OPI Nail Polish Haul

I've mentioned before in my Zoya polish haul that I should be getting even more nail pretties very soon as a result of an OPI nail polish incentive my company was running at the time. So... guess what? I have a lot of new OPI lacquers to show you!

So far, I've already worn a couple of these and was rather happy with the application and wear. I tried to go for shades I enjoy but that had been previously missing from my collection; hence a lot of light and medium pinks, which I actually wear quite rarely for fear of being too girly ;)

By the way, I'm thinking of starting a new monthly feature to showcase the polishes I'm trying out and my feeble attempts at nail art; does that sound interesting? If not... well, just skip that nail polish swatchathon at the end of each month!

Starting with the lightest shades, left to right:
Up Front & Personal (permanent collection): a semi-sheer light gold mettalic foil, can be worn on its own or used as a shimmer top coat for another shade
The Lights of Emerald City (Oz The Great and Powerful): a mix of white glitter squares and small opalescent glitters in a transparent base, beautiful over the top of...
Don't Burst My Bubble (Oz The Great and Powerful): a sheer nearly white pink cream, levels well on the nail and gives a lovely milky effect
I Theodora You (Oz The Great and Powerful): a sheer light neutral pink, same formulation as Don't Burst My Bubble - meaning, very good.

Charged Up Cherry (permanent collection): a pigmented vibrant hot coral red, a tad too thick but the color is gorgeous on the nail
Princesses Rule! (permanent collection): a semi-sheer medium neutral pink foil, same formulation as Up Front & Personal. These two polishes have the most amazing shimmery finish - not for anyone who fears sparkles!
Feeling Hot-Hot-Hot (permanent collection): a pigmented bright coral pink, a touch lighter and more pink than Charged Up Cherry... but you don't really need both.

Pamplona Purple (permanent collection): a medium warm purple cream, opaque in two coats
Polka.com (Euro Centrale, now permanent): a mix of turquoise, fuschia and purple glitters in a sheer base, beautiful on top of darker cool colors
You're Such a Budapest (Euro Centrale, now permanent): a unique pastel periwinkle lilac with tiny silver shimmers; the finish on the nail looks more like a cream but with some dimension.

Also, I failed at this bloggy photo shoot... I forgot to include one more OPI polish I got, a blue Liquid Sand called Tiffany Case from the Bonds Girls collection, now permanent as well. But, I promise to swatch it soon for you! Have you gotten any new polishes recently? What are your favorite OPI shades?

Zoya Nail Polish Exchange

As some of you fellow polish fanatics may know, Zoya was offering their annual Nail Polish Exchange deal in honor of Earth Day a couple weeks ago, and I just could not stop myself from getting some new lacquers (just $4 each!), especially that previously I'd only had 2 of their bottles in my collection. Well, and since they're just too pretty, I just had to share with you.

 The minimum order requirement for the Exchange was 6 bottles, so I purchased (clockwise from top): Aurora, Jem, Kimber, FeiFei, Wednesday and Julie. I think I did quite a good job picking out shades that suit my preferences but I have to say that I expected Wednesday to be a bit bluer and in fact it's a pure medium mint green. Below is a look at my entire Zoya collection with added Pandora and Jules in the bottom left corner.

Now, for the polishes that I exchanged the Zoyas for... it's a motley bunch, with mostly drugstore. Instead of shipping the rejects back to Zoya, I decided to save on postal fees and just give my old polishes away to friends. I got rid of 3 Sinful Colors polishes in Hot & Sour, Aqua and Cinderella, a discontinued OPI in Panda-monium Pink!, an Essie in Demure Vixen, one Essence polish, one polish from Joko (a Polish brand) and one Petites polish in Passion Orange. I haven't worn any of these polishes in a very long time and decided that overall, I wasn't a fan of how they looked against my skintone.

As a little extra, here's how Zoya Julie looks on my nails - very soft and feminine, no? My weeding out of old unloved polishes has been rewarded not only with a lovely bunch of new shades but also an incentive at work by which I'm able to score some free OPIs of my choice, so watch out for some more nail polish related posts. Out with the old, in with the new!

Have you bought any new polishes lately? What are you wearing on your nails right now?

French Pharmacie Skincare Haul

To tie in with my 2013 Blogging and Beauty Resolutions, I thought I'd show you the various French skincare bits I picked up in Poland that I intend to revamp my beauty routine with, plus some Polish extras thrown in for a good measure. There's quite a bit, so let's get right to it!

 I asked one of my Santas for some Avène products for Christmas, namely the Cicalfate Restorative Skin Cream (which, along with other Avène products, you can now buy on drugstore.com) for when my skin is being a bit more reactive, and the Soothing Moisture Mask, which I'm really liking so far. I'd only tried some of the acne line from Avène previously, so I wanted to get a better feel for the brand and thought that the more soothing, hydrating products for sensitive skin are just what my face needs at the moment. I also decided to purchase Avène's Thermal Spring Water spray to try - I used Vichy in the past and wasn't too impressed but wanted to give thermal waters another go.

Speaking of Vichy, my mum actually gifted me this little trio of deluxe samples that she got as a free gift. I like having a smaller size of the thermal water to take with me on the go, plus I'll be able to compare it to the Avène one. The round blue lid depicted below is a mini glass pot of Aqualia Thermal facial moisturizer, and there's also a small bottle of their micellar cleanser, Pureté Thermale 3-in-1 Calming Cleansing Solution.

I've also decided to stock up on toner and picked up the La Roche-Posay Physiological Soothing Toner (I can't seem to find this product on their US website, interesting...), as well as Bioderma's Hydrabio Serum Moisturizing Concentrate for Very Dehydrated Sensitive Skin - I've read a lot of rave reviews about it and wanted to try this next when I run out of my night time serum. The third box you can see on the right was a Christmas gift again; it's from a Polish brand Tołpa, which uses peat extract in their products, and it's a Mattifying Correcting Cream; I wonder if I could get away with using this as a moisturizer/primer in the mornings. I also got a body massage serum from the same brand and it smells absolutely divine, very much like sandalwood (it's the big brown pot in the first photo).

Last but by no means least, I had to make a stop at Inglot to purchase some more of their eyeshadows. They had a new collection out with some gorgeous metallic taupey shades, so I got two of those (no. 152 and 153), as well as two from the permanent line - a shimmery deep emerald green, no. 414, and a matte purpley brown, no. 344. I will swatch these for you very soon; I can't wait to play with these new taupes and the green!

I think I am now very well stocked in terms of skincare and can safely say I won't need to purchase anything for at least another 6 months (huh, we'll see about that...). One thing I forgot to include in the photos was a pot of Nuxe Rêve de Miel lip balm, which is much raved about on the blogosphere; can't wait to (literally) dig my fingers into it! Did you get any beauty bits under the tree or picked something up in the sales afterwards? Please share in the comments, I'd love to know!

Holiday Sales Haul

I'd had my mind pretty made up that I wasn't going to buy anything during the Black Friday/ Cyber Monday sales - I didn't feel like I particularly needed anything and the things I wanted, I already put on my Christmas wishlist. But I just couldn't resist some of the bargains! Here's the damage:

I thought that Origins online store had one of the best deals floating around: $10 off $25 purchase + free shipping. I've been using a sample of their Drink-Up moisturizing mask for a couple weeks now, so I wanted to purchase that, and I also wanted to try the Clear Improvement charcoal mask. Origins offer these two products in the travel size (half of the normal tube) for $16 each so that was a fantastic buy.

Then, I was watching Ruth Crilly's (A Model Recommends) luxury Holiday gift guide video and she mentioned a beautifully packaged L'Occitane bath set. So, as you would, I casually wandered over to their website and found this gem: Almond Enchantment, reduced to $68 from $98 plus a $10 gift card and free shipping Cyber Monday deal. I just couldn't stop myself, it sounded so delicious and pampering! I've now already tried the Almond Shower Oil (after both me and Mr having spent at least 15 minutes trying to open the darn pump) and it feels wonderfully moisturizing on the skin and smells absolutely to die for; a must-have for winter. The gift set also came with a $15 of $55 coupon - I can already see myself picking some new treats up!

Actually, the first thing I purchased during the sales was the Bobbi Brown Corrector that I had my eye on for the longest time. They had a no minimum free shipping deal going on as well as a trio of deluxe samples + a mini lip gloss included with purchase. Unfortunately, the lip gloss shade doesn't really suit me but I will pass it on to my mum; I actually quite like the tiny little Bellini gloss that was included as well so it's all good.

Since I'm not a VIB at Sephora (although I have a strong feeling this is due to some technical error in my account - I think it's the fourth week now that I'm trying to resolve this issue with Sephora's customer service) I missed out on the sale earlier last month, which is why I then grabbed the opportunity to buy when they sent out their $15 off $50 cards last week. I only got two things I've had on my wishlist forever and ever: a Clarisonic replacement brush head and Laura Mercier Mineral Powder SPF 15 foundation. I will review at some point if it meets the expectations.

Lastly, my gifts with purchase and free samples - I did score quite a few! I used a code to get Sephora's Mystery Bag but overall was quite underwhelmed with the samples I received, especially compared to their earlier 'It Kit' release. I will do a review if anything stands out.

And that's it, I'm not buying any more beauty products until next year! Have you bought anything during the Holiday sales or are you waiting until Christmas? Tell me what you scored in the comments below!

In My Shopping Bag This Month...

That's what self-imposed limited make-up budget does to a beauty addict...

Cat-eye sunglasses: Nine West at TJMaxx, Sunglasses case: Corinne McCormack at TJMaxx, Elemis Tranquil Touch Exotic Stars set at Nordstrom Rack (candle, bath oil, body wash, body cream)

Elemis Tranquil Touch candle, Thierry Mugler Angel mini perfume at eBay, Clinique Gel Eyeliner in True Black at Clinique.com, feather necklace at Forever 21

O.P.I Nail Lacquers in Panda-Monium Pink, A Oui Bit of Red and The One That Got Away (all three currently being discontinued), Revlon Colorstay nail polish in Calla Lily, Color Club nail polish in Metamorphosis at RiteAid

bdellium tools brushes: Precision Kabuki Airburshed Effect Brush no. 957, Large Overall Shadow Eye Brush no. 778, Shading Blending Eye Brush no. 776, Precision Eye and Brow Brush no. 957 at bdelliumstore.com

Sam Edelman Purple Calypso Quilted Flats at Nordstrom Rack, The GAP Tri-Blend Raglan Ts in Casual Coral and Blue Iris, The LOFT mint tank top, Ann Taylor Petite Back Zip Striped 3/4 Sleeve Top

Grey and apricot skirt at Camaieu, apricot scarf, crochet lace front cardi at Mojito (all gifts from my parents back at home)

What have you been shopping for this month?

Heads Up: theBalm Essentials at TJMaxx!

Good evening, my lovelies - I feel like I haven't talked to you in ages! As some of you may know, I've recently started a new job and while I've been trying to figure out my work-life balance anew, the posts have become a little sparse; which is why I'm feeling kind of sheepish...

I'm a little bit too disheveled right now to sit down and write a proper skincare post I've been promising for ages (that one will have to wait a couple more days), but I figured I could give you a little heads up on an amazing deal I scored at TJMaxx, which is also a review preview of make-up posts to come.

I'm sure most of you already known that you can find a lot of theBalm products for a very discounted price in your local TJMaxx and Marshall's stores - I love shopping at both of them, I got some lovely spring clothes there as well! Anyway, I found this set of theBalm Essentials recently for $12.99 and just couldn't resist snatching such a great deal. It comes with a variety of make-up products to suit most skin tones, with the exception of the BalmShelter Tinted Moisturizer, which is in Medium and thus way too dark for me at the moment; I'm still keeping it though for warmer weather to mix in with other foundations.

I've already started using some of the products and for now, I can say thay I really enjoy both the Hot Mama! blush and the Bahama Mama bronzer, while the Cheater mascara is very nice, if a bit flaky (as most mascaras tend to fare on my lashes). I think that for under $15, it's a great introduction to the brand and actually, I already got one more product by theBalm... more details coming soon.

Have you found any amazing beauty deals lately? What is your favorite theBalm product?

New Box on the Block: Sample Society March 2012

Since I first heard about (and subscribed to) Birchbox last year, there's been a flurry of new beauty boxes continuously appearing on the market: MyGlam, Beauty Army, and even GlossyBox is soon to be launched in the US! To be completely honest, I was a bit disillusioned about beauty boxes after my experience with Birchbox (but of course now after a spell of bad boxes they're back on top of their game), so I wasn't really looking for a new subscription. However, when I heard that Beauty Bar was launching a new sample scheme in cooperation with Allure, I thought it sounded promising and signed up for the service. The first Sample Society box just landed on my door step last Wednesday, and here are the products I received together with my initial impressions.

First of all, I like the sleek black box, which is approximately the same size as the Birchbox one. Inside, I found 5 deluxe samples wrapped in a silver tissue paper along with a leaflet, which is a bit of a different approach than other beauty boxes seem to have taken: instead of some general blurb about the products you receive, they give you tips on issues these products are designed to address, e.g. the de-puffing Skyn Iceland eye pen - some advice on how to avoid puffy eyes. I like that; the tips are nothing revolutionary, but it was still interesting to read. The leaflet also comes with a $15 off $50 purchase coupon code for Beautybar.com, which you can redeem if you buy one of the products included in the box, which would basically return the price of the box itself. Sample Society was also having a promotion when I was subscribing where you get an entire year subscription to Allure magazine for free, which is also quite cool.

Now onto some things that didn't impress me about the service this month: firstly, the boxes shipped out 2 days later than it was stated on the Sample Society website, but they did apologize about the delay when they emailed the shipping confirmation. Also, before I got my shipping confirmation, I received a random automated email listing all the samples I was going to get - what a spoiler! Fortunately, I averted my eyes just in time and still had my element of surprise when I was unboxing the package. Thirdly, the Dermalogica sample spilt all over my box and the powder got everywhere; but I guess those things happen. And lastly, I believe WA residents actually have to pay another dollar for sales tax, which is a bit unfair.

Negative remarks aside, I am really enjoying my box. In terms of value, you're definitely getting your money's worth: those really are deluxe-size samples, no little foil packets or other such nonsense. Also, all the brands are of the high-end spectrum: Dermalogica, Fekkai, REN, Oscar de la Renta and Skyn Iceland, which is a brand I've never heard about before. Actually, the Skyn Iceland Icelandic Relief Eye Pen is a full size product, the only difference from regular retail being that this was unboxed. So far, I've tried the eye pen, which is great (I might do a separate review) and the Fekkai Glossing Cream, which I quite like as well. I like that there is such a good variety of brands and products (skin, hair, perfume); I was secretly wishing for a make-up item in there, but maybe next month... If I was really splitting hairs, I'd say that two exfoliating products is a bit much, but then the REN is more like a mask, so that's ok.

I'm quite excited to see how this sample service develops over time and to hopefully discover some more new brands and products! Are you currently subscribed to any beauty boxes? What are your experiences?

A Couple Spring Candles...

Feeling very repressed because of my self-imposed and until now unofficial beauty no-buy, I decided I could at least cheer myself up with some new candles, especially after I have significantly diminished our house supply. In all honesty, I'm not a huge candle burner - a small tumbler/jar usually lasts me for about a month, and that's when I'm feeling very into candle burning. But, I've found some good deals and couldn't resist picking up a couple... or more like three couples.

I first went into Bath and Body Works; I really quite like their candles, actually. They look pretty, come in a very wide variety of scents that changes seasonally, have interesting fragrances and burn for a really long time. Their small 4 oz. tumblers are currently on 2 for $10 (they're normally $9.50 each, which is why I wait for specials) so I picked two from the Beautiful Blossoms collection and two from the Tropical range.

Lilac Blossom is a blend of, why yes, lilac blossom, muguet (lilly of the valley), heliotrope and violets. I love the scent of lilac; in Poland, it blossoms in May, and the bushes are planted everywhere: in parks, between apartment buildings, in gardens, backyards, along fences... My parents also have about three plants to the back of their garden, just at the little gate to the forest. The candle is very much true to the actual blossom, fresh, sweet and heady, and I can detect the muguet as well. If you like spring flowers, I think you're going to love this one.

Flower Shop blends lilac, pink freesia, hyacinth and cooling greens - I've been absolutely obsessed with hyacinth lately! Compared to Lilac Blossom, this is much greener, less heavy, more aquatic - for some reason I actually thought about wild roses the first time I sniffed it. I get a lot of freesia from it, but it's not as peppery as the real deal, maybe freshened by the hyacinth? Lovely, and if you're not into florals, I still recommend you sniff this one.

I'd say 90% of the time, I'm not a huge fan of tropical scents; I like my Pina Coladas and Daiquiris as cocktails, not candles, thank you very much. I did however pick up Tiki Beach, a blend of toasted coconut, vanilla musk, purple orchids and sugared berries. This is quite a refreshing scent for something that seems so sweet from the description; it's maybe even a bit masculine...? I do get quite a lot of sharp musk, mellowed by the sweetness of coconut and vanilla. Something for fans of clean (laundry detergent) fragrances.

Lastly, Aloha Vanilla is a blend of mango, vanilla absolute, creamy coconut and lotus flower. This is fun: the sour juiciness of fruit juxtaposed with the fatty richness of vanilla and coconut (what can I say, I really like vanilla and coconut, especially for the summer). This one is less musky than Tiki Beach, more along the lines of lime and coconut reinterpretation. Perfect for fans of sweet fruity scents.

I also grabbed two packs of tealights from Yankee Candle; I've never tried their candles before, but a new store opened in Bellevue Square a couple weeks ago (they actually spelt it Belleview the first time we received a leaflet in the mail... teehee), plus they are on sale now for $5 each (normally $10). Sun and Sand blends sweet orange flower, citrus, lavender and musk - and it's a lemony laundry/soap scent to me, whereas Tahitian Tiare Flowers (gardenias) smells very much like Monoi oil, quite sexy for a room smell, really.

Oh, and in case you're interested, this is my favorite tea light holder - it's from Ikea and a friend painted it for me when we were still in middle school. I've managed not to break or lose it all these years!

I think in general I'm more partial to Bath and Body Works candles rather than Yankee candles; I just think the latter are worse compositions and terribly overpriced for, well, a glass jar full of scented wax. Have you bought any new spring candles lately? What are your favorite brands and fragrances?

Make-up Haul: The Best Things Come in Twos

I've been doing a little bit of damage recently; nothing major, but shopping in Poland over Christmas and some minor drugstore purchases have managed to accumulate enough for me to post a small make-up haul - just to make up for that recent empties post, right?

Setting up those multi-product photoshoots is always a lot of fun - I like to play with colors, shapes and textures (that short sentence should come with a warning 'confessions of a beauty blogging nerd').

First up, I picked up two of Sephora's Nano Eyeliner pencils in 'Azur Blue' (no.16) and 'Nuage' (no.14) for $5 each - a review with swatches is coming up very soon.

Then, a long while ago (in October!), I purchased these two Sleek Make-up Mineral Eyeshadow palettes in 'Au Naturel' and 'Oh So Special' from a Polish online beauty retailer Alledrogeria.pl and had them shipped to my parents' address; I had no problems whatsoever with my order and can safely recommend it if any of my Polish readers are looking for a good source of Sleek products.

I was also craving another nude blush, and after successfully resisting Tarte's Exposed, I settled on NYX Powder Blusher in 'Raisin'; but buying just one on eBay is so not effective cost-wise that I had to get another one, 'Spice'. So, by paying more, I actually saved more - a typical case of female logic, my husband would undoubtedly say. Again, photos and swatches of my entire collection of NYX Powder Blushers coming soon.

Obviously, I could not ignore the hype any longer and gave into Revlon Lip Butters; this is 'Peach Parfait' and 'Berry Smoothie'. I don't think I'll spam the blogosphere with another review, so my quick thoughts are that these are not moisturizing at all, but they have a nice shine, good selection of shades and are very wearable. If you manage to find a good deal on them and like the colors, you could definitely do much worse.

And lastly, two odd ones out: a Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum foundation in the shade Light Vanilla (no.51) and an Inglot Freedom System eyeshadow no. 467 Double Sparkle; fortunately, not overly shimmery/glittery at all. I was impressed with my make-up restraint in Poland - I got some cute clothes and accessories (would you like to see my favorite purchases?), but in the make-up department, nothing really caught my eye. I think I might be maxxed out when it comes to Inglot shadows now.

There you have it! Overall, I'm starting to feel a bit saturated with make-up shopping for a while (says she after getting a few more things in the last week...). I think I'd maybe like to focus more on clothing/ accessories for some time; so many things in my make-up collection are not getting enough love while I sport the same outfits over and over. What are your thoughts on make-up hauling? Are you lusting after the Spring releases or are you done for a while?

Santa Tracy, slip a blusher under the tree...

For me! Been an awful good girl... Ok ok, you get the idea! Tracy from Beauty Reflections slipped something amazing in the mail for me - just look at these beauties!

A couple weeks ago I met up with Tracy, who was visiting her brother, and Larie (who wasn't, ha) for some much-needed blogging gossip, coffees and make-up shopping. While at Sephora, I mentioned that I was thinking of picking up NARS 'Douceur' blush, and Tracy was kind enough to send me her unloved one... together with this beautiful Laura Mercier 'Nectarine' blush!

Aren't they both a blushing dream come true? Even Mr commented how nice the NARS packaging looked compared to other brands (which was promptly followed by a remark that the inside wasn't as impressive - what does he know, huh?).

And a quick swatch swatch for you, because I couldn't stop myself.

Tracy, you're an absolute angel, thank you so so much! Now, I'll be putting together a little package to send all the way to Canada...

Milani Cyber Monday Haul

I normally try to be a bit more interesting (or less boring, depending on your point of view) and not publish two of the same type of posts in a row, but I've lost my blogging mojo somewhere between buying Norwegian-sweater leggings and cooking dinner today. So, this will have to do for now.

I was actually convinced that I was not going to receive my Cyber Monday haul at all because I made a typo in the billing information; much to my surprise, a week later the little package was already waiting for me at home. I'm so glad that it came through, I'm loving everything I got! The Cyber Monday 50% off sitewide sale was a bit of a pain to navigate due to heavy traffic, but so worth it in the end, especially that Milani is very difficult to come by here in WA.

I'm not posting any swatches just now on purpose, I actually have a couple more comparison posts planned featuring these products. Let me know though if there's something you're dying to see!

Also, how many shots of the exact same thing can you fit into one small post? Apparently, THREE.

What have you got during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales?