Visiting Portland!

I am still in the planning stages, but I am going to visit Portland sometime soon.  It looks really interesting and nice.  I want to move there, but I've heard a lot of negative vibes about locals not liking foreigners, even from different cities, so I want to check it out first.  Anybody who has any experience with Portland (or even nearby) please do share, and wish me luck!

OMG!! Finally- Maybelline Eyeshadows!!

Wow I just cannot believe my luck!!! I also got scammed out of the Maybelline 24 hour eyeshadows but I totally scored two of them today! They just rolled off the truck so they should be coming to all the Maybelline stands very soon. They only had two colours for sale, "On and On Bronze" (aka Bad to the Bronze) and Bold Gold.  These were the only ones, although they did have the purple and turquoise testers as well. I can't wait for more, especially the reddish and taupe ones!  I am absolutely excited about these!

Since I just got these I haven't had a chance to wear them on my eyes, but the swatches haven't budged in hours, despite vigorous hand washings, and based on all the positive things I've heard I am sure they will be worth the wait!  

My New Favourite Lip Balm!

Since I got scammed out of getting any more eos lip balm (I guess it happens to everyone, but it still sucks!), I went to the store to see what the options were. Not much, but I picked up a few. I actually tried this one last since I wasn't expecting much from it. I love it! It is Hawaiian Tropic, it is very moisturizing, softening, and it even has SPF. I do not go anywhere without lip balm, and I've tried other petroleum type balms and I personally do not like them.

I first got this one in Vanilla Mint and loved it, so when I went back to get more theyonly had Tropical, which I like very much also. It has a hint of that unmistakeable Hawaiian Tropic scent. These lip balms are very budget friendly and would be great to put in your beach bag!

My Favourite Neutrogena Product

These wipes were the first product I ever bought from Neutrogena and I still love them.  I had tried every remover Sephora had available and nothing really worked for me so I picked these up at Target one day and they've been my fave ever since.  They don't burn, they're not greasy, and they remove eyeliner and mascara- win for me!  They had some lavender ones in America I really liked, and they had a plastic tub too but I'm happy to still have the wipes available.  I've tried a few other Neutrogena products since and I've found them to be pretty nice for me at least, especially the skin stuff.  It's not high end but it works in a pinch, and I like that they are unscented, light, and oil free, at least what I have tried was. 

LOTD: Blue Ice

I was so happy to finally find my "outer v" brush, what a difference it makes!  And no matter what anyone else says, I still think you can do blue eyeshadow with blue eyes. 

I added some Laguna bronzer, since I thought I was looking a bit pale, although the lighting is weird too. 

Interesting- Diorskin Nude Tan Powders

I love Dior's powders- silky smooth and radiant, I think they are one of their best products.  They have a new "colour and glow" bronzing powder out now that looks beautiful.  It comes in four shades and that's quite a range for a bronzer in my opinion.  They also have a similar compact for highlighting.  I've been looking (and feeling) a little pasty lately so I am going to get this one for sure!

Archived Look

This is one I never got around to posting, taken about 6 months back.  It needs a little improvement but the first thing I noticed is it doesn't even look like me!!

LOTD: Sunshine

Yellow is my enemy.  I mean, no matter how many I've tried they all look horrible on me!  I can only use it as an accent at the most.  Despite knowing this, for some reason I tried this extremely yellow look.  Really the only thing I liked about this LOTD was the lipstick, Covergirl's "Heavenly".  The eyeshadow is Inglot.  I think it is just my colouring that makes it look bad, because I do like the shades and they have a nice texture. 

EOTD: Brown Eyeliner

I've been using brown eyeliner lately, honestly I am getting burned out on black and I think the brown looks decent with my eyes. 

Wish I Could Try....

I really would like to get a good facial exfoliator.  Kate Somerville's ExfoliKate is something I wish I could get.  I had a sample of it once and really liked it, but it was just a small single sample. 

I really like nail polish, it is probably my favourite cosmetic product besides eyeshadow.  I never got to try the Julep brand, I think it just recently became available at Sephoras in the U.S.  It looks like they have a lot of pretty colours and glitters too!



Cool & Cool Green Tea Mask

I don't remember the last time I used a face mask, it isn't a product I buy for myself, but I got this from someone and tried it out. 

You have to unfold it from the package, and it is a thin sheet with holes in it, it's really strange!  It's a bit tricky positioning it on your face. 

You are supposed to leave it on for 20-30 minutes, and it didn't itch or irritate me during that time.  Afterwards just rinse off.  My face felt a little softer and smoother right after I used it, but it isn't a long-lasting effect.  It says on the back to use one 2-3 times weekly for the most benefits.  Something different to try!  

Dresses

I used to love summers not only because of the warm weather, but outdoor activities and get togethers, and of course, cool clothing!  Summer dresses are usually very comfortable yet are stylish and pretty in only one piece.  One of my all time favourite dress sites is ModCloth they have such unique and beautiful dresses, I wish I could own all of them!!!

(reminds me of Wonder Woman!)

... What will your summer wardrobe be?? 

Cute Summer Sandals!

I really like the picnic-plaid pattern for this summer (I think neons are great too though!).  I think these sandals are just so cute, and they look comfy too!

Kate Moss for Rimmel Lipstick 05

The Kate Moss for Rimmel lipstick collection looked pretty, but most of the colours were what I would call fairly bold.  I don't wear lipstick every day (although gloss is a different story!), so I picked what is definitely the most boring one, it doesn't have a name but it's number 05. 

Swatches:

(With Flash)

Overall, I liked this lipstick!  I wouldn't say I'd rush out and buy more, but it is a really nice formula- smooth, creamy, not drying, and mine had a little cherry or something taste- it wasn't waxy at all.  It was not particularly long lasting, but it didnt rub off right away either, just an average length for me.  I really liked the colour, it wasn't shimmery at all but had more of a satin-matte type finish.  Rimmel can be hit or miss sometimes, and I think this is definitely one of their better products, and with a bargain price I'd definitely recommend checking one out.  

Bath & Body Works: Be Enchanted

It has been a really long time since I bought anything from BBW, mostly since the store I used to go to had the rudest employees ever!  But the store I walked by this time was really nice and clean, and the lady was friendly so I stopped in.  I didn't really need to buy anything, but sometimes smelling stuff can be hard to resist!

I got "Be Enchanted".  I was going to choose "Paris Amour" but when I smelled the berries in this one I liked it a lot.

Now, I am totally not a person who knows how to describe scents... at all.  To me this smelled like sugary blueberries with some honey.  I had to go to the BBW site to find a more accurate description. To get a better idea I looked at the fragrance mist description, which says:

Top Notes: Mouthwatering Citrus, Iced Pomegranate, Chilled Wildberries, Crystallized Passionfruit

Mid Notes: Sheer Honeysuckle, Floral Frosted Bouquet, Sugared Violet, Dewfruit, Asian Pear

Dry Notes: Whipped Vanilla, Creamy Musk, Sandalwood

Ok, so there's no blueberry, it's pomegranate.  In any way, it smells great to me, and I always liked how long-lasting and smooth their lotions are.  

A Pink Spree!

Well... mostly pink!  I did pick up a vanilla mint lip balm...

I am trying to look for something to replace my beloved eos lip balm which (surprise) isn't available.  I haven't found anything that comes close so far, but I haven't tried either Hawaiian Tropic or Sally Hansen lip balms.  The nail polishes I got are "I Pink I Can" and "Shrimply Devine".  I love I Pink I Can, for some reason it makes my hands look not so pale, and despite the very large brush, which is a little annoying, it goes on pretty smooth.  

Sigma F80 Synthetic Kabuki Brush

I haven't found it easy to find totally reliable reviews on Sigma products.  I purchased several of their eye brushes which didn't survive a couple of months so I don't know if I'd take a chance on any of those again, but I like all of the synthetic face brushes I bought, the F80 being one of my favourites. 

I love this brush for liquid or cream foundation, it is just stiff enough and the diameter is just right. 

The handle is on the lighter side, but I've washed it several times without any problems.

And as far as washing it, I've found pretty much all brushes I use for foundation need a small bit of olive oil to loosen the foundation before I brush them thoroughly.  It's important for me to wash them after each use to eliminate build up and harboring of bacteria. 

I like the F80's flat top, it makes for a smooth application, and I have been able to get an even one too.  The bristles are soft, not scratchy at all.  



Small Nail Polish Haul!

I was so happy to find Sally Hansen again!  I was going through my polishes and noticed I have an awful lot of blues and greens (which I hardly wear), but very few pinks and reds, which I wear a lot.  I got these in Coral Reef, Fuschia Power, Lively Lilac, and Shell We Dance?  I also got a nail growth serum, since I have some biological issues that are making my nails (and hair unfortunately) brittle and breaking. 

I have to say, this is my now probably the only nail polish I'll buy.  I am not enthused about paying upwards of $28 a bottle for Chanel, and I have had no problems with Sally Hansen so far.  I know in the U.S. it's just very basic, can pick it up anywhere, etc. but here you would not even imagine the horrible, I mean really unusable polishes for sale that I've seen. 

None of these are exactly what I was looking for, and Coral Reef looks much more orange now than it did in the store.  I would like a couple of really pretty carnation pinks, one shimmery one maybe... does anyone have any suggestions???

Homemade Brush Shampoo: My Experience

I have not found anywhere besides MAC that carries a commercial brush shampoo, and I felt like the olive oil/baby shampoo method wasn't getting my brushes clean enough, so I decided to search around and make my own brush shampoo.

The ingredients are really simple: water (I used bottled water cause I have it and there's no way I can ever find "distilled"), baby shampoo, leave in conditioner (I used baby type for that too), dish soap, and alcohol.

 

This concoction really did clean my brushes, with the exception of the foundation and eyeliner ones, which always need a little extra help.  It has the same light texture as the MAC cleanser, but the downside is that similarly, it is drying.  Naturally that is because of the alcohol so I might try using less next time (when you use the right proportions, this makes a lot!) because I didn't feel comfortable using it on some of my more expensive/softer brushes because I didn't want them to get ruined.