My Travel Makeup Bag

 I don't travel too often, and I'm always planning weeks in advance what makeup I'm going to take with me. Narrowing down the amount of makeup I have is a nightmare, and when I leave for vacation in February I have to share a suitcase (meaning it can't be half full of cosmetics). I'm only away for a week, but I know there will be lots of pictures, and I feel better if I look better- so I want to bring products that make me feel good while being lightweight and easy to travel with.
Generally, I pick a makeup bag before I do anything else. I choose this, then I fill it up. If something doesn't fit, it can't travel with me. And I'm absolutely not allowed 2 makeup bags.

 For Primers I'm bringing Laura Mercier Foundation Primer and NARS Pro-Prime Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Primer. Both of these primers are travel-sized, and I think primers may seem unnecessary- but in hotter weather a primer can really help prolong your makeup.

 For foundation I'm bringing Maybelline's Dream Fresh BB Cream in the shade Light, and Bourjous Healthy Mix Serum foundation in the shade 52. Both of these products are lightweight, and the BB cream has a built in SPF perfect for warmer climates.

 I'm bringing two concealers with me, a MAC Studio Finish concealer in NW20 for surprise breakouts, and Maybelline's Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circle undereye concealer in the brightening shade.

 For powder I'm bringing Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in the shade Dim Light. I'm bringing Tarte's Amazonian Clay Bronzer in the shade Park Ave. Princess, and Tarte's 12-hour Amazonian Clay Blush in the shade Exposed.

 For eyeshadow I'm bringing two small eyeshadow palettes, the Urban Decay "Naked Basics" palette, and NARS' "And God Created The Woman". The UD palette has lots of matte shades, while the NARS palette has a mixture of shimmery and matte shades which will be nice for a night out.

 For pencil products I'm bringing Clinique's Cream Shaper dual-ended pencil with the shades 16 Mink and Cocoa Shimmer, Rimmel's Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Stick in the shade 002 Bulletproof Beige, Stila's Stay All Day Waterproof liner and finally Anastasia's Brow Wiz in the shade Ash Blonde.

 For mascara I'm bringing L'Oreal's Voluminous Original mascara in the shade Black.

 I'm bringing two lipsticks, Givenchy's Rouge Interdit in 25 Rose Caprice, and Givenchy's Le Rouge in the shade 201 Rose Taffetas. One is more of an everyday shade, and the other is a bright pink which is more vibrant but can be casual. I'm bringing these two shades because I always buy a Givenchy lipstick in Florida, these are from my past two trips so it's a bit of a tradition now.

 For gloss I'm bringing NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss in Beige, Laura Mercier's lipgloss in BabyDoll and NARS lipgloss in Turkish Delight.

 The makeup bag I'm bringing was a Clinique freebie a few years back, and I find it's a good bag because it's lined with a plastic washable material and has a wide base for bigger items.

Here is the final state of my makeup bag- as you can see I still have some room leftover for anything I may have forgotten! Thanks for reading!

Valentine's Day Makeup Tutorial

Hello everybody! Happy Valentines Day! If all is going well, I should be at the airport right now getting ready to fly to Florida with my wonderful boyfriend! Anyway, Valentines Day is usually a day where couples get all lovey and go out for dinner or to the movies or whatever. On occasions such as this I like to get a little dolled-up, and I thought it's a great opportunity to try out some pale-pink, champagne eyeshadow and get a little romantic here.

 To begin I like to prime my face to keep my makeup looking better for longer. Today I used Dermaglow's Perfect Primer.

 For foundation I used Stila's Stay All Day foundation and concealer. It's a light coverage, long-lasting foundation, but I intend to do a full review at a later date. I recommend using your favourite foundation since it's a day where you want your skin to look especially lovely!

 Here is my base completed. I wasn't sure of the finish of this foundation, I thought it was a bit streaky and patchy.

 Onto eyeshadow primer. I'm using Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion. I just pop this onto my eyelids and blend.

 As an eyeshadow base I'm using Benefit's Creaseless Cream Shadow in the shade RSVP. This could be used to prime the eyes, but I'm applying over the top of the primer for extra coverage and to prevent creasing.

 I use three shades from the Smashbox Softbox Eye Palette. I use Sugar all over my lid, Nude in the crease and Vanilla in my inner corner and brow bone.

 This is the effect it gives.

 To add a bit more sparkle I'm taking Venus from the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette over my brow bone and in my tear duct area.

 This is how it looks with my eyes closed.

 And again with my eyes open. I love how the warm Nude shade gives definition without being over the top.

 I'm using my trusty Stila Stay All Day liquid liner in Black to define my lash line.

 I apply it thinly in the inner corners and thicker as I get to my outer eye. I flick out and up to create a cat-like effect.

 For lashes I'm applying a mascara that lasts all day and holds a curl. I think curled eyelashes can be extra nice since you can bat your lashes and make them look all flirtatious. This is L'Oreals Voluminous Original mascara.

 Look at those long lashes! What a difference mascara makes!

 To brighten up my face I'm using Maybelline's Instant Age Rewind Treatment concealer.

 I apply it to my under eyes, cupids bow, forehead and the bridge of my nose.

 Blended in it brightens up my entire face!

 In the lid of my Stila foundation is a concealer, which is awesome because the colour perfectly matches the foundation. I use this on any redness or blemishes for a flawless complexion.

 Quick shot of clear-looking skin!

 I use the matte bronzer from the Lorac TANtalizer to contour my cheekbones.

 I use a synthetic foundation brush to apply the powder to my cheekbones and then blend in with my bronzer brush.

 To add a little more warmth to the skin I'm dusting Benefit's Hoola around my cheekbones, temples and hairline.

 

 For blush I'm using Dior's Rosy Glow to add a 'pinched' look to my face. It looks very pink but is much more subtle on the skin.

 I love how the blue undertones make you look like you've just been running around in very cold weather.

 A swipe of my favourite lipstick is next, this is Givenchy's Rose Caprice.

Here is the finished look! I hope you all enjoyed! Happy Valentines Day! xoxo

Valentine's Day Nail Polishes

Valentines Day is approaching, and I am in the middle of midterms. I know there is no way I'll have time for a nice manicure on the 14th, so I'm going to paint my nails now and do some touch ups if I find any chips or smudges! Here are my top V-Day polish picks!

Here are some of my favourite shades for a Valentines Day manicure!

These are swatches of the shades I've chosen.

Muchi, Muchi: A pale pink with no sheen to it, shiny but not sparkly. A really pretty baby-pink which goes well with most outfits and colours.

I Am Strong: A limited-edition shade from Essie in their 2013 Breat Cancer Awareness collection. A beautiful mauve-pink, deeper than a baby-pink but not too bright.

Mod Square: A classic, bubblegum pink colour. One coat of this colour and you're good to go!

E-Nuf is E-Nuf: A bright, neon pink shade. Very bright, perfect for younger girls or if you're celebrating in a particularly tropical climate!

Lollipop: A bright red shade, perfect for fingers or toes. A really classic red, makes a statement but matches any outfit.

A Cut Above: Pink glitter in a clear nail polish. Perfect as a top coat, to create a statement nail or on top of bare nails for a bit of sparkle.

What have you guys got planned for Valentines Day? Let me know in the comments, or tweet me!

Manicure Monday Week 12

Hey everyone,
It's that time of week where I show you the colours I've been sporting on these nails of mine. I'll get right into it, here are the shades!

This is Essie's "Good Morning Hope", a really pretty pale pink shade. It's quite opaque with two coats, which is impressive for such a pale shade, and it lasted a really long time on the nails. There was slight chipping after about 3-4 days, but other than that the nail colour looked smooth and shiny. 

Essie's "Lilacism" was the second shade I chose this month, I think I wanted to pretend it's spring when I'm outside in -15 weather. I wore this shade with no base or top coat, just to experiment with the formula. It lasted an impressive amount of time, although the shine did wear off a little sooner than it would have with a top coat. I did experience some chipping on the tips of my fingers, but nothing abnormal. I think this lilac shade is really pretty and matches an array of outfits! 

I hope you enjoyed Week 12 of Manicure Monday! Have a good week guys!

Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Stick Review

The Rimmel Scandaleyes collection is really impressive. They have eyeliners, a mascara and these eyeshadow sticks. They are a cream shadow in stick form (similar to Cliniques Chubby Sticks) for a very reasonable price. The formula is really nice, the shades I have are all shimmery but blend very nicely and last for an impressive amount of time. They can be used as a base for a smokey eyeshadow look (I used the purple shade in my New Years tutorial which you can find here), but you can also use them separately for a quick wash of colour. I've used them both ways, and I find you can blend them out so well that they can look quite intense in the places you'd define (crease or lashline) and also less apparent for a lid shade or even up onto the brow bone. 

 Swatches from left to right: 004 Guilty Grey, 003 Bad Girl Bronze, 006 Paranoid Purple and 002 Bulletproof Beige.

The packaging is quite convinient, I prefer it to the little tubs (Maybelline Colour Tattoos, Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadows) because I think the pencil is less likely to dry out. I think they're excellent to travel with and overall a really nice product. I would definitely recommend them, especially for the low price. You can find Rimmel London's Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Sticks in most drugstores across North America.