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Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Eye Crayon

January 6, 2015

Hi everyone!

After buying Sephora’s Draw the Line 2014 set and using most of the products for two months now, I decided it was finally time to talk about them! One of the products included in this year’s set was the Marc Jacob’s Highliner gel eye crayon, which retails for $30 Canadian (full sized product) at Sephora. The set only included the sample size, which was half the size of the full but I still thought it was a good deal with the set!

Funny story, I wasn’t actually planning on using this until I had finished one of the other pencil liners in the set. Of course, I accidentally misplaced that one somewhere and the rest of the pencil liners I had weren’t that great, so I decided on opening this one.

It seems like gel liners are all the rage right now, and for great reason too! I remember the first time I tried gel liner, it was one of the gel pots from MAC back in high school. Ever since then, I’ve loved gel liners for how smooth it glides on your eyelid and the intensity of the colour. Gel liners are more pigmented due to the way that it is formulated.

Combining the gel and crayon eyeliner into one, the Marc Jacobs highliner was born!

I can’t think of a single negative thing about this product except for the cost, maybe. At first use, I loved how smooth and easy it was to apply, and how pigmented and intense the colour was. It also does not smudge the whole day and night, and is waterproof.

In fact, this eyeliner is all that I’ve been using lately since it seems I’m always in a rush in the mornings now. It takes me 15 seconds to quickly tight line my eyes, and what results is an intense and striking black that lasts all day! Any makeup product that is easy and fast to apply, and long lasting, is good to me.

One thing I don’t like about pencil products is having to look for my sharpener. This product comes with a built in sharpener so you don’t have to worry about it becoming dull. It also comes with a twist up bottom!

I’ve also been looking for a replacement gold liner since my favourite gold shade of the Sephora + Pantone has been discontinued (how sad), I might give the champagne shade a try next time I’m in Sephora. But at $30 a pop, it does not come cheap =( However, I’ve come to realize that I much prefer high quality eyeliners that are worth the investment, than a cheap one which smudges or does not last the whole day- the annoyance and retouching up is not worth it. Which means I need to carefully manage my money (aka no more useless sugary drinks or random snacks)!

What are your thoughts on gel liner? Have you tried the Marc Jacobs highliner before and what did you think of it?

Thanks for reading!
-Carmen

Black Friday Sephora Mini Haul!

December 1, 2014

It’s funny that I’m doing this post, because I wasn’t planning or even wanting to go Black Friday/Black Friday weekend shopping. My friend and I had planned a girls day out, and only on Thursday did we realize that we accidentally planned it on Black Friday weekend. Ahhh! I really did not want to step inside a mall during Black Friday weekend, dealing with crowds and swarms of people fighting each other to get the cheapest prices. Anyways, since we had been planning our shopping trip for a few weeks, we didn’t want to reschedule so decided to just suck it up, and pray for the best. If it got cray cray, we figured we would just leave and find something else to do LOL.
I am happy to say though, that it didn’t turn out as crazy as we thought it would be. We went shopping on Saturday instead of the actual Black Friday, which probably really helped. Most of the stuff I bought was at Sephora (no surprise there hah), so I’ll just be focusing on what I bought there. Please keep in mind that I didn’t try any of these products fully yet, I may write a detailed review on some of these products after I’ve used them for longer.

Walking into Sephora, the first thing that caught my eyes at on the Black Friday exclusive shelf was the Kat Von D Lip Love Set. Admittedly, I tried to buy this from the safety of my laptop on Friday but just as I was about to check out my purchases, all of the items I wanted were sold out! So you can imagine my happiness when I found this in store, I grabbed one right away! This set is a Sephora exclusive and limited edition. I’ve always wanted to try Kat Von D lip products because I absolutely love their tattoo liner. It came in a lip gloss and lip stick duo, with pre-selected shades. Right after we left Sephora, I tried on the lip gloss. My first impression was that it was very pigmented, and the shade was a lot brighter and lighter than it looked in the tube. For the first few seconds, my friend and I were absolutely horrified at how bright it was but after applying it all over my lips, it didn’t look as bad and I actually ended up really liking the colour on my skin LOL. It stayed on for a few hours until I took it off at dinner. At $12CA for both, the lip love set was an amazing deal and I’m glad I was able to pick one up.

Just like the KVD lip love set, I was also hoping to buy this online on Friday, but it was sold out by the time I went to the online check out. Lesson learned, do your online shopping quick during huge sales. I’ve been looking for a new face wash, and read pretty good reviews on this. This was the Bliss fabulous foaming face wash, a 2-in-1 cleanser & exfoliator. From first glance, the formula looked very thick and gel-like. A lot of reviews that I read said that this does an amazing job of removing face make up immediately, and that was exactly what I was looking for. An amazing cleanser that will remove foundation right away, because let’s face it- after a long night out, there is nothing better than changing into cozy pajamas and letting your skin breathe and be makeup free. I know that when you sleep with makeup on, or get makeup trapped in your pillow cases (so gross), it is really bad for your skin so I don’t take any chances when I’m already susceptible to breaking out. Which is why I also don’t wear foundation on a daily basis. This was half price for their Black Friday sale, I got it for $12CA!

As I was about to leave the Black Friday shelf, the Buxom Power Players set caught my eye. Darnit, haha! Considering that it came with a full sized Buxom sculpted lash mascara, which retailed for $24 Canadian, AND a waterproof eyeliner, for $12 Canadian, I knew that it was a sale opportunity that I could simply not pass up. My friend gave me a gel pot liner from Buxom last year, which I really liked. I’m hoping that I’ll like these two products as well.

Time just disappears when I’m in Sephora, and before us girls knew it, almost one hour had passed by… we decided to finally go and pay for our things, but we had another tempting obstacle to overcome… the last minute product shelves they have while you’re waiting in line to pay. I was really wanting a darker lip colour ever since my possibly haunted experience with the Too Faced melted lip stick, and the colour in the Make Up Forever Redefining Red caught my eye. The duo also came with a colourless lip liner, known as their lip line perfector and claimed to prevent lipstick from smudging. And at $17 for two MUFE products, I thought it was a good deal.

As a bonus, I also received my birthday gift from Sephora! It was also MUFE, but with their mascara and other lipstick instead. I forgot to pick my gift up last year, which I’m still mad at myself for, so I’m glad that the cashier was able to give it to me even though my birthday isn’t for awhile. Since I’m a late December baby, did anyone pick this up already? How did you like it?

I am quite happy that I bought all these products on sale. And before you judge, let me just say this. If there wasn’t a sale, I probably wouldn’t have bought anything. Most the time I go into Sephora, I browse and end up walking out without anything. It may not look like it because my blog focuses on a lot of purchased beauty products, but I only buy products that are on sale and know are a good value for what you receive. You only see half the picture, and don’t know what else goes on which is completely okay because I like to keep some things personal. I usually don’t buy this much in one visit, but I wanted to take advantage of their sale because deals this great don’t come around often. I don’t want you guys to think that I have a habit of consistently blowing money for no apparent reason, because I am quite the opposite. I think carefully about my choices before I buy and am conscious of how much I spend (which is one of the reasons why I spend so long in Sephora, debating if I should actually get the products or not haha!). I know, and can distinguish when I can or should spend money, versus times that I shouldn’t. Okay that’s all, thanks for reading that blurb 🙂

-Carmen

Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick

October 5, 2014

The beauty world has been abuzz with Too Faced’s Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick, which triples as a lipstick, lipgloss, and lipstain all in one. After reading and watching many reviews, I really wanted to find more info and try it out! Plus, I’ve been searching for a fall lipstick colour and I really loved the shades that Too Faced had on this line.

Unfortunately, this lipstick didn’t work out for me but I will give it a second chance. Really disappointing since I was almost in love with it- there was just a tiny problem that was driving me crazy!
With tax, this tube came to $27 (Canadian) at Sephora when I bought it last week. Probably the most I have paid for a lip product, but I had really high hopes for this one and did not mind the investment! The packaging itself was pretty sturdy, it wasn’t flimsy at all.

I also loved how the packaging of each shade matched the box and tube, there are products out there where you are unable to tell unless you open it up. Since I was looking for a deep and rich shade for fall, I chose melted berry.
Almost all the reviews I watched and read noted the different application tip, and I really do think it’s worth mentioning! This product features a soft velvet precision tip applicator, which felt very nice on my lip. Since the applicator has a fabric, velvety material on it, the lip product comes out slower as it absorbs through the material first.

There is a small hole in the center of the velvet applicator where the product comes out of, and then spreads out as you apply it on your lip. It reminded me of those mini sponge-y eyeshadow brushes that are seen at the Sephora makeup testing stations, but thicker.

Funny story, when I first applied the product, I completely under estimated how much I would need. Seriously, a little goes a longggg way with this product, which is good considering it cost $27 🙂 I ended up accidentally smudging it all over my chin as I tried to get the excess off, except that it wouldn’t come off and ended up spreading even more!

That was a sign at how long lasting this product is, but it was definitely embarrassing as my boyfriend just stared confusingly at me and said “you have lipstick all over your chin….” Sigh… I finally ended up using makeup remover to get rid of it on my chin.

Anyways, I was in love with the shade at first glance and Too Faced lived up to its words, describing this lip product as “intensely saturated colour”. It was extremely vibrant, noticeable, and will definitely make your lips PoP! It glided really easy too, and the precision tip was very helpful for lining my lips.
I originally wasn’t planning on doing a before and after, but I remembered that I took pictures on my phone on the way to Sephora (I was not the one driving and we were stuck in traffic, also this was the second time I wore my coloured contacts so I wanted to see how they turned out in pictures okay, don’t judge me).

Side note, I did a review on these coloured contacts if you would like to read it! 🙂
BUT THIS LIPSTICK IS PERFECT – SHADE, INTENSITY, LONG LASTING. WHAT COULD BE WRONG WITH IT? (Warning- mini angry rant ahead)

I applied this right after I purchased it. When I got back in the car, I noticed that I got some of it on my phone. I thought it was weird since I used makeup remover at Sephora on my chin and hands, but shrugged it off. I’ve read reviews that this has stayed on through drinking and eating, so I decided to eat dinner with this on and test it out.

Then, I noticed that it got on my utensils, which is fair. As I was happily munching on my noodles, I noticed a glop of the product in my noodle soup and on the noodles. It was pretty gross as I’ve never seen product fall off into a glop onto my noodles, and lost a bit of my appetite. I understand if it’s on your utensils and straws, but I’ve never experienced it in my actual food.

In addition, I had also bought some new novels, and was reading one of them as I ate. I noticed that there was lip stain smudge on my page… How did it get there?! My hands were definitely clean and wiped. (You can see it on the top right hand corner, and also on the first line, on “of my”)
After eating, I went to the washroom, and noticed again that the product was on the toliet lid (Sorry for TMI). ?!?!?!How did it get there too?! I didn’t even touch the lid… At this point, I was getting a tiny bit annoyed as the lipstick had transferred to my phone, noodle soup, my book, and the toliet seat in less than 40 minutes.

THEN, after wiping off the seat, I went to the sink AND THE COLOUR WAS IN THE SINK TOO. I didn’t use the washroom sink prior to this, I’m not even remotely sure how the colour got there! At this point, I gave up and didn’t want this product on my face anymore (Well, not like it was staying on my face to begin with…). I used a cotton pad to wipe it off, but it would not come off.

Frustrated, I ended up using makeup remover on my lip (well, that’s a first!) and of course, it smudged to my face and took a long time to scrub off. I decided that this product was not worth the hassle. I wouldn’t be as frustrated as I was, but I was 105% certain that my hands were free from any leftover product residue so I’m not sure what kind of lipstick-magic-wizard-sorcery was going on here. Also, why was it so easy to get everywhere but so hard to remove?! =(

Phew! So, in conclusion, the beautiful shades, precision, and vibrancy of this product is unarguable. So is the long lasting part, as I was having trouble wiping it off without makeup remover. I’m just not sure how it managed to get into my noodle soup in glops, on my novel, the toilet seat, and sink when my hands were 100% wiped and free of any residue. I’m also still technically a student (although I have an internship right now, that money is going straight to my student loans), and can’t justify paying $27 right now for such a confusingly messy product. I guess there’s always that one person who doesn’t have a great experience with it, unfortunately, that was moi 🙁 I’ll probably give this product a second chance before exchanging since everyone loves it.

Am I the only one with this problem? Have you tried this product out as well?

Thanks for reading! Would love to hear back from you, leave me a comment! 🙂

-Carmen

Estee Lauder Fall/Winter 2014 Media Preview Event (Part 2/2!)

September 16, 2014

As I was mentioning in part 1, I decided to split this post up because it would just be way too long for one post. If you’re just reading this now, these two posts are a review of the Estee Lauder Fall/Winter 2014 Media Preview Event that I went to two weeks ago. I also mentioned in the first post that these two posts will just be a simple overview of the products, as I did not get a chance to try these products well enough to formulate an opinion or review 🙂 However, I was able to bring home many of their already released products as you will see.

Out of all the products I was introduced to that day, my favourite would have to be the sculpting foundation brush on the top left, designed exclusively for Estee Lauder. I read about this brush before, but I finally got to see it in real life and hold it! The middle section of the brush is curved, and will effortlessly hug the contours of the face for effortless sculpting and definition. I feel like this brush will definitely be a saviour for beginner contourers like myself. In front of the sculpting brush, is their new perfectionist youth-infusing foundation. It contains their best selling serum, along with advanced ingredients that will create a more “youthful” appearance to the skin. There are microscopic priming beads that instantly fill lines while blurring imperfections- sounds like real life photoshop to me!

Moving on to the top right is Estee Lauder’s new Re-Nutriv Ultra Radiance Foundation. I was drawn to this one because it contains gemstones such as sapphires, rubies, and jade. To add to the elegance, it includes a blend of Gold and South Sea Pearls. These magnificent gemstones and pearls complement each other as they interact with light to create unique, vibrant colours. Unfortunately one small bottle costs $100, but a girl can dream right?

On the bottom left was the Modern Muse perfume, which smelled lovely as well. It is a blend of “sophisticated florals and succulent fruitiness juxtaposed against deep sultry woods”. Wow, I want to be able to write as beautifully as the person who wrote Estee Lauder’s PR book (which I am reading for reference right now cause I forgot what the scent was exactly, haha)
At the end of our tour, we were given an option to do the “3 minute mini makeover”, with an Estee Lauder makeup artist. There were four looks that you were able to choose from. As I mentioned in my first post, I am still trying to master the art of contouring so I opted for the contouring option.

Here is what I went home with. Thank you so much, Estee Lauder. I was in so much shock, I was definitely not expecting any gifts, let alone this many. I am super ecstatic to try all of these products out and will be doing reviews on them for sure, so keep your eyes peeled.

I am so grateful to be given this opportunity to attend such a great and organized event, thanks to Estee Lauder and the PR team. Everyone working was so kind, welcoming, and talented in what they do. I have a newfound appreciation towards this brand because of this event. Every time I walk by an Estee Lauder booth, I am reminded of the wonderful team of people behind it and I am so grateful and glad that I caught a glimpse of that at the event.

The products in this post were sent to me free of charge from Estee Lauder, and I was not paid to write this post. Everything in this post is my personal opinion and was not altered by the request of the company.

-Carmen

Estee Lauder Perfectionist Foundation Review

September 10, 2014

One of the products I received from the Estee Lauder Fall/Winter 2014 Media Preview was their perfectionist, youth infusing foundation. I mentioned this briefly in my media preview post, but I finally had the opportunity to try it out.

Honestly, the name “youth infusing” sounds a bit strange to me. In my opinion, I don’t think maturing skin is anything to be ashamed about. There is nothing wrong with aging- it is a natural process, and I think it’s beautiful, as it is a part of human life. Just because someone is sixty years old, I don’t think that it makes them less beautiful than a 20 year old. I do know that they are referring to the skin’s physical appearance, but there is a beauty and art in wisdom too.
Wow sorry, I definitely did not mean to go off on a tangent about maturing skin! Do you agree though?

What it claims:

This foundation contains Estee Lauder’s best selling perfectionist [cp+r] serume, which helps to repair the looks of lines and wrinkles, makes skin looking more radiant, glowing, and noticeably younger
The advanced optical ingredients softly highlights and defines to enhance facial features which will brighten skin
Contains priming beads which instantly fill lines and blurs imperfections to create flawless looking skin
Is lightweight, ultra comfortable with a satin-finish, so skin feels luxuriously soft to the touch

Since I received this as a gift, I was unable to select my shade. I received the shade “fresco”, number 2C3. Fortunately, this shade was suitable for me and did not make me look unnaturally dark or too pale! The foundation also contains their IntuiTone pigment technology, which guarantees true-to-life shade matching by working with skin’s natural undertones, so that might be part of why the shade matched so well right away. This retails for $50 CA.

Application: I used two pumps of this foundation on my face, and blended it with my brush. Immediately, I noticed that the foundation felt very lightweight, as it claimed to do. Since it does have a lightweight feel, I found that the coverage was lighter than I liked. Normally, I wear medium-heavy coverage but I would say this is a light coverage.

I considered applying a different foundation on top to see how well it blended, but I decided that I rather see how much lasting power this has throughout the night. My face felt pretty smooth and non sticky after this foundation. Another thing that I liked about this foundation was that it had no chemical or harsh scent. I’ve bought a few foundations that have a weird chemical scent, which is a bit off putting.
Here is the finished product! I have on the foundation, with light bronzer and blush. What do you think? I thought that for a lightweight, light coverage foundation, this foundation did the job pretty well. I really liked the feel of it on my skin.

Lasting: I wore this foundation for around four hours. I was planning on going to an event that night, but a couple of things happened and I didn’t end up going. For the time I did wear this foundation, I found that my appearance did not become dull. It was also very easy to wash off, which I appreciated.

Pros:

Lightweight formula makes it very comfortable to wear!
Makes skin appear radiant and softer, would recommend using this foundation if you know you’ll be taking many pictures cause your skin will look very smooth and healthy 🙂
For a light coverage foundation, it covered my imperfections/scars/etc amazingly well
Very easy to blend and remove
Includes a IntuiTone pigment technology that guarantees true to life shade matching by working with skin’s natural undertones
Includes SPF 25

Cons:

Very sturdy packaging, but the glass bottle means that you will have to be careful not to drop this
Directed more towards a more mature consumer, as this foundation focuses a lot on blurring fine lines and wrinkles

Bottom line, I do really enjoy this foundation mainly due to how lightweight it feels, but covers my imperfections very well. It also made my skin appear more radiant, smooth, and soft!

What are your thoughts on this foundation? Do you prefer light/medium/or full coverage foundation? I would love to hear your comments!

Yay!

Sample provided for review. Opinions are own.

Thanks for reading!
-Carmen