I’ve been getting into affordable eyeshadow palettes this year so when I saw the Elf Rose Gold Sunset palette while browsing and doing a little online shopping on Orabel Inc I knew I had to pick it up. While I wear a variety of shades of eye shadow, I do have a soft spot for warm tones. I’ve been wearing this palette and travelling with it so I’m ready to share my thoughts on this very easy to use and afforable palette. Continue reading
Almay is a brand that I haven’t really had much exposure to. I know many people who rave about their products but just hadn’t gotten around to trying them for myself. I was trilled to be able to try a bunch of Almay’s new products for spring which were recently gifted to me for review purposes. The products that I will be featuring for this post range from eyeshadows to lip glosses. Keep on reading for my first impressions and two makeup looks using these products. Continue reading
Hi guys! While indulging in mid end to high end makeup is fun, it isn’t always financially feasible. Shopping for makeup at the drugstore can also yield some hidden gems that work just as well, if not better than their pricier counterpart. Today I want to share with you some of my drugstore makeup essentials and why I love them so much. Before we get into it, it’s important to note that everyone has different skin tones so not everything I share will work for all. Personally, I have normal to oily skin that gets super shiny throughout the day.
I’ve sung the praises of this foundation time and time again. I’ve gone through so many tubes of the L’Oreal Pro-Matte Foundation. It truly makes a difference in keeping my skin matte, while also maintaining a natural finish to the skin. It has medium coverage so it evens out my skin tone and hides any minor blemishes or imperfections. As well, it lasts throughout the day. Continue reading
Hi guys! Quite a few weeks ago now I was sent the L’Oreal Revitalift Bright Reveal products that you see above complimentary by Influenster for review. I’ve been using them exclusively for the past few weeks and I’m at a point where I’ve developed an opinion on them that I’m ready to share!
I followed the routine that Influenster suggested in order to get a grasp on how well these products work:
Now, let’s take a look at each individual item!
My normal routine does not include exfoliating every day as it damages the skin, however, to follow the suggested routine, I gave it a shot. Over time I did not notice any damage to my skin, though I have gone back to my usual once or twice a week routine now that I’m done testing. The granules in this scrub feel fairly gentle and are used sparingly in the scrub, so you’re not getting as deep (or harsh) of an exfoliating as you would with say… St. Ive’s Apricot Scrub. The cleanser itself is almost gel-like so it tones down the harshness as well. My skin felt clean and smooth after using this nightly. The only thing I didn’t like about it as it was a bit difficult to get all the granules off my face while rinsing.
More specifically, the active ingredients of this are Perlite and Glycolic Acid to exfoliate your skin’s dullness and impurities to assist in improving texture and complexion. As I said earlier, my skin does feel smooth after using this.
The next step in this routine is to use the Brightening Peel Pads. These pads, I found were saturated with just the right amount of the product so that you could feel it on your skin, but the pads were not dripping. I appreciated this as you would not want to get this in your eyes! You use the pads in a circular motion on your face to chemically exfoliate your skin. I found this was great as it got what the scrub missed!
The Brightening Peel Pads contain 10% Glycolic Complex which is what gently exfoliates the dead skin cells away. It’s said to resurface uneven skin. I don’t have a lot of issues with uneven skin so I can’t really comment on this claim. But, you can see on the pads that it does exfoliate, and I found it picked up what the very gentle scrub missed. Continue reading
Hi guys! I posted the other day about my September Ipsy Glam Bag and in it, I received the e.l.f. Smoked to Perfection Palette so I thought today I would create a look using it! This also works well since the Canadian Beauty Blogger’s Brand of the Month for September is e.l.f.! For this look, I simply used the directions on the back of the palette to create the look that e.l.f. suggests doing. This palette is designed for beginners so the shadows are sheer and buildable to make it easy to create a look without going overboard. At the end of this post I’ll summarize my thoughts on this palette!
Primer: Nivea Post Shave Balm in Sensitive
Foundation: L’Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte Foundation in Classic Ivory
Concealer: Too Faced Born This Way Concealer in Very Fair
Powder: Maybelline Matte + Poreless Translucent Powder
Blush: e.l.f. Blush Palette in Light (bottom left shade)
Bronzer: Physician’s Formula Butter Bronzer
Highlight: Too Faced Candlelight Glow Highlighting Powder Duo in Rosy Glow (both shades mixed)
Eyes: Urban Decay Primer Potion (original). e.l.f. Smoked to Perfection (see photo below for details). Smashbox Rated-X Mascara (lashes).
Brows: L’Oreal Brow Artist Shaper in Blonde and Essence Make Me Brow in Blondy Brows
Lips: NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Damned
1. Apply base shade all over lid 2. Add lid shade to the centre of the lid 3. Blend the crease shade into your crease 4. Apply the liner shade on the lower lash line and smudge out 5. Add highlight shade to inner corner and brow bone
After using this palette, I definitely think it is indeed foolproof. The shadows blend nicely and are sheer enough that you don’t add too much too quickly. They are buildable so you can control the amount of pigment you are using. The highlight shade is a bit chunky, but other than that, the shadows were great to work with. I never comment on longevity as I find my eye shadow all wears the same since I always use the Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion (original) on my lids as a first step.
In summary, if you’re looking at dabbling with creating a smoky eye, or if you’re looking for an inexpensive palette to add to your collection, I highly recommend the e.l.f. Smoked to Perfection palette! It retails for about $8.00 CAD (their website lists it as $6 USD so I did a rough conversion).
Have you tried e.l.f.? What are some of your favourite e.l.f. products? Let me know in the comments down below! And be sure to check out what e.l.f. products the other Canadian Beauty Bloggers are writing about? I’ve got links to their posts below!
xoxo,
Robyn
You can also find me here…
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Hi guys! I’ve had the Maybelline The Blushed Nudes Palette for quite some time and I hadn’t got around to reviewing it yet. I wanted to use it more before reviewing and I never seemed to reach for it when doing my makeup so I kept putting it off. However, today I am ready to review it for you. I received this palette from Influenster for review purposes, however, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
The palette itself is a rosey neutral palette, quite similar to the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette. It contains twelve shadows, three of which are matte and the rest are shimmery.
For comparison, here is previous photos I’ve posted of the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette:
The two palettes are quite similar, however they are of course at very different price points so you can’t really expect them to be dupes. They most certainly are not. The shades in the palette are similar but that is where the comparison stops.
As you can see from my swatches, these shadows sheer out a lot. They are also a bit chalky in consistency. I thought they would be impossible to work with, but I found them relatively easy to work with. The darker shades definitely are easier to work with than the lighter shades. I always use a primer when applying eye makeup so it always wears consistently so I can’t really speak to wear time.
Since the shadows don’t have names (why wouldn’t you name your shadows?!) I’ve done up this guide to show you which shades I used in this look:
So, while this isn’t my favourite palette in the world, I wouldn’t completely write it off. For the price (approx $14 CAD) it’s a decent palette. I found the best way to apply these shadows was to pack them on using a shader brush or a crease precision blender (Morphe E17). If you wanted a softer look, you could definitely blend them out and achieve that. While personally, I think I’ll stick to my Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette, if you’re looking to dabble into eye makeup, this might be a good place to start. It’s a good selection of shades, is inexpensive and since the shadows are a little more on the sheer-side you can really control the amount you are applying.
Have you tried the Maybelline The Blushed Nudes palette out? Let me know what your thoughts were in the comments down below. If not, what is your favourite drugstore palette? I’d love to hear your suggestions!
xoxo,
Robyn
You can also find me here…
*Product was sent to me for review, all thoughts and opinions are my own. I did not receive compensation to write this post
Hi guys! I’ve been using the Essence Get BIG Lashes Mascara for about a month or two now so I feel like I’m ready to do a review on it. I feel like I’m always switching which mascaras I use each quarter – meaning I don’t typically re-buy something I’ve already tried. This means I end up reviewing a number of mascaras. Each time I try a mascara I make a mental list of ones that I WOULD repurchase again though. With so many mascara choices though, I always feel temped to try new ones.
Essence is a brand that I’ve been getting more and more into this year. It is so inexpensive and the products are of a high quality. Each time I go to Shopper’s Drug Mart another Essence product make’s it’s way home with me. I had been hearing positive things about their mascaras but couldn’t remember which one so I grabbed one that seemed appealing to me. I chose the Get BIG Lashes Mascara which is meant for volume boosting.
The wand itself is football shaped and is on the bigger side. Essence claims the large wand is to make sure each lash is coated, however, I prefer a smaller brush if you’re trying to get every lash. Due to it’s size, you need to be careful particularly when coating those pesky bottom lashes.
My lashes themselves look longer and definitely have more volume than usual when wearing this mascara. My lashes on the one eye (of course the one I got the better pictures of) tend to clump together so that is not a fault of this mascara. The formula is fairly light weight so you can’t really tell you’re wearing it. It isn’t as weightless feeling as the Revlon Dramatic Definition Mascara which is the last mascara I reviewed and the other one in my current rotation.
As for wear-time, I’m currently wearing this mascara as I write this and I’ve had it on for about twelve hours and my lashes look the same as they did this morning. No flakes or smudges at all.
Overall, I really like the Essence Get BIG Lashes Mascara and I would repurchase it eventually. I think I like the Revlon Dramatic Definition Mascara a bit more though. That one seems to have a bit more “oomph” to it and the wand is smaller.
Have you tried any Essence Mascaras? I’d love to try another so please leave your suggestions in the comments down below!
xoxo,
Robyn
You can also find me here…
Hi guys! It’s been quite awhile since my last Love for Lipstick post but I’ve got another one for you today featuring the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in the shade San Paulo. I picked this up during a Drugstore Haul in June and I’ve been wearing it quite a bit to get a feel for how it performs on the lips.
I’m a huge fan of liquid lipsticks so a relatively inexpensive drugstore one caught my eye. I had seen this shade raved about on a video that KathleenLights did so that was partially why I chose San Paulo. It also seemed very versatile and wearable.
The applicator is a doe-foot and has a fairly short wand. If you compare it to the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks or the Colourpop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipsticks you will see a considerable difference. “Soft Matte Lip Cream” is the perfect name for this product as it really is more of a cream than a liquid lipstick. The creamy formula is quite easy to apply. I prefer to blot it off so it ends up looking more like a stain. When wearing it, I can’t really feel it at all on the lips. It is matte though so if you have dry lips you may not like it.
1. Freshly applied (8 am); 2. Prior to eating lunch (12 pm); 3. After eating lunch (12:30 pm); 4. After work (5:00 pm)
The NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream lasted roughly nine hours. It did fade considerably throughout the day and get a bit patchy throughout the day but if you were looking at my lips from a normal distance you likely wouldn’t notice. It survived two meals and survived me drinking water all day. It felt comfortable on the lips and I could barely tell it was there.
Overall, while I enjoyed this lipstick as it was comfortable and wore decently, I don’t think it is my favourite “liquid lipstick”. I prefer the formula of the Kat Von D Liquid Lipsticks or Colourpop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipsticks (a more traditional formula). I did like this enough to try other shades though.
Have you tried any of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams? Let me know in the comments down below! If you’ve missed any of my Love for Lipstick series, you can find all of those posts here!
xoxo,
Robyn
You can also find me here…
Hi guys! It’s time for another Mani Monday! I recently posted about the Essence Gel Nail Polish when I did my last Drugstore Haul. I couldn’t wait and I had to immediately apply the whole system to my nails. I chose Play With My Mint as it’s a cute minty green shade, a colour that aside from purple, I’m instantly drawn to. This polish claims to last “60% longer” but I’m not sure what the comparison is to… other gel polishes? Regular nail polishes? Anyways, with how inexpensive these were, and the “gel” concept, I was hooked.
Products Used:
Essence The Gel Nail Polish Base Coat
Essence The Gel Nail Polish in “Play With My Mint” (2 coats)
Essence The Gel Nail Polish Top Coat Continue reading
Hi guys! Wednesday evening I was experiencing quite a bit of pain and irritation in one of my eyes which just seemed to get worse as the night progressed. I decided to try to go to sleep to see if I would wake up and feel better (I feel like this is my body’s equivalent of trying to restart a device when you’re troubleshooting). The pain was so unbearable I barely slept so on Thursday when I woke up to a totally bloodshot eye, I decided to take a trip to the Emergency Room. After a very quick visit (so thankful it was quiet in the morning!) I learned I had an abrasion on my cornea. While waiting for my prescribed eye drops at Shopper’s Drugmart I decided to browse and treat myself to a few things! Thankfully the freezing drops were still working from the ER so I could handle daylight… Once they wore off… it was shut curtains and sunglasses indoors for me because when you have an abrasion on you cornea the sun feels like laser beams.
Let’s take a look at what I purchased to lift my spirits!
I’ve had my eye on the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams for awhile. I’ve seen mixed reviews on them, but I want to try them myself. They have a bit of a mousse-y texture so I’m looking forward to trying this on my lips! I picked out the shade San Paulo. I also picked up the Essence Get BIG! Lashes Mascara as I’ve really enjoyed the other items from Essence that I have tried so far! I like a variety of different types of mascaras on-hand so I decided to go for a volume-boosting formula. Can’t wait to try it! Continue reading
Lipstick on the Lake 