Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Chatty GRWM || Pink Summery Makeup || ft. First Impressions of new Essence Cosmetics releases

In which I do one last light, summery makeup look for the year using a bunch of new releases from Essence, along with some other new and old favourites... and some crazy huge wings! O_o haha!

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

Thanks for watching!

Saturday, August 27, 2016

LIP SWATCH + REVIEW || NYX Velvet Matte Lipsticks

In which I swatch for you 10 of the 12 new NYX Velvet Matte lipsticks and share my thoughts on the formula overall! Don't forget to check out the hand swatches at the bottom of this post!

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

NYX Velvet Matte swatches

Thanks for watching!

Thursday, August 25, 2016

REVIEW || Makeup Revolution Iconic 3 Eyeshadow Palette ||Naked 3 Dupe!

In which I review the huge mouthful of a palette known as the Makeup Revolution Redemption Eyeshadow Palette Iconic 3... Good luck remembering that one!!

Let's just call it the Iconic 3... Anyways, this is basically a great, inexpensive dupe of the Naked 3 palette from Urban Decay... only it's better. Watch to see why! (Comparison swatches below the embedded video!)

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

The Palettes:

the palettes

The swatches, Urban Decay on top vs. Makeup Revolution below:

Strange, Dust, Burnout, and Limit

Buzz, Trick, Nooner, and Liar

Factory, Mugshot, Darkside, and Blackheart

Thanks for watching!

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Essence Cosmetics Autumn/Winter Releases || Overview & Review || Lots of pictures!!

Hello again! Today's as you've probably guessed, I'm going to go over a bunch of new products from Essence that are coming out for this fall/winter season! I was sent these products to test out, but this post is not sponsored, and my opinions are completely honest and 100% my own! I didn't receive everything coming out in this launch, but I did receive A LOT of it, so hopefully this post can give you an idea of what's coming from Essence, and some good swatches of the various products!

I'll also be using at least some of these items in upcoming tutorials and GRWMs, so look forward to those to see how these products work on the the face as part of a whole look! And as always, feel free to let me know anyting you really want to see used!

My thoughts and swatches of everything will be below the jump, since this is going to be a long and picture heavy post... but here's a quick look at everything I recieved:

the haul

Friday, August 19, 2016

LIP SWATCH + REVIEW || NYX Cosmic Metals Lip Cremes

In which I swatch all of the new NYX Cosmic Metals lip cremes and share my quick thoughts on the formula and products as a whole. Hope this helps some of you! =)

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

Did you see my swatches of the NYX Liquid Suede lipsticks?

Thanks for watching!

Thursday, August 18, 2016

REVIEW || Revlon Colorstay Not Just Nudes Palette || Romantic Nudes

A quick review of the new Revlon Not Just Nudes palette in Romantic Nudes. =) Swatches below embedded video.

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

The palette:

not just nudes palette

Inside

open palette

The swatches (top left to bottom right):

swatches

I didn't crop the above image weirdly... there is a faint, shimmery swatch in front of that rusty coloured swatch... it's just very similar to my skintone!

Want to see this palette used in a video? Conveniently, I've already posted one! Check out my last video for a simple daytime look featuring this palette, and feel free to let me know if there are any shades you want to see me use in a future look!

Thanks for watching!

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Chatty GRWM || Neutral Day Time Makeup ft. Revlon Not Just Nudes + NYX Strobe of Genius

In which I use mostly drugstore makeup products, including some I've never tried before to make a simple, pretty, wearable everyday makeup look. Hope you like it!

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

Thanks for watching!

Monday, August 8, 2016

LIP SWATCH + REVIEW || NYX Liquid Suede Matte Lip Cream

In which I swatch for you 16 of the 24 currently available (or soon to be available?) NYX Liquid Suede Lip Creams! I'm really excited to be swatching these for you because they are excellent, and there are so many fun colours in the range.

The four I swatch from the original 12 I bought with my own money, but the 12 from the new range I did receive for free from the NYX Cosmetics After Dark event. This has not biased my opinions of the products, though, and my reviews are completely honest.

Hope these swatches can help you out! Let me know if you want to see any type of tutorial or grwm featuring one of the colours you see in this video! =D

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

Buy the original colours from London Drugs, or any of the new or original shades from Ulta or Nyxcosmetics.ca.

Thanks for watching!

Saturday, August 6, 2016

REVIEW || Paula's Choice Makeup Products

Hi guys! Today I have another review for you, this time of a few of the products from the Paula's Choice makeup range. You may or may not remember I was sent a couple skincare products a while ago to review, and when they asked if there was anything else from the brand I wanted to test, I took a look at their site and saw they also make makeup! I had never heard anyone else talking about any of their makeup, and since I love makeup more than skincare anyways, I requested they send me a few things to review... and here I am finally getting around to reviewing some of those Paula's Choice makeup items!

As always, all the opinions expressed on this blog are my own and 100% honest. I was sent these products for review, but was not paid to write this post. =)

Paula's Choice is first-and-foremost a skincare brand, so it follows that most (if not all) of their makeup products have a skincare side to them. The glosses are anti-aging and have an SPF, for example, and there are some pretty nice ingredients in many of the products, so I was looking forward to giving them a go! I received a brow kit, mascara, set of chubby lip pencils, lip glosses, a makeup remover, and a sunless tanner. The only thing I haven't tried is the sunless tanner because I just don't tan... I almost gave this one a go, because it was a concentrate you just pump into your favourite moisturizer to apply... but it's just so not my thing. Sorry.

And now I guess we should get into my thoughts!

Brow Defining Cream Duo

Brow kit box

First, the brow kit. Brows are so important, and one of my 2 most basic makeup needs! This kit comes in a compact with a pretty nice mirror, two coloured brow creams, and a double-ended brush with a spoolie on one end, and an angled brush on the other. The kit retails for $20 USD on the Paula's Choice website.

brow kit closed
brow kit inside

I think this kit comes in only the one shade, and personally I found that the dark colour is very dark, but the light is too light (it's very blonde). So how I found works best for me is to use the dark shade to define the lower line of my brows, and the tail, and then I work the lighter colour into the front and tops of my brows, and that works pretty well. Someone with darker or lighter hair/brows than me might find themselves only able to work with one shade or the other.

brow kit swatches

As for consistency, these are creams, not gels, which means they aren't sticky but also don't offer any hold, so I like to pair this product with a brow gel. The brush itself is a pretty good mix of soft and firm, and worked well enough for me, and I love that it includes a spoolie to help shape and blend! All in all? It's a good product, but not amazing. But I do prefer pencils most of the time, so this may be better for another type of person. Also, I didn't find it had amazing staying power, or ever really set fully, unfortunately.

Resist Anti-Aging Lip Glosses

Lip gloss boxes

As I mentioned above, these glosses don't just make your lips glossy, they're meant to protect your lips with an SPF of 40, and contain anti-aging ingredients to hydrate, protect, and smooth your lips. They retail for $18 USD on the Paula's Choice website.

lip glosses

These glosses come in plastic squeeze tubes with a narrow angled plastic applicator tip, which isn't great for precision, but these are a sheer gloss, so precision isn't a huge deal. Personally, I found these smell like the maple icing on a Tim Horton's maple glazed donut, but not too strongly. It's mostly a sugary smell that mostly manages to disguise the sunscreen scent, and they have not discernable flavour (aside from a slight sunscreen-iness).

Lip Gloss swatches

These come on two colours: pink and clear. I did find them slightly sticky, but not horribly. While these aren't my thing (as a non-lipgloss lover!), they could be a good option for gloss-wearers as a simple summer lip product when you want protection and a little more shine or colour than your average SPF balm. Also, I suppose you could use the clear as an SPF 40 lipstick topper!

Berry & Bright Lip Collection

Lip Sticks in box

This set contains four chubby lip pencils, three of which are bright or berry colours (as the name would suggest), and the fourth is a shimmery topper. From the looks of things, these are no longer available, and were a Holiday 2015 release. The Paula's Choice website actually does not currently sell any lipcolour products, aside from the pink gloss I showed above. I'm not sure there's much point in reviewing them now, but I will say they were quite nice, if not spectacular. Not sure these will ever come out again, but if they do, I'll pop my swatch picture up and move onto the next product. (these were $45 USD).

Lipstick swatches

Fantastic Lash Mascara

Mascara

This is a regular (read: non-waterproof) lengthening mascara. It has a bendy, narrow brush with soft plastic spike bristles. It retails for $12 USD on the Paula's Choice site.

Mascara wand

This is not my favourite type of brush, for sure. The spikes are pretty widely spaced, and I didn't find it did much for separating. So if you love the voluminous, lots-of-lashes look like I do, it may not be for you, either. The texture is nice: not too wet or dry, and it doesn't dry too hard and crunch, which is great, but it is still firm enough to hold some curl. It does make lashes look long and spiky, so if that's your look, and you don't need waterproof, you could give this one a go!

Gentle Touch Makeup Remover

makeup remover

This is a bi-phase makeup remover promises to remove even waterproof makeup easily without irritating skin or eyes. Specially formulated for use around the eyes, but works all over the face, including lips. Contains antioxidants, and is free of colourants and fragrances. Retails for $15 USD on the Paula's Choice website.

While I did think it was pretty great to include a makeup remover in a PR package full of makeup products, I was not expecting to like this as much as I do! It's actually probably my favourite thing I recieved in this whole post, which just proves that skincare really is what Paula's Choice is best at. It's non-oily and doesn't leave a ton of horrible residue on your skin. Contains tea extract and aloe to soothe. And it really does remove even waterproof mascara quickly and easily! I'm not sure what else you could possibly want from a makeup remover! With the exchange rate, though, it becomes almost $20 CAD for a makeup remover... you'll know if that price is worth it to you or not.

***

Overall, although most of these products were still pretty good, none were spectacular or super special, in my opinion. I think the coolest is probably the lip glosses, assuming you like lipgloss, but unfortunately I don't really. Still, just because I don't like things doesn't mean you won't so if someone above sounded like your kind of thing, I would say you should still give it a go. I just wish they still had those lipstick pencils!

Let me know if you've ever tried any Paula's Choice makeup products and what you thought!

Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

TUTORIAL || ELF Mad About Mattes Palette Eyes

Just a simple, neutral eye look using the ELF Mad About Mattes palette, paired with metallic red lips! Enjoy!

Click here to watch in HD, or watch below:

Thanks for watching!

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