Yearly Archives: 2016

Skincare Saturday: Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque

Reviews, Skincare

Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque

I don’t know what the heck it is, but I always find it intriguing when skincare has either volcanic ash or charcoal in it. Maybe it just seems like such a strange thing to put in skincare that it makes me eager to try it out? Anyone else feel the same?

Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque
Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque

Anywayyyyyyyyyyy… Dermalogica has a brand new mask in their lineup – the Charcoal Rescue Masque. It’s a “fast-acting, easy-to-remove masque [that] rescues tired, lackluster or dull skin. Activated Binchotan Charcoal powerfully adsorbs impurities while Sulfur promotes cell turnover for dramatically brighter skin.  Volcanic Ash, Sea Silt, Bamboo Extract and alpha hydroxy acids further accelerate skin brightening with dual-action exfoliation. Niacinamide helps reduce congestion and calm the skin while Chilean Wild Mint helps refine pores.” It’s billed as an all-in-one, detoxifying treatment for your face and it’s formulated without artificial fragrances, colours or parabens.

Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque
Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque

After cleansing, apply generously to face and throat, avoiding your eye area. It has the feel and texture of grey mud with rough, tiny particles in it. After 7 to 10 minutes, lightly massage with very wet hands (I basically cupped my hand under the running faucet and splashed that onto my face) to enhance exfoliation properties during removal. Rinse completely from your skin.

Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque on my face
Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque on my face

I took the shot above just after I’d applied it, which I definitely would not have been to do even four minutes later. The mask starts to solidify and tighten up your skin (making smiling impossible!). I felt a strong tingle on my skin (probably from the Chilean Wild Mint) which I personally find quite satisfying, but some people may find themselves sensitive to it I think. Removal did require a bit of work since the mask does dry onto your face, but it was really nice rubbing the exfoliating particles into my skin.

In the end, while I didn’t notice any particular brightening effects on my skin, but it did leave me feeling extremely clean. It was a satisfying mask to use, you know? Great for giving yourself a treat after a long work week!

The Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque can be purchased from Dermalogica.com for $48 USD or Dermalogica Canada for $60 CAD.

The product featured in this post was sent to me for consideration.

Wet n Wild Giveaway

Makeup

Happy Friday everyone!

I went to the most insane Wet n Wild event a few weeks ago in Toronto. It was kind of a relaunch of the brand in Canada and they let us go “shopping” for products in a beautifully set up display that was filled to the brim with Wet n Wild products (you’ve probably noticed a few Wet n Wild reviews cropping up lately!). “Shopping” was basically “here’s an enormous bag – now go fill it” and everyone went wild (okay that pun was NOT intended, but I’ll take it!). At first we were like “oh, we shouldn’t take too much – it’s greedy!” (so very Canadian), but by the end of it we were being encouraged to stuff as much as we could into our bags.

Wet n Wild media event in Toronto
Wet n Wild media event in Toronto

So, needless to say, but I came home with a LOT of products, which means I now have the awesome opportunity to turn that around and pass some on to you guys! I’ll be giving away two Wet n Wild prize packs for two different people to enjoy. Click here for a listing of the products included in the giveaway.

Giveaway Rules

  • This giveaway is open internationally!
  • This giveaway starts on February 12, 2016 and runs for two weeks.
  • Please be aware that all entries will be double checked to ensure fairness.
  • There are two prize packs for this giveaway.
  • The grand prize winner will be contacted first. They will have 48 hours to provide me with their mailing address. If they fail to respond within that time frame, I will pick another grand prize winner. (And so on.) Once the grand prize winner has been confirmed, I will then select the secondary prize winner and they in turn will have 48 hours to provide me with their address, etc.
  • “Giveaway accounts” will not be considered for this prize. (And hilariously, giveaway accounts never actually read the rules, so they haven’t a clue that I’ll end up disqualifying them anyway!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Joe Fresh Illuminating Primers in Pure Glow & Champagne (Review + Swatches)

Makeup, Reviews, Swatches

Joe Fresh Illuminating Primers

With the news that Joe Fresh cosmetics are now being carried at Shoppers Drug Mart locations, I’m seeing a lot of new products popping up! I don’t know if I’ve just been out of the loop regarding Joe Fresh Beauty, but I’m seeing some fairly new and interesting things from them!

Like these Illuminating Primers that retail for $16 apiece. They come encased in beautiful translucent containers with a white top and…

With pump!
With pump!

A FREAKING PUMP! Cream/liquid products without a pump are the absolute bane of my makeup existence, so it’s really, REALLY nice to see a brand release one with a pump without a second thought. The packaging is solid, well built and feels more expensive than the $16 price point would indicate.

The Illuminating Primer is a light, reflecting primer that can be used all over your body (mix it into body lotion for extra glow!). Joe Fresh claims that these illuminating primers create a radiant canvas, hide imperfections and provide longer-lasting makeup.

Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer in Pure Glow
Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer in Pure Glow

The white shade is called Pure Glow and it has a small hint of pinky-blue duochrome to it. Don’t be frightened though, it’s very, very subtle and you won’t look like a disco ball.

Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer in Champagne
Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer in Champagne

The more golden toned shade is Champagne. It’s a gold-caramel shade that seems to reflect a tiny bit of silver (odd to say, but I do see that in there). I was a little apprehensive that this shade would make me look like C-3PO, but thankfully that was not the case!

Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer swatches - Pure Glow & Champagne
Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer swatches – Pure Glow & Champagne

Both primers pack a colour punch when you apply them as a heavy swatch, but when you blend them in they create a dewy cast to the skin. It can look a bit TOO dewy, so I would not recommend wearing them alone – instead, stick to wearing it under your foundation or with a moisturizer as it was intended. For reference, since it’s the winter right now, I’m on the dry side of things skin-wise.

Wearing Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer in Champagne
Wearing Joe Fresh Illuminating Primer in Champagne

In the shot above I’m wearing Champagne – I find it adds a subtle hint of radiance without going totally overboard.

Final Thoughts

When used as a face primer under foundation, this is a very subtle highlight. As I mentioned above, I wouldn’t recommend wearing this alone on your face as I found it may look a touch greasy but it really does look excellent under foundation. It helps even out the texture of my skin and adds some luminosity to any matte foundations I own (which is especially nice during the winter). I wasn’t truly expecting this to increase the longevity of my makeup because I never really notice that with a face primer… but I’m quite happy to report that on the days that I wore these primers, I did notice my makeup looking particularly fresh by the time I got home from work.

You don’t normally find these kind of products at the drugstore, so I’m really happy that Joe Fresh is delivering something fresh and exciting and a much better price point than high end brands. Let me know if these illuminating primers are something you’re interested in!

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.

What’s On My Face – Volume 45

Makeup, Tutorials, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As I was putting together this roundup of looks, I started to realize just how much I’ve been using my Makeup Geek shadows lately. I mean, I use them a lot on a regular basis, but three out of the five looks are solely Makeup Geek in here!

Viseart Editorial Brights makeup look

I did this for a YouTube video tutorial but had to repost it here because I know not everyone has the time for videos (I’ll continue to repost my video tutorial looks on the blog as time goes on).

Viseart Editorial Brights makeup look

Eyes
(using the Viseart 08 Editorial Brights palette) I first covered my lid with NYX‘s Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk and then:

  1. MAC‘s Cork in the crease.
  2. The yellow shade from the palette on the inner third of the lid.
  3. The orange on the middle of the lid.
  4. The red on the outer half of the lid.
  5. The lime green on the inner corner of the lid.
  6. (also listed as 5) MAC‘s Blanc Type to highlighter the brow bone.

I applied the light blue to the middle of my lower lash line and the purple to the outer section of the lower lash line. I created the wing with Kat Von D‘s Tattoo Liner in Trooper and tightlined my water lines with Marc Jacobs‘  Highliner Gel Crayon in Blacquer. I coated my lashes with Make Up For Ever Smoky Stretch mascara and applied House of Lashes Bombshell falsies.

Face

  • Primer: Make Up For Ever Step 1 Smoothing Primer
  • Foundation: Make Up For Ever UltraHD in Y225
  • Bronzer: Joe Fresh Sand
  • Blush: Hourglass Diffused Heat
  • Highlighter: Becca Champagne Pop
  • Lips: Too Faced Melted Chocolate Milkshake with Sephora‘s lipgloss in Good Fairy

KAt Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix look

Although I love the Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix palette, I’ve not been using it because I was trying to work through a bunch of other palettes. I said enough was enough, and went back to it for it this look!

KAt Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix look

Eyes
(Using the Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix palette) I first applied NYX‘s Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk to my lid, then:

  1. Misfit on the inner third of the lid.
  2. Synth on the middle of the lid.
  3. Dark Wave on the outer corner.
  4. (numbers are screwed up, sorry) Vinyl on the inner corner (to the right of 1).
  5. Ignore this one… I haven’t a clue if I put anything on my brow bone.

Echo is lining the outer half of my lower lash line. I coated my lashes with Make Up For Ever‘s Smoky Stretch mascara.

Face

  • Bronzer: Joe Fresh Sand
  • Blush: MAC Warm Soul
  • Lips: MAC Sweet Tooth

Makeup Geek look

Playing around with my new Makeup Geek duochromes!

Makeup Geek look

Eyes
(all Makeup Geek)

  1. Cupcake through the crease.
  2. Kaleidoscope on the lid.
  3. Pop Culture on the outer third of the lid.
  4. Duchess on the outer corner.
  5. Prism on the inner corner
  6. Vanilla Bean on my brow bone.

I used Blacklight on the lower lash line and created the wing with MAC‘s Blacktrack fluidline. I covered my lashes with Make Up For Ever Smoky Stretch mascara.

Face

  • Foundation: Revlon Colorstay in 200 Nude
  • Bronzer: Joe Fresh Sand
  • Blush: MAC Life’s A Picnic
  • Lips: Sephora Good Fairy

Makeup Geek look

Before anyone says anything – I know the lips look weird. I was playing around with different shades and I *thought* this went together. It wasn’t till I saw the photos that I was like “ohhh….”. haha

Makeup Geek look

Eyes
(all Makeup Geek)

  1. Prism all over the lid.
  2. Typhoon through the crease.
  3. Dirty Martini on the outer third of the lid.
  4. Vanilla Bean on the brow bone.

I created the wing with Kat Von D‘s Tattoo Liner in Trooper and coated my lashes with Clarins’ Aquatic Green mascara.

Face

  • Foundation: Revlon Colorstay in 200 Nude
  • Bronzer: Joe Fresh Sand
  • Blush: Tarte Blissful
  • Lips: Colour Pop Donut

Makeup Geek look

More Makeup Geek goodness!

Makeup Geek look

Eyes
(all Makeup Geek)

  1. Peach Smoothie through the top of the crease.
  2. Poppy through the crease.
  3. Fortune Teller on the lid.
  4. Morocco on the outer third of the lid.
  5. Voltage on the inner corner.
  6. Vanilla Bean on the brow bone.

I created the wing with MAC’s Blacktrack fluidline and coated my lashes with Make Up For Ever‘s Smoky Stretch.

Face

  • Bronzer: Joe Fresh Sand
  • Blush: Hourglass Incandescent Electra
  • Lips: Benefit Coralista gloss