Hello all,
I am writing a brief message to let you know that I am moving my blog. I have learned a lot in the brief time I have been on this site but thought it was time to find a permanent home.  I figured now would be a good time to do so as I don't have many subscribers as of yet and I don't have much content to move. I have copied and pasted all my old posts and tried to make them look similar but I am still learning.  I think the blog will look better the more that I learn.  I am in the process of making the new site the default page when people are looking for me.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I can be found at http://www.sandiesstash.com/ 

Please come and join me on my new site!

The theme for Ipsy this month was #ipsyLOVE.  I was going to cancel but saw in the early spoiler that there was a possibility for a brush and I love brushes!  So I stayed subscribed for another month.  I was lucky to have recieved the brush this month.  When I took a sneak at my glam room I was quite excited for 3 out of the 5 products I was getting.  I have not had that for a while now.  

I actually received most of my bag last week, I was missing the brush and a Glamglow.  Ipsy was great though, I emailed them when I got home and found that I was missing the 2 items and they quickly sent them out fo rme.  I just got them in the mail today.
This month I recieved:
GlamGlow Brightmud eye treatment x2 - I have tried this before and liked it so was happy to see 2 packs to try.  I actually find that you only need 1 bubble to do both eyes so for me, I actually got 4 treatments.
Model Co blush in Cosmopolitan 01 - I had orginally thought I wanted the Coral one but am glad I got this pink one instead as I ahve heard that the other has shimmer and this one is Matte.  
Cargo Lip gloss in Anguilla - This is a fairly pigmented pale pink gloss that goes on fairly smooth and not sticky.  It is not a color I will wear though, not sure who could wear this as it is so pale.
NYX Eye/Eyebrow pencil in Crystal Shimmer - I was not really excited about this product because the colors just did not appeal to me.  I may give this a try though it seems fair soft but with fairly large particles of glitter so I would not put this in my waterline.
And lastly the Luxie Beauty Large Angled Face Brush 504 - This brush is so soft! I can't wait to try it out.  I washed it as soon as I opened the bag and took a picture of it for this post.  I will let you know how it is.  It washed up great with no shedding so here's hoping!
I am glad that I didn't cancel my Ipsy for this month.  I have seen the early spoiler for March and am thinking I will stay subscribed for another month as there will be more NYX and that is a brand that is very hard to find in London.  It used to be at Target but since they are closing their stores I think the makeup was the first to go.  I went a few weeks ago to try to get some and it was disgusting.  Most of the products were opened and had been samples or smushed or something.  It was just gross so needlesss to say I did not pick up anything.  Why do people insist on opening every product and swatching it in store?  Its one of the reasons I rarely ever buy anything from there.  I dont know about you but I perfer that no one has tryed out my makeup before I take it home!  

So no NoTW for last week due to the very finicky Mac Formidable nail polish!  

It is a part of the regular line.  This is a pricey polish, at $14 CAD a bottle so I hope that it lasts the week for me.  

The top two pictures are in natural light and the one to the right is artificial (ie. in my kitchen).  They are really not doing this polish justice though.  It is one of those colors that I think needs to be seen in person.  
The first coat was fairly thin and I thought that it might take 3 coats to cover, but luckily for me it was only 2.  I did let this dry for 15 minutes in between each and 30 before I put on the top coat.  I really did not want to go for a fifth time trying to put this color on.  I really hope that this lasts for the week.  If not than I would not try this polish again.  It was just so much work.  
Have any of you tried Mac polish?  Did you have good luck with it lasting?  Are all of the formulas like this one?  I may need to try a cream from them to see if it is as finicky.

 I knew I was going to get the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation and wanted a pump but didn't really want to order one from Mac.  I wanted something reusable.  I purchased these bottles form Ebay, I bought 5 bottles for $25.61 CAD.  I had seen a few YouTube videos about different people using them and figured I would give them a try as I really liked the idea of them.

For the price of 2 mac pumps I got 5 reusable pump bottles that I can fill with whatever I want.  I am quite impressed with how quickly they came and the quality of them as well.  I can see me getting quite a bit of use out of these. 

Now on to what was needed to do the 'depotting' of the foundation.
I used the smallest funnel I could find as the hole in the top is fairly small.  I had picked up the spatula last year at Sephora to get some cream out of a tube and kept it.  I'm glad I did because I can't find this on the Sephora website anymore. 
I simply poured the foundation into the bottle until it was almost full than scraped the remaining off of the funnel into the bottle.  Put the lid on and started pumping to get the air out.  It really did not take to long at all.

And there you have it.  Estee Lauder in a pump for a lot less mess and waste.  I am finding that 1-1 1/2 pumps is the perfect amount for me.  As you can vaguely see the bottom actually rises as you use the product so there is no straw and therefor, in theory at least, less waste.  I will let you know how it goes when I finish this up as to just how reusable the bottles actually are.  How hard they are to clean, etc.  The way I see it even if I cant reuse them I got 5 for the price I would have paid for 2 pumps so I am happy.
Has anyone else tried out these bottles?  How did you like them?

I am sorry, I tried to do my nails twice yesterday, Sunday, but I am not sure if I was just to impatient for it to dry or what but each time they smudged horribly.  I was trying to use a Mac polish which I have never used before.  Maybe the formula takes a REALLY long time to dry? Or I put it on to thick? I could not risk another try last night as it was getting fairly late and I had to work today.  I will try it again on Wednesday when I am off again.  Or maybe I should give my nails a week of no polish?  What do you think?  If I do give them a week I will attempt the Mac one again because it is a really gorgeous color.  

I had gotten Color IQ done at Sephora about a month ago, still on the search for a foundation to last me through the day.  I got a sample of Estee Lauder Doublewear in 2C3 Fresco.  THe associate also sent me away  with 2 samples of primer, Laura Mercier Oil Free and Nars ProPrime Oil Free.  I had been afraid to try the Double wear before because of my dry skin, but since this year I am deciding to be oily this is what was recommended to me.  OMG that stuff is great!  I tried it with both primers and without.  I did not like the Laura Mercier it seemed to make the foundation break up.  The Nars I liked and will consider buying it in the future if i find I need it.  The Double wear really didn't need a primer! It lasts pretty good on its own with only minimal break up on my nose by around 9 pm.  Not to bad considering I put my make up on at 6 am!  
So need less to say I put an order into Sephora.  I prefer to order online as than I get samples :)  I find in my Sephora its hit or miss whether you get any at all unless you get some from the floor(foundation, primer, face cream, etc). 

I picked out Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black, Caudalie, and the Dior Nude Air Foundation sample as my 3 samples.  I than saw that they had the new Tarte Smooth Operator pressed powder as a deluxe sample you could choose if you spent over $35 CAD.  They only had it left in Tan, but I thought I would give it a try anyway.  It is so smooth!  It really isnt that dark at all, I thought maybe I could use it for a contour or to darken up a to light foundation but it barely changes the color at all.  I am glad I got this sample.  I like the scent of the Elizabeth and James as well, its a little spicy but not an over powering scent.  I have not tried the Caudalie as of yet but I will let you know.  
The only thing I don't like about the foundation is that it does not have a pump.  But I have found a way around that.  I was going to go to Mac and get a pump like everyone says to do but than I remembered seeing on someones YouTube(I cant for the life of me remember now) about these airless pump bottles you could get on Ebay.  I ordered some and will let you know shortly how they are.  
So that's my little Sephora haul, have you tried any of these products?  How did they work for you?

Nail Art time!  I saw this technique on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try.  It was surprisingly easy.  I figured it would be great for Valentines Day.

It is called a 'Drag Marble' technique.  Here is the link to the site I used http://mysimplelittlepleasures.blogspot.ca/2011/02/notd-valentines-hearts-red-white-drag.html.  She gives clear and detailed instructions, making it fairly easy to recreate.  The jest of it is you use a fair thinkish coat of base coat (I used Tip Your Hat from China Glaze), than while it is still wet you use a dotting tool to place dots of white(Snow from China Glaze).  Than while it is still wet you drag a tooth pick through the dots creating the hearts.

I only did one coat of the red so I am hoping that it will last the week, I will let you know next week how it does.  

I was pleasantly surprised on how well the Lancome polish lasted this past week.  Only minor tip wear and that had actually happened fairly early in the week, I want to say around Wednesday?  And it really did not go any further for the rest of the week.  I have not been putting another coat of top coat on since the first week of my nail series, I realized that by my doing that we wouldn't get a good feel on how it would perform.  The only thing I am missing is that my nails tend to get slightly dull by about mid week.  
I may try a Mac polish for next week. 

I thought I would show you what I have used up for the past 2 months.  Sadly not much make up, but alot of skin, hair, etc.  You know the easy stuff to empty.  I will give you my thoughts on them and if I would repurchase.

First up is Batiste Dry Shampoo in Tropical - I love Batiste dry shampoo.  The smell of this was great, kind of fresh actually.  I really likes it as I dint't feel like I was choking when using it.  This can leave a white cast unless you wait for it to dry and than brush it out really well.  Would I repurchase-I already have!
Bye Bye Frizz 30 day no frizz - I had first tried this last spring and loved it.  It made flat ironing my hair a breeze, so quick.  I had picked up a second one when I got the first one and this is that one.   I am unsure if maybe it went bad?  It really has not done much for my hair this time at all.  It really did not seem to last past the first shampoo, which is weird because I wash my hair less now than I did than.  Would I repurchase-I might but I am going to have a look and see what other keratin smoothing treatments I can find.
Lastly for hair care Vavoom Freezing Spray - I bought this when my sister was getting married and I was going to be doing everyone's hair.  If you want your style to last for the day with out moving this is the spray for you.  I find it is best used when your hair is up as it can get sticky and helmety.  Would I repurchase-I would definitely repurchase if I was going to be doing up-dos for an event again.

Now onto the bulk of the trash.
Neutrogena Deep Clean Facial Cleanser- My daughter had bought this and didn't like it so I used in the shower to wash my face, it did an OK job nothing fantastic but my face was clean and didn't feel exceptionally tight.  Would I repurchase-Probably not.
Kirkland Daily Facial Towelettes-I use these every night to take my makeup off before I use my Clarisonic.  This are moist and slightly textured and 1 cloth does my whole face.  I would not use these as a my only face cleanser as they can be a tad drying.  Would I repurchase-Definitely, they work and are a great price
Macadamia Intensive Repair Hand Cream-I kept this at my desk at work to use after using the hand sanitizer.  It was OK it felt slightly dry though, it did not seem very moisturizing to me.  Would I repurchase-No, I prefer the Hydrating Coconut Oil one.
Cotton Pads- What can I say about these?  They work at taking my nail polish off and using with toner.  Would I repurchase-Already have, they work great and are  a buck!
Clinique Clarifying Lotion-I had gotten this when I was using points at Shoppers and wanted to try a toner.  The assistant recommended this one.  It was OK, I really didn't notice much difference.  Would I repurchase-Maybe, I did just get the Seaweed one from The Body Shop.
Malibu Sunset Hand Soap-This stuff smelled great and didn't dry out my hands.  It did the job well but my husband and son didn't quite like the smell. Would I repurchase-I have already bought more in different scents.
Mango And Mandarin Hand Cream-I had gotten this in an Ipsy bag, not sure of when though.  I kept it in my purse and managed to use it up.  I did not like the smell of this at all, it smelled a little off and was not very hydrating.  Would I repurchase-No
Schick Intuition Razor head?- I use these all the time, they are just so much easier!  It means one less thing in the shower and takes less time to shave.  Would I repurchase-Always!
Sephora Super supreme body butter-This was a sample I had gotten on a trip to Sephora.  It was OK, the smell was good.  I did not find it very moisturizing though.  I was only able to do a leg and an arm with this sample so I did the other side with another cream and the other cream lasted longer.  Would I purchase-No
Sephora Instant Depuffing Roll-On Gel-This stuff felt so good in the morning!  It didn't feel sticky or dring.  It seemed to help my eyes be a little less puffy.  Would I repurchase-Maybe, I am trying a few other creams at the moment but none are impressing me tha much and for the price this one seemed to do more.

And to finish it up my 2 lonely mascara samples.
Clinique High Impact Mascara-This stuff was great.  It gave my lashes volume and did not smudge.  I am unsure if this one was slightly dried up as I have opened another sample of this and it seems to be smudging?  Would I repurchase-Maybe, I loved how the first tube I had of this made my lashes look.
Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes- Again this was a great mascara. It did everything the Clinique did as well as maybe a bit of length.  Would I purchase-I still have 2 more samples of this waiting as well as about 7 other ones.  But I would purchase the full size of this.
That's all of my trash for December and January.  I felt I went through quite a lot of stuff.  I will do these posts whenever my bag gets full, hopefully it is every month but if not than every 2 months.

For this week I was looking through the flyers and noticed that there was a pretty good GWP for Lancome at Sears..I am such a sucker for those.  So I was looking at what Lancome had as I have not tried anything from them.  I noticed they had nail polish and have not seen any reviews on them so I  figured I would try out a couple of those and get the GWP.  It was a win-win for me.  I picked up Vernis In Love Amethyste Brune 387 as I have absolutely nothing this color in my collection and thought I would try something different.  I was quite happy with the way it applied.  I could have done 1 thickish coat but decided to go with 2 thinner coats.  It is a beautiful dark purpley-brown shimmer? At least that's how I see it.  It has a nice thick brush and the formula was not to thin nor to thick.  It dried fairly quickly in that it did not take that long to do my nails.  I am hoping that it wears well as it is such a pretty color.
You can see in the picture that on my nails you can see more of the brown but in the bottle it looks very purple.  

Now for the update on last weeks nails.  The glitter off base coat held up longer than I thought it would, it came off my right hand on Wednesday and my left on Thursday.  I decided to take a picture of how it looked on Friday than just took the rest off and gave my nails a break for the rest of the weekend.  The Morgan Taylor held up pretty good for the time that I had it on and I did not do another layer of top coat in the middle of the week, partially because my right hand accent nail had already come off  so I was already thinking to take it off early.  

As you can see minimal tip wear but my pointer finger at the cuticle is looking pretty rough.  I was lucky enough and managed to get the nail polish as it had come off and as you can see it is great for glitter! it came off in a sheet with nothing left on my nail which is great.  I think the Glitter Base coat would be great for use for a special occasion, just maybe not for a weeks worth of abuse.  I was still pleasantly surprised that it lasted as long as it did.  I was only thinking that I would get maybe a day or two out of it, so getting four before it started peeling off was great.  
Have you tried the Glitter Off base coat?  Did it last longer for you?

This is the first and only thing from Marc Jacobs that I have tried.  I have been using this set for just over a month now and have to say I have never tried such a creamy, yet long lasting liner.  
It stays in the waterline for almost my whole shift!  12 hrs is a long time for any eye liner to stay, and this is the longest lasting one I have come across yet.  It lasts twice as long as Urban Decays 24/7 liners on me.  I use the brown shade the most in my upper waterline.  It does not smudge nor travel anywhere its not supposed to go once its set.  You do have a few minutes to smudge or whatever else you would like to do with it but once its set it takes a lot to get it off.  
I think that this set is completely worth the $56(CAD) price tag.  I know that I will be buying more of the brown for sure when I run out of this sample size.  Although I don't see that happening very soon even though I use it almost everyday that I put on makeup.  You barely have to use any pressure so therefor you don't use very much at all.  
I have only really used the shades Brown(out) and Blacquer so far but I am hoping to branch out of my comfort zone and try out using the other shades as they are really nice and from swatching them they are the same pigment and smudge-proof as the two shades I am currently using.

Here is a swatch of all the colors you get in this set.  This were all one swipe with light pressure.
O(vert), Brown(out), Sunset, Th(ink), Midnight In Paris, (Plum)age, and Blacquer.

I think that Sunset would look great on the waterline, lower lash line.  
The slight shimmer that these have do not irritate my eyes at all either.
Have you tried out this set yet?  Is there something else I should try next from the line?