Lash Obsessed

Excuse the red eyes, I took this when I got home from the appointment..

I just got home from one of my favourite beauty appointments – eyelash extension fills!  I have been getting eyelash extensions since June, 2010 and I absolutely love them.  I thought a blog post about them would be good for anyone wanting to know a bit of information about them and my experiences with them.

I want to start off by saying that I don’t have a lack of lashes, I have pretty normal lashes and a good amount of them.  I have always loved the look that falsies gave me and there is such a significant different between my natural lash and the oomph power of the fake lashes.  Also, I was travelling to Mexico and I wanted something that would make my eyes stand out.

So I started to do my research and came across a place in my hometown that specialized in the service and thought a while about it.  Why?  Because it is pricey.  It costs around $200 for the initial application and you get around 30-40 lashes per eye.  I decided to go with the “Cat Eye” option, which was not as expensive, and it was basically like 20 lashes per eye concentrated to the ends of the eyelids to give you that cat eye, flirty effect.

So I went to my first appointment and after I thought that they did an okay job.  I didn’t find them that noticeable and they were a bit uneven.  After a few face washings they did get significantly more noticeable (they started to darken because of your makeup and they clump together but not in a bad way) but I didn’t know if I wanted to keep continuing with them (fills can cost anywhere from $55-65 depending on where you go).

A few weeks after I got them done the first time.

I decided to keep up with the fills because I did get people commenting me on them (“Oh my God, are those your real lashes?!”) and I mean, like everyone else, I loved the compliments.  Now I was still getting the cat eye fills but I wanted to try the complete look and get full fills so I got them and then after a while I switched salons (for a number of reasons) and I have been going back to the same place ever since (I go to Wink Studio in Winnipeg if any of you are interested, they do a great job).

There are a number of pros and cons with the lashes as I list below:

Pros:

  • No mascara needed
  • Waterproof- perfect the pool, beach, or the gym
  • Good for people with sensitive eyes
  • Cuts “getting ready” time in the morning significantly shorter
  • Easy to maintain
  • Make your eyes prettier
  • Low maintenance

Cons

  • Pricey
  • You can’t use oil-based makeup removers (the kind I love)
  • Once the lashes start to fall out you kind of go through an “awkward” phase, if that makes sense.. basically it’s like when your roots grow out
  • You have to go for fills every month to month and a half

So there are a number of things that are great about them and a few things that aren’t so great.  I know the number one thing is definitely the price.  It can get very pricey to maintain and it is quite an initial investment to get them in the first place.

If you want more information on them, I recently wrote an article for Clippings magazine which explains the process more in detail, as well as other ways to get bold, luscious lashes.  You can view the article here and here.

Anyways, I hope this blog post helps if you are deciding to take the plunge and invest in some longer lashes.  They are relatively easy to maintain and I really do love having them. Do I regret getting them?  No.  Will I keep getting fills for them forever.  Who knows? I do miss mascara some days, but you know it’s awesome with summer coming up and everything and I can go to the beach with them and still have that same look because they are great in the water.  It’s like having long, natural lashes.. the fake way.

March 2011 Favourites

Hey all!

So I have decided that I’m going to do a favourites post at the end of every month, whether it’s beauty, fashion, or just random stuff. Fittingly it’s the end of March so here are my faves for the month!

ELF “C” Eyeshadow Brush

I absolutely love this brush! I got it last month when I was in Vegas and we stopped at a local Target. The brush retails for only like $3 and if you don’t have a retailer near you that sells ELF (like me) you can pick it up online.

The brush is made up of synthetic bristles, I myself tend to go towards animal hair (shame on me, I know) for my brushes but I’m very impressed by the quality in this little brush. You can use it for lids, creases, blending, etc. It’s one of those brushes that you can really get a lot of bang for your buck. I highly recommend it.

Hello Kitty Perfume To Go Solid Perfume Necklace

If you know me, you will know that I absolutely love Hello Kitty. So naturally when Sephora came out with a Hello Kitty collection I was excited. Not gonna lie though, when I first saw it in person I was kind of let down. The stuff looked kind of cheap and in true Sephora style it was overpriced. Especially in Canada. This little necklace retails for $64 in Canada and $39 in the States. That’s almost a $30 difference and the Canadian dollar is pretty much at par. And no, you can’t just order it online and get that price, it switches to the Canadian pricing.

Anyways, when I was in Vegas I mad hunted this down and found it and lucky for me it was the last one. The scent is really pretty and fresh and young, perfect for teens or little girls just started to experiment with fragrance and makeup. The only thing I don’t like so much about this is the chain. I know I’m not the only one who thinks this too, just Google it and you will find out. The chain is long (hits mid-boob) but there is no clasp or anything so you can’t adjust it, which is annoying because in the product ad it’s a lot shorter. And to top it off, the charm is attached weird to the chain so it tends to flip over so you can’t see Kitty’s pretty face.

If you can get over those flaws (or you could just get a new chain, I’m too lazy to) I would pick this baby up. However, if you are Canadian I would suggest going to a U.S. Sephora (if there is one near you) and picking it up there, the Canadian price hike is ridiculous.

Neutral Nail Polish

I have really been loving neutrals lately. From nude pumps to cream coloured blouses, I’m all over it. So naturally this trend has stretched to my nails as well. I only have the two shades right now, but I absolutely love them. The one on the right is “You Don’t Know Jacques” from OPI’s Fall 2008 collection, La collection de France. I believe it is one of OPI’s most popular colours and I can totally see why. I was rocking this colour all week (I literally just took it off like half an hour ago because it started to chip) even though it is practically spring. You can definitely wear this colour all year but I think it would be most perfect for fall.

The one on the left is “San Tantonio” from OPI’s current Texas collection. It’s more of a brown colour but not as dark as You Don’t Know Jacques. I also think it’s more wearable for spring. But I mean I think that both colours are universal for all seasons because they are neutrals. Funny story about this though, I was torn between San Tantonio and Over the Taupe and I actually chose Over the Taupe but when I got home and put it on it was the wrong colour! Whoops! That’s okay though, I like this one too, maybe in the future I’ll pick up Over the Taupe as well.

H&M Leopard Print Shoes

Another Vegas purchase! I knew that I really wanted to pick up a pair of leopard print shoes ( I’m going through a huge leopard phase right now) and originally I was going to go for these super hot Steve Madden ones, but I think that these are more wearable and not to mention cheaper! They were $34.99 I believe, somewhere in that price range.

I love wearing these with black jeggings and a neutral coloured top. I don’t think I would do leopard with leopard because that may be too much animal print going on. Maybe a scarf actually, so it wouldn’t be too in your face.

Not sure if H&M still has these, but if they do I would pick them up. Super easy to walk in and comfy. Not to mention affordable and you can definitely take these from day to night.

ELF Undereye Concealer and Highlighter

So another Vegas purchase (this is like a Vegas haul, geez) which I absolutely love. One end is a concealer and the other is a highlighter.

I’m really loving ELF, these are my first products from them and I am totally loving the line. I wish the shipping to Canada didn’t take so long otherwise I would order more stuff (it’s so affordable!). I can’t remember what I paid for this but I know it wasn’t that much.

The concealer part really brightens my eyes and other areas that need concealing and the highlighter is just fab. I use it on my cheek bone above my blush, as well as on my brow bone. It really does create that extra oomph to make your complexion glow. I think I have used it practically everyday since I got it.

Hard Candy Sheer Envy Face Primer

I have recently gotten into face primers. I actually never knew about them until I got a mini one with a Bare Minerals foundation kit and now it is part of my regular makeup routine. Foundation just goes on way more smoothy with it underneath.

When I ran out of the Bare Minerals one I got a mini Nars one from Sephora as part of a sampler event for Beauty Insiders. Of course that lasted me like a few days so I knew I had to pick a new one up. Okay, let me just say, who knew how expensive these are?! Seriously, the cheapest one at Sephora is like $18, so naturally, I was like “okay, Wal-Mart time!”. I knew that Hard Candy does a line at Wal-Mart and thought that maybe they would have an affordable primer to try (I mean as much as I love primers and everything, it’s a part of your makeup that you don’t see). I found this one for like $8 and I really like it. It’s a bit greasy when you first put it on and I find I have to shake the bottle before I dispense it (it can get a bit runny) but it does its job and it’s affordable. Big plus!

Okay, this post is like super long now, I feel bad because I’m ignoring Ziggy. So I’m going to sign off, hope you enjoyed reading about my favourites for March and let me know what you were loving this month.

Until next time!

Neutral Love

What’s in the box??

It finally came!!  The makeup product I have been stalkerishly looking on the Sephora website for for the last like three months.  And no, not just once a day, I have been on there like three times a day.

Okay I’ll give you a hint… it’s been sold out FOREVER and they recently just re-released it with a brush and raised the price…

Wanna know??

 

 

 

Urban Decay’s Naked Palette! When I got the email from Sephora they had it back in stock I ordered it right away and started the two week waiting period for it to get to me. Which it did yesterday.

This beauty comes with 12 colours, some of which are exclusive to the palette, a mini primer potion, and their Good Karma brush.  Personally I would have liked the double-ended eyeliners because I have heard only good things about them and they are pricey by themselves, but I am so not complaining.  The brush itself is okay, a little stiff and it doesn’t feel like the best quality of bristles (I think my ELF Professional “C” Brush is better and it was like $3 at Target), and if you read the reviews from people they don’t seem to like it either.  I also read people were complaining about the price raise as well (like $4, come on!), but you know what?  Even with the price raise it’s still way cheaper than what people on eBay are selling it for (hello $60 shipping, you’re kidding me right?).

Anyways, I have only used four or so colours, so I haven’t fully tried it out as of yet.  I do have a full size of their Primer Potion (which is awesome by the way) so I didn’t even crack open the mini yet.

I may do a full review on it later when I fully give it a try, but as of first tries and glances, I really like it.  The colours are perfect and there doesn’t seem to be one that isn’t wearable for everyday (unlike other UD palettes).  Also, another huge plus is that the colours seem to be very pigmented, what you see is what you get.

I’ll probably do an update on this in a week or so to tell you my more in depth thoughts.  I probably won’t swatch it because you can easily find swatches of it on other blogs or just do a quick YouTube search for it.

In the meantime, let me know if you have picked this baby up yet?  I know it was available on Sephora.com for like a week after they got it in again (at my local Sephora there is a wait list for it – screw that!), but as of right now it is sold out again.  Urban Decay has had it on their online store a few times now, I would have ordered it from them but they don’t ship to Canada.  Oh well, I got it eventually. Good things come to those who wait.

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