Review: Maybelline Color Elixir

A month ago, I found out that Maybelline was finally bringing their Color Elixirs to Canada. I could not be more excited. These little babies were supposed to be a trifecta, delivering shine, pigmented application, and a balm-like texture in one. So I popped over to the closes Walmart and picked up two colors that I'd been in love with for a while.

L: Blush Essence // R: Captivating Carnation

L: Blush Essence // R: Captivating Carnation

I really like this new line by Maybelline. They do deliver on the appropriate shine and the balm-like texture. However, I don't particularly think they're the most pigmented glosses in the market. Then again, it could be because of the the shades I picked up are relatively light. I'd like to buy a deeper colored shade and test out its pigmentation though. But I do like the softness of the colors; both colors apply very subtly and give a nice, soft touch to your overall look.

The only thing that I don't like about these elixirs is that they are very sticky. I absolutely hate it when strands of my hair get stuck to my lips and for that reason, I've learnt not to wear either of these elixirs on a particularly windy day out -- at least not if my hair won't be up in a bun or a ponytail.

In every other way, I think these are pretty good though. Love the color and the shine it gives.

Have you tried these? What are your thoughts?

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Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain + Swatches

Remember when I said I've been getting a little too into lip products? Well when that started, it started with baby steps. If I'm going to try out different colors, I want to try them out with products like Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable balm stains. 

I had originally picked up the Honey shade but after falling in love with it, I decided to experiment with some of the more different shades - Crush and Smitten. One of the lipstick colors that I've always wanted to experiment with was a nice, deep wine color. Winter season is the perfect time to rock anything wine-colored: lips, nails, scarves, whatever you like! 

The Honey shade originally applies as a soft-pink, almost-mauve color and once the shimmer has faded, it turns into a really soft and subtle pink shade, which is just lovely for everyday wear. 

Crush, on the other hand, is an amazingly deep wine-colored shade that really makes a statement on your face. It pairs brilliantly with really subtle eye makeup and is great for occasions where you want a deep color but you don't want to use a lipstick. 

Smitten is a great intermediate shade between Honey and Crush. It's a deeper pink than Honey but not as deep as Crush. Again, it's particularly fantastic for everyday use and this shade you can pair with subtle eyes for a daytime look or with a nice smokey eye for a nighttime look. 

What I love about this range is that while there is originally bit of shimmer in the initial application, after a few hours, the shimmer pretty much fades away, leaving a nice matte finish on the lips. It does tend to leave residues on cups or mugs or whatever but not to the point that it's very noticeable.

The pigmentation is absolutely fantastic and since it's a balm stain, the formulation leaves your lips feeling nourished and well-moisturized. Bonus point: use these with a nice chapstick if your lips are really dry. It will make a significant difference.

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Let's Get Naked (3)

This past holiday break, I gave myself one of the best Christmas gifts: Urban Decay's Naked 3 palette. 

I was procrastinating from studying and on a whim, I decided to check Sephora's online store to see if it was in stock. It was Tuesday and it was supposed to be available in stores on Wednesday. Imagine my surprise to see it on the website a day earlier. Imagine my relief to see it in stock. Without a second thought, I ordered it right away.

At $60, it's certainly quite an investment to make but because of the neutrality of the shades and amazing quality of the palette itself, I'd say it's an investment you won't regret making. Plus, the palette lasts for a long time. I've been using one of the eyeshadows from the Naked palette to fill in my brows everyday and it's yet to make even a small dent.

The palette is absolutely amazing. As you can see, and as I've already mentioned in an earlier blog post, this palette boasts 12 brand-spankin'-new shades from Urban Decay. True to the quality of the Naked palette, each shadow is incredibly pigmented and glides on very well. 

The colors are fantastic and as you can see, the palette has a brilliant balance of shimmers and mattes and soft, everyday-use shades as well as those you can use for smoky eyes. 

L-R: Strange, Dust, Burnout, Limit, Buzz, Trick

L-R: Nooner, Liar, Factory, Mugshot, Darksite, Blackheart

Two bonuses of this palette are that it comes with a double-ended eye shadow brush and samples of all 4 of Urban Decay's primer potions: original, sin, eden, and anti-aging. Each sample claims to last for about a week's worth of use and it's a fantastic way to try out all the different formulations to see which you like the best. I know when I first bought the original primer potion, I was so overwhelmed between whether I should get sin, eden, or the original since I had no idea how all of them would look. With this, it makes your decisions easier. Plus, it's nice to try them out to see if the Urban Decay primer potions are worth the investment in the first place. 

Overall, I love this palette. I wasn't much of a fan of the Naked 2 palette but this is well worth the investment. Between this and the original Naked palette, I don't think I'll be using any other palettes that I own - at least not for regular usage. 

What do you think? Is it worth the investment?

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January ipsy Bag

Having just received my January ipsy subscription bag, I thought I'd post its contents. I'm really glad with what I got this time around. 

For those that don't know, ipsy is a monthly makeup subscription service that costs about $16/month (if shipping to Canada) or $10/month (in the US). It was started by YouTube beauty guru, Michelle Phan, and sends out about 5 products each month - some are samples and others are full-sized.

I'm actually really happy with the Willa face wipes since I just finished off my travelling makeup wipes and the Malin+Goetz lip balm. I love trying on new lip products and this one is supposed to be mojito-flavored so I'm excited to try it out. 

I really really wished I had gotten the sample of Benefit's Porefessional primer that some of the other ipsy members got instead of the Apothederm skin brightening serum. But that's neither here nor there.

Overall I'm very happy with the bag - the blue bag itself is very pretty and the perfect size to be a traveller makeup bag. I'm also really excited to use the Smooth Shadow creamy eye pencil (in Pearl) by Elizabeth Mott as a waterliner or inner eye corner highlighter and the leave-in conditioner from healthy sexy hair.

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Review: Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

The approach of winter holidays means one thing: finals season. Finals season means another thing: all-nighters. That means chugging ridiculous amounts of coffee or energy drinks, spending all night with your head buried in a book and furiously trying away on your laptop, and of course, looking in the mirror the next morning and realizing you are staring at the zombie version of yourself.

In that instant, you need two things to make sure that nobody else can figure out the hell you've put yourself through: a nice cold shower to bring some life back into you and a nice foundation which will take away any sign of that all-nighter that is so apparent on your face.

After going through CoverGirl's Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 foundation during the summer and fall, I found myself in the market for a new one.

Unfortunately, I realized that the CoverGirl foundation was incredibly drying on my winter skin so I realized this was the perfect chance to try the foundation that I've heard wonderful reviews about: Rimmel's Wake Me Up.

The foundation boasts having an anti-fatigue effect and to giving a radiant glow to users. Both of these effects are apparent when you swatch a small amount of the foundation: in light, you suddenly notice that it appears to shimmer. It is this shimmer that gives off the anti-fatigue effect. 

The coverage is fantastic and it's really buildable. Overall, it's a fantastic foundation. That being said, I've noticed that it does tend to make my face shiny in the evening so I've found myself reaching for a mattifying powder after about 5-6 hours of wearing it. I do seem to recall this not being an issue when I used the Smashbox Photofinish primer so I'm going to test it out the combination again to see if that makes a difference or not. 

It's great for normal or dry skin, especially if you've found yourself pulling an all-nighter for work or school. But for oily skin? Better keep a mattifying powder or a good face primer handy. 

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Blogmas 01: MAC Russian Red

One of my recent lipstick purchases was the MAC Russian Red lipstick. This shade had been on my wishlist since I started wearing lipstick and I could not be more happy about the purchase.

I know I said this already in the My Lipstick Collection post but this is honestly the perfect holiday shade. The color is a nice deep red, which is absolutely perfect for Christmas parties with a stunning pair of heels and a LBD. 

The pigmentation of the lipstick is absolutely great and it applies very smoothly as well. Thanks to the blue base of the lipstick, this color shines on every skin tone. From pale to dark skin, this color will stand out and bring the attention right to where you want it: your lips. 

Make sure you have a mirror though. Unless you're a pro at applying lipstick, you're going to need it. 

At $18 (CAD), this is certainly on the higher end of lipsticks but it is well worth it. Fun fact: it also makes a wonderful Christmas gift. Know someone who always has a splash of color on her lips? Get this color for her. She won't be disappointed.

Promise. 

Can you picture it? Because I can. 

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Spotlight: Naked 3 Palette

Can we just pause for a moment and thank the Beauty Gods for the best thing that's about to come our way? Urban Decay has recently announced the Naked 3 palette and oh. my. god.

Siiiiiiiiiiigh. 

The Naked 3 palette features colors with soft rose-colored undertones. These are never-before-seen shades. Brand new! Just for us to enjoy! BUT it still gets better! The palette also comes with a double-ended eye shadow brush AND samples of each of the four Urban Decay primers (Original, Sin, Eden, and Anti-Aging). 

I bought the original Naked palette sometime last year and absolutely loved its versatility. Naked 2 palette? Not such a big fan of any of the colors. It was a palette I could do without. But the Naked3 palette is amazing for everyday eyes. And you can just as easily go from day to night thanks to those lovely few dark shades. 

If there is ONE beauty item in my Christmas wishlist, you're looking at it baby! Sadly, it's out of stock on the UD website and Sephora Canada has yet to get it in store but you can bet that I'll be getting it the minute it comes out.

What do you think of the new palette? Will you be getting it or is it a pass for you?

My Lipstick Collection

With an interest in lipsticks popping up over the last few months, I've managed to gather a small collection so I thought it'd be a good idea to devote a post on my growing lipstick collection. 

I used to only wear lip balms but after the red lips trend, I wanted to try it. So I bought my first ever lipstick, the Wet n' Wild lipstick in Hot Red to start experimentation. With that, my confidence wearing lipsticks grew as did my collection. 

This shade is a gorgeous red-orange shade. It's a little shiny but also a little matte. It has great pigmentation and is fantastic to wear on casual nights out. 

This is a lip crayon that I got in my November ipsy bag and I haven't gotten the chance to wear it out yet but I love the shade. It's red but muted enough that you can wear it on any normal day. It's not very overbearing on the lips either so I love it.  

I love the formulation of this lipstick. Kate Moss by Rimmel lipsticks are great drugstore lipsticks and there are so many great shades in the collection. This is from the Lasting Finish collection (not the LF Matte) so it has a bit of shine to it. I'm not the biggest fan of the matte lipsticks but I really like the reddish-orange shade. It glides on smooth and lasts forever.

This shade. For the longest time, this has been my holy grail lipstick. I finally bought it a couple of weeks ago after having it on my wishlist for ages and I haven't looked back. It's the kind of a deep-red color that is perfect for date nights or going out for drinks with your besties. It glides on super smooth, has great pigmentation, and is absolutely perfect. This is also the perfect shade for that Christmas dinner/party you'll be heading to this year. 

I got this as a sample in my first ipsy bag. This is a great shade and the first time I had ever used a lipstick that deviated from a red color. I really loved this color. Like MAC's Russian Red, this glides on great and has good pigmentation. It's part of Urban Decay's Revolution lipstick collection and I cannot wait to try some of the other colors. 

I got this as part of my November ipsy bag. It's part of Michelle Phan's new 'em' make-up brand. I haven't worn it out yet but I love how it applied when I swatched it. It's a really nice pretty pink color that I cannot wait to wear!

I bought this shade and is the only color I have that has more of a peachy/nude tone. That being said, it applied very matte on my lipstick so I don't like to wear it on its own. If I ever wear it, I pair it up with a lip balm or gloss to give it some shine. I also love pairing it with L'Oreal's Color Riche Lip Balm in Tender Mauve (left it at home so couldn't include it in this post!).

This is a great nude lip gloss shade. I'd never tried the Buxom brand before so when I got this in one of my ipsy bags, I was pretty excited. I really like the subtle sparkliness that shows when you apply it. The shade itself is a lovely nude color that is great for everyday use. 

What are some of your favorite lipsticks?

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Review: Urban Decay NAKED Palette

If there was ever a beauty cult product, it is Urban Decay's NAKED palette. With a price tag of around $50, it is certainly a pricey purchase but after reading and hearing about this palette from literally every beauty guru blogger and vlogger, I knew I had to give this a go. So last Christmas, my mother was nice enough to gift it to me. After that, I haven't looked back. 

This palette has a little bit of literally everything. In terms of color range, there is a quite a bit of browns and dark purple/blue shades. If there's one palette that can give you a soft, daytime look as well as a great smoky eye, this palette is the one. I'm personally not into wearing a lot of bright colors like reds, pinks, or purples on my eyes so I can honestly say that I have rarely used any of my other eye shadow palette after getting the NAKED palette. 

The pigmentation of each shadow, with the exception of Naked, is absolutely perfect. Because each of the shadows swatch so strongly, the palette is very long-lasting. Like I said, I got it last Christmas and I've barely scratched the surface on any of the shadows. Another plus for me was that I recently realized that I could use the Dark Horse shade to fill in my brows. Sigh. It's so multifunctional!

If you're in the market for a great, multi-functional eye shadow palette and don't mind splurging a bit for a great product, Urban Decay's NAKED palette should be at the top of your list. It is absolutely perfect for every occasion. 

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Review: Coastal Scents 22 Piece Brush Set

This past summer, I found myself buying single brushes a little too often. Every couple of weeks, I would be back at the drugstore to pick up a foundation brush or concealer brush or powder brush. So when I found this sweet 22 brush set on sale at Coastal Scents, I snatched one up. When I bought it, it was about $20 but even at it's regular $35 price tag, it's still too good a deal to pass up. 

Clockwise, L-R: Angle brush (goat hair), Round powder (synthetic), Foundation (fiber), Flat buffer (synthetic), Powder buffer (synthetic), and Fan brush (synthetic)

L-R: Dome Blender (pony hair), Large Shadow (pony hair), Doe Foot (pony hair), Detailed Concealor (fiber hair), Dome Shadow (pony hair), Pointed Blender (pony hair), Blender (pony hair), Concealor (pony hair)

 L-R: Small Liner/Brow (nylon hair), Medium Liner/Brow (nylon hair), Large Liner/Brow (nylon hair), Medium Shadow (pony hair), Brow (pony hair), Detail Shadow (pony hair), Lip (pony hair), Smudger Sponge

I haven't even used a lot of the eye brushes. This set is so great and the the travel bag it comes with is so nice and would come in super handy if you travel a lot. My go-to brushes thus far have been the flat buffer brush, the large liner/brow brush, and the angled blush brush. This set is particularly great for anyone who is just beginning in make-up or likes to have all the tools but doesn't care if they're the absolute best. Basically, this is a great starter brush set. 

What do you think of this set? What are your go-to brushes?

Review: Micellar Waters

At the end of a long day of school, I don't want to spend fiddling with two or three different make-up removal cleansers just to remove my make-up. This is especially the case if I'm super tired and just want a quick make-up removal method. Feel the same way? Let me introduce you to micellar waters!

Micellar waters are great for those quick, easy times since they have a non-rinse formulation. Basically it means that unlike other make-up removal cleansers, you don't have to follow them up with washing your face. You can just use them to remove your make-up and then ta da! Dunzo! That being said, I do recommend following it up with washing your face, especially if your skin is going through a tough time. 

Bioderma Sebium H2O Micellaire Solution. Bioderma is clearly the cult classic. Bloggers, YouTubers, and any other beauty make-up gurus absolutely raved about this product so when it made its way to my local Shoppers Drug Mart, I knew I had to try it. I bought this product early this past summer after my La Roche Posay micellaire solution began to run low. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. This particular formulation is for those of us with oily skin (for normal skin, buy the pink bottle!) and since my skin gets really oily in the summer, this was perfect! At $33, it is certainly expensive but it's November and I have yet to run out of it. And I use it quite religiously. It removes about 97% of all heavy make-up and it's great for those nights where you just want one product to remove all the make-up, remove it well, and leave your skin leaving smooth. 

La Roche Posay Physiological Micellaire Solution. Compared to the Bioderma, this was really cheap. I tried this when I was in the market to replace my old make-up remover and the drugstore lady suggested I try the micellar waters. Since it was on sale at the time at almost $11, I saw no problem at a little experimentation. In my opinion, this is very similar to the Bioderma micellar water. It may not leave the skin feeling very smooth but it does go a pretty decent job at removing all the make-up. For the price, you can't go wrong. Especially if you haven't tried micellar waters and want to dip your toe into the (micellar) water. Hah. See what I did there?

Overall, I really like having micellar waters as part of my night-time routine. They're quick, easy, and get the job done. Have you tried any? What are your thoughts?

The November ipsy Bag

Everything I know about make-up is because of the YouTube beauty gurus. I watch a lot of them religiously but the very first guru I watched was Michelle Phan. Her videos are amazing and she is undoubtedly the beauty inspiration for many of us.

So when I heard she started a beauty subscription box, ipsy, I knew I had to get in on it. At $10, it's definitely one of the cheaper boxes and the items are really awesome. I've had the subscription for a few months now but this is the first I'm documenting simply because I haven't forgotten to do so. 

I was actually really surprised and excited about this month's bag. Usually, there is one product that I'm not so sure I will use but all of the products in this month's bag are absolutely amazing. There are two lip products (in colors that I love wearing, SCORE!), a nail polish, a bronzer (YES!), and an eyeshadow. Overall, this is one of the best boxes I've gotten thus far. 

1. Pixi Subtly Suntouched. This could not have come at a better time. I'd been in the market for a bronzer for a bit now and I'd been wanting to try the Pixi brand for some time as well so it's perfect timing!

2. Be a bombshell "Hot Damn". So this is more like a lip crayon and when you apply it, it feels like it as well. It's not super shiny but it does apply well and the pigmentation is pretty good as well. 

3. em "Don't Tell Mom". This month, we all got an extra treat with our ipsy bags: we got an item from Michelle Phan's new make-up line called 'em'. I love this color (very similar to Urban Decay's Anarchy) and the lipstick itself is very moisturizing. It glides on very smoothly and is super pigmented. LOVE the formulation!

4. BH Cosmetics Galaxy Chic in "Aphrodite". I love the color of this eye shadow. It's very pigmented and is a nice warm red color with kind of a pinkish, bronze undertone. I'm not sure the picture translates that It's hard to describe but I really like the color. This would be great during the winter, especially for a nice smoky eye!