Ciaté Paint Pots in Helter-Skelter

Ciaté isn't a brand that I often look at because I'm not a fan of their manicure sets, which is what they're really known for. But they do sometimes have some gorgeous, unique shades in their regular nail polish range, and I found a few that I ended up really loving last month so I snatched them up. I am a little confused as to why they decided to name their nail polishes, "Paint Pots," though. Aside from being totally misleading because these don't actually come in pots, they totally took the name from a pre-existing MAC product range. After their whole "Caviar Manicure" trademarking fiasco, wherein they accuse nail bloggers of biting the term "Caviar Manicure," I find this incredibly hypocritical. Despite the quality of their products and the cute packaging, I'm kind of on the fence about supporting them because I've sort of lost my taste for this brand due to their questionable ethics, but I will give them a fair review. (Disclaimer: I'm not putting myself on a full ban because I'm a nail polish fiend at heart and if there's a shade that's too pretty to resist, I may still pick it up. I'm just more conscious about it, and will look to see if other brands have dupes first.)

Helter-Skelter is a clear purple-grey base with medium lilac-purple glitter and micro-glitter. It has a slightly thicker consistency that is common with glitter polishes, but it doesn't hinder the application. It goes on smoothly and evenly, without any pulling, bubbling, or streaking. It has a clear base but it is so glitter-packed that it will almost reach full opacity in two coats, though I do recommend using a base colour if you don't like any of your nail bed to show through (in the swatch photo above, I've layered it on top of Illamasqua's Jo'mina). I can't think of any exact dupes for this; it is more purple than Formula X for Sephora Intergalatic, darker than China Glaze Tail Me Something, and has a totally different finish than Zoya Stevie. There are plenty of purple glitters out there, but I haven't found one in the same hue as this particular one. It's darker and more vibrant than a pastel, but lighter than a straight-up violet. This type of shade is usually reserved for cream shades, metallics, or shimmers, but I find it quite unique in a glitter, which is the sole reason I picked it up. Judging by the amount of compliments I got on it from people of all ages (seriously, from kids to teens to stroller moms to grandmas), it's quite the crowd-pleaser, too. The glitter makes this fun and festive and gives it an icy edge that is wintery, but the lilac shade makes it perfect for the transition into Spring (and coincidentally, it's in line with Pantone's Color of the Year, too).

Pick-Ups & Deliveries: January 2014

So, as it's the last week of January, I thought I'd do my monthly haul post. As with most months, I ended up shopping more than I thought I would... But there were so many post-holiday sales going on and I just can't resist a good deal, you know? 
Illume Essential Mini Tin Candles in Pineapple Cilantro, Coconut Milk Mango, and Oceano
Orange Circle Studio Secret Garden 2014 Do It All Planner
Jonathan Adler iPhone 4 Cases
It all started with — you guessed it — candles. I know I said I was on a candle ban, but I was walking through the mall a few weeks ago and noticed that Papyrus had set up a big clearance section. Now, I don't normally buy a lot from Papyrus because I don't have a lot of cards to buy for people nor do I use stationery or wrapping paper, but I like walking in there because I find it really... peaceful. I was perusing the clearance tables and saw these cute travel-size Illume candles on sale for 50% off, and thought I'd stop and smell them to see if they were any good. It was love at first sniff, guys. I typically don't like tropical scents that much, but these are just so fresh and lovely and not too sweet or cloying, and now I kind of want the full-size jars (but I can't because I am really on a candle ban now, I swear). I was also looking for a new planner for this year to organize my schedule and finances and stuff and managed to snag the last Secret Garden 2014 Do It All Planner for $10 from $16.99. And I also snatched up two cute Jonathan Adler iPhone 4 cases for $12 each from $25 because my old case finally broke and I figured these rubberized options would protect my phone better.
Babaton Roy Infinity Scarf
Babaton Robinson Jacket and Talula Piccadilly Blouse
Nine West Vintage America Collection Sabady Suede Booties
Aritzia was, of course, having a huge post-holiday sale that started during Boxing Week and seems to be neverending as it's still going on right now. Being able to shop through their website has made it way too easy to spend too much money, but I found some deals that were too good to pass up. I ended up getting a black cashmere and wool Babaton Roy Scarf for $42.50 from $85, a black Japanese satin-back crepe Babaton Robinson Jacket for $75 from $175, and a black twill Talula Piccadilly Sleeveless Blouse for $27 from $45. For some reason, I never find deals this good in any of their stores no matter how hard I look. Maybe it's because it's so easy just to filter their sale stuff on their website, but I swear, half of these deals don't appear in their stores. And, finally, I got a pair of these ultra-cute Nine West Sabady black suede booties at The Bay that were originally $180, but were reduced to $115 during Boxing Week, and then had an extra 40% off because they were put on clearance. I swear, I don't even go looking for deals. They just come find me. 
Dior Spring 2014 Diorblush Trianon Edition Vibrant Colour Powder Blush in 763 Corail Bagatelle
Dior Spring 2014 Rouge Dior Lipstick in 531 Rose Crinoline and 773 Allégresse; Dior Vernis Trianon Edition Nail Lacquer in 187 Perlé and 204 Porcelaine
Dior Minis: 5 Couleurs Couture Colour Eyeshadow Palette in 454 Royal Kaki, Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Mascara, and Rouge Dior in 644 Rouge Blossom
Even though I was doing pretty well at not buying any make-up last month (except for the Naked3 Palette, which I had to have), I caved in when I saw the new Dior Spring 2014 collection, Trianon. I went to visit my friend who works at a Dior counter to see the collection in person because the photos popping up all over the Internet were getting too hard to ignore. None of the eye products interested me in the slightest (I usually like Dior's Spring palettes, but this year's was truly disappointing), but I ended up getting five items that I fell in love with, including the gorgeous blush (!), two lipsticks, and two of the nail polishes. Did I need any of them? Oh, god, absolutely not. Especially that powder blue nail polish; I probably have six dupes of it at home, but I'm just a sucker for blues. These were just so damn pretty in person, it was like a spell was cast over me and all logic went out the window. Luckily, there was a promotion going on in the cosmetics department for $10 off a $75 purchase, so my friend split my products into two transactions and I got $20 off. And she threw in some adorable mini gifts for me, too. Still, the next month is going to be a very dangerous time with Spring collections rolling out.
Ciaté Paint Pots in Jewel, Helter-Skelter, and Love Letter
Caudalie Vinosource Set (with Moisturizing Sorbet, S.O.S. Thirst Quenching Serum, and Grape Water) and Vinoperfect Day Perfecting Fluid SPF 15
There haven't been a lot of nail polishes that have intrigued me lately (except for Rainbow Honey, for which I will be putting in a huge order very, very soon), but I was passing by the Ciaté display at The Bay after snagging all my Dior goodies and decided to take a look. Ciaté isn't a brand that I often go to because I'm not a fan of their manicure sets which is what they're known for. But they do sometimes have some gorgeous, unique shades in their Paint Pots range (that's another thing — they totally stole that name from MAC, which doesn't even make sense because their nail polishes don't come in pots, and is mighty hypocritical after the whole "Caviar Manicure" trademarking fiasco) and I managed to find three that I ended up loving. I swear, that's all the nail polish I bought this month, though. I met up with Liz a few days after that, during which we went into Sephora (naturally), where I was set on grabbing a new bottle of my favourite Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S. Thirst Quenching Serum because I had run out of it the week before. Liz pointed out that there was a value set for the serum that included a mini tube of Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet as well as a travel-size version of their Grape Water for the same price as the serum alone, so I picked that up. And Liz surprised me with a bag of goodies that included a tube of their Vinoperfect Day Perfecting Fluid SPF 15, too! Seriously, I'm set for skincare for the next year.
Lush Prince Charming Shower Gel, Neon Love Soap, and Love Locket Bath Bomb
Lush Eau Roma Water Toner, I Love Juicy Shampoo, and Big Blue and Sex Bomb Bath Bombs
Finally, Lush. It seems that I can't go a single month without getting stuff from Lush, but I'm in a phase right now (I'll go months obsessing over their stuff and then get sick of them for a couple months and then hop back on the train...). I asked my Lush friend if he could grab some stuff for me the next time he was making a staff purchase, and he got all the stuff I asked for and them some! I got really excited for the Valentine's stuff that was released last week, and asked him to get me the three things I really wanted: the Prince Charming Shower Gel (smells like grapefruit and pomegranate!), Neon Love Soap (smells of citrusy bergamot and rosewood and features white hearts in every slice), and Love Locket Bath Bomb (explodes with paper and seaweed hearts in the water!). I also asked him to pick me up a bottle of I Love Juicy Shampoo, which I haven't used since last summer but I remember really enjoying (it's for oily hair, which I don't have, but I like using it a couple times a week to deep-clean without feeling dry or stripped). When he gave me my goodies, I noticed he had also included a small bottle of Eau Roma Water that I had mentioned wanting to try, plus Butterball and Sex Bomb bath bombs, too! I am truly spoiled from my Lush friends. Actually, this might explain my Lush addiction/obsession. That, and cold weather makes me want to take all the baths.
What were some of your splurges this month? Did you find any good post-holiday deals?