I don’t even remember what spring is anymore. Every year in Toronto it feels like we go from serious sub-zero temperatures and then all of a sudden it’s freaking scorching outside! As a nod to the ever increasing temperatures and my ever increasing desire to wear less makeup as I stay up later and wake up later (and have less and less time to get ready for work every morning), I ended up leaning more heavily towards lip products this month since my eye makeup was looking pretty bare a lot of the time.
Nivea Lip Butter in Caramel Cream Kiss
First up is Nivea‘s Lip Butter in Caramel Cream Kiss. This has become my nightly lip balm. I’ve put a rather large dent in this from using it every night before I go to bed. It’s thick enough that it’ll last all night and I’ll often wake up the next morning with a thin layer still on my lips. It doesn’t smell quite like caramel to me, but it’s still buttery, sugary goodness!
Maybelline – Vivid Rose
If I had to define happiness in a shade of lipstick, Maybelline‘s Vivid Rose would be it. I bought this last summer and fell in love with it immediately. This is a bright, hot, deep neon pink that smells like creamy frosting and lasts a surprisingly long time on the lips given how rich it is. Seriously, this stuff stays surprisingly creamy on the lips for many hours after it’s been applied. If you pick up one thing from Maybelline‘s Vivids line, let Vivid Rose be the one!
MAC – Hibiscus
This sad pot of lipstick is MAC‘s Hibiscus lipstick. Unfortunately, the bullet broke a long while ago and the only way to salvage the lipstick was to depot the whole thing into a small sample jar I had from MAC. This lipstick was from the Surf Baby collection in 2011 and because it’s de-tubed, I keep forgetting about it! It’s a cremesheen, which I don’t have the best of experiences with, but there’s no denying that colour! A bright, shiny coral, this one is loads of fun to wear. Unfortunately, MAC hasn’t re-released it in the past few years since its initial release, but if you ever spot this at a CCO or on a blog sale, definitely snatch it up!
Boots No7 Instant Radiance Foundation in Cool Vanilla
Boots No7‘s Instant Radiance foundation in Cool Vanilla was too dark for me throughout the winter months, so I’ve only been able to recently bust it out and start using it again. And I, as per usual, had forgotten just how much I love this stuff. It blends in beautifully and it really does give a radiance to the skin that I never really expect from foundation, even when it’s called Instant Radiance! Love the pump too. I picked this up last year when I was in England, but I think Boots No7 brand is now sold at Target in Canada.
Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade in Blonde
I’d just like to take this moment to give myself a massive pat on the back for finally figuring out how to use this properly! When I finally ran out of my MACOmega shadow, and had this waiting in the wings, I knew I had to buckle down and figure out how to use this product. Sweeping powder through your eyebrows is one thing, trying to actually put some kind of gel product there can be maddening! This has become my go-to brow look now. It’s a lot more in your face than I’m used to, and I’m not entirely sure the colour is quite pale enough for me, but I like the end result so I’ll keep going with this until they come out with a lighter shade than Blonde.
And just like that, there goes June! Tell me what you were loving this month
Last month I did a “Four or More: Lips Edition” post, and this month I thought I’d bring you the Eyes version of that. So here are quick reviews on eye products that I happen to own four or more products!
Maybelline Color Tattoos – (starting on the top row l-r): Tough as Taupe, Tenacious Teal, Too Cool, Barely Beige, (bottom row:) Mossy Green, Edgy Emerald, Waves of White, Bold Gold, Bad to the Bronze
These Maybelline Color Tattoos are beloved by almost every beauty blogger, beauty YouTuber and many a person I know IRL. And while I own a lot of them, I just never really fell in love with them like everyone else did. I really did try to – clearly I did, I kept on buying them – but on me they seem to make my lids really “crackly-looking”. I know that’s an odd description, but it’s the best way I can think to describe it. They also don’t blend out as well as I want them to. And they definitely do dry up over time, even though I store them top-down. They do have insane lasting power however: I wore Edgy Emerald and Tenacious Teal while swimming in the ocean by accident once while on vacation in Florida and they did NOT budge. I will say that I bust these out if I need a really quick eye colour that I don’t want to fuss with, but I’ve put myself on a Color Tattoo no-buy because despite the pretty colours, I just don’t use them as much as I should given how many of them I own.
I love these so, so much. L’Oreal‘s Infallible Eyeshadows are amazing. Very smooth and incredibly pigmented. They’re essentially loose pigments pressed down by a stopper to keep them from sloshing about. You get the benefit of the pigmentation of a pigment, without the horrific powdery mess that inevitably ends up EVERYWHERE. My absolute must haves from the line are Amber Rush and Hourglass Beige
MAC Fluidlines (l-r): Midnight Blues, Dark Envy, Dipdown, Blacktrack
(called Iced Latte in the US – I think you guys got the better name on that one!). But the best one out of the lot is that amazing darkened, shimmery red second from the left. It’s called Golden Mahogany and was only available in Canada for a limited time. I happened to find a complete ratchet one at Walmart about a year ago and snagged it up because that particular shade is completely gone from the line now. Regardless of your colour preference, these are worth picking up just to test out and see how you like it.
Fluidlines are MAC‘s term for a gel liner and a product I always come back to. I’ve been through a few pots of Blacktrack, and continue to repurchase it when I run out. These stay surprisingly creamy for a very long time. That brown shade, Dipdown, is roughly four years old and is still as creamy as when I first received it. There’s something about MAC‘s fluidlines that just make them go on the lashline a lot smoother than any other gel liners I’ve tried. Other liners can tend to skip on me, but these flow on like BUTTAH. The brown and black shades are in their permanent line, but the dark blue (Midnight Blues) and green (Dark Envy) were from their MAC Me Over collection from 2011. Highly, highly recommended – though I will point out that they are not waterproof.
Sleek palettes
Oh baby do I ever love Sleek and their 12 pan eyeshadow palettes. So much so that I’ve picked up six of them over the years whenever I’m in the UK.
Sleek palette (clockwise starting from the bottom left): Mattes V2, Mattes V1, Sunset, Au Naturel, Original, Acid
The pigmentation on these is incredible for a drugstore brand that is relatively inexpensive. My favourites are the two matte palettes – the bright one and the dark one. It can be hard to find mattes at the drugstore in a variety of colours, never mind actually finding bright vivid ones as well! Hands down Sleek has the best drugstore palettes that exist. If only they’d come to Canada! (That being said, the shipping from the UK to Canada is incredibly cheap, so it’s worth ordering some palettes online if you would like to check them out.)
MAC Mineralize Eyeshadows. Top row (l-r): Illusionary/Burning Ambition, Heat Element, Blue My Mind, Calm, Cool & Collected (bottom row (l-r): Cinderfella, Blue Flame, Blue Sorcery, Midnight Madness
I went through a phase of loving MAC‘s Mineralize Eyeshadows, but have stopped collecting them in more recent years. On me, these are best applied wet in order to bring out the pigmentation and shimmer (water works just as fine as MAC‘s Fix+ does). While the duos are easy enough to get your brush into, I will say that the trio get to be a nightmare when you wear down the middle strips. You end up needing smaller and smaller brushes to get just that single pigment and it can be tedious to do so. My favourite of the lot? Of course it’s the red-tinged one: Heat Element.
That’s my round up for Four or More: Eyes Edition. The only thing not mentioned were my MAC eyeshadows/palettes as I’ve already done a few posts on those. You can check them out here:
This year, Toronto is the host city for World Pride. I have loved Pride ever since I moved to Toronto and into the Village. I know Pride gives everyone a different feeling, but to me it’s a time to celebrate freedom, be happy, and wear a metric ton of bright colours and glitter.
I’ve been saving these looks for a lonnnng time. Even before I had a blog I was all “I need to photgraph these because some day… I’ll use them for… something.” Since these are all taken over a year ago (during last year’s Pride Week) the quality may be a little bit different and I definitely don’t have any closed eye shots so I could map out what colours go where. But I’ll do my best to describe!
If you’re looking to shock people with a neon look, then this one is a darn good place to start. Although the up close picture shots make it look really cool, just be aware that this is not an especially flattering look.
I wore this during my soccer league’s Pride Parade float last year and it held up through the heat and the inevitable water bomb attacks that happened throughout the parade.
Eyes
Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original all over the upper and lower lids.
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk all over the upper lid – smooth out with your finger.
Then using the SleekAcid Palette: Neon orange on the lid, neon pink through the crease, neon yellow in the inner corner and the neon green to line the lower lash line.
A touch of Urban Decay’s Buck to blend out the crease and make the pink a touch less harsh.
Physicians Formula Eye Booster in Ultra Black to create the wing.
L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara on my lashes
This is a quick vibrant one that can be done using any two really pigmented colours. The week of Pride, I tend to mix colours based on the rainbow’s gradient and go from there. For example, on Monday I’d wear red/orange, Tuesday yellow/green, Wednesday blue/purple, etc. If you stick to the rainbow gradient, it’s very hard to mismatch colours.
For the above look, I used:
Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original to prime my lid
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow pencil in Milk as a solid base – be sure to blend it out
Then using Sleek’s Ultra Mattes V1 palette: Sugarlite all over the lid, with Bolt in the outer corner and through the crease. A little bit of Pow! to highlight the brow with a touch of Urban Decay‘s Naked eyeshadow in the crease to blend out the shades through the crease.
Maybelline Gel Liner in Blackest Black to create the winged liner
And finally, CoverGirlClump Crusher mascara on my lashes
And my favourite one! This came out so much better than I ever thought it would. Every Pride I end up wearing this to work at least one of the days of the week. I think it’s really vibrant and beautiful. And it’ll definitely get you noticed!
Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original to prime my lid
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk to create the base
Starting from the inner corner, using all MAC shadows, apply small stripes of shadow, then blend them into the next colour. I used (from inner corner to outer): Coppering, Amber Lights, Goldmine, Bio Green, Freshwater and Parfait Amour.
MACBlacktrack Fluidline for my liner
L’OrealVoluminous Carbon Black mascara on my lashes with Ardell102 false lashes on top.
I hope this gives you some ideas for Pride. Keep in mind that pretty much anything goes throughout Pride so you can feel free to wear whatever you like.
I actually hadn’t picked up any beauty products this month until the very last week and then suddenly I had a whole stockpile!
MAC – Mystical ($21 CAD)
While MAC‘s summer collection didn’t have a whole heck of a lot of bright colours, I knew I still wanted to pick up a few products because holy hell is that packaging ever beautiful! The first item I picked up was the cremesheen finish lipstick in Mystical. The colour is slightly more brown than I had expected, but it’s a very easy, every day colour for me. Slightly more fall-oriented than spring or summer, but still really beautiful.
MAC – Sea Me, Hear Me ($32.50 CAD)
I wanted to give MAC‘s extra dimension products another shot because everyone seems to love them and I’ve always been kind of “meh” about them. I have the skinfinish in Whisper of Gilt, but I’ve always found the product to be very hard and stiff in the pan, which requires using a rather stiff brush to actually get any product out of the pan. Turns out the blush is really no different! Like the lipstick, Sea Me, Hear Me is far more of a deep fall colour (I really didn’t understand this collection, despite the packaging being spectacular) and it looks nice on my cheeks, but I really need to use a stiff brush to get it out of the pan!
Hard Candy Ombre Lipstick – Cheerful (~$6 CAD)
Ugh. Spoiler alert: these next two products by Hard Candy are terrible. I noticed the brand had put out some new products and wanted to give them a shot. The Ombre Lipstick inCheerful looked kind of neat but it’s really just an awkward product. It goes on the lips rather greasy, like the “play” makeup I had when I was 5 years old. Also, can we have a conversation about how the lip product actually changed colour once I rolled it up? Ew! :s
Hard Candy Cheeks and Balances – Cheeky Pink (~$8 CAD)This works slightly better than the lip product, but not a whole heck of a lot. Hard Candy‘sCheeky Pink “Cheeks and Balances” is supposed to be a cheek colour and highlighter in one. It goes on stripey (obviously) and you really need to blend it out with a finger or two. It can be a bit greasy, but I’ve only tested it out so far without wearing it for any extended amount of time. It’s a bit too finicky to keep the actual colours separated once you blend them, so it’s easier to just smush the product together as you swipe it on your cheeks. It’s quite frosty overall (even the darker pink colour), so apply lightly and build up if you need to.Julep polishes in (l-r): Michelle, Angela, Missy, Paris, Hilary (free)
I won a contest over on the lovely Kalyn‘s blog and she sent me a few Julep polishes as a prize. Having never tried out Julep‘s polishes before, I was eager to get my hands on these. This completely surprised me, but these bottles, despite looking small, actually contain the same amount of polish as any other regular bottle! So far I’ve tried out Hilary(sparkly orange/bronze/silver) and Michelle (creme). They both applied beautifully and those glitter ones are definitely going all over my toes!
NYC polish in East Village (free)My mom picked up this polish for some craft project but had little use for it after she finished her project so she passed it on to me. NYC‘s nail polish in East Village is really sheer, but the colour is beautiful once you build it up. I have to apply about three coats before I get an opaque coverage but it never feels goopy since the polish is quite thin.
Bioderma – Crealine H2O (~€12)Next up are a few items direct from France. My dad was snowboarding in France a few months back and I asked him to pick up a few products from some French pharmacies for me. Armed with a list, he managed to locate the bulk of the items I had requested. First up was a massive 500 ml bottle of Bioderma‘s Crealine H2O. The largest size they sell in Canada as far as I can find is the 250 ml and it sells for a whopping $23 CAD. This 500 ml bottle is double the size for a fraction of the cost. I wasn’t overly sold on Bioderma when I first used it, but after I used up that bottle, I found myself missing the product more and more. I use it predominantly as a makeup remover/touch up for when I make mistakes and it’s great for cleansing the skin lightly (I wouldn’t use this to deep clean).
Embryolisse – Hydra-Masque (~€15 CAD)
This is a new product to me – Embryolisse‘s Hydra-Masque is a hydrating facial mask that can be used 1-2 times a week. It’s surprisingly thin in consistency – to the point where I didn’t expect it to actually do anything. If anything, it was so thin I was fully expecting it to sink completely into the skin. It doesn’t, however, and it feels amazing! I tried it out for the first time last night and this stuff is glorious! My face feels wonderful – hydrated and smooth.
Embryolisse – Lait-Creme Concentre (~€14 CAD)
And another one I’ve previously tried. Embryolisse‘s Lait-Creme Concentre is another amped up product from the beauty world. It’s a no fuss moisturizer that I use when I want a break from my usual Aveeno.
Olay Fresh Effects – Shine, Shine Go Away! (~$4 CAD)
Yep, suckered in by the packaging again! Supposedly this controls shine, but I suppose we’ll have to see. It was on sale at Walmart so I snatched it up.
Dermal Therapy – Heel Care (free)
And lastly… Dermal Therapy Heel Care. If you have cracked or dry heels, you need this. This is the *only* product that works on my horribly dried out heels. Seriously, you can go from grand canyon style cracks on your heels to baby butt smooth in about a week. My mom picked this up for me at Walmart so I’m not sure of the cost, but I know it’s under $10 which is incredibly reasonable for such a miracle product. Well worth the money.
I hadn’t planned to do an Empties update for another month but this bag was getting way too full and I didn’t want the post length to be too ridiculous. So here we go! Makeup first because I know that’s the interesting stuff.
MAC – Haux and Brule
Not one, but TWO eyeshadows done! Can I get a “HELL YES!”? The top right was MAC‘sHaux, my oldest eyeshadow. After 19 years, I can finally retire it , but it has definitely had a good long life. The bottom right is MAC‘s Brule. Brule only took me about 3 years to finish up as it was my daily browbone highlight.
Repurchase? No, but not because they were bad, but because I have a great many other shades that are near identical. Plus I clearly didn’t like Haux that much if it took me 19 bloody years to finish it up!
MUA Matte Foundation in Shade 1 Soft Sand
I really liked MUA‘s Matte Foundation at first – their Shade 1 Soft Sand was a great match for my skin and it went on my face really well… but the niceness stopped about an hour after application. It started out looking really good, but this foundation eventually dissolved into a greasy mess by the end of the day or night. I’m not even prone to oil but this certainly induced it! I went through about half the tube, so I definitely gave it a fair shot, but I decided this wasn’t worth finishing when I had other products I much preferred.
Repurchase? Definitely not.
MUA All In One Beauty Balm in Light
Another “meh” product from MUA. (So far, the only thing I’m liking from this brand is their eyeshadows.) Their BB Cream in Light was overly thick and not much fun to wear. It had more coverage than I expected (which may be good for some people), but for me it looked like I’d applied a paste to my face. I just never fell in love with it after using half the tube so I decided enough was enough and chucked it in the garbage.
Physicians Formula Eye Booster in Ultra Black
I’m not sure why this hasn’t been included in an empties post earlier, because I’ve been done with this liner for a very long time. Physicians Formula Eye Booster liquid liner inUltra Black made me fall in love with brush tip pen liners (NOT felt tip – those are the devil). Very black and easy to wear although slightly lacking in the waterproof department. I’ve since heard that the Ultra Black shade has gone slightly grey which is a bit of a disappointment. This, thankfully, was a liquid liner that didn’t seem to have the horrible reflective properties of other liners (I’m looking at you MUFEAqualiner).
Verdict: I wouldn’t repurchase this right now as I’m firmly attached to my gel liners, but I would recommend it to others.
l-r: Duo eyelash adhesive, Pop Beauty Fuchsia Freesia, Too Faced Better Than Sex
Duo eyelash adhesive is my staple eyelash glue. This tube is very old (~3 years) and needed replacing.
Verdict: Forever repurchase
As I said in my Ipsy Haul for February 2014, Pop Beauty’s Plump Pout in Fuchsia Freesia smelled bad. Well, it turns out there was a bit of a to do with Ipsy and Pop Beautythat month and I could’ve gotten a replacement for my rotten smelling lipgloss. It’s a shame that I didn’t, but I’m not using this sucker and it’s going straight into the garbage.
Verdict: Just based on the toxic scent and how the whole thing was handled (poorly and secretively) I’ll be avoiding this brand.
Too FacedBetter Than Sex mascara: Loved this stuff, but hated the wand. The formula of the mascara is fantastic, but the wand made it really, really annoying to apply. There’s nothing easy about an hourglass shaped wand!
Verdict: Won’t rebuy – the formula isn’t worth the hassle of the brush.
Blistex Lip Medex
Blistex‘s Lip Medex is like medicine in a tube for your lips. Nothing heals my parched, dry, cracked lips like this stuff does throughout the cold winter months.
Verdict: Love it and will repurchase it in the winter.
Marcelle Gentle Make-Up Remover for Sensitive Eyes
Marcelle‘s Gentle Make-Up Remover for Sensitive Eyes is a forever favourite. This is the best makeup remover I’ve ever purchased and it works wonders on waterproof makeup. I usually wait to buy this on sale and then get a bunch of them all at once.
Verdict: Repurchase most definitely
Clockwise starting at the top: Marcelle Cleansing Cloths (x2), Garnier Moisture Rescue, Neutrogena Hydrating, Neutrogena
MarcelleCleansing Cloths are adequate, but nothing to write home about. They only remove waterproof makeup “so-so”.
Verdict: No repurchase
GarnierMoisture Rescue wipes: Useless and stinky. Dry and irritating. YUCK.
Verdict: Never, EVER repurchase
NeutrogenaAll-in-One Makeup Cleansing Wipes: These are okay, completely satisfactory, but I bought these by accident when I thought they were the same as:
NeutrogenaHydrating Makeup Remover Cleansing Cloths: These are holy grail. Not buying any other makeup removing cloths after trying these. They’re wetter than any other cloth I’ve tried and they actually remove waterproof mascara well.
Verdict: Would repurchase the Neutrogena Hydrating wipes
Lush It’s Raining Men Shower Gel
I love Lush‘s Honey I Washed The Kids soap, but the darn thing just runs out way too quickly. It’s Raining Men is their shower gel equivalent and it such a better investment in terms of money. This stuff lasted me absolutely forever (about a year, using it intermittently with other washes and soaps) and easily outdid the longevity of the bars of soap. This smells like honey and caramel and *edible*. To confirm: It is NOT edible, in a moment of weakness I tested it with the tip of my tongue and it tastes like soap. Horrible. Horrible. Horrible!
Verdict: Definite rebuy!
l-r: Fortune Cookie Soap: Native Nectar Body Wash, Venus Fly Trap Perfume Oil, Make it Rain Whipped Cream
Fortune Cookie SoapNative Nectar Body Wash: A very liquid body wash, but lovely nonetheless. It had small shimmer particles in the product, but they didn’t stick on the skin (so it just looks pretty, really). It has a very clean coconut smell – very lovely.
Verdict: Would repurchase
Fortune Cookie SoapVenus Fly Trap Perfume Oil: This stuff is amazing. It smells like sickly, sweet flowers but not in a revolting way. It doesn’t smell like old lady perfume and it’s pretty light and not cloying (as in it won’t give you a headache with its thickness). I never, ever thought I’d like a scent like this (FCS indicates that it has “Bergamot, narcaisse & musk lurk beneath delicate notes of water orchid, sparkling lemon & pink jasmine.”) but this is just beautiful.
Verdict: Would repurchase
Fortune Cookie SoapMake it Rain Whipped Cream: Love this so much! The formula and it does feel like whipped cream on the skin. I also really, really love the scent. I’ve heard some people say it smells too much like musk, but I actually get a very clean, very laundry scent out of this.
Verdict: Definite repurchase
Foil Packets
DERMAdoctorwrinkle REVENGE: Completely forgettable in every way.
Verdict: Would not purchase
BioreBlemish Fighting Ice Cleanser: I don’t have acne problems (and this contains salicylic acid to help with breakouts) so I can’t really say if this helped combat anything, but it did feel nice on the skin.
Verdict: Purchase if on sale
BenefitThe Porefessional: I genuinely do not get the hype with this product. It seemed fine as a primer, but nothing earthshattering.
Verdict: Would not purchase
H20Face Oasis Hydrating Treatment: I don’t even remember this stuff, so it definitely couldn’t have been amazing.
Verdict: Would not purchase
H20Aquafirm+ Micro-collagen Moisturizer: Can’t remember this one either.
Verdict: Would not purchase
NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Alaska Light2: Quite liked this one actually. I got enough out of the foil packet for a single use and it smoothed on nicely and had light coverage, which was nice because it didn’t cover my freckles (which I like). [Click for a pic of the foundation on my face.]
Verdict: Will consider purchasing when I finally run low on other foundations.
Orange Whip Body Butter
My friend Ali made this wonderful Orange Whip body butter for me for my birthday. I used up the whole jar really quickly and loved it to pieces.
Verdict: No need to repurchase, I’ll just poke her when I need more!
Adidas – Pure Lightness
Monumental effort here – I finished a perfume! I really liked Adidas‘ Pure Lightness. Fragrantica.com indicates that it has “Top notes of melon and red apple; middle notes are jasmine, magnolia, violet and lily-of-the-valley; base note is musk”. But to me, this just smelled aquatic. It’s light and crisp and has quite decent lasting power.
