Colourpop “Where The Light Is” Quad & LBB

September 25, 2015September 24, 2015 / thecorkedreader89 / Leave a comment

Hi guys! I recently posted about my most recent Colourpop Haul so today I thought I would show you a look that I did using some of my new goodies. For this look I used all four shades from the “Where The Light Is” quad (Kathleenlights collaboration with Colourpop) and the LBB lippie stix.

Products Used:
Foundation: L’Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte Foundation in Classic Ivory
Concealer: Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Concealer in Ivory
Powder: Anastasia Beverly Hills Banana Powder (undereye) and MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light (all over face)
Blush: Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Blush in Fetish
Bronzer/Contour: Anastasia Beverly Hills Fawn
Highlight: Too Faced Candelight Glow Highlighting Powder Duo (both shades mixed together)
Eyes: Colourpop “Where The Light Is” Quad – Cornelious (crease), Blaze (inner half of lid), Kathleenlights (outer half of lid and under eye) and Glow (brow bone). Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Demolition (water line). Makeup Forever Smoky Extravagant (lashes).
Brows: L’Oreal Brow Stylist Plumper in Light to Medium
Lips: Colourpop Lippie Stix in LBB

For the Colourpop eye shadows, I find most of the time it is easiest to use my finger as the shadows are more on the creamy side of the spectrum, however I did use my Sigma E40 brush for my crease and it worked very well. For the rest of my eye, I skipped the brushes and used my ring and pinky fingers.

What are you wearing on your face today? Let me know in the comments below!

xoxo,

Robyn

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Morphe 35W Palette

September 23, 2015September 22, 2015 / thecorkedreader89 / 4 Comments

Hi guys! I recently acquired the Morphe 35W Palette. I purchased it from HauteLook but you can also get it on the Morphe website as well (where it is currently on sale). It is a beautiful 35 colour warm based palette that is perfect for fall looks. The main reason I went for this palette was to tide me over while I wait for the 35O to come back in stock. With that said, I have been enjoying this palette immensely and am glad that I purchased it. I think I have been using it almost every day since I got it since it is so versatile.

Here is the look that I did with the palette….

Products Used:
Foundation: L’Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte Foundation in Classic Ivory
Concealer: Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Concealer in Ivory
Powder: Anastasia Beverly Hills Banana Powder (undereye) and MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light (all over face)
Blush: NARS Orgasm
Bronzer/Contour: Anastasia Beverly Hills Fawn
Highlight: The Balm Mary Lou-Manizer
Eyes: Morphe 35W Palette (See picture above for numerical references as the shades are not named) 1 (all over lid), 2 (crease), 3 (crease and outer half of lid), 4 (layered over 3 on outer half of lid and under eye), 5 (to define outer crease and under eye). Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Demolition (water line). Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara (lashes).
Brows: L’Oreal Brow Stylist Plumper in Light to Medium
Lips: Colourpop Lippie Stix in Topanga

This is a great palette as it has such a variety of warm shades in it. The possibilities for different looks seems endless. The shimmery shades seem to be the most pigmented, but I have had no complaints with any of the shades since I started using the palette. I definitely plan on purchasing more Morphe palettes in the future based on how great this one is.

What is your favourite warm look for fall? Let me know in the comments down below!

xoxo,

Robyn

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Another Colourpop Haul!

September 19, 2015October 17, 2015 / thecorkedreader89 / 19 Comments

Hi guys! I have another Colourpop haul to share with you today! Colourpop did a labour day sale where they had different discounts depending on how much you spent. Since I had some items that I had my eye on it was a good time to pick them up and save a little money in the process. If you haven’t heard of Colourpop, I highly recommend that you check out their website. They sell inexpensive makeup products that are very high quality. My last Colourpop haul can be found here. They add a cute personal handwritten note in each order, which is a nice touch.

Here is what I bought…

Supershock Eye Shadows

L to R: Central Perk, Cornelious, Blaze, Glow and Kathleenlights

Since I haven’t talked much about them before, Colourpop eye shadows have a very unique texture. They are not dry, but they are not wet either. They are spongy and very pigmented.

I bought Central Perk from the newly released 90’s collection because as a huge Friends fan, I felt like I needed it. It is described as a matte dirty maroon.

I also finally purchased the quad that Kathleenlights collaborated with them on, Where The Light Is. It includes two matte shades, Glow (creamy vanilla) and Cornelious (mid-tone warm caramel), a metallic shade, Blaze (coco bronze with multidimensional glitter) and a pearlized shade, Kathleenlights (golden copper). They are all stunning, however when I swatched Glow it was hard to pick up on camera because of my fair skin.

Lippie Stix

LBB, Topanga and Grunge

The whole purpose of this order was to purchase Grunge (cool-toned plum; matte) from the 90’s collection. I also purchased Topanga (mid-tone dusty coral; satin) and LBB (rich plum wine; matte). All three colours are creamy and pigmented. The Colourpop matte lippie stix are nice because they do not feel drying on the lips.

The Swatches

While all of the shades are beautiful, I would say the last two (Blaze and Kathleenlights) are the stand-outs. Glow doesn’t look like it swatched well, but that is just because it is very close in colour to my skin. It would make a great brow bone or inner corner highlight.

Did you purchase anything during the Colourpop labour day sale? Let me know in the comments down below!

xoxo,

Robyn

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All 4 Urban Decay Naked Palettes: Swatch & Chat

September 18, 2015September 16, 2015 / thecorkedreader89 / 15 Comments

Hi guys! Today I wanted to share with you swatches from all 4 Urban Decay Naked Palettes and then chat a bit about them. As you could guess from this post, and previous posts, I am a huge fan of the Urban Decay Naked series. I only own the full-size palettes, I do not own the smaller ones. I find they are great because they are quality shadows and there is something for everyone. Each palette has it’s own theme, so while you may not like them all, there is likely one that would suit your needs.

Urban Decay Naked Palette

L to R: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep and Gunmetal

This is the original Naked palette and the one that started it all. It is the warm toned palette of the bunch. I like to use this one particularly for a no-make up look, but I do also like the shimmery tan shades as well. I like to use it for when I want a very neutral look. My favourites of this palette are: Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck and Hustle

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

L to R: Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted and Blackout

The Naked 2 Palette is the cool-toned one of the series. This is probably the palette I use the most as I use it for my everyday basic makeup look. My favourite shadows in this palette are: Bootycall, Chopper (looks amazing all by itself), Tease and Busted.

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette

L to R: Strange, Dust, Burnout, Limit, Buzz, Trick, Nooner, Liar, Factory, Mugshot, Darkside and Blackheart

This is the rose-gold toned palette of the Naked series. I love it for soft and feminine pink looks. I love this palette, it is stunning, but I probably use it the least of the of the Naked palettes. That is only because I use it when I’m feeling like doing something pink, whereas the other two, I could use on any occasion. My favourites are: Strange, Buzz, Factory and Darkside.

Urban Decay Smoky Palette

L to R: High, Dirtysweet, Radar, Armor, Slanted, Dagger, Black Market, Smolder, Password, Whiskey, Combust and Thirteen

The Urban Decay Smoky Palette is the newest addition to the Naked series. It features the essentials for doing either a dramatic or more neutral smoky eye. The point of the palette is that you can do an every day smoky look that is appropriate for day time wear. I haven’t worn it enough yet (as I’ve only had it for about a month) to have favourites that I wear the most. Based on the swatches alone, I really like: High, Armor, Slanted, Dagger, and Smoulder. Those are the shades I go for when I pick this palette up.

Do you own any of the Naked palettes? If so, which are your favourites? If you don’t, which one are you most interested in? Let me know in the comments below!

xoxo,

Robyn

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My Makeup Brush Holder

September 16, 2015September 15, 2015 / thecorkedreader89 / 3 Comments

Hi guys! Today I thought I would share with you the way I’ve set up my makeup brush holder. I got these containers at Ikea but because of the size I needed something to fill them. My makeup brushes were flopping over in them and it was really bothering me. It was hard to find something to fill the holders as I was being really picky. I didn’t want anything that could potentially scratch my brushes. This meant sand, decorative pebbles and so on, were out of the question. I wanted something that would be soft but also sturdy.

Originally I was looking at the filling you use for a bean bag chair, as I saw that suggested online. However, I could only find them in excessively large quantities. It seemed like a bit of a waste to buy a giant bag, when really I only needed about a cup or two of them. My husband, who was shopping with me, was not on board with the bean bag chair filling.

After that, we went to Michael’s to see if we could find something similar but in a smaller quantity. I did several laps around the store and was becoming frustrated and disheartened by this impossible mission. That was went my husband veered off managed to find the perfect solution to my problem! He had found a bag of pellets meant for using for stuffed animals! They are like a soft plastic, with an almost hard gel texture. It is similar to what would be inside a beanie baby (did I just age myself there?.. anyone?). I’ve been using them for a few weeks and so far my brushes still look the same. They all stand up-right and I am so much happier.

Anyways, I thought I would share this and hopefully save some of you the struggle of trying to find something to fill your makeup brush holder. Any container of a similar size, or something smaller like a mason jar, would work perfectly for this project! I’m thinking of decorating mine a little more with some ribbon and a glue gun!

What do you use for storing your makeup brushes? Let me know in the comments below!

xoxo,

Robyn

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Makeup of the Day (MOTD)

September 14, 2015September 14, 2015 / thecorkedreader89 / 2 Comments

Hi guys! I normally post a Mani Monday post on Monday’s however my nails are such a sad state of affairs right now. They are cracking and peeling, so I’m giving them a week of nothing but cuticle oil. However, since I love updating the blog, I thought I would post my makeup of the day instead! Today’s look is just a simple copper/brown look that I did using the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette with pink lips! It’s a work day so I went for a neutral look with a pop of colour.

Products Used:
Foundation: L’Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte Foundation in Classic Ivory
Concealer: Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Concealer in Ivory
Powder: Anastasia Beverly Hills Banana Powder (undereye) and MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light (all over face)
Blush: Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush in Candy Glow
Bronzer/Contour: Anastasia Beverly Hills Fawn
Highlight: Too Faced Candelight Glow Highlighting Powder Duo (both shades mixed together)
Eyes: Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette – Salted Caramel (transition shade/crease), Marzipan (inner half of lid, and under eye on inner half), Haute Chocolate (outer half of lid and under eye on outer half), Hazelnut (lightly mixed into crease), Triple Fudge (just a small amount in the outer crease for definition), and White Chocolate (brow bone). Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Demolition (water line). Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara (lashes).
Brows: L’Oreal Brow Stylist Plumper in Light to Medium
Lips: NARS Audacious Lipstick in Claudia

What did you lovelies wear on your face today? Let me know in the comments below! I’m hoping to be back with another manicure next Monday, fingers crossed!

xoxo,

Robyn

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The Upcoming Launch of UrbanDecay.ca

September 11, 2015 / thecorkedreader89 / Leave a comment

Hi everyone! Urban Decay is finally opening a Canadian website! This is such fantastic news as it will make it so much easier for Canadians (like me!) to get their hands on all the wonderful products that Urban Decay has to offer. Especially those of us (like me) who don’t live anywhere near a store that actually sells Urban Decay.

They are also hosting a giveaway of one Urban Decay Naked Smoky palette per week when you sign up for their newsletter. This giveaway is for Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) only.

What are you most excited to get your hands on when the Canadian website launches? Let me know in the comments below!

xoxo

Robyn

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Pink Look Using Urban Decay’s Vice 3 Palette

September 11, 2015September 10, 2015 / thecorkedreader89 / 3 Comments

Hi guys! Today I wanted to show you a pink look that I did using the Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette. With all the current anticipation and hype around the upcoming launch of the Vice 4 Palette, I decided to bust out the Vice 3 for today’s look. This palette was limited edition so it is not currently available, however the Vice 4 palette will be launching on September 12, 2015 on the Urban Decay website, and will launch everywhere else on September 25, 2015.

Let’s get into today’s look!

Products Used:
Foundation: L’Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte Foundation in Classic Ivory
Concealer: Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Concealer in Ivory
Powder: Anastasia Beverly Hills Banana Powder (undereye) and MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light (all over face)
Blush: Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Blush in Fetish
Bronzer/Contour: Anastasia Beverly Hills Fawn
Highlight: The Balm’s Mary Lou-Manizer
Eyes: Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette – Truth ( all over lid to set primer potion), DTF (transition shade), Alchemy (crease and on the outer half of my eyelid and under eye), Alien (inner half of eye lid and under eye), Last Sin (brow bone) Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara (lashes).
Brows: L’Oreal Brow Stylist Plumper in Light to Medium
Lips: Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Turn On

I love how well these eye shadows apply. They are pigmented and very blendable. What I love about the Vice palettes is the array of colours. There is something for almost any look in this palette. The pinks are my favourite and most-used shadows in this palette though.

Are you excited for the Vice 4 palette? Let me know in the comments below!

xoxo

Robyn

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Holy Grail Products

September 9, 2015September 8, 2015 / thecorkedreader89 / 10 Comments

Hi guys! Today I wanted to share with you a few of my ‘Holy Grail’ products. What I mean by this is that it is an item that is a favourite that I swear by. It is something that definitely ranks high in your makeup collection. Holy Grail products can be a very personal choice as everyone is different with their preferences.

Let’s get into it…

Infallible Pro-Matte Foundation by L’Oreal Paris

As someone with oily skin, I have a hard time finding a foundation that doesn’t make me shine like a disco-ball halfway through the day. I’m constantly trying out new foundations to see if I can find something that fits my needs. The first time I tried this foundation, I knew it was going to become a favourite. This foundation looks pretty close to perfect at the end of my work day (and I don’t normally wear primer!). Even on days when I go to the gym after work and sweat, it still doesn’t end up looking gross and shiny afterwards. This foundation gets a A++ in my books.

Orgasm Blush by NARS

This is definitely a favourite of mine when it comes to blush. It is a shimmery peach colour that goes with pretty much everything. It is nicely pigmented and is buildable. While I’ve only tried it on myself, quite a few people have claimed that it works with any skin tone. I also find it lasts throughout the day so it does not need to be touched up.

Eyeshadow Primer Potion (Original Formula) by Urban Decay

Before using this, my eyeshadow never lasted throughout the day. It would fade, crease and clump up. Ever since I started using this, my eyeshadow looks exactly the same when I take it off at night as it did when I applied it in the morning. This stuff is just that good. I’ve tried other eyeshadow primers but I didn’t like the formulas as much as this one. This one is creamy and a little goes a long way. The only thing I don’t like about it is the wand. The last tube I had did not have one, but since then Urban Decay has added it. I find it harder to get out of the tube, but it is manageable. I normally buy the smaller travel size and it provides me with approximately 6 months of daily use.

Better Than Sex Mascara by Too Faced

This mascara gives me very fluffy and volumized lashes. It is not clumpy and separates my lashes nicely. I find it also lengthens my lashes as well. Basically, it fits all of my needs. I also don’t experience any flaking when I use it. The only thing I don’t like is how big the brush is which can make it trickier to work with. A little bit of caution and patience reduces making a mess with the big wand.

Audacious Lipstick by NARS

This is by far my favourite line of lipstick. The quality is just incredible. They are pigmented, soft and long-wearing. It dries down to a demi-matte finish that is comfortable on the lips. While they aren’t as long-wearing as a liquid lipstick, they last impressively long for this kind of formula. They are very pricey, but with how pigmented they are, a little goes a long way. Another A++

Note: If you are looking for a more budget-friendly lipstick, I also absolutely adore the Colourpop Lippie Stix. They have a huge range of colours and they look incredible. They don’t last as long, but they are pretty fantastic for only being $5.00

HK Girl Fast Drying & Super Shiny Clear Top Coat by Glisten & Glow

This top coat dries faster than anything I have ever worked with. It is shiny and fairly easy to work with. The only issues I have with it is that if I apply a bit too much small bubbles will form and if I’m not careful it may shrink a bit. These are both application errors though, it isn’t as forgiving as some formulas. However, when applied properly the shine and the fast-dry makes it well worth it. I do prefer Cult Nail’s Wicked Fast Top Coat but since they have gone out of business, this has had to take it’s place.

Well, those are my current Holy Grail products. Holy Grail Products do sometimes change if a new product comes in and blows the competition away. When that inevitably happens, I’ll be sure to post all about it!

What are some of your Holy Grail products? Do you agree with any of my choices? Let me know in the comments down below!

xoxo,

Robyn

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Purple Eye Look

September 5, 2015November 24, 2015 / thecorkedreader89 / 10 Comments

Hi guys!

So today I wanted to show you my favourite [almost] all purple eye-look! Purple is my absolute favourite colour to wear on my eyes. This is because any shade of purple makes green eyes pop. Even adding purple to my under eye to an otherwise neutral look can really make a huge impact.

Products Used:
Foundation: L’Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte Foundation in Classic Ivory
Concealer: Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Concealer in Ivory
Powder: Anastasia Beverly Hills Banana Powder (undereye) and MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light (all over face)
Blush: Tarte’s Dollface
Contour: Anastasia Beverly Hills Fawn
Highlight: The Balm’s Mary Lou-Manizer
Eyes: Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. Kat Von D’s Dios (Innerstellar Palette – blended into crease), Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Psychedelic Sister (all over lid as a base and under eye), and Colourpop Dare (all over lid). Makeup Forever Smoky Extravagant (lashes).
Brows: L’Oreal Brow Stylist Plumper in Light to Medium
Lips: Colourpop Lippie Stix in Tootsi

The exact steps I took for my eye shadow was:

Prime eyes
Add Psychedelic Sister all over lid and smudge it all over with my finger, also applied to my water line at this point
Apply Dare over top with my finger (it is one of the easiest ways to apply Colourpop’s unique formula)
Apply Dios to crease to blend everything out and avoid harsh edges

The reason I add the eye liner as a base is because I find the shade Dare to be a little bit sheer. This gives the shadow more pop. I do sometimes do this without the eye liner base for a less intense look.

What is your favourite colour eye shadow to wear with your eye colour? Let me know in the comments down below!

xoxo

Robyn

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