Category Archives: Makeup
Upcoming Holiday Sets: What I’m Lusting Over, Waiting For & Totally Passing On
It’s that time of the year when allll of the holiday sets start being previewed and/or even released! Is anyone else stupid excited for the launches? CUZ I SURE AM! I’ve started amassing a list of items I’m after and a few I’m not going to bother with as of right now. I’m sure there’s a heck of a lot more releases on the horizon, but for now, these are the ones I’ve focused in on.
Lusting Over (aka if I can get my hands on it… I’m buying it)
I’m sure this comes as no surprise to anyone who reads this blog, watches my videos, or even talks to me, but I’m allll about that Too Faced life. Last year I passed on the holiday sets because I felt they were too similar to the previous holidays… and I’ve regretted it ever since. This year I’m going to do my darnedest to pick up:
- Too Faced Melted Matte in Candy Cane (21 USD/$25 CAD): Holy crap do I ever want this one so freaking badly. And it smells like peppermint too! It seems to be a
TooFaced.com exclusive item(nope! It’s at sephora.com now!) and they won’t accept my Canadian credit card to get it shipped within the US and if I get it shipped to Canada, the total cost for this one lipstick (with shipping and duties) is just shy of $50! UGHHHH! But I swear to you… I will find a way to get this in my hot little hands! I hope… :s - Too Faced Grande Hotel Cafe set ($49 USD/$62 CAD): Ohhhhh YES! There are three palettes inside and each one of them smells like a different Starbucks drink (peppermint mocha, gingerbread coffee and eggnog latte!). I’ve found myself appreciating the smell of a good Too Faced palette when I’m putting my makeup on so I’m super excited that these all smell differently!
- Too Faced Merry Macarons set ($39 USD): This is an Ulta exclusive, so it’ll be a bit more of a challenge to get my hands on it but I’ll manage somehow! This one smells like an eggnog latte! Ahhhh, can you tell I’m getting sucked in by all these different scents? Merchandising gimmicks are totally pulling me in!
- MAC Duochrome Highlighters?? I have no idea what these are or when they’re being released but I think I’ll be snatching up all three of them!
Waiting For (aka waiting on that Sephora VIB sale…)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKQyL68BYUw/?taken-by=tartecosmetics&hl=en
- Tarte Amazonian Clay Color Wheel ($44 USD): Okay umm… yeah. If this lasts until the Sephora VIB sale, I kind of figure I’ll pick it up. The price tag is absolutely unbelievable for 10 blushes! I’ve never ever been disappointed in a Tarte blush, so I always want to add more to my collection! The only thing I’m not completely in love with this is the enormous round packaging. How in the hell am I supposed to stack this with my other palettes???
Totally Passing On (aka the Anti-Haul)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ0dEXRBtDd/?taken-by=hourglasscosmetics
- The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Ambient Lighting Edit ($80 USD/$95 CAD): Don’t get me wrong, this thing is all kinds of gorgeousness. And there is some piece of me that really wants it, but I don’t want to fork over the $95 (even if I was getting a discounted percentage off), particularly on an item that has a large amount of face powder in it. Although I love the Ambient Lighting Blushes, the powders are just not for me so I’d feel like this was a bit of a waste of a palette on me (she says while eyeballing her 50+ eyeshadow palettes on the bookshelf beside her…). However, Making Up Ashlee just did an awesome video review of this palette, and I highly recommend you check it out in case you’re interested!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKR-MAVhk5I/?taken-by=katvondbeauty
- Kat Von D Metal Matte palette: There’s no denying the shades in this are gorgeous – they seem to swatch beautifully too. But… I’m not sold. It’s a lot of gem tones in colours I already have a lot of. After the beauty that was last years palette, I kind of figure nothing is ever going to compare!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKOIBs5DfSi/?taken-by=beccacosmetics
- BECCA Blushed Holiday Palette: I would 100% have bought this if I didn’t already own Snapdragon! Ahhhh! WAIT. I also own Songbird in there. Okay never mind, this is a total pass since I already own two of the shades. The third shade is Wisteria (limited edition) and this is definitely a good value for your money… but certainly not for me since I already own two shades!
- Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics ($68 CAD/$54 USD): Like seriously UD? You took HOW MANY YEARS to put out an all matte neutral palette and then you go and fuck it up by putting it in SQUARE PACKAGING? Do you hate us?? This should’ve been released not long after Naked 2 (so you know… every other brand didn’t beat you to your own punchline) AND you should’ve kept it in the rectangular packaging so that it fits with all the other Naked palettes! *shaking my head*
So that’s my round up. I’m sure there’ll be more in there as time passes. For instance, I haven’t even heard a peep up for Urban Decay’s Vice 5 palette so I’m curious to see how that’ll turn out!
Let me know what you’re looking at getting, waiting on a sale, or even outright avoiding in the months leading up to the holidays!
essence mosaic blushes (Review + Swatches)
essence has finally launched their mosaic blushes in Canada! With a $3.99 USD price tag, an embossed pattern with different shades and the ability to purchase online at essencemakeup.com, you’re going to be struggling to not fall head over heels for these guys!
Although Europe has a slightly larger shade selection (four in total), North America will have to do with the two shades we have available to us:
- All You Need Is Pink (the uh… more orange one)
- The Berry Connection (the pink one)
At first swatch, I found that the pink shade was a lot more powdery in texture than I had anticipated. I had to build it up to get the swatches you see above.
I’m not sure if these face swatches above help (since they’re not full face shots), but there you have it. I found that overtop of foundation these blushes performed better (shots above are the blush on my bare skin) because they had something to grip to. On bare skin, these did not perform very well at all.
Overall, I felt the blushes were a little too powdery and not enough pigmented for my own personal taste. It was a bit odd because I wore this occasionally and I thought it looked fine, and then sometimes I wore it and I felt kind of “meh” about it. I prefer essence‘s regular line of blushes (their Silky Touch ones) a lot more in terms of pigmentation and performance, so if I was going to steer you in the direction of a well performing and inexpensive blush, that’s what I’d suggest. These mosaic blushes are pretty to look at, but they just didn’t live up to their beauty I’m afraid!
The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.
Swatch Sunday: Laura Mercier Artist 2013
Although my version of this Laura Mercier palette was part of the 2013 holiday releases, I can happily say that the brand re-released this exact same palette (albeit it in different packaging) about a year later. I’m so, SO happy that they decided to make it a permanent product because this palette is GLORIOUS!
Easily one of my favourite palettes ever, the Laura Mercier Artist palette is full of beautiful neutrals with some purple tones. This was my first introuction to Laura Mercier shadows and as you can see by the dirtiness/used looking quality of my palette, I have loved the heck out of this thing!
Laura Mercier 2013 Artist Palette Swatches
The Laura Mercier Eye Art Artist’s Palette (the new name for this palette!) can be purchased on sephora.ca for $70 CAD and on sephora.com for $55 USD.