Late Summer SDM Haul

So, sometime in August (I believe), Benefit posted that the Cabana Glama kit was on for a special price at Shopper's Drug Mart.  They said that it was regular $42 on sale for a limited time for $21.  So, at the time, with my newly discovered love for Benefit I ran that day to take advantage of the deal.  I did. Then I got a bit upset.  I logged into Sephora and it was on there for $21.  Well, Benefit explained that they must be having a special promotion, and brushed it off.  To this day, the kit is $21 on Sephora.  I am seriously not impressed with that.  Anyways, I got the kit already and it was a good price so I shrugged it off.

Also, because I loved my sample of Benefit Bad Gal Lash I purchased a full sized one.  I've tried LOTS of mascaras..probably about 2 dozen in the past year and none have impressed me nearly as much as this one! So, it's hard to even try and get to my samples because I love this one so much!  I believe it retails for $29.

So, this is the reason I went to SDM in the first place.  The Cabana Glama kit.  The kit comes in a sleeve. I always love the packaging from Benefit.  This is marketed as "Your desTANation makeup kit"

The box itself has a really good weight to it.  It flips up like a book and has a sturdy magnetic closure.  The lid has a mirror in it.

The brochure inside has one side with pictures that look like postcards from the 70's.

The other side of the postcards has some tips on how to use the products in the kit.

This is what the product looks like when you remove the brochure. There is a plastic sheet over top the makeup and it labels what everything is.  The makeup tray is removable so you can use the box to store something else in.  I think that is a great idea!! the tray actually pops out super easy.  The tray itself is really sturdy and heavy itself. You can see that the removable makeup items also have a ribbon so that they can be popped out easier.

On the left side starting at the top is  "some kind-a gorgeous in medium"  It a foundation faker for medium complexions.  I'm sorry I didn't open it to take a picture.  It is a cream in a tan type colour.

On the left side in the middle is what I thought was a blush!  It's actually eye shadows! From left to right: Peach Fizz (highlighter), Bronze Buzz (all over lid) and Cocoa Pizzazz (crease and lash line)

Bottom left is a sponge tip applicator.  Pretty much useless...you should use brushes girls! ;)

Top right is Hoola Bronzer.  I'll be the first to admit bronzer terrifies me.  I have images of looking like an oompa loompa!   In the directions, it says to sweep Hoola from chin to hairline for a goddess-like tan. Really? Just down the centre of your face?

The middle right is the included brush for the bronzer. It's a miniature of their standard blush brushes.  I prefer round brushes, but I don't actually find these that terrible to be honest.

The bottom right is Posietint. It is a poppy pink tinted lip and cheek stain.  Apparently, the posietint is kiss proof! Yah! ;)

All in all, I think this is a really neat little kit!  I of course haven't used it..but I probably will come summer!

Here is a closeup of the shadows.

Here is a closeup of the Hoola.  Sorry the image is blurry, but it gives you a good idea of the colour.

Since Essence is still relatively new in Canada, I decided to browse the stand.  Well, geeze... twist my rubber arm! I picked up a few items.  This is the Essence haul...

My Body Shop double pencil sharpener has seen better days, so I grabbed this one. I like that it has a little "crumb catcher" for the sharpenings.  I'll be replacing it today, so I hope it does the trick!

I picked up an eye shadow in 58 Cappuccino, Please!  it has a shimmer effect.  I grabbed this, because it's a good base for a lot of eye shadows and it's also a great highlighter. It couldn't have cost more than a couple bucks.

A better view of the colour.  It's closer to this shade than the one above.  I love the shimmer! It does feel very smooth and not chalky.

Because, I *really* need another mascara.. *blink* I just can't resist trying them.  This was around $3. It's a volume boost mascara called "Get Big! lashes."  As with all mascaras, I don't open them until I am about to use them, so I can't even tell you what the brush looks like.  It is quite a big tube.  It's 12mL (.40g) so it's 25% bigger than my bad gal lash by Benefit which is 9mL (.30g).

I'm also weak for lipgloss! So, I picked up this XXXL Shine in 05 Super Girl.  This has a bit of a chunkier glitter in it, but the base colour is fairly sheer.

It sort of has a doe foot applicator, but it's just a rounded end.  The formula is really nice and you can get decent coverage with one sweep around your lips.

The other XXXL Shine I picked up was 19 Nude Candy.  It's a nice cotton candy pink with super fine silver glitter in it.

This is what it looks like.   A very pretty colour, as well.  This one does apply a little more opaque so you have to be careful not to be too heavy handed.

I grabbed a lipstick, just for the sake of trying one of their lipsticks. Like most of these things, it was around a couple bucks. This is in the colour 49 Like A Lady.

It is a really nice rosey pink colour and is very creamy.  The lipstick itself seems to have a little less product than other lipsticks, but at the price it's definitely not something to complain out! I'm actually quite impressed with the formulation here!

Because, I still haven't picked up enough gloss...I got a couple of the mini sets.  I'm kind of thinking I may have missed out on two prior kits. :/  This kit is 03 Big Apple Style.

It opens up like a little book and has a magnetic closure.  Pretty much an easy grab for the cuteness factor.

The lipglosses themselves don't have a name on it..but the first one is clear, the second is a bubble gum pink and the last is a sparkly pinky-peach. I'm going to be basically making up colour explanations as I go. :P

The other set they had I picked up as well.  This one is in 04 London Calling.

Just because, it's too cute not to show you the inside!

And the colours.. the first is frosty white with glitter, the second is a browny colour with peach sparkle and the last is kind of an orangey/peachy/pink. o_0  They're cute right?  Easy to pop into a clutch when you're gone for a night out!

Just because you can't leave SDM without samples I got the Benefit Moisture Prep Toning Lotion.  If it's really good, I'll definitely pick it up...because it's my beloved Benefit! I've never used a product like this, have you? I mean I use a toner daily, but never anything like a toning lotion.  It does sound like a thick liquid in there. :P It's used to prep face for moisturizer.  It smoothes, revitalizes and tones, allowing the skin to fully optimize the benefits of any moisturizer.

Finally, a sample of Narciso Rodriguez for her.  This is definitely not my kind of smell.  It's not soft and feminine enough for me. It has a woodsy/musky scent. From the Sephora site, I grabbed this, "Musc is at the heart of For Her. The fragrant harmony of the musc expresses itself through three pulsations; honey flower, radiant amber, and tactile wood. This fragrant harmony develops gently and slowly, rounding out into the warm tones of sunkissed skin, dusted in a soft, velvety sensuality."

So, there's that!! I'm really happy to get another old batch of products blogged about!! Hope you're having a great weekend.  I had a VERY successful Tocara jewelry party.  I can't wait to share with you all about it, once my pieces come in!

XO
~A