Category Archives: Product Reviews

Organic Surge Super Fresh Awakening Body Wash Review & Pictures

4 Replies

Organic Surge Super Fresh Awakening Body Wash Review & PicturesMy review on the Organic Surge Super Fresh Awakening Body Wash has been a long time coming because I’ve been using it for several weeks.

This is a new-to-me body wash. Not only have I never seen it in stores here in Canada, but I also haven’t read any reviews on it by other bloggers.

So when Organic Surge got in touch with me, I was curious to give it a go. Organic food and products always interest me.

With a sophisticated blend of spicy May Chang and uplifting Bergamot essential oils, this is definitely the most mature body wash I’ve ever used. (Typically, I tend to go for either caramel/vanilla ones that make me smell edible or fruity scents.)

Although it was a far departure than what I’m used to, I’ve learned to appreciate this, and I really like how it’s a 99% natural body wash that is free of harsh chemicals and is animal-friendly.

Continue reading →

Share

OPI DS Tourmaline Swatches & Review

8 Replies

OPI DS Tourmaline Swatches & Review Okay, so last week was crazy busy, as you probably guessed, judging from how I posted less often than I usually do.

I was preparing to paint the accent wall in my living room! (If you follow me on social media, you know that on Saturday, I painted it green – haha, no shock there, right? It was in Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint in PPU10-7 Lima Green, in case you were wondering. And, although I tried taking photos of it to show you, unfortunately, my smartphone made it look like a completely different colour. I may try with my DSLR later. I’m soooo happy with the shade. It looks even better than the paint chip.)

But, now onto today’s review! 😉

I wore OPI DS Tourmaline for over 5 days straight. (When I was Instagramming, I thought it was 5 days, but apparently it was closer to a week that I wore it!) Even more impressive because it wore for a long time, even though I didn’t wear a base or top coat. (The press release says that you can wear it with or without a base coat. Since I love textured polishes, I tried it without any nail treatments.)

OPI DS Tourmaline is 1 of 2 new shades in the Designer Series line, and it features the Polished Quartz finish, which is very sparkly and has a textured finished.

I found it very challenging to photograph this polish, especially because on the days when I had time to snap photos before heading to work in the morning, the sky was overcast. (As you may know, I haven’t yet invested in studio lighting, so I rely on Mother Nature and my DSLR camera.)

Let me tell you – OPI DS Tourmaline is an incredible nail polish that no photos can do justice! There’s way more sparkle and loads more colours crammed into this bottle than I could capture. Also, the pink is lighter than the magenta you see in my photos. (I posted a couple of photos of it on Instagram, so you can compare how my smartphone’s camera captured the shade.)

Continue reading →

Share

Essie Take It Outside Swatches & Review

4 Replies

Essie Take It Outside Swatches & ReviewEssie Take It Outside is part of the Fall 2014 Collection, which I showed you the press release of recently.

I don’t usually wear softer shades like this, but I do enjoy switching things up. Life is too short to not enjoy expressing yourself with colour, and I love to sport everything and anything! 🙂

This is a very sophisticated and easy-to-wear shade that I feel many will love because it’s appropriate to wear in even conservative offices, yet it’s not boring because the taupe seems to have just a tinge of purple. (I think that’s what gives it some slight edginess!)

Continue reading →

Share

OPI Orange You Fantastic! Swatches & Review (Mattified)

4 Replies

OPI Orange You Fantastic Swatches & ReviewAlthough OPI Orange You Fantastic! is from the Coca-Cola Collection that came out a while ago, and I sported this manicure over a month ago, it totally has an autumnal vibe. So, I thought it was appropriate to show you this glittertastic nail polish in September!

With pieces of red, orange, and yellow glitter, it’s like the beautiful leaves that change colour, and you can bring them with you everywhere you go! How fun is that? 🙂

Normally I’d slick on a shiny top coat, but this time, I felt the need to mattify it with the OPI Matte Top Coat. (I really liked the finished result because it looks almost like frosted glitter.)

Continue reading →

Share

Quick Look: Bundle Monster Sun Kissed Collection

24 Replies

Bundle Monster Sun Kissed Collection Review & PicturesGuess what just arrived in my mailbox when I got home from work last night? The brand new Bundle Monster Sun Kissed Collection, which I shared the press release about on here recently.

So I picked up my camera and got snappin’ because I’m sure that a lot of fellow nailphiles would love to see the cool designs on the 10 stainless-steel nail-stamping plates!

In this post, you’ll see each Bundle Monster plate in detail, as well as some commentary on each plate.

Stay tuned for a future post when I share my swatches of the manicures I come up with!

(Side Note: You may have noticed that this week, there have been fewer blog posts than usual. Things are always hectic on my end, but this week was particularly crazzzyyy town. I hope to get back into my usual 5-per-week posting schedule. I’ll do my best!) 🙂

Continue reading →

Share

Simple Eye Make-up Remover Review & Pictures

8 Replies

Simple Eye Make-up Remover Review & PicturesLife is complicated. Your skincare shouldn’t be.

For me, I am the most interested in stripped-down skincare that doesn’t have bells and whistles. Instead, I want it to perform like a winning racehorse.

While for most beauty products, I’m swayed by the packaging and different scents or colours, when it comes to skincare, I’m a strong advocate that simple is best.

Especially when you have sensitive skin like I do, fragrances and harsh ingredients don’t often play well. So when the Simple skincare company’s PR reached out to me and gave me the opportunity to try some of their products for the first time, I was totally on board!

What I like about Simple skincare is that they’re found in the drugstore and at some grocery stores, making them easy to not only find, but also to get on sale at price points that make the products accessible to more people of varying socio-economic statuses.

But, you know me. It’s not all about the dollar! When it comes to skincare, I’m willing to pay top dollar (within reason), if it’s significantly effective that I notice a difference. And if I get the results for a drugstore price, that’s even better!

The Simple skincare brand is new to me, even though when I posted an Instagram photo of some of their products that I was testing out, it was pretty interesting to see that a lot of people really loved the brand and raved about products they enjoyed using. (Clearly, when it comes to drugstore skincare, I’m not in the loop as I am with nail polish and makeup!) 😉

I was very curious to dive into this bottle of Simple Eye Make-up Remover. It was also good timing that PR sent it to me exactly when I finished the very last drop of my other remover!

I’ve been testing out this eye makeup remover daily for about a week now, and I have some strong opinions about it because in addition to having sensitive skin, my eyes are also sensitive. Since Simple skincare claims to be the “Sensitive Skin Experts”, they had a lot to live up to!

Come see how this product fared!

Continue reading →

Share

Batiste Dry Shampoo Wild Review & Pictures

18 Replies

Batiste Dry Shampoo Wild ReviewI used to be the type of person who always had to shampoo my hair on a daily basis or else I felt gross and oily.

My hair is naturally curly/wavy, so it’s on the dry side, and because I heat style it with a blow dryer and flat iron it straight all the time, it gets fried more often than it should.

Washing hair every day and also applying so much heat isn’t good for my hair. And I can’t just let my tresses air dry because then I resemble a frizzy poodle. 😉 Plus I am very picky about what I put in my hair – basically I only use 100% organic argan oil that soaks in and doesn’t leave any residue.

I’ve read that not washing your hair daily is healthier for your hair because it prevents the good oil from being stripped too often, which is what can make your hair look and feel dry.

But going even a single day without washing my hair made me very uncomfortable because near the roots, where the oil tends to be the worst, it just feels nasty.

I also read that the more you wash your hair and strip the oil, it can actually train your scalp to produce more oil! But, if you wash your hair every couple of days, it could reduce the amount of oil production.

So, I gave it a go for about 2 months. I’ve been washing my hair every 2-3 days instead of daily, and I have definitely noticed a difference. My hair doesn’t get as oily near the roots as quickly as before, and it’s the icing on the cake that getting ready in the morning is faster. (Note: Yes, I shower on a daily basis. It’s only my hair that I avoid washing daily. Haha, just wanted to make that absolutely clear!)

But I wouldn’t be able to skip washing my hair without a dry shampoo. I’ve went through 2 cans of a Joico dry shampoo that I received in my swag bag when I attended the Contessa Awards, which I blogged about before. But the really strong generic salon hairspray smell really put me off.

It wasn’t until I tried the Batiste Dry Shampoo (Wild) that I finally found an effective dry shampoo with a pleasant and mild scent that I feel comfortable using on a regular basis.

The Batiste Dry Shampoo comes in a wide variety of scents, but I decided to ‘go wild’, partially because I’m a fan of cheetah/leopard print, but also because it’s highly recommended by Leighannsays. She’s one of the few YouTubers I subscribe to, and I trust her honest and candid opinions. I love her carefree personality, great sense of style, and solid beauty-product knowledge. Her videos are fun and funny, which will leave you smiling! (If you haven’t already checked out her channel, click the link above and subscribe – you’ll love her, too!)

Continue reading →

Share