June Favourites




Lips
The lip product I've been wearing a lot this month is Soap and Glory's Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss in Nudist. It is moisturizing and glossy and the perfect nude for my lips.

Nails
 I love the Formula X line from Sephora. It is long lasting and the range of colours and effects are amazing. The colour I've been loving this month is Incandescent, a muted orange- it kind of reminds me of a cantaloupe. I think it's a perfect bright colour for spring.

Face
I picked up the mini bottle of Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray this month. I don't wear a primer under my makeup very often but in the summer I don't want my makeup melting off my face. This has been excellent at keeping my makeup intact all day. It is also really refreshing. I spray it on my face after I've completed my makeup.

Body
 My skin doesn't get as dry in the summer as it does in the winter, but moisturizing is still important. I've been loving using the Strawberry Body Butter from the Body Shop. I love the Body Shop body butters in general but the fresh Strawberry scent of this one is amazing. It's softer than other body butters I've tried but it's not greasy at all.

Fragrance 
As a 100 point perk from Sephora I got a tiny rollerball of Mary-Kate and Ashley's New perfume. I had been wanting to get Elizabeth and James Nirvana in White for a while so when I found out that this was one of the Sephora Perks I just had to get it. I love this scent so much, I'm going to need a full bottle. I've worn this everyday this month. This perfume is described as delicate peony, chic muguet, and tender musk for a feminine scent with dark sophistication.

Wedding Eyeshadow Look





 I recently went to a wedding and did a family photoshoot so it was the perfect opportunity to do a really dramatic eye makeup look. This is by far the most complicated look I've ever attempted but I think it turned out really well.

*I'll include a list of all the products I used for my full face look at the end of this post.



For my eyes I started with the Urban Decay Primer Potion. I then placed a line of tape from the corner of my lower lash line to the end of my eyebrow. This creates a very sharp defined line and keeps the dark smokey shadow from getting everywhere. I used Selfish from theBalm NUDE'tude palette on my lid and the realTechniques base shadow brush to apply it. As the crease colour I used Sexy from theBalm NUDE'tude palette and I applied it with the MAC 217 brush all through my crease. I slowly built up the smokey effect by taking a little but of Sleek from theBalm NUDE'tude palette and smudging it into the outer corner with a small tapered crease brush. This is where the tape really comes in handy as a guideline on where to apply the shadow. Once I got to my desired amount of smokiness, I removed the tape and gently blended out the edge to make it slightly softer.


On my lower lashline I took some more of Selfish and smudged it along my lashes. I used Sassy from theBalm NUDE'tude palette as my inner tearduct and browbone highlight.  I finished my eyes with Urban Decay's eyeliner in Demolition on my upper and lower waterline. I lined my eyes with Maybelline's Blac Gel liner. I curled my lashes and used Benefit They're Real on my upper and Clinique's Bottom Lash mascara on lower. 



Other products I used:
Body Shop Vitamin E Illuminating Moisture Cream
Smashbox Photo Finish Primer
Revlon Colorstay Foundation in 110 Ivory
Revlon Colorstay Concealer in 02 Light
L'Oreal Dream Lumi Touche in Radiant
Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 03 Natural
Body Shop Honey Bronzer in 01
Amazonian Clay 12-hour blush in Glisten
Naked Basics- Naked 2 for brows
Rimmel Apocalips in Solstice 

My Lip Crayon/Butter Collection




Part 3 of my Makeup Collection Series

Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Crayon in Nudist

This is the perfect nude for me. It is super glossy and moisturizing and it leaves the slightest hint of  "my lips but better" colour. It also smells deliciously of vanilla. I would like to get the 2 other colours available and at $5 CAN it's a steal.


 Clinique Chubby Stick in 07 Super Strawberry

I was slightly disappointed in the Chubby Sticks. I love the colour but overall it was an ordinary lip crayon with a big price tag ($19 CAN). They are moisturizing but not particularly long lasting. They are also scentless and tasteless which is typical of Clinique products. I would not buy any other colours .


 Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey
Revlon is by far my favourite brand for lip products and it's drugstore which is a major bonus. The Kissable Balm Stains are very comparable to the Clinique Chubby Sticks but in my opinion they are 10 times better and half the price. They have a slight peppermint scent and taste which I understand isn't for everyone but I love. They are very glossy, not sticky at all, and the colour is also super long lasting. I have my eyes on many more colours and I would love to get some of the matte ones.


Covergirl Nature luxe in 215 Hibiscus

This is a few years old now (I don't think it's even still available) and mine is almost all used up. I'm not the biggest fan of Covergirl products. The colour of this gloss balm is very nice and natural on me. It is almost scentless and tasteless but it is not long lasting.


Revlon Lip Butters

I love the lip butters they are super moisturizing and long lasting. They can be applied lightly like a balm but they are pigmented enough that with many layers they can look like a lipstick. They are scentless and tasteless. I have 3 shades but I'd love to pick even more up.

 080 Strawberry Shortcake


035 Candy Apple


085 Sugar Plum









Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette Review and Eyeshadow Look





I use my Naked Basics palette daily. It is probably my favourite palette that I own. I consists of 5 matte shadows and 1 satin highlighter shadow. As is to be expected with Urban Decay the shadows are buttery, pigmented and very easy to blend. A variety of looks can be made using the 6 shadows from a natural day time look to a smokey eye. The packaging is very sleek and skinny making it perfect for travel with a mirror that is a very usable size.  My favourites and most used form the palette are Venus- my all time favourite highlight shadow, Naked 2- a perfect natural crease definer and Faint- I use it to fill in my eyebrows. (Foxy can also be found in the Naked 2 palette.)



Urban Decay Descriptions:
Venus- off white, satin
Foxy- cream bisque, matte
Walk of Shame- very light nude, matte
Naked 2- taupe, matte
Faint- warm dusty brown, matte
Crave- dark brown/black, matte


Swatches:
Venus, Foxy, Walk of Shame, Naked 2, Faint, Crave


Easy Naked Basics Eyeshadow Look


This is a simple and sophisticated eyeshadow look that can be done in minutes and only uses the Naked Basics palette. I started with the Urban Decay Primer Potion all over my lid to make my shadows last longer. I then used W.O.S all over from lid to browbone to even out my skin tone and minimize the appearance of any veins. I then took my M.A.C 217 brush and starting at the outer corner by my lashline, I started blending Faint into my outer V. I concentrated most of the colour in the outer edges only taking the excess from my brush into the crease. I kept applying and blending until I got my desired look. By applying and blending more you could get a smokey eye or by applying less a very natural day look. I stopped somewhere in the middle. Once I was happy with my crease, I took the colour Venus and with a Real Techniques base shadow brush I applied it to the rest of my lid. I also used Venus as a brow and inner tear duct highlight.
I finished off with liquid liner (I used Rimmel Exaggerate), brown eyeliner to tightline my upper rims (UD 24/7 in Demolition), and mascara (L`Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess).




This palette can be found at http://www.urbandecay.com/urban-decay/eye-makeup/naked-basics/355.html

TheBalm- NUDE'tude Palette (Nice version)






This was the first product I purchased from TheBalm and I have to say I'm very impressed. I got my palette in the nice version; the naughty version has partially naked women being covered by the eyeshadows. It is the same palette just different packaging. The packaging is thin and sleek cardboard held together by magnets and it comes with a decent sized mirror. I haven't used the brush as I prefer my own full sized brushes, but it seems very soft and usable. 


The pigmentation of most these eyeshadows is excellent and they are very buttery. There is a good mix of matte and shimmer shadows as well as neutral and vibrant shades. The two shadows I was less than impressed with were Sophisticated and Silly. I found them powdery and didn't have as much colour payoff as the other shades, they were also the only shadows I found to have any fallout. I was very impressed with how dark the black in this palette was. I prefer it to the matte blacks in my urban decay palettes. My favourites from this palette include Stubborn, Stand-offish, Selfish and Sexy.


My description of each shade:
Sassy-  pure white (shimmer)
Snobby- golden yellow (shimmer)
Stubborn- light pink (satin)
Stand-offish- peach (shimmer)
Selfish- taupe (satin)
Sultry- warm brown (matte)
Sophisticated- brown with gold microglitter (glitter)
Seductive- bronze (satin)
Sexy- maroon (matte)
Silly- dark brown with red microglitter
Serious- black (matte)
Sleek- dark brown (matte)

Swatches:
 Sassy, Snobby, Stubborn, Stand-offish, Selfish, Sultry, Sophisticated, Seductive, Sexy, Silly, Serious, Sleek

You can get the palette and find more swatches at http://www.thebalm.com/nude-tude.html

My Everyday Makeup Bag




I use a lot of the same products on a daily basis and those products live in my everyday makeup bag. Some products like eye shadow, foundation, blush etc. change based on the day and therefore I don't keep them in my bag. However the products that reside in my bag are not only some of my most trusted but they are the ones I reach for most often.
My current makeup bag is a Benefit one I got with my Birthday gift from Sephora last year. It is a good size to fit all my most used products and it is pretty.


I apply my Nivea lip butter to my lips before I apply any other makeup partially out of habit and partially because it moisturizes my lips before I apply my lip product which is usually my last step. Nivea is my favourite brand for lip balm. I like this one because it smells wonderful and leaves the softest touch of pink.



I adore my Urban Decay Primer Potion. It makes my eyeshadow so much more vibrant and last a lot longer. Plus this tube has lasted me almost a year and it's still going strong.





This is the concealer I use for blemishes and spots. It is the Revlon Colourstay in 02 Light. I am very neutral concerning this concealer. It does the job but I probably won't repurchase.





For undereye concealer I use the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touché in Radiant. The salmon colour helps counter the dark undereye circles. I love this and have already repurchased it once before.





Rimmel's Stay Matte Powder is a staple in my makeup bag. It is the perfect light weight powder to help set makeup and make it last longer. I'm almost out of the one I have and will have to repurchase.





Urban Decay Naked Basics is probably one of favourite palettes, enough so that it permanently lives in my makeup bag. I use a combination of Naked 2 and Faint to fill in my eyebrows and Venus is my favourite all time brownbone/inner tear-duct highlight. It is also perfect for a subtle everyday look as 5 out of the 6 are matte shades. It's compact case also makes it perfect for travel.



I'm a sucker for matte brown pencil liners and the Urban Decay 24/7 in Demolition is my favourite I've found. It applies smoothly and lasts a long time both on the waterline and the lash line. 



My love for the Maybelline Gel Liner is unparalleled. I wear this almost everyday. It applies so smoothly and easily and I love the way it looks as polished as liquid liner but is much easier to apply. If I could only wear one product for the rest of my life (I sincerely hope not thank you) it would be this.



Like most people I`m still on the hunt for the perfect mascara. This isn't it. The L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess is a fine mascara but it can be a little clumpy and I don't like the smell. Other than that it lengthens and thickens well. 





The Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara is wonderful at defining the bottom lashes while leaving no smudges or black circles under the eyes. It is not a necessity, but I love it!




My Sephora eyelash curlers are good at their job. My lashes are already long and curled so luckily these aren't needed as much as others might need them. They still deserve a place in my everyday makeup bag.





My last and most boring thing in my makeup bag is a pencil sharpener. I like this one because it has 2 holes of different sizes so I can sharpen all my products. It also collects the shavings which I appreciate.

My Bronzer/Highlighter Collection




Part 2 of my Makeup Collection Series


NYC Bronzer in Sunny

This is the cheapest bronzer in my collection. As it is matte is is perfect for contouring. It runs the most orange out of all my bronzers but it still looks pretty natural on my fair skin. For the price it is a must have.

The Body Shop Honey Bronzer in 01 Light Matte

This is my current favourite bronzer for contouring and bronzing. It is the perfect colour for my skin tone when I want a really light bronzed finish. It also has a matte finish. I talked about it in more detail in my April Favourites.

NARS Laguna Bronzer

This is obviously a very popular bronzer and for a good reason. This has lots of shimmer in it so when I want a really glowy bronzed look I immediately reach for this product. NARS is a great brand for blushes and bronzers. This is my darkest bronzer so I usually use a light hand when applying it and I have no problems making it look natural.

Smashbox Fusion Soft Light in Baked Stardust

I use this product as a highlight on the tops of my cheekbones and it gives me the most gorgeous sheen without looking to sparkly. It has a pink tone when swirled together but because of the slices of colours, the tone can be changed depending on what part of the product you use. My only complaint would be that its a little powdery.

Benefit Watt's Up

This is a stick champagne highlighter. It's less shimmery than the Smashbox highlighter. I got the mini size as my Birthday gift from Sephora last year. It has good lasting power. I just apply the stick directly to my cheekbones and then blend it out with my finger.