Shopper’s Drug Mart (a major drugstore chain here in Canada) has an excellent points program. In addition to all the toiletry items that you could ever need they also have a couple of grocery isles, so we go there regularly to grab milk and bread etc, and the points add up quickly. You can spend them on regular merchandise but every once in a while they make it even better by offering you much more bang for your points if you use them in the beauty department, and I always save my points for those special weekends.
They had one a couple of weeks ago so I had a little shopping spree, getting $90 worth of stuff for free! It was fun to take my time looking at their huge selection and then to pick out what I was going to have.
The store I go to has a friendly and knowledgeable make-up artist on staff to answer questions or help with your choices. Also this time I went in with some things I wanted in mind, a couple of which were repeat purchases of products but in a different colour, and a couple of things that I’d heard about on a Beauty Blog/Vlog I really like called Essie Button. (She is a Canadian girl named Estee, who moved to London to be with her boyfriend. In addition to having a passion for beauty products, she is so charming and funny in her videos. I never get through watching one without laughing out loud at least once.)
First, here are the Lip Products I picked up :
(1) L’Oreal Color Riche Serum in Beamy Plum. I got one of these lipsticks in my last haul (here) in the colour Sparkling Rose, and I really like it. I’ve had a chance to use the new colour, which is quite mauve and matches my natural lip colour almost exactly, so looks like a nude lipstick that makes my lips look very nice. The paler part in the centre of the lipstick is an anti-aging serum that is said to ‘hydrate and re-densify the lips with every application.’
(2) Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balm Coquette. I already have a couple of the Revlon chubby lip pencils, the Just Bitten Kissable Lip Stains, which are very nice. In fact I like them so much that I bought one for my mom for Christmas. This one I got recently is a new formula that adds more of a glossy finish than the other ones I have. I’ve used it a couple of times already and also really like it. The color is not overly dense or bright and there is a bit of sparkle to it. The amount of shine is just right and I think this will be perfect for spring and summer.
Next, here are the Eye Products :
(1) New York Colours Individual Eyes in Smokey Greens. You might be thinking, hold it, there are no green shadows in this kit. Rather the colours were selected to particularly compliment green eyes. I have brown eyes but I preferred the colours in this one over the ones for brown. This was one of the items recommended by the make-up artist at the store after we discussed the merits of using a primer underneath eye shadows. This handy little pallet includes some primer so I can try it out. It also includes some Illuminator, Highlighter, all -over-the-lid colour and two choices of Crease and Contour colours. NYC is a budget conscious brand so you get all that at a very good price of $6.99 (although it was free for me because I was using points.)
Here’s a better look at it with the plastic protector left in so you can see what is what …
(2) Covergirl Eye Enhancers Eye Shadow in French Vanilla. I wanted a creamy colour shadow without any glitter or sparkles, and this one looked just right for this basic task.
(3) Maybelline 24 Hr Color Tattoo Metal in Inked in Pink. I bought this because the beauty blogger mentioned above absolutely loves this product! She included it in her overall Favourite Products for 2013, so I just had to get some and see what makes it so fantastic. It is a cream eye shadow that I haven’t tried out yet.
(4) Rimmel Scandal Eyes Shadow Pencil in Paranoid Purple. I have one of these already in a turquoise shade and I really like it, so when I ran out of my purple shadow pencil recently I knew I’d be replacing it with a Rimmel one.
[Follow-up : In an effort to give constructive criticism, I noticed that when I went to sharpen these Rimmel Scandal Eye Pencils (I ended up getting it in three colours), that this is very difficult to do. The plastic outside part is hard to sharpen and the tip breaks as you try to pull the pencil from the sharpener. It makes a big mess and there’s some wasted product. An improved, “no sharpener required” format would be great here.]
(5) Essence Eye Shadow Pencil in Green Garden. This is a budget brand and the pencil was priced at only $2, so I thought I’d give this lovely colour a try. I was surprised by the quality of the product and will be taking a closer look at the Essence display next time I go to the store.
(6) Maybelline Volum’ Express the Rocket Mascara in Very Black. This mascara also made the ‘Favourite Products in 2013’ list over at Essie Button, so I wanted to check it out. I haven’t tried it yet because I’m just finishing up a mascara but I’m very curious to see the magic it will apparently perform on my lashes!
(7) Quo Eye Smudger Brush. I needed a brush that would be good for contouring and the make-up artist suggested this flat one with relatively short hairs. I got one of the Quo brushes in my last haul (here), the Kabuki Brush, which I’ve been very happy with and I expect to also like using this new one by the same maker.
And finally, here are the Skin Products :
(1) Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in Light. I’ve never tried a Beauty Balm before so wanted to and this particular one was suggested by the make-up artist. If you’re unfamiliar with BBs they are tinted moisturizers with some coverage but less than a regular foundation. This one also has the added benefit of 30 SPF sunscreen. I tried it out and I must say, I am sold! It’s a lovely product that made my skin look nice but not overly made-up. I’ll be adding this to my regular daily routine.
(2) St. Ives Timeless Skin Facial Cream. This is a repurchase of a product that I’ve been using for a couple of years now and that I think is really good. It is much less expensive than the fancier face-creams I’ve tried, and it has become my favourite. It is unscented and supposedly visibly reduces fine lines and wrinkles, but personally I don’t think any product can actually truly effect wrinkles.
Not to brag but the last time I was at my family doctor, out of the blue she asked me what I used on my skin because it looks so good, so I must be doing something right! I think the trick to having nice looking skin is keeping it well moisturized and this cream does that for me. It doesn’t have a sunscreen in it so I use Olay Complete when out during the day. Actually I never expose my face to the sun without sunscreen and I always wear a hat during the day when out in the summer. These habits were formed out of necessity, as I have an extreme sensitivity to sun, but in the long run keeping protected has paid off in appearance as well as in health.
So that ends the part of the post about my ‘Free with Points Haul at Shoppers Drug Mart’, but I also picked up a couple of other items in January that make sense to include in this post too.
First is another eye-shadow pallet by Maybelline called Expert Wear Perfect Pastels, in Velvet Crush. These are the basic colours I usually wear and I needed more.
Here’s a closer look …
This next item was a little fancy gift to myself. It was a Christmas item that I picked up for half price in mid January. There were actually two of them at the store and I got the one but then thought about what a great gift it would make and went back to get the second one too, but it had already sold. So I’m sorry to be showing you an item that you can’t even get anymore!
It’s by Quo (which I believe is a brand unique to Shopper’s) and is called an ‘Emergency Kit’
(Aside: Nick thought it was neat when he saw it on the table, thinking that it contained bandages, cotton and ointment and stuff together for a little First Aid Kit!)
It was branded as something to keep in your purse at all times so you’re ready for any beauty emergency. I don’t have those since beginning to work from home but can see how something like this would have been so handy to have in my desk when I worked in an office. I bought it particularly for the little set of brushes that will be perfect for travelling. I also like the variety of make-up included, 4 shadows, a blush and 4 lip colours.
I actually bought it when we were planning a trip for February, but that had to get shelved because our cat sitter had a change in her schedule. Eddie has become a bit of a special needs guy in his old age and kind of requires someone home throughout the day, so cat care is becoming a problem as we can’t leave him for more than a few days with someone who works full time. Anyway, we’ll pick up those travelling plans again for sure. And I’ll have an excellent little make-up kit for when we do go away.
Thank you for looking at my post.
xo loulou
