fashionCHICsta

This is the first product that I have purchased from Illamasqua, a UK based cosmetic company offering 'makeup for your alter-ego'. Created in 2008 and designed with nighttime in mind, Illamasqua provides a vast colour range without sacrificing professional quality. Described as a pink berry red with a matte finish, Drech will undoubtedly make a statement. Opaque and highly pigmented, I find the formula to be incredibility creamy and surprisingly smoot h. It stays put without deep staining, eliminating the need for multiple applications.   P urchased from Sephora for $22, a median price point for designer makeup, Illamasqua provides products that are free from animal testing, which is important to me. Drench is  a shade I will rock during the day as well as night and I rate this lipstick 4.5 out of 5 stars. I love the coverage, the application is smooth and non-drying. The formula is creamy and lightweight, colour-true and non-feathering. I'm looking forward to tryin...

I will be the first to admit, I didn't think eyelashes made that big of a difference. I have been blessed with thick long lashes and full lips. I decided to teach myself how to apply falsies so I would look better in pictures and videos as well as speak intelligently to BeautyARMY members who ask for tips. I chose the least expensive pair that I  have, in case I had to cut them or generally managed to screw them up. Nope. Easier than I thought. I applied a little glue to the plastic eyelash plate and used the back of my tweezers to transfer glue to the lashes. Thank you for that tip, xSparkage .

From Manitoba, Canada, Pure Anada are synthetic preservatives, dyes, fragrance and flavor, petrochemical and animal cruelty free. I received a few sample packettes in an all-natural samples box and I would like to share the swatches with you.

I grabbed a few treats from the new Lush vegan c osmetics line, a lipstick and an eyeshadow. Super excited to wear my new treasures to work the next day, I came home to swatch the shades and unfortunately discovered that my eyeshadow has been tested by another customer in the store. Refusing to put something on my eye that was probably touching someone elses dirty hand, I returned the shadow and exchanged it for the Eyes Right mascara. A more appropriate choice for me, anyway .

By now you know that I can not resist cosmetics when they are on sale. Not only is it extremely difficult to find makeup on sale when you do find it, it's not the 'good stuff'. Well, it is now!! I was introduced to Designer Fragrance & Cosmetic Co around 1999/2000 - a Lancome based outlet and the brands under the parent umbrella; YSL, kiehl's, Polo and Giorgio Armani Cosmetics to name a few. I've been lucky to score a few YSL items for as much as 70% off of full retail and this trip yielded a few scores too!

Seriously, I could write a blog on only acne treatments. When Daily Dermabrasion Wash came into my life, I was like - whatever - another product promising results. Well, I'm here to tell you, ClickR delivers. This gentle face cleanser cut through the grease and grime to efficiently cleanse my face while micro-beads offered light exfoliation to keep it flake free so my treatments could work more effectively at killing my blemishes. Not familiar with clickR? Designed for younger skins this line uses no artificial colours, parabens, phthalates, sulfates or petrochemicals. In addition to this line being completely vegan, there are no endocrine disruptors, benzoyl peroxide or allergen fragrances. Seriously, why do I need perfume in my face care? What are companies trying to cover up? Simple to use, I skipped the Clarisonic with this one , I wet my face, put a dollop of product on my fingers, rubbed my left and right hands together to distribute the cleanser and went to town, ap...

  The first thing my new hairdresser said to me was to buy violet shampoo. See, I'm working my way blonde again and I'm planning on going pretty light - I do not want to wreck my hearty investment over something as si mple as crummy water or the wrong haircare. After all, I didn't pay for the brassy blonde, I paid for the platinum version! Introduced to Joico by BeautyARMY, I was trolling our twitter line one day and saw @Joico ask their followers what was your favourite Joico item. @SammehJKay responded: Violet shampoo & conditioner.. WHAT?!!!  I need this in my life! @SammehJKay tells me that it is better than some toners she has used. I'm sold. I run to Ulta the next day and score on the Buy2Get1Free sale: 2 shampoos and 1 conditioner. Perfectly purple, I have used it once so far and am in total love.  A very low later, it smells amazing, cleans thoroughly and moisturizes lightly; my hair did not feel weighed down by product. Super excited to have found not on...