XINAROX

Hey Everyone! I should have posted about this much earlier but I just never got the chance. Big News! My guinea pig, Betty gave birth to a healthy baby guinea pig last Sunday January 24, 2010 at around 2:30pm. =D It was a big healthy baby. I can't tell the gender of the baby yet but it seems to look like a boy. ;p I still did not name the baby yet. Do you guys have any ideas?


I bought Betty in December from the pet store but I had no idea that she was pregnant. She was quite small and active at the beginning and later started to just sit and slug around. Her belly was looking lumpy and I thought maybe it was weight gain. lol I even asked people and they all said it was a just fat. I actually touched her belly and felt something hard but I was still confused as I didn't much about pregnant animals. lol Since Betty is pretty young herself, she can only give birth to 1-2 litters. Normal adult guinea pigs can give birth up to 5-8 litters. I'm glad Betty just gave birth to one. It would be risky and too much to handle if there were more babies. If the baby is a boy, (I'm 80% sure it is)..I would have to separate it from the girls after about 3 weeks as I do not want them to get pregnant again and it would be too risky for the new mother as well.

Betty gave birth to a real big baby. Guinea pig babies are born with fur, teeth and nails. They just look like miniature guinea pigs or adult hamsters.

Where do I begin with creme blushes? Well, I was never a big fan of them. Especially the Mac creme blushes had really let me down. I own Mac's Ladyblush creme blush and rarely use it. I hated that they felt so heavy and sticky. So I preferred Nars multiples since they were creamy but still lightweight. I also heard that Illamasqua creme blushes are great too. (Too bad Sephoras in Canada do not carry this line yet)


I recently purchased Mac Optimistic Orange Cremeblend Blush from Mac's Lillyland collection and it amazed me. I loved all the colours from this limited edition collection. The texture isn't heavy at all and has this gel like formula to it. The formula seems soft and easily blendable and very buildable. It's easy to use your fingers or a brush for the application and leaves you off with a dewy fresh look. I have combination skin and I never really had any problems with looking too oily but since this new formula is gel like, it should be fine for people with oily skin.

I was just passing through Sephora today (Yorkdale Centre) and saw some great sales and I couldn't resist so I ended up with a mini haul.

I hope you guys get there in time if any of this interests you.

Some of the Kat Von D Make-up products are on sale. I saw some lipglosses and their Autograph liquid eyeliners for $10.00 Cdn. The Rock n Roll duo eyeshadows were on sale too for almost half the price ($10-12). They didn't have any black liquid eyeliners at all. I chose Romantico which is a dark antique gold (deep green khaki) colour. I was tempted to get the bright yellow gold one called Brass Knuckles but settled for just one for today.

I also noticed some pretty nailpolishes shades by Opi Sephora Nailpolishes were on sale for only $7.00. I snatched two colours.


Ok...so for the Cargo 50% off sale...I'm probably the last person to go...lol I just never bothered and I assumed most of the good things are gone by now and it was true....nothing good was left.... A few lipsticks but they felt too sheer and some foundation/powders were left. No blushes. =( Obviously, I didn't even hope for blushes to be there. I wanted to get SOMETHING from this 50% discount...just to feel good! lol ;) so I got myself the Cargo Bronzer in Light. I'm sure this works best for fair skin people (as a bronzer) but this will actually help me stop from going overboard with bronzer and looking too orange. I like the amount of shimmer this contains and I can even achieve a glow with it. For me.... this feels more like a blush than a bronzer.

Now this wasn't on sale. I love foundation brushes and I can't get enough of them. I wanted this for a while now...so I used a 10% discount (VIB) and got the Sephora Brand Professional Platinum Airbrush #55 Brush for $44 Cdn. I used it today and it's just so SOFT! WOW! This brush did not shed at all. I didn't have to use that much foundation either and it gave a great even coverage. This is now one of my favourite brushes! =D


Now I'll include a quick FOTD! Literally it was real quick since I rushed my eyebrows, forgot to apply mascara and black liner to the waterline. lol

Anyways...whatever! =p



Face:
St Ives Facial Moisturizer Lotion
Monistat Chafing Gel (Face Primer)
Mac Studio Sculpt NC 42
Mac Studio Fix Powder Nc 42/43 (Lightly)
St.Ives Collagen Elastin Facial Moisturizer
Mac Select Coverup Concealer - NW 35 & MUFE #10 Full Cover Concealer
Mac Espresso Eyeshadow (Eyebrows)

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion (Eye Primer)
Urban Decay Eyeliner Pencil - Zero (On Lid as Eye Base)
Mac 100 Strokes Eyeshadow (Lid/Bottom Lashline)
Mac Saddle Eyeshadow (Crease)
Mac Amberlights Eyeshadow (Lightly Above Crease)
Mac Embark Eyeshadow (Darken Crease/Outer-V)
Mac Solar White Eyeshadow (Highlight/Inner Lid)
Mac Blacktrack Fluidline (Eyeliner)
Ardell 105 Lashes

Cheek:
Mac Blunt Blush (Contour)
Mac Peaches Blush
Mac New Vegas MSF

Lips:
Mac Brave Lipstick

OK here...I was playing around with The Balm's Shady Lady Eyeshadow Palette...I just love it...the eyeshadows are SOOO SMOOTH and BUTTER LIKE! Anyways, I'm also wearing Mac's Light That Fire! lipgloss and I'm LOVING this too! It looked so coral frosty when swatched and I got a bit scared since I dont like frost finish much....lol but it looks GORGEOUS on the lips. It's Limited Edition...so grab it if you don't have a similar shade!

Face:
St.Ives Collagen Elastin Facial Moisturizer
Monistat Chafing Gel (Face Primer)
MakeupForever HD #153 - This seems so yellow on me now..I gotta mix it with some other shade next time to neutralize it.
Mac Studio Fix Powder Nc 42/43 (Lightly)
Mac Select Coverup Concealer - NW 35 & MUFE #10 Full Cover Concealer
Mac Espresso Eyeshadow (Eyebrows)

Eyes:
The Balm Shady Lady Eyeshadow Palette
Ardell Wispies
Mac Blacktrack Fluidline
Maybelline Define A Lash Mascara
Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner - Zero

Cheek:
Mac Refined Golden Bronzer
Cargo Rome Blush
Mac New Vegas MSF

Lips:
Mac Light That Fire! Lipgloss (Limited Edition)

I was at a hair salon for a trim last month and the hair stylist suggested I use Moroccan Oil. You just have to apply a dime to the palm of your hands and apply it to your wet/damp hair all over. She used it on me and it was amazing. It made my hair very smooth, shiny and tangle free. It smelled really good too. She tried to sell the bottle to me and it was around $38-40ish. I decided not to go for it then even though I was aching for it so badly lol. The price was super expensive for a small bottle of oil. Plus, I wanted to research some more before I commit to such a price. The hair stylist showed e some cheaper alternative Organic hair oils for around $25. I just decided to go home and research before buying anything.

I did read good reviews online about the Moroccan Oil. It was the price that kept bothering me and seemed overpriced.

Later, I went to Sally's Beauty Supply Store and I came across One 'N Only Argan Oil Treatment which is derived from Moroccan Argon Trees....which is ultimately an organic hair oil! I took a chance since it was around $12.00!!! I bought it right away.


I used it a couple of times already and it actually feels the same way Moroccan oil felt. It smells real nice. It made my hair feel soft and silky smooth without being too greasy. My hair was less frizzy too and looked more healthy. I just had to use a tiny bit (one teaspoon approx.) and I applied it to my wet hair (after shampoo) and I either let it airdry or I used a blowdryer and styled it. I applied it to dry hair as well and it was able to soak into my hair really well. I would say this is the generic version of Moroccan Oil. It works better than serums like CHI Silk Infusion or Biosilk Silk Therapy.

Just to sum up...

PROs:

-The price is reasonable and very cheap when compared to Moroccan Oil.
-Makes hair feel soft, silky, healthy and tames it from being too frizzy
-Serves as a heat protector
-Can be used as a hot oil treatment
-Smells real good (unlike Chi Silk Fusion...smells like men cologne)

CONs:

-Would prefer better packaging...like a pump to dispense the product out
-Cannot put too much or else it will be too oily (it is a natural oil serum...a fact)


Ingredients in Moroccan Oil:

Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Butylphenyl, MethylPropional, Argania Spinoza Kernal Oil (Aragan Oil), Linseed (Linum Usitatissimum) Extract, Fragrance Supplement, D&C Yellow-11, D&C Red-17, Coumarin, Benzyl Benzoate, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone

Ingredients in Argan Oil:

Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconol, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Fragrance (Parfum), Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Yellow 11 (CI 47000), Red 17 (CI 26100)


I'm glad that this product is out and it's like an all in one oil treatment bottle. A natural organic oil that comes directly from Moroccan trees. You can easily get this product at any Sallys Beauty Supply Store.

Product Rating: 5/5
Would I purchase this product again? Yes!


Disclaimer: This product was purchased and reviewed by me. I am not getting compensated for this post or have any affiliation with this product company.

Once again...this is a haul post! (A very long one!) I wanted to explore some other brands at Sephora during their sale. I don't really have many eyeshadow palettes other than the Mac ones...so this was a great opportunity.

The Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume II is my first non Mac eyeshadow palette (yes...I know! lol) and my first actual Urban Decay Eyeshadow Palette that I now own. I took advantage of the sale and finally got it!


The palette includes 16 highly pigmented and silky smooth eyeshadows and these come in matte, shimmery and very glittery colours. It also comes with two 24/7 eyeliner pencils in Zero (black) and Bourbon (brown) and a very cute Urban Decay Primer Potion. It's a great way to try out the pencils and udpp for those who have never tried them out before and these would be great to take on travel because of it's miniature size. The packaging looks fun and cute but takes up alot of space. The colours are all pretty and I can't wait to mix and match to try out some eyeshadow looks!



I love the cute animal print packaging and the mirror that's included inside. It has nine gorgeous shades that would work great for neutral, subtle and dramatic looks. The texture of the eyeshadows are sooo pigmented and glide on smoothly like butter (no joke). The pan sizes are quite generous and are similar to a Mac eyeshadow pan. This palette was around $45 and so I would say it was really worth it for nine shadows. I heard The Balm will be releasing another spring eyeshadow palette...so I can't wait to check out that one.

I heard that the brown eyeshadow called "Caught in the Act" is a dupe and similar to NARS "Galapagos" which is a shimmery brown with gold specks. I still did not get to compare them yet.