So, straight out of the gate, I must admit that today's mani is literally the direct result of just slapping two new-to-me polishes on my nails and then just turning it into nail art. Honestly, that might be one of the best things about these sort of blobby type designs - and yes, I realize that I'm probably the only person who calls these designs blobby, but it makes sense in my brain so I just roll with it. Anyway, I picked up two new polishes on my lunchbreak and brought them back to my office and just decided to slap them onto a bare nail and immediately this idea for this mani came together and I put the whole thing together officially pretty much as soon as I got home. 

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Today's mani is a birthday collaboration mani for Sky of skys.nails on Instagram - and it's a little bit of birthday inception for this one because I chose this mani, which was inspired by another artist for their birthday. I've actually been wanting to try out one of these blobby abstract designs for a while now, but like so many other things I've never tried before I had a bit of an intimidation block that this luckily helped me get past somewhat. Also, I did put a little bit of my own spin on it, as I tend to always do when I'm working from another artist as inspiration. 

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Honestly... It's not fall, right? It's not fall on the calendar, it's not fall on the weather report, it's just not fall. And yet... September 1st hit and in my brain, it's fall. In my brain it's time for sweaters and cozy and it's almost Halloween. It's not, but also it is. Know what I mean? Anyway, when I sit down to do nails now, my brain has entirely shifted away from summer and into fall designs, so I grabbed for a stamping plate that has been sitting in my collection just waiting for it to be fall time and went to town for my first undeniably fall themed mani of the year.

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So... I was having a rough day as far as nails were concerned and I was feeling pretty defeated. I had tried twice to get the mani that I wanted done and... it just wasn't working out on my nails the way it had worked in my head, so I was ready to throw up my hands and call it a day. However, then my brain started going in a completely different direction and this mani came together really, really quickly and easily without having to mess with it too much. Also, I was rewatching Pitch Perfect for the millionth time as I did this mani and I'm convinced that it helped. 

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For our July #CBBxManiMonday theme, we went with a general Summer theme and I am HERE for it. Although I absolutely know that this is going to turn into an explosion of neon in coming weeks, I'm starting out the month a little bit softer. I've been in love with mermaid scales nails for years and somehow didn't get a stamping plate with a mermaid scales image that worked on my nails until very recently. Don't get me wrong, I've managed to fake it in the past, but I finally got my hands on the Whats Up Nails B038 Stamping Plate, which actually has both a simple mermaid scales image and the more fancy, art deco sort of vibe that I used for this mani and I AM SO EXCITED. Honestly, keep an eye out for more manis using this plate coming up this summer.

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These days, I don't jump to pick up all of the new drugstore releases the way that I used to - the size of my collection has definitely led me to be a little bit more discerning about what I spend my money on - but as soon as I saw the new Essence Insta-Care Lipsticks on the shelf I knew I was absolutely going to be picking up a couple to try out.  I went with the two more nude shades because I knew that those were the ones I was most likely to reach for as well as being the shades I figured I would like most in a nourishing type of formula like the ones these seemed to be. 

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I have to say, I really love the direction that makeup trends are going at the moment and one of the trends that is getting me the most is green eyeshadow. I can remember back maybe 10-15 years ago before the advent of the online beauty community when I was a much more casual makeup wearer and I generally wore the same one shadow look every single day using a golden olive shade in a satin finish all over the lid and into the crease and it remains one of my favorite makeup memories. So, of course, a couple of weeks ago when I was buying cold medicine at my local Shoppers Drug Mart and I saw the new Essence Glamo-Camo Eyeshadow Palette in the display, I really had no choice but to pick it up and try it out. 

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Hey guys! For this week's #CBBxManiMonday, the theme was Childhood inspired and I knew exactly what I wanted to do... Unfortunately I didn't have a ton of time. Still, I grabbed the new Essence Stamp It stamping plate and stamper - available locally at the drugstore and perfect for this theme! - and gave it a go! I wanted to feature the mani I put together as well as a review of these stamping products, so today it's a twofer!

I've actually been pretty good at resisting new makeup lately... Admittedly, that'll probably only last until I do a bit of a declutter in the coming months, but it's a lot easier to leave stuff on the shelf when you know you have nowhere to put it at home. However, when I saw the brand new essence Spice Up Your Life Eyeshadow Palette in a display at Shoppers Drug Mart and saw the colours in it, I knew that I had to try it out. I mean... can you blame me?

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I feel like the number of new foundation releases in the drugstore recently has been sort of epic - so I've had to really think about what I'm going to try out. That being said, as soon as I saw these two new complexion releases from essence - the Fresh & Fit Awake Makeup and the Camoflage Full Coverage Concealer - there was no chance that I wasn't going to be trying them out. I'm always curious about trying products from the more affordable drugstore brands like essence, particularly products like foundation that are starting to run fairly spendy even in the drugstore.

So, how did they measure up? Keep reading for more!

When it comes to brands that I really have an affection for, there's usually one type of product in their line up that I'm always willing to try. Whether it's a brand that's really worked out for me with foundations, like Maybelline and CoverGirl, or a brand whose eyeshadow formula is top knotch, like Wet N Wild, as soon as a new product is released I'm absolutely willing to try it. When it comes to essence, which is a brand I have a really strong affection for as a whole, that product is mascara. At the drugstore, there is no brand that does mascaras as well as essence, in my opinion. So, of course, when I was perusing my local Superstore and saw that new essence #LOTD Lashes Of The Day Super Volume Mascara, I was on board to try it out.

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I have to say, essence is probably one of my absolute favorite brands in the drugstore for some things, so I'm always willing to try out their new products looking for the golden gems - and I find them fairly often. For quite a while now, the brand has had their I ❤ Stage Eyeshadow Base, but they've more recently been adding to the collection, first with the I ❤ Colour Intensifying Eyeshadow Base and most recently with the I ❤ Strobing Eyeshadow Base. I decided that I wanted to go through all three of them and talk about the differences I've found between the three and let you guys know my personal favorite!

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The new fall releases from essence are starting to pop up online and in stores and I plan on picking them up and reviewing them soon, but recently I got the opportunity to try out some other products from the brand that are in their more recent releases but not quite new. I figured I would give you guys a quick review on these products before moving on to the even newer products! essence is one brand that I'm pretty much down to try anything from, because not only are they really affordable but they also have a lot of serious winners in the line. 

Wanna see what I've recently been testing out? Keep reading!

I tend to play it pretty safe when it comes to my lip colours. Most days, I'm a pinky or mauvey neutral kind of a girl and when I want something a little more bold, I'm more likely to go for a deep red or a pretty berry shade, so I don't think that I'm necessarily the target market for a line like the essence Matt Matt Matt Vibrant Shock Lipsticks. However, as soon as I saw them at my local Shoppers Drug Mart, I picked up two of the shades because I felt like I just had to have them, and I'm so glad that I did!

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Last year, one of the most surprising and exciting products that I found in the drugstore was the essence Pure Nude Highlighter, which I still use consistently and you may recall got featured in my 2016 Favorite Cheek Products. When I saw that they had released the essence Light Up Your Face Luminizer Palette, I was 100% on board to get it into my hot little hand and ordered it with my big Cyber Monday Haul. I've finally been putting it to the test and I'm ready to review it for you guys, so keep reading to see how it worked out for me!

In my opinion, one of the most exciting new releases that essence has for Spring 2017 are the new matt matt matt lipsticks, which are available in 8 shades from soft, wearable nudes to bold statement shades. Originally, I ordered 2 of these off the website... and then literally the same day as my order arrived I picked up another two shades at Shoppers Drug Mart when I found that they had finally made it to shelves. Because matte finish lipsticks are my personal favorite and these lipsticks retail for $4.49CAD each, I really, really, really wanted these to be fantastic. 

Keep reading for my overview of the four shades that I picked up and my full review of this lipstick formula!

I've said it before and I'll say it again... If essence puts out a blush, it's coming home with me. I swear, the fact that I didn't get my hands on the Under My Umbrella Trend Edition blush that came out in 2016 is still haunting me a little bit. However, I've got a bit of a salve for that, because when I went into my local Shoppers Drug Mart last week to check out what was new on their shelves, I found that essence put out two new blushes in a new formula! I hadn't heard any buzz about these, they're not listed on the essence website, and I just about went crazy grabbing both of the available shades and basically running to the check out because they needed to be mine. Hyperbole, but you get me.

Anyway, I've used both of these a few times now and I'm more than ready to give you my thoughts.