Face: Kiehl’s Stress Rescuer moisturizer, Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation (Ivory), MUFE 5 Concealer Palette (1), Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer/Highlighter (Ivory), Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Creme Bronzer in Warm Tan, Benefit Rockateur Boxed Powder, NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray
Eyes: NYX HD Eyeshadow Base, Dior Earth Reflection Quint, Maybelline Master Precise Black Pen-Liner, Maybelline The Falsies mascara, Lancome Le Crayon Kohl in Black/Noir, MAC Charcoal Brown eye shadow, Revlon Brow Fantasy in Brunette
Lips:MAC Patisserie lipstick
This is probably quite boring but this is the kind of post that I enjoy reading maybe the most — the makeup that I wear the most on an everyday basis (what I wear to Uni) and is a standard amount of makeup compared to others (you know the odd occasion when you don’t look like you’re wearing 10x the amount of makeup that everyone else is) and takes five minutes, max. It’s the perfect happy medium to make me feel put together and polished but does not scream overly made-up.
Being the foundation hoarder that I am, the foundation I wear on a daily basis varies depending on the state of my skin at the moment and general mood, nevertheless a favourite of mine for everyday (and is also up there for all time) is Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation. The almost invisible slight shimmer gives that nice glow while still providing a natural-looking medium coverage. Luckily for me, Ivory (the lightest shade) is perfect for my moderately fair skin for most of the year with its yellowy undertones.
I ran out of Urban Decay Primer Potion (sigh… :() and I have weirdly oily eyelids so I picked up Nyx HD Eyeshadow Base, which works better than Maybelline Colour Tattoos and and ever so slightly better than MAC Paint Pots but not as well as UDPP… but I can’t complain.
I’ve always had rather large and deep-set eyes and I’ve learned that outer-v definition can really make a difference for me and liner is essential. I put the Lancome on to tightline and applied a thin line on the upper lashes with the Maybelline. It was a complete splurge but I’m really enjoying my first Dior quint; I did quite a standard eye today with the golden champagne on the lid, the taupe in the crease and the deepest shade along the lashline and outer-v and I have to say that I’m a fan of the look.
I’ve struggled using the MUFE Concealer Palette for ages because the dark-correcting shade is just so orange and although it conceals dark circles, it can be very obvious but I’ve been putting the Rimmel on top and I’m impressed. The lip choice was obvious; the standard wearable pinky-brown nude MAC Patisserie.
Benefit Rockateur is holding its place in my cheek product rotation and the Sonia Kashuk Creme Bronzer has been a pleasant surprise, finding it’s way into my daily makeup. Big deal right here. Um and my No-Buy might have maybe sort of turned into a Low-Buy after spotting the NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray (First impression – lovely) and the limited-edition velvet matte top coat from L’Oreal……
Thoughts?
I may or may not have cut Benefit Rockateur out of the frame 🙂 – see box to the far right
Dior palettes are the kind of makeup item I find myself gazing at longingly but never seem to purchase as they seem to extravagant and pricy but I have to say I’m glad I took the plunge and picked up this one.
The eyeshadow quint retails for $61 CDN for 0.21 oz of product and I picked mine up at Sephora. The shades are the typical size of a full prices shadow pretty much (0.042 oz each) and the cost breaks down to $12.20 per shadow which is not too bad granted all the shadows are to your liking – and luckily in this case they were for me.
Obviously this palette contains five shades. The darker shades do tend to be more pigmented but all the shades are impressively long wearing with a buttery, smooth and blendable texture with a beautiful finish. Like all of the palettes in this series, the shades are iridescent but manage to have that sheen without being overwhelmingly shiny or glittery which can be a difficult feat. The texture is so soft and amazing. There is slight fall out but I don’t believe it’s escapable.
This palette seems to me to have a taupe theme and is neither overwhelmingly cool or warm. The palette features a shimmery pale pink that is sheer in consistency and quite brightening, a pale gold champagne shimmery shade with the same consistency, a light gold-beige shade with more pigmentation, A silvery taupe with a hint of purpliness to it (sort of similar to Satin Taupe but a touch lighter and more golden) and a darker taupe shade that is slightly warmer and plummy.
Even the dark colours have that soft texture and blendability, which is tough to come by. Although I don’t own it, the overall colour scheme of the palette seems to be along the lines of Urban Decay Naked 2 but obviously with less selection. The lack of selection doesn’t bother me. I find myself enjoying this palette for its simplicity. Just using this palette I can create subtle day looks to a dramatic smoky eye and that’s hard to come by for me. It’s a nice palette to create entire looks from.
The lightest two shades are grey highlight shades for me, the pale gold looks great on the lid, the silvery taupe I either wear on the crease and the darkest shade I like to wear in the outer-v for more subtle eye makeup or in the crease for darker looks and it’s dark enough to be used as liner. I like having a palette that I use every shade in!
I would have to give this product an A rating because the only downside of the product is the lack of different finishes and the price. These shadows have really impressed me because of their buttery texture, pigmentation, texture and longevity. I decided that I was going to create actual categories for review purposes to make my perceptions of products less arbitrary:
Pigmentation – 9/10
Longevity – 9.5/10
Packaging – 9.5/10
Value – 9/10
Overall Quality – 10/10
Total Grade – 47/50= 94%/A
Far too expensive for your wallet? Although they are not quite as longlasting, buttery and pigmented, Physicians Formula Nude Eyes palette struck me as similar. It features the same taupe shades and beautiful iridescence. Those shadows are generally impressively soft.
Top – Bottom: golden shade on upper left, pinky shade in center, light taupe on upper right, dark taupe on bottom left, highlight shade on bottom right
October ended up being even crazier than September. I’ve been exhausted, the weather has cooled dramatically and school has been insane with midterms, papers and all. This month I began to experience the wonderful phenomenon that is my skin’s response to the cooler season (itchiness, redness, skin burning and dehydration) and learned to adapt my makeup routine to make it as quick as possible – you know the grab and go routine where you have two minutes until you’re out the door and look terrible? In light of this, my favourites became fairly apparent this month.
Kiehl’s Skin Rescuer Daily Hydrator
I just talked about this in my fall skincare edit (here) for good reason. I am one of those people that suffer from serious dehydration and sensitivity the moment the weather begins to get colder and this moisturizer has really impressed me as compensation for this. i really appreciate that the moisturizer is lightweight and fast-absorbing while still being incredibly rich and soothing.
Nars Orgasm Powder Blush
For some reason, this hyped-up shade is one I find myself reaching for much more frequently in the cooler months. It gives a flattering, brightening glow to the cheeks, I’d say. I do have to mention that it’s not super unique but I have been loving this warm pink-coral blush with golden shimmer.
Dior Miss Dior Fragrance
I’ve never really been a perfume but lately I’ve really been getting into using this one. I adore that it’s sophisticated while still being young, subtle and not the sweetest in the least. It is fresh with a hint of woodsiness to it but don’t take my description here as fact because I am not talented at describing scents. I’m working my way through my sample from Sephora and am seriously debating purchasing it full-sized.
MAC Patisserie Lipstick
This is the first Lustre I’ve purchased from MAC and i quite like the formula – moisturizing, medium pigmented and has a nice sheen. This shade is a warm-toned pinky-brown wearable nude and it wears for a few hours and doesn’t emphasize dry patches on the lips.
Bourjois 10 Hr Sleep Effect Foundation
As I mentioned in my review, (link here) I picked up this foundation in the third shade which is 73, a nicely neutral fair-ish shade. I find that with a pump of product this offers slightly more coverage than light but not quite medium. This foundation emphasizes dry patches less than any other foundation I’ve tried (although severe ones will still be noticable) and offers a natural-looking dewy skin finish and decently-good longevity. I think this foundation is rather under-hyped.
Urban Decay Naked Palette
I’ve definitely mentioned the complexity of my thoughts on this palette before and recently put up a review (link here! but I can honestly say I’ve really made use of (and enjoyed) using this palette this month. Although these shades are obviously rather warm toned and shimmery it’s made it’s way into the staples pile. I like how it contains every single basic shade I need for a look. Sin is a gorgeous subtle lid shade, buck and naked are great for filling in my brows or in the crease, creep is great for subtle lining and darkhorse and hustle are great for the outer v! I like more but those are my absolute picks and they create the quick no-fuss and flattering defined eye.
NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer in Sunny
I’m not exactly sure how this purchase happened, well sort of. Like many other brands of the more affordable variety, NYC is difficult to find in Canada and when I ventured into Walmart (which I rarely do), I couldn’t resist picking this up. It’s a pigmented matte light-medium warm toned bronzer that doesn’t lean particularly orange and I’ve been reaching for this most days. I like that its dark enough and has the right type of colour to add both a bit of warmth and can help to shape the face.
I’ve always been relatively lukewarm to this palette; the shades were high quality and the price-per-shade was right but there was something off about this product being a must have for me. I do find that it is too shimmery and metallic overall and the shades run a bit too warm (even though my skin leans slightly warm). I don’t always necessarily subscribe to the choose-eyeshadow-to-make-your-peepers-pop thing but they are particularly flattering on my blue eyes but I think they’re nice on all eye colours. I’ve had this palette for over two years and was never planning on doing a review on it but here goes…
Overall, the shades are really great quality, wearing for a long time (among the longest) without going creasy or patchy (with a primer, of course because I am disposed to shadow creasing on me) and with a pigmented and smooth texture but they do vary so I’ll describe them individually below and give my thoughts on them. By the way, the palette retails for $62 CDN at Sephora and contains 12 full-sized (0.05 oz) shadows, a mini-sized Urban Decay Primer Potion and a synthetic shadow brush.
Virgin is a pearly ivory-pink highlight shade that isn’t overtly shimmery and provides a nice sheen. It’s not the most pigmented in the world and I don’t believe it would suit skins darker than a medium in my opinion. I quite like this as a highlight shade on my fair skin. This shade is permanent.
Sin is a soft and finely-milled pinky-champage with warm undertones and a shimmery finish. The texture and pigmentation of this shade is great. This has to be one of my favourite lid colours of all time and is permanent.
Naked is a cool-toned light matte brown. It has impressive texture for a matte and is permanent. However, the shade is so light that it suits fair complexions as a transition colour and medium ones as a base-shadow colour. I like using this to fill in my brows when I want a really natural look and I use it as a transition shade frequently.
Sidecar is a warm toned medium taupe-bronze shade with glitter in it. It’s pigmented but doesn’t have the most impressive texture and really is prone to fall out. Also there is a red undertone to it that makes it difficult for me to wear but the shade is stunning on others. This shade has been previously available but is not permanent.
Buck is a slightly warm-toned medium matte brown without too much orangeness to it. I find myself reaching for this shade tons as of late. The texture is great as is the pigmentation. It can be used to fill in the brows if you have warmer toned brunette hair but I find it slightly too warm for that but I use it loads in the crease. This shade is permanent.
Half Baked is a warm-toned light intense metallic gold shade with a hint of bronze to it. The texture on this shade is fabulous and is the same high quality you can expect from shadows from this brand. I quite like this shade but it’s not something I reach for on a daily basis because I find it to be overly intense and metallic! This shade is permanent.
Smog is a medium-dark slightly warmed toned bronze shade with a slight green undertone to it and is nice and shimmery. The texture and pigmentation is good. This shade is nice but not particularly unique. I wear it in the crease on occasion and have worn it on the lid. It is flattering on blue eyes. This shade is also permanent.
Darkhorse seems to me to be a dark chocolate brown shade base with green flecks of glitter/shimmer in it. The pigmentation is good and the texture is not amazing but relatively impressive as the shade is so dark. This is a staple for me in the outer-v and as a subtle liner. I would say it is neither cool nor warm and is permanently available.
Toasted is a warm toned medium subtle pinky-copper with a subtle plumminess to it. It is difficult to describe and much better than it sounds. The texture is great and I don’t reach for this shade a ton but its a great one! This shade is permanently available.
Hustle is a slightly cool toned, taupe-brown with plummy undertones. The finish is shimmering but not in an overpowering way. It’s a great quality shadow and I use it frequently in my crease. This shade is exclusive to this palette, I believe.
Creep is a soft black with bluish-silver glitter running throughout it. It is not the richest deepest black and the glitter can be slightly annoying. The pigmentation isn’t the best nor is the texture but for being such a dark colour it’s fine. I use it loads in the outer-v, used as liner and to smudge liner. I’m fairly certain this shade is exclusive to this palette.
Gunmetal is a cool-toned dark metallic grey shade with a gorgeous silvery subdued blue sheen to it. This shade has amazing pigmentation and texture. This is definitely an underhyped shade. It is permanent and its great in the outer v.
Swatched top to bottom in order listed above
It now comes with a synthetic eyeshadow brush that I appear to have misplaced at the moment and is good quality but not one I find myself reaching for frequently. I do use it on occasion to pack colour onto the lid.
I would have to give this palette a B+/A- on the grounds that the shadows are great quality and value for money and would practical for everyday use on account of the tones, however I find the shades overly shimmery as a whole and overly too warm to be an all-in-all essential palette to use without the aid of other shadows. The hype is there for a reason and it is a great investment to add to your collection (given that you don’t own a million neutrals). Thoughts on my way late review?
I am one of those poor unfortunate souls whose first unignorable sign that it is now fall/winter is in my skin. I notice this even before the chill – my skin becomes very dehydrated, itchy and sensitized. I am a firm believer that you have to switch up your treatment of your skin with the seasons and I thought I’d share a few products in my arsenal that I’ve been enjoying.
Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Balm for Dry/Very Dry Skin
I will admit I’ve been sharing my love for this wallet-friendly cleanser a little too frequently but a moisturizing cleanser such as this one truly makes a difference in the cooler months. It removes makeup at least as well as Bioderma (with the aid of a cotton pad or face cloth) while soothing the skin and adding extra hydration. This is one of the rare cleansers that my skin has never reacted to by burning, tingling or some other unpleasantry. I know the fragrance is not good for my sensitive skin, but the scent is nice and the product feels very luxurious. Highly recommended!
Kiehl’s Skin Rescuer Daily Hydrator
As I do not have a Kiehl’s retailer near me I picked this up a few months back while travelling and I must say that I’m impressed … although I like the next product equally as much but for different qualities. The price point impressed me; I paid $42 CDN for 75 mLs which is rather good for a middle-end product as it contains well over the standard amount of product. Although we are all sensitive to different things, this would be a reccomendation of mine for those with sensitive skin as it doesn’t contain any typical irritants (fragrance or drying alcohol) and contains good quantities of glycerin and squaline. I’m not quite sure how potent they are but this moisturizer also contains small amounts of both Rosa-Gallica Flower Extract and Chamomile (supposed skin soothers), if anyone is interested. This moisturizer is soothing and concentrated, the smallest amount of this light-but-rich cream with a somewhat-sticky texture hydrates the skin and absorbs fairly quickly.
Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet
This is a product that has been in my routine since May and it has pretty much become essential. I picked mine up at Sephora for 40 mLs of product at $40 CDN. Unfortunately this contains fragrance although in it’s defense, it does smell lovely. The texture of this moisturizer is what makes it remarkable. It has that whipped and light souffle-like texture that absorbs immediately and feels nice on the skin. This is a product I apply and feel the immediate calming and deeply moisturizing effects. Ingredient-wise, the second ingredient in this product after water is grape water, which is an antioxidant known to have a beneficial impact on the skin and contains small amounts of chamomile, grape-related extracts and a good quantity of shea butter. Because this moisturizer is so light, I think more combination skins could use it with success. I am nearly out of this product and plan on repurchasing either this product or the richer moisturizer in the same line.
Coconut Oil
I am neither one to preach on about oils being the best thing ever nor one to be opposed to them – I like them and enjoy their benefit but they’re not an essential in their pure form. No matter how irritated my skin is, applying coconut oil is not painful and I like to apply it after moisturizer on occasion and wake up with much more hydrated and radiant skin. It’s also an amazing body moisturizer and makeup remover.
These are a selection of products that I’ve been really appreciating in my transition to the cold season here in Canada but I have a few more products on my wishlist; I have been lusting after a moisture masque or serum. Thoughts?
This blush recently came out and it’s true that Benefit dramatically reduced the size of the boxed powder for this one while leaving the cost the same – I paid $36 CDN for 0.17 ounces (compared to the previous 0.28). However, this is the first boxed powder that I’ve personally owned.
The shade is a fairly neutral (I could be crazy but sometimes I see an ever-so-slight warmth to it…) rose gold with a hint of peach in it but no coral somehow. When you first see the shade, it looks much more shimmery than it actually is; most of the shimmer is an overspray and disappears after a few uses, leaving a satin finish. Although I think the term is way overused, I find it to be finely milled with a gorgeous luminous finish. I find it easy to apply and doesn’t go patchy on my skin – my cheeks tend to get rather dehydrated so this is a problem that I face.
In terms of similar slash pretty-much-identical shades in my collection there is the limited-edition hyped MAC Stereo Rose MSF and equally well hyped Nars Orgasm but I have to say that the three shades are different from one another. Rockateur has the least shimmer and might be the most finely-milled (although Stereo Rose is a close second). Nars Orgasm has gold shimmer running through it and has more pink-coral in it. Stereo Rose is darker in colour, and with much more coral in it. The thing about Rockateur that is so unique is the absence of coral in the shade.
Top to bottom: Benefit Rockateur, MAC Stereo Rose, Nars Orgasm
In terms of the greater picture, this is definitely one of my favourite blushes ever. It is very versatile; I appreciate that it is no-fuss in the sense that it goes with everything including dark lips. It has the nicest texture and has a nice satin finish. It has about average longevity and is gorgeous. On my somewhat arbitrary scale, I would grant it an A! Thoughts?
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.
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.
Me without makeup. If anyone was curious the breakouts on my forehead were Cetaphil-induced. My skin looks a wee bit better than this most of the time now!
I was going to wait to do this video until my skin improved and my routine was flawless – like every product would have to be holy grail status – but realistically I’m never going to be using an absolutely flawless routine, nor will I ever have perfect skin (or anything close to it) and I’m the happiest with my skin that I’ve ever been (and I’ve tried a bunch of different things for my skin) so I figured I’d share. I’ve found since using these products that my overall skin clarity increased and my skin appears brightened and most of all it has become notably less irritated.
My skin tends to be rather complicated; it’s rather acne-prone (I always have a few spots on my face), extremely sensitive, and is prone to very dry patches. Although my skin is dry and dehydrated (particularly on my cheeks and sometimes on my forehead and normal to dry on my chin, nose and around my hairline), I tend to clogged pores – those little bumps that sometimes will resolve by turning into painful pimples or otherwise will just stay there. Also if I don’t use the gentlest of products, my cheeks and nose get quite red and my face becomes tight, extremely flaky, burny and itchy. My pale skin also tends to look rather dull and is prone to flaking when dehydrated. Because my rather problematic skin doesn’t simply fall into one of the traditional skin types and faces a multitude of problematic conditions, I think these thoughts, routine and products that I use could benefit people of different skin types.
In my opinion, there are five basic categories of skincare that we should have in our routines but the routines themselves will vastly differ because of our individual skin needs will be different and in my opinion, the best routine will be centered around how your skin actually is rather than how you wish it would be. These five categories are as follows: cleansing, moisturizing, exfoliating, sun-protecting and treating.
Morning Routine
Morning Routine
1. I cleanse my face with Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Cleanser, which is an affordable gentle cleanser with a lotion consistency that does not strip the skin whatsoever but also does not remove makeup well at all. I rinse this off with cool water with my hands to be as gentle as possible. I talk about it in more depth here –
2. I gently exfoliate with Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion, which is an extremely gentle exfoliating toner with BHA (salicylic acid) – meaning that it can exfoliate your skin (even inside the pore) without being abrasive like a scrub would and is also more effective because the product is left on the skin. [Note: I am not usually a huge fan of Clinique products (I tried the 3 step skincare system and it was an absolute disaster) but I adore this product.] It is one of the rare exfoliating toners that is effective without costing an insane quantity of money or containing irritants such as alcohol and the like. It’s somewhere between $10-15 in the States, I believe, and in Canada it costs $16 for 200 mLs.
3. The moisturizer I use in the morning is Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet, which is a lightweight moisturizer marketed at sensitive skin. I think this is an excellent moisturizer — it is one of the rare ones with a good texture that does not make my skin burn or turn red, I find it quite soothing actually — and the ingredients are not too bad. There are no drying alcohols (hallelujah) but still are some antioxidants in a squeezy tube that does not render the ingredients useless. My only irritation with this product is why in the world would they put fragrance in a moisturizer for sensitive skin – arghhhh. All in all it is a quite nice moisturizer for sensitive skin. It costs $39 CDN I believe for 40 mLs.
4. As we’ve all heard a million times, sun-protection is really important so I use Avene High Protection Cream. I have discovered that I tend to be sensitive to chemical sunscreens (they make my skin burn, turn red and develop unsightly bump-pimple things that take forever to go and turn into hardened bumps) so I did some research and decided to try this purely physical sunscreen. It offers really great protection for my fair skin (broad spectrum spf 50) and it is water resistant, although it leaves a rather unattractive whitish pink cast. It does not irritate mt skin in the least and retails in the 20-30 dollars CDN range for 50 mLs.
Night Routine
Night Routine
1. I begin by removing my makeup on both my eyes and my face with Bioderma Sensibio H20 Micelle Solution and cotton pads. I talk about it more here –
2. I wash my face again with Neutrogena Extra Gentle Cleanser. I think that it is very important to cleanse twice (gently!) at night because there is nothing worse than remaining makeup on your skin in terms of causing acne and the like.
3. Then I move on to my treatment. I use Stievamycin Gel every one or two days, depending on my skins current state (sensitivity and severity of blemishes). The amount I use is dependent on how my skin is at the moment. The Stievamycin Gel, a is only available if you have a prescription from your doctor and in my experience is very effective, particularly on stubborn blemishes but is very sensitizing. The product contains 0.025% tretinoin (which is a topical retinoid/ vitamin a derivative that exfoliates the outer-surface of the skin to reduce the formation of blemishes) and 4% erythromycin gel (which is an antibiotic that kills the bacteria that cause acne). My only irritation with this product is that it is formulated with an alcohol-gel base and my skin does not tolerate alcohol well, however this product is so effective that I keep on using it!
5. I like to wait at least ten minutes before applying my moisturizer, as to avoid diluting the effect of the active ingredients in the treatments I use. I’ve been using Bee By the Sea Sea Buckthorn and Honey Nourishing Face Cream, which is a very gentle and hydrating cream that takes a while to absorb into the skin. I do not necessarily think that you must use a night cream at night and a day cream during the day – I just am using this because I have it and it helps compensate for the sensitizing treatments I put my skin through. It is very soothing, all of its fragrance coming from the sweet almond oil and rich in coconut and olive oil. It is a no-frills moisturizer filled with ingredients that work to hydrate skin. It costs $30 CDN at health stores and beabythesea.ca. This is a godsend for irritated skin!
I’m thinking about continuing with a skincare series as I think it is so important. X
beautylit& ramblings 