Sephora's Formula X Nail Polishes

I've mentioned this before but I'm typically someone who can't stand nail polish on my nails, however over the last few months, I have been able to have some on my toe nails without having to pick it off.

I've heard mixed reviews for these polishes, but a majority of the reviews have been in favour of them. However, the price for one polish just isn't fathomable. Personally, I think $15 for one bottle of nail polish is crazy! Especially since I only use it on my toes. Now, you may be wondering why I ended up getting 4 considering my dislike towards the price. I'm glad to inform you that they were all on sale! 

Super Charged

This polish is apart of the Lusters collection and the colour I got is Super Charged. Sephora describes it as a charcoal and rainbow multi-glitter, glitter lacquer. I currently have this on my toe nails right now and after my nails dried, I knew the polish was going to be extremely hard to get off. I've had this on my nails for a couple of weeks now so they're fairly chipped, but I would say they stayed on for a good amount of time without chipping!

Legend

This polish is apart of the Shifters collection and the colour I got is Legend. Sephora describes it as rainbow and maroon metallic. This was the first polish I tried when I got my package. I chose to try this one first as it looked like it would be the easiest to get off and I wanted to see how the polish would look in the light since it looked so metallic and duo chrome-esque in the bottle. I have to say I definitely enjoyed this! I seem to gravitate towards the darker colours (my friend convinced me not to try black), as I used to only use navy on my toes. This was a nice change as it looked quite dark, but you could see it had a slight purple tinge and a beautiful sheen. 

Black Hole

This polish is apart of the Celestials collection and the colour I got is Black Hole. Sephora describes it as a burgundy and charcoal glitter shift. I put this on my sister's nails when we first received our order. I reminds me of the Super Charged polish as they do look fairly similar and have the same sort of texture. These glitter type polishes look really cool as they are glittery (duh), but they also create a bumpy texture. It might not appeal to some, but it's definitely cool if you're getting bored with your polishes. My sister mentioned that the texture felt weird, but she quickly got over it.

Alive

This polish is from the Colors collection and the colour I got is Alive. Sephora describes it as Peach Pink. I'm not really sure why I chose this colour. I think I might have chosen it as I thought the pink would look good against her tan skin. This might have to be more of a summer shade for me... I also wanted to see how a "normal" formula would work as opposed to the other ones that are full of glitter. 

From left to right: Super Charged, Legend, Black Hole, Alive

After trying out all of these sale polishes, I would love to try the other sale polish that contains confetti. I had to limit myself when placing these orders, so the confetti one didn't make the cut. However, if you are someone who wants something new to play with or just shake up their nail game, I would definitely recommend you check them out and let me know how you get on with them!

Formula X polishes are definitely good, but I'm still not sure if they're worth the normal price of $18 a piece. If you're unsure of the formula I would suggest you pick up some of the sale polishes so you can try them out without breaking the bank. However, keep in mind that the sale polishes are more textured/crazier shades. They will probably be a bit harder to apply and remove, and the opaqueness might not reach your expectations as a number of the "normal" colours are typically on the more fluorescent side.

Overall, I think these polishes are great, but I don't think I would pay regular price for it. I'll probably just stick with drugstore polishes as I'm not too into them at the moment. I'd rather save the extra money and buy something I really want. But for those who love nail polishes, I would recommend you pick some up as they are really good. No complaints from me (besides the price)!

Free Samples

These perfume samples actually came as a surprise. This post has been a long one coming, hence all the snow in the photos... But I think you were to receive these perfume samples if you made a purchase of over CAD$35 or more. I can't remember if that's actually try or not but I would say I'm 80% sure that's what it was for. I remember they were offering three different envelopes of samples as each envelope had a different theme.

Theses polishes cam in two separate orders so I'm not sure if it was an accident that I received two envelopes of perfume samples or if they added them to each order in order to promote the 3x the points on perfume purchases. Either way, I'm not complaining!

I ended up getting the same theme in both of my envelopes. The perfumes included in the envelopes include: Prada Candy, Guilty by Gucci, Tory Burch by Tory Burch, Nirvana Black and White from Elizabeth and James, and Chloe by Chloe.

This multi-imperfection transforming serum from Philosophy was actually a 100 point redemption. I still haven't tried this yet, but I definitely want to give it a go. It seems like a decent product and I haven't had the chance to try much from Philosophy. I've only tried their face wash once!

Have you tried Formula X nail polishes? Do you think they're worth the price? What's your favourite shade? If not haven't tried them, do you have any interest in trying any out? What's your favourite brand of nail polish? (so many questions...)

-Amelia

Hopping on the Bandwagon #2

After almost a 2 month long hiatus, I'm finally back with another post! I only have exams and student teaching left for this term, so I'm hoping I'll be able to start posting more often again!

Without further ado, here's the second installment in the Hopping on the Bandwagon series. If you haven't read the first post, click here to check it out!

Mac's Fix +

Before I made this purchase, I had never owned or used anything from Mac. Hard to believe, I know! For some reason, I never got into the whole Mac hype and just skipped that step when developing my love for makeup. 

I follow a number of YouTube channels and I swear everyone has mentioned the Fix + spray at one point or another. When I stepped into Mac to pick this up, I didn't know what size to get, as I wasn't sure if it was gimmicky or not. Obviously, I bit the bullet and purchased the full size. However, I think the smaller size would be perfect for travelling or throwing it into a purse or backpack to refresh your makeup throughout the day.

I've been using this for a couple of months now and I think it's safe to say that I LOVE this spray! I use it whenever I put makeup on. I like to spray my face once I'm done everything except for mascara and brow gel. I prefer to apply those products after. 

This spray has seriously changed my (makeup) life! After applying foundation, my skin usually looks pretty good but sometimes it looks a little dry/textured, especially around my t-zone and the under eye area right beside my nose. Once I've covered my face with the Fix + (around 4 sprays or enough to thoroughly cover my entire face), my skin looks flawless! In a way, the spray makes it look like my makeup just melted all together and helped blend and even out the textures.

Side note: I've been struggling with my skin lately and no longer have any idea of the kind of skin I have. I feel like lately it has been dry, normal, and oily... Is that even possible? I'm hoping my skin is only being weird because it has been winter the last 5 months. Where I live, we get some pretty harsh winters. Even without the windchill we can reach -30 or -40 degrees celsius!

I also heard that a lot of people like to use Fix + to help intensify the colour payoff from their eyeshadows. I didn't really use the spray much for this purpose, however, I used it today on my shadows and it did a really good job at making the colours pop!

Overall, I'm so happy I jumped on the bandwagon for this product. It is definitely hyped up for a reason! I have about 1/3-1/4 left of product and I can let you know right now that I will definitely be repurchasing this! If you find your makeup isn't looking as seamless as you want it to be or need something to help rejuvenate your makeup throughout the day, I HIGHLY recommend you check this out!

YSL's Babydoll Mascara

I've been dying to try this mascara for about a year now and I finally decided to get it when I saw that Benefit's Roller Lash mascara sample was free with a purchase of over $35CAD. I'm going to be blunt here and say that I was pretty disappointed with this mascara. I think I might have watched too many positive reviews for this mascara and ultimately created too high of a standard. 

For some reason I thought this mascara was going to be more lengthening and defining than volumizing. I recently took a look back at the packaging and realized that "volume" is in the name of this mascara. I felt like such an idiot. No wonder it wasn't doing what I wanted it to do! However, I remember a number of YouTubers saying that it was great for lengthening... Maybe my lashes are just too stubby. I've also heard that the formula for this mascara is pretty dry, which for the most part I do prefer, but I think the one I picked up must have been super old. When I used it for the first time I found it to be seriously dry, way too dry for my liking. 

I think I personally prefer length over volume as I am someone that HATES clumpy lashes! I can't stand when my lashes stick together and form those ugly triangles of product or the little balls of mascara that end up on the tip of my lashes. Mascara is probably one of my favourite makeup products but I seriously struggle with applying it, as my lashes are basically non-existent and the product loves to get all over my lids. 

I don't hate this mascara but I don't think I will be repurchasing it. I had set my hopes way too high on this mascara and was ultimately left disappointed. It just didn't do what I wanted it to do. Paying $36 on a product that doesn't wow me just doesn't make any sense. For the same price, I would much rather get the Dior Iconic Overcurl mascara ($35CAD, it's actually cheaper). However, I will continue to use it as it was expensive and it still is a good mascara, just not as good as I hoped it would be! 

Have you tried any of these cult favourites? If you have, how did you get on with them? If you haven't what are some "bandwagon" products that you have been meaning to try?

- Amelia