The day before summer vacation, otherwise known as "the day before the final" + Sephora has come to Montreal!

Two wonderful events are happening tomorrow. For starters, I'm writing a final for my summer course -- and while this isn't particularly pleasant in itself, I will be free to enjoy my summer vacation afterwards. Also, Sephora is (finally!) opening a store in downtown Montreal, and I've promised myself I'd stop by to have a look, once I'll be done with the exam. How can I resist, when it's located a few blocks from campus? I won't buy anything extraordinary -- just an eye shadow primer, really -- but this is much too exciting to miss. 

Meanwhile, I have to get through this final, and for that I must do as much studying as I can in the time that I have left. I'd better get off this blog post, in fact... Yes, in a minute. You can see I'm keeping myself hydrated with this enormous 24 oz reusable cup from Starbucks by my side... and that my brain stays high on sugar ;). 

Strawberry shortcake sundae, yum!

Alright, I'm going back to it. To all people writing a final paper tomorrow or this week, I wish you the best of luck!

Where to buy in Canada: Acrylic lipstick organizer

Lately, I have been looking to organize my make up in a neat, elegant, yet visible way. I want my collection to be beautifully displayed, and my products to be within my sight and reach, so they could be used more often rather than forgotten.

I have been wanting an acrylic lipstick organizer for the longest time; sadly, I only managed to find them online. I say sadly, because I live in Canada, and boy, can it be expensive to get an item to travel all the way here! No, MUJI, I won't pay $25 shipping on top of your already overpriced acrylic cases. No, eBay seller, there's no way I'll give you $30 for one of these either.

I was starting to consider making my own (I wonder how that would have turned out) when I came across a Canadian youtuber showing the lipstick holder I wanted in a video. She mentioned that she found hers at Winners -- we have several of them downtown, so I decided to check them out. Still, I wasn't overly hopeful because every one of those stores is different: since they mostly sell other brands' overstock, the content of the shelves varies from week to week. I had no luck in the first location I visited, but when I scanned the home decor section of another one, there they were! The selection was rather small, but they had a few very nice displays, not only for lipsticks but also for miscellaneous cosmetics. All of them were from the brand "Danielle by Upper Canada", and ranged from $10 (the one that I got!) to $30 (for larger displays). $10 is still not entirely cheap, but the case feels sturdy and I love the way the 3 rows are levelled, so I thought I'd share. This organizer holds 24 lipsticks (I didn't have quite enough, so I made room for a few glosses!).

So if you're Canadian and looking for an acrylic make up case, I recommend having a look at your local Winners store!

Empty pots!

I truly enjoy finishing up beauty products. I'd much rather know that I'm putting them to use than letting them clutter my drawers and regretting my purchases. Here are some products that have done their time and are now leaving my collection:

I received this 13g (0.45 Oz) sample of Dermalogica's Daily Microfoliant in my first ever Luxe Box. Sidenote: Back then, I was in love with the concept of those beauty sampling services. That changed since. I'm considering writing a post about the reasons I unsubscribed, but it's mostly because I now have tons of useless miniature versions of beauty products that I'll probably never use.

This one I actually used from time to time, but it still took me almost a year to get the bottom of it. It claims to "microfoliate dulling debris and instantly leave the skin smoother and brighter". I have nothing bad to say about the effects of the product, but I can't say that it made my skin noticeably better either. I'm aware that it is a favourite of many, but it didn't impress me. Maybe it has to do with the price of the full-size thing – around $62 CAN, for 75g (2.6 Oz) – which is so off-putting. I could never justify splurging that much for an exfoliant, especially when my skin lets me get away with cheaper alternatives at the drugstore.

I believe I've talked about my love for Nivea's Rich Moisturizing Day Care in my last post. It hasn't changed: I still use it religiously morning and night, although I might consider switching it up next time I run out. Just for the sake of trying out what else is good out there!

I've finished this quite a while ago but I was waiting to empty a few other products to showcase it in a post. This is not the pot I purchased in my last haul: as a matter of fact, it was a slightly different version of the same cream – for sensitive and dry skin, rather than the "normal" formula. I liked it a lot but I prefer the original version (the one with a blue lid) as this one loses a bit of that wonderful Nivea smell (as it is targeted towards sensitive skin types, I suppose they wanted to make sure it was not irritating). Also, this one seemed to be more sticky than the other, but since I didn't have both products simultaneously to compare, I can't say I'm certain. It sells for around $7-8 CAN, which is an excellent price, and what moisturizers should cost (the price tags on some creams in Sephora really don't make sense in my mind).

Another moisturizer I used up is one my mom bought for me in Ukraine this summer. It is from a line called Черный Жемчуг (which means "Black Pearl" in Russian), which sells skincare adapted for different age groups. I don't know of the exact price of their products, but I've seen them online for around $10-15, so they're definitely not on the expensive side. I didn't love this cream, although I find it difficult to hate a moisturizer completely. The consistency was much too liquid for my taste, and wasn't absorbed that well by my skin. I prefer thicker creams, and this was far from it. Also, the packaging was very light and felt cheap and fragile in comparison with the sturdy, heavy Nivea pots. This cream is not a product I will purchase, but I have to mention that it has a very pleasant smell! It is reminiscent of that of Chanel skincare. I will still link to the company's (Kalina) website. It features all of their products, but the site is in Russian.

This is it for my empty products of the moment – but I'm hoping there will be more to come soon, as I'm hoping to downsize my collection (I have to start using up those lip glosses)! 
I hope you're enjoying the last day of the Easter holiday! Exam season is threatening us college students, so stay strong everyone. We can do it!

A small haul, some chocolate, some strawberries, and a gift in the mail.

In an attempt to escape some more from pending school work, I joined my mom and little sister for a Monday morning getaway, which included a meal at a delicious breakfast place and a stop by Walmart (a special request of mine, as my beauty counter was in need of replenishing). I didn't find that Essie Matte top coat I was looking for, but I did get a few things. Nothing I didn't need, however (although I admit, my survival may not depend on Kinder chocolate.)

I was a little lost when I ran out of my Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse concealer, as it has been discontinued (which I don't completely understand, since Youtube was creating quite a lot of hype around it!). I only use concealer under my eyes, but my dark circles can be very persistent on bad days. Hunting for the perfect product can be challenging, and so I wasn't delighted about having to do it all over again... I figured Bourjois' Healthy Mix concealer would do the trick, but no luck there: it was actually the first product that ever made me break out. (And there is no mistake that this very one is at fault: the three red spots under my right eye are sufficient evidence.) I decided to look into the cheaper brands once again, and picked out Maybelline's Dream Lumi Touch highlighting concealer in the shade 320 - Ivory. This new release gets a fair amount of approval on MakeUpAlley, and I really hope I'll like it as well!

I purchased another pot of Nivea's "Light Moisturizing Day Care", the face moisturizer I truly swear by. I have used up two of those already, and I'm still in love. The cream has a surprisingly thick consistency, and yet it melts so perfectly once it is applied onto the skin. It has the classic Nivea scent to it, too, which I cannot get enough of. And it was on sale for $6. I have yet to try a high end cream that beats all that. I have sampled expensive moisturizers, and so far none of them measure up. 

A life-saver: a small and practical jar of Vaseline (100g) for around $2.50. They had a much bigger size for a dollar more or so, but I don't need a huge pot of petroleum jelly in my room, and this one alone will probably last me forever, so why pay more to get more?

This next thing is not a part of the haul; rather it is a little surprise that I received in my mailbox today. It is my prize from Gaby's Schick giveaway, held on her blog last week. I was part of the first 25 Canadians to enter and each one of us got a Schick Hydro Silk razor to try. This is obviously an important beauty tool to have and I'm glad I was one of the winners. Thanks Gaby!

Finally, the Kinder Mini Eggs chocolates! I like them too much for my own good, but they're rarely around in stores – so there's no harm done overall. This time I couldn't resist when I saw them, and I enjoyed a few earlier with strawberry green tea and fresh strawberries, while watching a TV show on my computer. (The tissue box in the background was also a necessity today: it was extremely cold and I'm still a little sick.) Now I must try not to eat them all up... 

Voilà! Now back to work: I have a presentation tomorrow for class and I must finish it up (last minute, again). Not my fault that blogging is so distracting ;).