Please standby while I MOVE HOSTS

Miscellaneous

grumpycat

So this is me right now. The fucking idiots over at Host Rocket suffered a “catastrophic hardware failure” this morning resulting in “complete data loss”.

AKA my web site is gone.

Totally gone.

SO THAT’S FUCKING AMAZING.

However, thankfully Google Cache is a thing (as my husband has blissfully discovered), and I’m going to start rebuilding all the posts I had on here. This will take a long, painful amount of time but I am totally determined to get everything back up and running. I am totally heartbroken (although less so now that I know my posts are cached somewhere). 🙁

 

Maybelline Define + Fill Duo for Brows (Blonde)

Makeup, Reviews

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As a blonde, I struggle with my barely visible brows. Even worse, I’m a blonde with very little brow hair at all. I don’t overpluck my brows (not even during the 90s when it was fashionable to do so) so it’s not that I got rid of them slowly over time. It’s just that I’ve really only got the first half of my eyebrow and no tail to speak of (pictures shortly!). So I’m always searching for something to use on my brows. Unfortunately, most of those options have been from highend brands (Anastasia) or harder to find brands in Canada (NYX). Sometimes you’re just searching for something cheap, and readily available, you know?

Maybelline BROW Define + Fill Duo in Blonde
Maybelline BROW Define + Fill Duo in Blonde

Maybelline‘s brand new BROW define + fill duo fits that bill on all accounts: it’s at the drugstore and it won’t break your bank (~$10 CAD). (As a note, mine also says BROWsatin on the side of the product, but that’s not written anywhere on the box.)

Maybelline BROW Define + Fill Duo in Blonde
Maybelline BROW Define + Fill Duo in Blonde

One end of the product has your typical brow pencil – it’s larger than the NYX or Anastasia counterparts, but it’s not enormous either. The other end has a foamy tip that picks up shadow from the cap. The intention is that you fill in your brow with the pencil and then follow it up with powder to set it.

Maybelline BROW Define + Fill Duo in Blonde – Swatch
Maybelline BROW Define + Fill Duo in Blonde – Swatch

Colour-wise, the Blonde shade I have actually matches my brows quite well. It leans a bit warm, so I think redheads could get away with wearing this shade as well. Despite the warm tones, it doesn’t make my brows look unnaturally orange, but I know some blonds prefer more of a grey cast to their products. Personally, I flip between the two without noticing much difference on myself.

Naked Brow
Naked Brow

Here’s me with nothing on my brows. You can see that I have about half of a normal brow, but that I’m lacking a tail.

Brow filled in with Maybelline’s Define + Fill Duo – pencil only
Brow filled in with Maybelline’s Define + Fill Duo – pencil only

Here’s my brow with the Maybelline define + fill duo pencil applied to my brow.

Brow filled in with Maybelline’s Define + Fill Duo – pencil + powder
Brow filled in with Maybelline’s Define + Fill Duo – pencil + powder

And finally, with the pencil and powder applied directly to my brow.

Final Thoughts

I feel the pencil part could do with being a tad smaller in diameter. I struggled to fill in the very end of my tail without making it look too blunt. I also think the foam tip of the powder applicator is too big and I couldn’t really use it to fill in the tail of my brow since I have next to no hairs there. However, I’m happy that something labelled for blondes actually works with my colouring! Often companies make products that are flat out too dark for us and make us look rather silly. I like that the pencil dispenses enough product to help build up my brows in a natural way without looking chunky. (The pencil also doesn’t feel as scratchy as the Anastasia Brow Wiz does to me.) The products wears all day and didn’t melt off my face, so total win there!

Those with fuller brows will likely benefit from this more than I can with my half brows. That being said, I do reach for this quite often as I really like the natural look it gives me and the colour tone is perfect.

This review features a press sample sent for consideration.

Swatch Sunday: Wet n Wild – Vinyl Collection

Makeup, Swatches

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At long last, the final six-pan palette from Wet n Wild in the Silverlake collection! This is Vinyl Collection.

Wet n Wild – Vinyl Collection Swatch
Wet n Wild – Vinyl Collection Swatch
Wet n Wild – Vinyl Collection Swatch
Wet n Wild – Vinyl Collection Swatch
Wet n Wild – Vinyl Collection Swatch
Wet n Wild – Vinyl Collection Swatch
Wet n Wild – Vinyl Collection Swatch
Wet n Wild – Vinyl Collection Swatch
Wet n Wild – Vinyl Collection Swatch
Wet n Wild – Vinyl Collection Swatch
Wet n Wild – Vinyl Collection Swatch
Wet n Wild – Vinyl Collection Swatch
Wet n Wild – Vinyl Collection Swatch
Wet n Wild – Vinyl Collection Swatch

 

The Body Shop’s Virgin Mojito

Reviews, Skincare

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Raise a hand if The Body Shop was your first introduction to bath products as a young teen? They sure were for me. I have fantastic memories of picking up soaps and shower gels and thinking I was the absolute coolest person alive because I was buying “adult” products with my baby-sitting money. (Oceanus was my scent back in the day, White Musk was my best friend’s – oh the memories.) Satsuma, to this day – verging on twenty years later, is still a staple of mine.

Good grief is this ever a lot of pre-amble to tell you there’s a new collection out! Say hello to Virgin Mojito (which my friends and I pondered as to why it was called “Virgin Mojito” and not just “Mojito”… we came to the conclusion that The Body Shop didn’t want anyone trying to drink this thinking it was full of alcohol. But I digress.) Virgin Mojito is described as “refreshingly fragranced with a twist of zesty lime and the scent of fresh mint”. I get more lime out of this scent than mint (although there’s definitely still mint in there) which made me a happy camper since I have a penchant for citrus. Virgin Mojito is the kind of scent you want to wear in the summer – it’s not heavy and it doesn’t have that overly perfumed scent to it. It’s a “clean” sort of scent and one that’s easy to wear because it’s not too intense. Put simply, Virgin Mojito is refreshing.

The Body Shop Virgin Mojito – Body Butter and Body Sorbet
The Body Shop Virgin Mojito – Body Butter and Body Sorbet

The products I’m most familiar with in any lineup are the Body Butter and the Body Sorbet. The Body Butter has the usual consistency – it’s thick, moisturizing and feels wonderfully luxurious. The Body Sorbet, which I think less people are familiar with, is the fun one to use. It has a frothy, half-whipped gel-like feeling. It’s more of a lightweight moisturizer which makes it quick and easy to use since it absorbs into the skin quickly. Body Sorbets are total winners in my book.

The Body Shop – Virgin Mojito Body Scrub
The Body Shop – Virgin Mojito Body Scrub

The Body Scrub is new to me. This particular scrub is a gelatinous goo (it’s fun!) that has smaller beads suspended within the goop. This will exfoliate your skin, but it’s not a super intense sandpaper-y feel like some scrubs. I’m a morning shower person (unlike Jenn – if you have no idea what I’m talking about, please go read this post and prepare to laugh) so the scent of Virgin Mojito mixed with a nice scrub in the mornings? Completely energizing.

The Body Shop – Virgin Mojito Body Splash and Shower Gel
The Body Shop – Virgin Mojito Body Splash and Shower Gel

The Body Splash is another new product to me. It’s not overly perfumed, so it won’t last a super long time, but it’s got enough of a kick to it that it’s great for splashing on yourself if you’re headed out to the beach and don’t want to smell like sunscreen. Or after I play soccer and am going to head out for food afterwards.

The Shower Gel is your typical shower gel that lathers easily and scents your skin for a little while after your shower. I’ve used The Body Shop‘s shower gels for about two decades now and they never fail me.

Kolme checking out the new products
Kolme checking out the new products

So if mojitos are your favourite drink, or you like the scent of lime and mint, or you really just need something new to try for the summer, I’d say you can’t go wrong with Virgin Mojito. This scent is limited edition, so once the summer runs out it’ll be gone – snatch it up quick!

This review features press samples sent for consideration.

What’s On My Face – Volume 39

Makeup, Tutorials, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Another makeup roundup! I had a backlog of looks I hadn’t posted yet, some even from early May. I’m surprised I had such a backlog (and there’s still about 7 more looks on my harddrive) because it feels like I haven’t been that inspired lately (aside from Clarins’ Aquatic Treasures collection, holy smokes) but it seems my memory was just rather faulty.

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And we’re starting off with a BANG! This is my absolute favourite of the whole lot. Neon? Orange? Chartreuse? YES PLEASE! I wore this out briefly to a brunch during Pride and loved every second of it.

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Eyes
(using the Makeup Revolution Redemption Acid Brights palette – total knockoff for theSleek Acid palette) I first applied a white base to my lid (NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk), then:

  1. Yellow on the inner half of the lid.
  2. Orange on the outer half of the lid.
  3. Purple shade on the outer corner and on the lower lash line.
  4. Pinky-purple through the crease.
  5. Wet n Wild Brule on the brow bone.

I used MAC‘s Blacktrack fluidline to create the wing and applied Make Up For Ever‘sSmoky Stretch mascara to my lashes.

Rest of the Face

  • Bronzer: Joe Fresh Sand
  • Blush: MAC Ripe Peach
  • Highlighter: Too Faced Candlelight
  • Lips: Too Faced Melted Rainbow

 

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I have a bucket full of makeup that is stuff I have yet to use. Most of it is stuff from swaps, or samples from Sephora (including their 100 point perks), so every now and then I make an effort to go into it and pull out items that I REALLY should at least try before I put away into the depths of my makeup collection. The main star of this look is a L’Oreal Infallible eyeshadow I picked up at a CBB swap.

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Eyes

  1. L’Oreal Infallible shadow in Endless Sea all over the lid.
  2. MAC Sketch on the outer corner and through the crease.
  3. MAC Dazzlelight on the brow bone.

On my lashes is Make Up For Ever Smoky Stretch.

Rest of the Face

  • Foundation: Boots No7 Instant Radiance in Cool Vanilla
  • Bronzer: Hard Candy Hula Hula
  • Blush: Hourglass Incandescent Electra
  • Highlighter: MAC Soft & Gentle
  • Lips: Cailyn lip tint in Basic Instinct

 

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I had always thought this lip colour (Too Faced‘s Bon Bon) was too awkwardly bright for me. That’s not to say that I don’t love bright lip colours, but this seemed to look so weird on my skin when I didn’t have a bit of a tan. I love it so much more now that I’ve got a bit of colour on my skin! Anyway, the basis for this look was that I really wanted to wear MAC‘sPetal Power blush and tried to figure out a look that would work with it. Quite pleased with the results!

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Eyes
(all Makeup Geek)

  1. Peach Smoothie through the crease.
  2. Starry Eyed on the inner half of the lid.
  3. Goddess on the outer half of the lid.
  4. Cocoa Bear in the outer corner.
  5. Rapunzel on the brow bone.

I created the wing with MAC‘s Blacktrack fluidline and applied Make Up For Ever Smoky Stretch to my lashes.

Rest of the Face

  • Foundation: Boots No7 Instant Radiance in Cool Vanilla
  • Powder: Hourglass Ethereal
  • Concealer: Benefit Fake Up in Light
  • Bronzer: Hard Candy Hula Hula
  • Blush: MAC Petal Power
  • Lips: Too Faced Bon Bon

 

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This was another grab from my “use it before you put it away” makeup bucket. These were some Colour Pop eyeshadows I hadn’t touched yet.

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Eyes

  1. MAC Cork through the crease.
  2. Colour Pop Heat on the inner half of the lid.
  3. Colour Pop Animal on the outer half of the lid.

Make Up For Ever Smoky Stretch is on my lashes.

Rest of the Face

  • Bronzer: Hard Candy Hula Hula
  • Cheeks: Burberry Lip & Cheek Bloom in Poppy
  • Highlighter: MAC Whisper of Gilt
  • Lips:  Revlon Papaya

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Having a play around with some Makeup Geek shadows. I like the outer corner colour, but not so sold on the lid shade.

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Eyes
(all Makeup Geek)

  1. Charmed all over the lid.
  2. High Tea on the outer corner and through the crease.
  3. Vanilla Bean on the brow bone.

On my lashes is essence Lash Princess mascara.

Rest of the Face

  • Bronzer: Hard Candy Hula Hula
  • Blush: MAC Sea Me, Hear Me
  • Highlighter: MAC Soft & Gentle
  • Lips: NARS Rikugien