Hi guys! I recently went to Wisconsin Dells (basically a city full of Waterparks) and decided it would be a great opportunity to test out some waterproof makeup! Makeup-wise I didn’t want to wear much, but I always feel naked without my brows and lashes so I stuck to this brow gel and a waterproof mascara. I hadn’t tested the waterproof-ness of the NYX Eyebrow Gel before this trip so I really had high hopes for it. I figured some intense waterslides would make for excellent and thorough testing of it’s capabilities.
The NYX Eyebrow Gel is a highly pigmented gel that keeps brows in place while also giving them a thicker appearance. To me it seems very similar to Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow except in a tube and it keeps my brows a little more in place. To apply it a put a tiny dot on my hand (that’s all you need) and I apply with an eyebrow brush. Since the NYX Eyebrow Gel is super pigmented, I start at the tail and work my way to the front when I have less product on my brush. There is a bit of a learning curve since this stuff is intense but once you get the hang of it, you are golden.
Hi guys! How in the heck is August over? Where did summer go?? I almost don’t want to write this in hope’s that I can just pretend that August didn’t end yet. But, alas, it is time to talk about my August Favourites!
Makeup
Too Faced | Peanut Butter and Jelly Palette
This little palette is amazing. The shadows perform well and although it is a neutral palette and a small one at that, it is quite versatile. I did a post on it here where I showed five different looks done using this palette and did a full review with swatches.
NYX | Eyebrow Gel in Blonde
This is a fairly new makeup item in my arsenal but I can tell it is a favourite already. I think this may even make my 2016 favourites list if I may be that bold. A few weeks ago my sister went to a wedding and when I saw her earlier that day her brows were the definition of “on fleek”. She told me pointed me in the direction the NYX Eyebrow Gel and WOW. I love it. It’s so easy to use and it fills in my brows just right. Most days I don’t even bother with adding a clear gel to set them. This product claims to be water-proof, smudge-resistant and long-lasting and I can safely say all those claims are true.
Skincare
I actually don’t think I have a new skincare favourite to share with you this month! I’m trying some new products right now but, they haven’t been tested enough to determine if they are a favourite or not.
More!
Gwen Stefani | Obsessed
It should be no surprise that one of my favourite random things this month is a Gwen Stefani song considering I went to see her in concert earlier this month. This song is so catchy and I listen to it at least every day.
MyLipAddiction.com Beauty Podcast
My week would not be complete without the latest instalment of Cat’s MyLipAddiction.com Podcast! Her guests are always really interesting and Cat, herself, is a joy to listen to. I was actually on this podcast earlier this month as well but I was a listener before I was a guest! I highly recommend checking it out! She airs new episodes every Thursday at 7 pm est (currently on break until the fall but you can catch up on previous episodes) on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher & Buzzsprout!
Well, those are my August Favourites! I would love to hear what yours are so please let me know in the comments below!
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.
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!
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 →
Hi guys! I don’t normally do a monthly empties post (I did a “Empties So Far” style post in April) but in May I finished enough stuff to be worthy of it’s own post! I was pretty excited when I looked at my stash of finished products and saw this many items, so let’s go through them!
Skin Care
Garnier | SkinActive Micellar Water (Waterproof)
I was really sad to finish this product. It’s really great for removing making and really cut time in my night-time routine. Prior to using this I was removing my face makeup and eye makeup with different products. Definitely a great product, this was my first Micellar Water and I look forward to trying more. Would I repurchase it? Yes! Absolutely. I also did a first impressions post on this product which you can find here!
Spectro | Cleanser for Blemish-Prone Skin
I can’t believe how long this thing lasted me. In fact, I can’t even remember when I purchased it. This is a very gentle cleanser that does a great job at cleansing the skin. I chose the blemish-prone skin formula since my skin airs on the oily side. I actually don’t get many blemishes but I find this one helps with my oil. Would I repurchase it? Yes, and I already did! Continue reading →
Hi guys! I ventured into Shopper’s Drugmart yesterday and found quite a few items that I’ve been thinking about purchasing on sale so I decided to take some of them home with me. I almost never go into Shopper’s Drugmart to buy makeup since if I buy anything drugstore I usually just grab it while I’m grocery shopping. However, I saw over on Stashmatters’ Instagram that she spotted a NYX display at her local Shopper’s so I had to see if we had one too. I was super surprised to see that we did!
I had been wanting to try the NYX Micro Brow Pencil for quite some time so that is the item I went for when I saw the NYX display. It is supposed to be a dupe for the ABH Brow-Wiz. I’ve only ever swatched the brow-wiz in a Sephora (they didn’t have my colour in stock so I couldn’t take it home with me) but they do seem very similar. I can’t wait to try penciling in my brows with it! I purchased the shade taupe.
The Maybelline Colour Sensational Creamy Matte Lipsticks is another product from the drugstore that I’ve been eyeing up. They were on sale (and super picked-over) but I managed to grab one in the shade Mesmerizing Magenta. It’s a very pretty bright pink shade and it definitely felt creamy to apply when I swatched it on my arm. Continue reading →
Lipstick on the Lake 