Week in outfits

I am not only love beauty but also, fashion! So here you have my week in outfits.

It has been quite cold here in Toronto so it has been the perfect opportunity to wear all coats.

I hope you find this post inspiring.

Coat: Club Monaco 

Scarf: American Apparel 

Jeans: Ann Taylor 

Shoes: JustFab 

Location: St James Church

Coat: H&M

Sweater dress: H&M 

Scarf: American Apparel 

Coat: Roots Canada 

Overral: Forever 21 

Bag: Argentinian Store 

Shirt: Massimo Dutti 

Jacket: Massimo Dutti

Scarf: American Apparel 

Pants: Massimo Dutti 

Animal print shoes: Massimo Dutti 

Shirt: Massimo Dutti

Coat: H&M

Sweater: Forever 21 

Jeans: Ann Taylor 

Shoes: JustFab 

Scarf: American Apparel

Coat: Massimo Dutti 

Jean shirt: Zara 

Jeans Ann Taylor 

Trainers: New Balance 

Polka dot socks: Forever 21 

Tell me which one was your favourite! 

Have a good week! 

Sandra 

Finding the perfect mascara

I cannot live without mascara, if I have to choose just one item to wear my entire life it will be mascara! My face completely changes every time I curl my eyelashes and put some coats of black mascara.

For the past year, I have been in the hunt for my Holy Grail product; the ONE that I could not live without. Unfortunately until now, I have not be able to find. I have try millions, from drugstore to high end/really expensive ones and nothing that makes me completely satisfied.

Let me tell you a little bit about my eyelashes; I am lucky enough to have really really long eyelashes but the are facing down and it is really hard to curl them. I have had done eyelash perm (crazy, I know ) and it worked well, however, that is really expensive and I have to get it done at least every two month. Plus the smell stayed in my eyelashes for almost a week and I hated it. On one hand, it was worth it because my eyes looked so defined and perfect, on the other, it is too expensive.

After doing perm for a while I decided to stop and I started looking for a good mascara. I started with drugstore mascara such as L'Oreal's Butterfly, Maybelline Great Lash and Falsies and none of them worked for me. Then, I moved up to high end mascaras. I purchases a kit from Sephora at the beginning of the year (2014) and I started using them one by one.

There are some of the ones that I have tried and some that still have to open and see how they work.

So far I have loved:

• Bad Gal by Benefit: it made my eyelashes look fuller and it helped hold the curl. 
• Clinique High Impact Lashes: this one also defined my eyelashes fan out really nicely. 
• Mac Extended Play Lashes: this will also defined my eyelashes really well and it helped hold the curl. 
• Lancome Hypnose: amazing mascara, almost perfect but it is on the pricy side. 
• Tarte Light, Camera lashes: this is the one I am trying at the moment and I really love it. It's great for volume and curl.   

The ones I did not like: 

• Too faced better than sex mascara. I have read really good reviews about it but it did not work for me at all, and every time I used I ended up with mascara all over my eyes. 
• Blinc Mascara, I HATE this mascara so much, I used just one and throw it because the only time I used made my eyelashes look so bad. The brush is good but the formula is weird. I did not see any definition. However, I have read amazing reviews about it, but I did not work for me. 

Out of my collection I have not used the Make up forever mascara, Buxom and YSL. I try to use one at the time, finish it and move on to another one so that way I have a better opinion about each of them. As well, they won't go to waste. 

If you are looking for the perfect mascara as I am, I will recommend you to purchase a kit with many different mascaras or try deluxe samples instated of buying full size products. 

Also, try to find out what looks better on you; volume, define eyelashes, falsies, a big curl, and so on. 

After trying at least 10 different brands and types of mascara I realized that what I need it; defined eyelashes with an amazing and durable curl. I have found mascaras that do one or the other but not both. I know some people layer up three different types/brands of mascara but I feel that is a waste of money because there is probably one perfect mascara out there that could make you save a lots. 

Hope you find this tips helpful and please tell me your favourite mascara! Maybe I can try it next time!  

Which is your favourite mascara?  

Sandra

Peter Thomas Roth 21st Birthday Kit

Are you guys ready for the 20% off sale from Sephora? I AM!! My wish list is huge although, I have done a lot of shopping on October.

One of the items that I got last month was the Peter Thomas Roth 21^st Birthday Kit. It retails for $44 CAD ($38 USA) with a $109 total value. It comes with 5 products; one of them is full size, another travel size and the last three deluxe sample size.

As every Saturday night I invited my sister to come over and together we tried this kit. We have not tried any of these products before so I decided to do a mini review on each of them.

The kit is perfect for acne/oily skin due to most of the products contain Glycolic and Salicylic acid that helps to clarify and clean the skin.  As well, this kit is targeted to the ladies out there who are preventing the appearance of wrinkles or who already have visible wrinkles.

The products are:

1.     Anti-aging cleansing gel 250ml: helps effectively to detox pores, dissolve makeup and remove dead cells. Depending on your skin type you can use it everyday or three to two times a week. This cleanser cleaned my skin perfectly and it left it super soft and smooth. I really enjoyed this product and I feel it is perfect for oily to combination skin.

2.     Peeling gel 15ml: a gentle exfoliating treatment that visibly rolls, lifts and sweeps away dead skin cells. OMG this peeling is great! I saw all my dead skin coming out and my skin was visibly whiter. AMAZING!

3.     Laser Free Resurface face serum 7.5ml: this helps skin appear repaired, resurfaced, regenerated and renew skin. I did not find it really moisturizing and the red color put me off a little. I feel I need to give it another try.

4.     Max Sheer All Day Moisture Defense Lotion 30ml: ultra light anti-aging hydrator with moisturizer. It has an SPF 30. It smells and feel like sunscreen to me. This was a turn off.

5.     Instant Firm eye 7.4ml: eye treatment that tightens the look of the skin while firming and smoothing. To be honest, this is the best eye cream I have ever tried! And I have tried tons. Just from the first application my under eye area felt so smooth and soft, plus it absorbs really quickly. This product changes the way I feel about eye creams!

After using every single product my skin felt really clean and smooth, but because I have normal skin I had to wear my daily moisture on top of all those products; my skin was feeling kind of dry.

I really enjoyed trying the Peter Thomas Roth and I think the set is amazing! I like 4 out of the 5 products plus two of them are becoming my Holy Grail skin products (cleanser and eye cream) I totally recommend it for all the ladies out there looking for a wrinkle and acne treatment. This kit will make a perfect gift for the skin junkies in your family.

Which Peter Thomas Roth product do you want to try?

Sandra

Deal of the week: NYX The It list – The naturals

I love NYX lip-glosses! They are my favorite because of the creamy formula, its pigmentation and, how easy they apply on the lips!  So when I saw these NYX lip-glosses set, I felt in love instantly.

For a value of $21 dollars you get 5 full size lip-glosses. They retail from about $7.99 to $8.99 each.

The set is really cute and you get one nude of each collection available in stores.

1.     BLG05 Butter Gloss Crème Brûlée

2.     PUI06 Lip Plumper KIM

3.     XLC10 Xtreme Shine Lip Cream Natural

4.     LG155 Mega Shine Lip Gloss Perfect

5.     SMLC05 Soft Matte Lip Cream Antwerp

Nudes are my go-to-color and I love how they look on me. 

What I really enjoy about this kit is that has from really pinky nudes such as PUI06 Lip Plumper KIM to more dark pink like SMLC05 Soft Matte Lip Cream Antwerp.

Which NYX Lip gloss is your favourite?

XOXO, 

Sandra

Ps. I got this with student/senior discount 20% off on Tuesday plus I had $10 on air miles money. So I only pay around $9 for these 5 lip-glosses! Thumbs up for good deals :D

This set is available at Rexall Canada or in their website www.nyxcosmetics.com

Sephora Favorites: Superstars Beauty must haves Hit or Miss?

Like every year Sephora launched its Sephora Favorite Superstars set. This set basically includes the top selling products of the year. The box retails for $90 plus tax and you get 12 products in total, some of them are full size and some are deluxe samples.

The first product I wanted to put my hands on for the longest time but I could not justify the price or adding one more to my collection is the Nars Blush in Orgasm (FULL SIZE $35).  In my opinion this is the perfect peachy-pinky colour that works with any skin tone and is perfect for everyday wear. A tiny bit goes a long way so be careful when you apply it. HIT!

The next product you get is Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 35 in light (FULL SIZE $50). Another favorite of mine! It has better coverage than any other BB cream I have tried before and the colour perfectly matches my skin tone. I am on shock that there is only one color in all the boxes, so I guess this is not for everyone. HIT for me, Miss for darker skin tone ladies.

Then, there are two products from Benefit: POREfessional and They’re Real Mascara (SAMPLE SIZE $6). I do not have big pores plus for some reason I do not like the consistency of this product so I do not use POREfessional. However, I know a lot of you love it! Also I do not like They’re Real mascara; I prefer Bad Gal which works better with my crazy lashes. Probably those two items are going to be stocking gifts for friends or family. MISS for me, HIT for most of you guys!

Also, you get two liners, one being the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in dark brown $27 and the other the Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Intense Black $26. Both are FULL SIZE and worked wonder. I used Benefit Give Me Brow to fill the gaps on my brows but the Anastasia takes your brows to the next level. The Stila is good and I know a lot of people who use it but it does not matter how many times I try, I can not create a wing ! Both products are a HIT!

The last makeup product in the set is the UD Eye Shadow in Sin (FULL SIZE $22). I love it! It is an amazing product for everyday wear; especially for those days when you do not feel like wearing eye shadow but you want a little shine on your lid. HIT!

I love nail polishes and the Formula X in Ignite (FULL SIZE $13) did not disappoint me. The brush is easy to use and makes the application really even. The colour is really pigmented and it has a nice shine! I got a lot of compliments! HIT!

There is one hair product, the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray (DELUXE SAMPLE SIZE 50 ml $18). To be honest I have never tried this product and I do not feel like giving it a try either. I like silky looking hair for the fall/winter; and for some reason I have the feeling this is more for the summer. Beachy looking hair and cold weather do not get along! If it is not going to one of my friends, I will be giving a try next summer or when I go on vacation.  MISS for now!

Two skin care products are also in the set, the Josie Maran 100% Argan Oil (SAMPLE SIZE 5 ML $20), which is perfect for that extra moisture we all need around this season, plus you can use it on your body, face and hair. I will not recommend if you have oily skin. Then you get another favorite: the Fresh Sugar Rosé Lip Balm (SAMPLE SIZE 2.2 g $10); the colour and formula are amazing! Both are a HIT!

Last but not least, it a roll-on Chloe perfume $29. I do like the scent but I do not see myself wearing it for some reason. I have been using the same perfume for ages (Flower by Kenzo) so I feel I do have to change it. MISS/HIT!

Overall the Sephora Superstars is a HIT for me even thought I would be only using 8 OUT OF 12 PRODUCTS. The colour of the BB cream, the Nars blush and the Anastasia Brow Wiz match my complexion perfectly. However, I feel this could be an issue for some ladies who might have a darker skin tone or lighter brows; this set might not be worth it for some. Also, the value for the set is $270. You will get your money worth even though you may not use one or two of the items.

If you feel you want to purchase this set but you do not like some of the products those can be perfect gifts for the Holidays! Also, you could buy this set with a friend and divide the product between the two of you; that way you both would get the products you like/need and pay less!

I hope this review will be helpful you if you wanted to purchase this set!

Which product is your favorite from this set?

Sandra G.