makeup

September Favourites

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September in a nutshell was crazy, stressful, busy and somewhat depressing. I spent much of it in a makeup rut, hard-pressed for time and generally sleep-deprived. Somehow this resulted in some clear favourites,

MAC Dubonnet Lipstick

This is an amplified creme finish lipstick (most likely my favourite) that is a deep berry red with some brown in it and neutral undertones. It is quite versatile as it can be worn as a subtle berry stain or as a deep berry bold lip. The formula is nice and moisturizing while still lasting on the lips. I think it’s that wearable but bold fall lip for me and although many skin tones can wear it, it is an ideal bold lip for fair skin.

Benefit Rockateur Boxed Powder

I must admit that I purchased this product due to a moment of weakness and stress, but I can’t bring myself to regret it whatsoever. I surely did not need another blush, but this is a light-buildable rose-gold with a nice sheen and neutral undertones without being too glittery or shimmery. The colour is really finely milled and the shade is especially unique – a rose gold (not too pink or too peach but rather in the middle) without the coral-orange undertones of shades such as MAC Stereo Rose.

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Ever since I got back into school and those exhausting long days, I had been having issues with my eye shadow creasing and this fixed the problem. Boring favourite, I know.

Mac Harmony Powder Blush

Like most other people, I use this “blush” as a contour powder. I’ve talked about my love of this before, but I’ve gotten into using it slightly differently; I’ve been using it for more of a precise contour then just generally adding shape to my face. It’s sort of an odd colour – a matte, cool brown with reddish undertones. It looks natural as a contour but the ruddiness in the shade can prove to be a difficulty to some.

Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation

I’ve done a review of this foundation before and as it was then, my shade is Rose Ivory (which oddly has no pink undertones whatsoever…) but I’ve gotten quite into this foundation recently. With minimal product used, I find that you can achieve a good medium-buildable coverage with a slightly luminous finish. My only irritation is that it does stick to dry patches and is not flattering on me when I am having my drier days.

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer

My shade is 10 Light, which is a fair-light shade with yellow undertones. This is a really natural looking concealer with medium coverage and is easily blendable. I use it both underneath my eyes and on blemishes but I find that it wears off of inflamed blemishes more quickly than I’d like.

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Perversion

I know I mentioned this in last months favourites and all I’ve said about it before still applies but this month I’ve gotten really into tightlining with this and applying it in the waterline. This liner actually stays put and does not irritate my eyes.

Physician’s Formula Shimmer Strips Eye Enchancing Shadow and Liner Palette in Nude Eyes Review and Swatches

The product in question
The product in question

I talked about this before in my monthly favourites but I figured a more detailed review would be a good idea. I have seen this palette at Canadian Drugstores for 13-14 dollars, although I picked mine up when Physician’s Formula was one Buy One Get One Free at Lawton’s (not that it matters to anyone). The palette contains 0.26 ounces of shadows, divided into 9 shades. Like its namesake, there is no separation between the colours in the palette (all nine shades reside in a single pan). According to Physician’s Formula, the nine shades are divided into three looks, “natural” (the lightest three shades), “playful” (the three shades in the middle) and “dramatic” (the darkest three shades residing on the left side of the palette) and each look includes a highlight shade, lid colour and crease-colour. The darkest shade in each look is made slightly narrower in each of the looks for some reason. The palette comes with a sponge-tip applicator with an angled top with the intent that it could be used to apply a shade as liner as well as shadows. The packaging is pink plastic covered by sheer black lace with a nice pink bow on the front and “Nude” written on pink written. It is smaller than the size of my hand and opens from the side to the right. The palette is magnetic.

The brush is alright; I have used it to apply the shadows and I think it is better than some other sponge-tip applicators but I much prefer to use my own brushes.

Swatches on bare skin taken without flash
Swatches on bare skin taken without flash
Swatches on bare skin, taken with flash
Swatches on bare skin, taken with flash

I’m going to describe each shade and my thoughts on it from the left to right as to provide clarity because they are not named. The first shade is a matte black with some silver micro-glitter running through it. The pigmentation of this shade is not phenomenal (it is not the blackest black by any means) and it is a bit chalky, however it is definitely a usable black shade for lining the eyes, darkening the outer-v and the like. The next shade is a shimmery medium-dark taupe-brown with purple undertones. I would say it is a close match for Urban Decay Hustle in both colour and quality. It is nicely pigmented and has a smooth texture that is easy to work with. The following shade is a light shimmery taupe with golden undertones. The texture is nice and smooth, pigmented and a really great shade that in my opinion is fairly unique. The crease-colour for the “playful” trio is another medium-dark taupe shade with the same sheen to it but with grey-undertones. Because it is so similar to the other medium-dark taupe shade, I also find it similar to Hustle – but I think it is not as close as the other shade but a picture will be included below. I think it is almost a darker version of MAC Satin Taupe. The middle shade in the palette is a shimmery light taupe with grey-undertones. It is very similar to the third shade from the left. It has good pigmentation and a nice texture to work with. The lightest shades in the palette are sheerer than the rest. It would be redundant for me to say it with each shade so I’m mentioning it now. They all have the same smooth texture. There is a baby-pink with golden sheen running through it. The adjacent colour is an outlier, however; it is a light warm brown with warm undertones and good pigmentation.The next shade is a shimmery warm light gold and the lightest shade is a golden-toned white. All of the shades have good longevity (the darker half a bit better than the lighter half) and they have a really impressive texture. I do have an issue with the shade range, however; I find too many of the shades to be similar and all of the shades have the same shimmery finish and due to these issues, this palette has limited ability to be an all-inclusive palette. Also, I would not agree with the claim that these eye shadows can be used as liner – the only shade dark enough IMO is the black.

Top to Bottom: Physician's Formula Nude second to farthest left, Urban Decay Hustle, Physician's Formula Nudefourth from left, MAC Satin taupe - taken without flash
Top to Bottom: Physician’s Formula Nude second to farthest left, Urban Decay Hustle, Physician’s Formula Nude fourth from left, MAC Satin taupe – taken without flash
Same as above but taken with flash :)
Same as above but taken with flash 🙂

I really like the packaging. It does not look cheap by any means and I think it is aesthetically pleasing. I also like how compact it is. It holds nine 0.03 oz (appx) eye shadows while being very small – 0.05 oz are the full-size of a MAC or Urban Decay shadow for reference.

Final Verdict– Not that I have any sort of grading scale or anything of the sort, I would say that this is a “B” product”. I think it is a nice palette but its downfall is how similar the shades are, the lack of different finishes and the sheerness of some of the lighter shadows (and chalkiness of the black). However, I think the shades are fairly unique. I quite like that the shades are taupey. In this sense, the shades are along the same lines as the ones in Naked 2 (which I don’t own). I would recommend this palette to anyone who likes shimmery shades, is looking for taupes and is of a light to medium skin tone (because they lack the pigmentation to easily work for those with darker skin tones) and frequently wears natural-coloured looks. This is a great, portable “toss it in your makeup bag” kind of palette.

July 2013 Favourite Products

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1. Bumble and Bumble Texture (Un)dressing Creme is one of those products that oddly enough seems to suit all (or at least most) hair textures – from the straightest to curly, fine to thick. It is a thick and whitish sticky putty-like substance that defines curls, provides medium hold, controls frizz moderately (but not like a gel) and gives beachy textyre without drying it out. I can use this product in my wavy-curly hair wet for that beachy look (with no other products) but I love to use it to refresh my hair after a few days particularly in dampened hair; this is a godsend for me because I only wash my hair twice a week so anything that will help my hair look defined and volumized is amazing in my book.

2. Lately there’s been a whole lot of cleansing balm hype and hoopla (particularly after Caroline Hirons pretty much proclaimed them as the next messiah) and I spotted Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Balm (which coincidentally was free of mineral-oil) at my local Shoppers for under ten dollars CDN so was compelled to pick it up. It is marketed as part of the dry/very-dry skin range, if anyone was curious. I wouldn’t say that it’s a balm cleanser, as its name suggests, I’d say its more of a cleansing milk. It’s very similar to Neutrogena Extra Gentle Cleanser except that it contains fragrance (boo), removes makeup a little better (but not fantastically) and contains oil (which is a plus in my book but might not be in others). Fortunately, I do not find it irritating and I would agree with the claim that it is not only very hydrating but does not strip the skin whatsoever. If anyone is curious, I did not include this in my skincare post because I’ve only been using it since the start of this month.

3. I really tried not to do this but I couldn’t resist; I have only owned this for twenty-or-so days but I’ve worn Skin79 Snail Nutrition BB Cream every day since I’ve gotten it and miraculously it doesn’t break me out or irritate my skin. I plan on writing a detailed review soon so I’ll try to keep it short and sweet (but I’ll most likely fail). It’s one shade oxidizes to a fair to light neutral tone, provides light-feeling medium buildable coverage and looks almost imperceptible on the skin. It has SPF 45 and contains Snail Secretion Filtrate (not sure how I feel about that…) as well as providing a long lasting natural-dewy coverage that holds up well in heat.

4. Upon reviewing my previous posts, I have come to the realization that I have a tendency to gushing about the same products over and over, so it’s no surprise that I’m including Tarte Natural Beauty Amazonian Clay Blush after my “Top 5 Blushes” post. It’s a matte bright water-melon pink blush that gives a nice bright flush wit fairly good pigmentation (it’s not as scary as it appears in the pan). This is the longest lasting blush that I’ve ever tried, hardly even fading after the 12 hour mark. I believe that this is a fairly unique colour, but don’t mark my words. I’m now intrigued to try this formulation in different colours…

5. Everyone has that makeup product that they have that love-hate relationship with (or so it seems) and for me this product is MAC Woodwinked eye shadow. I’m onto my third pan of this eye shadow but it can go months untouched. The texture is really easy to work with, smooth and pigmented, however I find the shade difficult to wear unless I have a bit of colour. As everyone I’m sure has heard before it is a very warm-toned medium gold shade with some brown in it that I find pulls orange-toned when I blend it (which is why I prefer it when I have some colour on my fair skin). Because of its orangey-gold undertones, this is a particularly flattering shade on blue eyes. I don’t find this shade to be particularly versatile – I tend to only wear it as a lid colour.

6. I think MAC’s matte eyeshadows are some of the best. MAC Charcoal Brown eye shadow is the only one I’ve personally owned but I’ve tried others. I use this shade daily to fill in my brows and I find that it’s the perfect no-fiss crease shade. It has nice pigmentation, longevity and texture. It is a matte slightly cool toned medium brown.

7. I’ve had MAC Sable eye shadow for well over a year and I’ve always passed it off as MAC Satin Taupe’s warmer and plummier less-attractive sister but I’ve pulled it out and kept it on rotation for when I want to look nice and wear eye shadow but don’t want to have to think about it. It has the same great finish/texture as most
(but not all) of MAC’s eye shadows and is a shimmery plummy-bronze colour that I like to wear in the outer v – I swear I’ve worn it like 20 days this month! It’s extremely similar to UD Toasted if anyone is curious. This medium-dark shade is also a nice lid colour.

8. One of my first posts on this blog was my review of MAC Studio Careblend Pressed Powder and although it was a powder I thought was exceptionally good, I didn’t find myself reaching for it all that much but that changed this month. I wear this product in Light which is a fairly neutral pale colour for reference. This powder has a relatively non-powdery look and provides sheer coverage. It’s sheerness comes in handy for setting foundation without adding to the heavy appearance on the skin but I also find it sort of buildable for pretty much invisible light coverage on its own when I’m having good skin days. This wore for over six hours on its own without fading which I thought was rather nice but keep in mind that with my dry skin skin products do tend to stay put for obscene amounts of time.

9. This is completely expected and unsurprising but with the warm weather and all, I’ve been really getting into using Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Glow. It has a nice texture, good longevity, decent pigmentation although it is a nice light shade for my fair skin. I enjoy that it is matte (although sometimes I swear I see a sheen running through it but my eyes could be playing tricks on me) so it can be used to contour as well as to add colour to the skin in a natural-looking way and is not orangey. I would say that this is a warm-toned light golden bronzer. Too bad that it has horrendous packaging…

10. For someone with an unhealthy makeup obsession, I hate reapplying my makeup and as a result I spent a lot of my time dreading lip products because they require frequent reapplication. I got a sample size of Benefit Benetint with my 500 point perk from Sephora and it seems to be the answer to my prayers. It is somewhat drying on the lips but it is a stain that lasts a long time and is a flattering rosy colour.

Any favourites to share? X

the look - keep in mind here that the photo was taken with flash
the look – keep in mind here that the photo was taken with flash

In the interest of bettering myself (and particularly my tendency to be excessively wordy), I thought I’d try to do a Face of the Day without going on and on and on and on (you get the idea) about the products and all. Where I live (in Canada) has been going through unusually sweltering (and unbearable IMO) weather lately which sort of changes the kind of makeup I wear so I thought I’d write a bit about it. This stayed put really well in the mid to high-thirties weather we’ve been experiencing. Also, I should mention that the flash is making my face look awfully dewy when it wasn’t actually. I am aware that this picture is not particularly flattering but this photo showed the makeup the most accurately.

better look at the eyes - without flash
better look at the eyes – without flash

Face:

Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet Plus in 40

Make Up For Ever 5 Concealer Cream Palette in 1 – on chin and underneath the eyes

Benefit Girl Meets Pearl highlighter on cheekbones

Rimmel Natural Bronzer in 021 Sun Glow to add definition and colour

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Natural Beauty on cheeks

MAC Studio Careblend pressed powder in Light on the t-zone

Eyes:

Benefit Stay Don’t Stray primer

MAC Woodwinked eye shadow all over the lid

MAC Charcoal Brown eye shadow to fill in my brows, in the crease, and to add definition to the bottom lashline

a touch of Urban Decay Half-Baked eye shadow in the center of the lids – most likely not necessary…

MAC Dazzlelight eye shadow as an inner-corner and browbone highlight

Urban Decay Darkhorse eye shadow in the outer-v to add definition and smudged into the lashes

Maybelline Master Drama Precise felt-tip liner to create a subtle winged eye

L’Oreal voluminous mascara

Lips:

EOS lip balm

MAC Sail la Vie lipstick on the lips straight out of the bullet- this colour is limited-edition from last summer and is not available anymore but Maybelline Vibrant Mandarin is similar and MAC Neon Orange is slightly brighter and more orange.

Enjoy!

FOTD – Longlasting Makeup for Hot Weather

FOTD- Day to Night with Urban Decay Naked Palette

products used
products used

In the last few weeks I’ve been trying to be creative and make more use of my neglected Naked palette. The thing is I tend to find the palette too shimmery and too warm to be a palette to use for a bunch of different whole looks but I’ve been managing to create a few that I’ve liked. This one has by far been my favourite as I think it’s really pretty without being overdone, defined and versatile. This is the kind of makeup that I find suits casual days to going-out nights. It’s nothing spectacular, I just thought that I would share! 🙂

The look :)
The look 🙂
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my lip colour is off … whoops 🙂

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If you don’t have the colours I have, I’ll try to give some alternatives at the end; there’s nothing I hate more than a look I like but own none of the colours for.

Eyes:

1. I primed my eyes with Primer Potion and then I used the brush that comes in the Naked Palette to pat a good amount of Sin on the inner half of the lid and Toasted on the outer half and then blended the edges together.

2. So I sort of cheated a little – I used one shadow not in the Naked Palette. I used the darker shade of Nars Kalahari (the right side) in the crease with a fluffy blending brush.

3. I filled in my brows lightly with Buck on an angled brush.

5. I applied Hustle into the outer-v and then blended outwards with my MAC 239.

6. Using my angled liner brush again, I applied Hustle underneath my eye in the outer corner.

7. I lined my upper lashes with same brush using Darkhouse and smudged it. I also applied some on my MAC 239 brush and used it to darken the outer v.

8. I highlighted the browbone and brightened the inner corner with Virgin.

9. I used L’Oreal Voluminous mascara on my upper lashes.

I’m sorry but I maybe sort of used the same cheek and lip products as in the other look … but at least its proof of their excellence? 🙂

10. I used Rimmel Wake Me Up in 100 for my foundation which I really like the colour match for my skin, the glow it provides, its lasting power and that it’s not too noticeable.

11. I put the second-lightest colour of Make Up For Ever 5 Concealer Cream Palette – my shade is 1- underneath my eyes and onto rather pronounced blemishes.

12. I used Rimmel Natural Glow Bronzer in 021 on my cheekbones, forhead, temples, nose and blended it into my neck to bronze my face up slightly with a large blush brush.

13. I placed MAC Stereo Rose MSF on my cheeks with the same brush, blending it into the bronzer. I know this is LE, but I’ll talk about other options below 🙂

14. I put the tiniest bit of Benefit’s Girl Meets Pearl highlighter on the tops of my cheekbones.

15. With my finger, I dabbed some Bobbi Brown Rose Pot Rouge onto my lips.

This sounds long but it wasn’t and was rather quick and easy!

Alternative List

UD Sin – MAC Naked Lunch, MAC All That Glitters for darker skintones

UD Virgin – MAC Shroom, MAC Dazzlelight is a golden alternative

UD Toasted – MAC Sable is slightly darker, MAC All That Glitters is slightly lighter

Nars Kalahari (Darker Shade)  – I can’t think of anything extremely similar but UD Buck could be used in its place (if you’re warmer), MAC Charcoal Brown or Espresso – these are both matte although Kalahari has a sheen

UD Hustle – MAC Satin Taupe is similar

UD Darkhorse – Any brown darker than Hustle would work, I’ve heard Nars Cordura is similar, MAC Handwritten is similar without the shimmer but ever-so-slightly warmer, MAC Embark and Smut are also similar and they have some sheen to them

MAC Stereo Rose – MAC Springsheen is peachier, MAC Orgasm is pinker and lighter (without the bronze-ness) and Milani Coralina is slightly pinker and Rose d’Oro slightly more orange-leaning coral

Any thoughts? 🙂

Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation Review

Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundation is one of those cult products that everyone seems to love and swear by, so when Sephora put on the $15 dollars off promotion last December I was hooked. Everyone on the planet seemed to be raving about this foundation, claiming that it provided flawless coverage while leaving your skin looking incredibly natural. The back of the package reads: “the ultimate in flawless natural coverage. Silk Creme Foundation is a beautiful, light-diffusing formula offering advanced light-reflection properties which cause fine lines and wrinkles to optically vanish. Laura created an innovative foundation that delivers flawless, buildable coverage in a long wearing rich hydrating base”. Summing this up, Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundation is marketed as a radiant foundation that can provide full coverage that looks natural without being drying – it most certainly does not cause fine lines and wrinkles to vanish (not that I have any).

On me, this foundation provides medium coverage and it is buildable, but the crux of the problem here is that on my skin (which tends to get dry and flaky), I cannot build the coverage past medium (and I do have to be careful with the product n general) without the foundation looking really unnatural on me. I would agree with the claim that the foundation is hydrating, which is a nice change of pace for a foundation that offers good coverage.

In my humble opinion, the texture of this foundation leaves much to be desired; sure it’s lovely to feel the lightweight silky cream texture on the hand and it does feel lightweight on the face, but if anything comes into contact with your face, the foundation will rub-off and transfer. It strikes to me that this foundation sets but doesn’t feel like it sets; it feels like wearing a coloured cream on your skin that never quite sinks in. For you glasses-wearers out there, (myself included) I will warn you that because this foundation tends to transfer, it will rub the foundation from the bridge of your nose onto your glasses, leaving a rather disgusting film on your glasses and foundation-less red marks on your face – glasses tend to rub product off when I wear other foundations but not to such a degree as when I wear Laura Mercier Silk Creme.

This may seem rather redundant at this point, but because of the feel of the foundation and the fact that it transfers easily, I find that it needs to be set with a powder. However I find that I lose the satin finish of the foundation that I think is quite nice when I powder it (no matter how lightly) – it is worthy to note that powder does help in terms of the feel of the product itself on the skin.

I applied slightly less than a pea-sized amount of the foundation to my face and neck with a dampened sponge in the morning and ten hours later, the product was still going strong albeit a little faded perhaps — I’ve included pictures at the bottom. I think that Laura Mercier Silk Creme has good lasting power but not amazing; on my dry/dehydrated skin, almost anything will last all day. I did find as the foundation wore, the product settled even more into my dry patches. IMO, the lasting power of this foundation does not rival something like Make Up For Ever HD in terms of longevity.

I picked up my Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation in Rose Ivory at Sephora. It retails for $43 in the US and $55 in Canada. The shade range is not great, however the shades tend to be good for fairer skin tones (there are three fair shades) and the shades tend to lean yellow. The foundation comes in ten shades, suitable for fair to medium skintones. Sephora seems to only carry eight of these shades – Soft Ivory (the fairest shade) and Peach Ivory (light to medium rose-toned shade) are missing from their selection. The foundation comes in 35 mL squeezy-top packaging.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

same as above, but this photo is taken in the artificial light of my bathroom
same as above, but this photo is taken in the artificial light of my bathroom
All of my makeup on (inc. powder) three hours after initial application
All of my makeup on (inc. powder) three hours after initial application
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after ten hours (no touch-ups)
Foundation swatches on my arm in natural light, from top to bottom: Laura Mercier Silk Creme in Rose Ivory, Rimmel Wake Me Up in Ivory and MUFE HD in 115
Foundation swatches on my arm in natural light, from top to bottom: Laura Mercier Silk Creme in Rose Ivory, Rimmel Wake Me Up in Ivory and MUFE HD in 115

Verdict: Although this foundation is quite pricy, I do recommend it as a medium-plus coverage foundation for slightly dry to somewhat oily complexions with the warning that it tends to transfer and the longevity is not amazing. I would not recommend it to someone with truly dry skin as it does settle into dry patches (and I would imagine it would do the same with fine lines) or to someone with really oily skin as it is so creamy.

I hope you enjoy and would love to hear for any product recommendations!

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