NOTD : sparkles and ring finger mani

I need sparkles, I need Barbie nails, I need a funky mani : Yes, I want it all !

In natural light : Revlon scented polish in Grape Icy as a base for all fingers. It's a sheer purple leaning on the pink side.

With Flash : on the ring finger, Sally Hansen Xtreme wear in Strobe light just for fun !

I am really so happy with the staying power of the Revlon nail polishes : they don't chip, they don't flake. They stay put for a good 3 days without looking bad (I hate an old looking mani)

Caro-back in the nail game xxx

OOTD : the 10 $ dress

OOTD : Sometimes, you browse the alleys of your grocery shop and between the broccolis and carrots you find that :

You do NOT find this incredibly sexy women in her seducing 30ies but you DO find pieces of outfit that will soon end up being published in a blog.

A nice little black dress for 10 $...The material looks shiny in the pic because of the flash but in reality it's a matte fabric very stretchy and incredibly comfortable.

I love the way it drapes over the knee : good job, Joe Fresh !

Then here is a DIY necklace (done by mum, thank you, mummy !) : she used those little balls that you throw through blowguns at birthday parties when a kid. She put those in a tube of fancy fabric ... et voilà !!!

Caro-sometimes a little black dress is all you need xxx

PS : nails on the 2nd pic are courtesy of Stormy (Revlon) : a true 3-day-wear (no chip, just a little tip wear....goooooooooooooooood !)

Monochromatic grey : SOTD, JOTD, NOTD...

SOTD : my sweet grey pumps offered by Mother in law at Winners. That's funny, there were moments when I went there I could never find anything...Now each time I stroll the alleys, I find too many cute items. May be because I changed the store I use to go to (very messy) to a very clean and well organised new store ?

NOTD : my yesterday find. The perfect dupe for Metrochic : Stormy from Revlon ...

JOTD : a big bold necklace bought for 5 euros on a market in Europe 2 years ago ! Nice over a sheath dress to break the "formality" of the office look..

to balance the overwhelming necklace : discrete earrings from RW&Co . Sorry for the wet and crazy hair !

I wanted to do a post on the "hit pan" phenomenon but it demands a little bit of work and I am in a "Saturday kind of mood" aka I read post from other bloggers, I don't write ! Haha....

Caro-lazy blogger xxx

Playing dupes : again !

Does this trendy fall color remind you of something ?

May be Metrochic from OPI (Sephora) ?

Comparison in pictures ....

With flash, the OPI looks a little bit more Mauve than the Revlon one (Stormy). In reality, I cannot see the littlest difference : to make sure I painted half my left hand with the OPI , the other half with the Revlon one ! It is absolutely impossible to distinguish one from another ...

Now I'll have to remove the OPI as I am allergic to it but I am so happy I found a dupe ! Plus, it is 3 times less expensive...Are you tempted ?

Caro-chic cheap xxx

How a good idea ends up being a bad mani...

I like easter nails (all nails covered with different pastel colors) or rainbow nails. So, I decided to try a all-in-the-same-family color nails. I can do that easily with my pinks so here we go :

Thumb to pinkie : Revlon bubble gum, Revlon Posh Pink, Zoya Jordana, Revlon Sheer Blossom, Zoya Jane

NOTD : reasons of the failure IMO:

-finish is not the same for each color (cream to sheer)

-colors were showing quite a nice wide range in the bottles but once applied on the nails Revlon Sheer Blossom and Zoya Jane are too close to make a nice change

-Zoya Jordana is too salmonish to fit in with the other pinks that are more on the cool side

Well I tried !

Hope you'll get inspiration and try it with your own favorite color

Caro-heading to a spinning class xxx

PS : I lost 4.2 lbs in 3 weeks...which is the target (about 1 lbs a week) but gosh it is soooooooooo hard to resist ice creams when the weather is so hot ....

a Revlon serie : Grape Icy swatch

Last one from the scented serie I bought : Grape Icy , a true purple color.

Application : 4 coats . No need to say I won't use it on a regular basis...It' s nice but to sheer for my liking : hence the difficulty to reach a nice clear line at the nail bed ...

Staying power : not judged there as I just applied it this morning (well 3 coats yesterday evening and the 4th coat this morning). I guess as it's the same formula as the 2 others that I tried this week, it should be very good....Wait and see !

This one is my least favorite of the bunch but it is still very pretty. It's just that the 2 others are stunning so the comparison is not really fair...

Caro smelling her nails xxx

Revlon serie part II : Bubble gum swatch

I could lick my nails....Oh the precious ! I liked a lot Gum drop , the lavender color from the scented serie, but this one ....I adore !

Application : just 2 coats were enough. I like that !

Color : it is bold without being neon. I am not a big fan of neon colors so it's a good point for me. If you want discrete nails though, run away, this mani is not for you. this fuschia clearly makes a statment...

Staying power : I kept it 3 days again before removing it. I could have kept it a little longer because it didn't chip but the tip wear was beginning to show some weakness...Again, I never keep a mani more than 24 h normally so I will say it again : Revlon rocks in term of staying power !

Caro-rediscovering the pleasure of manis xxx

a Revlon serie : Gum drop NOTD

From the last collection : the scented Revlon nail polishes in the lilac shade (Gum Drop).

Application is not really easy : you can see how streaky it can get with my index finger. This was a 3 coat-application and I didn't wanted to try a 4th coat, I was afraid it 'd look too thick. Nonetheless, it is such a nice color and as long as you don't use macro settings to stare at your nails, it's OK (Personally I don't have macro settings in my short-sighted eyes, so I was pretty happy with my manicure! )

Staying power : really amazing ! Normally I change my nail color every day (I know , I am OCD !!!). With this one, I am not lying, I kept this mani for 3 days in a row...

Tomorrow, we'll talk about Bubble Gum (the bright fuchsia one !)

Hope you are all well, beautiful ladies

Caro-lacking time for posts xxx

PS : thank you for my new subscribers (can't believe I am heading towards 100 followers ! yeep yeep ...)

Ps II : I enjoy so much being with my parents at the moment ...Sighing...

a treat : a 5 lbs gift to myself ;-)

So as I reached my goals to lose 5 lbs more quickly than anticipated. I could treat myself before the end of June (time when I was supposed to be lighter from those 5 lbs ...). As I work in a pharmacy, I found this great bargain : Olay Bonus pack for 20 $. There are a cleanser pore scrub, a body lotion (recommended by dulcecandy !), a classic moisturizing lotion, a replenishing night creme and a sample of a restorative sleep cream. As I never tried anything from Olay and my night cream is running low, I found it was a great way to test the brand...

Then we spent the week end in Knowlton , a charming little village south of Montreal and as I was in a pharmacy to pick up some liquid to clean my lenses, I found that the Revlon scented varnishes were in "special" sale. So I picked :

- Bubble gum : a bright fuchsia color

- Gum drop : a nice lavender color

- Grape Icy : a vibrant purple

In a bin, I found 2 sad NYX e/s :

-Olive green

-Lime juice

I couldn't let them cry from despair in that bin of shame so I brought them home. I decided to pick a back up of my favorite highlight color for my under brow area : Helium from Annabelle.

Then, I found the "impossible-to-find-in-a-retail-store" NYX jumbo pencils in :

-Milk (back up as my old one is running low)

- Purple

-Iced mocha (stunning shimmery brown taupish color)

Can you feel that I am ready to lose 5 lbs again ?

Caro-back in the hauling game xxx

Favorites of the month : MAY !

Bath product : hum shower product in fact ! The Viva la Juicy shower gel...I normally don't buy products derivated from a perfume that I wear, but when the whole bunch (shower gel, body lotion and perfume) costs less the the perfume itself....I know this sounds a little bit ridiculous as I am 35 and Juicy couture target is probably teen-girls or women in their early 2os but I adore the 2 perfumes I got from this make. The shower gel is really faithful to the smell of the perfume, the texture is delicious (quite thick) and it melts in the skin in a luxurious foam...yum yum ! Cost : offered when purchasing the 50 ml perfume (as well as the body lotion...me liking freebies!)

Shampoo : Lush one, Cynthia la belle brune. The fragrance can surprise, the SA gave me a sample advising me against it. Frankly, I don't like the smell but it doesn't bother me that much neither (best proof ever, I purchased the gigantic size!). With the conjunction of BIG shampoo and Cynthia shampoo, I saw a dramatic change in how healthy my hair looks like. I am hooked (and I have 2 samples of conditioners that the SA gave me and I like both of them equally too...LUSH , you got me !). It costs 27.95 $ but you use a 25 cents amount and you rediscover your healthy hair long disappeared...worth it ? (oh yeah !)

Skin products :

1- St Ives Timeless skin daily micro dermabrasion : I know some of you find those products too harsh, I know dermatologists speak against this make but I like it ....I am still using the toothbrush method to deeply clean my skin (toothbursh is my cheap option to a clarisonic device). The combo made a change in the way my skin looks like. I got rid of those little bumps under the skin that made my skin uneven....I am sold ! I can't remember the price but I' d say it costs less than 5$...

2- Marcelle New age anti wrinkle eye and lip : You know that I can't get enough of my Marcelle-Annabelle products. For the record, If you want to know where both makes stand, Marcelle would be the older sister of Annabelle ! I used to buy eye cream without any enthusiasm before : just something that you need but doesn't change that much the way you look. This product made me change my mind ! I don't know how to describe the "comfort" it gives to my under-eye-area ?! the pump delivers just the right amount of a creamy-whipped product. When I wake up in the morning my under eye area looks brightened and fuller (less dreadful dark deep circles). As a consequence, I noticed that my wrinkles seemed less harsh. this product was offered to me but I swear, I'll be repurchasing it...

Make up items :

1- Mascarassssssssssssss : I 'll say it over and over again. Marcelle mascaras are ZE BOMB. period. I was offered the Ultimate Lash Mascara in Navy (I am sporting it in my lats EOTD) and I always repurchase the Volume Precision as it's my HG product.....Suggested retail price of the Volume precision is 11.95 $, but you can easily find it less than 10 $ in your favorite drugstore depending on the sales they have...

2- Rimmel lipstick in Vintage Pink : it became my bag-lipstick. It's just my lips in better, it goes with every eye make up. It's darker than my beloved Power from NYX so easier to wear. A stapple dusty pink in a lipstick collection IMO. And it costed me 3.99 $ !

3- Annabelle Zebra Bronzer : if you read Canadian blogs, the community is buzzing about this little gem. I use it as a contour and it replaced my Revlon bronzer in my heart. I like that it's buildable, not crazily glittery. I am very pale and it's not too dark for me, it gives you a sheen without you looking like a discoball. I use it at the top of my forehead, side of the nose, under the cheekbones that I don't have and I look healthy even if I lack some hours of rested sleep. A keeper for 10.95 $! it was offered to me by Annabelle representatives but I ' ll happily repurchase it if needed (which I doubt will happen soon as I use it like crazy and you can't even see a dent in it !)

Hope this can be helpfull to you , lovelies

Caro-ready to head to the gym and absolutely non motivated xxx

A nymphet with golden locks...and JOTD

I am into poetry tonight ;-)

Eyes :
TFSI as a primer
NYX milk as a base color
Dazzlelight (MAC) all over the lid
Vanilla (MAC) as an highlight
Nymphet (Annabelle) as a main lid color
Twinks (MAC) to give some depth in the outer V
Rich Ground (MAC) as an eyeliner (AKA the golden locks)
Revlon double Twist : mascara

JOTD : again an artist from Montreal Stella. I have a fantastic necklace that goes with the earings but the pic was yellow and crappy so I tossed it !

I hope you had a wonderful start in the week

Caro xxx

Don't believe the hype !

I love those videos on youtube....May be more than the raving ones because it saves me money ;-) So as I am a superstar of blogspot AND a big authority in make up , I decided to do my own post (mouhahahahah)!

here comes the list of not-so-loved but bought in a whim products:

Metrochic OPI nail polish : Don't throw pebbles, please! I am not saying that it's bad...It's ultimately fashionable, you always get a comment on your nails when you wear it (most of the comments : classy nail varnish and such an original color).BUT, I find it a nightmare to apply, it seems to shrink on my nails (?!!!). SO the formula is not worth the $$$ invested in my honest opinion ....

NARS Orgasm blush : Again, I know this one is praised all over the make up galaxy...It supposed to work on every skin tone...and be the most flattering flush of the universe...May be a peach-pink blush is just not working that well on me? It was supposed to be my everyday blush... Frankly, NYX Angel IS my everyday blush.

MAC Satin taupe e/s : again one of the stapple in a make up collection, it is said ...Well, first, I find it can be duped. Second, it can look muddy on the lid if overblended. Pretty? Yes ! Worth the hype? No !

MAC Feline khol liner : amazing black color, amazing staying power on my watery lower lash line....but such a mess, it smudges everywhere....I wanted so much to love this one and I still wear it because it's such an intense black liner but it is high maintenance and I don't want to rush to the bathroom every 30 min to see if I don't look like a raccoon....

MUFE aqua eyes collection : Those colors are so beautiful....on my hand when swatched...But, they don't want to stay on my waterline....BUMMER !

Revlon photoready foundation: I don't find the staying power to be impressive. Frankly, I prefer the colorstay for high coverage and my new find Annabelle Skintrue foundation for light coverage...Photoready will be used but mixed with other foundations to do the trick and I don't like complications at 7am ! Deception !

Bluffdust from Benefit : it is supposed to reduce the redness...Not working, looking powdery, expensive. I now use it when it is hot just dusted on my T zone...but again other products delivers better than that for a fraction of the price....

Voluminous mascara : not pictured there as I tossed it with rage. I HATE this mascara...I guess this is very clear hahaha

This post was inspired by Lipstick rules as she said sometimes she's so enthusiastic about a product and then : END OF LOVE STORY....I recognise myself so much in this !

Have a wonderful week end, lovelies and don't forget to enter my GIVE AWAY

Caro-love and hate relationship with her make up goodies xxx

Darth Evil make up : red smokey !...and JOTD

Last Saturday, my daughter was invited to a birthday party which theme was Halloween (I love kids for their ideas : Halloween in April isn't that awesome !). So we went for a Dracula costume and of course I did my girl's make up. I find it so fun on her face that I had to try on mine ;-))))

Eyes :
TFSI as a primer
Cherry NYX jumbo pencil as a color base
the fiery red cranberry color from the Sunset Sleek palette
Graffiti (Annabelle) as an outer V color
Vanilla (MAC) as an highlight color
Wedge (MAC) to blend
Telescopic mascara from L'Oreal

Skin :
Skin true foundation in medium beige : it was the first time I tried this foundation from Annabelle (offered to me by the company). I was quite impressed but I don't want to rush the review , I want to have a fair opinion after several days of wearing it.
Revlon bronzer as a contour
Vanilla pigment (MAC) as an highlight : cheeks, bridge of the nose, cupid bow
Angel blush from NYX

Lips :
NYX mauve lipliner
NYX Tea rose lipstick

JOTD :
classical big red earrings with a assorted necklace

Caro-Sith lord xxx

PS : Don't forget to enter my give away, little padawans

Rock star look/Raccoon (cute raccoon, of course)

So I guess I was in the mood of living a life of sex, drugs and rock n roll on Friday...Haha! So I tried this edgy, rocker chic look...At first, while blending the brown color all around my eye, I was thinking : Gosh, I am gonna end with a raccoon look...But finally I think it came out quite fine !

Eyes:
TFSI as a base
Foxy (Annabelle) as an all over the lid color
Feline Khol liner on water line and smudged as a not-so-clean line on the lid
Graffiti (Annabelle) to give some depth to the outer V
Helium (Annabelle) as an highlight color
Mascara : Revlon double twist (dying on me so sorry for the messy lashes!)

Skin :
Annabelle Skintrue Foundation in medium beige
Revlon bronzer in shade 2 to contour
NYX Angel blush

Lips :
GOSH darling lipstick
NYX mauve lipliner
Annabelle Gloss in breathless

Earrings : It's a Do it yourself !!!

Glasses : So what I am still a rock star, I've got my rock moves and I don't need YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU (PINK)

Caro-yeah-yeah-yeah xxx

Don't you dare forgetting to enter my give away....

a french manicure never goes out of style !

Everything is in the title ;-)

I finally bought Konad plates to do my mani. SO exciting, I can't wait to receive the package !

Have a nice week end

Caro xxx

Revlon Midnight affair : navy blue on my nails

I want this one to work so much because I fear a black polish and I found that navy blue was easier to wear. But this one is so hard to work with : 1 coat is sheer and 2 coats take eternity to dry. I let the 2nd coat sit for a while (more than 30 min ) and as it looked dull, I wanted to add megashine from Sally Hansen. Eeeek, as you can see there is sort of a dent in my ring finger and it seems to be diluted by the Top coat.

I kept it for 3 days though, but I am not convinced .... I saw an Illamasqua one on the blog of short and sweet nails (see side bar for link : awesome blog !) and it looks so much better. Probably not the same price range though ;-))))

Have a good day (I am working night today, bouhou so I need to nap instead of blogging )

Caro xxx

NOTD : Plum attraction from Revlon

I am so terrible at applying nail varnish ....But anyway, here is my favorite nail polish ever : Plum attraction from Revlon (762). It is my third bottle...it is my everyday color on my nail cause even though it's dark, it is very office-appropriate (I think !). It is easy to apply (2 coats are enough) and the streaks you see are my fault (I put the top coat when the 2nd coat was not already dry....sigh : patience is NOT my 1st quality !)

To club or not to club, that is the question ....

I purchased Club from MAC, about 1 year ago. I tried it about 2-3 times without success...It looked muddy and not very flattering. But taaaaaaaaaaaadaaaaaaaaaaa, yesterday I watched a PIXIWOO tutorial and Samantha mentionned that it (Club) was in her top 10 MAC colors....Gasp....I am an hysterical fan of the Pixiwoo sisters so Whatever they say is golden and I had to give a 2nd chance to my unloved Club. It seems that the secret is to use a black cream shadow underneath. So I let you judge, hit or miss ?

Eyes :

TFSI : primer

HIP cream liner in black from L'Oreal : color base only on lids

Club e/s from MAC : all over the lid and up the crease ...appears bright emerald over the black base and dark brown in the crease (no base color underneath). The beauty of duochrome, anyone ?

Shroom (MAC) as an highlight

Rich chocolate smoothliner from Annabelle on waterline and to tighlight

Brows :

Brow-zing in dark from Benefit

Face :

mix beetween Revlon Photoready in nude and Gosh extreme wear in golden : foundations

Revlon bronzer in shade 02 for contouring

Mineral maybelline blush in Original Rose

Vanilla pigment (MAC) as an highlight (upper cheeks, nose, cupid bow)

Lips :

L'Occitane wax for lips (shea butter) as base

Mauve lipliner from NYX all over the lips

Sally Hansen gloss : diamond lip treatment

Hope you like it ....

Review : Revlon foundations (HD OR COLORSTAY)

Here is my first review !

So as soon as I started diving into the make up craziness, I watched at numerous youtube videos and bought the Revlon Colorstay. I know that some people find it heavy and hard to work with but ..I don't ! It hides my rosy cheeks and if you apply it with the Sigma 187 , it melt in the skin perfectly.

But when the photoready was launched, I couldn't resist and bought it the same day I heard about it (impulsive buy, no ???)

so to compare :

Application : as I am used to a thicker foundation (colorstay), I have a hard time working with Photoready. I find that Colorstay is easily buildable in term of coverage but it's not the case with Photoready : it stays sheer even if you layer it... I tried the 187 brush, a damp sponge , my fingers...it seems that I never reach that flawless look I have with Colorstay and I don't like to work that hard at 7 am when I am on a very time schedule ....

Packaging : Photoready wins by far : a pump , Revlon, a pump !!! Yeah (cheering crowd) ...Hum, could you please do the same for colorstay, please ????

Look : Colorstay is high matte coverage, Photoready is sheer and dewy. So if you have something to hide, rely on Colorstay. If on the contrary , you already have a gorgeous skin and you just want to enhance it, go for Photoready.

The glitter issue : it seems that the MUAs that don't like Photoready, hate it because of the glitters in the formulation. That 's weird cause when applied on me I cannot really see the glitters so it doesn't bother me at all. OH My GOSH, may be I am walking in the street glittering like crazy ......

Results : I think Colorstay wins by far but it just my honest opinion. I will end up mixing both foundations not to waste the Potoready.

Conclusion : Be strong little Jedis of Make up and resist the hype if you already have a stapple foundation because I don't find the new Revlon is an Holy Grail foundation....

smoked gold and beige lips

I love my Ardene e/s so much ! I went trough depotting all pans I have this week end and they fit the MAC palette (yeeeeha !). So to the point :

eyes :

TFSI as a primer

Gold NYX Jumbo pencil all over the lid : base color

The magical, wonderful, astonishing golden color from Ardene (did I mention I paid 3 $ for this little gem ?)

Carbon (MAC) in the outer V

Foxy (Annabelle cosmetics) as a crease color and blended over carbon to smoothe it

Retrospeck (MAC) to soften the transition between crease and highlight

Vanilla chilla (Annabelle cosmetics) as an highlight

Feline khol liner (MAC) on the water line

Ardene liner in black for the upper lid

Brows : Browzing (Benefit) in dark

Lips :

liner : Mauve from NYX

lipstick : Ceto

Face: The flash washed out the colors (if not , I am the palest girl on earth, Dang !)

Revlon colorstay mixed with Revlon HD in nude

Revlon bronzer in shade 02

Blush : Orgasm from NARS

et voilà !