Recently Stashy from Stashmatters held a giveaway to celebrate her blog’s one year anniversary and I was fortunate enough to be counted as one of the giveaway winners! Congratulations on your one year anniversary Stashmatters! I look forward to the next year of great blog posts from you!
Let me take a moment to wax poetic about Stashmatters before we get into the pictures. This really is one of my favorite blogs and I’m not just saying that because Stashy was way too generous with her giveaway goodies. If you aren’t reading her blog you definitely should be and I’ll give you a few reasons to check it out immediately:
- Stashy just completed a full 365 day no buy. That’s right, an entire year. Basically she’s my hero.
- She has one of the most organized blogs I’ve seen. It’s divine and soothing and again, pretty inspirational.
- Stashmatters covers everything from makeup to skincare with thorough, thoughtful and well researched blog posts.
- Her “About” page is titled “Aboot”. Because Canada. (Now she claims to not actually say “Aboot” but I’m not sure I’m buying it).
- Seriously, why are you still reading this? You should be reading Stashmatters!
I also recommend checking out the actual giveaway post because it is, after all, filled with Stashy’s favourite things along with links to her reviews.
Onward to copious amounts of goodies!
The Salux Beauty Skin Cloth – I am so intrigued by this thing! I haven’t tried it yet but I’m really looking forward to testing it out!
Slice Slanted Precision Tweezers – I’m actually thrilled about these because I bought into the hype of the Tweezerman tweezers several months ago but the dang things just end up CUTTING hairs rather than plucking them. No bueno. Hopefully these will be what I was hoping the Tweezerman would be.
Life Brand Brightening Facial Sheet Mask – I do love a good sheet mask and I’ve been really into brightening products lately so I look forward to using this one!
Annabelle Single Eyeshadow – 127 Brown Frost – (I just want to point out that I am not reviewing any of these products yet since I’ve only had them for a short time. This is more like a first impressions kind of write-up). There is another photo later in this post of this shadow swatched in natural light but the indoor lighting (while very yellow) shows the really lovely sheen that this eyeshadow has. It’s a cool shade in that it’s difficult to define. In the pan and swatched, it looks like a very dark cool toned brown but on the eye (at least in this look) it’s almost a gunmetal shade. It is very pigmented and blended very well with fairly minimal fall out. I’m really impressed! Plus, Annabelle isn’t a brand that is readily available in the states so it’s fun to get a chance to try a brand that’ I’ve heard about but haven’t been able to get my hands on!
MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadow – Uninterrupted – Dude. This eyeshadow is the freaking bees knees. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that if you are into warm tones at all, go ahead and get this eyeshadow IMMEDIATELY because you really don’t need any other transition shades once you have this eyeshadow. It’s gorgeous. It also looks great as an all over eyeshadow but I really love it as a transition shade. This is one of those eyeshadows that basically blends itself. Also, if you have a shadow that is giving you a hard time in the blending department, blend it with Uninterrupted and your life will be much easier. Just trust me, I’m from the government. (not really). This is the eyeshadow that was used in both eye looks that are in this post.
MAC Sheertone Blush – Tenderling – I haven’t previously tried a Sheertone blush but if the texture on this formula is the same across the board, I need to try more of them. This is an incredibly fine powder with a texture reminiscent of the Veluxe eyeshadow formula. It’s like silk. So nice! Also, for a blush that looks so pale in the pan, this actually gives amazing color pay off. I’m not sure it really translates on camera, but in real life, this is a gorgeous blush!
Annabelle Smoothie Eyeshadow Pencil – Cocoaloco – If these two Annabelle products are good indicators of the overall brand quality, I’m really bummed out that it isn’t sold here! This pencil is amazing! The eye look I did with this is one of my favorite looks that I’ve done in quite a while. The pencil is smooth and doesn’t tug the skin on application, it’s pigmented and doesn’t blend away into nothing (or worse, into some other color like some eyeshadow pencils tend to do). It also sets almost immediately (you do have to work quickly to blend) and then stays ALL DAY. It’s wonderful!
Shiseido Refining Makeup Primer – This primer is a really interesting consistency. If I had to compare it to something I would say it’s incredibly similar to Urban Decay Primer Potion. The one for your eyelids. In fact, I had to google to make sure I wasn’t just confused but this is indeed for use on the face. For face products I have a difficult time formulating any sort of opinion until I’ve used it for a good long time but I CAN say that this does seem to extend the wear time of my foundation. It also mattefies my foundation so for me, it might be better suited to the summer months when my skin isn’t resembling the Sahara.
Nicole by OPI Oil To Go for Cuticles – If you’ve ever see one of my nail polish swatch posts, you probably noticed that my cuticles are…well, they need some help. And I’ll gladly take all the help I can get! Right now, my skin is so dry that my cuticles actually start aching. This cuticle oil is already at my office, living on my desk and so far, I really dig it. It’s a thicker consistency, more like a gel than an oil when I first apply it which is great if you’re going to have to carry on using a keyboard after application. Also, it smells like every clear lip gloss you ever owned as a child. Kind of a strawberry bubblegum sort of scent.
Liplicious Wild Madagascar Vanilla Golden Glow Lip Butter – I not so secretly wish that every lip product came in a vanilla option. Wouldn’t that be great? Then when you get a standard flavor that drives you bonkers (I’m looking at you Rimmel) you could just opt for the vanilla option. That’s my campaign platform when I run for president. Back to lip balm! This is a similar consistency to Aquaphor which is a plus in my book. It’s a great staple to keep handy for me in the winter months so I’m super happy to have this in my arsenal.
Quo Blending Sponge – I want to marry this sponge. Seriously, it is so freaking soft! It’s really delightful! I was a little skeptical at first since I haven’t had the best of luck using other blending sponges but this one is really nice! It feels great on my face which is much more than I can say for other sponges I’ve tried. Now, if I can just find the optimal level of water to add without making everything go all patchy, I’ll be all set!
Can you even handle how cute this pin is?! It made me chuckle and then it also promptly got this song stuck in my head.
Can you believe how generous this giveaway was? Thank you so much Stashy! 🙂
Tidbits:
- This is the reality of life with cats right here
- The Boy installed a cat door yesterday so Thing Cat and Gray Cat are SUPER excited about life and their new found ability to quickly elude White Neighbor Cat and his huge (possibly panther) thug of a sidekick. (They aren’t normally too bad but they do like to yell obscenities at each other)
- I have binge watched the first four seasons of Haven and just started season five. So that’s where I’ve been all week, not being productive at all. Also, now I’m craving a re-read of The Dark Tower series.
- I just bought a new cocktail shaker so I’m blaming all nonsensical run-on sentences on my new friend Martini. Also, Gin is weird. But olives are delicious!
Gym Bag Makeup 
Wowee! How awesome to actually SEE the products in action. I knew you’d like that MAC Uninterrupted. It’s like the Swiss Army of eye shadows. I’ve seen people use it as a face contour as well but I think it’s a bit too orange for that personally. Sadly, MAC discontinued this shade! However, if you are looking for a replacement down the road, I believe it’s similar to Bobbi Brown’s Camel eye shadow:
http://roundcheeks.blogspot.ca/2015/08/dirty-sexy-eyes-mac-uninterrupted-bobbi.html
I totally know what you mean about the Tweezermans cutting your hair instead of plucking them! That happened to me as well. I think we must both have really fine hairs. I gave mine to the bf and he’s fine with it.
Annabelle is an amazing Canadian drugstore brand. I wish everyone knew about them! Next time I’ll have to send you a blush from them – one of my favourites from the drugstore. I LOVE the Cocoaloco on you!
Isn’t Tenderling deceptive? Looks so light in the pan but shows up nicely on the cheeks. I love the formula of the Sheertone – my very first MAC blush was a Sheertone called Angel and of course MAC discontinued it. 😦 Tenderling is also discontinued! *Shakes fist at MAC!*
I hope you find the right balance of water for the Quo sponge – I prefer to completely soak it so it’s super puffy and then squeeze it all out. Then it’s airy but not waterlogged. Hope that makes sense!
That music video … LMAO…
And awww thanks for saying those nice things about my blog. *blushes*
I’m going to reblog this post! 😀
How does a cat door work? And can only YOUR own cats come through or can any ol’ cat / raccoon / fox come wandering through if they so desired?
MAC needs to chill out on the whole discontinuing everything! It’s awful and it’s also starting to give me a complex. That being said, I’m so glad to have Uninterrupted and Tenderling in my collection, so thank you thank you! 🙂
I’m glad I’m not the only one that has the Tweezerman issue. I thought perhaps I’m just incredibly heavy handed but you’re probably right about the fine hair thing.
The Quo advice makes perfect sense! Have you ever tried applying powder with a sponge? I just watched a YouTube video where the YouTuber applied their setting powder with a damp sponge and I’m curious how that would work.
Isn’t Primus hilarious? I love their music videos 🙂
You’re so welcome! You really do write one of my favorite blogs!
I’ll put a picture of the cat door in my next post because it’s a relatively fancy one. It’s just a little cat flap that we installed in the actual door and you can lock it completely or make it a one way door which is kind of cool. Basically anything small enough to fit through the door can use it if they can figure it out though which is a little freaky but even when we lived out in the woods we didn’t have any issues with unwanted guests (knock on wood). When I worked in a vets office we heard a lot of stories of people discovering that their pets hadn’t actually suddenly increased their food consumption but had help from some furry little bandits. Raccoons are absolutely the worst offenders because they tend to be pretty cheeky and resourceful. One of our clients/patients had to install an electronic cat door to keep the racoons out. The cat had to wear a collar and the door would only open if she was withing a foot of the door. It was pretty wild really!
Never tried applying powder with a damp sponge – interesting concept! I will test it next week.
That’s a neat idea to have the cat door opener on the cat’s collar so only it can go through! Smart.
Reblogged this on stash matters and commented:
Check out what GymBagMakeup received from my giveaway – she swatched the products and even shows them in action on her face!
And oh yeah, Coffee Crisp is my favourite chocolate bar ever, and this is why I couldn’t never live in the US.
Completely understandable and valid reason really. Those things are freaking amazing!
Great selection of goodies! Perfect colours on you!
It really is a fantastic selection! She did such a good job of sending stuff that is really perfect for me personally too!
I got some great stuff too, and I was a runner up! I posted a photo on my Instagram the day that the package arrived because I was so thrilled!
Now I need to look you up on Instagram! I’m excited to see what you got!
Congrats on winning some of Stashy’s stash! I wish I had picked up Uninterupted before it was gone. No Coffee Crisp?! Thats just wrong! Enjoy all your goodies
Thanks!
Stashy did mention that Bobbi Brown Camel eyeshadow is a good dupe, so maybe that will help! Here’s the link she shared with swatches: http://roundcheeks.blogspot.ca/2015/08/dirty-sexy-eyes-mac-uninterrupted-bobbi.html
Isn’t the lack of Coffee Crisp sad?!
what a gorgeous post xo
Thank you! 🙂
subscribed xxxxxxx and love that stashy – xoxx
Thank you!!! 🙂 i just subscribed to your blog too, it’s really lovely!
I love that Stashy too 🙂
❤ ❤ ❤ love that Primus song xo Omg xxx
Lol, isn’t it amazing?
totally xxx i love them – wake up music xxxxxxxxx where else are You ? twitter – ? all those xx
I love them too! They just had a concert in my area recently but tickets were almost $200! Craziness I tell you!
I’m so bad with social media. I’m really just here on WordPress. Someday I’ll get a Twitter account though! 🙂
Goooooooooood xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ❤ lemme know when u do #twitterhollic lol xx
I love Stashmatters, too! She’s great, and hilarious, lol.
What a super generous giveaway!! Congratulations on winning. =) Those look like some awesome products, and those eyeshadows are so pretty! Also that pin is so cute omg
Isn’t that pin awesome?! Stashmatters really is great 🙂
Found you from the re-blog Stashmatters did on your post about her giveaway! I agree with you, she’s awesome and I love her content! Love your blog, look forward to reading more!
She really is great!
Thank you!! I love your blog too! I’m going to go binge read all of your gorgeous nail posts 🙂
Thanks so much 🙂 Look forward to more chit-chatting with you!
Likewise! 🙂
This is awesome! Love it.. 🙂
Wait a minute, I didn’t get a pin from Stashy 😛 (It would have been weird since I’m Canadian).
Yes! that Stashy is generous creature, I should post the things I’ve received next week + a mini review 😀
Truly a great post & homage my friend xoxo
Lol! Yeah, maybe the beaver pin would have been a little less cool if you’re from Canada 🙂
I can’t wait to see your post!!
Fantastic goodies and post! Love all the pics. Stashy is super generous 😀
Thanks! 🙂 she really is isn’t she!