What's On My Face #4: Matte Eyes

Yet another neutral look from me, surprise surprise. I'm really not into lots of colour anywhere other than my lips, so this look is natural and just enhances what you've got. When you want to look polished and not over the top, a good staple matte eye is the way to go and it is so easy to create with the Urban Decay Naked Basics (which I'm in love with!). This look is quite to throw on when I'm in a hurry and there are a few reasons why!
In terms of base, there isn't anything very new here except for the fact that I've been skipping liquid foundation on chill days and going for some NARS Creamy Concealer on areas where I need it and blending it out with my Real Techniques Contour Brush. It's a light base that covers any redness without making my face feel too clogged up with makeup. To even out my skin and give me a little bit of extra coverage, I applied the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus all over with a fluffy powder brush. As always, I can't put down my Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Tipsy so a good sweeping of that was a must! Before heading off to tackle the eyeshadow portion of the look, a girls gotta get dem eyebrows in check and y'all know how I feel about the Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil in Dark Brunette - love!
Yes for matte eyeshadows! I'm loving the naturally defined eye look recently and the Naked Basics palette is quickly becoming a go to for no fuss eyeshadow. I took Foxy under my brow bone and Venus in my tear duct. Then with a shader brush I took Naked 2 all over the lid. I usually use this as a crease colour but I wanted to have a slightly more smoked out look. Since the Naked Basics doesn't offer a warm transition colour for the crease, I went into my Coastal Scents 28 Neutral palette, which I honestly always forget I have, and took a mix of the 4th and 5th shadows in the 2nd row through the crease to add some warmth and definition to the eye. I wanted a little bit more drama so with the shade Faint from the Naked Basics palette, I deepened the outer corner. That's eyeshadow done. A quick swipe of the Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner and some L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara and the eyes are done! 
Finishing off the look, I wanted a lip colour that was slightly sophisticated looking and a neutral shade that would just add to the naturally enhanced look I was going for - MAC Modesty was the way to go. This lipstick was one I bought on a whim but I really love it and think it's a shade everyone should own. That's it, simple and easy. 

Sephora Wishlist ft. NARS, Bobbi Brown, YSL & Dior

My makeup wishlist is a never ending page of new lip products and amazing releases that I see in Sephora. No kidding, I walk into the store and I leave, with nothing in hand, but lots of things in mind ;) So, here are some things I'm dying to get my hands on! 
Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Rosy Tan: I've really been getting interested in Dior makeup products and I definitely want to dip my toes into their luxury brand waters. My Sephora wish list could probably consist of every product they offer (the bb cream is an honourable mention!) but these eyeshadow palettes are seriously gorgeous! Rosy Tan is probably one I would wear most often but some of their other ones, like Incognito and Styish Move, would be incredible. Plus, can we just take a moment and appreciate the fact that their packaging is worth every penny *swoon*
YSL Baby Doll Kiss & Blush Lips & Cheeks: It's no surprise that I love a good multitasking product and this new release by YSL is just calling my name. There are so many fun and fresh colours for Summer and I think these would be great to keep in your purse for touch ups when your makeup has started to come off and you need a midday pick-me-up. Rose Frivole looks like a shade I'd definitely choose. Have you tried these yet?
Bobbi Brown Raw Sugar Palette: I knew I wanted this when I saw the release pictures online but in person, oh man, I was seriously tempted. It is be-au-ti-ful, no joke. Sure it's shimmery but for summer, isn't that what you want? I know my eyeballs will be glistening and sparkling with this beauty, and I am more than okay with that! Sephora doesn't seem to have it in stock just yet since this is part of the Summer 2014 collection but you should be able to get your hands on it at a Bobbi Brown counter in the meantime. 
Elizabeth & James Nirvana White Perfume:  In all honesty, the packaging was the first thing that got me. I saw the white and black bottles together and the gold accents and nearly had a mini heart attack. Sleek and pretty - but then I got a whiff and I was in love! Nirvana white is definitely more my style with floral and musky notes, while Nirvana Black was a bit strong for my liking. I think this may be my next scent of choice once my beloved Vera Wang Princess comes to an end (I will always love that perfume!)
NARS Lipgloss: Reformulated, no nasty smell like before, and gorgeous shades that have gushing! Getting to finally swatch them made me so happy and I already know the shades Tasmania and Salamanca are on my radar. Tasmania looks amazing over another wishlist lip product, NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Lodhi, and Salamanca will be a perfect pop of colour for days when the rest of my makeup is pretty bare. I thought I'd like these once I saw the release pictures, and I was certainly right. 
Sephora Formula X Polishes: I never paid attention these polishes when they were first launched but I went in and had a look around last week and now there's a spark. The range is incredibly varied, with cream finish polishes and all sorts of different effect polishes that would be amazing to experiment with. (I tried on the Transformers Top Coat in Reactive over Essie Find Me An Oasis and it was gawjus!) If you want to venture out from the typical polish offering, these are the best place to start - just look at these! 
Caudalie Beauty Elixir: This isn't a new product or something I'd never seen before but it has seriously been on my list for a solid year now! I would always hear about the Evian Facial Spray people used and honestly, I thought it was a waste of time if you wanted something to have any benefit on your skin, but this Caudalie offering is a dream! It's refreshing, smells divine and it's multipurpose (toner, serum and has amazing natural oils that are great for your skin!) I think I'll need to finally cave and grab the mini bottle they have on the way to the cash register (can we all agree that this is the walk of death for our wallets - so many cute mini things! Ahhh!)
Dior Lip Glow: After seeing both EssieButton and ViviannaDoesMakeup raving about this, it deserves a spot on this list. I love a good lip balm but if it promises to moisturize my lips AND give me a customized subtle pink tint perfect for my face, then I'm sold. It's almost like a mood ring, and I think we can concur that those were pretty cool back in the day. And of course, like I stated previously, the packaging!!!! I can't get enough of looking at Dior's products! 
There ya have it folks, a peek into what I'm currently craving from Sephora. There are so many other things but if we're being honest, I would probably just say "one of everything, please?"

What's On My Face #2: Day to Night Makeup ft. Orange Lips

Welcome to another edition of What's On My Face! Today I thought I'd show you how I take my makeup from day to night - and it is literally the simplest thing you could ever do! I'm not huge on tons of eyeliner or crazy smokey eyes but when I want to make my look more fun for a special occasion or going out to dinner, a bold lip is my choice. Sure, it may be slightly impractical when you're chowing down on your spaghetti, but you'll look good while doing it, right? 
The look I created has really simple skin, featuring a sneaky purchase I made a few days ago, that is matte but still natural looking. I kept it simple with some primer in my t-zone, a thin layer of foundation, and a few swipes of concealer where I needed it and that was it! For cheeks, I put on a coral hue, making sure to keep it away from the inside of my face close to my nose. Eyes were kept minimal, I didn't play around with eyeshadow, all I did was take some waterproof eyeliner in a dark brown and lined my upper lashline softly and then took an angled brush and smudged it out for an undone look. A few swipes of lengthening mascara in the blackest black you can find, and eyes are finito! Of course, you know me and my love for bold brows so that needed to happen or else this look just wouldn't be complete. 
Alright, now for the fun. During the day, a swipe of a sheer pink gloss gets you through but if you want to embrace the warmer weather and wear this season's hottest makeup trend, you have to go for a bold orange! I definitely stick to my pinks but I've been loving the look of orange lips and I can see myself rocking this for a fun dinner or running errands at the grocery store, but that's just me and my love for a bold lip. If you want to really take it up a notch for night time, Maybe add a bit of black liquid liner and do a little feline slick for a fun edge - but since the lip is already so bold, I'd stay away from adding to much else to the look. Another thing you can try is skipping the blush and going for a more contoured effect with a matte bronzer, I think that would look fantastic! So, what do you think? Are you gonna be trying out the citrus inspired pout this Spring and Summer?
Face: Benefit The POREfessional //  Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet in B30 // NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard // Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Tipsy // Hourglass Arch Brow Sculting Pencil in Dark Brunette
Eyes: Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Damsel // L'Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black
Lips: Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 05 // MAC Lipstick in Morange

Upcoming Summer 2014 Makeup Collection Releases

A few months back I shared with you the exciting new Spring collections, so I thought I'd share my favourites for the Summer season! I never really used to pay attention to limited edition collections but there's always so many exciting releases - some of which actually stay permanent!
NARS have really been impressing me with their seasonal collections (I'm still bitter that I didn't jump on the Guy Bourdin thang...) and the Summer collection is no different. Firstly, their famous lip glosses are getting a bit of a revamp to their formula, packaging, and even throwing in a bunch of new shades - 7 to be exact, making the collection comprised of 30 shades in total! And even better news, these are permanent. They'll be available on the NARS site April 15th and at Sephora and specialty counters May 1st. I must say I'm pretty excited!

source

It wouldn't be a beauty post without me mentioning Anna would it? She mentioned the Chanel Les Beiges powders in videos previously and she always goes on about how smooth these are but I never took the plunge. But, when I saw this new release for the Les Beiges Summer 2014 collection, I was all over it. I specifically feel drawn to the Healthy Glow Multi Colour Powder that comes with a highlighter type shade, a light bronzer and a peachy pink blush (my fave!). It reminds me of the Clarins Palette I talked about a while back. I think this compact would be so useful, especially when you want a foolproof glow without having to take out three separate powders - genius! It seems like the official release date for these is May 5th so mark your calendars people! 

source

One release I'm just dying to get my hands on comes from Estee Lauder. I was thinking about this the other day but most of my favourite and most used foundations and base products come from Estee Lauder - so naturally, new summer bases being released get my blood pumping and my eyes wide open! I'm usually all about the matte finish and trying to control my oily face but their sheer, glowy bases have been calling my name for some reason. Maybe it's because of the weather warming up, but I feel like having a fresh, natural base with some precision powder going on is just, well fresher. The Double Wear All-Day Glow BB Moisture Makeup (can that get any longer?) has been out for a little while now and it has me very interested. From the reviews I've seen, this looks like it gives a really natural finish but it stays in place all day - it has Double Wear on it so of course I hope the staying power is as insane as the original! Definitely something to look at. But most exciting to me is their even more recent bb cream release for oily, acne-prone skin. Yes, you heard that right. They've finally come around to the idea that blemishes aren't only for 12 year olds anymore! They brought out an entire range by the name of Clear Difference to help against blemishes (out right now!). They have included a serum, which looks amazing, a spot treatment, and a bb cream! It took one good look at that bb cream to know that I had to befriend it - moisturizing, gives coverage, and actively helps treat breakouts - oh boy, this could be the start of a wonderful thing! Clear Difference Complexion Perfecting BB Creme has an SPF of 35 which is perfect for these sun filled months ahead of us and it's oil free AND oil-controlling. I mean, I just can't - where do I sign up?

As you can see, I much prefer the actual colour collections for Spring. Summer collections tend to be a bit too full on for my liking with the excessive amounts of bright colours in their compacts, so I much prefer single product releases. All of these have me very curious and intrigued so when they come out in stores, I'll be swatting up a storm for sure!
Any summer releases you're excited about?

The Best Eyeshadow Primer For Oily Lids?

This week looks like it's gearing up to be quite eye makeup focused but I'm really getting into trying to make peace with eyeshadows. We haven't had a great relationship for the past few years so I thought I'd come to terms with it and find ways to work around my fear of looking like a clown. 
When it comes to applying eyeshadow, not only are the application techniques important but how you prep your lids is often half the battle. You can be the queen of blending shadows but if it takes two hours to have your eyeshadow land on your cheeks... well, then we have a problem on our hands. For the past two years I've been using the Urban Decay Primer Potion and it did an okay job - definitely better than no primer at all - but I felt like there had to be a better option out there. One of my biggest concerns with taking the time to apply my eyeshadow in the morning was the fact that it would crease up horribly in a few hours and that's just not a good look. It brought back horrific memories of a 13 year old me wearing a sparkly pink eyeshadow stick by Rimmel and going home at the end of the day only to notice that my greasy eyelids had done their magic and gathered up a pink mess within the creases of my eyes- oh dear. I literally cringe. 
I did a ton of research (as one does when you've got 20 options for the same product) and the decision was made unanimous - NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base was the one to get. I mean, the reviews on Sephora were making this seem like a miracle worker and at $29 I was hoping it would be! Let's just get to the point - this. stuff. rocks. my. world. 

As you can see, the doe-foot applicator makes the job really easy - just swipe on a small amount on your lid and then take your finger and spread it from lash line to brow bone. The formula itself is very creamy and smooth, as well as being quite thin. This is a colourless primer, unlike the Urban Decay option, and is great if you want to put this on and not have eyeshade on top and just throw on some liquid liner. That being said, there is a very small little problem with this. Although it will look white when you first swipe it from the tube, it is invisible as you smooth it out and it can be hard to know what spots you covered well and which parts you may have missed. But, if you can take the extra second or two to ensure you've covered your entire eyelid, this stuff will really works its magic.
It lives up to its claims: extends the wear of your shadow, doesn't feel heavy, and is provides a smooth surface that will allow all the colours you put on top to be vibrant! This has really been my security blanket when I do decide to wear eyeshadow because I know that I won't be reliving my teenage horror stories. I don't experience any smudging or creasing with my shadows and it helps my eye look last all day! One thing that really bugs me, about all NARS products in general, is the packaging. Don't get me wrong, it is absolutely beautiful and sleek and the kind of thing you wouldn't mind applying in public - but  apparently they love to matte matte black packaging that leaves evidence that your foundation smeared hands have been there recently. This might not bother some people, but it completely annoyed me that touching it once left fingerprints (as shown in the picture above). But if you're not as ridiculous as I am, this primer will serve you well and make the extra 5-10 minutes where you do your eye makeup worth your while. Oily eye lids will be no match for this guy!
Have you tried this primer? Does it trump the rest of the primers you've tried?

Spring Into Beauty With Spring 2014 Makeup Collections

The bow on this blush?! Seriously! *drool*

I know, it's only the end of January and there is currently more inches of snow outside than I would like but Spring is almost here (-ish). As a commuter, I spend an hour or so of my week browsing around the mall before class just to destress and to keep an eye out for new releases. Thankfully, the other day I caught a glimpse of some of the newest Spring 2014 makeup collections and let me tell ya, love! There's nothing better than spring makeup in my humble opinion because it's all about pastels, sheer textures and a barely there look - all of which make me pretty excited. I think I've made it pretty clear already that I have a love for all things French related so it's no surprise that my favourite collections are from French brands! The ads are perfection and the colour range is exquisite. Although a lot of the runway inspiration for spring trends can be a little out there (I will not be wearing a thick layer of bright blue eyeshadow any time soon!), there's always a way to bring those trends into your daily routine without looking like a complete psycho. That's why spring collections are so great, you get to play around with products that are inspired by trends but in a more everyday, wearable way. Come on Spring, I'm waiting for you!
Dior Trianon 2014 Spring Collection: This collection is filled with gorgeous pastel shades and an amazing attention to detail with the girly and flirty packaging. Bows are great but on makeup?! That's a whole notha level of gloriousness!

(source)

(source)

Perle looks so pretty! But so do the rest (confessions of a nail polish lover) (source)

Lancome French Ballerine Spring 2014 Collection: It's no surprise the Lancome collection for this season would be beautiful but it honestly looks better than I imagined. I love the theme they chose, especially since Lily Collins looks amazing in these soft hues. Count me in for a little bit of Lancome loving this Spring! 

Ahhh Lily Collins and those bold brows are perfect for this campaign! (source)

 One of my favourite lipstick formulations in beautiful new shades! (source)

Excited to give these a swatch (source)

NARS New Edge of Pink Final Cut Collection:  I tried to find this collection on the NARS site but I'm not sure why it wasn't listed. In any case, I've seen pictures of these new colours and they are gorgeous! I've been tempted by their lip pencils so the fact that they have spring shades now excites me quite a bit! 

(source)

Are you hearing your name being called when you look at any of these collections? (Say yes just so I don't feel alone ok?). Any other releases making your heart flutter? If so, let me know so I can take a peak! Have a great start to your week and hold onto Christ because I know He'll bless you in amazing ways. Thanks for stopping by!

The Five Product Face

Lately I've been having those mornings where my alarm doesn't off or I'm exhausted from studying too late, so I can't be bothered with colourful eye looks or complicated makeup before heading to class. Solution? Coming up with a foolproof, simple routine that makes you look fresh and awake without taking up all of your time. I'm well aware that there are 6 products in the picture which defeats the purpose of the "five product face" but I'll explain in just a sec.

After cleansing and moisturizing, my next step is applying a tinted moisturizer. Surprise, surprise - it's Jouer Matte Moisture Tint in Nude! This is perfect product in the morning to give my skin a nice base and is easy to apply which makes the beautifying process much easier on me when I'm barely even alive yet. I follow up with my favourite concealer of the moment - NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer under the eyes and over any blemishes. This stuff is magical, nuff said. The wand applicator is perfect for quick application and the formula blends in seamlessly. This product is great for those who want radiance but like the added benefit of having a more matte complexion. That's it for the base! Now let's add some life back into the face. When I don't know what blush to wear I will almost instantly reach for MAC's blush in Melba. I think this shade would look flattering on a wide range of skin tones and the matte finish lends to the ability of this blush to make your face look more defined. For eyes I usually keep my look streamlined and simple with a coat (or two) of black mascara. I've been trying out the Benefit They're Real! mascara since I got it in the Sephora birthday gift this year and I really like it. It defines the lashes and prevents them from getting clumpy which I cannot stand! I'll probably be buying a full size of this in the near future. Alright, here's the twist. If you have a few seconds to spare, spice up your look with a cream eyeshadow pot! Easy application with maximum impact. My favourite for fall has to be the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze. I take this on the finger and smudge it onto my eyelid and extend the colour into my crease to add some depth. It's amazing how applying it this way gives the effect of an eye look that may have taken you more than the 20 seconds it actually did. Perfect for that smudgy, just rolled outta bed, but still look fabulous look. Last but certainly not least, a swipe of a glossy hue on the lips is all you need to finish off this effortless look. Another shocker here, I tend to gravitate towards my Clarins Natural Lip Perfector in Candy Shimmer because it has a bit more colour and pairs well with the blush.

That's it folks. An easy look to get you through that door looking fresh and radiant! Depending on the season you can always switch out the products to cater to your needs. Lately, if I want a look with a bit more impact, I've switched out the blush for some bronzer and rotated in a deep burgundy shade on the lips (Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick in 107). Knowing that you have a go-to look that only takes 5 products is always great to have up your sleeve for when you're in a rush or want to avoid wearing too much makeup.

Hope you're having a great weekend! xo