NOTD: Fortune Teller China Glaze

Happy Halloween everyone! Today I decided to do a Halloween themed nail of the day using China Glaze's Fortune Teller. This colour screams Halloween to me, and frankly I only wear it around Halloween because it is pretty out there. I got this last year as part of China Glaze's Halloween limited edition line.

It's a gorgeous polish with a black base and shiny, orange different sized glitter chunks throughout. I love how the entire bottle is packed full of the glitter bits so when you add multiple coats you can get lots of glitter on your nails. It takes 2-3 coats to get it totally opaque, but it really is super cool on the nails. I find glitters are a pain to take off sometimes, but this one is totally unique and worth the hassle for one night of wear.

What is your Halloween manicure for tonight?

Review: Revlon Age Defying Foundation For Dry Skin

Revlon's Age Defying Foundation for dry skin is my review for today. I was really excited to try this out since I loved the Age Defying cream concealer in this range. This comes in two types: for normal/combination skin and for dry skin with SPF 15. I really like foundations that cater specifically to certain skin types, that way you can get the foundation that's best for you. I have dry skin and I admit it sucks having this type of skin because you have to be careful how much makeup you put on or else it settles into lines and/or looks cakey. I think it's much easier to cover up imperfections if you have oily/combination skin, the foundation can look less obvious. I am on a mission to find the foundation that will best suit my skin, while still giving me coverage.

Small Haul and Clinique Rant

I went to the mall today for something to do and stopped by Walmart and picked up a few things. The Hard Candy section at my Walmart is a mess, there are testers of all the baked products and they are all cracked and spilling all over the display. I admit the products are pretty, but not really my thing, I did buy the Honeymoon blush, but that will be all I get. I don't know why they don't clean up the display, it's horrific. Anyway, I did manage to get their Tinted Moisturizer, in the colour "Fair". I have heard good things about this and wanted to try it out, it was like $8.

Next, I know I said I wouldn't get this but I did anyway with a $5 coupon, the L'oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base. It was like $8 with coupon. I also got the last Ecotools Eyeshadow brush that they had, this was around $4. I have the original one and it's much different, the bristles are hard sympathetic on that one and this one is a huge improvement. I will do a comparison review soon.

Now onto the rant, that's why you read this post right? Okay, so after watching Pixiwoo's fabulous 'Guide to Clinique foundations' video on youtube (link above), I decided to make a stop at my Sears Clinique counter. They have a gift with purchase on now, so a good time to buy a new foundation. I went in primarily wanting to get the Acne Solutions foundation. I told the girl that I have dry skin, but I do tend to break out along my chin and want something with moderate-full coverage. I know Clinique tends to not give much coverage, and this foundation gives a fair amount. The girl asks me if my skin feels tight or just looks dry? I tell her well it's tight after I wash it but no, it looks and feels dry. Then she tells me that my skin is not dry, I just need to exfoliate and get the dead skin cells off. It's not dry? I do exfoliate on a regular basis, I find exfoliating makes my skin even drier if I overdo it. If you take a look at my skin, it looks dry, I am no makeup guru here but I think it's obvious. Is there any truth in this? She then tells me their 3 step program can help with this yadda yadda yadda, I have tried their 3 step and am not interested.

Okay whatever, she tries the Acne Solutions makeup on me, chooses a shade that I think is far too dark for me (03 Fair Neutral) whatever it looks fine I suppose (I could always return it). I go to pay, oh they don't have that colour in stock, or the one lighter down. Okay, what other foundations would you recommend? Superfit? she don't have any colours available, Superbalanced? She says that gives natural coverage. She recommend their Oil-free foundation (can't remember the name). I am getting irritated now so I say fine I will get that one. She rings me through, oh it's only $26 and you need to spend $28.50 to qualify for the free gift, would you like something else? Oh man... okay I will just come back another time! So fed up at this point.

I think when they have gift with purchase promotions they should really be well stocked with their products, or else they are losing sales, as they did with me. I would order online (probably easier) but their shade selection is often out of stock too and I'd have to pay for shipping. Overall, I was really annoyed with Clinique.

What foundations would you girls recommend from Clinique? or ones to avoid?

ELF Cosmetics: New Liquid Foundation With a Pump Sneak Peek

I just caught the buzz of this new announcement on ELF Cosmetics Facebook Page. They are close to coming out with their first liquid foundation! And here is a sneak peek of the product.

As you can tell it contains SPF 15, and it's oil-free and it's supposed to give a "flawless finish". But the best part is the packaging.. look at how gorgeous it looks,  I am totally excited for this product. It has a pump! A nice pump, the kind of pump you would see on MAC's Studio Fix Fluid. I hope it functions well though and if not, you could always move this over to other foundation bottles that don't have a pump now (if it fits that is). The colour selection, I have no idea, but judging by the picture of 5 shades, it may be difficult to find your match. I am wondering if this will be $3, although I doubt it, probably $6 considering some of the studio line stuff are that much. But it doesn't matter, it will be cheap regardless and I will totally try it. Can't wait until it's available.

What do you girls think of this?

Announcement: Sigma Makeup Contest Winner!

It's time for me to announce the winner of the Sigma Makeup giveaway. I would like to thank everyone that entered, I am so thrilled to have all you girls read my blog and love all the lovely comments. It makes my day to come here and catch up on everyone's blogs. I wish I could give all of you girls a prize cause I am totally grateful that you all come here and support me.

I love Sigma Makeup and I was so excited to be able to do this giveaway on my blog. It gives you girls a chance to try out their brushes and tell everyone what you think of them too. I hope the winner likes what they get! Again, the winner gets to choose $50 worth of Sigma Makeup products of their choice. I will be contacting the winner immediately and getting the necessary information and Sigma will ship the prizes to you! Winner was chosen by randomizer.org.

The winner of the contest is....

Donna ♥ Baby

Revlon: Suede Rhapsody Autumn Winter 2010 Lipsticks Swatches and Review

So I love these new Revlon lipsticks from "The Suede Rhapsody" collection, this is a collaboration with Gucci Westman, Revlon's artistic director, who has great taste in my opinion. In this collection there are new eyeshadow quads, matte nail polishes and lipsticks from the Super Lustrous Creme line and the Matte line too.

These lipsticks are really pretty colours and whenever Revlon comes out with new shades I will definitely try them out. I bought Stormy Pink and Sky Pink (two on right) when they first came out and then recently picked up the others. I think I got most of them, except the one that Halle Berry is wearing in the picture above, "Mink", which is a brown shade. These are limited edition, so if you like them, I would suggest getting them soon. I got most of these on sale, they are on the expensive side when you buy them at retail.

Here are the swatches on my arm. I did these swatches lightly for the most part. I had issues photographing these properly and this was the closest to the colour that they look. They are very pigmented. The super lustrous creme ones are smoother and I prefer these for my dry lips. I feel with the matte ones you have to rub and drag it on your lips a bit to get the payoff, also be careful I broke the bullet on 2/3 of the matte ones trying to swatch them properly, they are fragile.

Coral Berry is the darkest of the ones I picked up. It's a reddy peach with a creme finish. The pigmentation on this one is very good.

Primrose is a light pink with a bit of blue in it. This is a creme one too. I like this one a lot, it's my favourite from the bunch.

Sky Pink is another light pink, this one more on the yellow side. This one is matte as well. I got lipstick on my teeth in this picture, oops. Make sure you moisturize well when you wear the matte ones cause they can show the lines in your lips, as it did here, not pretty.

Stormy Pink is a bright pink almost fuchsia purple, this one is part of the matte line.

Smoked Peach is an orange peach colour, it's okay but on me it looks more orange than anything else and this one is probably my least favourite. This one is matte too.

Have you tried any of the Suede Rhapsody lipsticks from Revlon?

Review: ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer Vs Urban Decay Primer Potion

I love my Urban Decay Primer Potion (UDPP), but recently my one in Sin cracked on the bottom. This is the result of it rolling off the site of my bathroom counter and falling on the floor too many times. The packaging of the UDPP is cute, but not practical, since mine broke! and it was only like 25% finished, it was a product I used everyday and now I have to find a way to depot it or continue to have it ooze out of the bottom. So while that one has been on standby, I have been reaching for my neglected ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer. I used this when I first got it and then reverted back to other primers. Today I will be comparing the ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer to the original Urban Decay Primer Potion.

ELF's Mineral Eyeshadow Primer (not to be confused with the "eyelid primer" which is $1) retails for only $3 on the ELF website and it rivals the cult favourite Urban Decay Primer Potion. Mine fell apart after a few uses, the cap unglued from the lid, it sucks, but it doesn't change the performance of the product at all. This product serves the same purpose as the UDPP, you put in on your eyelids and it acts as a base for your eyeshadow, keeping it in place and from creasing all day. You get about half as much product in the ELF primer than you do in the UDPP, but more than half the price (for the same size equivalent). The texture is a bit different, but I think the product is very comparable.

Both products have a doe-foot applicator. The new UDPP has a slanted one, mine is really old. As you can tell the UDPP is more opaque and will do a better job at neutralizing the eye area (taking away darkness and appearance of veins) because it is more pinky salmon coloured. The ELF is also thinner and waterier in consistency, while the UDPP is thick and more dry. I find the UDPP easier to apply because it is thicker, I feel like it covers quicker. My swatches are not straight out of the bottle, hence why they have dried on my arm, it takes a while to take proper pictures sometimes.

Now the important part, the performance! Does the ELF primer work as well as the UDPP? I put the UDPP on one eye and the ELF on the other and wore it around all day. Above is the final result after wearing it for 12 hours or so. The difference is very minor, if you look objectively (click to zoom picture) the ELF side is faded and less vibrant. The UDPP side is shinier and prettier. But neither one has creased. I used Rimmel's Smokey Brun quad here for the look, I wanted to use some cheap eyeshadow to really show any variation. I find with MAC shadows they always look good, regardless of what primer you use.

So for the purpose of "does it perform the same way?", I think the ELF Primer does a fine job. I think for $3 it's a really good buy if you are on a budget. If you used high quality eyeshadow you would not notice the difference between this and UDPP. Urban Decay has started to package their primer in better packaging recently, I am not sure if this is permanent though, many people dislike the UDPP packaging, as do I and should really be buying Too Faced shadow insurance instead, the ELF primer falls into the same problem, the package isn't great, but the product is totally fine.

Have you tried the ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer? How did you find it?

Mascara Monday: Prestige My Biggest Lashes

It's Monday Monday Monday! Mascara Monday! Nothing like starting your week with some mascara talk! Today's mascara is Prestige's "My Biggest Lashes" mascara. This mascara promises to give a "big lash effect". Sounds good, we all want big lashes, long and thick ones please! How does this mascara perform? Keep reading to find out.

Review: Wet N Wild Mega Last Matte Lipsticks

Today I am reviewing the Wet N Wild Mega Last Matte Lipsticks, they sell for around $3 CAD at most major drugstores. I picked up Think Pink a month ago or so, and recently picked up three more because these are quite good for the price. They come in a variety of colours and are a matte finish. The packaging is quite cheap looking, and the lipstick bullet does not roll down all the way (it's all the way down in the picture) so it gets caught and smears on the plastic part often. I have to be extra careful when opening and closing. However, you can't expect awesome packaging with these, they had to cut corners somewhere since the price is so low. Wet N Wild has come a long way with their cosmetics, many people love their eyeshadows, but these lipsticks are quite good too.

These lipsticks have proper names, however the labels are only on the plastic wrap that comes with the lipsticks when you first buy them. Once you take that off, you are only left with numbers on the bottom. You can however look up the names on their website if you forget what they are called.

Here are the swatches on my arm, these are very pigmented, this is two swipes of each lipstick. The colours are gorgeous, I think these would go well on a variety of skintones. As you will see in the lip swatches below my only gripe with these is if you have dry lips (I do) any dry spots (in inside top centre for me) will show. You have to moisturize WELL with these or else you will not get a smooth application, but I find this is the case with all matte lipsticks. Also with these I get a line around my outline of my lips which isn't pretty, this isn't too visible when first applied but does show as the lipstick fades.

Bare It All (902C) is a brown nude. It looks orangey in the swatch cause of my poor camera, but it does look more brown in real life. I like this colour because it is like nothing else that I have in my collection, and is a good alternative for concealer lips.

Just Peachy (903C) is a peach pink shade. I love peach lipcolours, so I had to get this one, I think it goes well with my skintone.

Mauve Outta Here (907C) is a purple pink colour, this one applies the nicest out of the all four that I have. This really warms up the face and pops.

Think Pink (901B) is a pale barbie pink. I bought this one earlier and wrote a full review of it here. It may have been from swatching so much, but this one applied the most "dry" looking on my lips and streaky. If you like pale pinks, this is a nice one.

I like these lipsticks overall, but those with dry lips, be warned. A gloss over these would change the look from matte to something more wearable as well. The whole "mega last" thing doesn't really appeal to me anyway, but I don't feel like these last all that long.

Have you tried these? What did you think?

Review: ELF Mineral Brushes

ELF recently came out with a new line of makeup brushes, these being their mineral brushes. There are 12 different brushes, all for $5 a piece. However, you can get them for less than that, just use a coupon code, there are many available at once, best you could get 50% off mineral products and only pay $2.50 a brush. I was really excited about these brushes when they first came out, but only picked up 3 because I have TONS of brushes and primarily bought these to test them out. I picked up the powder, complexion and angled blush brush. I am a huge fan of ELF products, I've bought from them dozens of times, and this is just my honest opinion of these brushes.

Every brush in this line comes with 100% animal-free taklon bristles, recycled ferrule and sustainable bamboo handles. The bristles are quite thin and light yellow (will get dirty easily). I like this design, I think it's very Ecotools-esque, down to the brush sets with pouches. The pictures of these brushes on the website are deceiving however, especially the blush brush picture, it looks nothing like the brush, which disappointed me. The brushes came in nice plastic cases with a plastic cover on each brush, click here when I first got them. They smelled like a paint store when I got them, I washed them several times since then and it went away.

First up is the Mineral Powder brush, this is a giant ogre of a brush, compared to the Ecotools and even the Sigma F30 brush. It is also very thin and floppy, it's hard to show this without doing a video or something but you can take my word for it. This brush would only be good for loose finishing powder application in my opinion (and I have lots of brushes that already serve that function). This brush disappointed me the most of the trio that I got. It is very soft but kinda useless for me.

Next we have the ELF Mineral Angled Blush brush, I know on the website it says 'angled', but judging by the image on the ELF website (image above), I thought this brush would look completely different! It's quite small and very thin as well, compared to the Sigma F40, which is very soft and quite dense. I do not see myself using this brush very much, another disappointment.

Lastly, the ELF Complexion brush, I have better news with this one! This brush is very similar to the original ELF Studio line Complexion brush (left of it) however it is slightly more rounded paddle shape. This brush can be used for powder application, contouring and bronzer. It is still on the big side, next to the Ecotools blush brush (favourite of mine) it is much larger. However, this brush is do-able, if you don't already have the Studio line brush.

Comparing these brushes, what I did notice is how much better my Sigma Makeup brushes are, they are full and soft when I sweep them on my face compared to the ELF brushes.

I hope this helps you guys. I know everyone has different preferences but I just personally did not favour these very much. I knew it right when I first got them, and after attempting to use and adjust to them, they just aren't for me. These brushes are soft, and I appreciate their environmentally-friendly nature, but they do not perform very well because they bristles are so thin and floppy. Sorry ELF.

I am curious to know what you guys thought of these, leave me your opinions below!

Announcement: Sigma Makeup $50 Contest Ends Tonight!

Just a reminder that my Sigma Makeup contest ends October 22, 2010 that is tonight! If you haven't entered yet, and would like to, please do here. And if you've already entered, thank you to you and good luck! I will be choosing the winner shortly after verifying all the enters from the contest.

Click here to enter the contest (original post).

Review: Rimmel Smokey Brun Eyeshadow Quad

Today's review is Rimmel's Smokey Brun eyeshadow quad. It comes with 4 small squared neutral shadows (4g of product) in a plastic container with a sponge applicator. It's very simple and I was not expecting to like this because it was so cheap. But I think it's great for subtle, everyday neutral brown eyes or you can deepen it and make it more "smokey" by adding more of the dark brown shade. I can't speak for the quality of Rimmel's other eyeshadows, this is the only one I've ever used.

Here is a closer look at the shadows that you get. Top left is a shimmery brown (probably the weakest shade in the bunch see swatch below), shimmery caramel brown, pretty champagne (my favourite) and a cream highlight shade. I've used the sponge applicator, it's okay, it has a pointed end on the other side, which is nice.

Okay here I have included some swatches, the darkest brown is a tad ashy and takes a few swipes to get it to look like that, it has shimmer in it too, I wish it didn't. The caramel brown shade is pretty, no issues with this. The champagne colour is the best, I would buy this quad again and again just for this shade. It's very creamy and applies nicely on the lids, it basically matches my Urban Decay Primer Potion in sin, so it's nice to use it overtop. I think this colour is universal, and a lot of palettes have a colour like this. The cream colour is pretty nice too, I use this in the tear duct sometimes. The colours swatch nicely, but I find on the eye you need a primer to get them to show up as vibrantly and last, which I expect from drugstore shadows. In terms of fallout, I get a bit of the shimmer under my eyes, but nothing terrible.

And here it is on the eye, not the best picture, but you get the idea. I have the champagne colour on the lid and the caramel shade in the crease (mostly what shows here). It is light, not dramatic at all, but I like it.

Have you tried this quad? or any of the other Rimmel shadows?

Review: Revlon Age Defying Concealer

After trying a ton of undereye concealers, high end and drugstore, I have come to the conclusion that all concealers will crease and settle under my eyes. So now all I am seeking is a product that covers well and does not make my undereye area drier. Here comes Revlon Age Defying concealer to the rescue.This product is a moisturizing concealer that is meant to "hydrate like an eye cream" since it is the only concealer with Botafirm-infused eye cream complex. It's supposed to hydrate, restore and conceal.

I got this product about a week ago for $8 on sale at Pharma Plus in Canada, during their 30% off sale. It doesn't come in many shades, actually it comes in only four, which sucks. I got "Light" the lightest colour that they had which is quite yellow-toned. The shade works well for me thankfully. It also have SPF 25 which is great. I have tried this all over my face to conceal and it works fine for that too, the colour isn't too obvious on me. Compared to the Revlon Age Defying Spa, which is more of an illuminating concealer, this one is much more moisturizing and creamier too, which is great.

I am in love with the packaging of this, it comes in a compact squeezy tube, you can see the colour of it in the middle. It's has a turn top and pointed tip applicator, very sanitary. You have to be careful not to squeeze out too much because with this a little does a lot and when it spreads on your skin you realize you have more product than you thought.

Here is it poured onto my hand on the left and then blended on the right. The formulation is quite thick, but creamy and liquidy. This is described as a "moisturizing concealer cream" so it does have that cream texture to it, and that's why it conceals so well. It is hydrating too, you can tell the circled area on my hand is a bit more shiny looking, since I have dry skin this is important for me.

And here it is applied to my right eye, left eye on the picture. I have nothing else on my face except for eye cream. What I do is let the product sit and "settle" under my eyes for a moment and then blend it in with my ring finger or with a small concealer brush. You can go back and apply more if needed, this does not cake up.It conceals very well, is hydrating and smooth to apply.

I am loving this concealer. You can tell the red and blueness under my eyes is barely visible and neutralized. Great coverage, without being cakey. It's like a high-quality concealer for a very affordable drugstore price. I think this is the best concealer that I have ever tried! No more of this illuminating nonsense that a lot of drugstore concealers have, this stuff is the real thing, exactly what I want out of an undereye concealer. The true test was when I asked my bf if my eyes looked any different and he said that the one looked like I was punched in the face and the other one looked smooth, success! :)

I liked this concealer so much that I went out and purchased the foundation and finishing powder in this line too, so stay tuned for those reviews coming soon!

Have you tried this concealer? How did you like it?

ELF Cosmetics: New Products Announced Today

ELF Cosmetics introduced a ton of new products on their website today. I will go over all the new items here briefly and tell you what I think of them initially. All pictures were taken directly from the ELF Cosmetics 
website.

 

11 piece Studio glitter brushes $30

I think this set is great, it comes with all the Studio Line brushes (minus the new one) and has glitter on the handles! Plus it comes in a pouch which is great for travel. I love the Studio Powder brush that comes in this, it's one that I use almost everyday. With a coupon code, such as 50% off, this would be a really great buy.

Studio Mist & Set $3

This is a makeup setter spray containing Aloe, Green Tea, Cucumber, Vitamin A, C and E. I guess this is ELF's affordable attempt at MAC's Fix+. It seems interesting, and $3 is cheap for this, as long as it doesn't smell rancid, this could be good.

Studio Cream Eyeshadow Studio Matte Eyeshadow $3

The new studio cream eyeshadows come in a little pot and in four colours.These come in two types, what looks like shimmer (cream) and then matte, the matte ones have a lot more colour selection. The cream ones are currently out of stock.

 

Studio Body Glow $6

This is an all over the body golden glow powder with shimmers. It comes packaged liked the HD powder with a puff and only comes in one shade. Not really interested in this at all.

Studio Studio Angled Contour Brush $3

A new addition to the Studio Line eyeshadow brushes, this one is made of taklon anti-bacterial bristles and has that slanted shape which is great for contouring the eye. I like the look of this, but I have several brushes already with this shape too.

 

Studio Brow Brush $3

I couldn't get a clearer picture of this one, when you click on the brow brush, it takes you to a picture of the contour brush! This brush doesn't look any different than the brow brush that comes in the regular or mineral line. Pass on this, I don't use brow brushes anyhow.

 Studio Stipple Brush $3

I am excited to see how well made this brush is, it could be a flop as I have seen many dupes for this type of brush and they have been on the floppy side and unusable. But definitely curious.

Studio Tinted Moisturizer w/SPF20 $3

ELF has added a tinted moisturizer to their line, which is great. This is described as lightweight and hydrating, even skin tone with a hint of colour and sun protection. This is the product I was most excited about, however it's sold out at the moment too.

Studio Lip color applicators $3

These are disposable applicators for lipgloss, it comes in a pack of 12. I think this is interesting for on the go or to throw in your purse, but I doubt I will be buying this. Not a fan of one-use product that you throw away after use.

 Studio Eyeshadow color applicators $3

Another one of those disposable type applicators, this one is for eyeshadow application. These come in a pack of 12 as well.

What products interest you?