MAKEUP | L'Oreal BlurFiller Lip Contour Lip Liner

Press samples

I know that lip liners are back in a BIG way and I have tried a few times to get onboard, but this is one product that I cannot get to work for me. I feel like no matter how much I blend, I always end up with a ring around my lips after a few hours. I have worn lip liners as lipsticks with a bit of gloss on top and of course, once the gloss wears off, I am left with my lip ring once again so when it comes to lip liners, I actually have only two that I have legitimately purchased on my own. I probably have 10 from PR that are in nude shades that I am convinced I will "need at some point", but I think I should just declutter them the next time I do a purge. 

HAIR | L'Oreal Paris Glycolic Gloss Routine

Press samples 

I have been hesitant to review haircare since dying my hair purple since it is a bit of a routine to keep up with the colour, but now that the colour is seriously fading, I have been planning to go back to blonde/mushroom brown balayage around June. This means, my urge to hang on to my purple is not as intense so it felt like a good time to try some new hair stuff starting with drugstore great L'Oreal with their new Glycolic Gloss Collection!

SHEET MASK | Flower Beauty Revitalizing and Radiance Boosting Sheet Mask

Purchased by me

In 2019, a couple of other beauty bloggers and I decided to take on April and the theme of Earth Month by using sheet masks that leaned towards the more natural side. I obviously took this opportunity to have myself a shopping spree at Well.ca as at the time, they had a number of sheet masks coming from "earth-friendly" brands. One of those brands was Drew Barrymore's Flower Beauty and though these masks are now discontinued, at the time, they were an exciting addition to the Flower Beauty line up.

MAKEUP | Revlon Kiss Glow Lip Oils

One product I really got to know these last two years, especially at home, is the lip oil. When I want a bit of an upgrade from a lip balm, this is what I want to use as I find it to be a quick way of looking a hint more sexy while still having my lips feel soothed and comforted. What was a bestseller in Asia is now a limited time release in Canada and I truly hope they are here to stay because I just keep all these shades on rotation because they feel and look so natural! Let's see more of the Revlon Kiss Glow Lip Oils!  

Press samples provided

SKINCARE | Garnier BIO Collection - ECO CERT Skincare From the Drugstore?

It is the day after the US Elections and Trump is still a contender if you can believe it. I wrote a sad post like this in 2016 when he shocked everyone by winning and now it's 2020 and it's so much more disappointing because the vote is SO CLOSE. Even if Biden wins, it means that 50% of the USA think Trump is a good leader which is even more scary so though I rarely speak out about politics, this is such a no brainer that if there are readers, friends and followers who no longer wish to support me because I do not support Trump, I welcome the unfollowing! I haven't been able to stop watching the news since 8am today and I think my brain would like the short break so let's shift over to my home away from home - skincare. Namely the Garnier BIO line which is ecocertified, vegan, affordable and available at the drugstore!

Press samples

MAKEUP | Milani Amore Matte Metallic Lip Cremes with Lip Swatches

When I first started getting into makeup, it was the drugstore stuff that pulled me in. At the time I was watching Michelle Phan and Holly Ann get ready with NYX, Maybelline and Milani. Those were the brands I heard a lot about and I bought everything they used because they were the first Asian influencers I saw using shades that worked with my skin tone. Now, I have MANY women of colour to choose from which is fantastic and though I feel like I have moved on from drugstore makeup as a whole, there are still brands that stay on my radar because they do have some cult favourites that I swear by. When it comes to Milani, it has to be their Liquif'eye Eyeliner and their Luminoso Blush. I am literally wearing this blush as I type this! Now, I had never tried a lip product from them and why I decided to be adventurous and blindly buy these Amore Matte Metallic Lip Cremes I don't know, but it was on a lunch break at work and maybe I was feeling sassy. Regardless, they did not turn out to be something I would want to experience often, but they did seem pretty cool in theory.

Purchased by me

MAKEUP | Physician's Formula Healthy Lip Velvet Liquid Lipsticks with Lip Swatches

As much as I have always loved lipgloss, I have found that my preference for lip products has shifted to what is the most longwearing which are often more matte finishes or liquid lipsticks mainly because I don't feel like re-applying at work. I've become sort of a one-stop-shop when it comes to makeup so I pretty much make the effort once in the morning and don't touch my face again until I'm home removing my makeup. When it comes to liquid lipsticks, we are all want the same things: colour payoff, longevity and comfort - three things that the Physician's Formula Healthy Lip Liquid Lipsticks promise! So, how did they do?

 PR samples

HAIR | Live Clean Super Fruit Waters Quenching Curls Collection

Yes, yes I don't have a single curl on my head so what am I doing with a shampoo and conditioner that promises to help "shape beautiful, bouncy curls"? When the Super Fruit Waters duo was sent to me, I will admit that I fired off an email saying that this wasn't my hair type and probably wouldn't be featuring it at all, but Live Clean's PR insisted that I give it a go as it was an incredibly nourishing duo for dry, especially colour-treated hair which is ME. 

 PR samples

MAKEUP | Physician's Formula Butter Highlighters, Bronzers and Blush

I know I'm getting to this a little late, but better late than never, right? The CBB brand of the month is Physician's Formula and though I had SO MUCH planned for this while I was on vacation, time got the better of me once I started my cleaning of the Beauty Vault so I chose my favourite PF face products for now and then I will have one more on their lip products next month!  

PR samples featured

MAKEUP | Revlon Ultra HD Vinyl Lip Polishes with Lip Swatches

I am rediscovering glosses again as I find that glossy lips tend to go better with the summer "bronzed goddess look" and recently came across the new Revlon Ultra HD Vinyl Lip Polishes which promise one swipe, high shine, ultra pigmented colour that also feels luxuriously smooth to apply! Yes, I'm sure we have heard or seen something like this before over the years, but I would like to think that technology now has allowed for better formulas so let's see how these guys performed!

PR samples

MAKEUP | Almay Goddess Glosses

Ah, it has been a bit quiet for me in this space this week NOT because I haven't been wanting to blog, but mainly because I haven't been home a few nights and the days at work have been jam packed with what feels like mentally stimulating activity which means that by the time I get home, my brain may as well be filled with glitter and marshmallows. I am going to attempt scheduled blogging again with my goals being Sunday and then MWF as I miss the consistency myself so wish me luck! I am also making an attempt at including makeup back into my blog posts starting with a drugstore brand I have not featured in a long time - Almay!  

PR samples

LOOK | Gettin' Chrome-y with Revlon

Yowza. The last time I did a makeup look on here was back in January?? That doesn't sound right, but that's what my search shows and I am disappoint! I used to be able to pump out one look a week, but it really slowed down last Spring when I found it really hard to bring myself to put on makeup and spend 2-3 hours photographing on a day I had off. I think if I had regular days off, planning would be much easier, but when they are all over the place where some days I'm at events or running errands, it becomes more important to have time to relax. Oddly enough, I don't think my job has changed much in terms of workload, but I don't think I have ever gotten used to not having energy so it's probably time to start working out and exercising like a healthy person since I'm not gettin' any younger!

PR samples

SHEET MASK | St.Ives Soothing Oatmeal and Glowing Apricot Sheet Mask

These are the BEST drugstore sheet masks I have used! I was hesitant to review the St. Ives Sheet Masks as they were not available in Canada, but now that I see that the Shoppers Beauty Boutique online is carrying them I feel it is time to share the love! While I was in Maine last Fall, I headed on over to CVS to pick up every sheet mask known to man that we did not carry in Canada which included the Glowing Apricot Sheet Mask and the Soothing Oatmeal Sheet Mask. I hadn't used a St. Ives skincare product since my Apricot Scrub teen years and really did not know what to expect when it came to these sheet masks. All I knew was that nothing could be worse than the Yes To ones!

Purchased by me

HAIR | Garnier Fructis 1 Minute Hair Treats

Not only have I been sheet masking like a demon, but I have also been hair masking every time I wash my hair! While I understand the importance of hair masking at least once a week when you have coloured or damaged hair, I have noticed that a lot of hair masks require 10-20 minutes to penetrate the hair shaft to really make any sort of difference. I prefer to do all of my hair masking in the shower and I can never find enough to do while waiting plus I hate wasting running water like that so when I saw that the Garnier Fructis Hair Treats were just ONE MINUTE I was sold just on the luxury of TIME!

PR samples

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.  

MAKEUP LOOK | Halloween with Hard Candy - Black Swan Inspired Makeup Look

It's Friday and I'm sure many of you will be starting the Halloween festivities today at work or at parties this weekend (I know I will be!) so because I had quite a bit of fun with Hard Candy earlier this week (here), I thought we could keep up the fun with this Black Swan-inspired Halloween look featuring one of my new favourite eye products - Hard Candy's Eye Def Glitter Eyeshadows*! These are SERIOUSLY intense in terms of pigmentation and wow factor so if you would like to see swatches of some other shades, please let me know!