August Favourites

So long summer, Hello Fall.

I know this isn't what we want to hear as we are approaching the colder months, but there is something about this time of year that makes me more productive then ever. So while I welcome the fall with arms open and a pumpkin spice latte in hand here are my August favourites/ my last kick at the can with summer.

Burrberry Pale Barley Eye Shadow

Years ago this eye shadow was all the rage and naturally it was sold out everywhere. Finally (almost 3 year later) I was able to get my hands on the cult eye shadow. 

On a side note my local Sephora had a ton of stock. 

Where was I? 

Pale Barley is a medium neutral brown with subtle golden shimmer. It's the kind of colour that seems ordinary but once applied its actually quite unique. As for the formula its pigmented, buttery, and overall a joy to work with. It's the kind of colour I could easily wear alone everyday or add it to other eye shadows for a more complex look. If you were on the fence about this colour or simply just forgot about it I can't recommend it enough. 

It Cosmetics CC Cream

With tons of amazing skincare ingredients, SPF of 50 and decent amount coverage this CC cream is one of the best foundations/bases I've ever tried. I did a whole review earlier this month so you can check it out here. If your someone who wants has rushed mornings or just want something easy that you can kind of just slap on your face, this product is for you. 

Moschino Bear Highlighter

Usually my favourites are well thought out, but I confess this highlighter is only here because I think the packaging is absolutely adorable. The Moschino range was both fun and affordable I really hope Sephora comes out with more collaborations like this. 

Givenchy Noir Interdit Mascara 

I have to say this mascara seemed slightly gimmicky to me at first. However after giving this a good test I realized Noir Interdit was more then just a bendy mascara wand a funky looking brush. This mascara give a ridiculous amount of volume and the formula is more long lasting then any other mascara I've ever tried. You can see my full review here for more info! 

Batiste Dry Shampoo 

Another cult like product I've never tried, clearly I've been living under a rock over here. I'm sure everyone knows this but Batiste is a dry shampoo. Batiste can give the hair a slightly powder-y look so my favourite way to use this is to spray generously before bed and really work it into the scalp with my fingers. The next morning I wake up with perfectly clean hair and a surprising amount of volume too. To make matters more fun Batiste offers a wide selection of scents and...yeah where the heck have I been? My favourite scent thus far is Sweetie and Violet is really nice too! 

A dry shampoo for hot summer days, a long lasting mascara perfect for those summery downpours... So long summer 17 it's been fun! Now on to all those plum toned lipsticks and burgundy nails polishes, mixed with a good helping of hydrating face masks. Thanks for taking the time and reading, and I wish all of you a happy Labour Day long weekend! 

Givenchy Interdit Mascara Review

The other day I received a Givenchy package in the mail and my first thought was ‘drinking and online shopping are a dangerous mix’. However my nerves about financial doom where quickly subsided when I realized that this was in fact a PR package. 

People, I cannot stress this enough but I am not a blogger who gets a whole lot of PR. So naturally this box sat on my kitchen for over a week and when I finally had the courage to crack it open I realized this was the weirdest mascara I’ve ever seen in my life.  Firstly the thing you need to know about this mascara is that it bends into an L shape. The second and final thing the Givenchy Interdit Mascara brush resembles that of a hair brush.

Black and red marble lipsticks and jet black moisturizers there are some weird things happening at Givenchy and I’m happy to report this mascara although strange really works. For me this mascara comes down to two things the brush and the formula.

The stiff brush does a great job at separating and evenly coating lashes. Actually with a little practice I’ve also become pretty good at getting this right down to my lash line. Meaning it gives the look of eye liner but without all the work. My only knock on this mascara is the bendy brush, as my personal preference is to use this linearly.  So if your a mascara traditional-est like myself you will be happy to hear the brush locks straight you don't have to worry about this flopping back and forward. The final thing you need to know about this mascara is that the formula is flawless. Personally I find this one of the most long wearing mascara's I've ever tried because even after over 12 hours of wear time I find my lashes look just as good as when I first applied.

Drugstore to highend end I think that there are a lot of excellent mascaras out there. However when it's comes down to long, curly, fluttery lashes that meet an extremely long lasting formula Givenchy Interdit Mascara is among one of the best. The packaging, the scent, hell even the tube feels nice when you open and close it! Givenchy Interdit is what a good mascara should be. So if your looking at this and thinking I'm not sure I say give it a try and let it surprise you.

Meteorites Baby Glow Sheer Liquid Foundation Review

I am on a real foundation kick so my second review this week is all about Guerlain's Meteorites Baby Glow Sheer Liquid foundation. I wish I had a cool story to tell you what attracted me to this foundation but between you and I, I am an embarrassingly simple person. My first thought was cute packaging, which was shortly followed second thought ‘babies have beautiful skin' and next my love for Guerlain really sealed the deal. And this is how I became the proud owner of the Meteorites Baby Glow foundation.

Let's begin. 

The first thing you need to know about this foundation is it's super luminous. It’s the kind of product that makes your cheek bones look high and gives an almost ethereal look to the skin. In fact Guerlain describes this as "liquid light" and I have to whole heartily agree its breath taking. However with all this light and luminosity comes great responsibility! Kidding, but you might want to consider sampling prior to purchasing, especially if you have oily skin.

The second thing you need to know about Baby Glow is that the formula is extremely hydrating. Application almost feels more like applying a moisturizer rather than a foundation. The combination of the hydrating formula along with the luminous properties this leaves the skin supple, plump and juicy. A part of me seriously thinks this might be the perfect winter foundation. 

With its enjoyable violent scent, and its handy easy to use tube I have seriously loved Guerlain’s Baby Glow foundation. The formula suits my dry skin and the product blends in with ease. I have to I’m glad my simple mind ‘made me’ pick this up. So if your reading this thinking I need to get my glow on and you want something with sheer to medium coverage, Baby Glow is worth a try.

It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream Review

I held out on this foundation for a while. However between you and I, I personally found the colouring of the "light" shade a touch too orange, yet had an alarming grey grey cast at same time. So while the whole beauty world (and my very own mother) was singing CC cream praises, I was avoiding looking like an ompa lumpa. Staying stubborn to take the plunge for years, somehow I got my hands on a tube and here we are today.

As mentioned it above, the colour of the Light shade is incredibly strange. When swatched on the hand it looks a crazy shade of orange, but still remains to look slightly dull and grey at the same time. I'm not going to lie I was really hesitant to wear this to work, or anywhere for that matter. So after building enough courage on a lazy (stay-at-home) sunday afternoon I gave the mysterious CC cream a fair go...

This is totally going to sound dramatic but, somehow and almost magically this strange orange-grey foundation just works on the skin. With just a single pump my skin was instantly more luminous, more hydrated and with a surprising amount of coverage. Personally, I like the light to medium coverage of one pump. It Cosmetics however recommends two pumps for a fuller coverage look. 

On the skincare front this foundation has a boat load of goodness going on. Its got anti-aging antioxidants, hydrating hyaluronic acid, skin firming peptides, moisturizing grape seed oil and anti inflammatory turmeric extract. So could you skin about on your skincare if you use this? I personally wouldn't, but if you were lazy about these sorts of things this might be a go to for you. One thing you can skip out on while using this is sun screen, because It Cosmetics CC cream packs an hefty SPF of 50.

I love this foundation it has amazing ingredients, blends into the skin with extreme ease, has a high SPF and the bottom line is it really looks beautiful on the skin. True fact but I also really the packaging as its lightweight and the pump is super practical. So if you've been thinking about trying the It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream, I say give it ago.  Living up to all of the hype is this CC cream, it's one of my all time favourite foundations and for that reason you need to stop what your doing and get your hands on a tube. 

You can get this product here. 

July Favourites

As mentioned in my previous post this month has been the month of splash pads, Moana and ice cream cones. And with all of these summery activities going on I am here today with an exciting list of seasonal favourites to share with you. So seasonal you could really call this a "quintessential summer favourites" post.

Technicalities of post names aside. I have a lot to catch you up on so lets get started.

Sun Bum Cool Down Spray

This dry oil mist is meant to be used as an after sun treatment, which is cool for those sun worshipers out there. For me (aka the non-sun worshiper) this oil is a perfect light weight body moisturizer. In addition to hydration this oil smells super summery and the spray applicator means it takes seconds to apply. For $15.00 a bottle this moisturizer it the perfect summer body care companion.

Too Faced Peach Pallet

True fact, it takes me a long while to profess my love for an eye shadow pallet. Do I love this? Well, I've been using it daily for over a month so there is diffidently some love there. With that being said I still hold on to the fact that I wish there were more neutral mid tone shades. As of right now I find the warm peachy tones of this pallet look really pretty in the summer, so I'm taking my relationship with the Too Faced, one day at a time.

Very dramatic!

It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream

When the whole internet was blowing up about this product us Canadians were jumping the boarder to get our hands on a tube of It Cosmetics CC cream. Now that I've finally got my hands on a bottle It Cosmetics has released that they are going to start to sell in Canada. I'm not mad, all I'm saying is I held out for such a long time what are the odds of this happening?

More importantly this base is amazing! I plan on doing a full review on this because it really deserves the added attention.

Ex Nihilo Fleur Narcotique

A few weeks ago I went to visit my friends very cool, downtown apartment. As soon as I opened the door I was hit with, no not a baby toy but this perfume. Fleur Narcotique smells chic with a combination of both fruity and floral notes. But instead of smelling like just another fragrance this some how manages to pull it off in the coolest and most refined way possible. When I asked my friend what candle she was burning she ever so cooly said "oh thats my perfume". I died and here we are only two weeks later and I am now a proud owner of an Ex Nihilo sample pack.

I can seriously talk about this fragrance all day long, but with the warm sunny weather I'm sure you all want to enjoy the great out doors as much as I do. Thank you all for reading, I have some amazing foundation review coming your way to drop on by. Cheers, and to all my Canadian's I hope your all enjoying the long weekend. 

NOID Sanskrit Saponins Review

Where have I been? The quick answer to this is summering, which basically for means going to the splash pad and walking to the local ice cream shop daily. However as time has passed I’ve noticed myself talking to strangers, family and co-workers about beauty, which means one thing to me… start blogging. 

Today I’m coming to you with Niod review. Noid is a part of the Deciem family, sister to the highly popular and highly coveted Ordinary skincare range. Unlike the basic (but amazing) Ordinary, Noid is the high tech and innovative old sister. Family semantics aside for me Sanskirt Saponins (SS) is one heck of an interesting product so lets get get into the nitty and gritty of things. 

When I think of a cleansing balm, I think of a thick, maybe even an oily product that helps break down make up. Deciem/Noid describes SS as a balm and I suppose it is, but it's not the type of cleansing balm I'm use to. The consistency of SS that of a thick paste and almost mud like. Once applied onto the skin it doesn't foam nor does it make a lather. The finish of the this product is slightly drying, thanks to the saponins, what is basically natures natural soap.  In addition to cleansing Saponins also have anti oxidant and have anti inflammation properties too.

I'm slightly everywhere with this product but despite the slightly drying finish and weird consistency, I love it!

Let's say you may have been at the beach for the day or may have taken a hot yoga class. Or let's be real here maybe you consumed way too much wine, followed by a eating a whole pizza at 3:00am and you wake up and just feel... dirty.  This product is for you! 

Whenever I am feeling like I need a deep cleanse this is the perfect addition my skincare routine. While the finish is slightly drying it surprisingly passes quickly and the formula is relatively gentle. I've heard about people using this as a mask for a more heavy duty treatment. Personally, I haven't tried it but i thought I would put it out there. So where are we with SS, it's weird but it works incredibly well. If your someone who has normally congested skin or if your looking for a deep cleaning treatment (like me) I can't recommend this enough. 

Link to product here. 

Perfume Shopping Tips & Tricks!

 Chanel Coco is a fragrance that has been with me though every single monumental life event. It's a scent that I've worn at every single christmas, easter, anniversary, family weddings ... I even wore it for Everleigh's first birthday.While makeup and skincare are a passion of mine, it all started with perfume. Don't get me wrong buying a new face mask or moisturizer is exciting but there is nothing in this world like treating yourself to a perfume. So before you invest in a fragrance you should really think about these 5 things.

Go alone

Remember your buying this fragrance for yourself, which means you are the one that is going to be living with it. So if your mom wants you to get a classic fragrance, while you best friend is telling you to smell like vanilla icing my advice to you is shop alone. Think about perfume shopping as a treat, grab lunch, maybe a glass of wine and shop at your own speed.

Head to the mens department

If you can't find anything in the women's department I highly suggest checking out the mens. Often times 'mens' fragrances can be fresher and slightly more easy to wear. Remember perfumes don't come with gender detectors so if you like a more masculine scent go for it girl!

Forget the idea of a seasonal scent

Fresh in the summer and spicy in the winter is generally what look for when picking out a scent. However don't let this old rule stop you, because it's all about wearing what yo like. If you want to wear a lemony scent in the winter theres no reason why you can't.

Ask for samples

Perfumes are expensive and prior to purchasing I always ask for a sample. Stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Sephora can actually make samples for you and generally they have exceptional customer service. Should samples not be available I reccomend spraying and letting it work it's magic on your skin. Generally within two hours I know if a scent works for me or not.

It's okay to leave empty handed

Don't rush it and don't settle for a fragrance your not in love with. Since perfume can be such a personal thing it is absolutely fine to walk out empty handed.

I think generally it's good to have an open mind when purchasing a perfume. Don't worry about your friends or partners, don't worry about the time just go for sometime you really love. If you have any perfume shopping tips I would love to hear them in the comment section below!

Thank you all for reading and we will catch up soon.