*Post features PR Samples.

Almay has been a drug store staple for years, recently they launched a few new items that I was lucky enough to receive samples to review.

Smoky Eye Trios in Coppery Blaze and Smouldering Embers
These trios try to make shadow application easy for those who may not be the best at figuring it all out. With three shades clearly intended for different spots on the eye.

Coppery Blaze has green as its lid colour with charcoal as its crease and off white-green shade for highlight. Smouldering Embers is a Taupe for its lid, dusty purple for the crease and a light champagne-pink for the creases.

Copper Blaze

Smouldering Embers

Both these trios have lovely shades in them, but the payoff is mixed. Smouldering Embers has a softer texture and applies well because of it, while Coppery Blaze is stiffer and it takes a lot of work to get any pay off from it.

Goddess Gloss in Dreamy and Flame
I am not a huge lip gloss fan, but these glosses have won me over. They are prismatic glosses that are just pigmented enough that they work great on their own or even better as a topper. They are not sticky or goopy on the lips, which is a big part of why I love them.
Flame is a berry shade with flecks of shimmer in it. Dreamy is my favourite and it is a light pink-purple with a prismatic duo chrome reflection to it that works really well when I use a purple highlighter on my face.

Make Them Jelly Hi-Lite / Illuminator in 24k Dreams and Unicorn Light
These are shimmer jellies, and when I say shimmer I mean SHIMMER. The gel feels thick and not like a skin product but more a body product and the shimmer itself if very large and chunky.
Velvet Foil in Cupid Glaze and Golden Vibes
These foils come in little tubes that instantly remind me of Mac Paints (sadly discontinued). Packaged in a plastic tube that let you have good control over how much you can squeeze out.

I teenie-tiny amount of the cream shadow is all you need to get a ton of pigment that will create a foil effect. They take a few minutes to dry, so you have time to get them looking right on your lids. I like buffing them with a brush to avoid strong lines.
The brand boasts that they will last up to 24 hours and will not crease, smudge or fade. I had good results wearing them, I did make the mistake on wearing them on a particularly sweaty day at work so I did get some shimmer fall-out as the day went on, but overall they are quite spectacular and look amazing.

Cupid Glaze is a Rosey shade while Golden Vibes is an old gold shade. Both have lots of shimmer in them.
These are single pan shadows that have one shade in four finishes. A matte, satin, metallic and glitter all in a monochromatic pan.

Unicorn is white and all the shades come off chalky, I really couldn't capture the shades that well in photos. Less is More is a light nude shade that is a lot more pretty and photographic.

Less is More

Soap & Glory is a pretty popular brand, but one I have had little experience with, until now.

I have been lucky enough to get the chance to try out six items that launched this past fall and can now be found at Shoppers Drug Marts across Canada.

Smoothie Star Breakfast Scrub:
Loaded a bunch of yummy stuff you might find in your morning smoothie, this scrub smells so good I really was tempted to try and eat it (I resisted). Oats, bananas, almond and honey extra work with shea butter, sugar, real maple and organic cupuacu bio scrubs. So overall, just plain yummy.
It is quite a thick scrub, so a little goes a long way, I just scoop a little and scrub away. It has a maple and banana scent that reminds me of my mother in laws banana bread. I can be extremely picky when it comes to anything maple (like a good Canadian), and I will say that this scrub smells exactly like real maple, because it is real maple.

I really think this is a great scrub that is thick enough to do a good job of scuffing off skin and leaves the skin soft and smooth as well as hydrated.

Sugar Crush Body Lotion
A body lotion that smells like key lime pie, sign me up! Ok there is more to love about this lotion then just is't yummy scent (but it is a good reason to love it). It has AHA fruit complex in it as well as Kiwi Waterjuice.

Sugar Crush Body Lotion claims to be a 3 in 1 product, Hydrates, Conditions and Smoothes the skin. Since it has the AHA in it I actually does a great job of being a daily light exfoliator for my Keratosis Pilaris prone skin. It also is really light on the skin, absorbing quickly and with out any heavy or greasy feeling.

I really like this lotion! It smells amazing, has a pump making it easy to use, feels light on the skin and absorbs quickly while fighting off my bumpy Keratosis Pilaris and winter flaky bits away.

Fragrant Body Spray
Nothing like a great scent to set the mood for your day, or evening.

Soap and Glory's Body Sprays come in three scents, Smoothie Star, Sugar Crush and Original Pink. I happen to have gotten the Smoothie Star one. The scents all match up with their body care lines scents so you can layer them up and make them last longer. Smoothie Star is a warm sweet scent with vanilla and almond with sandalwood and musk in it. Sugar Crush is a sweet lime and vanilla scent that similar to a key lime pie scent. Original Pink is their classic scent with fruity and floral tones to it, bergamot, rose, strawberry, jasmine and even patchouli in it.

The sprays feature a technology that helps it last 24 hours. I find one spritz is more then enough for me, it is a pretty potent product for a body spray, but I really like that, I hate a body fragrance that is weak and you have to put close to a dozen sprays on you, just to have it fade away almost immediately. This stuff smells sweet and complex and lasts with only just a bit of it.

Fab Pore T-Zone Cloths
Wipes that help exfoliate and keep your pores clean, sign me up! With Yuzu (that is a type of lemon by the way) to brighten the skin and  Soap and Glory's PoreShrink-4 complex which slowly release salicylic acid to prevent spots. It also is a cleaning wipe so it removes oils, dirt and makeup all in one go.

I like the idea of a wipe that helps exfoliate and clean in one swipe, it makes the process of fighting acne and keeping pores clear a lot simpler. Sadly, due to the exfoliating properties it isn't a wipe you can use around your eyes.

I tend to use it on lazy nights where I don't feel like doing my full routine and just use some eye makeup remove wipes on my eyes. But when I really love to use them in the morning, when I am not wearing makeup and don't require a double cleanse, but I do want to clean my face before my morning skin care routine.  They do a great job of just making the morning go a lot smoother.

Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss - Nude Star
Who doesn't want a nice nudey toned lip gloss? I know I always do. They work well with almost any look and easy to apply and pull off in a quick timing situation.

I happen to have Nudestar, which is a nude beige with a lot of shimmer in it, but fine shimmer that it looks really good and makes your lips look plumper. This gloss is meant to help make your lips look plump, so in addition to the shimmer, it has plumping spheres which burst as you werar it for more volume. At first I never notice it, but about 5 minutes in I start notice a very mild numbing effect. I should note that when most people say a lip product tingles or burns, I get a numb effect, almost like extremely mild Novocaine, so clearly I should not be one to judge how extreme a product like this is. But it is pretty darn mild from what I understand.  The gloss is mildly sticky and lasts quite a while on my lips.

Scrub Your Nose In It
Maybe you're like my hubby and sometimes you break out all over your nose and T-zone? Maybe this scrub might be fore you. I personally like it to help clear up my clogged nose pores.

This scrub has a pile of ingredients to help de-gunk up your T-Zone and prevent new buildup in your pores. Soap and Glory has their exclusive D-Clog MicroMud in it to clean the pores deep, while Diatomaceous Earth Mix helps exfoliate and purify the skin while soaking up excess oils. It also has AHAs in it to help clear out the pores and exfoliate. It also is kind of minty in scent, so those of you who still swear by the toothpaste trick for your zits (don't do it, its awful for your skin) this might be a great scent for you. I personally just love mint.

You don't need too much of the scrub, just put some on your damp clean face's T-Zone, scrub it around for a little bit and then let it sit for 2 minutes (always a great time to brush your teeth) and then rinse off well. My skin always feels a lot smoother after using it, I have some reoccurring problem areas in my T-zone so my skin really reacts well to it. The tub is also pretty darn large, so you wont find yourself running out quickly, this baby is going to last you a while.

L'oreal Infallible has launched an amazing new collection of of high pigment products. Lip colours, cream eye shadow duos, liquid liners and a blush palette all with intense pigmentation and colours ranging from nude to bold brave shades. There is definitely something in the new line to impress just about everyone.

Infallible Paints Lip:
The high impact liquid lacquer lipsticks come in 13 colours. The range isn't just bold reds, pinks, purples and oranges, there is also some pretty darn spectacular nudes in it too and a navy blue (which I bought after these swatches so stay tuned for it in another post). These babies go on in one swipe and give full opacity right off the bat. They feel so soft and comfortable on the lips which is very impressive considering their coverage. The tube ensures that you aren't going to waste any of it, you can squeeze every last bit out. The doe foot has a swoop in the centre that curves to your lips, but if your like me it also means you can use the tip for accurate lip lining and shaping.
Infallible Paints Cream Eye Shadows:
These ceaseless cream eye shadows come in 12 different duos. They range in subtle and nude to bold and bright. I happened to get 304 Navy Yard to try out. It is a gold navy shade with a pinky pearl shade on the other. While I steer away from blues because of my blue eyes and general preference, I love love love the rose side. I have worn it both as a base under eye shadows and as a stand alone shade, I love it both ways. I find that it never creases and lasts all day on me without any issues.
Infallible Paints Blush:
This palette features 4 shades of blush that can be layered to be sheer to incredibly bold. At first I was afraid that with the high pigmentation that the Infallible Paints line has that this would be one of those crazy pigment blushes that goes on too strong and isn't blendable, one that you need to need a really light hand with. As it turns out, it is pretty darn easy to use, while yes the colours are bright and pigments, they go on easy and build well, just use a fluffy blush brush and they will blend out nicely. Peach, pink , hot pink and orange fill this palette as well as the standard not so useful brush. All the shades are matte which makes them an almost automatic hit in my books.  Looking to get a new selection of blushes? Why not get this palette, palettes make things better!
Infallible Paints Liner:
Felt tip liners are always my choice when lining my eyes, they just do such a  good job. These babies are nice and long with a fine tip, which means some pretty accurate application. With 6 shades these babies range from the usual black, to bold white and blues and teals in between. They are pretty darn opaque in application, one swipe is all I need for a good solid line, they also stay put incredibly well throughout the day.
When all is said and done the Infallible Paints line is just fantastic. With loads of pigment and fun colours to work with as well as more traditional and nude shades you can really come up with some great looks. I personally am loving a lot of the items. The glosses are by far my favourite, I used them all the time and get full lipstick coverage with a nice gloss. Many ended up staining my hand after swatching, ,which just proves how pigmented and long lasting they are.

My Look:
In this look I am wearing the rose shade from 304  Navy Yard as a cream shadow, The lighter blush in the palette (far right),  306 Intrepid Teal liner and with 318 Fearless Fuchsia as my lip colour.