In 2014 I decided I’d try to finish up 14 products I liked, but didn’t love (and had no intentions of repurchasing). The “project” was just a way to move items out of my collection that were good, but not stellar.
So…. I *had* two foundations: The MUA Matte foundation in Shade 1 Soft Sand and theCoverGirl Tone Rehab 2-in-1 (CC Cream) in 110 Classic Ivory. But then, without thinking, I threw out the MUA foundation in disgust because it was turning my face into a greasepit. No thanks. No need for that amount of oil on my face thanks.
CoverGirl Tone Rehab 2-in-1 (CC Cream) in 110 Classic Ivory – FINISHED!
Next was the CoverGirl Tone Rehab 2-in-1 (CC Cream) in 110 Classic Ivory. This was an interesting one. I used it often but never fell in love with it. It was perfectly adequate: it evened out my skin and it always seemed to match me during transition seasons. It was easy to use, but it would occasionally make my face itch. Now, that may just be a by-product of me not enjoying foundation at all, but who knows.
In summary, it’s an inoffensive foundation that did its job but that I wouldn’t repurchase.
And yep, I finished it! This was an eleventh hour product – I got my last squirt out of this bottle on December 30th! I’m happy to pitch a foundation from my collection as they always seem interminable and take up an awful lot of space.
Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm in Natural Mint
Jack Black‘s Intense Therapy Lip Balm in Natural Mint has been a longtime love ofTemptalia, a blog I have read daily for what feels like an eternity. There was an uproar in 2012 when it was discovered that Jack Black hadn’t been publishing all their active ingredients on their products and many people felt they had been mislead by the brand. While I was never truly bothered about the ingredients in my products, I didn’t like the shadiness that Jack Black seemed to exude with their products ingredients. (That link above is an interesting read if you’re curious about the situation.)
ANYWAY. I got a tube, and found it rather bland. It’s not any different than flavoured vaseline and for me it just didn’t do a whole lot. Great for windburn outside during the winter, sure, but anything else? Meh. I finished it up in the first half of 2014 and was happy to see it go!
MAC Strawberry Malt lipglass – 70% finished
MAC‘s Strawberry Malt lipglass was a “had to have” for me when the Archie’s Girls collection came out. However it didn’t work out that great for me: The colour would bleed outside my lip lines and it disappeared faster than most lipglasses I had ever had from MAC. I also found myself going off lipglosses completely in 2014 so it was just time to get rid of this one.
In the end, I didn’t finish it. I used it fairly often, but it wasn’t enough to use up the tube. In the last month or so, the scent of the product has gone off a bit so I’m just going to call it quits and Back 2 MAC the product.
MAC eyeshadows – FINISHED!
I’ve already re-purposed one of the pans, but here are the remanents. I was happy to use up four MAC singles, and I’m soooo happy to put Swish to rest. No one needs a frosty pink eyeshadow in their early thirties…
Physicians Formula Bronzer Booster – DEFINITELY NOT FINISHED! /raaaage
Ughhhh this thing. Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in Light/Medium was supposed to be an easy product to finish. In years gone by, I’ve been able to use up a bronze in about 6-9 months with daily use. This thing went NOWHERE. I used it for probably two months straight at the start of the year and I got so frustrated with seeing so little movement downwards on the pan that I just gave up and switched to something else. I don’t know what the hell this thing is made out of, but good GOD.
And there it is in all its unused glory. You can see the slightest of indentations in the middle of the product, but you never would’ve known I used it for two months without fail. I’m actually so irritated with it, that I don’t reach for it at all anymore. 😐
Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm in Twilight
As Revlon‘s Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm is an opaque product, I really have no progress pictures to show you. I used it consistently throughout 2014 and it eventually dried up/got used up around November. Twilight was a beautiful colour, but I’m kind of over this one.
Revlon Sunset Peach – 90% done – calling it quits
Another lipgloss to move on out of my collection. Revlon‘s Sunset Peach gloss was easy to use in the summer because it seemed to go with everything. The formula is nice, the colour is nice, but I’m just not a lipgloss person anymore. (Plus, I think these are now discontinued.)
It’s mostly done, really. I’m scrapping the sides at this point and I’m over it. That’s been my theme for 2014: So Over Lipgloss.
Revlon Lip Butters – 2 out of 3 finished!
Cherry Tarte was the first one to get finished early on in the year and it was definitely my favourite out of the three of them. I often wore Creamsicle over top of Red Velvet, but in the end I finished up Creamsicle but not Red Velvet. I’m still kicking Red Velvet to the curb though because it’s too slippery for a lip colour for my tastes. (Actually, what I really did was take a Kleenex and smash up the Red Velvet bullet – man was that ever fun!)
And that was it for Use Up 2014. The only thing I’m keeping out of the remaining products that didn’t get finished is the bronzer, all the rest of them have been happily dumped into the garbage! I’m glad I gave these products another year to prove their worth, but a lot of them I just felt like “meh, over it” by the end of the year.
I’ll be doing this again for 2015, but I’m bringing it down to 10 products since 14 felt like too much for me this past year. Anyway else taking part in #useup2015? Or some kind of Project Pan?
At the start of the year I chose 14 items that I liked well enough to use up, but that I wasn’t interested in repurchasing. The goal was (is!) to clean out my collection of items that kind of just sit around because I don’t reach for them daily. Usually when I force myself to use a product over a period of time, I discover new ways to use them. And since I’m a fan of progress updates (there’s a fitness one coming this Friday on how I’m progressing with my fitness goals this year!) I thought I’d give you an idea on how I’m doing with my chosen 14 for the year.
Since I made the mistake of junking one of the products without thinking about it, let’s get to that one first. It was MUA‘s Matte Foundation in Shade 1 Soft Sand. I used to think I liked it – it goes on really smoothly on the skin and the colour match was really good. However… over time it turns my face into a greasepit! I’m not even an especially oily-skinned person either so that was super disappointing. It wasn’t worth finishing so when I got to halfway in the tube, I just chucked the whole thing out. (It was in my previous Empties.)
CoverGirl + Olay CC Cream – Tone Rehab
I’m quite proud of this one actually! CoverGirl & Olay’s Tone Rehab CC Cream foundation was my most used foundation throughout the winter months this year. It was too dark throughout those months so I mixed it with a lighter foundation (Bourjois’ Healthy Mix Gel foundation in 51 Light Vanilla) and it worked out wonderfully. Of course, now it’s too pale for the summer months on my tanned face so I’ll have to wait till the autumn months to wear it again. Interesting to note is that the swirled in Olay cream eventually gets squashed down as the product decreases in the tube.
Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm in Natural Mint
This one is totally dunzo. Jack Black‘s lip balm is really only flavoured vaseline with SPF. I wore it mostly while running at the gym (I get dry lips while running) and it didn’t do a whole heck of a lot. Like any vaseline product though, this was great at protecting my lips from windburn in the freezing winter months when I wore it outdoors.
MAC – Strawberry Malt
MAC‘s limited edition Strawberry Malt lipglass is beautiful… for the first fifteen minutes after application. Over the years I’ve just gone off of lipgloss because it really doesn’t have any kind of decent lasting power, particularly when you work in an office environment and don’t have the luxury of checking your makeup every waking second. My best example of this is that I had put this gloss on shortly before an hour long meeting I had at work, one in which I was expected to speak out loud, but not carry on the entire meeting. I was even complimented on my lip colour when I walked into the meeting! So I spoke a bit throughout that hour, but not extensively. By the end of the hour, all of the gloss was gone from my lips – to the point that the person who had complimented me actually asked “what happened to your red gloss??” at the end of the meeting. That’s just ridiculous. So lately I’ve opted to layer this over top of lipstick so that it at least lasts a little bit longer. I’m a little bit over halfway done with the tube, so it really shouldn’t last that much longer.
MAC Eyeshadows
Finishing up four eyeshadows is actually a bit more of a ballsy thing to do than most people may think. I wasn’t even sure I was going to be able to do it! But when I really started focusing on it, I started plugging through the shadows relatively quickly. Brule was the first one I finished up – I used it primarily as my daylight browbone highlight shade. Next up was Haux which became my go-to lazy day shadow – not something I wore too often, but often enough that I was finally able to finish it up.
As for the ones I haven’t finished… there’s Shroom, which is really close to being done. It’s slightly shiny/shimmery, so while I use it as a browbone highlight, I don’t use it on the daily. The other remaining one is Swish, a frosty pink hell-ish nightmare. I think I’ve used it once this year and I have to say I really, really don’t like this shade. I bought it in my teens and it’s not a shade I’m particularly interested in using in my adult life. The texture of this has also gone very, very soft and crumbly. If I don’t use this up by the end of the year (and I won’t) I’ll just end up chucking it out.
Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in Light/Medium
What a mistake choosing this bronzer was. I have no chance in hell of finishing this guy up. I used it daily for roughly four months straight and the only thing I succeeded in doing was obliterating the sun emblem in the middle of the product. If I look at the pan intensely, I don’t even see a dent in the product. I don’t know what this is made out of, but it might as well be a brick. I became so frustrated with my lack of progress on this product that I ended up moving on to other bronzers that I enjoy using more. One thing’s for sure though, the lack of progress I’ve made on this bronzer has stopped me from buying anymore bronzers completely.
Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm in Twilight
No progress to report on this one. I wear Revlon‘s Twilightlipstain every now and then, but due to the nature of the tube I can’t tell how much is left. It still seems to contain plenty of product though since it’s still very moist when I apply it.
Revlon – Sunset Peach
Awkward and disorienting “Now” shot! Revlon‘s Sunset Peach gloss is about halfway done and should be gone by the end of the summer. It’s an easy summer shade to pop on, so I’ve had a lot of use out of it lately.
Revlon Lip Butters
Yikes, my lip butters need work! Cherry Tarte is done, but Creamsicle and Red Velvet need some serious work done to them.
And of course little Mr. Noms came outside on the balcony to see what I was up to while photographing my products!
Well, I’m a lot less far along on these products than I thought I was going to be halfway through the year, particularly with the lip products. I had expected to plough through the lip products but struggle on the eyeshadows. When in actuality it’s the reverse. And let’s not even talk about that bronzer, I’m totally pissed off at it. *grumble grumble*
Nope, not a La Senza haul, instead this is a product empties post and that big ole La Senza bag just happens to house all of them.
Product Empties
Having never really saved my empty products until I created this blog, I was a bit surprised that I had enough empties for another blog post only three months after my last one. I’m only posting products I’d actually haul – so you’re not going to be seeing shampoos and toothpaste in here.
First up are the actual makeup products, because I know that’s what interests me most when I read these kinds of posts.
CoverGirl Clump Crusher (water resistant) and L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black (waterproof)
These are my two staple mascaras. The CoverGirlClump Crusher mascara is probably my favourite out of the two of them, but even though this is the water resistant formula (a true waterproof one doesn’t actually exist in this formula) is really isn’t water resistant at all. I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating, if you get water near your lashes while wearing this, it will definitely run or smear. That being said, the formula really is fantastic and it’s worth wearing – although I stick to the summer months when my eyes are less likely to tear up.
During the winter, or when I need a truly waterproof mascara, I’ll use L’Oreal‘s Voluminous Carbon Black mascara. I always come back to this formula, but I definitely prefer it when it’s in the “wet-er” stages, which is within the first month of opening a new tube. I’m currently using another tube of the L’Oreal one right now.
The Revlon Lip Butter in Cherry Tart is a beautiful shade on the lips, it goes on smooth and looks rather glossy. The wear time is about average for a balm (~1.5 hours before you need to re-apply) so don’t expect this to be a particularly long lasting product. I’ve used up as much as I can get out of the tube without actually digging into the bottom of the bullet (can’t be bothered really). While it’s lovely on the lips, I’ve also grown rather tired of the maintenance required with non-long-lasting lip colours so while I like the colour, I just don’t have the patience to keep touching up my lip colour every hour or so.
Verdict: Unlikely re-buy
Ardell Lashes – 102 Demi
These Ardell102 Demis are my favourite false lashes to wear and I have certainly worn these to death. I don’t wear false lashes often (once or twice a month, if even) and I believe I got about 8-10 uses out of these. They’re starting to look rather gungy (not to mention they’re also quite old) so it was time to just throw these out and start in on a fresh pair.
Verdict: Definite re-buy – I’ve already got another set waiting in the wings!
Jack Black Lip Balm in Natural Mint
This Jack Black balm was included in my Products I Want To Use Up In 2014 post, and I’m happy to have finished it. You can see remnants in the tube, but I really can’t squeeze anymore of it out. This product was… adequate. I don’t feel it did much for my lips, neither helpful nor destructive, it was just kind of there. It was great for protecting against windburn throughout the winter since its main ingredient is petrolatum. The thing I liked most about this product is that it comes in a squeezy tube, which makes it easy to apply. I’m not a germaphobe at all, and double dipping in my potted lip products really doesn’t bother me from a hygienic point of view, but I reaIly wish more lip products came like this if only because it’s so much easier to apply on the go.
Verdict: Unlikely to purchase again
l-r: Clinique Superprimer Universal Face Primer, Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden, L’Occitane Delicious Hands Almond, Illamasqua Hydra Veil, Laura Mercier Face Polish, Nourish Organic Face Lotion, Laura Mercier Foundation Primer
I know sample size empties are hardly exciting, but sometimes they’re worth mentioning for that first impression.
Clinique Superprimer Universal Face Primer – Won’t buy full size
I used this just for the sake of using it. I didn’t notice it affecting how long my foundation lasted on my skin, but then again I’m not prone to foundation just sliding right off my face in the first place.
Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden – not sure what to think…
I’m not sure what to think about this. I started using this primer right around the time where even my OriginalUDPP started creasing on me (which shocked and frightened me, to be perfectly honest), so my only exposure to Eden is to say that it creased on me. But so did my usual primer at the time. So maybe it was a weird hormonal fluctuation in my skin, but this didn’t work out for me at the time that I used it.
L’Occitane Delicious Hands Almond – won’t buy full size
Smelled like almonds and worked well but it’s pricey and not a scent I’d usually pay a lot of money.
Illamasqua Hydra Veil – possible purchase
My first exposure to a gel moisturizer – this felt SO COOL. When I think of gels (of any kind), I think of alcohol, so I didn’t really understand how the heck this was going to moisturize my skin. This felt really neat on the skin and I *loved* the smell of it. However, at the $48 CAD price point, I’d have to be gifted this because I’m perfectly happy with my Aveeno facial moisturizer and that is way too steep of a price in my books.
Laura Mercier Face Polish – won’t buy full size
This felt cool to use, but it’s not something I really need or want. The granules in the polish are so small that they actually feel kind of soothing as you rub it into your wet skin.
Nourish Organic Face Lotion – will avoid for life
The smell became rather sickening after a while and after this dried down on my face it felt like I had a thin mask over my face that I had to crack just by moving my features around. Unpleasant all around.
Laura Mercier Foundation Primer – won’t buy full size
Just like the Clinique one, I don’t find this foundation primer actually did anything for my makeup. /shrugs
China Glaze – Kiwi Cool-Ada
I used the pants out of this China Glaze shade. Kiwi Cool-Ada was a matte neon polish (use a top coat to get some shine) that just glowed in the daylight. Since the polish went on rather streaky, you usually needed about three coats before it looked perfect.
Verdict: Possible re-buy, but I’d rather use up some of my other polishes first.
Marcelle Gentle Makeup Remover for Sensitive Eyes
MarcelleGentle Makeup Remover for Sensitive Eyes has been my go-to makeup remover for years and years. It’s an oil-based remover (shake before using) which, of course, ensures that it’ll take off any and all waterproof makeup. I find this works just as well as MAC‘s makeup remover (the one in the red/pink tube), if not better, and at almost half the price. Since the Marcelle normally runs around $15, I usually wait for a sale at Shoppers and/or buy it when it’s in the larger bonus size bottle (like the one above – 33% more product). I can’t recommend this enough, I’ve been using this remover for well over six years now and haven’t found anything better.
It’s hard to vocalize just how disgusting these Make-Up Cleansing Tissues from Absolute! are. I saw on the Ipsy forums that someone referred to these as smelling like beer… and they nailed it. In my original Ipsy review, I said that they smelled like some kind of alcoholic fruity drink, and I was kind of close, but also off the mark. These smell like beer that has gone rancid. They don’t smell like pomegranate, that’s for sure. And they don’t even work that well either – removing waterproof mascara was a nightmare and I’m fairly certain I pulled out more lashes than I actually cleaned. (Let it be known that it also said on the packaging that it would remove waterproof mascara.)
Verdict: You couldn’t PAY me to use these again – avoid like the plague
The Body Shop Body Butters – Satsuma & Coconut
The Body Shop Body Butters are legendary – I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard of someone disliking them. They’re thick, moisturizing and these two in particular, Satsuma andCoconut, smell especially fantastic. Satsuma was my favourite one out of these two and I’ve got a backup sitting on a bookshelf behind me.
Verdict: Love these and will definitely repurchase at some point.
Embryolisse – Lait-Creme Concentre
I picked up Embryolisse‘s Lait-Creme Concentre while vacationing in France in 2012 (picked up a few tubes actually, this was my last one) because I’d heard so many people rave about it. And it’s… okay. It’s not especially expensive (under 10 euros I think), which is rather nice, and cheaper, than my usual facial moisturizer. It feels kind of fancy to say you use French skincare that you bought in France… but the reality is that I didn’t notice anything different about my skin after using this cream. It smelled like generic “unfragranced” skincare and goes on smoothly.
Verdict: Will repurchase if I’m in Europe again.
Bath & Body Works – Midnight Pomegranate Body Lotion
This Bath & Body Works lotion in Midnight Pomegranate took me forever to use up. It’s one of the mini bottles, but the scent was so strong that it was actually incredibly overpowering when I used this a few times at the office (just ask my coworkers from several offices over). I was happy to finish this up (and I’m still struggling with the 3-wick candle I have in the same scent, although I have to say the candle is far less powerful than the lotion) but it’s not something I can say I really enjoyed. The lotion is on the thin side and really didn’t seem to do anything other than fragrance my skin.
Verdict: Won’t repurchase
Lindesa – Skin Conditioning Cream
I was given this Lindesa hand cream as a gift and I believe it came from a German Christmas market. The cream seems to contain a substantial amount of beeswax, so it could feel pretty heavy on the hands. The smell was really nice, although mild, and it was a great moisturizer for when my hands were on the drier side.
Verdict: Unlikely re-buy since I have no idea where to even get it!
Sabon – Body Gel Polisher in Lemon Mint
I never see any Sabon products mentioned in the beauty world but I love their products so much. I first discovered them in New York City about seven years ago by accident. They also have a location in Toronto, but it’s nowhere especially close to where I live. Anyway, this Body Gel Polisher is fantastic, it’s a full body exfoliant, but you don’t need a ton of product to get the desired effect. I quite like the Lemon Mint smell, although I’ve been told my others who got a whiff of it that they can’t stand the smell of it – to each their own!
Verdict: Will repurchase when convenient.
Not an especially exciting empties roundup, but I was happy to empty out my bag of garbage!
Last year, before I had this blog, I made a list of products I wanted to finish in 2013. I managed to finish about half of them which isn’t too bad! This year I thought I’d put fourteen products in a bin and do my best to use them up. The intent behind these products is that I won’t actually be repurchasing them after I’ve finished them up. It’s not so much that I dislike them (if they were really that bad, I’d just pitch them in the bin) but they’re just “okay” products. I like them enough, and use them, but I have other products I love more. Also, by forcing myself to use some of these products up, I end up discovering new ways to wear them. In essence, it makes me get creative! So let’s see what I’ve dumped in that “to finish up” bin!
CoverGirl CC Cream in 110 Classic Ivory and MUA Matte Foundation in Shade 1 Soft Sand
There’s nothing especially wrong with these products – they’re just not my top picks. On my winter skin, the CC Cream is actually too dark right now but the MUA one is just right. The packaging on the MUA one makes it very easy for travel… or so I thought. The cap on the product doesn’t actually latch on very well so it ends up overtwisting and not aligning properly. Very annoying. The CoverGirlCC Cream on the other hand is actually quite nice – it has a pleasing scent (I’m not sure everyone agrees about this) and I love that it has a pump…. but it’s just not my favourite. If I wear these regularly, I should be able to get through each in about a month or two.
Jack Black Lip Balm in Natural Mint
I bought this because Christina @ Temptalia raves about this balm. To me, Jack Black’s lip balm feels no different than vaseline and I don’t actually feel like it has a lot of healing properties on rough, dry lips. I used to apply this product predominantly when I would go for a run. The reason behind this is I find my mouth/lip area gets very dry while running and wanted something soothing on my lips while I did my exercise. Unfortunately, this product seems to ball up/go tacky when my body warms up/starts sweating a bit so this actually became incredibly uncomfortable to wear while exercising. Instead, I’ve been wearing it as a protective layer throughout December while we’ve been experiencing freezing temperatures of -33C. I don’t feel it heals chapped lips, but the vaseline content of the product will certainly protect again snowy wind burn.
MAC lipglass in Strawberry MaltMAC lipglass in Strawberry Malt
I bought this Strawberry Malt lipglass early last year when the Archie’s Girls collection launched at MAC. The colour itself is gorgeous, but I find it fades really awkwardly on my lips and bleeds outside my lipline. Not attractive and it makes it far too fiddlesome for a gloss.
MAC eyeshadows in Brule, Shroom, Swish and Haux
If you’ve been reading any of my eyeshadow tutorials, you know that I use Brule almost every single time to highlight my brow bone. I use this product almost daily and I feel like I’m never going to finish this pan of it! The colour is nice, the blendability is fine, but I have other shades that are similar that I’d like to get through as well. The same applies to Shroom, which is essentially just a shimmery Brule.
Swish on the other hand… oh man, this colour needs to DIE. I bought this in my teens and it’s horrible – I don’t even know how I managed to hit so much pan on it! It’s a frosty pink shade that just looks, in my opinion as my older, wise self, just ridiculous. I’ve only come up with one combination this looks okay on, but I need more ideas if I’m going to make it through the rest of this pan!
The last shade is Haux – it’s a wonderful slightly rose-tinted, brown shade with a satin finish. It’s also my oldest eyeshadow – this guy right here is 18 years old. I’m not kidding. It needs to get finished up so I can move on with my life!
Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in Light/Medium
I think this is going to be the most challenging product to get through, but I wanted to include something that I had made almost no dent in. This bronzer is perfectly adequate – it blends nicely and the colouring is nice. I had bought it on a whim in late 2012 while I was in the US because I love Physicians Formula products, but they’re incredibly expensive in Canada (like $22 for a bronzer!). However, I have too many bronzers and I really need to put some out to pasture. I am slightly concerned that from past experiences, I have to use a single bronzer for an entire year before I finish it up – so this may become my daily bronzer. We’ll see how it goes.
Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm in Twilight
I love this colour (Twilight), I just don’t wear it enough. I’m a big fan of Revlon‘s lipstains (NOT their balm stains), they can apply slightly patchy, but with enough layers it generally tends to even out. Plus they feel, to me, incredibly comfortable on the lips. In general, I prefer these to lipsticks, but for lipstains to work, they usually have to be pretty dark colours, which is why I don’t have more of them – since they all tend to blend together (colourwise) after a while. This one can get REALLY dark after several applications which is why I tend not to favour this one. Still very pretty though.
Revlon ColorBurst Lipgloss in Sunset Peach
Revlon‘s Sunset Peach is an easy shade for me to wear throughout the summer and one I reach for often. I’m fairly certain I’m close to done with this shade as it’s looking quite patchy through the tube. My main reason for wanting to finish this one up is that while I think the packaging is quite pretty, the reality is that I don’t carry a purse (SHOCK, HORROR) and this tube is just too darn big for my pocket, which makes it incredibly unfriendly for carrying anywhere.
Revlon Lip Butters in Creamsicle, Cherry Tart and Red Velvet
I loved these Lip Butters by Revlon, but I’m over them. Creme Brulee is my favourite and I’ll continue to repurchase it, but I don’t feel I need all of the colours like I used to. Creamsicleactually looks rather ghastly on me and Red Velvet always just seems too dark (although I’ll often see it on other people and like it, so not sure what’s up with that!). While fiddling around with these colours and swatching them, I tried swatching Creamsicle over Red Velvet and they looked gorgeous together. Cherry Tarte, however, is beautiful on its own, but I have other shades I prefer.
So that’s it! I wonder how well I’ll manage to get through these products by the end of the year.
On Saturday morning I’ll be flying to Ottawa for a week off work to celebrate Christmas with my family. Since I love looking in other people’s makeup bags, I thought I’d share with you what beauty goodies I’m bringing with me on the trip.
Too Faced – A Few of my Favorite Things palette
Now this is a bit controversial for me! Ever since I first got my hands on the Urban DecayNaked palette several years ago, it has been an absolute must have in every makeup bag I have ever brought with me on vacation. That being said, there are a lot of similar shades in the Too Faced palette, as well as several fun colours that give me a lot more options.
Too Faced – A Few of my Favorite Things palette
Plus, with two blushes and two bronzers, it makes this a very easy palette to take on vacation. While the palette is quite slim and layed out nicely, it’s also rather large, which makes it a bit cumbersome for some vacations so I wouldn’t necessarily bring it on an international vacation. However, for going back to Ottawa, this looks like it’ll be a fun palette to play with for the week.
Jack Black Lip Balm in Natural Mint, MAC Prep + Prime for Lips, MAC Brick Lip Pencil, MAC Russian Red lipstick, Revlon Cherries in the Snow lipstick and NYX Butter Gloss in Creme Brulee
My choice of lip products basically covers any type of makeup situation I could possibly need to cover while on vacation. The Jack Black lip balm isn’t particularly a favourite, but it’s an easy “go to” when I need something to take care of my lips if they get dry in the cold winter months. And since I’ll be doing a lot of snowboarding while on vacation, I’ll definitely need this while out on the mountain.
NYX‘s Butter Gloss in Creme Brulee is my absolute favourite gloss at the moment. It’s an easy shade to wear which makes it a very easy choice when I was packing up my makeup bag.
MAC Russian Red, Revlon Cherries in the Snow, NYX Creme Brulee
Of course I’m bringing along MAC‘s Prep + Prime for lips as I absolutely must have it if I’m going to be applying any kind of lipstick. MACRussian Red lipstick and MACBrick lip pencil are a combination that I use quite often around the holiday season. I just love this shade of red, and to me it just screams “Christmas”. And in case I don’t feel like wearing matte red lips, I’m also bringing along Revlon‘s Cherries in the Snow which is a very deep, vibrant pink shade.
MAC Blacktrack Fluidline, L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara (waterproof formula), Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original and MAC Omega eyeshadow
I do a lot of winged liner and lately my preference has been to use a gel liner – so for that I’m bringing along MAC‘s Blacktrack fluidline. The other eye products I’m bringing are items that I use daily: L’OrealVoluminous Carbon Black mascara in the waterproof formula, Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original to keep my eyeshadow from creasing and MACOmega eyeshadow to fill in my eyebrows.
Hard Candy So Baked Bronzer in Tiki, Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush Exposed and Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Hot Tamale
Hard Candy‘s “bronzer” in Tiki wouldn’t be a bronzer on anyone’s skintone – instead it’s a beautiful highlight shade with a slight golden/yellow sheen. This highlighter isn’t particularly shiny or shimmery, so it’s an beautiful shade to wear on a daily basis.
Hard Candy So Baked Bronzer in Tiki, Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush Exposed and Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Hot Tamale
The two blush compacts I’m taking are my usual vacation staples. Tarte‘s Exposed is my most used, most loved blush that goes with absolutely any eye look I create. Maybelline‘sHot Tamale cream blush is for when I want that extra brightness on the cheeks. I most like this shade for making my cheeks look like I’ve been outside in the cold weather.
Covergirl & Olay Tone Rehab 2 in 1 Foundation (CC Cream) in 110 Classic Ivory
I’m not planning on wearing a whole heck of a lot of foundation while on vacation, so this is mostly just for the days where I want to play with full face makeup. Covergirl‘s “CC Cream” helps even out my skin tone and since it has a pump, this was an easy choice.
MAC Turquatic
MACTurquatic is my most compact bottle of perfume and fits nicely into the makeup bag I’m bringing with me. I’ve been wearing this perfume for a few years now (it was replacement signature scent after Michael Kors stopped making the original Islandperfume). While I love the scent, I will say that the lasting power isn’t the best although that doesn’t stop me from re-purchasing this scent time after time.
Miraculously, all of that makeup fits in this Too Faced makeup bag that came with the “A Few of my Favorite Things” palette. It’s a pretty tight fit though and unfortunately my makeup brushes won’t fit in there so I’ll probably throw them all in a small ziploc bag that I’m sure will end up buried at the bottom of my suitcase!
