I’m actually free from all that exam-period loveliness and it feels strange indeed but I’m thrilled about it. In celebration, a beauty product or two was obviously in order and I went by the mall to pick up MAC Sweet & Sourand I couldn’t be more thrilled about it. Sweet and Sour came out with the “All About Orange” collection last summer that I regrettably skipped on afterwards so I couldn’t have been more thrilled when MAC recently made it permanent with a good number of previously limited-edition lipsticks and glosses. And I picked it up when I spotted it. It retails for the standard MAC lipstick price — $19 CDN — and the muted orange-leaning coral lipstick has the ever-popular Cremesheen finish and while this finish as a whole isn’t my favourite as its not forgiving on the lips and can feel kind of grainy at times, this has to be one of the best Cremesheens I’ve ever tried. This lipstick lasts three to four hours on the lips, is not drying — but it can accentuate dry patches slightly — and feels light and creamy on the lips so it has my vote.
I seem to compare any peachy-toned lipstick in the light colour family to the popular MAC Shy Girl which I cannot wear much to my dissatisfaction but this one is honestly an amped-up version of the popular shade that sits much nicer on my warm-toned fair skin. This shade is a perfect spring-summer everyday one for me as it isn’t full out orange or anything but has that hint of summeriness to it. I would have to describe it as being halfway between a warm-toned nude and a true tangerine kind of shade and because of this its surprisingly wearable on an everyday basis. I love this and I’m actually happy that MAC has surprised me by making some glorious shades permanent – woo. I doubt I’ll even need to make an effort to keep you updated on my thoughts on this shade; I suspect it will turn into one of my instant obsessions. MAC Sweet & Sour Lipstick is glorious. That just about sums it up. Oh, and I’m slightly in love if I haven’t mentioned it before. And I don’t know what to do with myself.
Will you be picking up any of the now-permanent shades?
It’s rare that you’ll see a mascara (other than my beloved standard Maybelline The Falsies) mentioned here, but I feel that this L’Oreal offering deserves not just a mere mention but it’s own review post, solely based on its merit. While I can’t quite bring myself to say that the L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess Mascarahas topped The Falsies in my ranking of mascara loves, I can’t say that it’s inferior to it in any significant shape or form.
It’s time for a fun fact: long before the birth of this little place that I call my blog, I used to use the Voluminous Million Lashes standard mascara, which did give me great results but seeing as it was on the difficult side to remove thanks to my beyond-sensitive eyeballs, I wasn’t ready to commit to it. So I went for the newly-launched sister mascara, the Voluminous Million False Fibre Lashes and man was that a fatal mistake; the mascara became the bane of my existence, stabbing the sensitive eyes with the fibres themselves and being even more impossible to remove, despite being the regular and not waterproof formula. So I held a grudge against L’Oreal mascaras for a while… until I heard everyone raving about the original Voluminous formula. You know how this one went, I tried it and used it up but wasn’t wowed.
But then I went for this one. As one might expect, it’s similar to the original Voluminous Million Lashes, however the wand is both longer and thinner, adding extra definition to the lashes. The change in wand here makes the formula great for the lower lashes as well as the upper ones, very separating and generally fantastic at giving the best-of-both-worlds big overall lashes. And the formula is not a particularly wet one, so it wins bonus points in my book.
Over the past few weeks, I have been receiving numerous compliments on my lashes in real life, despite being a glasses wearer. So that tells you its working. But I feel compelled to say that naturally I do have long and curled lashes that I complain are wimpy, but in the grand scheme of things I have pretty easy lashes to work with. But I really really like this formula, it’s flawless in my eyes. I can only find it in me to say that sometimes it flakes ever-so-slightly but in truth, this only happens when I’m too lazy to remove the excess of my lashes. I just wish this was easier to remove. Well we can’t have it all, alas…
What is your favourite mascara? Have you tried this one?
Maggie, x
P.S. I’m sure that you can figure out that in the picture at the top, the first photo is before mascara and those that follow are detailing the results. Oh, and it’s around the ten dollar range in price if you weren’t aware.
At the moment there aren’t too many things I can say without immediately starting to change my mind, but I know with certainty three things. I should be studying. I should be working on research paper number one. I should be working on paper number two. I guess there’s a fourth thing that I can say here. I shouldn’t be writing a blogpost but suddenly writing posts is so enticing that I can’t resist. And I’m convinced blogging is good for my sanity.
There’s an exception to every rule and in this instance I couldn’t be more thrilled about it; despite never ever being able to find limited edition drugstore things, I spotted this limited edition Maybelline Color Tattoo, not when I was hunting high and low for it, but in a quick trip into Lawton’s. Nude Compliment is one of the six shades available in the Spring 2014 limited-edition collection and it’s has transcendent beauty — I should be writing a philosophy-based paper of sorts at the moment so excuse my really really questionable terms.
I feel compelled, as I tend to do, to address the elephant in the room, that I’m entering that cliched beauty blogger territory, praising the cult-favourite cream shadows that everyone and their pet ferret loves. I know for a while I was going through a blah phase in terms of attitude towards these cream shadows but in the last few months my love has returned and it is strong.
Nude Compliment isn’t entirely unlike the loved Bad To The Bronze, but it is different enough to justify picking it up especially because the formula is probably the best I’ve tried by Maybelline. If you’re anywhere as beauty obsessed as I am, it would be obvious that Bad To The Bronze is on the left but I’m letting you know anyway. I don’t know if I’m the only one who thinks this why but Bad To The Bronze has the most unfortunate 80’s glam-rock themed name and Nude Compliment has to be it’s less cliched sister with less bronziness to it an a cooler hue with more taupe to it. And it’s not otherwordly shimmery but instead has a satin finish — ohmygod the world is ending. Because I’m Canadian, I had to fork over $9 for this one; I envy you Americans…. But I’m glad to have picked up this one. Aaand I’m wearing it today (in the pictures obvs) with an additional shade in the crease and outer v but the lid is true to colour. The shade reminds me of MAC Patina without the gold shimmer and that’s certainly not a bad thing in my book, by the way.
Have you tried any of these? On a random note: is anyone as over-caffeinated as me at the moment?
Very much like the powders of the same name, the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes were a seemingly indulgent product that looked enticing but I was convinced that they were simply an expensive over-hyped product that would not change my life with their $41 price tag. But somehow I ended up with my first Hourglass purchase ever in my possession after I picked up a few things — I showed some impressive restraint, I must add — at the Sephora sale that began last week; I’m a blush hoarder and I hadn’t been too crazy on the buying front with them lately so I figured I would take advantage of the discount with a blush rather than another overpriced eyeshadow palette that I didn’t need at all. With my usual skepticism, I went over as one does with a beauty obsession of mine and began to swatch the blushes on the back of my hand and I was impressed, not by some sort of crazy pigmentation and inventive colours but because they had that texture that I live for, that soft powdery kind of feel that may annoy some but always ensures that they glide over the skin like a dream, blending into it rather than sitting on the top. And contrary to what I had heard from the general blogosphere consensus, the blushes offered medium but buildable pigmentation that is just as flattering built up.
I’ve said before that I have issues with those cool-toned pink shades that seem to be gorgeous on everyone, offering that illuminating quality that never quite happens on me – take MAC Well Dressed for instance — so I decided to try out the cooler-toned pale pink in the range to see if I could get that whole pale pink flush going on, rather than going for another safe coral blush that I own way too many of by anyone’s standards. You can probably guess that the shade I picked up was Ethereal Glow,which claimed to be “a cool pink blush infused with Ethereal Light for moonlit luminosity”. You’ve probably heard this before but these blushes are marbelized combinations of the corresponding powder and a blush to provide the same effect as the powders (that I haven’t tried) provide.
The reflective rose-gold packaging looks expensive but it does not house all that much product. Despite the somewhat tragic price point, these blushes only have 0.15 ounces of product inside. However the product inside is beyond impressive. Presumably with the aid of the powders that the blush is infused with, it provides that luminosity to the cheeks that quickly brightens the face while remaining almost matte without any sort of obvious shimmer that highlights imperfections and textural problems. It has a satin finish, I’d say, with its gorgeous subtle sheen that actually does seem to give that soft-focus effect simultaneously. Despite its lack of shimmer particles, it does not require an additional highlighter, strangely enough.
The texture and formula of the blush is at least as impressive on the cheeks, blending effortlessly with the skin while providing that subtle blurring effect. While the blush is a cool-toned paler pink (but not as pale or quite as cool-toned as MAC Well Dressed), it’s flattering on me in ways that no cool-toned pale blushes have been before. It adds that rosy glow to the face that I’m always going on about, except without the obvious warmth of the corals I usually go for. While you might notice it shows up on my face not quite as cool-toned as it appears in the pan, my warm undertones do this with any sort of blush shade and this is as cool-toned as blushes will show up on me. Shown below is the swatch comparisons (from L-R), a light application of the blush, a moderate application of the blush and a heavy application of MAC Well Dressed. The swatches don’t do this blush justice; this should be noted.
While still being pale, the blush stays on all day on me but this isn’t such an amazing feat given the kind of skin that I have been blessed with that holds onto face product like cement. However, pale shades do have this tendency to disappear on me after a few hours and I’m pleased to report that it isn’t the case with this one. Because I crave the definition from a contouring shade on a daily basis, I am wearing MAC Harmony through the hollows of my cheekbones for reference. And because I did a slightly built-up (but not that much) application above I wanted to include photos of more of a minimal application:
Despite what one might expect considering the price and hype of this blush, it has not left my life forever altered but it has moved its way to the top of the ranks of this blush lovers favourites and that is quite an honour. The soft-focus effect that these provide with their lack of shimmer coupled with the luminosity they impart make them a standout for me and I might actually consider picking another one of these up for their full price on account of the stunning formula. And I’ve got an itch to actually try one of the original powders that pain me to think about forking fifty dollars over for… I didn’t believe in that whole magical soft-focus effect that brings a gorgeous glow kind of thing before purchasing these but I have to say its true. My bank account is cringing as I write this, let me tell you. Considering that I picked up the lightest shade and was impressed with the quality, I suspect that the rest of the lineup is to die for considering my personal struggles with pale pinks.
Oh and this might seem obvious but I think this shade would only be a standout on fair to maybe light-medium kind of skin but the darker options have the rest of the spectrum covered I presume. I wrote just under a thousand words about a blush but I can’t find it in me to even be sheepish about it!
Have you tried any of these blushes or even the original Ambient Lighting Powders. If you haven’t will you?
REN is one of those brands that I’ve wanted to try for ages, especially after hearing the trustworthy and amusing Kate (of gh0stparties, of course) and when I got my Sephora VIB coupon code in November, I picked this product up for myself and then to assuage my guilt of spending more money, sold it to my mother to give me for Christmas – I really didn’t need to be spending money at the time but 20% was too good to waste. A moisturizer seemed like a good choice, having the dry and sensitive skin that I have and after being pleased with the ingredient list (more on this later), I went with the moderately-priced REN Hydra-Calm Global Protection Day Cream, which has recently been renamed by REN to Evercalm Global Protection Day Cream but it has not been reformulated. It can be purchased from a variety of places, but I picked mine up from Sephora for $55 CDN and I believe in the US it retails for ten dollars cheaper, as per usual.
Without making any other particularly significant changes to my skincare routine, I’ve been using this moisturizer daily since Christmas so I feel confident writing a skincare review. Because REN labels it a day cream, some of you may be mislead, expecting it to contain SPF but it doesn’t — and for me this is good because day creams tend to contain chemical spfs that my skin tends to be extremely reactive to and therefore I cannot use. There’s no reason why this can’t be used at night, but I figure it’s labelled a day cream because its not one of those heavy and thick creams that are marketed for use at night. And I like this moisturizer, it comes with 50 mLs of product in a simple hygienic pump, it’s one of the better moisturizers I’ve tried but it didn’t wow me like the Caudalie Vinosource did.
Ingredient-wise, the moisturizer contains less “filler” such as dimethicone and the like and more impressive ingredients such as antioxidants — the first ingredient, rather than being pure water, is the beneficial antioxidant Chamomile flower water and it has a high concentration of green-tea oil (another antioxidant) and has nice high concentrations of oils without drying alcohol. REN posits itself as a natural brand, so the beef I have with them is no surprise; they talk about the superiority of their skincare because of its natural fragrance but fragrance is fragrance (and irritating) regardless of its origin and there are slight amounts of natural but irritating ingredients like orange peel oil. Despite these facts, I do not find this irritating on the skin, I just think it could possibly be more soothing; I like this moisturizer on my skin on the average day but it isn’t one of those moisturizers that can go over sore dry flaky skin like a dream.
It’s a nicely hydrating moisturizer with a lightweight but nourishing texture dispensed from a handy pump. It smells slightly herbally which I don’t mind but is not necessary in my view in a skincare product as it can irritate the skin and whatnot. It absorbs quickly but leaves the skin plump and energized, helping to add some luminosity (most likely with the added oils). It’s not heavy but it isn’t a completely weightless gel kind of moisturizer but I don’t see this as a problem unless you have some serious oil-control issues but it can also be used at night. I have dry sensitive skin and I quite like this moisturizer but I can also see those with combination skin loving its lightweight texture and nourishing ability. It is soothing on the skin but not as gentle as say the Kiehl’s Stress Rescuer.
As you can probably imagine from the title, the moisturizer is targeted to leave reactive sensitive skin soothed and calm, combating future irritation that leads to premature aging and optimally hydrated. It does a pretty good job on achieving its claims it just might not be optimal for the most reactive and sensitive of skins to calm it due to its fragrance and irritating oils. But it does soothe and hydrate well, so it doesn’t make any otherwordly claims that I can complain about.
Have you tried any products from REN? If so, what are your thoughts?
I don’t think that any of my regular readers here will be shocked to hear that I’m impressed by this lipstick — come on it’s a coral shade in the lustre formula, what’s not to love? — but I have developed an unexpected love for this easy coral shade that adds a little bit of spring optimism to the freezing weather outside. It might not exactly be spring here in Canada yet but that doesn’t keep me from appreciating the lipstick here. Since picking it up, I’ve been reaching and reaching for it without growing bored of the shade or thinking that it looks odd in some way. Clearly this warranted a post of its own.
MAC Dreaming Dahlia Lipstick ($19 CDN)regrettably was limited edition with the MAC Fantasy of Flowers Collection but there should still be some around and if comfortable-to-wear corals are up your alley, I’d recommend taking a look and see if you can spot it at your local store or counter before its gone. MAC was surprisingly accurate in describing the shade as “a sheer red-coral”. It’s a lustre finish and although this is only the second shade I’ve tried in the range, I have nothing good to say about lustres; the pigmentation starts out sheerer but builds wonderfully, it wears comfortably on dry lips and is actually somewhat moisturizing and it wears evenly. Although the lipstick lasts about 3-4 hours and will not withstand anything heavy, it’s so low maintenance and easy to apply that its no big deal. I wear this shade to class without having to worry about it if it means anything to you.
I’d say the shade is not exactly sheer – medium coverage on the lips that instantly builds up for a pop of unoverwhelming colour on the lips – and it’s a watered-down bright coral shade with warm undertones that isn’t so intense that it can’t be worn with a bit of colour on the eyes or cheeks. On my fair and warm-toned skin, this shade grants an instant boost without making it look like I tried too hard when I’m in a casual setting such as classes. And this formula is one of the only ones I can wear without irritating my sore lips and highlighting their dry patches to a level where there’s no point in wearing anything on the lips.
Dreaming Dahliastrikes me as a low-maintenance easy coral shade to transition into the warmer weather without looking out of place in the current state of affairs. I have a feeling this might just be my go-to lipstick this Spring!
the shade is picking up a wee bit more subdued on camera, if you were curious 🙂
What do you think will be your go-to lip this Spring?
The NARS Kalahari Duois one of those tiny palettes that seem to get neglected in my makeup stash for the larger palettes with more variety in terms of shade options but it’s one that I always adore when I pull it out and just slap it on. I’ve rambled on time and time again that I’m someone who goes for the full on eyeshadow shebang when I wear makeup but these two colours add effortless definition to the eye with the lighter shade on the lid and the darker in the crease. I might have mentioned the duo once or twice in the days of the blog but they have been robbed of the recognition that they deserve.
A month or two before beginning my blog, I picked this beauty up at Sephora during the event they had in April that granted VIBs a good percentage off (I believe it was called ‘Chic Week’) as a treat from finishing my exams. I paid $39 CDNfor the gorgeous neutral duo and thankfully the price hasn’t gone up since for the 0.14 ounces of product. Being a MAC Eyeshadow girl, I had always gazed longingly at the NARS shadows but could not justify spending so much more for shadows but I decided I would treat myself and I am glad that I did. NARS duos contain a great deal more eyeshadow than the typically MAC and Urban Decay pots do, containing 0.07 ounces of each shade compared to the traditional 0.05 – because of this, if the shades you select will get lots of use, they are surprisingly economical so I wouldn’t necessarily be put off by the price.
Although I’ve heard fantastic things about the rest of NARS’ shadows, I cannot comment as I have only tried this one but this one is fantastic quality. I would rank these shades as among the best that I’ve ever tried with very little fallout, fantastic pigmentation and longevity along with the most blendable textures to work with. I really like the lighter gold shade in the palette but it’s the taupe that is the standout in the duo. Speaking of the gold shade, it’s a subdued gold-beige shade that reminds me of MAC Patina with better payoff and a sheeny finish and microshimmer throughout. The more spectacular shade in the duo is a slightly warm-toned plummy taupe shade that looks deceptively light and shimmery in the pan and transfers on the eyes as a medium-dark shade with a satin finish. While the taupe has that sheen to it in the pan, it transfers to the crease and outer corner as adding depth to the eyes without any sort of shimmer.
I really appreciate the almost neutral-undertones of these shades because so often these golden shades are extremely warm, which I do like, but these had more of that unique quality, having both pretty neutral undertones without beginning to make the eyes look tired as some cool-toned shades can do.
Below, I’m merely wearing these two shades over a cream-coloured base (and some less than stellar eyeliner) but they do also pair nicely with additional shades – MAC Sketch is a favourite of mine to pair with the two but the duo doesn’t require it.
If you can’t tell I absolutely adore this duo and have my eyes open for another duo to try in the near future!
It’s been an awful and crazy last few days, I’ll leave it at that. On a more positive note, there’s always miscellaneous beauty products (thankfully) to make these times a little more bearable. This is one of those products and for the life of me I cannot figure out why this isn’t raved about more – I know it’s the first moisture mask that I’ve tried but it’s become an integral part of my nighttime skincare routine.
As for basic details, The Body Shop Aloe Protective Restoring Maskretails for $22 CDN(and it seems like promotions are always available as well) for a generous 3.4 ounce/ 100 mLcontainer and in a nutshell, I adore it for its ability to sort out dehydration issues and soothe irritated skin. The formulation is quite simple yet effective so not much is lost with the jar packaging and for those of you with as sensitive skin as I do, the formulation is a safe one, completely without any sort of fragrance or drying alcohols, etc. Although the texture of the product feels quite goopy (because of the aloe) and thick on the skin, it absorbs into the skin quite quickly and by morning it will be completely absorbed and thankfully it doesn’t feel uncomfortable on the skin.
After using this for over a month with great results about three times a week, I’m pleased to report that it made a significant difference in sorting out my dull and dehydrated skin. Immediately after applying the mask, the skin looks more radiant and bright but after prolonged use I found my skin to be much more supple and notably less dull. Also, this is a godsend on my easily irritated skin and I’ve found it to be great on inflamed breakouts after they’ve reached that painful and irritated stage.
While it may not be a groundbreaking product by any means, this has become an essential to my skincare routine, soothing the skin and adding that extra bit of moisture to combat my perpetual dehydration. It helps my skin to avoid that state where my face is red, itchy and flaky, so I suppose the claim that it helps to repair the skin’s natural barrier is true. I can also tell you that it’s a good night of sleep in a jar — when I wear this it’s impossible to tell that I’ve hardly slept the night before. Now this has got me curious about the whole world of these overnight moisture masks……….
Have you tried this mask or another moisture mask? What were your thoughts?
I’m someone who finds it rather difficult to give a scathing and negative review of a product as we experience products differently and I’m always skeptical of whether a product is really as bad as I’m making it out to be and we have different praises, but there are some products that despite my best attempts and prior research, do not work for me. As in the last four months or so I’ve tried a great deal of drugstore products (in the name of research of course…), I have some to share.
Garnier Fructis Style Curl Calm Down Anti-Frizz Cream
I had heard from people I know in real life that this was a nice product and I tried it, excited by the prospect that it contained a silicone that did not weigh down the hair and promised to provide moisture while defining my curls. I do have fine loose curls and this product weighed them down (which is rather hard to do to this degree) and left a heavy film on my hair rather than moisturizing. And it’s definitely not strong hold…
Tresemme Fresh Start Volumizing Dry Shampoo
Prior to picking this one up early in the fall, I had never tried a dry shampoo but I wanted to know what they were all about because I suffer from limp or flat hair and need some instant texture. I’m not someone whose hair gets dirty easily whatsoever so I was not necessarily looking for a product to cleanse my hair but I was surprised to not find it refreshing in the slightest. I can’t see this working at all on the fine/oily hair that its intended to and above that, despite being advertised as a volumizing product, it doesn’t seem to add any volume to the hair. I’ve since moved on to better things in this department, I’ll have you know.
Rimmel Exaggerate Undercover Shadow Primer
After spotting this one at Walmart when I was going through my eyeshadow creasing crisis, I had to pick it up. I had heard some good things about this so I gave it a go, thinking that there was nothing to lose. I was wrong, let me tell you. This is the only primer that I’ve ever tried that leads my eyeshadow to crease more severely more quickly than if I were not wearing any primer. After maybe four hours, my eyeshadow was a creasy mess on both occasions when I wore this. The Maybelline Colour Tattoos knock this one out of the water in terms of helping shadow to stay.
Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in 003 Brown
I’ve mentioned my disappointment in this product before but I had to include it here especially considering that everyone raves about these. I don’t find it super longwearing but more than that it’s a waxy consistency that doesn’t transfer well onto the lids or the waterlines. For me this is one of those pencils that despite how often I sharpen it, I can never achieve the desired amount of colour without pressing hard enough that it hurts. I do not understand the cult-favourite status of this product at all.
Have you tried any of these products? Were your experiences with them positive or negative?
I apologize about the lack of posts lately but it’s been a crazy week and one that I’m glad to be finished at that – Happy Friday to you all! Although I cringe about using the word “Holy Grail” let alone use the abbreviation that reminds me of nails on the chalkboard, I wanted to share a few of the products that I can’t see myself as being content with functioning without and therefore I felt obligated to use the wretched term. As always, I’m sorry if this post is a little repetitive — if you’ve been a regular reader for more than a few months, you’ll have heard me ramble on a good amount about these — but I find these posts incredibly interesting and helpful. As I enjoy reading them so much, I’ve decided to write more of these long-time favourites that remain my go-to’s for months on end.
Bioderma Sensibio H2O ($22 CDN)
I know I know I know I know, I’m fulfilling the stereotype of the blogger obsessed with Bioderma’s famous micellar water but my love of it is genuine and not moved by the tremendous amount of hype that the product has. I have dry and extremely sensitive eyes and this is the only makeup remover that I’ve tried that both removes makeup effectively and does not irritate, sting or burn my eyes. I’ve been using this almost for a year and my only complaint is that I go through a bottle every three or so months. I haven’t tried any of the new micellar water alternatives that tend to be cheaper that have popped up in stores recently because I have a few backups left…
Indeed Laboratories Pepta-Bright Serum ($40 CDN)
Although I don’t mention this product nearly as much as I mention the above product, I don’t love it any less. This serum is moisturizing with its creamy consistency but contains a high concentration of exfoliating AHA’s and over time, it’s radically improved the texture of my skin, has helped to even out my skintone and has really brightened my complexion. This is one of those no-fuss products that work in the way that they’re intended but with none of those extra frills that can sometimes irritate the skin despite their luxuriousness. It’s gentle yet concentrated yet effective; what more could you want?
MAC Coquette Eyeshadow (12/18 CDN)
Although this eyeshadow has only been in my life since the beginning of this year but I’ve absolutely fallen in love with it; It is “the product” for my cool-toned brows. Most shades go rather red on me unless they are not dark enough but this shade is perfect for filling in my brows with – the medium-dark khaki taupe shade may look somewhat gross in the pan but it works both in the brows and as a fantastic shade to add definition to the crease.
MAC All That Glitters Eyeshadow ($12/18 CDN)
After repurchasing the golden-peachy shade at the beginning of the year, I’ve remembered why I adored it in the first place and it has to be my favourite no-fuss lid colour that doesn’t look super noticeable on the lids but adds that flattering brightness to my blue eyes. It’s my perfect lid colour and plays well with other shadows. What more can I say?
L’Oreal Lineur Intense in Carbon Black ($8-10 CDN)
I’ve mentioned this in loads of favourites videos and I’ve mentioned it for good reason. It’s the only liner that I’ve ever tried that creates the precisely-lined kitten flick without the effort of gel-liner. I’ve mastered the jet-black liner so that even with my shaky hands, I can pull of winged eyeliner in notably less than a minute.
MAC Patisserie Lipstick ($18 CDN)
This oft-mentioned shade might just be my favourite lipstick of all time and easily is my most-worn shade. It’s a flattering everyday no-fuss kind of shade with a comfortable and glossy formula. It’s a darker nude with warm pink undertones that adds some brightness to the face. It’s almost a my-lips-but-better on my ghastly pale lips. It’s a lustre formula and it’s extraordinary.
the lipstick in action!
Maybelline The Falsies Mascara ($8-10 CDN)
I know I know I know that it’s no secret that this is my favourite mascara but it is a fantastic everyday one for me. Without being difficult to remove, the easy-to-apply buildable thickening formula applies like a dream in seconds. It’s not a particularly wet formula and this might be why it works so well for my long and curled wimpy lashes.
Maybelline Master Hi-Light Hi-Lighting Bronzer in Deep Bronze ($12-16 CDN)
I didn’t intend for this to happen but I couldn’t narrow down any more from these three blushes but to be honest I’m not surprised being a blush fanatic. Last month I was rambling on and on about this blush and my love for it has not wavered – it’s a smooth textured blush that blends seamlessly into the skin and gives it a glow and it’s at a drugstore price. The warm coppery rose shade is to die for and I highly recommend it if coral shades suit you.
Benefit Boxed Powder in Rockateur ($36 CDN)
Ever since picking this up in early fall last year, I haven’t been able to remove it from my most loved makeup stash piled on my desk. It gives the skin that gorgeous glow that I love and sits seamlessly on it. The glowy rusty pink shade with warm undertones has never steered me wrong and with its versatility, it just works.
MAC Stereo Rose Mineralize Skinfinish ($35 CDN)
I’ve been going on and on about this lately and even though it’s available right now, I understand that it’s limited edition but I couldn’t be happy with this post without it. It has a similar formula to the two above – finely-milled and smooth as anything as well as pigmented on the skin and leaves the skin with the luminosity that I’m looking for – and it’s that rosy coral with a copper lean to it that instantly brightens my face. If I’m looking zombie-like and only have a few minutes to get ready, I always apply this and it solves it all.
What products couldn’t you live without? Have you tried any of these?
beautylit& ramblings 