Essie Going Incognito

There's no denying that Essie Going Incognito is a fall/winter shade. Besides the obvious dark = fall/winter thing, its deep forest green really reminded me of the spiky, dark green holly leaves you often see in Christmas decorations. I even considered layering a chunky red glitter on top to be the holly berries for a seriously Christmas-y vibe.

Since most of the greens in my collection are pretty much turquoise, Going Incognito is definitely unique to my collection. Sadly, it's just like and not love. It might not be apparent in the photo, but in person it feels like it's missing a richness that would make it really special in my books. This shade might be perfect for someone else, but it's not quite there for me.

Coming up: butter London swatches

Smitten by the UK-tastic polish names and gorgeous colours, the only thing holding me back from buying up every shade was my wallet eyeing the $17 CAD pricetag warily. Thanks to a certain Coterie sale not too long ago, I was finally able to snatch up a few butter London polishes for much less.

Because the sale was a choice of three out of six possible shades, I didn't exactly pick the colours I've been wanting the most (Slapper and Lady Muck, I'm looking at you), but it's kind of good to be pushed out of my turquoise comfort zone. All Hail The Queen is a beige beauty that is closest to my usual taste, but is packed with holographic shimmer to give it an interesting twist. Wallis is a metallic olive gold with a darkness and vibrancy that makes it perfect for fall. Pillar Box Red is actually the most out of my comfort zone, and is--believe it or not--my very first red creme.

Did you buy anything from the Coterie butter London sale? Stay tuned for swatches!

On loving LUSH BB Seaweed

After recovering from an eczema flare-up on my face, I set out in search of a mask to pamper my skin and found myself in LUSH at Metrotown. Explaining to a helpful SA that I was looking for something nourishing, we narrowed it down to Love Lettuce, Catastrophe Cosmetic, and BB Seaweed. Although all three masks are suitable for any skin type, I took home BB Seaweed for my dry and sometimes-sensitive skin.

Although a batch of BB Seaweed contains a staggering seven pounds of nourishing seaweed, this mask smells more herby and grassy than oceanic (which is not a bad thing at all). Big chunks of seaweed lurk in the pot, which make this mask extra-fun to slather on and wash off. The texture is quite thick, so there's no risk of dripping seaweed bits all over yourself.

I love this mask for being two skincare steps in one: first, ingredients such as lime tree flower extract, rosemary oil, and honey nourish and condition the skin; afterwards, I massage my face as I slooowly wash off the mask, so that the finely-ground almonds and millet flakes hiding in the mask gently exfoliate away any dry bits. The result: a fresh, soft face free of any rough patches!

Due to the lack of preservative ingredients in LUSH Fresh Face masks, they have a very short shelf life and should be kept chilled. The sticker on my BB Seaweed pot showed a "best before" date that is less than a month after its creation! I did decide to continue using it after this date and was careful of any changes in appearance, smell, or texture--especially very small, green, fuzzy bits (i.e. mold!) Many people see the short shelf life as an inconvenience, but it also motivated me to use it regularly, since I know I can't keep it tucked away forever. As with any exfoliating product I have, I used it only about once or twice a week to avoid the negative effects of over-exfoliating, and probably got at least 5-6 generous uses out of a pot. If the expiry date scares you, try splitting it with some friends or even making a girls' night-in of it.

Have you tried BB Seaweed or any other LUSH Fresh Face masks?

Ingredients: Tilia europaea (lime tree) flower extract, Viola odorata (sweet violet) leaf extract, kaolin, honey, glycerin, Prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) seed meal, Fucus gardneri (Bladderwrack seaweed) extract, Aloe barbadensis leaf juice, Panicum miliaceum (millet flakes), Olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, bentonite gel, Rosa centifolia flower, Rosa damascena extract, Pogostemon cablin (patchouli) oil, Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil, Fucus vesiculosus (seaweed) extract, citral, geraniol, benzyl benzoate, limonene, linalool, perfume

Available at LUSH (in-store only) - $6.95 CAD / 60g

A Tale of Two Turquoises

I wonder if you can tell anything from looking at a person's nail polish collection? Turquoises, of all other colours, make up the biggest proportion of my collection. Although I thought L'Oreal Club Prive might be too similar to Essie's Turquoise & Caicos to justify buying it, the allure of that gold-capped bottle won me over in the end.

Even the bottles are similar...

Happily, the difference between the two is much clearer when compared side-by-side, as Club Prive leans much more blue. Still, how would it match up to one of my most-loved turquoises?

As it turns out, pretty damn well. Club Prive has that "watery" quality I love about Turquoise & Caicos that makes it so perfect for spring. Shade-wise, it's right in between Turquoise & Caicos and China Glaze's For Audrey, two very popular polishes. In fact, it's probably usurped Turquoise & Caicos' place as my favourite turquoise.

Club Prive went perfectly with some heart-shaped nail art bits I picked up in a set from Daiso recently. At first, I applied the pieces on top of just dabs of Seche Vite before sealing the entire nail with top coat, but I lost all but one after a day of wear. I turned to sticking them on with nail glue (bad idea), which held on really well, but was incredibly stubborn and annoying to remove even with acetone.

What colour dominates your polish stash? And (against my better judgment) what is your favourite turquoise polish?

Swatches: Annabelle TwistUp Lipstick Crayons

Seems like my current obsession for crayon-like lip products like Revlon's Balm Stain goes deeper than I thought, because I was instantly drawn to the display of Annabelle TwistUp Lipstick Crayons at Shoppers. They have a lot more than shape in common, as both allow you to twist the bottom to push up more product,(rather than having to dig out your sharpener) and seem very moisturizing. I wouldn't be surprised if there are very close dupes between the two shade-wise as well.

Absolute, Bubble, Divine, Mai Tai, Mimosa, Tease

Kiss, Fizz, Kinky Pink, Breeze, Royale

TwistUps are available in 12 shades in total (I'm missing dark pink Flirtini) that seem fairly pigmented and glided on my arm very smooth and creamy, most likely with the help of shea butter in the formula. Tease and Fizz are the only two that are frosty.

Although I have more than enough lip products to last me for years, it's hard to resist the combination of colour and hydration that these crayons offer. I will probably end up buying a shade or two and compare against the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains, of course in the name of science. All for science, honest.

Speaking of swatches, I should really finish my swatches of the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipsticks...

Nails Inc Baker Street

I really loved this colour when I spied it on Liz's toes. I've seen Nails Inc around at Sephora but nothing quite caught my eye like this medium blue. I snagged it during a US trip so it was a bit cheaper ($9.50 USD to $11.50 CAD), but I wouldn't mind paying the inflated Canadian price for this stunner if I had to. The cobalt blue of Baker Street is surprisingly bright (brighter than my camera could capture) but also rich, making it a fantastic polish for fall, especially if you're not ready to start wearing moodier hues yet. It really popped against my skin tone and I received tons of compliments from strangers and friends alike. I'm rather pleased about picking up this shade, since it's very unique to my collection of blue polishes so far.

I kinda dig that Nails Inc's polish shade names seem to be inspired by streets and other locations in London, such as The Thames (a pretty dark grey, by the way). Baker Street is a real street in London, most famous for being the address of Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Much cooler than awkward puns for polish names, right?

Review: Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes

If you love your Top Chef Masters and Big Bang Theory like I do, you've probably seen the commercial for Simple Skincare quite a few times already: a white rose getting splattered with paint while a British-accented voice introduces this UK brand as a sensitive skin expert, describing its facial wipes as being "kind to skin". I recently got a sample pack of the Cleansing Facial Wipes with my September issue of Loulou, and tested their gentleness on my slightly-acting-up skin. (FYI: if you are a Rogers customer, you can subscribe to Loulou for a dollar an issue!)

True to the claims advertised on the Simple website, I didn't notice any scent, and I didn't feel any dryness or residue after use. The wipes worked perfectly well removing my makeup (Marcelle BB cream) without much fuss or irritating my face. Bonus: some makeup removers sting my eyes, but these wipes removed my waterproof L'Oreal Voluminous False Fiber mascara pain-free.

Since I prefer washing my face with water and a proper cleanser, I probably wouldn't buy the Facial Wipes only because I can't be sure I would finish them before they dry up inside the packaging once opened. The wipes are definitely worth a try for anybody likes the convenience of wipes, not just those who have sensitive skin. Although I was a bit skeptical of Simple before, I'll be checking out other products in the range based on my experience.

Ingredients: Water, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Panthenol, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, Ceteareth-12, Sodium Citrate, 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3-Diol, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben

I'm alive

As you can see, I lost some of my blogging mojo recently and haven't posted in quite a while. Here's what I've been up to lately! (If you follow me on Instagram, some of this is probably old news.)

Going to Playland and PNE! I haven't been on amusement park rides in years until a good friend's birthday this past July. Turns out rides that spin still make me nauseous. Bf won this Domo-kun playing Whack-a-Mole; we call him Judo Domo--although he's wearing a karate gi, erm.

Going to the Vancouver Aquarium! This is a super-cool terrarium sort of thing, although it looks like something out of a fantasy film.

Looking at shiny things! I had a really fun overnight shopping trip to the US with a fabulous group of girls. These cutout heels were so gorgeous that I was just barely able to tear myself away from them by telling myself they were way too tall for me (~5") and I would never really wear them out.

Eating delicious noms! I don't usually like eating very very sweet things, but this praline waffle from Nero in downtown Vancouver was amazing.

(Occasionally) doing my nails! I have to say that my polish application has gotten much better recently, to the point where I have deleted many planned nail polish posts because the application is not up to my new standards. I've reorganized and swatched my polish collection and have a few organization and comparison posts coming soon.

(Occasionally) testing makeup/skincare! Lately I'm really into skincare and looking into Asian brands. What are your favourite skincare products? (Unrelated fun fact: I have a soft spot for graphic tees and this one is one of my favourites. Bonus cookies to people that know the reference!)