Generally drugstore blushes do not entice me in my frequent sweep of the cosmetics aisle as they’re one of the few products that I don’t have a drugstore favourite of. Even the hyped Milani blushes do not compare to my MAC, NARS and Benefit favourites. I’m pleased to admit that I found a radiance boosting cheek product in those very aisles that does impress me, and this is it.
These mosaic blushes and bronzers come with a great deal of product (0.31 oz) and feature a good-sized mirror and a questionably flimsy blush in the compartment beneath the product itself. Both in Canada and the US, this product is fairly expensive for a drugstore offering; it seems to retail for $7-10 US and $12-16 CDN depending on where you pick them up. There are six shades in all (four blushes and two bronzers) and I picked up the darkest shade of the latter offering, Deep Bronze.
The mosaic design of Deep Bronzefeatures a matte chocolate brown, a shimmery bronze, a satiny rosy burgundy and a golden champagne in sections that allow you to to control the colour by concentrating the product you pick up from certain areas of the product. In short, the general colour I seem to get is a luminous copper-leaning warm rosy bronze. I use this as a blush but it’s just as easily a shimmery bronzer. I also use a smaller brush focusing on the lighter colours and am able to get a nice highlight out of the product as well and this shade is remarkably different than the blended shade. I find this to be incredibly versatile – can you tell I’ve fallen in love?
light vs heavy swatchcomparison to MAC Stereo Rose (center) and Milani Red Vino (left)
The formulation of the blush-bronzer-hybrid struck me as remarkable upon my first use and my opinion hasn’t changed in the least since then. It’s pigmented, finely-milled and luminous, transferring as a sheen more than a shimmer or frost. While still being quite blendable and versatile in the colour intensity, Deep Bronzehas better-than-good longevity. This strikes me as a less frosty version of a MAC Mineralize Skinfinish with slightly better longevity and pigmentation in a traditional powder form at a fraction of the price.
Maybelline markets the highlighting bronzer with the tagline, “our multi-tonal bronzer palette highlights skin and softly contours cheeks for an instantly defined glow” and now that I’ve been using this product for weeks, I can say that I agree with reservations – the highlighting is a given but the contouring is so difficult to achieve due to the size of the different blocks of colour and mosaic products like these get muddled after a few uses, making it difficult to pick up any product without shimmer. Nevertheless, this is a fantastic product. On my dry skin, the product wore for 9-10 hours without fading which is similar to my favourite high-end blushes. Summary: colour me impressed.
If like me, you want your cheeks to look luminous but not artificial, these seem to be the happy medium. This could suit fair to quite deep skintones by the virtue of the pigmentation although it might be difficult to pull of on those on the fairer end of the spectrum with cool undertones. I’m warm-toned for reference.
the blush/bronzer worn sheerly using a stippling brushworn more full on (but can be built up much more than this!)
Although I’m self-professedly not the kind of girl who sticks to a daily makeup routine without changing it up a bit on the daily basis, lately I’ve been sticking to quite a “routine” of sorts and I thought I’d share as I haven’t done a daily face this year – what horror, har har har. This is the kind of makeup that seems to happen when (a) I make the effort to actually apply something and (b) I don’t want to think on autopilot.
So I might have lied; well kind of. I’ve gotten into a routine in terms of what products I apply and what I go for buttt as I’m not completely broke as I’ve picked up a few things lately there have been a few recent additions as well. The overall routine, however, has remained constant.
I’m convinced that I was delusional before when I thought I didn’t like Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse Foundation. Since doing my “shopping my stash” post, I’ve been reaching for this foundation exclusively – and that’s saying something because I’m a foundation hoarder and I can never seem to stick to one. It has a hydrating creamy consistency providing medium coverage that can be built and a slightly dewy finish. Particularly when paired with the Lancome La Base Prosilicone-y primer, it sits on my dry skin nicely, providing coverage without it looking obvious or making my skin look dull.
I’ve done something shocking, I’ve fallen back in love with my MAC Studio Careblend Pressed Powder, which I wear in the lightest shade after passing powder off for months because I don’t “need it” and worried about cakiness and the like. Maybe now since I’ve been a little more frugal with my foundation application or something, it’s made its way into the daily rotation. Applied with a powder brush, it adds a tiny bit of coverage and sets the skin and helps with imperfections such as pores and texture while providing a natural (not matte) finish. Unless I have an absolutely frightening dry patch, it does not highlight them at all and it’s amazing. Concealer has been my standard highlighting Rimmel Match Perfectionunderneath my eyes in the lightest shade.
For the last little while I’ve rambled on about my love of MAC Harmony Powder Blush for the daily contouring and bronzing job, but recently I’ve been reaching for the creamy Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Creme Bronzer in Warm Tan because there is something magical about the way it sits on the skin that’s worth the extra effort to blend in. Benefit Girl Meets Pearl Highlighterends up on my cheekbones daily automatically for that healthy dewy sheen.
So I was at MAC a week ago and somehow I found myself at the register with a few products I’d been lusting after in my bag. I have no idea how this happened. Even though the last thing in the world I need is blush, I picked up the duo palette and had to pick up a blush to go inside along with the eyeshadows and I chose MAC Powder Blush in Tenderlingand I’m glad I did. It’s my first truly neutral blush that livens up the face without looking like blush and is that perfect complement to wearing a bolder lip in daytime life. It’s matte-but-not-flat and the warmish brown shade leans peachy in a flattering way. If you have colouring like mine, you need this in your life.
Although I do tend to rotate between specific eyeshadows, I’ve been reaching for this “eye” exclusively. After priming, I filled in my brows with my latest addition, MAC Coquette eyeshadow, which I purchased at the reccomendation of the salesgirl after I complained of my brows looking too red-toned despite whatever shadow I used. Hallelujah, she was right. I also used the shade in the crease. On the lid I wore the product that I’ve used up two times and have been lusting after to repurchase since I began this blog, MAC All That Glitterswhich has the nicest sheen to it without being over-the-top and sits halfway between a champagne and a copper. There’s nothing like this shade to wear on the lid when you want a lighter neutral colour but are bored of the usual champagnes. In the inner corner and browbone, MAC Dazzlelight has been my go-to as it’s not overtly shimmery and looks natural. For definition in the outer-corner of the eye, I used Clubbut this shade I tend to switch up. I’ve been wearing a thin but slightly-winged line of my well-loved L’Oreal Lineur Intenseand as always, I’ve been coating my lashes with good ol’ Maybelline The Falsies.This is one of those types of eye makeup that looks fairly natural on the lid but really defines the eye and looks polished.
If you know me, I’m not usually one to wear the same lip daily but lately I’ve been wearing darker lips (the blush makes this far easier) and particularly I’ve found myself going for MAC Dubonnet.Because of the amplified creme finish of the lipstick, it’s moisturizing but the formula does tend to slide around the lips with any sort of eating or drinking. I’ve discovered that blotting it slightly doesn’t reduce the hydration and really helps the lipstick to last longer with minimal maintenance – because of the creaminess of the shade, I used to find that if I wasn’t careful I could rub the lipstick off of my lips before it stained them creating that dreaded lipstick ring around the edges of the mouth.
It’s difficult for me to get the balance right while wearing the darker lips that I adore; I need to add definition to my eyes and cheeks to balance out the face or bold colours tend to look hideous on me and what I’ve been doing has helped me to get the balance right (in my opinion!) and I wanted to share. This is my low-key and effortless dark lip sort of makeup choice and I will continue to wear it, I swear.
x,
Maggie.
Have you tried any of these products? What makeup products have you been reaching for daily?
You know you have a slight excessive beauty-product buying problem when you are constantly scouring the shelves of Sephora, whatever local department store there may be in your area and the magical emporium known as the drugstore – if you’re in Canada, Shoppers is my pick – for the latest treasure and were likely induced to do so by stress (you know how it is) when really all you had to do to find such treasures would be to scavenge through the assortment located in your bedroom known as the stash.
I know it’s in vogue currently to talk about the black impeccably-lined-up-co-ordinated-and-quite-frankly-still-intimidating store otherwise known as MAC Cosmetics as an overrated location of beauty product purchase, but it was my first makeup love and to this day, I still adore a good number of products in their selection. I don’t care how outdated I sound but their eyeshadows are fantastic and generally speaking, the products give you great bang for your buck. Before I’ve written amounts that could make an extremely disorganized essay, I’ll attempt to move onto blabbering about the neglected products.
MAC Club Eyeshadow ($12/18 CDN)
I really can’t explain why I use Club so infrequently. It’s in my older Mac quad that I successfully took the divider out of to fit more in that I look through a time or two during the week and when I do so, I resolve to use Club – somehow it never seems to happen. It’s a nicely textured, pigmented, creamy and whatever warm brown with a green duochrome that whenever I pass through MAC with a friend, I attempt to convince them that they need in their life. It’s one of those versatile medium-dark shades that can be worn in the outer corner on the daily but can also create that (relatively) effortless smoky eye — if you’re a regular reader here, you should know that I adore the smoky eye and especially the effortless variety.
MAC Club eyeshadow in all of its glory
MAC Springsheen Powder Blush ($25 CDN)
MAC Springsheen
I’m fairly certain this was one of my earlier blush purchases and that I made it in ninth grade. I remember wearing this constantly until Sephora opened near me and from the moment my eyes met the matte-black packaging of NARS Orgasm, I tossed this one onto the side. It’s another one of those coral shades with fine golden shimmer throughout but it’s more of a true warm-toned coral than the infamous NARS blush. The texture is at least as good as the blush in comparison and I do rather like it on. My theory is that it pulled too bright back when I thought I had pink-undertones and constantly looked flushed as a result of the tragedy; now that I match my foundation to my much more yellow-toned body, I don’t have this issue whatsoever. Lesson learned: learn how to match your foundation correctly to your body and everything else will fall into place.
Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse Foundation ($11-14 CDN)
Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse Foundation in 110 Porcelain Ivory
Ah, this would be one of the all-too-frequent stress-induced purchases that somehow manage to happen after dry winter skin frustration and a long busy day,week, etc. at school. I bought this in the time when every foundation looked slightly terrifying on my skin with dry patches galore and as I have dry skin and this was toted as a great dewy moisturizing formula (by Rosanna, from youtube’s rpiercemakup) at a good pricepoint…. It happened. This was in the phase a month or two back when I kept piling on the foundation to cover the skin irritation and consequently it looked even worse and I cast it aside, forgetting all about it. As with all other Maybelline face products, the shade range is horrendous but the medium coverage formula is a nice one especially on drier complexions. Obvs. I would expect to hear more on this from me in the foreseeable future.
Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in 107($7-8 CDN)
Rimmel by Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in 107
It’s doubtful that writing the full title was really necessary and was tempted to merely write “that dark Rimmel lipstick”, as this is such a commonly praised product this year. I bought this in the fall and I liked the candy-scented longwearing but not drying matte lipstick but it wasn’t as vampy as I expected and I forgot about it. I think it’s more of a cool-toned berry red shade than it appears and somehow this made it’s way into the abyss of my cluttered lipstick drawer. I’m really going to try to wear this more and it bewilders me that I don’t use it more. It’s about as pink as I can go without looking ridiculous – if you’re new to this blog, I LOOK TERRIBLE IN PINKS and consequently have an abundance of red-toned shades. Yes, this lipstick, easily referred to as “that lipstick” that seems to be featured on every beauty blogged (and loved also) is worth it.
Rimmel 107, MAC Club, MAC Springsheenproducts in use: wearing the Maybelline foundation, MAC Springsheen on the cheeks with some highlighter, MAC Club in the outer corner and crease of the eye and “that lipstick” applied onto the lips poorly and then blotted – taken with flash 🙂
Have you tried any of these products? And I’m even more curious to see if I’m the only one who completely neglects great products – if you’re like me, I’d love to know your discoveries from your stash! x
December was a weird month in particular this year; I won’t purposely try to make you all gauge your precious eyes out with cliched phrases such as ‘it passed so fast’ and ‘it was so stressful and busy’, although life seems to be full of the two lately. University kept me crazy busy and stressed for the first two weeks but as soon as the fourteenth hit, I was done and it was weird.
My skin has been duller than ever with abundant dry patches and I’ve perhaps gone a little too highlighter happy and my product of choice has been the old limited edition MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Semi-Precious Pearl, which is a gorgeous glowy shimmery golden champagne.
It should be no secret that I’ve fallen in love with L’Oreal Lineur Intense in Carbon Black($10 CDN) this month. It has more pigment than Maybelline Master Precise and is more precise and slightly easier to control. With this, it’s quick and easy to create a subtle wing on an everyday basis. This liner is fine enough to create the thinnest line, which I tend to struggle with.
I’ve had the MAC Eyeshadow in Sketch($12/18 CDN)since the end of the summer but I’ve previously found it to be chalky and difficult to pair with other shades without effort but this seemed to change this month. I’ve really enjoyed placing the “velvet” but pretty much matte plum shade in the outer v and it’s been gracing my face frequently, most often paired with rosier and taupe-y shades.
The contour powder, sold as a blush, MAC Harmony ($25 CDN)is easily one of my favourite beauty products of all time – I included it in my recently posted yearly favourites – but it’s made it’s way back into the daily rotation this month as it functions nicely as a contour shade but has some warmth to it, without looking overly warm and orangey. It has enough rosiness to it that I can go without blush when wearing this and I adore it, especially with bolder lips.
In the cold weather as of late, I’ve been finding that my natural loose curls are determined to fall flat and lifeless along with their characteristic dryness. I’ve found that applying Bumble and Bumble Texture (Un)dressing Creme ($17/33 CDN) straight out of the shower adds volume and texture while still providing control either by itself or in combination with a curl-enhancing product with hold. I think this cream manages to be one of those universal products that adds great texture among all different hair types without leaving the hair dry — it’s concentrated and even with my abundance of hair, I’m still using my travel-sized product that I bought in the spring.
My daily use of Laura Mercier Foundation Primer in Radiance($24/40 CDN)and my love for it snuck up on me. This is the first foundation primer that I’ve tried (and I’ve tried a few) that proved to be worthwhile. A little bit prior to starting the blog, I saw the 15 mL size at my Sephora in the 100-point-perk case and it had to be mine… I can’t resist a good free beauty product and as a sample, the size was very generous. It’s tinted a peachy-gold sheeny shade that adds notable luminosity to the face (which I adore), doesn’t irritate my sensitive skin in the slightest and seems to help the foundation glide on more smoothly with the touch of hydration it provides. The thing is that, as I’ve mentioned far too many times before, I do not have issues with foundation longevity and this is generally what primers are aimed to do but I like this one because it helps to blend the foundation seamlessly along with illumination but I do not think it helps with longevity or prevents oil from breaking through. I think this is a great primer for drier and duller looking skin, especially for those who haven’t had the greatest success with traditional foundation primers.
Indeed Laboratories Pepta-Bright ($40 CDN) isindeedone of those products that takes you by surprise with its efficacy — that was horrible, I know, but I couldn’t resist. It’s a chemical exfoliant in serum form with lactic acid in a moisturizing base that I’ve been using pretty much nightly since the beginning of the fall and I didn’t notice the results at first but within a few months, it helped with the formation of clogged pore bump-like things on my forehead, faded the textured marks that blemishes always leave behind on my skin and seemed to brighten and even out my skin. I’ve received some compliments on my bare skin recently and I know it’s because of this cream-serum that exfoliates without being harsh or irritating – even on my sensitive skin, all I can feel is a slight tingle (and I tend to feel the tingle with even the gentlest of products).
This month I’ve been playing The Neighbourhood‘s I Love You($7 CDN) album nonstop this month. I’m sure everyone is familiar with them because of “Sweater Weather” but the whole album is just as good. The music is moody, slightly-grungy and angsty deliciousness. I don’t know else to explain it — if you like music that iTunes places in the “alternative” genre, give this a listen if you haven’t already heard it.
Have you tried any of these? What were your favourites this month?
FACE: Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 10 Light, MAC Studio Careblend Pressed Powder in Light, Benefit Rockateur Boxed Powder, Rimmel Natural Bronzer in 021 Sun Light
EYES: Urban Decay Primer Potion, Urban Decay Virgin eye shadow (highlight), Urban Decay Sin Eye Shadow (lid), Urban Decay Naked eye shadow (crease and brows), Urban Decay Darkhorse eye shadow (outer v and as liner), Urban Decay Perversion 24/7 Liner (tightline), Maybelline Eyestudio Black Gel Liner (upper lash line), Maybelline One By One Mascara in Black
LIPS: MAC Ruby Woo Lipstick
So I’ve gotten more into my Urban Decay Naked Palette lately. I’ve said that this mega-hyped palette is not one that I find myself reaching for as an all-inclusive palette for all different kinds of looks; I find it to be too warm and too shimmery to be ideal for me. It’s not something I find myself reaching for every day to create a multitude of different looks. But I figured I’d do a series of posts of looks I created with it, as boring as that may be because I know so many people have it.
I was going to go for a really subtle makeup look but then I found myself gazing longingly at my favourite red lipstick and you can guess the rest. I quite liked this look as a subtle and defined eye look. I would also consider it as a success of wearing a read lip during the day; I wore it out to the mall and didn’t get any odd looks. This lipstick is just so drying but its the perfect colour – MAC Ruby Woo is amazing.
Like many of us on this planet, I am quite a fan of those oh-so-easy peachy-champagne shades that you haphazardly sweep across the lid – Sin is excellent in this way. When I want to go subtle with my brows, Naked is the way to go and as a bonus, it is a great crease shade. I put Darkhorse in the outer-v and finished with the usual suspects.
Because the red lip is not exactly the most subtle look for a trip to the mall, I tried to go for really natural skin foregoing the foundation completely, only applying Maybelline Fit Me Concealer where I needed it and the light-coverage MAC Studio Careblend Pressed Powder. I’ve paired it with one of my latest splurges that I’ve been loving – the Benefit Rockateur Boxed Powder that I most certainly did not need.
I plan on continuing this series of Naked Palette makeup looks. Any thoughts? 🙂
So today was the first day of my second year of university and in light of all that back-to-school craziness, I thought I would share what I wore! As pictured above, I wore a Club Monaco blouse, a bandeau from American Eagle, and an ancient pair of pastel-blue shorts, also by American Eagle. Not pictured were my simple brown flat sandals and white crossbody bag with gold hardware, both from Aldo……. I might possibly have been to tired to get them from downstairs. I quite liked the outfit because it felt appropriate for the awkward between-fall-and-summer season, was the right temperature and was the right amount of put-together.
Top to Bottom (and L-R): L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara, Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 10 Light, Diorskin Nude Skin-Glowing Makeup in 20 Beige (Sephora sample), MAC Well Dressed Powder Blush, MAC Harmony Powder Blush, EOS Peach Lip Balm, Wet n Wild Blue Had Me at Hello Palette, Urban Decay Perversion 24/7 Eyeliner, MAC Charcoal Brown e/s, MAC Satin Taupe e/s and Maybelline Barely Branded Color Tattoopoor quality again but taken of me a bit before nineclose up of the eyes at six (ten hours after application)the rest of the face at six
The makeup was definitely the more remarkable part of the getup. I used Laura Mercier Radiance Primer, buffed in Diorskin Nude Skin-Glowing Makeup in 20 Light Beige (I had a sample) and concealed with Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 10 Light. The eyes were when I became afraid of my intentions. As I usually do, I used Maybelline Barely Branded Color Tattoo as a base and then went on to fill in my brows with MAC Charcoal Brown and placed MAC Satin Taupe in the crease. Then I decided to use the Wet n Wild Blue Had Me At Hello Palette in some sort of wearable way. The shades I used were the silvery white (highlight), the silver with blue undertones (lid), the second darkest blue (in the outer-v) and the darkest blue (to line the lower lashes). My eye liner was Urban Decay Perversion and my mascara was L’Oreal Voluminous. I kept the rest of the face simple: MAC Harmony to contour, MAC Well Dressed as blush and just EOS lip balm on the lips.
So, this was obviously quite a dramatic look for first day but I thought it turned out rather nice and was surprisingly flattering on my blue eyes. I would say it was a mermaid-y smoky eye and It was one of my latest makeup attempts that was not a complete failure. I thought it was a relatively wearable way to wear this bold palette and that my overall look was nice and awake, which is always nice for the perpetually-exhausted like myself.
There are two beauty-related thoughts that frequently came to my mind frequently in the last month; I have been in a major makeup rut and that it pisses me off to no end when bloggers list 102 items as their favourites and we all know that it’s simply a list of products they used – not helpful for those of us with a limited makeup budget. As a result of these two things, I have sort of edited myself to compile a list of beauty essentials this month (not just stuff I wore a few times and went overboard).
I was never a lip-gloss girl, never even in my late elementary school or junior high days and because of this I thought I would not be a fan of the whole ‘lip butter’ craze because of their glossiness. However, Revlon lip products were on for a rare buy one get one free promotion and I picked one up to feed my makeup addiction. I think the hype is sort of worth it. The colour I have is Pink Truffle which is a warm, rosy browny pink that is a no-fuss kind of shade. The texture is like a waxy balm and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it lasted on my lips for maybe three hours
.
At the end of last month, I ran out of my go-to eye primer, Urban Decay Primer Potion that came in my Urban Decay palettes and as I am currently broke and spent way too much money on makeup (story of my life), I switched to something I already owned, my Maybelline Color Tattoo Metal in Barely Branded. I’m sure everyone and their cat knows this, but these are long-lasting cream eye shadows that double as bases like MAC Paint Pots. It is a shimmery gold-based light champagne sort of colour. I would say the shade is a darker version of MAC Dazzlelight with a touch more champagne in it or is a slightly lighter version of Urban Decay Sin with golden undertones instead of the pink. The texture is ultra-creamy (creamier than the other one of this line that I own) and has good longevity. I do find that this shade performs better as a primer/base than Bad to the Bronze, as it lasts longer without fading and creasing. It performs almost as good as a primer and also doubles as a stand-alone shade..
Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liner in Perversion is another one of those products seems to be a cult-favourite that I’ve found essential in the last month. It is a creamy jet-black that has amazing longevity, in that difficult-to-remove kind of way. It’s quite versatile as it provides the intensity of a gel or liquid, yet can be smudged out with the ease of a pencil.
I picked up Physician’s Formula Shimmer Strips New Eyes Palette towards the end of last month and initially was quite disappointed; it’s not completely practical to have a palette of nine entirely shimmery shades, the shades are a touch sheer and there is not much variation in the depth of the shades. Needless to say, it got used and grew on me. It’s a palette full of those rare taupey shades (there are ten of them in all). My favourite shades in particular were as follows: the light taupe with golden undertones (third from left) and the other light taupe with grey undertones (middle) on the lid, the taupey brown with purple-y undertones (second from left) and the taupey brown with grey undertones (forth from left) in the crease and outer-v and the frosty yellow-toned white (farthest on the right) in the inner corners. This is the kind of palette that is good for everyday looks but is lacking somewhat for more dramatic ones. The shadows do have a nice texture and are easy to blend, I have to say.
I find it particularly difficult to find affordable drugstore conditioners I like but L’Oreal Power Moisture Moisture Infusion Mask really impressed me. I find it very moisturizing without coating my fine hair and weighing it down (like it claims to do), but I think of it more as an everyday conditioner than a heavy mask – but I do have very dry wavy slash curly hair that is quite long. It does contain non water-soluble silicones high in the ingredient list, but I do not find amodimethicone to build up on my hair and its conditioning agents are not oils but rather emollients, the wax mineral oil is derived from and a small amount of hyaluronic acid. The only downside to the product is the artificial-floral scent and it fades after being rinsed out.
I’ve been really enjoying using Organix Luxurious Moroccan Argan Creme Shampoo this month. I was a fan of the regular Argan-oil shampoo in the Organix line but like this one even better. It is sulfate-free but cleanses with gentler surfactants (Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate and Cocomidopropyl Betatine) and the only silicone it contains is water soluble. It contains a fair amount of Argan oil and I do find it to be a moisturizing gentle shampoo that does not weigh my hair down in the least. It has the same amazing sort of scent that MoroccanOil products have.
I’ll start of by apologizing for the current state of this product but I used it and haven’t gotten around to cleaning it yet (and it stains anyway). About a month ago, I saw a Beauty Blender replica at Shoppers Drugmart for a few dollars and after hearing great things about the seemingly magical sponge I couldn’t resist. When used damp, the sponge expertly blends in makeup without wasting too much of the product.
Top to Bottom – Revlon Pink Truffle Lip Butter, Maybelline Barely Branded Color Tattoo and Urban Decay Perversion 24/7 Liner.
Physician’s Formula Nude Eyes Palette swatched from the right at the top to the left at the bottom
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
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.
I’ve always been interested in the makeup routine or that people tend to go for an everyday basis and I’ve never done one and lately when I want to wear a full face of makeup, I’ve been sticking to this particular look. This routine I find easy to wear and flattering on me – for reference, I’m a pale brunette (somewhere around an NW15) with blue eyes. The makeup seems to follow sort of a golden rosy motif.
1. Caudalie Vinosource Sorbet-Creme: Because I have dry skin, makeup tends to last a long time on me so I don’t feel the need to use primer for longevity. I thought I’d include my moisturizer because I use it in the place of a primer.
2. Avene High Protection Cream: Because I tend to be sensitive to chemical spf, I use this purely physical one with spf 50 even though it leaves a white cast.
3. Make Up For Ever 5 Concealer Palette (1): I concealed/corrected all of my major blemishes and then touched up the remaining issues after foundation. I also put it underneath my eyes and around the inner corners.
4. Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation (100 Ivory): I applied a pump with my fingers, blending the rest into my neck. This product is rather yellow for my skin tone, by the way (which is around an NW15 or so). It lasts a long time and makes you look really glowy.
5. Rimmel Natural Bronzer (021 Sun Light): I lightly contoured my face with this bronzer.
6. MAC Mineralize Skinfinish (Stereo Rose): I applied this to the apples of my cheeks and blended towards my temples into my contour – this is a limited edition shimmery pink-coral with bronzy veining.
7. MAC Mineralize Skinfinish (Semi-Precious Pearl): I used the outer ring colour to highlight my cheekbones.
8. Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge (Rose): I put a small amount of this on my lips.
9. Maybelline Color Tattoo (Bad to the Bronze): I blended this onto my lids as a base.
10. MAC eye shadows (Dazzlelight, Woodwinked, Charcoal Brown and Club): I put Dazzlelight on the inner third of the lid as well as the browbone and Woodwinked on the rest of the lid and blended them together. I filled in my brows with Charcoal Brown lightly and applied a tiny bit of Club onto the outer corner of my bottom lashline.
11. Urban Decay (Smog and Freestyle) eye shadows: I blended Smog (which is available individually and in the Naked palette) into the outer corner of my lid). I put Freestyle into the crease to help blend the shadows – this shade is only available in the Smoked palette but any transition colour would work.
12. Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner (Perversion): I made a fine line on my top lashes and then smudged lightly.
13. L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara (Carbon Black):I put a coat or two onto my top lashes.
With the exception of the lips, this makeup lasts all day on me. However, as I have extremely oily eyelids, I would apply eye primer and might powder my t-zone if I were to want my makeup to not budge for 16 hours or more and last through blood, sweat and tears kind of thing (well maybe not tears but you get the idea).
ignore the toilet and my lack of lining up skills 🙂
I will admit that in the past I’ve been a victim of the whole mentality that if a product is more expensive, it must necessarily be better, or “you get what you pay for”, however recently I have found some products that I adore at the drugstore that are at least as good (if not better than) their much pricier counterparts. So, here goes:
1. Neutrogena Extra Gentle cleanser: True to its name, this is a fragrance-free and irritation-free cleanser. Due to the fact that it does not contain any detergents, it is not the best makeup remover, nor does it provide an ultra-deep cleanse. This cleanser might perhaps be the best one that I’ve ever tried, easily better than ones with 3x the price-tag. I highly recommend this cleanser for sensitive and acne-prone skin, but it is also great for all skin types. In Canada, it costs around ten dollars.
2. Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation: This is a pretty new foundation for me, but I have been using it long enough to know that it does not clog my pores (and I have extremely sensitive, acne-prone skin). As I was in the market for a new less-expensive glowier foundation and I had heard great things about this foundation, I picked this one up in 100 ivory and was impressed. The only setback with this foundation is the colour range – there are only a few colours and are particularly limited in pale and dark shades. The finish is gorgeous and glowy and I find it has good medium coverage. It is also worth noting that this is one of the best foundations I’ve ever tried and outperforms foundations that cost 5x the price. In Canada it costs about 10-12 dollars.
3. EOS lip balm: These lip balms are great, super-hydrating and they aren’t sticky, shiny or anything. The ball-packaging is rather nice and they function as a skin-care product, not a balm for a glossy appearance (like Maybelline Baby Lips or the like). I highly recommend these for dry lips. I would imagine that they cost a bit under 10 dollars CDN – I’m not sure how much they cost individually because I bought them in a value pack at Costco.
4. Maybelline Master Precise eyeliner pen: In all honesty here, I am not the most even-handed and precise person while applying liquid eyeliner (or anything else for that matter) and this liner makes the job far easier. This liner (I have it in black) appears nicely matte and inky-dark. For some odd reason, I have the oiliest eyelids known to man and this lasts all day on me without smudging and removes easily with Bioderma (or any regular makeup remover). However, I must mention that you must hold the liner on its side so it is parallel to the lashline or the product will not have much colour payoff. I find myself reaching for this quite frequently to do a nicely winged eye look. I paid about 10 dollars CDN for this.
5. Maybelline the Falsies Flared mascara: Long story short – I really like this mascara. I have very sensitive and dry eyes and eye products frequently irritate my eyes so I was pleasantly surprised when this oddly rose-scented mascara did not. Naturally I have fairly long pretty curly eyelashes so I look for dramatically thickening mascaras and this one does the job. One of this mascara’s plenty appeals is that it removes quite easily with gentle makeup remover, while not flaking or coming off in any shape or form during the day. In my experience, this mascara does not imitate the results of false lashes but what one does? The Falsies Flared provides nice thick lashes along with some length and makes my lashes look rather nice at a fraction of the cost of other mascaras that I’ve tried that it works at least equally well to. I purchased mine at a local drugstore for 10 dollars CDN.
Note: I personally have not tried the original mascara. I’ve heard that the formula for the Falsies Flared and the Falsies original are the same, just the brushes are different. I am not a fan of the brush and find it to be a gimmick therefore if you have the original, I would not reccomend rushing out to purchase the flared edition.
6. Maybelline Colour Tattoo eyeshadow in Bad to the Bronze: I’m sure this needs no explanation, so I’ll keep it short and sweet; by no means do I think this is an amazing but I think it is slightly better than MAC Paint Pots, making it the best eye shadow base I’ve ever tried. For me, this product is not crease-proof and not that I’ve tested it out myself, I doubt that these last 24 hours. Keeping that in mind, this cream shadow is great. The taupey-bronze hue is great for those of us who are cooler-in tone, as it allows us to wear that bronzy hue without looking orange. I find myself reaching for this shadow when I have to get ready in seconds – I apply this, shove some mascara onto my lashes and haphazardly fill in my brows. I find that this shadow is long-wearing and also helps other eyeshadows to really pop – even more than they would with a traditional primer such as Urban Decay Primer Potion. I know these are much cheaper in the states, but I picked mine up for ten dollars CDN.
Note failure to keep it short and sweet.
7. Bioderma Sensibio micellar water: I feel like I’m cheating by including this because although this product is sold at the drugstore, it is not particularly inexpensive but it is fantastic nevertheless. Above I mentioned that I have super-sensitive skin and this is multiplied tenfold for my eyes and they are also incredibly dry. I am one of those people who eyes always sting when they are removing makeup and miraculously this one does not sting, while still being quite effective. It’s also fragrance-free and soothing, therefore excellent for sensitive skin. I use it nightly to remove my face and eye makeup before cleansing my face and I adore it, however I find myself going through this product rather fast. I picked mine up at Shopper’s for 22 dollars CDN.
8. John Freida Frizz-Ease Curl Reviving styling mousse: As a wavy-curly girl, I have a slight obsession with trying to find the perfect product, I go through a ton of them and I am rather picky about them. It’s difficult to find good products, even more-so without spending a ton of money. This mousse is good, however. It has a good amount of hold without weighing the hair down, drying it out, leaving residue or making it hard or crispy. It’s also a alcohol and silicone-free product, which are rather difficult to find at any price point. I find that it gives me nice curl formation and I picked it up for around 10 dollars CDN.
If anyone in the world is reading this, I apologize profusely for being my usual, excessively wordy self and providing very minimal useful information. It appears that the products that I am preaching about are already hyped-up products and I most likely am presenting little to no helpful information. Anyways, salutations (because I find the word hilarious)!
beautylit& ramblings 