Chanel Inimitable mascara review

Every single Chanel cosmetics product I've used I've really liked. I find the quality is superb, and most products are worth the splurge.
However, I was slightly disappointed in this mascara.

Inimitable is described by Chanel simply:

' VOLUME - LENGTH - CURL - SEPARATION'

The inimitable brush is loaded with rows of sharp long plastic teeth separated by rows of tiny brush bristles. It was really hard to get a good shot of the brush and it's complexity.

Inimitable brush:I did not like this brush. It was hard to get a thorough, even application using either parts of the wand. It was also quite rough and I had to be careful not to scratch my inner eyelids.

2 coats of inimitable on my lashes:3 coats :

Does it deliver?

Did it add volume? yes
Did it add length? yes
Did it curl my lashes? it slightly lifted them, but no it didn't 'curl'
Did it seperate my lashes? slightly

I was expecting something a little more from a $30 mascara. I got similar results using Rimmel eye magnifier mascara for a fraction of the price! You can see that review here. When I can get similar results using a drugstore mascara, it makes me feel as I've wasted money on a brand name.

Wearing rimmel eye magnifier:

Using Chanel inimitable I got decent length and some volume but it seemed to clump up in certain areas due to the odd brush.
The worst thing about is that it flaked a lot on me! I also found it dried up rather quickly, about a month or so after I first used it.
I would not recommend this to anyone. Save your money for something worthwhile!

Repurchase? No way.

Price: $30 US

Rating: 2.5/5

We have a winner!

Hey everyone! today I got my son to help me choose the winner of my first giveaway. I used the old fashioned way of putting names into a hat!

And the winner he picked....Katrina!

Congratulations Katrina! You are the winner of the $25 giftcard for CSN stores. I will be emailing you shortly.

I want to thank everyone who participated, and don't worry I am posting another giveaway tomorrow!!! EDIT: I'm post poning this giveaway for a couple of weeks, I want to add some more stuff to it when I get my income tax return ;)
So you will all have another chance to win something totally awesome :)

Bourjois Effet 3-D lipgloss 85 Lilas Romantique photos and swatches

Bourjois 3-D lipglosses are quickly becoming my favorite lip products. It's a shame they are so pricey here in Canada ($20) if they were a little bit cheaper I'd probably have all of them. I think Lilas romantique is a limited edition color because I haven't seen it in any stores recently.

The color is absolutely amazing, a lavender with a golden duo chrome sheen. It looks great layered over nude lipstick, but I usually wear it by itself.

Wearing lilas romantique:

I can't say I've ever seen a lipstick or a gloss this color before, it's truly unique!

The trend of lavender and lilac lip colors seems to be all over the place lately, have you tried these colors?

Hard Candy Meteor-Eyes Baked Eyeshadow Intergalactic photos, swatches and EOTD

One of my recent purchases was another of Hard Candy's glitter baked eyeshadow. I eyed this one for a while before buying it. I wasn't sure if it would be too warm but it's actually not at all.

The base color is a blackened taupey brown with a neutral to cool undertone. There is bright copper shimmer laced through it that adds a really interesting contrast to the color, making it more complex and unique.

EOTD wearing intergalactic:

Breakdown:
- MAC bare canvas paint
- HC intergalactic baked eyeshadow
- Marcelle taupe eyeliner
- NARS all about eve duo

This is a nice color to use for a smoky eye when you don't want to use gray or black. The shimmer shows up a lot more when used wet, it's totally stunning. I am so in love with this line, well the blushes, eyeshadows and lipsticks at least.
Have you tried anything from Hard Candy recently?

NOTD: Sinful colors Bali mist

The other day I was wandering around Pharma Plus (Canadian Drug store) and I came across a display with some Sinful colors nail polish!? I have never seen these in Canada before. I went back yesterday to pick up another color and the display was nowhere to be found. Odd.

Bali Mist is a real looker in the bottle, truly jaw dropping. It's a medium purple with opalescent flashes of teal and pink. Unfortunately the duo chrome effect is much more pronounced in the bottle.

This color is extremely sheer. I used three coats.

In some lights it looks more opaque purple, in direct light it turns very faint lilacy gold and you can see my natural nail right through. An interesting color.
I want to wish everyone a great family day weekend (Canada) and presidents day (United States). Have fun!

MAC gentle mineralize blush photos, swatches and FOTD

Gentle is another supremely pigmented mineralize blush from MAC. The color is a deep raspberry, a mix of pink and red with golden shimmer. Although it seems cool from the photos, I find the color leans warm.

Swatches:

The golden pearl is more of a sheen, and the particles are so small they blend nicely into the skin.

Wearing gentle:

I also wanted to mention that gentle is almost identical to NARS outlaw blush (see that one here), which is now discontinued. If you missed out on outlaw, don't worry because gentle is a permanent color. The only difference is that gentle has a little bit more of a golden sheen to it, which I think is prettier!

Swatch comparison:

I don't particularly like this (or outlaw) on my skin because the warmth seems to bring out any redness in my face. I definately prefer cooler colors like NARS sin.

What is your favorite blush of all time? I need suggestions because I want to try something new.

NARS orgasm illuminator photos, swatches and FOTD

I'm on the slow boat and didn't try the NARS orgasm illuminator when it first came out. I did try it recently and was pretty underwhelmed. I whipped it out today and tried to make it work.

It looks so nice in the bottle, and dabbed on my arm:

And then I blended it..

Um where did the prettiness go? It looks like a super light liquid shimmery bronzer I can get from bonne bell.

Wearing orgasm illuminator on my cheeks:

It did add some light reflecting pigments to my cheeks but all in all it really didn't impress me. It kind of made me look greasy.
I thought I'd get some nice color from it since I'm so pale but it really refused to show up the way I wanted it to. It's not light enough to highlight and it's not dark enough to be a blush, so I have no use for this product.

Have you tried the illuminator? did it work for you?

Trash review: Derma E Vanilla bean cleansing mousse

I recently finished up my bottle of vanilla bean 'age defying' cleanser from Derma E.
It lasted me about 4 months, used once daily.


The main reason I got this cleanser is because I absolutely love vanilla. I thought it would be nice to have a vanilla cleanser to wake me up in the morning.
While it does smell like vanilla, it also has a sort of chemical scent along with it. It bothered me and detracted from the natural claims of the product.

It has a thin creamy texture that feels really nice on the skin. I would not call it a mousse, but maybe a cream?

One pump lathered on to my hand:

It lathers very nicely, and removes all traces of makeup and oil from my skin. It actually made my skin feel rather dry and tight after, so I always made sure to moisturize right away.
I don't like cleansers that 'strip' the skin of it's natural barrier. I prefer more moisturizing cleansers like Dove, especially in this cold winter weather. Not to mention it is quite pricey :/
I don't see how a cleanser can have any 'age defying' effect since the ingredients get washed down the drain, and I didn't notice my skin take on any changes at all while using it.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone because it is a very average product for the money.

Repurchase? No. too expensive for a basic cleanser.

Price: $15.99 CAD

Rating: 2.5/5

NOTD: Sally Hansen HD DVD (with stars)

I've had a really rough week! Minor surgery Monday and a migraine since Tuesday, I'm not feeling so hot. I needed a little pick me up, and what better way to do that than with some glitter and stars?

Enjoy the glittery star spam :)

This is my first Sally Hansen high definition nail polish, and it's really pretty but also extremely sheer. I used 3 coats and you can still see my natural nails under.

I like the deeper blue/purple flash DVD gives off in certain light, you can sort of see it here:

For the stars I used konad special polish in white, and a fake konad plate m08:

Image from Ebay.

I hope everyone is having a better week than me!

Kat Von D Adora love and fury palette photos swatches and EOTD

I have a new obsession. This is my very first Kat Von D palette, and I am totally hooked. I had no idea these eyeshadows were such great quality! I'm going to buy them all.

Adora comes in a gorgeous black and red case, designed by KVD herself - with love on one side, and fury on the other. It also has the latin phrase 'venusta impetus' on the front, which I am going to go ahead and say roughly translates to 'beauty attack'. That sounds the coolest.

Definition: (Source)
venustas : loveliness, charm, attractiveness, beauty.
impetus : attack, onset, rapid motion / impulse, passion, force.

back of the palette:

Inside are 8 super pigmented eyeshadows ranging from white, silver red and black. There are two mini applicators included and they work really well for applying the cream shadows.

Eyeshadows (with my own descriptions) left to right:

Albino - white glitter
Holy Bible - light silver shimmer
Slayer - silver glitter (cream)
Glock - gunmetal silver shimmer
Crucifix - slick black (cream)
bloodletting - glistening reddened burgundy(cream)
Ace of spades - blackened eggplant with purple microglitter
Oddfellow - Black with green and blue microglitter

Swatches:

These are so pigmented! The creams were really hard to wash off my arm.

Albino, Holy Bible, Slayer, Glock

Crucifix, bloodletting, ace of spades, oddfellow

I wasn't sure about the cream eyeshadows at first, but they really impressed me. The silver (slayer) makes an awesome base for the other silver colors.
The black and red creams work really well as gel liners, or as a base for the glittery dark powder eyeshadows. The glitter sticks really nicely to them.
I really hope they don't dry out too quickly as I've noticed others have mentioned theirs have. I am keeping the palette stored upside down - like I do with all my MAC paint pots and cream liners, to help them stay moist. Maybe it will help!

EOTD #1 using the 'love' side of the palette:

Full face:

EOTD #1 breakdown:

- MAC bare canvas paint (base)
- slayer (cream) e/s on lids
- albino over slayer
- glock in the crease & outer v
- oddfellow to define the crease
- holy bible to blend
- slayer on 1/2 lower lash line

EOTD #2 using the 'fury' side of the palette:

full face:

EOTD #2 breakdown:

- MAC bare canvas paint (base)
- crucifix all over lid
- bloodletting above crucifix up to brow bone
- slayer blended above bloodletting to brows
- oddfellow over crucifix
- ace of spades over bloodletting
- albino over slayer up to brows and in the inner corners
- bloodletting to line the lower lash line

I was so impressed with the pigmentation and blend-ability of these eyeshadows! I had no idea they were this nice. I love the design and packaging as well, it's right up my alley. I think KVD is going to become my new favorite line of cosmetics, I've already got a Ludwig palette on the way!

Have you tried any Kat Von D makeup? What did you think?