Drugstore Haul and Review

This fragrance (from my lovely friend, Gracie) was a gift from England. Despite having a few Zara stores in Canada, I'm not too sure if they sell fragrances. It's described as an oriental scent, with bergamot, jasmine, vanilla, caramel and patchouli. Personally, I really love this fragrance and hope I don't get too hooked if it's hard to find across the Atlantic!

I also bought some Bioderma, a favourite among beauty bloggers all over the world. It's quite hard to find, but luckily my local Shoppers Drug Mart carries it! I got a wonderful deal of 2 for $30.00, so I quickly snapped them up. So far I really like this cleansing water. I use it after washing my face as a toner and also for quick makeup removals. It doesn't have a scent, doesn't leave my skin feeling dry, and also does a great job of removing makeup.

Recently I went into a Body Shop and found my favourite coconut body butter on sale in it's largest size for only $15.00. It's 400ml, practically the size of a bucket. It'll last me forever which is great, because I think it's an awesome product. It's incredibly moisturizing and leaves my skin feeling very soft.

I also bought this Organix coconut milk serum for my hair. I generally apply to wet hair, and only use a very small amount. I have learned to only apply a small amount just in the ends of my hair, if I apply too much it makes my hair look a bit greasy but it does a good job at stopping my hair from getting too frizzy in this humidity.

I also bought the falsies by Maybelline because I needed a waterproof mascara. I've found that in the heat of Southern Ontario and working in the restaurant industry (in and out of a hot kitchen) waterproof mascara is a must.

The brush is average, the formula is too. It is very waterproof and stays on my lashes all day, but I won't be running out to repurchase it.

I also bought the Maybelline Dream Bouncy blush in the shade Candy Coral. It's a cream blush which is nice for a quick makeover. It's easy to apply and gives a natural flush to the cheeks.

The texture of this product is really strange, it's a mousse-ish texture and although it blends nicely I find that it takes a bit of product to get a good amount of pigmentation.

Next I bought the Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer in the shade 245 Light. I haven't used this yet, but heard good reviews as an undereye concealer.

Finally I bought Maybellines BB cream in the shade Light-Medium. I had tried this before in the shade medium, it was a bit dark for my skintone but gave my skin a really healthy-glowing finish. I found the consistency to be really nice, not very heavy but stayed put on my face for hours. It's a great product for a long day where you don't want a heavy face of makeup- and the added SPF of 30 is a bonus!

L'Oreal Colour Caresse Shine Stain Review

Hey everyone!
So I bought these L'Oreal Colour Caresse Shine Stain's while in Florida because I had heard such good things about them. Apparently they are incredibly similar to the Yves Saint Laurent Glossy Stain at about 1/3rd of the price. I bought two Shine Stains, so here is a review!

This is the packaging for the product, I think it's fairly average and don't have any complaints. I like the window that shows the product colour.

These are the colours I bought: 184 Rose On and On, and 188 Coral Tattoo

The applicator is very similar to the YSL Glossy Stain and I think it makes applying the product very easy.

The texture of the product is like nothing else I've ever used. It goes on very wet but eventually turns into a sticky layer before drying to a stain. It still looks glossy but it no longer feels wet. Some people may not like the texture but I think it's unique and doesn't bother me much at all.

This was the result after immediatley washing the swatches off of my hands. A bit of a pain, but proof that the stain sticks around which I know is very important to busy people!

Manicure Monday #1

Hey!
So I figured I need to blog more often, and why not begin with something easy like uploading a picture of my nails every Monday. Since I've just started this, I've actually kept pictures from the last couple of weeks to show you the colours I'm sporting. Also, just so you know, Essie is my favourite nail polish brand. I have a bit of a collection, and it's not healthy nor cheap. But anyway, my theory is that if I collect one nail polish brand I won't be tempted by other brands colours and my collection will always look neat and tidy. As you can tell I actually had to think of a reason to collect nail polish. Mostly I just like the formulation of Essie nail polishes, including base and top coats. So anyway, here is my first Manicure Monday post!

This is Essie's "Muchi Muchi", it's a pretty pale pink pastel colour.

This is Essie's "Tart Deco", a coral-y pink colour which I love for summer!

This is Essie's "Mod Square", a typical Barbie pink colour. I don't often reach for this colour but couldn't resist now its summer!

And finally Essie's "Stylenomics". It's not black, but a very dark green. As you can see it's not a very good summer colour but after all those pinks I needed a change!

Thanks for reading, I'll try to keep this updated every week so you can see what nail polish I'm loving!

May 2013 Favourites

Hey everyone,
So May was a pretty exciting month for me. I started the month by finishing my first year at university and moving back in at home. I then jetted off to Florida with my family for an awesome week in the sun. When I returned I began my new job in my hometown and have also enjoyed my first summer of being 19 (legal drinking age in Canada). Being 19 has lots of benefits, but the biggest perk is being allowed to get into bars to see my friends band, Amity Beach.
Anyway, now the summer is finally here it's my time to save up for my next school year and enjoy some time with my best friends and family. Here are my May 2013 beauty favourites!

The Naked Basics palette from Urban Decay is a recent purchase from April. I had wanted it for a long time, and when I finally bought it I realized I should have owned it much sooner. I have used it almost every day I apply makeup and when I was traveling down to Florida it was compact and has all the neutral essentials.

The Rimmel Scandaleyes waterproof kohl kajal in "005 Nude" is a fantastic product. It stays in your waterline, brightens the eye area and has helped me look far less tired in the morning after a very late night.

I bought this Benefit "Hello Flawless" foundation last September. It was a silly buy, the shade was far too dark for my skintone by about one of two shades, so it made it practically unwearable throughout the winter months. After getting a little bit tanned I tried it out again and I am so happy I did, I love it. It has a lightweight formula that sticks around all day, but it does have less coverage. I think it's the perfect summer foundation and I may even buy a paler one for the winter.

The Smashbox Sheer Focus tinted moisturizer is one I received at the Smashbox school while training as a cosmetician last year. At first I was disappointed I had received it, I was in love with makeup and I thought the higher coverage the better. However, this is so fantastic. I use it all the time, especially in the summer. It has an SPF of 15 and I use it on any day I don't want to wear foundation. I will certainly repurchase this product, and if I don't I'm tempted to try the Smashbox BB cream instead.

The Rimmel Stay Matte powder is one of the first makeup products I ever bought. I forgot about it for ages, and when I began being interested in makeup, reading blogs and watching YouTube channels, I discovered I wasn't the only one who loved it. I immediately ran out to pick up a new one. I love this powder, it mattifies the skin so well and lasts forever. I don't think a high-end powder will ever compare.

This month I also purchased Maybelline's the Rocket Volum Express mascara. I bought the regular formula in the colour Blackest Black. I find this mascara to be very wet, and it took a while to get used to it. Now I use it very often, however I will be repurchasing it in the waterproof formula because running around in the sunshine leaves this mascara all down my cheeks. Despite this, I will certainly be repurchasing and I think it's a great drugstore buy.

Next up is MAC's "Hue" lipstick. I bought this in the winter but I found that it made my lips too pale and quite frankly made me look a bit unwell. Now that my skin has darkened slightly, I've been loving this colour under a nice nude lipgloss and pairing it with a more dramatic neutral eye.

I bought this while in Florida because in Orlando there is an awesome discounted beauty store which sells lots of awesome things, discontinued products, things from old MAC collections etc, etc. I have had a sample of this in the past and absolutely loved it. I decided to buy the full size and so far I have no regrets. I use it as a night cream and if I find any dry patches on my face. It works wonderfully!

I also bought this in Orlando. It's the Origins Spot Remover anti0blemish treatment gel. I began using it while on vacation and I really like it so far. It definitely makes the pimples come out.. so it makes it look a bit worse before it gets better but I think its great and I love that it's all natural. It's also a lot less irritable on the skin than just using tea tree oil which I have done before.

The mint EOS lipbalm has been a longtime favourite, I used to use it before bed but now I use it before applying makeup. It's refreshing and conditioning and I really love it.

Here's a picture to show just how much I have loved it...

Finally the Benfit bronzer in Hoola. This is an excellent bronzer for people who have fair to medium skintones. It's well pigmented and a little goes a long way. Because of the matte finish it can be used for contouring or an all over sunkissed glow.

Colours of the Rainbow

Hello everyone,
So the "Colours of the Rainbow" is a tag that's going around beauty channels on YouTube. Since I don't have a YouTube channel (..yet), I've decided that I'm going to blog this one! The idea behind this tag is to find beauty products that are the different colours of the rainbow and why you like them. Pink and multi-coloured have been added to this tag, so I hope you enjoy!

RED: The red item I have chosen is Maybelline's lipstick from the Vivids collection called "On Fire Red". It's a classic red lipstick and I love it!

ORANGE: For orange I have chosen my favourite ever (and sadly discontinued) perfume called Ralph Rocks by Ralph Lauren. It's a very summery scent and it's been a favourite of mine for years. This must be my 5th bottle... and because it's been discontinued I hope it's not my last!

YELLOW: For yellow I chose my Benefit "Cabana Glama" palette. It has 3 shimmery nude eyeshadows, a miniature PosieTint lip and cheek stain, a mini foundation in medium, and a mini Hoola bronzer. It's a great palette for traveling if the foundation works for you- it's a bit too dark for me.

GREEN: For green I've chosen my favourite makeup wipes. The Simple cleansing facial wipes are very gentle but remove everything! They don't break me out, don't leave a residue on my skin and don't feel harsh when I remove my makeup.

BLUE: For blue I chose "Butler Please" from Essie's holiday 2012 collection. Despite it being in a winter collection I think it's a great summer colour and I love it!

INDIGO: Indigo was a hard colour to find. This is the only thing I could find in my collection that was close to indigo. This is the Smashbox eyeliner in the shade "Sapphire". It makes a nice change from black or brown eyeliner and the formulation is very soft and blendable- this also means it can be quite smudgy and I wouldn't recommend it for someone with oily eyelids.

VIOLET: I chose this palette from Dior for violet because both the packaging of this palette and the purple shade in the palette are beautiful! The quality of the eyeshadows are gorgeous and the sponge applicators aren't bad either!

PINK: For pink I chose a recent purchase which I bought while in Florida. This is a Givenchy lipstick in the shade 201 Rose Taffetas. It's a completely matte shade and I think it's a perfect spring/summer shade.

MULTI-COLOURED: Multi-coloured was hard to find. This is about the only thing I could find that was beauty related. This is a big makeup bag from Modella, but I'm not sure where I bought it. It's very large and sturdy, I take this with me when I travel almost every time, and it hasn't let me down yet!

So that's the Colours of the Rainbow tag, I hope you enjoyed reading my version! :)