November 29, 2010

Happy Monday lovelies! Hubby and I and a couple friends of ours spent the weekend in Montreal shopping and partying and had an absolute blast. Montreal is only 2 hours drive away for us and we tend to go often. We shopped until afternoon, rested in the hotel, had dinner at a great French bistro and then headed out to Jello Bar for partying till 4 am. We drove back on Sunday and as always i'm dreading Monday, lol! How was everyone's weekend?

I did a simple look with bolder lips for the night. I took my Naked Palette with me which has quickly become a fave!

Face
Pro Longwear foundation - NW25
Nars Madly blush

Eyes
Painterly p/p - base
UD Sin e/s - lid
UD Buck and Naked e/s - crease
UD Virgin e/s - highlight
UD Dark Horse e/s - outer v
BB Cobalt Ink g/l - to line
Lancome Hypnose mascara

Lips
Inglot #866 l/l
Rebel l/s
Clear Gloss



and here's a pic of my dress, got it from Marciano a couple of weeks ago:


the back:


and a pic of the group at the Jello bar:


Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

November 26, 2010

Happy Friday beauties! I for one am super psyched about the end of the week. I've had a rough one and we're going to Montreal this weekend to party it up. God knows I deserve it!

The ubber LE Nikki Minaj lipstick is being released today and maccosmetics.com and I spent a few minutes last night looking for swatches. This lipstick looks quite a lot like Snon (Perm) and St Germain (LE). Both of which I own so no need to go for the Nikki version. I adore Snob, it's super flattering on my skintone and I'm actually on my second tube. St Germain is a little trickier though it's not as bluetoned. I decided to wear St Germain today with warm toned eyes (UD Naked Palette) for contrast. Let me know what you think!

Face
Lise Watier Portfolio - Light
Nars Sheer Glow Foundation - Punjab
Ben Nye powder
Sculpt
Nars Madly blush - holly this was more pigmented than I thought!

Eyes
UDPP - base
Dirty GPS - base for outer lid
UD Sin e/s- inner lid
Family Crest p/m - outer lid
UD Dark Horse e/s - crease
UD Virgin e/s - highlight
UD Zero 24/7 - to line
Cargo 3 in 1 mascara

Lips
In Synch l/l
St Germain l/s

November 25, 2010

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends and followers! It seems like I have my routine figured out and hence we have another installment of Tried and True in which I will do a quick review of products that have been working for me in the long term. These series will be posted on my blog every other week on Thursdays (Thursdays when I don't do polls).

Bobbi Brown is not a brand that is famous for colourful and edgy makeup looks. I do find that there are some unique gems in the brand though; namely her shimmer bricks and her gel liners, both on top of my fave products list. Bobby Brown gel liners apply very smoothly and dry quickly; but not too quickly to make application difficult. I have tried many gel liners from various brands but I find BB's to be the longest lasting ones. They withstand high temperature and humidity quite well without smudging. Oh and by the way, unlike MAC's fluidline, these babies don't dry up in the pot quickly. Which is one of the reasons I want to go back for more!



BB gel liners come in many different shades and I own three. Of the three, the first one I bought a year and half ago, Cobalt Ink, is also my favourite. Cobalt Ink is a dark, pigmented navy colour. It's my favourite shade of liner to do a cat eye look with. I love a swipe of Cobalt Ink on the eyes with hot pink lips, best simple look ever!

Some swatches:




Have you guys tried BB's gel liners? What are some of your favourite colours?

November 24, 2010

You know I love my red lips. I have a pretty sizable collection of crimson hued lipsticks and glosses and feel odd if I don't do red lips at least once a week. I think it has to do with my mom doing red lips as I was growing up. It's funny to see I'm becoming my mom, lol!

The newest addition to my arsenal is Lise Watier's Lip Kiss Crayon Gloss in Red Flamenco ($18CAD, Shoppers Drugmart). I had heard of the Lip Kiss Crayon Glosses but had never tried them. I saw that Lise Watier had three new shades for their winter collection and of course I grabbed the red one, Red Flamenco. I have already fallen in love with this product! Red Flamenco is a super pigmented metallic red. It looks very festive, I thought of Christmas as soon as I put it on.



The application is easy breezy as this is a gloss in a chubby pencil form. I do have to apply a lip liner as with the rest of my pigmented gloss to avoid bleeding. The pencil glides on easily and you only need a light swipe to get the true colour. It also lasts a looooong time. I put this gloss on at 11 am and it was still perfectly intact at 8 pm. It's definitely the longest lasting gloss I've ever got my hands on; I would even go as far as calling it a liquid lipstick. My only gripe is that you have to be 100% sure the caps is on properly or it will make a big mess in your bag. Also, I recommend putting this in the fridge for a bit before sharpening to make the process easier.

Overall, two thumbs up! I will be purchasing more of Lise Watier's lip kiss crayon pencil. Here are some swatches:





Have you tried this Lise Watier product? What some of your fave red lipsticks?

November 23, 2010

Orly's Cosmix FX was in my opinion one of the best nail polish collections ever made. Heck, it probably was the most unique one. I bought three of the shades and featuring the second one today. Out of this World is a sultry dark blue purple with gold shimmers all through. I love how Orly does their new shimmer nail polishes, they're quite opaque and the sparkles are dense. I absolutely love this shade and thought I share a pic with you guys.

This is two coats, in semi cloudy outdoor lighting:

November 23, 2010

As promised in my Return of the Vamp post, I will be doing a series of festive look in the spirit of the holiday season. I will probably have a couple of these festive looks up every week, squeezed in between my other looks. I have a tone of ideas already and am super psyched!

For the first holiday look, I thought I start off with a more unexpected look. I went for all yellow shades on the eyes and glossy frosty red lips. I had a lot of fun with this unusual combo, hope you guys enjoy it too!

Face
Lise Watier Portfolio - Light
Pro Longwear Foundation - NW25
Sculpt
Prim n Proper blush

Eyes
Painterly p/p - base
Inglot AMC #60 - inner lid
Vanilla p/m - mid lid
Golden Lemon p/m - outer lid
Bright Future e/s - outer lid
Espresso e/s - outer v
Crest the Wave e/s - highlight
MUFE Gold e/k - lower lashline
Smashbox Heartbreaker l/l - to line
Cargo 3 in 1 mascara

Lips
Inglot #337 l/l
Lise Watier Lip Kiss Crayon Gloss in Rouge Flamenco - LOVE this! Review will be coming tomorrow!





and one with flash:

November 22, 2010

I finally got my hands on the famous and beloved by so many Urban Decay's Naked Palette. I've been on the waiting list for this at my Sephora for what seems to be an eternity. Believe it or not they actually have a waiting list for the initial waiting list, LMAO! I'm glad I finally have this palette though. The packaging is so sleek and refined unlike UD's usual palettes. I wanted to have a full on neutral palette forever and this seems to fit the bill:





While I was in Sephora, I walked around for about an hour swatching a bunch of products that have been on my wishlist for a while. I ended up getting two more things.

I wanted a neutral blush for everyday. I have Prim n Proper from MAC that I love, but I wanted something a little lighter and closer to my skintone. I ended up settling for Nars Madly. I tried it on in the store, amazing neutral everyday shade on NW25 skintone:


Last but not least, I got a fleshtoned polish. This one is Sephora by OPI Going Nude, eh? Can someone please tell me if this was inspired by us Canadians or not? I mean, we do have a monopoly on "eh?" right?


Do you guys own any of these products? What are your thoughts on them? If you like, please share your latest haul in comments.

November 22, 2010

I was in the mood to do a dark vampy look on Saturday and I went for it. I'm sad I have no natural light pics for this as the flash washes off the dark mood. But I thought I share anyway as I usually have the most fun when I do dark and moody looks and this was no exception.

Also, I'm thinking of doing a series of Holiday themed looks starting this week. I probably will do a couple per week. I have some great ideas and can't wait to show you guys :)

Hope everyone started a great week. Let me know how you like the look.

Face
Cover Fx Primer
Lise Watier Portfolio - Light
MUFE HD Foundation - 118 (Flesh)
Ben Nye Powder
Sculpt
Nars Sin blush

Eyes
Painterly p/p - base
Jest e/s - inner lid
Cranberry e/s - mid lid
MUFE #158 - mid lid
NYX Black e/s - outer lid and crease
Coppering e/s - above crease
Blanc Type e/s - highlight
Black GPS - lower lashline
Lise Watier Smokey e/k - to line and smudge
Lancome Hypnose mascara

Lips
MUFE 12C l/l
Kirsch Mattene
Nars Dragon Girl mvp
Cult of Cherry l/g

Doing my best vamp impression, not sure it's working!




back to smiley self:

November 20, 2010

I have a weakness for Chanel lip products and every once in a while indulge in a couple of them. They're obviously pricier than most brands out there so it's definitely not an everyday indulgence. I love Chanel's Rouge Coco, Rouge Allure and Rouge Allure Lacques and their Glossimers are also a favourite of mine. In fact glossimers first started my love for Chanel a couple of years ago.

I had a facial appointment at my local Chanel counter and picked up two lip products after:



The first one is Rouge Allure in Vertige. I would call Vertige a true red coral but not too coral to be orangey in tone. It's brighter and bolder than Orchidee RC. On my pigmented red lips, this still shows up very true to the colour of the tube. Rouge Allure lipsticks apply smoothly and are very comfortable on the lips. I get 5-6 hours of wear out of them and I also absolutely love the packaging. Vertige is my 4th RA l/s! Here's a couple of pics:





I also wanted to get a new glossimer to go with Vertige. My MA picked Meteore which I probably wouldn't looked at if she wasn't there. But I loooooved it once I swatched it on my hand and then on my lips on top of Vertige RA. Meteore is a difficult shade to describe, I would call it a multi-tonal rose but somehow it also brings out the coral in Vertige. Glossimers are generally very sparkly and are best paired with lipsticks. They also photograph amazingly well.





Here are some swatches on hand for you guys. First the two lippies separate and then layered:





Hauled any Chanel (or any makeup) lately? Please share in comments. Do you have any of these two products?

November 19, 2010

So I was gonna make a longer blog post with my latest Chanel haul but the Photobucket new design was hating me and wouldn't let my pics show up properly. I got so frustrated that I kinda got turned off from Photobucket. So this is going to be a shorter post with a simple look from yesterday.

I wore a very simple look on Thursday with dramatic lips a la Chanel Rouge Noir and simple gray toned eyes. I only have one picture too coz they all came out weird, lol! But I did get quite a bit of compliments on this look :) Hope you guys like it too.

Face
Lise Watier Portolio - Light
Nars Shee Matt Foundation - Light 5 (Fiji)
Ben Nye powder
Chanel Plum Attraction blush

Eyes
Painterly p/p - base
Blanc Type e/s - all over lid
Vanilla p/m - highlight
Smoke n Diamonds e/s - crease
Print e/s - outer v
Lise Watier Black teal e/l - to line
Cargo Swimmable e/l the blue shade - lower lashline
Marcelle Power Volume mascara

Lips
Annabelle Bordeaux l/l
Chanel Rouge Noir RC
Jampacked l/g

November 18, 2010

I did this look on Sunday for brunch and shopping with a close girlfriend and only now getting to post it :/ I tend to like shopping on my own but this one friend has very similar taste to mine so I love going to the mall with her. We both did do some damage to our bank accounts but left the mall happy.

I did a pink-toned look that included girly shades on eyes, cheeks and lips. Hope you guy like it!

Face
Lise Watier Portfolio - Light
Nars Sheer Matt - Light 5 (Fiji)
Ben Nye powder
Nars Desire blush

Eyes
Fresco Rose p/p - base
Inglot Pearl #440 e/s - inner lid
Rose p/m - mid lid
Smoke Signal p/m - outer lid
MUFE #39 - crease
BB Chocolate Shimmer g/l - to line
UD 1999 24/7 - lower lashline
Chanel Inimitable mascara in burgundy

Lips
Annabelle Fuchsia l/l
OCC Pageant lip tar





pic with natural lighting:

November 18, 2010

Hey beauties! I've decided to make my Thursday Polls bi-weekly and do my Tried and True posts on alternate Thursdays. I think I will have a better flow this way and will scratch my head last minute for ideas.

For this week's Thursday Poll, I wanted to ask you about your favourite beauty shopping destination. For me it's definitely Sephora. I like that they have many brands in one location and especially my top two makeup brands, MUFE and Nars! I also love the fact that I can always get samples of products to try and I appreciate their beauty insiders program. I also get very good customer service at my Sephora (though that can just be my luck). I obviously also shop at MAC, department store counters, drugstores (rarely) or makeup trade shows but Sephora wins hands down for me.

What is your favourite beauty retailer? Please share in comments.

November 17, 2010

You all know that I have a tendency to buy a lot of lip products. What you might not know is that I'm also always looking for the next best foundation. I have about 10 bottles in rotation and though that's probably enough, I still feel like there's something even better out there.

I acquired a sample of the newest addition to MAC foundation family, Pro Longwear, with skepticism. I'm very wary of MAC foundations in general as they tend to transfer and also never seem to have the exact colour match for me. But I'd heard so much rave about this one that I gave it a shout. I must say I loved the sample enough to go and buy a full size. After wearing this foundation for almost 2 months, I'm ready to do a review:

MAC Pro Longwear is hands down the best MAC foundation I've ever tried. It's definitely the longest lasting foundation in my stash. I do not need to set this with a powder and it still lasts with no shine on my combination type skin for over 1o hours. The coverage is closer to medium than full which I like. I find the application pretty easy and breezy. I use MAC 187 and it applies smoothly and evenly. I love how this foundation looks on my face, it's matte but not flat; like a beautiful satiny smooth finish. I also find that this foundation works best without a primer; wearing a primer made the formula a little slippery and the application more difficult for me personally.

My biggest gripe as I mentioned with MAC foundations is the colour matching. I find the line to lack in more neutral/beige undertones. I was matched to NW25 in this foundation (which is normally my match) back in early September and it worked pretty good. I do find it a bit orange on me now that my tan is fading though but manage with a lighter powder on top. It's slightly darker than Studio Fix Fluid in NW25 but slightly lighter yet more orange than studio sculpt in NW25. I would say definitely get matched before you buy even if you know your MAC shade.

Some pics for you:




studio sculpt (NW25) on top, pro longwear (NW25) on the bottom. Couldn't find my bottle of studio fix, sorry guys :(


picture of me wearing MAC pro Longwear in natural daylight setting back in late September

Have you tried MAC's Pro Longwear Foundation? How do you like it? What is your favourite foundations?

November 17, 2010

Hey guys! We've been having milder temperature in the capital these days and yesterday it actually went up to a high of 10C, which is rare for here this time of the year. I had just purchased Nars Heat Wave l/s and thought this was the perfect opportunity to wear it. I was always intrigued by this orangey red l/s but intimidated by something as fiery on my beige to peachy skintone (NW25). Then I heard Dara of Belle Du Jour rave about it on Twitter and gave in. I must admit I actually love this lipstick! I'm used to blue toned reds but this orangey shade really brightens my complexion in a way I never imagined!

So anyway, if you are neutral to cool skintone, don't be scared off by this lipstick, it will be more suitable than you think. I did a very simple eye look with this lipstick to let it do the talking. Let me know what you think.

Face
Lise Watier Portfolio - Light
Nars Sheer Matte - Light 5 (Fiji)
Ben Nye powder
Sculpt
Nars Gilda blush

Eyes
Painterly p/p - base
Blanc Type e/s - all over lid
Espresso and Cork e/s - crease
Vanilla p/m - highlight
Smashbox Heartbreaker l/l - to line
UD Stash 24/7 - lower lashline
Lancome Hypnose mascara

Lips
Inglot l/l #861
Nars Heat Wave l/s

with flash


outdoor, slightly cloudy

November 16, 2010

Hey gals! Just a quick note to let you know that I created a page for BeautySpot on Facebook. I wasn't not too keen on creating a "fan" page and it sounded a little silly to me but a bunch of my friends put me up to it and here we are. I started putting some pictures in there and hopefully will remember to update as often as here, lol!

I still can't figure out how to link my page on here though, I'm really hopeless when it comes to computer me thinks! Anyhow, here's the link, check me out :D

BeautySpot on Facebook

November 16, 2010

I've used Sugarpill's Royal Sugar only once since I got it and I have no idea why. It certainly is a gorgeous colour. I love to pair this bright blue shade with more neutrals for some reason. It's very sparkly so I like to tone it down with matte browns in the crease.

Hope you guys like this look. Happy Tuesday!

Face
Lise Watier Portfolio - light
Pro Longwear foundation - NW25
Prim n proper blush
Shell Pear bp

Eyes
Painterly p/p - base
Sugarpill Royal Sugar - with mm on lid
Aqua e/s - inner lid
Nars Bali e/s - crease
Wedge e/s - above crease
Vanilla p/m - above crease
Lise Watier Marin e/l - to line
Cargo Swimmable e/l in teal blue - lower lashline
Cargo 3 in 1 mascara

Lips
Naked l/l
Blankety l/s
Glamour for All l/g