MAKEUP LOOK | MAKE UP FOR EVER 50 Shades of Grey Desire Me Cheeky Blush Trio Review, Swatches & Handcuffs

I could not resist bringing out these handcuffs again which I swear I ONLY bought for 50 Shades of Grey photo purposes and NOTHING else. Really! I have mentioned before that I wasn’t a huge fan of the books and as gimmicky as some of the 50SoG paraphernalia is, I WILL make an exception for MAKE UP FOR EVER because no matter the theme, the products never disappoint as is the case with the Desire Me Cheeky Blush Trio*($56.00 CDN, but a $128 value). The trio is composed of three Artist Shadows and a travel-sized Artisan Brush #150, which is so adorable. Although the Artist Shadows are mostly labelled as eyeshadows, there are some actual blushes amongst the 200+ shades! Granted they can all be used either on the eyes or cheeks so with the Cheeky Blush Trio, we can all have Ana’s innocent, girly glow.     

NAIL ART | MAC x Isabel and Ruben Toledo Collection Studio Nail Lacquer in Venus Red

When it comes to all things MAC, I tend to have quite a bit of restraint. Every collection has me at love at first swatch and if I gave into those urges, I would be a very well made-up, but broke girl. Not since the MAC x Archies collaboration has my interest been piqued until I caught a glimpse of the MAC Toledo Collection. Maybe it was the abstract art on the packaging or the story behind Isabel and Ruben Toledo, who were high school sweethearts. The bottom line was that I HAD to have this collection. Or at least a small part of it!

The artwork popped out to me so much that along with swatching, I absolutely had to attempt some nail art! Venus Red* is my first MAC polish and it was SO PRETTY. This polish was a little watery, so be wary of some cuticle flooding, but the opacity is bang on delicious. Two coats MAX and I was ready to roll! The faces were hand-drawn with black acrylic paint and the lips with nothing else but Venus Red!

SKINCARE | L’Occitane Immortelle Oil Make-Up Remover

I used to blog about L’Occitane A LOT when I first started blogging mainly for haulage purposes (#1, #2, #3, the list goes on!) and I don’t know why I haven’t actually reviewed any of the items I have purchased since I have so many L’Occitane goodies in my office (yes, that’s where I have to keep everything). That stops today because although I am a die hard Shea Butter user (face, body and hands), I have a HUGE soft spot for cleansing oils. Although the new Immortelle Oil Make-Up Remover*($32.00 CDN) says “make-up remover” on the label, this can also be thought of as a cleansing oil effective enough to remove even waterproof mascaras.

Made without water, but with a base of sunflower seed oil (first ingredient ya’ll!) along with immortelle flower and apricot oil, this oil cleanser looks watery at first glance and easily sloshes around the bottle. Different story once it’s on your face though! There is barely a scent to this with maybe a hint of “plant” when sniffed closely.

Oil cleansers work best when applied to dry skin and become milky in consistency when water is added. This can be an odd change for those of us used to some massive foaming action from the classic facial cleanser. Foaming cleansers generally give skin that squeaky clean feel while oil cleansers leave skin feeling like well, skin and possibly even softer which was the case with this Immortelle oil cleanser! For use around the eyes, keep your eyes closed as ANY kind of oil getting in your eyes is incredibly uncomfortable and for mascara, just get a little bit on the tips of your thumb and forefinger and just gently roll your lashes. This will minimize any oil from seeping into your eyes.

Final Verdict: Imagine a cleansing liquid moisturizer because that’s what this is. The moment you begin to massage this onto your skin you can feel how thick this cleanser really is. It’s not watery at all and you can really feel how smooth the oil is over your skin. My favourite part was washing this off because your skin feels so soft and hydrated even though you’re throwing water at it! My skin felt almost…creamy in texture but clean which sounds like an odd combination, but there’s something to be said about not feeling squeaky clean. We all know that squeaky clean eventually leads to tightness, but I know that some of us are so used to that feeling that we don’t feel clean unless our skin *squeaks*. As I age (gracefully), moisture will be a fleeting friend and oil cleansers my favourite way to cleanse.

Who is terrified of using oil to cleanse their face?

MAKEUP LOOK | Clarins Spring 2015 Collection Limited Edition Garden Escape 6 Colour Eye Palette Review & Swatches

When I got the opportunity to preview Clarins’ Spring 2015 Colour Collection last November, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect in terms of colours. When I think of Clarins, I think of wearable colour. My first coloured eyeshadow was a purple one from Clarins and even though it looked just shocking in the pan, it came out safe enough for the office. The new limited edition Garden Escape Palette*($44.00 CDN) is the perfect example of “wearable colour” with six fresh Spring shades ranging from pearly white and pink hues to spring greens and a neutral taupe.  

NAIL ART | Fabulously Dotted with Wet n Wild Wildshine Nail Color in She Shells

“She sells seashells by the seashore”. I was always a “Peter Piper” gal, but Wet n Wild’s new Wildshine Nail Color has me wanting more! Like many of us growing up, Wet n Wild was one of the first nail polish brands I started buying from because of its agreement with my $20 allowance. As I have gotten older, I started pulling away from drugstore brands in favour of ones with more of a price tag, but truth be told when it comes to nail polish, there is a VERY fine line between drugstore and luxury if at all.

She Shells* is a peachy-pink creme polish that really is QUITE shiny on its own. I do have top coat on to protect my design, but believe me when I say that this polish was shiny long before top coat entered the picture!  

 
I am wearing 2 coats of She Shells with polish consistency being on the thicker side so there was always a lot on the brush itself which led to some slight adjustments in application. Nail polish thinner would have helped, but I was too lazy. Then I started creating a dotted pattern with a white polish in an “X” shape in the center of my nail, followed by dotting a silver polish in the empty spaces. Any leftover space was dotted in with white polish.

 
I love using dotting to create patterns like these because the technique never changes, but the colours can so you can end up having a fairly complex design.

What is everyone up to this weekend? I’m off to IKEA for yet MORE beauty storage…

MAKEUP LOOK | Getting Ready for Spring with Guerlain’s Les Tendres Spring 2015 Collection Review

I feel like I only seem to keep track of the seasons not by solstice, but by makeup collection. In December, I was blessed (yes, I use that term on purpose because it almost felt heaven-sent) with a good Samaritan who received my Guerlain package in error and took the trouble to look up my blog and email me to let me know she had it. It was probably the best Christmas present I had ever gotten!

When it comes to luxury colour cosmetics, Guerlain is like Mecca for me. I’ll make the journey to splurge once a year and worship from afar for the other 364 days. Released last month, Guerlain’s Spring Les Tendres 2015 Collection is all about radiance and having that naturally glowing complexion. There are some definite star products that I cannot help but highlight in the coming posts, but here is a somewhat first impression post of the products I used to create this glowing Spring look!