Summer Trends: Coloured Lashes

August 27, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 6 Comments

Hi guys! To end off my summer trends posts for 2016 I wanted to share one last trend. Today we’ll be talking about coloured lashes! This trend wasn’t from Trending at Sephora, but I did a bit of research to find another trend that would be fun to incorporate into the blog.

Coloured lashes is exactly what it sounds like. It’s using a fun coloured mascara (or possible falsies) to add a pop of colour to your lashes! As soon as I saw this one I knew I had to do it as I recently got a purple NYX mascara in a giveaway that I won. Coloured mascara is definitely a fun way to add some colour to a look. I’ve used this mascara a few times, once with a primarily purple look and today I have a look for you using it to add colour to an every day look.

Products Used:

Primer: Nivea Post Shave Balm in Sensitive
Foundation: Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation in 0.5 with a tiny bit of Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation in Ivory mixed in
Concealer: Too Faced Born This Way Concealer in Very Fair
Powder: Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Powder
Blush: NARS Deep Throat
Highlight: Becca Shimmering Skin Perfecter (Pressed) in Moonstone
Eyes: Urban Decay Primer Potion (original). Urban Decay Naked Smoky – Combust (crease), Password (outer-v), Dirtysweet, High & Slanted (layered all over lid) and Smolder (under eye). NYX Color Mascara in Purple (lashes)
Brows: NYX Eyebrow Gel in Blonde
Lips: MAC Up the Amp Lipstick

The NYX Color Mascara is a lot more pigmented than I thought it would be. My previous experience with coloured mascaras is that they don’t really show up or end up looking black. The mascara itself essentially just adds colour, it didn’t really add any volume or curl to my lashes. If you prefer a mascara that adds some curl to your lashes, I would recommend using an eyelash curler first. Anyways, I wouldn’t wear this every day but it is definitely a fun way to add colour and I would definitely do that again on occasion.

xoxo,

Robyn

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What’s in my Travel Makeup Bag?

August 26, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 4 Comments

Travel-Makeup-Bag

Hi guys! Taking a page out of Stashy’s book, I thought I would share with you what I’m taking in my travel makeup bag for my upcoming road trip across Canada! I’m about to embark on a road trip from my hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario to Vancouver, British Columbia so what better way to force myself to pack ahead of time than to write about it? This is going to be more of a visual post so I’ll share photos and list what is in each one!

Basically, my thought process behind packing was that I’m going by car, so space isn’t too limited, and I wanted to have options. For the most part, I’ll be outdoors camping and sight-seeing so I’ve packed some naturalish options. But, I’ll also be doing things like going on wine tours where I may want to add a bit more glam to my look. So, this might seem like an excessive amount of makeup, but I seem to have justified it as I packed, haha! It all fits in one bag, that’s what counts!

Travel-Makeup-Bag-Base-Products

Too Faced Born This Way Concealer (Very Fair)
L’Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte (Classic Ivory)
Joe Fresh Matte Skin Tint (Porcelain)
Maybelline FitMe Matte + Poreless (Translucent)

Travel-Makeup-Bag-Blush-Highlight-Contour

Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion (Original)
Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit (Light to Medium)
TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer
Urban Decay After Glow Blush (Fetish)

Travel-Makeup-Bag-Palettes-Lip-Options

Too Faced Peanut Butter & Jelly Palette
Lorac Pro Eye Shadow Palette 2
Maybelline Baby Lips (Too Cool)
Colourpop Lippie Stix (Fern)
Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick (Native)
Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick (Double Dare)
Tarte LipSurgence Lip Créme (Wonder)
MAC Matte Lipstick (Embrace Me)

Travel-Makeup-Bag-Brows-Mascara

Revlon Dramatic Definition Mascara
NYX Eyebrow Gel (Blonde)

What are your essentials for your travel makeup bag? Let me know in the comments down below!

Since I am now ‘on the road’ I’ll be a bit slower than normal responding to comments, but I’ll be around!

xoxo,

Robyn

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Love for Lipstick: NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream

August 24, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 10 Comments

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.

The Wear Test

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

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Summer Trends: Metallic Shades

August 20, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 10 Comments

Hi guys! A few weeks ago I did a post on the Graphic Eye which was a summer trend that I was fascinated by on the Trending at Sephora page online. I talked a bit about the trend and showed you my take on it. Today, I’m going to be talking about Metallic Shades with is another summer trend that Sephora is reporting on.

The Metallic Shades trend is all about adding dimension to the eyes with rich, metallic shades. As soon as I saw the Lorac Pro Eye Shadow Palette 2, I knew these shades were meant for this trend. The bottom row of the palette is all shimmery shades that appear to be on the metallic side when swatched or applied. So, with that said, I’ve done two metallic shades looks using this palette.

Look #1: Purple Chrome

Transition: Nectar
Crease: Plum
Lid: Chrome
Under eye: Chrome and Silver

Look #2: Silver & Smoky

Transition: Nectar
Crease: Charcoal
Lid: Silver
Outer-V: Charcoal and Black
Under eye: Charcoal and Silver

In keeping with the metallic theme, for both looks I used the Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Trance. For the first look I paired it with the Essence Lip Pencil in the shade In the Nude. For the second look I wore it on it’s own. The second look was what I was wearing on my face for my One Year Blogiversary post photo.

I’m really enjoying this mini series, I’m hoping to get at least one more in this summer before we switch gears to fall trends. What’s your favourite summer trend? Let me know in the comments below and maybe it will be featured in my next Summer Trends post!

xoxo,

Robyn

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Kat Von D Serpentina Palette

August 19, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 8 Comments

Hi guys! I’ve had the Kat Von D Serpentina Palette for about a month now so I’ve been playing with it and today I’m ready to review it for you! As you likely know, I’m definitely a fan of Kat Von D’s eye shadow palettes so when I saw this one announced, I knew I had to jump on it! Kat Von D is known for her pigmented, blendable and buttery eye shadows. Her palettes generally have quite a bit of kick-off but, the shadows are so phenomenal that they are still worth it.

The Serpentina Palette is a very bright palette that packs a lot of colour. It has two matte shades, six shimmery shades and one loose shimmery pigment. In terms of colours included, this is not a very practical palette. It has absolutely no neutrals, but that’s pretty apparent going in. This palette is for those who love colour! I do wish there was at least one neutral shadow included as a transition shade, but I tend to pair this with the Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette.

Overall, I enjoy the shadow quality of this palette. A few things to note though, the mattes while quite blendable, are not as pigmented as you would expect if you are familiar with the Shade + Light Eye Palette. They fall a bit short in comparison.

The shimmer shades have amazing pigmentation. They are so beautiful, but they definitely have some fall out. For look #1 I did my face makeup first (my normal routine) but ended up having to fix the fall out after. For a minute there it looked like I had a royal blue highlight (it wasn’t cute). When I did look #2, I did my eye makeup first, cleaned up the fall out and then did the rest of my makeup. Worked much better that way!

I always, always, always use an eye shadow primer so I can’t comment on the wear time of these shadows. My eye shadows all seem to wear consistently no matter what the brand, formula or shade is.

This is a very large, bulky palette. Mostly because of the loose pigment (it is actually removable which is pretty awesome) which required palette to have some depth to it. To demonstrate that, I thought I would use a MAC lipstick to show you how tall the palette is. I don’t really mind the palette size, it fits in my palette drawer just fine. But, if you’re limited on space, it is an awkward size. It is also much longer than a standard eye shadow palette as well.

Transition: Ludwin (Shade + Light Eye Palette)
Crease: Venom
Lid: Queen
Outer-V: Nile
Under eye: Queen and Nile

Transition: Ludwin (Shade + Light Eye Palette)
Crease: Bloodmilk
Inner Lid: Prophet
Centre Lid: Hieroglyph
Outer-V: Bloodmilk
Under eye: Prophet, Hieroglyph and Bloodmilk

Serpentina is definitely a palette that I am glad I purchased and I look forward to creating more bright and colourful looks with it. While it does fall a bit short in comparison to other Kat Von D Palettes, I still do enjoy it. I saw quite a few negative reviews on this palette so I was a bit nervous taking the plunge, but in my opinion, it’s a great palette. This is a limited edition palette, however it is still available for purchase on the Sephora website.

Did you pick up the Kat Von D Serpentina Palette? Let me know in the comments below!

xoxo,

Robyn

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Makeup Haul: Sephora, Ulta & Morphe!

August 10, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 10 Comments

Hi guys! I mentioned yesterday that I went to Minnesota to see Gwen Stefani and I talked about the makeup look that I wore as well as the event itself. Now it is time to get into the important stuff, the makeup haul! I went to Sephora, Ulta and placed a Morphe Brushes order before I left so I’ve got a lot to share with you!

For a beauty blogger who loves Sephora, you would probably be surprised to find out that I only get to go to an actual store a few times a year. This was my second (and third) trip to a Sephora store in 2016! This was also my first trip to an Ulta store this year as well. I don’t think I had been to one since July 2015 which was my last trip to Minnesota. I always try to plan in advance as much as I can so that I stick to my mental “shopping list” to avoid going overboard.

What I Bought at Ulta

My first stop was at Ulta since we stopped in Duluth, MN for lunch and there is an Ulta in the same mall where we ate. I knew that I wanted to focus on brands that I can’t get in Canada so I immediately scoped out the Lorac and Laura Gellar displays. This purchase was 100% inspired by What Should I Buy? At Ulta over on the blog Classic Maggie! I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to focus on at Ulta and that post put me on the right track.

Lorac | Pro Eye Shadow Palette 2

I didn’t own any Lorac Palettes so I knew I had to check them out. As soon as I saw the blue shade, Navy and the purplely-metallic shade Chrome, I knew this was the one. I haven’t used it yet but I’m really excited to start playing with the many, many colour combinations this palette contains! The metallic/shimmery shades swatch like a dream. I always struggle swatching mattes but they felt promising.

Continue reading →

Gwen Stefani: Recap & Makeup Look

August 9, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 11 Comments

Hi guys! As some of you may have known if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, I went to St. Paul, Minnesota over the weekend to see Gwen Stefani for her This is What the Truth Feels Like Tour! So I thought I would just go over a couple highlights and show you my makeup look that I wore to the event!

The Makeup Look

I actually ended up wearing TWO different foundations this day as I was testing them out. I don’t often get to go to a Sephora store in person so I wanted to test out foundations before I purchased them. I got samples of the Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation and the Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Foundation. Somehow it was so not noticeable at all that the shades were slightly different. I ended up just wearing the combination to the event because both wore so well! I had been planning on taking them off to switch to the winner but I didn’t have to nor had time so I left my base makeup alone.

Continue reading →

Summer Trends: Graphic Eye

August 6, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 4 Comments

Hi guys! I’ve been getting emails from Sephora inviting me to visit their website to explore summer trends and it got me really inspired. As soon as I saw them I really wanted to find a way to incorporate them onto the blog.

Today I’ll be tackling the “Graphic Eye” trend! A Graphic Eye seems to be an over-the-top almost animated looking eye makeup look. All of the examples I have seen have incorporated bold, unique eyeliner, whether it be a bold colour or drawn boldly. This isn’t showing on their #TrendingatSephora page anymore, but I still thought it would be interesting to talk about nonetheless.

For my take on this summer trend, I decided to simply add a twist to a look I would normally wear by adding bright purple winged liner. Many could say that winged liner isn’t anything unusual, but I very rarely wear it myself. I find it’s very much 50/50 whether or not it turns out so I often don’t do it because I don’t want to risk having to re-do my makeup. However, the NYX Vivid Brights Liquid Eyeliner I used made it a breeze! I was skeptical because I usually prefer a pen-style tip like the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner but, I ended up very impressed! Continue reading →

July Favourites: Makeup, Skincare & More!

August 1, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 4 Comments

Hi guys! Another month has flown right by! Don’t you find that time goes that much faster when it’s summer and the weather is beautiful? Before I know it, winter will come back with full force and I’ll be complaining again. You will never, ever, ever hear me complain about the heat in the summer. With that said, it’s time to discuss my July favourites!

Makeup

Violet Voss | Laura Lee Eye Shadow Palette

Oh. My. Goodness. This palette is amazing. Yes, yes, I love palettes, I tend to favourite a lot of palettes, but wow. These are the most buttery and pigmented shadows that I have ever had the joy of applying to my eye lids. I did a full review of this palette which you can find here, it includes swatches so if you’re curious to see if I’m exaggerating check it out! Violet Voss and Laura Lee did a fabulous job on this palette and it was worth every penny of the shipping and currency exchange from USD to CAD that I paid! This will be a treasured item in my makeup collection for sure.

Essence | Give Me BIG! Lashes Mascara

I jump around a lot with what mascara I’m currently using but as soon as I got this, I kind of forgot about the Revlon Dramatic Definition Mascara that I also have open. I’m not going to say too much about this mascara right now because I am planning on doing a full review of it, but I have worn this almost every single day of July!

NYX | Soft Matte Lip Cream in San Paulo

San Paulo is a plummy-pink shade that has a touch of rosieness to it. Just the colour alone is gorgeous! These also wear very well and for me, don’t feel super drying. I have used creamier matte liquid lipsticks, but this one didn’t bother me. I’ve been wearing this shade a lot this past month! You can see it swatched here! I’ll be going into more details about the wear time and formula in an upcoming Love for Lipstick post!

Continue reading →

Ipsy Glam Bag: July

July 30, 2016 / thecorkedreader89 / 2 Comments

Hi guys! Another Ipsy Glam Bag has arrived and it’s time to go over what I received this month! July’s bag was delayed due to the potential Canada Post Labour Dispute but it did finally arrive last week. This month’s bag’s theme is Hot Summer Nights.

Glam Bag Contents:

Too Faced | HangoverRX Replenishing Face Primer

I love receiving items from a brand that I’m already in love with! Particularly when it is a product that I haven’t tried yet. I’ve heard so much about the HangoverRX primer but haven’t taken the plunge to buy it. This is partially due to the fact that it’s marketed to people with dry skin (I’m oily) and also the fact that I’m in love with using Nivea Post Shave Balm as a primer. I am looking forward to trying this though… it claims your skin will have the appearance of a full night’s rest and I know my skin could use that! I’ll keep you posted on how this works out!

Thrive Cosmetics | Infinity Waterproof Eyeliner

This is another item that I’m really excited to try! This is an eyeliner that claims to be high-pigmented and have 24-hour staying power. I would never, ever wear an eyeliner for 24 hours but, I am curious to see if it will indeed last a full day… particularly, in my waterline. I was even more excited because I thought the eyeliner would be the same colour as the packaging (which as you know, I’ve been eyeing up a MUFE eyeliner in a similar colour) but alas, it is black. But, I use black eyeliner so, it’s still useful. This product swatched really nicely so I’m optimistic on it’s performance. Continue reading →