Palettes -Tarte - Aqualillies for Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Eye And Cheek Palette
albs 4/21/2013 12:59:00 PM
This is stunning. Oh my word I love everything about this palette. First of all- the packaging is just gorgeous. Mint and coral and gold, it's very on-trend. The price is fairly decent- the blush included in larger than a regular size amazonian clay blush- there is a lot of product in this palette! I love the eyeshadows, they're beautiful neutrals. There are two mattes included which is always really nice. One of the neutral shades has a gorgeous, very subtle purple-ish shimmer, and the beauty of the turquoise is it's deep green shimmer. The blush is a lovely matte, rather deep coral. I love the matte bronzer which I'm happy about because I really disliked the shimmery version of it. The highlight is also really lovely, although a little frostier than I usually like. I will use the heck out of this palette all summer and it's probably the only thing I'll ever need while traveling- I love that about it. I love this palette so much and I highly recommend it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman - Brush Collection - Eyes Starter Set
albs 4/14/2013 3:06:00 PM
I get a lot of use out of some of these brushes and minimal use out of others. I wish these were sold individually. Honestly, I don't think the kit itself is a great "starter kit"- it's missing a lot of essential brushes like a flat shading brush, a thin angled brush, and a thin eyeliner brush. I don't use these brushes exclusively on the eyes. I love the design- the long, aluminum ferules look nice and make washing your brushes a little safer because it's more difficult to accidently get water inside. One of the best things about this kit is that there are a lot of different uses for the brushes. This is how I use them now, but I'm always discovering different ways to utilize them. And they clean very well so you can use them for all sorts of different things- just sanitize! Base shadow brush: I wish I could buy more of these without getting the whole kit! I love it for blending, I think it works beautifully for that. It's very tapered at the tip so it blends eyeshadow out well without blending it away and making everything look like it's all one colour which is something I always have some difficulty with. I also adore it for cream shadow, especially my Benefit cream shadow which I find disappointing otherwise. Deluxe crease brush: I think this is a little large to be used as a crease brush. I like to use it to blend out concealer. Accent brush: teensy little paddle brush. I use it for smudging or putting highlight into the inner corner but I don't use it all that often. Still not bad to have kicking around. Pixel-point eyeliner brush: Pixel point? Seriously? Too thick to apply gel/creme liner. Not bad for smudgy liner or putting a little colour in the lower lash line. Brow brush: I don't do my brows and this brush is really too thick to use for anything else. Even if I did do my brows I feel like a thinner, more precise brush would be more beneficial.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -L'Oreal - Infallible The Super Slim 12H Liquid Eyeliner
albs 4/11/2013 7:34:00 PM
I've been really into eyeliner lately- I go through phases. Although I like using a gel liner, sometimes I don't have time to wash my brush and I won't reuse it without washing it first. For that reason I like the convenience of a liquid liner in marker form. I've used the Joe Fresh in the past and liked it a lot, but it tends to dry out quite quickly which doesn't make it very economical. This one's nice but it transfers once in a while and it will smudge if I rub my eye at all. I like the fine point, how opaque it applies with very little effort and that I can apply it in a very thin or thicker line. I find that it stays on my lids just fine if I don't touch my eyes but I wish it was a little more reliable in that regard. I don't think I'll repurchase, I'll try something a little longer lasting.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -MAC - Modern Mandarin
albs 4/11/2013 7:10:00 PM
I picked this up last year around this time. I normally wouldn't have gravitated toward this because... it's orange. I generally don't consider orange to be overly flattering. One of the MAC sales associates applied it to my cheeks and I loved it, so I picked it up. I think the red undertones make it very wearable. It's very pigmented so I apply very little and blend well. I find that it brightens my face like no other, and has a faint sheen. Looks fantastic with a highlight applied to the cheekbones. It spends a shameful amount of time sitting unloved in my drawer but once I get back into using it I find myself hooked. I like it best in spring/summer, for obvious reasons. If you can get your hands on this, especially if it's repromoted in the future, I recommend it.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Maybelline - Dream Lumi Touch in Radiant
albs 4/11/2013 1:57:00 PM
This is a really nice product for concealing dark circles. It's not heavy and it has a fairly thin consistency, but the salmony-peachy shade really helps to cancel out darkness underneath the eyes. It creases on me a little, so that's definitely a downside to this. As others have said, there really isn't much product- 0.05 ounces I believe, which is miniscule! Benefit's Erase Paste, another product I use on my dark circles, has three times the product and costs about three times (in Canada) as much just to put it in perspective. So this isn't exactly cheap, even if it seems to be. It works well so I don't have too many qualms with the cost, and it is easily accessible.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Crème -Laura Mercier - Silk Creme Foundation
albs 4/4/2013 5:27:00 PM
I can't get on board with this foundation. The coverage is good, full coverage, and you really don't need very much at all. I find it quite finicky though- it doesn't take much for it to look really unnatural or streaky or caky, and it sinks into pores like no other which is not ok with me. It stays on fairly well throughout the day but it tends to slip a bit and settle around my nose and other little places which I don't like. I have drugstore foundations that are more reliable than this one, and for C$55 I'm not willing to spend that kind of money on a foundation I'm not thrilled with.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Cover Girl - Lip Perfection Jumbo Gloss Balm in Coral Twist
albs 3/31/2013 9:22:00 PM
This is a nice product. It looks like a reddish pink in the tube but I apply a sheer layer to achieve a really nice coral shade on the lips. It's definitely buildable but I don't like it to be too stark. It's a little moisturizing but I like to apply it over a balm anyway. I don't notice any real shimmer or frost in this one. It wears for a couple of hours which I'm happy with. I like the packaging- the twist up application is convenient and prevents waste. Because I use so little this will last a long time.
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Bronzers -Laura Mercier - Golden Mosaic Shimmer Bloc
albs 3/31/2013 2:36:00 PM
This is beautiful. It's a multi-use product- I use it as a blush, highlighter and as eyeshadow. You could also use it as a bronzer I suppose but I avoid shimmery bronzers. The rosy shade is my favourite of the four different shades- I like to use it all over my eyelid and on my cheeks mixed with the champagne shade. Definitely versatile, shimmery without being too reflective or at all glittery. There's lots of product so it should last me for a long time, but it's a little too pricey for me to repurchase if I ever run out I think.
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Misc Beauty Tools -Essence - Pencil Sharpener
albs 3/31/2013 2:10:00 PM
This is a GEM. It's cheap- something like $2.99 in Canada at the most and available at Shopper's Drug Mart. I've had other sharpeners before and they've always cost much more than this and they would break the tips of my liners and waste so much product. Normally a tool like this should really be considered something you should invest in because it directly relates to how much product you could potentially be wasting, but it doesn't have to be an investment with this nifty little sharpener on the market. It sharpens even very soft, creamy pencils with ease- no freezer or fridge time required. With other sharpeners I had the tips of soft pencils break off over and over and I wasted a lot of product this way. Get one. Heck get two, just so you're never without one. And spread the word.
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Eyeliner -NYX - Slide On Pencil - ALL
albs 3/31/2013 1:52:00 PM
I have this liner in brown. It's a very deep brown, it's almost indistinguishable from black at a distance when I'm wearing it- just a little softer and warmer. It's like a gel liner in a pencil. It's very soft and creamy so you have to be cautious that you don't smoosh the end or break it off. Sharpening it is fine if you have a good sharpener- if you can get your hands on the Essence one it's cheap and brilliant, I highly recommend it. You have some time to smudge this liner but once it dries down it won't go anywhere. I will probably repurchase in a few different shades- I have my eye on the gold one.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -L'Oreal - Telescopic Shocking Extensions Mascara
albs 3/28/2013 4:11:00 PM
This mascara has a great formula and brush. The bristles aren't the exact same the while way around so you can adjust if you want more length or more volume depending on what side of the brush you use. I get great length, volume and definition but it's not the easiest mascara I've ever used. I find I have to work with it a bit. It's a great, dark shade and it lasts all day without flaking or smudging.
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Eye Shadow -NYX - Champagne
albs 3/27/2013 2:18:00 PM
I love this. It applies smoothly to my eyelids, lasts over 12 hours over my NARS eyelid primer and has a beautiful sheen. It's a very warm colour, it almost veers into orange territory but my complexion is quite warm so I find it very flattering. I love to wear it alone washed all over my lid with a matte highlight on my brow bone and black gel liner on my upper lash line- it has been my every-day eye look for a while now. It's minimalistic but still a little dramatic and I love it. Great shade.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Maybelline - Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles
albs 3/26/2013 2:34:00 PM
I have this in the brightener shade. I don't like it on it's on, it looks unnatural on my skin and I'm relatively fair in the winter time. I have been mixing it with my Benefit Erase Paste. I apply the brightener under my eyes, particularly in the corners, get a little Erase Paste on a blending brush and blend it all together (gently!) under my eyes. I really like the combination. That being said, the packaging is incredibly annoying because there's a lot of wasted product. I had a regular concealer shade of this that I had to throw out because I couldn't twist it up further after only a few uses. Nice product but not worth a repurchase.
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Eyeliner -Maybelline - Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner - Blackest Black
albs 3/26/2013 2:28:00 PM
This is definitely not waterproof, which I believe is one of the claims that they make. I bought it to tightline with and that just doesn't work. It transfers to my lower waterline and lashline and just looks quite messy. I have been using it regularly as a liner for my upper lash line and despite the fact that it is not waterproof, or even really smudgeproof, it does the job quite nicely. It lasts all day, it barely fades at all and it only smudges if I happen to rub my eye. It applies smoothly and evenly, is a nice shade of black and is easy to work with. I am not an expert at applying any type of liner so I appreciate that the formula is so user-friendly. I will not repurchase because I want something I can tightline with but I'll continue to use this on my upper lashline until I run out or it dries up.
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Bronzers -Wet 'n' Wild - Reserve Your Cabana
albs 3/20/2013 11:20:00 PM
This is a lovely highlight shade. It's not too shimmery or sparkly, it's quite subtle. It highlights without causing me to look oily. It lasts for well over eight hours. The shade is lovely, I love highlighters that have a champagne/beige undertone. Can't beat it for the price. It's nice that such a beautiful highlight is accessible at the drugstore. It may be worth noting that it is a bit powdery, and my brush kicks up quite a bit of excess. There's so much product and it's so inexpensive that the waste isn't really that significant, but it would be preferable if it was a little less powdery.
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