I'm Not a Beauty Guru

Empties: Shave Season Has Begun

June 4, 2015 6 Comments

Another Empties post for May is here! 🙂 See what I used up last month…

1. Wipes: Yes to Cucumbers and Garnier Refreshing Remover Makeup Wipes

Repurchase: Yes to both

My friend actually bought the Yes to Cucumbers wipes to try out. She said that it made her face actually burn and completely go beet red. After this story she graciously asked if I wanted the pack. Haha. I should have been more worried than I was after her story, but they worked out fine for me! I would repurchase.

I got the Garnier ones at the L’Oreal Sale which you can read about here. The only thing that really stood out was the scent. It is super strong. It smells like the BB cream if you’re familiar with that. I really liked these wipes though as I noticed they were larger and thicker than normal.

2. Nivea In Shower Body Lotion Foil Packet

Repurchase: Meh

I’ve already talked about this in many empties. Another foil packet haha.

3. Anastasia Brow Wiz in Ebony

Repurchase: Yes (already done actually)

The problem with this product is that you don’t know when it’s all gone! Mine just made a clicking sound which I assume meant I was at the end? Either way I wasn’t getting any more product out. I went out the next day to replenish this. Love this! I wholly recommend it!

4. L’Occitane Hand Cream in Cherry Blossom

Repurchase: Maybe

I got this in a mini pack of 3 hand creams and this one I liked the most. I found it very fresh and lightweight. The only thing that would stop me from re-purchasing is the price! The mini’s aren’t so pricey though and still last me forever!

5. Ole Henriksen African Red Tea Foaming Cleanser

Repurchase: Probably Not

I got this in one of those Sephora $12 deals. I really liked this actually! I didn’t suffer any breakouts from this, but I did notice some whiteheads around my mouth. I’ll take that over a cyst any day. I can’t see myself repurchasing just due to the price though.

6. Up and Up Cotton Rounds

Repurchase: Not this brand anymore!

These are the Target ones that I ended up stocking up like crazy. I’ll be set for awhile.

7. Gillette Satin Care Shave Cream with Olay

Repurchase: Sure

I got this mini for free somewhere. Shave cream is usually just whatever for me, but I did notice a difference with this. It foamed up very nicely and left my skin feeling great!

That’s all for this month! I feel like I’m actually starting to make a dent in all the samples and minis that I have!

Hope you are having a good start to June! 😀 Thanks for reading!

Beauty Tags

Versatile Blogger Award: Lets Get Personal

May 31, 2015 10 Comments

Hello! Thanks for stopping by!

I was tagged by Ling from The Cosmetic Critic to do the Versatile Blogger Award. I always love doing and reading these tags. I feel like you can learn a lot about a blogger from these types of posts.

What is the “Versatile Blogger Award”?
The Versatile Blogger Award is given to bloggers, who are popular for their good quality style of writing and overall the quality and uniqueness of their blogs.

Rules:

– Thank the person who nominated you

– Share 7 facts about you

– Nominate 15 other blogs

My 7 Facts:

1. I used to play Ultimate Frisbee in high school
Our team was really bad. Like, I don’t even think we won a game. It was more a game rather than a sport for us I guess. We just did it to have fun. Some teams took it super seriously though. I remember we went to a tournament one time and were playing another school. A guy hit me in the face with the frisbee and was really apologetic asking if I was okay. Another girl from their team ran by saying “Don’t say sorry to her, she ran into the frisbee.” (exact quote) in the snarkiest voice. I should have punched her (but not really).

2. My first ‘real’ job was a Sales Associate at Aeropostale
The people I worked with and the brand was nice. Definitely a welcoming environment. My boyfriend and I say this a lot, in that everyone should be forced to work a service job of some type in their life. It really teaches you respect and conflict management.

3. I am half Japanese, half Chinese
AND NO. I can’t speak, read or write anything.

4. Vanilla-vanilla is my favourite cake flavour
Just white cake with vanilla icing. Yum.

5. I hate the smell of baby’s breath flowers
If my boyfriend ever gets me flowers, he asks for it without the dressings haha. I really like how they look, but I can’t stand the smell for some reason.

6. I have no piercings, not even my ears
I find this is a lot more common than when I was younger. I just never had the want to get my ears pierced. Half of the reason is because of my fear (more a dislike I guess) of needles.

7. I have never flown overseas before
Maybe someday!

Thank you so much for reading! I hope that was somewhat interesting! I tried to pick facts that I haven’t used before in other posts before.

I would like to tag anyone and everyone who would like to do this! I know this is sort of cheating, but please do it if you wish! It’s always fun to learn more about others.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Reviews

Makeup Geek Eyeshadows: Overview and Swatches

May 29, 2015 14 Comments

Thanks to Chelle from Makeup Your Mind and a multitude of other glowing and positive reviews, I decided to make my first Makeup Geek order.

My friend and I spent a good hour or so combing through the site deciding which shadows to get. There are a huge array from mattes to the ever coveted foiled ones. She stuck to more neutrals, while I wanted to be a bit more adventurous. I chose to pick shades that I had nothing like in my collection. I’m definitely glad I did. Here are the ones I decided upon.

1. Peacock

This is the only shade that I don’t love out of the ones I got. I find it a bit chalky (see swatch below). I don’t think I would use this as a liner, but I definitely think I could use it in the crease or outer corner.

2. Pegasus

When I was browsing the site, I instantly went to this shade. Isn’t it just stunning?! This is one of my favourite colours of all time. I was worried that it wouldn’t be wearable but I was able to make a look with it. I just can’t stop staring at it! Even when my boyfriend saw the shadows I got, he mentioned that he really liked the colour of this one!

3. Drama Queen

A dark purple with a bit of shimmer. I love this shade, but something I noticed was that it was a lot more brown than I expected compared to purple. I don’t really mind though, as it’s super pretty.

4. Sensuous

This is a lighter purple shade compared to Drama Queen with some shimmer. I love this one! Very pretty. I’ve used it in the crease, but I can see this as a lid colour too. Why not?

5. Flamethrower

I knew I wanted this one from the beginning. I saw it on Chelle’s post and knew I just had to have it. I was very worried it might be too orange, but it’s definitely not. The brown shines through, which makes it super wearable in my opinion. I’m wearing it today and am very happy with it!

I’m so happy I took the plunge with these. Here are a few more shots of them in my Z Palette and the swatches.

Peacock – Pegasus – Drama Queen – Sensuous – Flamethrower

Here are some quick facts about my order and the shadows which might be helpful to know:

All prices are in USD ($5.99 for the regular shadows and $9.99 for the foiled ones)
Shipping was around $8 (my friend and I spent about $150 on our order)
Not duty or taxes were charged on our order
It took around a week and a half for us to get our order
These stuck fine in my Z Palette but my friend has a MAC palette and it DID NOT just stick in. She had to add a piece of magnetic tape to the back of the pans for it to stick
The order came with a cute personalized card which thanked us for our order. Very nice touch.

All in all, I would definitely make another order from Makeup Geek. I really regret not getting more foiled eyeshadows. The formula is just incredible. Not that I’ve tried a huge huge amount of shadows, but they were different to the touch than anything I’ve tried.

Have you jumped on the Makeup Geek train yet? Any shades I should check out for next time? Which are your favourites from what I got?

Thanks for reading! Hope you have a wonderful day!

Beauty Tags

Tag: My All-Time Beauty Favourites

May 27, 2015 11 Comments

Another Beauty Tag coming at you! 🙂 Thanks to Christine from Lightsmithing for tagging me in this one! If you haven’t already, please check her out! Her photography is awesome and I really like the beauty posts she pumps out! (She also just had her 1st year blog birthday, so leave her a nice comment!! 😀 )

This tag is to feature some of your all time favourites in different categories. Here’s what I was able to come up with.

Blush
Benefit Coralista

One of the first things I noticed about this blush was it’s scent! I know when people hear scented makeup, it sends them running for the hills. Personally I really like the smell of Coralista. A sweet and subtle scent. It’s a very pretty coral shade (who would have guessed). Mine is in a mini from the Benefit Advent Calendar two years ago, but I can see myself purchasing the full size when I hit pan.

Bronzer
Benefit Hoola

Another Benefit product from the Advent Calendar! I know this one is talked about non stop, but I can believe the hype on this one. I don’t have many bronzers, but this is the one I go to. The main thing I think I (and other people) like about this bronzer is that it has no glitter and is matte. Perfect for contouring!

Foundation
Make Up For Ever HD in 120

I bought this grudgingly for my grad photos. I was pretty unimpressed with the price, but I honestly have really enjoyed it. It matches my skin quite well and it has a formula that doesn’t make me too greasy or too dry/flakey. I personally think it gives a very natural look to the skin. I do have to say, it does photograph well! I keep looking at my grad photos thinking damn, I don’t need to pay extra for retouching!

Concealer
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser

This is also a product that I really really love. It does help my dark circles and my dark circles are BAD. Like, really really bad. I’ve tried this with both the sponge and taking the sponge off. You definitely get a bit more product out when you have the sponge off, but I think it blends a lot better with the sponge.

Brush
Buffing Brush by Real Techniques

This is my all time favourite brush for sure. I like it better than the Expert Face Brush by RT. I find it blends in my foundation so perfectly. In my opinion, it’s better than the Expert Face Brush because it’s equally round all the way around versus having it in a more linear shape. This way when I use circular motions, it blends everything!! 🙂

Lipstick
Rouge Artist Natural (N9) by Make Up For Ever

This was in the birthday gift from Sephora last year. I think they knocked it out of the park with this one. It’s such a universally flattering shade. Why I picked this over some of my other lipsticks is because of the moisturizing formula. Sometimes I find lipsticks can get a bit clingy on dry patches which can be annoying. This one I can wear for the whole day and it will still feel great on the lips!

Palette
Naked 3 by Urban Decay

This is my first and only Naked palette. I know these are pretty pricey, but I think they are DEFINITELY worth it. I haven’t found shadows that blend as nicely as these. I love this palette because I feel you can have a multitude of looks from just this. If you want to just do a lid colour, go for it. Want to do a bit more drama with a darker outer edge and crease colour, definitely doable. A+ from me.

Highlighter
Temptu Highlighter in Pink Pearl

I don’t have many highlighters, but this is one of the few that I own. I actually got this in an ipsy bag. I was very scared to try this just because it looks so…professional. I’ve actually really been liking it. All I do is put a little bit on the back of my hand and blend with my fingers on my cheek bones. The colour is Pink Pearl, so when it starts to dry and defuse, there is definitely a pinkish glow. It’s not too noticeable when you blend though, just leaving you with a pearly glow.

Eyeliner
Kat Von D Tattoo Eyeliner

Honestly this stuff is amazing. I’m so glad I got a mini sample of it. The brush is amazing and the formula is even better. After trying this one, I cannot go back to the Stila one. I know that MUFE makes one very similar and I’d like to try that one out too!

Mascara

I’m just going to leave this post here.

Part 2 of the tag:

1. What is your all time favourite thing about YouTube?

I would say the ability to see how creative people are. Beauty gurus are definitely one of my favourite parts of YouTube, but I remember I actually created a YouTube account to follow some musical cover artists. Whether it be with makeup, voices, baking, or more, I love to see how amazing and creative people are!

2. Out of all your makeup products, what is your all time favourite one that you HAVE to have at all times? (You can only pick ONE item.)

It was definitely a toss up, but I think I’m going to say concealer. I can use it instead of foundation and good god, I think a covered up zit is better than having killer eyeshadow (but that’s just me).

3. What is your all time LEAST favourite thing about YouTube?

The comments for sure. I think Christine mentioned this as well. I honestly never ever ever even look at the comments. I just find it’s so toxic and disgusting. So I just don’t look.

4. Who is your all time favourite YouTuber?

I would have to say Ingrid Nilsen (missglamorazzi). I almost feel like I’ve grown up with her. I’ve watched her for so so many years and it’s been great to see her grow up and mature. I love her personality and feel that she injects joy in everything she does. Nowadays too, her video production has gone up. Not sure if that’s because she has a production company or something? Either way, I love her style.

5. What is your all time favourite makeup product to apply?

I would have to say blush. The best way to apply is when smiling so how could you not like that? 😀

6. What is your all time LEAST favourite makeup product to apply?

Least fav is probably contouring / bronzer. I just don’t really get it, and when I do it, I never really know if it looks good.

7. What is your all time favourite brand of makeup?

I thought about this for awhile and I would have to say BITE. It’s a tad pricey, but everything I’ve tried is so so worth it. I also love the fact that it’s food grade ingredients in the products. I would say that’s a huge competitive advantage and makes them stand out.

8. What is your all time LEAST favourite brand of makeup?

I can honestly say I don’t have one. Even regular drugstore scapegoats such as Cover Girl and Maybelline always still have products that really redeem in my opinion. So I can see bad products, but not necessarily a full bad brand.

9. What is the one, all time lesson you have learned from being ~~on YouTube~~ a blogger?

I think I can say is be true to yourself. I’ve addressed this before, and I know everyone is unique, but I feel keeping the sense of who you are with all of these other bloggers and vloggers is so important. If you can’t write and bring joy to yourself, then what comes next?

10. Who’re you gonna tag?

I’m going to tag anyone who wants to do this!! 🙂 I love reading and doing these tags, so let me know if you do it!

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Reviews

Giving My Brushes a Bath + First Impressions of the Brush Egg

May 23, 2015 15 Comments

*Purchased

Hello!

So after a good month or two (gross I know, but am I alone?!) I got myself together and gave my brushes a cleanse.

I recently ordered myself a Brush Egg and thought this would be a good time to try it out. I’ve been thinking about buying a brush cleaner tool thing for awhile but the only ones I had seen were the Sigma ones which seem INSANELY priced. I guess when you have a name that people are behind you can do that? I don’t know.

This one was much more affordable at around $15 CAD give or take with tax and shipping.

The Brush Egg is essentially a hollow, hard silicon, dome shaped device with rivets to clean your brushes. The reason it’s hollow is to put your fingers in but I actually found that very uncomfortable. I would consider my fingers quite narrow too. Instead I held it in my hand and it worked just as well.

I used the line rivets for bigger brushes and then the dotted rivets for smaller brushes. I really liked using this. I don’t know if anyone else is like this, but I don’t like the feeling of the brushes pressing in my hand when cleaning them. I guess I could have used a plate or something. This completely eliminates this and also I found got my brushes cleaner faster.

In the instructions it recommend putting the cleaner on the actual Brush Egg, but I preferred to put the cleanser on a plate and then dip my brush in. I found this really helped get a deep clean. What I really enjoyed was the fact that it got the suds out the brushes really quickly. In the past I found that was the longest part, trying to remove all the excess soap.

All in all, I was quite impressed with my brush cleaning experience with the Brush Egg. I’m really glad that I bought it! I know if you want to be a super saver, you could probably find a piece of riveted plastic which would do the same job. I like the fact that this is small and compact to just throw in my makeup drawer.

The only thing I want to note is that I had no success with cleaning my beauty blender with this. I found my old way of cleaning it by using my hands to work much better as the rivets didn’t help much.

Am I the only one that never cleans my brushes? I actually have a spot cleanser but I’m always to lazy to use it.

And there we have it! 😀 Hope you are having a great day!

Drugstore Delights

Drugstore Delights: Revlon Lip Butters

May 19, 2015 23 Comments

*Purchased

I’m sure some of you reading are thinking…another blogger raving about lip butters. You pretty much got that right.

Chelsea from Olive and Ivy let us know on the CBB Facebook group that Shoppers Drug Mart had some Revlon lip products on sale for 3.99 CAD (compared to around $10 CAD normally). I also recently got an email from Shoppers Drug Mart letting me know it was 20x the Optimum points for $25 purchases and over. I actually have never seen a 20x the points for anything less than a $50 purchase so I thought I would trek out to Shoppers.

I bought one lip butter to add to the other 3 that I have. Here are the swatchs of my mini collection.

Juicy Papya – Tutti Frutti – Peach Parfait – Wild Watermelon

For those that haven’t tried them, I highly recommend them. They do not dry out your lips and add the perfect hint of colour. I would say for those that aren’t interested in a super pigmented lipstick these are a great option.

Regular price they are definitely a bit more pricey than some other drugstore products (is it me, or is the drugstore starting to look more expensive every year…) but they I would say worth it. They have a great colour selection so you should be able to find one that fits your fancy!

I believe the sale at Shoppers Drug Mart is still on for a couple days (until May 22nd, 2015) so if you want to grab a couple this is the time to do it!

Thanks for reading! Hope you have a wonderful day!

#NailsOfTheDay

#NailsOfTheDay: Florals that Smell Like Florals

May 16, 2015 13 Comments

Hello!

Hope you are having a wonderful day.

A couple of days ago I tried out a new nail design. I’ve done this one before, but I decided to use an Anna Sui nail polish for the first time. The funny thing about Anna Sui polish is that it’s SCENTED! Haha I feel like this is such a throwback to middle school nail polishes. The Anna Sui one is a bit more sophisticated smelling like roses.

In this picture all the colours came out a bit more vibrant than in real life. I would say that the base blue (the Anna Sui polish) is a very close dupe for Essie’s Mint Candy Apple for comparisson.

The polishes and tools used were:

We have:

China Glaze- 949 Starboard
Deborah Lippmann- Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Anna Sui- 111
Seche Vite Top Coat

I also used an Essence dotting tool to create the leaves and flowers.

This is such an easy look to do, you could also do it with a toothpick. I just essentially put random dots to create a flower-like shape and then overlap with green dots for leaves.

A quickie review of the Anna Sui polish. I found at first the rose scent was a bit much. I noticed that once it had set, the scent was a lot more bearable. I’ve been wearing the look for a few days now and I think the scent is the best right now. If I bring my nails close to my nose I get a faint wiff of roses. It took 3 coats to become opaque, but that’s not really unusual for lighter coloured polishes. I also can’t help but think there is a head I can put on the bottle top to create a doll or something!

Hope you are enjoying your day and I appreciate you reading! 🙂

Personal

Mascara: I’m Just Not Into You

May 12, 2015 20 Comments

I’m not sure if I’ve ever addressed this in a blog post. So I’m just going to say it. I HATE mascara.

Before you try and stop me, hear me out. From when I first started wearing makeup, I tried mascara. It was a Cover Girl waterproof one and it made me look like a crazy raccoon girl in a matter of hours. I’ve tried a few other ones and they ALL provided the same result. I’ve chalked it up to my actual lashes. They are very very thin and point straight down. I do have a lash curler and I’m able to get a decent curl when I first use it. In a few hours, they end up just flopping down like sad little strings.

Funny enough, all of the mascaras featured in my picture above I was given for free/ did not purchase. Some of them are actually kinda old, I should probably throw them out. Oops, haha. I almost feel bad because I always think a mascara will be different and try it and just end up really disliking the results. I’ve just come to the point where if I get a mascara I will not use it so I can hopefully give it away.

This has been a really short post but you know when inspiration just comes to you? Yeah I was feeling that.

Are there any makeup products that you just don’t use for whatever reason? Or am I just a complete crazy person?

Thanks for reading, hope you are having an awesome day!

Brand Collections

My (Mini) MAC Collection

May 6, 2015 18 Comments

*Purchased

With having more time to blog, I’ve been looking for inspiration. The blog network I’m apart of, the Canadian Beauty Bloggers, has a featured brand each month and I thought that this would be perfect! For the month of May, the featured brand is MAC. I have a VERY small MAC collection but I thought I would give an overview of the products I have picked up over the years.

1. Lipsticks

I have 2 MAC lipsticks. The first one I got was Viva Glam Nicki. The fact that Viva Glam lipsticks go straight to the MAC AIDS fund was actually a huge factor for me. I still remember buying this one. I stumbled into a stand alone MAC store feeling extremely self-conscious. After trying a few colours I just couldn’t get away from this one. This was also the first bright lipstick I bought. It’s hard to tell from the swatch, but it’s a blue toned pink. Usually I hate blue toned pinks, but there is just something about this colour! In all the lipstick swatches I’ve seen, I don’t think I’ve seen a true dupe for this.

My other lipstick is Lustering. Funny story behind this one. I was looking for a MAC lipstick to ask for Christmas and I had one in mind. I went into a MAC store to do a swatch but it wasn’t quite what I expected. Then the sales associate suggested Lustering. I am SO glad she did. This is one of my most used lipsticks. I LOVE it. The formula is moisturizing and you can layer up coverage. If I just want a slight pink hue or a full on magenta lip, I can do both. I highly recommend this one!

2. Eyeshadow

After I started to really get into YouTube beauty videos, Naked Lunch was definitely a popular shade. I definitely think it deserves the hype. I think it’s easily dupe-able, but it’s a pretty shade either way! I’ve used this for both an all-over-shade colour and highlight.

3. Lip Liner

I bought this lip liner (Trust in Red) for my Wet N Wild lipsticks. I find that they bleed a LOT when I am wearing them for a long time but I love them. So much. It kind of defeats the point of buying a super cheap lipstick and then lining it with a very expensive liner. Haha. Oh well. It’s super long wearing for sure and I think worth it. Even when I was trying to remove the swatch from my arm in the picture above I had to SCRUB it off!

A small but humble collection. I’ve been looking to get more MAC lipsticks eventually. I bought my friend Syrup for her birthday and I think that one will be on my list next!

Thanks very much for reading I hope you are having a great day!

Empties

Empties: April Showers Bring May Flowers

May 1, 2015 8 Comments

I think this is the closest I’ve come to having a monthly empties! And I’ve been posting so often, I’m proud of myself. Haha I guess having dental surgery has given me some extra time.

Here is the very small amount of the things I ended up using in April (including one thing for the trash).

1. Balea Calming Face Mask

Repurchase: Yes!

This is probably my favourite mask from Balea. It has a very minty feel and it’s very refreshing. Love it and highly recommend it! I wish though that it wasn’t in a foil packet so I could save it easier. OR put less in a package and make it cheaper. 😉

2. Olay Fresh Effects S’wipe Out Makeup Wipes

Repurchase: No

It wouldn’t be an empties post without some makeup wipes. I try a LOT of wipes haha. These were alright but one time they got near my eyes and were all stingy and uncomfortable. With the huge array of wipes available I don’t think I’ll be repurchasing these.

3. Dove Go Fresh Body Wash in Pomegranate and Lemon Verbena Scent

Repurchase: Yes

This is my go to body wash. It does the job and I love the scents they have. 🙂

4. Fresh Sugar Lip Balm

Repurchase: No

I really didn’t love this. Used it up, but after trying so many other lip balms I will not be going back. Baby lips are cheaper and better formulation in my opinion!

5. Elizabeth Grant Biocollasis Complex

Repurchase: No

So this is the product that I’m throwing out. I got this for free somewhere. It seems like actually a pretty high end brand and product. I tried it once, but it didn’t work out. It’s sort of like a serum, but the consistency was very very weird. It also sort of broke me out which was weird. It’s been sitting on my vanity for years, so I finally decided to toss it. Maybe I got a bad one though, haha maybe that’s why I got it for free.

6. Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Hand Cream

Repurchase: Maybe

When I first got this, I thought the scent was weird. It started to grow on me though. The hand cream isn’t anything outstanding, but I liked it. I’m not sure the price on this though. Knowing Josie Maran I feel like the price would throw me off a bit.

7. Pur Minerals Pur Polish Exfoliator

Repurchase: Yes

I actually bought this years ago and it lasted forever. I haven’t tried many exfoliators, but this one is awesome. It’s not too harsh, but not too subtle either. It feels just like fine sand. I will definitely be purchasing it again

And there we have it! Hope you are having a great day!

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