NAILS | Quo Beauty XTreme FX in "Happy Go Lucky" and Weekly Catch Up

Not much has been happening this week as I took off the first three days to take care of my kitty Hugo and his dental surgery. I wanted to be there to drive him to the vet and pick him up that day as well as be around the next day should anything happen. Thankfully, our furry boo survived with flying colours or as the vet put it "had a very boring surgery just the way I like it"! Hugo had one tooth removed due to something called tooth resorption where the body starts to break down the tooth from within. Apparently it's pretty common and anywhere from 20%-60% of cats aged 5 and older will experience it. Luckily he only had the one tooth removed as sometimes they discover more issues once the cat is under anesthesia. I do try my best to brush both of my cats teeth almost every day, but I'm usually only able to get the top teeth and not the bottom which is where Hugo's bad tooth was. He was pretty grateful to be home and a bit loopy for a few hours. Watching him bump into things and walk with his back legs all wonky was funny to my husband, but a little sad for me to watch! Hugo ended up just chilling in his carrier until he felt better enough to emerge around midnight where he started to beg for food and ATE which was great! He's now pretty much back to normal! 

Purchased by me

MAKEUP | Quo Cosmetics Lip Velours with Lip Swatches

More matte lips, you say? Well, ok then! I have more awesomeness from Quo Cosmetics with six new shades from their Lip Velours collection. At this point, I think we have all tried a few matte lipstick formulations and I remember when long-lasting and matte meant discomfort and lips that were crying out for help! Thankfully, this is no longer the case and we can now wear intensely beautiful shades with ease.

The Quo Lip Velours ($14.00 CDN) apply as a liquid and transform into matte, cream-looking, finish. They are long wearing, transfer-proof and of course have mega pigmentation. I don't think I have ever seen a matte finish that wasn't pigmented. I don't even think it's doable really.

The one thing that makes the Lip Velours different from other matte liquid lipsticks is that the applicator is an actual brush as opposed to a doe foot applicator. The brush is supposed to make application more accurate, but I found it to be about the same. If anything, the slanted edge of the doe foot applicator is helpful to have. 

What seems to be a running theme with the matte liquid lipsticks/creams I have been trying out this year is the inconsistency in formula across different colour. With these swatches below, we can definitely play a game of "one of these things is not like the other"!

After Diva* (lip swatch here), Envy* was my second favourite shade and formula with the same easy application and relatively weightless formula. This bright orange-red seemed to brighten up my skin and add a nice pop of colour to an otherwise neutral makeup look.

Envy

There are some shades that just don't work and unfortunately Bombshell* was one of them. This probably would not have been so bad in a gloss or cream formula, but this peachy pink looked almost clown-like on me and made me look like I was glowing from afar. Formula was the same as Diva and Envy, but this colour was just too much for me.

Bombshell

Finally we come to Vamp*, which is actually a beautiful colour but the formula was oddly watery. It made me think that I perhaps received a dud, but even with searching online for reviews I wasn't able to find a swatch of Vamp. You can see below that because the formula was so watery, even application was near impossible. My husband thought I had a lip gradient going on, but that is just the patchiness happening...

Vamp

Final verdict: Diva is the shade I wear most often because of how neutral and flattering it is with any makeup look, but Envy is a close second! The formula is fairly comfortable, but I still find the Make Up For Ever Artist Liquid Mattes (review) a bit more comfortable to wear. The Lip Velours were indeed transfer proof, which I tested out by eating a very leafy salad, and last the day. There was some wear on the inner part of my lip after eating which I think is to be expected, but other than the formulation issue with Vamp, I liked the shades that did work and hopefully darker shades like Vamp will be better on the next iteration.

Quo Cosmetics is available exclusively at Shoppers Drug Mart.

MAKEUP | Quo Cosmetics Matte Revolution Foundation with Before and After Face Shots

Foundation is probably one of the last makeup products I really got into (after brow products) because it is one of the most terrifying things to apply on your face. It isn't a product like an eyeshadow or a lipstick that is just a small fraction of your face, but involves ALL OF YOUR FACE. If you have the wrong colour or less than stellar blending, there is no coming back from it. For years I stayed away until I discovered roughly what colour family my skin was in and though I still prefer a more natural finish to my skin, I have come to love foundation to the point where I treat it like skincare. I have probably 30 foundations that I rotate through on a daily basis and with new foundations, BB creams and cushions coming out all the time, I find myself always up for trying something new!

This year Quo Cosmetics released the Matte Revolution Foundation* ($24.00 CDN), a foundation and concealer in one that provides full coverage while feeling absolutely weightless. The formula is creamy and promises to blend seamlessly to even out skin tone and give skin the ultimate matte finish. This kind of finish is foreign to me as I prefer my skin dewy, but as I have been getting more and more into matte lipsticks, maybe a matching foundation might be interesting?

Guest Post | Jenn from Scarlet Beauty Reviews the Quo Bent Eyeliner Bush!

Let’s say hello to Jenn from Scarlet Beauty who will be sharing with all of you today her favourite eyeliner brush! I have only just gotten to know Jenn through the Canadian Beauty Bloggers, but her makeup photos are truly pieces of art! Have you seen her Instagram? Her product placement makes me want to buy everything she shows! Now, let’s take it away Jenn!

Let’s rewind to many years ago when I was first getting into makeup, shall we? It didn't take me too long to discover how much of a difference getting quality brushes made. Face it – the brushes and applicators that usually come with your makeup aren't the greatest.

Enter Quo brushes. I soon became hooked on the brand, and gained a fair collection of brushes that I still keep in regular rotation.

November 2013 Empties

I’m not going to lie, I made my husband carry these empties to our new apartment. I may not have told him what was inside the box, but he dutifully hauled over all of my beauty products whether they were filled with product or not! Let’s see what I managed to get through for the month of November!

Shoppers Drug Mart Redemption Goodies!

There was a Shoppers Drug Mart super redemption event about two weeks ago and I cannot believe it has taken me so long to share what I picked up with you all! Time is just flying and work has been long and very busy so forgive me for this and all future tardiness! I wasn’t going to redeem any points, but then I saw two things that my heart had always wanted…dear Mia and the most overpriced LED lamp I’ve ever seen.

Day 23-Inspired by Nature

I actually have two designs for today’s challenge, but I have yet to take pictures of the second set so I will go with this flowery creation. This is a picture taken from a Birks advertisement that spurred my creation. It didn’t turn out quite like what I had hoped as the diamond butterflies didn’t show as nicely as I had hoped, but it was fun to wear while it lasted. I can’t really draw so the flowers were a bit lost on me, but oh well! You can’t win ‘em all in nail art!

For my blue base I used an unknown blue Quo polish and the rest was down with acrylic paint and nail crystals. I finished everything off with my favourite glitter China Glaze-Fairy Dust.

Be sure to check out the other wonderful ladies also participating in this challenge!

Naomi @ Bellezza

Traci @ drinkcitra

Masha @ Lost in Lacquer

The Latest in Shoppers Drug Mart Sinnage!

I feel like there is always an event at Shoppers Drug Mart and now it has gotten to a point where I honestly do not know what I need/want anymore! I think I’m going to take a little Shoppers break for a bit because I was going through my stash the other day and I truly have a sickness…I absolutely have to start “shopping my stash” as Beauty Balm puts it. The last Shoppers points event I participated in was at the beginning of this month and for $75 worth of beauty products, 18 500 points were given out which is an extra $25 of points!

Klorane Shampoo and Conditioner with Magnolia

I have read some positive reviews about Klorane and when I saw this line on sale for $10, I knew it was the perfect time to try it. This particular line is all about the magnolia flower known for the resistance and shine in its leaves. This protective element is called the cuticle and is a wax that Klorane has extracted to provided hair with a similar shine. Now, most plants have a cuticle so I don’t know what it is about the magnolia flower that makes its cuticle the best one out there. Maybe someone in plant biology can tell me?

Klorane Leave-In Spray with Magnolia

My Moroccanoil Glimmer Spray is about to run out and I like using a shine spray after I’ve straightened my hair and this spray claims to be very lightweight and to give my hair a brilliant shine.

Blue Fishtails!

After seeing this design on Chalkboard Nails, I wanted to give it a try, but I had the hardest time choosing colours. I was torn between pinks, browns, blues or neons? In the end, I let the man choose and he chose blues, so here we are! For the base, I used an unnamed light blue mini Quo polish, then another unnamed dark blue Quo polish finally followed by Zoya – Indigo. I’m sure the Quo polishes have names when they are full-sized, so if anybody knows, feel free to comment!

I have to say, that I’m not too pleased with how this turned out mainly because I experienced more bubbling than usual once I sealed everything in with OTD. Maybe I wasn’t being careful, but it’s not the neatest topcoat application I’ve done…then again I like the colour scheme and would like to try fishtails again with some summer brights!

Shopper Drug Mart MEGA Points Redemption Event!

Hello!

If anyone has yet to take advantage of the mega redemption event, today is the last day! It feels like I haven’t done one in awhile, but then when I went through my blog entries, it turns out I just did one in February! Hehe, oh well! Same as last time, I went with a friend of mine and just made it a girls night. I had was able to get $200 of product and I got away with just paying the taxes! Love redemption days!

I picked up the Korres Cool Summer Set which contained Yoghurt After-Sun Cooling Gel and travel-sized sample of their Guava Body Butter because I always like slathering on something cooling after being in the sun and Korres definitely made this cooling gel sound very appealing!

Then came the Quo by Orly 5 Ombre Nail Lacquer Set because I really wanted that second to last royal blue colour (no name) and Sally Hansen Diamond Strength in Glass Slipper which I have been eyeing since it came out. After reading some positive reviews and having a good sniff, I finally picked up Taylor Swift’s Wonderstruck and even though I’m turning 29 next month, I look forward to smelling like I’m 19. The bottle was also just too cute!!

Next on the list was Biotherm Softening Exfoliating Cleansing Gel which will be my first Biotherm product! I don’t know whether I got this because it’s pink or whether I really needed a cleanser, but at the new price of $19 (before it was $30) I thought it might be worth a try. Too further add to my collection of Maybelline Baby Lips, I picked another one up in Pink Punch.

I ended up my little shopping spree with Benefit goodies of Benefit Ultra Plush Lip Gloss in Coralista and Benefit Hoola Boxed Bronzer! I wanted a colour brighter than Sugarbomb so Coralista was perfect and I was looking for a bronzer that didn’t have shimmer to it making Hoola a great option! I walked out of Shoppers a VERY happy gal!

Did anyone else take advantage of mega redemption weekend? If you did, I want to see your hauls! I showed you mine, now you show me yours