Review: Physicians Formula Eye Booster

I am always attracted to eyelash boosting products, or serums that promise to give you long, fluttery lashes. I recently picked up Physicians Formula Eye Booster 2 in 1 Day and Night Lash Boosting Serum. It was sitting in the clearance bin at Shoppers Drug Mart for $2, I couldn't pass it up. Plus, it has a Full Price Rebate form on it, meaning I could mail the manufacturer the receipt and get all my money back, I think I will pass on that, it was $2 after all! I have previously used the L'oreal Lash Serum and had decent results with that, and I like Physicians Formula as a brand, so I thought I would give this a try.

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.

Sephora, MAC, Drugstore Haul

So my apartment complex was doing some work on the electricity today, so there would be no heat/power/light from 10am-6pm, and after showering in the dark, I decided it was a good day to go shopping!

I stopped by Sephora to pick up my free Beauty Insider birthday gift (my birthday is March 9), this year it's the Philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake Shampoo, Shower Gel and Bubble Bath. It's a nice freebie, big 180ml bottle, there is no purchase necessary to get this, just tell the cashier that it's your birthday and you'll get it (if you are a Beauty Insider). Last year's gift I didn't even bother getting, it was a Sephora brand eyeliner, eyeshadow set.

My main mission at Sephora was to get my first NARS blush, but upon looking at the section noticed they did not have Gina (the blush I wanted), not even a spot for it. Luster was a nice peach too, but too shimmery and Taj Mahal, which everyone raves about didn't have a spot either. I spoke to one of the girls there and they hadn't heard of the colours and told me they must have been US only blushes.. great, don't you love when that happens? You have your heart set on something and you can't get it. I dislike shopping at Sephora online too because paying $10 extra to get something (shipping cost) when I should be able to get it in the store is just irritating, I'll probably end up buying those blushes elsewhere.

While I was waiting in line to pay I also noticed this cute Benefit set, it comes with 3x 4ml bottles of Posie tint, High beam and Benetint for $18 CAD, it's available online too. I've wanted to try High beam for a while and the full size is like $30 CAD and frankly, I would never go through the entire thing, and the High beam To Go is like $12 so for $6 more you can get 3 minis, which are really cute and practical. Let me know if you've used any of these three and how you like them.

I also got another Benefit Creaseless Creme Shadow/liner, this time in Birthday Suit, it's described as a "brushed chrome" to me it looks a bit taupey or brown, not really sure what colour it is yet. This was one of those spur of the moment purchases, I probably shouldn't have bought it.. got home and regretted it, I might return it. I have that problem with Sephora, I always buy too much.

I was pleased to see that my MAC store had Lady Gaga 2 lipstick in stock still, the picture of it looks peachy, but it's a light brown/nude lipstick. I grabbed that and also Back to MAC'ed 6 empties for MAC Hue lipstick, which I have wanted for a long time too.

Then at the drugstore I picked up the Physicians Formula Organic Wear Jumbo Lash Mascra, the packaging on this is really cool, it's like a green leaf shape. I find Physicians Formula to be really expensive for drugstore, and despite all the rebates they offer, you're still spending a lot of money, that's why I opted not to get those heart powders that everyone has been getting, too expensive for me, I'd rather spend that on other things. This mascara was 40% off and ended up being $10 after discount and it comes with a full price rebate, meaning you send in and get the entire amount you paid for it back.

I also picked up Revlon's Coral Reef Super Lustrous which I finally found, couldn't get it for the longest time, it's always sold out, it was $6.99. And I picked up some Garnier face wipes, the cheapest "nice brand" I could find, they were $7.99.

If you want reviews of anything, let me know, I am definitely planning to do a full review on the Lady Gaga lipstick and the Benefit set.

♥ Best of 2010 ♥

Now that 2010 has come and gone and 2011 is here, it's time to reflect on what products did the job well in 2010. Here is my list of favourite products of last year. I've tried to incorporate as much as possible products that came out in 2010, but in the mix got products that just worked for me too, regardless of when they came out.

Best Foundation

NARS Sheer Glow

MAC Pro Longwear

MUFE Face and Body

Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse

Best Concealer

Revlon Age Defying Creme

Benefit Erase Paste

Bobbi Brown Corrector (Light Bisque)

Best Lipgloss

Revlon Super Lustrous Lilac Pastelle, Pink Pop and Peach Petal

Best Lipstick

Revlon Soft Nude

MAC Jazzed

MAC Viva Glam Gaga

MAC Blooming Lovely

Best Blush

MAC Stereo Rose

MAC Peaches

Benefit Coralista

NYC Blushable Creme Stick in Plaza Pink

Best Eyeshadow

NYX Champagne and Caviar

MAC Naked Lunch, Sable and All That Glitters

Best Bronzer

Physicians Formila Bronze Booster (Light/Med)

MAC Golden

Best Powder

Revlon Colorstay Pressed Powder

Almay Wake Up Hydrating Makeup

MAC Mineralized Skinfinish Natural (Light)

Best Highlighter

Hard Candy Honeymoon

MAC By Candlelight

Best Mascara

Maybelline Lash Stiletto Voluptuous

Loreal Million Lashes

Cover Girl Lash Blast Fusion

Revlon Grow Luscious

Best Eye Primer

Urban Decay Primer Potion (Pro Size)

Best Skincare

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

Clean and Clear Dual Action Moisturizer

The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost

Best Fixers

Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover

MAC Fix+ Rose

MAC Prep and Prime Skin

Best Perfume

Thierry Mugler Womanity

Givenchy Hot Couture

Best Nail Polish

OPI Suzy Says Feng Shui

OPI Jade is the New Black

American Apparel Malibu Green

Best Brush

ELF Studio Powder Brush

Sigma F80 Flat Top Synthetic 

Sigma E25 Mini

Sigma F25

What were your favourites of 2010?

Review: Physicians Formula Multi-Colored Highlighter Pressed Powder

Physicians Formula multi-colored highlighter is like no other highlighter I have ever used. When you think highlighter you probably think a shimmery, luminescent or dewy cream or liquid product. The pressed powder line from Physicians Formula is meant to enhance the skin tone, correct imperfections and provide a soft and natural color without a harsh, monotone cast. I like the Physicians Formula brand because all their products are hypoallergenic, fragrance-free, oil-free, non-comedogenic and dermatologist approved. Their products are on the pricier side for the drugstore, but there are often 20-40% off sales, that's why I have so many. I have read several reviews that this product reminds people of the Guerlain brand powders which go for much steeper prices.

I was first attracted to this product because of the pretty variety of colors in it, you can see in the image above this comes with sections of pink, beige, purple, green, yellow and white. It's just pretty to look at, it resembles a soccer ball.

Now onto the packaging, this is a pressed powder that comes in a bulky silver plastic compact, underneath the product you have a mirror and a compartment for the provided brush. I never use the brushes that come with these, as you can tell, it hasn't even been taken out of it's wrapping. The way the product is made, it's deceiving you think you are getting more product than you actually are (the case with many PF products), this comes with 9g of product. The packaging I think is way too bulky and unnecessary.

Despite, this being dubbed as a highlighter, I use this primarily as a setting powder. Since I have dry skin, a lot of powders are really thick and drying on me. This powder is silky, matte and light, you can barely feel it. The coverage and color payoff of this product is sheer too. I have swatched some of the individual colors above and you can barely see them, and all mixed together, it just looks pinky white. You could use the colors separately to correct areas of your face, like the green on redness, the yellow on the eyelids and so on, but because they are so tiny, it's not really practical. I think it can work well all over to even out a dull complexion. I wouldn't say it highlights or brightens however, so the description and name of this doesn't really apply well, it should of been called a complexion brightener instead. I would recommend this for those with light skin, as it may look too obvious since it does come off with a pinky tone.

Have you used this powder? or any other Physicians Formula products?

My Bronzer Collection

 Happy first day of summer everyone!

To celebrate summer, I am talking about bronzer today! I wear bronzer year-round cause I am pastley white. Although in the summer, it is more necessary to get that bronzed look. I have a variety of bronzers. I prefer them to be matte, but a good matte one is hard to find. I am more about all over bronzing than contouring. My most used is probably the Physicians Formula Bronze Booster and MAC Golden/Refined Golden. I loooooove bronzer, I would pick bronzer over blush anyday.

What's your favourite bronzer?

My Blush Collection

So recently I got into blush, never really been into it before. My cheeks naturally flush so I don't need it, but I've been loving peach blushes lately and have a bunch that all pretty much look the same! Blushes are great cause they give you a nice glow and add colour to your face. Thanks for looking!

From Left to Right:
Benefit Dandelion, Physicians Formula Blushing Peach, Joe Fresh Pale Peach
On the MAC palette I've got: Peachykeen, Eversun on the top, then Peaches and Springsheen in pan form in the palette, Dainty next to those two, and Style, Well Dressed and Melba on the bottom.
On the side, I've got ELF blushes in Peachykeen, Tickled Pink and Candid Coral.

Since it's hard to capture the blush colours very well, I will show you some individual pics too...

MAC Dainty

Dainty is my only mineralized blush from MAC. This is a shimmery peachy-pink, it's really smooth and pigmented. Since it's mineralized it is silky, but also you get fallout, so you gotta blend it well. These are really nice, I'd get more of these.

MAC Eversun

This one was limited edition from the Style Warriors collections last year. Eversun is bronzy peach with gold shimmers. 

MAC Peachykeen

This looks just like Eversun in the pic, but it is different. Peachykeen was the first MAC blush that I got, it's a peachy coral, probably my darkest peach blush.

MAC Style

Style is a an frosty, orangey peach. I find this one a bit hard to wear. I just got this one recently. I know lots of people love this one, maybe I just need to work with it more.

 MAC Melba

This is my favourite peach blush. Melba is like the matte version of Style, but prettier. It is very pigmented, and very similar to MAC Instant Chic (which came out in the Pret a Papier collection recently)

MAC Well Dressed

Love this one, it's a satin, light pink. It looks great on fair-skinned skintones, perfect for everyday use, and a good starter blush.

Benefit Dandelion

This one looks a lot like MAC's Well Dressed, but maybe a touch more peachy. Benefit has their powders in these square cardboard packaging, which is cute, but not great for travel. Their products are pricey too, this blush was $35 CAD, but keep in mind this is 10g, whereas MAC blushes are only 6g. This doesn't show up on a lot of people, but if you are fair, it definitely will.

MAC Peaches and Springsheen

Peaches is a matte pure peach, it looks just like peaches, which is lovely. 

Springsheen is a beautiful, shimmery peachy pink, it gets compared to NARS Orgasm all the time in reviews.

MAC blushes impress me because they make gorgeous colours and they are highly pigmented, long lasting, and blend easily. You just need to dab your brush in 1-2 times and you get a lot of colour payoff. I would recommend MAC blushes to anyone. I am going to depot the ones I have and put them in my palette, and from now on, just buy the pans cause it's cheaper that way ($22 CAD, vs $18.50). I'll keep Dainty and any limited edition, special packaging ones in their packaging of course, and keep those for travel.

Some of the ones that I want to get are MAC Cubic,  Sunbasque and Pinch O' Peach, as well as some bronzing colours like Margin.

What are your favourite blushes? Got any recommendations for me?

April Favourites!

April is almost over, so it's time for April favourites. This includes products that I've enjoyed using during this month, and are not limited to products that I've actually purchased this month. This is a fun tag that I see people doing on youtube, so I thought it would be fun to do here too. So onto the faves...

1/ NARS Sheer Glow Foundation: My colour is Gobi. I got it this month and it's quickly becoming my Holy Grail foundation, no others compare. It makes your skin look like skin, applies smooth and lasts all day. I will post a review soon, but I want to use it a bit more before I can really judge how it compares and reacts to my skin.

2/ MAC Viva Glam Gaga: Everyone loves this lipstick including me, it's a pretty bubblegum blue-pink, smells fabulous (as all MAC lipsticks) and is sheer enough to wear anywhere.

3/ MAC Melba: This is the perfect peachy blush, very pigmented, soft and pretty.

4/ Maybelline Turbo boost mascara: I love the brush on this mascara, it's large enough to coat all your lashes with one sweep, I have it in the waterproof and non waterproof version.

5/ Physicians Formula Multi-coloured powder: This is PF's light bronzer, it's silky and works well as a subtle bronzer, I use it as a setting powder over foundation.

6/ Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion: I got this last year, with the 3 piece system, which I am not crazy about. I didn't like this lotion at first, it just smells like corn, but surprisingly I've been reaching for it a lot this month (trying to finish it off) and I like it all over again.

7/ L'oreal Lash Serum: I've been using this on and off for a few months, and I am seeing results! My lashes seem stronger, longer, fuller, less falling out. I will do a complete review soon.

8/ OPI Natural Nail Basecoat: I've never really understood the importance of using a base and top coat on your nails until recently. This base coat helps the polish adhere better to your nails and your polish turns out looking glossy too. Plus less yellow-ing of the nails, which is nice.

9/ Aveeno Positively Ageless Warming Scrub: Love this cleanser. I have dry-ish skin and all defoliators dry it out, except this one. This warms up and cleans my face perfectly. The only problem I have with it is the product dries up around the cap because the heat (I keep it in the shower) makes it harden. Also, the packaging isn't very thick, so once you squeeze some out, the package crumples.

10/ Escada Ocean Lounge Perfume: Forgot to add this in the pic, but this perfume is lovely. A mix of strawberry and lychee, very summery and girly. I got compliments wearing this during a recent salon visit, the girl said it smelled very young. Then we got into a conversation about how different age groups tend to wear different perfumes, some people wear old lady smelling perfume... I think she thought I was a lot younger than I am, I hope my Chanel and YSL is not "old lady smelling". ;)

So that's my top 10 April favourites... what are yours?

Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Eyeshadow for Green Eyes

This eyeshadow is meant to enhance different eye colours, with the different colours of eyeshadow that you get. They can be used as liners. I like the packaging of this, again PF is really good with their packaging, they make their products look really expensive and nice. 

The product's application on me was so-so. I was hoping for these shadows to show up more, but I found it was quite sheer. The only ones that really stood out were the darker colours, the purples, dark green and brown. The idea that green shadow emphasizes green eyes shouldn't really make sense to me either. I wouldn't repurchase this product again, I own so much eyeshadow already, I think I am going to return this, and that says a lot, cause I very rarely return products. 

Physician's Formula Blushing Peach Blush

I love these multi-colour powders from Physician's Formula. The product comes with a bunch of different colours that you swirl together to get that peach look. I give props to PF for putting a brush and mirror in these, but, no one is ever going to use the brush, it's scratchy and I would much rather get more product than have a large opening for the brush.

The packaging is rather deceiving, you think you are getting a lot more product, then you open it and are sadly mistaken. good thing these are on sale all the time. I got this recently for 40% off, and there are rebates available online too, so you end up paying like $6 canadian for this in the end, which is really good for the quality that you get.

The blush is pretty, it's a peachy/pink, a little shimmer in it. It shows up on my skin, looks natural.