let me know! I'd love to hear your requests! I'll also try to link to a post or video, if I have reviewed a product before. Now... Let's begin!

Skincare:

Facewash: (not pictured) Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Skin Therapy Cleansing Oil

**Toner: Witch Hazel

Moisturizers: (a) Lightweight = Clean & Clear Morning Burst Hydrating Gel Moisturizer (review: Clean & Clear Acne Fighting Routine)
(b) Intense = Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Skin Therapy Oil for Face
(c) Eye Cream = Paula's Choice Resist Anti-Aging Eye Cream

**Makeup Remover: Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover

Face Makeup:

**Foundation: Make Up For Ever HD Foundation (Essentially the same as new Ultra HD)
Honourable Mention: ELF Acne Fighting Foundation

**Powder: Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder

Concealer: Kat Von D Lock-It Concealer

**Blush: Benefit Coralista

**Bronzer: Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer

**Highlighter: MAC Mineralised Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle

**Setting Spray: Urban Decay All-Nighter Setting Spray

((Click below to read the rest of my favourites. Just so this post doesn't take up a ton of room :P))

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Big Multi-Product REVIEW || Great American Clay

Today I have for you a review of tons from products from Great American Clay. These things were all sent to me for review. Months ago, actually, but PR caused some problems that have since been sorted out with the owner of the company, who was extremely helpful! Also, I cannot for the life of my find the info sheets that came with the products, I'm going off the product packaging and info from the Great American Clay site.

Anyways, as I said, I got a huge box of products when I was expecting maybe a handful of products when I was first contacted, but they were super generous! Here's a look at everything I got, before I jump into introducing you to the brand if you haven't heard of them before:

Great American Clay (which I'm going to now type as GAC) bases their whole product line around Calcium Bentonite clay, which they claim "supports in balancing, cleansing, detoxing and speeding the healing process of the body." They use this clay in all their products, selling all types of products from simple dry and hydrated clay masks, to fancy skincare products for your face. If you want to read more about the company and calcium bentonite clay, you can check out the "Introduction to Great American Clay" page on their website.

Now, shall we get into the products I've recieved? I haven't tested them all out, but I do want to give you a quick rundown of the few that I haven't used anyways, so I'll start there.

("Read More" to see all my pictures and reviews and such! I didn't want to have such a huge, picture-heavy post load for those who don't care!)

Friday, December 25, 2015

REVIEW || Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Palette

Merry Christmas guys!! Hope everyone is having a great holiday season!!

Don't worry, I'm not writing on Christmas, I got this post prepared on Wednesday! Wanted to make sure it was in with my schedule in case anyone was poking around blogs and such killing time, or if you just don't have any Christmas plans.

Today's video has nothing to do with Christmas at all, actually! Here's my review of the Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani palette! If you've been following for a little while, you'll've seen all my Gwen Stefani palette tutorials and GRWM videos recently, and now here's my review.

Also, below are a bunch of pictures and swatches for you! Click any image to see it larger. Enjoy!

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

The packaging:

The palette:



Mirror detail:

Better look at the shadows:

All the swatches:

Row 1:

Row 2:

Row 3:

The palette also came with some teaser lipstick samples for the collection, set to come out later:

Not too bad sizes, several applications in each pod:

Thanks for watching and reading! Let me know your thoughts on this palette, if you've picked it up, or if you're planning to! Have an awesome weekend!

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Tutorial || New Year's Eve Makeup (Re-Uploaded, now with Audio!)

Sorry to anyone who clicked through and found my video without audio, only music earlier today! A couple of comments tipped me off to the fact that I exported it incorrectly last night. This is why you shouldn't work when tired or distracted... or both! Anyways, here is the proper export. Hope you like it! =)

BTW, go vote on my twitter poll about what I should do for my possible giveaway at 200 youtube subscribers: twitter.com/glitterOCD!!

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

Thanks for watching!

Sunday, December 20, 2015

REVIEW || Softlips Luxe Lipbalms + Giveaway

Hi guys! Today I have a review for you of some new lipbalms from Softlips: The Softlips Luxe 5-in-1 Lip Moisturizers! These were sent to me to review for you, and also to share a giveaway for my lovely readers! But before we get to the giveaway, let me tell you a little bit about the lipbalms, and my thoughts on them!

(At this point, I know that some people have alread scrolled past my whole review and are just entering the contest to win free stuff, but hopefully some people actually want my review! =P)

These balms claim to have 5 "lip loving benefits": 1) Hydrating "with nourishing butters and coconut oil", 2)Replenishing "with antioxidant Vitamins A, C, and E", 3) Smoothing, 4) Protecting, and 5) Adding shine.

They also come in a quite nice packaging, as you can see below. They're meant to look like glass, and while it looks and feels like acrylic to me, it is definitely a little more luxurious feeling than the average opaque plastic tube most lipbalms come in, like Burts Bees or Lipsmackers!

I also quite like that the product itself is shaped like a lipstick bullet instead of the usual blunt-ended balm sticks. Not only does it look cooler, but it does actually help to apply it to your lips more accurately, especially if you're the type who never uses a mirror when applying lip balm (like me).

As you might have noticed in the first picture, there are two flavours: Creamy Coconut (the purple), and Silky Shea (the blue). These scents to me, are not especially different, and they are both slightly sweet without being over the top.

There really isn't much flavour to them, so it's really more of a soft scent. The coconut does remind me a little of a very soft version of the scent of the Maybelline lipsticks, if you've ever tried those, while the shea is harder to explain, but just generally sweet and pleasant. The shea is my favourite of the two.

These feel great on the lips, as well. They claim to be light weight and non greasy, and I definitely agree. They are thin and moisturizing on the lips, without being slippery or greasy, and they are certainly not thick or waxy. Personally, I love thick, waxy balms on really chapped lips, but these have a great consistency for everyday wear.

They claim they can also be used as a base for lipsticks, but as I don't use balms that way, and mainly wear mattes, I decided it wouldn't be fair for me to test this claim.

There is a slight menthol-y tingle right after you apply, but this fades very quickly, and is very gentle. There is also no minty smell, so don't worry if that isn't something you like. I was worried about the tingling at first, since it doesn't seem to be mentioned on the packaging, but menthol is in there in the ingredient list, so all is well. (I'm not sure why the brand's name (Mentholatum) didn't tip me off to the menthol... Don't ask.)

Also, as mentioned before, these include a handful of moisturizers, such as coconut oil, shea butter, and sunflower oil. However, petrolatum (petroleum jelly) is the second highest ingredient listed.

This isn't really my favourite ingredient for lip products, as is tends to just hold in moisture, not actually adding anything to the lips itself, and it does make the product sound a little cheaper, but it is a drugstore balm, and with the other oils (and a couple days of testing on very dry lips), I don't think you should be too turned off by the addition of petrolatum. Just wanted to let you know, in case this is a big deal for you personally!

If you're interested in picking up one or both of these balms, you can find them in the Wal-Mart cosmetics section. They retail for $4.67 each. You can also check out Softlips online at softlips.ca or on Facebook.

***

And now for the fun part for all of you! I get to giveaway to one of you lucky people a prize pack valued at $50 from Softlips including:

  • 1 Softlips LUXE lip moisturizer Creamy Coconut
  • 1 Softlips LUXE lip moisturizer Silky Shea
  • 1 Softlips CUBE lip moisturizer Fresh Mint
  • 1 Softlips CUBE lip moisturizer Peach Mango
  • 1 Purse Mirror
  • 1 Cosmetic Bag

Unfortunately, since the prize is being shipped out by Softlips, this is open to Canadians only. Sorry to everyone else!! =( You also will need to be of legal age to enter, or else have permission from a parent or guardian to give out your address to me and Softlips so we can send you your prize!

Also, any entries from a giveaway account will not be accepted.

I'm running this giveaway through the rafflecopter widget below. The only mandatory tasks are to follow this blog, either through GFC or Bloglovin' both of which have widgets in the sidebar, to visit Softlips' Facebook page, and to tweet this giveaway. You can tweet every day if you want, but you must share once to win. Everything else is bonus entries! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

TUTORIAL || Christmas Makeup Look ft. the UD x Gwen Stefani Palette

Classic, pretty Christmas look for you, featuring gold eyes, winged liner, and red lips! Enjoy!

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

Thanks for watching!

Monday, December 14, 2015

VANCOUVER || Roger & Gallet First Canadian Store + Gift Ideas!

A little something different for you guys today; last week I got to go to an event at the first Roger & Gallet store to open in Canada here in Vancouver! It's in the beauty section of the big Hudson's Bay store downtown on Granville Street, if you want to check it out. And you really should! The store is adorable, and they have some great quality products, awesome scents, and surprisingly good prices for a high-end French fragrance brand!

So today I just want to give you a peek into the store in case you either can't go to the store yourself, or to show you if it's really worth it for you, as well as show you the goodies I received from the event, and a little overview of the brand and some of their products!

I took a heap of pictures of the store, since it was just adorable, and so bright, so it was super photogenic! Take a look:

(More after the jump!)

Friday, December 11, 2015

GRWM || Silvery Purple Eyes ft. UD Urban Vices point perk

In which I try out most of the products from my VIB sale haul the other day for you on camera, and show you a look you can get using the UD Urban Vices point perk if you picked it up, or if you already own all the UD Vice palettes! =)

Good for New Year's Eve, date night, or really anytime you want! =P <3

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

Thanks for watching!

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

HAUL || Sephora VIB Sale Haul + Mini Reviews

In which I show you my small haul from the Sephora VIB sale a little while ago, and share my mini reviews on the products I bought!

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

Thanks for watching!

Friday, December 4, 2015

Fall Favourites || September - November 2015

In which I talk about my favourite things in makeup, fashion, tech, music, and drinks from September through November... including rambling on about my favourite Starbucks drink of the moment for more than a whole minute... =P

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

Thanks for watching!

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

TUTORIAL || Fresh, Everyday Makeup

This look is perfect for school, work, and just everyday in general. In my experience, these products are all long-wearing on combination skin. I also think this is a great look to pair with any lip colour you can think of, because it is simple and very neutral, and won't clash! Enjoy!

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

Thanks for watching!

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

REVIEW || Moto 360 2015 (2nd Gen.) || Android Wear Smartwatch by Motorola

This post is going up about 12 hours late, but hopefully that's alright. Today's review is a little different than what I usually talk about, as I'm reviewing my Moto 360 smartwatch!

My review of the new Moto 360. I'm specifically reviewing the blush and rose gold women's edition, but most of what I say about the watch applies to all the new moto 360's, and my thoughts on the Android Wear operating system will apply to any of the Android Wear watches currently available!

Enjoy, and let me know if you have any questions!

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

Thanks for watching!

Friday, November 6, 2015

|| The BFF Tag with Brit ||

This ended up being super long, and my camera cut off the question we added in ourselves... =( Make sure to stay to the end for an adorable treat! =D

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

Thanks for watching!

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Vlog || 6th Anniversary Trip to Harrison Hot Springs

Hey guys! This past weekend was my boyfriend and my 6 year dating anniversary — October 30th, to be specific — so we decided to take a short 1-night trip up to Harrison Hot Springs for something fun and different! I decided to vlog a bit both to show you around, and just for memory's sake really! I think it could be cool later on to look back at a quick little video of what we did for our anniversary :P

In case you don't know, and unless you live in British Columbia as well, I imagine you wouldn't know, but Harrison Hot Springs is about an hour and a half drive from Vancouver, and up in the mountains, I guess. Natural hot springs are cooled and processed to be safe for bathing and swimming, and this little resort town has basically grown around with tons of hotels and spas and restaurants. It's a really pretty place, and would probably be a lovely place to visit in the summer or spring, but I thought it was gorgeous and kinda old-school gothic even in the rainy, foggy fall weather we had last weekend!

I hope you enjoy taking a little look at what we got up to over the weekend!

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

Thanks for watching!

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Review || Herbal Essences Naked Collection || Shine Shampoo/Conditioner + Dry Shampoo

Hello again, guys! Today's blog post is going to be a review of this haircare line from Herbal Essences that I received for review from BzzAgent! I was pretty excited to try this stuff out, because Ihave had some great results from Herbal Essences before, and the scent sounded amazing even before I received my package!

There are a few different formulations in this new line. I'm not sure if there are more, but BzzAgent gave us the option to choose between the Moisture set, the Shine set, and the Volume set. I clearly don't need any more volume in my thick, curly hair, so I opted for the Shine collection. The Moisture products contain "herbs, mint and essential moisturizers," the Volume ones contain grapefruit and mint, and the Shine forumla has white tea and mint.

And my god! The white tea and mint shampoo smells at least as good as you may think! It's light, fresh, and fruity. Kinda like peaches or nectarines, which probably doesn't make sense, but it's soooo nice! Anyways, enough raving about the scent, I should probably get into telling you about the products.

The point of the Naked Collection is that all of the products are free of silicones, parabens, and dyes. Which is great, since those are unnecessary and not really good for your hair anyways! Silicones (if i remember correclty) basically coat your strands to try and glue split ends back together, parabens may or may not cuase cancer, and dyes... are really just there to make you happy because your shampoo and conditioner are pink or aqua blue. Unless you are using a purple shampoo on your blonde hair, you probably don't need or want any dyes.

Herbal Essences Naked Shine Shampoo

As it has no dyes, this shampoo is colourless and clear, because its basically a clarifying formula. The shampoo removes dirt and impurities from your hair without stripping natural moisture. The bottle doesn't make any grand claims, just promising to clean, reveal natural shine, and leave you feeling refreshed.

One thing I did want to point out, is that, while this shampoo claims to be free of unnecessary ingredients, this shampoo does contain sulfates. Personally, I'm not super bothered by sulfates. I know they're in a lot of our soap products, but I like the foaminess, especially in shampoo. I've never liked a sulfate free shampoo before because I never feel like my hair gets clean... But I did feel I needed to mention it in this review for anyone who is bothered by sulfates and might think this product is free of them!

I think this shampoo is great, honestly. It doesn't do anything too special, but sometimes you don't need a complicated moisturizing shampoo. My hair tends to get pretty oily at the roots, possibly because the curls don't really allow the oils to spread evenly, plus I tend not to brush my hair except for right after I wash to avoid Hermione-hair... (book-Hermione, not gorgeous Emma-Watson-Hermione). I found that this left my hair feeling clean, but not with that horrible squeaky, dry feeling some shampoos give my hair.

I have no compliants about this shampoo, and (partially because of the scent) would certainly consider repurchasing.

Herbal Essences Naked Shine Conditioner

This conditioner claims that it "lightly conditions," which I take to mean that it isn't super moisturizing, but is also meant to not weight down hair.

That's great, and I've had no problems with this conditioner leaving my hair feeling dry, but I do also use a serum or oil on my hair after every time I shampoo. It's just a habit, and I couldn't break it even while testing out this collection. I also kinda feel it would have been unfair to do so, considering I do it no matter what shampoo and conditioner I'm using, so if I didn't here, I probably would have felt my hair was drier than usual, for obvious reasons!

Also, not sure this matters, and I do know that even many skin moisturizers contain alcohol, but I find it weird that this conditioner would have alcohol in it. Just leaving that out there...

The conditioner has the same great scent as the shampoo, and I would, again, consider purchasing this for myself.

Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo

I like trying out new dry shampoos, partially just because I've not found one yet that really worked well for me. The closest so far has been Batiste... but that's not what this review is about.

This dry shampoo uses tapioca starch to absorb excess oil, as well as mint to help refresh your hair. The mint mixed with whatever fragrance they have added, however, smells so citrus-y and fruity, and soooo soooo nice! Can you tell I like how this range smells?!

This dry shampoo did a pretty good job. It's still not magic, but maybe my hair is just a little oilier than other people's... or maybe I wait too long to put it in, so it doesn't have a chnce to be effective? Also, I have really thick hair, so I always feel like a full-sized bottle of dry shampoo only lasts me a few uses. I think I'd be pretty lucky to get 10 good uses out of a dry shampoo... Am I doing this wrong?

Still, that said, I think this is about on par with Batiste. And it smells amazing, so even when it doesn't make my hair look fresh and clean, it makes me feel clean enough to throw it into a ponytail that doesn't look like a grease-ball, and I know that I'm going to smell fantastic.

***

I imagine, just going off of how these products smell, that both the moisture and the voume formulas would also smell fantastic. Hoestly, that's kinda just Herbal Essences's thing, anyways. I would certainly recommend giving this line a try if you're looking for a new shampoo, no matter which of the forumlas you try out. Herbal Essences is probably one of the cheaper drugstore haircare brands, which is great because they're still really good! Plus, it sounds great to skip some of the bad ingredients that are in so many of our products without having to resort to an organic, indie, expensive brand!

Thanks for reading!

These products were sent to me for free for review. This post is not sponsored. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Review || Clean & Clear Acne-Free Routine (Three Products)

Hi guys!

I recently received this set of Clean & Clear products to review through Crowdsocial, and now that I've had about a week to test out the products on my skin, I wanted to share my thoughts with you.

I received the Acne-Free Routine set, which includes the Continuous Control Acne Cleanser, the Persa-Gel 5, and the Morning Burst Hydrating Gel Moisturizer:


Also, while all my opinions here are completely honest, I want to make sure to state that The week I was testing out these products was not a very acne-filled week for my skin. I did have some spots, but nothing too big or hard to get rid of, so I'm mostly going to be reviewing these products from a skin-maintenance perspective!

So this routine, which I chose in a week where my skin was having more problems, is for acne prone skin, to prevent and help to control breakouts. As you saw in the brochure above, there are three products. First you start with the acne cleanser, then you use the acne cream on any problem spots, and once that has sunk in, you top it off with the moisturizer. (And I'm sure many of you know this already, but moisturizer is still a very important step for acne-prone skin, since skipping it can cause dry skin, which your body will try to prevent by overproducing oils... which can lead to more breakouts!)

So let's take a look at each of the products:

Continous Control Acne Cleanser

This wash is meant to be gentle enough for daily use, and contains 5% benzoyl peroxide (BP), one of the popular chemicals used for treating breakouts. This wash is meant to help treat and prevent breakouts by penetrating the BP into your pores for to help treat zits even after washing. It promises not to clog pores and to leave skin feeling clean and tingly.

To use, like with most face washes, you massage onto damp skin (avoiding your eye area! I tended to avoid the whole area you might apply eye cream, because that skin is sensitive!) for 20-30 seconds and then rise. Pretty simple. They say you can use this up to twice a day, but sensitive or fair skinned individuals should start with only once a day to prevent over drying, as the BP can be harsh.

Personally, I quite like this wash. Its hard to say if it helped to clear up the couple of problem spots I had, or if those went away on their own, but this certainly didn't cause any new breakouts! The cleanser comes out like a thick cream, and doesn't lather on your skin (which isn't a problem for me. Foaming washes can be drying anyways), but it does feel refreshing, cooling, and somewhat minty. This is because of the menthol in it. I found that the warmer the water I used to wash my face, the more intense the menthol tingle was! So if you aren't a fan of a strong tingly effect, maybe don't take this one into a hot shower with you! I don't mind the feeling, however, it's quite refreshing.

One last thing I wanted to mention that I noticed and thought was interesting is that this product is not oil-free. Two of the listed ingredients include mineral oil and petroleum... My skin didn't have any issues, so this really doesn't bother me. I like using oils on my skin, though these aren't the -best- oils for you. However, I wanted to mention it in case your skin doesn't react well to those ingredients or if you just don't like the idea of mineral oil and petroleum in an acne wash.

Persa-Gel 5 acne medication

This is a spot treatment, and the promises are certainly not lofty or special on this one, it just claims to prevent and kill acne bacteria. Sounds good! It says that this is the highest concentration of benzoyl peroxide available without a prescription, at 5%, just like the face wash. Obviously you're applying this and not washing it off in 30 seconds, so the effects are going to be a bit harsher than the wash, so like, don't spread it all over your face. Obviously.

As with the wash, it says you can use it twice a day on affected areas, but recommends that fair skinned individuals start with once a day.

I don't really have anything too special to say about this product. It is a different consistency than some spot treatments I've used, though. It calls itself a gel, but I would say it is more of a lotion-y consistency, as opposed to the usual clear gels or white or tinted pastes (like Clearasil). It's thin, and rubs and sinks into the skin quite quickly. If your skin responds well to BP, this will probably work quite well for you. It's also nice that it dries so quickly, so I don't have to wait too long to apply my moisturizer!

Morning Burst Hydrating Gel Moisturizer

This product is not actually from one of Clean & Clear's acne ranges, but it does work perfectly with this routine! It claims to be a lightweight, oil-free moisturizer that won't clog pores. It also contains cucumber extract as well as mango fruit extract, so it is soothing and smells really fresh and lovely!

I'm not going to tell you how to use moisturizer, but I am going to tell you I bloody love this stuff. If you've read or watched anything I've said about skincare (like my skincare routine video), you may know that I've used and LOVED the Clinique Dramatically Different Gel Moisturizer in the past. I really dislike heavy, creamy, or greasy moisturizers for every day, and gel moisturizers are my saviour! This one is no different, and even better, it's at a drug store price range! I've only been using this for about a week, but I am already pretty sure I'll be repurchasing when I run out!

I also had my boyfriend try out the moisturizer. He really dislikes moisturizers because of his oily skin, but his the deep pore Clarisonic head was making his skin pretty dry and peel-y. And he actually liked the texture of this moisturizer as well, since it sunk in so quickly and didn't leave any residue or greasy stickiness on his skin.

Inexpensive, smells great, non-greasy, sinks in quickly, and actually hydrates my skin? Awesome! I love how my skin feels after using this product, all clean and smooth, almost matte, but in a natural way. Love.

**These products were sent to me for review, and this post is sponsored, but all the opinions expressed on this blog are always my own. All my thoughts in this blog post are completely honest and unbiased.**

Thanks for reading!



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