Category Archives: Makeup

Five Lip Colours To Try This Fall

201609_5lipcolourstotry1

It’s finally autumn (YAYYYY!), which means it’s time to bust out some deeper, darker and more intense lip shades. I know you might be anxious about trying something new, but I wanted to introduce you to some shades that I’ve found to be quite flattering, although they may not be the first shade you’d gravitate towards.

Try something new this season!
Try something new this season!

I’ve found myself gravitating towards these shades in the last few weeks and I wanted to share them because they’re kind of off the wall colours. I know a lot of people are going to think some of them are unwearable, but hopefully I can change your mind!

Too Faced La Creme in Berry Naughty
Too Faced La Creme in Berry Naughty

Try a purple without going completely down the rabbit hole: Too Faced‘s La Creme lipstick in Berry Naughty looks dark AF in the tube, but it comes out a glossy purple-pink that has a slight sheerness to it that makes it more wearable. The La Creme formula is also incredibly comfortable to wear and it smells like sweet lemons!

Too Faced Melted Matte in Evil Twin
Too Faced Melted Matte in Evil Twin

Although it may look like a straight black lip, Too Faced‘s Melted Matte in Evil Twin has a purple edge to it that helps make it slightly more wearable without looking too “witchy” (which I usually feel is more blue-toned). This is my boldest suggestion in this entire post, but I know there’s a few people out there who are intrigued by wearing a blackish lip! Since this product is a liquid lipstick, you won’t have to worry about it bleeding outside your lip line, and for me, that’s INCREDIBLY important if I’m going to be wearing a colour as deep and dark as this one.

Gosh Cosmetics Matt Cinnamon
Gosh Cosmetics Matt Cinnamon

Probably the most tame colour in this roundup, Gosh CosmeticsMatt Cinnamon is a gorgeous balance of brown and pink. It’s boring as hell to look at in the tube, but the comfort of this lipstick alongside the colour make this an absolute beauty to wear. (I only recently tried this one out in a GOSH Haull + First Impressions video and I’ve been wearing it ever since!)

Wet n Wild Stoplight Red
Wet n Wild Stoplight Red

It’s really, REALLY hard to beat Wet n Wild‘s price tag on their Megalast lipsticks. They’re around $2 and they deliver incredible colour and pigmentation. If you’re not keen on trying out a black lip but still want to wear something vibrant, go for a red (this particular one is Stoplight Red) as we head into the holiday season.

Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick in Chill Zone
Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick in Chill Zone

Never in my life did I think I would need a grey lipstick… until I tried on the Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick in Chill Zone. It might take some getting used to, but I found myself rather in love with wearing a grey lip – there’s something that feels really, really badass about wearing this colour! (If you want to see it in action, you can check out my essence F/W haul.)

201609_5lipcolourstotry_swatches

Looking at the swatches all together, the lipsticks I chose are a really, really weird mix. However, they’re definitely the shades I’ve been drawn to as of late. If you’re ever worried about wearing a “different” colour, whether it’s dark or vibrant, just remember that half the battle is getting used to seeing yourself in that shade. So buy the product, try it on at home and then just carry on as you normally would. Every now and then you’ll catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and you’ll eventually get used to seeing yourself wearing that colour. Once you’ve gotten over that hump, the next step is to wear it in public. And just remember – a strong smile works wonders at portraying confidence in how you look. 🙂

Let me know what colours you’re into this fall and if you’d wear any of the ones I mentioned in this post!

Swatch Sunday: Mary Kay Runway Bold Eye Color Palette

Mary Kay - Runway Bold Eye Color Palette

As part of their fall launch, Mary Kay released this Runway Bold Eye Color Palette in Rock The Runway ($26 CAD. This palette is more like an addon to your collection as you may struggle to make a cohesive eye look with it without going overboard with all of the shimmer.

Mary Kay - Runway Bold Eye Color Palette
Mary Kay – Runway Bold Eye Color Palette

Mary Kay Runway Bold Eye Color Palette in Rock The Runway Swatches

Shade 1
Shade 1
Shade 2
Shade 2
Shade 3
Shade 3
Shade 4
Shade 4
Shade 5
Shade 5
The product featured in this post was sent to me for consideration.

Esqido Lashes Review (Lashlorette & Lash Named Desire)

Esqido Lashes

I think my very first introduction to Esqido lashes was by Tati (aka Glam Life Guru) who raved about their soft fluttery lashes on YouTube yearrs ago. While I had seen the brand at several IMATS of years gone by, I had never delved into the brand personally…. Until now! Esqido is now selling their lashes at Holt Renfrew in Canada and they’re a heck of a lot more accessible to me that way!

A few weeks back they invited a bunch of bloggers to their different retail locations across the country to try on some lashes and take them home – I was allll in for that. I wear a lot of fake lashes in my videos and for going out so I’m always happy to try out a new pair and see how they compare to my beloved House of Lashes!

For a little background, Esqido lashes are professional grade mink lashes (which, to my understanding, involves combing the mink for their hairs). They feature a cotton band which is something completely new to me – all my previous lash bands have been made out of some kind of plastic. The lashes are re-usable (as all lashes are) and the web site says “up to 25 times” for re-wear.

Esqido "Lashlorette"
Esqido “Lashlorette”

The pair they tried on me at Holt Renfrew are the Lashlorette pair (pictured above). They were cut to fit my eye shape, hence why they’re a little bit janky looking since I took them home with me. The Lashlorette are considered one of their medium volume lashes (3 out of 5). What I liked about these is that they are flared the whole way around the lash which is something I’ve never really tried before (I usually opt for a bit more of a taper towards the inner corner of my eye). I did notice a wee bit of tickling on my inner corner, but that’s bound to happen without a taper.

I’m wearing the Lashlorette pair above and I love how fluffy and voluminous it makes my lashes look.

Esqido "Lash Named Desire"
Esqido “Lash Named Desire”

The other pair I got to take home with me with are the Lash Named Desire. These are considered 4/5 for volume and have a more tapered inner corner and voluminous outer corner.

Wearing Lash Named Desire
Wearing Lash Named Desire

Although I liked the Lashlorette, I found myself far more impressed with the look of Lash Named Desire on me. I found it suited my eye shape a lot more and added just the right amount of drama.

Wearing Lash Named Desire
Wearing Lash Named Desire

Close up, you can see that the lashes blend in completely with my own lashes. Honestly, up close, the effect looks incredibly subtle to me which is impressive given how dramatic they look from far away.

Overall Thoughts

Although I’ve only worn the Esqido eyelashes a handful of times (there was zero chance I was going to be able to get 25 uses out of a pair of lashes before needing to review them!), I am EXTREMELY impressed with how these wear. The band of the lashes is black, which made me a bit nervous since I tend to prefer a clear band, but I found that the black band really helped meld into my liquid eyeliner and disguise it without the added need of drawing back over the band with liner. I also discovered that since the band is made out of cotton, these may actually be the most comfortable set of lashes I own. The band was strong enough to support the weight of the lashes, but flexible enough that both sets of lashes conformed to my eye shape without any fuss. Usually when you’re working with a plastic band, even if you warp the band to fit your eye, you still struggle since the plastic doesn’t always want to conform to your eye shape.

So while the cost of Esqido lashes may be a bit up there for some people (they’re around $35 USD a pair), I do think that you’re paying for the added quality and comfort that these lashes can provide you with.

The products featured in this post were given to me for consideration.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kits in Sweets & Moonchild (Review & Swatches)

Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kits in Moonchild and Sweets

This whole whacky coloured highlighter craze is hitting and I am definitely falling rapidly in love with it! For SO LONG we’ve had very general highlighter colours – your basic champagne, pink-white, gold and… that’s about it. There’s not a whole lot of variety amidst that so it’s really, REALLY nice to see something completely unique in that area of makeup.

And Anastasia Beverly Hills delivers when it comes to offbase coloured highlighters. I recently picked up both their Sweets and Moonchild Glow Kits (exclusive to anastasiabeverlyhills.com, sadly) and I’m stupidly excited about these!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Sweets
Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Sweets

The Sweets Glow Kit ($40 USD) features four metallic powder highlighters for intense luminosity. What drew me in to this one were not only the shades (a purple highlighter??) but also the names. That Marshmallow one suckered me right in (any Veronica Mars fans out there?)!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Sweets
Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Sweets

At first I wasn’t sure how the darker colours were going to play out on my skin, but I was more that willing to give them a shot!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Sweets - swatches
Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Sweets – swatches

In swatches, you can see the Butterscotch shade loses a big of its deepness (fine by me), although Taffy looks pretty darn pigmented (more like a blush really). Butterscotch seems to be the only shade with glitter particles actually suspended within the formula. This is worth noting because the other three shades don’t have these glitter particles and I did find that the flecks of glitter ended up in weird spots on my face (I was sporting a glitter moustache for a while).

But really, arm swatches will only show you so much… here’s what they look like on my face. All swatches are on only foundation – I’m not wearing blush or bronzer – and I’ve applied the highlighter as if it was my blush and highlighter in one, and quite heavily at that. I really wanted you to be able to see the colour difference in each shade.

Wearing Marshmallow
Wearing Marshmallow

Marshmallow is a gorgeous white with gold reflect to it. The duochrome of this shade is so, so freaking gorgeous! You can see me apply it to my face in my recent video tutorial.

Wearing Sassy Grape
Wearing Sassy Grape

Sassy Grape is, aptly, a frosty grape. I was stunned with just how much I love this shade as a highlighter and I’ve been wearing it a lot lately. I tend to pair it with a purple blush (Urban Decay Bittersweet, to be specific) and I’m always in awe of just how gorgeous it looks.

Wearing Butterscotch
Wearing Butterscotch

Butterscrotch comes out a bit paler on my skin than I was expecting from the pan – but I’m okay with it because it still makes it wearable on my skin tone. There are flecks of glitter in it which I wasn’t expecting, so just be aware of that when you’re using this shade.

Wearing Taffy
Wearing Taffy

Taffy is definitely the shade I’ve worn the least because it has a lot of pigment to it. I wear this more as my blush and highlighter in one.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Moonchild
Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Moonchild

So after I bought the Sweets Glow Kit… I was kind of sitting there going “I need the other one too”… because you know what… when a product is that awesome, I basically want all of the shades I can get my hand on! So I bought the Moonchild ($40 USD) palette as well!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Moonchild
Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Moonchild

This kit has six shades instead of the usual four, and they’re slightly smaller pans.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Moonchild - swatches
Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Moonchild – swatches

While I appreciate the green and pink highlighter so much in this kit, I do find it veers very, very blue and silver. I wasn’t able to capture Lucky Clover very well with my camera, but rest assured it’s a very lovely green highlighter (something I never, ever thought I would say!).

Wearing Blue Ice
Wearing Blue Ice

Out of the two blue shades, Blue Ice is definitely my favourite. On me, it leaned slightly purple as well.

Wearing Star
Wearing Star

Star was really weird looking when I first put it on, and I’m struggling to think what kind of blush I would pair with it, BUT on its own, once I got used to that silver sheen, it really started to grow on me.

Wearing Purple Horseshoe
Wearing Purple Horseshoe

Sadly, Purple Horsehoe wasn’t as purple as I thought it was going to be (especially given the colour in the pan), so I don’t find it that different from Sassy Grape.

Wearing Pink Heart
Wearing Pink Heart

Pink Heart is STUNNING! It’s a luminous pink highlighter with a hint of a neutral-green base in the pigment (sounds weird, but if you know the MAC eyeshadow Vex, you’ll get the idea).

Wearing Lucky Clover
Wearing Lucky Clover

Lucky Clover is making my heart sing because I have an affinity for green and clovers, so I’m allll about this shade. I’m disappointed with my photography on this shade, I don’t think it comes across as it did in person, which is slightly more green, although not at all unwearable.

Wearing Blue Moon
Wearing Blue Moon

Blue Moon is a blue-silver shade that’s basically a cross between Blue Ice and Star. It’s okay, but again… there’s a lot of blue in this palette.

Overall Thoughts

Do I even need to say it? I love these Glow Kits so, SO much. The colour are unique and fun to use. They’re vibrant enough that the underlying coloured pigment comes through, but not so over the top that it looks like a big ole streak of eyeshadow used as a highlighter instead.

I find that Moonchild has a lot of similar shades, but the pink and green make up for that for me. I’m so happy that I’m seeing something completely new in the highlighter world – it’s a breath of fresh air, you know? And while the colours may seen a bit out there for some people, because they’re so luminous, you could get away with applying these lightly so that only a hint of colour shows. Of course, if you’re like me and you want others to appreciate your purple highlighter from afar – slather it on and let your highlight gleam!

Giveaway Time!

Now here’s the best part! Anastasia Beverly Hills accidentally sent me TWO packages of the Glow Kit in Sweets, and since they were carted back from the States the lovely Shawna, I sure as heck wasn’t going to send one back to them on my own dime! So I’m hosting a giveaway!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Sweets - giveaway!!!
Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Sweets – giveaway!!!

One winner will receive:

  • Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Sweets

Giveaway Rules

  • This giveaway is open internationally!
  • This giveaway starts on September 19, 2016 and runs for two weeks.
  • Please be aware that all entries will be double checked to ensure fairness.
  • One winner will win the Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in Sweets pictured and described above
  • 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.)

Good luck!

Swatch Sunday: Too Faced Grande Hotel Cafe

Too Faced Grande Hotel Cafe

You guyssssss… Holiday makeup season is upon us and I am NOT complaining! Last year I missed out on purchasing the Too Faced Holiday collections because I felt they were too similar to previous years… and I’ve regretted it ever since.

So this year, I’m doing my best to snag whatever I can from the collection. I received this one from PR, but you can bet your butt I’m going out and getting the other sets shortly! Yes, I’m that much of a Too Faced addict now – I MUST HAVE EVERYTHING!

This year’s collection focuses on Christmas in New York (last year was Christmas in Paris) and the item I’m swatching is the Grande Hotel Cafe set. This set retails for $49 USD/$62 CAD on Sephora’s site.

Too Faced Holiday 2016 Grande Hotel Cafe
Too Faced Holiday 2016 Grande Hotel Cafe

The top lifts off to reveal three palettes and a mini Better Than Sex mascara.

Too Faced Holiday 2016 Grande Hotel Cafe
Too Faced Holiday 2016 Grande Hotel Cafe

The doors swing out and you have easy access to the palettes inside, as well as the beautiful interior design of the set.

Kolme helping me out with my photos!
Kolme helping me out with my photos!
Too Faced Holiday 2016 Grande Hotel Cafe - comes with three different palettes and a mini Better Than Sex mascara!
Too Faced Holiday 2016 Grande Hotel Cafe – comes with three different palettes and a mini Better Than Sex mascara!

The three palettes are what I’ll be swatching today. As I only just received this palette, I haven’t been able to do looks yet, but those will be coming this week to my YouTube channel here’s the direct link!. Each palette is intended to smell like a different holiday drink… however I’d say that it smells more “sweetly” than anything else. They do all smell different, but nothing like their intended scent.

Too Faced Peppermint Mocha Swatches

Too Faced Holiday 2016 - Grand Hotel Cafe - Peppermint Mocha palette
Too Faced Holiday 2016 – Grand Hotel Cafe – Peppermint Mocha palette
Too Faced Holiday 2016 - Grand Hotel Cafe - Peppermint Mocha palette
Too Faced Holiday 2016 – Grand Hotel Cafe – Peppermint Mocha palette
Too Faced - Peppermint Cream
Too Faced – Peppermint Cream
Too Faced - Christmas Blend
Too Faced – Christmas Blend
Too Faced - Peppermint Mocha
Too Faced – Peppermint Mocha
Too Faced - Candy Cane
Too Faced – Candy Cane
Too Faced - Coffee Chip
Too Faced – Coffee Chip
Too Faced - Santa Baby
Too Faced – Santa Baby

Too Faced Eggnog Latte Swatches

Too Faced Holiday 2016 - Grand Hotel Cafe - Eggnog Latte palette
Too Faced Holiday 2016 – Grand Hotel Cafe – Eggnog Latte palette
Too Faced Holiday 2016 - Grand Hotel Cafe - Eggnog Latte palette
Too Faced Holiday 2016 – Grand Hotel Cafe – Eggnog Latte palette
Too Faced - Frosty Nog
Too Faced – Frosty Nog
Too Faced - Eggnog Latte
Too Faced – Eggnog Latte
Too Faced - Iced Coffee
Too Faced – Iced Coffee
Too Faced - Skinny Latte
Too Faced – Skinny Latte
Too Faced - Cold Brew
Too Faced – Cold Brew
Too Faced - Central Perk
Too Faced – Central Perk
Too Faced - Peach Cobbler
Too Faced – Peach Cobbler

Too Faced Gingerbread Cookie Swatches

Too Faced Holiday 2016 - Grand Hotel Cafe - Gingerbread Cookie palette
Too Faced Holiday 2016 – Grand Hotel Cafe – Gingerbread Cookie palette
Too Faced Holiday 2016 - Grand Hotel Cafe - Gingerbread Cookie palette
Too Faced Holiday 2016 – Grand Hotel Cafe – Gingerbread Cookie palette
Too Faced - Ginger Cream
Too Faced – Ginger Cream
Too Faced - Maple Syrup
Too Faced – Maple Syrup
Too Faced - Gingersnap
Too Faced – Gingersnap
Too Faced - Winter Dream
Too Faced – Winter Dream
Too Faced - Cup of Joe
Too Faced – Cup of Joe
Too Faced - Black Coffee
Too Faced – Black Coffee
Too Faced - Gingerbread
Too Faced – Gingerbread

Want to see all three palettes in action? Check out my video that showcases three different looks using this set!

So, are you interested in this set? I’m kind of over the moon about it. You can pick up the Too Faced Grande Hotel Cafe for $49 USD/$62 CAD on Sephora’s site.

The product featured in this post was sent to me for review.