November/December 2013 Favourites

When it comes to favourites, I’m going to have to cheat a little bit and combine November and December because moving last month didn’t really give me a chance to truly enjoy any new products nor the brain power to remember what they were. I’m very sure I have forgotten some things, but those can always make their way into January’s favourites!

June Favourites!

We are now officially full swing into summer and I can finally bring out my more summery makeup colours to celebrate! June was mainly about makeup products for me, it’s funny how each month differs in product assortment. I didn’t have a lot of lip products this month because of the weird allergy on my lips I was battling with, but it forced me to discover other products that DIDN’T go on my lips! I hope you guys enjoy!

1. Origins Incredible Spreadable Smoothing Ginger Body Scrub

This smells just like ginger candy! It’s sweet and almost edible, but has a wonderful grit to it. I like my body scrubs to have fairly large crystals as that is the only way I feel like my body is getting any exfoliation at all. The crystals are packed quite densely and dissolve as you rub. What is great is that this scrub is gentle enough to be used daily.

2. NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Beige

As you can see, this colour is far from beige as it is a gorgeous pink with a medium tint to it. It smells like cherries and gives your lips an incredible shine. I have been layering this over lipstick, but can also be worn alone for a healthy pink sheen. This lip gloss is also smooth and non-sticky which is nice, but as a result does not last long and must be reapplied about every two hours.

3. Nivea Lip Butter in Raspberry Rose

I got this in a swap from the UK (which I promise I’ll post soon because I got some awesome goodies!) and it smells like raspberries and cream! It’s very moisturizing and has been one of the few things I have been wearing on my lips since I was suffering from my stress-induced lip allergy throughout the month of June. It goes on virtually colourless and is very smooth on the lips.

4. China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Too Yacht to Handle

This is just such a beautiful teal, perfect for summer! The formula is wonderfully opaque in two coats and goes on much brighter in person than in the bottle. This is a colour I feel I will keep turning to again and again this season.

5. Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat

I have read about this product for years, but never bothered to try it until last month and it’s great! I actually don’t notice too much of a difference between this and the Out the Door top coat and is much easier to find! I also like the width of the brush. This is a keeper for me!

6. Benefit Sugarbomb Blush

Now that I have a little bit more colour from running errands in the sun, I find that I can get away with less pink and more bronze-pink for colour. Sugarbomb has made its way into most of our makeup bags so I’m sure you all know WHY this is a favourite of mine! It has the perfect combination of pinks and browns that look wonderful on any skin tone.

7. Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze

I feel like this is an oldie, but a goodie. This is my favourite colour out of the whole collection and lasts all day even without primer for me! It’s such a pretty shimmery neutral brown that I use it for work often. It’s also very blendable and creamy for an eye shadow that lasts an 8 hour work day!

8. Pandora’s Makeup Box Eye Shadow in Nugget

I got this colour a few months ago, but it wasn’t exactly a “cold weather” colour. Now that I am unearthing my summer makeup, wearing a gold eye shadow seems like part of the summer uniform! The pigmentation of this eye shadow is good and is soft and blendable.

9. Boscia Vanilla Scented Blotting Papers

I actually have my blotting papers in a reusable holder which is why you can’t see the original packaging. These blotting papers have a faint vanilla scent and in my opinion, work like any other blotting papers so it really is the scent that I am loving!

And that’s a wrap for June! 

Spring 2013 Loose Button Luxe Box

 At long last, the Spring Luxe Box is here! Again, I have seen quite the variety in products given which always used to irritate me in the original monthly format of the Luxe Boxes as I feel that since everyone pays the same price that there shouldn’t be huge price discrepancies between boxes. This season’s was a celebrity-sponsored box by CBC television personalities Steve and Chris. I hadn’t watched their show before so I had no idea what to expect!

February Luvs

I feel like I’ve been in a rut when it comes to favourites. I feel like I’m just wanting to stick with products that are comfortable and safe…with the exception of Maybelline’s Colorsensational Vivids! If it weren’t for those Vivids, I really would be a plain Jayne and you guys wouldn’t want to be friends with me anymore!

Swatch It Up: NOPI–Sweet Dreams and Pandora Polish-Floral Passion

This post features a polish I have been wanting to wear for awhile from Pandora’s Makeup Box called Floral Passion. It came as part of a duo with a complementary perfume and is described as “rich purple with two coat coverage”. The two coat coverage is most certainly true and applied opaquely and evenly while I would add more to the colour description by saying this purple leans more on the greyish side especially in real-life.

May Luvs

Hi everyone!

So, it’s that time again! These are always my favourite posts to read and write about!

 1. Marc Anthony Oil of Morocco Argan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner

I picked up this duo on a midnight Shoppers run at the end of April and I’ll admit, I didn’t have very high hopes for it once I read the ingredients list, but Kathryn from Provincial Beauty had a very positive review of the Marc Anthony line which encouraged me to give it a try and I’m so glad I did! I noticed that when I let my hair air dry, it was actually a bit dry to the touch and just not soft at all! When I started blow-drying my hair, that’s when I noticed the turn around! My hair became so silky and soft! I’m not sure if this is a heat-activated shampoo and conditioner, but the heat really made a difference!

 2. Pandora’s Makeup Box Eye Shadow in Honey

I raved about this eye shadow in my Pandora review so it’s not a surprise that it’s part of my May Luvs! This is a fantastic every day color and has just a little bit of golden shimmer which I love! I think it’s a colour that will look great on anyone.

3. LUSH Mint Julep Lip Scrub

I use this every day and not only does it leave my lips feeling soft, but it tastes SO GOOD! I love anything peppermint and combining it with chocolate, well I’m in love! I also love how tingly my lips feel afterwards and the fact that I can eat it all up! I’m always extra generous so that I can eat up any “leftovers”!

4. Maybelline Baby Lips in Peach Kiss

After finishing this product in Peppermint and loving the fact that it didn’t have any tint to it whatsoever, I decided to try one with just a hint of colour. Peach Kiss is perfect for just that and is a great lip balm to boot! You can see from my swatch that there is just a hint of nude shimmer to it.

5. AG Smooth Argan Flat Iron Firewall Spray

I quite like AG products, especially their shampoo and liquid varnish spray so when they come out with an argan oil-based line a couple of months ago, I was anxious to try it. I bought a travel-sized version of the flat iron spray just to try it out and I loved it! It smells good, is lightweight so I never feel like there’s anything weighing my hair down and leaves my hair so smooth and silky after straightening! I highly recommend this, it’s fantastic!

I can’t wait to see what everyone’s favourites have been for the month! Hope you enjoyed mine! Have a good evening!

EOTD–Smokey Blue with Pandora’s Aquamarine

Hello again!

I am officially on my “staycation” now and what is one of the first things I go and do? Play with makeup. I don’t know whether to be a little embarrassed or proud of what I’ve been up to. In my defence, I did clean the apartment first!

As some of you know, I hauled some great makeup from Pandora’s Makeup Box last week and picked up a shimmery, cool blue eye shadow called Aquamarine. I didn’t think I would feel comfortable wearing this EOTD during the day, but I ran all of my errands in it!

Aquamarine was easy to work with, allowing me to slowly build up to the level of shimmer I wanted as well as easily blendable. For the outer corner of my eyes I used a darker shade of blue from my Stila DayDream Palette which I can’t find the name for and blended inwards with my fluffy brush in the infamous “window-wiper” motion. As much as I love eye shadows and makeup, I’m such a novice when it comes to technique. I’m always so scared that I’ll go overboard and ruin the whole look! Especially with eye liner! The YouTubers make it all look so effortless!

Opening Up Pandora’s Makeup Box (With Swatches)!

Hello!

I hope everyone had a lovely Sunday afternoon with their moms! I have been so excited to write about Pandora’s products after falling in love with the Pandora blush that we received in the March Glossybox. I love supporting a Canadian makeup brand whenever I can and I had never heard of Pandora Makeup until receiving it in my Glossybox so thanks Glossybox!

For my very first order, I purchased two lip glosses in Smile and Ciao ($16), one lipstick in Soft Caramel ($16) and two eye shadows in Honey ($14 pan only) and Aquamarine ($18 with packaging)

Here are swatches of the eye shadows which were quite pigmented when and had a beautiful shimmer! I think Honey is just GORGEOUS and has now been added to my UNII palette! I had a feeling I would like it so that’s why I ordered it without the packaging. $4 cheaper too! Aquamarine may not be an every day shade for me, but I just love how icy the blue is!

Next is the lipstick in Soft Caramel. It comes in this super cute cardboard container with a little rhinestone on the cap. The lipstick is silky smooth, hydrating and smells a lot like Caramel actually! Soft Caramel is a great neutral colour and one that I would also wear under a lipgloss. Love it!

Finally, here are Ciao and Smile! Ciao is a beautiful metallic taupe that on the Pandora website is described as “the perfect monotone taupe shine that looks incredible on Asian skin tone”. Being Asian, I figured this would be a good colour to try out. I have worn it, and it makes me look like I have this beautiful bronze tan . Smile is a shimmery peach colour that I know will be another summer favourite! 

Packaging: Ultra cute and eco-friendly! Cool vintage earthy look to it and there is so much attention to detail that as a beauty junkie, I really appreciate! I mean, there are sparkly rhinestones! The cardboard packaging is printed with soy ink making it easier to recycle and has the FSC Mixed Sources stamp of approval which means that any product with this stamp supports the development of responsible forest management by only using wood from non-contentious sources. Yayyy!

Formula: Soft Caramel applied very smoothly and felt rich and hydrating. I will definitely be getting more of Pandora’s lipsticks! The lip glosses Ciao and Smile were very pigmented as you can see from the swatches. Upon application, the impact of the metallic finish of each colour was a bit much for me, but I found that as time went by, the colour softened and became more natural looking.

Scent: The lipstick smelled sweet like caramel and the lip glosses smelled minty!

Final Verdict: So far, the lipstick, lip gloss and eye shadow are winners for me and I love an eco-conscious makeup company. If any of you would like to pick up something from Pandora’s Makeup Box, feel free to use the code CosmeticProof20 to receive 20% off your entire purchase*!

P.S. I loved Honey so much, I had to wear it right away!

 

*I receive no compensation for the usage of the promo code CosmeticProof20 so go shopping girls!