BH Cosmetics Haul

Over the past few years I've heard alot of good stuff about the brand BH Cosmetics but never ordered any products from them. Their prices are very affordable, but every time I would visit their website and fill up my cart, shipping the items to me here in Canada got expensive. Shipping to the US is free on orders $50 and up. I was visiting family in the States last month so I decided to finally place an order on some of the products I wanted to try out.

BH Cosmetics Haul

BH Cosmetics is known for their amazing quality in make up products at drugstore prices. Their prices fluctuate and they often have deals like free shipping to the US on order $25 and over or receive a mystery gift with your order if you spend a certain amount. The prices provided in this post are as of today's date: December 15 2015. I'm not sure how long shipping took since I placed my order 2 months before my trip, but I will say they did an amazing job packing my products together to make sure they didn't get damage in the mail. 

The first item I wanted to try out was their lipstick palette. I was watching Shaaanxo's swatch video one day and wanted it right after.

Ultimate Lips 28 Colour Lipstick Palette $12

I always wanted the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Pro Palette, but found it to be to expensive, I saw BH had their own version at a wayyyyyyyyyy more affordable price so I picked one up. I've been using this product everyday since I got it and I'm hooked! I love how I can mix colours together to get my perfect shade.

Studio Pro Ultimate Brow Palette $12

Next I picked up their Illuminating & Bronzing Pallette. 

Wild & Radiant Baked Illuminating & Bronzing Palette $8

I've really been into the neutral eye look lately so I decided to get their Nude Rose palette. 

Nude Rose 12 Colour Eyeshadow Palette $14

I read ALOT of great reviews in regards to their makeup brushes so I grabbed their 10 Piece Sculpt and Blend Kit 

Sculpt and Blend 10 Piece Brush Set $19

and if you know me and my love for leopard print, their 12 Piece Wild Brush Set.

12 Piece Wild Brush Set $14

So...... a few days after I placed my first order, they released the Carli Bybel palette which I placed a separate order for. 

Carli Bybel 14 Color Eyeshadow & Highlighter Palette $12.50

So far I've only used the brow palette and a few of the brushes from the sculpt and blend kit and I'm so impressed with the quality. I definitely will purchase from them again..... I got my eye on you, Galaxy Chic palette.  

Ulta Haul

I was away on vacation visiting family in the States for the month of November. Here in Canada we have Sephora but (cue violins) NO ULTA!!!!!!! I know right?... True story, as I was checking out the lady asked me if I had a rewards card (I'm guessing this is similar to the Sephora VIB card? Let me know in the comments below) I told her no and she asked me if I was interested in signing up for one so I told her I would love too but I lived in Canada and we don't have any Ulta's. Her mouth dropped to the ground... literally... and she told me how sorry she felt for me and asked me how do I survive. LOL! :( 

A few of the things I hauled

I was like a kid in a candy store when I walked through the doors. I feel the same way when I visit Sephora, but Ulta is... foreign to me and a treat since I only get to visit it when I go to the States which is not that often. At first I was putting every thing in my basket... then I took a deep breath and decided to pick up products that we don't get in Canada.


I was browsing through their holiday sets section and got excited when I saw they had a few of the Vegas Nay palettes. I thought these were out of stock forever for some reason so I picked one up.

Too Faced Stardust by Vegas Nay $45

I then wandered over to the NYX section and they were having a buy one get one half off sale. 

I got their Gel Liner & Smudger, Epic Black Mousse Liner (the mousse part sounded weird and intriguing), Dark Circle Concealer Correcter, and the Super Skinny Eye Marker which I'm not a fan of. The product comes out so faint on my lids that I have to keep relining my eyes like 10 times. Then after all that hard work, it ends up fading through out the day. UGH!

Gel Liner & Smudger $8.99, Dark Circle Correcter (can't find the product on the Ulta site),
 and Epic Black Mousse Liner $9.99

I saw they had a small section of Makeup Revolution products so I picked their Iconic 1, Iconic 2 and Iconic 3 Redemption palettes. They are said to be dupes for Urban Decay's Naked 1, 2 and 3 palettes so I can't wait to try them out and let you know.

Makeup Revolution Iconic 1, 2 & 3 Redemption palette $7 each

I also decided to get their Salvation Intense Lip Lacquer in the shade Nothing Like Anything.

Makeup Revolution Salvation Intense Lip Lacquer $5

This was the main reason I wanted to go to Ulta: 

Philosophy Just Release Me Eye Makeup Remover $19

Philosophy's Just Release Me eye makeup remover is my HOLY GRAIL eye makeup remover. I use to get it all the time but earlier this year Sephora.ca decided to STOP shipping it to Canada and since then I've been on the hunt to find an eye makeup removed to replace it, but I've had no luck so thank god I was able to pick up another one :)


As I was waiting in line I tried so hard not to look through the mini travel size section, but obviously I failed and ended up picking up a travel sized Batiste Dry Shampoo in the scent Tropical 

Batiste Dry Shampoo $3.99

and Tony Moly Avocado Mask Sheet.

Tony Moly I'm Real Mask $3.75

....... Excited to try all the products I hauled.  

TARTE Bling It On Amazonian Clay Blush Palette Review

I have such a love-hate relationship for the holiday collection in the make up world. Companies FLOOD the market with products that are cutely package in bundles at a discounted rate then add the words LIMITED EDITION.... the two words I usually fall for when it comes to purchasing make up. Don't get me wrong, I still love and purchase products from companies that are in their permanent line, but I feel the words Limited Edition means if I don't purchase this item NOW.. then forever hold my peace. 

Front & Back of packaging

 I recently got my hands on Tarte's new  Bling It On Amazonian Clay Blush Palette. When it comes to Tarte make up, I don't hate the line but I also don't love it. A few years back I had purchased The Tarte Of Giving set from their holiday set they released in... I believe 2013. It included an eyeshadow palette, a sample size of their Maracuja oil, a deluxe sample of their Amazonian clay blush and a few other products packaged in this purple travel make up bag. This was the first time I had purchased products from them. I found the eyeshadows to be soft and not as pigmented as I like (I later found out this is common with most Tarte eyeshadows). I didn't have high hopes for the blush after I tried their eyeshadows but I tried it anyway and immediately I fell in love.  

Another reason I love these holiday sets is because you get to try a bunch of products at once instead of purchasing each one by one. This particular palette comes with 5 0.15oz different shades ranging in colours from pink to peach to coral. Very universal. 3 of the shades are matte and 1 shimmery. The packaging is very sleek and sturdy with a magnetic closure, very travel friendly which to me is always a plus unlike last years palette which was rather bulky. The down side to the packing is the chunky glitter on the outside does come off every time you handle it which does get annoying.

The blushes are very soft and pigmented and they blend so nicely giving me a nice natural look every time. I'm not sure if they last for 12 hours as I usually wash off my make up around the 9 hour mark, but it does last on me and looks just as perfect at the end of the day as it did in the start of my day. Tarte blushes is probably one of my favourite blushes right next to Nars. 

Fetching is a soft rosey pink shade which I find is the most natural looking on me. One of my favourites in the palette.

Dollface is a cool toned pink shade. This is the type of colour I see Barbie wearing lol. This is a repeat shade from last years Pin Up blush palette. I loved the formula on this one, it was the softest out of the bunch and it had the most pigment. 

Prim is a pinky brown shade, very close to my skin colour. This is perfect for me if when I want to add some warmth to my face.

Smashing is a coral pinkish shade. My other favourite colour in the palette. The texture was soft and applied on my skin effortlessly.

Beaming is a hard shade to describe as you see it bearly transfers on to my skin but by looking at the pan it looks on the peachy side. I personally am not that disappointed that it doesn't show up on my skin tone. It's perfect as a topper when I use the other four since this is the only shade in the palette that has shimmer in it.





This palette definitely doesn't disappoint and is something I think everyone should have as a staple in their make up collection since it does provide a nice range of colours. Since this is Limited Edition,  I suggest you pick yours up today at Sephora and Sephora.com 
BTW I should mention as of today (October 29 2015) this palette is sold out on the Sephora.ca site. 

Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix Swatches

Last week I finally picked up Kat Von D latest make up palette for the Holidays 2015, the Mi Vida Loca Remix eyeshadow palette. I first heard about this palette on Instagram when Kat Von D posted a sketch of the front of the palette a few months back. When I saw the pic I knew I had to have the product once she released it. I'm a sucker for packaging what can I say. 

front of palette

back of palette

I read the packaging was inspired by a vinyl record. The eyeshadows are housed in a cardboard packaging that pulls out, which you would probably want to be careful with as it does slip out sometimes. I've had a few scares where I almost dropped the eyeshadows while handling. I wish she made it magnetic or something to prevent this from happening. The packaging is rather big and I don't think it is travel friendly, which kinda sucks given that she provided a wide range of colours in this palette.The art work on the packing is beautiful as Kat Von D designed it herself. She included a how to sheet with three different looks. Perfect for beginners or people that need some inspiration as I do find this palette a bit intimidating. I've been into the neutral look the past few years lol.

The eyeshadows

There are 24 shades in this palette. 7 of them are on the neutral side and the other 17 are fun, bright, vibrant colours and the finishes range from matte to shimmer and a few metallic. The inner circle is filled with neutral colours, great for contouring and defining your eyes and highlighting the brow bone and inner corner of your eye. The outer circle are all the fun colours arranged by shade which I love. When I swatched the shadows I found most of them soft and creamy, some were really powdery and messy like Anthem. I bearly touched this shade and it went EVERYWHERE which was really annoying. A few were dry feeling and went on patchy. I needed to put on a few layers for Echo, Dark Wave and Destroyer to show up. Harpsicord is my favourite colour in the palette. It's a metallic brown shade, which I've been using alone on my eyelid the past few days. 

swatch

I love this palette as I find it very versatile I cant wait to experiment with it!. This is a limited edition 2015 holiday exclusive. Pick one up today at Sephora and Sephora.ca for $71 CAD. You might think that's a bit steep in price but when you think about it, each shadow is just under $3!!

Morphe 35T Review And Swatches

A few year back a friend of mine was getting married. I was in her bridal party and was getting my makeup done. As the make up artist was applying my make up, I looked over at the products she was using. I had spotted a thin, black square case surrounded by make up brushes. I was curious to know what was in that case. When she finally opened it I looked over to see what was inside, it was an eye shadow palette. It was the first time I had seen more then five eyeshadows in one packaging ranging from all different colours. I was in love.!

A few days later I searched online to see if I could purchase one for myself.  This was around the time when I started to take a serious interest in make up but there was not a lot of info available towards this subject unless you went to school for it. I didn't know it was called a 'palette' at the time so I just googled different things until I stumbled upon this website that sold it. I can't remember how many colours were in it.. roughly 60-80.  The palette was about 80 bucks... it sounded reasonable at the time since I had never seen anything like it. Lucky me my birthday was around the corner and my BF wanted to know what I wanted, so I sent him the link and waited patiently until my birthday to receive it. A few weeks went by and finally it was my birthday. He handed me my gift. I ripped through the wrapping paper and there it was... my palette! I was so happy and excited I couldn't wait to use it that i ran to the bathroom and did my makeup for dinner. I wanted to go with a purple smokey eye since I had heard purple looks make dark brown eyes pop. I swirled my brush on a vibrant purple shade and applied it to my eyelid. The colour bearly transferred, so i tried again. It still looked dull and flat, definitely not as vibrant as it looked in the pan. I tried a darker purple shade, the colour came out better, but it didn't blend out. It just stuck to where ever I had put it. My excitement started to fade and I put the palette away. A few days later I decided to pull it out and play around with it again. The out come was the same....lets just say it was an all round disappointment, the quality was so poor and after that I never touched it again.


I'm a palette kind of girl. I find that they are better value and much more convenient when you go travelling. After my first experience with my first eyeshadow palette, I ended up buying only high end brand ones, so when I found out Morphe sold eyeshadow palettes I didn't care until I ended up watching a YouTube review on the 35T. The lady swatched each colour and from that day I knew I had to get it. Long story short I ended up getting it when I went to IMATS (my review and haul here)

Morphe 35T (taupe)

 The packaging is nothing to get excited over as it just an all around black plastic case with the name Morphe in red and white. BORING! I really do wish they put a bit more effort into their packaging. Even though its on the thin side, it is rather big and I find its not travel friendly, and its not the greatest looking palette I own on the outside. But I guess the saying 'it's what's on the inside that counts' applies to this.

At first glance all the colours look the same. But once you swatch them they range from browns to plums to olivey green to golds. They have a few mattes, metallic and satin finishes.

top row swatch

second row swatch

third row swatch

fourth row swatch

fifth row swatch

 The quality on these eyeshadows blew me away! They are so soft and smooth. This is probably one of my top five favourite palettes ever. The colours blended so effortlessly when I applied them on my lid and it lasted the whole day with out primer. No fading or transferring. It stayed put the entire day until I took off my makeup. I truly have nothing negative to say about the actual products itself. They are highly pigmented and the colours are so beautiful.



The only cons I can think of is the packaging and the fact that the colours don't have names which is not a big deal to me but when I tried out the palette for the first time I had a hard time remembering  which colour I was using since most of the colours look similar.



BUT the palette is so affordable ($22.99) and the quality is incredible why complain over the small silly stuff. If your looking for a good affordable nude palette, I recommend you buy this palette NOW as it sells out quickly every time they restock it,

September Favourites

I can't believe summer just came and went. In my last favourites post (read about it here) I was complaining about the crappy summer weather. Well, July, August and half of September it was HOT. I'm talking humid, sticky, can't breathe kind of weather. The sun would burn your skin within minutes of standing outside. The kind of weather where you had to take multiple showers through out the day because you just kept sweating and constantly felt sticky. And you know what? I LOVED IT! I'm such a summer person that during the past three months, I was outside everyday doing something just to be outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. With that being said... My first September favourite is... SUMMER. I miss the warm weather already. I miss wearing cute sun dresses with wedge sandals. I miss drinking my usual Vanilla Bean Frap Cali Style from Starbucks while tanning in the sun. I miss Summer #dearsummer please come back :( 

On to the make up favourites lol. I guess you can say this is an August/September favourite list since I've been using the same products the past two months. 

FAVOURITE FACE PRODUCT:

Deluxe sample of Born This Way in 'Sand'

I remember the first time I tried foundation. I immediately wasn't a fan, the product felt heavy on and I just didn't like it, so since then I stayed away from foundation.  In July I ordered something online on the Sephora website and they had the deluxe sample of Too Faced Born This Way foundation as one of their beauty deals. I had heard so much hype about this product I decided to add it with my order (why not it was free right?) I chose the colour 'Sand'.

On my way to see Miguel

In August I went to the Miguel concert so I thought that was the perfect time to use it. WOW! Is what I thought when I applied it. It immediately evened out my skin tone and covered the redness in my face.  It was easy to apply (I used my fingers), went on evenly, and was moisturizing. The shade matched me perfectly and it looked like I wasn't wearing any make up (I applied 1 layer), and most importantly it was light weight. It felt like I was wearing nothing on my face. The product lasted through out the night and didn't budge even though I was sweating. The coverage is said to be medium to full. I used a pump and a half worth of product and it was perfect. 

FAVOURITE EYE PRODUCTS:

Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara

Since I dread using an eyelash curler, I've been on the hunt for a mascara to lengthen, thicken and curl. Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara does all of that! I stopped using it for a while since the price is a bit to steep for a mascara. I usually switch out my mascaras every 2 months and buying this that often would seriously make me go broke. I ended up buying one since I missed it so much lol. I love how I can wear this with out eye liner and still look put together. I do find one coat is good enough but I don't know about you guys but I love the spidery look personally so I usually do two or three coats. 

Too Faced Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar palette

........ok so looking at my favourites this month I didn't realize I've been using SO MUCH Too faced products. The Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar palette has been one eye shadow palette I had been reaching for a lot during the month of September. Have you smelt this palette? OMG DELISSIO! It smells like.. well chocolate. The shade 'Peanut Butter' was sort of the reason I bought the palette. It's a matte brown, orangey shade. I've been using it with Truffled, Bon Bon and Butter Pecan from the same palette.

Peanut Butter, Truffled, Bon Bon & Butter Pecan

FAVOURITE BODY PRODUCT:

Tony Moly Apple hand cream

Tony Moly's packaging is ridiculously cute. I was running out of the hand cream I keep in my purse so I bought the Apple hand cream from them. Look how freaking adorable this is. Its an apple! I did buy it for the packaging originally I'm not gonna lie, but once I tried it I fell in love. It's so mositurizing and it didn't leave a greasy feel to my hands which I absolutely hate, and it smells like apples. So refreshing.

Tony Moly Apple hand cream

FAVOURITE LIP PRODUCT:

Mac Real Doll

Last monthly fav... Mac's Real Doll lipstick. Pink is my go to colour when it comes to lip products. Real Doll is a light pink shade with a hint of lavender in it. It's a lustre finish which is both a pro and con. Pro: it doesn't dry out your lips Con: it doesn't stay on long, 2 hours tops. However I love the shade so having to reapply it often through out the day isn't a big deal for me.

Real Doll swatch

I'm still sad over the fact that summer is over :( I miss the warm sunny weather *sigh*. Let me know how your summer went in the comments below or if you miss it as much as I do so we can both be sad together :)

Sephora Beauty After Hours (VIB Rouge Event) Haul

Last night I had the opportunity to attend Sephora's VIB Rouge Event. This was a closed door event where Rouge members who RSVPed were allowed to shop with a friend and receive 4X the points on all purchases. They also had mini play and learn workshops, offered make overs, had drinks, chocolates, cake pops (YUM!), and gave each Rouge member a small cosmetic bag filled with goodies!

I've attended a Rouge event before, and it was pretty disappointing. So, when I received an email for this event I hesitated when RSVPing. I later changed my mind and just decided to go cause secretly I kinda wanted a goody bag (lol) and I'm so glad I changed my mind. I felt like a VIB at this event, Sephora cast members were polite, offered me drinks, and helped me while I shopped. A totally different experience from the last VIB Rouge event. My main goal was to JUST get makeup remover, but of course like all visits to Sephora I ended up getting a bunch of other things.

For the past couple of months I've been using Philosophy Just Release Me makeup remover which I love, but for some reason Sephora.com stopped shipping it to Canada. So I've been on the hunt for a new makeup removed the past month since my Philosophy bottle is about to run out :(. I was originally going to get Clinique Take The Day Off make up remover but they were completely sold out at this location. I started to browse through different brands and ended up at the Sephora brand wall, and picked up their Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover which actually had awesome reviews. 
This was suppose to be the end of my visit at the event, but I somehow ended up wandering over to the Kat Von D isle!

I don't know what it is about her brand. I love EVERY.SINGLE.THING about it... the packaging, the quality, the look and feel, just everything. Stamp her name on it and I'm all over it. I picked up her Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in the shade Backstage Bambi. The price is abit steep considering now that Colour Pop and NYX have their own versions of liquid to matte lipsticks at super affordable prices. But I already own L.U.V and I was shock at how incredible the staying power was on it, so I decided to just pick up another one.

Then I passed the First Aid Beauty section. I knew I was running out of their Face Cleanser and their Eye Cream so I decided to just pick one up 'since I was already there and will get 4x the points' is how I justify it. On to checkout........

NOPE! I hate that Sephora strategically placed those mini travel sized makeup in the line up section. I ALWAYS end up buying a mini version of something. This time it was Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturizer in Sand. Last month I had redeemed 500 points and got the Laura Mercier reward which had the tinted moisturizer in Nude, but it was too light for my skin. So I picked up one that matched me.


I finally made it to check out, put a dent in my wallet and received the goodie bag. YAY! As soon as I left the store I ripped open the plastic wrap to see what was inside the cosmetic bag.

Much better samples in this bag then the last event. We got sample size/deluxe sample of a few products. Mine had Boscia Thermal Black Cleanser , bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Maverick, Chloe Eau Du Parfum , L'Occitane hand cream in Shea Butter, Smashbox Photo Finish More Than Primer Blemish Control, Benefit POREfessional , Formula X Sheer Strength and Fresh Rose Face Mask .


As I mentioned above I was happy I attended this event, it was something I needed after a long day at work. The event may be over but the 4x points for Rouge members runs from now until August 9th. Rouge members may also order online and using the code VIBTHANKS at checkout, you too can receive a goodie bag. Don't worry Beauty Insiders and VIB, Sephora didn't forget about you guys. Beauty Insiders will receive 2x the points on all purchases and VIB's will receive 3x times the points on all purchases.
Have you guys attended any Rouge closed door events? Let me know how your experience was and what you bought!