Gift Set Wishlist

Once a year, every year, I get gift set envy. As soon as Sephora releases their gift sets for the holidays, I'm drooling. I mean what's not to love when, first and foremost, you get more bang for your buck? Here are the ones I've had my eye on and that I might gift to myself this holiday season.

1. Anastasia Beverly Hills Lavish Set  (C$49, Value of C$111)- I'm obsessed with my Anastasia Brow Whiz and have heard nothing but good things about their eyeshadows. I must try them and this gift seems like the perfect way to go about. Even better, it's available at my local Sephora (hints to family members who might be reading this and who live close to said Sephora).
2. Caudalie Vinosource Duo - (C$48, Value of C$67) I've been wanting to try the Vinosource by Caudalie for a while and what better way to do it than with a gift set? I'm especially curious about the S.O.S. Eye Rescue as my eyes have been looking terrible lately!
3. Sephora Favorites Give Me More Lip - (Sold out on the website! NOOOOOOO! Might still be available in store!) Redheadphd went through her first impressions of the the gift set on Youtube a while back and I seriously loved every single color. Check out her video here - she describes the shades very well and actually tries every one of them on herself! It's a really good point of reference if you're interested in the gift set.
4. L'Occitane Delicious Almond Set - (C$71) I've been wanting to try that shower oil for the longest time! This gift set isn't the best of deals, but it does come with some other goodies such as a hand cream and some skin oil!
5. Formula X for Sephora - The Twenty-Two - (C$66) I obviously don't need more nail polish, but this kit seems too good to pass up! It has a good mix of pastels, bright, glitters and chrome shades - you probably have everything you need in there to start a good nail polish collection. I'm also really curious about this new formula! Anyone know if it's any good?
6. Fresh Sugar Star Set - (C$75) Not cheap, but if you're a fan of Fresh, this is your chance to get all the shades at a cheaper price. There are actually other gift sets with less balms, so you can actually pick a cheaper option as well! For you sheer lip color lovers, this is the bomb.
7. Buxom Serial Kisser Collection of 5 Mini Lipsticks - ($40) One of the better deals I've listed today! 4 lipsticks for $40! Redheadphd on Youtube has listed them as some of her favorite lipsticks, so I feel like these definitely deserve a try!

What gift sets are you lusting after this holiday season?

Massive haul from Toronto!

As I mentioned before, I recently traveled to Toronto, where Sephoras and MAC's are abundant, and brands I have normally no access to flourish. In essence, best makeup shopping ever. I was therefore, some might argue, conservative in my purchases.

I left with the following items: LUSH goodies, including Bubble Bars for the family, a Stepping Stone foot scrub (it smells heavenly!), a You've Been Mangoed bath melt, and an Avobath Bath Bomb. I also went Dior crazy with the Croisette Quint palette and the Diorskin Nude Tan in 002. MAC was also pretty good as I exchanged my Back 2 MAC empties for the Girl About Town lipstick. I also purchased a 139 brush, repurchased some Brush Cleanser and MAC's Honesty eyeshadow. The SA's didn't give me a good experience at both store I visit so I was a bit disappointed by that. At Sephora, I purchased two Nails Inc. shades having been quite impressed by The Thames - I got Porchester Square and Sugar House Lane. I also got a L'Occitane Lavender hand cream, which I am absolutely in love with, and Make Up For Ever's Waterproof Eyebrow Corrector in 03. I can already tell that this is going to be a staple, and a review will be up soon. I also finally purchased Estee Lauder's Crystal Baby! I stopped at so many Sears and The Bay trying to find it and it's mine now!

OMG! I forgot to say I got something extra special at Ikea - a Vika Alex!! I'll be putting up a new makeup organization post soon. I must say, I am so so happy with this purchase.

You can now look forward to reviews on all these products!

Movie of the week (a day late): The New World, a film by Terrence Malick, is a visually stunning film loosely based on the life of Pocahontas and features Colin Farrell, Q'orianka Kilcher and Christian Bale. For those of you who live and die by the Disney version of the story, I'm afraid you will not like this much. Its slow pace, stunning depiction of nature, and the use of voice over, all classic Malick techniques, gives the film a very relaxed tone. You should not watch this if you have somewhere to be, do not like slow paced films, or get irritated at loose story lines. But if you can give this movie a chance, the cinematography makes it absolutely worth while. And the acting! I'm a massive fan of Malick films, especially of Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line.