December Empties | 2014

Hey everyone! Another month has passed and you know what that means, it's time for my December Empties! This will be my final empties blog post for 2014. I will be honest and say that 2014 was not the greatest year for me, but I have big hopes and plans for 2015. As always, below are the names of the beauty products that I have used up this month as well as my honest thoughts on how the products worked out for me.  

Face

LUSH Fresh Face Mask in Cupcake - I had 5 empty black pots and I was able to turn them into LUSH for a free face mask. I chose this one and really liked the scent. However, I must say that since these need to be refrigerated, I would often times forget about it. I felt as though my skin really did feel soft and refreshed after using it. When I was in the store searching for the product, I couldn't find it and had to ask a sales associate to assist me. If you can't find it in store, don't fret and just ask one of their helpful staff to help you locate the product because sometimes they are hidden due to the fact that they are stored in a fridge.

L'Oreal RevitaLift Radiant Smoothing Wet Cleansing Towelettes (30 Pre-Moistened Towelettes) - I had been meaning to try these makeup wipes for the longest time but they were always $9.99 or higher when I was browsing in the stores. I found them marked down for under $10 (in The States) and finally decided to try them out. I really enjoyed them although they did irritate my eyes occasionally. (Nothing over the top.) I would definitely repurchase them, I just wish that they were cheaper to purchase here in the GTA.

Make-Up

Revlon Color Stay Whipped Foundation in 150 Buff - This is my holy grail foundation. I bought this many shades lighter because I had lost my tan and also, this shade I found to have more of a yellow undertone (which I have.) However, it was too light on me when applied on my whole face. It really wasn't a problem because I would balance it out and use a darker powder.

ELF Eyelid Primer in Champagne #11018 - I love the ELF Eyelid Primer in general and I receive this as a free gift with my purchase a while ago. I think that because it was sitting in my makeup collection and not being used, the formula changed on me as did the scent. I really can't comment on this product because it was my fault that I hadn't used it and that it had gotten old. What I can comment on is that I did like the colour and slight shimmer it gave off underneath my eyeshadows.

Softlips Lip Moisturizer with SPF 20 in Coconut Cream - A coworker actually gave this to me a few months back. I did like how soft it made my lips feel. However, I used this every night before bed and it did not last me very long. I suppose there is a reason why they sell this product in duo packs. Also, there is an expiration date on the bottom that you should check before purchasing and before using the actual product itself.

EOS Lip Balm in Watermelon - This was my last EOS lip balm that I had in my collection and someone did gift it to me. I am over EOS lip balms as I feel as though they do not do much for my lips. I only purchased one because I loved the cute packaging and liked that it came in many different colours. They don't moisturize my lips enough and the product does not last too long on my lips overall.

Nails

Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener - I have been using this product for years and really find that it helps my nails break less. I have two other back-ups of this and will continue to purchase it in the future. I did mention this product in my blog post about my nails. Make sure to check it out!

Wet n Wild Wild Shine Nail Color in Kaleidoscope (460D) - I have owned this product for many years and have always reached for this glitter in particular when I wanted to have one accent nail. I have other glitter nail polishes in my collection but I have always favoured this one. It is a great product to match almost any nail look.

ELF Nail Polish Remover Pads (24 Pads-Fresh Citrus Scent) - This was my first time trying this product out and it is great if you travel because it takes up very little space. Also, you don't have to worry about the liquid spilling because these pads are already saturated with make up remover. It says on the packaging that they are citrus scented but I didn't smell any citrus at all. It may just be me though. They are great for on the go but when I am at home taking off my nail polish, I much prefer to take off the polish with traditional liquid nail remover.

Body

Johnson's Baby Wash in Vanilla Oatmeal - This is another holy grail item for me and I am completely out of it now. I don't even have any back-ups of it which is surprising and very rare! I will see how long I can do without it for.

Bath & Body Works Body Lotion in Secret Wonderland - I really love this scent from BBW and correct me if I'm wrong but I do believe that it is discontinued. I purchased it last year when they were having their semi-annual sale. I have purchased it once before in the past and I am sad that this was my last bottle. I already miss having this scent around.

Samples

Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy Total Care Shampoo - I received this in a promotional tote bag along with the conditioner and I already own the Clear shampoo. It is a great and effective line of hair care.

Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy Total Care Daily Conditioner - As stated above, I received this as a sample and really do enjoy using this hair care line. It really deep cleans my hair and it feels clean with no left-over residue.

TRESemme Platinum Strength Strengthening Shampoo - I received this a few months ago as a sample along with the matching conditioner with my online purchase I had made from Hautelook. I had used the deep conditioning mask from this line a few months back and really enjoyed it. This is a great addition to the line.

TRESemme Platinum Strength Strengthening Conditioner - This product was sent to me and it really did everything that it promised. My hair felt great after I washed it using this product and I couldn't wait to use it again!

Make Up For Ever Smoky Extravagant Mascara - This was the free mascara Sephora was giving away to Beauty Insiders when it was their birthday month. I have heard many people complaining about it but I did not mind this mascara at all. This little sample lasted me awhile and I used it until it completely dried up. I thought the cone shaped wand was innovative. It wasn't hard for me to wash off the mascara on my face at the end of the day. I'm not sure if I would commit to the full sized version but I enjoyed using it while it lasted.

Miscellaneous

Bath & Body Works Gentle Foaming Hand Soap in Peach Bellini - I adore this scent and I have bought the scent portable in the same scent in the past. I will continue to purchase this scent for as long as they make it. I really do hope that they have no intentions of discontinuing it in the near future. If they do, I will go to my local BBW and buy every thing with this particular scent and that is no joke!

Nature's Bounty Hair, Skin & Nails Gummies with Biotin (80 Gummies) - I mentioned this product in a blog post speaking about my nails and I have nothing but good things to say about this product. It really helped me grow my nails and will continue to purchase it when I run out of it.

Omega Nutrition Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (Unfiltered & Unpasteurized) - I bought this awhile ago and even got my brother to use this product on his hair. There are so many different uses for this product whether it be using to cook with or using in your beauty routine. I encourage you to Google it and you will be amazed at how much use you can get out of this lovely multi-purpose product!

Altoids Smalls in Peppermint - This item is completely random but I still wanted to give it a shout out. I bought this at Target the last time I was in The USA and it works great. (I have seen the regular Altoids at one store in the GTA but it was very expensive here.) I have colleagues that know I have these at all times in my purse and always ask me for one! One thing about these that I must say is that because they are 'smalls,' I tell people to take two at a time instead of one because they are smaller. They are still very powerful and really do a great job at refreshing your breath. These are a great alternative to gum when you don't feel like chewing something or if you can't be seen chewing gum at work but need to freshen up your breath quickly. They are very inexpensive and I believe that I bought them on promotion when it was buy two get one free. Each one was 99 cents or so.

Whitening Lightning Whitening Pen - This is the second whitening pen that I have completely gone through. It works great and I have no complaints. It is very easy to use. All you have to do is dry off your teeth, smile and then click the pen up to get the product onto the tip. You then apply it and spread it onto your teeth. I like to wait 60 - 90 seconds and then I stop smiling. After that is done, you can go about your daily routine! 

 

Update: For those who are wondering how my no buy December went, I have great news! I did NOT buy a single thing with the exception of Crest 3D White Strips because they were on a ridiculously good sale and I had already went through my whitening pen. I have decided to challenge myself to another month of not buying any beauty products unless I run out of something that I need in my daily beauty routine. Wish me luck!

Write in the comments down below how you plan on ringing in the new year. Will it be a quiet celebration with family and friends or will you be at Times Square with a ton of people when the ball drops?

Until next time,

STAY CLASSY.

Berrz <3

P.S. All opinions are my own. This blog post is not sponsored but some links are affiliate. 

Boxing Day Shopping & Chit Chat 🎄🎄🎄

Hey everyone! Happy Holidays & I wish those who celebrate it, had a very Merry Christmas, ate lots of delicious food, spent quality time with their family and got everything on their list! (Even if you didn't, there's always Boxing Day to score some great deals!)

I decided that for this year's Boxing Day, I was going to stay away from the major malls in the GTA, and keep it low key. I went to Target, Michaels and The Real Canadian Superstore.

Target didn't have anything that I wanted and I left empty handed. The same exact scenario happened at Michael's - it was picked through. I know someone is going to tell me in the comments section that I should have gotten there earlier. I will not line up before 6 AM UNLESS I am buying a big ticket item such as a television or something worth a few hundred dollars. This year, I was not and didn't feel the need to leave my house while it was still dark to get 50% off wrapping paper or ornaments to save maybe $2 - $8 (maximum) on each item. 

Finally, my mom and I went to Superstore and found some sweet deals. I managed to finally get four stylish Christmas stocking. Can you believe that I have never had one in my entire life? I thought that it was about time to get one for myself and for my family! We also picked up some adorable festive muffin tins for when we are baking some delicious treats. 

The stockings ranged anywhere from $2 - $6 each. The baking cups were $1.24 for each pack.

Front view:

Side view:

But before I ventured out to do some Boxing Day shopping....

I clearly remember last year that Forever 21 had an additional 30% off their clearance items. I visited the site a day early and left tabs open of the items I wished to purchase the following day. I woke up on the 26th around 9:30 AM and I was ECSTATIC to find out that it was an additional 50% off the sale price as well as free shipping. However, the catch was that this deal was only running until 12 noon. (The free shipping was all day I believe if I am not mistaken.)

When I first began my attempt at purchasing some of these items, many were sold out and some that had been on sale the following day, were now back at regular price. I still managed to snag a few good items in my cart and I was happy. I ran into a few more problems though... The site was being extremely slow because I would assume that many other people were doing the same as I. Also, because the site was loading very slow, I received multiple notifications on different occasions that certain items in my cart were no longer available because they were sold out.

I finally was ready to checkout and to my dismay, I had forgotten my password to my account because I hadn't made a purchase in quite some time. That delayed the process even more because I had to reset my password. By the time that was done and over with, a few more items in my cart were sold out. I anticipated this but it still wasn't a great feeling. Honestly, I was going to spend at least $100 and I ended up paying $28 (final prices with taxes in and I got free shipping.)

The verdict: Black Friday had MUCH better deals in my opinion and I was let down & disappointed many times through out the day. Next year, I am considering going to The States for a few days and do some Black Friday shopping there. Boxing Day is not what it used to be here and I found the sales to be cheaper before Christmas than after.

You need lots of patience for Boxing Day and need to anticipate lines, crowds and minimal parking. If you can't deal with any of the above, STAY AT HOME! 

Also, I did try to do the aforementioned online shopping for Boxing Day and it's just not worth it. I know the sales are sometimes week long hence 'BOXING WEEK SALES', but I'm not going to bother with it next year. There is so much hype and that can lead to much disappointment, (such as in my case.)

Anyway, this blog post is long enough and if I do manage to miraculously snag any more of these Boxing Week deals, I'll be sure to update this blog post.

Thanks for taking time out of your day to read my post/rant. As always, I am honest and this is not a sponsored blog post, all opinions are my own.

Until next time,

STAY CLASSY.

Berrz <3

Black Friday + Cyber Monday Collective Haul | 2014

Hey everyone! I would have done this blog post a lot sooner but unfortunately since I live in Canada, we are consider 'international' from The States. Therefore, parcels take a lot longer to get delivered to where I live opposed to if I were living in the USA.

The first place that I ordered from was Hope's. I have ordered from there many times in the past and what I love about them is that even though I live in Canada, the shipping is always free! And if you're thinking, "well it can't get any better than that?!" Yes it can because I'm here to tell you that the shipping is fast! The promotion that they had going on for Black Friday was 50% off the ENTIRE web site if you used the code: SUPERSALE. I went ahead and ordered two cardigans for the Spring time. Thinking ahead!

The lace cream cardigan is called: Couldn't Be Happier and I got it in a size small. I just love the scalloped edges on the sleeves. It really gives it a fun and youthful feel. Unfortunately that one is sold out and no longer on the web site.

That tends to happen with items on Shop Hope's so if you like something, you best order it right then and there because if you don't, someone else WILL. When you go back for it, it's not always there.

The second and final cardigan that I ordered is called Last Moment In Time. I also ordered this in a size small. It also comes in a beautiful Magenta colour. I feel as though I will get a lot of use out of it in 2015. I had been eying it on the web site and when they were having the 50% off sale, I knew that it was time to make it mine!

The next place that I ordered from was BH Cosmetics. I have placed many orders in the past and have never had an issue! They really package their products well. (A very happy customer over here.) I placed an order to receive the 28 Neutral Color Eyeshadow Palette. I am currently in love with this palette! The shadows are creamy, buttery and nicely pigmented. I snagged this beauty for $7.50. Right now, you can buy it off their web site for only $9.95. They are always having great deals!

Moving forward to Cyber Monday, I received an email from LuLu's telling me that it was 40% off clearance items. I ordered:

Just A Twirl - Black Floral Print Dress (SOLD OUT - I purchased the last one in size XS)

RVCA Playing Card Ivory Muscle Tee in size small (SOLD OUT)

RVCA Venom Snake Stitch Cream Sweater in size small.

I get that they are based out California and they do not get snow over there, my only qualm is that this sweater is very thin and in the winter time, given that I live in the GTA I will freeze! If this winter is anything like last winter, this will NOT be getting much use. Don't get me wrong though, I really do like this sweater. I will just have to wear it on the cooler spring days or with a ton of layers.

Now, as mentioned above, I have a mini-rant for you. I don't know if you are able to relate but here it goes. I placed this order on December 1st and I would have received it in the mail yesterday but I unfortunately missed it and Canada Post left a slip telling me to pick it up tomorrow. Technically, I received my parcel today. I understand that it is the holiday season and things are backed up. What I don't understand is that I paid $12.00 shipping because I am considered international and they slammed me with duties when I went to pick up my parcel. That is not fair.

Where I live, we used to have 15% sales tax and now it has been reduced to 13%. This is ridiculous. When things like this happen, I wonder what is the point of scoring any deals because all the money I end up saving, goes to shipping, duties or tax.

Even when I go cross-border shopping, every so often, they pull us over and make us pay taxes. I feel like being a Canadian citizen, it is so hard to shop in the USA no matter which way shape or form you do it. Yes, I do understand that life is not fair and they do randomly charge people with duties. However, it sucks when it happens and it makes me want to shop less. I don't mean to end off this blog post on a sour note; I just wanted to get that out of my system and see if anyone else felt the same way. Please comment below if you can relate!

Yes, long blog post but long awaited! (I hope!) Well that about wraps it up. You can look forward to my December Empties that I will be posting soon. Also, for anyone wondering on how my NO BUY DECEMEBER BEAUTY PRODUCTS is going, I'm here to update you with some good news! I have not purchased anything other than some Crest 3D White Strips that were on sale. FYI: The BH Cosmetics eyeshadow palette was purchased in November so that DOES NOT count :)

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas (to those that celebrate it!)

Until next time,

STAY CLASSY.

Berrz <3 

P.S. All opinions are my own. I have purchased all these items with my own money and this is not a sponsored blog post. Some links are affiliate. 

All About My Nails!

Hey everyone! I get a lot of questions about my nails and I thought that I would address questions in a blog post.

Q: Are your nails real?

 Yes, I am proud to say that my nails are real. I had acrylics only once in my life and it was a terrible experience. I never got them after that because they thinned out my nails and made them very weak. I have never even gotten gel nails even though I know many people that have had them done and loved the results.

Q: How do you get your nails so strong and the length that they currently are?

I can honestly say that it hasn't been an easy process. I started taking multi vitamins because my nails seriously needed some TLC. They were constantly breaking and I had to walk with a nail file. The multi vitamins I have been taking are from Nature's Bounty. The first bottle I purchased at Target (in the GTA,) was on sale for around $12.99 or $13.99 and it was the Hair, Skin & Nails Advanced Multi Vitamin Formula. (I featured it in my last month's empties.) The second bottle I purchased was at Walgreens when I went to Buffalo for $6.99 or $7.99 and the store was having a weekly promotion for buy one get one free, so I ended up giving a bottle to my mom. I ended up purchasing Nature's Bounty Hair, Skin & Nails Gummies. The previous bottle contained pills and the bottle I purchased in Buffalo had strawberry flavored gummies which I DO prefer. I am almost done the bottle so look for that in this month's upcoming empties!

Q: Do you drink a lot of milk?

I am lactose intolerant (slightly,) and the only whole milk products I consume is a little bit of milk in my coffee or granola. Any source of calcium that I get is from other dairy products that I consume throughout the day.

Q: You must have been born with nice nails, right?

This question can go many ways but honestly, I had nice nails towards the end of my high school days. However, I started working in the restaurant industry and it was very hard to keep my nails strong because I was always using my hands at work. And then I did other kinds of work that proved to be hard on my nails/hands also. After this past summer, I was determined to get my nails back to the way they were when I was in grade 11/12.

Q: How do you prevent them from breakage?

After I remove my nail polish, I let them breathe for a few hours. Before I go out to run errands, go to work or just outside of my house, I apply Sally Hansen Hard as Nails just so there is an extra layer of protection on there. I have gone through countless bottles and I feel as though this product truly works for me. When I had stopped using it a few months back, my nails were much more prone to breakage.

Well I hope that I was able to answer some of your questions and you got some good insight.

Until next time,

STAY CLASSY.

Berrz <3

P.S. All products mentioned above were purchased with my own money. All opinions are my own and this blog post is NOT sponsored. Some links are affiliate. 

No Buy December (Beauty Products)

Hey everyone! I hope that everyone scored some good deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday! I managed to do a little bit of online shopping. I will be writing a blog post when my parcels finally arrive in the mail.

As far as the month of December, I have decided that I have a lot of  beauty products that I need to go through. With that being said, I haven't been able to use some of them and that my collection is growing out of control! I also have a lot of hair samples (shampoo and conditioner mainly,) that I need to start going through.

I know that it won't be easy to NOT buy anything this month and therefore, I am challenging myself. The only exception is if I completely finish a product in its entirety and I do not have ANY products to replace it; then I will obviously go to the store and purchase what I am out of.

This does not mean that if I run out of my holy grail Revlon ColorStay Whipped Foundation, I will go to the store and purchase another one. What I am trying to do is shrink my beauty collection. If I do run out of that particular foundation, then I will use another foundation in my collection that I already own from another brand name.

Please wish me luck this month and I challenge you to do the same!

P.S. Don't worry, I did NOT purchase any beauty items on Cyber Monday, just clothes.

Until next time,

STAY CLASSY.

Berrz <3