Category Archives: Makeup
Elizabeth Arden Tropical Escape Colour Collection (Review & Swatches)
Today marks the beginning of summer and the warm, summery makeup collections are in full swing (and the fall sneak peeks are already cropping up… good grief). Elizabeth Arden has released their Tropical Escape collection, so let’s dive right in!
The first item in any summer makeup collection that intrigues me the most is always the bronzer! The FourEver Bronze Bronzing Powder is a combination bronzer, highlighter and blush in one. I have the shade Medium, but there is one other compacy shade that is deeper. I’m glad there’s a deeper shade because this Medium one is very, very pale.
It’s an easy compact to take and go with you if you need something speedy, but you may find that the pigmentation on the blush is a little bit sheer. I liked the overall effect on my face (pictured below), but in general, I do prefer a more pigmented blush. The highlighter is quite pretty, although subtle. When using the bronzer, I preferred the look of all four shades mixed together since that added a bit of bronze, a bit of luminosity and a very faint hint of pink.
The most fun product in this holiday collection was definitely the Sheer Kiss Lip Oils. They come in six different colours, but I have what I’d consider the more traditional summer colours: a juicy red and a peachy coral.
What makes the Sheer Kiss Lip Oils so fun is they’re a squeezy tube surrounded by an acrylic disc! How freaking cool is this? When you press the center of the product, the lip oil comes out the top. I find myself mushing the center of the product for fun when it’s just sitting there on my desk – THAT’S how fun it is!
Although these are billed as a lip oil, they actually have a lot of colour to them. I wouldn’t call them quite a lip gloss either though. More like a sheer but thick lipstick with oil thrown in. Weird mix, right? Overall, the formula is a tad on the streaky side if you apply too much, so definitely don’t goop it on.
Coral Caress is your traditional summery coral-peach shade.
As to be expect, the Rejuvenating Red has that “red popsicle” look on the lips. Very juicy!
I saved my favourite for last! The Dare to Bare Body Bronzing Oil took me by complete surprise – I really had not anticipated loving this at all. It’s not labelled as such, but this is essentially a dry oil packed with glitter.
Don’t worry about it looking incredibly deep in the bottle – once you get it on your skin and blended out, it leaves behind a very faint tint of colour and a little bit of a glittery glow. It’s not so much that people would be overly conscious of the fact that you’re wearing glitter, it’s more of an overall healthy sunkissed glow.
What took me by surprise about the oil was just how good it felt on my skin. I could take or leave the scent (it’s not particularly heavily scented – but it does smell like just regular “oil”), but the way it sank into my skin and actually made the texture feel silky smooth and hydrated was really, REALLY lovely!
Let me know what summer collections you’ve been looking into! And I’m especially curious about summer glittery body oils – do you wear them?
The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.
Swatch Sunday: Too Faced Glitter Bomb
I tried to pass on this palette, I did. But it’s ` and it’s got glitter – I mean, what the hell was I supposed to do? SAY NO? Perish the thought.
So I picked up the Too Faced Glitter Bomb palette courtesy of my lovely Sephora VIB Rouge friend Julie of Swatch and Review (I’m not VIB Rouge and therefore didn’t have access to the early preview launch).
Worth pointing out is that the brightening and intensifying bases are only eyeshadows. They are not creams or sticky bases – if you want to make these glitters stick to your lids, I recommend picking up the Too Faced Glitter Glue which is my failsafe glitter adhesive.
Too Faced Glitter Bomb Swatches
Challenge Week: Cargo You Had Me At Aloha
When I first laid eyes on this palette somewhere on Instagram, I knew I HAD TO HAVE IT! The mix of colours in Cargo‘s You Had Me At Aloha palette was unique and interesting to me. Sure, a turquoise is pretty common for summer palettes, but it was the addition of purples and a bright yellow that really intrigued me. (For swatches, please see my Swatch Sunday post.)
If you’d like to pick up this palette, the only place it seems to be available now is at Kohls for $34 USD (it sold out everywhere else!).
I knew right away I wanted to play with the bright turquoise and the purples, so I combine the two for my first look. Overall, I like the eye look, but I’m not keen on the lips. Next time I’d definitely pair it with a more purple lip colour.
Eyes
- Waikiki through the crease.
- Kai on the lid.
- Lei through the crease.
- Luau on the outer corner.
- Hula on the inner corner.
- Hapuna on the brow bone.
I created the wing with the Physicians Formula Eye Booster and applied tarte‘s Tarteist Lash Paint mascara to my lashes. I lined my lower water line with the MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua XL Liner in the shade M-26 and applied a pair of
tarte Center of Attention lashes.
Face
- Foundation: Charlotte Tilbury Wonder foundation in 4.5
- Bronze: QUO Matte Bronzer in Light Tan
- Blush: QUO Blush Duo in Just Blush
- Highlighter: Stila Heaven’s Hue in Kitten
- Lips: Lise Watier Olivia
I wanted a warm crease (and really, that’s basically the only option in this palette) paired with purple eye.
Eyes
- Waikiki through the crease.
- Shell on the lid.
- Shaka on the outer half of the lid.
- Hula on the inner corner.
- Hapuna on the brow bone.
I applied tarte Tarteist Lash Paint mascara to my lashes.
Face
- Foundation: Charlotte Tilbury Wonder foundation in 4.5
- Bronzer: Too Faced Sweethearts Bronzer in Sweet Tea
- Blush: Kat Von D Shade + Light Blush Piaf and Poe
- Highlighter: Anastasia Beverly Hills Aurora Glow Kit – Lyra
- Lips: Soap & Glory Sexy Motherpucker in Raplumzel
The yellow was really calling to me in this palette and since I hadn’t done any neutrals looks yet, I decided to pair it with the browns.
Eyes
- Waikiki through the crease.
- Kona through the bottom of the crease.
- Hibiscus on the lid.
- Tiki on the outer corner
- Hapuna on the brow bone.
I created the wing with the Physicians Formula Eye Booster and applied tarte‘s Tarteist Lash Paint mascara to my lashes. I also have a pair of Kiss Poise fake lashes on.
Face
- Foundation: Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in 52 Vanilla
- Bronzer: Revlon Bronzed and Chic
- Blush: Can’t remember – sorry!
- Highlighter: tarte Spellbound
- Lips: Revlon Snow Peach
More purples!
Eyes
- Waikiki through the crease.
- Lei on the lid.
- Luau on the outer corner and through the crease.
- Shell on the inner corner.
- Hapuna on the brow bone.
I created the wing with the Physicians Formula Eye Booster and applied tarte Tarteist Lash Paint mascara to my lashes.
Face
- Foundation: Too Faced Born This Way in Porcelain
- Bronzer, Blush & Highlighter: Elizabeth Arden FourEver Bronze Bronzing Powder
- Lips: Elizabeth Arden Sheer Kiss Oil in Coral
By the time I got to this look, I was getting a bit stumped for colour combos outside of the usual neutral shades that most people would play with. I like how it came out overall, but I would’ve not added that extra shade in the crease because I think it muddied the look a little bit.
Eyes
- Waikiki through the crease.
- Island on the lid.
- Kai on the outer half of the lid and through the crease.
- Luau to deepen up the outer corner.
- Hapuna on the brow bone.
I created the wing with the Physicians Formula Eye Booster and applied tarte Tarteist Lash Paint mascara to my lashes. I also have on a pair of House of Lashes lashes, but I can’t remember what kind they are!
Face
- Foundation: Too Faced Born This Way in Porcelain
- Bronzer: QUO Matte Bronzer in Light Tan
- Blush: essence Autumn Peach
- Highlighter: BECCA Champagne Pop
- Lips: Bite Honeycomb
The product featured in this post was sent to me at my request. Post may contain affiliate links.
Swatch Sunday: tarte Tartelette in Bloom
One of the most amazing eyeshadow palette discoveries for me this year has got to be the tarte Tartelette in Bloom!
You almost want to roll your eyes at it because, hello, it’s ANOTHER neutral palette, right?
WRONG! I mean, yes it IS neutral, but holy crap this thing is ten times better than almost all the neutral palettes out on the market. It’s not even a new product, but I’ve only recently started digging my brush into it and I am absolutely in love.
tarte Tartelette in Bloom Swatches
The tarte Tartelette in Bloom palette can be purchased on sephora.ca for $60 CAD and on sephora.com for $46 USD.
The product featured in this post was sent to me for consideration. Post may contain affiliate links.