Sparkled Beauty

This is the start of a review series of new Milani products I have recently bought. Today is all about the Color Statement lipsticks, as they rocked my socks :)

Pictured are, from L-R: Uptown Mauve, Black Cherry and Nude Cream.

The lipsticks are available in vinyl, metallic, cream, shimmer, pearl and matte finish, but I somehow ended up getting all cream. Described as full coverage, with lightweight creamy formula infused with Vitamins A, C & E, these lipsticks are to moisturize and nourish your lips. And I find this claim quite true.

Let's see the colours first.

Uptown Mauve is supposed to be a violet mauve, swatched more like a fuchsia.

Black Cherry is, well, a black cherry but more cherry than black :) It can definitely go a little darker to fit the name, IMO.

Nude Cream is a pink nude, one of the better nudes on me.

Are you surprised seeing a nude lipstick in my haul? Well, I was lol. I tried to be more liberal in choosing lip colours to fully test out the range. So far, I'm impressed.

Swatches were done with only 2 quick swipes of the lipsticks each time.

I love how opaque the colours are, very smooth and comfortable to wear. They last well on my lips, about 4 hours with eating and drinking (tea) :) I always wear a lip balm underneath all my lip products, and the lipsticks did not feel drying on top of it.

Another lighting angle, the colours show a little brighter here.

I am happy with the formula of this lipstick line and might have to try more shades :) I am not sure we get all 28 shades that Milani released in the US, but will look for Best Red, Hot Pink Rage or Sangria (matte), High Voltage (vinyl) and maybe a purple - Violet Volt (metallic).

The lipsticks are paraben free, retail $6.99 a piece at Lawtons and Superstore. I'll post looks with these lipsticks soon.

I got two Stila Countless Color pigments from Sephora VIB sale. It didn't take much for me to love them and definitely need to talk about them :)

Here are Acoustic (on the left) and Finale (on the right), part of Stila's LE Festival of Colour summer collection.

Described as full coverage, long wearing vibrant pigments with pearl formula, these little pots can be used different ways with different colour combinations. And no two Countless Colour pigments are alike, I gotta try 'em!

Bright and colourful thin compacts get an A for packaging. I found the paper box kinda hides the beautiful art work inside a little, despite the colour stickers on the front.

Aren't they looking gorgeous when the lids are up?

Acoustic is described as a combination of beige, red and mahogany brown

Finale has peach, orange and reddish pink - less contrasting colours I realized.

I went for this type of colour family, as I intended to use them as blushes as well as eyeshadows, get more bang for my bucks. Plus, I'm going through a dark pink/ red phase right now. However, the purples and blues are killing me too :)

This is Acoustic, with 3 colours swatched separately first.

Stila suggests using a finger or foam tip applicator to apply the pigments, which I can definitely confirm. I swatched these quickly in store with my fingers and fell in love :)

When it came to swatching though, I went with the regular (damp) eyeshadow brush before I realized they were not supposed to be used wet. A brush sure sheered the colours out a tiny bit, still quite intense though.

And next is Finale, a little more bright compared to Acoustic. I was a little disappointed when that beautiful peachy orange did not show up the same as it looked in the pot. That colour was kinda the reason why I bought Finale, so cheerful and summer-y.

When you use these pigments as eyeshadows, you gotta remember where in the pot you swipe the product the first time lol, or your makeup does not look the same between the two eyes. Since they work best with your fingers, dabbing the colours on the middle of your lids is the best way to show them off.

And lastly, swatched as blushes using a blush brush, Acoustic on the left, Finale on the right. And I can't tell which one I love more. Definitely love that darker red, but peachy pink also looks divine :)

I found it necessary to include ingredient list for these pigments for those who wonder: Talc, Mica, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ethylene/ Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Magnesium Stearate, Silica, Polysorbate 20, Sorbic Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol.

May contain Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Carmine (CI 75470), Ultramarines (CI 77007), Yellow 10 (CI 47005), Red 27 Lake (CI 45410), Red 28 (CI 45410), Blue 1 (CI 42090), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090),Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Red 40 ( CI 16035), Yellow 6 (CI 15985), Red 6 (CI 15850), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850). ***Contains Carmine as a color additive.

The whole line of 10 Countless Colour pigments, CAD29 for 0.1 oz/ 3g, was launched at Shoppers' selected locations on May 15 and will be available at Murale May 29. Sephora only had 7 shades when I bought mine - no Centre Stage (pink, peach & aqua), Melody (purples) and Encore (champagne & brown). I am still waiting for the display to be updated at the Shoppers locations near me.

Stay tuned for a FOTD, I sure look bright and cheerful in it lol.

Big sale alert: Illmasqua is having 50% off sale of everything, except valued sets, with code "TWITTER50". Sale ends at 5GMT but they will repeat at midnight GMT so international customers have time to get orders in.

Note: Standard international shipping is free with £50+ orders as long as you don't order nail polish and/or fragrances, otherwise it's Premium International shipping of £14. And if you want their Skin Base foundation, they do have a Foundation comparison chart to help you find your shade.

Shoppers: There is a $10 off $50 coupon for today only (excludes prestige cosmetics and fragrances). The flyer doesn't switch yet, so you'll be looking at last week's deal instead of this week's.

*** Sat & Sun: Get a card worth 8,000 to 22,000 points (valued $10 - $30) with $50 purchase
*** Until June 14, get a contest card with $10 purchases to win 1 of 3 grand prizes of 3 million points
*** Sat/ Sun only: Revlon eye/ lip: CAD4.99 (limit 4, after limit and rest of the week: CAD7.99)

*** All week: Spend you Points event on skin care: 16,000 points = $30 (extra $10)
- Maybelline Fit Me makeup: CAD8.99
- Cover Girl lip: CAD8.99
- Maybelline Line Stiletto eyeliner, Lash Stiletto, Illegal Length mascara: CAD8.99
- Almay: 25% off (buy 2 get 3,000 points)
- L'Oreal Sublime bronzer, Ombrelle sun care: 25% off
- Neutrogena, Hawaiian Tropic sun care: CAD9.99
- La Roche-Posay Anthelios sun care: 15% off
- Vichy: with a purchase of 2 Capital Soleil sun care products get a free NutriExtra scrub (200ml)
- Vichy Aqualia Thermal Night Spa: CAD44 (bonus 6,000 points)
- Bioderma: 30% off
- Olay skin care: 25% off
- Aveeno shave gel, skin care: 25% off
- Garnier, Biore facial cleanser, Nivea Aqua Effect skin care: CAD6.99
- Avene anti-aging, RoC Complete Lift skin care: 20% off, Avene sun care: 25% off
- Herbacin hand cream, Vaseline/ Dial lotion: CAD2.99
- Live Clean hair care: CAD3.99 (by 2 get 1,000 points)
- Batiste dry shampoo: CAD6.99
- Sally Hansen Hard As Nails, Complete Salon, Magnetic nail polish, Salon Effects nail strips: CAD7.99, Sally Hansen Diamond Strength/ Insta Dri nail polish: CAD3.99
- Revlon ColorStay nail polish, nail art: CAD6.99
- Cover Girl Outlast Stay Brilliant nail polish: CAD4.49
- Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear, Rimmel Lasting Finish nail polish: CAD2.99
- Quo by Orly nail polish: CAD8.99 (bonus 1,000 points)
- Quo full/ individual lashes: CAD6.99 (x10 points)
- Lise Watier Something Sweet EDT (50ml): CAD59 (bonus 5,000 points).

Bonus points, last day:
- x15 points when you spend $20 or more on Quo products
- x10 points with purchase of any participating No7 products
- x5 points with purchase of any Nuxe product.

Until May 19:
- 3,000 points with purchase of RapidBrow.

Until May 22:
- 1,000 points with purchase of any Cover Girl Flamed Out product.

Until May 24:
- 5,000 points with purchase of 2 Clinique makeup products
- 3,000 points when you buy 2 or more Almay products. And with any purchase of an Almay product, when you present your Optimum card, you are automatically entered into a contest to win 1 million bonus points.

Until June 14:
- x10 points when you buy Benefit POREfessional primer
- x10 points with purchase of any participating John Frieda hair care product
- x10 points with purchase of Dove Go Fresh restore antiperspirant
- x5 points with purchase of any Pur Minerals product
- 8,000 points with purchase of 2 participating Lise Watier skin care products
- 5,000 points with purchase of Lancôme Advanced Genefique
- 2,000 points when you spend $15 on participating Yes To products
- 2,000 points with purchase of 2 participating L'Oreal EverStrong products
- 2,000 points with purchase of 2 participating L'Oreal Festival de Cannes products
- 1,000 points with purchase of 2 participating L'Oreal Colour Riche products
- 1,000 points with purchase of 2 Aveeno products
- 1,000 points with purchase of 2 participating Live Clean hair care products
- 500 points with purchase of any Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse.

Lawtons: Sat only: x10 Airmiles with $45 purchase
*** Until May 30, when you use your Airmiles card, you can enter a daily draw for Airmiles reward, total pool of 10,000 miles per day. You get a bonus entry wich each Compliments product purchase
*** Redemption Days contest - You get a chance to win 95,000 Airmiles every time you redeem 95 miles (for $10 off) now until May 31. Also applies to Sobeys, Jean Coutu, Rona, Foodland, etc.
- Revlon eye: 30% off
- Maybelline lip: 25% off (bonus 5 Airmiles when you buy 2)
- CoverGirl: 20% off
- L'Oreal Colour Riche eyeshadow quad: CAD8.99 (bonus 8 miles when you buy 2)
- Vasanti: 20% off, free single eyeshadow of choice with $20 Vasanti purchase
- Bonne Bell: 20% off (bonus 10 miles when you spend $15); eye/ lip liner, mascara: 25% off (bonus 8 miles when you buy 3)
- Aero Minerale makeup mist: 50% off
- Almay foundation, powder, concealer, blush, primer, makeup remover: 20% off (bonus 5 miles when you buy 2)
- Vichy/ Avene sun protection, after sun care: 20% off (bonus 8 miles when you buy 2)
- Vichy NutriExtra body care: 20% off (bonus 15 miles when you buy 2)
- La Roche-Posay/ Neostrata sun care: 20% off (bonus 8 miles when you buy 2)
- Bioderma Photoderm/ Dermaglow, IDC sun care: 20% off
- Garnier Skin Renew, Ultra-Lift skin care: 25% off
- Vaseline Lip therapy lip balm: CAD1.79 (bonus 10 miles when you buy 2)
- Fruits & Passion Pomelo Granite: 20% off (bonus 10 miles when you buy 2)
- Upper Canada Naturally You: 30% off (bonus 8 miles when you buy 2)
- Clean & Clear: 25% off (bonus 5 miles when you buy 2)
- Coppertone sun care (SPF10 - 30): CAD6.99
- Compliments sun care: CAD5.99
- Australian Gold, Ombrelle sun care: 25% off
- Garnier Fructis shampoo, conditioner: CAD2.99 (bonus 5 miles when you buy 2)
- Nair hair removal: 20% off (bonus 3 miles when you buy 1)
- OPI: 20% off
- Layla Ceramic Effect nail polish: 25% off (bonus 10 miles when you buy 2)
- Essie nail polish, treatment: CAD8.99 (bonus 10 miles when you buy 2).

Walmart:
- Revlon ColorStay nail polish: CAD4.96 (reg. $7.46)
- Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs lotion: CAD11.88
- Clean & Clear Advantage, Fruit Infusion skin care: on roll back.

Superstore:
- Aveeno/ Neutrogena skin care: 30% off
- Nivea/ Vaseline/ Chapstick lip care: CAD1.79
- Hawaiian Tropic, Banana Boat sun care: CAD7.99.

CoverFx: 20% off and free shipping with $50 US/ $75 Canada orders (no code needed) until May 19.

Fruits & Passion: B2G2F all Fruity body care products, 2/$24 Ambiance collection. With any purchase, you can get a tote bag with a shower gel for $10 (valued $27.50). If you shop online, free shipping with $25 orders until May 20.

The Bay: Until Monday, get extra 15 off when you use Hudson's Bay credit card/ MasterCard. Please check the site for exclusions.
Other deals:
- 40% off swim
- 30% off fashion jewelry when you buy 3 or more
- 25% off handbags and wallets, etc.

Sears: Elizabeth Arden GWP of $38 or more, until May 26. The gift values at $118, includes:
- Ceramide Lift & Firm day cream SPF30 (30ml)
- Prevage anti-aging daily serum (5ml)
- Ceramide Capsules serum (7pc)
- Ceramide Lash Extending mascara in Black
- Ceramide Ultra lipstick in Petal and
- A metallic gold python cosmetic bag.

ebates.com celebrate their birthday with 14% cash back promotion (direct link), i.e. more than double cash back for lots of sites. See the link for list of stores. Note that lots of them are US stores and not all ship to Canada.

ebates.ca : Double Cash back
- Walmart: up to 4%
- Old Navy, GAP, Banana Republic, Shop.ca: 4% (reg. 2%)
- Roots: 5% (reg. 2.5%)
- J.Crew: 6% (reg. 3%)
- Club Monaco, Aldo: 8% (reg. 4%)
- The Body Shop: 12% (reg. 6%), etc.

My referral links for both ebates sites are on the left side bar, if you need them.

This post is to feature the Cover Girl Flamed Out eyeshadow pencils that I have just reviewed. If your eyes are drawn to the lip colour, stay tuned to find out what it is :)

I used Cover Girl 345 Ice Flame in the inner corner and 300 Silver Flame in the outer corner with no base, blended upward with the blurple shade in the Essence 3D eyeshadow in Irresistible Purr-ple.

I also ran the eyeshadow pencils on the lower lash line in the same order. As mentioned, they felt cool in contact, gave my eyes a little bit of relief from morning tiredness. And if I didn't stress enough in the review, definitely NO application on the waterline because they burn!

If my eyes looked a little red in the pics, you know why. Only a few seconds after I finished putting the pencils on the waterline, my eyes started to hurt, teared up and turned red. I wiped the products off right away and the burn subdued. Though it was the only time it happened, I have no intention to test the other 3 pencils this way.

Other face products:
- Sunscreen: La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL cream SPF60
- Serum: Hydraluron moisture booster
- Moisturizer: L'Occitane Immortelle Precious cream
- Primer: Annabelle CC Instant Perfecting base in Luminous finish
- Foundation: Avon Ideal Flawless foundation in Medium Beige
- Concealer: Revlon ColorStay foundation in Warm Golden
- Brows: Yves Rocher eyebrow pencil in Brown
- Blush: Sally Hansen Natural Beauty sheerest cream blush in Sunrise.

I was on the last drops of Revlon ColorStay foundation and tried to use it up as a concealer. Worked quite well when I didn't need full coverage.

Other products for the eyes:
- Brow bone highlight: Annabelle single eyeshadow in Aura
- Eyeliner in the waterline: Annabelle Smoothie eyeshadow pencil in Licoriche
- Mascara: Lancome Hypnose mascara in Black.

Finally, if you haven't made some guesses, on my lips was Rimmel Apocalips lip lacquer in Apocaliptic :) It was shockingly amazing, you won't know it until you try.

Imagine L'Oreal Wet Shine stains on drugs, coverage wise. Wear wise, Apocalips does not last as long as Wet Shine stains. I guess when the colours are more bold, we notice the fading more too. No bleeding or drying. A must have!

Today is the launch of a very exciting product that I am over the moon to tell you about - Vichy Aqualia Thermal Night Spa. It is the first sleeping mask in Canada and is suitable for sensitive skin!

Vichy Thermal spa water (the Auvergne water travels through volcanic rocks and is enriched with 15 beneficial minerals) is known for its soothing and skin regenerating properties. It
- reinforces the skin's natural defense system
- ensures a balanced pH
- reduces signs and sensations of discomfort experienced by sensitive skin (redness, rashes, tightness, etc.)
- improves skin quality
- helps skin regenerate faster.

Now Vichy launches a brand new product with its Thermal spa water, supported with 2 times more hyaluronic acid, and Aquabioryl (a hydration booster). And we have the Night Spa, like bringing the treatment from an actual Vichy Thermal spa home :)

Just look at that gel cream aqua goodness. I could eat it with a spoon if that is possible lol.

So what is a sleeping mask? It is a mask that you leave on overnight, once or twice a week.

Instruction says to apply a thick layer of the Night Spa to face and neck, leave on 10 - 15 minutes while you relax. Then gently massage any excess onto the skin and go to sleep. Simple?

The product can also be used as a moisturizer with less amount required (a thin layer) every night.

The scent is like heaven in a jar, fresh, light and relaxing, exactly like one from a luxurious spa. I can't pinpoint what exactly the scent is, I just know that it smells good enough that I want it on my face every night.

The texture is creamy and light. When applied as a moisturizer, especially after a good serum (like Vichy LiftActiv Serum 10), it takes no time at all to absorb. The skin feels soft almost instantly.

When applied as a mask, it does take a bit of time before you can go to bed without the product sticking to your pillow -  20 to 40 minutes depending on the amount you use. And the soft and refreshed feeling continues into the morning when you wake up. My morning moisturizer goes on a lot easier, and so does my makeup. Skin feels less stressed, refreshed, I'm ready to face the day!

I fully intended to test this product as a sleeping mask but after the first night, I couldn't stop using it, so it has been my night moisturizer of choice (since the day I received it) and sleeping mask on nights I wanted a bit of spa treatment luxury.

Do I like it and recommend it? At this point, you tell me :)

Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Dimethicone, CaprylicTriglyceride, Squalane, Ammonium Polyacryldimethyltauramide, CI 42090, CI 42053, Dimethiconol, Parfum, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phenoxyethanol, Poloxamer 338, Disodium EDTA, Caprylyl Glycol, Citric Acid, Biosaccharide Gum 1, Xanthan Gum.

The product is paraben free, and like I said, suitable for sensitive skin. The jar is 75ml (larger size than most skin care products), retails for $44. This price tag is not bad at all, I did the math - Night Spa would cost you $30 if it comes in 50ml size.

Night Spa is available in drugstores today, May 15. Go check it out, or at least smell it and spread a small amount on your hand (if they have tester), and relax :)

So, I went and got 5 of the Cover Girl Flamed Out eyeshadow pencils. Here's a quick review and swatches for you :)

These are the regular pencils that need sharpening, not the twist up kind. The tight plastic seals on the products are great in preventing store swatching, but hard to remove. Be careful when you try to take them off with a sharp tool :)

As I mentioned in the haul, the shade names aren't printed on the pencils, only numbers. I'm not a fan of referring to a shade by numbers, come on Cover Girl!

Here they are, close up.

From top to bottom: 300 Silver Flame, 345 Ice Flame, 335 Ashen Glow Flame, 310 Red Hot Flame and 350 Melted Caramel Flame.

Cover Girl went earth toned with these pencils, interesting choice for a summer release. Red Hot Flame is definitely a unique shade for eyeshadows, especially drugstore.

Look how pretty they are all lined up. This explains my constant weakness for this type of products.

None of these 5 shades are matte. They all carry a shimmery sheen, some stronger than others. A note before we continue on, I intensified the swatches by swiping the pencils a few more times than what I would normally do on the lids, to show you the colours.

On the eyes, they will look a bit more sheer and subtle. Also, the pencils have a drier texture to them, which makes blending not as easy.

On the first row:
300 Silver Flame is more of a darker grey with silver sheen.

345 Ice Flame is a baby blue, the kind of shade that brightens your eyes.

335 Ashen Glow Flame is the light olive green with gold shimmers.

Something I haven't experienced before is that these Flamed Out pencils offer a cool feeling in contact. They are awesome to wake up tired eyes in the morning or chill them out on hot summer days. Brownie points!

Second row:
310 Red Hot Flame is an orange-y red, quite bright.

350 Melted Caramel Flame is beautiful, the taupe leaning to brown colour that lots of us love.

The eyeshadows are soft but not crumbly nor breaking easily, easy to apply. If worn as eyeshadows, they need to be built up for the colours to show. Worn as base, they create a beautiful canvas for whatever is applied on top of them.

I found a perfect way to wear these pencils - lighter shade in the inner corner, darker shade in the outer corner and a powder eyeshadow in the crease to blend out the edges. Check out the FOTD to see how that looks.

A word of warning: I do NOT suggest wearing these eyeshadows on the waterline or the tear duct! I found that out the hard way, please follow the link above to the FOTD post for more details.

Wear wise, these pencils last all day (no base/ primer). I noticed very little fading. No creasing either. All in all, they work well for me as cooling eyeshadow bases. Think of them as the Hourglass ambient powders, adding the glow to your eyes but from underneath instead of on top of the makeup.

The only thing I would ask Cover Girl to change on these is to print their names on the products, and tweak the formula so they could be used in the waterline.

If you are out hunting for this Cover Girl Flamed Out collection, the floor display (pictured, spotted at Lawtons and Shoppers) is big and 2-sided, The table-top display (spotted at Walmart) is smaller, with less products.

The eyeshadow pencils retail around $7.50 each, 10 shades in total, 2 each. I'm not sure they are permanent or LE. Review of the eyeshadow pots is coming soon.

It has been a good mail week, and I found fun new products to play around with. Here they all are :)

Let's start with the Sephora VIB sale. My US CP package from Tiffany at Will Work for Makeup came in with items that either were a lot cheaper in the US or I couldn't get here.

Not much, just 2 Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders in Diffused Light and Dim Light, reg. $45 (vs. CAD52) each and a Lorac Pro palette, reg. $42 (vs. CAD55).

These cost $110 (after 15% VIB, no tax where Tiffany lives) instead of CAD155 (after tax here), even after shipping, it was a steal. It sucks to realize that with a VIB discount, Canadians just get to the amount that Americans pay regularly.

I did get a few things from my Sephora during the sale:
- Shu Uemura eyelash curler, reg. CAD24
- OCC lip tar in Nylon, CAD19
- Stila Countless Color pigments in Acoustic and Finale (LE), CAD29 each.

I see that there are 10 shades of these on Stila website, only 7 on Sephora. Naturally, I kinda want the 3 that aren't at Sephora lol - Center Stage (pink, peach & blue), Melody (purple) and Encore (champagne & brown). The collection is coming to selected Shoppers soon, I don't know how many shades. Review for the 2 shades I got is coming.

I regret not getting a NARS Boys Don't Cry (Pierre Hardy) blush and a Buxom coconut-scented Hot Escapes bronzer because of pinksofoxy :) Oh well, next time!

On to drugstore stuff. Karen from Frazzle and Aniploish was helping me hunt down goodies that I couldn't wait to get my hands on.

Yes, these :) They are the Maybelline Color Tattoo Duochromes that might show up in Canada later, but they are LE, I could not miss the chance to collect them all.

First row, from L-R: 10 Precious Pearl, 15 Blue Paradise, 20 Waves of White, 25 Shady Shores.

Second row: 30 Icy Mint, 35 Cool Crush, 40 Seashore Frosts and 45 Lavish Lavender.

I think Maybelline starts the numbering again just with this collection, so the numbers might happen to be the same with current shades, a bit confusing, but whatever. Swatches will be up soon.

More duochromes, in naii polish form this time.

Here are the Funky Fingers duochrome bunch with, from top left, clockwise, Venom, Pink Pixels, Mood Ring and Primrose.

Haven't got around to wear any of these yet, but they look awesome in the bottles. If Funky Fingers could do it, why can't others? I need more good duochromes, more brands should join the bandwagon!

Gotta give Funky Fingers an award for funny looking bottle shape lol. They are awkward to hold for pics.

More lemmings to fulfill, this is a Wet n Wild LE palette galore :)

In the background are the Color Icon eyeshadow medleys with a MegaLiner liquid liner attached, in 34120 and 34121 (no names).

In the front are the Color Icon eyeshadow palettes in Nude Awakening and Going in the Wild (LE).

No sign of these in Canada yet, at this point, unfortunately.

I was so happy to get my hands on the Jesse's Girl Julie G Frosted Gumdrops collection for cheap. It was on Groupon US for $13.99, I begged Karen to get me one.

From L-R: Blueberry Fizz (blue), Rock Candy (light green), Crushed Candy (lilac), Tangerine Dream (yellow orange), Sugar Rush (orange red) and Hot Cinnamon (raspberry red).

Making a rare appearance at the top is Maybelline Vivid lipstick in Blazen Berry. This is one of the two shades Canada missed out on, the one I wanted the most. Yes, I ask Tiffany for 2 tubes of it, just cause.

And you know these highly anticipated Rimmel Apocalips, don't you?

Rimmel said these won't get to the US next year, I don't even know if Canada will get them. And hell no, I won't wait till then to find out.

I got Apocaliptic and Stellar off echemist for $7.25 each, free shipping. Not too bad!

Wore them over the weekend, let's just say they are shockingly amazing. You gotta try at least one!!! Need swatches to prove it?

What's new in town? Milani shelf at Lawtons is fully stocked with new products that American bloggers have been raving about. It didn't help that the brand is 25% off this week with bonus Airmiles :)

I bought:
- Eyeshadow primer, reg. $9.99
- Multitasker face powder in Medium, reg. $10.49
- Color Statement lipsticks in 20 Uptown Mauve, 24 Black Cherry and 26 Nude Cream, reg. $6.99
- Color Statement lip liner in True Red, reg. $3.99.

Could have got a lot more with the eyeshadow pencils, blushes, etc. but I stopped there lol.

A brand new Cover Girl Flamed Out collection has showed up as well. Cover Girl is 20% off at Lawtons, so I caved.

I got 5 shades of eyeshadow pencils. From top to bottom: 300 Silver Flame, 350 Melted Caramel Flame, 335 Ashen Glow Flame, 345 Ice Flame and 310 Red Hot Flame, reg. $7.49.

Just a note, the names are only on the plastic wraps, once you peel them off, you are left with just numbers printed on the pencils. I hate referring to a shade by number instead of name. Frustrating!

The 4 eyeshadow pots don't come with plastic seals, so only numbers, no names. I got 345 (dark pink), 315 (blue), 355 (dark brown) and 325 (green), reg. $4.99.

Some good news from Lawtons. First, they now carry Wet n Wild, including the Fergie nail polish (not makeup). Product selections are similar to what we see at Walmart and Superstore, but Lawtons run sales more often :)

Second, those with good eyes will notice those little boxes on the bottom right corner in the pic. Yes, Real Technique brush sets have arrived as well, prices range from $19.99 to $23.99. Individual brushes will be available later in the summer.

Not pictured, but I also got an awesome deal at La Senza with their 40% off weekend promo. Sale on top of sale, and the loyalty discount, I got about 70% off regular price for the Body Kiss bras they have just launched. They are kind of awesome :)

I have done a lot of swatching and testing over the weekend, so stay tuned for reviews. Hope every had a good weekend and some good family time with loved ones.

Shoppers: Sat & Sun: Redeem you Point event - 50,000 points = $100 or 95,000 points = $200

- Maybelline Baby Lips, Express Wear eyeshadow, Great Lash mascara: BOGO
- Maybelline Eye Studio eyeshadow, Color Sensational lipstick, Fit Me: CAD6.99
- L'Oreal Double Extend mascara, HIP Duo eyeshadow, Infallible lip: 20% off
- L'Oreal Colour Caresse shine stain: 15% off
- Cover Girl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 foundation, Advanced Radiance, Clean, Smoothers makeup: 20% off
- Cover Girl Flamed Out eyeshadow pencil: CAD7.99
- Revlon ColorStay, PhotoReady makeup: CAD14.99
- Revlon Nearly Naked liquid foundation, powder: CAD10.99
- Revlon Lash Potion, ColorStay/ PhotoReady mascara: CAD8.99
- Physicians Formula: 30% off
- Annabelle Biggy bronzer, Skin True foundation: CAD9.99
- Rimmel lip, eye, Scandal Eyes Lycra Flex/ Show Off mascara: CAD5.99
- Vichy LiftActiv, ProEven skin care: 25% off
- Vichy NutriExtra Extraordinary dry body oil: CAD29.50
- Aveeno/ Neutrogena facial moisturizer, Bio oil: CAD19.99
- Garnier/ Live Clean/ Clean & Clear/ Jamieson skin care: 25% off
- No7 skin care: 25% off
- Olay Regenerist, Pro-X skin care: 20% off
- Vaseline Spray & Go, lotion/ Live Clean lotion: CAD4.99
- Sally Hansen French Mani nail strip, Airbrush Legs: CAD9.99
- Sally Hansen Insta Gel strips, starter kit: 20% off
- Revlon classic, Brilliant Strength, Top Speed nail polish: CAD5.99
- L'Oreal Colour Riche nail polish: CAD3.99
- Quo by Orly Instant Artist nail polish: 2/CAD7
- Essie Sleek stick, Snake skin nail polish: 15% off
- Marc Anthony hair care: BOGO
- Sensitive Eyes/ Re-nu multi purpose solution: BOGO
- Elizabeth Arden: PWP: buy a Spring Tote & Pouch gift set for $65 when you spend $38  or more on Elizabeth Arden products.

Bonus points until May 17:
- x15 points when you spend $20 or more on Quo products
- x10 points with purchase of any participating No7 products
- x5 points with purchase of any Nuxe product.

Until May 19:
- 3,000 points with purchase of RapidBrow.

Until May 22:
- 1,000 points with purchase of any Cover Girl Flamed Out product.

Until May 24:
- 5,000 points with purchase of 2 Clinique makeup products
- 3,000 points when you buy 2 or more Almay products. And with any purchase of an Almay product, when you present your Optimum card, you are automatically entered into a contest to win 1 million bonus points.

Lawtons:
- Physicians Formula: 40% off
- Milani: 25% off (bonus 10 Airmiles when you spend $10)
- Cover Girl: 20% off
- Maybelline Volume Express mascara: CAD6.99 (bonus 10 miles when you buy 2)
- Revlon/ Almay: 25% off
- Annabelle: 20% off, free eye makeup remover lotion (170ml, reg. $9.95) when you spend $25
- Marcelle Hydra-C skin care: 20% off, free Hydra-C gel cream (50ml, reg. $23.95) with any Hydra-C purchase
- Neostrata FirmaLift: 20% off (bonus 20 miles when you buy 2)
- Avene skin care set: 30% off (bonus 20 miles when you buy 2)
- Vichy Normaderm skin care: 25% off (bonus 10 miles when you buy 2)
- La Roche-Posay Hydraphase skin care: 20% off (bonus 10 miles when you buy 2)
- Bioderma cleanser, toner (100 - 250ml): CAD15
- Fruits & Passion gift set: 25% off (bonus 20 miles when you buy 2)
- Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle repair skin care: 20% off
- Maska facial masks: 25% off
- Olay wet cleansing cloth (30's): 50% off
- L'Oreal eye makeup remover, Go Clean cleanser: 50% off
- Vaseline Spray & Go, body butter, lotion: CAD4.99 (bonus 4 miles when you buy 2)
- Jergen Natural Glow moisturizer: 20% off (bonus 5 miles when you buy 3)
- L'Oreal Ideal Moisture skin care: 25% off
- Essie nail polish, treatment: 20% off (bonus 10 miles when you buy 2)
- Red Carpet nail polish, treatment: 20% off
- Sinful Colors nail polish: 2/ CAD5.

Walmart:
- Clear shampoo, conditioner: CAD4.66
- TreSemme shampoo, conditioner, styling: CAD4.66
- John Frieda hair care: CAD8.47
- Revlon Lash Potion mascara: CAD8.46
- Maybelline Great Lash, Expert Wear quad/ mono eyeshadow: CAD3.96.

The Bay: Extra 15% off women's fashion, shoes, intimates, hosiery, jewelry, watches and accessories when you use Hudson's Bay credit card/ Mastercard, until Sunday.

Biotherm GWP of $30 or more, until May 26. The gift includes:
- Blue Therapy cream NCS (15ml), serum (7ml)
- BioSource exfoliating cleansing gel (20ml), toner (30ml)
- Biomains (20ml), and
- A clutch.

Until Sunday, with any $75 Biotherm purchase using Hudson's Bay credit card/ Mastercard, you'll receive a $25 saving card, redeemable on a $100 purchase (excluding cosmetics and fragrances) using the mentioned card until May 26.

Also until Sunday, with any cosmetics or fragrance purchase of $50 or more in store, you'll get the Fragrance Guide with tips and tricks on fragrances and a Beauty card to save $10 on your next cosmetics or fragrance purchase of $75 or more, until Sunday only.

Lancome sale: Skin and Eye perfecting trio is $100 (reg. $120, valued $196), this weekend only, with:
- Éclat Miracle (7ml)
- Genefique Eye (full sized 15ml)
- Visionnaire Advanced Skin corrector (full sized 30ml).

Elizabeth Arden GWP is still on until Sunday.

La Senza: In store only, until Sunday
- 20% off any $75 purchase
- 30% off any $100 purchase
- 40% off any $125 purchase.
They have upped the amount to get discount a bit, as last time I went, it was 40% off with $100 purchase.

Marcelle/ Annabelle: Annabelle has recently joined their sister brand Marcelle by opening up their online store that ships to Canada and US, with amazing promotions.

Spend more Save more:
- Spend $25 get $5 off
- Spend $50 get $15 off
- Spend $100 get $40 off
AND free shipping for all US and Canada orders until Sunday, May 12.

And if you are one of the first 100 customers to register and place an order, you'll get free shipping for life :)

Regular free shipping offer is the same as that at Marcelle: free with $25 Canadian orders or $50 US orders.

If you need recommendations, follow the tags on the right side bar or links here for Annabelle and Marcelle coverage on this blog :)

You can also enter to win a few Annabelle/ Marcelle goodies in my May Milestones giveaway, going on until May 25.

A quick reminder for my local readers: Open City is tomorrow. Come out if you are around downtown area :)

It was a surprise when I received the second package from the Revlon Selects program.

This time, it was all nail products from the LE Runway collection:
- Chroma Chameleon nail polish in Aquamarine
- ColorStay long wear nail polish in Mocha from the Nude collection
- Nail art 3D Jewel appliques WildFlowers in Hyper Floral (18 appliques in the box).

New products are always exciting, nail or makeup. Thanks, Revlon!

This post features Revlon Chroma Chameleon nail polish in Aquamarine.

Described as a colour-shifting multi chrome finish, Aquamarine shows its lighter blue sheen stronger with direct flash, both on the nails and in the bottle. I would say the duochrome effect is there but subtle on this one. You can see the darker blue base near the edges of the nails.

This is two coats with good opacity and no application issue. It is just a tad more frosty than I would like, I always prefer metallic or even matte than frost finish.

With this angle, you see more of the darker blue colour, so yes duochrome look totally depends on lighting and how you look at it.

Aquamarine last more than 2 days on my nails, pretty good over all. I do wish the colour shift was more prominent, since I always welcome more duochromes from drugstore brands. No, there isn't enough of those in the world just yet :)

Good for Revlon to start paying more attention to what we asked for. Just a bit more duochrome "fairy dust" in there and Aquamarine could be a winner!

This was the display of the whole Chroma Chameleon line I spotted in store. 8 shades in total, each has 4 bottles. And as mentioned, they are Limited Edition.

Regular retail price is about $8.95 a piece. The sale sticker was from a few weeks ago when Lawtons had a promotion on Revlon nail polish, if you are wondering.

Colour selection is on the cool tone side, lots in gold, blue and green colour family. I kinda sorta want bolder and non traditional colour-shifting like yellow and red, blue and pink, or multichromes, if we can get to that :)

That's it for today. Thank you for your support of the May Milestones giveaway and your best wishes. Don't forget to come back to tweet daily.

The prize preferences amaze me. It shows how wide and different your interests are. I'm glad I could speak to some of that :) Have a great day!

It's May! I reach the 1000th post today, then Squirt and Sparkled Beauty turn a new age (10 and 4, to be exact) on the 22nd. This giveaway is to thank 940 of you for being a part of my journey raising the kids (yes, the blog is my child too lol).

Prizes were bought with my own money and there will be 3 winners.

Prize 1: Base products
- Marcelle BB cream (in Light/ Medium)
- Annabelle CC cream (in Natural finish)
- Indeed Lab Hydraluron Moisture booster
- Vaseline lip therapy in Cocoa Butter, and
- Nivea lip butter in Vanilla & Macadamia.

Most of these products are tried and trued, do not need any introduction.

Hydraluron is widely available in the UK and Canada, and soon to be launched in the US (Walgreens), good news huh? If you can't wait, enter away to win it and try for yourself :)

Prize 2: Makeup, most are no longer available in store :)
- Annabelle Dust Lust in Disco Glow (LE, with 3 pigment dusts - Tidal, Golden Pink and Limelight, and a mini sized eyeshadow brush)
- Joe Fresh Shimmer and Shine face palette (LE, 4 eyeshadows, a blush and 2 lip colours)
- Quo eyeshadow quad in Infatuation (LE, neutral toned)
- Annabelle kohl eyeliner in Black
- Gosh waterproof eyeshadow pencil in Love that Cool Mint (discontinued)
- Balmshell lip gloss in Ah... The Classic (discontinued, gloss in one end, the decorative end can turn into a key chain)
- Quo lipstick in Pomegranate (LE), and
- Marcelle Lux gloss in Pearl.

Prize 3: Nail polish, a few hard to find shades
- Layla Ceramic Effect #52 The Butterfly Effect
- Sally Hansen Project Runway
- Claire's Dream Catcher
- Joe Fresh Twilight
- Wet n Wild Spoiled in Shuffle the Deck
- Quo Wild Child
- Del Sol Rockstar, and
- Gosh Blue Monday.

The giveaway is open to all readers, as long as your country allows products to be shipped to you. Being a follower of the blog is the only requirement, the rest is optional, for extra entries.

To enter, please fill in the widget below. Leave me a comment indicating your choice of prize if you win, in the order of preference. I can't guarantee all 3 winners will get what they want, but I'll definitely try my best.

Good luck to all of you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway