Review: Benefit They're Real Mascara, Comparison with Cover Girl Lash Blast

Benefit hit the nail on the head with their marketing for Benefit's They're Real Mascara, what women want most out of their mascara is the appearance that they are false lashes, but wait, they are real! We all know that the mascara advertisements that we see all contain women wearing false lash inserts, those results are not attainable alone. So does Benefit's They're Real give a pleasing result? And are the girl's boobs in the advertisement real too? I think the left one definitely looks fake, less shading on it or something, it looks weird. I guess it's up to you to decide.
 
I went back and forth about getting Benefit's They're Real because of the high price, normally I get drugstore mascaras and find some of them to be very good and comparable to that of high-end types. But I love trying out new products so I finally caved. Benefit's They're Real retails for $22 US and $29 Canadian, I got mine at Sephora, it's always sold on the Benefit website.

Review Luxebox By Loose Button And Giveaway

Recently I was contacted by Loose Button to do a review and giveaway for their Luxebox. If you're not familiar with this brand, they offer a monthly beauty subscription service (similar to Birchbox in the US) for Canadians. For a monthly charge you get 4-5 deluxe beauty samples sent to you. The appeal of these subscription services is definitely the element of surprise of not knowing what you're going to get every month, receiving the cute box in the mail and opening it up. Their mission is to "help customers discover, try and purchase quality beauty products through a unique shopping experience." When you sign up for Luxebox you fill out a beauty profile and they try to tailor products to suit your interests.

Review: Chanel Vitalumiere Foundation

If I could wear only one makeup brand for the rest of my life and only one, it would be Chanel. I own like 4-5 items from them only, but everything I have bought is my favourite and I love wearing their products. It is a luxurious and expensive brand though so I have to limit myself. Recently I had some gifts cards from Apothica (they are a sponsor on this blog) and could pick out anything that I wanted to equal $65 on their website. Of course, I went straight to Chanel. For those in Canada keep in mind that Apothica does not ship Chanel products to Canada, they are Canada Restricted. I had relatives coming from Illinois so I was clever and shipped it to them instead and they gave the products to me when they arrived, it was like Christmas! I got Chanel Vitalumiere and a darker shade in Chanel Pro Lumiere.

Review: Sigma Dry and Shape System

Today's review is the Sigma Dry and Shape System. This is one of their newest products, it's meant as an aid in helping to dry your makeup brushes quicker and shape it while it does. When it comes to me, I am not too fussy when I wash my brushes, I use anti-bacterial hand soap, the same stuff that I use when I wash my hands in the bathroom (one from Bath and Body Works). I don't mind how long it takes because I normally leave them dry overnight. I have so many brushes that if some are dirty, it's not a big deal, I just grab another one.

What I normally do is wash them in soap, rinse them out with tap water, then tap and soak all the excess water out with a bath towel or paper towel. Then I leave them on the side of the sink to dry. Sometimes very dense brushes like the Flat Top F80 are still a bit damp the next day, but it doesn't bother me to use it since I only use those with liquid foundation. I was curious if the Dry and Shape would make much of a difference in my routine, and I was skeptical if it would. I have read people ask how you clean the brush roll itself, since it can become unsanitary with the dirty water spilling out. The brush roll is made of synthetic material, so it's easy to wipe clean. If your brushes are really dirty you can wipe them down first on something, ensuring all the water or cleanser is out of it, then place it in the Dry and Shape. None of my brushes leak because I make sure I wipe them dry first.

Review: L'oreal Sublime Bronze Self Tanning Lotion

This is a review on the L'oreal Bronze Self-Tanning Lotion. I had previously done a review on the Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Mist, which is the mist version of this product. I think they are essentially the same, depending on whether you prefer a lotion or a mist is the only difference. If you remember my former review, I loved the colour that the Sublime Bronze Mist gave my skin, but hated the application. The spray leaks all over when sprayed, does not dry fast at all and I go through a ton of it quickly. So I opted to try out the lotion version to see if it would work better for me.

I have both products in the shade "Medium" this is the only shade that I have found in drugstores here. I found the lotion to be quite difficult to find at first, but once I did I noticed shelves were stocking it pretty well after that. It retails for $17 CAD, which I find pretty expensive for what you get. The bottle is 150ml, so very small, the pictures here make it look bigger than it is. It's the size of my hand I would say (and I have quite small hands). But since it's a lotion, I definitely do not go through it as quickly as I do the mist.

What's In My Travel Makeup Bag?

I haven't blogged anything in what seems like forever. I went away on a vacation sort of, not the type that most people go on I guess, we went camping. It's something that we've done as a family for years, always the same park. It's a nice way to relax and wind down a bit.

Not everyone takes makeup with them when they go camping. Keep in mind this a provincial park that we go to, there is running water, electricity, real bathrooms etc, so you can take a shower and keep clean. When I tell some of my friends that I go camping they think I am out fighting wild animals in the bush, it's nothing like that, just some giant bugs here and there.