February 2015 Favourites

Hi Everyone!

February is nearly over and that means it’s time to post my favourites products of the month. I experimented with my makeup quite a bit this month, so it took me a bit to figure out what products I consistently reached for, but once I had a look I did have a few consistent products.

One ‘old’ favourite…

Jaclyn Hill Favorites Palette

Now I know I mentioned this last month, but this is THE palette I have been reaching for. It just has my kind of shades. So I figured I get this out of the way first. I couldn’t not mention it. I honestly think the fact that this has been a favourite 2 months in a row is a testament to the palette. When I initially ordered the palette I wasn’t sure it would be good quality or just a brand with a popular Youtuber’s name attached to it. But it is good quality and it’s versatile, which is probably why I’ve been reaching for it so much. When this comes back into stock I highly recommend picking it up, whether you’re a Jaclyn Hill fan or not. I will link my full review for those still on the fence about purchasing it.

Jaclyn Hill Palette Review

Okay now onto ‘new’ favourites.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation and Nars Sheer Glow

I have been obsessing over a foundation mix this past month. Double Wear is a very heavy duty foundation that I did love over the summer (it’s budge-proof) but haven’t picked it up in a little while. I initially mixed these 2 foundations because I was concerned that the Double Wear would be too dark, but I ended up loving the effect. You end up with the best of both of these. You get the lightness of the Sheer Glow, with the coverage of the DW and they mix to make a beautiful satin finish. Adding in the Sheer Glow really addresses the heaviness that comes along with the coverage of the DW. I couldn’t believe it when I first saw it. I’m going to include a picture from my latest FOTD so you can see what it looks like on the skin. I’m beyond impressed and I have been mixing all month long!

Milani Color Statement Lip Liner in Nude and MAC Blankety

Okay so apparently my next favourite is a mix as well. I have been experimenting with some new lip combinations this month and I stumbled upon an ‘ombre’ lip combination. I started off by wearing just the liner alone all over my lips, as a deep rosy nude which I actually love. I’m surprised because I figured this lip shade wouldn’t work with my fairer than fair skin, but it actually works. To mix it up a bit I was playing around and decided to put the same lip liner all over and then add Blankety in the centre and it created an ombre look.  I can’t seem to find the lip liner on Milani’s website anymore which makes me sad because mine is whittling away.

Rimmel Provocalips- Dare to Pink

This next favourite will come as no surprise, after I gave this a great review earlier this month. I love this as a great everyday shade, but the staying power is where this baby’s power is really at. I love that I can put this on, throw on the top coat and go for an entire day without touching up. I have had a couple nights where I took off my makeup and forgot to go over my lips, only to find this still on in the morning. I won’t blab on too much, since I covered all the details in my review, which I’ll link for those who want all the deets.

Liquid Lipstick Comparison

DermOrganic Intensive Hair Repair Masque

I don’t talk often about hair products on here, so when I do mention one it must be good. Ever since I moved cities a few years back I have been suffering from extremely dry, brittle hair that is likely due to chlorine in the water that I wasn’t getting before. I have tried so many products to deal with the insane knots and the overall lack of softness. I have never found anything that gave me softness that lasts. I would find something I thought was great and then the next day, I would be combing out a ton of knots. I decided on a whim to give this hair mask a go. I had never heard anything about this brand or the mask, but I decided to give it a try anyway and I’m really glad I did. When I use this, my hair is actually continually soft, not for a day like the others I’ve tried. It has really helped with the knots I was getting and the overall appearance of my hair (shine, frizz). In terms of my hair type, I have thick, very wavy colour-treated hair that generally does not sit nice if it’s not styled. Once I started using this my hair dried calmer and with less wonky waves. I can actually let my hair air dry and wear it without putting it up…Hallelujah. I will say that this is a pretty intense treatment so I wouldn’t recommend it for fine hair as I think it will really weigh it down. I keep this out of my roots entirely and focus on the bottom half of my hair, as it is a bit too heavy for the root area (I don’t need it there anyway). I got this huge bottle at Winners for $20, which is a great deal compared to the product I was using before. For those of you not in Canada, I know in the US you can find this brand at Ulta. I’m not sure in terms of where they sell internationally.

This brand does make a shampoo and conditioner as well and I’m going to pick it up as soon as I’m done with my current products. I am beyond impressed since Argan Oil based products usually don’t work for me.

Nume Lustrum Curling Wand Set

I surprisingly do have another hair favourite for February (2 hair favourites in 1 month? I must be broken). I was gifted the Nume Lustrum set for Christmas by my boyfriend and I have been using it a lot more this month. The set comes with 5 wands, but I have been loving the largest 32 mm barrel the most this month. It gives me big, soft, voluminous curls which is a look I have loved for a long time but could never achieve.

This is a brand that is all over Youtube and sponsors a ton of videos, so as much as I wanted this, I was slightly skeptical just because so many people are paid to talk about it. These really are good quality wands. They heat up quickly and once I’ve curled my hair it lasts a long time, which is good because my hair is difficult and resistant to curling. I haven’t played with all the barrels, but I’m thinking I’ll show what each wand does in a future review post so that those of you considering this can have an honest, completely unpaid review. Let me know if that’s something you would be interested in in the comment section below.

Adorable Owl Brush Holder

I was in Michaels with my mom, my sister and her friend Jenna when they came to visit a few weeks ago and I spotted this adorable owl that I couldn’t pass up. Every time I see this on my desk it gives me little warm fuzzies, it’s just so cute! It had to be included as a favourite. I have no idea what the original intended use was for this, but it works perfectly for my eye brushes.

So there you have it! Hard to believe that February is almost done, but I’m glad because we’re getting closer to spring! Winter be gone! What did you love this month?

Bye for now!

Chelsey

 

 

Cranberry and Olive Halo Eye: Tutorial ft. ColourPop

Hi Everyone!

I recently reviewed ColourPop’s Supershock Shadows and I have been loving them so I thought, why not show these off in a tutorial? So that’s what I’m going to do today. So let’s get started!

To being I already put on my base and my brows (as usual) to keep the length of this post reasonable.

Step One

I totally forgot to prime my eyelids, so usually I would do that first. But today I went in with the transition shade first. For this I mixed ColourPop’s Desert which is matte camel brown and Cop a Feel which is a cream shade similar to my skintone. Desert is just a bit too warm to be used alone as a transition shade on my skintone, but mixed with Cop a Feel it’s perfect.

Step Two

Now we’re going to focus on the crease and the halo part of this eye look. For that we’re going to use Hustle which is a stunning cranberry shade. These kind of reddish, purple type shades are an amazing alternative to brown or black for hazel or green eyes, as it gives great depth while it really enhances your eye colour. Of course any eye colour can wear this kind of shade, it really does look beautiful on everyone. So what we’re going to do is first put this shade throughout the crease. I started with a fluffy blending type brush, but quickly switched to a much smaller crease brush as I decided I wanted to step to be a little more precise. I put this through the crease, but also continued the colour into both the outer and inner corners to create that halo effect. You should basically have a little gap right in the centre of the lid when you’re done, the rest covered by Hustle. Once you get the colour to the intensity you want you can blend out the edges so it’s nice and seamless.

Once I got Hustle down, I did add a little bit of Bandit, just to cut the purple hue slightly.

Step Three

Now time to fill in the gap. For that we’re going to use the shade So Quiche which is this amazing olive shade with purple reflects running through it. I initially used a flat shader brush to get the colour exactly where I wanted it and then used my finger to intensify it. I also took the brush I used in my crease and ran it over the edges where the olive met the cranberry to blend it all together.

For this look I’m going to skip liner all together, as I think it would take away from the halo effect.

Step Four

Now that the lid is done, it’s time to address the lower lashline. We are going to basically mimic what we did on the lid. So first I used a flat definer brush and pressed Hustle into the lashline from inner to outer corner. I then took Bandit on a pencil brush and smoked everything out. To add in the pop of colour we did on the lid, I took So Quiche on a pencil brush and put it directly in the centre of the lower lashline, like right under your where your pupil is.

Step Five

 

Now time for mascara. I’m skipping falsies for this look, so I’m just using a couple of generous coats of Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara.

Step Six

Now that the eyes are complete, I’m going to finish off the face. I contoured with Benefit Hoola Bronzer and then added Benefit Rockateur Blush. I blended them out with a duo fiber brush and then highlighted with the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Pink Quartz.

Step Seven

Now for lips. I wanted something soft so it wouldn’t compete with the eyes, but nothing too light. I lined my lips with Milani’s Color Statement Lipliner in Nude and then filled in my lips with Milani Color Statement Lipstick in Nude Creme.

Here is the finished look!

So there you have it! Leave me a comment below with your favourite ColourPop combinations!

Bye for now!

Chelsey

FOTD: February 19, 2015

Hi Everyone!

It’s currently my reading week and today I decided to play around with a makeup look I haven’t really worn before to see how it would work out. I’m not going anywhere but sometimes these are my favourite days to just play around. I got a request from my friend Joy’s sister to test out a cut crease look. Although this isn’t a perfect cut crease yet, I still like the look. The perfect cut crease is going to take practice because I’m so used to blending out all harsh lines which kind of defeats the purpose of a cut crease. I’m working on it!

Face

Simple Light Hydrating Moisturizer

Nars Sheer Glow- Mont Blanc

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation- Ecru

LA Girl Pro Conceal- Classic Ivory

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer- Chantilly

Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit- Vanilla, Banana, Fawn

Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder

MAC Blush- Melba

Eyes

MAC Paint Pot- Soft Ochre

Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer

Lorac Pro Palette 2- Nectar, Lt. Brown, Plum, Charcoal, Black

Lorac Pro Palette- Deep Purple, Mauve, Sable, Espresso, White

Bobbi Brown Longwear Gel Eyeliner- Black Ink

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara- Very Black

Velour Lashes- Whispie Sweet Nothings

Brows

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade- Soft Brown. Medium Brown

Lips

Milani Color Statement Lip Liner- Nude

MAC Lipstick- Blankety

Bye for now!

Chelsey

Soft Rose Gold Smokey Eye: Valentine’s Day 2015

Hi Everyone!

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow and I decided to sneak in a tutorial for those of you who haven’t picked out a ‘look’ yet. Even if it’s already Valentine’s Day where you are, this would still be a great date night look. Of course your Valentine’s look should be whatever look makes you feel the most beautiful, but here is my suggestion.

I started with my base and my brows already done (as usual) so we’re going to move right onto the eyes.

Step One

First I primed my eyes with MAC’s Paint Pot in Soft Ochre and Lorac’s Behind the Scenes Eye Primer. This is my current favourite combo for priming. Once that was done, I applied the transition shade. You can use whatever transition shade works best for you, but I used a light brown from the Jaclyn Hill Favorites palette as it’s my current favourite. This doesn’t look like much at this stage, but once you start adding in darker shades this helps it to fade out gradually towards the brow.

Step Two

Now we’re going to focus on the lid, specifically the inner half. For this you’ll need a light gold or champagne pigment or shadow. I used Lithe pigment by MAC for this step. I wet a flat shader brush with some Fix+ and patted this onto the inner half and right over the tear duct and onto the inner part of the lower lashline. I wanted the inner corner to be very bright for this look to really wake up the eyes.

Step Three

Now we’re going to finish the rest of the lid. Picking up MAC’s Tan Pigment on a damp flat shader brush, I swept the pigment over the outer half of the lid. I initially just lined it up next to Lithe and then patted my brush over the edge to blend them. I didn’t take Tan over Lithe, just because I wanted Lithe to stand out. At this point I ran a fluffy brush over the edges to smooth out the pigment.

Step Four

Next, I moved onto the crease. Taking Make Up For Ever’s Artist Shadow in M822 on a soft blending brush, I worked the shadow into the crease and around the outer corner. I focused this shade mainly on the outer half and blended it until it was very soft and diffused. I wanted this part to be very undefined and smokey. This shade is reddish brown to me, but it’s called Plum. It does look a little purple when it’s all blended out which compliments the gold tones well. If you don’t have a shade like this, you could use a dark brown with a light hand. At this point if the lid colours are looking a bit dull from

Step Five

Now it’s time to deal with the lower lash line. For this I mimicked what we did on the lid. We already had Lithe on the lower lashline from step one, but you can touch it up if needed. Then I picked up the MUFE Artist Shadow on a flat definer brush and pressed it into the outer half of the lower lashline, leaving a gap between it and Lithe. In the gap, I pressed in Tan Pigment with a flat shader brush. I dragged a little bit of it over the reddish brown as well. You can build this up to whatever intensity you want.

Step Six

Now time for liner. For this look since I was going for soft, I didn’t want winged liner as I think it would take away from the soft edges of the look. Since I am going to use lashes, I opted for a very thin line of gel liner across my lash line with no wing. Of course you could do a wing if that’s what you prefer.

Step Seven

Once the liner was done, I curled my lashes and added one coat of mascara to both my top of bottom lashes. I then added XO Beauty Lashes in the Soulmate to finish off the eyes. I trimmed this pair as they’re pretty long.

Here are the finished eyes:

Step Eight

Now I finished off the rest of my face. I contoured with Hoola Bronzer from Benefit and then added blush. For blush I wanted something pink, fresh and girly. I chose Milani’s Baked Blush in Delizioso Pink, which gives such a fresh flush to the cheek. I then highlighted and I went pretty heavy with my highlight because I wanted the high points of my face to be very glowy. For highlighting I use a Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Pink Quartz.

Lastly was lips. Since it’s Valentine’s I think picking something long lasting and transfer-proof is key. I chose the Rimmel Provocalips in Think Pink with Essence’s Lip Liner in Wish Me a Rose as my lip combination.

So there you have it! Leave a comment below with your Valentine’s Day plans! My boyfriend and I are planning on having a very relaxed evening at home, just enjoying the time together without work or school interruptions.

Bye for now!

Chelsey

Face Off: Battle of the Liquid Lipsticks

Hi Everyone!

Is it just me or are liquid lipsticks just showing up on the makeup market in dozens? Lately it seems like there have been tons of brands coming up with these liquid lipsticks, so I decided to put them to the test. I have been testing them out for myself and I thought I’d share what I’ve found.

The three I’ve been trying are:

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick- Outlaw

Lime Crime Velvetine- Wicked

Rimmel Provocalips- Dare to Pink

Outlaw, Wicked, Dare to Pink

About the Lipsticks

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick- Outlaw

The first of the three that I picked up is from Kat Von D.  The shade I chose is Outlaw which is true red. This claims to be hydrating, full coverage and matte. It retails for $24CAD

Lime Crime Velvetine- Wicked

The second I tried I ordered online from Lime Crime’s website. Wicked is a deep vampy burgundy. This claims to be completely matte, transfer proof and long-wearing. This retails for $20USD

Rimmel Provocalips- Dare to Pink

The last one I picked up (and the drugstore option in this test) is by Rimmel and it’s light-medium rosy pink shade. This one claims 16 hour kiss proof wear. This retails for about $8. I will note that these were hard to find and when I did find them, most of them were open so I had limited shade selection. Also as a side note, some of the shades in this line do have glitter or shimmer in them. You can kind of tell the finish by the coloured part of the outer packaging, but swatch if you can.

Application

One of the biggest difficulties I have with liquid lipsticks is the application. I don’t have particularly huge lips so I have a hard time staying in the lines. I will note that I do wear a lip liner with all of these because my lip line is uneven. I pretty much wear a lip liner with everything. That step is up to you, but for me, I just like a really clean edge.

Kat Von D

I really struggled to apply this one neatly even with a lip liner. It has a ridiculously long applicator that gathers a ton of product. Even when I scraped it off, there was just too much for me to apply neatly. I had to go really slow to get this even and not gloopy. Once I got this spread out, it dried evenly with no streaking.

Lime Crime

This one is my favourite one to apply. It has a very small doefoot applicator which makes it super easy to be precise. The formula glides on evenly and dried without streaking.

Rimmel

This one was also easy to apply. It does gather a little too much product for my liking but once I scraped a little off, it applied perfectly with no gloopiness. This issue was very minimal.

Verdict:  Lime Crime

Feeling on the lips

Kat Von D

This one is somewhere in between the Lime Crime and the Rimmel. It’s not Sahara matte, but it’s also not initially tacky either. It’s on the drier side, but not super dry. I don’t find this uncomfortable to wear, but you can feel it on your lips.

Lime Crime

At first I didn’t notice exactly how dry this felt. But seriously after a few hours it’s like the Sahara Desert on your lips. It could not be drier, I swear. The weird thing is that it doesn’t dry my lips out. When I take this off, my lips aren’t dry it just felt dry while it was on. I love the ultra matte look of this one, so I wouldn’t want to put a gloss over it or anything to deal with the dryness.

Rimmel

At first when I applied this one it felt super tacky, which is kind of a gross feeling. I figured it was just drying so I left it alone. Once enough time had gone by that I felt like it should be dry, I took the Step 2: Lock and Shine and put it over top. Any tackiness was instantly gone. This one feels like velvet on the lips. you know it’s there, but not in an uncomfortable way. It feels very soft. This one does accentuate lip lines a little while the others do not, but provided your lips aren’t super dry, it doesn’t seem to be a big issue. If your lips do feel dry, you have the Step 2 option to add moisture throughout the day, a step not included with the other 2 lipsticks.

Verdict: Rimmel

Wear Time

Okay so the one main claims all of these make it that they’re long lasting, so that’s an important part of this review.

Kat Von D

I put this to the test at a sushi lunch and despite it’s claim of long lasting wear, it really didn’t look so hot after lunch. It wore off in the most uneven way imaginable, meaning I had to touch up immediately. It really cracked and melted off towards the centre of lips and sort of smeared around the edges, leaving me with completely blank patches. Not pretty at all. The total wear time was probably less than 3 hours.

Lime Crime

Despite being really dry, this had pretty good staying power. I put this to the test with a burger for lunch and all I had to do after was touch up around the edges with my lip liner. The lipstick itself was just fine. I touched up and continued to wear it throughout the day and it made it to dinner without anymore touch-ups. It did not make it through dinner though. I’d say this one lasted a good 8 hours.

Rimmel

Lastly, the drugstore option. This one is extremely budge proof. I had meatballs for lunch and it didn’t even so much as fade. I then wore it throughout the afternoon, ate dinner which was pasta with an oil based sauce and once again- no budging. Not even slight fading. By the time I took this off, it was still perfect. They give you the lock and shine to add moisture, but I honestly didn’t need it after the initial application. I hardly felt it on my lips. When it was time to take this off, I had to scrub to get this off. A makeup wipe was no match for this.

Verdict: Rimmel

So there you have it! Rimmel is the winner! It not only feels nice on the lips, but it lasts for ridiculously long. I do love the shades that Lime Crime offers, over the options from Rimmel though. I would probably pass on the Kat Von D even though I love the shade, it’s just too messy for how long it lasts. For the price and wear, Rimmel definitely wins it, but I’ll give Lime Crime an honorable mention because it’s also excellent. Run, don’t walk and give the Rimmel Provocalips a try! Let me know in the comments below what you’d pick!

Bye for now!

Chelsey

NOTE: As of March 2015, I will no longer be supporting Lime Crime.

Collection Series Part 5: MAC Lipsticks

Hi Everyone!

I have another part of my collection to show you today! My collection of MAC lipsticks is still relatively small, but I thought I’d share and update as my collection grows later on.

Shanghai Spice

Finish: Cremesheen

 

The first lipstick in my collection and one of the most recent additions is Shanghai Spice. I never hear anyone talk about this and I really don’t know why. It’s such a beautiful peachy pink shade that goes with pretty much anything.

Candy Yum Yum

Finish: Matte

The next shade in my collection is by far the brightest. This is a pretty popular shade and for good reason. It’s a statement. You cannot hide behind a lip like this, it needs confidence behind it. It’s such a classic blue-toned pink, super flattering on so many skin tones. I really, really love this one.

Blankety

Finish: Amplified Creme

The next lipstick in my collection is the most nude shade I have. It’s nude with a mix of beige and pink. This was my go-to nude before I found Raquel from Nars, but this is still my go-to for very dark eye looks as it’s quite neutral.

Pure Zen

Finish: Cremesheen

Next I have Pure Zen, a sheer peach. I don’t have a picture of the bullet, since this one is melted. This is very similar to Shanghai Spice, but more sheer. I really like this shade but I prefer Shanghai Spice since it’s more pigmented. This shade is perfect for mixing.

Pink Plaid

Finish: Matte

The fifth lipstick in my collection is Pink Plaid, my perfect everyday pink. It’s a deeper blue-pink, almost dusty rose mauve. I was searching for a good everyday colour that was not a nude and this was exactly what I wanted. It’s a bit cool so it doesn’t go with absolutely everything, but for most days I really love this.

Fanfare

Finish: Cremesheen

My next lipstick is Fanfare, also a highly underrated shade. It’s such a beautiful medium peachy-pink. I love this for everyday, it goes with everything and especially warm eye looks which I love.

Diva

Finish: Matte

Now onto the darkest of MAC lipsticks. Diva is a matte red-burgundy wine shade that is perfect for a fall-winter vampy lip. I love this because it really changes depending on how it’s applied or what lip liner it’s with. I love to put a dark lip liner under this and really deepen it. If you are fair with blue eyes, you need this in your life, it will make your eyes POP. This has been one of my favourites this fall and winter.

Finish: Matte

Angel

Finish: Frost

The second last lipstick I have is Angel. This lipstick was made famous, as Kim Kardashian used to wear this all the time with Nars Turkish Delight Lipgloss on top. I got this at a CCO and I really don’t like this on myself. I just don’t think the frosty finish is flattering. Since it’s pretty light, it can wash me out and look a bit pasty.

Creme Cup

Lastly I have the first MAC lipstick I ever purchased. Creme Cup is a very neutral light pink, almost the lighter version of Pink Plaid.  I wore this a lot this past summer, just to add a little colour without being too much since I didn’t wear a ton of makeup.

So there you have it! If you have any suggestions for MAC lipsticks I need in my collection, leave them in the comments below!

Bye for now!

Chelsey