Playing with Makeup - Holiday Edition!

I've never really done this type of post before, but I need to start branching out from just subscription boxes! I love doing reviews on beauty products, so I will never stray from that, but it's time to add some new types of posts! Especially since we're really close to the New Year! For December 2016 the featured brand for Canadian Beauty Bloggers is Tarte! I decided to incorporate some Tarte products that I own, and create a holiday look.

Sole Patches: Wear Your Favourite Shoes All Day... Painlessly!

The Holiday Party season is upon us! Avoid tired and sore feet and dance a little longer on the dance floor, or mingle a little longer at that party! Keep your high heels on without wincing in pain!

CBB Secret Santa 2016 Gift Exchange!

This year for the holiday season, fellow Canadian Beauty Bloggers decided to run a Secret Santa gift exchange! I didn't partipate in the past, but I felt like this year it would be fun to join in. Everyone that wanted to participate, signed up on Elfster. There was a $30 minimum value that was agreed upon, and we all had to send out gifts out by December 10th. On Elfster you can create a wishlist for products you were interested in. We had no idea who would send us our gift, or what we would get, which made it really fun!

TheFaceShop - 2016 Advent Calendar - Part 3

We are at the final four days of TheFaceShop 2016 Advent Calendar! If you'd like to see part 1, you can see it here. And part 2 can be found here.

TheFaceShop - 2016 Advent Calendar - Part 2

Here we are with part 2 of my advent calendar unboxing from TheFaceShop! You can see part 1 here!

TheFaceShop - 2016 Advent Calendar - Part 1

I decided this year that I wanted in on the advent calendar fun! Some of them were out of my price range, so I decided to pick up TheFaceShop's version. It was affordable, and from what I saw, had a great variety of products. I've decided to split this into 3 parts. Part 1 will look at the first four that I opened, Part 2 will be the second set of four that I opened, and part 3 will be the final four products!

Sephora Haul - Black Friday Sale

Oops, I did it again! I purchased more stuff, not like I need it. Ooh, stop me, stop me! Yes - that's my updated Britney song. Sephora had a Black Friday sale, just like many other retailers. They actually released some of these items the day before as a pre-Black Friday sale. They released about 6 items at a time, over the course of the day. I managed to snag a few items. One of which was extremely hard to get. Because they did release items at different times, I had to place 2 different orders. Which will explain the different sets of photos you will see below. But let's get into the good stuff! And prepare yourself, this is long!

Topbox - The Kit's Limited Edition Holiday Guide Box 2016

I actually received this limited edition holiday box with my November Topbox. I placed the order for it as soon as I saw it posted in the beginning of November, and they sent everything all together.

Topbox will release limited edition boxes every so often, and these are the ones that they have put together for the holidays.

L'Oreal - Revitalift - Bright Reveal Influenster Box

Back in September I was sent this L'Oreal Revitalift Bright Reveal box from Influenster.

Jor'el Parker - The Original Fango Mud Therapy

As you may know, I really enjoy masks. Whether they are your traditional mud masks, or sheet masks, and all in between. I enjoy how relaxing they can be, and how beneficial they are in your skincare routine. This little review will be on Jor'el Parker- The Original Fango Mud Therapy.

Candy.ca Subscription Box - November 2016 Review!

A new subscription box has made its way into the Canadian market. This time, it's a monthly candy box! Who doesn't love candy? I'll get into the full details a little further down into the post, because I know you all want to see what came inside the box first!

November 2016 - Empties!

It's already the end of November. How did this happen!? I think I say this every month, but time flies! We're pretty much at the end of 2016. It was just the beginning of 2016! Ah! Anyway, we're at that time in the month where we look at each others trash! Ha! Here are my empties for November!

Miss Blanco Joyful Box - November 2016

Miss Blanco Joyful Box is one of the newer subscription boxes. You can see my review on my first box from last month here. October was the very first month that they had launched, so this is my second box.

Unfortunately, there is no customizing this box. So everyone pretty much gets the same thing, with a few variations here and there. This box retails for $38 Canadian, not including shipping or taxes. Novembers box was $49.89 for me in Ontario. A little more on the pricey side of subscription boxes. There is a promotion for Black Friday where you can get a 50% off discount on your first box, when using the promo code BFRIDAY50 at the checkout. Promo code is valid until November 28, 2016.

So let's get right in to November's box.

Topbox - November 2016

Ah, I'm a little upset. I wrote a pretty big post about Topbox for November, and somehow my post was deleted and replaced with another review. Even going in and trying to edit it, or post it and see if it somehow would switch back, didn't work. So here I am, re-writing this post.

Enough of the rant. Let's look at the Prive choices for November. Prive boxes are sets you can "wish" for, and either you will receive that specific kit, or a normal Topbox.

raspberrymint: giveaway!

Hey everyone!

I was recently contacted by Cherish, the creator from raspberrymint. We decided we would collaborate together to bring some recognition to her new line of Canadian, cruelty-free, organic, chic, classy, and natural products. I would provide you all with some information about her company, and FIVE of you guys will get the chance to win a $40 (electronic) gift card, to shop on raspberrymint.ca ... how exciting is that!? So stick around a little longer, find out some information about Cherish and the company, and then enter to win! It will be so easy!

Sephora - VIB Sale Haul!

If you are a frequent Sephora shopper, then you might just be a VIB, or VIB Rouge member. What this means is that you have spent at least $350 in a year (to be VIB) or over $999 in a year (to be a VIB rouge member). Sometimes Sephora has exclusive offers to these members which can be early product releases, first access to products, and twice a year included in their 20% off sales. They usually have them in the Spring and the Fall, which gives you the perfect reason to stock up on your favourite products, or purchase early Christmas gifts. I prefer the Fall sale just because there are many Holiday gift sets that are also released around the same time, which gives you the opportunity to try new products, or purchase something for someone on your list.

Here's a look at what I picked up during the recent VIB Sale!

Lancome - Teint Idole Ultra Longwear Foundation Stick SPF 21

The Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Longwear Foundation Stick (with SPF 21) is 24-hour wear, highly pigmented, foundation stick that provides high coverage in a super-gliding, weightless texture for a matte finish.

I received this from ChickAdvisor about 6 weeks ago, so I have been wearing it pretty much every time I apply makeup. A blog post is not a part of their requirements, but I felt like sharing my experience with this foundation with my readers.

Ipsy - November 2016

My Ipsy glam bag came today, and I have to say, I'm very happy with it. Which is surprising because Ipsy is usually one of those subscription bags/boxes where I'm happy with some products, but never all of them.

The theme for the month of November is Rockstarlet, so lets take a look at everything I got!

Colourpop x Hello Kitty

If you're a fan of Colourpop and follow them online, then you would have seen that they recently announced a Hello Kitty collaboration, that was being released on November 1st!

TheFaceShop Haul!

If you've never heard of TheFaceShop, well... you're missing out! They are a company that sells Korean beauty products. Lots of skincare, and I mean LOTS, and they also have some makeup as well. When I was in the store I noticed some of the packaging said Fruits and Passion. From my research (from Google) I can see that they are owned by the company LG Household & Healthcare, who bought out Fruits and Passion and replaced many of the stores with TheFaceShop. There is seriously something there for everyone, of every age.

 

Sephora Favorites - Trending: Beauty's Most Coveted

As soon as I saw sneak peeks of this Sephora Favourites box, I KNEW I had to have it.

When it launched, I immediately made my purchase, and it came the next day. I love Sephora's shipping. And I love living close to their warehouse facility!

Eden's Semilla - Jojoba Oil [Review]

I received this Eden's Semilla Jojoba Oil about 2 months ago, and I really wanted to give it a good try before I posted my review.

Ipsy - October 2016

I just realized it's November and I still haven't got my October Ipsy bag up!

Yes, I resubbed. I saw how cute the October bag was going to be, so I decided I would give it a chance.

Upcoming Scentsy Sale!

‼️ATTENTION‼️

On Wednesday, November 9th, you can save up to 80% on select Scentsy products – plus buy one, get one free Scentsy Buddies! PLUS, get a FREE Snowflake Porcelain Ornament in Very Snowy Spruce with every order! This sale will ONLY take place on my website, and only on November 9th, so make sure you are prepared with my website link handy! Sale will start 9 AM Pacific Time (12 Noon Ontario Time)!

www.deidrec.scentsy.ca

*Sale only for Canadian and US Customers. Both can shop from my link, just be sure to change the country to USA if shopping from there. *

October 2016 - Empties!

October went by so quickly! I feel like I say this every month! If you've been with me since the beginning, then you know that I love my empties posts! I like looking back at what I've used for the month, and I love reading other peoples reviews on items that they have completely finished! Enough rambling, let's get into the empties!

New Subscription Box: Miss Blanco Joyful Box

You might be asking, what exactly is the Miss Blanco Joyful Box? Well, it's a new subscription box service. It is run by Canadians who ship out of Ontario. They ship this box to Canada, US, Germany, Spain and the UK. It is a lifestyle box which includes a homemade item, makeup, and more. 

Topbox - October 2016

You guys, I have a TON of reviews that I need to get up for you! I have a list of about 10 posts that I'd like to make soon, so I will be slowly going through them all. I will probably try and leave a day or two in between posts, because when I update a lot at a time, it's too much! So let's start with my Topbox for October 2016!

RachhLoves Fall Favourites - Limited Edition Topbox

Every so often Topbox will release a limited edition box. This one is RachhLoves Fall Favourites. This box was selling for $19, but I was able to use a $5 off coupon. It shipped with my regular Topbox and contained 5 items.

Topbox - September 2016

Topbox is the only monthly subscription service that I am currently subscribed to. It's a nice alternative to Ipsy, although it is not as "customized", you still get a good combination of products every month. It's also super affordable, coming in at $13.54 for me in Ontario (including taxes - and it's free shipping!).

Each month we are given the opportunity to wish for a prive box. What that is, is a box featuring a specific brand. First let's take a look at what our prive options were for September.

September 2016 - Empties!

Yup! It's already that time of the month! The time to talk about my trash! I love these types of blog posts and videos. When you use everything up, you have an informed opinion as to whether something worked for you or not, unlike first impression posts. So, let's take a look at everything I used up in September.

Love & Beauty - Cucumber Sheet Mask

You know when you place an order online, and you're less than $5 away from free shipping? Well that's what happened to me when I was placing an order online the Forever21 site. I noticed they had some face masks for decent prices, and I decided to give this Cucumber Sheet Mask a try. For $2, what could go wrong?

The FaceOff Challenge!

I know, you're probably wondering what The FaceOff Challenge is. Let me tell you, it's a challenge that all of us makeup wearers would like to take part in.

The FaceOff Challenge is a campaign that a lot of other Canadian based bloggers have taken part in. We were sent a FaceOff Cloth in exchange for our honest reviews.

The FaceOff Cloth is a cloth that removes face and eye makeup using only warm water, and this magical soft microfibre cloth.

Glam Sense & Biore (Campaign!)

I was recently one of many people chosen to participate in the recent Glam Sense campaign for Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips.

If you've never heard of Glam Sense, it's run by Topbox. It is a program you can join, and they send you free products in exchange for your honest review. It's pretty much the same as influenster, chick advisor, bzzagent. Those types of programs. It's free to join, and when they have products that need to be tested, they send out qualification surveys which then determines if you will be chosen for a specific campaign.

The campaign I was chosen for, is the Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips.

August 2016 - Empties!

I feel like I say this every time I write an empties post, but I can't believe August has come and gone! The CNE is here in Toronto, which means the summer is pretty much over! Next weekend will be our labour day long weekend, and then the kiddies go back to school, everyone goes back to work, and we're back wishing it were summer again. I'm actually looking forward to the Fall. I love the weather, the colours. Fall is where it's at! Anyway, let's take a look at what I finished up for August. It wasn't much, and I've made better progress in previous months, but its something, right!?

Tarte x Grav3yard Girl - Swamp Queen Eye & Cheek Palette

If you ever watch YouTube (which I'm sure some of you do!) then I'm sure you have come across Bunny aka Grav3yard Girl at some point. She's known online for her "Does This Thing Really Work" videos in which she tries out many as seen on TV products, and puts them to the test. She also does a lot of "Pintertest" videos as well, where she takes Pinterest posts, and creates them herself, such as the rainbow highlighter. Tarte and Bunny announced that they were doing a collaboration. This included the Eye & Cheek Palette, and two Tarteist Lip Paints in Swamp Queen (red) and Texas Toast (nude).

Topbox - August 2016

Topbox is the only monthly subscription service that I am currently subscribed to. It's a nice alternative to Ipsy, although it is not as "customized", you still get a good combination of products every month. It's also super affordable, coming in at $13.54 for me in Ontario (including taxes - and it's free shipping!).

Each month we are given the opportunity to wish for a prive box. What that is, is a box featuring a specific brand. First let's take a look at what our prive options were for August.

Balea - Cleansing Oil

I recently ran out of cleansing oil and I decided I wanted to try a drug store version before opening my back up of Banila Co - Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm. When I went into Shoppers Drug Mart, I had a hard time finding it on the shelves. At least a "drug store" version, and not one of the higher end brands that they carry. My options were limited to this Balea Cleansing Oil, or Burt's Bees. I knew I liked the Burt's Bees version, but I didn't want to spend $17 on it at the time, so I chose the Balea.

Covergirl - Katy Kat Collection [BzzAgent Campaign]

I keep seeing the Covergirl collab with Katy Perry everywhere! So I was super excited when I was offered the chance to try two new products in her Katy Kat Collection!

 

We were given the choice of what colour of mascara we wanted in the Katy Kat Eye which was either Perry Blue or Very Black. And which shade of lipstick between Kitty Purry and Maroon Meow Matte Lipstick.

Topbox - July 2016

Topbox is the only monthly subscription service that I am currently subscribed to. It's a nice alternative to Ipsy, although it is not as "customized", you still get a good combination of products every month. It's also super affordable, coming in at $13.54 for me in Ontario (including taxes - and it's free shipping!).

Each  month we are given the opportunity to wish for a prive box. What that is, is a box featuring a specific brand. First let's take a look at what our prive options were for July.

July 2016 - Empties

Wow! Can you believe July is over already? It feels as if time is going by so quickly! Another end of the month, means another batch of empties! I always get so excited when it's time for empties. I like seeing what I have used up!

Vichy Thermal Skincare - Review

Hey guys! I hope you're all doing well and enjoying this summer. It has been crazy hot in Ontario (at least where I am) and we desperately need some rain! I would say Fall is my favourite season, so I can't wait for our September and October months to get here! Again, just a quick apology for lack of posts this summer. I am finding it difficult to get good photos, and then writing a review off my phone is difficult and gives me issues every time, so I try and avoid it. Which is obviously not good. But I will try and work on that. At least the summer is almost over and I will finally be able to get more into a blogging rhythm.
Enough blabbering about that. Let's get into the good stuff! Today's post is about some skincare products in the Vichy Thermal(e) line. I added that e because some product names have it, and others don't.

June 2016 - Empties!

So this may be going up a little later than usual but things have been so hectic! I'm not sure if you guys are into soccer but the past few weeks has been the Euro Cup. Last night was the final game, and it was down to Portugal and France. The area that I work in, is a Portuguese area, so when Portugal won, the streets were CRAZY! There was a huge party, lots of chanting, and honking. It was just insane. I finally got a quiet moment to myself this morning, and I decided I would finally get this June empties post up.

I didn't get through as many empties as I thought I did, and I thought about pushing it to include July empties as well, but I decided not to. I haven't got may posts up lately, and I feel so neglectful of the blog. Sorry guys! Once this summer is over and the Fall hits, I can finally get back into a blog routine. Also, I need to be on a no-buy because I've just been buying way too many products. July 1st was the start of that, and I've done well so far. (It's only been 11 days! lol)

So let's get into the empties! I did have 11 sheet masks that I finished up, but I didn't include them in the pictures because I feel as if they are starting to get very repetitive. If I have any stand out masks, I will definitely include them in my monthly empties, just this month I didn't have anything spectacular stand out in terms on sheet masks, or wash off masks.

Topbox - June 2016

As most of you may know by now, Topbox is a Canadian subscription service. Ships to Canada only and is $12 each month. (plus tax, free shipping!) Which is pretty affordable in my books. You receive 4 products every month, and each month you get the chance to wish for a prive box. These usually are brand specific boxes with a limited quantity.

There were quite a few good choices this month for the prive boxes, so I will show you what they are, and then you will see what I actually got! I hope these aren't blurry because it's so difficult to do this from my phone!

Luxe Box - Summer 2016

Another season has come, and it's (almost) officially Summer! That means it was time to receive the Luxebox, summer edition!

Now I'm still pretty new to Luxe Box. I had only received the Spring box previously, so I was excited to receive this one. At the time I had signed up, I then realized that Luxe Box and Topbox were ultimately the same company. However, I didn't think there would be too many repeats, just because Luxe Box sounds more "high-end" I guess.

May Empties!

I looooove empties! I probably say this every month, but it really is one of my favourite things to blog about. I love seeing what I've used up, what others have used up, and if you guys would repurchase your empties. Sometimes us makeup/skincare enthusiasts (yes, I'm going to use enthusiast because it sounds much better) rack up a ton of products, and some get hidden or forgotten about. Empties make me feel like I'm actually finishing things!

Topbox - May 2016

Another month has come and gone, and that means a new topbox will arrive in my mailbox. I love getting these monthly packages. It's always so much fun to get them in the mail.

First glance, I'm not too thrilled with this month.

Another Colourpop Haul!

I think I had mentioned in my previous Colourpop post that they were having a sale coming up and I had actually ordered some more items (like I actually need anything). Well they came maybe two weeks ago, and I'm finally able to sit down and get some more reviews going. Again, I apologize for the huge gaps in my posts, the summer months are very busy because of a seasonal business.

April Empties!

Another month has quickly come and gone, and we're finally getting some warmer weather in Ontario! I had an okay month as far as empties go, and my May empties are already starting! I love seeing that trash pile grow.. haha. Does anyone else feel satisfaction when they see how much they have used up? I never really used to care, but now I like to collect my empties and see what I've actually used up.

Colourpop Order!

I made a small Colourpop order not too long ago. I've never tried the liquid lipsticks and I find myself reaching for those types of lipsticks more often than your traditional lipstick. I like how long lasting they are, and don't wear off as easy as regular lipstick. Seeing as how Colourpop carries a ton of colours, I decided I would place a small order with them.

Topbox - April 2016

Hey guys! First I want to apologize for the lack of posts. I have a ton of items that I'm testing but I have to wait to put my reviews up for, however with my boyfriend's seasonal business starting back up, I'm busy every single day. Seriously, 7 days a week and like 12 hour days. By the time we get home and eat, its almost bed time. I hope I can get a few posts scheduled ahead of time because I'm really missing blogging. I just hate having to use my phone to type out some reviews because the browser version is annoying and the blogger app just isn't good. And I have some items to share with you!

Here are the Prive box options for April

March Empties!

Another month has come and gone. Seriously, 2016 seems to be flying by at this pace! I can't believe it's already April! I got through a good amount of products for March, which has surprised me. So far this year has been pretty good for empties for me.

There's a good mix of products in there, so let's take a closer look at everything!