Sephora VIB Rouge Sale Haul

November 16, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 17 Comments

Hi guys! I practically did a happy dance when my Sephora order mysteriously arrived on my doorstep on Sunday. I knew it would be arriving soon, my guess was Monday (based on the tracking information I had) but somehow it decided to arrive on a non-mail day. Confusing, but I’m not complaining! Anyways, I thought I would quickly share with you what I snagged during the recent Sephora VIB Rouge Sale! Quite a few of these items are from my original fall wishlist but, I did stray as well! So, similar to my birthday haul, this is a sneak peak at what you can expect to see in upcoming reviews, makeup looks and so on!

NARS | Sin

Sin was on my original wishlist and after, I believe it was Polished and Inspired, who commented on that post, the deal was sealed. Can’t wait to try this out!

Tarte | Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed

My original list had the Tarte Colour Wheel, but since that wasn’t available I decided to pick one Tarte blush to try. I wanted a nude blush and this one jumped out at me the most. I actually wore this yesterday and I’m absolutely in love with this shade. It’s exactly what I was looking for! Continue reading →

The Ride or Die Makeup Tag

November 12, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 10 Comments

Hi guys! I was thinking about doing an update to my holy grail post that I wrote last year. Instead, I thought it would be fun to do Jaclyn Hill’s Ride or Die Makeup Tag which is essentially the same thing! So in this post you will find all of my go-to items for each makeup category, these are the products I can’t live without.

PRIMER

If you read my post about essential drugstore makeup items this week, you probably already know the answer to this. My ride or die primer is the Nivea After Shave Balm (Sensitive). Nothing else makes my makeup last so long. Note, it does not control my oil though.

FOUNDATION

Another repeat from my essential drugstore post… so far the drugstore is winning this tag! While I enjoy a few other foundations, the L’Oreal Pro-Matte is my ride or die. I always go back to it because it works so well for me.

CONCEALER

Straying from the drugstore… The Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer is definitely ride or die status for me. Personally, I find it is a great formula to work with. It’s pigmented, it has a great, blendable consistency and it is the perfect shade for me. I never have luck finding a concealer in the right shade and Fair Neutral is perfection.

FACE POWDER

Face powders are essential for helping me stay matte and I’ve mentioned this powder thousands of time here on the blog… The Maybelline FitMe Matte + Poreless Translucent Powder is definitely my go-to.

UNDER EYE SETTING POWDER

I normally use the same powder on my face as I do for setting my under eye, but occasionally I’ll use the Laura Mercier Loose Translucent Powder on my under eye area if I really want to make sure my makeup lasts all day. Continue reading →

Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette

November 11, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 11 Comments

Hi guys! Today I thought I would share with you my first impressions, swatches and look using the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette! While this palette has been out for quite a few months now, it’s new to me. I knew this palette one day had to me mine after how hard I fell in love with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Self-Made Palette. The shadow quality in that palette knocked my socks off.

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette is mainly a warm toned palette, with a few cool shades added in to balance it out. It contains both fourteen eye shadows which contain mattes and shimmers. As long as these shades appeal to you, you have everything you need for several different looks in one place. While this palette had a summer release, it mostly screams “fall” to me (though I would wear these shades all year round).

The shadow quality itself is excellent. It reminds me of my beloved Self-Made Palette so I am one happy camper. The shadows kick off some dust so you just need to make sure you tap off your brush before application to avoid fall-out. All of the shades I’ve used to date are pigmented and very much blendable which makes application a breeze. Continue reading →

5 Drugstore Makeup Essentials

November 9, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 6 Comments

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.

L’Oreal Pro-Matte Foundation

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 →

Celebrating 27: Birthday Haul

November 7, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 13 Comments

Hi guys! If you follow me on instagram you might know that yesterday was my birthday! I turned the big 2-7 which seems crazy to me because the last years feel like they just zoomed by. Anyways, I thought I would share my birthday haul as that will give you a sneak peak into what I’ll be blogging about this month! I’ll have full posts with looks for both these items coming up! I also received some Sephora e-gift cards which I used during the VIB Rouge sale so I’ll have that haul in a separate post when it arrives.

Anastasia Beverly Hills | Modern Renaissance

When this palette first came out, I instantly knew I needed it, however it seemed like such an odd release for summer (it reminds me of fall) that I didn’t jump on it right away. After that, it kept going out of stock so when it came back in stock recently, my lovely sister scooped it up for me! I wore this palette out to dinner for my birthday so I’ll have that look up some time this week. After how much I loved the Anastasia Beverly Hills Self-Made Palette, I knew I’d love this one too. Continue reading →

Fall Trends: Jewel Tones

November 6, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 4 Comments

Hi guys! I don’t normally do a new post on Sunday’s but, I didn’t post one on Friday so here we are! This week was busier than I thought it would be but I wanted to take the time and chat with you about jewel tones! I’ve been noticing the past few months that jewel tones have been everywhere this fall and for good reason, they are beautiful! The beautiful thing about jewel tones is that they make you look glowy and as the weather gets colder and the days get shorter, I could use all the glow I can get!

Just based on my own makeup collection, when I think of jewel tones, my mind instantly goes to the Coastal Scents Glamour Eyes Palette! It’s a beautiful, super affordable jewel toned eye shadow palette. The shades are pigmented but yet super easy to work with.

Continue reading →

L’Oreal Telescopic Mascara

November 5, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 6 Comments

Hi guys! As you know, I love testing and trying out different mascaras. I had previously reviewed the L’Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black Mascara, but when a friend suggested the Telescopic Mascara in the gold mascara I was intrigued.

The brush with the Telescopic Mascara is the same as the Telescopic Carbon Black. They both have a flexible precision brush. I personally love this style of brush because it works well for both the top and bottom lashes. Much easier to apply mascara without wearing it all over my skin!

Continue reading →

Halloween 2016: Gamora

October 31, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / Leave a comment

Hi guys! Happy Halloween! I’m super excited to share with you the costume that I wore this year… Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy! I had a few different ideas floating around but Gamora really jumped out at me the most. I love the Guardians of the Galaxy movie and Gamora is such a strong and powerful character. My husband was Star-Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy.

I don’t really use a lot of face paint so, I cheaped out and ordered green face paint online. I should have done some research because this stuff was hard to work with. It dried very uneven so I had to build it up, and if my face got even the tiniest bit oily, the face paint would start to fade. At least the Halloween party I went to was dark, so after we took some pictures beforehand I wasn’t concerned about it. Continue reading →

3 ‘Pop of Colour’ Blushes

October 29, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 10 Comments

Hi guys! A week or so ago I posted about 3 Natural Looking Blushes so today I thought I’d go the other direction and talk about 3 blushes that add a pop of colour to your cheeks. So these are less natural and more pigmented. My choices still do blend beautifully into the skin, they just stand out a little more.

Urban Decay | Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Blush in Rapture

I think this is the only cool toned blush that I own but I love how different it is from the rest of my collection. Rapture is a beautiful deep purply mauve shade and definitely adds a pop of colour to the cheeks! It has a very, very subtle hint of shimmer but I find it looks more matte than anything.

Continue reading →

October Favourites: Makeup, Skincare & More!

October 28, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 9 Comments

Hi guys! I feel like October started out slow and then once we hit the half-way point the rest just vanished. How it is October Favourites time already? Though I don’t appreciate the weather getting colder, October is a beautiful month. The leaves have changed colours and have fallen and it ends with my favourite holiday, Halloween! This was definitely a month where I reached for certain products constantly so more so than ever, these products are well-loved favourites.

Makeup

Kat Von D | MetalMatte Palette

This shouldn’t come as a surprise as I’ve already posted about this palette twice (here and here) this month. I just love the wide array of colours, the quality of the eye shadows and just how much it inspires me every time I reach for it.

Lorac | Pro 2 Palette

When I wasn’t wearing the Kat Von D MetalMatte Palette, this is what I had on my eyes. I should have included this in my September favourites, but I forgot to, but I’ve been wearing this pretty regularly for the last couple of months. Again, great quality eye shadows and I really enjoy the colour selection. I’ve done two looks with this palette for the blog and I’ve also previously swatched it. Continue reading →