Covergirl The Supersizer Mascara | Review

Last month, Bzzagent sent me this Covergirl mascara to try out for free. It claims to make lashes 400% more volumized, corner to corner. The package also instructs you to twirl the wand in order to apply the product. This mascara is supposed to be bold, daring & dramatic. My opinion? Read on.

When I first opened this mascara, I was shocked by the wand situation. It is skinny, with very small, plastic, spike-like bristles. The wand definitely does not fall under my « typical » beauty tool favourites. I tend to lean towards soft, full-bristled mascara. So basically the opposite. 

I tried the « twirl » technique, seeing as I don't typically use this type of wand I thought maybe the creators of such a strange product would know best. NOPE! Talk about weird, clumpy, spiky lashes!  Not exactly a great everyday look.

The next time I opened the tube (which I'll admit was not the next day...I got scared), I decided to just use it like I normally would apply a mascara & it went much better. My lashes weren't AS clumpy, and they definitely were voluminous.  The second issue I ran into was the length of time this mascara takes to dry! It takes a literal eternity. I needed to wait a good 10 minutes before fully blinking otherwise I faced beautiful black lines all over the place.  After having used it for around a month, it does take less time to dry, mostly because the product is starting to dry out. 

So, now that I've played with this wonderfully weird product for a few weeks, I've decided that I do like it. The effect that this mascara gives my eyelashes is intense. If you're not into mega lashes for everyday, this isn't for you. It takes me a couple coats to get all my lashes and comb through any weird spots that may have formed. As long as I'm careful, I don't have to worry about any of my initial problems of clumps or very wet lashes. That being said, I've put on this mascara, sneezed within 5 minutes and had to haul out the makeup remover.  Personal problem.

As far as removing this mascara, it's not the easiest to take off, even though it isn't touted as waterproof. I use a makeup remover and a cleanser & I usually have to go back in with the remover again before bed. This is cool with me because I'd rather this than mascara down my cheeks midday (my eyes water A LOT).

Would I repurchase? Surprisingly, yes. If you had asked me a month ago I would have laughed in your face, but now I'm into it.

Would you try this mascara?

Cheers,
Kait 

Acadian Beauty missing in action?

So it's been months since I've written even a chatty blog post, let alone something interesting with pictures and reviews. I've been so incredibly busy!

Since buying our home, we've been working non-stop to renovate and decorate it the way we wish it to be.

Besides that, I got a full-time teaching job for the year, teaching a grade I've never taught before. This has been a time-sucking challenge beyond all others. Not only do planning, creating & teaching take time, but so do the extra deadlines of the professional side of things (reports, report cards, communication plans, etc.). So when I DO have time to myself, I spend a lot of it with my husband & the rest of it sleeping.

I'm working on getting back into the writing swing of things, because I truly miss posting things.  That being said, a couple posts a month will most likely be the extent of it until Christmas break. If you're still interested in what I have to say - thanks so much!!

Cheers,
Kait

Bite Beauty Sugared Maple | Review

A couple of weeks ago I ordered this beauty of a lipstick from the Bite Beauty Maple Collection - a Canadian Exclusive. This is a Matte Creme lipstick collection that is inspired by the changing colours of a Canadian Maple tree in autumn.

Even the packaging is beautiful!
The colour I chose for myself is Sugared Maple, which is a berry colour. 

Everything about this lipstick is beautiful, as it should be for $28.00 CAD. These lipsticks are free of Parabens, Sulfates & Phthalates. They are comfortable to wear, which is a great quality in a matte lip product of any kind. 

This beautiful lip colour lasted on me for 6 hours & through one teeth brushing without moving or fading.  It also has a delicious maple syrup scent upon application, but it's not a lasting scent (I'm not sure I want to smell syrupy anyway). 

Would I buy another one? Absolutely. The way it looks, feels & lasts is definitely worth the price point.  With five colours to choose from, I'm sure there's a great fall colour waiting for everyone! It's a well curated and timely collection.

Would you purchase one of these lovely lipsticks?

Cheers,
Kait 

Sephora Haul | August 2015

My hubby decided that since he didn't know what to get me for my birthday this year, that I could have a little shoppy-shop on Sephora. What a darling. 

 So I picked out some new goodies, a couple of things I already know I like & got a couple of freebies too!

 This little kit is quite exciting because it gives me the chance to try minis of five products. I've never tried any of these before, but who knows, I might find a product or two worth repurchasing!

I've had samples of both of these before & I absolutely love them both. This is literally the first perfume purchase I've ever made. Obviously these are still quite small, but I like to use different fragrances so I didn't want to commit to too much & have it not be properly loved.

The NARS minis are my Birthday present from Sephora. This is actually the first time I've received the gift, but I have to say, it's a pretty sweet one this year.  The Bite lipstick is one of the Canadian exclusive Maple Collection. How cool? It's my first full-sized Bite lipstick & I chose the sugared maple colour because I've got nothing like it. It's going to be so pretty come fall!

I love the Philosophy Purity Made Simple. This is my second little bottle of it & it's such a nice little face wash. The Caviar Repair heat spray is a sample that I received using the YOURGIFT code. There were a few choices, but I chose something that I would genuinely use. 

Have you purchased anything lately?

Cheers,
Kait 

Makeup Purge 2015 | I've Moved!

So we bought a house! & we've moved! While it's all very exciting, we've been very busy on both ends, the cleaning out of our old place & the fixing of our new place. We've been cleaning out our apartment and getting rid of some things that have just collected over time.  I thought that since I'm doing it anyway, I might as well document the beauty portion of this event.

In the apartment, I had 3 locations with beauty-related items in them.  I had a dresser drawer in my bedroom containing my makeup, one bathroom drawer containing skincare & bath items and a drawer in my office that holds some miscellaneous items and extras (nail polish, extra soap/lotion, etc.). This is obviously because I had no physical way of having all of my beauty-related items together, seeing as our space was quite small. & I don't even really have that many things!

Drawer #1 (bedroom)

First, I'm giving the hard candy duo eyeshadow away to a friend, because I've only ever swatched it.  It came in a beauty box 5 when I was subscribed briefly.  The shadows are quite pigmented, I just don't wear those types of shades.  Secondly, the Skinn face illuminator.  This is so old, it smells weird (but always has) & has now developed clumps.  I've used it in the past, but it really did nothing for me...so to the trash!  Next up, Got2b body butter. This stuff literally looks & feels like butter. Which is kind of gross to me. It smells alright, but this is also really old. Trash!  Finally, Nivea moisturizer.  This used to be my go-to moisturizer. I've repurchased this so many times.  I noticed more recently that it was really greasing up the place, so I've decided to pass it on to a friend & use more combination skin friendly products.

Also in the bedroom, I had a few Lush things.  Here are two that I'm tossing. The Lust solid perfume. I love the smell of this & it was mostly used up, but it's now very old & Lush products generally don't keep for more than a year (this was probably pushing 3 years).  A sample of the Luster Dusting Powder.  I believe that this is a product that is now being discontinued, but it smells exactly like the Lust perfume - very jasmine-ish & sultry. It's very nice smelling, but this dusting powder always left a not-so-sexy yellow tint to my skin...not for me!

Drawer #2 (bathroom)

In the bathroom there were only a couple of things to toss...This Nair hair removal cream that smells like chemicals & feels like them too. As you can probably tell, the tube has had some use. I never used this on my face, I mostly used it on my legs.  The Simple light moisturizer is actually quite a lovely product! It is not greasy, which is pretty fantastic for something containing an SPF.  Unfortunately, this didn't all get used up before the aforementioned SPF expired. Bye Bye!

Drawer #3 (office)

The office drawers end up collecting things that aren't immediately being used, then they end up being forgotten. Here are a few forgotten products. Jergens Natural Glow was one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time, but turned out horribly. This was the old formula & it smelled terrible! Veet hair removal (I'm beginning to see a trend) does not work well for me. I've used about half of this & like the Jergens it smells BAD. The Avon sunscreen is simply past it's expiration date..thus not worth keeping. Finally, this weird hand lotion that smells like fake, plastic peaches & isn't moisturizing. At. All.

Some nail things I've found. The nail decorating kit was well loved when I had time to do fun designs. I'm also not that great at it. Even in this picture you can see that some of the colours are well used & kind of dried up. The salon effects thing was kind of used. I'm not much of a fan of these actually. They were fun to try, but I wouldn't buy any myself. The Artistry colour is quite bland & clumped. 'nuff said.

I'm mostly ridding myself of things that have gone bad. Otherwise items are being packed up & moved or given to a friend (if they are still good, but not used).

Have you purged anything lately?

Cheers,
Kait