makeup Archives - Page 14 of 25

Courrèges Estée Lauder Lip + Cheek Ball

October 28, 2015

Estee Lauder has paired up with French designer, Andre Courrèges on a line called Courrèges Estee Lauder. A few products were created combining his modern, futuristic, and geometric style, one of which I will review today. But first, here are some pictures to give you an idea of his style from the 60s.

(L) Ina Balke in Courrèges, 1965. (R) Courrèges, 1965. Credit: ShrimptonCouture.com — (L) Ina Balke in Courrèges, 1965. (R) Courrèges, 1965.
Credit: ShrimptonCouture.com

His style is very geometric, and after doing some research on him before writing this post, found out that was very popular in the 60s. I’ve never heard of him before attending the Estee Lauder media preview event, as with a few other attendees as well! See what type of things you can learn when you start beauty blogging? =P

His design incorporates many simple shapes such as triangles, trapezoids, squares, and rectangles.
Staying true to his geometric and futuristic style, the lip & cheek ball features a chrome metal design in a sphere. I could totally paint this into a Pokeball. Nah jk, knowing me and art, I would probably still find a way to mess that up.
The surface of the ball is reflective, and it took me a long time to get a ‘decent’ shot that hid my phone’s reflection before giving up. It just wasn’t meant to be.

But now we can play a game – can you spot me trying to hide in the reflection of the ball? LOL.

Here is a swatch of the product. The product goes on pretty sheer, this is two swatches of the lip & cheek ball. As you can tell, the colour is a soft, rosy pink that would go with a plethora of makeup looks! The official shade name is ‘ultra pink’.

Although this is suitable for both lips and cheeks, I’ve only used this on my lips. I know that many people use lipstick on their cheeks as a blush hack, but I try to stay away from that. From a young age, my mom and her friends have warned me about putting lipstick on skin as they did that when they were younger, and thought that the lipstick did some damage to her skin. Hence, I grew up with the mindset that lipstick on cheeks = no bueno!

Of course, we all have our different opinions and some people may not see the harm in doing so. It probably is fine, but I just chose not to do it – to each their own, right?
I try to take advantage of the sun whenever possible, here is a picture wearing the lip & cheek ball on my lunch break. I love wearing this colour when I’m at work because it is not too striking or dramatic. I feel that sometimes my lips look sickly pale, even though I’m not sick so this shade adds a bit of healthy colour to my face.

Living in Vancouver, we have many days consumed by depressing cloud and rain which not only affects my mood sometimes, but also prevents the amount of pictures I can take for my blog! Whenever I see a glint of sunshine in the fall and winter months, you bet I am outside taking advantage of natural lighting 😉

The lip & cheek ball retails for approximately $28 CAD. I’ve also included the full line above, although I’m not certain if all products are carried in Canada.

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

Press sample featured. Opinions are own.

Night Out Makeup Look

October 24, 2015

I went out with some friends for dinner over the weekend, and thought I would share the makeup I wore! I haven’t done this for awhile, not since my Valentine’s Day makeup look, I believe – so hope you enjoy reading this as I do love writing posts like these.

Unfortunately, I was in a rush that night so the thought of taking some selfies after my makeup completely slipped my mind. Sorry! I took some pictures with friends but the lighting was pretty dark and bad inside, so those won’t be much help.

Here is all the makeup I used that night.

For my eyes, I wanted to create a smokey eye look and used my Urban Decay Naked palette to achieve the look. Since I was in a rush, I wasn’t able to create as much of a dramatic effect as I wanted but I was still happy with the way it turned out!

After priming my eyes with Urban Decay’s primer potion, I brushed ‘sin’ and ‘toasted’ all over my eyelid. On the outer corners, I blended ‘darkhose’ and ‘hustle’. I also wanted to try my new Sigma angle brush, and used ‘sidecar’ on the lower inner corner to make my eyes seem a bit brighter.(You can click on the photo for a new tab with a larger photo size, so that you’re able to see the names of each shade)

Obsessed Canada has started carrying Sigma brushes and they offer free shipping on products over $25 or a mere $3 flat rate!

As usual, I created a wing with my favourite Kat Von D liquid liner but decided to thicken and extend the line more. I finished my eyes with my new Buxom mascara.

Since I wasn’t getting ready at home, I didn’t want to bring all of my face products with me in my makeup bag. I used my Urban Decay Naked skin foundation all over my face – I love this foundation and it is my definite go-to! For my under eye circles, I used the Estee Lauder Perfectionist concealer which I find does a really good job in brightening your skin.

To set my foundation, I used my Bare Minerals matte powder. Bare Minerals will always have a special place in my heart because it was the first higher end makeup brand I bought. It’s also a really great setting powder or you can use it alone for lighter coverage.
Here is the one picture I have, where you can decently see my makeup although it is a bit grainy! For privacy reasons, the boyfriend has turned into an orange just like in Kelowna.

Thanks for reading!

Press samples featured (Estee Lauder Perfectionist concealer and Sigma angle brush). Opinions are own.

-Carmen

Birchbox PARLOR Launch Party – Event Recap

October 16, 2015

This week, I was invited to a launch party for Birchbox’s exclusive brand, PARLOR!.PARLOR is a new line of hair care products created by celebrity hair stylist, Jeff Chastain. The event was held at a beautiful boutique hair salon in one of the historic buildings in Gastown, House of Blond.

An event is not complete without delicious food, and boy was I glad to snack on these after a one hour commute straight from work and not having dinner yet. I know this is a beauty post, but I am part food blogger so I definitely have to comment on the catering! There was a great selection of meat, cheese, and fruit.

After some introductions from the ladies who hosted this event – Birchbox, Devon PR, and House of Blond – Sarah, the owner of the salon, led us guests through the new products.

The new products were set up in a few spaces throughout the studio, and the brick wall and greenery provided a beautiful backdrop for Instagram/blog photos!
The products in this picture are the same as the two above, but I thought I would include this picture as well! Pictured here is the new smoothing blowout spray and moisturizing sea salt spray.

One of my favourite things about this line is how simple it is. When Jeff creating the line, he envisioned it to be a simple line, thus eliminating many different steps and maximizing the use of each product.

The line also has a gender neutral scent, so you’re able to use these products without worrying about smelling too girly or manly. It smells very clean, and is composed of ripe peach, fresh cut grass, and wood. The line is also free or paraben, sulfate, and colour. There are also no animal products in it so it is vegan friendly as well.

After talking about the four new products, we each sat in Sarah’s chair and received mini hair makeovers. We told her what we loved about our hair, and what concerns we had. When it was my turn, I told her that my main hair concern was that my hair tends to get oily pretty fast.

Sarah recommended the new sea salt spray for my hair type. She sprayed some in my roots (which smells wonderful, by the way!) and worked her magic on me. My hair was transformed into something that was more textured and voluminous. I was quite shocked at how big of a difference the sea salt spray made in my hair.
I only hope that I can recreate the voluminous look at home, too! I love how my bangs look more textured, and I have that natural, beach hair look even in the chillier weather here in Vancouver.

I also got to meet some other beauty bloggers as well, after only interacting on Instagram! That really made my night as it’s always nice to finally be able to chat in person, and meet new beauty bloggers to follow.

Each of us received full size samples of the new PARLOR line, as well as October’s Birchbox. I’m really excited to try out the products on my hair and write a detailed review on the products.

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

NARS Lipstick – Sephora Birthday Gift

October 14, 2015

My birthday falls on one of the last few days of the year — how unfortunate, right?! I was always the last of my friends to get a driver’s license, be of legal age, and of course, receive my Sephora beauty insider gift.

Over the past few years, the disappointment has weaned off and it doesn’t really bug me anymore. I’ve come to really appreciate my birthday time. After all, I never have to worry about having to study for an exam because it’s winter break, worry about work because it’s a holiday, people are in a great mood because of the holiday season, and I get beautiful holiday decorations!

I was in Sephora in January, and after completing my purchase, the lady at the counter handed me a small NARS box. ‘Here’s your birthday gift!’ She was nice enough to give it then, so I didn’t have to wait an entire year before finally receiving mine! Thank you, Sephora lady!
Admittedly, I forgot about the sample as I usually stick with my one lipstick, and had also bought a couple around that time. It wasn’t until last month during a family dinner, when I noticed my cousin’s strikingly bold red lip. I asked her what she was wearing, and she told me it was the NARS birthday lipstick from Sephora.

After that, I finally decided to open mine to see how it would look on me!
The lighter, rose pink shade is the satin lip pencil in rikugien, and has a hint of shimmer to it. I found that this shade was pretty light and neutral, and would be good for those who want a natural look. Or, it would be suitable if you already have a lot of dramatic eye makeup on, as you typically want to avoid your eyes and lips competing for attention.

I find that light pinkish shades don’t go well with my skin tone. It makes me look sickly pale, LOL! Which is why I liked the hint of shimmer, it didn’t make me look like I was sick. It does have a satin-y look to it so the name is very well suited for the colour.

Meanwhile, the darker shade is the velvet matte lip pencil in cruella. I am a big fan of darker shades, so personally, I liked this one more. However, it is definitely really bold and attention grabbing so you have to wear it with confidence!

Overall, I’ve heard nothing but positive opinions on these two Sephora birthday gifts and I can definitely vouch for them too. The quality is great, they are long lasting, and do not dry out your lips. For a free product, this is really great and would be a product that I wouldn’t mind spending money on either.

Have you received your Sephora birthday gift yet this year? What did you think of it?

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen

My Melody Face Mask

October 4, 2015

When Maki went to Taiwan and Hong Kong last month, she came back with an assortments of gifts and souvenirs for me! Thank you, Maki, if you’re reading this! I don’t buy many Asian beauty brands, but to my knowledge, I believe that they are a lot cheaper in Asia so it is a good time to stock up on them while you are there.

I received a bunch of facial masks from her, which I am slowly trying out.. as well as an liquid eyeliner that I really love! One of the facial masks that she got me was the My Melody face mask.

For those of you that don’t know, My Melody is one of the Sanrio characters. You can think of Sanrio as the Disney of Japan… their characters are very popular and everywhere in Asia! The most popular Sanrio character is probably Hello Kitty.

I grew up with a lot of Sanrio characters in my life, my favourite characters would have to be Hello Kitty, Keroppi, Little Twin Stars, My Melody… and the list goes on. I’m feeling so nostalic as I type this, I had Keroppi stickers all over my room and door when I was a kid!
This is what the packaging looks like – simple and minimalist, yet still very cute!
Although I took a Japanese beginners class three years ago, sadly I did not continue with it although I hope to be able to read fluent Japanese one day. That, or be able to travel to Japan and understand or get around!

With that said, clearly I can’t tell you what the ingredients are or what this mask claims to do. I’ll just leave it up here for you all to see and if you can translate the back, please leave a comment down below =D
I was very surprised when I took out the mask, and saw that it was an actual My Melody face! How cute is that?! Seriously, Japanese products are amazing and are so detailed. It also smelled like strawberries, which was an excellent delight.

At first, my skin reacted a bit with the mask as it stung a little, which went away in less than 30 seconds. I left it on my face for 15 minutes, and I thoroughly enjoyed the scent of strawberries the whole time. I am a big fan of strawberries, if you didn’t know 😛

I was a bit confused as to if this mask would fit my entire face, since it is more horizontal than vertical. It actually covered my whole face area, except for the tip of my nose because the nose flap was a bit too short for me.

Overall, I thought that this mask was very cute and I enjoyed using it. I really loved the packaging and design of this. The mask felt very moisturizing, although I wish I could read Japanese so I can tell what this mask targets.

Thanks for reading!

-Carmen