Holiday Makeup: Simple Yet Festive

December 18, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / 2 Comments

I feel like I’m way behind on my usual holiday makeup looks for the Christmas season but the time has just been flying by. With how accelerated time feels this may end up being my only holiday look for this season, but we’ll see! I’m trying to cram in as much as I can before going out of town this weekend between trying to see all my loved ones and getting ready to go. This holiday look isn’t anything dramatic or bold, but is a look that is easy to pull together. I’ve done a gold/neutral eye paired with a merlot red lipstick. I think this is a stunning combination! For my eye makeup I’ve busted out my tried and true Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette.

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Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Liquified Lipstick

December 15, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / 4 Comments

It is no secret that I love liquid lipsticks so when I saw that Bite Beauty came out with their own version, I was definitely intrigued. I did see several reviews of the product so coming into this, I knew it wasn’t the matte liquid lipstick that I am used to. Instead, the Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Liquified Lipsticks are more similar to the Too Faced Melted Lipsticks. Essentially, a cream lipstick in liquid form. I chose the shade Purée which is a beautiful burnt orange shade.

To start off, the square packaging is quite attractive. It is not only flat-lay friendly (#bloggerproblems) it really stands out from your standard tube. I also quite enjoy the long and tapered doe-foot applicator, it was really quite easy to get an even and precise distribution of the product. Continue reading →

Festive Lipsticks for 2017

December 8, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / 4 Comments

Last year I posted about my Top 5 Holiday Lipsticks so I thought this year I would continue that and add a few more festive lipsticks to the list. These are three lipsticks that I think are perfect for the holiday season and you can bet I will be wearing them a lot over the next month.

Aren’t they beautiful?! Swatches to follow at the end of this post!

Hail Cosmetics | Eternal Matte Lipstick in Wined

Starting off my list is Hail Cosmetics Wined which is in their Eternal Matte Lipstick formula. It isn’t your traditional holiday season red but I think that’s why I love it so much. It is more of a merlot red and pairs well with any holiday inspired look. Not to mention, Hail Cosmetics is hand-crafted right here in Thunder Bay! The formula is great, it reminds me a lot of the NARS Audacious Lipsticks, except for these are cruelty-free, so if that is something you look for, then be sure check out this line of lipsticks! Continue reading →

November Favourites: Makeup, Skincare & More!

December 6, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / Leave a comment

November… where did it go? I blogged my way right through it and here we are already nearly a week into December. With some upcoming travel on the horizon, I have to say, I’m pretty excited that time has been moving fast. So what was I loving in the month of November? It ended up being another minimal month as I was sick a lot of the month and wearing makeup when you’re constantly blowing your nose is kind of counter-productive. Alas, I did end up discovering a few products that became instant-favourites!

Makeup

Too Faced Primed & Peachy Cooling Matte Perfecting Primer, Fenty Beauty Invisimatte Blotting Powder & Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Spiced Plum

Too Faced | Primed & Peachy Cooling Matte Skin Perfecting Primer

I purchased the Too Faced Primed & Peachy Cooling Matte Skin Perfecting Primer during the Sephora VIB Rouge Sale on a whim and boy am I glad I did! It smells delightful and does an excellent job at keeping my skin matte throughout the day. Though the weather has been cold and dry, my skin gets shiny throughout the day all year round. This has instantly become a staple in my makeup routine and was recently featured in my Oily Skin Essentials post. Continue reading →

The Craft Revival Haul

November 29, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / 2 Comments

This past weekend I checked out the Craft Revival, which is when local vendors and artisans takeover the shops and restaurants in Thunder Bay’s downtown area. I believe there was about 140 artisans this time around spanning across 13 locations all within walking distance of each other. This was actually my first time attending the Craft Revival so I had an idea of what to expect but hadn’t actually experienced it yet. I went with the mission of picking up some Christmas gifts that had a local flare to them and of course, came hope with a few goodies for myself! I just couldn’t help it.

Hail Cosmetics

Eternal Matte Lipstick | Wined

Hail Cosmetics | Eternal Matte Lipstick in Wined

I featured Hail Cosmetics in a Love for Lipstick earlier this year. Hail Cosmetics is an independent cosmetics company based in Thunder Bay. I couldn’t help but finally pick up another one of their Eternal Matte Lipsticks! I really should own more of these, they are great! I ended up choosing the shade Wined after Elsie, Hail’s founder, swatched it on her hand to show us. How could I not love a lipstick shade that resembles one of my favourite beverages? I can’t wait to show this off for you guys! Continue reading →

Palette Spotlight: Urban Decay Naked Palette

November 28, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / Leave a comment

Today’s Palette Spotlight is certainly not a new palette but, if I’m going to go through my palette collection with you guys, I have to start somewhere. The original Urban Decay Naked Palette seems like a very logical place to start for me. This has been my go-to palette again for the last little while. I’ve been sick all month so when I just want to throw a little makeup on to look less deathly, this is the neutral palette I’ve been going for.

I’m not so fond of the packaging for this palette as I find fuzzy material like this hard to keep clean and it attracts everything. I’m glad they strayed from this and started using plastic for the Naked palettes that came after the original. Continue reading →

Oily Skin Essentials

November 27, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / 2 Comments

Getting through a reasonable amount of time without looking like a shiny mess is one of the struggles of having oily skin. Therefore, I’m always on the prowl for products that claim to mattify. Today I thought I’d share with you a few of the products I am currently using which I’ve found help keep my oil at bay and keep my face looking matte.

L’Oreal | Infallible Pro-Matte Foundation

A long time favourite of mine, this foundation not only matches my colouration well, but also just seems to wear the best on me. I do have a few high end foundations that I use but this is my tried and true staple. What I love about it is that while it is matte, it isn’t so matte that it doesn’t look like natural skin. It is more of a demi-matte. Continue reading →

Violet Voss Ride or Die Palette: 5 Makeup Looks

November 25, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / 2 Comments

I picked up the Violet Voss Ride or Die Palette a few weeks ago during the Sephora VIB Rouge Sale and today I wanted to share with you five different looks that I have created with this versatile eye shadow palette. I do plan on posting a full review and swatches of this beautiful palette but I thought sharing makeup looks first would be more fun!

Violet Voss Ride or Die Palette: Makeup Look #1

Transition: Erika
Crease: Abigail
Lid: Jasmine
Outer-V: Amy & Andrea (layered)
Under-Eye: Andrea
Eye Liner: L’Oreal Voluminous Smouldering Eye Liner in Black (water line) & YSL Eyeliner Effet Faux Cils Shocking (upper lash line)
Lashes: L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise & Esqido Lashes in “Oh So Sweet”*
Blush: Becca Mineral Blush in Flowerchild
Highlight: Kat Von D Metal Crush Eyeshadow in Thunderstruck
Lip: Too Faced Melted Latex Liquified High Shine Lipstick in Unicorn Tears Continue reading →

Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Spiced Plum

November 23, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / 4 Comments

Holiday exclusives… I can’t help but get caught up in them. They are always so sparkly and festive, as well as limited. When I saw the Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Spiced Plum I was instantly drawn to it. It is a beautiful metallic berry shade which looked like it would be stunning on the lips. It is part of the Sephora Holiday Kiss Collection which is a series of limited-edition lipsticks exclusive to Sephora.

Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Spiced Plum

Right down to the packaging the Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Spiced Plum is straight up adorable. The details on the box and tube make it extra special. Continue reading →

Washing Makeup Brushes

November 22, 2017 / thecorkedreader89 / 6 Comments

Washing makeup brushes… It’s something that no one enjoys doing, but it is a necessary evil. Washing makeup brushes not only makes your brushes look cleaner but also removes the dirt, oils and bacteria from them. This helps prevent breakouts on your skin. I’ve used many methods to clean my brushes, but the method I prefer seems to be using a simple bar of Ivory Soap!

The majority of my brushes mostly come into contact with powders but a few are used for liquids and I find that Ivory Soap does a great job of getting them squeaky clean without drying out the bristles. My makeup brush collection contains both synthetic and synthetic brushes. Continue reading →