Ten of My Favourite Products from 2014

I have had the opportunity to try out many beauty products, especially in the latter quarter of 2014. Below is a quick list of ten of my favourites and they have been placed in no particular order.

1. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette
2. Gerard Cosmetics Lip Gloss
3. Makeup Forever HD Foundation
4. Lime Crime Velvetines
5. Josie Maran Argan Oil Light
6. Tarte Lip Surgence
7. Glam Glow Thirsty Mud Hydrating Treatment 
8. Smashbox Masterclass III Palette
9. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara
10. Fresh Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment and Sugar Lip Polish

There were certainly more wonderful products that I had the pleasure of trying, but wanted to share a short list of standouts. Hopefully you've enjoyed the holidays and Happy New Year! I'm looking forward to sharing many new product reviews with you in 2015.

Naked on the Run

It's that time of year again when the holidays are upon us. If you'll be doing some travelling then today's review might be a great product for you. Recently Urban Decay released their limited edition Naked on the Run palette. It is designed to provide a complete look in one package. The packaging is very nice and a little thick, but still a comfortable size for what's inside.

There are six lovely neutral shadows including a large one called 5050. There are two matte, one sparkly and three shimmer shadows. It also includes bronzer, blush, lip gloss, 24/7 eye liner and Perversion mascara. The 5050 shade, blush, and rose gold shadow called Dive are my favourites in this set. The gloss and liner go on beautifully. The gloss is a great colour to compliment a lot of makeup designs and skin tones.

You can purchase this set from Sephora https://www.sephora.com. I'd love to hear if you've tried the Naked on the Run palette and what your thoughts are about it by leaving a comment below. Happy Holidays!

Birchbox Subscription

Hi there everyone, I'm finally back with another beauty review. Today's review is of my subscription box from Birchbox. They are now available in Canada, so December is their first month for Canadians to try it out. It is a monthly beauty subscription box that you order online at https://www.birchbox.ca/ and the contents are a surprise until you open it. There is a profile survey to determine what type of products you might be most interested in. It's very easy to complete and seems worthwhile to hopefully get products to try that you might like.

You can subscribe on a yearly or monthly basis. There is a monetary savings for subscribing to a full year, however I wanted to try the service out before making that kind of commitment. The subscription can be cancelled at anytime and you are billed the first of each month. Mine arrived today which I found impressive since it's mid month.

Inside my box I received deluxe sample sizes of a Harvey Prince Hello Body Cream, Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo, Vasanti Brighten Up Enzymatic Face Rejuvinator, The Balm Stainiac Lip and Cheek Stain and a Cynthia Rowley Black eyeliner. There was a $10 off card for the Gap and a list of the products, how to use them and the full size retail costs. Items can be purchased from their website in full size along with subscribing to the boxes.

I tested out the body cream and it was fresh smelling as well as quick absorbing. I did find the scent subtle enough and it made my hands nice and smooth. The Vasanti exfoliating cleanser was easy on the skin and helped to remove flaky dry skin, particularly around my nose. It left my skin feeling squeaky clean and ready for moisturizer. The Cynthia Rowley liner glides on really smoothly and seems to stay put despite not being waterproof. The Staniac provides a subtle stain to lips and cheeks. It appears much darker in the package than it does on the skin and lips. The only product I haven't tried yet is the dry shampoo. I did spray it and it doesn't have the hairspray scent that some dry shampoos do, which is already a plus.

So far I'm very impressed with the service from Birchbox and the box that I received. I'm looking forward to January's box and sharing my thoughts with you!