Lip Product Addict Tag!

Bonus Post! I know I just finished tag week a couple of weeks ago, but a new one is circulating the beauty world, and I wanted to do it! It's only 8 questions and was created by Estee and Amelia (on youtube). You can find Estee's blog Here.

1. Favourite Balm/ Treatment?
I'm currently absolutely 100% in love with Maybelline Baby Lips Dr. Rescue ($4.99 CAN). I have their tinted balm/treatment in Soothing Sorbert. I picked this one for in the winter, or for when I was at work, I wasn't sacrificing colour for treatment. It is medicated which I love, and it really works. So many times in the past winter would my lips be on the verge of cracking and using this even 3 times a day (the recommended usage) and by the end of the day they were almost as good as new.

2. Best Eye Catching Red?
For pigmentation and eye catching quality I love Rimmel London Apocalips in Stellar ($5.47 USD). It is a pigmented red, that is in a lip gloss/lip stick formula, the benefits of a gloss with the coverage of a lipstick. I adore the true redness of this colour, and totally rock it when I'm feeling brave enough, I also think the packaging is super cute, so it even looks adorable in my drawer (where I sit and stare at it wishing I was braver and wore it more!)

3. Best luxury and best drugstore?
I'm not really about "all the luxurious things" life to be honest. I was a student and worked 2 jobs in my final year, and became quite frugal with my money, and I continuously look for good deals. That being said, I don't often buy myself luxurious items if I can find cheaper alternatives.. that doesn't mean when I get them as gifts I don't love the heck out of them.
Luxurious: Lancome "Love It"($24.00 CAN) A very natural shade my grandmother got me for christmas- I may have been overly excited and tried to open the wrong end.. that's why it looks like this. (mental note: when receiving nice things.. open properly)

Drug Store: NYX "Peach"($6.00 CAN) I'm not entirely sure who came up with the name for this, because it isn't really peachy, however when I saw it in the store it magically forced it's way into my basket.. I swear. In all reality, I'm using this as a more dramatic "my lips but better" colour.

4. Best MAC lipstick?
I own two, yes only two MAC lipsticks. My favourite and the one I will repurchase until the end of time, is the Viva Glam V($22.00 CAN). For two reasons, the colour and smell are amazing. The colour is that true "my lips but better" colour. I also absolutely adore the red detailing, I think it looks SO sleek, and I LOVE that the proceeds are donated to AIDS research and treatment. I have currently lost my actual one, so I'm incredibly sorry for the stock photo. I will repurchase when I am near a MAC counter.

5. The most disappointing?
This one is a Colour Lip Balm, from NYX in "Shukran"($4.00 CAN). Seeing as how it is labelled as a colour lip balm, I was expecting some colour, and what you really get is not a lot of colour. The pigmentation is really poor, it hardly shows up, I use it to use it.

6. Liner yes or no?
I do not use liner on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. It seems like a lot of work, and I understand the lasting power of it, I just don't get around to it.

7. Best gloss?
I'm not entirely sure if this classifies as a gloss, but I'm counting it as one. Maybelline Colour Elixir in "Signature Scarlet"($8.99 USD). Again, benefits of a gloss and a stick, but not as pigmented. It has a killer pigment, don't get me wrong.. It's just a lighter shade. I wear this all the time, and really love it. I even recommended it to my cousin for her wedding!

8. Something Extra!
Revlon Lip Butter in "Wild Watermelon"($4.47 USD). I love the lip butters, I am all for them, and this colour is no exception. During the summer and spring I completely see myself reaching for this at least a couple of times a week. I can't describe it, but the colour is amazing.

6 Brushes Worth The Money

Saving money is something I strive for, at the same time, investing in quality products is also super important for me. Especially when it comes to makeup and anything along those lines. It goes on your face, every day.

Quality makeup brushes are rewarding purchases especially when you consider long term savings, splurging and buying the right brushes that are soft, durable and work is the most important to making sure whatever you apply looks right, instead of wasting money every couple months to rebuy brushes that broke, or lost too many hairs.

I present 6 brushes I feel are worth the money (if you are willing to spend it).

Mirabella Eye Blender I received this in my Ipsy Glam Bag 2 months ago, I have not gone a single makeup application without using it since. Only when I was researching it did I find out how expensive it was. $27 is a little hefty for one brush (I'm REALLY glad I got it in a $17/month bag). The quality of this brush is incredible, it picks up just enough product, is small enough to get enough detail and depth in the crease, and is also really great to blend it all together. I like that it is tapered and it really gets the job done. It's only downfall is now I want more.

Sigma E40 Tapered Blending I use this brush to use as a blender, usually clean or with a light brown to blend out my crease. I've been using this brush for over a year and even during vigorous washing I have not lost a single hair. I love Sigma's brushes, the quality is incredible, and getting brushes in kits is well worth it. $14, which for the quality is great, especially considering I've been using it for that long and I haven't lost a hair. My only issue with it is it is quite large, and maybe I have small eyes, but for darker colours using this brush can be a tad overwhelming.

Royal and Langnickel Master Pro Angled Shader I stumbled upon Royal and Langnickel among the booths of Vancouver IMATS 2 years ago. They were having a great deal on brushes, and I immediately was drawn to the lovely blue handle of this one. For $5.99 USD the quality is incredible. It is crazy soft and picks up just enough product to focus a colour in the outer corner. I want to go to IMATS this year just to pick up more brushes from them.

Sigma F40 Large Angled Contour  Seriously, my go to blush brush. I love how soft it is, and it also looks incredibly natural when applied to the cheeks, using any blush. $19.00, Sigma just rocks.

ELF Small Tapered Brush A product from their studio line, which ups the regular $1 price tag to $3. A huge increase I know. It's great for using powder to set under eye concealer, and even for blending out a highlight on the cheeks. The size is perfect and it's a really great quality.

Sigma E55 Eye Shading $12.00Packs on the colour incredibly. Enough said.

Those are it, the 6 brushes I probably couldn't live without, and the 6 brushes I believe are totally worth the money!

I would love to know some of your staple brushes, I'm always in the market :)

My Skin Care Favourites!

I have been blessed by the genetic gods with fairly easy to manage skin, I have sensitive skin that doesn't agree with harsher water (it makes me itchy) and the usual winter dry skin. Throughout my teen years I was ridiculously lucky that my definition of acne was a pimple or two a month, usually around my nose or chin.

That was it, in High School I ignored my parents and NEVER took my makeup off, which was terrible- and now even 4 years since I graduated High School I am so displeased with myself. Because I didn't have a problematic complexion, or issues with oil and pimples etc. I justified not taking it off, and falling asleep with it on almost every night.

Since then I have learnt from my bad habits. I wash my face at least every night, and in the shower as well. I experimented and found a reasonably affordable system that really works on my face, it keeps it soft and even though I never had issues with pimples, my one or two has turned into only one. It was really hard for me to get into the habit of washing my face every night because for so long I hadn't, now it's my nightly ritual- me, my ipod, washing my face, and dancing in the bathroom- I actually look forward to it.

Sure, some nights I might not do the whole shebang, infact there has for sure been nights I've accidentally fallen asleep with my makeup on, and let me tell yah, the next morning my skin is not too impressed with me.

That's my skin story, now onto my skin care routine.

I keep everything I use to wash my face in this basket that I got from Dollarama, I use the basket because I go in between the bathroom upstairs (where my bedroom is) and the shower downstairs (where the beauty corner is). Having it all in one place ensures I will use it, and the storage is really great for keeping it all together.

Sephora Brand Cleansing Oil This baby was $17 for the bottle, which I think is a reasonable price granted you need literally a pump of this to remove all your makeup. It is the first oil I have used to remove my makeup, and I like it so much I don't think regular makeup remover will EVER be an option again. I might be a little weird but I love watching my makeup break up and almost like melt off my face. After it's all rubbed into my face, I splash some warm water on it and wipe it off.

Cotton Rounds I got these from Walmart or something, I keep them in an old candle cup (I removed the wax) to keep them separated from the rest of my routine, I use these to wipe off the Cleansing Oil and the stuff that comes off it is crazy! Any cotton rounds work, I never know which ones I'm using, because I take whichever ones are on sale.

Garnier + Gel Cleanser This is the only product I use for a specific reason, I only use this product on my T-Zone, because it's the only place that is where I get pimples (usually on my chin) and around my nose gets dry, especially in the winter. I got this from Shoppers Drugmart for $9.99 on sale, I believe the regular price is around the $11 mark. The grapefruit and pomegranate anti-oxidants really do make your skin smoother. It also smells really good, I may have gotten some in my mouth... it doesn't taste like how it smells. I promise.

Olay Fresh Effects Shine Shine Go Away This cleanser is used all over my face with the handy little scrubber guy. It suds up really nice, and the batter operated scrubber really gets into your pores and gets everything out. It gently exfoliates, and makes my skin really soft- my old roommate would come up to me and rub my cheeks, until she bought her own. The starter kit retails for $18, which includes a tester of the cleanser, the cleanser on it's own it $9. Overall I've been using this system for a year and I love it. It's also a cheaper alternative (way cheaper) than something like the Clarisonic- that would be a little expensive given how uncomplicated my skin is.

LUSH Breath of Fresh Air Toner Water I love how cooling this is, when I spray it on my face I always get a little chill, you know the good kind, the kind you crave in the summer? It's also really soothing, and it makes me feel a little better about scrubbing my face. It also promotes balanced skin, which I already have, I use this to keep it balanced. I especially love this after using a mask or something really abrasive like LUSH's Ocean Salt.

LUSH Grease Lightning My go to spot treatment. I use this only on areas where I have a pimple, the Tea Tree Oil is awesome for preventing and treating pimples, it is my go to in pimple emergencies. Hands down.

Olay Fresh Effects Long Live Moisture, it's cooling, silicone based and super moisturizing, I use this all over my face and always love the way it feels, you can for sure feel it working the next morning, with how soft your skin is.

I also keep a face cloth in my basket, just to have ready, because I am for sure that person that forgets towels when entering the shower.. I also REALLY hate the feeling of water dripping down my face and neck, so I need this for emergency can't handle it moments.

My lazy one step product. I have gotten into the habit of washing my face every night, but let's say I go out one night, or I've had a long day and am about to crash the second I hit my bed, I reach for LUSH 9-5. This product is great for not needing water, being cleansing, and moisturizing all in 1. Just rub on your face, look like a raccoon, use a cotton round to wipe it off and you're done. I cannot tell you the times I've done this.. in bed, as I'm falling asleep.

Those are my products for my skin care routine, what are yours? Tell me your go to's in the comments!

OOTD: Tuesday

Bonus post for the day! When I was getting dressed today, I didn't think I would like my outfit NEARLY as much as I do. Since I like it so much, I have to share it. 

Face:

Maybelline Baby Skin

L'Oreal Paris Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream (Fair)

Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder (Transparent)

Rimmel London Wake Me Up Concealer (Very Fair)

ELF HD Undereye Setting Powder

Milani Brow Fix Kit (Light)

Eyes:

Maybelline Colour Tattoo (Barely Branded)

NYX Eyeshadow (Blame it on Midnight)

Urban Decay (Naked)

Urban Decay (Buck)

Maybelline Eyestudio Quad (Coral Oasis)

L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Butterfly Mascara

Lips:

Lancome (Love It)

Outfit: 

Blazer: Stitches

Shirt: Forever 21

Shorts: Stitches

Ring: 

Ardenes 

I was never expecting to like how put together this looks, while also being a little casual and summery. I want to wear this everyday now.. I won't, but I want too. 

Review: Maybelline Baby Skin

Primers are really great for making sure your makeup stays in place all day, in the summer its extra important, to provide a barrier between the skin and the product, but also ensuring your makeup stays in place instead of sweating off. I live in Ontario, a province in Canada, it gets really hot and humid here- and the heat waves are almost unbearable. We didn't really get much of a Spring- it's already 25 Degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit).

I wear something under my makeup pretty much year round (if I remember), but in the summer I am always on the hunt for something that will hold whatever little makeup I put on for the whole day. Well, I think I found it.

Maybelline recently came out with a skin product addition to their Baby Lips line, called Baby Skin- it's almost like a cheaper alternative to Benefit's Porefessional. It promises to blur pores and imperfections, while also priming the skin.

Frankly I enjoy it- I am not an oily or a dry skinned person, I'm pretty neutral grounded when it comes to my skin, but I do have some larger more noticeable pores on my nose and in-between my eyes. Usually a bit of concealer provides enough coverage to deal with that- but in the summer it's another layer that could possibly just oxidize and fall off my skin. I really do find that when I put this on my face, especially in those spots my pores don't look as large, or noticeable.

I put it on before my L'Oreal Paris Magic Skin Beautifer BB Cream- and it not only holds it in place, but it almost sheers it out, I don't use as much and get this fantastic feel to my face, that isn't too powdery or overdone, it doesn't feel thick, or like I have another layer of products on my face.

Now for the long lasting part- I took a picture literally after I did my makeup, and another 9 hours later, and to me it looks the same, I didn't notice my makeup oxidizing or falling off, I felt like I had just put it on. Now this might seem like an exaggeration but I promise, it felt like I had done my makeup maybe an hour ago, 9 hours after I had.

Overall, I like this product, it was worth the $7 I spent for it, and it works well, I notice that my pores that I usually cover with some concealer don't need to be concealed, when I wear this, and it keeps everything in place all day. Granted I also used a powder overtop, but I thoroughly enjoy this product. Well worth it in my books!

What's in my everyday makeup bag?

My makeup bag is a small gathering of all the things I am currently loving. I do have a fair amount of products, the majority of which are stored in combination with my sisters makeup downstairs. (We have a beauty corner set up), since I don't go down there everyday at the moment, it's unrealistic to keep my makeup and such down there as I probably won't use it.

I use this small sized makeup bag that I got from Forever 21 last year. It's pink and white and stripped and really cute! Surprisingly it holds a lot, enough for my face, eyebrows, eyes, and perfume. This bag is literally all I would need for a night or two away without even thinking about what I'm bringing with me.

Face
Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Puff Eye Roller I use this before I do my makeup under my eyes if they are a little puffy, or if I am really tired to combat that and reduce the size of my bags. L'Oreal Paris Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream (Fair/Pale) This is my one step face product, since I have freckles I can't really use a full coverage foundation, so BB creams provide enough coverage without being too heavy and in the summer this is perfect in the heat!

Rimmel London Wake Me Up Concealer (125 Very Fair) I adore this concealer. It has enough coverage to hide my bags and it really does give the effect of being awake, which during the school year is a saving grace. Rimmel London Stay Matte Powder (001 Transparent) This is great for keeping matte in the summer when sweating is a big thing. I use this on my T-Zone in particular, and I got it in transparent to avoid extra coverage. ELF Undereye Setting Powder This stuff is great for under the eyes to set my concealer, I like it.

Revlon Highlighting Palette (Rose Glow) I love this palette, it's perfect for a blush/bronzer/highlight in one swipe, which removes a lot of extra products from this bag. ELF Blush (Twinkle Pink) This is great for adding just enough colour to my cheeks if I want to boost the colour of the Revlon Palette.

Eyes
Along with eyes, are eyebrows- Milani Brow Kit (01 Light) I love this for filling in my brows, I blend the two brow colours together to get a really great natural colour, and the highlight to define my brows. The brush that is included is the perfect size for me. Maybelline Colour Tattoo Metal (Barely Branded) I use this to prime my eyes, the shade is really similar to MAC's Painterly Paint Pot, which for $8 isn't a bad deal, the colour adds a little bit of sparkle to the shadow but it really does stay all day.

NYX Nude Matte Eyeshadow (Blame it on Midnight) For me this is the best crease colour I can find, it is light enough to add some warmth to my eyes, but is really good for blending out colours as well. NYX Love in Rio Trio (Meet me at the copa) I love this trio- it's great for a natural eye. Enough said.

Physicians Formula Kohl Kajal (Nude Trio) I use the champagne colour for my waterline to make me look a bit more awake and also widen my eyes. I use the gunmetal colour to tightline for a natural looking fuller lashline. L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Butterfly Mascara (Black) I LOVE THIS MASCARA it's perfect for a natural look, obsessed. Mary Kay Eyelash Curler I've had this for years, it gets the job done.

Smells 
Pacifica Island Vanilla Roll On Perfume This is great for on the go smell touch up, I love vanillas and this one is summery, which is right on for this time of the year.

My Idea of Bold Lips

I'm fair skinned, I joke my only shades are Ghost and Lobster, because of my colouring I'm always timid when it comes to being bold. I'm truly not into out there fashion statements or makeup, working on this blog and challenging myself has changed that.. gradually. Lately, at the encouragement of my best friend I have been experimenting with bolder lips. These are just the colours that I am comfortable with rocking, which is a big step for me, be warned: this post is filled with selfies

Like I said, I usually keep it pretty neutral. Recently I've been trying to embrace bolder lip colours, especially for Spring and Summer- when I hope to get a little darker, maybe. My first idea of a bold lip is the Revlon Colourburst Laquer Balm in Whimsical. I showed this in a recent post- my weekend update where I also showed some of my recent purchases. I'm really loving the colour, and the specks of glitter really draw attention to your lips, it is also really good for wear. Since I've only had it for literally 3 days, I can only say so far I like it, but it is an idea for bold lips for the pasty.

My next love is a product from my ipsy subscription- months ago, I cannot remember which one. It's this soft purpleish colour from Mirabella, it's a really smooth texture and feels really creamy on the lips. Sadly, as I went to apply it for this post- my wall got a good try of it too (I'm super clumsy and dropped it, and the wall got a good amount on it). It stained a spot on my baseboard after not even 2 minutes of it being there- a fact which I can say it has some staying power.

My third idea of a bold lip is another Revlon lip product- The Revlon Lip Butter in Wild Watermelon. This product is a limited edition one for their spring collection. The colour is wonderful, and the texture is really awesome too. I absolutely adore this one, the lip butters in general are my favourites, and this colour just makes me love them more.

When I was getting ready to leave Peterborough because I was done school, my best friend bought me a lip product. She gave it to me to challenge myself to be a little bolder as I started a new chapter- It was the Maybelline Colour Infallible Lip gloss thing. It's red. Something I stay clear of typically. Usually it's not only a lack of boldness that keeps me from trying out there lip colours- sometimes it's laziness. Red lips is drastic- and this is the most wearable option I have found. My best friend has awesome taste!

Bold lips- scary but worth it. What are some of your ideas for bold lips?

The Weekend Update

*this post is both a mini-haul and a weekend update.

Recently, I finished University and moved in with my grandparents. Since I moved I haven't really spent any time with my friends who now live about 2 hours away. This weekend, my best friends son turned 3. Since this kid is literally my favourite person maybe ever, right now I had to be there. She tells me all the time about how he asks if they are going to go to my house, or if we are going to hang out, so I made the trip down for his birthday. He loves bubbles, so I brought along a variety of bubbles.

Since I was going down for his birthday, I had to see some of my other friends, and one such friend and I have a long standing date for Froyo (Frozen Yogurt) at this place called YoYo's. Where you get to make Yo yogurt Yo way. Essentially you walk around, pick a flavour of froyo (or sorbet) fill it as much as you want and then add the toppings. This place has everything from strawberries and kiwi to gummy worms and chocolate chips. They also have a variety of sauces, like chocolated, melted marshmallow and more. We like this place because they have dairy free options, the sorbets, as well as all of their other yogurts are non-fat gluten free.

I opted for Birthday Cake frozen yogurt- it tastes like they pureed a birthday cake I swear. And got strawberries, chocolate chips and crushed m&m's, I also got chocolate sauce.

My friend was at work, so I had her son, and I got him the Birthday Cake frozen yogurt, strawberries, gummy bears and fuzzy peaches (what is the point of being the cool aunt/babysitter and not giving them a massive amount of sugar and then handing them back!?)

Whenever my best friend and I are together we go to drugstores. We cannot pass a Shopper's Drugmart without having to enter it. Most of the time we leave coated in swatches and a bag probably bigger than we anticipated, or more products than we thought. It's an unspoken agreement between the two of us. I picked up a couple of things that I had been eyeing that were on sale (sales are code for buyitnow, buyitnow, buyitnow.)

I grabbed this Physician's Formula Trio of Eyeliners, they were only $10 for 3, which equals out to $3.33 each. NOT BAD. I love the pigmentation and the quality of them, they are so smooth, and I cannot wait to use them for real. I got them in the neutral pack, but they also had eye colour specific trios (brown, blue and green).

We also hit up the drugstore with the NYX display (there is one store in all of Peterborough that carries it!) I got a single eyeshadow for my crease, I decided on the colour- "Blame it on Midnight" I picked this colour to be the perfect go-to blending shade for my crease, that will go with literally everything.

I also got this Lip product, it's just one of their liptsticks, in the colour peach.

And right next to NYX was Revlon, where they had one left of the limited edition, spring 2014 Lip Butter's in Wild Watermelon. I didn't even think about not buying it. I love the colour!

I also got the Revlon Colourburst Laquer Balm, it was on sale for $7.99 and I really wanted to try it, so I picked it up too. I got it in the colour Whimsical.

Now to jump back a couple of days, before I had left I received my Hautelook order in the mail. About a month and a bit ago, maybe 6 weeks, Hautelook had Urban Decay on for a really good price. I'm all about a deal, and it was payday, so it was destiny. Fate works that way, it has to.

I knew eventually, that's my "excuse" my Primer Potion would run out, I've been working on it for almost a year- and they had the Primer Potion in "Greed" for $9.99! That was a no brainer. I wanted to try a pigmented one, to see if it would provide any kind of coverage for a birth mark on my inner corner (left eye).

I also got the 24/7 glide on pencil in mushroom. I've tried it once and loved it, where I put it on towards the lower lash line, and used this next product to blend it out. For $9.99 it was worth the price to try it!?

Lastly, I got the Blending Eye Brush- because you can never have too many of those- it was also $9.99, I use this to blend out the harsh lines of the mushroom eye pencil, and it gives great colour on the eyeballs.

So that's it, my favourite 3 year old and a whole bunch-o makeups all crammed into a 28 hour trip.

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! What did you get up too!?