Pretty In Bronze

It's been a while since I reviewed the Essence Colour Correcting Liquid Concealers, but I've been trying out so many different products and have a bunch of reviews in the works. Now I can confidently say that I've put the also affordable stick version to the test to fully know my opinions on them. I received all of these for free, but that won't stop me from honestly reviewing them. Let's get started.

Hello!

I originally wasn’t planning on writing on my blog about our experience purchasing my engagement ring (we were only going to leave website reviews), but so much has happened that I’ve never read about that I wanted to provide the information I wish I had before starting this journey. Prepare yourself for a very long post.

James Allen is pretty famous for engagement rings. They offer a huge selection of rings of all metal types (including rose gold) and even offer customization and men’s rings. We went with them because we wanted to provide our own stone since we wanted a moissanite instead of a diamond. In mid 2018, one of my friends got engaged, and her now husband used James Allen for the ring, and provided his own diamond. They had nothing but great things to say, so we really dove into our research on the company. Most of the reviews were extremely positive, but what made us decide to go with James Allen is their warranty, free shipping to Canada, and most importantly; the ability for us to provide our own stone.

x

The first time we contacted James Allen was to confirm if they would work with a moissanite for my engagement ring. Their website mentioned other stones, like sapphire (which is lower on the Mohs hardness scale), but not moissanite. We used their live chat and they told us that there would be no problem since it’s the second hardest stone next to a diamond. We were ecstatic to hear this. I mentioned in the live chat that we lived in Canada, and they confirmed that shipping would be free without a problem, and that they could email me a shipping label as soon as we had the stone to start the order process. My Moissanite Engagement Ring blog post is now up, and it includes our thoughts on buying a loose moissanite stone from Fire & Brilliance. After the stone arrived, we immediately started the order with James Allen.

The second we had the moissanite, we started up a live chat with James Allen, informing them that we wanted to purchase an engagement ring. We had planned on waiting for a sale in October, but they happened to have a sale that same day that was supposed to last 24 hours only, so we jumped on it (only to learn that it had been extended for an additional two days). We provided all of our information, but when it came to providing our own stone, we were told that we could not ship it from within Canada. This was not mentioned to us before, nor is it anywhere on their website. We had looked this up in the past, but I guess all of the reviews were by Americans. I asked my friend, but it turns out her husband’s company shipped the diamond for him inside of the US. Ok. No big deal. We live less than two hours away from the border, so we decided we’d make a trip.

The shipping label was supposed to cost us $30 USD, but the customer service agent I dealt with that night quoted us $50 USD, which is insane since two previous agents told us it was $30, including what the website says. The agent was pretty rude overall in their responses. After deciding to ship it ourselves with our own insurance (ended up costing under $30 CAD so we saved big time there), we started the order process. There were several difficulties on the agents end (like spelling my name wrong, even though it was typed right in front of them), but finally after several tries the information was correct. We were then told that they couldn’t ship our ring to Canada once the ring was completed because we had provided our own stone. What? This was news to us. We knew for a fact that my friend’s engagement ring was shipped directly to her mother-in-law’s house in Canada, with their customer provided stone and also from the first agent we spoke to. The agent told us that we must have been lied to, and given incorrect information by previous agents, but that it could not be done, nor had it ever been done before.

We had to sign up for a mail forwarding service that would receive our ring in the US after it was complete, and we would then have to pay for additional shipping and insurance from that service to us. The agent confirmed that this would be fine so I provided my payment information. We were told that we would receive our information package (shipping address, instructions, etc.) in under 24 hours once the payment was confirmed, which was perfect since that would mean we’d have the details by Friday evening, and we’d be driving to the US Saturday morning.

Guess what never showed up? I was frantic, so I started another live chat to inquire about what was happening. It turns out that the rude customer service agent (I swear they had it out for me) never processed my order. They simply ended to conversation, and did nothing. The new agent confirmed that the old agent did not do what they were supposed to, and processed my order. I immediately was charged on my credit card (it was on pending) so I knew it had gone through this time. They assured me that someone would be in Saturday morning at 4 or 5 AM EST to send me my shipping information since I told them that I would cancel my order with them if I didn’t have my info by 9AM when we were leaving for the border. They also reminded me that because I live in Canada, that my ring could not be shipped to me directly, so I explained the mail forwarding service we were going to use. No problem again. The next morning I woke up to the email so we printed the information out and set off to the United States.

Sending the ring off was easy (USPS customer service in Lewiston, NY was great!). The only issue was that it arrived a few days late due to the hurricane. When it was finally marked as delivered, I immediately started a live chat with James Allen to inquire about the next steps.

James Allen confirmed that my payment was received in full and that the ring was being worked on. Online, the tracker skipped forward to ‘Quality Assurance’ by the end of that day, which means it had been mounted and inspected. The agent said that the moissanite was inspected and all was good, but it was currently being mounted. When I finally received my email a few days later saying that my ring was being worked on, the email said that when the stone arrived in the mail, that it would require my signature. This is an issue because I couldn’t be in Delaware at the mail forwarding company to sign for the stone, so I started yet another live chat.

This live chat individual told me that I could not use a mail forwarding service (even though at least two previous agents said it would be fine). I explained that there was no other way since I live in Canada, and they once again confirmed that the ring could not be sent to Canada. The agent told me to email their customer service, stating that I give my consent to have the ring sent to the mail forwarding service, without my signature, so that’s what I did. At this point I was in full on panic mode. Thankfully, in a few hours I received a response explaining that for that to be possible, I would have to be refunded the price of the ring, and pay again through wire transfer (which makes no sense), but the email also said that for everything to move forward easily, I could change my shipping address to my home address in Canada, and that way I could sign for the ring.

I know what you’re thinking. “But Amy, they told you several times that it was impossible for them to ship your engagement ring directly to Canada because you provided your own stone?” Yes, that was what I was told, and I even had the chat transcripts in my email to prove it. I wasted no time and called James Allen directly (I was given the wrong phone number in the email and had to look it up myself). Thankfully there was no hold time and I was able to speak to someone at James Allen’s head office. I explained the situation, and they assured me that James Allen can 100% ship my engagement ring to Canada for free, without any issue, even with me providing my own stone. The lady asked me to forward her the chat transcripts and even read them out loud, including the part that said “Since you are providing your own stone, the ring can only be delivered to a US address” and was immediately shocked at it. She apologized several times and changed my shipping address right away. She blamed the issue on improper training as the agents I heard the wrong information from were all new, and the original one who said Canada was fine had the proper training. No idea how this misinformation could’ve possibly happened, but I was just happy to save some money by not having to use the mail forwarding service.

The estimated shipping date was October 3rd, over a week away from my ring being in production. I also let the lady on the phone know that the website was displaying my ring as being in the quality assurance phase, when it really was in production, and she fixed that for me as well and was embarrassed that so much incorrect information had been provided to me. After the phone call, I was finally able to relax a bit, and let my friend know. She was shocked because her customer experience was nothing but amazing, however she never used their online chat. So if you buy anything from James Allen, especially if you’re located outside of the US and providing your own stone, do not waste your time with the online chat. Tell them the proper address, make sure you can go to the US to have it shipped, and then call them if you have any issues.

The only other thing that stressed me out is that my payment to James Allen that was once pending disappeared completely off of my online bank statement, and the money had returned like magic. When I checked in to see my ring, James Allen confirmed that payment had been received in full. I stressed out about that quite a bit for almost two weeks, but finally two days before the estimated shipping date the charge returned to my credit card, this time complete.

Even though my estimated shipping date was October 3rd, my ring entered the quality assurance phase on October 2nd and shipped out that same night. I have a theory that they were quick about it since my experience had been negative so far and I urged them to have it to me in Canada before my birthday since at the time we were planning a trip and I thought Steven might have wanted to use that as an opportunity to propose. This was a nice surprise since it meant I’d be receiving it on time for sure. FedEx is amazing and told me that it should be delivered on October 3rd by 5 PM. Of course I’d have to pay taxes upon receiving the stone, or prior, but that’s to be expected. Due to NAFTA, duties were not required (thank God because that would’ve been very expensive). I wasn’t at home when they attempted delivery the first time (nor was anyone else), but the next day thankfully someone was at home and signed the FedEx box. I paid the taxes through the phone the night before so it would be less of a hassle. When I got home that night, the ring was there and even though I wasn’t going to look at it, I made sure Steven had inspected it and verified that everything was looking perfect and nothing was missing.

The first time I saw the completed ring was when Steven proposed! I was super excited and we both cried during the proposal. Once it was over, I couldn’t stop staring at my ring. Despite the terrible customer service from the online chat (The lady on the phone was wonderful at least), whoever had worked on my ring did an amazing job. Their name is actually on one of the cards I received for Quality Assurance so at least I know that information and that they’re great. If you want to learn about the ring, check out this short blog post where I tell you everything about it in case you’re interested in a similar style, the stone, and anything else.

All in all I’m very happy with my completed ring. If the wedding bands from James Allen were in our budget, we’d definitely go with them, but those are above what we’d like to spend. I do still recommend James Allen, but if you live in Canada please know that you can 100% provide your own stone as long as you ship it from within the United States, and that they WILL ship it directly to your house in Canada without any extra costs. If you want to avoid a headache, just call James Allen rather than dealing with their online chat. And if you do deal with an online representative, make sure to ask them for a transcript of your conversation and don’t end the chat until you see it in your email’s inbox.

That’s it for our experience ordering my engagement ring with James Allen! I’ve pasted the review I left on their website below (which they’ve seen and shared the picture of my ring on social media, but not the review of course). I shared the same picture myself so hopefully mine will get more recognition since it links back to this blog!

Review I left on James Allen: We live in Canada and wanted to provide our own stone to go along with one of the James Allen settings. We went over the border to ship it to them (much more affordable to ship it yourself with insurance than pay the company to provide a label), and sent it off. The process was very quick and the ring turned out beautiful and perfect! My issue was the customer service. The 24hr live chat was very inconsistent and provided the wrong information. I was told by several different representatives that the ring could not be shipped back to my Canadian address once completed since I provided my own stone. This is not true! I called James Allen and they assured me that the representatives were wrong, and even read the chat logs out loud and were shocked to see the wrong information. This had us very stressed out because I thought I wouldn't be able to receive my ring, or would have to pay much more and jump through hoops to receive it. Definitely call them if you have questions to make sure you are getting the correct information. I highly recommend the quality of the rings, especially if you are providing your own stone! Also, wait for the 25% off sales since they are frequent.

---

See you soon!

This is my pricier gift guide! It's not all necessarily high end, but some of the products are—in my opinion—too expensive to be considered affordable, especially depending on what they are for. If you haven't seen my Affordable Gift Guide, please go give that a read first and hopefully it will save you some cash this holiday season!

I am a huge believer in investing in your skin. I look way better when I take care of it, and my makeup does as well. This doesn't mean all of your skincare has to be expensive to work. In my Affordable Gift Guide I feature a few brands that are amazing and very affordable. These are just the products that I think are worth their hefty price tag that will work for someone in your life.

Chorus Supernatural Glycolic Facial Peel - I gave this product a full review so check that out first to see if anyone in your life would benefit from this! The link is an affiliate link so I do make money off any purchases using it. Even though I got this for free, I'm so happy with it and the bottle is massive so your $30 is going to go a very long way and show amazing results. Considering other similar products on the market, for the amount you get this is pretty affordable, but since this one item on it's own is $30, I'm considering it high-end!



Dermalogica is a wonderful brand to shop from if you really want to treat someone this holiday season. Check out my review on two of their products that I love to give you a good idea. Especially if the person you're shopping for has dehydrated skin like myself. I'm dreading the day I run out of my goodies because they are ridiculously expensive (I'm talking $50–$100+ range), but when I do I will likely purchase a few with my own money because they're just that good. You can also treat someone to a facial at a Dermalogica location for something extra special that they will be very grateful for!



Dr. Belmeur - When I wrote my review on some of their products it thought they were ok, but now that I've gone back to it I'm realizing just how amazing some of the products are, especially the night cream. They aren't ridiculously priced and work almost as well as Dermalogica products do, but my favourite item is still in the $50 range. It does last a very long time though!



Egyptian Magic All Purpose Cream - This stuff is magical. Here's a review and a post on the different uses this product claims to have. I do update that post as I use this product for different uses to let you know what I've tried and how it worked! This is absolutely amazing and has saved me in so many different situations. I use this almost every day somewhere on my body and recommend this to every person, even those of you with eczema since it has helped me with that as well!

Weleda Nail Care Pen - This is a life saver for anyone who constantly has messed up nails due to biting the skin around them! I gave this a review in a post from almost two years ago and I'm still loving it! Whenever my cuticles and skin around my nails are looking dry (or if I bite it) I use this pen and it patches it all up super quickly. If I put this on at night, I can tell a huge difference by the next morning. I added this to the high-end version because for a nail care pen, paying around $20 seems steep, but I love it and I'm so happy they sent me a backup (I'm still using the first one so I 100% believe it's worth the purchase). This would make a wonderful item to throw into a skincare package for someone who likes that type of thing!

Gift Cards! You seriously can't go wrong with a gift card to Sephora, MAC, Shoppers Drug Mart, or anywhere else that sells makeup! Figure out what the special person in your life enjoys (take note of the brands they talk about) and buy them a gift card to whichever store sells those products. You really can't go wrong with Sephora since they seem to carry the biggest variety of brands in stores and especially online for Canada. I always get a gift card every year (whether it be on Christmas or for my birthday) so a majority of my makeup spending is from my gift money.

Makeup Subscription Boxes - This is a tricky one, but I think it's a great idea if money isn't an issue for you. I've tried both Ipsy and Boxycharm, but there are many other options out there, especially if you don't live in Canada. I'm going to recommend Boxycharm since they are availabe here and I personally loved that the most.  Here's a review from summer of 2017! You can gift a subscription to anyone (one month, three months, a year, etc.) and just have it shipped to their house. This can be expensive, but the bigger the package you sign up for, the cheaper the price is per month. You get a lot of wonderful makeup and beauty products in Boxycharm so I highly recommend!

ESQIDO - Theres so much I love from this brand! You know by now that the Unisyn False Lashes are my favourite lashes ever! They are $22 USD so not crazy, but also not affordable. Their Lash Companion Glue is my favourite glue ever ($10 USD so not bad considering most glues are about that price in Canada) and let's not forget their Gel Eyeliner Pencils that are currently on sale for $12 USD (and yes I consider this high end because most eyeliners I own are about $5 CAD, but ones from Sephora are usually $20+). The first link is an affiliate link, but you can also use my code amys when purchasing from their website to receive a 10% discount on your order!



Kat Von D Shade + Light eyeshadow Palette - If you don't want to give a gift card, but the person you're shopping for loves makeup, especially eyeshadows, I think this palette is a great idea if they don't already own it. This contains pretty much every neutral shade you might need for creating basic eyeshadow looks, and also for throwing other eyeshadows on top that the individual may already own. I know there is a lot of controversy around the brand because of the owner's Anti-Vax beliefs, but I don't stop buying makeup from brands because of things like that because it seems like so many brands that I love end up getting into some big controversy and I'll honestly run out if I base my purchases on that. So if you don't care about the individuals beliefs and just care about good makeup, this palette is a perfect gift idea!

Image from https://www.katvondbeauty.com

I wanted to also give a special shoutout to the Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadow palettes, especially their Modern Renaissance palette, and Too Faced, mainly their Original Chocolate Bar palette.  I love all of these and think a lot of makeup lovers do as well. If a makeup lover in your life doesn't own any of these, definitely pick one up. I don't think they'll be disappointed! I searched 'too faced chocolate' on my own blog to see what pops up and I have it featured in a bunch of posts and videos in case you are curious!

I love my Juicy Couture perfume and even got one for Christmas last year. If someone in your life has been looking at a particular fragrance for a while and you have the money for it, get it. It makes a perfect gift and so many people associate fragrances with events, places and people so they will probably always remember you when they put it on!

So many good brands! My favourite overall hairline is from Saryna Key. Favourite hair oil is the Moroccan Oil Light. Schwarzkopf is amazing too, especially their fiberplex line, and Chorus Supernatural is great for colour treated hair. These brands are all higher end, but I think they're all worth it and even though I have received products from them for free, I have also purchased their products myself (literally every one of the brands) because I just love them that much!




That's it for my higher end gift guide for the holidays this year! I hope this was helpful and at least gave you some ideas for what to get the special people in your life. 

See you soon!

Welcome back! I've decided to do two simple holiday gift guides this year; one affordable guide and one that is a bit more pricey. I want these to be a bit more general so they'd work for at least someone in your life so I want to include a good range. I also wanted to make sure you can get all of these products in Canada. I have reviewed a lot of these products on this blog and YouTube before so I do include a few old photos that aren't as high quality as my most recent posts just so it's not all text. Let's jump right in!

Skincare can sometimes be tricky because many people have allergies and the good stuff tends to be expensive. While a lot of my recommendations are high end, I do have one particular brand that I swear by that is incredibly affordable!

 The Ordinary by Deciem is very affordable while also being very good. Most of their products range between $5 and $20 so you can't go wrong. They pretty much have something for everyone and even have a "No Brainer" set that seems like a great gift idea for someone that is looking to get into skincare, but doesn't know where to start. If you want to know what I love check out my review on my 'top five favourite products' from The Ordinary (also includes a foundation), and also my first ever review on their skincare.

The Dove Men + Care products make wonderful stocking stuffers. They often come in a simple bag as a set for under $15 that makes it easy for travel or if the man (or woman) in your life brings their own supplies to the gym. My fiancé loves getting the sets or individual items from this line in his stocking. I actually use the Sensitive Shield Antiperspirant Stick from this line so you if you're a female or if you know one who sweats a lot like me, definitely check it out! I recommend hitting up Costco because they carry a lot of the products in bulk, but Shoppers Drug Mart and Walmart carry them as well.

I'm just going to throw a few into the same category here and talk about body wash and lotions. These always make nice stocking stuffers so I want to mention a few. My favourite body wash is the Le Petit Marseillais Body Crème, which you can buy online on Amazon. I have a short review blogpost on the body creme so definitely check that out! I also love Weleda body wash and pretty much all of the products I've ever tried from them (even though they are on the higher end of affordable), but I'll include more in this post. This one is also a bit pricey in the affordable realm at above $20, but the Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream is amazing for pretty much anyone and my dermatologists have recommended that brand again and again since it doesn't irritate my eczema.

Excuse this terrible photo from an old blog post!

The fun part! If you pay attention to my blog posts and videos, these brands won't come to you as a chock. If you want to get makeup for someone that is good quality, but won't break the bank, check out Wet n Wild and Essence! These are my two favourite drugstore brands. Wet n Wild has amazing eyeshadows, foundation, brushes and powder products in general while Essence makes some of the best mascaras on the market (including my favourites that I've tried so far), amazing lipsticks, cream products and even nail polish! Most products from both of these brands are under $10 so if you search either brand on my blog you will find lots of reviews to help you choose what to buy. To make the guide easier, my favourite items from Essence are: mascaras, highlighters, nail polishes and matte lipsticks.  My favourite items from Wet n Wild are eyeshadow palette, highlighter, brushes and nail polishes.

I also wanted to give a special shoutout to The Ordinary's serum foundation, Maybelline's Fit Me Concealer, Nyx lip lingerie lipsticks, Physicians Formula's Butter Bronzer, and Milani's baked blush's!

Tools aren't something I think much about since I normally put them in with the makeup category or body care. I've mentioned some of my favourite brushes are from Wet n Wild above, but Real Techniques makes some wonderful brushes and sell brush sets for under $30 that are super easily accessible in Canada. Highly recommend if you know someone who is getting into makeup and doesn't own many brushes. The Real Techniques complexion sponge is also good if a beauty blender is out of the price range.

The Veet Sensitive Precision Beauty Styler was sent to me a few weeks back for consideration so I've been testing it out since then. I love this thing and I think anyone who does their own eyebrows or trims their body hair will as well. It's so handy and easy to use and comes in a travel friendly case. It's under $30 and even comes with a battery (how rare is that?!) and doesn't only need to be used on women. Steven played around with it on his sideburns and beard and it worked for that as well. This would be a great stocking stuffer, but might also work as a gift! My only advice is if you're trimming your eyebrows, make sure you don't have them filled in. I got to cocky thinking I had more eyebrow hairs than I actually do and went with the shortest setting. I didn't realize it was too short until I took my makeup off and looked crazy so definitely have no makeup on or don't be like me and think you've been gifted by the eyebrow gods when the truth is you just have an average amount of hair there.

2018 has been the first year since I was three years old where I haven't bit all of my nails off. Truth is, I knew I'd be getting engaged soon and wanted to have nice looking nails to match the nice ring (I know it sounds shallow) BUT IT WORKED! Now I have normal looking nails and take care of them way better, so I have actual products to tell you about.

For nail care, unfortunately my favourite product is high end so I won't be including it in this post. Instead I'll recommend keeping your hands moisturized. I love the Weleda Almond Soothing Hand Cream for really moisturizing my hands and it smells really nice too so I think anyone would love it!

For nail polish I highly recommend Wet n Wild's one step gel polish line, any of the Essence nail polishes. Super affordable and amazing quality!

This one is easy. Dry shampoo! My favourite is the Batiste dry shampoo because you can often find them on sale for $8 for the regular size or $12 for the large size (at Winners or Marshalls). You can also find bundle packs at Costco that makes it very affordable. I personally go through a lot of dry shampoo so if you know anyone that uses it, they will be very grateful for some more.