Yearly Archives: 2016
What I Bought This Month – September 2016 Haul
This month wasn’t incredibly spendy (which is nice!), but that’s all about to change because IMATS is on October 1st!
As a reminder, and just a note for people who are new here, items that go into these monthly haul posts are items that are either purchased by me, gifted to me by friends and family or received in a beauty swap. These posts never contain PR samples that are sent directly to me.
On with the haul!
You’ve potentially already seen my review of this, but I picked up the Anastasia Beverly Hills Moonchild Glow Kit last month when my friend Samantha was putting in an ABH order online. I had already picked up the Sweets palette the previous month and LOVED it so I figured I’d complete the crazy highlighter collection and get Moonchild as well.
The colours in this palette are so freaking stunning and I’ve been loving wearing them so, so much (I’ve got Lucky Clover as my highlighter today!). If you’d like to see a full review of this Glow Kit as well as the Sweets one, head over to this blog post. (And there’s an international giveaway going on in that post as well!)
I’m going to have to stop referring to myself as “not a nail polish” person, because I’m starting to find myself enamored with certain kinds of nail polish. And F.U.N. Lacquer is definitely one of those brands! They’re out of Singapore and I discovered them via Cristine of Simply Nailogical (she’s a nail polish vlogger out of my hometown of Ottawa) since she collaborated with FUN Lacquer to create Black Holo Witch, a black holographic nail polish that I became obsessed with getting my hands on. While placing my order, I decided to pick up Blessing (H) which is a purple green duochrome shot through with holo glitter (hence the (H) at the end of the name). It’s GORGEOUS. As I type this, I’ve had Blessing (H) on my nails for TWO WEEKS and I’m not even getting bored of it!
Sidenote for anyone ordering from FUN Lacquer: I didn’t have any customs charges, but the delivery took almost two months to get to me. It wasn’t their fault – they shipped my order the next day, but holy smokes was the post ever slow!
I ran out of ALL my other brow pencils (that’s a serious accomplishment in my book), so I picked up the NYX Micro Brow in Taupe because it’s been my longstanding favourite brow pencil. However, I’ve found this pencil exceptionally rock hard this time. I have no idea if I got a dud, or if I’m so used to the softness of the QUO Precision Brow Pencil that I’m just not as used to this one. Hmmmm….
I recently received some self tanning items and figured I should probably pick up an application mitt, so I grabbed the one by Tarte at Sephora. A lot of my peers in the CBB had recommended this one to me so I figured I might as well go with their recommendation! Of course, as luck would have it, I went to an event the very next day where I was gifted a St. Tropez tanning mitt. /facepalm
All of the next items are from a beauty blogger swap that we had when Jodi was in town just last week!
This Anastasia Beverly Hills Maya Mia palette has been passed around a few times at swaps now and I’m starting to wonder why no one’s in love with it. This time it’s my turn! I’ll give it a shot and see how I like it. 🙂
There were a bunch of Avon Anew skincare minis at the swap that I snatched up. I’ve been using the Avon Anew daily moisturizer with SPF in it recently and was surprised with just how much I love it. Since I’ve tried nothing else in the Anew range, I figured this would be a good place to start!
Well, we all know I love Bioderma, so there was no way I was leaving this little mini micelle solution behind. As for the Biore Baking Soda Pore Cleanser… well, I have a hard time saying no to skincare and no one else wanted it… so it came home with me!
I was kind of surprised that nobody was making a bee-line for the MAC products, and they were one of the last items on the table that were from a big brand. Although they’re EXCEPTIONALLY pink, I figure if I hate them, I can always Back 2 MAC them. The eyeshadow is Flock and Roll and the lipglass is Unlimited Style.
I was also surprised to see the Pixi Glow Tonic in the swap because so many people seem to obsess over this item! Melanie told me she had bought it at Gen Beauty but that it hadn’t worked well for her. I figured I’d give it a shot regardless. I’ve not used it yet, but once I’m done my current toner, this one will be next in line!
And of course, the mini Glow Mud Mask and Glow Mud Cleanser were just too adorable to pass up!
And lastly, we have the Tarte Drench Lip Splash in Top Down. I did a review on these a few months back and I LOVE the formula so, so much. I was really happy to see the shade Top Down in the swap pile because it was a shade I didn’t have yet!
There was also this Make Up For Ever eyeshadow duo that I’m pretty sure was from Gen Beauty as well. No one else seemed interested so I figured I might as well snag it!
Phew, there we go – that’s it for this month. There was a heck of a lot more items in the swap than I thought there was going to be! I went with a big ole bag of product myself so I was super happy to get rid of a bunch of things that either didn’t work for me, or that I wasn’t absolutely in love with. As for next month, I can just see October being an absolute mad dash to purchase holiday palettes… and of course IMATS!
VIDEO: September 2016 Favourites
Five Lip Colours To Try This Fall
It’s finally autumn (YAYYYY!), which means it’s time to bust out some deeper, darker and more intense lip shades. I know you might be anxious about trying something new, but I wanted to introduce you to some shades that I’ve found to be quite flattering, although they may not be the first shade you’d gravitate towards.
I’ve found myself gravitating towards these shades in the last few weeks and I wanted to share them because they’re kind of off the wall colours. I know a lot of people are going to think some of them are unwearable, but hopefully I can change your mind!
Try a purple without going completely down the rabbit hole: Too Faced‘s La Creme lipstick in Berry Naughty looks dark AF in the tube, but it comes out a glossy purple-pink that has a slight sheerness to it that makes it more wearable. The La Creme formula is also incredibly comfortable to wear and it smells like sweet lemons!
Although it may look like a straight black lip, Too Faced‘s Melted Matte in Evil Twin has a purple edge to it that helps make it slightly more wearable without looking too “witchy” (which I usually feel is more blue-toned). This is my boldest suggestion in this entire post, but I know there’s a few people out there who are intrigued by wearing a blackish lip! Since this product is a liquid lipstick, you won’t have to worry about it bleeding outside your lip line, and for me, that’s INCREDIBLY important if I’m going to be wearing a colour as deep and dark as this one.
Probably the most tame colour in this roundup, Gosh Cosmetics‘ Matt Cinnamon is a gorgeous balance of brown and pink. It’s boring as hell to look at in the tube, but the comfort of this lipstick alongside the colour make this an absolute beauty to wear. (I only recently tried this one out in a GOSH Haull + First Impressions video and I’ve been wearing it ever since!)
It’s really, REALLY hard to beat Wet n Wild‘s price tag on their Megalast lipsticks. They’re around $2Â and they deliver incredible colour and pigmentation. If you’re not keen on trying out a black lip but still want to wear something vibrant, go for a red (this particular one is Stoplight Red) as we head into the holiday season.
Never in my life did I think I would need a grey lipstick… until I tried on the Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick in Chill Zone. It might take some getting used to, but I found myself rather in love with wearing a grey lip – there’s something that feels really, really badass about wearing this colour! (If you want to see it in action, you can check out my essence F/W haul.)
Looking at the swatches all together, the lipsticks I chose are a really, really weird mix. However, they’re definitely the shades I’ve been drawn to as of late. If you’re ever worried about wearing a “different” colour, whether it’s dark or vibrant, just remember that half the battle is getting used to seeing yourself in that shade. So buy the product, try it on at home and then just carry on as you normally would. Every now and then you’ll catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and you’ll eventually get used to seeing yourself wearing that colour. Once you’ve gotten over that hump, the next step is to wear it in public. And just remember – a strong smile works wonders at portraying confidence in how you look. 🙂
Let me know what colours you’re into this fall and if you’d wear any of the ones I mentioned in this post!
Swatch Sunday: Mary Kay Runway Bold Eye Color Palette
As part of their fall launch, Mary Kay released this Runway Bold Eye Color Palette in Rock The Runway ($26 CAD. This palette is more like an addon to your collection as you may struggle to make a cohesive eye look with it without going overboard with all of the shimmer.
Mary Kay Runway Bold Eye Color Palette in Rock The Runway Swatches
The product featured in this post was sent to me for consideration.