SKINCARE | *New* Dermalogica Precleanse Balm + Halloween Makeup Removal +GIVEAWAY!

Double posting! This is something I haven't done in years, but I have had four days at home to catch up and do what I love most - writing about beauty products. It almost feels like a vacation because usually I'm so tired that all I do is yawn at the screen and one sentence seems to take minutes to write because I cannot seem to put a subject and a predicate together. Let's all enjoy it while this lasts because today I am going to tell you guys how I took off all of that fun green grease paint from my Bride of Frankenstein Halloween makeup with the help from my friends at Dermalogica!

Dermalogica Precleanse Balm Review

HALLOWEEN | Here Comes the Bride of Frankenstein!

Happy Halloween everyone! I honestly was not planning on doing any Halloween makeup as I have been rushing to share all of my Fall beauty posts with you before December descends, but I was determined to do something with the MAKE UP FOR EVER Flash Palette that I was given last year by MUFE as a prize for participating in their Halloween campaign. This palette is a rainbow of grease paints that can literally turn you into anything you wish to be and this year, I wished to be the "Bride of Frankenstein"!

Bride of Frankenstein Halloween Makeup

SKINCARE | Omorovicza Midnight Radiance Mask First Impressions + GIVEAWAY!

Oooh, have I got a treat for you guys today! Earlier this year, I was given the opportunity to learn all about and meet  Margaret de Heinrich de Omorovicza, one half of the founding duo of, Omorovicza. Based in Budapest, all products are made with the healing thermal waters from the family owned Omorovicza spas in Hungary. When Margaret was in Vancouver, she did a wonderful job of explaining the science of why Omorovicza's products work, but in such a luxurious way that I wasn't bored at all. Historically, the Hungarian thermal waters were found to have healing properties due to the mineral content of the waters themselves as the Earth's crust is slightly thinner in this area of the world, allowing more minerals into the water. Everyone at the table was just riveted with hearing the story of the brand and the love story that started it all that I cannot do it justice in just this one post! Luckily I have many more products to share with you, but today I will start off with a brand new product - the Midnight Radiance Mask* ($155 CDN/50mL)!

Omorovicza Midnight Radiance Mask Review

NAILS | Happy Halloween from Hemingway! #ManiMonday

I had yet to do a traditional orange and black Halloween manicure and when I stumbled across this one by Rina Alcantara with black kitties! I instantly thought of my little Hemingway when I saw this manicure and in honor of black kitties everywhere, I thought I would dedicate this one to him and to advocate adopting your furbabies from a shelter because there are just SO MANY cats who need forever homes and I am fortunate to have Hugo and Hemi in my life.

halloween black cat nail art

MAKEUP | MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua XL Ink Liners with Swatches

I love that what is in right now is COLOUR. Lots of it whether it'd be unicorn hair, lipstick or eyeliner. Yes, neutrals will always be necessary, but never before have I picked up products and gone "Is this for the eyes or for the lips?" I am fairly conservative with my makeup only because I don't know what to do when given the powers of colour and doing something truly creative. I usually end up doing something I know how to do already, but with a bolder colour. I just don't have the same confidence with my face as I do with my nails, so I like products that make it easy to create something a bit more daring.

MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua XL Ink Liner Review with Swatches

HALLOWEEN | New Lush Goodies!

I actually tried really hard to get more of the Lush Halloween Collection, but certain things were sold out everytime I went in which just goes to show how popular certain items were! The new Jelly Bombs were sold out and I managed to get the Snow Fairy one for the holidays, but sadly not the Halloween ones. This year, the classics are back (reviews here), but I've also got some new items to share!

Lush Halloween Collection

NAILS | "Holy Ravioli Batman" by Trelly's Polish Swatch

I absolutely cannot believe that we are at the end of the month. October is that safe space before I feel the urgency and anxiety of the holidays kicking in. I don't know about you, but once it's November 1st, I already feel like I cannot talk about anything Fall and that it's all about Christmas from that point onward! Would you still read about Fall releases in November? I usually still talk about non-holiday things just to delay the December onslaught of crazy just for my own sanity.

Speaking of sanity, people must think I am insane for having purchased this polish three years ago and only swatching it now. You would think I would have found the time, but honestly my list of untrieds grows ever longer as time goes on. Every so often I will go on these kicks to get through my stash, but I usually get caught up in other seasonal nail posts and then it all sort of goes to shit. Anyway, today is the day for "Holy Ravioli Batman" by Trelly's Polish. I do not think Cassie is doing the indie polish thing anymore, but that does not change the face that this is a very cool polish with its matte mix of all different sizes of glitter.

Trelly MISC Holy Ravioli Batman Swatch

MAKEUP LOOK | Dior Metallics Fall 2017 Collection

If you haven't guessed already, metallics are in on all fronts whether it's lips, eyes or nails. While I have classically had a bit of a love/hate relationship with metallic finishes, I have to admit that the makeup world has been creating some very tempting products that have me wanting to wear metallic blue lips with a "neutral eye"!

This season's Metallics collection from Dior is all about contrasting colours mixed with an element of sensuality that exudes confidence. What I loved about this collection was that yes, it was metallic, but it wasn't vampy like a typical Fall collection. It was warm and cozy with a few key pieces mixed in that gave the collection an edgier feel.

NAILS | Spook-tacular #MummyMonday

I am just squeaking this in for ManiMonday, but in all fairness I did at least have the photo up on Instagram this morning! I tried to get this post up last night, but I ended up calling it a night at 10pm and then being rudely awoken at 2am by Hugo and Hemingway fighting. On me. Multiple cats I tell ya!

I'm not intentionally trying to be an unofficial spokesperson for nail polish brand Prim+Proper, but I just really love these polishes and I have been really surprised by how much I keep wanting to use them! Halloween is one of my favourite times of the year and I actually love doing Halloween more than Christmas nail art. I've done a mummy or two before, but never on allll my nails so here it is!

Mummy Nail Art

MAKEUP | IT Cosmetics CC Cream (With Before & After Photos)

How long have all of us in Canada been waiting for IT Cosmetics to finally make an appearance?! We all knew the IT Cosmetics CC Cream* was amazing after hearing people from all over the US rave about it and from repeatedly watching The Shopping Channel blockbuster spotlight (*arrow points to me*). Now, this beloved CC Cream and the rest of its family are available exclusively to Sephora as well as online at IT Cosmetics

IT Cosmetics CC Cream Review Swatches

NAILS | Wonder Woman Nail Art Tutorial with Prim+Proper and LD Beauty

I am so excited to share this post with you because it features my first EVER nail art tutorial on YouTube! London Drugs approached me back in the summer to create a Halloween nail art tutorial on their LD Beauty channel and I will admit that I was hesitant at first. I am totally fine speaking in person, but on camera with a film crew is a whole other barrel of worms! A long time ago, I figured that I should constantly do things I am scared of doing and it's not like I was being asked to jump out of a plane or address the nation about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. I just had to paint my nails. Something I do almost every three days so why the hell not?  

Wonder Woman Nail Art

HAIR | GLISS Hair Repair Color Guard with Keratin Technology

You have probably heard of the hair care brand Schwarzkopf, the brand behind got2b, Keratin Color and ULTIME. When it comes to drugstore brands, got2B is one of my favourite drugstore brands and when I saw a new line that used keratin technology to repair and restore colour-treated hair, my blue hair at the time cried with excitement.

Launched in Spring of this year, the Canadian GLISS lineup contains five hair repair formulas with different goals in mind. I immediately jumped to the Colour Guard ($9.99 CDN each) formula with its promise of protection using a UVA/UVB filter and providing up to 12 weeks of colour protection for coloured hair while keeping hair looking shiny. If you had been in the shower with me the first three times I washed my blue hair, it was a scary sight! After that, all I could think about was keeping all that colour IN MY HAIR instead of in my bathtub! 

Gliss Color Guard Shampoo and Conditioner Review

GIVEAWAY | Live Clean Fall Beauty (It's Alll the Good Stuff!)

This month has been so busy that I COMPLETELY forgot about my 6 year blog anniversary on October 1st! When I started blogging, it was seen as almost an embarrassing hobby, but now people seem genuinely interested and excited when I tell them all about this "successful hobby" as a friend so adequately put it. I know some get discouraged and jaded with blogging and the politics of PR and bloggers and believe me, I have some very strong opinions, but this will always be my Fortress of Solitude. While I am never extremely personal in my entries, I try to share a piece of normal life with you with every post and I often go back into my archives to see what was going in my life at certain points and reminisce. I like seeing what I enjoyed blogging about leading up to my wedding, when I was having a rough time at work or when I was just about to finish school.

How fitting that in addition to Cosmetic Proof turning 6 that Live Clean has decided to help me and a fellow reader celebrate the arrival of Fall with a Beauty Renew and Repair giveaway! Live Clean has had such a strong presence here because I enjoy their products and their philosophy and with the weather getting drier, my skin has been more itchy than usual after a shower (I love my hot showers that's why) and has been sucking up all body oils and moisturizers so hydration has been my best friend.

Live Clean Giveaway

NAILS | Easy Halloween Nail Art #ManiMonday

Last week ran away from me just as I expected with the LD Beauty Event happening up at Whistler and a very very busy work week involving some long hours and more caffeine than I am used to. My system feels in need of some sort of detox or reboot as the last thing I want to happen is to get sick! I did not think I would have the time or energy to come up with a fresh ManiMonday let alone one for Halloween, but then a package from Beauty Big Bang showed up containing these fancy Halloween nail decals* which took all of 5 minutes to apply, but didn't end up looking quite as sharp as I had hoped after top coat was applied.

Halloween Nail Art

NAILS | Vampy Gradient Stripes

Yes, yes I know. I should be doing Halloween manicures now that we are halfway through the month and I promise you those are coming, but let's enjoy Fall for a little bit shall we? I have had this manicure sketched out in bullet journal since AUGUST, but as I can only manage two manicures a week this is the pace I seem to be at with work and all.

This is the first Fall collection I am diving into and it is the CND Vinylux Nightspell Collection which is very characteristically Fall with some shades and also has some chrome finishes which are trending this season. I am not a huge fan of chrome polishes because of the tendency for streakiness, but with certain shades I will make an exception!

CND Nightspell Collection

EVENT | London Drugs 2017 Fall Beauty Event

I rarely do event posts because I never know if you guys are interested in reading about them, but this year's annual London Drugs Beauty Event was something totally different than from previous years as it was an overnight event taking place in beautiful Whistler! London Drugs very generously hosted all media at the Fairmont Chateau in Whistler with each of us having our own accommodations. For me this meant lounging in bed and watching Food Network! Though it was a bit of a challenge to attend the event, as it was in the middle of the week, I did a bit of soul-selling with my boss and even SHE thought this was something I needed to go to! I am going to apologize for the quality of the photos now with their different sizes (I had to crop out the hoardes of people passing by the products!) and horrific lighting! I promise the photos will be better when my reviews are ready! 

London Drugs Fall Beauty Event

NAILS | Metallic Nails with Interchangeable Magnetic Charms?! #ManiMonday

I am halfway through a very long week  (no, Thanksgiving isn't happening this year for me), but I am not missing a ManiMonday just yet! I didn't get a chance to do Thanksgiving-themed nails this year, but maybe next month I will think of something for American Thanksgiving! Maybe something with tryptophan?

Born Pretty Chrome Nail Art

MAKEUP | Divine Wine Avon "A" Box

I was pretty crazy about beauty subscription boxes a few years ago and I still look back at the beginnings of Glymm and Luxe Box with very fond memories, but once I started blogging more regularly, the amount of unused product from these beauty boxes was staggering and I was essentially paying every month only to give the product away! This won't be the case with the Avon A Box* as there is no subscription necessary and you get a preview of the items included so there aren't any unwelcomed surprises! Each box is $10 with any $40+ purchase and contains a mixture of full and deluxe sized items so no foil packets here!

Avon Fall Makeup Look

MAKEUP | Revlon Mega Multiplier Mascara (Hmmm...)

T'is the year of mascaras and though I have mainly been using high end ones, drugstore mascaras don't seem all that different to me in terms of brushes and formulations. The Revlon Mega Multiplier Mascara* has been the talk of the town thanks to social campaigns from companies like Influencer and after reading some pretty terrible reviews, I think I am unfortunately going to have to add one of my own.  

Revlon Mega Multiplier Mascara Review

BEAUTY | Lip Smacker Lip Cafe Frappe and Coca Cola Cup Lip Balms

How many of you carried around a Lip Smacker or two growing up in the 90s? I was really into matching Puma and Nike tracksuits and always had a Vanilla Lip Smacker in my trackpants pocket. It got washed one time and even then my lip balm (and pants) survived! I went through so many Vanilla Lip Smackers and refused to buy any other flavour because they were all sealed in their packages and I didn't want to risk not liking a flavour because God know that it's just WASTEFUL to have more than ONE lip product on the go! Ha! If I could tell my 10 year old self what Jayne would be like in the future!

I phased out Lip Smackers around the end of my first year of university at UBC. I had had a rough year when it came to a bad relationship, family dramas and just going through an intense first year of science that seemed so difficult I felt like switching to Arts. I guess all of this made me grow up a little bit and leave my Lip Smacker days behind...

Though Lip Smackers are still around in their classic tube, some new ones have emerged and not only do they smell warm and fuzzy, but they have the CUUUTEST packaging!  

Lipsmackers Frappe Cup Lip Balm Review

NAILS | The Magic of Flakies #ManiMonday

I may have to apologize in advance for the brevity of this post as I am typing this up a bit late after two very long days of work. I am looking ahead at the next two weeks of October and though there are some pretty exciting things coming up for the month, it's also a busy one for both the blog and my actual job so things may get quiet here. I've never been one of those bloggers that could pump out a post for the sake of pumping out a post as this place is a journal of sorts for me and I don't like sounding forced.

Moving on to ManiMonday, I am feeling a little nostalgic with today's manicure because flakie polishes were really trending 3-4 years ago and though they are still super cool to look at, they have faded even from the indie polish scene. Flakies are kind of a cool form of nail art because they look like shards of iridescent shards of roughly cut glitter. 

Born Pretty Violet Galaxy Swatch