Category Archives: Makeup
Laura Geller Baked Gelato Vivid Swirl Blush in Guava (Review + Swatches)
Once you’ve been in the beauty world for a while, you start to get a little bit jaded. The variety of colours start to blur together, so then companies try to impress you with new packaging. When that doesn’t work, they try to emboss their products (and so far that packaging technique is working extremely well!). So when a product makes me gasp in excitement, you know it’s got something going for it.
I mean… do I even really need to say much about this blush? The Laura Geller Baked Gelato Vivid Swirl Blush in Guava (there’s a name and a half) is just so damn beautiful to look at. The colour. The pattern. The shape. Gah. (Although Ulta’s web site did a dang good job of making this shade look seriously unimpressive. Seriously, go here and click on Guava. Like wtf is that shade??)
And then you swatch it and it’s everything I hoped and dreamed for, and really, what more could you ask for in the most beautiful blush ever created? /swoon
No word of a lie, I get even more excited every time I put this on my cheeks. I used it in my Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons tutorial and I mentioned it again in my March Favourites. And now I’ve got this post on it. Is it overkill for a single blush? I sure as hell don’t think so!
For those of you wanting more than just an ode to a stunning blush, here are the basics: this wears all work day on me (7:30 am to 5 pm), the colour is luminescent and pigmented. It’s also easy to blend, which makes me love it all the more. My next time at Ulta, I am definitely picking up Plumberry (and again, don’t let Ulta’s web site fool you, the shade is nothing like that one either!) because I am so not over this formula any time soon!
The Laura Geller Baked Gelato Vivid Swirl Blushes can be purchased on Ulta.com for $26 USD each (and you should really, REALLY go get one!).
Swatch Sunday: BH Cosmetics Galaxy Chic
A lovely beauty blogging friend (see her stuff here!) decided to unload this gorgeous palette on me! It was one I had always looked at but hadn’t gotten around to buying just yet. Behold, the freaking stunning BH Cosmetics Galaxy Chic 18-pan palette!
The shadows are all baked, so you can use them wet and dry!
BH Cosmetic Galaxy Chic Swatches
BECCA Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation (Review & Swatches)
Brand new products from BECCA aways fill me with excitement (currently itching to get my hands on the new blushes, but they haven’t been in a store near me yet!!) and the Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation was no different!
BECCA‘s Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation claims it is “a light, buildable, liquid foundation that imparts subtle luminosity with a weightless feel”. It comes in a beautiful frosted glass bottle with a metal lid. It’s compact and sleek – all things I love!
The foundation is dispensed by a dropper type system. When you twist the lid off the foundation, the top pops up and helps you pump out product into the dropper. When you close the bottle up, the popped top then closes down to make it flush with the rest of the cap. It’s actually a really neat system.
The dropper is as one would expect, although I would say that with a full bottle of foundation, I really only ever manage to get the dropper half full. I usually need about two of these to cover my full face. Side note: this is a VERY liquid foundation, make sure you shake the bottle up very well before using it!
When the Aqua Luminous Perfecting foundation first launched, there wasn’t a ton of shades, so I opted to try out Fair and Light. I thought that Fair would be a bit too pale for me, but that actually turned out to be totally incorrect. They’ve since added more shades to their range and I think Porcelain would be a better match for my winter skintone. (They’ve also added more dark shades as well!)
You can see Fair and Light swatched above. They are significantly darker than I was expecting for shades with that name and they do lean quite warm. And yet… I don’t know what it is about my face… because somehow it oddly all manages to balance out:
I really wasn’t expecting Fair to be the colour match that it ended up being, but it works well on my skin! You can also see just how radiant it makes my skin too! That is some fairly ethereal glow going on there!
I do have a few thoughts on this foundation though, so bear with me.
The Bad
- I find this applies a little bit strangely to my skin. I’ve mentioned in the past that my nose has problems getting foundation to adhere to it, and I found this foundation kind of balled up and stuck to dry patches around my nose. Very strange. It also sunk into the lines on my forehead.
- The foundation range was really small when BECCA first launched them, but in the month or so I’ve been wearing this foundation to test it out, they’ve actually added more shades to their range. I still think the foundation range is too small (there’s about 10 shades), but they ARE working to adding more which is a bonus.
- This isn’t a long wearing foundation (nor does it claim to be) and those with oily skin may struggle with the luminosity inherent in this foundation making them look a bit greasy.
The Good
- I was told repeatedly that I had amazing looking skin when I wore this. (You can see me wearing this foundation in my IMATS New York Haul and my Ombre Rouge Makeup Tutorial.)
- The foundation looks “healthy”. I know that’s a strange description, but there’s a glowing luminosity to it that can only be described as “healthy”.
- It does feel like a lightweight foundation on the skin (as they described) so I was really glad that that claim was totally accurate.
- The colour match, although it looked strange in the swatch, actually worked out a lot better than I thought it would. (So if you’re nervous about colour matching, definitely get a sample from Sephora and try it out first!)
- I would say this is medium to full coverage with a single application. I was impressed and surprised how much it covered up my freckles!
Final Thoughts
I think this is a foundation you’re going to have to decide for yourself if you’re going to love it based on what I said above. I was astonished with just how many people commented on the appearance of my skin while I was wearing it though! If you’ve tried this foundation, I would love to hear what you thought about it!
The BECCA Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation can be purchased on sephora.ca for $53 CAD or on sephora.com for $44 USD.
The product featured in this review was sent to me for review.
What’s On My Face – Volume 46
More looks! A few of these are looks from some videos I’ve done, there’s a guest post in there, etc.
This is my FAVOURITE makeup look. I wear it every year on my birthday because the colours are exactly what I love about makeup! This was early days for a makeup tutorial on my channel, but the video can be found here.
Eyes
- Makeup Geek Creme Brulee
- Inglot AMC Shine 15
- Inglot Matte 382
- MAC Blanc Type
On my lower lash line, I applied a little of Too Faced Glitter Glue and then tapped on Lit Cosmetics California Soul glitter on top.
To create the wing I used MAC‘s Blacktrack fluidline and coated my lashes with Make Up For Ever‘s Smoky Stretch mascara. I added some House of Lashes Noir Fairy false lashes in black.
Face
- Primer: Smashbox Photofinish Primer
- Foundation: Revlon Colorstay in 200 Nude
- Bronzer: Revlon Photoready bronzer in Bronzed & Chic
- Blush: Bobbi Brown Apricot blush
- Highlighter: BECCA Champagne Pop
- Lips: Benefit Coralista plushgloss
I didn’t really have a theme for this look, other than that I wanted to use white liquid liner in some way. No video tutorial, but I wore it in an Empties video!
Eyes
- Makeup Geek Shore Thing
- Makeup Geek Shark Bait
- Makeup Geek Sugar Rush
- Makeup Geek Vanilla Bean
I created the wing with Kat Von D‘s Ink Liner in Neruda and coated my lashes with Laura Geller Glam Lash mascara.
Face
- Foundation: Revlon Colorstay in 200 Nude and 150 Buff mixed together
- Bronzer: Joe Fresh Sand
- Blush: Illamasqua Hussy
- Highlighter: BECCA Pearl Pressed
- Lips: Annabelle Big Show Lip Lacquer in Adore Simply
This one is kind of sad because I didn’t write down exactly what shadows I use from the Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix palette but it was the more orangey shades. I also used Makeup Geek‘s Prism on the inner corner and applied Laura Geller Glam Lash mascara to my lashes. For lips, I’m wearing Catrice Feeling Feline.
This look was one I loved creating for Ivory Avenue a few months ago. The stipulation was GREEN. And green I did!
Eyes
I first covered my lid with NYX’s Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk, patted it out, then:
- MAC Cork at the top of the crease.
- Urban Decay Freak all over the lid.
- Urban Decay Fringe on the outer half of the lid.
- Urban Decay Thrash on the inner corner.
- Urban Decay Chaos along the lower lash line.
- MAC Blanc Type on the brow bone.
I created the wing with Make Up For Ever’s Ink Liner and tightlined both water lines with Marc Jacobs’ Highliner Gel Crayon in Blacquer. I applied Make Up For Ever Smoky Stretch mascara to my lashes and popped on a pair of House of Lashes Noir Fairy falsies.
Face
- Foundation: Make Up For Ever UltraHD in Y225
- Bronzer: Joe Fresh Sand
- Blush: Hourglass Incandescent Electra
- Highlighter: Becca Champagne Pop
- Lips: Wet n Wild 903C with NYX’s Butter Gloss in Tiramisu on top
This look was for a St. Patrick’s Day video tutorial!
Eyes
I first used NYX‘s Eyeshadow Pencil in Black Bean as a base, then (and shoot, I really messed up the numbers for this): MAC Cork through the crease (where 4 is), then MAC Print all over the lid (marked by 2). I added Naked Cosmetics IV-05 to the inner corner (3) and then popped some glitter glue on the center of my lid (1) and patted Lit Cosmetics Mary Jane glitter on top. MAC Blanc Type (unmarked) is on my brow bone.
Added the same glitter to my lower lash line, lined my water line with Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Crayon in Blaquer and created a wing with Kat Von D‘s Tattoo Liner in Trooper. I applied Laura Geller Glam Lash mascara to my lashes and then popped on a pair of Noir Fairy lashes by House of Lashes.
Face
- Primer: Make Up For Ever Step 1 Hydrating Primer
- Foundation: Maybelline Dream Velvet foundation in 10 Porcelain Ivory
- Bronzer: The Body Shop Honey Bronzer in 01 Light Matte
- Blush: BECCA Beach Tint Shimmer Souffle in Guava/Moonstone
- Highlighter: MAC Whisper of Gilt
- Lips: essence Sheer & Shine lipstick in All About Cupcake