The Body Shop Lipsticks: Color Crush #205 and Color Crush Shine #15

I have more than enough lipsticks to last me a lifetime, but when I walked by The Body Shop the other day and they were having a sale, something clicked in my mind. I remembered hearing Estee from EssieButton talking about how much she loves the Body Shop lipsticks, and I just knew I had to try them. I opted for two different formulas - the Color Crush in #205, and the Color Crush Shine in #15.

Since the two lipsticks are different formulas, they are both very different in texture. As the name suggests, the Color Crush Shine has a glossy finish, and is quite sheer. The Color Crush, however, is very pigmented. Both feel very light on the lips, and are moisturizing. They both wear off beautifully, with no flakiness or dryness. For a sheer lipstick, the Color Crush Shine actually wear pretty well, and leaves behind quite a lot of color after it wears off. When I wore the Color Crush lipstick to work, the pigmentation lasted up until lunch, and also left a stain behind. They both wear quite well!

Because the Color Crush in #205 is very pigmented, and I don't always want a bold lips, I've used this lipstick by lightly dabbing it on my lips and working the color in with my fingers. I add a bit of balm and voila! It such a lovely fresh color, even when applied with a light touch!

Body Shop Color Crush Shine #15 on left, Body Shop Color Crush #205 on right

Swatched on my hand.

Both lipsticks do not have much of a scent. There's a faint plastic to them but it's not noticeable, especially not after application.

I highly recommend both of these. While the Color Crush #205 shade isn't particularly unique, and could probably be duped at the drugstore, I doubt you could find anything that is quite as moisturizing. I definitely do not have anything in my collection that is comparable to the Color Crush Shine in #15, even if it's also not the most unique shade. The color is beautiful, and I love the non-sticky glossy feeling. Like the Color Crush lipstick, the Color Crush Shine is probably easily matched in the drugstore, but I doubt the moisturizing properties could be matched. And wouldn't you rather have something that has no scent instead of the sickly sweet scented drugstore lipsticks? I know I do!

Has anyone else given these a try? Any suggestions towards my next Body Shop shade?

July Empties

I thought July wouldn't bring many empties but here I am! I tried to concentrate on finishing up some shower products specifically, to make more room on my shelves.

Redken Color Extend Shampoo - I love this shampoo. Too bad it's so expensive (for my cheap shampoo tastes!). I found it smelled amazing, was great at calming and clearing my scalp at the same time, and helped my red color stick around longer. No complaints about this baby except for the price which is why I think I'll wait to repurchase it.

Dove Nourishing Oil Care Conditioner - I bought this conditioner based on Vivannadoesmakeup's suggestion. Her hair seems similar to mine (AKA, very long and thick!) so I thought I'd give it a go. I actually quite liked it! It's very thick, smells great, and detangles beautifully. I didn't find it to be weighing my hair down but then again, my hair weights itself down as it is, so I'm not the best judge for this. I think I'd repurchase this again!

Nuxe Fondant Body Scrub - This is the only Nuxe product that has ever disappointed me. Don't get me wrong, it's not a horrible product, it's just not as good as other body scrubs I've tried. The scrub particles (walnut shells) are a bit too abrasive for my taste and I did not find the product moisturizing at all. It smells great though, as all Nuxe products do. I'm glad this was a sample sized product because I would've been very disappointed having bought the full size version (at $27!!). There are much better Nuxe products than this one on the market - save yer monay for those! :)

The Body Shop Coconut Body Scrub - Now body scrub, I can get behind. I've loved using this. It was moisturizing, smelled amazing and did wonders for my legs, specifically. I think of all the scrubs The Body Shop produces, this is my favorite.

Estée Lauder Day Wear BB Cream - We all know how much I love this BB Cream. I pretty much wore it every day since I purchase it in March (review here) with absolute delight. Seriously, this thing rocks. It's why it's empty and already repurchased!

So I don't have very exciting discoveries this month except maybe for the Redken shampoo. But such is the life of a blogger trying to downsize all the products she's hoarded! I'm on vacation for the week but I'll still be updating throughout the week! :)

Used up in May!

A little late but here we are! I've been really trying to finish products this past month because I'll be moving in about two weeks! I don't want to drag along bottles that are half empty to the new place so I've been concentrating my efforts on the following products. 

I'm happy to say that I loved most products I've finished!

First off, I finished my bottle of Neutrogena Body Clear Body Wash. This is a go to for me as I do get a bit of body acne once in a while. This helps it stay under control. I usually use this every couple days as it doesn't smell especially good and is a bit drying. Still, I've already repurchased the grapefruit version.

The Body Shop Lychee Blossom Shower Gel has been so-so for me. I love the body wash itself, but the smell is a bit too fruity/flowery for me. It's a nice smell but I'm more into earthy, natural scents. I can't repurchase this because it has been discontinued at The Body Shop. Oh well!

I absolutely loved my Infusium 23 Color Defender Conditioner. It was amazing at detangling my hair, moisturizing it, and keeping my hair color fresh. Plus, it smells AMAZING. I seriously can't think of a better smelling conditioner - it smells fresh and lingers in the hair. Mmmm. I definitely will repurchase this conditioner in the future, but I'm currently finishing up some other bottles.

Ugh, the Avene Cold Creme Hand Cream has given me some grief. To sum up this hand cream, I think I'm just going to say simply that it sucks hard. It doesn't moisturize at all - it actually leaves my hands feeling drier than before I've applied it. Do not buy this, there are much much better hand creams out there on the market, namely, The Body Shop Almond hand cream.

I randomly picked up this EOS Vanilla Bliss Shaving Cream at Shoppers Drug Mart because it was on clearance for something like $3 and I had read about it on makeupandbeautyblog.com. I thought I'd give it a go. And guys, I am not joking, this is the best shaving cream EVER. I'm very very sensitive to shaving. Every time I shave, my skin gets very itchy and irritated. This shaving cream moisturized my legs while shaving and didn't leave mt skin irritated. I wish I could repurchase but I'm not sure my local Shoppers carries this anymore. Plus, I have a crappy shaving cream to use to up. I miss this product so much already!

Lastly, I finished my Aveda Madder Root Color Conditioner. At $18 (I think!), this isn't cheap, but for any redheads that keep losing their color, this is amazing. First off, I must say, this isn't a very good conditioner. I always use a secondary conditioner after using this to make my hair a bit softer. But the color depositing properties of this is amazing - it always leaves my hair much much redder and brighter. I love it. I wish I could find an equivalent for this on the market that is a bit cheaper but I can't seem to find anything! If I don't find anything, I will most likely repurchase this product. I think it's worth the price but I'm also open to cheaper options since this isn't particularly conditioning.

That is it! I didn't use up any makeup products sadly... but honestly, that rarely happens! Oh, the life of a beauty blogger!

Hope you all had a great weekend! 

Used up in March

I must admit, I don't usually use up many products fully. If I don't like something very much, I usually give the product away to someone who will enjoy it/use it (hi sister of mine!) or chuck it in the trash if it's really bad. I know, it's sinful. For the month of March though, I gave myself the goal of trying to use up stuff as best I could. Here's the empties I ended with!

Bath and Body Works Cucumber Melon Shower Gel: I got this from my mom as a gift a looooong time ago and never got around to using it! I quite liked it - it smells very fresh and the smell lingered on my skin for a bit after showering. It wasn't very moisturizing or super special in any way so I have moved on. I probably won't repurchase because we don't have a Bath and Body Works around here - even if we did, there are a million other delicious smells to choose from so I doubt I'd go back to Cucumber Melon.

Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo Spray: This was only okay. Honestly, it may be because I suck at using dry shampoo. I just think it always looks ashy in my hair. Either way, I loved the smell of this - it's lemony and fresh without being too strong like Batiste's shampoos. I won't be repurchasing this particular bottle because I saw that Oscar Blandi makes dry shampoo for brunettes! If it has the same great smell, I'll definitely be getting that one.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation: I used to think that this foundation was a MUST for me but now I'm not so sure. The foundation is long wearing, yes, but it does oxidize on my skin. Plus, it's quite heavy and blending is a pain if you don't do it really fast. It was a sample so I didn't waste any money on it, at least.

L'Oreal Explosion Telescopic and Collagen Mascaras: Both awful for me. I hated the Telescopic - spider lashes all the way. And I don't like fiddling with mascara. The Collagen mascara was waterproof, and this was the worst of the waterproofs - it flaked AND wouldn't come off. Will not be repurchasing these.

Seche Vite: There's about 1/3 of the polish left in there. Sadly, it's a complete gloopy useless mess.  Seche Vite is infamous for this but I can't help but love it. It dries so fast! I'm already using another bottle.

The Body Shop Seaweed Pore-Cleansing Facial Exfoliator: I actually quite liked this product. Every time I used this, I felt like my skin was fresh and properly exfoliated but not irritated. However, my Clarisonic has replaced my exfoliation needs so I will not be repurchasing.

Rimmel Stay Matte: Yes, this isn't completely empty, but I'm chucking it because I hate this powder! It was cakey and smelled bad. I much prefer my Clinique Loose powder at the moment. I don't think I'll ever come back to a compact powder.

And what's not pictured because it's been used up is Lush products! I used up my Aqua Mirabilis scrub bar and a Fluffy Egg bath bomb. The Fluffy Egg smelled divine but it's a one time treat so I will probably not be repurchasing simply because it's not very practical. I liked the Aqua Mirabilis as well but not enough to repurchase. The grains in the bar were quite rough and I found it a bit harsh on my skin. I prefer my Body Shop exfoliators at the moment.

Do you throw things away sometimes when the product just isn't cutting it for you? I can't help it! I get so impatient when a product isn't working out for me.

The Body Shop and Zoya's Adina

So, I'm apparently into The Body Shop now. I don't know why honestly. I just really liked their hand cream. And they always have great deals going on in the store. So when the sales lady said everything in the store was buy one get one half off, I though it was the perfect time to try their hemp cream. I already wanted to buy the Sensual Massage oil because it smells absolutely amazing. And maybe, just maybe, if he's good, my boyfriend will get a few massages. Are you reading this hun? Only if you're good.

I must say, I absolutely love love love the Hemp Hand Protector. I love the smell, it moisturizes really really well and doesn't leave that greasy feeling I hate so much.

They also gave me a sample of the Papaya Body Butter. It smells amazing. Even though I own a few, I find their body butters a bit greasy for the summer. Maybe I'll give it more of a try during the winter.

And here's my massive fail of polish picture taking and application. I should've put another coat on. But I didn't like the polish on me so making more effort wasn't worth it. I did take pictures for blog purposes. I don't know what I was thinking buying this - I don't like purple or green, which is what it duochromes to. Formula was fine but did require three coats. I think it would look better on someone with a darker skintone. It's very pretty in color but just not on my own nails.

I'm being really bad and totally writing this at work. My office space is flooded and my paperwork is all wet. I'm using someone else's computer which doesn't have the program that I usually use all day. I don't know why they didn't just send me home. I've got basically nothing to do. Oh well, I suppose I'm catching up on blogging.

Reviews are coming up on topcoats, Sigma brushes and Cargo Palettes! Stay tuned!