Feelin' Blue

Summer weather is officially here in Toronto, which means patio season is upon us!!! It's definitely harder to get away to enjoy a glass or two with friends on a shady alfresco with a little one at home, but now that Emma is onto solids and happily adjusting to formula the timing couldn't be better to take advantage of the warmer weather and enjoy some girl chat outdoors.

Always one of my favorite style classics, I think a pale blue fitted oxford button up looks great paired with denim skinnies, and an open toe pump. Add a pair of aviator shades and a summery tote, and you're ready for an afternoon of lunching with the ladies!

Jeans - Levis Curve ID

Shirt - Joe Fresh (similar)

Bag - French Connection UK (similar)

Shoes - Nine West (similar)

Bracelet - Primark 

I hope that you're enjoying the weather. See you on the patio!!

Linking up with these fabulous blogs!!

    

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My Strange Addiction - Best Budget Nail Polishes!

So I've already mentioned how I am an absolute sucker for the impulse purchase displays that are set up at store checkout lines. What you don't know, is that I also have a serious weakness when it comes to nail polish. I love the different color choices available from the pretty pastels to the cool metallics and edgy darker shades....I also get a kick out of the clever names that polish companies come up with and have been know to buy a polish because the name was just too cute to pass up. Honestly, sometimes it feels like opening a fortune cookie - I seriously bought Essie's "eternal optimist" (which is barely HALF a shade different than the "not just a pretty face" I had sitting on my dresser at home) because I felt like the name was speaking to me personally. I know, I know...a little bit cray - don't judge. Truth is, I pop that stuff into my shopping basket like candy. Originally a devotee of anything OPI, I discovered a few years back that Essie had a great formula that dried quickly and shiny and lasted days longer, quickly giving it the top spot in my overall nail polish ranking chart.

So you can imagine what happened when my routine shopping haunts added super cute, low priced nail polishes to their impulse purchase displays. I was no match for the temptation and soon enough, my order of clothes and accessories from H&M, Forever 21 and Joe Fresh were coming with a delicious side of nail polish. I had no idea whether the product would be any good, but I was loving the colors and for the prices figured they were worth a try.

Here are some of my favs:

H&M 

For just $1.95, you can get a cute little 5 ml bottle of nail art fun from H&M. On the day I first gave this nail polish a try, they were "buy 2 get 1 free", so really - how could I not? I picked up "warm sand", which is a really gorgeous nudey/peachy color, along with "I do" - a pretty pinky/coral:

Ever a fan of the classics, I grabbed "true love" - a perfect Jackie O. shade of red - to complete my 3 bottle purchase:

I was shocked at how great these polishes were when I got them home. They were decently pigmented, dried quickly with a really nice shine. My only complaint with these is how teeny the bottles are. I like to hold the bottle between my knees so that it doesn't tip over or slide all over the place when giving myself a manicure. These bottles are so tiny that you have to take special care to avoid getting the brush (and polish) on your knees rather than back in the bottle (does anyone else use this techinique for DIY mani's or is this just my issue??)

Joe Fresh

Just when you think a line can't give you anything more - they do (sigh). Joe Fresh, a hidden gem in between the broccoli and bacon slices of your local Loblaw's/Supercentre grocery store has opened up a few stand alone stores (I've visited both the one on Queen Street West and the Vaughn Mills location - and for those of you without access to the actual store, they have a great online shopping site). Not only do they carry great quality, affordable and trendy fashions that are presented every spring and fall at Toronto Fashion week, they have expanded to include cosmetics as well! In fact they have a new line of skin care including face serum, eye cream, toner and this citrus facial cleanser that I want to try - but, I digress...

I was in the checkout line the other day when I saw the display sign "Buy 1 get 1 Free" for a bin full of nail polish, and so of course, I did what came naturally and grabbed these two:

                                                                                                                                    From the Left: "Peacock" and "Ballet Slipper"

Once again, I was loving the colors, and pleasantly surprised with the formulas. An added bonus was the wide FLAT brush that makes application much easier and more even (the absence of this type of brush is were Essie misses the mark - IMO). Priced at just $4 each (one of which was free), no complaints here!

Forever 21

Forever 21 has been in beauty for some time now, and they do a fabulous job of not only tempting you with their checkout line displays (come on now, which of you have NOT randomly picked up and taken home one of their cosmetic bags while waiting to check out???) but have little baskets of low priced goodies, right there at the cash counter! It would take willpower of steal to resist the urge. And so last month with my shopping bag full of shorts and swimwear for our vacation to St. Martin, I grabbed this super beachy color to paint my toes for vacay:

The color is called "Bubble Gum" and at just $3.90, it was SO worth it and joins China Glaze's "Flip Flop Fantasy" as my favorite summer pedi color!

Walmart 

I couldn't do a post on the best budget nail slicks without giving a shout out to the line "Pure Ice". I had never before heard of this nail polish, but a couple of years ago, came across the display of super trendy shades priced under $2 a pop! I believe they are sold exclusively at Walmart, and are great, quick drying formulas. These round out my list of the best budget nail polishes:

From the Left: "Bikini", "Jail Bait", "Superstar!", "French Kiss"

Remember the days when you only had "Hard Candy" if you wanted trendy and unique nail colors with good formulations? Today there are tons of great options to choose from and by lines that you may have overlooked for the more well known (and more expensive) brands. Nail polish is such a fun and easy way to express your personal style, and pull together a look, that I am glad that more companies are getting into the biz and putting out really great products while doing it!!

Today I did a fun and fresh two toned look with Joe Fresh and Pure Ice polishes:

                                                   

                                                     

What do you think? I'd love to hear about your favorite low priced nail polishes :)

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Linking up with these fabulous blogs!!

   

Annual Estee Lauder Companies Sale (aka "The MAC Sale"....aka another excuse to Binge on Beauty!!!)

I have been fortunate enough over the years to know people who know people who think of ME when they find themselves in possession of an extra ticket or two to the annual Estee Lauder Companies Sale held just outside of Toronto at the Markham Fair Grounds :)

Last weekend I once again found myself the lucky recipient of an invite to this year's "MAC Sale" as my friends and I always refer to it, but which actually includes products from a number of different lines that I had no idea were part of the beauty EMPIRE that is Estee Lauder. Brands included Clinique, Bobbi Brown, MAC, Estee Lauder, Smashbox, as well as fragrances by Coach, Michael Kors and some others that I am unfortunately forgetting. 

Products available include skin care, makeup,  beauty tools, cosmetic bags, nail polish, fragrances, and more. 

It can be a bit overwhelming when you first enter the product halls - which are really just huge warehouse type spaces, with items laid out for testing on 8 foot long wooden folding tables. After spending almost an HOUR (yikes) in the line up, I wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible and so I made sure that I came with a game plan:

1. Know what I DON'T need

Typically when shopping, I go out with an idea or a list of what it is I am looking for - a black dress, strappy sandals, a new tote bag, etc...For this sale, I felt like in order to maximize my efficiency in going through the halls, as well as ensure that I don't leave with a bunch of stuff that I really don't want OR need, I made a mental note of  things that I already have enough of so that I could skip those sections altogether and avoid dangerous impulse purchases. As you saw in my recent Sephora post, I just purchased two new eye shadow palettes as well as the Nars blush/bronzer duo and  bunch of makeup brushes. I also recently purchased Balenciaga B. (which I am LOVING ♡♡♡). No need to check out the fragrances!!

2. Know what I DO need

I haven't purchased any new lippy products in some time, and as MAC is known for there amazing lipsticks, I figured this would be a great chance to grab some new lip candy :) This really was the only item that I was truly "looking for".

3. Avoid the urge to buy solely based on price 

I've been to this sale before, and some of the prices seem SO low that it can be tempting to buy crazy multiples of products, or even products you don't need or use, just because the prices are so good.  To me, this is a recipe for a makeup hoarding DISASTER (note: I am not a makeup artist - whatever I buy is for my own personal use). Also, if you aren't well versed on your beauty price points (which I, admittedly, am not) you can end up thinking you are getting a great deal but when you actually look at the price you are paying and the volume of product, it's not much better than in store.

All this being said, I walked away from the sale with exactly what I did need (a couple new lipsticks and a gloss) and none of what I did not need (didn't buy a single eye-shadow powder although I did grab two Pro Longwear Paint Pots and a gorgeous 15 hour wear cream shadow by Smashbox!!).

Here's what I got:

The first exhibit hall had a bunch of fragrances and fragrance gift sets which I did not need as well as some makeup brushes and sets. I pretty much zipped through this section until I got to the very end of the hall where there was a $4 product station with about 15 different bins of products, all being sold for $4 each:

I grabbed two each of these lid and face primers by Smashbox

 

I have been a devoted fan of Oil of Olay's "Total Effects" moisturizer for years but for 4 bucks, decided to give this "Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion" by Clinque a try

In light of my "advancing" age (yes darlings, I am on the other side of the mid thirties hump) I was happy to pick up a few more eye and face creams and got two each of the "Advanced Time Zone Age Reversing Line/Wrinkle Cream" by EL as well as the Clinique "All About Eyes" cream for circles and puffiness

My good friend Melanie first introduced me to Clinque's turnaround cream ages ago, and so I had to grab two pots of the overnight cream as well :)

The last thing I got from the $4 bin was two "mini" mascaras - ELs "Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volume Mascara" and Smashbox's "Full Exposure". I really LOVE mascara...it's probably my biggest beauty can't-live-without, and to me even more important than the formula is the brush. And so when I saw how big and thick the bristles were on these wands, as well as how wide the diameter of the brush heads were, I knew I had to give them a try :)

I was greeted in Exhibit Hall #2 by a beautiful spread of lipsticks and glosses from a variety of lines including MAC, Bobbi Brown, Smashbox and Clinique. All of the lip products were a bargain at just $10 bucks each and I ended up getting two MAC lipsticks in the colors "Angel" (of Kim K fame), and "Lustering":

I also grabbed a lip gloss by smasbox in this super pretty colour called "Pixel":

And one more lipstick in a brick red color with pretty gold flecks by Bobbi Brown called "Raspberry Shimmer":

Weaving my way through the last hall I came across a lot of face products including cleansers and toners, cosmetic cases, perfume gift sets and finally eye makeup and concealers. I came across this "Skinsheen Leg Spray" by MAC in the color "Medium Dark" that were two for $10: 

Two pregnancy's and the subsequent swelling I had in my legs and ankles did a number on my circulation, and I now am dealing with spider veins on my calves and ankles that are not painful, but which I really hate the look of. I am contemplating laser removal but in the meantime, this could be a nice temporary solution - if it works (stay tuned!!!)

I knew I really didn't need any more eye-shadows, but I couldn't resist when I saw the MAC paint pots. One of my FAVORITE♡  beauty gurus is @tymetheinfamous and she almost never does a beauty look without first applying MAC's paint pot in "Soft Ochre" on her lids. Her complexion is quite a bit fairer than mine, so I picked up  "Layin' Low" and I figure this should be an appropriate color equivalent for me to use when trying to recreate some of her eye looks. I also grabbed the color "Bare Study" by MAC and "Icon" by Smashbox because they were just too pretty and irresistible to pass up. And at just $12 each, the price was a steal.

(From the Left: Bare Study, Layin' Low, Icon)

Happy with my selections, I made my way over to the cash to check out and was given my "thank you" gift - a bottle of Estee Lauder's Pure Color Cheek Rush in the colour "Hot Fuse". To be completely honest, when I got home and opened this, I wasn't sure what it was! I actually had to look up the product online for a description. Turns out it is a really sheer gel blush or cheek tint. It's very lightweight, and is almost like a stain. I haven't tried it yet, but I did give it a swatch. Jury's still out on this one for me, but I will give it a try and post a photo to my Instagram @commonroyalty so you can see what you think. 

All in all, a successful day at Toronto's #esteelaudersale. A big thanks to my girl Liz for the ticket (mwah!)