Manicure Monday!

I am seriously wishing for spring… Just hoping for some warm weather and the re-appearance of one of my fave trendy colours this year, mint. I have 2 mint green shades of nail lacquer that I am in love with …

Dear Santa… I’ve been a very good girl…

Time to round up the amazing beauty buys out there for the Christmas season! Now, I never get presents. Seriously. Nobody ever buys me things for Christmas. I get a lovely card, usually filled with sparkles and Santa stickers from …

Thoroughly Impressed By What $3 Got Me

When E.L.F launched their new HD blushes, I was the first in line to make my order! But I noticed that since these new HD blushes were part of the “Studio” line, I could use my handy coupon code for …

Z Palette SALE!

Attention bargain beauty lovers….

Z-Palette is having a sale on their small palettes! 20% off the regular price of $14.00 starting at MIDNIGHT TONIGHT! And I have been eyeing up those hot-pink minis since that new colour launched!

These are fabulous little wonders that save loads of space in your kit if you’re a pro or in your bathroom if you’re a makeup loving regular gal! See my Z-Palette musings here… or over here for more!

Don’t forget to pick up your magnetic stickers for those non-magnetized items!

NEW HD Blushes by E.L.F. and 50% off Coupon HERE!

e.l.f. Cosmetics Has JUST launched their line of HD blushes! Look a little similar to the Make Up For Ever kind? They definitely look similar, but they are only a FRACTION of the price at $3.00 a pop! I’ve just …

My MOST “Budget Friendly” Favourite Thing!

Well, it’s bridal season and my hands have been quite busy. Often too busy to post 😦
But in the midst of peak wedding season, I discovered a brand new favourite thing. Best of all, it is the most INEXPENSIVE favourite thing EVER!

I recently did a HUGE (and huge is putting it mildly) E.L.F. makeup haul (See haul here: https://beautybyjemz.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/my-e-l-f-makeup-haul) . In my haul, I purchase 2 ‘flat-head’ powder brushes. And truthfully, I really don’t know why. I thought they looked interesting. And since I ordered during the 50% off sale, they were only $1.50 each.

Little did I know, these brushes were about to become my new soul mates.

Holy smokes! I can’t even describe how much these brushes saved my life.

I am a blush lover. Now, this doesn’t mean I slab it on and give myself RuPaul cheeks. No. But I have a blush process that I use on myself and clients to give a really ‘lit from within’ and ‘natural flush’ type look. I often layer my powder blush with my NARS illuminators or with my MAC skinfinish powder but I prefer to not use powder blushes on their own because I find it always needs help to be long-lasting. So, I am a BIG believer in cream blush. I looooooove the way they melt into the skin and give that warm natural flush. I usually mix my cream blush on a palette to warm the cream and mix my NARS illuminator with it (usually Orgasm) and then apply. The application part is the tricky part. You need a brush that will not look streaky. You also want to be able to ‘push’ the product into the skin and make sure it melds with the foundation well. And you want to layer it on slowly and with a light touch so that you can make sure it’s even and lasts long, instead of giving yourself streaky 80’s cheeks.

Now this brush is the absolute PERFECT tool for this. It’s like it was DESIGNED with cream blush in mind. Forget your stippling brush, forget your beauty blender, and forget using your fingers. If you like cream blush, you NEED this brush in your life.

It allows for the perfect control in layering and blending. The flat surface picks up and distributes an even colouring on the face. And since you can push the colour into the skin instead of swiping it on, it gives a much more natural and blended appearance.

I only bought 2, and although I thought of sticking both in my kit I just had to say no. No, Jem. Enough is enough. One has to be for me. And I don’t feel selfish, in fact, I feel rather complete. My NARS Cactus Flower blush has never looked so good!

Want it? get it here! http://www.eyeslipsface.com/studio/tools/single-brushes/powder_brush#

My E.L.F. Makeup Haul!

So… I made an order through ELF makeup on July 10th during their 50% off site wide sale… Today is August 3rd and I JUST got my order. Literally, the postman just left. I am pretty unimpressed about the shipping. I mean, Yes, I am in Canada. BUT I’m also ONLY in Canada, and Toronto at that. It’s not a barren igloo-filled land up here. And our post is quite efficient. So why on Earth did I have to wait 3.5 weeks for my parcel when Camera Ready Cosmetics, in California, can get my order to me in less than 7 business days?! Ok. End rant. I’m not impressed with their shipping, but I know I’ll love what came in the box. And so will you!

Here’s what I got!

I got (left to right):

20 powder brushes

20 travel mirrors

10 “Butternut” eyeshadow quads (for my fair skinned brides)

10 “Luxe” eyeshadow quads (for my medium- dark skinned brides)

Second row, starting left again:

2 flat head powder brushes

1 “Eco tools” dupe foundation brush

2 Synthetic hair foundation brushes

2 concealer brushes

1 “Luminance” bronzer (hilighter)

1 “Matte Bronze” deep bronzer

5 “Brownie Points” Liquid lipstick (light brown)

5 “Strawberry” Liquid lipstick (pink)

5 “Maple Sugar” Liquid lipstick (nude)

5 “Ruby Slippers” Liquid lipstick (soft red)

5 “Baby Lips” Liquid lipstick (pink nude)

5 “Ruby Kiss” Plumping Lip Glaze (fiery bright red)

5 “Fuchsia Fanatic” Plumping Lip Glaze (hot-pink/fuchsia bright pink)

I bought the few individual brushes & bronzers for my kit, but I bought everything else for my bridal beauty bags that I gift/sell to my wedding clients (brides or bridesmaids usually) for them to give themselves touch-ups at their event. Bridal gift bags are a great addition to bridal makeup services and my brides always thank me after their big day!

I am super excited at all the items I got and I got shades I know are popular, neutral and brights, that will flatter all my multi-ethnic clientele.

The only thing I am not excited about is that I ordered an Angled blush brush and a Stippling brush which did not come with my order. But I checked online and it’s still in stock. And I checked my Paypal and they still charged me for them… I’ve contacted their CS by email and we’ll see what happens. I’m disappointed in their oversight, but I’ve been 3.5 weeks worth of patient for my order, so I’m sure a few more days waiting on their email rectifying their mistake, is something I can wait be patient enough to wait on for a few more days.

All in all, I am very happy I finally got my order. And even happier that I took advantage of their 50% off sitewide sale! All of these items… in total… cost just $56. With the extra cost of shipping to Canada, it still only cost me about $70 total. I’m happy, but my bank account is ecstatic.

Better than “Mixed Chicks”?? Say what?!

Yep, I found a leave-in conditioner that is better, I repeat – BETTER – than the Mixed Chicks brand coveted leave-in conditioner and de-frizzer for curly hair types.

I really like Mixed Chicks, I do. I have even used it in my daughter’s hair which has about 3x the twisty-curl factor than my own hair does. It works really well. But I found a product that works even BETTER.

Recently, I was in Shoppers Drug Mart (I say recently but we all know it’s closer to ‘daily’) helping my friend shop for some deep conditioner for her hair. I have used the ones by L’oreal Expertise, specifically this one (below), the Total Repair 5 and I really liked it. It was moisturizing but not so heavy that it weighed down my hair or gave me that ‘greasy bangs’ look.

So as my friend was grabbing herself some hair mask, I grabbed myself something new (as always) to do a test run. I’ve tried the Nutri-Sleek shampoo & conditioners from the same L’Oreal Expertise brand before and like them, so I decided to give the leave-in conditioner a try.

I have to say, I was amazed by it. It did a BEYOND fabulous job of taming my frizzies and defining my curls without any crunchy gel type feeling AT ALL. It was phenomenal. I only needed a small dollop and it was enough for my whole mid length head of hair. My hair didn’t feel weighed down. AND my boyfriend complimented my yummy smelling hair (it really does smell pretty good, for a styling product anyway).

So, is Mixed Chicks leave-in conditioner great? Yes. Does it do everything it promises? Yes. But, is it available everywhere like in a drugstore or WalMart like L’Oreal Expertise is? No. Is it as cost effective as the L’Oreal Expertise brand is? No again. The Mixed Chicks leave-in conditioner is 300ml for $16.99 (per the website and often sells for much more in stores, especially in boutique hair stores where you might be lucky to find it here in Canada) whereas the L’Oreal Expertise Nutri-Sleek leave-in conditioner is 200ml for $4-6 in most drugstores.

I bought my L’Oreal Expertise Nutri-Sleek leave-in conditioner on sale for $3.99 at SDM AND had $2 off coupons from the company itself to use. That’s right, it was $1.99. I don’t think this could be beat!

If you have thick, wavy, curly, ringlety, corkscrewy, dry, frizzy, dull curls or hair, you probably NEED to get this leave-in conditioner. You just didn’t know it until right now. And with summer coming, a.k.a. “big hair season”, this will probably become your life line.

No, I didn’t forget about you guys! Here’s a link to that $2 off coupon I used: http://www.smartsource.ca/smartsource/index.jsp?Link=RH3NYYVG2LZOY

Now go forth and shop!

Have a fave hair product? Tell me! Want me to put something to the test? Ask away!

Bargain Lashes Where You Least Expect Them

So I had a meeting in a terribly desolate part of the burbs (East Scarborough) and on my way home, I had to pop in quickly at the Perfume Outlet store on the corner (no word of a lie, it really was called this) because… well it was an outlet store!  I love a good deal lol what else can I say?!

So in I go, I walk around, lots of stuff looks crappy… but they have 1 bin full of, in the far back corner, fake eyelashes! and sure they had some almost regular styles but the best thing was the crazy colourful, pretty, costumey ones! They were named Fairy Lashes, Pixie Lashes, etc. And so cute!

My mind is going a mile a minute and I grab a few different styles and decide that I really don’t need them so 4 should be enough for now. I also thought they were $2 each since the bin was marked as such and didn’t feel like paying more than that (which is about 1/3 of the regular price anyhow, since these lashes usually come out right before Halloween for about $6-8 in the drugstore).

Well was I in for a shock. They were 2 pairs for $1. Had I known, I would have raided them. But after all that I didn’t feel like going back and waiting in line again behind all the perfume bargain hunters. So I took my 4 pairs and left feeling quite happy! How perfect for Caribana are they!? My mass-playing clients will look extra fun this year! So excited!

Have you had a special “surprise” sale happen to you lately? which item/where was it? Share the story!

My new favourite HAIR thing!

A couple months ago, I saw a video ad somewhere (can’t recall where) for a new hair styling product by Goody. They were called “Spin Pins” and have this double helix type shape to twist into hair during up-do’s to hold hair securely in place. The hair artist demonstrating them said that one of these bad boys replaces the equivalent of 20 (twenty?!?!) traditional bobby pins. I was sold.

I spotted them in Walmart for about $7 at that time, although now the current price is $5. There are 2 colours in them, a burnished silver type colour for light hair & a dark brown for… You guessed it. It also came in 2 package variations, 1 with 2 large pins or 1 with 3 small pins.

I picked up the pack of dark brown small Spin Pins from Goody & tried them out. They were great! They are super sturdy & strong, easy to use & blend well to hair. But, I wish I had bought the long ones because even for mid-length hair like my own, I think nearly everyone would do best with the longer length. They don’t replace 20 pins like the ad-artist said but they replace about 5-6 which still makes it a fantastic & worthwhile hair product. This was ALMOST about to be my new favourite thing. Almost.

Then I dropped in to my local Ardene store a couple weeks ago & saw, none other than the most fabulous dupe: Twirl Pins. Ardene had these in packs of 4 long ones in either black or burnished silver at $3.50/pack or 5 packs for $10. Can’t beat that! On top of it, they also had some fabulous decorated ones with either pearls or Gemstones (like in my photo) with the long length & in packs of 2 for $3.50/pack or 5 packs for $10. Perfect for bridal hair!

I raided all their racks & purchased every pack. And I feel a little naughty for taking them all. But I also feel quite pleased with myself for finding this great dupe!

If you do bridal or prom hair or have your own big event coming up, be sure to get a few of these for your hair & you won’t have any worries about hair flubs during your event!

Have you tried these yet? Tell me about your experience!

Mascara DEAL ALERT!

I totally spazzed on mentioning this one! Sorry folks!

Shoppers Drug Mart has the L’oreal False Fibre lashes mascara on sale for $6.99, and today is the last day for the sale.

L’oreal has an online printable coupon for this mascara right now for $3 off!Here: http://www.lorealparis.ca/coupons.aspx

I’ve tried it and I love it! Not for clients but for self-use since the brush is part of what makes it great and it’s not that fab with disposable mascara wands for client use.

My fave one: L’Oreal Voluminous False Fibre Lashes Mascara in Hydrofuge, Blackest Black.

Happy shopping!

Deal alert! New Women’s Schick Razor

I love a good deal. I swear, my pulse quickens when I see a great deal and know I have a coupon lying around somewhere that will make that deal a major cheapie! Today, I found a MAJOR CHEAPIE!

At Rexall they have the new Schick Hydro Silk razor for women on sale for $9.99. There’s also a manufacturer’s coupon for it online for $4.00 off (image attached) and in store, there was a pad of coupons on the display for $2.00 off! And they let me coupon stack! I was over the moon. $3.99 is a price you can’t beat, so I thought I’d share. I love drugstore deals nearly as much as makeup deals! Happy hunting!

Kiehl’s Canada Gift Card Giveaway!

Kiehl’s Canada is giving away $15 gift cards all weekend long! The gift card is good on any purchase of 2 items. That means you can purchase 2 tubes of their #1 Lip Balm for $17 ($8.50×2), minus the gift card, and VOILA! 2 top rated lip balms for only $2! You can’t beat a beauty deal like that! Hurry the event ends On February 19th! Check out their Facebook page for event details.

https://www.facebook.com/KiehlsCanada?sk=wall