............Makeup Babble............

Guest post : Reclaiming Beauty From Ashes

2012-01-30T13:39:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, today I've got a guest post sent to me from Jackie Clark who has been kind enough to let me post this beautifully written article dealing with the effects of cancer. Please read:

Reclaiming Beauty From Ashes
By: Jackie Clark

In the 1980s, comedian Billy Crystal created a Saturday Night Live catchphrase with, “You look marvelous, darling.” His popular parody of actor Fernando Lamas celebrated a character that truly believed if you looked good, you felt good. It fit the more superficial mood of the decade, but there is some truth to the idea how you present yourself to the world affects how you feel inside. A boost of self-confidence helps you smile a little easier, stand a little straighter and feel more comfortable in your own skin. For patients undergoing a life or death battle with cancer, this can bring a little bit of normalcy to a time when everything they once knew is turned upside down.

Organizations such as “Look Good, Feel Better” match volunteers with cancer patients for workshops that help these individuals deal with those minor things many take for granted. This is done through the use of makeup therapy, where free cosmetics and instruction on how to wear wigs and accessories help these patients achieve some levity and self-confidence during an uncertain time.
It may sound superficial to worry about such things, but for a person with a serious illness it could provide a welcome respite to reclaim what cancer has attempted to steal. These brave individuals are in the fight of their lives and deserve a moment to feel vibrant, alive and beautiful.

Almost undeniably, cancer dramatically alters the landscape of one’s appearance. Whether through surgery or medication, the loss of how one used to look affects one’s identity. Whether it is losing a breast, or both, to losing an eye or other tissue, it chips away at one’s own self-perception, even if the cancer affects those parts of the body unseen.

Even mesothelioma cancer, which affects primarily the lungs, can change one’s appearance in unexpected ways, ways in which makeup or cosmetics can restore a bit of that old reflection in the mirror. For patients undergoing chemotherapy, the toxic medication administered to kill off cancer cells, this battle affects most notably the hair on their heads. But this also can affect their eyelashes and eyebrows and even their complexion. Like non-cancer patients who use makeup to stall the hands of time, these cosmetics help restore what medication tends to rob at an accelerated pace. The end results are rosier cheeks, fuller eyebrows and lashes, and a renewed sense of identity for the patient.

Moreover it harkens back to a more carefree time when the patient could worry about something as mundane and ordinary as her outer appearance. This in and ofitself helps ease the burden from a patient’s shoulders by finding joy and laughterand beauty in a dark period of her life, and where programs such as “Look Good,Feel Better” thrive among cancer patients.

Every day they wrestle away from disease is reason enough to celebrate the beauty of life, one each and every patient can and should enjoy to the fullest.

This is definitely a difficult subject. I'm sure we all know someone who has suffered from cancer and if you haven't yet, there is a great chance that you will in the future. For me, it was my mother-in-law. It's difficult to see someone you know and love having to deal with the effects and even harder for someone dealing with it themselves. But hopefully this will help any of you out there who are going through this.

Thanks to Jackie for your time spent on writing this for us to read. You can read more at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog here: http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/

xx

Some new things from Sephora and where I've been

2012-01-01T17:07:00.001-08:00

Hey you guys! Happy New Year to everyone! Hope everyone had fun last night.

So I had the best intentions over the last 3 weeks to blog a ton, but I was away enjoying a family vacation to Orlando, Florida. Disneyworld being the big ticket attraction, of course. I have a 3 year old and a 6 year old, so they had a great time and so did me and daddy. lol.

I plan to do a what I beauty items I packed on my trip and what I should have packed post. Haha, I packed too much! I do that everytime though :)

When I got home, I was in need of some items so I nipped over to Sephora before work one day and came away with these:

I picked up the Laura Mercier Secret Camoflage concealer duo in SC-5, the Kat Von D eyeshadow palette in Saint, a UDPP and as a 100 point perk I grabbed the Korres Mattifying Face Primer.

I had 600+ points but wasn't too keen on the Sephora pack they were offering as a 500 point perk. So I opted for this primer since I've been looking for a new one. I've been having a bit of a hard time finding one I really like for my skin right now. Last year I was loving the Illamasqua Satin Primer in the winter and the Illamasqua Matt Primer in the summer but my skin seems to have changed quite a bit because I'm finding my skin gets oily with both of them lately, which is strange because my skin is usually dry but not lately.

Today is my second day using it and I love the way it works for me so far. It has quite a lemony scent which is took a minute to get used to, but I quite like lemony smells so it doesn't bother me. It isn't silicone based, thank god, because they make me break out. Boo. This feels like a tacky moisturizer going on and then dries so I don't feel so much of the tackiness. I find it works amazingly well with my Illamasqua Skin Base foundation so I'm happy about that. I think that I might purchase a full size of this when my sample runs out. I had my heart set on the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Light cuz of all the good reviews so I might have to try that out first before I make my decision but I'm definitely happy with this one so far. Oh and I don't know if it's my new moisturizer which I started using at the same time (Clean & Clear Morning Burst Morning Glow moisturizer) or this primer but my skin is feeling sooooo soft. I'm not gonna question it, just gonna enjoy it!

This Laura Mercier camo duo is so amazing. Again, only been using it for 2 days now but I love it. If you guys have been following me for a while now you know that I have some pigmentation issues (hyperpigmentation) and I've been using the pro longwear concealer from MAC to conceal it but I've been finding that with all the sun from Florida, the spots have gotten darker and it's I'm using too much product for my liking to conceal them. (read:$$$$) As a warning, if you haven't used this concealer before it is SO SO dry. But for me and for what I need it for, this is bomb. Seriously. I don't need as much, but I can build it up to full coverage and it lasts all day. All day. Plus it doesn't feel like I'm caked with concealer.

It's been really cold lately so it feels like this concealer is rock hard. So I
either warm it up under a lamp bulb or use my blowdryer for a minute to warm it up. It dries like it would if you didn't warm it up. I'll do a post on application hopefully soon.

This Kat Von D palette is the new nude palette for me. I have several. MAC one that I put together myself, NYX 10-pan palette, the 24 pan no-name palette everyone has, naked palette... I know everyone loves the naked palette but in the last 2 days I've use my Kat Von D palette more than I have the naked palette in the 3 or 4 months I've had it. But one thing I would change about both palettes is they need more matte colours. I would love a light, matte nude colour to use as a base or highlight. I don't use shimmer brow highlights very often at all.

UDPP, well I'm sure the majority of you know about this anyway. There are so many reviews out there on this and I'm sure my feelings on it are quite similar to those. Love it.

Let me know if you have any questions about any of these products and I can try to answer them once I've had the chance to try them out a bit more :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

How I organize my makeup

2011-11-28T13:07:00.000-08:00

Hi you guys! So I thought I'd show you how I store my makeup. The reason I'm doing this is cuz I finally managed to get rid of a TON of makeup that I'd been sitting on for a while. I backed to MAC my shit and got a ton of stuff (like 8 MAC items! which is 48 empties!)

So in my bathroom, which is where I do my makeup now (I used to have a makeup table which I miss sorely), I have this freestanding drawer unit that fits perfectly into a little alcove. So on top, I put my makeup mirror and my brushes, some cotton in a jar and makeup remover. I'd have taken a pic of that for you guys too, but it had makeup brushes laid out drying from being washed.

But here is how I store my makeup:

I labelled everything for you guys so hopefully you can see the text. This is my top drawer. It consists of stuff that I tend to reach for more often. So pigments on the top left, my UD naked palette and MAC eyeshadow and blush palettes, deodorant, moisturizers, Vaseline (I slather it on my lips before bedtime.) And I have these little plastic things that keep my makeup separated. There are 2 containers on the left which I got from Daiso for $2 Canadian each and the one on the right I got from IKEA a while back.

So in the top left container I keep my face makeup: primers, foundation (it's on the bottom left of the container...it's a MAC face and body foundie that I just transfered into a smaller squeexe container), pressed and loose powders, blushes, bronzers and concealer.

I keep all my eye makeup in the bottom left container: mascaras, eyeliners, eye brow pencils and powders, brow gel, undereye concealers, udpp, MAC paint pots, random single eyeshadows, and a small MAC palette, too.

In the container on the right, on the bottom I keep my skincare: undereye creams, more moisturizers, fix+ and also my MAC brush cleaner (which I transfered to a small spray bottle.

My middle drawer:

In the middle drawer I keep...more bins!!! Lol, I keep most of the colour products in this drawer...the ones I don't use too often. Well except the lippies. I change my lippies everyday so I just toss whatever colour I'm feeling that day into my purse in the morning. Ok, so containers on the left side are just from a dollar store...actually $1.25 store to be exact. The container on top left has all my blush, bronzer and highlight powders (all singles.) Container on the bottom left has all my palettes, mainly eyeshadow palettes but there is a MAC cream blush palette and a few lipstick palettes in there, too.

Now on the right side are 2 containers I picked up at Daiso the other day. I LOVE THEM!! They're exactly what I've been looking for for ages and they were ony $2 each. Score. They house all my lipsticks and lipglosses. Well actually I have more lipglosses and lippies but these are the ones that get used the most. Here's a better look at what they look like:

It's got 6 spots and you can get 9 MAC lipsticks in each cubby hole and 6 Illamasqua lippies.

Here's what it looks like from the side:

And the second one keeps my lipglosses, lip butters, lip balms and lipliners:

Okay last drawer:

In this bottom drawer I have yet more bins. Top left has my concealers and foundations that don't match me at the moment (so many colours from winter when I'm more pale to darker summer colours), I've got setting sprays here and random moisturizers.

On the bottom left bin I've got face powders, loose and pressed, a random face mask, beauty so clean cosmetic sanitizer and a large ziplock full of unused lashes.

On the bottom right, in the handled plastic container I keep my eyeliners in the zip up bag and more single eyeshadows that need to be depotted ;)

Above that are new sponges in another big ziplock bag. Next to that is my MAC brush cleaner (which I just refill when my spray bottle runs out), some airbrush makeup and some face masks I never use.

Okay so let's see it, how do you guys keep your stash contained??

My everyday look and how to bump it up a bit

2011-11-22T19:31:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Yes, this is my second post in as many days. Lol. Gotta keep the momentum going I guess.

Okay so yesterday I was talking about how I've been uninspired in my everyday life when it comes to makeup. I mean, I'm a mom of 2 kids, I work...I can't go around in neons all day. Not practical for my lifestyle but I've been starting to bore myself lately.

So here is my everyday look. Nothing special, just enough to get me through my day without scaring small children:

Products I used:
-MAC face and body foundation in C4
-Hard Candy glamoflage concealer in tan
-MAC MSF in medium dark
-Stila sun bronzing powder in 01
-MAC mineralized blush in superdupernatural
-Shu Uemura hard pencil in seal brown for brows
-Urban Decay primer potion on eyelids
-MAC ricepaper eyeshadow on the lid
-MAC one to watch pro longwear eyeshadow in the crease
-NYX eyeshadow in highlight for under my brows
-Clinique brush-on cream liner in true black
-Maybelline lash stiletto waterproof mascara
-MAC hug me lipstick (although I think at this point I'd already eaten it off)

Nudes and neutrals. Boring. I don't always use these exact colours but the outcome looks exactly the same. Lol. I have so many eyeshadows that are nudes and neutrals. Sometimes when I'm at work I'll wear a brighter lip (red, orange or hot pink) just so it doesn't get TOO boring for me. Actually during the summer I only wore bright lipsticks. I guess the cold has made me lazy! But do you see why I haven't been posting looks? So lame.

Well, I thought why not bump up the look a little bit? So IF I were to go out with friends for drinks after work, which has only happened once in the last 6 months, I can just bring a few key pieces of makeup to make the look a little more intense. Then I thought, well maybe some of you out there can get more use out of this than I can :P

So with just a few pieces that you can pop into your purse you can give the look a little oomph (not too much oomph...cuz I'm too lazy for that. haha) So here's the look with a little more makeup added on top of what I already had on:

So all I used to bump up this look is (what to pack in your makeup bag) :

-2 MAC eyeshadows: mystery (or any dark brown shadow) to deepen your crease and ricepaper (or any light shimmery colour) to accentuate your lid and on the inner eye...I used a MAC 226 for all of this

-L'oreal lineur intense in carbon black to thicken the winged liner

-a dark brown pencil liner, I used Inglot soft precision eyeliner in 41 to line the bottom lashline 2/3 of the way into my eye

-applied MAC's msf in gold deposit on my cheeks (used a MAC 187 for this)

-applied a bright pink lip, I used MAC's pink nouveau

Optional: I used an old discontinued MAC shape and sculpt to contour my cheekbones and used the highlighter under my eyes to help with shadows and I would probably bring my MAC msf natural in my nmakeup bag to get rid of any shine.

So I mean you can tweak this to suit you and your needs for the night. You can definitely go a bit further to make it more dramatic, too.

Well, hope you guys liked this post. And let me know if any of you guys try this!

Some of my fave items at the moment and an update on me

2011-11-21T23:12:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone...if there's anyone out there still following me. I'm so sorry for being MIA for so long. I've had a lot on my plate in the last little while and I've been terrible at time-management (lame I know.) Let's see...Back in May I started at new job at a boutique called Queens in Vancouver doing nail art, started a new tumblr blog just for said nail art, I started working for an agency, Nobasura, as a manicurist, while trying to take a few clients from home, managing playdates for the kids and just trying to keep up with the housework and meals. Oh and not being a zombie when my husband tries to carry a conversation with me. Whew. Just listing this makes me tired. Plus I wasn't inspired with my makeup anymore. Anyway, enough of the pity party, the point of this update is to let you all know that I've missed blogging and I wanna try to make more time for it! I've got a list of post ideas and I'm hoping to be able to manage my time to be able to get them out there for you guys :)

So, maybe I haven't been inspired to do anything special with my makeup but that doesn't mean that I haven't been wearing any. That would just be ridiculous. I wanted to show you guys some of my fave products at the moment that I use everyday:

So I've been loving, all from MAC: Face and Body foundation in C4, Mineralized Blush in Superdupernatural, Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium Dark, Pro Longwear concealer in NC35, Fast Response Eye Cream. Also Shu Uemura's Hard Pencil in Seal Brown and Maybelline Lash Stiletto waterproof mascara in black.

I use all but one of these products everyday, but that doesn't mean I love that one product any less. Here's a little rundown on why I love each of these products...By the way, this might be long. Just a warning.

MAC Face and Body foundation: I kept hearing about this product from everyone in the beauty world. With this foundation it seems like either you love it or hate it. I happen to love it. I used to always buy full coverage foundations in an attempt to cover up my spider veins and my hyperpigmentation, which happen to look like freckles on steroids on my cheekbones. But very recently I've realized that for the most part, my skin is pretty good and I really just have pigmentation issues on my cheeks. And when I buy full coverage foundations it seems so difficult to find a foundation that really perfectly matches my skintone. Plus it is just way too much coverage for the rest of my face when it doesn’t need it. So I bought this foundation to basically give me sheer coverage and I depend on my concealer to do the real coverup work. I basically use it to give my face a uniform looking colour. Some women can get away with a little bit of concealer but because I have such a large part of my face to conceal (from upper cheekbones down to my jawbone, pretty much) and with layering the concealer to get the coverage I need it just looks fake on that part of my face. With the face and body foundation, it has quite a bit of slip to its consistencey so it seems to work with my heavy duty concealer to look more like my skin. It lasts all day on me, it has a nice dewy effect if I don't use powder but looks great with powder on top, too. And it feels nice on my dry skin. Plus you get a ton of product. And most likely because of how sheer it is, it matches really well with my colouring. I think in a month's time or so I may need to go to a C3...but I can actually go back and forth between the 2 colours now so I think that's a testament to how well these foundations can blend into your skintone. Love this foundation and glad I found it cuz heavens know I've been looking.

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer: This concealer lasts all day (duh, pro longwear) and I like that it looks like skin. I can layer it to get the coverage I want but it doesn't get cakey looking if applied correctly. I'm sick of using thick creams to get the coverage I need. The way I like to apply this product is with my Illamasaqua highlighter brush. I'll put a small amount on the back of my hand, dip the brush in the product and then I'll buff it into the area I need coverage. Then I'll wait a minute for the product to set and then I'll get more product on the tip of my brush and I'll stipple it onto where I need more coverage. Dabbing until it is all blended out. Now obviously this is not going to work for those of you who only need to spot correct. I would suggest using a blending brush like the MAC 224 for this.

MAC Mineralized Skinfinish: This is the only powder that my skin is liking these days. For whatever reason we had a falling out this summer when I would apply it and it would just turn a bit pinkish on me, which I attribute to the oiliness of my skin and all the spf in my moisturizers, but it seems my skin has neutralized and we're friends again. It's the only powder that doesn't make my skin seem dry and powdery. I think that winter is wreaking havoc on my skin and this powder gives more of a skin-like finish (again, duh...Mineralized Skinfinish) instead of a matte look which can make a dry skinned gal look yucky. I use a big flat top kabuki and use it like a stamp. I "stamp" the brush onto the powder a few times and then I "stamp" it onto my face only on the areas that have been concealed. Then if there are places that have excess shine I'll take whatever is left on the brush and lightly sweep it onto those areas.

MAC Mineralize Blush in Superdupernatural: I've had this blush for a long time now. I kind of forgot about it and then while cleaning out my makeup stash, I came across it and remembered how much I loved it. It's a natural looking colour on my tan skin, but I think it's a colour that would work on most people. You can definitely build it up if you need more colour or wear a light layer of it for a less dramatic look or if you have fair colouring. It's got shimmer to it, but nothing that makes you look like you have chunks of glitter all over your face. More like a built in highlighter. That's how it looks on me anyway. And it seems to work with whatever colours I'm wearing on my face that day. Doesn't seem to clash with anything.

MAC's Fast Response Eye Cream: Now this is the item I don't use everyday, but I love it all the same. I suffer from allergies to...well, pretty much everything. I suffer from hayfever in the spring, in the fall when all the leaves fall and start to mold I get my allergies, I'm allergic to animals, I'm allergic to lots of fruit...so much so that once when I was cutting up an apricot for my daughter to eat and some of the juice flew up into my eyes, they swelled up like baseballs. No joke. And what do I do when I get allergies and my eyes are swollen and grody? I use this product. Now obviously I'm talking the skin around my eyes not my actual eyeballs okay? So if I wake up and my eyes look all crazy, I wash my face with ice cold water, apply this stuff on my lids and under my eyes (in these moments, I use more than I would normally use for an everyday eye cream) and then I make myself a coffee and then continue on with my makeup routine. By the time I get to applying my eye makeup, most if not all of my puffiness has subsided. I've been using this stuff for a long time now. You have a fight with your man and you're crying your eyes out before bedtime? Slather this stuff on your eyes before you go to sleep and you'll thank me in the morning. Trust.

Shu Uemura Hard Pencil: This thing is like magic. I remember checking it out at the Shu Uemura counter at Holt Renfrew and I was trying to swatch it on my hand like a mad woman. Nothing. Not a line, no colour whatsoever. The makeup artist sensing my distress came over and told me that it doesn't work on your hand. It has to mix with the natural oils on your brows. wtf. Serious? What is this hocus pocus you speak of? But me being the curious little cat I am had to buy it. I think it was something like $30...something like that anyway. Ridiculous for a brow pencil, but the price of it intrigued me more. It MUST be good I thought. So she grabbed me a pencil in my colour and took me to the counter, then proceeded to tell me that I can bring it back anytime to be sharpened because there's a specific shape it comes in. Don't know if you can see in my pic above, but it is wide and slanted from one angle, but turn it on it's side and it's thin. I thought this is too much trouble for nice brows, but at this point I was invested. So I paid for it and ran straight for the store's bathroom. Had to try it. And you know, she was right. Totally worked on the brow, not the hand. And it's a hard pencil so it doesn't get smushy. You can't really overdraw your brows with it and it looks really, really natural. I mean, I don't really ever use my Bobbi Brown boar hair brow brush anymore and that's saying a lot. It was my HG item for brows and it has been completely replaced along with any of my fave brow powders for this expensive, hard to sharpen, only available at one makeup counter in the entire province (that I know of) pencil. I love it with a passion. And I would pay double for it. I love it that much.

Maybelline Lash Stiletto Waterproof: This is the mascara with the weird, uneven looking brush that is supposed to lengthen. I don't know if all the Lash Stiletto wands are like this now but I swear the ones I used to get weren't like this. Anyway, I like this one. It really does grab at the lashes and makes them seem longer. But that's not really the reason I like this mascara. I mean, I don't think they make my lashes look shiny or tapered. I like this mascara because I have shit straight asian lashes that don't like to stay curled. I'll curl them and they look great. Perfect curl. Then I'll add mascara and most mascaras make them go limp like they've just found out their dog died. But not this mascara. This one keeps my lashes just as curled as before I added mascara if that makes sense. I'm sure it will for those of you out there who have this problem too. Other mascaras that work for me are the orange covergirl one. You know the one...I can't remember what's it's called. Lashblast I think. And Dior Show, but apparently it contains perfumes in the formula which caused my eyeballs swell up to baseballs (yes, another thing I'm allergic to...whip out the eye cream! STAT!) I go back and forth between this and the orange Lashblast, but I've been buying this one more for whatever reason.
Okay that was a ridiculously long post for someone with admitted time management skills. Where did I find the time to type all this out?? Haha, do any of you out there use these products? Do you guys love them, like them or hate them?

Anyway, hopefully I can keep up with the blogging cuz I’ve missed all you guys and I’ve missed the makeup too! But bear with me, I'm trying to get the hang of this again. Even taking pictures of those product seemed more difficult than I remember. Oh dear...

FOTD: So Chaud lippie by MAC

2011-08-10T14:48:00.001-07:00

Hi you guys! So is everyone enjoying good weather? Hope so...cuz I'm not. Haha not at the moment anyway. This summer the Vancouver sun seems to tease us with one or two warm and sunny days and then back to meh. Oh well, I don't fare so well in the heat so I don't know what I'm complaining about. Lol.

Anyway, just wanted to put out a quick fotd for you guys:

So if you're wondering what I used...here's the list:
-La Mer moisturizing lotion
-Urban Decay brightening primer
-Illamasqua Skin Base foundation #12
-MAC Liberty of London beauty powder in Shell Pearl
-MAC Refined Gokden bronzer
-Illamasqua powder blush in Hussy
-Shu Uemura hard/brow pencil (can't remember the colour, sorry!)
-Urban Decay eyeshadow primer potion in Eden
-Clinique brush on cream liner in True black
-Covergirl eye lights mascara for brown eyes
-DuWop reverse lipliner
-MAC lipstick in So Chaud

and here's me messing around with my camera. Haha. Just for you guys! Can't be serious all the time!!

Chat soon guys <3

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

FOTD: Cute summery pink lips

2011-07-24T14:04:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone :) Hows everyone enjoying summer so far? Seems like everyone is having s heatwave except Vancouver (Canada.) boo!

Anyway, yesterday I stopped in at the IMATS here in Vancouver and picked up a few bits and bobs, which I will take pictures of for you soon...although I've pretty much ripped into everything and played with a bunch of stuff. Should have taken pictures before I used em. Haha. *Eager* whoops.

But 2 items I wanted to showcase for you guys are these 2 NYX lip products bought from the show:

So this lipstick is the Matte Lipstick from NYX called "Summer Breeze" such a fitting name :)

And I paired it with this lipliner pencil from NYX called "Pinky" (#835)

Here is a swatch of both products.

And a lame picture of me wearing the lip products. I think it's a cute colour and a fun pop to your look. I've been all about all about the bright lips this summer. But I guess I'm like that every summer. Lol.

Anyway, I'll be posting my IMATS haul soon. Talk soon!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Illamasqua New Skin Base Foundation

2011-07-12T11:17:00.001-07:00

Hey you guys, so I was lucky enough to be sent some samples of the new Skin Base foundation from Illamasqua and I just wanted to give you guys some of my thoughts so far on the product and show you some pics, too.

So, the product was inspired by the cult Asian market bb creams (beauty balms.) Illamasqua describes it as "easily blendable, it effortlessly creates a perfect complexion, and like the entire Illamasqua range, is undetectable in a professional HD environment. Suitable for all skin types, it smoothes, softens and conditions your skin whilst providing natural, buildable coverage."

Let me start by saying that I personally love the Illasmasqua line. Everything I've been impressed with everything I've tried so far. But this blows me away. Hands down, without a doubt, this foundation, in my opinion, is the best thing I've tried from the Illamasqua line.

I'll start with a pros and cons list.

PROS:
-beautiful, even coverage
-this foundation is medium coverage, I would say, but has the capability to be full coverage. It builds really well. I can cover my hyper pigmentation in 2 layers. That's amazing you guys. I'm serious. No foundation can do that for me, I always need concealer to do most of the work. Now I just spot conceal on the places I think might start to show the day wears on, for extra insurance, but it's not necessary. And it doesn't look cakey or fake when you build it up.
-feels so comfortable on the skin. Not greasy at all, but moisturizing. It feels like I'm wearing a healthier, happier version of my skin.
-the wear time on this foundation is so good. I always wear a primer under my foundation (it's like a security blanket for me...even if it doesn't work it just makes me feel safer), and this foundation is outlasting a lot of the ones I've been using lately.
-it looks like skin, but better. On me it looks like what my skin should look like. A natural look, not glittery or too glowy. Um...how do I explain it. It's like you know I'm wearing makeup because you think too yourself, no one can have skin that nice. But it doesn't look like I've caked on the makeup to try to achive that look.
-this one is a big one for anyone who takes a lot of photos or ever goes to the clubs, has a picture taken of them and they have major ghost face...no SPF or whitening ingredients. Yay! My moisturizer already has SPF in it for the daytime, but there are times when you don't want any on so it's nice to have the option to apply it before your foundation (or after if you use the powder sunscreen.)
-makes my skin look better, and I mean when I'm not wearing the makeup. It seems to have had a great effect on my skin. I've noticed that my skin doesn't seem as dry as it usually is and I have eczema that pops up every now and then (not all over my face but just above my top lip that pops up every so often) and had it was flaring up when I just received the skin base and instead of settling into the dry patches, it kind of moisturized it enough to look like the rest of my skin (I applied it after I applied my medicine to the spot...I did not use it in place of medicine, but it looked great compared to how it did before with other foundations!)
-lots of colours. Thank god someone out there with a brain decided to make a bb cream in more than one colour.

CONS:
-availability. I live in Canada where unfortunately we don't sell Illamasqua. Sephora is Seattle would be the closest place to me that carries Illamasqua, but they don't carry this product yet
-the price. In sterling pounds, it's not that bad. But converted to Canadian and then adding the shipping it going to put a major dent in the wallet. Somewherre in the region of $50 canadian. Yikes. Will this deter me from ordering it? Heck no. In fact, I placed an order for my skin base foundation colour the day after I started using it. Haha. And I'm already planning on picking up an extra bottle in the shade I use and a shade lighter for the fall.

Just so you guys know how I use it, I'll let you guys know the method to my madness. this is how I apply my "full faced" foundation:

1. I start with a clean, moisturized face and then apply primer.
2. I apply one layer of the Skin Base using a pointed foundation kabuki.
3. Then I mix 1/3 skin base, 2/3 liquid concealer (1/3 MAC pro long wear concealer in NC35, 1/3 NC42.) I mix this concealer with the skin base so it gives that same healthy sheen, otherwise it looks too matte for my liking. I stipple this on using a small foundation brush, Illawarra,as qua's highlighted brush actually.
4. I apply a little bit of mineral powder foundation (MAC's loose mineral powder) using a fluffy kabuki brush.
5. Continue on with bronzed, blush, eye makeup...

Overall thoughts:

As if you haven't heard enough of me yet, here's a bit more. Haha. I love this. I have tried a lot of foundations in my day. Like thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars...in the last 5 years alone. I'm fickle. I like it for a few days and then I get bored or find something wrong with it by the end of the week (usually before then). So I took my time trying this one. I'm in love. The colour matches are so good for me. There is an amazing range of pink tones, neutrals, olive, yellow, golden, olive neutrals...if you've got issues finding the right shade of foundation for you, this will be a godsend. My skin looks better. My husband noticed. This is the same man who didn't notice I shaved half head for 3 weeks for goodness sake. People on the street notice. I've had a LOT of people say that I must have had my kids too early because I look too young to have a 5 year old (I was 24 when I had her!) I had a LOT of people clock my age in at 21-22 lately (look closer ladies...I'm 30.) I attribute it to the fact that this foundation just fills in the lines, covers the yuckies and makes me feel better, which probably makes me look better.

Before this foundation I was using the MAC mineralized liquid foundation and I think it was trying to give the same effect as the skin base. Anise skin with a sheen but the coverage was lame, it had fine glitter in it, and it was greasy as hell. And that's from a dry skinned girl. I couldn't figure out why my mascara kept smudging making me look like Po from Kung Fu Panda. It was the oils in that foundation cuz I have no problems with the same mascara now.

Now as I just said,these ramblings are all from the diary of a dry skinned gal. So oily skinned ladies, take notice: Unfortunately I cannot give you the review you're probably looking for. While the summer and after effects of using the MAC foundation has given me the greasies in my t-zone, I can't vouch for the wear time, the way your skin will react or how it wears on oilier skin. Sorry :(

But now for the pics. Bear with me, I'm still testing out this iPad and how it takes pics. I hope they're clear enough for you to get the picture (pun intended).

Here are foundations swatched (bottom: sb10 / middle: sb12 -mycolour / top: sb 13)

Get ready for the next pic...but I want you guys to pay attention to my hyper pigmentation and how much ONE layer of this foundation covers. PS. I covered the side that is worse:

This next pic is right after a full face was applied. Btw, those of you asking what my hair looks like parted on the other side? This next pic is for you:

Taken an hour later outside:

And taken 11 hours later outside...well sorta. In my car. Haha.

What do you guys think? Anyone out there tried it? What are your thoughts?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

New hair and stuff...

2011-06-28T12:28:00.001-07:00

Hi you guys! Hope everyone is doing well. So in an effort to post more, I've purchased an iPad and bought an app for blog posting (I obviously didn't purchase it just for that, but it was definitely one of the main reasons) I miss chatting with you guys so this seemed like a good idea for when I have a minute at work. I can never find the time when I get home. It's too hectic with the little munchkins and when I don get a minute at home with them and the hubs, I just want to spend quality time with them you know?

Anyway, my first post on this puppy is going to be about hair. Every summer I get this hankering to do something drastic like chop it off or colour it. But I'm really digging the length (it's down to my lower back and I want it longer...I won't stop until I look like Rapunzel) and I made a pact with myself that I wouldn't colour it until I started to go gray. Why mess with a good thing, you know? So what to do, what to do...

This is what I did:

I've been wanting to do it since last year, but knew my hubby would hate it. And where I live is quite conservative (I stick out like a sore thumb already) so I put it off. But recently I started thinking, wait. It's just hair you know? It'll grow back. A girl who does feather extensions at the boutique I do nail art out of brought in her clippers and did this sick tribal print. I loved it! And the best part is that all I have to do is part my hair the other way and you can't even see it (so my neighborhood doesn't chase after me with torches and pitchforks). Haha, my husband hasn't even seen it yet and it's almost been a month. I think he's happier pretending it's not there and if he's happy I am too ;) Now don't get it twisted, he's not the unsupportive type, he told me to do it if it made me happy, but he's just not into the trends, you know?

But my hair grew sooooo fast. Seriously, I know it grows fast but it being short made it grow ridiculously fast. The print was gone in 4 days...needed a clip badly, so I did this one:

I had to get someone else to do it since my hair girl went out of town for the summer. I asked for a lightening bolt and let the stylist do what she wanted. And I made sure she went really short with it and it lasted longer. It's been a week today but it's getting long again and I'm getting frustrated again. Any ideas for the next print? I was thinking a diamond.

And would any of you guys do it? Or not your style?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Illamasqua Skin Base Folundation

2011-06-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

Hi you guys, it's been a minute hey?? Wow, it's been crazy hectic. I turned 30 last month (still don't know how I feel about that), started another job doing nail art downtown (that makes 2 jobs) and moved into a new house (boxes are still piled up to high heaven in here.) It's not an excuse, but I'm just finding the rhythm, you know? Hard to find a minute to blog between kids, work and unpacking boxes.

But I had to drop everything and get on this blog when I heard about this new product from Illamasqua. It's called the Skin Base foundation...how about I just let Illamasqua tell you what it's all about:

Inspired by the cult Asian market Beauty Balm creams, Skin Base Foundation is a brand new, refined formula unlike anything on the UK market. The ultimate ‘skin realism’ foundation. Easily blendable, it effortlessly creates a perfect complexion, and like the entire Illamasqua foundation range, is undetectable in a professional HD environment. Suitable for all skin types, it smoothes, softens and conditions your skin whilst providing natural, buildable coverage. “Skin Base is an innovative formula that doesn’t require any outlandish marketing claims. In my 20 years experience as a professional make-up artist, I have tried some fantastic foundation innovations, but nothing compares to Skin Base’s winning texture and professional finish – it will leave you staring at your immaculate skin in wonderment. I was an immediate convert, and take tremendous pride in introducing this to the market.” David Horne, Illamasqua Director of Product Development

David explains the evolution of the product further in the latest Illamasqua video at youtube.com/illamasqua. Illamasqua’s revolutionary new foundation is a 'water in silicone' based formula that works effectively as both skincare and foundation. Skin Base can be used as a primer, liquid concealer, or foundation that melts into the skin to even out and balance skin tones providing undetectable yet flawless enhancement. Non-evident foundation appearance. Believable skin finish. Skin Base contains a Vitamin C derivative which can scavenge and destroy aggressive oxidizing agents and free radicals on the skin. Skin Base will be available in 18 shades, incorporating every skintone. Available online from 23rd June £25 - 30ml

Okay, now let's chat about it for a second. I've always been curious about BB creams. In fact, there was a time when I obsessively searched them out online, but all the BB creams I found only came in really light colours. I was annoyed to say the least. But this foundation comes in 18 shades! I'm stoked. I can't wait to try it. I was also informed that Illamasqua didn't add in any spf or any whitening ingredients which is a major plus for me. I prefer putting on my own spf, just cuz if I need the foundation for photos (especially if there will be flash) I prefer NOT to have Ghost Face. And it saves me from having to find 2 foundations...the "everyday protect-your-face" foundation and the "don't have a floating head in pictures" foundation.

So what do you guys think? Are you as excited about this as I am? Or is this one a pass for you? I definitely want to try it to see if it can live up to the claim that it can be used as a primer, foundation and concealer. I want believable skin. With summer coming I'm feeling a little weighed down by my usual foundation.

Review: Geisha Ink liquid eyeliner

2011-04-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

Hey you guys, it's been awhile! I'm in Seattle at the minute and the kids are asleep so I thought this would be a great time to bust out a review. This one is for my new favourite eyeliner. My girlfriend from work turned me onto this liner and I can't live without it. Honestly, if I had to choose only one eyeliner to use for the rest of my life, this one would be it.

Here she is:

So I'm going to give you guys the pros and cons of this liner and you guys can see why I love it so much.

PROS:

-I can get an extremely thin line. I've never been able to make a line this thin with any other liquid liner, but you can keep going over it to make it thicker if you like that look (which I do sometimes.) On their website they say it's a micro-fibre tip...I don't know what that means, but it spells magic for me.
-It comes in a pen form which makes lining your eyes a lot easier than with most liquid liners.
-The payoff is amazing, it is a really rich black colour.
-It does not smudge. Really. I crap you not. I have a problem with all other eyeliners smudging under my eyes. If I don't use the right mascara, that'll smudge too. This is the ONLY eyeliner that doesn't EVER smudge.
-Lasts all day. I swear I don't know how it lasts so long, but it does and it doesn't fade. But if I go to bed without taking off my makeup (gross, I know, but only if I fall asleep by accident!) for some reason I wake up and it's gone...but it has NEVER, EVER come off during the day. Weird, but I thought I should just let you know that it isn't a chore to take off. It comes off easily with a makeup wipe.
-This may be a little thing for you guys, but it's big for me. I love how thin I can get the tail of my wings. Because of the super fine tipped applicator, I can get a really perfect, tapered line. With other liners I usually get this clumpy, horrid tapered line if I don't do it perfectly the first time. With this liner, I can go over the wing as many times as I want and still get that perfect, tapered end. And it's the perfect stiffness, so it's totally easy to work with.
-You know how with some liquid liners, it is this weird consistencey that gets all caught up in your lashes if you go too close and it gets clumpy all in your lash hairs...or if you go over it too many times starts to look gross? This isn't like that at all. I can use the point of the applicator to go between my lashes to make them look really full and it doesn't get clumpy at all. Love that.

CONS:
-It only comes in black. I would love a perfect blue/navy. Or a purple...green...**sigh** but it only comes in black.
-Price. It is $30 Canadian which is a lot for an eyeliner.
-Not found in a lot of stores. It's online at etailers and I'm really lucky that there is a spa near me that carries it, but otherwise I'd have to go make the 45 minute journey downtown to get one (which, by the way, I would totally do.)

The Geisha Ink website says that it's smudge-proof, waterproof and lasts 24 hours and I totally believe it. I love it!!

Okay, so here is a picture of the applicator tip:

And sorry for the wonky lighting...took this as the sun was going down, but do you see how thin that line is? I can actually make it thinner, but I was a bit distracted by my kids running around while trying to do this. Lol. The thin line was one swipe and the thicker line was made with one swipe, as well, but just with more pressure...check out the colour payoff:

Okay, well I hope this helps any of you out there who are looking for a good liquid liner. I love shopping around and trying new products, but this is one product I won't be looking to replace! Hope to do more reviews and looks soon :)

Illamasqua haul from my trip to England

2011-03-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

Hey you guys. Yes it has been a while. Bad blogger bad. After my trip to England, I came home, did about 4 days of laundry and ironing and putting away. I worked. Then spring break hit and I've just been spending time with the family and spring cleaning (I went crazy with tossing out of old stuff!!) Went to Seattle this past weekend, came home and back to work the next day, daughter has been sick since...**sigh** I've got to learn to organize my time more wisely. Anyway, while I was in London, I made it a point to stop in and visit the Illamasqua counter at Selfridges on Oxford Street. Actually that's a lie. I forced my husband to take me there and to YSL to get my arty ring. Haha. Here is my little Selfridges bag... (click pics to enlarge)

When I got there, I was looking around and one of the sales associates came up to me and asked if I needed any help. I was like, "nope! You can get me this, this, this..." He asked if I wanted to try on the colours and all I kept thinking was nope! Not enough time, just add it to the bag. I didn't get a ton, but I mean with the exchange rate doing damage at the Illamasqua counter would do serious damage to my wallet. Haha. But I did get a few things I had my eye on:

This blush is called Hussy. God, love the name almost as much as I love the colour:

This is blush is called Lover and it is so pretty as an everyday colour:

Actually what I really like doing is applying Lover onto my cheeks and then using literally one extremely light dab into Hussy's pan with my blush brush and popping it onto the apples of my cheeks to give a bit more dimension to my face. Gorge.

This is the bronzing duo in Glint & Writhe:

This bronzing/highlighting duo is a dream. Since you get the 2 products in one, it is perfect for travel or for popping into your bag for touchups.

This lipstick is called Brink. And I haven't had the chance to try it yet, but the colour jumped out at me. After receiving Flare from Illamasqua (which is a true orange lipstick) I've been feeling the orange tones.

Then I picked up 2 rich liquid foundations (215 and 240):

Again, no one can ever seem to match me to a colour. I was told that I was the darkest yellow toned colour of the line and I could see upon application that it was WAAAAAAYY too dark. He said that 215 would be the next for me but it was slightly too light. So why not get both, I'm bound to get darker in the summer and this way I could mix the colours to get my shade. **sigh** but 215 is too pinkish for me, so I managed to dig out my foundation in 205 which a got a little while back and it is a true yellow tone but WAAAAAAAAAAYY too light. So now I can mix to get a perfect me :) Whew. Glad that worked out.

And I picked up a brow powder named Gaze:

I wanted to find something that would replace my beloved MAC brow powder that has been discontinued, but instead I ended up finding a brow powder that I actually like better. I find the application to be a lot easier. Plus you can add the gel sealer to it and make it more like a brow liquid liner that isn't going to budge. I personally like a more natural look, but maybe as a liquid liner for the eyes?? Here are some of the swatches, didn't get the lipstick sorry, but I do plan on doing some more pics and stuff once my hayfever symptoms die down. Ugh. Plus I'll do a review on them and let you know what I think of the products once I get a chance to try everything out. Oh and you know how I mentioned that I went to Seattle this past weekend? Yah, well I picked up more Illamasqua at the Sephora out there. Haha. Obsessed much?? Hope to talk soon!

New tumblr account for nail art...Haus of Lacquer.

2011-03-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

Hey you guys, so I decided to make a tumblr account for myself to organize my nail art pics. I do have a blog specifically for nails and nail art, which is Nail Babble, but I feel like I'll have easier access to Tumblr since there's an app for it on my phone. This way, if I'm out doing nails or get random inspiration while I'm out, I can snap a quick pic with my phone and post it immediately. I'll still keep up with both my makeup babble and nail babble blogs, but this just makes sense for me. It's like a big photoalbum without having to do all the work of printing out the pics and organizing them by hand. So here is my new Tumblr page...Haus of Lacquer. Hope you guys can check it out if you like nail art. Thanks :)

Illamasqua's The Toxic Nature Collection

2011-03-11T12:57:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, so if you guys read my last post, I'm in England right now. I love it here. I don't want to go home, but I'm leave on Tuesday and I'm dreading it.

But fittingly, I was sent a parcel from Illamasqua which arrived the day before I left. So I brought it along with me to try to show you guys some swatches while I'm on the go. And I finally got the chance to sit down and do this for you all!

The pieces that I got from the Toxic Collection are amazing. I've done some swatches for you guys, so take a look:

This gorgeous peach colour is Purity.

And mind the dry cuticles, but here is Purity swatched on my 5 year old's hand. Mee hee hee...

Also I received both lipsticks. The bright orange on the left is Flare and the fuchsia pink on the right is Atomic.

And here are the matching swatches.

I have to say that out of all the nail polishes, Purity is the one that makes me drool so I'm so happy that's the one I received and the lipsticks are definitely ones that I would wear out so thank you so much Illamasqua! Actually I have Purity on my tootsies and I'm loving it. And I wore Atomic all day today and got many compliments on the colour.

I can't speak for Flare, but wow the wear time on Atomic is crazy. I put it on at 11:30am and I still had a full on colour by 5pm. I still have faint wear right now and it's 9:31pm. And pigmentation on both colours is crazy. The photos above were one swipe of the lipsticks. Crazy. If you want to see me wearing Atomic, you can click here to see it.

But check out the colours on Illamasqua's website because the Toxic Collection has 6 new cream pigments (and I want them ALL), 2 lipsticks, 2 sheer lipsticks, 1 precisiion ink and 5 nail polishes.

This is a good collection, if you guys like Illamasqua products, check out this collection, it's a good one.

Thanks again Illamasqua! PS. I love your birth country :)

Wah! nails and me...

2011-03-11T12:11:00.000-08:00

Oh my life has just been completed. I finally got to get my nails done at Wah! nails today. I think I just died. And just checked out their website and my hands are on there twice. **faint**

Everyone there was amazing and I have to tell you guys how late I was to my appointment. Ugh. What an jerk. I totally didn't realize how big London really is. We got held up in pretty much every road construction stop up there was. I was 35 mins late. Could have been more. And the thing is I absolutely DETEST being late. I get this feeling in the pit of my stomach where I just want to be sick. Really violently sick. I don't know why it effects me like that, but it does. For pete's sake, I'm a nail tech and I hate it when people are 5 mins late cuz it screws up everything for the rest of my day, but they were really sweet and didn't make me feel like the jerk that I was. (Thanks Melanie!)

And so I got the famous leopard print in this bright, beautiful purple from Illamasqua. Zarra who did my polish change was so sweet and professional...but she made me feel like I'd been going to see her for my weekly manicure for years. And check out her amazing work:

And Zarra was nice enough to pose for a picture with me :)

And did I mention that when I walked in there was a photoshoot going on for Vogue. Peaches Geldof was in there getting photos taken. Seriously good timing. And Zarra mentioned she had just done Nicole Scherzinger last week. This would never happen where I live.

Uuuh-maaah-zing. I want to work here one day. Haha, but it'd be a REALLY long commute to work.

My Sephora freebie

2011-02-02T18:59:00.000-08:00

Hey you guys. So very recently I've run out of my fave primer, Illamasqua's Satin Primer. Boo! Ugh, well unfortunately for me that means that I can't use my MAC pro longwear foundation. **sigh** My skin's too dry for it right now without the satin primer so I had to get a replacement foundation while I wait for my primer to ship out. I decided to go with NARS sheer glow foundation. I've used it in the past and it doesn't dry out my skin or show dry patches, but it also doesn't last as long as the pro longwear foundation.

Anway, this is all besides the point. The point is that when I went to Sephora to pick up the NARS foundation, the SA informed me that I had 472 points with their Beauty Insider thing and that I should just wait to get the 500 point deal. She pointed out that they had a couple of Benefit items as the 500 point perk. So I started talking out loud to myself (like I always do) and said that I should just pick up something so I could get the freebie and she said that I can just get it now and my points would just be in the negative. What?? Did anyone else know that you could do that? She said that they can definitely do that if you're close enough in points, but they just don't advertise it. Haha, whoops. I guess I just did for them. You know I couldn't keep a secret like that from you all!

Anyway, here's the little freebie (click to enlarge):

Cute packaging.

So you get a mini bad gal lash. I've tried it in the past, but I can't for the life of me remember what I thought of it so it's nice to have a mini to try again.

I also got a full sized Coralista blush. I've always wanted to try one of Benefit's little box things, but I guess not enough to actually go out and buy one for myself. Oh well, I got the one that I really wanted to try anyway. Haha.

Here are a few swatches of the Coralista.

Hookay, hope that you guys go out and get yourself one! I knew there was a reason I was banking those points! lol

MAC pro longwear foundation

2011-01-17T11:42:00.000-08:00

Hi guys, okay so I wanted to do a short review for you on the MAC pro longwear foundation. I've been wearing this foundation since about mid-November and I wanted to give you guys an idea of how it works and doesn't work for my skin. So first, I'll do a background on my skin and what I'm looking to achieve in a foundation, then the pros and cons of the foundation (from my experience with it) and then why it works or doesn't work for me.

So, a little rundown on my skin: It is more on the dry side. Though as I'm getting older, I realize that my skin is getting a bit oilier in the t-zone. I have hyperpigmentation (discolouration that looks like bigger, darker, uncute freckles on my cheeks) and small broken blood vessels on my cheeks as well. So I'm always looking for something that's going to hide my flaws without looking too dry or mask like. I've only found one foundation that will cover my hyperpigmentation without using concealer, but it was much too heavy looking for everyday wear, so I rely on a good concealer to do that job.

Pros of the longwear foundation:
-really is longlasting. I've lasted past the 17 hour mark with this foundation with NO touchups and really...how often do we need it to last even that long? (bear in mind that my skin is not oily, so those of you with oilier skin may have a different wear time.)
-coverage is medium to medium-full for me. On the MAC website, it says it's a sheer to medium, but I can stipple it on the places I need to get more coverage (cheeks). I can cover the broken blood vessels and can fade the look of the dark spots, but still need concealer to finish the job.
-this is the only foundation I've ever used that I don't need to set with a powder, I'll still get a good 8 hours+ wear out of it.
-this foundation actually matches me. I have noticed that a lot of the NC colours in the pro longwear line are a bit peachy, but for whatever reason, it works for me. I started using an NC42 (which looked quite peachy) in November when I was still more tanned from summer, and now I use an NC40 which I find to be less peachy, more yellow...but I've ALWAYS been a foundation mixer and now that I don't have to, I can spend that extra 5 minutes of finding the perfect colour on sleeping. Woot!

Cons of the longwear foundation:
-you need to work fast with foundation. I find it dries really quickly so if you don't work mach speed with it, it may set before you've had time to really blend it out. Ok, so not mach speed, but you have to work pretty quick. I suggest working in sections: cheek, cheek, nose, forehead, chin, neck.
-on my dry days, using the foundation alone can really bring out the flakies (ew...I know) This has only happened to me on my forehead. When I get really dehydrated the skin on my forehead gets really dry and I guess this foundation can exaggerate that.

Okay, so if you guys are wondering how I apply this foundation, here is the deal. First I moisturize and use eye cream. Then I apply a concealer to my undereye area. Then I take a pea-sized bead of Illamasqua's Satin Primer (on the back of my hand) the and then add 2 pumps of the pro longwear foundation and then I mix it together with the end of my foundation brush. I use Sephora's Professional Platinum Air Brush #55 to apply. I take whatever's on the end of the brush and apply it to one of my cheeks and use the bristles to stipple it out working only on that one cheek. Then just before the foundation dries, I'll blend it out in a circular motion. Then I'll move all around my face until it's all worked in. If you guys want to see a pictures of me wearing this foundation, this is a picture from a previous post where I'm wearing the longwear foundation and concealer. Click to enlarge:

If you're wondering what Illamasqua's satin primer does for me, it gives you a dewier finish and because my skin is dry and I like a little bit of that dewier finish (we all want what we can't have right?) this helps me achive that. I prefer to mix it in rather than using it as a base because I find that the foundation kind of cancels it out that way. Mixing it in helps it last even a bit longer and gives a nice glow.

So overall review from Makeup Mama? LOVE IT!! It is the only foundation that stays on my forehead and nose. Don't ask why. Even though my forehead is dry, there is never any foundation ever left on my forehead or my nose by the end of the day with any other foundation. It not only stays on my forehead and nose but it stays EVERYWHERE. And for a long time. It's just what I need in terms of foundation coverage, it doesn't cover all my flaws, but I depend on concealer for my heavy duty covering, so it by far exceeds my foundation needs. I'm actually looking forward to my next long flight somewhere cuz I'll get to test it out even more. Cabin air has this way of stripping my makeup off within a matter of minutes. Not to mention that now that I don't wear powder over everything (just highlighter powder on my cheekbones as insurance that my hyperpigmentation doesn't show through halfway through the day...although I've already tested it and it won't...it's me being crazy), AND with the dewiness that satin primer adds, I get compliments on my skin literally everyday. No joke. So I'm sticking with it until MAC can one up this foundation...but I don't know if it can. For me anyway.

Hope this helps any of you out there who might be looking at this foundation. Sorry to all my oily skinned ladies, don't know if this helped you out much though since I could only give you a review from a dry-skinned perspective.

Illamasqua's Throb Collection

2011-01-15T20:46:00.000-08:00

Hi you guys! Have you all seen the new collection Illamasqua put out for Valentines' Day? It's the Throb Collection and I think it's great that someone else in this world besides me and 14 year olds like to celebrate the big V-day. My hubby's not too keen on the big day (he says it should be Valentimes day everyday, yet I do NOT receive flowers, jewelry nor cards everyday. hmph) My friends say they're too busy for it or it's just become another day to them. BOO!

I can't think of a better way to celebrate Valentines day. With makeup. All men in the world...take note. Your women want this (click on pics to enlarge):

It consists of 3 nail polishes: 'Throb' (red), 'Scorn' (matte black) and 'Load' (cream); Intense lipgloss in 'Succubus'; lipstick 'Sangers'

I'm loving this. It's hard to find a perfect red and these reds are calling out to me. And those polishes? I'm a nail tech for god's sake. I'm dying. I want them all, but especially 'Load', that cream colour. I've not seen anything like it and I WANT IT!!

Plus Alex Box came up with amazing look. I don't even have to set it up, just look:

Wow. I can't get enough of it! And you know I'm rocking those nails come Valentines day. Collection is available on January 17th.

Illamasqua's Gimp and an Illamasqua satin primer tip...

2011-01-11T17:43:00.000-08:00

Hi you guys! Last week I was sent an eye shadow from Illamasqua. Yay! I always get so damned excited when I get one of those little black parcels in my mailbox. I love their products...thank you Illamasqua! We're still waiting patiently for you here in Canada!

The colour they sent was called Gimp.

Here's a pic of what the colour looks like. I would describe it as an almost black.

I took one light swipe at the shadow with my finger and then swiped it onto my hand and this was how dense the colour was:

Okay, now for a run-down on this eye shadow:

-very highly pigmented
-no fallout
-you only need a little bit of product to get great colour payoff and with the size of this eye shadow, you'll have it for life
-blends easily
-easy to work (especially since it's a dark colour and, as we know, dark colours can be hard to work with)

Also, what I appreciate about this eye shadow even more than it just being a great, quality shadow is that it REALLY helps seal in my eyeliner. I have been skipping eyeliner on my lower lashline lately, and by lately I mean it feels like years since I've felt comfortable putting it on my lower lashline...it smudges everywhere! So I just put this right over my eyeliner and I noticed the first day I did this that it didn't budge. I did my makeup at 1oam and it stayed on until midnight. In that time I made my kids breakfast, went to work for a few hours, drove a half hour downtown, met up with my best friend, went for coffee, went shopping, had dinner, watched Black Swan, played pool and then drove home and there was not a single smudge. I was amazed (if you're wondering, I used Mark's no place to run eyeliner in jet set)

So I'm very pleased and although I usually stick to pretty light, neutral colours, I can see myself using it often.

So here is me using gimp (click on the pic to enlarge):

I was going to work so I didn't go full out smokey, but just enough for you guys to see a bit of it in use.

So as for my Illamasqua Satin Primer tip...

I've been rocking the MAC pro longwear foundation lately, but my skin's been a bit dry cuz of winter. If any of you guys have Illamasqua's satin primer and want a nice dewy finish, mix it in with your foundation and you have a foundation that's not going to go anywhere and it gives you a really healthy look. Much healthier than dead looking skin :( Seriously, I love the look. I've tried mixing in moisturizers and foundations, but I find the staying power is more than useless and I end up looking greasy not glowy, so this works well. Plus, I get to skip the step of applying primer all over my face before foundation. Yay...time saver!

Okay, hope this helps any of you guys who are interested in any of Illamasqua's eye shadows (or satin primer!)

And the winner is...

2011-01-09T12:19:00.000-08:00

(scroll down to see...)

Alicia!

Congats girl! Your look is amazing and I can definitely tell how much time and effort you put into this look. Please contact me at makeupbabble@gmail.com with your mailing info.

And to all the other girls that entered, thank you thank you! They were all so beautiful and I'm glad I didn't have to pick. I don't think I could ;) It was a better turn out then I thought it would be in terms of numbers so hopefully I can do this again soon!

As for the voting winner...is Sabrina who left this comment :

Sabrina said...
following you via Google :kooijman,sabrina1 and I choose Zarifa

I just used ranom.org if you're wondering how I chose the winner.

If you could please contact me at makeupbabble@gmail.com with your mailing info and your lipglass, lipstick or eye shadow of choice (please no pro colour choices).

Congrats to both winners and thank you to all the participants and voters!!

Get those votes in if you want to win!

2011-01-06T20:44:00.000-08:00

Hey you guys...just wanted to remind you that the voting for the contest ends tomorrow at midnight PST. So please please vote for your faves here. Plus you might win a little prize yourself (read the info on that link). Okay? C'mon...your favourite entries are counting on you (literally).

TIME TO VOTE!! Contest entries.

2010-12-30T22:03:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! So I'm going to need some help with choosing a winner. So I'm going to be asking all of you for help. And for being so helpful, I'll be choosing at random one voter to win a prize of their own...a MAC lipstick, lipglass or eye shadow of their choice (from the regular MAC line, no pro colours please!)

So here are the rules for that one:

-Please vote for one entry and leave a comment under THIS POST (if it's left under any other post, it won't count) with the name of the person you're voting for
-Anyone can vote, but you need to be a follower of this blog if you want the prize.
-You can only vote once or you will be disqualifed from winning the prize.
-No voting if you've entered the contest.
-Voting ends Friday, January 7th, 2010.
-I will let you guys know who the winner of this voting contest is by posting it with the winner of the Christmas contest...you'll have 3 days to contact me with your info or I'll have to choose another winner.

That's it. It's open internationally if you're wondering...Okay, so here are the contest entries from my Christmas contest (please click on them...most of them will enlarge):

Zarifa's inspiration picture...

...and makeup.

Thifa's inspiration picture...

...and makeup.

Sarah's inspiration picture...

...and makeup.

Saim's inspiration picture...

...and makeup.

Charmelene's inspiration picture...

...and makeup.

Alicia's inspiration picture...

...and makeup.

Beautiful aren't they? I love them all. Good luck with the voting you guys...glad I don't have to do it!

Last day for contest entries!

2010-12-29T14:34:00.000-08:00

Hi you guys! Just a quick reminder to let you all know that it's the last day for my Christmas contest. If you plan on entering, or already have sent me your images, please please please check that you've complied with the rules. There are only a few. Here are the important ones:

-must be a follower of this blog
-must submit 2 pictures, one of your makeup look and one of your inspiration picture which is one that YOU have taken yourself (please no internet images)
-ends tonite at midnight PST

I want to make sure that everyone who has or plans to enter gets a fair chance! Thanks you guys and hopefully I'll see a few more entries later today :) Good luck to those who ahve entered already...I'll post them all up tomorrow for open voting!

Contest extension!!

2010-12-19T20:09:00.000-08:00

Hey all! Just wanted to let you know that I'm extending the Christmas contest until Wednesday, December 29th, 2010 (midnight pst). I just didn't think that I gave you guys enough time with all the shopping ande family and friends commitments that come with Christmas. So thank you to those who have sent theirs in! Hope to see more :)

EDITED: Christmas Contest!!

2010-12-08T19:10:00.000-08:00

It's contest time!! As a thank you to all of you who follow me and have stuck it out through my hectic schedule and lack of posting, I wanted to do a contest. Woot woot!

So first, here is the prize up for grabs:

It's from the MAC A Tartan Tale collection. It's the 5 smokey thrillseekers pigments/glitter one. (All brand new and never used.)

I may decide to add more to this prize or I might decide to add a second prize winner. I'll be honest, it depends on if I can get out an find more prizes. I'm stressed about Christmas cuz I haven't even started! Yikes. Haha, and if there is a good amount of people entering, then I'll most likely add a second prize. But as of right now, I just have the one prize. I will keep you updated about any changes though.

On to the concept of the contest. It's a Christmas themed contest, of course! So what I want to see is a makeup look inspired by a Christmas related picture. I'm a sucker for photography, so I want any submitted inspiration photos to be something that you took yourself. It could be of your Christmas tree, your backyard covered in snow, your Christmas stocking, presents under the tree...whatever it is, I want it see it through your eyes. Now, of course, I NEED to be able to see how your makeup ties into your picture, whether it's through matching colours or textures, etc...it can't be 2 completely random images.

Got it? Okay, now onto the rules:

-Please send both images in one email to makeupbabble@gmail.com with the title "Christmas Contest Entry" (so I don't lose or skip over any by accident!) Sending in your images mean that they will be posted on this blog for everyone to see and vote on. Oh and please ensure that you send your contest entry with the email address that you use the most, so if you are the winner it'll be easy to get in contact with you (I don't want to give away your prize! lol)

-(EDITED) You have until Wednesday, December 29th, 2010 (midnight pst). to enter this contest. From there, there will be one week of judging (judging will be based on a tally of votes by readers of this blog...yes I will need help!)

-This is a thank you contest to my followers, so you NEED to be a follower to enter this contest. I don't mind if you are new to this blog and would like to join us, just make sure you click the follow button to the right---->

-Once the contest winner is contacted, they will have 5 days to get back to me with their information.

-This is open to international readers, too!

All right, get on it and I will post all the entries the day after the contest ends for voting! Good luck and hope to see some of your entries soon :)

MAC Pro Longwear foundation and concealer preview

2010-11-28T15:06:00.000-08:00

Hi guys, just a quick one for you. I just wanted to show you guys the makeup I had on yesterday. Nothing special, just felt like wearing more than just mascara to work. What I really wanted to show you was my foundation and concealer. I love the look of it...it's MAC's Pro Longwear Foundation and it seriously lasts and lasts and lasts. I think I'm in love! I keep getting compliments on my skin from random people, so I think this one's a keeper for me...just as long as it keeps performing the way it has been for the last couple of days...

Just click on the pictures to enlarge.

I'll be doing a review soon of both the foundation and concealer. Oh and I'll update this soon to let you know what colours were used on the rest of my face.

Sorry, just a quickie since I'm in the middle of cooking a roast dinner for my fams. Talk soon!

999...contemplating a giveaway or a contest...

2010-11-24T16:13:00.000-08:00

Oh. My. God.

You guys...I'm only 1 away from 1000 followers!! That means so much to me. I know I haven't been as vigilant at updating as I have in the past, so it means so much that you guys have stuck with me. But I think that this is the kick in the bum that I need to update more. Thank you guys :)

I think I just got carried away with my daughter's new school schedule and starting work after being a stay at home mum for almost 6 years...but geez, that was in September. I think I should have sorted it out by now! Lol.

Hm...I think I need to do a giveaway soon. Giveaway or a contest of some sort to say thank you. What do you think? I think I prefer a contest cuz the holidays are closing in and there are so many fun things we could have a contest for. What do you guys think? Let me know what you prefer and if you guys have any good contest ideas (if that's the way you guys want to do it.)

Illamasqua Nail Quills

2010-11-22T13:42:00.001-08:00

I present to you Illamasqua's luxury, hand-made, bespoke nail quills...

Oh my god. I'm sorry, I almost fainted there. Seriously. I've heard of stilletto, I've seen edge...but quill? So original! I'm dying. As someone who does nails, I WANT THEM SO BAD!!! So beautiful. Do I really have to say more?

Temptu Air Pod

2010-11-21T19:35:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Hope you guys enjoyed your weekend. It snowed here this weekend, but luckily it didn't stick to the roads, just everywhere else. I'm sure it'll be all gone by tomorrow or the day after.

Anyway, I haven't been all too happy with my foundations lately. I think that the change in weather has affected my skin in a weird way and I'm having a hard time getting used to it. In the summer my face is oily-ish, in the winter dry dry dry and right now it's combination. Oily in the t-zone, dry everywhere else...but what's different this year is that nothing seems to sit right on my face. Moisturizers are too oily or they just don't sink in, my foundation is a pain to put on, the colours turns a weird shade of pinky-orange and it looks very weird and masklike. And by the end of the day it's all patchy and blotchy. So annoying. So I took the plunge and became an owner of a Temptu Air Pod system today.

I already own a Temptu system (Temptu Air...a small compact professional system), but it's such a pain to have to mix my foundation colour and then I end up spending so much time on cleaning the gun. Argg. Frustrating. I really wanted something for my own personal use that would be easy to use. Let's be honest. I apply my makeup at 7am. I need something that doesn't involve colour matching and disassembling an air gun just to swab at it with a cleaner soaked cotton bud. I'm anal and I want it CLEAN.

This system just seemed to make sense. But I honestly didn't think I would be able to find a foundation colour to match me with the Air Pod. I have to mix the S/B foundations that I have at home and I never seem to get it just right that early in the morning (I guess I should try opening my eyes sometimes, but in my defense, it's friggin dark outside and the lighting is just horrible!) But I actually managed to find my shade (thank goodness), which is good since you can't mix colours with this system.

Now, I have issues with hyperpigmentation and so I won't be relying on just this foundation to do all my covering or I'd go through one of those pods in about 3 days and they're not cheap! I've only tried it once so I don't want to give you guys an opinion on it just yet...I want a bit more time to see how it works with my skin. So I'll keep you guys updated on it :)

Illamasqua nail polish in Shrapnel

2010-11-18T09:57:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!! Wow, long time no talk. Again. I've been horrible, I know. I just can't seem to get a free minute between work and my kids schedules. I feel like it's go go go and when I do get some free time to myself, I tend to do things like shower (if I'm lucky and my husband's home to watch the kids, I may even get to close the door!) or pass out (and I mean it literally. I was so tired last night I almost fell asleep walking up the stairs.) But I haven't completely abandoned you guys.

So a little while ago, I received this little beauty in the mail. Ok, so if you don't know it yet, I'm a nail tech by trade now, so when I get a free polish in the mail I get really excited. I mean really excited. It's from Illamasqua's nail varnish (polish for us North Americans) competition. The colour is Shrapnel, which is described as rose copper chrome with a metallic finish. Thank you so much to Illamasqua for sending this!

Please don't mind the sloppy application or the big greasy, lotion smear on the top of the bottle. Haha, oops, I was in a rush! I was getting ready for work when I took this pic. It seriously took me a week to find the time during the day to swatch this for you guys. It has been kinda yucky and dark outside, I couldn't capture the colour properly.

So in this pic, I used 2 slightly thicker coats to try to cover up my gel nails which are a bright orange-ish colour at the moment, so I think that the colour was really pigmented. It's a smooth application and a nice colour. I'd totally rock it. I wish I knew who came up with the colour, I was given some info on it, but that piece of paper found its way into the toilet courtesy of my 2 year old.

I'll be posting this on my nail blog, as well, so if you follow that and you've already read this...then you can save yourself a bit of time. The link to the nail blog is to the right-------->

PS. For the anonymous person who inquired about whether I used to work at a movie theater 8 years ago...will I regret answering that? I think you may know your answer ;) Do I know you?

Marcelle liquid liners: Brighten your eyes collection

2010-09-22T17:05:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Hope you're all doing well :)

Ok, so it seems that the big trend for eyes for the fall/winter is liquid liner! I'm on board...I love my liquid liners! Recently I've received Illamasqua liners, I've purchased a MAC liquid liner and now a package from Marcelle that was all about liquid liners.

Yes, the Canadian company Marcelle was kind enough to send me the liquid liners from their Brighten Your Eyes collection. So I thought I would share some pictures of what the liners look like on my eyes. Just in case you're wondering, I only put a layer of painterly pp on to cancel out any redness from the baby wipes I used to remove the liners between each picture. Oh and the the order of the upcoming pictures will match the order of liners above from left to right.

This one is a lux metallic liner called Cobalt Blue.

This one is also a lux metallic called Jade.

The above is a lux metallic called Ultraviolet.

This one is another lux metallic called Aqua.

This is lux diamond liner called Silver.

And lastly, another lux diamond called Pure Gold.

I think my favourite liner out of the pack was the Ultraviolet (the purple one) because I think it was the one that went on the most opaque and the colour is just so pretty! Oh and in case you're wondering, the applicator is a thin brush with brush hairs...not the spongey type.

They were also kind enough to add in a mascara. It's called Power Volume Mascara. I'm wearing it in all the pictures above (no lash curler used, so I'm not too sure if you can see it).

I haven't had the chance to use this too much yet, so I don't have too much to say about how it wears (how long it lasts or flaking...maybe I'll do a separate post on it?) but I do like how my lashes do look a lot thicker. I don't have any volume to my lashes at all, so they are noticeably thicker!
So are you guys going to be sporting the liquid liner trend this season? Talk to you guys soon!

Illamaqua look and liners!

2010-09-15T21:07:00.001-07:00

Hiya eveyone! So it's been awhile hey? I've been settling into my new job and hitting week 2 now and I am really enjoying myself. My coworkers are my age and it's been so long since I've talked with adults other than with other parents for 3 minutes before picking up my daughter from school. And they're super funny so it makes the day go fast. Haha.

Anyway, I received a package from Illamasqua a few days ago and wanted to show you guys a few liners that they sent me as a preview into the fall. And actually, I got home today and there was another parcel from Illamasqua with more autumn/winter items so you'll have to check in soon to see them!

This Precision Ink liner is called alchemy. It is a gold sparkle liquid liner. I think it's a bit hard to see here. But I think it would great over another colour to add the gold sparkles, but because it's not an opaque colour you may need to layer it over itself a few times or over a liner.

This is also a Precision Ink liquid liner, as well, in abyss. Haha, I was in such a rush that day and I really wish I'd taken the time to make a proper line. Oh that is gonna irritate the living daylights out of me! Just bear in mind that it was for the educational purpose of showing you guys how it looked. You can't see it in the pic, but it doesn't dry matte, instead it's got a bit of a sheen to it which I like.

I have been wearing abyss since I got it! I love it. It has a pointy, spongey applicator (like lash stilleto or lineur intense) which is great because I feel I have a lot more control over where the line goes and how thick or thin I want it. Plus it dries in seconds, but still has a glossy sheen to it which makes it look a bit wet. I love that look. And once it's dry, that's it. It's not going anywhere until you remove it. Seriously. I've used the Maybelline Lash Stiletto and the L'oreal Lineur Intense and I found that it didn't last as long as I would have liked it to. They would show signs of wear before I was ready to be seen without makeup, but this stuff doesn't move. Laaaaahhve this liner! I'd love to see it in different in different colours, specifically a blue that is a smidge lighter than navy with no shimmer. I'm still on a hunt for the perfect navy liner, but I find that when I apply navy liners, they end up just looking black...they like darken when they dry or something. **ahem*hint*hint** Haha.

And here is an look I was sporting the other day. I just realized that most of the products I'm wearing in this pic is Illamasqua so I thought I'd just add it to this post. Mee hee hee...

-Illamasqua: medium pencil in exert
lipstick in encounter
bronzer
blush in tremble

That's pretty much all the colours I have on my face. As for my foundation, I have on temptu s/b airbrush foundation (applied with my fingers) and coverFX concealer and MAC msf.

Anyway, you guys know my love affair with Illamasqua. I'm loving the black liner, but I wish the gold liner showed up more in the pic. It looked more vibrant in the mirror while I was applying it but for whatever reason it didn't transer well in the pic :( Boo.

I hope you guys are doing well and I hope to be on here more that I feel a bit more settled into the new job and the first week of school is over for my little girl. And I'll be done school in a week and half so I'm super stoked!

A quick update...I'm back!

2010-08-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! Oh my gosh I’ve missed you guys so much…you don’t even know. Just a quick rundown for you guys as to where I’ve been (besides on the outside of milk cartons all around town).

First off, my computer conked out on me. It was fried. So I didn’t really have access to you guys. My hubby has a work computer at home but I didn’t want to get on his work computer for anything more than web surfing. Oh and did I mention that the warranty on the thing ran out like 2 weeks after it died? Yes, of course it did. Then me and the fams took a 1 week getaway to Seattle and came back for me to go to my 2 days of nail classes and then off to Whistler we went for 5 days. And I’ve just been so busy with school and trying to get in as much practice as I can.

I actually had a job interview on Monday and I think it went good (fingers crossed). There is only one or 2 places in my area I would even consider working for and this place is one of them. It’s a nail salon which I prefer…the other place is a spa and I just don’t know how I feel about that. I think they’d prefer to have estheticians who do nails, as well, instead of just a nail tech. In my school estheticians are taught to do mani’s and pedi’s but don’t really do artificial nails. They only get a one day course on gels and acrylics which is insane. There’s no way you could learn all that in a one day course.

Anywho, enough rambling, I just wanted to leave you guys with a quick fotd from the job interview. Um, just used pink on the lid and brown in the crease with a brown eyeliner. Simple. I used my 72 neutral palette for this look.

Sorry I don't have a ton of time to write more. I have my second interview tomorrow and I guess I should be trying to remember how to do a proper mani/pedi with the steps we learned in school. HA. I'm kidding of course...or am I? G'nite guys, I'll talk to you soon :)

MAC...stop discontinuing things dammit!

2010-07-07T16:56:00.001-07:00

Hey guys, so I busted out my old MAC hyper real foundation and powder recently. (It's been a while since I've used them, but the foundation has a pump and I used a cosmetic sanitizer on the powder in case you guys are going to spazz at me). If you haven't had the privilege of trying this foundation or powder, it's got little bits of shimmer in it, but for whatever reason, it doesn't look disco ball-ish on me, it looks like a really nice glow. I'd forgotten how much I really like these 2 products. I've tried a lot of powders and though I've found a few that I like, nothing matches me, makes me glow or sets my makeup and keeps it on my face for days like my hyper real pressed powder can.

So I thought, hm. I'm probably going to use this ish up this summer (gotta get my glow on) so I'd better get my butt onto the MAC Pro website and pick up a few more. You used to be able to get them at the regular MAC counters, but they stopped selling them there and only sold them online at the MAC Pro website and at MAC Pro locations, and there is one not too far from me. So I looked online and *gasp* no hyper real anything. So in a panic I went streaking down the stairs like a freaking banshee yelling at my husband to get the hell off the computer cuz I had to find the MAC Pro number of the location near me. I finally managed to type out the number (I was in such a frenzy that I misdialed a million times) and talked with Aaron who told me that no sorry...that line was discontinued. I hounded him asking why and what was the closest product to it. I was told to mix strobe lotion with my foundation. No crap, Sherlock. C'mon bright eyes, I could have told you that. I don't WANT to mix. And the staying power would be crap. What about the powder? Nothing they had, I was told, could compare to that. **breathe**

I'm so mad. Why do they do that?? Seriously. Show Makeup Mama some love and email MAC and ask them to bring back the Hyper Real foundations and Hyper Real Pressed Powders. I seriously don't know what to do with myself! I can't find it anywhere online...except for someone who was having a blog sale (I'm just about to paypal that ish...my precious <----said in a creepy voice.) I managed to find a foundation in my colour. But I'm stressed about the powder, that's the one that stole my heart.

Anyone tried this powder that can suggest something that compares to it??

In the meantime, I'm going to harass MAC and sulk.

FOTD and Annabelle Zebra Bronzing Powder

2010-07-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Canada! Woot woot. Spent the day out with the hubs and kids today celebrating Canada Day. It was a chill kind of day.

Anywho, here's the simple makeup that I had on today:

Nothing extravagant...but notice the red and white top? Canada Day. I felt like Where's Waldo. If you're wondering what I have on here's the list:
-illamasqua matte primer
-mufe hd foundation 127
-face atelier camoflage concealer in dark
-revlon photoready powder in light/medium
-annabelle zebra bronzing powder in haute gold
-mac vanilla, soft brown, bronze and mystery e/s
-maybelline eyestudio gel eyeliner in brown
-maybelline lash stilleto
-l'oreal color riche 285 pink fever lipstick

I also wanted to show you guys a bronzer that I received from Annabelle Cosmetics. It's called the Zebra Bronzing Powder in haute gold (I'm wearing in the photo above). I had the chance to try it a year or 2 ago when it came out as part of a limited edition collection and I really liked it so it's nice to see it back as a part of their regular line. Along with the bronzer, they were kind enough to send along a face brush to try:

It is the A13 face brush. I must admit, I'm not too much a fan of the brush. It is made with goat hair, but I find that it is a bit too scratchy for me and it deposits a little more product than I'd like. I usually opt for a tapered face brush for this and most bronzers because it allows for a light-buildable application.

Here is the bronzer. What I like about the bronzer is that it acts as a bronzer and highlighter for me. I'll usually apply it on days when I don't feel like applying bronzer, blush and a highlighter. I just use this and somehow it seems to have all those bases covered. It makes my face look a tad dewy (it's the highlighter effect) which is perfect for summer. I apply it mainly to my cheeks and if there's a tiny bit left on the brush, I may go down the nose with it.

It is not a product for you guys out there that don't like shimmer and prefer a matte bronzer, but for those of you who like a dewy look without having your face melt off, this is a good choice. And affordable...it's $10.95 canadian.

I took this pic a while ago...I was sick here :( But it was a perfect day for minimal makeup. Nothing here except foundation, concealer, the zebra bronzer and, of course, eyebrows...or else I'd scare the living daylights out of you all. But sick or not, you get the idea of how it looks on.

Hope you guys are enjoying your summer so far!

Review: Illamasqua+MakeupMama=LOVE.

2010-06-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

Hi you guys! Long time no see. Sorry, I mentioned that I had some exams going on in my nail tech course, so that kept me busy. I wanted to do really well and I think I did, so now I can relax a bit! Plus my computer decided to pack it up on me. It won't even turn on. I hated that thing, it was such a lemon. I always tease my hubby cuz he has this knack for picking out lemons. Brand spanking new car off the lot? Lemon. Brand new laptop? Lemon. I always joke that he's like Powder (the movie). This reference may totally be lost on you, but I swear, everything he touches breaks. Oh well. He's picked out another computer...let's see how this one works out. This is a temporary work one for him that I've taken over until I can pick out one for myself.

Anywho, moving along. So a long while ago I received some items from Illamasqua. This is huge for me, since we can't get it here in Canada yet unless you order straight from the Illamasqua website. Sephora won't ship to Canada (BAH!) and I haven't had the chance to nip into the Seattle Sephora to do a bit of damage (it's 2 hours away, not including border wait times, but it's the closest location to me). I've been lucky enough to have received items from them in the past, so I was not at all expecting this package (BIG HUGE THANK YOU!!)

So here is a picture of the items I received:

Left to right: matt primer, powder blusher in Tremble and highlighter brush, plus a little handwritten note which I love. Makes it feel personal...like this little package was made just for me. Well, I guess it was hey?

Let me start by saying that I've used these items everyday since I've received them. EVERYDAY. I haven't skipped a day of usage. I love these products. I have put my other blushes, foundation brushes and primers into a box that sits in my closet. I'm not kidding. I'll tell you why...This may be long winded, but I have a ton to say about these products...

So first up is the highlighter brush:

For the first few days I used this strictly as a highlighter brush. That's what it said on the handle, so that's how I used it. It is the perfect size to use as a cheek highlighter. I find that most brushes I've used in the past make my highlighter look a bit messy (I use powder highlighters). I try to apply it to the tops of my cheekbones and sweep it up towards the area of skin between my eye and hairline, but I find that most brushes I have make it difficult to place the highlighter exactly where I want it. Most brushes are too big or to fluffy and highlighter ends up everywhere. This brush is vegan/cruelty-free (bonus) and it make placement of highlighters so easy. Even when I use it down the bridge of my nose, it applies it where I want it to, not all down the sides of my nose (which would just make my shnozz look massive).

When I went to thank Alex for sending me that package, she mentioned that it makes a wonderful foundation brush. Whoa. Pause. I had just bought the MAC 131 duo fibre brush because I'd heard good things about it if used as a foundation brush, but it just wasn't working for me (hated it), so I was in the market for a good foundation brush. I quickly ran upstairs, washed it and counted the hours for it to dry so I could test it. I thought, hm, it is like a MAC 109 but with a smaller head and the hairs are a bit longer...could it work? So the next morning I got to test it out and it was love at first buff. Seriously. I think it works better than the MAC 109, it doesn't suck up as much foundation as the 109 and there's none of that super, ridiculously annoying hair fallout from the brush. I cannot stand the feeling of little hairs stuck on my face, it makes me scratch and scratch until I have no more makeup, just streaks of red nail marks. The Illamasqua highlighter brush has not shed 1 single hair and it buffs in my foundation wonderfully. There's something about it that makes my NARS sheer glow foundation seem like it gives more coverage without looking cakey. It blends like a mofo. Like I said earlier, it has a smaller head than a 109, but I don't notice myself working any harder to buff in my foundation. I actually like that it fits around my eyes and nose better because of its size.

Also, I love that it has a nice, long, sleek handle. I like to hold my brushes closer to the end of the handle (don't choke the brush!) and this brush has a nice tapered end so it fits in my hand better than most brushes. Next time I go to England, I think I may have to pick up another one so I can have one for foundation and one for a highlighter.

Next up is the powder blusher in Tremble:

First off, love the packaging. So pretty. And it is really pigmented. Wow. I use the tip of a tapered brush and lightly tap it against the blush once or twice and swirl little circles on the apples of my cheeks and up towards the hairline and that's usually enough for me for most days (unless I want a strong cheek in which case I do that twice). And you guys know how tanned I am! You really don't need a lot of product on your brush. It is smooth and very blendable. And I find the staying power is really great. I've been finding that with most of the blushes that I own (mainly MAC if you're wondering), I have to use a cream blush underneath to keep it from fading halfway through my day. I don't have to do that with blush, nor do have to do any touch ups. Oh and it doesn't turn orange (oxidize) after a few hours like some of my other blushes do.

I would have to say that the one thing about this blush is that you don't get as much as you do a MAC blush (Illamasqua has 4.5g vs. MAC at 6g) but that honestly doesn't bother me at all because I don't have to use nearly as much of the Illamasqua blush to get the pigmentation I want AND I don't have to do any touch ups throughout my day, so I'd say that the Illamasqua blush would last me longer anyway. I can honestly say that I have not used a single other blush other than this Tremble blush since I've received it and I don't think I'll be getting bored of it any time soon.

Here is one swipe of my finger in the blush, swiped once to swatch.

Lastly, is the Matt Primer:
Up until recently I have been using the Illamasqua Satin primer, it is my winter go-to. I have dry skin in the winter and I loved how the Satin primer made my skin look dewy and healthy. But now that summer's here, I'm finding that my skin is more like combination skin instead of dry, so now I'm looking oil-slicky a few hours.

Welcome Matt Primer. It's spf 20 (perfect for lazy people like me who don't have time or energy to slather spf on my face), and it really keeps my face from getting oily. I've heard many claims from companies saying that their primers keep you matte all day long, but I've never actaully found one that did that for me in the summer, until now. I would say that around the 5-6 hour mark, my skin does start creating oils, but it doesn't look oil-slicky like before, but more like almost dewy. Does that make sense?

And it keeps my makeup on my face for a really long time. For example...on Sundays, I wake up at 7am, apply my makeup, make the long drive to school, I'm at school from 10am-6pm, then I head home, go out for dinner (I'm too lazy to cook for myself and the family at this point), come home, watch telly for a bit, put the kids to bed and then continue watching telly with the hubby until about 12 midnight-1am. Then I head upstairs to remove my makeup before bed and my makeup is still there. Okay, this is gross but I did this for you guys. I actually wore my makeup for 15 hours, all day, and then slept in it and most of it was still there in the morning. I did this on 3 separate occasions. The only place where there was wear was on my cheeks because I sleep on my side. But I mean, I could still have gone out and been okay with it. (Even more gross hey? I didn't if you were wondering. I washed my face and reapplied.)

Matt primer in the summer and Satin primer in the winter. I'm set. I don't think I will ever look for another primer again. I'm in love with these ones.

Now if you asked me which out of the 3 was my favourite...I don't think I could pick. I really couldn't. My foundation has been looking better than ever because of the highlighter brush, I love the sweet girly pink of the blush, but the primer keeps my makeup in place all day (even when I spend the day running after kids.) My only negative about the whole Illamasqua experience? Come to Canada already!! Lol. I'm dying here! I could probably support most of the sales if you started stocking in Canada. Seriously.

Haha, so it sounds like a hokey love-fest, but I really couldn't do without these items in my makeup arsenal now that I've had the chance to try them. They just work so well for me. I love that I love them cuz it means that I can just replace all those other "just okay" blushes, foundation brushes and primers. I actually got rid of a bunch of stuff which I'm sure my makeup table is thanking me for. So thanks again to Illamasqua for letting me try these items and I hope that this review helps anyone who has been thinking of trying any of these items.

My computer is down!

2010-06-18T20:35:00.000-07:00

Guys if you're wondering why I'm not around right now, my computer has completely konked out on me :( So I'm not able to update my blog (I'm at a gf's house). I hope they can sort it out quick...I'll talk to you guys when I can!

FOTD: Make Up For Ever 203 lippie

2010-06-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post for you guys...Please note that this was a fotd, but not from today. Haha, got lost in the mix I guess. This photo was from about 2-3 weeks ago, I can tell because I am not this light anymore. I tan super quick.

This is the MUFE lipstick in 203... I really like how this feels on the lips and it wears well for me. Fun to wear on a minimal eye makeup day. Hope to have more posts up soon, but I'm studying for an exam, so I'll be keeping my head down until monday I think!

Lashes Promo...just for you!

2010-06-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Okay, so I've got a great deal for all you lash lovin chicks (or dudes) out there. There is a facebook store that sells everything kawaii, Japanese for cut, called Kawaii Deco Store (you might need a facebook account to log in). So you guys know my blinged out phone? You guys can create your own phone deco with cute pieces and rhinestones that they sell. They have fimo canes. They have tons of stuff...

Including lashes. You guys can check them out here:

Lashes 1
Lashes 2
Lashes 3
Lashes 4
Lashes 5
Lashes 6
Lashes 7

So the deal is, any of you lovely readers who purchase eyelashes with the promocode: "makeupbabble " will receive 5 FREE eyelashes when you purchase 2 boxes (20 eyelashes); of which, you can choose up to 4 different designs! This means, it's about $0.80 a pair!

(Offer Ends: JUNE 20th, 2010 11:59PM EST, payments must be received before this time to take advantage of this offer. Sorry, no exceptions.)

Think about that. $0.80 a pair. You can get drunk, come home, mash your face into your pillow, fall asleep and when you wake up in morning with a ruined pair lashes stuck to your cheek you don't have to feel bad about it!

Thanks to Joyce at the Kawaii Deco Store, who you can also check out here on her blog.

Korres Lip Butters

2010-06-04T18:19:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, so you guys know that I picked up my birthday gift from Sephora and I kind of had my eye on the Korres lip butters. When I was growing up, I had extremely dry lips...but in the last year or so my lips have been getting better, a lot better. I was never the type who could swipe on Vaseline befre bed and be content, usually I'd have to wake up at least 2-3 times in the night to apply Carmex, but I very rarely use my Carmex now. In fact, I don't think I've used it once this week which is a huge deal for me.

I could never wear something that didn't have medicinal products in it, a lip butter? They usually made my lips worse, but since they've been so great lately I thought why not give these cute little pots a try?

So I picked up the Korres Lip Saver Roll (middle) which has 3 lip butters: guava, mango and pomegranate. And I also got the Lip Butter in Jasmine (far right).

I love that these little guys are given their own coloured tops to make it easier for silly people like me who don't need any more things to complicate life. I can't believe I bought so many not knowing if they would even work for me (I've had a horrible time with lip butters in the past).

So here are the cute little pots, from left to right: guava, jasmine, mango and pomegranate. Guava I wear before bed and when applying makeup first thing in the morning. Jasmine I wear on simple days out. Mango and pomegranate I wear if I have really natural makeup on and want a pop of colour.

And here are the swatches. I applied the amount that I would apply to my lips. They're sheer, but you can see the colour.

Okay, so pros and cons:

PROS: -I like the way they feel on my lips, not sticky but they're moisturizing (it took me a few tries to get the hang of feeling on my lips...I'll explain later)

-smell amazing!

-the coloured ones double as a lip balm and tinted colour

-shiny on the lips

-easy to pop in your purse before you leave the house

CONS: -$$$ price. $10 for a lip balm? Kind of on the higher side (although the lip saver roll is a great money saver, as well)

-if you've got extremely dry lips, like I used to have, I don't know that these will be moisturizing enough for you

-it's a lip butter/balm, it smells good, you will eat if off so if you're depending on it for colour. It definitely doesn't last as long as a lipstick or sticky lipgloss...or even my Carmex, I'd say. It's great compared to other lip butters though.

OVERALL: I like these little guys. They've replaced my carmex for now (who will always, for the rest of my life, be on standby for days when I really need it). They're so soft and smooth and I love the feeling on my lips. Worth the $10? Yes, I think so. Little indulgences are okay I guess. So earlier I mentioned that I had a bit of trouble the first few times with the way it felt on my lips. I was so used to a heavy, thick balm that I wasn't used to the almost fluffy texture. I don't know, it's the only word that comes to mind, it's light and fluffy. OH! Moussey! That's a better word. So the first time I applied it, I waited until my lips were a bit more on the drier side to test it out and I applied a minimal amount, the way I'd been applying my Carmex lately, and 2 minutes later my lips were dry. But now I've sorted out a perfect amount that I need to apply to keep my lips happy. And they are extremely happy. Be careful though if you're applying the more pigmented colours. Sometimes I forget they have colour and get all slap happy and look in the mirror and realize, yikes! I've gone outside the lines! My fave colour at the moment is Jasmine because I think it's so sweet and natural. My fave scents are a toss up of Jasmine and Mango.

Yup, so that's it for today I guess. For those of you who have tried this, what do you think of them?

Blog persona question and Sephora goodies

2010-06-03T17:35:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, I have a question for all of you who have a blog. When you guys write posts, do you come across on screen the way you do in person? I have to be honest, I'm nothing like the person you know in writing when you meet me in person. Does that even make sense? I'm really super sarcastic, dry humour is how I roll, sometimes raunchy things spill out of my mouth and I swear like a sailor. It's horrible, but every other word out of my mouth is a swear. I tone it down around the kids, but if I'm out with my friends or just talking to the hubby...wow. Not really very lady like. I don't know I do it half the time.

When I first started up this blog I didn't know who my readers were going to be. I mean, I know I've had young readers in the past (I don't know who reads my blogs now except for those who leave me comments), so being a mum I was weary of putting up posts that kids might see and shouldn't. Every now and then a swear slips in, but it's few and far between.

So my question is, are you guys true to who you really are when you blog or do you have multiple (blog) personalities, like me? And would you guys be offended if my true me came out to play once in a while?

Moving along...this is a makeup blog, so here's some content for you. So a while ago I went and picked up a few items at sephora to get my free birthday gift. I didn't really want it to be honest, but I wanted a few items so why not get something for free, right? (Pikey git.)

These are the things I picked up:

The free gift, a Korres Lip Saver Roll and another Korres balm in Jasmine.

So here's the gift. I never did get the old lip glosses that you used to get for your birthday. They never interested me and I heard it gave a lot of people issues anyway.

This is the eyeshadow you get and a swatch of it on my hand:

It's an okay shadow. Applied well enough, but I'm not really a fan of white eyeshadows. Shimmery or matte...I find they look really harsh on my skin tone. I'm sure I'll use it for a night out when I want to highlight the hell out of my eyes.

Here's what the mascara brush looks like:

I like the fat brush, I don't like how the mascara formula makes the curl in my lashes go limp. Boo.

And here's a swatch of the eyeliner:

Surprisingly I really like this. Goes on smoothly, doesn't tug, I get minimal smears towards the end of my day, but pretty much all pencils do on me so no big surprise in that department. It actually holds up better than most and I like the colour. Didn't think I would, but it's like a smokey green. On days when I don't feel like putting too much into my eye makeup, I just use my painterly paint pot from MAC and then line my eyes with this. Nice.

Okay, well...that's it for now. Talk to you guys soon. Oh and I'll be doing a review on the Korres lip butters soon.

EDITED: Revlon PhotoReady foundation and powder pics

2010-05-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, so here's the follow up to yesterday's Revlon PhotoReady post. Just thought I'd show you guys some pics of me wearing the foundation and powder. I'm sick right now, so I'm keeping it really simple. The list of all the products on my face will be listed at the end.

(^This is me thinking, why the hell am I posting my sick ass face on my blog?)

So on my face I have on:

-Revlon PhotoReady foundation in 006

-Revlon PhotoReady powder in 030 medium/deep

-Stila sun bronzing powder in shade 1

-MAC style blush

-MAC cremesheen gloss in partial to pink

EDIT: I forgot to mention that while this foundation photographs beautifully in natural light, it has SPF 20, so it doesn't do well with flash photography...although I must say that even the MUFE hd foundation doesn't photograph well on me with a flash.

Simple, simple makeup. Man, I did not get enough sleep last night. 3 hours is just not enough...I think I'll take a nap soon! Thanks for reading guys!

Revlon PhotoReady Powder review and my PhotoReady foundation revisted.

2010-05-25T18:22:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! So I'm sure you all know by now that finding a foundation shade that matches me is the bane of my existence (dramatic I know, but I'm not lying, I seriously change colours weekly). Well, after watching the gorgeous Holly Ann-AeRee's updated drugstore favourites video, I thought I'd revisit my Revlon PhotoReady foundation. I wear the same colour as her and I know you're thinking, how? But I am. I couldn't stand this foundation when I first got it. I got the 008...I can't remember the actual name, just the number and it was a tad bit light on me in the winter, but with a darker powder I could pull it off. And usually the 006 looks perfect until 15 minutes later when it oxizes slightly on me, but since I've tanned recently, once it has oxidized, it's perfect. I really didn't like the formula during the winter for my skin, it just kind of sat on my skin. But I guess my skin has gotten a bit better with the warmer weather cuz now it just sinks in and looks like skin. Yay! I'm glad I managed to find my colour in my own stash. That's a first :(

But lately I've been searching for a powder that I can really get on with. I can't tell you how many face powders I have. Loose, pressed, mineral...ARGH! It's so frustrating cuz none of them are giving me the finish or look that I want. MAC Studio Finish is too cakey and masklike on me, La Mer, MUFE HD and MAC prep+prime don't have enough coverage and seems to make my foundation fade a bit when I apply it...there's a million reasons for a million powders. But since I had a great experience with my PhotoReady foundation, I thought I'd chance it with the PhotoReady powder.

I am so glad I did.

I picked it up on a whim at the drugstore and the darn thing cost me over $20 cnd. For a drugstore powder. That's what I pay for MAC for pete's sake, but you know what? Best $20 I've spent at the drugstore in a long while.

I picked up the colour 030 Medium/Deep. It looked a bit dark for me, but it's quite sheer so it doesn't affect the overall look when I apply it over my foundation. Plus, I think I'll be getting darker and darker as spring and summer roll through.

On with the pros and cons...

PROS: -looks natural on the skin, not cakey
-leaves the skin looking luminous. It's not mattifying, it leaves skin with an almost dewey effect without the oil...dewy? Is that the word? Yah. Dewy that's how it looks on my skin anyway
-not drying (I have dry skin and it's an issue with some powders)
-sets makeup beautifully
-keeps my foundation on all day

CONS: -none for me...but if I had to list one for you guys: it has a teeny-tiny bit of sparkles in it, so if you hate sparkles, you might not like this. It's not noticeable on my skin unless I take a mirror right up to my face in the natural light, but I know how some of you guys are about sparkles so I thought I'd mention it

OVERALL: Would I repurchase this product? Yes. Over and over again. Why is there not more love for this powder?? I think everyone has such a strong opinion on whether or not they love/hate the liquid foundation that it's kind of affected people trying out the powder. I'll be honest, I hated the PhotoReady foundation at first. It just did not work with my skin, nor could I find a match for my skin without mixing and I totally dismissed this powder because of that. The only reason I eventually picked up the powder was because I liked the foundation all of a sudden. Actually, the powder makes the foundation look good. I was using different powders with the foundation and never got compliments on it until I started wearing it with the PhotoReady powder. Honestly, I would never pay that much for a drugstore powder, but I'm SO glad I bought it. LOVE!

Thanks for reading guys and I'll talk to you soon!

Annabelle volume lip: lip plumping gloss review and swatches

2010-05-24T12:46:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Hope you guys are having a great day so far. Okay, so another review from Annabelle. I know I need to do more fotd's but I'm sick at the moment and trust me, I'm sparing you a lot of grief by keeping my mug off my blog for now :O

So Annabelle sent me 2 of these volume lip plumping glosses and the third, I'd already bought for myself.

So from top to bottom in this pic are: sweet tweet, vivid volume (this is the one I purchased) and cherryoke.

Here are the swatches swatched in the same order. Obvioiusly you can see that I applied it a bit thick here so you can see the colours...they're buildable, but you can wear them sheer as well.

Okay so on with the pros and cons:

PROS: -great pigmentation
-only slightly sticky. Nothing like MAC's lip glass but more sticky than NARS gloss. I like the texutre because I don't feel like it's going to disappear 15 minutes after I apply it, but it's not going to have half the hair on my head attached to it if I turn my head.
-moisturizing formula
-no scent or taste
-no painful plumping feeling
-available at drugstores for about $8.50

CONS: -you've really got to squeeze like crazy to get product out, but they're in the middle of changing the packaging on these suckers for that specific reason
-no really big noticeable plumping for me, but it does plump them just enough to fill in the tiny lines on my lips which I do like
-only available in drugstores in Canada :( sorry international readers

OVERALL: I like these. The brighter colours looked quite intimidating, but they can be worn sheer or layered for more colour which is nice. I have this habit of rubbing my lips together when I wear this, for whatever reason. I think I like the feeling on my lips. They're moisturizing and have staying power for a lip gloss. Would I repurchase this product? Yes, I have my eye on Metro Mango. I know a lot of people of have reviewed this say that they're not sticky, but I do find them to have a slightly tacky feeling to them, but maybe it's just me. I think that once they change the packaging so it's easier to squeeze the product out, I'll like them even more. Okay that was just a bunch of random thoughts thrown together to make a big, rambly paragraph! And I'm sorry I forgot to show you guys a pic of what the applicator looks like. It's a squeeze tube with a slanted soft, rubbery tip where the product comes out of.

Hope the review was helpful, let me know if you have any questions that I didn't answer. I'll talk to you guys soon.

MAC Carry All (soft case)

2010-05-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, just going to do a quick post for you. I just got home a bit ago from a mani/pedi with my girlfriends and then had lunch by the pier and ice cream and I loved it all! But now I just want to relax in front of the telly! HA.

So I picked up a MAC soft carry all yesterday to carry some of my nail polishes and thought you guys might want to see it. So here are some pics:

If you guys want to check out what I have to say about it and my mani/pedi, check out my other blog for nails HERE.

Hope you guys have a great weekend and I'll talk to you guys soon!

Annabelle Mineral review and swatches

2010-05-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! Long time no see! I know I've been more than MIA, but I always get that way about mid-May. I guess I just get spoiled on Mother's day and then on the 15th, which was Saturday was my birthday, so more getting spoiled...I just get out of it. Sorry!

Anyway, moving right along. I was lucky enough to recieve a parcel from Annabelle Cosmetics (which is a Canadian brand and is available at most drugstores). It was this gorgeous little box full of mineral goodies!

So first off, is the Annabelle Mineral powder foundation in Barely Beige:

Likes: -doesn't leave a dry or chalky look or feel to the skin
-covers well (I managed to cover my broken capilleries on my cheeks really well and it did an okay job of covering my dark hyperpigmentation spots with some layering of the foundation...the spots just barely peeked through the foundation)

Dislikes: -poor colour selection, there are only 4 colours to choose from
-when I first swatched it on my hand, it seemed like there were fine sparkles which eventually magically disappeared into my skin as I buffed it in, but if you're hypersensitive about sparkles (which, like I said, is really minimal once buffed in) or prefer more of a matte finish, this may not be the one for you

Overall: I liked the coverage of this foundation. I managed to cover up most of my discolouration without too much effort and it didn't look caked on where I had to add more layers. I liked that my skin doesn't look flat or matte. It looked healthy without giving me that Bare Minerals "glaze" look if you know what I mean. It wears for about 6 hours sans primer for me before I have to do any touch ups. Would I purchase again? Yes, even if only to buy the shade darker to see if it matches me better. Hey, if it does match me better, I might have a nice light alternative to the liquid foundations that have been making me look a bit too cakey and made up lately.

Next up is the mineral pigment dust in Violet Vibe.

Likes: -very smooth
-really blendable

Dislikes: -packaging isn't really very easy to work with; if you apply with a small brush, you can poke the bristles through the hole in the pot, otherwise you've got to tap it out onto something like a little pot or tissue to get at it
-I couldn't get the colour to build without the use of a base

Overall: I use this mineral pigment only one way. I do a copper or neutral eye and then line my lower lashline with Annabelle's smudgeliner in Vortex Violet and then go over it with this pigment to get that extra pop of colour. I don't wear a ton of colour on my eyes when I go out these days since it's mostly for errands, but this is the perfect way for me to wear it. So it does the job for me. But applied to my bare lids, it's more like a light wash of colour than a bright, assaulting pop of colour (if that's more your style).

Next in the box was the mineral powder blush in Hush.

Likes: -you don't need a ton on your brush to give you the colour you need
-has a beautiful sheen to it
-extremely blendable
-feels light and applies smooth
-really pretty colour that would suit most shades

Dislikes: -it does fade sooner than I'd like it to...I notice the colour starts to fade at about the 4 hour mark, but it doesn't fade completely unless I've been wearing it for like 8 hours+

Overall: I really like the colour of the blush and the sheen it leaves, but I really like my blush to last since my face can look really washed out at the end of the day without colour on my cheeks.

Next up is the mineral powder bronzer in Terra:

Likes: -looks really natural on me (though I don't know how it would look on really fair or dark skin)
-blends really well
-again, nice and healthy looking sheen
-on me, this one lasted longer than both the blush and foundation

Dislikes: -only one colour of bronzer available...okay this isn't really a dislike because I think this colour is perfect for me, but if you're looking for more options, than I guess it would be a dislike for you

Overall: For me, this was the standout. I really like this bronzer. It's a little on the slightly orangey side, but not too orange that you look like Celine Dion in her "tanning" days or so that you look like you've been eating carrots for a week straight. I think it warms up my face, but it's subtle enough to wear in the harshest of lights. It just makes me look better. I use to as a bronzer and to add some dimension to my face. My goal when applying foundation is to create a uniform colour...no hypermigmentation spots showing through, no broken capilleries, no dark undereye circles, no uneven skin tone and it all leaves me really 1-dimensional looking. I just use a tiny bit of it across my nose and cheeks and sometimes I'll go in a add a bit more to the hollows of my cheeks, along my hairline and jawline and I instantly look and feel better. 3D Makeup Mama in effect.

I also got the A-12 blush brush:

Likes: -good size to keep in your purse...the handle is on the shorter side

Dislikes: -too scratchy for me

Overall: This one wasn't a winner for me. I have a multitude of brushes that I find to be softer and blend better, but I might pop it in my purse for emergency touch ups.

Okay, so that is it from me for today...it's good to be back! I hope you enjoyed the quick reviews. Thanks so much to Annabelle Cosmetics for allowing me to test out their products and for giving me the chance to give all of you my honest opinions on it all :)

I think I'll have to grab this mineral foundation in a shade darker when I go out grocery shopping tonite! Mee hee hee...

Illamasqua Body Electrics Collection

2010-05-06T16:12:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! So, like a few other beauty bloggers out there, I was lucky enough to receive a few items from Illamasqua to try from their Body Electrics collection. This is what I saw when I opened up my parcel...

Don't you just love the packaging? Come on. I love that they put so much thought into sending their little gifts. Makes me feel super special!

And this is what I saw when I opened up the pretty pink box...

Here is the poster that from the collection that came inside:

And this was the letter that came with it. I just had to show you this because of the picture after this...

This was the back of the pic above ^. I love how they put so much into every detail. The back of the letter was so fitting! I even got a post card that was signed by Alex, who sent the package. Little details count.

Okay, onto the items sent. This is the Powdered Metal in "Erzule".

Here is a swatch of the powder dry:

And a pic of the product swatched wet:

What I like about this collection is that it is meant for the whole body, so I can wear this powder on my eyes, face and body. With a really light touch, I think it'll look great over blush, as a glimmer bronzer, as an eyeshadow, wet as an eyeliner, on the decollete...you get the idea.

This next picture is of the Pure Pigment in "Static".

This pigment doesn't realy have a colour to it, but it's like a little jar of fairy dust. That's what came to mind when I was playing with it. It's small glitters of pink, purple and at times I could swear a teeny bit of light blue.

This is one of the 4 pastel nail polishes. Since I'm in school to become a nail tech I almost died when I saw this one! It's called "Caress".

And here is a swatch for you guys. Sorry it's a bit messy. I did a quick one!

Since receiving this package, I'm making it my mission to either make a huge order, or what I'd prefer to do...wait until I can get to Seattle or even better, England, to get my wish list! And yes I've made one...

I'm going to share it with you guys...plus it means I don't have to write it down! Haha.

-matt primer

-rich liquid foundation

-powder foundation (lately, my routine has been using just foundation and then using powder foundation in the areas I need to cover any pigmentation problems, it works a treat! plus I don't feel like I'm loaded down with foundation, concealer, powder....)

-pastel nail polish set

-body electrics nail polish set
-like all their powder and cream blushes, lipsticks, eyeshadows...

Oh screw it. I'm just going to wait until I can get to the UK, which I'm hoping will be for Christmas (that seems so far away!) and I'm going swatch crazy and I'm sure I'll end up picking up everything. Seattle Sephora has Illamasqua, which is only 2 hours away from me and I head up there pretty often, but it's kind of limited in the colours they have (I can't find my match in the foundations they have in store). And I have no clue when Vancouver is getting it. Us Canadians can't even buy it online from Sephora. No shipping to Canada :( Boo!

But I did really enjoy the colours that I received...Thank you Illamasqua! I love how versatile this collection was.

Hope you guys like the pics...talk to you all soon.

Skin care tips...guest post.

2010-05-05T20:03:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, I have a special guest post from by Sarah Logan on behalf of Aesthetic Science Institute (ASI). She contacted me about joining in on the whole "beauty discussion" as she called it and I jumped at the chance. Since her tips and pointers are about skin care which I know about to a point (what I learned in my makeup courses), it's always nice to hear from a skin pro right? Thanks Sarah for the great tips! So here we go...

Prepping Pretty Spring Skin

When the sun finally begins to warm our faces again, and the world slowly looks a little greener, we always feel the need to freshen up our looks a bit. In an enthusiastic hurry to apply this season’s bright makeup colors, we may forget to stop and realize that the most important step is good skincare for a clean, smooth base. After the cold wind, dry heating systems, and dark days are done with our faces, most of us go into springtime looking a little dull.

To bring your face back to life, there are some basics that always help whether you’re at a spa or your bathroom sink. Firstly, be sure to exfoliate: it can be as simple as adding salt (for oily skin) or sugar (for dry skin) to your face wash or buying one with exfoliating beads in it. It always helps to add a product with something like fruit enzymes or hydroxy acids into your regimen for added results. Going to get microdermabrasion at a local spa is a great choice for deep exfoliation that will be noticed right away. Any of these options will reveal fresh skin that is glowing and smooth.

Second, you need to continuously moisturize to have skin perfect for makeup application. If you’re getting a facial at a spa, that’s great because they will both exfoliate and moisture your skin while you’re there. At home, be sure you’re using a formula appropriate for your skin type, like a gel for oily skin, a thicker cream for dry, or something in between. Some of the face lotions with radiance/skin brightening ingredients are perfect for dewy spring skin, and are a nice boost for any look.

If we just take a little extra care in reviving skin at this time of year, the reward will be a complexion that’s more awake and well-textured. Your face will look flawless all season long!

Content provided by Sarah Logan on behalf of Aesthetic Science Institute (ASI). ASI is a beauty school for new students interested in a career in aesthetics and licensed aestheticians interested in advanced aesthetics training and certification.

Spa and Esthetics Show haul...pic heavy

2010-05-01T15:28:00.001-07:00

Hi guys! So I went to the Spa and Esthetics Show a few weeks ago. Okay, off topic for a minute...Did I tell you guys that I got into a car accident right after the last day of the show? Sucks to be me. I got rear-ended by some guy who was NOT paying attention. But at least he totally admitted it. You guys know when you see something happening and it seems like slow motion? Well this guy was really not paying attention cuz I noticed him slam on the brakes a few times, but there was traffic and I couldn't get out of my lane. So I come to a complete stop and like 4 full seconds elapses and I look into my rear view mirror and see this guy coming at me. I started to think to myself, "Oh god. He's going to hit me. Look up, look up, PAY ATTENTION! I wonder how much this is going to hurt..." Crunch. Thank goodness I drive an suv. His car was missing its front half and it was spraying coolant everywhere. I had a small slice in my bumper.

So I went to get my car fixed yesterday and they said it would take half a day. My hubby dropped it off at like 9:30am (when they open) and they never actually ended up calling us, we showed up near closing time and they were like, oh we're just cleaning it up for you. Then we climb into the car and 8 lights start flashing on the dashboard. Friggin' idiots didn't hook up the bumper to anything, so now the rear lights don't work and there's no beeping when I reverse to tell me if there's something behind us. And so I walk inside and ask for help and the guy that comes to talk to us says that "it's obvious that they didn't hook everything up." Obviously. "Yah, just bring it in sometime in the week", he says. "But don't come in at the busy times, you know. 10, 11, 12, 2, 3pm. Those are lunch breaks and coffee breaks." I will damn well bring it in when I feel like it. Are you kidding me? First they tried to make me pay for the bumper. No. Insurance handles that. Then they take all day with no call to pick it up. Am I supposed to guess? Then I'm supposed to bring in my half-ass fixed car in when it's convenient for THEM??? I don't think so. And I'm supposed to believe that the entire shop shuts down for coffee and donuts every hour?? I'm a bit pissed. Can you tell? I think it has something to do with the fact that my neck has been bothering me a bit since the accident. I should probably say something to the insurance company hey? Ugh. Seriously. How are these people allowed to open up businesses?

Anywho, on to my haul from that wonderful, wonderful day. So being in a nail tech program, I thought I'd go nuts buying things for nails. Makes sense right? But since I haven't hit the artificial nail portion of my classes, I didn't know what to get (what brands we'll be using, which brands are the best...) I did get a few items, which you can find on my nail blog here if you're interested in that stuff, but the prices on nail polish weren't actually that great. The beauty supply places I go to have better prices and choices, so I didn't really get a lot.

But what I DID get was makeup! Haha, I know all about that stuff. So this was from a distributer called Modern Basics. I think they sell to businesses mainly. I don't think you can purchase this stuff as a consumer direct from the company, but I think you can find this stuff all over with other company's labels on it. You know? A la Scandalous cosmetics?

So I picked up a bunch of single blushes...They were 1 for $2 or 6 for $10. And these blushes are beautiful. Great pigmentation, they blend beautifully, very buildable. I love these. I've actually stopped using my MAC blushes...for now anyway.

Then I got this blush palette from them, as well. It was $10.75. What a steal. Seriously.

I also got these camoflage concealers from them. They're great. They're so pigmented, they cover anything and they don't apply too thick like the MAC studio finish concealer. Is that what they're called? I find that I have to layer the MAC ones quite a bit to get the coverage I need for my hyperpigmentation and then it can start to break apart under my setting powder as the day wears through, but these don't. These camoflage concealers sold for $3.75. Did I mention that the prices I'm quoting included tax? Yup. This one is in the colour honey (which I grabbed 9 of. YES. 9.)

This is in yellow (which I wish I'd grabbed more of).

This is their i-primer in medium. I wasn't sure if I like it at first, cuz I noticed a bit of creasing. But then I realized that I was piling it on, you only need a little dab and you spread it all over the lid and it's like a primer, a base and a light concealer in one. It takes away the minor imperfections, like minor discolouration or veins that might show through the lid skin, if you wonering what I mean. $3.75 again and I grabbed 2.

This is the best coloured loose powder I've tried. I mean it, the colour matches me perfectly (colour is toast) and it sets makeup like a dream. Also, it doesn't look chalky on. Plus the sifter lets out the perfect amount of powder. Nothing comes flying out, it's not a mess. I can turn it over and tap it a few times and not have to worry about all the contents of the jar being in the lid. I'm not usually a fan of loose powder, although I've tried a few. I have the MAC select sheer loose powders in NC40, NC30 and NC 20 and for some reason I find that they change the colours of my foundation, it always ends up looking too dark for me, but that doesn't happen with this one. It was $6 and I really wish I'd grabbed a few more.

And I also picked up a gel liner in ocean's 11. This was $3.75, too. I've been looking for a navy blue like this that isn't frosty or pearlized. The fact that it was so cheap was just a bonus.

Then at another booth, I picked up this warm palette. It has 72 eye shadows. A lot of the colours are quite similar to each other, but that works fine for me. I like the colours in this puppy better than the ones in the 28 neutral palette that I have and they threw in a few pinks, too, which I love using with browns. This was $15.

So I went to the Spa and Esthetics Show as a nail tech student and ended up buying tons of makeup. Go figure. Haha, I think I was built to shop makuep. I can't wait to go next year!

Maybelline Eye Studio: Irresistibly Ivy

2010-04-30T18:22:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Hope you guys are doing well:) So I'm doing a look using some Maybelline EyeStudio products I received from Maybelline through Matchstick. This is also going to be on the Maybelline Facebook page where people can vote for their favourite looks...so I'd love if you guys could support me and check out the page! Thanks :) Plus I think there's a chance to win as a voter. (hm, just tried the page, but I think there are some issues with it...Hopefully it will be working by the time you're reading this!)

Okay, you guys know I love the EyeStudio gel liners and the eyeshadows are so pigmented, so I had fun doing this look. It was a really quick one...so let's get to it!

So these were the products I used to get the look, they're all from Maybelline. At the top on the left is the EyeStudio Color Plush quad in Irresistibly Ivy. On the right is the XXL Pro mascara in Very Black and at the bottom there is the Eye Studio Lasting Drama gel eyeliner in brown.

So the first thing I did was I applied the lightest colour from the eyeshadow quad to my inner eye area and on the inner 1/3 of the lower lashline. Then I applied the copper colour (second colour from the left) from the lashline to the crease.

Then I took the darkest colour in the palette (on the far right of the palette) and applied it to the outer corners of the eyes.

Then I blended it towards the inner eye. Then I took the bright turquoise eyeshadow and lined my lower lashline with it, from inner eye to outer corner. Lastly, I lined my upper lashline with the brown gel liner in a thin line and then I applied the mascara (one coat of the white primer and 2 coats of mascara). And...

Here's the finished product. It's a nice way to incorporate a little bit of colour while still keeping the majority of it neutral. I think it'd be great for day or you can bump it up for a night look by lining the top lashline with the blackest black gel liner.

I hope you guys like it and if you do like it, please vote for me. Thanks!

IMATS Student Competition - Fantasy

2010-04-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

Hi all, so this is my last post on the IMATS but I just wanted you guys to see the student competition. I took a short video and some pics. The vid just shows the models strut their stuff and then the winners get awarded their prizes, so if that doesn't interest you, skip to the pics.

I know that the first entry in the video was missing her name (I'm so sorry, I don't know why that happened...I thought I caught everything from the beginning). I don't have names besides what was on the video because that was the only time their names were called, so I couldn't even guess at the spelling of their names. I'd butcher it for sure. But if you were a competitor or know of one of the competitors, please feel free to leave your name on the comments below and I can add them if you'd like.

Here are some pics (feel free to click to enlarge)...

These are some of the makeup artists and their models. The theme of this fantasy competition was Alice in Wonderland.

I took this pic before the competition. I thought it was really cute cuz the model was looking for her phone and she was calling out to her friend saying that she couldn't find her phone and she was rooting around in the folds of her dress, but she couldn't look down to look for it cuz her head piece was so heavy that it would just come tumbling down and she couldn't look around for her friend cuz she was up against the wall and the shape of her head piece wouldn't allow her to turn her head. It was one of those moments you'd see in a sitcom. But I thought that her costume and makeup were so whimsical.

I love all the colours on this model. And I love how the makeup artist (who is standing on the right) got the white makeup to look so opaque.

It was kind of hard to catch all the makeup artists and their models. After everyone was awarded their prizes, everyone kind of dispersed. Most ended up outside the auditorium, but everyone was trying to snap pics and I'm sure that the makeup artists and their models were starving since they'd been there for hours...and how are the models even supposed to have a sip of water without messing up their makeup? Gosh, can't even imagine.

This is the makeup artist who won 2nd place and her model. The picture doesn't really do her face justice. It wasn't as full of colour as the other entries, but her skin looked flawless and glowy in a pretty way. And can you see the top part of her dress...

...cuz the rest of it was made from moss. Yes. Moss. Like grows on the side of rocks and stuff? I saw the skirt part sitting on the floor just before the model stepped into it and I was so curious about the little mountain of moss and flowers just sitting there. And then the model stepped into it and, well, you should have seen my face.

My bestie loves the colour blue and kept getting drawn to this look. I love how the makeup artist and the model match makeup. Nice little touch!

Here are more of the models and their artists. The model and artist on the left were the 3rd place winners. And she graduated from the school that I got to for nails.

And 1st place! The makeup artist was Kenji Sato. I did manage to get this one as his name was on the massive cheque he got at the end of the video. This model looked amazing! Like, wow. From her makeup to her hair and that costume. That's why this makeup artist got 1st place.
I don't really know how to describe it...the pretty side of her face is just as pretty as the scary side of her face is scary. Does that make sense? No I don't think so. What I mean to say is that even though it's kind of broken down into 3 parts (left and right side of face and body makeup) it's ALL done so well. There. That's what I meant.

Okay, hope you guys are having a great day so far!!

Giveaway on Nail Babble ends tonite!

2010-04-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, just wanted to let you know that my giveaway on my Nail Babble blog is going to end tonite, so if any of you are into nails feel free to enter :)

There is one main prize (which is pictured above).

And 2 mini prizes. You can click on the pics or the link over there -------> on the side bar of my page to get to the giveaway post. Good luck!

IMATS haul

2010-04-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! Woot woot. I'm off to a 5 year old's birthday party really soon so I thought I'd pump out a post...it'll soothe me before all the mayhem.

This is just a haul post to show you guys what I got at the IMATS. Now this isn't a show off haul, it's modest, but it's really to show you guys what the prices are like at the IMATS compared to purchasing normally off a website or in a store.

Here's the bag, brochure thingy and my pass to get me through the weekend. I'm glad they gave us that big bag...that way you just stuff all your goodies in there, helps the environment from all the potential plastic bags and helps your hands from carrying a million different bags full of makeup.

These are the Obsessive Compulsice Lip Tars. I got quite a few of them last year, but then they put out a bunch of other colours. I got Grandma (left) and Hush (right)...I think I may already have hush. I'm not sure, I should check. But anyway, I've noticed that they got smaller. I don't know how much the old ones used to hold or these ones for that matter since I don't have them in front of me, but I think the difference is significant. They look like minis now. They were $10 at the show and I think they go for $12.50 usually.

I also got a few items from Eve Pearl. I really wanted to check out her booth last year at the Canadian Makeup Show, but she'd pulled her back or something and didn't make it...nor did have a booth set up for retail, so I'm glad I got the chance to check it out at the IMATS this year. There's nothing like seeing the colours in person and getting a chance to play with them. I have issues with buying online cuz I like to know what I'm getting. Anywho, I got the High Definition Dual Foundation in Medium, which retails for $54 normally, but at the show I paid $38. And the Salmon Concealer and Treatment for $25 (normally it's $35). I find it kind of weird that the dual foundation comes with the little black fake velvet sleeve and a box and the concealer comes just as it is. No box even. Oh well.

I stopped by the Make Up For Ever booth and had to pick up something. The girl told me it was 40% off, so why not right. But I didn't want to wait in line to pick out stuff, I just told the SA the one thing I knew I wanted. An HD foundation. I couldn't get the HD foundation to work for me in the past, but I think that spring's here my skin has changed and it's working better for me now. Plus, as much as I like the NARS sheer glow, it's pricey and I get a discount on these so I figure I'll save the sheer glow for special occasions. I grabbed the colour 127 to mix with the 128 I have sitting at home to mix my perfect colour. I really wanted to get a few HD blushes, but the queue was so long!

Then I picked these up for my girlfriend. She needed some brushes and asked me to pick up some up. She mainly wanted face brushes, so that's what I got. These are Crown Brushes.

I got her (from left to right) a blush brush, a highlight brush, a fluffy powder brush, an eyebrow brush and a contour brush. All these cost $37 which compared to ONE MAC brush is a steal.

And I got myself just 3 little brushes from the Royal & Langnickel booth. I have a ton of brushes, but I don't have anything like these brushes.

I got a tapered powder brush which is so soft, I love the feel of it.

A "super" foundation brush. All I know is that they used the word "super" in its description. Picture a paddle foundation brush, but it's not tapered at the tip, more dome shaped and a lot thicker. A LOT thicker. It's craziness in a brush. I managed to grab the last one...woot woot!

Then I picked up this blush brush. It's the softest darn thing I've ever felt. Seriously. It's so nice. It's not very big or wide, I find it perfect for my cheeks and it deposits the perfect amount of colour. Blends colours out easily too, so I never look overdone. **sigh** LOVE.

Okay, well that's it for now. I'll be posting the student fantasy competition from the IMATS soon. Beautiful work. And also, I'll be posting my makeup haul from the Spa and Esthetics Show soon. Thanks for reading guys and for all your comments!

Vancouver IMATS 2010...part 2

2010-04-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Here I am with part 2 of my IMATS experience in Vancouver. I think I have 2 more posts coming about the IMATS. I know, it's just that I took so many pics! Haha.

By the way, if any of you guys are interested in checking out the IMATS, you don't have to be a makeup artist to attend. It's open to the public and the upcoming shows are in London in January, Los Angeles in June, Sydney in September and Toronto in November. If you're into makeup, it's definitely something to check out. (PS. Makeup artist discounts to makeup junkies? Magic.)

I really want to thank the people who left me comments saying who the talented artist was in my last post who did the beautiful gold makeup. It was Dili Hafezi, who is a graduate of the Vancouver Film School.

So here is a shot of some of the booths. Okay, I really had to take this picture to show you guys the stunning Temptu lady on the left side of screen. She was at the Temptu booth most of the day which I didn't go anywhere near because I dropped a ton there at the Canadian Makeup Show last year and I was scared to go anywhere near it. My wallet would start shaking in my purse everytime I stepped near the booth. But look, her shoes are hot! And I love her hair.

And look at that display case on the right (Hollynorth Productions) that is full of and covered in makeup!

This is the booth for my school where I'm doing my nail tech courses...Blanche Macdonald.

I caught the end of one of the speakers...MAC Pro Senior Artist Caitlin Callahan.

She had a really great tip on lining your upper lashline. Start from the inner part of your eye, not from your tear duct, but from where you lashes naturally begin and continue to line to the outer corner of your eye. Then go back and line from where your started lining before and work your way to the inner corner of your eye/tear duct area. That way you don't have to feel like you have to make one perfect straight line...breaking it down into 2 steps makes it easier.

She also said something that made me go...oh yah! She said that she loves makeup from London/UK and that it's different from makeup in North America because makeup in London is harder and they just really go for it and I remember thinking that when I went there the first time. It is really different from makeup I see in magazines and even everyday here.

Btw, she had an amazing outfit on. Black Louboutin booties (I think they had chains on them, but it was hard to see where I was sitting), sequinned leggings and a long tunic with fringe along the bottom. Fierce!

One of my girlfriends wanted brushes from the show, so I dragged my friend into the Crown brush lineup. This is what the lineup looked like behind us...

Can you see how far back that goes? I took the picture and everyone was commenting on my bedazzled camera. Haha, actually everytime I took a picture everyone would say how cute it was...I was like, but YOU'RE covered in rhinestones, too!

And this is the lineup in front of us. See how it curves around? People had these little baskets and were just throwing brushes into their baskets willy-nilly. Craziness! And they had a bunch of palettes for $19-$25 (you know the ones...). My friend grabbed a 28 neutral palette and an 88 shimmer palette.

I mean how could you not go nuts buying brushes...look at them all!

Here's the Naked Cosmetics booth. Look at all those pigments!

This is the Royal & Langnickel booth which was huge. They had a ton of brushes. I really wanted to get some $6 kabuki brushes, but I hesitated and when I went back on Sunday all the synthetic kabukis were sold out. Unlucky :(

This is a pic I got of Michael Nickiforek at the Vancouver Film School applying prosthetics to his model.

Unfortunately I'd left the show by the time he'd finished but I contacted him and he was kind enough to let me use a few pics to show you guys the finished product.

Isn't that amazing? I mean, look at the model in the first pic...what do you guess. In his 20's? Look, it's seamless.

If you want to check out more of his work, you can check out his amazing blog and some of the work that he's done, as well as how he made the prosthetic peices.

Okay, so these might be a bit graphic. They're not real people, but if you're squeamish, I suggest clicking on the big red X on the top right hand corner of your monitor.

They had a bunch of props that I thought I'd take a few pics of for you guys.

yikes! Everyone wear sunscreen this summer or you'll get this ^ Kidding.

Okay, I hope you guys enjoyed part 2. I've got parts 3 AND 4 coming up later this week. They're going to be entries of the student fanatsy makeup competition (Alice in Wonderland theme, kids!) and my haul. Yay...stay tuned. Hope you're having a super bedazzled day so far.

Vancouver IMATS 2010...part 1

2010-04-18T22:29:00.000-07:00

Hi you guys! Okay, I have a ton of pics that I've been going through from the IMATS here in Vancouver. TONS. No joke. I promised pics and I will deliver...and keep delivering throughout the week. So these are just random pics from Saturday. I'm sure I'll have another random IMATS pics post up after this, too, since I...I don't know. I just took too many pics and I don't want them to feel unused and unloved. So here we go...

This was the baby bump from Juno. Seriously, Ellen Page has got to be teeny tiny, cuz the mannequin thing was so small :)

This was the Eve Pearl booth. I got a salmon concealer and a hd cream foundation from Eve Pearl. I'll show you guys in a haul post. The booth was really tight and whenver more than 1 person was checking out the makeup, it got a bit congested in the aisle. hah.

See what I mean? As I was paying for my 2 items, the booth got chaotic...apparantly she had just finished her bit as a guest speaker and EVERYONE from the class came bounding into this tiny booth. I took this shot while I was trying my best to get out of there (claustrophobia much??). There were still tons of people trying to get past me to get to the booth.

This makeup was done by a makeup artist for MUFE. I know it looks really creepy, but if you look closer you can see that she has her eyes closed and the eyes were painted on. She had to keep her eyes and mouth closed for ages. I bet she was gasping for a drink!

And here she is with her garb on.

I cannot for the life of me remember who did this. I want to say it was one of the schools that was there...but I can't remember which one. I'm sorry to whoever that is because it was stunning in person!

EDIT: The makeup artist was Dili Hafezi, a graduate of the Vancouver Film School.

Here she is all done up and walking around. The gold on her eyes was the most yellow gold I've ever seen. Usually yellow/golds don't show up like this! Gorge. The IMATS happened in 2 hotels. One had the retail bit, the other had the classes and student competition awards. So you'd see these crazy make-upped people walking around. People with fantasy makeup like her^ and people who looked like they belonged in Lord of the Rings. haha, I'm sure the people driving around downtown were doing double takes.

This was the line up to see the Make Up For Ever makeup. This is me somewhere in line. Not the last, and definitely not the first! It took forever to get to the end. Yikes, but it was 40% off, so you can understand why it was crazy.

It was great, because most of the makeup companies there were offering pro discounts to everyone. No need to sign up, no showing proof of work. Easy peasy.

Haha, this is a pic of my friend's hand after we checked out the OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) lip tars. Of course she chose the blue and she has this issue with ink of any type. If she writes on her hand with a pen, the ink won't come off for like 4 or 5 days...even if she scrubs it like mad. So what did she do? She tried the crazy, vibrant blue colour. Haha, serves her right. She was trying to scrub it off with the makeup remover they offered, but it wouldn't come off. lol.

Then I spotted this dude at the Naked Cosmetics booth. Recognize him?

It's Koren of Enkore Makeup! He was so sweet in person you guys. I always wonder what youtube gurus are like in person and he's just like he is in videos (if you guys ever meet me, don't blame me if I'm a grumpy biatch. I'm warning you...kidding. Sorta.) I couldn't get the image of him having a monitor around his head, lol. I told him that, then I got a bit embarassed and thought that I should keep my mouth shut. That thought comes up in my head a lot.

Anyway, that was part 1 of my IMATS Vancouver 2010 experience. Part 2 coming up soon!

Thank you...

2010-04-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

I just posted this on my nail blog, so if you've read it, it's just been copied and pasted...

I want to say a quick thank you to everyone who has given me an award or tag in the last few months (more like 9 months)! I always get really giddy when I get an award or tag and then with all good intentions, think to myself that I have to do them and then it all gets lost in my brain until the next award or tag I get and I'm all...crap! I need to do them. I think I'll do a massive one sooner or later, but thank you so so so so much! I didn't want you guys to think that I really don't appreciate them...they're coming!

And I just got back from the IMATS, so get ready for some pics, later tonight or tomorrow.

Rachel Bilson look...Think Pink!

2010-04-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, hope everyone's doing well and about to enjoy their weekend! I received an email last week with a request to do this look (Hi Rowina! Thanks for the request!):

It was created by the wonderful Troy Jensen...if you haven't checked him out yet, go NOW. He's such an inspiration and his blog? Love it, there isn't a look I don't like and he's kind enough to post the colours that he used for his looks. Okay, now seriously, you can't go wrong painting Rachel Bilson's face. You could use a Sharpie and she'd still look stunning but I love what he's done here.

So I was asked to do this look using colours that I would use for my own skin tone. Like I said, the actual colours he used are on the website, so you can check that out. But I just used whatever I had in my own stash...

Now I know I look nothing like the beautiful Ms. Bilson, nor do I have any of the same features so this is a look I did on myself colours that would suit my darker skin. Okay? Here we go:

Now I think that the issue I had recreating this look is that her eye shape is really really different from mine. I've got more of a visible lid, so I added in the longer lashes, to kind of hide my lid. Didn't work as much as I'd like, but you get it.

Sorry for the gimpy pic! Haha, I look like I'm falling asleep but it was the only pic that I had were you could see the eyes closed. It's really easy going on the eyes, keeping all the focus on the cheeks.

Now for the list of products I used:

Face -MAC Studio Tech NC30
-Temptu S/B airbrush foundation 006 (used a brush to apply, not an airbrush)
-MAC Studio Fix NC30
-NARS Casino bronzer
-MAC creme blush in Posey (applied with a MAC 187...tapped on and then buffed in)
-MAC blush in Dollymix (applied wih a heavy hand, but blended well along the edges)
-MAC Liberty of London Shell Pearl beauty powder (applied to highlight the cheekbones)

Eyes -MAC Paradisco and Yogurt eyeshadows (mixed together) applied from lashline to crease
-MAC Soft Brown and Texture (mixed together) in the crease
-MAC Ricepaper and All That Glitters (mixed together) on the lower lashline and as an inner eye highlight
-Annabelle Smoothliner in Brownie close to the lashlines, both upper and lower
-Model 21 lashes #15 (I think they're #15...I was NOT blessed with her lashes!)
-MAC Studio Fix NC30 as a brow highlight
-Maybelline XXL Pro Extensions

Lips -Covergirl Wetslicks #330 Pink Sequin

I think that was it. I'm sorry it seems like I was mixing all the eyeshadow colours, but my son dropped my neutral palette, so I had to do a bit of mixing to get the colours. It was a super fun look to do, so thank you for request! Um, if I were to do this to go out with...especially in the daytime, I think I might tone down the cheeks just a tad. But I really wanted the full effect for the pics since cameras always seem to drown the colours for whatever reason.

Okay, a great weekend dudes! Laters.

Going to the IMATS anyone?

2010-04-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, just a really quick note nothing to show you guys pic-wise today, but I'll get on that this weekend! Just wanted to say that if there are any Vancouverites going to the IMATS or the Spa and Esthetics Show this weekend and you see me there, please feel free to say hi!

I'll be at the IMATS most of the day on Saturday and for a portions (probably at the end of the day) on the Sunday. I'll be stalking the stalls with a girlfriend who's kind enough to go with me to support my habit. HA. I'll be wearing a press badge in case you're wondering if it's me or not...and I'll have a little goodie bag for the first person to say hi to me over the weekend...and if I can't get rigd of it at the IMATS? I'll bring it to the Spa and Esthetics Show...and if I can't get rid of it there, maybe I"ll use it in a giveaway or something :)

Have a good Friday guys, I'm so stoked to drown myself in all the makeup tomorrow!! Lots of pisc coming up!

Giveaway on Nail Babble!

2010-04-13T23:35:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I'm sorry about my lack of posting...I had a project due in my nail course and I finally handed it in yesterday. I'm finding it really hard to study. Too many distractions in my house. I'd love to go out to the library or a coffee house or something, but I can't cuz I got the little 'uns at home with me. I have my first theory exam in a few weeks, so I've been trying to study for that, too...but the good news is the IMATS is happening this weekend AND the Spa and Esthetics show and I'm going to both. Expect to see a lot of pics of the shows and of all the nail polish and makeup I plan on buying...should my wallet allow it.

Moving along, just wanted to let you all know about my giveaway on my nail blog. One mail prize and 2 smaller ones. Feel free to saunter over and check it out!

Don't forget, I've still got a lot of stuff up for sale in my blog sale 1 and blog sale 2.

Thanks guys, I'll post soon...I promise :) G'nite.

BLOG SALE!! Part 2

2010-04-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, time for part 2 of my blog sale! Okay, so this is for items that I have in my collection that have not been used or tested. They are all new. I will let you know under the pics whether or not they come with their original packaging or not.

A lot of the info on this post is just pulled from my last post to save time, so if it all sounds familiar, you know why!

Shipping: Shipping with Canada Post is horrendous! So I'm limiting this blog sale to Canada and the US (but if you're an international reader and you see something you really want, email me letting me what you want and if you're the first person to ask about it, I'll get you a quote to your country.) The shipping prices are shown next to the price...BUT if your shipping prices cost less than what I've quoted, I'll just refund the difference to your paypal. And you'll probably benefit more if you purchase more than one item cuz I'll do combined shipping prices. I'm not trying to steal money from you guys by using shipping as an excuse ;) Items will be shipped out once I receive payment, not if your items are pending. I won't be responsible for lost packages once they are mailed out, but if you want, you can pay extra for a tracking number &/or insurance. Just ask.

Again, I'll can only accept Paypal. Thanks and happy shopping! Everything is quoted in US dollars and they`re not refundable or exchangeable.

1. Clinique Dewy Smooth foundation in "Caramel": never used, comes with original packaging - $12 (+$6 shipping to Canada or US)

2. Lola The Balm Quad: 4 new, unused lip glosses in a small zippered pouch, comes with a mini retractable lip brush - $5 (+$4 shipping to Canada or US)

3. Cargo Blu_Ray HD pressed powder in 30: new and unused in it's original packaging (original price was $30) - $21.00 (+$5 shipping to Canada or US) **SOLD**

4. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On eye pencil in "Zero": new and unused, at 0.8g it is a bit smaller than one you'd buy on it's own (1.2g) since it came with a set, no box - $5 (+$3 shipping to Canada or the US) **SOLD**

5. Stila Eyeshadow Trio in "Bronze Glow": new and unused, 5g, came in a set so no box - $8 (+ $5 shipping to Canada or US)

6. Willi Smith lip color compact: new and unused, 5 lip colors in a compact with a mirror - $5 (+ $5 shipping to Canada or US) **sold**

7. Pur Minerals Mineral Glow: new and unused, this is a trial size (3.4g), no box - $2.50 (+ $4 shipping to Canada or US)

8. Shadow Base in light: new and unused, this is exactly like the Scandalous eye magnet (which I already have), no box - $6 (+$3 shipping to Canada or US)

9. MAC Hello Kitty lip gloss in "Fast Friends": new and unused, in its original packaging - $15 (+ $5 shipping to Canada or the US)

10. Too Faced Diamond Gloss in "Fire": new and unused in its original packaging - $5 (+$4 shipping to Canada or US) **sold**

Ordering and Payment: So like I said above, I'll be accepting Paypal for payment. As for ordering, email me at makeupbabble@gmail.com with "blog sale" in the subject line, let me know what you want and your paypal email address and I'll hit you back with the info. First come, first serve basis. Important: Please don't leave me a comment below to try and save an item, I'll only be checking my email for that. I just want to make sure it's fair and I'm able to keep track with it all :D If you are the first person, I'll keep it "pending" for you for 2 days for payment to come through (I want to move this stuff fast!) and then I'll have to move on to the next person waiting. I'll update the blog as much as I can to let you guys know what's still available, what is sold (once I receive payment) and what is pending.

Thanks guys for checking it all out! I may have a few more items, but it depends if my girlfriend decides she wants to swipe them up :)

BLOG SALE!! Part 1

2010-04-07T17:06:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Okay, so I finally decided to get rid of some of my stash in the form of a blog sale :) So here's the first part which features items that are very lightly used or swatched. All these items will be sanitized with a cosmetic sanitizer (Beauty So Clean) before they're sent out. The pencils will be sanitized and sharpened. Since these items are used, they will not come in its original box or packaging.

I only accept Paypal, which should work for most people I think :) Everything is quoted in US dollars and they`re not refundable or exchangeable.

As for shipping, shipping with Canada Post is horrendous! So I'm limiting this blog sale to Canada and the US (but if you're an international reader and you see something you really want, email me letting me what you want and if you're the first person to ask about it, I'll get you a quote to your country.) The shipping prices are shown next to the price...BUT if your shipping prices cost less than what I've quoted, I'll just refund the difference to your paypal. And you'll probably benefit more if you purchase more than one item cuz I'll do combined shipping prices. I'm not trying to steal money from you guys by using shipping as an excuse ;) Items will be shipped out once I receive payment, not if your items are pending. I won't be responsible for lost packages once they are mailed out, but if you want, you can pay extra for a tracking number &/or insurance. Just ask.

If you check out the info under the pics, it'll give you more info...here are the pics. Thanks for looking...

1. Too Faced eyeshadow in "Totally Toasted": used 2x - $4 (+$3 shipping to Canada or the US)
**PENDING**

2. MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in "Light Flush": used 5x - $13 (+$5 shipping to Canada or US)
**SOLD**

3. 9 NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils: These pencils haven't been sharpened yet, so when I sharpen them for sanitizing, that will be the first time...so I'd say there's definitely more than 85% left over in each pencil (oh and I think there's 10 pencils in the pic, but you'll be getting 9). The colours you'll be getting are: horse raddish, pots & pans, cottage cheese, purple, oyster, strawberry milk, black bean, lavender and slate. - $5 for the set (+$4 shipping to Canada or the US) **PENDING**

4. Pur Minerals Marble Powder (face brightener): used 3x, mini/trial size 2.8 g - $1.50 (+$3 shipping to Canada or the US) **PENDING**

5. L'oreal H.I.P. eyeshadow in "Flamboyant": used 1X - $2 (+$3 shipping to Canada or the US)

6. MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow Duo in "Love Connection": swatched 1x - $6 (+ $3 shipping to Canada or the US) **PENDING**

7. Urban Decay Eyeshadow in "Chains": used 1x - $5 (+ $3 shipping to Canada or the US) **SOLD**

Ordering and Payment: So like I said above, I'll be accepting Paypal for payment. As for ordering, email me at makeupbabble@gmail.com with "blog sale" in the subject line, let me know what you want and your paypal email address and I'll hit you back with the info. First come, first serve basis. Important: Please don't leave me a comment below to try and save an item, I'll only be checking my email for that. I just want to make sure it's fair and I'm able to keep track with it all :D If you are the first person, I'll keep it "pending" for you for 2 days for payment to come through (I want to move this stuff fast!) and then I'll have to move on to the next person waiting. I'll update the blog as much as I can to let you guys know what's still available, what is sold (once I receive payment) and what is pending.

I hope you guys see something you like...wait for part 2 of the blog sale. It'll be all new, unused items. I know there's a lot of info ^up there, if you have any questions that I haven't answered, just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thanks guys!

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder

2010-04-06T22:26:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been MIA for an entire week...with Easter and my nail courses (studying and a project due soon) and gorging myself on my kids Easter chocs, I've been busy (and in a sugar-coma).

But I'm finally putting a post up. Okay, so I've had the chance to use some of the stuff I got in Seattle and the first one I'm reviewing is the Maybelline Dream Matte Powder. The colour I am is medium 2-2.5.

First, I'll tell you guys what I think about it:

This is a great powder for oilier skin, but I've been using it on my normal-dry skin and I haven't noticed any drying effect. It kind of just sucks away the oil from your face...um, like one of those blue rubbery blotting papers. You know the ones. It would make a great touch-up powder since there isn't really any pigment to it. I know it comes in different colours and you probably want to stay within your range, but it doesn't deposit any colour like say, MAC's Studio Fix or anything. And I don't notice any build up if I apply it more than once during the day...though the most I do touch ups, if I do at all, is 2-3 times in a day (only when I actually give a crap or if I have a free moment.) But definitely not for those who don't like the matte look and I'm not too sure how it would look if you've got really dry or flaky patches, so I can't really comment on that.

Now, I'll tell you guys how I use it:

I don't really use it as a setting powder because I don't like a really matte finish, I prefer more of a dewy look and I require more coverage than the average person, so I stick to my MAC Studio Fix powder. BUT I do use it when and if I start to get a little oilier throughout the day. And sometimes once my face is all done (powdered, bronzer-ed??, and highlighted), I'll use a cream blush so I use this powder to set the cream blush so that I don't end up with missing makeup on my cheeks halfway through my day.

Next, I'll tell you what it's an exact dupe for (in my personal opinion, anyway):

MAC Blot Powder. You heard me. I think it does the exact same thing, takes away shine and oil and it's great for repeated touch ups. I think that the only 2 differences I can find are: 1) When I go to pick up product from both compacts, I get more from the MAC blot powder than the Maybelline dream matte. This isn't a bad thing, since I think that they are both pretty much on par with each other. With the Maybelline powder, it seems like you're not picking up any product at all but it still does the job. And 2) The PRICE POINT! Big diff here. The Maybelline dream matte powder is about $12.99 canadian dollars/$6.59 us dollars (<---don't get me started!!) and the MAC blot powder is $27.00 canadian dollars/$22.00 us dollars. I don't really like using either of these powders for setting my makeup because, like I said, it's not enough coverage for me and I don't find either of them last as long on my skin. But if you use the MAC blot powder to set, you just may have the same result with the Maybelline dream matte powder.

And next, onto a few pictures:

Sorry, it looks really dark, but this is my colour with no flash, but jsut so you can see the way it looks up close.

And this is how it comes. You kind of swivel the mirror (which is on the bottom of the compact)out to the side and the little powder puff sits on top of the mirror. I always find the puffs or sponges that come with powder compacts more than useless unless I'm in a pinch and without a brush. I do not like how the mirror comes out the side...I always find myself fumbling with it.

Um...I can't really think of anything else to tell you guys about the powder at the moment. Let me know if you guys have any questions and I'll try my best to answer them. But if you guys are looking for a cheap alternative to the blot powder, this may be a good option for you! Hope you guys had an awesome Easter weekend and hope you have an even better week :)

Glamour Buzz's giveaway!

2010-03-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, check out my friend Glamour Buzz's first giveaway! It's her "lashes & lips" giveaway...check out the pic and you'll see why!

Good luck to everyone who enters!

And by the way...I'm planning on a giveaway once I hit the big 1000 followers...if I do hit it that is :) I think it'll be a good one, I've already started putting things away for that. Woot woot! Who doesn't love a giveaway?

Foundation highs and foundation lows of this foundation ho.

2010-03-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, hope everyone's having a great day so far :P

Okay, so first I just want to tell you guys that I had my orientation class for my nail program that I'm taking...my class is miniscule! There were 4 of us in class yesterday and I think there may be one more person showing up. The teacher told us that the last class she had (that had moved onto the artificial nail part of the program and changed teachers) had 21 students. haha, I guess at least I'll be getting a lot more attention. And I already have a project to work on...homework! Yikes. It's been a long while since I've had to do homework.

Ok, so now onto my little rant. First of all...I've been stressed all week about something. And i know it might seem silly to most, but it's something that I find really troubling. My foundation doesn't match. There. I've said it. Seriously, I change my foundation every 3 or 4 days because it seems like my skin colour or tone changes that often. Impossible you ask? Let me tell you all the foundations I've gone through in the month of March alone:

1. Marcelle's new age foundation in natural beige (I think don't quote me on this specific colour) and mocha, mixed together (perfect for a while, then turned a tad too pink)
2. MUFE hd foundation #128 (perfect match until it tuned too peachy 3 days later)
3. MUFE mat velvet #40 (great for a few days, then too light and pink)
4. MAC sff in nc 30 (nice, but a bit orange-ish)
5. MAC studio scuplt (the best colour match of the lot, so it's the one I keep going back to, but the staying powder isn't the best for me and it makes me look a bit oily...and I've got dry skin!)
6. Maybelline dream matte mousse in medium 2.5(okay colour match but it looks so fake on me)
7. Revlon colorstay in 310 (a tad light...washes me out, but the best colour match for me from this line)
8. MAC studio tech, nc 30 and 35 (I usually use this jsut as a concealer, but I was desparate...looked too thick)
9. MUFE hd foundation #127 (my colour when I apply it, but it darkens slightly a few hours later and not enough staying power)
10. NARS sheer glow in Stromboli (WE HAVE A WINNER! My skin looks amazing...to me anyway)

**sigh** So I'm glad to say that my stress has been lifted by the NARS sheer glow foundation in Stromboli. It's a very yellow foundation, which I haven't really found in any other foundation. Every foundie that I've found that says it's for yellow toned skin is too peach or too orange or more golden or just plain pink (liars). This foundation is yellow. And I thought it would be too yellow, but it's perfect! I'm wearing it right now.

Now onto a rant that kind of ties in...

Do you guys feel like sometimes SA or MUA's that work counters don't listen to you? Sometimes I feel that the some of the ones that have worked at a specific place for a while know the products so well that they don't really take into account what you want from a product, instead pushing products that they think will work on you. Now don't get it twisted, I'm all for a professional giving me options that will work for me, but I've had many a SA be insistent that I get a specific product because they know I'll love it, only to bring it home and find that I hate it. Then to make matters worse I'll usually end up purchasing the product I wanted in the first place and loving that one. I'm a beauty blogger, I do research before I get to the store...makeup alley, other beauty blogs. I usually know what foundation colour I am before I get to the store because everyone is so great about posting their foundation brand equivalents.

I went to Sephora a few days ago to get colour matched to a few foundations I wanted to try the MUFE hd and NARS sheer glow foundation. Okay, so I already have 3 hd foundies, but I've been colour matched incorrectly and I never like how it looked on my skin. Not really enough coverage for me, but I want something more sheer right now. I feel like my foundation is looking a little heavy now that we're moving into spring. So I told the SA my problem and that I wanted the colours 127 and 123, she says I think that's too light so she gives me some darker options. I persist in the colours I've chosen because I know that any darker and it'll be too dark for me. I know because I have all her colour suggestions at home. She gives them to me, begrudgingly, so we move onto NARS sheer glow. I suggest punjab and stromboli...though I'm positive stromboli will be my colour. She suggests something darker: barcelona. Doesn't give me the other 2 because she does a colour swatch and she's positive barcelona is it. I can't see properly in the sephora mirrors cuz I'm too short! It's the wrong angle for the light to hit the swatch she's put on my neck, which is the only place I swatch my foundations. So I trust her. WRONG. First of all, my hd foundation match was 127 which I CHOSE. And Barcelona in NARS was like 2 shades too dark. I went back 2 days later for Stromboli, which as I've said IS my match. So frustrating. Why don't I colour match myself you ask? I usually do, but I find the lighting in most stores to be tricky. I colour swatch on my neck and the lighting overhead makes it a little difficult to see in most mirrors tacked to the wall. I guess my massive chin gets in the way, or it creates a bit of a shadow anyway. lol. So I need a second opinion. Seriously, I love SA's for the most part and I don't come across this every time I go to a beauty counter, but when I do I grit my teeth down to nubbins.

Well, I was going to go back to Sephora to get the NARS foundation when low and behold. I find a gift certificate to Holt Renfrew in the back of my wallet (holts is like the only high end department store in Canada), so I went there. Mind you, it's like an hour drive for me to get downtown from where I live with moderate traffic so I make a day of it by bringing the kids and visiting with my parents who live 10-15 minutes from dowtown. I get there, tell the SA I want the sheer glow foundation in stromboli. She asks if I've used it before. I say yes. She asks if I wanted the sheer matte. I say no. Okay, she rings it up, I bring it all the way home...mind you, I'm excited like you wouldn't believe. Rip off the pretty wrapping paper and what do I have??? Nars Sheer MATTE in stromboli. SO FRUSTRATING! RAAWASGJALKGJ"ALSK AS"Ek j"SWeipogjaega'peiorjg . (<---me being frustrated)

So now I'm down to maybe one more application of the sample I received from sephora (btw, thank you sephora for being so generous and offering samples in the first place. It really helps people with foundation issues like me!) and I've got a foundation I don't want and it's so far away and I've got no time to get down there. BAH.

I guess it'll be back to MAC studio scuplt until I can get down there to return it. Haha, I wonder how long it'll be before my skin decides to change colours again. I hope this one is it, cuz I love the way the sheer glow makes my skin look. I'll do a review once I get the full bottle.

So my question to you is, is there anyone else out there who goes through foundations like me? Or am I alone? And what do you think of persistent SA's?

Okay, have a great day guys and thanks so much for listening to me rant! xoxo

Annabelle Eyeshadow Trio in Blue Hue

2010-03-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, thanks so much for all the great comments you left me on my last post. Keeps me wanting to make more fotd's for you guys...it's just about finding the time! But I will try :)

Okay, so I'm back with my second review on the Annabelle trios that I received from the company. This trio is called Blue Hue. Not really a colour I would wear everyday (but you might if you're brave enough or have enough time to apply it, then kudos to you!) but definitely something fun for going out or special occasions.

So, just like the last review I did, I'll show you guys some pics and then I'll give you take on the product. Here it is with no flash:

And with flash:

And here are some swatches, swatched in the same order as the pics above.

And swatches with flash...

Here are the pros and cons, they're not really that dissimilar to the Graffix trio I reviewed last week:

Pros...

-great pigmentation, very vivid

-applied very smoothly

-did the thinking for you putting the colours together

-very available to us Canadian gals and guys...check your local drugstore

-great price point (suggested retail price: $7.25)

Cons...

-I kind of wish that the darkest colour was a bit darker so I could deepen my crease colour/put in my outer corner without having to reach outside of this specific palette

-the lightest colour had more fallout than the rest of the colours, but only by a bit (I didn't have a fallout problem with the other colours)

Overall thoughts...

I thought that the Graffix trio that I first reviewed was great and I'm glad that I think the same way about the Blue Hue trio, too. Sometimes I try a beauty product from a particular brand and love it only to be really disappointed in their other items, but from what I've seen I really like their eyeshadows. I can get the same results from a MAC eyeshadow as I do from these trios and I don't have to work with them anymore than I do a MAC eyeshadow, I apply them the same way. But these cost way less and you get 3 to work with instead of one. So if you're a struggling student or just trying to save a bit of cash (and who isn't these days) I think that these are worth checking out. And at all the places I've been to that sell Annabelle cosmetics, they have testers (which can be rare with drugstore brands) so you can test out the colours and pigmentation before you commit to buying. That way, you don't have to believe me if you don't want to, you can do your own personal review ;)

Okay, and like I did with the other trio, here are some pics of me wearing the eyeshadows...

Sorry, I totally forgot I was wearing a foundation that tends to wash me out in flash photos, so excuse the face.

Okay, if you're wondering about what other colours I'm wearing, here's the list:

-MUFE scupting kit #2 (darker colour to contour, lighter colour as a brow highlight)

-Scandalous eye base

-MAC sharkskin

-Maybelline line stiletto

-MAC smolder eye kohl

-daiso lashes

-MAC shell pearl beauty powder (as a cheek highlight)

-Revlon colorstay blush in petal

-Revlon colorburst lipstick in soft nude

-MAC partial to pink cremesheen gloss

Okay, hope you guys likey. Have a good night!

FOTD: Sushi Flower and Shadowy Lady

2010-03-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! And a special hello to all the new followers, thanks for checking out my blog :)

Okay, so I had a little time to play around with my makeup when my kids fell asleep this yesterday afternoon, so I got to it! Had to make it quick since with my kids, you never know if it's going to be a quick nap or a all-dayer. And this is what I came up with...

The products I used on my face were...

-MUFE hd foundation in 128

-Maybelline dream matte mousse concealer in Medium 0-2.5

-MUFE hd powder

-MUFE sculpting kit #2 (darker shade as a contour colour and lighter shade as a brow highlight)

-MAC Brit Wit cream blush

-MAC Style blush

-MAC Shell Pearl beauty powder (as a cheek highlight)

-Scandalous eyeshadow magnet

-MAC Yogurt e/s (inner eye area)
-MAC Sushi Flower e/s (lashline to crease and along the lower lash line)
-MAC Shadowy Lady e/s (outer corner, crease and outer corner of the lower lashline)

-MAC Carbon e/s (outer V)

-MAC Smolder eye kohl (waterline)

-Maybelline line stilletto in black (upper lashline)
-Red Cherry lashes #47

-Rimmel East End Snob lip liner

-Wet n Wild lipstick in 901B
-Sally Hansen miracle care lip saver in Gentle

If you're wondering about this pic, I have just rediscovered my Red Cherry lashes. I love these things! These specific ones are #47 and I just find them (and all the other Red Cherry lashes I've tried) to be so comfortable and light. You get fullness and length, but they don't feel heavy on the eyes and the spine of the lashes are so soft, so you don't get the ends of the lashes jutting into your skin. I just wish I could find them in a store near me! They can be hard to find online...there's a few websites that sell them, but my problem is shipping to Canada can be horrendous :( I try to buy them off ebay when I can.

Anywho, hope you guys have a great day!

Annabelle Trio Eyeshadow in Graffix

2010-03-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, so I lucky enough to receive the Annabelle trio eyeshadow in the colour Graffix to try and review. It's one of the 2 new shades available in the trios (the second I will be reviewing later this week). So here's my review...

I'll start with some pics for you guys. This pic is with no flash:

And with flash:

Swatches without flash (swatched in the same order as the palette):

With flash:

So here are the good and the bad:

Pros...

-highly pigmented and I didn't have to keep layering on the colour only to lose that colour when I blend it like I've found with most drugstore eyeshadows...I would say these specific colours are comparable to MAC grays/silvers I've tried in the past in the way that it applies

-applied very smooth

-I like that I didn't have to think about what colours should go together, they did the thinking for me by putting it in the trio

-very available for us Canadians...at your local drugstore, the website's suggested retail was $7.25 so it's pretty affordable

Cons...

-I found that the white-ish/lightest eyeshadow was a little too close in colour to the silver/middle colour shadow...don't know if it's just cuz I'm so tanned. I think it may not seem like that on someone with more fair skin.
-the darkest colour had quite a bit of fallout when I tapped my brush, so be careful you tap your brush before applying this colour or you might have raccoon undereyes.

Overall...

I actually enjoyed working with this palette. I thought the colours applied nicely and the outcome was nice, too. Sometimes I feel like I have to pack on drugstore/non-high end eyeshadows to get them to show up, but I had an easy time applying this one. I did apply it with a base (Scandalous eye shadow magnet) but I found it did wear well throughout my day. I do wish that the mid-tone colour was a tad darker, just so that you could really tell the difference between the three colours and that there wasn't as much fallout on the darkest shade, but I'm really nit-picking here. The fallout didn't actually affect me, since I do tap my brushes before applying to my eyes but I can see someone swooshing it on and ruining their foundation. Would I purchase another one of these trios based on my experience of this one? Yes, I would. Why not, great price and easily accessible and I don't think highly of drugstore eyeshadows (not too highly at all) but I genuinely liked this one!

Here are some pics of me wearing the trio. This pic is without flash...

Again with no flash...

And with flash...
I applied the lightest shade to the inner eye area and then used the darkest colour on the outer half/from lashline to just under the crease and then I blended upwards. I applied this dark colour along the lower lashline, too. Then I used the mid-tone colour between the lightest and darkest shades to blend the seamline. Ta-dah. Simple smokey eye.

If you're wondering what else I used in this pic I used...

-MUFE hd foundation in #128

-MAC studio tech foundation in NC30 (as a concealer)

-MUFE hd powder
-MUFE sculpting kit (darker shade as a contour colour, lighter shade as a cheek highlight and brow bone highlight)

-Revlon color burst lipstick in soft nude

-Luxe lashes (the ones from my last haul)

-Scandalous eye shadow magnet

-Koji liquid eyeliner pen

Okay, hope you like the review. Keep an eye out for my swatches and review on the other new Annabelle trio, Blue Hue. G'nite!

My little haul from the last few days...

2010-03-23T20:59:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, I'm home again. **aah** It's always nice to get away, even if it's just for a weekend. So I just wanted to show you a couple other beauty items I got while in Seattle. Nothing big, just a Sally Hansen miracle care lip saver in the colour "gentle" and a Maybelline blush in Precious Pink.

I'll do swatches and reviews for the upcoming weeks for your guys about the things I've picked up recently.

I also picked up a few pairs of shoes from Urban Outfitters cuz they were on sale. I grabbed these booties for $19.99...

And these simple black mesh-like flats for my nail tech courses that start on Sunday. I have to wear black shoes, so I thought little flats would be the most comfy. They were like $10.

Then I went out with my girls today and we walked around the mall a bit. I went to MAC hoping to back to MAC some stuff. I had enough to get 3 items...that's a lot of empties! But all I could find was one thing :( They sold out of some stuff that I wanted but I'll get to that later. I did manage to find these though...

Top to bottom: 130 brush, 227 brush, and partial to pink cremesheen gloss.

Here's the 227 on the left and the 130 on the right.

And here's Partial to Pink. I wanted to get the ever so famous Boy Bait, but they sold out. I had the choice of a lipgloss, lipstick or an eyeshadow and I really had a hard time. I kept picking up cute colours and then realizing that I already had those colours. That's when I realized I had too much makeup.

Then I came across this little kiosk that was selling fake lashes. They had quite an assortment and they were cheap. These puppies were $9.99 for the 3 pairs. I can't wait to try them to see what they feel like on. You can find the kiosk in Metrotown for those in BC, Canada...in front of Bebe. They have a website if you want to check out their lashes.

I also picked up a few pairs of jeans and a couple of tops from Forever 21. I hate shopping for jeans, but lately I've been lucky in finding a few pairs that fit me. I actually stopped wearing jeans for a while. A long while...let's see...my son is 18 months and I stopped wearing them the second I found out I was preggo so 9 months on top of that, so a year like 2 years and a bit! That's crazy! I've been living in leggings. Time to get my ass in shape I guess. Denim shopping is my swim suit shopping...me and my girlfriend were in change rooms next to each other passing the jeans that didn't fit us to each other. So sad. I'm stoked I found a few that fit. Now to get them hemmed for my short ass. HA.

Hope you guys have a great night and I'll be sure to post swatches soon and reviews :) And I'll be doing a few fotd's for some Annabelle eyeshadows I need to review next. Nite!

Only in the US...

2010-03-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

Only in the US can you get all these goodies for less than $40...

(All Maybelline) Top row: mineral powder illuminator in pink and peach
Middle row: dream matte powder in 2-2.5 and dream matte mousse in natural beige/medium 2.5
Bottom row: dream mousse blush 20/peach satin, dream mousse blush 10/pink frosting and dream mousse concealer in beige/medium 0-2.5

I can't believe how cheap makeup in the US is compared to Canada. I live literally 5 minutes from the US border, yet the price difference is ridiculous. And it's not like the Canadian dollar is lagging that far behind the US at the moment. I really think they need to fix that price difference. I don't think that it helps that I live in the most expensive province in Canada.

And from what I can tell from reading bloggers from the US is that you guys get a lot of BOGO or BOGO 50% or what I got when I went to Rite-Aid...40% off Maybelline products. That's crazy! We never get deals like this! Both the Dream Matte Powder and the Dream Matte Mousse from Maybelline were less than $8 (before the 40% off). At this moment, at London Drugs which is a drugstore we have in BC there is 20% off (so rare) the Dream Matte Mousse, but the regular price is $12.99. That's $5 friggin bucks man! So mad. So I grabbed a bunch of Maybelline stuff cuz they're things I wanted to try, but they're too expensive where I am and I can't justify buying drugstore for that price when I can get MAC or MUFE with a discount making it only a bit more expensive than drugstore.

I also grabbed 2 Revlon Colorstay foundations at BOGO 50% off and a Revlon Color Burst lippie in soft nude since everyone's been talking about it. We don't get a lot of the stuff you guys have in the US...you guys have SO MUCH more choice than we have, like we don't have the color burst lippies yet.

Thanks for listening to my mini rant and hope everyone's enjoying their weekend!

Where I keep my fake lashes...

2010-03-19T21:31:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, I'm sitting in a hotel room on Bainbridge Island and the kids are watching a kids show before they head off to bed, so I thought I'd post something.

I just wanted to show you my little lashes case for my fakes lashes that I made when I decorated my camera last week. I usually keep them in the case that they come in (like the Ardell ones come with their little cases), but since I started buying them in sets of 10's it's not really convenient keeping them in that big box and then they're just floating around with the other 9 pairs, so I went to Daiso ($2 store) and picked up a little plastic container (it was originally a little mini travel soap case & it came with a mini bar of soap too!) and just deco'd it to make it a bit cuter and you get...

Then you open her up and...

It keeps them clean and out of the way. Those are fake lashes for the lower lash line on the right side if you're wondering why they're so mini. So if you're looking for a cute way to keep your lashes from being crumpled up in the bottom of a drawer only to scare you later cuz you think it's a massive spider, then you can do a do-it-yourself lash case, too!

Hope you guys have a great weekend!

FOTD: Blue peep...ers.

2010-03-17T17:47:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, so I've been a little busy packing bags for the family since the kids and I are tagging along with the hubby on a work trip to Seattle. There's no way he's leaving us home alone when he's going across the border! Lol. Actually we're lucky cuz we always get to tag along on all his work trips, but that's coming to an end since I'll be starting my nail tech classes on the 29th of this month :( Anywho, I'll be bring my laptop, but I don't know if the hotel we're staying at has internet. Hm...I'll have to find out. So just warning you that if you don't hear from me until Tuesday, that's probably why.

So I just wanted to post a quick pic of a fast look I did using that Annabelle palette that I showed you a few posts ago. I don't really wear bold or bright colours in my everyday life, so I thought it would be fun to add a little colour.

All I did was dip an angled eyeliner brush into Make Up For Ever's eye seal, then dipped it into Annabelle's Nymphet eye shadow and applied it in a thick line to my upper lash line. Then I just went over it with more eyeshadow to get it that bright. Added a little bit of liquid liner (Maybelline's Line Stiletto) and smudged a bit of black pencil liner to my lower lash line (Annabelle smudgeliner in Oh My Goth!), applied a brow highlight and mascara and that was it.

It was really quick and simple, but put a little spring in my step (<--dork alert! dork alert! HA!)

Discount code and a collective haul from the last few days...

2010-03-16T21:24:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, just wanted to let you guys know that you all can get a 20% discount at http://www.skinmdnatural.com/ if you enter the code BABBLE when you checkout. My first code! Woot woot! I'm so excited :) I know that a lot of people have been trying it and loving it (me included) so if you want to try it out or if you already know you love it, then why not use the discount? It'll be good for 30 days from this post date.

Okay, now onto my collective haul from the last few days. I've been dying to get my hands on Shisem lashes, but alas...There aren't a lot of online shops that sell them and all of the ones that do have horrendous shipping charges. Not worth it. Considering that I come from a place that has a large asian influence, I'm surprised I haven't run into these korean lashes before :( So to get my lash fix, Iwent to this nail supply shop that I pretty much stalk and I picked up these babies.

At just under $11 a box, I'm pretty happy. I've used them in the past and they're really comfortable for me, so although I can't compare them to the Shisem lashes that I haven't tried yet, these are a great value and they feel really light when you wear them. And they're made in Korea, too. Perhaps VERY distant cousins to Shishem and Darkness lashes? Lol.

Here are some close ups of the ones I chose. There were so many to pick I wanted to grab them all! These are the ones on the left in the above pic...

And these ones are on the right...

I also picked up a Mosaic powder blush from NYX in Rosey, a Revlon nail polish called Lilac and a Sally Hansen nail treatment for growing your nails.

And then I popped over to Yokoyaya (which is like a sister store to Daiso or something since they have a lot of the same stuff) and picked up an eyebrow pencil, a powder puff and more lashes made in Korea. Haha, sad sad wannabes, but they looked so cute I had to get them. At $2 a pop, I can't really go wrong can I? I really liked the powder puff cuz if you look closely you can see that you can stick your fingers inside this little pocket thing instead of that little flimsy piece of ribbon that you usually get on powder puffs. And the eyebrow pencil is great. I've tried it before and I find that it stays on longer than the MAC mechanical brow pencil and it's cheap cheap cheap ($2 for each item).

Here are the closeups of the lashes:

The last 2 look really similar, but I think one of them is longer than the other.

I got this from Yokoyaya, too. I had this before but I think I lost it on a trip somewhere. So I picked up another one.

Then I was wandering an asian mall (Crystal mall for any of you who live in BC) and found this Shiseido brand lip balm and a Koji liquid eyeliner. My other obsession is liquid liners in pen form. I tried the tester in the shop and loved how smoothly it applied!

Okay, enough rambling for me...time to settle down for Law & Order SVU. Nite guys!

Annabelle Painted Love Custom Quad Collection

2010-03-10T22:15:00.000-08:00

Hi guys, I was sent some items from the Canadian company Annabelle and I just wanted to share some swatches with you. I was sent 4 new eyeshadow colours from their spring 2010 collection. The colours are bright and playful, perfect for spring.

So although I was sent these particular colours, I have my own palette from Annabelle that I purchased last year. I swatched a few and had to get them. I think it's great that I can purchase a build-your-own palette from my local drugstore. And the colours are pigmented and smooth. Actually, I've bought A LOT of eye shadows from drugstores in the past looking for ones that are pigmented & stay longer than 5 minutes and honestly, these single pots are darn good...yah, there's been a lot of mama's $$ down the pooper. Anyway, like I always say, there's only one way to find out if a product works for you and that's to try it yourself and I've tried a lot!

I figure there are skeptics out there who might think I'm buttering up this company for getting freebies, so I will stop talking/typing and just show you the pics. Then you can decide...

These are the colours I was sent:

Starting from the top left going clockwise: Helium, Nymphet, Pinked and Toxic Garden. With the exception of helium, I wouldn't recommend this collection for those who are afraid of colour.

Here are the colorus swatched on my hand in the same order as in the palette.

And a close up of the swatches.

And some pics of me using helium (inner eye are and brow highlight) and pinked (lash line to crease and the outer half of the lower lash line). I did use a light pink from Inglot to blend the pinked into the helium, just in case you're wondering. Oh and I'm sorry about the hair, I took some pics with my bangs/fringe down and then realized that you couldn't see the eye shadows! So I lamely tried to pin them back.

The pink was this great vibrant pink, so I used it sparingly since I was just going out with the family for the morning and didn't want TOO daring, just a little bit daring.

I've got a couple of eyeshadow trios from Annabelle that I'll show you guys in an upcoming post. Hope you guys enjoyed the swatches and pics!

Now onto a little cam whoring. I blinged up my camera a little bit and just wanted to show you guys. My husband spazzed. HA! He was like, "Man I have to use that camera, too, you know? It was bad enough when it just pink..."

It was his anniversary present to me in 2008, I should tell him he needs his own 'man camera' if he doesn't want to use mine. Mee hee hee. And I just got that cute little necklace off of etsy when I took the pic. I think it's so cute! Okay, anyway, hope you liked the pics and I hope you guys have a great day!

Calling out all Vancouver-based beauty bloggers and lip stains!

2010-03-03T20:42:00.000-08:00

Hi guys! Just a quick post while I'm waiting for dinner to cook in the oven. Salmon tonite. If you know where I'm from it wouldn't be such a surprise, I guess. So I was just wondering if there are any Vancouver-area based (BC, Canada) beauty bloggers who are planning on going to the IMATS in April. I don't know of a lot of beauty bloggers out this way, but wanted to find out if there were any and if they wanted to meet up at the IMATS. Let me know!

So lately I've been obsessed with lip stains. Not the ones in lipgloss form like the wand ones or the rollerball ones, but the ones that are like markers. I don't have a lot of pigmentation to my lips so I find that if I just swipe them on in the morning and apply lipstick and/or lipgloss like I regularly would, when the gloss or lipstick has faded away at least there is still some colour to my lips. And I've also been obsessed with cute pink lipglosses, but they just look like clear gloss on without some sort of colour on my lips, you know?

Okay, so here are the 3 that I bought last week:

Top: Styli-Style lip stain in Darling
Middle: Covergirl lip stain in Everbloom Kiss
Bottom: Covergirl lip stain in Teasing Blush

And here are some swatches of the lip stains in the same order that they are shown in the pic above, with flash:

And with no flash:

My 2 favourites are the Styli-Style darling one and the CG everbloom kiss ones. Last week it was darling because I was feeling the cutesy pink colour but this week I'm digging the everbloom kiss which shows up as more of a sweet berry colour on me. I think that the CG teasing blush is too dark for my taste though.

Anyway, if you've got no pigmentation to your lips like me, maybe this could be your answer. they stay on for such a long time...much longer than lipsticks or lipglosses, so I use it as kind of an insurance policy for when they rub away or get eaten off. Hope the swatches help any of guys considering these guys. Goon night!

Hair bun accessory...thing.

2010-02-28T20:39:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Okay so because of the questions I got on this hair accessory I showed you in my last Feb faves post I hunkered down and made a video for you all about it. I'm starting to get sick unfortunately, so if I'm sniffling and gross I apologize for it now :(

So here's the video...

Okay, now what I forgot to mention in the video was that this Parker Place mall is an asian mall. So if you have a mall like that or maybe even a Chinatown where you are, then you might find it there. But I'm telling you that I've been looking for it for a while and just by chance happened to see it in a store window and I didn't care how much it was, I was going to leave that store with this thing in hand. And I did. And it was the exact same brand that I saw on the internet a while back (don't remember where) that made me start looking for it in the first place, so I guess I was lucky. I've searched ebay and all over the internet and believe me, when I want something I will find it on the internet somewhere. Even if I don't know the name or brand, I will find it, but I haven't found this puppy anywhere online, not where you can buy it anyway.

There was a website on the back of the packaging, but I checked it out and there was nothing in the hair accessory area and it was all in Japanese, so I didn't really know how to navigate.

Okay, here's the pic from the last post...

And pics of the packaging...

And directions for how to use it...thank goodness they took so many pics of a real person using it, cuz with written directions in Japanese, I would have been lost.

Hope this answers your questions on how it works and all. And hope you enjoyed your weekend!

Lash Stiletto VS Lash Stiletto Voluptuous

2010-02-27T09:45:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! Hope you guys are enjoying the weekend so far. I feel like poo. I'm sick. Not entirely full blown sick so that I'm unable to do anything, but sick enough so that everything I do is annoyingly painful. I'm supposed to go downtown with the family on Sunday to check out the olympic festivities, but I'm sick and the kids are getting over being sick so I don't think I'll be able to which totally sucks, cuz the olympics are not coming back so long as I'm alive. And it's like 30-40 minutes away. Oh well.

Anyway, moving along...So I bought the lengthening, waterproof Lash Stiletto a few weeks ago and I loved it. So I picked up the volumizing, waterproof Lash Stiletto Voluptuous a week later. And I just wanted to compare the two for you all.

Okay, so here are the pics:

The black one on top is the lengthening Lash Stiletto and the red one on the bottom is the voluputous one.

Here are brush heads:
Again, lengthening one is on top, volumizing on the bottom. So you can see that the brushes are really different. The top brush reminds me of when I first started using mascara ages ago. Seemed like every mascara back then had brushes like this one. And then there's the curved one on the bottom which I actually really like. I like that you can use the curve or flip it around and use the rounded back. And I feel like it's a comfortable curve for my lashes or the shape of my eyes anyway.

Okay, here's where it gets a bit tricky. I really like the brush, but I'm not sure whether its the shape of the brush or the Voluptuous formula that makes my lashes fall flat a bit. I'm pretty sure it's the formula, but I can't be sure. What I mean is that when I apply the Voluptuous mascara, it makes the curl from curling my lashes droop whereas the lenthening original formula keeps them perky and makes the lashes themselves look long long long. Also, the Voluptuous formula does absolutely nothing for me in the volumizing department. Minus the sad, droopy curl and no length, I think it's pretty much the same look you get from the original formula.

Okay, so now you know which one I favour: the lengthening formula. I think I'll just toss the voluptuous one, but save the brush, wash it and put it into the lengthening tube.

Now for those of you who haven't tried this the lash stiletto mascara, here's why I like it:

-I don't get that crazy spidery lash look...ever
-it gives great length
-I like that it kind of tapers the ends of your lashes, so they never look clumpy or gloopy on the ends, which is how lashes really look naturally
-helps me keep my curl all day which is hard for me to find in a mascara (but might be just the waterproof formula and might not be with the washable version, cuz I find that waterproofs dry faster and so they help keep that curl intact)
-great pigmentation

Okay, so this was a quick little review and I'll be honest, I don't know if it made much sense cuz I was too busy blowing my nose and sniffing Vicks Vaporub like a fiend (which can't be good for you). I know a lot of you asked about my hair thingamabob for making buns and I'll talk about it in an upcoming post that I'll make on just the hair thing and how it works and where I got it from. Okay? Hope you guys enjoy the weekend and are vicks and tissue free.

My February faves

2010-02-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, hope everyone's doing ok. Hi to all the new followers and of course to all you who know me by now!

So I think I just may have missed my January faves. Don't quote me, things have to a blur. I can't believe we're going into the 3rd month of 2010 already. Anyway, here are some pics of what I've been using the most over the month of February in order of how I wear them.

1. Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion
2. Marcelle 1st Wrinkles Eye Contour Cream
3. Illamasqua Satin Primer

Top row: 1. Studio Sculpt NC30 - all over face
2. Studio Tech NC 30 - to hide discolouration
3. MAC Prep+Prime Powder - to set under eyes
(below #3) 4. MAC MSF medium - to set face
Bottom row: 5. MAC MSF medium dark - to contour
6. Revlon Colorstay Mineral Blush in petal
7. Bonne Belle Glimmer Bronze in gold n glitz - as a cheek highlight

Top row: 1. MAC Prep+Prime line filler

2. Too Faced Shadow Insurance
3. Face Atelier Camouflage in dark
4. Maybelline Eye Studio gel liner in blackest black
Middle row: 5. Maybelline Lash Stiletto
Bottom row: 6. Annabelle Smudgeliner in Electric Sapphire

Top: Styli-Style lip stain in Darling
Middle: MAC Dazzleglass in Baby Sparks
Bottom: Sally Hansen Lip Inflation in Sheer Pink

Now for 2 non-makeup essentials:

This guy is well-loved. I'd been looking around for one of these for a while now. When I'm out and about, I wear my hair in a high teased bun. This is great, you just out your hair in a ponytail, use the comb to tease your hair and then twirl it in a bun and stick this puppy in. Done.

My Hello Kitty watch. Hello Kitty blinged up? Heck yah. I love that it it helps me keep time AND makes me smile everytime I look at it :D

Okay, so those are my faves for this month. I think this has been my most simple month ever. No eyeshadows, not really doing my brows right now since I chopped my own bangs to about eyebrow level again. Nice and easy...although this is probably a multitude of items for the average gal. Not for us makeup junkies though!

Have a great night guys!

A few new lipsticks and swatches and a little news

2010-02-22T20:43:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! How have you all been?? It's been a while. Sorry I've been MIA, I've been busy this week. Here's my new: I have been accepted to a school to study to be a...nail tech! Big surprise there hey? I start on March 29th, so I've just been busy making sure everything is set so I have nothing to worry about until then. I'm super excited though.

Anyway, I picked up a few lippies last week so I thought I'd swatch them for you. First up is the MAC Viva Glam in Lady Gaga (I love that woman). It is such a pretty colour. Here's the lippie in natural light:

With flash:
And I'll show the swatch a little later...

Here is the other lippie. It's Maybelline's Color Scensational in Born With It. This is in natural light.

And with flash.

And here are the swatches. Natural light...maybelline on the top, gaga on the bottom.

And with flash.

And there you have it! Hope you guys had a great weekend and I'll talk to you guys soon :)

Maybelline Eye Studio eye liner

2010-02-15T19:12:00.000-08:00

Hi guys! So I've finally found my winner! Yay to Lady L. So thanks to everyone who entered and to those who have been checking religiously, it's time to retire ;)

So I've had the chance to try out my Maybelline Lasting Drama/Eyestudio gel liner that I bought last week. And I really like it. I've been using the MAC fluidline for a few years and I really like that one, but this one is quite comparable but for a cheaper price.

I originally bought the charcoal colour, but I liked it so much that I bought another one, blackest black. So first the pics and then I'll tell you guys why I like it.

It comes with a little brush which I think is a great idea. It was actually the reason I bought it. I never have to reapply my liner since I find that gel liners last on me until the moment I wash it off at night, but I thought it would be a good idea to carry an extra liner in my bag with me, in case I want to bump up a look or change my liner (like from thin to thick or more of a cat eye...). This brush is actually my perfect eyeliner. I usually use the MAC 231 brush (it's a small shader brush) to line my eyes, but I find the shape of this brush to be better for me.
It's stiff and pointed and makes the perfect thin line, but you can flip it the other way to fill in more colour. I only wish it was longer...like if they made this brush full size, I'd purchase it in a second, but like I said, it's going in my purse so it's the perfect size. Hm, now that I have 2 gel liners I guess I can stash one in my bag and one for home.

The top colour is charcoal and the bottom colour is blackest black. This pic is without flash.

And here are the same swatches with a flash.

Okay, so I think that the colour payoff is great and it applies really nicely. I can't figure out a word to use here, but I think that it is a little less "clumpy" than the mac fluidline. I say clumpy because usually when I dip my brush into my fluidline I get a blob of product on the end of my brush that I usually have to sipe up against the side of the jar, whereas I don't get that with this product. And it's not oily like I found the I wet n wild one to be. I think that the price is great, I got mine for less than $9 (before taxes) with a brush.

I really wish that they had more of a colour selection though. There's only 4 colours to choose from, black, charcoal, brown and purple. I'd love a jewel blue colour. Something that's a bit brighter than MAC's waveline fluidline...I have that one, but it's applies darker than it looks in the jar on me.

This product doesn't budge until I take it off which is great. Actually, I tested it out on my hand the first day and went to take it off with a baby wipe at the end of the night and not all of it came off even though I was scrubbing like a maniac. It kind of looked like my hand was stained with the liner. I got a little scared actually, but it came off easily with my regular eye makeup remover (which is oil based). Whew.

Overall, would I purchase this again? Yes. Definitely. Wears well, very pigmented and lasts long.

Would I recommend this? Yes. How can you beat the price compared to some of the other gel liners out there? AND it comes with a brush.

Are there any dislikes about this product? I just with there were more colours.

Would you trade in your MAC fluidline? Yah, for the black, brown, purple and gray (MAC doesn't have a gray one, actually) colours, but I'll have to depend on MAC and other brands to get more colour choice.

This is just my humble opinion on this eyeliner, but I hope this helps any of you that are thinking of purchasing this product!

Okay 4th time...LADY L, READ THIS!

2010-02-12T10:36:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, just a quick posts to let you know that I'm picking yet another winner. I'm starting to think that no one wants this prize!

Lady L, it's all you mama. If you could contact me before Monday, midnight with your mailing address I'll be sure to pass it on so you can get your prize (sorry, lost that old email with your address on it!)

Thanks guys.

I can't believe I'm choosing a winner for the 3rd time...PLEASE READ.

2010-02-09T10:41:00.000-08:00

Hi guys, I've chosen a new winner (for the 3rd time) for my giveaway. No one has contacted me within the time limit! Haha, okay...The NEW winner is...

NEHS. Congrats!

C'mon Nehs, I know you'll contact me for your prize! I'm crossing my fingers. Please email me your mailing address at makeupbabble@gmail.com by midnight PST on Thursday, February 11th so I can pass your info along.

Yay!

What I picked up at the drugstore and my deco phone.

2010-02-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, first of all I want to remind any of you who entered into my Skin MD lotion giveaway to please click here to check to see if you are the winner. You have until midnight pst tonite to contact me. I already had to choose another winner because the first person didn't contact me and I just want to get this poor little prize out to its new home!

Okay, so I had to pick up a few things at the store and I just cannot go into a shop without going through the makeup section (if there is one). So I picked up this guys which I haven't seen until today:

It's a Maybelline Lasting Drama gel eyeliner. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll be sure to let you guys know. I'm always on the lookout for new products. I'm quite happy with my MAC fluidline, but this one come with a little brush and I figure that if I like it, it'll be good to tote around with me in my makeup bag.

And since I've tried the Maybelline lengthening Lash Stiletto and really like it, I thought I'd try the voluptuous version. I could use voluptuous lashes. I'll let you know what I think and compare the lengthening and voluputous versions once I get the chance to really use it.

And I must be bored, cuz I did this to my phone (no flash):

I think I want to be Japanese. I love their fashion (well some of it), nails, makeup, deco...I think I need to go. One of my best friends just left the other day to go...I had to stop myself from giving him a 4 page list of things I wanted. Ha.

I was playing with clay with my daughter last night. She made a bird nest with an egg in it and I made the pink and green macaroons and the slice of cake, so I thought I'd do something with them. The rest are just pieces I bought. I'm not crazy if that's what you're thinking, I used a protective film to protect my phone. My hubby would kill me if found out I'd done this on the actual phone...he's the one who gave it to me ;) I actually just finished it and he's not home from work yet and I can already see the disapproving look on his face. He thinks I'm crazy.

This is a pic with flash.

And just so you can see how much my hand has to wrap around all the sweeties to actually get a good grip on the phone (it's quite a bit heavier now), here's a side view:

Like my broken nail? Lol. Yah, I'm not all too careful with my phone or anything really. If it's something I use everyday I definitely get my use out of it, so I don't know how long this is going to last!

Anyway, go check to see if you won or not! G'nite.

EDITED: Skin MD Natural Winner take 2

2010-02-06T22:10:00.001-08:00

EDIT: A new winner has been chosen.

Hey guys, I picked a winner for my giveaway last week but that winner never contacted me so I'm picking another one. The new winner is...

Rachael W who left this comment: "My skin has been so dry lately and I love that its natural!"

Congrats to the new winner, please email me your full mailing address at makeupbabble@gmail.com I'm giving you until midnight on Monday night to contact me otherwise I will be picking a new winner. I really want to get this prize out to its new home!

Thanks!