Born Pretty Store Review

Good evening, dear readers!

Today I have a review for some products from the Born Pretty Store.

I was sent this lovely set of nail decorations, and this lovely headband :D.

Here is what the headband looks like:

(Please excuse the scary brow O_O;)

You can adjust how far apart you want the bands, and I think it is really lovely! :D

And here are the nail decorations:

The nail decorations have approximately 800 pieces all together, and they came with some super glue and ten orange wood sticks.

As my nails have been very uneven lately (I hate two breaks), I did a design on fake nails using the decorations (I also used some decorations from a previous Born Pretty Store review):

The decorations are both really easy and really fun to use. :D  I found I had greater success getting them to stick to the nails using top coat instead of the glue (the glue would make them stick, but if I bumped them they would become un-stuck).

I highly recommend these for anyone looking to add some extra oomph to their manicures.  There are so many different combinations you can use with these!! :D

(Don't forget to use the code CBJ61 for 10% off your order!)

I hope that you have a wonderful day!! :D

(P.S. My heart really goes out to those in Oklahoma who have been experiencing such a horror and tragedy.  I wish I could go there and help out :()

-Ashesela

Ottawa Comic Con 2013

Good afternoon, dear readers! :D

Wow, this weekend totally rocked!  I had an awesome time at the Ottawa Comic Con!

I got to shake hands with Kevin Sorbo (yay Hercules!), and I said to him "you are awesome," to which he replied "I am awesome!" XD  He was funny! :D

I also got to shake hands with Michael Shanks (wheee!!).  I dressed up as a Goa'uld, and when I asked him if I could shake his hand, he said "do you want me to shake the hand with the device?" (I was wearing an awesome kara-kesh/ribbon device that my sister and father made for me, as I am horrible at costuming.  So when we shook hands he pretended to get zapped from it, which was pretty awesome! :D  He was also very polite. :)

And last but certainly not least, I met with Manu Bennett and chatted with him for a bit.  I asked him how his first Canadian convention was going, and he said that he was really enjoying it.  I asked to shake his hand, and he said "sure... and cuddles!" and then he gave me a hug *squeeeeeeeeee!!!!*  I got him to autograph a photo for me, and I said "can I ask you a favour?  Could you write 'Jupiters cock' on it?" XD  He asked me to repeat myself heheh and then when I did he looked very surprised.  But I got it!! >:D

Before I left I got another hug from him and he kissed my cheek.  WOOOOO!

That man is SO nice, and he is even more handsome in real life than on television or in photos.  He was a real gentleman.  While I was waiting to talk with him, there was a man ahead of me with his son, who was dressed as spider-man.  Manu asked the kid if he could have a photo with him, and he brought out his cell phone and took a couple photos of the two of them together.  It was really sweet!

So if you ever get the chance to meet with Manu, I HIGHLY suggest that you do.  He is a real dear (and so handsome to boot!!) :D

Now for some photos:

I am so excited for next years Comic con!!!  

This year I was very out of shape (for various reasons), but I am going to bust my ass (seriously hard!) so I can have a smokin' bod by next year.

-Ashesela

Comic Con

Good morning, dear readers!

I have been taking time off of my blog this weekend as I have been at the Ottawa Comic Con.  I will be going back there later today, and I am very excited!! :D

I will have a bunch of photos to show you on Monday, so stay tuned (and have a wonderful weekend!!)

-Ashesela

KKCenterHK Review

Good morning, dear readers!

Today I have a review for two products that were sent to me by KKCenterHK.

First up is a shiny nail transfer foil:

This transfer foil is very beautiful!!  What you do is apply the included glue on your nail, wait for it to go transparent (for some reason while it is still opaque it isn't tacky enough), then place the underside of the foil on your nail.  After pressing down to ensure adhesion, you remove the remaining foil/plastic sheet and are left with the lovely foil on your nails.

Unfortunately, I had some problems with this.  While I love the concept and I am sure there are plenty of people out there who have no problem using this product, I unfortunately am really bad at applying it.  However, I have seen other people use this product and have some beautiful results, so please do not think that it is a bad product because of my inability to use it.

Sadly the foil loses most of its shine and effects (like the rainbow color reflection this one has) if you add a top coat.  :(  As I always wear top coat with my manicures, this was a big turnoff for me.  Also, the glue under the foil takes a long time to fully cure, and the designs on the nail are easily dented if you press them against anything.

Here is after I applied the glue:

I tried to do a whole nail transfer, but I wasn't too successful and it kinda looks like I glued cigarette foil to my nails:

I also am wearing topcoat, so the rainbow effect is almost completely gone:

I was disappointed with this, but I know that in the future I will try using it again (and hopefully will be successful!!)

Next is some white striping tape:

First I would like to apologize to KKCenterHK (I am so sorry!!), as I misplaced my roll of tape!!! D:  Talk about a blogger nightmare!! D: My nails and hands have been in not the best shape lately, so I sent them an e-mail telling them that I would have to wait to do the review for a few days due to the condition of my hands.  While my cuticles are still not at their best and I still have a snapped nail (the mani from yesterday was an older photo, that's why my hands don't look to bad in it), I hate waiting to do reviews so I decided to do it anyway.  In the meantime I misplaced my roll of striping tape, and have yet to find it :(.

So, for the review I found some older striping tape so I could do a demonstration for those who have never used it before.  I am positive that the other tape would behave the same as this.

For this manicure I did a really simple design.  I started with painting my nails the base colour that I wanted, and then I added two strips of tape to each nail:

I then painted my nails with the second colour I wanted (it was sheer so you can still see the tape underneath it):

After that, I removed the tape while the nail polish was still wet, and added topcoat.  :)  You can make some really lovely patterns on your nails quite easily by using this type of tape:

There are a few tips I would like to add: make sure that the base colour is dry before adding the tape (I added a quick-drying top coat to aid in this).  Also, remove the tape while the nail polish (the top layer) is still wet, for a near-seamless removal.  Last but not least, try to remember which tape strip is on top (if you are doing a criss-cross design like this), because if you accidentally remove the tape that is under it, you can smear the polish (I've done that before and it is really frustrating!!).

All in all I am very thankful to KK Center HK for allowing me the opportunity to review these products.  I think nail tape is awesome, and while I can't seem to get the hang of the foil transfers, I like the idea and I know that there are a lot of people out there who can use them successfully.

Have you used nail foil transfers before?

(P.S. use the code 'artevolve' for 10% off your KKCenterHK order!)

Have a wonderful day!! :D

-Ashesela

Hare Atolla

Good afternoon, dear readers! :D

Today I have a swatch of the lovely Hare Atolla, which was sent to me by the lovely Brandi of The Beaulieu Review.  She sent it to me for the Christmas Swap we were in.  :D

Atolla is a gorgeous magenta jelly with iridescent blue-leaning glitter.

This is so gorgeous!!! :D While this was released in the fall, I find it to be a perfect summery colour that has a great formula. :D  This was released with the fall 2012 Illuminate Life collection, and this particular polish was inspired by the atolla jellyfish.  The jellyfish emits bioluminescent light, which I think was perfectly represented by the gorgeous glitter in the polish.

Thank you so much Brandi, I love this!! :D

What are your thoughts on Atolla?

Have a wonderful day! :D

-Ashesela

Boscia Luminizing Black Mask

Good morning, dear readers! :D

Today I have a review of the Boscia Luminizing Black Mask that I purchased a couple days ago.

I had a sample of this product that I used before, and I found that it did make my skin look more lovely after using it, so I went out and purchased the full product from Sephora.

Here is the description on the box:

"An innovative peel-off mask that helps boost skin clarity and helps minimize the appearance of pores.  Removes dirt and impurities, absorbs excess oil and reveals a healthy, glowing complexion.  Montmorillonite Clay absorbes excess oil, dirt and toxins from the skin.  Pine Bark Extract, a powerful antioxidant, conditions the skin and defends from free radical damage.  Vitamin C helps brighten skintone and reduct the look of fine lines."

Now I didn't really look at my skin much before and after (as I remembered my skin looking better and brighter when I used the sample), so I cannot say if it helped reduce my pore size and fine lines.  However, it does remove gunk from your pores (some of which are actually sebaceous filaments), dry skin, and a bunch of the tiny fuzz people have all over their faces (which I am very pleased about, because I hate having a fuzzy face!).  I don't have much in the way of black heads, so I cannot comment on that.

After application, you are supposed to leave it on for half an hour.

Here are the ingredients:

Water, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water, Glycereth-26, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Acrylates/Palmeth-25 Acrylate Copolymer, Iron Oxides (CI 77499), Pentylene Glycol, Montmorillonite, Acrylates Copolymer, Polysorbate 20, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Epilobium Angustifolium Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Pinus Pinaster Bark Extract, Eucalyptus Globulus (heheh 'globulus') Leaf Oil, Rosmarinus Officialis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Leaf Extract, Xanthan Gum, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Sodium Hydroxide, Diglycerin.

Here is what I looked with it on my face:

(Although that looks like a thin layer (which it was), it peeled off quite well and worked well.  No need for super thick applications!)

And, here is what it looks like when you remove it:

(I apologize if there is any gunk you can see in that black blob!)

I must admit, it was pretty fun walking around my house and freaking people out hehehe. :D

Would I buy this again?  Yes.  Although it was expensive, I find that it does make my skin more smooth and brighter, and it is really fun to apply and wear.  I finally got around to using that awesome facial mask brush from Born Pretty Store, and it worked so well! :D

Here is an excerpt from Sephora.com, about the Boscia brand:

You don't want preservatives in your food, so why would you want them in your skincare? Boscia knows that chemical preservatives in skincare can cause a variety of skin irritations from eczema to blemishes to rashes—and wants to make sure your skin isn't a victim. Boscia is one of the world's first preservative-free, botanically-based skincare lines. This revolutionary Japanese brand creates some of the most innovative antiaging and skin-purifying products—free of chemicals and full of the finest botanicals. Preserve your skin with their preservative-free assortment and boost your glow forever.

There are several big selling points for me when it comes to the Boscia brand.  First off, they don't use parabens or other nasty chemical preservatives.  Second, they are completely cruelty free, as is the other company Kenji Ikemori created, Fancl.  Third, it is a Japanese based brand, and I will admit that I am a huge fangirl for Japan (seriously, I LOVE Japan!! O_O)  I want to support a brand that believes in being cruelty free and free of nasty preservatives.  While it is an expensive brand (for me, at least), I believe in their company ethics and so have no problem spending money on good products.  (Also, it takes me a loooong time to use up skin care products, so I can also justify the price because of that.)

I can't wait to review the other Boscia products I got!! :D

What are your thoughts (and experiences!) on Boscia and their Lumizing Black Mask?

Have a wonderful day!!! :D

-Ashesela

Sephora Boscia Haul

Good morning, dear readers! :D

(Yay Sephora!)

First I would like to apologize for my recent absence.  There has been a lot going on in my life lately, and I decided to take some time from blogging.

I can't get over how beautiful the weather has been where I live.  Blue skies, 30 degree Celcius weather, and so much sunshine. :)

A few days ago I heard some barred owls calling out to each other, and yesterday I saw a beaver and a coyote (both in the city of Ottawa! O_O)  The coyote was crossing a highway off-ramp, and it was so beautiful!!  Now that I have moved back out to the country, there are so many lovely sounds during the night (like singing frogs).  However, I was pleased to see wildlife in the city as well.  :)

As you know I have been on a quest to make my life cruelty-free.  A lot of products I had were by companies that condone or conduct animal testing, so I have given a way a lot of my cosmetics.  I gave my sister a pile of cosmetics that I didn't want to use anymore (so I am not tempted to like them and buy them again), and about two Helmer drawers worth of nail polish.  This will definately make me re-visit many polishes that I have only used once :).

I also will be buying cruelty-free skincare from now on, and while I am using up the rest of what I have (which is not cruelty-free), I have bought some new wonderful products to try out which are cruelty free.

I've read a lot about Boscia products over the past couple years, and I am glad I have finally taken the plunge to getting some of their skin care.  While I have used their Luminizing Black Mask before, I have not tried any other products of theirs.

Yesterday I went to Sephora, and picked up these:

From R to L:
Boscia B.B. Cream Light
Boscia Tsubaki Beauty Oil
Boscia Restorative Eye Treatment
Boscia Luminizing Black Mask
Boscia Thermal Black Cleanser

Right now I use Biotherm Blue Therapy serum and day cream, which I will not purchase again as they aren't cruelty free.  Other than Biotherm products, I mainly use Lush items, but for me it can be difficult getting down to a Lush store, and a lot of their products do not have a long shelf life.  I also use Josie Maran argan oil, which I love, but I wanted to introduce some new vitamins into my skincare routine (the Tsubaki oil looks great!).

I will definately be doing reviews on these products after I get a chance to try them out.  However, I did want to ask if any of you have used these before, and what your thoughts are on them.

I hope that you are doing well, and that you have an awesome day! :D

-Ashesela

(Edit: Ignore this photo, I needed to put it on here for a forum XD)