Sparkled Beauty

You know I would follow up that bare face I showed in the review of Vichy Normaderm BB Clear with a FOTD. Know that no makeup would be able to completely camouflage the breakout (and old acne scars) I have but it definitely helps. And I feel better with some colours on the face.

Still BB Clear as the base, no primer, with support of a few more products. On the face:
- It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eyes full coverage concealer in Neutral Medium
- Joe Fresh mousse blush in Rose.

On the eyes:
- Flower Beauty Color Play cream eyeshadow in Time Willow Tell as base
- Freedom Makeup Pro 12 palette in Romance and Jewels
- Jordana Best Lash Extreme volumizing mascara in Black
- Barry M Intense eyeliner pen in Dark Emerald and Rimmel Scandal Eyes waterproof kohl kajal liner in Light Blue.

I tried to find a good colour match and coverage for the brows, which explained the number of products:
- Annabelle Stay Sharp brow liner in Taupe
- Marcelle Forever Sharp in Medium Brown and
- Annabelle Brow Show brow liner + highlighter in Light.

On the lips: Maybelline Color Blur I Like to Mauve It, and I do like it :) The colour is more subdue than what I normally wear, but it works for certain looks.

I have been out of town for a few days for work, and it was nice. Awesome harbour view outside my hotel room window with a different cruise ship in the harbour every day, nice weather for this time of year, no cooking/ cleaning, lots of eating :) But it's heading home time today. I can't wait to pick up some donuts and cronuts from a bakery on the way, and get back to a routine.

As promised, here is the look with 2 Hard Candy Fierce Effects lipsticks - Newly Berried on the upper lip and Thunder on the lower lip, no lip liners.

Before you protest, no I didn't leave the house with 2 different lip colours (this pic) lol, but I did after I pressed my lips together to mix them (the pic below).

I have grown to like the 2 toned lips lately. This time turned out pretty well, I think :) Thunder became a lot more wearable, and since it did not blend all the way into Newly Berried, I kinda had a gradient effect going on.

And to stay with the Fierce Effects theme, I also used Hard Candy Fierce Effects shadow duo in Slow & Steady from the Spring launch on the eyes.

Other products used in the look:
- Vichy Normaderm BB Clear in Light (review coming soon)
- Cover Fx Conceal Fx Camouflage concealer in Light
- Freedom Makeup Pro blush in Beyond (swatches to come)
- Annabelle Brow to Go kit in Light/ Medium
- Wet n Wild clear brow gel
- Vasanti All Star 2-in-1 face and eye primer
- Annabelle Instaglam Kajal eyeliner and Annabelle Kohl duo eyeliner in Tuxedo on the lower lash line
- Essence I ♥ Extreme Crazy Volume mascara.

Hope everyone had a great long weekend. We had great weather, sunny and quite warm, but I spent a good amount of time doing blog work. Wish I got paid for that lol, but at least I was glad I could still can do that before life gets very busy with Squirt's new school year - Junior High at that!

A FOTD to feature a few products from Yver Rocher Summer 2015 collection I reviewed yesterday.

I am still madly breaking out on the side of the face, so FOTDs are not posted as frequently as I wanted. I tried though :)

Not visible but contributing to the look anyway are the Ultra long lasting cream eyeshadows in Pearly White (as base on inner half of the lids and brow bones) and Anthracite (base on outer half of the lids).

More visible are the Waterproof eye pencils in Aqua Blue and Ocean Blue on the lower lash line, Bronzing powder on the cheeks (lightly built up) and Radiant lip crayon in Pink Sherbet on the lips (no liner).

The weather around here still cannot get above 20 in the middle of June. It dampens my mood for bright lip colours, but I put one on for you today :)

Other products used:
- Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation in 53 Light Beige
- Hard Candy Glamouflage in Medium
I was too lazy to bring out an undereye (brightening) concealer, so the area did not get the care it deserved
- Elf baked eyeshadow in Toasted on the inner lid, on top of Yves Rocher Pearly White
- 2 purple eyeshadows from Sonia Kashuk Jewel of an Eye eye couture shadow palette on top of Yves Rocher Anthracite
- Annabelle single eyeshadow in Aura as brow bone highlight
- CoverGirl Clump Crusher mascara in Black
- Wet n Wild Color Icon brow & eye liner in Dark Brown and Megaclear brow & lash mascara in Transparent.

As you can tell, I was feeling a very adventurous look with Sephora Color Lip Last in L Train Jain from Craig & Karl collection. No liner involved.

I was doing some yard work with this bold orange lip on. To make it worth it (hah), I wore it for a quick Shoppers run after too, and it was still going strong. Couldn't help the transfer onto my tea mug so I did need to touch up, but nothing major.

Also went for the pigmented blush - Sephora Colorful blush in Fuchsia Flash. It didn't take much to build up at all and I can start light if I want to. My favorite Colorful blush shade so far.

Definitely had to go light on the eyes. My first "affair" with Viseart eyeshadow palette in Neutral Matte, one of the most expensive palettes I own. Don't regret it cause the pigmentation and blendability, especially for matte eyeshadows, are out of this world!

Other products used:
- Avon Ideal Flawless foundation in Medium Beige
- It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eyes full coverage concealer in Neutral Medium
I have been breaking out quite badly in the last week, had to bring out the more heavy duty foundation and concealer here
- Elf smudge pot in Back to Basics as base
- Gosh Forever eyeshadow stick in Blue and Sephora + Pantone Universe Foiled Waterproof eyeliner in Rose Gold
- Essence I ♥ Extreme Crazy Volume mascara
- Makeup Revolution Awesome Eyeshadow and Eyebrow palette in Lock and Load for the brows.

It is a short week, but is a really busy week for me too. Friday is Squirt's and the blog's birthday, then we'll be spending some time in TO. I am excited to see my friends there and to visit a few stores that we don't get here in Halifax.

What do you have planned for the weekend?

It is the end of April, where is Spring still, anyone? Halifax welcomed its first cruise ship of the season on Monday with below 5 degree weather, and flurries!

Thought I have to record this "record breaking" (pun intended) phenomena on the blog somehow, to look back later. It sure is rare to have frozen lakes in May.

Anyway, it is the "YT made me buy it, despite the yucky weather" FOTD today, just for fun lol.

From Colour Pop Not a Box of Chocolate set, I used:
- Tinsel as transition
- Drift on the outer half of the lids and sheered out on the cheeks
Equally lovely, and I like it both ways.

I could not decide on just one shade Gerard Cosmetics Color Your Smile Lighted lip glosses so I wore both - Wild Orchid on the upper lip and Seduction on the lower lip, pressed together to mix the colours.

Other products used:
- Skindinavia primer and finishing sprays
- Hard Candy Glamoflauge foundation in Light Medium
- Cover Fx Conceal Fx Camouflage concealer in Light
- MUA Poptastic palette (the baby blue shade) and Heaven & Earth palette (brow bone highlight)
- Rimmel Scandal Eyes waterproof kohl kajal liner in Light Blue on the inner half of lower lash line
- Yves Rocher eye pencil in Copper Brown on outer half of lower lash line
- Milani Runway Lashes Instant Volume mascara in Black
- Wet n Wild Color Icon brow & eye liner in Dark Brown.

Have you switched your makeup and skin care to summer mode yet? For the reason stated above, I haven't and don't know when I will be lol.

We had some snow early morning yesterday, March 31 means nothing, doesn't it? At least temp has risen above zero at least during the day for a change.

I didn't plan on doing a FOTD this week, but after putting on Sonia Kashuk Satin Luxe lip colours SPF16 in Spiced Berry, I couldn't help it. The name fits perfectly!

Satin Luxe has become my favorite formula among the 4 lines I posted about. It feels so light and moisturizing, and the colours I picked are all great. Spiced Berry is pigmented and dark enough to my liking.

I also have Make Up For Ever Step 1 Skin Equalizer Smoothing primer (review coming soon) and Pro Sculpting duo in #1 Pink Beige on, but the effects are not easy to see :)

I totally go back to basics on the eyes, literally, with:
- Elf smudge pot in Back to Basics as base
- Quo Back to Basics palette
- Rimmel Scandal Eyes waterproof kohl kajal liner in Light Blue
- Annabelle Smoothie eyeshadow pencil in Mauve-tion
- Marcelle Xtension Plus + Pro Lash Growth Complex mascara in Black. 

Other products on the face:
- Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover foundation in 123
- It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eyes full coverage concealer in Neutral Medium
- Make Up For Ever Artist eyeshadow in I808 (from Desire Me Cheeky blush trio) as blush
- Wet n Wild Color Icon brow & eye liner in Mink Brown.

Can't wait for this super long weekend to start. I just want to sleep off this winter weather.

No burning desire was stronger than me wanting to show you Vasanti Ultra Luxe lipstick in Zimbabwe after I swatched it.

It is quite different from what I normally reach for. And as you can see, the good tube of Zimbabwe does not have too much shine and is a true burgundy with strong brown tone. Here it is today, on top of Beautique lip liner in Sienna :)

On my eyes are the Milani Bella Eyes gel powder eyeshadows, in action.

Bella White is the bright star of the look, popping in the inner half of the lids :) Paired with it is Bella Bronze in the outer half and Bella Purple in the crease blended upward.

The eyeshadows appear on the eyes more subtle than the swatches you see in the review cause I did not intend to build them up too much. Love their blendability!

Other products used:
- L'Oreal Magic Nude liquid powder foundation in True Beige
Bought this foundation a long while ago but just got around to try it now. Love the light finish but it barely gives me any coverage at all
- It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eyes full coverage concealer in Neutral Medium and Annabelle BB Skin Perfect concealer in Medium
- Sephora + Pantone Universe Foiled waterproof eyeliner in Silver on inner half of lower lash line
- Yves Rocher eye pencil in Copper Brown on outer half of lower lash line
I love the pigmentation of these pencils but could not wear Copper Brown too much, due to its red tone
- CoverGirl Clump Crusher mascara in Black
- Milani baked blush in Fantastico Mauve, very light-handed as it is super pigmented
- Wet n Wild Color Icon brow & eye liner in Dark Brown.

We are slowly thawing out of our winter "white coat". It was actually warm (i.e. near zero) yesterday lol. Have a great one!

Yesterday was one big white-out around here, 60+ cm on top of what accumulated from previous snow falls, plus blowing snow, made shoveling very challenging.

The whole city was shut down. Buses are still not running this morning. Huge snow banks, unploughed streets and sidewalks everywhere. It will take days :(

Forgive my rugged look while I am raising my white flag to Old Man Winter. Can't touch my brows until my shaping/ tinting appointment next week, so bear with me.

Just want to show you a quick look using Hard Candy Spring products:
- Glamoflauge foundation in Light Medium (no concealer)
- Natural Eyes eyeshadow palette: a few eyeshadows on the lids, lower lash line (smudged) and brows, together with Eyes the Limit eyeshadow primer and Take Me Out eyeliner
- Ombre baked blush in Punch as blush and highlight.

On the lips is NYC Expert Last (Satin Matte) lipstick in Red Suede. Told you it is stunning!

The only extra product I used is Essence I ♥ Extreme Crazy Volume mascara, the hot pink tube. Forgot how well it separates my lashes, not sure about volume though. Great for layering.

That is it from me today. I can go on and on about the snow and how depressed I am with it, but you probably heard enough. The positive note is I still believe in kindness. I received the best support from you guys since I posted about mean tweets.

In town last night, a baby was born whose mother was helped through snow banks to get to the hospital safely. It warms my heart. Just hope people don't take their weather frustration out on others.

Hope things are looking up where you are!

The colourful but lazy-day FOTD is back :) It is when I skip foundation and powder all together but go for lots of colours for the look.

Lovely on my lips is Beautique lip liner in Jewel, a nice darker red. I have been wearing more lip liners by themselves when I don't have much time to get ready.

On the eyes are 3 LA Girl Glide gel eyeliners:
- Paradise Purple (upper lash line)
- Aquatic (inner half) and Royal Blue (outer half on lower lash line).

Cannot deny my love for Aquatic. I would wear it all over my eyes if I can but it sure is too bright for work. For now, I limit it to the inner corner :)

Other products used:
- It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eyes full coverage concealer in Neutral Medium
- Cover Fx Conceal Fx Camouflage concealer in Light
- Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pomegranate Punk on its own as an eyeshadow
- Elf baked highlighter in Blush Gems as brow bone highlight
- ArtDeco All in One mascara in 01 Black
- Annabelle Lipsies in Fruit Punch as blush, set with Essence duo blush in Nothing but Lovestoned
- Annabelle InstaGlam Brow Design + Fix in Medium to Dark and Wet n Wild Color Icon brow & eye liner in Dark Brown.

It is supposed to be balmy at 7 degrees later today, a substantial melt for all the snow left over from the storms last month (if only it does not freeze over night again lol). A sign that Spring might finally be here? I hope so!

This FOTD is for all Annabelle fans, ladies!

I am digging Annabelle Spring 2015 products, obviously:
- Blushon in Spring Petal
- Zebra bronzing powder in Matte Gold
- Lipsies in Fruit Punch.

And there are more Annabelle products in this look:
- CC Instant Perfecting base in Natural finish
- BB Skin Perfect concealer in Medium 
- TwistUp Retractable eyeshadow crayon in Taupe as base
- Zebra Bronzing powder in Haute Gold as eyeshadows, and Mono eyeshadow in Divine Diva in the crease
- Smoothie eyeshadow pencils in In Mauve-tion
- Expandable mascara in Black
- InstaGlam Brow Design + Fix in Medium to Dark. 

Pulling out many Annabelle items this time brings me back to a few fan girl moments.

Divine Diva (or the whole Mono eyeshadow line) is discontinued but remains one of my favorites from early on, when I started to learn how to blend my eyeshadows.

Smoothies were the products that introduced me to the jumbo crayons, and what started the "coloured liner on lower lash line" train for me.

Expandable mascara was originally offered to bloggers to test blindly (i.e. we had no idea what it was supposed to do) and I had lots of fun playing with the wand.

And the TwistUps, for lips and eyes, are staples in my stash and they should be in everyone's stash. Just saying :)

Other regulars for most FOTDs:
- Maybelline Baby Skin Instant pore eraser
- Hard Candy Glamouflage in Medium
- Wet n Wild ColorIcon brow & eye liner in Dark Brown.

The fun ends there with this look. Sigh, another hard winter night yesterday for us. Windchill -30 created so much frost quake noise that I couldn't fall asleep until 2am while wake up time was 5:45 :(

Was thankful that packed snow was mostly removed from the sidewalk down the hill to work, or I would have been sliding around like in a skating rink. The weather this winter has been a test to our endurance and patience.

It is Lunar New Year in a few hours at home, I am super homesick right now, missing being with my family. FB friends have been posting pics of their feast and holiday decoration, not helping!

Back to business. The FOTD today is for The Body Shop Lip & Cheek Velvet sticks.

I layered Poppy Universal on the lips on its own with no lip liner underneath. It appeared more red than in the swatch yesterday. Poppy Red is lovely on the cheeks too, looking quite natural.

On the eyes is The Body Shop Shimmer Cubes #17 - Silver Crest on inner half of the lids, Deep Down Blue on the outer V and lower lash line, and Horizon Blue as transition.

Other products used:
- Hard Candy Glamouflage in Medium
- Annabelle BB Skin Perfect concealer in Medium
Dig this little concealer, very convenient to use
- CoverGirl & Olay pressed powder in Medium
Decided to skip liquid foundation for a day. Looks like powder foundations are making a comeback, so I am pulling mine out for a few spins
- Maybelline Color Tattoo Leather in Vintage Plum as eyeshadow base
I find the Leather version is more dry than regular Color Tattoos, harder to blend. Hope it won't die on me too quickly
- Marc Jacob Lash Lifter Gel Volume mascara in Blacquer
- Wet n Wild Color Icon brow & eye liner in Dark Brown.

Makeup does make me happy, but for today, I am going to hide in the corner sobbing. Just kidding, but really, being away from home for New Year is one of the worst feelings ever. Hug your loved ones!

It's the week of Valentine's and I am celebrating it with Marsala, colour of the year.

Maybelline kindly sent over a few items from their makeup lines for the purpose of this post, saving me the guess work.

Here are Maybelline Color Tattoo Leather in Vintage Plum, Master Glaze blush stick in Make a Mauve and Color Sensational lip liner in Mocha.

You already read on here how often I use Maybelline Color Tattoos on the eyes, and I liked the (LE) Master Glaze I had - Barely Pink, so the only new-to-me item is the lip liner.

Here is the look I came up with.

Vintage Plum is subtle on its own, and the matte finish makes it very work appropriate.

Make a Mauve is beautiful and fits the "darker" colour scheme on the cheeks that I have been leaning toward. Definitely recommend!

Similarly, Mocha compliments Make a Mauve in the look. However, the texture was a little hard on the lips, with a few hours of wear time.

Other Maybelline products from my stash I pulled out:
- Baby Skin Instant pore eraser
- Fit Me Shine Free foundation in 230 Natural Buff
Have anyone tried the new Fit Me matte?

- Dream Lumi Touch highlighting concealer in Buff
- Master Glaze blush stick in Barely Pink as a highlighter
- Mineral Power foundation in Pure Beige to add a bit more coverage and set the concealer
- The Falsies Big Eyes mascara in Blackest Black.

More products:
- Make Up For Ever HD Microperfecting primer #2 Mauve
- Annabelle Smudgeliner in Wired
- Annabelle InstaGlam Brow Design + Fix in Medium to Dark and Wet n Wild Color Icon brow & eye liner in Dark Brown.

Have a great start of the week, and stay warm :) We are around -20 windchill again, nothing new eh? No wonder people still think Canadians live in igloos all year round lol.

It's our very first Snow Day of 2015 and I have an equally crazy FOTD for you, featuring Make Up For Ever Desire Me Cheeky blush trio.

On the eyes (using eyeshadow brush and blending brush): I526 Pearl Beige in the inner corner of the lids and under the brow bones, I808 English Pink as transition and on the lower lash line, and S748 Coral in the outer corner.

On the cheeks (with the Artisan Blush brush #150): I808 on the apples, S748 as transition and I526 as highlight.

Also from Make Up For Ever for this look:
- HD Microperfecting primer #2 Mauve
- HD Invisible Cover foundation in 123
- Smoky Extravagant mascara
- Aqua Lip in 16C and Aqua Rouge in 16 Fuchsia from the Ultimate Long Lasting Lip kit.

Other products used:
- Marcelle Hydra-C Radiance Ultra Light Matifying Fluid
An oldie that was neglected in the stash, a goodie for sure. When I use it, I don't have to powder/ set my foundation
- Cover FX Conceal Fx Camouflage concealer in Light
- Milani Liquid Eye liquid-like eyeliner pencil in Black
- Physicians Formula 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner + Serum in Ultra Black 
Ignore the odd 2-pronged flick I was experimenting there. Haven't touched the liquid eyeliner for a while and thought I should do something crazy (adventurous)
- Annabelle InstaGlam Brow Design + Fix in Medium to Dark and Wet n Wild Color Icon brow & eye liner in Mink Brown.

I can't get over how pretty the 16 Fuchsia Aqua Rouge looks matte. It does feel a little dry on its own without the glossy gloss but it is worth it.

On to what's going on outside. This blizzard was forecasted badly enough to prompt early announcement of work and school cancellation for today, which was great. Nobody wants to be stranded at work or on the road during heavy snow fall or icy condition later in the day.

Squirt was happy to have a day off school. I am just glad not having to get up early to make the trip into town. A chill day for us to watch YT or put together some IKEA stuff for my makeup room maybe :)

I heard New York is hit too with this storm. Stay safe everyone!

Are you ready for the prettiness and the mess all in one FOTD? Here it is!

On my eyes, from Joe Fresh 5-piece Chubby eyeshadow set:
- the gold on inner lid - heavily layered, still not very visible
- the blue on outer lid and crease - applied, blended, repeated because it disappeared with each blending brush stroke
- the black as a liner.

You might not want to look closer at the "stripes" (i.e. creases) on my lids.

The black did not smudge or smear but only last about two hours on the lower lash line and a little longer on the upper lash line.

If I don't look all the way down, the eye makeup is not too bad, is it? :)

On the lips is the most pigmented shade from the 5-piece Chubby lipstick set - the darker pink. It is the only thing that saved this look a tiny little bit.

Other products on the face:
- Marcelle BB cream in Light to Medium
- Hard Candy Glamouflage in Medium
- ArtDeco Bronzing Glow blusher
- Vasanti All Star 2-in-1 face and eye primer
The primer did not help!
- Lise Watier Wow mascara in Black
- Wet n Wild ColorIcon brow & eye liner in Dark Brown.

After this look I could only test other eyeshadow sticks in this set inside the house. Nobody wants to see crease city, do they?

The creases again on the other side, if you are not persuaded yet. Ta-da! Again, maybe we can focus on the lip colour instead.

I was at Superstore yesterday and saw all the lipstick sets from Joe Fresh were gone, and quite a few of eyeshadow sets (and liner sets) left. I guess my local friends also like the lip stuff better :)

What are other positive things in your life that we can talk about to balance out the cold weather (or the bad eye makeup)? :) Fill me in!

A festive FOTD today featuring Flower Beauty's holiday sets that I have reviewed for you.

From the Eye See You rose gold 8-shade eyeshadow palette:
- the metallic rose on the lid
- the glittery charcoal black in outer corner and on the lower lash line (with an eyeshadow brush) and
- the matte brown as transition (blended with the Ultimate eyeshadow brush)
Plus the Extreme Measures lengthening mascara on the lashes.

On the lips is Red-dy to Bloom from the Color in the Lines mini Lip Chubby set. This red (even when pairing with a dark eye) is to change my own habit of reaching for safe-for-work colours.

Other products used:
- Vichy Norma Teint Anti Imperfection foundation in #35 Sand
- It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eyes full coverage concealer in Neutral Medium and LA Girl Pro Conceal HD concealer in Pure Beige
- Joe Fresh mousse blush in Rose
- Maybelline Color Tattoo in Stroke of Midnight as a base for the charcoal black eyeshadow
- Annabelle Stay Sharp Waterproof kohl eyeliner in Go Black
- Annabelle Stay Sharp Waterproof lip liner in Glam Red
Embracing the Stay Sharp lines very much lately for convenience :)
- Annabelle InstaGlam Brow Design + Fix in Medium to Dark and Wet n Wild Color Icon brow & eye liner in Mink Brown.

If you notice a change in how my pictures look in the last few posts, it's the camera. I lost the charger during the trip, and the replacement I ordered would take its sweet time to get here.

Not that my current camera is anything fancy but I have got a few tricks to manipulate it and play with lighting :( For now, I am using Squirt's camera, oh the process of learning how to "use" it properly!

How have you been dealing with the extreme -20 (or lower) weather? I am miserable even with Sorel boots and fleece lined tights, but who isn't this side of the globe? That's when I go extreme with either bright or vampy lips and nails, if you haven't noticed the trend already :)

Anything exciting you look forward to this weekend?

Boo...! Did I scare ya? :)

My very first FOTD for the year, thought I should go all out and show you NYX Simply Vamp lip cream in Temptress, the more bad *ss shade between the two lol.

I did start out with Temptress outlining the lips and Bewitching filling in the rest to test the "wearing alone theory" I mentioned in the review. Temptress ended up swallowing Bewitching whole and took full credit for the lips. Rude huh? :)

Again, I know the colour is not for everyone, nor for everyday, but this is where makeup is fun to play with, at least for me. Squirt actually commented on these lips, glad I didn't scare her off.

Other products used in the look:

- L'Oreal Youth Code Texture Perfector serum concentrate
- Make Up For Ever HD Microperfecting primer #2 Mauve
- Maybelline Baby Skin Instant pore eraser
- Annabelle BB Skin Perfect concealer in Medium
A quick heads up here: Annabelle is discontinuing a few BB and CC products this month. Stock up your favorites before they are gone
- CoverGirl & Olay pressed powder in Medium
- Make Up For Ever HD Second Skin cream blush in #510 Raspberry
- Elf smudge pots in Cruisin Chic and Poppin Party
- Annabelle Retractable eyeliner in Twilighting
- Marcelle Xtension Plus + Pro Lash Growth Complex mascara in Black
- InstaGlam Brow Design + Fix in Medium to Dark and Wet n Wild Color Icon brow & eye liner in Dark Brown.

While talking about Annabelle products, there is an Annabelle holiday set (and a few more sets from Marcelle) on clearance at Shoppers. I am tempted to check them out with the 18,500 bonus point offer today.

The first week of 2015 has gone by, how are you all doing? I am still trying to get back to daily routine while adjusting to -20 degree weather after a tropical vacation.

Also need to sort out blogging schedule for the month. After those big Boxing Week hauls I posted on Monday, I have enough goodies to blog for months, just not enough time :)

Have yourself a good rest of the week and stay warm!

Merry Christmas (and Happy Holidays) everyone!

This is not really a festive smoky-eye-red-lip look for the occasion, I realize that. But it's something out of my comfort zone that I thought a holiday would be the right time to share :)

I wanted to show you how LA Girl Glazed lip paint in Coy looks on the lips, paired with Elf smudge pot in Poppin Party for a monotone purple look. Like I said, it's not an everyday type of look.

I prepped outside the lip line with Rimmel Moisture Renew Universal transparent lip liner, then layered on Coy for colour payoff - one layer with the applicator on the tube and another layer with a lip brush.

I was only going to use Poppin Party as a base all over lid with a synthetic brush, but after blending it out with a transition shade (see below), it looked great on its own, so I only added a light inner corner colour for some contrast.

Also contributing to the monotone purple look is Wet n Wild Petal Pusher palette:
- Pink brow bone colour as highlight and inner corner
- Bronze pink eyelid as transition to blend Poppin Party upward
- A mix of bronze pink eyelid and violet crease shades as blush.

Other products I used:
- Marcelle CC cream in Golden Glow (no foundation)
- Maybelline Baby Skin Instant pore eraser
- It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eyes full coverage concealer in Neutral Medium 
- Annabelle Smudgeliner in Vortex Violet on lower lash line
- Lise Watier Wow mascara in Black
- Annabelle InstaGlam Brow Design + Fix in Medium to Dark and Wet n Wild Color Icon brow & eye liner in Dark Brown.

I almost missed Christmas this year. Sure, the streets here have become so insanely busy with people celebrating, and certain areas of town are beautifully decorated with multi-coloured lights. However, not every family here (including mine) celebrates Christmas the same way most do in North America, so I didn't realize how close Christmas Eve was, i.e. now, at the time the post goes up!

Anyway, I hope you are spending this festive time with your loved ones. I am not doing much (catching a cold and all) but watching the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show with my family during dinner, and that's festive enough in my book :)

Another thing I can't afford not mentioning - the insanely large sale page on Sephora website. If you didn't see my tweet, I panicked and ordered a few things like 5 minutes before receiving the VIB Rouge 20% off code. Fun time!

I gotta tell you, vacation is great but my skin is not. With the change in climate and humidity, I have had some breakouts and the skin looked so dull and grey. This is my best attempt to show you the products on not-so-great-looking skin.

I use The Body Shop Dolly Pastels palette on the eyes:
- Pale pink on brow bones - wish it was not shimmery
- Violet as transition, very light
- Brown in the crease, the only way to darken the look
- Peach dabbed on mid lid - the shimmers are more visible IRL.

On the lips, you could probably guess, is Maybelline Color Sensational creamy matte lipstick in Touch of Spice.

I did frame the lips with Milani Color Statement lip liner in Brandy before the lipstick for photos. This won't be necessary for everyday wear, since Touch of Spice is pigmented enough on its own. It is the perfect introduction shade to darker lips without going to the extreme vampy colours.

Other products used:
- Make Up For Ever HD Micro-perfecting primer #0 
- Marcelle CC cream in Golden Glow
- It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eyes full coverage concealer in Neutral Medium
This concealer has been very handy, considering my skin condition mentioned above
- Cover Fx Setting Fx translucent mineral powder in Light
A must in this heat
- Too Faced Chocolate Soleil bronzer
- Too Faced powder blush in Raindrops on Roses
- Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on eye pencil in Radium on lower lash line
- InstaGlam Brow Design + Fix in Medium to Dark and Wet n Wild Color Icon brow & eye liner in Dark Brown
- Skindinavia makeup finishing spray, the Oil Control version.

Have you fallen in love with Touch of Spice yet?

I am running low on sleep (and motivation) for a few days now, dark circles and all. Glad I took advantage of the sunlight in the weekend for this quick daytime look for you.

The star products were Marcelle CC cream in Golden Glow and eyeshadow trio+ in Smoky Chestnut I reviewed this week.

The glow, as expected, is not strongly visible, gives more of an appearance of glowy skin overall than the actual highlighting effect. With the lack of sleep, I have fully embraced the CC cream with open hands.

I don't know how much of the effect you can tell from the pictures. Maybe it's the sunlight, maybe it's Marcelle :) 

Smoky Chestnut is equally subtle, even when I layered the dark taupe/ purple in the crease. Again, it is great for work looks.

Other Marcelle products used:
- Rouge Xpression lipstick in Paris Rose
I reach for this shade whenever I want an "innocent" type of look. I don't normally go for pinks but I like this pink.
-  Xtension Plus + Pro Lash Growth Complex mascara in Black.

If I persuaded you to check some of these products out, Marcelle will have 40% off sale for Black Friday. Just in time :)

For the rest of the face, I fell into a basic routine with products I used so often:
- Annabelle CC Instant Perfecting base in Luminous finish - before the CC cream above
- Maybelline Baby Skin Instant pore eraser
- It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eyes full coverage concealer in Neutral Medium
- Annabelle Zebra Bronzing powder in Haute Gold (no blush)
- Maybelline Color Tattoo in Inked in Pink as base

- Yves Rocher Eye pencil in Green on the lower lash line 
- InstaGlam Brow Design + Fix in Medium to Dark and Wet n Wild Color Icon brow & eye liner in Dark Brown.
 
I am still waiting for the last Sephora VIB sale order to come in to even consider posting a haul for you. Also acquired some new things from the drugstores but the trip home is coming too soon before I have time to play with them. I haven't started packing but I know I don't have much space in the luggage for makeup :(

I have missed a few pre-Black Friday sales already not being able to make it to the stores. It is the same feeling when kids get their Christmas present early but are not allowed to open/ play with it until the day of. But I feel blessed being able to be with my family, a big break for me.

Omg, what did I do to deserve a +16 degree morning in the middle of November? I was never happier leaving the house this morning. Sorry Toronto for being on the other opposite site of the thermometer (I heard -17?).

Continuing the neutral end trend I have been spotting on the blog, this is another one featuring Essence How to Make Nude Eyes makeup box I reviewed yesterday.

I used:
- An Eye On Apricot: brow bone highlight
- All About Nude: inner and outer corner
- Go For Gold: transition (not very visible as it is close to my skin tone)
- Eye Light Beige: highlight mid lids
- Nude Night Out: crease and lower lash line (not dark enough, as you can see).

The only shade I did not use was Team Nude which would work better as a transition colour on me. After blending, all colours seemed to become very similar and it felt like I only used one colour or two. Not good!

Other products used:
- Marcelle Ideal Skin perfector
- Maybelline Baby Skin Instant pore eraser
- Make Up For Ever HD Micro-perfecting primer #0
- Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover foundation in 123
- CoverFx cream foundation SPF30 in M50 as concealer
- ArtDeco All in One mascara in 01 Black
- Annabelle Smudgeliner in Envy on lower lash line underneath Nude Night Out above
- Stay Sharp Waterproof lip liner in Glam Red
- TwistUp Retractable lipstick crayon in Rock & Rose (Metal Mix collection) as highlight mid lips, which turned Glam Red to more of a hot pink than red
- Wet n Wild Flirting at the After Party palette, the purple eyelid colour as blush
Purple craze, can you tell? I want purple everything!
- Annabelle InstaGlam Brow Design + Fix in Medium to Dark.

What eye and lip looks have you been wearing lately?