A Royal Fairytale

Did you tune in to the Royal Wedding this morning? I definitely did.. 5am ET time? No problem, I am up at that time usually anyway! No really, my bed time lately has been around 5am, the life of the unemployed. I watched this on Youtube, as we do not have cable, they had a live broadcast streaming which was totally cool. Even though most of us couldn't be there, we would watch it and feel like were. Oh I have so much to say about it, it was such a sweet event. I loved seeing all the tweets come in this morning, commenting on every part of this fairytale wedding. Comments were flying about the Queen's dandelion outfit, Pippa's hot behind, all the crazy hats worn by the ladies, and so on. What I loved most about the wedding was the admiration and love that Prince William and Kate Middleton have for one another, whenever they would catch each other's gaze you would see them beaming inside.

Kate left us wondering what she would wear, and it turned out to be a very elegant, simple yet with a vintage twist white lace dress. It was designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. Apparently Kate worked closely with her to design this piece. There have many comparisons to Grace Kelly's wedding dress when she wed Prince Rainer of Monaco, which is fitting since they were both seen as commoners.

What else was shocking was that Kate did her own makeup to her wedding. Apparently she took several makeup lessons before the event. She looked really pretty. I've read that she purchased Laura Mercier's Oil free tinted moisturizer before her big day and there has been speculation that it was a part of her look. If I hear more I will update here. She looked flawless. Great queen to be. Every girl dreams of her dream wedding, imagine having a wedding like that? She must have felt on top of the world, and she was.

Review: MAC Ever Hip Vs MAC Jazzed Lipstick

MAC's Ever Hip lipstick is available now in the new Fashion Flower collection, it's a re-promote from the "Liberty of London" collection. I missed out on it the first time, so I made sure I picked it up this time. However, the entire time I was debating whether or not to get it, I was wondering how similar it was to MAC Jazzed, which I already own, so this will much be a comparison post of the two.

Review: Lancome Photogenic Lumessence Foundation

Today's review is Lancome' Photogenic Lumessence foundation. This product is described as a "light mastering and smoothing makeup 14H comfort with SPF 15". The back of the box reads "master the light for a smooth, moisturized long-lasting glow. Lancome's innovative Photonic Network is designed for a truly luminous complexion, the unique combination of coated pigments and Photo-luminescent mother of pearl catches and controls the light, boosting the skin's luminosity as through from within. The silky smooth formula glides onto the skin covering imperfections for a beautiful, radiant finish, while the exclusive Aqua-Catch Complex provides an instant feeling of comfort and locks in moisture to hydrate your skin for up to 24 hours."

This foundation sounds phenomenal for those with dry skin, and that's why I was interested in this product. I have tried Lancome's Teinte Idole Ultra and found that one to be great as well. Photogenic gives lighter coverage than Teint Idole Ultra, but looks lovely on the skin giving a dewy, luminous finish, which is very flattering on my skin type. If you have oily skin or are looking for a matte finish, this will be the total opposite. I received this product from StrawberryNet.com for review consideration, my opinions are my own.

Review: Yves Saint Laurent Faux Cils Mascara

YSL Faux Cils to me is the epitome of fancy mascara, I mean the price of this is hefty! But I have heard that this mascara is one of the best and so I've always wanted to try it out myself.  It's advertised as a 'Luxurious Volume Effect Mascara for a False Lash Effect'. To me, volume is what I want most in my lashes, I have a decent amount of them, but always want them to look fuller and luxurious wouldn't hurt either! I received this product, along with a few others that I will be reviewing over the next week from StrawberryNet.com, my reviews are always honest however, and not influenced by anything other than how I personally feel about them.

NOTD: Easter Manicure

Happy Easter Everyone! This year I thought it would be cute to do an Easter manicure with a different pastel spring colour on each nail.

Here are the nail polishes that I used, they are all from China Glaze and all from the "Up And Away" collection minus the blue. The blue was a tad darker than the rest, but it works, and I wanted to keep it all the same brand.

On the pinky I have China Glaze Lemon Fizz, ring finger China Glaze Light As Air, middle China Glaze Refresh Mint, index China Glaze Something Sweet and thumb China Glaze Bahamian Escape. If you're wondering how I managed to take that last picture, my boyfriend snapped it for me!

What's your on your nails for Easter?

Review: Hard Candy Glamoflauge

Glamoflauge is Hard Candy's heavy duty concealer. This product was pretty much..impossible for me to find. I went to 6-7 Walmarts looking for this. If they had any, they were always in the two dark colours, never in Light. So I had an awesome blogger send this to me, all the way from Florida, thank you Stephanie from ImperfectlyPainted! If it hadn't been for her, I would probably still be hunting around for this! Well the wait was well worth it, I love this concealer! Hard Candy describes this product as "A heavy duty, highly pigmented, multi-use concealer that delivers ultimate coverage. The formula blends seamlessly into skin with plenty of play time creating a flawless and natural look perfect for any occasion. You can hide everything from dark circles and blemishes to tattoos!" 

Review: Wet N Wild Comfort Zone Color Icon Eyeshadow Palette

Yesterday, I reviewed the Wet N Wild palette in Petal Pusher, and today it's time for Comfort Zone. Like the name, I think these are shades that what most people would be comfortable wearing, they are neutrals and greens. I like purples too, but I tend to steer more towards browns personally. This palette is hands down my favourite Wet N Wild palette that I own, this includes my 3 pan palettes too, it's super pigmented and the shadows are all buttery smooth. I can't find a fault in this palette at all. These 8 pan palettes are not valid in Canada yet, which is a shame, but hopefully they will become available soon. I got this palette as part of a swap.

Review: Wet N Wild Petal Pusher Color Icon Eyeshadow Palette

It's always great to have friends in other parts of the world, because they can send you makeup goodies! I recently got a package from Stephanie of Imperfectly Painted (check out her blog if you haven't already!) as part of a swap that we did. Since we don't have the Wet N Wild 8 pan Color Icon eyeshadow palettes in Canada yet, she was gracious enough to send me two of them! Which I was so excited about since I don't know when we are getting them in Canada, and everyone is talking about them, I felt so out of the loop. But now I have them, thanks again Stephanie!

Review: Physicians Formula Jumbo Lash Mascara

The Organic Wear Jumbo Lash Mascara is the first mascara that I have used from Physicians Formula, I don't think they have many mascaras, in fact this is the first that I've noticed from them. This product had a "full rebate offer" on it, meaning that if you send in the rebate, you can get all your money back and try it out for free, so I couldn't say no to this! I paid around $8CAD for it, it was during a 40% off sale, normally it's quite expensive for a drugstore mascara.

Review: Hard Candy Skin Illuminating Primer

I have another Hard Candy review today, for their Sheer Envy Skin Illuminating Primer. Previously, Hard Candy only had one primer, the one that comes in the white bottle, but they recently came out with two new ones, Skin Illuminating Primer (this one) and Skin Perfecting Primer (I have that one too, it comes in a pink bottle). They come in a 36g 1.3oz bottles. These retail for around $8 at Walmart.

Review: MAC Paint Pots Swatches and Review

Today I will share with you my small MAC paint pots collection. If you aren't familiar with paint pots, MAC describes them on their website as "A highly pigmented eye colour that goes on creamy but dries to an intense, vibrant finish. Long-wearing, colourfast. Creates seamless coverage without weight or caking. Blends smoothly over the lids. Cream-based, can be mixed with M·A·C shadows and liners." Personally, I use these as either a base for my eyeshadow (primer so to speak) or on their own as eyeshadow. They help shadows look more vibrant, which is great.

Sephora 15% Off For Beauty Insiders (Apr 15-21)

I've been hearing rumblings about this Sephora 15% off event for some time now, well finally I got some details. Take 15% off everything in-store and online for a week, April 15-21. Just enter the code CHIC at checkout to get the discount, or print out the coupon to use in-store (it can be used multiple times). Sadly, for Canadians, this is only valid in-store, online would be nice for those that are not never a store, but I've said this again and again. I am on a no-buy this month, so that makes it easier for me, although I am tempted to still pick something up. Oh Sephora you kill me. You girls getting anything?

Click here to shop and print out the coupon.

Review: Hard Candy Truth Or Dare Fox in A Box Blush

Today I will be reviewing the final Hard Candy Fox in a box blush that's in my collection, Truth or Dare. I have reviewed Smooth Talker and Skinny Dipping previously, click on the links here to check out those reviews individually. I am a fan of Hard Candy products, they are cheap and quite good quality and many would say they are dupes of more expensive products, so it's a good option for many of us who are on a budget.

Review: Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer

Not everyone likes the feel of foundation on their skin, and Laura Mercier's tinted moisturizer is a nice substitute for days when you want more of a minimal makeup face look. This product is described on Sephora's website as "a sheer, lightweight formula with a hint of color you can use in place of foundation for a natural finish and a healthy glowing complexion. It contains a SPF 20 for the ultimate in anti-aging prevention." I had heard about this product for so long, everyone raves about it, it's earned several awards and so on. But I will say straight up, I am not sure if the $42US/$55 CAD (WHY is it so much more expensive in Canada, does our version have gold in it???) price tag is really a fair price to pay for this product.

You can turn any foundation into a tinted moisturizer, just add a pump of your moisturizer to it, and you've got an affordable product that you made yourself. That way it will make it lighter and have less coverage. That's why I am not sold on the price of this at all. I purchased my tube on StrawberryNet.com for a discounted rate because it goes "bad" in a couple of months, I wanted to try it and this was my way to spend less money. it's nice that it has SPF 20, but it still shouldn't substitute your regular moisturizer (and it says that right on the bottle). I always use a moisturizer under this product anyway, my skin is so dry though that it's an absolute must.

My First Loose Button Luxe Box

I got my first ever Luxe Box from Loose Button today! If you're not familiar with Loose Button, basically for $9.95 a month subscription, you get an assortment of 3-5 deluxe samples of makeup, skincare, haircare and fragrances delivered to you in a pretty box, you don't know what the contents will be, and they will change month to month. You can read all about it here on Loose Button's website. Currently, they are only taking orders for those in Canada, but are planning on expanding to the US. Luxebox is much like Birchbox in the US, but with Loose Button, Canadians can order it too, which is great. It's invite only at the moment, but you can get placed on the waiting list and get put on the list for the next shipment, it took me 3 days to get accepted.

Part of the fun in getting the Luxebox is the anticipation of it arriving in the mail. I got a shipping notice yesterday and then another notice that it arrived. The Luxebox packaging is slightly larger than my mailbox, and the delivery person decided to jam it in their good, so I had quite the time trying to finagle it out of the small opening. Hence why my box is a bit knocked up on the top right in the above picture. The packaging itself is very nice and chic, the box is like a shoebox quality with black ribbon around it. Inside my items were wrapped in a green tissue and with another ribbon, I like that they put time into making it look pretty for us!

Inside you will receive a breakdown of all the products included in your Luxebox, complete with directions on how to use it, if it's a product or brand that you've never used before, this is very helpful.

Then here are the product that I got, there were 5 in total and a small chocolate bar too, also there was a yellow plastic flower pin in mine.

The items in my luxebox included:
- Clinique High Impact Mascara in Black 4g
- Principessa Ultimate Softening Shampoo and Ultra Hydrating Conditioner 15ml each
- Elizabeth Grant Biocollasis Complex Advanced Cellular Age Defense 60ml
- Elizabeth Grant Lubricating Body Treatment 25ml

The only product that I was familiar with in this Luxebox was the Clinique High Impact mascara, which I have used before and often get in gift with purchase sets. The other items are all skincare and hair, I am excited to try them out. I really like the size of the items, they aren't the tiny ones that you get sometimes as samples, they are quite substantial.  I also like the pink containers on the shampoos, I have a feeling that I am going to keep and reuse those.

Would I recommend this product? All in all, I am pleased with my Luxebox, I only ordered one month for now, just to get a feel of whether I like it and want to continue with it. They have some great upcoming brands on their website and I hope they mix it up a bit in their next shipments. I think I will order another one though, I am curious to see what the next one brings. If you're in Canada, definitely give Luxebox a try!

update: If you are researching whether or not to order the Luxebox, I have not ordered another one since, I kept looking at what came in them and decided it wasn't worth the $10, great concept, but products are lacking in my opinion. 

Have you ordered a Luxebox yet? What did you get in yours?

Review: Hard Candy Fire Alarm Lipstick

Today's review is another Hard Candy product, this is their Fire Alarm liptsick. This is part of their "Painted Lady Manic Shine, Intense Color" lipsticks range, view all the shades available on Hard Candy's website. Actually I don't even see a colour called "Fire Alarm" on the website only "Firewall" so perhaps they changed the name or this is an old colour, no idea, maybe Hard Candy just needs to get it together, but this is the most popular one that I've read talked about so far.

Review: Estee Lauder Double Wear Light

I'd like to declare myself the un-official foundation queen. If there is one beauty product that I hoard more than any other, it's foundation. I've tried most drugstore foundations and many higher end ones, except the very high end like YSL, Chanel, Girogio Armani, which I would love to try eventually. Today's review is the Estee Lauder Double Wear Light, which is a fabulous foundation.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light is the "lighter" sister to the Double Wear foundation and is described as "15 hour wear, light as air, lightweight, comfortable makeup stays vibrant and fresh, no matter how active your day becomes. Resists smudging and won't "melt" off through heat and humidity. Controls oil. Won't blog pores. Provides anti-oxidant protection, sheer to medium coverage. Natural finish. Oil-free. Fragrance free. Non-acnegenic. Dermatologist and ophthalmologist-tested." (back of foundation box). Both have SPF 10 as well. Everyone raves about the Double Wear, but I find the Double Wear Light to be more wearable and less thick.

Review: Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss

I love Revlon's Super Lustrous lipglosses, my favourite ones came out last spring/summer in the limited edition Daydreamer collection. I blogged about them back then, but, I think they are just as relevant this year as they were last. These colours are very pretty and remind me a bit of the colours in the MAC Quite Cute lip products that just came out. There were 5 colours in this collection, I have 4 here: Coral Reef, Lilac Pastelle, Peach Petal and Pink Pop.

These glosses are described as ""glossy formula combines sheer color and intense moisture with light-reflecting sphere to create amazing shine. SPF 15" on the Revlon website. I picked up Coral Reef recently, when they first came out I found them pretty hard to find, the displays were always sold out, but Revlon has made these permanent since, which is great. They are readily available now in most drugstores for around $8CAD, they are great to get on sale.

They come in pretty packaging with a doe foot applicator. Pictured above is Coral Reef, which is one of the more pigmented ones, I find Peach Petal and Lilac Pastelle to be more on the sheer side, good for layering over lipstick, the other two work great on their own. They are all creme finishes, no shimmer or glitter nonsense in these, so they are totally wearable on anyone.

And here are the swatches, I took lip swatches too but they were pretty bad, so I scrapped them. These swatches are quite true to life. Coral Reef is a bright orange coral, my favourite of the bunch. Lilac Pastelle looks a bit crazy in the tube, but is sheerer when applied and gives a nice purple lavender sheen. Peach Petal is a peach, close to my skin colour and nice for layering over nude lipstick. Pink Pop is my second favourite, it's a bright pink.

The pigmentation on these is very good, they aren't sticky at all, they're glossy, smooth and not drying on the lips. Many drugstore glosses fall short of providing enough colour and come out quite sheer, these ones are gorgeous. If you weren't able to pick these up last year, definitely check them out now. They remind me of MAC's cremesheen glosses.

Would I recommend this product? Yes for sure, they are beautiful and affordable, I would definitely recommend picking up Coral Reef and Pink Pop for the summer.

Review: Skinny Dipping Fox in a Box Blush

When I first heard about the Hard Candy Fox in a Box blushes, the one that I wanted most of all was Skinny Dipping, strictly because of the bright orange that's in this duo. I managed to finally pick it up, along with one other (Truth or Dare) finally after hitting up several Walmarts. I previously reviewed Smooth Talker and was quite happy with this one too.

Review: Benefit Feelin' Cheeky Mini Set

If you're looking to try out some Benefit cheek stain products, but don't want to pay the hefty price, the "Feelin' Cheeky" Mini Set is really cute to pick up. I sound like an ad don't I? Seriously though, Benefit is pricey and some of the products that I've purchased from them, I haven't been crazy about (ie boxed blushes) and regretted paying so much, this set is available exclusively at Sephora (notice the sticker?) for $15US/$18 CAD and allows you to try out the products before committing to the full size (full sizes are $28US/36CAD each).

Review: Clinique Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer

As the warmer weather approaches a good transition face product is a tinted moisturizer. I was pleased to see Clinique come out with one recently, the Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15. This product is described as "allergy tested, 100 fragrance-free, sheer, hydrating coverage, natural finish... smooth on an instant moisture boost with SPF protection and a hint of skin-perfecting colour. Lightweight formula provides a no-makeup look and feel, yet covers imperfections with a natural, hydrating touch. Long-wearing, oil-free, apply prior to sun exposure." 

Review: Rimmel Clean Finish Foundation

Rimmel's latest foundation is called "Clean Finish" and it is advertised as providing 100% poreless, natural and even complexion with a lightweight and clean finish. It's fragrance-free and dermatologist tested, and has vitamin A and E. What attracted me to this foundation was the spatula applicator, this is something new and ingenious in my opinion. This is also one of the cheapest foundations that I've ever purchased, it was around $6 in Canada and it's like $3.97 in the states which is crazy cheap!

Take a look at that spatula, isn't that the neatest thing? I complain all the time about how drugstore foundations do not have a pump. This handy little spatula, like a mini paddle, helps you scoop out as much product as you need and eliminates wastage. I hope other companies start making applicators like this, although pumps are still better, this is cool too. I apply the foundation by scooping it with the spatula and applying pieces of it directly to my face and then blending it in with my hands (prefer for this foundation) or a brush. I only use it on myself so I am not concerned about hygienic issues. The spatula has tiny holes in it too, I guess to eliminate the product from sticking to it too much, but it won't drip cause this product is so thick, you can shake the bottle upside down and it won't go anywhere!

The spatula works especially well with this foundation because the foundation is super thick. It has a thick, moussy consistency. However for as thick as it, when you apply it, it smooths out and blends into a thinner consistency. I also expected this to give full coverage since it's so thick, but no, the coverage is more light-medium.

This is probably the first Rimmel foundation that has carried a shade light enough for me, I am NC15 and I purchased the lightest shade in 120 Ivory, which is neutral toned and is a pretty good match. So kudos for Rimmel for finally getting it right, as you can tell in the second swatch, the two on the left, the Stay Matte and Lasting Finish were far too dark for me, Clean Finish is much better. Their new Match Perfection was far too dark for me again, so I won't be buying that one.

It does darken a bit on the skin (a bit more pink), but not too bad (I blended it in a bit here). I find it dries quickly so you have to work fast, I prefer to use my hands with this product, melts in it nicely and gives that "clean" finish that it's supposed to, like you aren't wearing too much on your face. I wore this over Hard Candy's Illuminating Primer underneath today (that's why there are sparkles on my hand, this foundation doesn't have any!) and it applies very well. On my dry skin, it felt totally fine and did not cling to dry areas at all.

Would I recommend this product? Yes, this is one of the best drugstore foundations that I've used. I love the spatula applicator and the finish and coverage that it provides, plus it's super cheap.

Have you tried Rimmel's Clean Finish?

Review: Hard Candy Undercover Agent

Today I will be reviewing the Hard Candy Undercover Agent, undereye brightener and concealer duo. I want to start out by saying that I was not planning on buying this product, but my search for Glamoflague has caused me to buy a lot more Hard Candy items that I probably wouldn't have bought. I noticed this on the display and thought maybe this could curb my need for Glamoflague, but I don't think it did. The name, Undercover Agent is totally cute and I was curious. The Hard Candy website describes this as "Your new secret weapon to disguising and preventing any undereye imperfections! It brightens your undereye area, reduces dark circles, puffiness, and fine lines, and conceals and covers for a perfect finish. Undercover Agent comes in three skin tone shades to blend seamlessly and softly into your undereye area."

Monthly Faves: March 2011

I'd say I am excited for April to finally be here, because it means spring is almost here, but in Canada that is far from the case, February-May is basically all rain and miserable weather where I live. On a positive turn, I found several new products that I loved in the month of March. I find that monthly faves generally tend to be "new" products for me, I don't know if that's the case with most people, but most reached favourite type products do not change too much, but since I buy new products all the time, it means these are all new pickups.