NEW Product: M·A·C Sundressing

Brand: M·A·C
Name: Sundressing
Size: n/a
Price: $27.50 CAD/$22 USD

Product Notes:
- Limited Edition product
- easy to apply bronzing body makeup
- adds a shimmering look to the skin
- provides a natural-look, sheer-to-low coverage
- soft mousse formula dispenses onto the skin via a pump
- highly blendable: spreads easily over the legs, arms, shoulders and décolletage
- water resistant

Colours:
- medium
- medium dark
- dark
- deep dark

Final Comments:
As summer approaches, I continue to look for great products that can give my skin the "tanned" look without a funny smell, streaks or any other unnatural tell-tale signs. M·A·C has never failed me before, but again, as with all Limited Edition products, I hate finding something I like and then never being able to buy it again!

images: maccosmetics.com

Product Review: E.L.F. Elements Compact & Refills

Brand: E.L.F.
Name: Elements Compact
Size: n/a
Price: $1 USD for empty compact ($1 USD for each refill)

Colours Tried:
- Custom Lips in Earth Rose
- Custom Face in Flushed
- Custom Eyes in Periwinkle
- Custom Eyes in Dusk

The E.L.F. Elements Compact is a great little system. It's a simple white compact with a mirror and four magnetic circular areas where you can insert a mix of E.L.F. refills, including eye shadows, lipsticks and blushes. You can purchase a pre-filled compact or buy an empty one and customize it yourself.

The picture on the E.L.F. site is slightly different from the compact that I received - there's a slit in the middle to hold a tiny applicator.

To Purr About:
- magnetic system is extremely easy to use and convenient
- lets you customize a whole bunch of different combinations easily and cheaply
- the eyeshadow refills are great! The pigments are rich and last for most of the day
- compact mirror is large and convenient

Claws Out:
- the blush size is small so it's hard to get a lot of powder on a large brush (and there's no blush brush small enough to fit in the compact
- the lipstick brush is so tiny it's hard to get lipstick on quickly
- the colours aren't true to shade when you see them on the internet. For example, Custom Eyes in Dusk looks like a dark coal colour, but when it arrived it's actually a deep purple (it's in the top left corner of the photo of my compact)

Final Comments:
All in all, I really like this system. It's easy to use and since it's customizable it works for everyone. At $1 per refill, it's easy to design more than 1 "set" and carry along several colour palettes.

I'm not crazy about the lipstick or blush refills, but plan to order 2 more eyeshadow refills to create an eyeshadow compact with my current element compact.

Rating (out of 5):




images: eyeslipsface.com, Cinnamon Kitten productreviewelf

10% off FragranceNet.com

With the warmer months just around the corner, it may be time to update your daily scent to something fresher and lighter. Just in time for the change in weather, there are several fragrance.net deals available on couponchief.com.

One of the deals listed is for 10% off your purchase at fragrance.net deals. Simply fill up your shopping basket and add the coupon code SEMTD before checking out.

The site has pretty much all the big name fragrance brands that you can think of at some great prices. If you're looking for a new scent, you can read through the customer ratings and reviews and scan best seller lists to help you discover something new or unique.

And yes, Canadians, this site does show prices in CAD and ships to Canada. Shipping costs vary depending on how many products you order and please keep in mind that there may be duties/taxes that are charged when your package arrives at your doorstep.

Couponchief.com is a huge site that lists thousands of online retailers and current coupons, codes and deals. There's a great list of beauty-related online retailers, but if you're looking for other retailers, you can probably find them on here too. Click here to check out more coupon codes.

Have fun shopping (and saving!).

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.

Beauty Buys: Apr 15-21, 2007

Shopping Date: Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Store: PharmaPlus
Purchases:
- Rimmel Infinite Colour in Wear It Well - $6.74 CAD each
- L'Oreal Endless Kissable ShineWear in Wine & Roses - $13.99 CAD
- Rimmel Lycra Nail Care Multi in Base, Top Coat & Strengthener - $3.74 CAD

Shopping Date: Friday, April 20, 2007
Store: Shoppers Drug Mart
Purchases:
- Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer Firming in Medium Skin Tones - $8.99 CAD
- Jergens Natural Glow Face Daily Moisturizer SPF 20 in Medium Skin Tones - $8.99 CAD

WEEKLY GRAND TOTAL (including taxes): $48.39 CAD

Watch for product reviews soon! I've now bought 3 lip products in the past 2 weeks that promise hours and hours of staying power so I'll definitely be comparing them to each other!

See something I bought that you want to know more about? Did you see a product for a better price? Post a comment!

3-month reno

As I wind down at my current job and start a new one, this little blog (which just hit the 3-month mark this past Friday!) will be undergoing some minor changes. So in other words, there may not be any postings in 3-4 days, but don't worry, I'll be back before the weekend!

I'm just updating the blog with some new features (some suggested by readers!), including - merging some labels and adding brand labels to make it easier to find things (which means re-labelling past posts), a rating system on product reviews, more structured templates for reviews and new products and, of course, more product reviews!

See you all soon!

Lancome Bonus Time at HBC

Canadians - It's Lancome Bonus Time!

Retailer: HBC (The Bay)
Minimum amount you need to spend: $33 CAD (before taxes)
Promotion Dates: April 19 - May 13, 2007

What you get:
- I can't seem to find a list of the products you get with the promtion, as the flyer doesn't list the details. The only products it mentions are that you get to choose between a Absolue Premium Bx and the Regenerie Microlift
- Comes in what looks like an attractive black and white travel case and matching smaller case
- From the picture, the promotion includes a lipstick, mascara, compact and some creams.

image: hbc.ca

Beauty Impulses - April 20

Here's my Beauty Impulses for this week - 5 cute items that I've seen or heard about and would buy at this moment in time if money wasn't a consideration.

1. Bare Escentuals: Park Place Princess
2. Smashbox: Compact Anti-Shine
3. Benefit: Bathina Gift Set
4. Sephora: Summer Blockbuster Palette
5. Dior: Summer Play Extreme Shine Lip Gloss in Pink Essentials 263

Is there anything on this list that you've tried? Post a comment and let me know what you thought!

images: sephora.com, smashbox.com

2007 CEW Beauty Award Finalists - Hair Care & Colouring

Hair Care & Colouring: $15 USD & over
- Aveda Pure Abundance Hair Potion
- Bumble and bumble Hair Powder
- Bumble and bumble Shine
- Frederic Fekkai Ageless Damage-Defense Capsules
- Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil Deeply Repairative Hair Pak

Hair Care & Colouring: Under $15
- Burt's Bees Super Shiny Shampoo
- C.O. Bigelow Restorative Hair Mask
- Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Leave-In
- John Frieda Luminous Colour Glaze
- Pantene Pro-V Ice Shine Volume Mousse

Well, that's it! This was the last category in the CEW Beauty Awards Finalists. The winners will be announced on May 2, 2007 so I'll post the list when it becomes available and hopefully do a few product reviews on the winners!

2007 CEW Beauty Award Finalists - Men's Skincare & Nail Products

Men's Skincare: $15 USD and over
- Kiehl's Eye Alert
- Lab Series Skincare for Men Triple Benefit Post-Shave Remedy
- Origins Fire Fighter Plus Beard taming after shave soother
- Shiseido Men Shaving Cream
- The Art of Shaving Body Scrub with Tangerine and Eucalyptus Essential Oils

Nail Care & Colour: Under $12 USD
- Avon Instant Manicure
- Bath & Body Works Savannah Bee 100% Natural Hand & Nail Salve
- Creative Nail Design enamel in Fedora
- Sally Hansen Salon Nail Lacquer
- Victoria's Secret Beauty Very Sexy Nail Lacquer

Free E.L.F. Lip Shine

FREE Lip Shine From E.L.F.:
With any purchase of $15or more, enter coupon code gloss to receive a free Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF 15. Available in 8 tempting shades, this is perfect for the sunny days that are (hopefully) just around the corner!

Hurry - this offer is only valid until 11:59 pm EST on April 22, 2007

image: eyeslipsface.com