Rosy Valentines Look

This was my all time favourite eyeshadow look last year but I've been waiting to to a post on this look because I think it's a really suitable look for Valentines Day. It's very simple to do but it has gotten me loads of complements.

 This look uses theBalm's NUDE'tude palette but any similar shades would work.

I started by using Maybelline's Color Tattoo in Inked in Pink as a base. I then took the shade Stand-offish which is a pinky-champagne shade and I applied that all over the lid. I then took the shade Sexy and slowly applied that into the crease with my MAC 217, building up the colour until I was satisfied. 

I used Sassy as an inner corner highlight and a white matte shadow on my browbone.

 Finishing the look, I used Maybelline's Gel Liner in Black and drew a fine line close to my lashline. I used Maybelline's The Rocket Mascara on my top lashes and that completes the look. It's really fast and easy but it's very sweet and pretty. Perfect for Valentines Day!

Take it or Leave it: Urban Decay

It's the return of my series Take it or Leave it. If you haven't read the first post in the series where I reviewed The Body Shop products, you can find it here. The point of this series is to focus on a specific brand and give you my opinions on what products are worth your investment. As last time I focused on an affordable brand I thought I would do a high end one this time. Urban Decay is one of my favourite High End makeup brands and I have accumulated a lot of products from their line.

Take it

Naked Palettes- Pretty much every beauty blogger out there owns at least one of the Naked Palettes so I don't feel like I need to go into great detail as to why these are the best. In my opinion Urban Decay has one of the best eyeshadow formula's. They're buttery, pigmented and blend really well. The neutral shades included in the Naked palettes are suitable for everyone. You can find my individual reviews for 2 here and 3 here. In Canada they retail for $64.
Naked Basics Palettes- I think I like these palettes more than the Naked Palettes. They include 5 matte shadows and one satin making them perfect for subtle everyday looks. They're also complementary to the Naked Palettes (eliminating the problem of too many shimmery shadows and not enough mattes) and the packaging makes them perfect for travel. You can find my individual reviews for the original here and 2 here. They retail for $34.
Eyeshadow Primer Potion- Shadows just don't work as well without a primer and this is my all time favourite. Colours show up brighter, last longer and make for less fallout. A tube retails for $24 but lasts forever.
Naked Flushed Palette- I have the palette in Native and it's such a convenient all in one palette. It comes with a bronzer, highlighter and blush all in one tiny package with a big mirror. Really perfect for travel. The powders are blendable, long-lasting and not too powdery. It retails for $35.

Naked Flushed - Native

Leave it

24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil- Don't get me wrong these are my all time favourite pencil liners (I have *drum roll please* 9 of these liners) but I think there are a lot of pencil liners that are just as as good and a lot cheaper. Yes they're really creamy and long-lasting and yes the colour selection is amazing but at $24 each I just can't recommend these when there are other liners out there. For example, I think Rimmel's Scandaleyes liners are a really good dupe.

L-R Perversion, Crave, Demolition, Twice Baked, Roach, Tornado, Ultraviolet, Mars, Deep End

Single Eyeshadows- Once again this is a matter of price not quality. I've already said it a hundred times, "Urban Decay has one of the best eyeshadow formula's" but I think the palettes are a much better deal than the individual shadows. Single shadows retail at $22 (which in my mind is absolutely INSANE! They're good but they're not that good).
Lip Junkie Lipgloss- This makes the "Leave it" list for a few reasons. One, I'm not a fan of the applicator as I find it makes the product hard to apply evenly. Second I didn't notice any plumping from this product which is one of the advertised benefits. I think there are better plumping lip glosses out there (see Boxom). This product retails for $23.

Top Lip Junkie in Naked
Bottom Revolution Lipstick in Naked

Revolution Lipstick- This isn't a bad lipstick by any means I just think it's really average. There are much better formula's out there, both drugstore and high-end. The shade I have is beautiful (I have Naked) and it's comfortable but I don't find it very long lasting. It retails for $26.
All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray- This was the hardest product to decide on. I think this product is great for summer or for people with oily skin. It does make makeup last a little longer on the skin but I've never noticed a huge difference. It's also fairly expensive and I'm really not a fan of the sprayer as it doesn't come out in a fine mist. I've heard the L'Oreal Setting Spray is better and it's about half the price. The full size product retails for $36.

What's your favourite Urban Decay product? If you disagree with any of my opinions feel free to tell me why I'm wrong in the comments! 

Updated: My Everyday Makeup Bag

Last Spring I did a post on My Everyday Makeup Bag, you can see that post here. Since then I've changed a lot of the products I use everyday so I thought I would do an update. Like last time, these are just the products I use every single day. Things like blush, eyeshadow, bronzer, eyeliner etc. I change up depending on my mood.

My makeup bag has stayed the same. It's from Benefit and I got it as part of a free Birthday gift from Sephora about 2 years ago. It's the perfect size to hold my everyday makeup and it looks cute sitting on my vanity.

I'll start with my base makeup. For Powder what I'm using right now is Maybelline's Dream Wonder Powder in 10 Porcelain Ivory. I really like this powder. It's creamy and fairly pigmented but doesn't accentuate my dry patches too much. It also comes with a mirror which is handy.
For my undereye concealer I have a mini version of itCosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye in Neutral Medium. This does a really good job of covering any dark circles but it does need to be set with powder or it will crease.
I use my Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Light 2 sparingly because it's expensive. I usually use it for highlighting. It is a really wonderful concealer, it's thick but really blendable with good coverage.
I'm still using my Revlon Colourstay Concealer in Light 2 to cover any blemishes. I have very mixed feelings about this concealer. It's not bad and does a good job covering blemishes it's just a little thinner than I would like.

Next up is my Brow products. I pay a lot more attention to my brows now than I used to which means I have more brow products. My holy grail brow pencil is the Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Brown as it looks natural but fills in my brows perfectly.
I also like to add a little powder on top just to make them look as natural and full as possible. Lately I've been using an ashy matte brown shadow from my Smashbox Full Exposure Travel Palette as it matches the shade of my brows really well. (I believe the shade is M6 or Ashy Dark Brown).
To keep my brows in place I use an Estee Lauder Brow Setting Gel.

Next, Lashes! I have 3 mascara's in my everyday makeup bag. My most used is Maybelline's The Rocket Volum' Express. I have to say I know this is a popular mascara but I'm not a big fan. I don't really like the brush however, it does give my lashes lots of volume.
A mascara I do love is Tarte's Lights, Camera, Lashes. I only have a mini though so I use it sparingly.
I have a Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara which is the absolute best mascara for bottom lashes. It doesn't smudge or flake and it gives them lots of definition. Plus the brush is super cute and tiny!
My eyelash curler is just from Sephora but it gets the job done.

Finally I have my Urban Decay Primer Potion which I can't live without.
My Clean and Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment which works amazingly to get rid of any spots.
And last but not least my Nivea's Lip Butter in Raspberry Rose Kiss which has been a staple in my everyday makeup bag for about a year.

What's in your everyday makeup bag?

P.S. No Butterflies were harmed in the making of this post :)

What I'm Wishing for This Year!

As I mentioned in an earlier post I'm not spending any money until April but that doesn't mean I don't have my eye on a lot of products. 

I'm always into Eye Shadow Palettes. I can't get enough, they're my biggest makeup weakness. I've wanted the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette for a while now. I love my neutral shades and apparently it smells just like chocolate! I also really want the Lorac Pro Palette because I have the second one and it's one of my all time favourite palettes.

As you can probably tell I'm also into contour kits right now. Nyx just came out with a Highlight and Contour Pro Palette for only $25 and I'm really interested to see how good it is. Then there's the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow which pretty much every blogger has raved about. It looks so gorgeous!

Finally Real Techniques just came out with a new line of luxury Bold Metal brushes and the Rose Gold 301 Flat Contour Brush really calls to me.

Have you tried any of these products? What's on your wishlist this year?

January Favourites

I can't believe we're already one month into 2015. I wore a lot of makeup early on in the month but I've been sick lately so I haven't been putting much effort into my makeup. So I don't have that many favourites this month. 

Origins GinZing Refreshing eye cream to brighten and depuff

I'll start with skincare. I got a lot of skincare products for Christmas and I'm still in the process of reviewing but this eye cream from Origins was a favourite for me right away. It's great to brighten and moisturize the undereye area. I also find it quick to sink into the skin. I got mine as part of an Origins set so it comes in different packaging than the original even though it's the same size. I actually really like this packaging because you can get the perfect amount of product every time.

Glamglow Thirstymud Hydrating Treatment

I have very, very dry skin especially in the winter and this hydrating face mask has been a savior for my skin. It looks and smells kind of like pudding but it moisturizes and eliminates dry skin amazingly. Just wear it over night and wake up with soft, moisturized skin. I'm going to be doing a review comparing this and the Body Shop Moisture Mask so you can look for that soon.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Pin up Girl Blush Palette

I love the Amazonian Clay blushes, they last a really long time on the skin, they're pigmented and blendable. This palette is especially great because there's a blush shade for any makeup look. I've also really been loving the look of the palette as decoration on my vanity.

Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Mascara

Unfortunately this is just a sample size so I've had to be selective about when I wear this mascara. It's great at lengthening and volumizing my lashes and I've never had any trouble with clumping. The brush is really great. I'm probably going to have to buy the full size once this one runs out.

Josie Maran Argan Illuminizer 

I've been adding a drop of this illuminizer to my foundation all month. It really brightens up my complexion which has been dull in these winter months but it's not sparkly so it won't make you look like Edward Cullen. 

A few thoughts on Ads and Sponsored Posts

This is a little bit of a different post for me. It's not makeup or beauty related, more editorial. But don't worry I'll have my January Favourites for you on Wednesday.

I've decided to put Ads on my blog. It has taken me a long time to come to this decision but I think that as long as it doesn't interfere with my blog content, it's a good move for me. I know when I first got a blog I never thought I'd put ads on it but I've since changed my mind. I put a lot of time and energy into this blog and I love it but I'm not looking for this to become a full time job as I'm already a full time University student. However if I could earn a few extra pennies to put towards my makeup budget I think that would be great.

I sincerely hope the placement of ads on my blog doesn't affect anyone's enjoyment of my blog. There's always the option of adblocker if you have a problem with it. I know when I see ads on fellow bloggers blogs I always try to click them to give them some extra money. I would be nice but in no way necessary if you guys did that for me.

I thought I would also add my thoughts about sponsored and affiliate posts. Honestly I don't have a problem with them as long as the blogger is being totally honest with their audience. In my opinion the content of someone's blog should have a good balance of sponsored and non sponsored posts. I don't currently have any affiliation with any brands. I've never been given any products to review for my blog but I can promise now that even if that does change I'll always be 100% honest with you guys.

So there's my two scents.

What do you guys think about Ads and Sponsored posts?

January Ipsy Bag

The theme for this month's bag is "Fresh Start". For the January Ipsy Bag the actual bag is white on the front and blue on the back with an orange zipper. The bag has a plastic feel but it seems high quality. This may be one of my favourite actual bags that I've recieved. The contents weren't as great as other bags but there were some good products included.

Probelle Nail Polish in Into the Blue

This is a really gorgeous baby blue nail polish. I've never heard of the brand Probelle until now but I'm really excited to try it. I don't really have any other shades like this one. This is a full size product and it retails for $6.

Hikari Eyeliner in Storm

This is a mechanical gray pencil liner. I don't have a gray liner so I was pleased with the colour, I just found it was a little too waxy to apply smoothly. It's long lasting and pigmented but hard to apply. This is a full size product and it retails for $13.

Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eyeshadow in Ethereal

This was probably my favourite product in this month's bag. It is the perfect lid shade. I was very impressed with the formula of this shadow as it is really creamy and pigmented as well as long lasting. There is a lot of shadow included in the pan at 2.5g.  Pacifica doesn't sell these shadows individually but I'd definitely consider buying a palette.

Hey Honey Take it off -Exfoliating Honey Peel off Mask

I haven't actually tried this mask yet because I have been trying a lot of new skincare lately and I'm  giving my skin a bit of a break. Apparently this is an exfoliating peel off mask where you let the product sit on your skin until it dries and then you peel off the mask and are left with softer skin. This is a sample size but the full size retails for $35.

Malin + Goetz Mojito Lip Balm

I have a lot of lip balms so I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I do. I love applicators that don't involve applying the product with your fingers. It makes it perfect for your handbag. The balm is really moisturizing, shiny and not sticky at all. It also smells like mojito's (mint) but it doesn't really have a taste. It's almost a full size product and retails for $12 which is a lot for a lip balm and I'm not entirely convinced it's worth it, although it is good.

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