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April Beauty Favourites

May 9, 2014

This is my first time doing one of these monthly favourites! I’ve seen them on YouTube a lot, plus some fashion/beauty/lifestyle blogs that I follow. Since I don’t have photoshop on my computer, nor am I good at it, I had to come up with a way to create a collage by other means.

After pondering the internet and trying out various photo apps, I have finally created my first one! I know it’s not perfect, so please bear with me here. It’s been awhile since I’ve done a beauty related post, yet alone a mini haul, so I’m quite excited to try this out! These are in no particular order!

1. Dove Go Fresh deodorant, pomegranate and lemon verbana scent. I am in love with the smell of this deodorant. I like how it has a strong scent, making you smell lovely the whole day. When I want to freshen up after I shower, I apply this deodorant and feel refreshed.

2. The Body Shop – Mango body whip. I love all the body lotion products from The Body Shop (not body butter). The mango one has a lovely, subtle mango scent. It moisturizes very well. I love how it’s very light weight so you don’t feel sticky or heavy after applying this lotion.

3. ELF eyebrow kit. I bought this online back in November, and have been using this everyday for the past few months, so of course it is going on my favourites list! I love the colour/shade of the eyebrow kit, which matches my hair and skintone perfectly. The colour is very soft and not harsh, which I like because I don’t want strong, harsh eyebrows (that’s just my own preference). It’s also long lasting, and the small angle brush that comes with the kit makes it very easy to apply this to your eyebrows- pretty foulproof! Occasionally, I will double this up as a eyeliner for my lower lashes since I don’t like pencil eyeliner.

4. LUSH Grease lightning spot treatment. I received a sample of this, and I am already hooked after 2 days of usage. It is made up of all natural ingredients which fight acne scars, kills dirty bacteria on your skin, and prevents/kills pimples. I had two ugly pimples pop up last week, and after applying this spot treatment, I have noticed that they have diminished dramatically. I love how all the ingredients in this are natural as well.

5. Chanel – Chance Eau Tendre. This perfume has a soft, flowery and romantic scent to it which I love. Whenever I spray it on myself, I instantly feel very calm since the scent is very light and relaxing. I also feel a lot prettier when wearing this, so it definitely gives me a boost of confidence when I feel like I look like crap. I’ve gotten many compliments whenever I wear this perfume, which is a plus!

6. Maybelline mineral powder foundation. I bought this back in high school years back, but didn’t really have a good experience with it and ended up throwing it out. My friend recently gave me hers since it wasn’t the right shade for her, and I decided to give it another try. After wearing this as my setting powder, I noticed that my skin looked a lot brighter, smoother, and more translucent with a hint of shimmer. I realized that the problem was the crappy brush that came with it. I used my own brush and the finish looked a lot better.

Well there you have it, some of my current beauty favourites! What are some of yours?

-Carmen

First Impression- My Beauty Diary Mask (Sake Yeast)

April 8, 2014

First off, I want to say that I rarely use Asian facial masks like these. In fact, this is only my second time using one of them! I got this as a gift from my friend, who went to Asia in the Summer.

I was just feeling tired tonight, and had some time to kill so decided to re-energize and vitalize my skin! I know that this brand is hugely popular among Asian countries, so I was quite excited to try it. The only other Asian facial mask like this one I’ve used is the Innisfree brand masks, which I will be using to compare my first impression with MBD!

As I mentioned before, I used the sake yeast one. From my knowledge, MBD carries a bunch of other masks, such as strawberry or black pearl. The sake yeast one claims to be whiten and moisturize. The package was the size of my hand, just to give you a rough idea.
The Innisfree mask that I used was pretty fragile, it did not take a lot to tear it. For that reason, I was a bit wary and very careful in opening this one.

To my surprise, there was actually another harder sheet inside which was used to protect clumsy people (like moi) from tearing it. I was off to a good start. This mask was so much easier to unfold and apply to your face with the other sheet.
The plastic sheet also made the application process waaay easier than my experience with the Innisfree mask. I had no problems with it. When I put it on, a wave of refreshing, cold, liquid hit my skin. It was instantly awakening and there was a cooling sensation to it. I felt so much more energized!
After 5 minutes, the mask was still super, super cold. I felt like I had dumped ice on my skin. There was also a lot of liquid serum from the mask that was starting to drip.

Eventually, I had to take away my pillows because the angle my head was in was making the liquid drip down to my neck, which got really annoying. I kept having to wipe my neck and pat the dripping liquid onto other parts of the mask. After 20~ minutes, it got better since the mask was starting to dry. However, the whole time, my face was very cold!

Be sure to take this mask off over the sink in case there is still excess liquid, you don’t want that to drip all over your clothes! My skin was still covered with the product, so I decided to just pat it and leave it, instead of rinsing since that was what most bloggers did. It dried after 10 minutes and as I write this, my face feels very soft and refreshed!

(PS. Do you love the cat on my eyes? Hehe. I look freakish with this mask on, and I’m not about to let the internet see that stuff. Let’s name her Polka.)

Pros:
-Easy to apply due to the extra sheet
-Cooling sensation, making your skin feel refreshed and energized
-Light but pleasant scent
-Skin feels energized & soft afterwards

Cons:
–Serum drips everywhere, you have to lie on a completely flat surface (no pillow)
-Serum can drip on your neck since it’s so liquid-y
-Product instructions are written in Chinese, good luck deciphering it unless you can read Chinese (That’s what Google is for! Yay!)
-Not sold in major Western drug stores/retailers, TNT or online is your best bet

Summary:
-Would use this product again, but maybe press out a bit of the serum before applying
-A box of 10 sheets sells for around $16 USD on Amazon

-Carmen

Lancôme – La Base Pro Makeup Primer

March 5, 2014

Hi readers!

I received this as a sample from Shoppers Drug Mart when I recently purchased something from their beauty department. My thoughts on this primer are mixed because on the two separate occasions I wore it, I got different results.

I don’t think I would purchase this product just because I got different results so I’m not too sure how reliable it would be, nor would I want to spend $40+ on a product I am iffy about.

I’ll start off with the application. The primer came out like a gel, but when you applied it, it became very soft on your face, almost like a powder. I noticed that it felt very slippery and oily, and I had a feeling that my foundation would not last…. Keep reading to find out why.
First impression: After applying all my makeup, I noticed that I looked really cakey and streaky. To put it frankly, it did not look nice and I felt like all my pores were magnified. I didn’t really have time to reapply it, so I tried blending it more with my brush, which helped a little.

Overall, my first impression of it was that even though it did have that “satin-soft finish” (or slippery/oily as I call it, hah) it left my face feeling pretty heavy. I never knew it was even possible to have “streaky” foundation until this product came along. (Basically, it means I saw a lot of my stroke marks from my brush).

At the end of the night, my foundation was still on even though my face felt heavy. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures in good lighting and ended up deleting the initial ones. I was really disappointed with my first impression on this primer, and was glad I got this for free.

Second impression: I didn’t want to lose hope on this primer! A few nights after, I decided to only apply the primer to half my face and ask the boyfriend which side looked more pore less & even. I was hoping that he would say the side that I didn’t put on the primer to conclude, but he actually said that the right side looked smoother!

I noticed that this time, my foundation did not appear as streaky or cakey as the initial time, even though all the products and amount were the same. I noticed that unlike the first night, my skin didn’t feel heavy or gross the whole night- I even forgot I wore it. Here is a picture I took at the end of the night:
Conclusion: After reading reviews, I noticed that users with the same skin type as mine (combination/oily) had the same problems. Therefore, I conclude that this foundation would be better suited for you if you had dry skin. It all makes sense now!

My face was probably oilier during my first application since I just took a shower before applying (I don’t know why, but my face becomes oilier after I shower) which is why it looked so cakey and streaky. The second time, I don’t remember putting on any heavy moisturizer or showering before.

That meant that my skin was drier my second time, which was why I had more success with it. But yeah, I don’t think I would buy this primer or use it again – I’ll probably give it away to a friend that has a dry skin type.

-Carmen

Urban Decay – “Naked Skin” Liquid Foundation Review

February 1, 2014

Hi everyone!

I’ve always been a fan of Urban Decay products. My first memory of UD was one of their dark purple eyeshadow pots, which I remember from my childhood. My mom has always been into makeup which is probably how I have taken on the hobby as well.

From then, it slowly progressed to discovering the UD Primer potion (My HOLY GRAIL of all eyeshadow primers, a later post will be dedicated to this amazing product), then to various liquid eyeliners, and finally, their Naked Skin foundation.

I first tried the foundation through Sephora + Pantone ‘s colour IQ and got a sample of it. Usually, when I am investing in a relatively expensive foundation, I ask for a sample first to make sure I really like it before actually spending money. It’s been a few months with this foundation and it’s safe to say, I love it as much as when I first bought it. Here’s why:

Coverage: When I buy foundation, I aim for at least medium coverage. I have combination skin, redness in a few areas (esp around my nose, eyebrows), and a few scars which is why low coverage does nothing for me. Anyways, the coverage is great. A little goes a long way, I usually use one pump, dab it in my problem zones and use my foundation brush to blend it out.

Feel: Usually, medium-high coverage foundations feel heavier which makes sense. However, as their website says and I agree with, this foundation feels really light and non-existent which is perfect! My face also does not feel oiler than it normally is after using.

Length: Foundations that say they last 12-24+ hours plus are lying. Why would you need a foundation that lasts 24 hours?! Like do you not need to sleep or something? Go sleep!

Anyways, this foundation lasts pretty long for my skin, at least 8 hours before I notice it starting to wear off. I normally reapply it after 6 hours, if I happen to have it with me, just because it does seem to lose its radiance a bit. I’ve had foundations that have lasted only 3 hours MAXIMUM before it goes away.

Cons: While writing this post, I kept trying to think of things I did not like about it. But honestly, I can’t think of anything… Except maybe the price? It retails for $45 Canadian not including tax. It is pretty expensive in my opinion, but for what you get out of it, it’s worth it.

Thank you for reading !
-Carmen