Nail of the Day : Essie "Aruba Blue"

Fall is pretty much here and I got into the mood of painting my nails a fall-ish colour and I pulled this out of my nail polish collection. Since it has been a long time that I have worn this on my nails, I decided to just go for it and also do a little review on it for you guys.

Aruba Blue is a cobalt blue colour with shimmer which goes on very smooth and it is opaque in just two coats. I think this is a very eye catching because of all the shimmer and the blue colour.

This nail polish on the nails is the exact colour as it is in the bottle which I love that fact. I apply two coats and I am satisfied with how opaque it looks on my nails.

The brush that this nail polish has is pretty small. I am really used to the OPI nail polish brushes which are a medium wide size and I find it a little hard to do my nails. I have to work fast and pick up quit bit of the polish to be able to get an even colour all over my nails. I know this might be confusing but I'm not sure how to explain it in another way. haha

Also, this polish or the actual brush leaves minor brush strokes which can be seen if look closely. It is not a big deal really but to some people, it might be an issue.

Two coats of Aruba Blue, silver glitter on the ring finger  just to glam it up a little

The formula is pretty thin but it gets opaque in just two coats. This polish is very light weight and I don't feel it on my nails at all, unlike some cream polishes that feel a bit heavy on my nails.

Also, the fact that this polish is pretty thin, it is easy to get it on your cuticles which for me, this always happens. So I just paint my nails and then clean up around my cuticles after. 

Pros:
- Good coverage with two coats
- Jewel/shimmery blue colour can be flattering on different skin colours/tones
- Lasts for a good amount of time without topcoat

Cons:
- Small brush
- Minor brush strokes can be seen
- Could be a little expensive (depending on the store)

This polish is easy to find in the stores and it retails for about $9 - $12 (Canadian Dollars)

So overall, I really like this polish especially for fall and winter time. I think it is a very flattering on the nails. It is darker than the usual blue we see but not too dark, it is just very unique looking.

Have you tried this nail polish? What is your favourite fall/winter nail polish?

Love, Dina

Maybelline Baby Lips Electro Collection - Review

So Maybelline has come out with a new collection for the baby lips and once I saw them, I had to try out the new colours since I really did like the original baby lips when they first came out!

95 Strike a Rose, 70 Pink Shock

First of all, I LOVE the packaging. Even more that the original line. The original line is fun and bright but I prefer this black packaging with bright coloured writing! I think it is a bit more mature but still fun and exciting! Well, maybe that's just me! haha

95 Strike a Rose, 70 Pink Shock

The new collection has 6 new shades. I decided to go with two of the colours that I know I would really use and enjoy. So besides the two shades that I got there is also yellow, green, orange, and purple. They look very bright and neon in the packaging so I tried to stay away from the ones that I was not so sure I would use.

95 Strike a Rose, 70 Pink Shock

Strike a Rose is a beautiful rose-y, coral-y pink colour. It has a shiny finish and also comes off a bit deeper on the lip than the colour in the tube but this might just depend on your actual lip colour. This colour is very wearable and it is perfect for me for an everyday lip colour. This smells like strawberries to me, it has a sweet pleasant smell. Not overpowering which is good. It applies very smooth and pigmented. It can actually be sheer but can be built up as seen in the swatch below.

Pink Shock is a fuchsia, berry pink colour and the same shiny finish as the other one. This is much brighter and has more colour to it. It can both be worn sheer or be built up to get more colour out of it as seen in the swatch below. To me this one has the same sweet pleasant, not overpowering smell. This also applies very smoothly.

95 Strike a Rose, 70 Pink Shock

Unfortunately with these lip balms, there is no particular shape to the actual lip balm. It is just round unlike lipsticks so this can make the application a bit tricky specially with the ones that are pigmented. I don't recommend applying them without a mirror because it can go outside of the lip very easily and make it look messy.

These are a lot more wearable than lipsticks because even though these have colour to them, it is not as opaque and rich as a lipstick can be. Very moisturising on the lips and perfect for on the go. Feels light on the lips and I love that feeling.

Pros: 
- Pretty packaging
- Moisturising on the lips
- leaves the lips feeling soft and hydrated
- inexpensive

Cons:

- No SPF (unlike the original Baby Lips)
- No precise application (hence round shape)
- Needs reapplying (doesn't last a very long time)

These retails for about $3 - $5 Canadian dollars.

Overall, I actually really like the Baby Lips in general. I think these are great products for on the go or for the days that you don't want anything too thick or opaque on the lips and also these can be a good base for other lip products such as lipsticks or lip glosses. So, yes I do like them and I think it is an easy product to work with and the packaging is just super fun!

Have you tried the Baby Lips? What are your favourite colours?

Love, Dina

Photos of the Month : August 2013

Hello everyone! I hope you all have had a good day so far.

In the past few months, I have really been enjoying these kinds of posts where I put up some pictures I have took of the month before. I think it is a little different than my usual makeup reviews!

Air traffic much? haha

Here are a series of flowers from my backyard which I think they're absolutely beautiful

Toronto can have some really beautiful skies.

Another random flower I saw during my walk

And another one! I am actually not sure if this would count as a flower but it sure is unique

 ..and more flowers! I really love flowers as you can see!

beautiful sunset sky!

This cutie right here was just chilling in my balcony!

Now time for some mouth watering foods! 

delicious salmon and veggies! keeping it somewhat healthy!

Home made pizza! so delicious.

As I like to call this, heaven in a bowl! so refreshing.

So these were some of the pictures I took during the month of August. 

I hope you all had a great August! 

Love, Dina

L'Oreal Magic Skin Beautifier B.B Cream - Review

I am finally reviewing one of my favourite BB creams from the drugstore. I have had this for a few months and have been really enjoying it, so I thought to review it for you guys if you haven't already tried it yourself.

This L'Oreal BB comes in a squeezable tube which I actually really like because it is easy to control how much of the product comes out. The packaging is very sleek and I actually like it despite the fact that there is no pump.

I got this from Walmart for around $10 Canadian Dollars. There were four shades of this available at my Walmart (Fair, Light, Medium, Deep) and as usual for my skin tone, I went for the medium colour and it actually matches me pretty well.

One really important thing I wanted to mention here is the fact that this product doesn't have any SPF! The most huge downside because I think the whole idea of BB creams is the fact that everything is in one product that you apply and done. But there are always a good side to everything which in this one, the fact that it doesn't have any SPF in it, it means no washed out/ white cast in photos! yay!

This product comes out pretty liquid-y and white but don't be scared. Once you start to apply it to your face and start rubbing it in, it actually turns into a skin tone colour which for me is a medium shade.

If you look closely and carefully you can actually see small dots in the white which are "skin toned" beads that breaks when you rub it on your skin. Some might actually not like the feeling of its texture but for me, I really don't feel the beads on my face so I have no problem with that.

In the picture below you can see the product is starting to transform into a skin tone shade. When I rub it a bit more the product just blends with my skin and I actually didn't take a picture of it because it just looked like my hand and that's it. You really couldn't tell there was anything on it which is good because it means that this product is very natural looking on the skin. It has a light coverage but it also can be buildable to get a bit more coverage.

When I apply this, I just apply it all over my face and it covers the red spots or any discolouration I have. If there are any hyperpigmentation marks showing I just put some concealer because I don't like to cake on this stuff on my face and I actually like the natural look of it on my skin.

The light coverage this product has makes it perfect for summer. I just use my fingers while applying this. I see no reason to use a brush since it is so easy to do it with fingers and it is really fast that way. I actually haven't tried this with a brush so I couldn't tell if it would work the as same as applying with fingers.

After this product sets, it  feels pretty smooth on the skin and it has an almost matte finish but it is not completely matte so it makes it look even more natural.

This lightly covers any blemish or scarring so as I said, I just apply some concealer if I really think I need it.

My cheeks are kind of dry and my t-zone is normal to combination so I moisturise my cheeks really well before applying this because it can sort of cling to the dry areas. So I am not sure how this would work for really dry skins. It works for me since I love to moisturise my skin.

Pros:
- Affordable
- Looks natural on the skin
- Evens out skin tone
- easy to blend

Cons:
- No SPF
- Only four shades available

So overall, I actually really like this. Aside from the fact that it doesn't have SPF which is not a big deal at all since I like to put a higher level of SPF on my face which usually products like these would have lower SPF. So when crossing out the no SPF part for me, I really do like this BB cream and I like it even more in the summer time because of its light weight.

Have you tried this BB cream? What is your favourite BB cream from the drugstore?

Love, Dina

The Body Shop Chocomania Body Scrub - Review

So the other day I was using this scrub in the shower and you know how it is with showers where all the good ideas come to your mind and you start thinking and you take an hour to finish your shower and all that. 

So yes I had one of those moments and the idea I had was to review this body scrub!

At the first look this is a pretty dark brown/ chocolaty colour and when you open it, the smell of chocolate just hits you, pretty hard! haha. It smells DELICIOUS! I kind of get temped to taste it but I fight the urge.

This contains 200 ml and retails for about $19 at The Body Shop store.

Let me just be honest here. That looks like pooh on my hand! but it actually is the scrub! The down side to having the chocolate smelling scrub is the brown colour of it that can look kind of bad...

Aside from that, the texture of this scrub is rough grainy/ sugary which is good for exfoliating the body. The scrub has an oily base to it which means it is very moisturising. When I use this, it does a pretty good job at exfoliating the skin and the texture of the scrub does not irritate my skin what so ever. I love that about it.

But

there are some down sides to this for me particularly. The fact that this scrub is a brown colour, it just makes my shower look all dirty and brown! it kind of looks like pooh everywhere HAHA. Also the fact that this scrub has an oily base to it, it just feels like I have oiled up my skin and jumped in the shower. It just feels weird to me. I don't really like the feeling . I am not sure how to explain it so you guys can fully understand me but it is like putting baby oil all over you and then going to shower. The water just slides off and that right there is really weird for me! oh well.. Also the oily base makes the floor of my shower kind of slippery so it was like a mess in there. First of all everywhere all splash of brown and then slippery floor.

For those who also do not like the moisturised feeling in the shower, I suggest rinsing really well before getting out.

Pros: 
- Leaves the skin soft and smooth
- Amazing chocolaty smell
- Contains natural ingredients (Sunflower seed oil, Soybean oil, Cocoa seed butter, organic cane sugar, etc)

Cons:
- Messy in the shower (the brown colour of it)
- Leaves the floor of the shower slippery (the oily base it has to it)
- The oily base is weird for me in the shower (unfortunately)

I really wanted to enjoy this scrub. I absolutely love the smell. You could be tempted to want to eat it. It's that good! also it leaves my skin very soft and smooth, but the fact that it gets my shower messy and leaves the shower floor slippery AND the weird feeling of being super moisturised while showering is just weird. I tried to work with this. I have had this for about six months now and I still use it. The product is half used and I still plan on finishing it but I am not too sure if I will repurchase this again. If I would repurchase it, I would make sure to get one that at least does not have the dark colour consistency to it.

Have you tried this scrub or any of The Body Shop brand scrubs? What are your thoughts on it?

Love, Dina