Samantha Jane and I are collaborating on a video today – here’s our take on Palette BINGO! Be sure to check out her video here.
Category Archives: Makeup
essence Sheer & Shine Lipsticks – Full Collection (Review & Swatches)
essence recently revealed their Spring/Summer 2016 to Canada and I was excited to see that a lot of their regular lineup of products has changed/been added to. At the last few events I’ve been to, I’ve seen a lot of the same similar items being repromoted, so it was really nice to see something totally new.
One of those totally new products are the Sheer & Shine lipsticks. As with many releases, it’s entirely possible that these have been available in Europe long before North America got them, but since they’re new to me, I was pretty excited to try them out!
The essence Sheer & Shine lipsticks have a “super soft formula [that] feels pleasantly light on your lips and provides them with gorgeous, subtle colour with a fantastic shine in the wanna-have shades nude, brown and pink. The translucent cap is the same colour as the lipstick inside so it’s easy to reach for your favorite shade.”
These are definitely a translucent, sheer formula, but some colours will surprise you with just how much colour they deposit.
essence Sheer & Shine Lipstick Swatches
My First Love is a very, very pale pinky-peach.
Cute Nude is a soft pale peach.
BFF is a pinky-red.
Frosted is an incredibly pale pink.
Sparkling Miracle is a magenta pink shot through with glitter.
Be Happy is a candy apple red.
Glamour Queen is a medium pink-brown with glitter.
All About Cupcake is a pale coral. (You can see me wearing it in my St. Patrick’s Day Makeup Tutorial video.)
Candy Love is a pale to medium pink.
Like a Princess is totally unlike the other shades… it’s a freaking stunning hot pink with a hint of magenta and red.
Final Thoughts
When I first looked at these lipsticks, I thought there was no way in hell that they’d be translucent – I mean the bullet is so bright and vibrant! However, true to their name, the essence Sheer & Shine lipsticks impart a translucent veil of colour (for the most part).
I cannot stress enough how incredibly comfortable these are to wear. They’re like a soft balm on the lips – the kind of product you keep re-applying over and over again just because you like the way it feels. Samantha Jane said it best in her recent essence video (and I’m paraphrasing): “These are an excellent purse product where you can grab them on the go to apply”.
For the most part, they have a very sweet, candy-vanilla scent (although it’s not the same as their lipsticks which is a huge blessing for me since I’m not keen on that scent), however, there were a few shades that didn’t have that sweet scent and instead smelled a bit like plastic. It was a bit strange that the scent wasn’t consistent across the range, so if you’re super sensitive to scent, make sure you give the bullet a whiff before you purchase it.
My swatches above are showing fairly true to colour, so you can discern for yourself which shades would most appeal to you, but the shades I’m in love with are Like A Princess (which definitely packs way more colour punch than the rest of the line!), All About Cupcake and Be Happy. (Sidenote: Shades seems to vary by location and country. These are the ones I received so I would assume all of these are available in Canada.)
If you’re looking for an easy-to-wear lip product that’s comfortable, lightweight and feels quite natural – don’t look any further than the Sheer & Shines!
The essence Sheer & Shine lipsticks can be purchased on ulta.com for $2.99 USD each or at Shopper Drug Mart and Superstores in Canada.
The products featured in this review were sent to me for consideration.
Swatch Sunday: Too Faced Peanut Butter and Jelly
My excitement for the Too Faced Peanut Butter and Jelly palette was almost palpable. The original Peanut Butter shade from the Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar palette was one of my absolute favourite shades, so I was over the moon when I discovered that they were making an entire palette based around that eyeshadow!
The palette is so ridiculously adorable I can’t help but fall in love with it.
The shadows do have a sweet scent, although it doesn’t smell like chocolate or peanut butter to me. Maybe slightly nutty? Honestly, it smells like a MAC plushglass to me.
Sadly, the palette is an Ulta exclusive item, which makes it a bit difficult for anyone outside the USA to get on their hands it. Thankfully, I’ve got an amazing friend in Shawna of Spill The Beauty, and she was able to secure me a palette! I’ll have a Challenge Week and a video for this palette coming up shortly, but for now, enjoy the swatches!
Too Faced Peanut Butter and Jelly Swatches
The Too Faced Peanut Butter and Jelly palette can be purchased at ulta.com for $36 USD and although it’s an Ulta exclusive, it looks like you can also buy it on the toofaced.com site for $51 CAD!
VIDEO: Glittery Green St. Patrick’s Day Makeup
My family is partially Irish. I love green. I’m obsessed with clovers. So when St. Patrick’s Day rolls around… you know I’ve got a makeup look planned!
Too Faced Candlelight Warm Glow (Review, Swatches + Giveaway)
I get all kinds of stupid excited for new highlighters – even moreso when a brand expands on a highlighter that they already had in their lineup and creates more colours!
Before I get into it… I mean… hello… just LOOK at that packaging! /sigh
Too Faced has had some version of a “Candelight” powder for as long as I can remember. (To see an older version of it, click here for a favourites post from 2014!) They changed up their Candlelight powder relatively recently and made it a duo that had a light beige shade and a pink shade that could be swirled together for a lovely glow. The intent, of course, is to capture how damn stunning everyone looks by candlelight – “Advanced PHOTOLITE technology refracts light to soften and diffuse the appearance of imperfections for skin that looks more youthful, lifted, and radiant.”
With their Spring 2016 launch, Too Faced came out with a warm toned shade they appropriately named “Warm Glow“. (The other powder is called Rosy Glow – I don’t own it.)
Warm Glow has a pale cream side, and a nice warm pale peach side. And of course, to sucker us even more into loving the product – it has a beautifully embossed chandelier smack dab in the center.
Swatched out, the shades are as you would expect from a highlighter: soft, gentle and luminescent. There are no chunky particles or glitter in this powder – it’s smooth, blendable and creates a beautiful sheen.
On my face… well… it’s stunning. I’ve applied it to the tops of my cheekbones and it *really* illuminates the area!
Even closer up. You can see my pores, but that’s not something that’s ever bothered me. (Sidenote, why do people CARE so much about hiding their pores? Everyone has them!) I love the sheen of Warm Glow and how ethereal I feel when wearing it.
Final Thoughts
Too Faced‘s Candlelight Warm Glow is a freaking must have in my collection of highlighters now as I’ve been reaching for it every other day! While the shade is not especially unique (let’s be real, all highlighters are really quite similar), what is unique is that you get two shades in the single compact, giving you three separate colour options! Personally? I’ll be swirling my brush through both shades so I can get as much impact out of this beautiful product as I can! If you’re looking for a stunning highlighter, you really cannot go wrong with Warm Glow!
Too Faced Candlelight Warm Glow can be purchased on sephora.ca for $38 CAD or on sephora.com for $30 USD.
Giveaway!
I received two of the Too Faced Warm Glow powders and the brand consented to let me give away one of them to you guys!
Giveaway Rules
- This giveaway is open internationally!
- This giveaway starts on March 10, 2016 and runs for one week.
- Please be aware that all entries will be double checked to ensure fairness.
- One winner will win the Too Faced Candlelight Warm Glow Highlighting Powder Duo.
- The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my e-mail. If they fail to respond within that time frame, I will pick another prize winner. (And so on.)
- “Giveaway accounts” will not be considered for this prize. (If you want to know what I mean by that, please click here.)
The product featured in this post was sent to me for consideration.