Use Up 2015 – Update!

June 10, 2015MiscellaneousBoots No7, Bourjois, Hourglass, MAC, Maybelline, RevlonChelle

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In January I rounded up 10 makeup items I wanted to be done with come the end of 2015. Since the month of June marks the halfway point of the year, I wanted to post an update on my progress.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Ethereal – Before and After

Oh my godddddd THIS… THING. I’m not a powder person as I’ve since discovered since purchasing this one. This thing just won’t go DOWN! I use it roughly twice a week to set my foundation (liberally, I might add) and it just won’t go anywhere! I can see a dent in it but I really have no hope in hell of getting through this damn thing this year.

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Beige – Before and After

Well… there’s progress on this Color Tattoo, but not much. In my original post I mentioned that my Color Tattoos are drying out and that I wasn’t sure if this would make it the whole year. It still has some life left in it, but I’ve been having so much fun using my other products that I haven’t really been reaching for this one. This one may very well just get junked at the end of the year.

MAC eyeshadows in Club, Fade, Cork and Print – Before and After

Small progress on these ones!

I’ve managed to wear down Club a whole lot during the winter but I haven’t dipped into it much lately.
Fade, the light blue, got used once for a guest post over on Workaday Beauty, but I noticed the pigmentation was seriously lacking and it was just crumbling to bits. I ended up scraping out the rest of the pan and dumping it. It’s a super old shadow so I think it’s just gone off.
Cork‘s been used a wee bit, but not much. Oddly, I have very little use for browns in my day to day looks.
Same as Cork, Print has been used a bit, but not much. I really need to get cracking on this one!

This gloss is hard to figure out where I stand with it. The gloss is so thick that it sticks to the edges of the tube and never really settles down. I ended up scraping off the side of the tube so I could at least show you some progress… but I really couldn’t say how much is left in there. Maybe 40%? 30%? Hard to tell. However, I’m not that bothered – Revlon’s Papaya is such a lovely shade that it’s fun to wear.

Boots No7 Instant Radiance and two bottles of Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum

Loads of progress here!

Boots No7 Instant Radiance in Cool Vanilla – I LOVE this foundation. It’s my absolute favourite out of all the ones I own, but it’s also coming on three years old so I really need to get this finished up. It’s the perfect match for my “spring into summer” skintone so I’ve only really been able to use it throughout May and June so far this year.
Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum (shades 51 Light Vanilla and 52 Vanilla) – I can no longer pump anything out of 52, so I’m scrapping the sides to use it up. I really don’t want to toss it till I finish it because I love it so much. 51 still has about half and inch left in the bottle but I won’t get to use it again until late fall/winter when I’ve lost most of my summer tan.

That’s it! I’m way behind in a few products and there’s quite a few I really don’t think I’ve got a hope in hell of finishing. That being said, I’m pretty impressed with my foundation usage!

Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadows – Full Expansion Set (Review, Swatches & Giveaway)

June 8, 2015Makeup, Reviews, SwatchesMakeup GeekChelle

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I can fully accept it at this point – if Makeup Geek releases new shadows, I’m pretty much going to run out and buy them immediately. And that’s exactly what happened with the recently released expansion set for the foiled shadows. In fact, I got so excited I accidentally ordered TWO sets! So, while my bank account wasn’t too proud of my whoopsie, one of you guys is going to win a whole set of them!

The initial launch of Makeup Geek’s Foiled Shadows line included a full rainbow of colours. It was a great way to produce a product line that would appeal to everyone since it ranged from your everyday taupe shades to several vibrant fun colours. This time ’round, Makeup Geek was able to flesh out that lineup by offering more variety and nuance in their shade selection. There are still several brights, but there’s also quite a few paler shades that will appeal to the masses.

As I said in my original review, these shadows have a “soft, smooshy texture that’s supposed to give an effect similar to foiling your own eyeshadow onto your eyes” and these are only very minutely different. The pigmentation remains the same, but it feels like the shadows are packed harder into the pans. This was likely due to some breakage problems they were having during shipping, so they started compacting the shades a bit more. It doesn’t generally affect how you apply it to your lids, but you may find you need to wiggle your brush a bit more into the pans to get the amount of product you want.

In general, I find the latest additions to be quite geared towards pastel or pale shades with a lot of them being silver-toned. While the silvery/pastel shades are lovely, what really drew me in are the vibrant purple, orange and yellow shades. These colours are absolutely beautiful on the lids and are a joy to play with. You cannot beat these shadows for blendability and pigmentation – they really are the best on the market.

Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadow Swatches – Expansion Set

Makeup Geek Foiled Shadow in Starry Eyed

Starry Eyed is the first shadow in the group that really made me go “jeebus, what am I going to do with a pale pink?” But it comes off really, REALLY pale – enough so that you can mostly rely on this shade to pair up nicely with any deeper outer corner colour. I’m surprised with how much I like it.

Whimsical is the rose champagne colour of the bunch. I know a lot of people out there are going to love this one since it makes a perfect lid colour.

Makeup Geek Foiled Shadow in Fortune Teller

Fortune Teller is one of my favourites out of the lot. It’s a bright yellow-gold with an orange tinge – just gorgeous. Works amazing for an inner corner highlight shade too.

I originally thought Untamed would be similar to Flamethrower, but this one is a lot more orange whereas Flamethrower is more copper. Orange is one my favourite shades to use, so this was essentially love at first swatch!

High Wire is a silver with a blue edge. If I’m honest, this is the shade I really don’t know what to do with. I overdid myself years ago with MAC’s Electra and I’ve never really gone back to silver shadows since then…

Fantasy is a pale, pastel grass green. Not had the opportunity to use this one yet in a look, but I can imagine putting this on the lid with a navy in the outer corner.

Pegasus as a shade is a light teal. Usually I find shades like this to be low in pigmentation, but there’s completely solid coverage with this one.

Daydreamer is another one of those silvery-toned shades. This is a pale lilac, making it an easy gateway colour for those looking to wear more colour in their looks.

Masquerade is what Caitlin Rose was not – this shade is more pigmented and more saturated. I also see a bit of a reddish edge to the purple which makes it even more amazing.

Charmed is a silver with a green edge. Slightly patina-like.

Here’s a few looks I’ve come up with in the last few weeks using some of these shades:

Wearing Makeup Geek Foiled Shadow in Fortune Teller, Untamed and Masquerade

Wearing Makeup Geek Foiled Shadow in Starry Eyed (inner half of the lid)

Wearing Makeup Geek Foiled Shadow in Untamed (inner half of the lid)

Giveaway

So, because I accidentally bought two sets of foiled shadows, I thought I’d give the second one away to a lucky reader! The winner will win all ten of the newly released Makeup Geek Foiled Shadows Expansion Set.

Details

Open internationally!
Giveaway runs for three weeks starting today until June 29, 2015.
One winner will receive all ten of the recentlyreleased Makeup Geek Foiled Shadows Expansion Set.
Please be aware that all entries will be double checked to ensure fairness.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Swatch Sunday: Wet n Wild Thrift Store Chic

June 7, 2015Makeup, SwatchesWet n WildChelle

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We’re nearing the end of the palettes from the Wet n Wild Silverlake collection – I think I’ve got one left after this one! Today’s swatchfest is of Thrift Store Chic, a decidedly pink-toned palette.

Review: essence Lash Princess Mascara

June 5, 2015Makeup, ReviewsessenceChelle

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At the beginning of May, I was at the ridiculously gorgeous Happily Ever Essence Event at Casa Loma to launch essence‘s Spring/Summer 2015 lineup. We were gifted a generous bag of goodies from that lineup and one of the most intriguing items was the Lash Princess mascara.

It’s hard to resist when something is new and different! And at this stage in the game, it’s fairly hard to get creative with mascaras while still being functional. Lash Princess‘ tube is designed to look like a princess’ dress. The corseting down the back is ridiculously adorable, but it’s actually functional! The whole “dress” is upraised and grippy, which makes it easier to hold the wand while applying it to your lashes. It’s a simple little touch, but a neat one.

The wand is also interesting. The press release describes it as being “cobra-shaped”, and I see it, but I wouldn’t have thought of that unless they’d told me! On first impression, it was just… weird. Interesting, but weird. While the wand may seem oddly shaped, it did hug the curves of my lashes unbelievably well.

Here’s how it looks on my lashes:

Impressive right??! Lash Princess mascara retails for around $4-5 and it totally, and completely, does the job. It built up my lashes, extended them and thickened them. I experience very, VERY minimal flaking throughout an entire day which is excellent since I am very much prone to mascara flakeage.

I’m usually a one coat mascara type woman, but the shot above is with two coats to illustrate what it would look like since the average person does apply two coats of mascara. This is the point where I start to feel it’s more thick than defined, but it’s certainly not causing massive chunks of lashes to stick together which is highly appreciated. (You know… the “I’ve got four whole eyelashes” look?)

And here it is on a fully done up eye. I have blonde lashes, so this is mighty impressive that I even managed to get the roots so dark.

Final Verdict

Lash Princess mascara by essence is a total win. For a four dollar drugstore mascara, you cannot go wrong with this one. It gave me great volume and darkness to my otherwise blonde and rather transparent lashes. Flaking was minimal and the formula holds up throughout the entire day (I’ve worn this over 16 hours without issue). It’s also more of a wet formula, which is also to my liking.

The only slight downside for me is that it’s not a completely soft texture once it’s applied to your lashes – it *will* feel a bit crunchy, but that’s really only if you’re in the habit of touching your eyelashes throughout the day! Aside from that though, this is absolutely worth the pocket change it’ll cost you to pick it up!

The product featured in this review was provided by PR for consideration.

Review: Burberry Lip & Cheek Bloom

June 4, 2015Makeup, Reviews, SwatchesBurberryChelle

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If there’s a company out there that knows how to lure me in purely by their packaging, it’s Burberry. I’ve been lusting over Burberry products for far too long, only recently taking the plunge by picking up their Lip & Cheek Bloom in Poppy.

The Lip & Cheek Blooms are new to Burberry‘s lineup of products I believe. Encased in a solid square jar, these pots comes with 3.5 grams of product that can be used on your lips or cheeks. I bought this with the express purposes of using it as a cream blush, but I’ve discovered it works out well on the lips as well.

First off, I need to mention the packaging, because that’s ultimately what drew me into Burberry‘s beauty line. It has that solid, chunky feel to it while still appearing elegant. The weight of the product lets you know that it means business (and that it wasn’t cheap either) and it definitely won’t break if you happen to drop it (which I actually did – oops!). The simple Burberry pattern, a typical gun-metal grey speaks to elegance and beauty.

So in the name of elegance and all things beauty, I went out and bought… the brightest shade they had available at the counter. Burberry‘s Lip & Cheek Bloom in Poppy (No. 09)drew me in by the sheer power of its colour. I mean look at it! That is one hell of a stunner.

Burberry Lip & Cheek Bloom in Poppy – Swatch

I know most people shy away from vivid colours because they’re worried it’ll be overpowering on their face, but I’m here to urge you to not be scared! The soft, velvet-like texture of the cream lends itself to being blended out without causing any harsh lines. On my cheeks, this will last an entire workday and still keep on ticking. You also don’t need a lot of product so I have little doubt that this product will last me an eternity before I even make a dent in it.

Burberry Lip & Cheek Bloom in Poopy – on my lips and cheeks

Here’s how it looks on me. I’m not wearing any bronzer or highlighter, so you can really see how the product comes across on the skin. On the cheeks, this is two thin layers of product applied with a small stippling brush. You can really get an impact of colour that way (which is how I like it), or you could opt for one layer and make it more of a lighter flush.

While I prefer it on the cheeks, it does also work on the lips. It reacts more like a matte stain when applied to my lips. It’s not something I would wear frequently on my lips, but it’ll do if I want to pat on some colour quickly. As a bonus, this product has zero scent that I can detect!

Final Verdict

At $36, Burberry‘s Lip & Cheek Bloom is undoubtedly a pricey product. It doubles as a lip and cheek product, so for those who are interested in more bang for your buck, this is a viable option. However, I was most interested in trying out what Burberry Beauty had to offer – regardless of the price tag – and this product definitely delivered. I’ve applied this many times before work and come home to find it still solidly intact on my cheeks. The lasting power is on parr with what I would expect from a price point like this which is very encouraging. I’m not sure if I’ll go out and purchase another one of these shades (although I also noticed a *stunning* tangerine colour…), but it has definitely piqued my interest in Burberry makeup as a whole and I’m eager to try out more from the line. I think I’ll give the eyeshadows a try next…