Project Pan Them All | June/July Empties

I could never get enough of the Cake Be Delectable Triple Moisture Body Lotion - this beautiful blend of coconut oil, shea butter and aloe vera leaves my skin soft, smooth and moisturized all day long, and it also works great on my suburns! It has a nice light consistency that is spread easily and absorbed super quickly. Oh, and that decadent strawberry and cream fragrance...

I always try to favour alcohol-free toners for my dry and sensitive skin, and I enjoyed using Lara Beauty Revitalizing Daily Toner for Sensitive Skin it in the morning to quickly refresh my face when I was in a rush before work, instead of a face cleanser.

Both versions of Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturiser were included in the Essential Discovery Collection I had the chance to try a few months ago, and I enjoyed using the Normal/Combination version in the morning since it is lighter and is absorbed faster than the Dry/Sensitive version, which is a nice welcomed treat at night - it also works really well as a face mask (apply in thick layers without massaging it in, and remove the ecxess after ten or fifteen minutes).

Peptalash is claimed to naturally improve the appearance of lash length, darkness and volume to make eyelashes appear longer, thicker and fuller in just two weeks, but I have been using it for months without noticing even the slightest improvement. Disappointing.

There is never much to say about a toothpaste, and Crest Clinical Plaque Control Toothpaste is nothing special honestly, although it claims to not only reduce plaque but also help keep it from coming back, while also whitening teeth and freshening breath.

I am not really fancy when it comes to anti-perspirants/deodorants, but I try to buy cruelty-free alternatives as much as I can, and I was pretty pleased with Mitchum Power Gel Shower Fresh Anti-Perspirant & Deodorant, until it started to burn my underarms real bad when it was almost empty...?!

I know, I know, I just can't stop raving about this miraculous product that is Get Creamed Body The Balm! I am really glad I took it with me to Europe because it is such a wonderful multi-tasking product - it was literally all I needed! Made of coca butter and shea butter, this is absolutely wonderful on my dry patches of eczema, and I could not believe I ran out of it so soon! It's easy and mess-free to apply but also to carry around while travelling thanks to its packaging similar to a deodorant stick.

I can't remember where or when I got this sample of Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen SPF 50 with Helioplex*, but it is not really "dry touch" to me since it is really greasy when I apply it and it seems to take forever to get absorbed into the skin!

Julep The Best Pedi Créme Ever! is probably the best foot cream I have ever tried! In only a matter of days, I was amazed at the difference this cream made for my feet - they were soooooo soft and smooth! For $22, I wish the tube was bigger, but even though the cream is light, you don't need a lot of product to cover both feet. The cream smells absolutely delicious and fresh - juicy cucumbers, yum!

I never thought I would fall in love with eos Lip Balm Smooth Sphere in Strawberry Sorbet like so many before me, but I did! The lip balm coats my lips perfectly in a single swipe, and I did struggle a bit once the top started to flatten, but it was worth it! The consistency is perfect and I can actually feel the product on my lips, which is great since I know they are being properly protected. I don't feel the need to constantly re-apply this lip balm, even though it sure does not last all day and it is probably not the most moisturizing lip balm I have tried, but it does work well.

I am usually a big fan of Montagne Jeunesse face masks, but I was a bit disappointed by their Dead Sea Mud Spa Face Mask, which claims to intensely invigorate and revitalise skin with Dead Sea Minerals, but all it did was make my whole face tingle, and it left it even drier...

*Please note that these products are NOT cruelty-free

FOTD & OOTD | Looking for some trouble tonight, take my hand, I'll show you the wild, side

tunic w/ belt - San Francisco | blazer - Suzy Shier | leggings - eBay | tan - St Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mousse 'Dark' | hair color - Revlon ColorSilk - 'Burgundy 48'

When you are wearing a uniform five days a week for work as I do, you don't really have the opportunity to take pictures for an interesting OOTD post, but recently, I had to dress up and jumped at the chance to show you my outfit! I can't say I love fall but I guess it's still better than winter because it's not too cold yet for leggings, which happens to be one of my favorite thing to wear. I like to pair leggings with tops and even with shorts - they are just so versatile and so much more comfy than jeans!

  nail polish - Julep 'Alyson' | ankle bracelet - Anji | flats - Walmart

It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye - 'Neutral Medium' | Marcelle Extension Plus Mascara | e.l.f. Essential Brightening Eye Color - 'Butternut' | MAC Eye Pencil* - 'Ebony' | Annabelle Zebra Bronzing Pressed Powder - 'Haute Gold' | Hard Candy Fox in a Box - Spicy & Sweet'| MAC Glaze Lipstick* - 'Hue'

Lyrics are from Die Young, by Kesha

*These products are NOT cruelty-free

FOTD & OOTD | À la vie, à la mort on va s'aimer encore (Geneviève & Robin's Wedding)

The gorgeous bride and groom

Last Saturday, my friend and I celebrated our friends Geneviève and Robin's wedding. I have known Gen since elementary school and she and Robin met through my boyfriend and I, and I know Gen was dreaming of this wedding for such a long time! It was awesome to be with them for this very special celebration.

Beautiful tables setup and yummy cupcakes

Of course, between my hairdresser appointment in the morning (more details in an upcoming post) and everything else, I absolutely forgot to take proper pictures of my makeup and outfit, as always! Here is a quick breakdown anyway.

Hard Candy Fox in a Box - Spicy & Sweet | 100% Pure Cocoa Pigmented Bronzer - Brown Sugar | MAC Cremesheen Lipstick - Creme Cup (not pictured)*

It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye - Neutral Medium | Too Faced Natural Eye | Maybelline Unstoppable Eyeliner - Onyx (upper lashline, waterline and lower lashline)* | Avon True Color Eyeshadow Single - Night Sky (crease and outer corner)* | Annabelle Glitterama Liquid Eyeliner - Plutonium | Marcelle Extension Plus Mascara | It Cosmetics Brow Power Universal Brow Pencil

Babyliss Pro Tourmaline Ceramic Curling Iron | Shielo VOLUME Flexible Design Hair Spray

Dress - Winners | Heels - Glo Women's Jayden Patent Platform Pump - K-Mart | Tan - St Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mousse 'Dark' 

Nail polish - Julep Nail Vernis 'Whitney' and Deborah Lippmann Nail Lacquer 'Shake Your Groove Thing'

*These products are NOT cruelty-free

We arrived at the church a little before the wedding to be able to do a quick photoshoot. 

Acting silly (as always!) and dancing with the bride

It was a beautiful day and we had tons of fun! Congratulations again Geneviève and Robin, I wish you lifelong happiness!

Lyrics are from On va s'aimer encore, by Vincent Vallières, a singer from Quebec. Title translation: "In life, in death we will still love each other".

Project Pan Them All | June Empties

Julep The Best Pedi Créme Ever! was a nice surprise in my Julep Maven Boho Glam box from last April. For $22, I wish the tube was bigger, but even though the cream is light, you don't need a lot of product to cover both feet. The cream smells absolutely delicious and fresh - juicy cucumbers, yum! I can't say I was absolutely amazed at the difference this cream made for my feet, but yes, it did leave them softer and smoother.

I already used Jergens Natural Glow Firming Daily Moisturizer a long time ago and it absolutely did not work for me... which was not different this time. I received a sample through Facebook and it lasted me a relatively long time but it absolutely did not made me look tan. I was hoping I could use this lotion to touch up my tan, but no, it's useless because it did not even moisturize my skin properly.

Zorah Biocosmétiques Bioserum Structure is awesomely moisturizing and it lasted me quite a long time because I only needed about two drops to cover my whole face. I like how this product leaves my face imediately soothed and smooth. If you use the right quantity, Bioserum Structure is quickly absorbed into the skin and you don't have to wait forever to apply your night cream.

Crest Complete Scope Outlast in Long Lasting Mint is supposed to provide a cool, refreshing brushing experience and a fresh feeling that lasts up to 5x longer than a regular anticavity toothpaste but I will have to disagree with the latter statement though because I have yet to find a toothpaste that leaves my breath as minty and fresh as Crest 3D White Vivid Toothpaste does!

Marcelle Hydra-C ComplexE Facial Exfoliating Gel came in the Hydra-C Xmas Black Box I bought at Groupe Marcelle Spring 2010 Warehouse Sale but I was incredibly disappointed with it. It's not abrasive enough for a good exfoliation and the product just vanishes super quickly - I had to refrain myself from throwing it in the trash!

I received a sample of The Body Shop Chocomania Shower Cream as part of Meredith's giveaway prize and OMG, this stuff smells sooooooooooooo good, almost like the real stuff! I also appreciate how it's really more like a shower cream than a liquidy gel. I'm so glad to have a full-size backup in my stash!

I was really pleased with AHAVA Foot Cream unique texture - it really felt thick and a bit muddy, which was awesome and really moisturizing! I never used something like this before.

#GlossyPartyMTL - Get GLOSSY with GLOSSYBOX‏ Event

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend the first GLOSSYBOX event for media and GLOSSY ambassadors since its launch in Canada, along with a few fellow bloggers such as my friends Josianne and Isanielle. I finally had the opportunity to meet face to face with Sanya, Kristelle and Ellie, and I also met some interesting bloggers from Montreal, such as The Green Geekette and Marie Frédérique.

Josy, Izzy, Sanya and me

But first, let's start with a little FOTN and OOTN, shall we?

Benefit The POREfessional | Marcelle Concealer Palette in Universal Beige | 100% Pure Cocoa Pigmented Bronzer in Brown Sugar | Milani Baked Powder Blush - Luminoso | Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick - Primrose

 theBalm Time Balm Concealer - Light | Wet N Wild Color Icon Palette - Lust | Maybelline Unstoppable Eyeliner - Onyx (upper lashline, waterline and lower lashline)* | Marcelle Power Volume Mascara | Wet n Wild Coloricon Brow & Eye Liner - Taupe

*Maybelline Unstoppable Eyeliner is NOT cruelty-free

Tints of Nature Conditioning Permanent Colour in 2N Natural Darkest Brown | Babyliss Pro Tourmaline Ceramic Curling Iron | Shielo VOLUME Flexible Design Hair Spray

Dress - Winners | Blazer - Suzy Shier | Heels - Glo Women's Jayden Patent Platform Pump - K-Mart | Nail polish - Julep Nail Vernis 'Alyson' | Tan - St Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mousse 'Dark'

We enjoyed a luxurious night of pampering at Victoria Park Spa, which included a variety of beauty bars such as makeup bar, braid bar and even candy bar! We had tons of fun at the Bioré photo booth and we even had our photo taken in a life-size GLOSSYBOX!

Delicious cupcakes and sparkling wine

Beauty Bar and Candy Bar

Izzy enjoying the braid bar

Of course, keeping true to the GLOSSYBOX way, there was tons of giveaways from brands such as Marc Anthony, Bioré, imPRESS Press-on Manicure, Kiss, John Frieda, Algemarin and more - not to mention that every guest left with their very own gigantic swag bag, complete with the May GLOSSYBOX! I almost could not believe it!

Izzy and I with our - amazingly heavy! - bags (image: Être Radieuse)

So many goodies! As for the May GLOSSYBOX... the content will be unveiled in an upcoming post!

Big thanks go to GLOSSYBOX Canada and Tracey Brooke PR for putting together such an amazing event!

My Awful Experience With Julep Maven

WARNING - This will be a long, boring, negative and just plain rude post. If you are not into that or simply don't care, please skip it, thank you.

I have never felt the need to write a blog post about a negative experience with a company before but this time, I have to let it out and warn my fellow beauty junkies about it. So it all started with that 1¢ promo. I tell you - please never, ever get suck in such marketing ploy. I know, I should have known better, still, being the little curious girl that I am, I simply could not let such an amazing deal pass.

So I went at it. I ceated an account at Julep Maven, browsed the boxes of colorful nail polishes with excitement, finally made my mind, then entered my credit card info. That is when the first incident happened, which should have raised my red flag. I kept getting the same error message that my credit card number and my address did not match. Hmm, what? I kept trying maybe five times with my card, then I tried with my mother's card, but I got the same error message, even though after maybe three times, it finally worked.

Josianne also had this problem: "No credit card would work for me, they said that the address didn't match"

Some days later, my mother got a call from the bank about some unusual activity on her credit card - they asked her if she could confirm that she had really made three 1¢ transactions. When my mother received her credit card statement some times later, she noticed that she had been, in fact, charged  three times for the 1¢ box, which, strangely, is the number of tried it took me to finally succeed. Notice something strange here? Now let's get things straight - I could not care less about 3¢ instead of 1¢ for a box worth around $40, but if Julep does it with such a small amount, don't you think they might do it as well with an higher amount? My doubts have been confirmed when Josianne told me that one of her friend has been charged seven times the normal price of a box ($19.99) on her credit card, and that it took about a week for her to finally get a refund.

I immediately emailed Julep regarding this issue (I was already in contact with Micah as I had questions about the 1¢ promo)

And, of course, these are the answers I got. What was I expecting? Also, why did I get two answers from two different persons at a two-days interval?

They probably knew I would not go through all this trouble for 2¢, and they were right. But it does not stop there.

After trying two Julep Maven boxes (Classic With A Twist Intro Box that was sent to me for consideration to review and Boho Glam Intro Box that I got with the 1¢ promo), I decided that Julep nail polishes were OK but surely not worth $19.99 a month, so I politely asked them through email to cancel my account.

Please note that at this time, I had no idea that I had to call their office to cancel.

Their answer

Since Micah told me I could call their office after business hours, that is what I did the day after, on March 15. I made sure to leave all of the required info in order for them to be able to cancel my account. I was expecting a confirmation, at least by email, but I haven't heard from them since then, so I assumed my account had been cancelled.

But, on March 27, surprise, surprise! The March box was coming my way!

I rushed to email them regarding this issue through their website, hence why I can't include a screenshot of my message, but basically I explained them that I had left a message on their voicemail at the office on March 15 to cancel my account but that I had not heard from them since and so I assumed my account was cancelled, but I was still charged for the March box.

Their "answer" (because they don't really answer anything)

So they are basically ignoring my problem and even want me to pay a $4.95 restocking fee to return the package (I have never heard from a restocking fee from any company before?!), or exchange it for a store credit. Click here to read their return and exchange policy.

They did not answer to this email and I'm starting to get slightly annoyed...

...so I make a second phone call at their office and leave a second message on their voice mail. Yes, I was a bit rude but at this point, I could not care less. Nobody f**** with me!

The day after, on March 29, despite having left for a second time all of the required info to cancel my account, I get a message on my voice mail from someone at Julep Maven, saying something like this "Hi, it's **** from Julep Maven and I'm calling regarding a message that was left at our office yesterday. Please call me back, I can be reached at this number [...]" Hmm I don't think so? Why would I waste my time again to call a second time?

I wrote them another email

While waiting for their answer, I was getting angrier by the minute and of course, I had to vent on Twitter. The people behind Julep Maven's Twitter have tried their best to help and I do think it's because of them that my account finally got cancelled. They told me I should get an email from the CS team regarding this issue and I finally did!

The cancellation confirmation

The email that shortly followed - they were still ignoring my complaints and wanted me to pay for the March box!

My answer

Wow, it was about time!

Wow, they finally understood! Is it wrong that I was still expecting apologies that I never got? But wait, it's not over yet...

I hurried to email them when I received the box...

Their answer, which I received 4 days after

Hmmm excuse me, what? This was not clear at all and I hope nobody has been fooled by this! Their return policy has since been modified with this clause...

Another email from them, on the same day

Of course, now I can't blame them for this. But note the part where she says "the check should be mailed out by the end of the week" - I waited and waited for this check that came only yesterday, April 25, and you know what? The check is dated from April 19! I highly doubt they are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience.

I was already unsure about all of those monthly boxes subscription services, but I have never, ever experienced such an awful customer service from any other company before, and after my little investigation, I can confirm that I'm not the only one who had problems with them.

Sheila from Maddy Loves

I won't quote everyone because some were not OK with their statement going public and I fully respect this, but I personally find it very important to warn my fellow bloggers about such companies. Please note that I have been told by a few other bloggers that everything went great for them and that's good!

Lovely ladies, please be careful and I hope I won't have to write such a negative post anytime soon. Feel free to share this post to help me raise awareness about such an awful customer service!