Coming up: butter London swatches

Smitten by the UK-tastic polish names and gorgeous colours, the only thing holding me back from buying up every shade was my wallet eyeing the $17 CAD pricetag warily. Thanks to a certain Coterie sale not too long ago, I was finally able to snatch up a few butter London polishes for much less.

Because the sale was a choice of three out of six possible shades, I didn't exactly pick the colours I've been wanting the most (Slapper and Lady Muck, I'm looking at you), but it's kind of good to be pushed out of my turquoise comfort zone. All Hail The Queen is a beige beauty that is closest to my usual taste, but is packed with holographic shimmer to give it an interesting twist. Wallis is a metallic olive gold with a darkness and vibrancy that makes it perfect for fall. Pillar Box Red is actually the most out of my comfort zone, and is--believe it or not--my very first red creme.

Did you buy anything from the Coterie butter London sale? Stay tuned for swatches!

On loving LUSH BB Seaweed

After recovering from an eczema flare-up on my face, I set out in search of a mask to pamper my skin and found myself in LUSH at Metrotown. Explaining to a helpful SA that I was looking for something nourishing, we narrowed it down to Love Lettuce, Catastrophe Cosmetic, and BB Seaweed. Although all three masks are suitable for any skin type, I took home BB Seaweed for my dry and sometimes-sensitive skin.

Although a batch of BB Seaweed contains a staggering seven pounds of nourishing seaweed, this mask smells more herby and grassy than oceanic (which is not a bad thing at all). Big chunks of seaweed lurk in the pot, which make this mask extra-fun to slather on and wash off. The texture is quite thick, so there's no risk of dripping seaweed bits all over yourself.

I love this mask for being two skincare steps in one: first, ingredients such as lime tree flower extract, rosemary oil, and honey nourish and condition the skin; afterwards, I massage my face as I slooowly wash off the mask, so that the finely-ground almonds and millet flakes hiding in the mask gently exfoliate away any dry bits. The result: a fresh, soft face free of any rough patches!

Due to the lack of preservative ingredients in LUSH Fresh Face masks, they have a very short shelf life and should be kept chilled. The sticker on my BB Seaweed pot showed a "best before" date that is less than a month after its creation! I did decide to continue using it after this date and was careful of any changes in appearance, smell, or texture--especially very small, green, fuzzy bits (i.e. mold!) Many people see the short shelf life as an inconvenience, but it also motivated me to use it regularly, since I know I can't keep it tucked away forever. As with any exfoliating product I have, I used it only about once or twice a week to avoid the negative effects of over-exfoliating, and probably got at least 5-6 generous uses out of a pot. If the expiry date scares you, try splitting it with some friends or even making a girls' night-in of it.

Have you tried BB Seaweed or any other LUSH Fresh Face masks?

Ingredients: Tilia europaea (lime tree) flower extract, Viola odorata (sweet violet) leaf extract, kaolin, honey, glycerin, Prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) seed meal, Fucus gardneri (Bladderwrack seaweed) extract, Aloe barbadensis leaf juice, Panicum miliaceum (millet flakes), Olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, bentonite gel, Rosa centifolia flower, Rosa damascena extract, Pogostemon cablin (patchouli) oil, Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil, Fucus vesiculosus (seaweed) extract, citral, geraniol, benzyl benzoate, limonene, linalool, perfume

Available at LUSH (in-store only) - $6.95 CAD / 60g

A Tale of Two Turquoises

I wonder if you can tell anything from looking at a person's nail polish collection? Turquoises, of all other colours, make up the biggest proportion of my collection. Although I thought L'Oreal Club Prive might be too similar to Essie's Turquoise & Caicos to justify buying it, the allure of that gold-capped bottle won me over in the end.

Even the bottles are similar...

Happily, the difference between the two is much clearer when compared side-by-side, as Club Prive leans much more blue. Still, how would it match up to one of my most-loved turquoises?

As it turns out, pretty damn well. Club Prive has that "watery" quality I love about Turquoise & Caicos that makes it so perfect for spring. Shade-wise, it's right in between Turquoise & Caicos and China Glaze's For Audrey, two very popular polishes. In fact, it's probably usurped Turquoise & Caicos' place as my favourite turquoise.

Club Prive went perfectly with some heart-shaped nail art bits I picked up in a set from Daiso recently. At first, I applied the pieces on top of just dabs of Seche Vite before sealing the entire nail with top coat, but I lost all but one after a day of wear. I turned to sticking them on with nail glue (bad idea), which held on really well, but was incredibly stubborn and annoying to remove even with acetone.

What colour dominates your polish stash? And (against my better judgment) what is your favourite turquoise polish?

Swatches: Annabelle TwistUp Lipstick Crayons

Seems like my current obsession for crayon-like lip products like Revlon's Balm Stain goes deeper than I thought, because I was instantly drawn to the display of Annabelle TwistUp Lipstick Crayons at Shoppers. They have a lot more than shape in common, as both allow you to twist the bottom to push up more product,(rather than having to dig out your sharpener) and seem very moisturizing. I wouldn't be surprised if there are very close dupes between the two shade-wise as well.

Absolute, Bubble, Divine, Mai Tai, Mimosa, Tease

Kiss, Fizz, Kinky Pink, Breeze, Royale

TwistUps are available in 12 shades in total (I'm missing dark pink Flirtini) that seem fairly pigmented and glided on my arm very smooth and creamy, most likely with the help of shea butter in the formula. Tease and Fizz are the only two that are frosty.

Although I have more than enough lip products to last me for years, it's hard to resist the combination of colour and hydration that these crayons offer. I will probably end up buying a shade or two and compare against the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains, of course in the name of science. All for science, honest.

Speaking of swatches, I should really finish my swatches of the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipsticks...