summer

Weekly Medley #27/28

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Looking to catch up?

 Sunday July 21: 5 Current Lusts #3|Wednesday July 23: Two Mac Acquisitions | Friday July 25: Products Heavily in Rotation | Saturday July 26: The Daily Face #20

Sunday July 27: Beauty Blogger of the Month Award | Thursday July 31: My Go-To Spring/Summer “Lipsticks” | Thursday July 31 (again) : The July Roundup | Saturday August 2: July Favourites

I’m not one to exaggerate my personal situation to garner declarations of pity — “you poor thing!” etc. — from others but in all honesty, it has been a terrible too weeks, even aside from the obvious situation at hand. At the beginning of this week, my grandfather passed and while this was expected, dealing with this and quickly throwing together the craziness that came with a funeral with my rather large family was exhausting and stressful, even though it was nice to spend time with the family. I’ve been oddly emotional and sentimental, along with the expected exhaustion and stressed-out state. As a result of this, I’m sure you can gather that there wasn’t much excitement going on beauty-wise and my posts were more than a little sporadic but I’m not even blaming my inadequacies for that.

On a more positive note, I’ve dedicated some more time to the endeavour of further room re-organization and in the process of doing so, I found my small bottle of the Bumble & Bumble Thickening Dryspun Finish ($22 CDN) and it instantly brightened my mood — honestly. However, it is unfortunate that I appear to have very little product remaining and I might just have to purchase the full-sized one — it’s necessity. Jokesssss. On an even more positive note, for those of you that don’t know I still live at home (not the positive part) and the father arranged for our heat pump to be installed and therefore for all intents and purposes, we have air conditioning and it is quite possibly the loveliest thing in existence. I’m not one of those girls who adores summer; I enjoyed it for a bit but by now I’m sick of the heat and humidity and could do with some fall weather right about now. Don’t hate me.

Don’t think that because I’ve started a new paragraph that I’m done talking about the things that I love. The Elizabeth & James Nirvana Black Rollerball wasn’t something that I had to even contemplate whether to include for two reasons — first, I’ve been addicted to applying the warm, spicy and slightly musky scent in the last week or two in particular and I completely forgot to include it in my monthly favourites. I’m planning on actually purchasing a larger size of this one, woah. Considering that she’s one of my favourites to both read and watch, it shouldn’t be shocking that I’m talking about Suzie’s “Haul & First Impressions” video but it’s worthy of note regardless; she’s so entertaining but genuine and I enjoy living vicariously through her and feeling like my spending habits are understood.

In terms of things of my own creation, I’m particularly pleased with yesterday’s “10 Indulgent Sunday Staples” , where I outlined the products that I’ve been relying on to feel pampered and a little bit put together with minimal effort, but it technically should be in next week’s post of this variety considering the date so I’ll mention another to feel like I’m not breaking my self-imposed rules. That post would have to be my “Go-To Spring/Summer ‘Lipsticks'” post and not just because I was pleased with how the photos turned out.

I genuinely hope for your sake that your week was marginally better than mine.
Maggie, x

Weekly Medley #26

Recently Updated20(1) Soaking up the sun as it reemerged (2) Continuing with the ‘Daily Highlights’ posts (3) Good thing I didn’t say I was on a ‘No Buy’? (4) I kind of Netflix binge-watched both seasons of this – (no regrets)  (5) A somewhat adequate picture of the day above (6) A daily face featuring my MAC Palette (7) An amazing and hilarious video, of course courtesy of ChelseaWears (8) Yesterday’s therapeutic wishlist post (9) My most liked post of the week and quite possibly my favourite post too – linked here

Another week has passed and therefore I’m coming at you with a Weekly Medley post – to state the obvious. It was really not the greatest of weeks but it was not the worst of weeks as it wasn’t physically debilitating like that hellish week during exams for me; it’s been a serious family one, my grandfather whom I’m rather close to, has been sick for a while but things have escalated for the worse rather quickly, requiring lots of care, and it’s difficult to stomach the whole situation. Being someone who struggles with anxiety (putting it mildly), it’s no surprise that I’ve been affected in an unusual way — I’m constantly on edge and unable to focus on any sort of task at hand and be productive. I’m not someone who cries easily over these things and exhibits typical emotional displays but I’m supposing that I’m experiencing it in a different way. The funny thing is that I never intended for this blog to become so personal but writing this down was so therapeutic that I’m letting it slide. I’m not usually one to go on and on about weather actually, but until yesterday, the weather was warm and muggy but constantly overcast and raining on and off so it wasn’t a great one on that front either, until now. Spoiler alert: the last couple of days have been gorgeous sunny ones of 30 degrees that have been spent down at the dock, swimming in the 25 degree water — woo! I’m sure there will be a bit more on this next week and scrambled through upcoming posts.

On a much more superficial note, this week lost points because my basement started to accumulate heat and lose it’s status as the most delightfully cool room to escape to – but I’m working on not leaving every single electronic device on to help matters so it might be more along the lines of a fault of mine. This wasn’t my most exciting makeup week or one where I was particularly into wearing makeup; I did wear makeup most days but on a few occasions I ended up wiping it off a few hours later because I was feeling rather ‘meh’ and on others I found myself merely wearing wearing some BB cream, brows and maybe mascara. However, when I was feeling makeup, I was consistently reaching for my (ALMOST FULL – :))) MAC Palette and loving it. I know I look either extremely sleep-deprived in the picture above or drugged-up but I promise that it was just my general non-photogenic nature coming through. I didn’t wear this combination again on the eyes but I did rather like it and it was somewhat different than what I’ve been reaching for on other days in a nice way. As I have been doing daily, I began with running Soft Brown loosely through the crease – blah blah blah, I’m sure you get it. All over the lid I went for the pale pearly unique Vexshade that I’ve hit pan on but have been neglecting for ages and then deepened up the crease, as per usual (as of late) with Swiss Chocolate. The star of the show might have been Sketch, as it was used to add the plummy smokiness, packed onto the outer corner of the lid and blended out with actual effort (and placed underneath the lower lashes), but I liked the overall look. The shades minus Vex, have been my staples this week along with the other 10 shades in my palette – with a few exceptions.

Two of my lovely confidants from High School (that I happily still am close to and see frequently) decided that they wanted to go beauty product shopping and obviously told me to come along and I agreed, faintly aware of the purchases that would occur as a result, despite being somewhat committed to my ‘Low Buy’. In my defense, I held onto my pennies (joking, we can no longer use pennies here) and watched them go somewhat to town at Sephora and MAC (*pats self on back*) but gave in at the drugstore for a few practical purchases that I was rational about and then we went into Lush and weirdly out of character, I couldn’t resist a purchase or two. On more occasions than I would like to admit, I can be found grumbling on about how ridiculously expensive drugstore makeup in Canada is in comparison to the US and how tragically unfair it is that we cannot return drugstore makeup but I felt both sentiments rather strongly (particularly the second) as I tried and tried the L’Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Mascaraand wish I had never allowed myself to look inside the drugstore with my friends (kind of) – or at least, wished I had the willpower to say that I would just wait it out for another mascara as I do have enough at the moment. In my defense, it was on sale and I had been hoping that it would be a really easy throw-it-on mascara that removed with minimal effort – a la Maybelline The Falsies, that has recently dried out completely on me. In the last post linked above, I ramble on about this product and four others in more detail that doesn’t reach the realm of excess tangential descriptions, IMO. Sweet success.

Funnily enough, I’m not actually a huge TV person, despite the shows that I’ve included in these posts as of late as I tend to watch them whilst doing other things but while doing so, I’ve found some really interesting ones that capture my attention by their own merits and complicated intricacies and the top spot in recent months might just go to Hannibal,which is a NBC horror show that can also be found on Netflix. It’s placed in the horror genre but it has that thriller-esque complexity that grabs my attention but at the same time, you need somewhat of a strong stomach in order to watch it. It’s psychologically intense (my cup of tea) but it’s best feature is the acting; Hugh Dancy is fantastic at playing the psychologically-troubled Will Graham, who has been pulled out of the classroom to help solve these complex murders and Mads Mikkelsen is just about as believable as the psychiatrist, Dr. Lecter, who has been brought in to theoretically ensure Will’s safety. It keeps you on your toes, that’s for sure. On the beauty-related front, I absolutely loved Chelsea’s latest video, “NEW IN: Skincare + Beauty Part Two”; with actual life busy-ness getting in the way, the hilarious but helpful Chelsea had taken a break from making videos and this has been among the first few videos of her return and I suddenly remembered why I missed them so much. Plus she’s such a genuine human being and her shop ships to Canada so I might actually have to order online.

How was your week? This sounds rather bullshitty (if that’s a word?) but despite lacking general functional human emotional stability, I hope yours was at least a little bit better than mine. Aaaaand I think I love you if you actually got through this little novella of mine!
Maggie, x.

P.S. I’m the last person to get Twitter and I most likely will be the most boring person to follow but if you’re interested in the occasional update, you can follow me @beautyandlit – because beautylit etc. etc. was already taken not because I absolutely loved the name…

 

Weekly Medley #25

Recently Updated19(1) A skincare review (here) (2) Another review – the Hourglass Ambient Palette (3) A daily face/selfie (4) Reading (5) Monday’s Daily Face (6) Blogging in the garden

 I can easily say that I’ve been doing these posts for a while now — note the edition number — and I have made a few changes already but here I am making another small change yet again. Often I’ve found myself wanting to write different posts while in that laid back and relaxed Sunday frame of mind and because of this I’m trying this out on a Monday. It’s been really hot again this week, remaining humid with consistent 30 degree weather and sunshine and as nice as this weather has been to enjoy outdoors, it really hinders my productivity as all I seem to be able to do is complain, sit in front of my fan and eventually escape to the outdoors. Speaking of the outside, I began working on my laptop in the shade by my garden and it was divine. On an equally as positive note, the power outages and heavy lifting seems to have subsided, only to be replaced with more low-key activities.

This week I couldn’t get enough of my Garnier Clean + Nourishing Cleansing Oil –I mean that I often make use of this cleansing oil but I’ve been loving this one all week and has actually got me out of my slight skincare lazy streak that I’ve been in as of late (relying far too much on Bioderma) and only has one fault – the packaging. Because of the leaking issue that the cleansing oil has, I could not muster the effort to photograph it because every time that I’ve tried this before there has been a bit of a leaking disaster involved. Without realizing it, I ran out of cotton pads (which I use to remove my eye makeup) and I decided to take a risk and actually use this cleansing oil on the eyes also and it paid off as it removes eye makeup very well without irritating my sensitive eyes in any shape or form. Being able to use this as a cleanser on my face and eyes to remove all my makeup has been enjoyably practical and fuss-free. It removes longwearing eyeliner fantastically without any blurring, stinging or inside-eye oiliness involved. It’s affordable, effective, agreeable to my sensitive skin and feels luxurious so it does tick all of the boxes.

It actually looks like this is going to be a brief one. As usual, I’m interested to know how your week as gone but today I hope you’re feeling a little better than I am — I’m feeling quite gross. Happy Monday … if that’s possible!
Maggie, x.

 

Weekly Medley #24

Recently Updated16(1) Saturday’s face (2) My forth edition of  my The Beauty Bargain post (3) Outtake from yesterday’s style post (4) The trusted trio (5) The weekly blogging/youtube discovery (5) This week’s obligatory selfie (6) A look into my good pal Laura’s staples (7) A somewhat inaccurate depiction of the hurricane

 

Another week has passed, another three standout products have emerged. This week has been hot and humid, again, until Saturday when we got hit with the hurricane, some lost power and it was windy as anything. It almost getting to the point that the hurricane/wind situation was favourable because it meant that it wasn’t muggy and ridiculous. I’m not the kind of girl that can be a productive human being in the heat so it was nice to be able to wear full length pants without sweating up a storm, even while lounging in front of my fan. Weather and all that jazz aside, the beginning of the week was busy for me in a nice way – I was a nice functional social human being but an exhausted one at that.

I would be tempted to say that this was a shopping-heavy week as I did come out with a good (but not insane) number of purchases, but in truth it happened on Monday (one day) within a few hours. However, I don’t regret it at all. It being the pieces I picked up at American Eagle and Club Monaco, a few drugstore beauty bits that added up, three products from MAC that I provided an overview of here and the two beauty bits that I had been lusting after for ages from Sephora. It’s really not as bad as it sounds; I hadn’t been to the actual mall where MAC, Sephora and all that jazz is in ages so I did the damage that would usually be spread out among three trips into one.

For what felt like the 493489nd time, my lips were chronically dry, sore and somewhat chapped, at the beginning of the week and to sort it out, I used my Cicaplast Baume once or twice for reparative purposes but then went in consistently with my recent acquisition, the affordable Nivea Shea Butter and Vanilla Balm; after a few days, things were looking far less flaky and with this balm they’ve continued to improve. It appears that something I was using in the past few weeks wasn’t agreeing with my lips and the EOS balms weren’t exactly helping matters – retract what I said about it being the ideal balm for under lipsticks. With pot packaging, the thicker balm seems to hydrate instantly (once you open the jar that is) but tends to leave an unattractive white cast so it’s not one for aimless reapplication. In other words, I’ve been really loving it this week.

I seem to be following the pattern of picking three product yet again but I swear that it was accidental; the second two were both products that I’ve talked about in posts this week but they were results of that shopping trip. I declared my love for the L’Oreal Glam Bronze Mono in Universal Sun in my latest edition of The Beauty Bargain this week, despite having picked up a different shade than I intended to. The formula of the velvet-matte bronzer is luxurious and impressive on all fronts and the red-hued shade leans quite warm but really adds that natural bronze look to the face. I’ve even been foregoing blush whilst wearing a more wider application of this bronzer but it’s definitely not the ideal contour in my opinion and it won’t suit my fair skin in the cooler months.

I’ve not been as vocal about it around these parts but I’ve fallen equally in love with the MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Brow Set in Quiet Brunette (discussed here slightly); I’ve been intrigued by the idea of a tinted brow gel for some added brow definition with some crazy hair-taming power for a while but every shade seems much too warm for my weirdly ashy brows and when I asked about this one, I wasn’t expecting much and I got more than I was asking for. The formula is waterproof and the small brush is easy to use and adds the illusion of thickness in the hairs and this shade is amazing – it doesn’t look particularly ashy in the container but it suits my medium toned brows to perfection on its own in a subtler way. It also takes like a minute to do my brows with it and that is rather appealing.

A few days back, I accidentally found myself searching the popular beauty page on Bloglovin’ and it ended up being a happy accident because I found myself clicking on a new blog and a fabulous one at that, whose writer also makes lovely videos too – that blog would be Beauty Life Michelle, a fabulous Irish gal living in Australia. She’s entertaining to read and watch and I found myself enjoying her Everyday Makeup For Pale Skin video tremendously.

What were your weekly highlights?
Maggie, x.

 

The Beauty Bargain #4: L’Oreal Glam Bronze Mono in 04 Universal Sun

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There are three things that I’m compelled to disclose in this post, aside from the usual details and general ooh-ing and ahh-ing. One, I acknowledge that it is a stretch to call the drugstore bronzing powder a bargain as it does retail for $15 dollars but it’s so fabulous and high quality that I had to. Two, I have only had the product in my possession for three days or so but the love was instant so I feel confident that its praise here is neither premature nor impulsive. And three, it began with an error in beauty-related recollection which very rarely happens. After hearing Amelia Liana praise this product for sculpting and bronzing the face at once, I had been on the lookout for the L’Oreal release here in Canada and I suspect that I was so excited to find them in Shopper’s that I bought a different shade than the one she was raving about – one that was more of a traditional bronze hue with subtle red undertones and warmth and clearly not suited as well for contouring – but I’ve fallen in love with this shade nevertheless. This seems to be getting rather confusing but bear with me. I had intended to pick up the L’Oreal Glam Bronze Mono in 06 Golden Bronze but ended up grabbing L’Oreal Glam Bronze Mono in 04 Universal Sun instead but I’m not altogether too unhappy about my mistake seeing as I’ve fallen for both the formula and the true bronze hue of the shade.

DSC_0737 Swatched with the lightest hand in comparison to NYC Sunny, which is the bottom shade, applied with a heavier hand

It’s the formula of this bronzer that strikes me as incredible. Not that price is consistently a sound indicator of a product, this bronzing powder feels expensive and even more than that, luxurious, with the smooth finely-milled texture that one would expect of a Dior or Chanel product — much in the same way that I feel about their more recent mineral powder that is housed in similar packaging. The pigmentation is definitely impressive and therefore this bronzer would actually be suitable for darker skin tones, seeing as it can actually be built up far more than how I would wear it but at the same time it remains blendable and sits seamlessly on the skin (even on drier patches). I wore this the other day when I was out and about, walking around in the sweltering and muggy heat and it was ten hours before it even began to fade; while I might not believe the claim that the beta-carotene and Vitamin E in the formulation enhances a tan and “prolongs a sun-kissed glow”, the product definitely is a matte long-wearing bronzer as they say — er well kind of. In the sense of there being shimmer or sheen within the powder, the bronzer is definitely matte but it doesn’t look flat on the skin but rather has a velvety kind of finish that can add shape as well as add that bronze-y hue to the skin.

As I have been with a good number of L’Oreal’s releases in the last year or so, I am impressed with the compact packaging. It’s not say as sleek as NYC Sunny, the packaging is more durable and more attractive without adding significant bulkiness. I like the bronzy rounded square packaging and more than that, I’m a fan of the small hidden mirror beneath that comes with the not altogether horrible brush — the brush can be used to add some shape to the face, I would assume. I particularly enjoy the mirror being hidden beneath because then the powder does not get the mirror dirty.

Above, I acknowledged the rather high pricepoint (for the drugstore) of this product but it really is a bargain when you take the quality of the product and the sheer quantity that you receive into account. You may be paying $15 CDN for this bronzer but you are getting 9 grams or 0.32 ounces, which is actually rather economical per ounce, coming in at $46.90 per ounce, whereas a higher end bronzer such as NARS Laguna tends comes in at the signficantly heftier price tag of $153.60 per ounce. The L’Oreal Glam Bronze Mono in 04 Universal Sunmight be rather new to me but it was one of those products that impressed me upon my first use and I doubt I will be putting it down anytime soon. And here I am wearing a very-light application of the bronzer – with admittedly out-of-control hair:

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Happy Thursday! I’m serious when I want to hear your thoughts so I’m leaving you with two questions: (1) Have you tried any of these new L’Oreal Monos? (2) What is your favourite drugstore bronzer?
Maggie, x.

Weekly Medley #23

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(1) Just one of the many swatching-related fails of the week (2) The responsible Shopper’s purchases – gah (3) The beauteous “Weekend Makeup Staples” post over at VDM (4) I got a bit dressed up for my cousins’ graduation and took a picture obviously (5) I wrote and brought my “Summer Edit” post into fruition (6) The rediscovered love and a newfound one (7) My extremely lengthy favourites post is up here (8) My new Tom’s shoes (9) The glorious Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain in Milan Moment

 

Ahh, don’t you love lazy Sunday’s where you neither wake up, feeling as if you’ve just finished working up a sweat at the gym (without having the knowledge that for once you got off your ass and did something) due to sweltering summer heat or with a disgusting taste in your mouth as a result of questionable three am snacking? Well, I sure do. As per usual, I don’t feel as if I accomplished anything that can be likened to any sort of great feat but it wasn’t one of those weeks that rarely involved leaving the house and consisted of reading blogs, writing a post or two and watching copious amounts of Netflix and Youtube. It was quite a week filled with spending time with my lovely extended family down at the dock/ pool — we live by the ocean and my cousins have a lovely pool — and then eventually watching two of them graduate high school, later celebrating by going out to dinner and in the midst feeling suddenly a bit old at my mere two decades of experience. More on the getting old note, I had another moment of the same realization when I was excited to see that sunscreen was on sale. In my defense, it is a really great spray sunscreen.

I’ve been soaking up the hot weather but unfortunately have been really slacking on the photo documentation front. I’ve been swimming in the ocean all week and it hasn’t been cold so things have to be pretty great – am I right? While I’ve been doing less than ideal at general life snapshots, I’ve been making a real go of it, going out of my way to take swatches on the regular and attempt to capture them somewhat adequately with photography. I’m also rather pleased with the six posts that I put up during the week. Moving away from my blog in particular, Anna’s “Weekend Makeup Staples”post was phenomenal, perhaps even more so than her usual posts. She knows how to write these chatty posts that have me scribbling down a thing or six down on the wishlist whilst being so so so so much more concise than I have the potential of being.

Now, I’m moving onto my personal standout items and this week I have one that’s not of the beauty variety – my new Tom’s that I picked up long after completely destroying my last pair that somehow manage to be extremely comfortable and not too horrible for my feet while being rather attractive with their blue and white print. There’s another two products on the beauty-front this week, as well. First up, I’ve rekindled my love for my all-time favourite, the Maybelline Falsies Mascara;I’ve had this one for going on six months so I had been thinking that it was irritating my sensitive eyes so I had cast it off to the side and although it’s certainly not advisable to use a mascara for so long, I brought it out again and instantly remembered how much I love this mascara especially when it’s getting to be dried out. I’m one of those girls who adore drier mascara formulas, by the way. At the beginning of the week, I spotted the Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stains for the first time in stores here and although I hadn’t been particularly excited by the news of the release, I couldn’t resist picking up the muted tangerine-coral Milan Moment hue, even at it’s rather steep price but it was worth it because I’ve fallen in love. The staining power isn’t the most impressive in the world, the pigmentation begins on the sheer to medium side of things and the precise wand can apply the liquid lipstain in a slightly streaky way at first but the formula doesn’t irritate my lips, appears to be unfragranced, is a dream to apply with its lip-gloss wand, lasts through eating and drinking but doesn’t dry out my lips unless I leave it on for so long that shine has faded and feels weightless and balmy on the lips – without any hint of stickiness in sight. The shade also happens to be a unique one and one of those ideal everyday shades for me. It might just be worth the $13-15 that they retail for here.

I think I’ve summed up things rather nicely and the ocean is calling my name so it appears that this post has come to a close. Happy Sunday everyone! How was your week? I’d love to hear any thoughts!
Maggie, x.

 

 

 

 

June 2014 Favourites

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June has been a relatively nice month in these parts, both in weather and in my perceived overall temperament of the month, were it an animate human being. The month began (literally) with my twentieth birthday where I was gifted a much improved new camera — a digital SLR — and was able to make some improvements here at Beautylit & Ramblings so things were rather good on that front but in terms of my life outside of my little space on the internet, I achieved less than the ideal productive human being. Anyway, this is a roundup of my standout products throughout the month.

Bianca Topical Gel ($90 CDN):

I must say that adding the prescription retinoid gel that’s formulated impressively without irritating alcohol back into my routine wasn’t so fun last month as it is one of the only skin medication that actually is proven to cause purging for the first month or so and that didn’t stop for me until the beginning of the month and as one would expect, some scars do remain but now that I’ve gotten through this stage I’ve been happy with the improved texture of my skin and lack of general bumpiness brought on by rapidly increasing cell turnover. Weirdly enough, it also seems to help with overall brightness without irritating my skin like most other prescription and non-prescription strength products that work known to man. It’s actually the most money that I have ever spent on a skincare product but my dermatologist recommended it to me so I went for it knowing it wasn’t covered by insurance annoyingly — note, later I was reimbursed for half from University-based health coverage so it wasn’t so painful in the long run.

By Nature Organic Rosehip Oil ($26 CDN):

Every time when my skin gets irritated, broken out, dehydrated and/or scarred, I always come back to this oil consistently to quickly sort things out. The orange-tinged dry oil is lightweight but manages to instantly soothe and hydrate the complexion, helps with active blemishes and does miracle work with scarring, brightening the skin over time. I’ve been reaching for this loads to help with that whole skin situation.

Boots No 7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser ($12 CDN):

I’ve been using this cream cleanser to remove makeup and cleanse the face in general for going on three months but this month I really fell in love with this gentle and luxurious yet affordable offering especially while dealing with the general skin irritation and dehydration situation. With its convenient pump packaging, this rich cream cleanser removes makeup like a champ whilst soothing the skin and actually leaving it much more calmed and hydrated after removed with a washcloth. It does have some fragrance but it has a subtle spa-like scent that would lead you to believe that this is a much higher end product than the price would indicate, especially paired with the whole experience of massaging it in. I’ve deviated from my usual routine a little, in fact, as I’ve been enjoying going for this offering in the morning as well as it leaves the skin smoother and soothed in preparation for makeup and the like. It does come with a muslin cloth which has imparted me with the insight that I’m more of a facecloth kind of girl.

DevaCare Arc AnGel ($25/55 CDN):

I had gotten more into my hair in the last two months or so and I remembered loving my wavy hair last summer when I was using their gel as well as the leave-in protein treatment so when I was in the area of my salon, I picked the protein treatment up again and tried the firmer holding gel from the line in the economical huge litre tub. As with the Ultra Defining Gel, when used properly, scrunched in with care and all that jazz (in the style of the Curly Girl Method), this one gives great definition to my loose curls as well as adding life to the roots. However, this gel has to be my favourite because I find that I don’t need as insane of a quantity of it and it’s much more economical while providing even better definition and hold that keeps the shape in my hair for days. I’ve definitely been more of a fan of my hair this month and this is the product responsible for it.

Annabelle CC Colour Control Luminous Finish Instant Perfecting Base ($17 CDN):

I normally force myself to leave out products from these monthly posts that I’ve only had for the second half of the month, but after picking it up and talking about it here ,it has become a welcome addition into my daily routine and I can safely say that it’s my first primer love as of ever. The ridiculously named “CC” primer manages to not irritate my sensitive skin in any sort of shape or form whilst performing effectively; the opalescent silicone-based primer adds that luminosity that helps to blur imperfections rather than highlighting them and it also seems to keep foundation on the skin as it was applied for longer.

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet Smooth-Effect Makeup in 10 ($48 CDN):

In the last month, I’ve talked about this new foundation that I’ve fallen for and I doubt I’ll be stopping anytime soon. I honestly can count on one hand the number of times I wore makeup that didn’t include this lightweight foundation and I was never happier with the way my face looked with all things considered. Being someone who suffers from dry patches and less-than-ideal texture on my face, I tend to avoid anything promising a velvety let alone matte finish but when I visited the Chanel counter at a local department store and let the lovely lady apply it to my face, I was sold. The fairest shade seems to be the ideal match for my skin and the lightweight formula looks and feels like skin, offering medium (but weirdly buildable) coverage with the velvety but luminous finish. This one manages somehow not to dry out skin in the slightest but control oil on my normal t-zone in a kind of unbelievable way. I’ve said it before and I’ve said it recently, but this really is the perfect lightweight foundation option for summer.

Annabelle Smoothliner in Black ($6-7 CDN):

It may or may not be apparent through viewing my posts in the last month, but I haven’t been feeling my usual winged liner — Don’t get me wrong, I may be wearing it in certain posts but I haven’t been loving it on — and because I’m a liner girl at heart, I’ve been forsaking it for this creamy waterproof offering. I’ve said this before but for me, these are the better version of the popular Urban Decay liners, actually creamy as compared to waxy and easier to smudge out. Because of its creaminess, this isn’t a liner that is super easy to create a precise line with but that’s a necessary sacrifice. Although they don’t last for 12 hours or anything on the inner rims on the eyes (probably because they aren’t the easiest to adhere too the inner rims), this is one of the very few that will remain on the upper waterline without transferring. Ahh, I’ve found a product to tightline with at last that doesn’t automatically transfer to the waterline and isn’t a menace to remove from my dry eyes at night.

Annabelle Lipliner in 405 Demure ($4-6 CDN):

So I hadn’t noticed how much I’ve been loving the affordable brand, Annabelle — woo, Canadian pride … jokes — but after putting this together, I’ve fully recognized this fact and have made a mental note to try more from this brand as I’ve been majorly impressed with what I’ve tried thus far. If you read my post a few weeks into the month where I picked this bargain up with a few others here,then I’m sure that you’re aware that I haven’t had this for the entirety of the month but it’s (yet again) another product that has fast-tracked its way into my daily staples. I didn’t use to be a lip-liner girl but after I picked this creamy rosy hue that sits as a warm-toned browned pink shade, I think I have been converted; its that perfect my-lips-but-better colour that suits my complexion (in my opinion) and works on its own or with a multitude of lipsticks ranging from nudes to rosy neutral kind of hues, perfectly suiting the next product worthy of mention…

MAC Patisserie Lipstick ($19 CDN):

I have sensitive and perpetually chapped lips and I’ve probably said this 47 times too many but here I go again. In the beginning of the month, I appear to have either burnt my lips spectacularly or had quite the reaction to spf in a lip product considering the chapped, sore and flaky lips that emerged and wouldn’t heal and when this happens and I want to wear a lip colour, moisturizing spf-free options such as MAC Lustres are a lifesaver. This shade is easily my go-to everyday kind of colour — a nude that isn’t exactly pale with some rosiness to it and the subtlest of brown undertones — and it might just be my favourite lip product of all time but independent of this, I’ve been slapping this on constantly this month, quite often over the above liner for increased longevity and a bit more of a kick on the pigmentation front. And case in point, the mother who only comments on my makeup maybe once every few months — more often and not in a way that resembles constructive criticism — has told me on a few occasions how nice this shade is, so I’m fairly certain is a good one.  And it actually moisturizes the lips and camoflages these kinds of situations impressively. I went on and on in more detail about the combination in a recent post here.

Revlon Photoready Skinlights in Pink Light ($14-16 CDN):

This is not a product that is any means new to me as it’s been with me since early Spring and I’ve thought it was a nice subtle pink-hued illuminator that added that dewiness without emphasizing any of the unwanted things on the face and blended into the skin impressively but since going for less of a dewy finish with foundation and wearing less makeup in general, the dewy cheekbone situation has been much more enticing. In other words, I’ve been pulling this tube out and have been applying a few dots on the cheekbones, even going a bit lower than usual and blending it with my fingertips.

NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer in Sunny ($2.70 CDN):

There are very few makeup products available at the usual suspects that retail for such wallet-friendly prices and more than that, this hyped product has to be the perfect finely-milled warm-toned bronzer — because it’s on the warmer side of things, I do prefer it in the warmer months (especially when I’ve gotten some colour [while wearing SPF of course!]) but regardless it isn’t one of those bronzers that is just a touch away from being brick-hued and it has a nice texture to work with both for adding some shape to the face with a smaller brush and actually bronzing with a larger brush. I had been in the mood for more of a contoured effect in past months but as of late, I’ve been going for a much more diffused bronzed application of this one. It’s flattering and subtle on the skin while being lazy-girl approved, if you needed any further persuasion.

 

 

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                                         The products in use minus those of the lip variety
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                                         The lip products

 And hopefully to benefit anyone reading this — P.S. I kind of adore you all — I continued my swatching kick, featuring the coloured makeup products (minus the foundation) from this post. Unfortunately, none of my photo attempts seem to be in particularly good focus… forgive me?

DSC_0640                                          From the left: NYC Sunny, Revlon Pink Light, MAC Patisserie, Annabelle Demure Lipliner, Annabelle Black Smoothliner
 
I really was not intending for this post to be anywhere this long and for that I apologize and as always, I would love to know your thoughts on these products as well as your standout products of the month!
Maggie, x.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Edit

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I’m not sure if I’m in the small minority of those who notice this or what, but since devoting more than a little bit of my portion of free time to this whole beauty blogging thing, I’ve become a walking contradiction, promising one thing one minute and then something contradictory the next. The significance of this seemingly abstract musing? A bit inspired by Anna’s “Summer Edit”, here I am bringing you the standard summer edition post despite declaring these standard posts overrated and going for slightly different ones in the past and I’m excited.

I’m sure I included this in my ‘Spring Edit’ post, but to be honest, the non-irritating mineral sunscreen only did make an appearance on my face on the sunny days so the Avene High Protection SPF 50 Mineral Cream ($30 CDN)is a much more accurate pick for Summer. The sunscreen performs like nothing else with its hydrating texture that isn’t greasy (but doesn’t exactly help to control oil) and has a tint to mask the dreaded white-cast, adding a bit of coverage with it’s slightly pink leaning beige cast. Although I’ve gotten a wee bit naughty on the whole getting sun front, the Jergen’s Natural Glow Firming Daily Moisturizer ($9 CDN)has remained a staple for actually hydrating and soothing the skin my skin whilst adding some gradual colour that looks natural. In my opinion, this takes the edge off of the pressure to escape pastiness.

On the polish front, Essie’s Van D’Go ($9 CDN) has been brought into the rotation, especially on the feet. It was a gift that I received for my birthday from family friends and it was a much-appreciated one, considering that the pink hue isn’t usually something that I’d usually try. The lighter pink has a coral tinge to it and leaves a flattering salmon pink hue to the nails that compliments a bit of colour. It doesn’t hurt that the formula is a standard great Essie one that’s fully opaque in two coats and is relatively goof proof. Because I haven’t been completely converted to the pink side, I’m sure that I’m also going to be rocking the muted cornflower blue, Essie Bikini So Teeny Nail Lacquer ($9 CDN)that has the same great formula but might be slightly sheerer.

Moving onto the makeup, not only has the Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet Smooth-Effect Makeup ($48 CDN)found a place in my heart as this foundation-obsessed girl’s latest obsession but I’m convinced that for my dehydrated skin (and for loads of different skin condition’s) it’s the Summer foundation that gets as close as possible to perfection. I’m the lightest shade (10) so it’s definitely not one that caters to the fairest of skins and it does contain a good amount of fragrance with some alcohol thrown in (less than Chanel VA, though) but it feels like absolutely nothing on the skin (even in the hottest of weather) and looks like perfected bare skin. More than this, it offers surprisingly good coverage (medium that’s buildable) and controls oil with its velvety but luminous finish that somehow doesn’t cling to dry patches. Hallelujah. Even though I’m a drier and dehydrated gal through and through, one of those non-powdery powders is a godsend in the summer with the increased heat and my normal t-zone. I might not need one to set the foundation but if I’m wearing the Avene underneath, it’s nice to have one to freshen things up with and for this I like the L’Oreal True Match Mineral ($14-16 CDN).

I’m not strictly a warm-weather bronzer girl by any means, so they’re a constant in my daily makeup rotation but as soon as the warm weather comes around, the uber-affordable NYC Sunny Smooth Skin Bronzer ($3 CDN)never leaves my sight. Whilst the bronzer isn’t exactly orange-y, it does have stronger warm undertones to it that make it much more flattering on skin with a bit of colour to it and despite it’s price, the matte bronzer lasts and applies like a champ with its pigmented and creamy texture. The Maybelline Master Hi-Light Hi-Lighting Bronzer in Deep Bronze ($12-16 CDN)might be sold as a bronzer but as I said in my initial review during the Winter, it’s a bronzier blush in my opinion and is an amazing offering for the summer as it provides that bronzy glow like nothing else. The rosy copper hued formula offers on the longevity, texture and glow front and no doubt will be found on my face constantly in the warmer weather as it’s one of my favourites regardless of the weather and this is the season for it. Being the blush-addict that I am, I couldn’t confine myself to one (or even two). The second blush worthy of mention is my favourite, the unfortunately limited -edition MAC Stereo Rose Mineralize Skinfinish ($38), the lovely sheeny rosy coral pot of magic that instantly brightens up warm skin and adds a glow like nothing else. And of course I couldn’t resist mentioning a third one that to-be-honest is not miles different from the former, the cult-favourite NARS Orgasm Blush ($33 CDN)that I talked about my love for yesterday in great depth here. And although liquid illuminators such as Revlon Photoready Skinlights Face Illuminator in are typically more of a Spring (or even winter) product with the subtle dewy luminosity that they provide because things can much to easily enter into sweaty territory but I’ve been going for less overtly glowy foundations as of late and enjoying more of a highlighted look. And look I did more swatches here:

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                                                                    Left to Right: NYC Sunny, Maybelline Deep Bronze, MAC Stereo Rose, NARS Orgasm

Moving onto the eyes, I’ll be bringing the expectedly coppery, MAC Coppering Eyeshadow ($12/18 CDN) into the rotation, both as something a little bit different on the lid on an everyday basis and perhaps as the base colour for a more interesting smoky eye. I’m aware that I’m not really a minimal eye makeup kind of girl but as Summer rolls around, I definitely tend to go for less fuss (and less in general) in this region and my-go to product for this is the ever-hyped Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad To The Bronze ($9 CDN),  for it provides that gorgeous bronzed-taupe hue to the lids that is flattering without looking like you’re trying or putting in loads of effort. Another fantastic shadow that I always go for in these warmer months constantly is that golden bronze sheeny shade named MAC Woodwinked Eyeshadow ($12/18 CDN) and I’m sure many of you have this laying around. In terms of summer shadows, I definitely go for these warm and bronzy hues and if I’m not reaching for these three shades, I assure you, I’m sporting the good ol’ Urban Decay Naked Palette ($64 CDN).

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Left to Right: Maybelline Bad To The Bronze, MAC Coppering, MAC Woodwinked

I assure you this lengthy post is nearing its close now, as I come to you with my narrowed-down lip options. I talked about my love for the muted tangerine MAC Sweet & Sour Lipstick ($19 CDN) during the spring season but I think this shade is equally on point for the summer as it has that oranginess to it but is more than a little bit more wearable. In terms of a sheerer balm-colour hybrid offering, I’m sure the medium-toned pinky coral L’Oreal Sunset Angora Colour Caresse ($12 CDN) is the surefire winner, not only because the formula is spectacular on chapped lips like mine but that it offers on the pigmentation front as well. It might not seem like it but it did actually require some deliberation to narrow down my picks for lips down to these four and on some level I knew that choosing the Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain in Milan Moment ($15 CDN) was more of a questionable one given that I haven’t had it for a week yet but the colour and formula screamed summer perfection and I couldn’t resist; the balmy liquid-lipstick that impressively doesn’t seem to have a scent both felt weightless on my lips and offers on the longevity front with its muted papaya hue so I suspect that it won’t be leaving my sight for long. Going along with the more minimal eye makeup theme, a nice bold lip is essential and my pick has to be the vibrant warm pink hue from my favourite balmy-crayon line — the Revlon Lacquer Balm in Vivacious ($9 CDN).

DSC_0619Left to Right: Revlon Vivacious Lacquer Balm, Revlon Milan Moment Moisture Stain, L’Oreal Sunset Angora Colour Caresse, MAC Sweet & Sour
For those of you who have stuck around to the end of this post, you’re kind of sort of amazing and I’m sure you know the drill already – I’m curious and want to know a few of your Summer picks below in the comments!
Maggie, x.

 

 

 

 

 

The Daily Face #18

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This was not the post that I initially planned to write today but I was pleased with the result of my makeup today, I managed to get a decent picture or two of the result and it kind of captured that breezy, low-key but flattering kind of makeup look that I’ve been after as of late but hadn’t yet found success with. Although it was beyond unnecessary, I decided to begin with my eyes, using the NYX HD Eyeshadow Base over my lids and then filling in my brows with MAC Coquette Eyeshadow while the primer set. Although I haven’t been using it consistently by any means, I pulled out the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette. As a base of sorts and to brighten things up, I went for Burnouton the inner portion of the lid. Nooner was then blended through the crease and Liarwas packed onto the lid, concentrating on the outer-half. Because I can’t resist some outer corner definition even on these kind of makeup days, I patted Factory,the plummy hue into the outer corner and blended it out softly. Because liner is essential for me, I went for the Annabelle Smoothliner in Blackboth to tightline (because it actually doesn’t transfer) and on the upper and lower lashlines in a slightly-blended fashion. As always, I went for a few coats of the Revlon Bold Lacquer Mascara to both upper and lower lashes. I finished the eyes, then, patting the Bobbi Brown Light to Medium Bisque Corrector into the areas of darkness underneath my eyes and blended as per usual.

As I’m continuing to enjoy the primer, I massaged the Annabelle “CC” Colour Control Luminous Finish Instant Perfecting Baseinto the skin to help with makeup sitting seamlessly on the skin and to add a subtle luminosity. The foundation used shouldn’t be a shocker to anyone, as I’ve been using the velvety but luminous and skinlike Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet Smooth-Effect Makeup in 10— I’m still in absolute love. I’m not usually one to apply highlighter before other cheek products but given the cream consistency of the subtle but instantly-glowy Revlon Photoready Skinlights in Pink Light,I patted it onto the tops of my cheekbones. Rather than going in with my usual Real Techniques Contour Brush, I used a much larger kabuki brush with the NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer in Sunny for less of a contoured effect and more of a bronzed one and then I used my old stand-by, MAC Stereo Rose MSFon my cheeks.

My lips are in that horrific state, chapped and peeling so I knew that I honestly shouldn’t be wearing anything other than balm but I didn’t listen, instead pulling out the balmy L’Oreal Colour Caresse in Sunset Angorathat I hadn’t used in forever seeing as the formula is both forgiving and hydrating. The pinky coral hue also is a bonus — I have to use this more in the future. I’m kind of fixated on the brightening and flattering hue and certainly I need more of these in my life…

So, here’s my attempt at more of a low-key everyday-appropriate makeup look (and not just to my standards). What’s your go-to makeup for days like these? I’m curious?
Maggie, x.

 

 

 

That First Nail Post

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I’m going to start (yet again) with something I’ve said before on multiple occasions: for most of my life I haven’t been a nail polish girl due to my inadequacy and general lack of skill at the task and its tendency to chip insanely fast on my nails after the effort was made. This in mind, while the Nails Inc. Nail Polish in Bakers Street ($11.50 CDN) isn’t flawless, the formula of this neon cobalt hue delivers the compromise on the fronts of my issues of application and longevity; the polish is easily the most opaque that I’ve ever tried, one of those one-coat wonders — but I wore two for good measure — and requires minimal talent to apply, drying quickly to boot and it might not last for a week like the best Essie shades, but it comes pretty damn close, wearing nicely for 4-5 days (I’m on day three here in the pictures).

It also doesn’t hurt that it is quite possibly the most quintessentially “me” kind of shade, vibrant enough for summer but with that different kind of edge that keeps things looking a little bit cool and less manicured to perfection and fussy. If you’re from overseas, I’m sure that these polishes are old news but now that they’ve come over to Sephora, this Canadian girl has got her hands on one and doesn’t plan on stopping with this one.

Have you tried Nails Inc polish?
Maggie, x.

P.S. I’m choosing to ignore the unfortunate gradual-tanner between-the-fingers situation.