This post is a result of me wanting, nay, needing to deep clean my place and purge all that I can. That included the endless product packaging that I was hoarding in anticipation of making a blog post of my recent purchases. I started this in April. APRIL guys. As in the fourth month of the year and we are now in the ELEVENTH. I mean, for some of the packaging I’ve even ended up using all of the product that was inside and also repurchasing others. Sigh. But here we finally are. Strap yourselves in, this is going to be a long one.

I should probably also mention that I just splurged and went on another online shopping spree due to the Sephora VIB sale and also the fact that Tarte was having free shipping on all purchases. So, stay tuned friends and see if I can manage to blog about those faster than I did about these.

The very first thing I wanna talk about is the Estée Lauder Double Wear foundation. I know how crazy I was (and still am) about Makeup Forever HD, but before I went to Croatia this past May, I needed to stock up on some beauty essentials and as a Sephora employee approached me at the MUFE section I said, tears in my eyes: “please tell me you can’t find me something just as good that costs less”. Confused, she looked at me and took on my challenge. After realizing that she couldn’t find almost any foundation that matched my (as I call it) pig skin, she gave me a sigh of desperation and said: “you know, I think Cool Bone from Estée Lauder might be good.” And boy was it ever. I found it quite unusual seeing as it doesn’t have pink undertone as my MUFE one did but it was $10 less and my shopping list was big so I dove in. I’m glad I did though! The colour matches me very well and the coverage is unbelievable! It’s full coverage, yet it’s lightweight and it stays on throughout the day and even the night if I need it to. I just repurchased it during the VIB sale. I was also in need of a liquid eyeliner and seeing as everyone was drooling over everything Kat Von D released, I picked up the tattoo liner. Although, I have mixed feelings about this one because even though it is long-lasting and doesn’t smudge, I always have trouble applying it continuously. It’s as if the product inside is dried up and I have to constantly shake the pen and stroke it on the back of my hand to get the product going. Perhaps it’s just a fluke? I also finally found an eyebrow pencil that matches my super light brows. And get this, it’s only $12 (here’s looking at you Anastasia)! I got this in taupe and I adore the pencil; have already made a repurchase. Finally, a drugstore in my neighbourhood started carrying an extensive selection of Real Techniques brushes. I am so impressed with the quality of these! They’re super soft and multi functional. I use the big, fluffy orange one for overall face powder or to remove excess powder when baking. The pink one I’ve used for both contouring and blush application.

I also became obsessed with matte liquid lipsticks – especially dark shades. Believe it or not though, out of all of these I purchased only one and the rest were presents from friends that have no problem feeding my addiction. #blessed

I love absolutely all of these so I won’t go into too much detail, but you should note that even though none of them really dry out your lips, the one that has left my lips feeling the softest so far is Too Faced. I got Too Faced in Sell Out, a beautiful soft pinkish brown. Great for every day wear. Tarte’s Tarteist has by far the worst brush – it’s more of a straight up stick really. Application isn’t super easy but this the Frenemy colour is beeyoutiful. The formula is also really nice, smudge-proof and long-lasting. Finally, a friend of mine went to IMATS in Toronto and low and behold brought me back Cashmere and Saint by Lime Crime. Saint is amazing, a deep brown colour, while I’m still trying to make an opinion about Cashmere. It’s a nice colour in retrospective, a sort of light beige/nude colour but as soon as I apply it on my lips in starts appearing grey. I have yet to play around with different colours on my face so we’ll see.

Moving onto skincare! I bought the La Neige set last December or January when I was looking for new skincare products. The value of this set is great – $30 and the products last forever! I have since repurchased the same set for my Croatia trip because it’s just so practical to have all your face routine essentials in one nice little travel pouch. I LOVE all of the products in here except for the Balancing Emulsion. First of all, the packaging extremely inconvenient – there is no pump and you can’t squeeze the bottle so you’re left with having to slam the bottle like ketchup in hopes of something coming out. Also, seeing as I’ve been having pretty dry skin lately, the moisturizer does nothing for me – I could see someone with really oily skin benefiting from it. I also picked up the Sephora birthday present – Fresh’s soy face wash and rose face mask. It’s not my first time using the soy cleanser but I still find it very nice. It’s not in my top 3 cleansers but it’s definitely nice. The rose mask however…oh em gee. First of all, that thing smells like jam and I REALLY had to restrain myself from having a lick. It’s just looks so yummy you guys! Second, every time I used it (at night before going to bed) I would get tonnes of compliments on my skin the next day! It just makes my face feel so supple and smooth and glowy. Glowy – something I thought the Josie Maran argan oil would also do for me. But it didn’t. I’m pretty disappointed in this. All my favourite beauty vloggers were raving about it so I picked up a travel size bottle to try it out. I used it as a moisturizer, a serum, a makeup primer…basically every way imaginable and I just could not see any benefits. I’m sorry beauty world, I feel like I’m letting you down. But I know where the beauty world DIDN’T let me down though…spot treatments! Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably heard or read about Mario Badescu’s drying lotion. A drying spot solution you apply to your zits that makes them magically disappear! I couldn’t find any Mario Badescu bottles so I settled for Eradikate and even though I’ve never tried the former, I can tell you that the letter is just as amazing! I’ve been having a few cystic pimples here and there and applied this 2-3 nights in a row as I’m going to bed and I swear it’s as if they’ve never even been there. Definitely something I want everyone to invest their money into!!!

I also received this box set as Sephora as a result of spending way too much money and thus accumulating enough points to receive it. The box contains some skincare basics from First Aid Beauty. I’m not joking when I say that I think I found my Holy Grail moisturizer in here. The Ultra Repair Cream works wonders on my dry skin and it’s the perfect product just as we are heading into dry, -40 degree Celcius wintertime. The texture is so rich and thick, almost like butter and it absorbs into the skin so quickly without leaving it greasy. I love it so, so, so much. I already got the giant tub of it and even though it’s a face AND body cream, I only use it on my face. I also really like the cleanser from this pack – definitely something I wish to repurchase as soon as I run out of my current one.

If you need to learn anything about me is that I am the biggest sucker for packaging. And also nice Insta themes. If you don’t follow Frank Body on Instagram, please do yourself a favour and go do it now (and then come back and read this post!). I had no clue what Franck Body was, I only stumbled across their Insta profile and after a few months of following them and seeing the most adorable selfies people took while using their coffee scrub, I decided to check out their website. First thing I saw? FREE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS TO CANADA. Do you guys know how RARE this is? Canadians aren’t as fortunate to have standard shipping free all the time. THIS LITERALLY NEVER HAPPENS. So I was like uhhh d’uhh I’m buying something. #YAAASSSFRANKBODY They’re an Australian brand that makes 100% products. All products are vegan so bonus! I ordered their coffee scrub, for which they’re most famous, as well as their face wash, which I was in the market for. The coffee scrub is simply amazing. Not only does it smell DELICIOUS (they literally put a note on the packaging to tell you not to eat it) but it provides a really deep, rough scrub. It also has cold pressed almond oil and Vitamin E that leave your skin feeling supa smoooooooth. I adore it so so so much. I never tried a body scrub that made me feel this way. I also use the scrub on my face once a week for a deep cleansing. The face wash was underwhelming to say the least though. I feel like I use way too much because I have to pump like 5-6 times to get enough in my palm so I can lather. It also requires you to wash your face twice if you have makeup on, which ain’t nobody got time for. I still use it every day in the shower though, I’m determined to use it all up before purchasing the FAB one. Finally, LOOK AT THEIR CUTE PACKAGING!!! Here’s one more picture because they’re just that cute.

Finally, I haven’t worn any sort of scent in the longest time so I embarked upon a quest to find my signature scent. I picked up the Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet which is so soft and floral and feminine. But also expensive. This damn 30ml bottle cost me $90 and even though I only use it for special occasions, I’m almost out! Why must all good things come to an end!? I also purchased a more musky scent, but still floral, the Smoky Rose from the Body Shop. I still can’t make up my mind about this one. When I tried it in store I loved it. And now, there are days where I really like it and there are others where I can’t stand it. I’m not even halfway through the bottle yet though, so let’s see what I think in a few months.

And that brings me to the end of what is probably the longest post I’ve written! (I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the longest blog post ever written period). I’m even more excited now for my Sephora and Tarte purchases to come in this week! See you all soon!

Mari xx