GIVEAWAY | MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Palette 3 (Open Worldwide!)

The next couple of weeks are going to be pretty awesome for all ya'll starting with RIGHT NOW because in honor of my birthday on Canada Day, I am also celebrating hitting 3000 followers on Instagram by saying THANK YOU to all of you! I started Cosmetic Proof back in October 2011 when blogging wasn't the sensation it is today. I remember someone making fun of me for having a "blogspot" in my domain when I first started and I never really talked about it as openly as I do now.

The very first company that reached out to me in 2012 was none other than MAKE UP FOR EVER. Now, THIS is a company that has EXPLODED because of a wonderful social media and marketing team. They are supportive, inclusive and just plain cool. They found me when I was doing my own thing and I remember not even believing that this email had come from MUFE. I even emailed the official MUFE email to double check! It just seemed surreal and I keep that very first email to remind me of how humbled and excited I was to be working with such a mega powerhouse of a makeup company.

MAKE UP FOR EVER GIVEAWAY

As another example of their coolness, Make Up For Ever has given me an extra Artist 3 Palette (review and swatches) to give to one of you! The support and relationships I have made with readers and bloggers has been from all over the world so it only made sense that this giveaway be international! I will be shipping this palette myself so I will probably throw in some extra goodies and cat hair (whether you like it or not). It's just EVERYWHERE.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

Terms of the Giveaway
  • Open WORLDWIDE
  • Giveaway ends on July 6th, 2017 at 11:59pm
  • The winner will have 48 hours to reply once they are contacted
  • Do not follow only to unfollow because that's just rude and it makes Hugo and Hemingway VERY unhappy.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



NAILS | A Neon Gradient Means "HELLO SUMMER"! #ManiMonday

My weekend started yesterday and man was it a hot one! I am fine with a hot day, but add in humidity and I'm like "NO". I know that I shave said there are no specific seasons for nail polish shades, but I feel like neons are really a summer thing. It's something about how they look against a tan and just glow in sunshine!

Summer Neon Gradient Nail Art

BODY | Hair Removal with Avon Skin So Soft Fresh and Smooth

Oh, the woes of body hair. I am blessed to not have very much to begin with and if anything, as I have gotten older I am having to shave less as my hair growth is fairly slow. Ever since I got laser hair removal on my underarms and bikini area (review), I am making my way through hair removal products at a snail's pace, but now that it's summer and shorts and dresses are pretty much the norm I feel the need to be prepared at ALL TIMES. I realized the other day that I was headed out in a short skirt with legs that had been unshaven for weeks. No, you couldn't see anything from far away, but what if I got that spot on the bus where the sun shone like a beacon on my thighs?! Needless to say, I have definitely been more on the ball with my hairier bits ever since the weather took a turn for the mid 20s!

Avon packages are some of the most amusing ones because I honestly never know what might be in each one. One day it's a scratching board for my cat, the next candles and then of course beauty and fashion. Early last month, Avon launched a couple of new hair removal products from the Skin So Soft line called Fresh and Smooth that I had to try right away! As a teenager, I was always fascinated by hair removal and didn't shave my legs with an actual razor until I was 14. On a church missions trip to Mexico. Using water from a relatively clean toilet with two other girls, legs propped up on the edge of the bowl with one of the older girls teaching me how to angle my razor around my knees and shins. It was a real bonding moment that I will never forget.  

Avon Skin So Soft  Hair Removal Review

SKINCARE | Blend & Boost - Super Science-y Algorithm-Determined Customizable Skincare

Back in March, I received an invitation to attend the launch of fully customizable skincare brand called Blend & Boost. I have A LOT of skincare on my plate because I love it so much, but I have slowed down in what I choose to review and learn more about because frankly, innovation and novelty are getting harder to discover. I understand that it gets hard for brands to pump out new skincare products every season, but as much as I adore skincare, there really is a lot of "noise" that you need to filter through to find something different.

Blend and Boost Skincare Review

NAILS | Gradients, Glitter and Cats #ManiMonday

I had this feeling of total dread this morning not just because it was Monday, but because I KNEW my day was going to be an unproductive gong show based on a few things that had been brewing on Friday and Saturday. Do you guys ever dress the OPPOSITE of the way you feel? Today's nail art is exactly that. With all of the craziness of today, I would look down at my nails and see these cats with their paws raised, ready to pounce. It honestly just made me smile. Obviously, I adore cats, but there is something about having them on your nails that pushes that love to a whole other level!

Cat Nail Art

FATHER'S DAY | The Perfect Shave Kit with Anthony

I'm allowed to squeeze in one more Father's Day related post right? In my Sephora days, I was always one of the reps that because of being blogger, I knew more about products than the brand reps themselves and had the opportunity to try most of the products people were curious about. When clients would come and ask for comparisons between eye creams of five different brands, there weren't many brand reps who could honestly say that they had tried all five! It made me a better seller and allowed me to really connect blogging to the real world. It's something I really miss and maybe one day I will get a chance to do that sort of thing again.

One brand that I ALWAYS showed to men or women shopping for men was Anthony as it was one of the few luxury beauty brands that catered to men. Skincare knows no boundaries when it comes to gender, but men often prefer succinct and straightforward packaging. If a women purchases a product for a man, she wants to get him something that he isn't afraid to use or ashamed to display on the bathroom counter. In addition to some serious skincare (vitamin C and anti-aging peptide serums) that is appealing to even ME, Anthony also has some really nice shave products with built-in skincare benefits. If you are trying to find both a useful AND luxurious gift for a man in your life, but can't quite decide what, the Anthony Perfect Shave Kit* ($77.00 CDN) features full sizes of all your shaving essentials. Again, these are not travel sizes, but full sizes of product giving this kit a value $121 if the products had been purchased separately!

Anthony Shave Kit Review

FATHER'S DAY | Lush Treats for Dads, Hubs and Bros

I will be honest that I did not realize it was Father's Day this weekend until Friday night. I had taken these photos 3 weeks ago thinking I had oodles of time to talk about them and then bam, this week I worked four 10 hour days in a row and I found myself falling asleep the minute I came home! Thankfully, both my husband and I have been testing out these Lush Father's Day treats the last couple of weeks because let's face it, what's mine is his and what's his is mine!  

Lush Father's Day Review

NAILS | Celebrate #Canada150 with Whats Up Nails! (Free Nail Vinyls to the First 10 Readers!)

Can you believe Canada is turning 150 years old this July 1st? Canada is actually such a young country and I am proud to call it my home. The day Canada turns 150, I will be turning 34 so even though I was born in Malaysia I feel like it truly was destiny for my family to find Vancouver and call it home almost 29 years ago. I also became an official Canadian citizen on July 1st, 1992 so this day holds a ton of importance for me which is why I was delighted to partner up with Nail Polish Canada and Whats Up Nails for today's collaboration!

Maple Leaf Nail Art

EXPERIENCE | Tata Harper Total Complexion Reset Treatment at Collective Skincare

It's a bit weird to say, but I've never actually had a real "Tata Harper Facial". Having worked for the company in the past, I would GIVE mini facials and use the products myself, but I never had an official facial experience until last month at Collective Skin Care in honor of the Tata Harper Total Complexion Reset Treatment launched just this month. This is a 100% natural multi-acid peel containing 22 high performance ingredients that evens and brightens skin tone all without a stitch of pain, redness or having to hide in your house all day. In fact, the only day I could do this was the day I had a meeting with the VP of my work right after the facial. I had THAT much trust in Tata that my face would not be the colour of a tomato when I got back!


NAILS | Gettin' Hot and Heavy with Purple Holo

Whenever I decide to paint my nails holo one night, it's always cloudy with zero sunshine the next day. I still don't have those glorious daytime bulbs for 24-7 holo lighting, but hopefully the camera flash doesn't kill you all too much. I remember when holo polishes were not only expensive, but hard to find. All I have to do now is go to massive emporium e-tailers like Born Pretty and I can literally get everything I need when it comes to nails and then some! I have had great luck with BP holo polishes in the past and when it came time for me to do some shopping, I immediately went for the holo nail polish section!

Purple and Pink Holo Nail Art

MAKEUP | Mary Kay Summer Time Jewel Look with Swatches

Typically, summer looks are all about fairly neutral shades because it's all about showcasing that bronzed goddess glow. It's kind of nice because I feel like I can be a bit lazier in the summer months because heavy foundation and eye makeup just don't feel comfortable. I have already been living in ultra light foundation with SPF this month and it feels pretty good to be wearing less on my face. One thing I rarely do in the summer is pull out colour so when I saw that the new collection from Mary Kay focused on emerald jewel tones I was intrigued as to how I could make it work because I can definitely say that I have never thought of green as a summer shade!

Mary Kay Summer Makeup Collection Review

NAILS | Christian Louboutin Loubichrome III

Mmmm, nothing excites any woman more than the pointed stiletto of a Christian Louboutin heel. Even though it's not attached to a shoe, that stiletto still makes me go completely starry-eyed when attached to a bottle of nail lacquer. The Christian Louboutin Loubichrome Collection was a limited edition release earlier this year consisting of three metallic shades in sunny yellow, coppery red and what I picked up - light purple. Loubichrome III is by far the most expensive polish I have ever purchased at around $40 at Holt Renfrew though my memory of the exact pricing is a bit off because I made the purchase in Montreal and the tax rate is a bit higher than in BC so I only remember paying just over $40 all together. I was too excited to see this collection in person as I never got to see it live at the Holts in Vancouver and happily swatched all three shades before settling on this beautiful purple!

Christian Louboutin Loubichrome III Nail Polish Swatch

SKINCARE | Avon Anew Brightening Sheet Mask with White Pearl Essence

One Korean beauty products I can't believe I have loved for so long are sheet masks. I probably used my first one 10 years ago and it definitely wasn't as nice as the sheet masks now. The masks fit better and the ingredients seem to have improved as well. Sheet masks have made a HUGE comeback recently with masks being made of different materials, patterns on them and with good ingredients tso you have no idea how excited I was when these new Avon Anew Brightening* and Firming Sheet Masks* landed in my mailbox!  

Avon Anew Brightening Sheet Mask Review

MAKEUP | The Dior Addict Lip Tattoo Review with Swatches

Honestly, I was not expecting Dior to come out with lip tints after the numerous releases of pigmented mattes, lacquers and the like, but come to think of it I don't recall Dior having a lip tint in their product selection until now. The Dior Addict Lip Tattoos* are a long-wearing 10 hour lip tint with a lightweight formula that "fuse" to the lips like a tattoo meaning the colour ain't going anywhere!

Dior Addict Lip Tattoo Review

NAILS | Blue and Purple #ManiMonday

I love having Mondays off. It doesn't happen often, but the fear of Mondays is real and it's nice having the rest of the world deal with Monday so that I can swoop into Tuesday when most things have calmed down. I was at the Leo Awards last night, which is a gala honoring film in BC, so I didn't quite have time to have today's manicure prepared until now, but it was a super fun night with music and good food!

My favourite nail polish shades are blue and purple and though I try to mix up my manicures with bursts of other colours, I secretly always want to come back to these shades. Diving into the CND Creative Play Playland Collection, I saw a blue I really wanted to feature AND I also wanted to use the Christian Louboutin Loubichrome III that I picked up while shopping with Ommorphia in Montreal a few months ago!

CND Creative Play Blue and Purple Nail Art

FASHION | Prada Linea Rossa Sunglasses from SmartBuyGlasses

Sunglasses are an accessory I never really took seriously until I had a client who was an optometrist. She basically educated/scared me into protecting my eyes from the sun or any form of brightness deemed too intense for my eyes to handle especially when driving. Have you ever forgotten to bring sunglasses and then had to drive blinded by the sun? It is single-handedly one of THE most uncomfortable situations having to squint and make sure you know what colour the traffic lights are!

I don't know about you, but I pretty much feel like summer is here once June hits and with the ability to walk outside in shorts or just a summer dress I am ready to welcome the heat and sunshine with open arms which also means an excuse to upgrade my sunglasses game!

Prada Linea Rossa Sunglasses SmartBuyGlasses

NAILS | *NEW* Going 10 Free with Maison Jacynthe Nail Polish in Napoli

Hello, One Coater! That's right, the newest innovation from Canadian green beauty company Maison Jacynthe is nail polish! We all know and love their makeup and skincare so I was seriously asking "Is it here yet?" every week leading up to the launch! The shades released are all solid creme colours and though I was only sent three of the 12 shades, all three were one coaters! What you see in the photos below is a glorious one coat of the shade Napoli*

Maison Jacynthe Nail Polish in Napoli

HAIR | Moor Spa Botanical Shampoo and Conditioner with a Dose of Hair Vitality

Natural hair care is something I have been less hesitant to embrace because my hair is FAR from natural now and I have been relying heavily on hair products that contain silicone for slip so that I can get a brush through it after having a shower! I currently use a number of Aveda and Shu Uemura products in tandem to retain my hair colour while also trying to expose my hair and scalp to a more healthy set of ingredients. I have used natural hair products in the past so I'm not opposed to them, but haven't always been successful. Either the conditioner left my hair a tangled mess because of the lack of silicones or the shampoo wasn't cleansing enough. I do feel that green beauty is progressing in terms of really looking at the science of how natural ingredients work so when Canadian professional spa brand, Moor Spa, reached out, I had a look at the ingredient list which also included EWG safety ratings, things looked promising!

Moor Spa Botanical Shampoo and Conditioner Review