Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray

First and foremost, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

When it comes to makeup application, there's nothing worse than looking like a cake face. 

This 'look' can be achieved by layering on foundation and topping it off with a face powder.  To make matters worse, your skin condition can make your makeup application less smooth. For example, if you have dry skin, your foundation and powder can cling on to your dry patches making them more noticeable. Even if you have oily skin, your makeup can literally slide off your face. Ultimately these looks are NOT cute.

I have been using a type of facial mist to help my makeup application during these cold winter days. For the most part, my skin is oily, but during the colder months I tend to get dry areas as well. To help combat the effects of the cold weather on my skin, I've been using the Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray.

I bought the 1oz bottle for $15CAN because I find it more convenient to throw in my bag when I am traveling. The 4oz is $35CAN which is much cheaper, so I recommend purchasing that bottle if you are someone who wears makeup everyday. 

This stuff is amazing! The first step I do is moisturize my face. Then I apply my makeup and finish it off with a few spritzes of the spray. The spray gives my face a nice dewy finish and literally camouflages any dry areas I may have. I like to take the extra step and go over my face with a flat top brush and lightly pat the spray into my face to set it. My makeup literally lasts all day by using this product. I also like the refreshing feel the spray gives when I spritz it on my face :) .

I like the fact that a lot of thought went into designing this packaging because it is sleek and secure. There are two lids (a clear cap and the purple cap) to make sure that your product does not spill. The small bottle is also the perfect size to throw in your makeup bag. Overall, the Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray has become a staple in my makeup application.

LORAC Pro Palette

You know that saying “a girl can never have too many shoes”? Well, to the average girl, that saying can be applied to many other things like clothes and jewelry as well. When it comes to make-up though, I think there is a limit to how much make-up a girl should own at once. After all, cosmetics do expire.

I am completely guilty of buying make-up that I usually do not really need. There have been many times I have given in to the hype of new products. In fact, I have purchased products that end up sitting in my drawers because I end up forgetting about them after my excitement wears off. Today, I have learned to limit myself to the things I will use on a regular basis, making it worthwhile to purchase those products. One of those things is the LORAC Pro Palette.   

So often, new eye shadow palettes are released with new bold colours and everybody is so quick to jump on the bandwagon to buy those palettes to add to their collection. The only thing is, many times those palettes end up being pretty things to look at and do not get used very much.

The LORAC Pro Palette is definitely one of those palettes that a girl who enjoys wearing eyeshadow should own. The palette comes with 16 eyeshadows and retails for $55 CDN (compared to 12 eyeshadows for $62 CND for the Urban Decay Naked Palettes). My favourite part about the palette is that it comes with 8 matte shades as well as 8 shimmery shades. I think the matte shades alone make this palette essential because they can be used to achieve any look for day or night. The palette also comes with a travel-sized Behind the Scenes Primer that will help your shadows last longer and appear their true colour.

The top row of includes all matte shades: 
white- a matte white. Good for highlighting under your brow bone   
cream- a matte beige, skin-tone colour. Good for highlighting under your brow bone
 taupe- a beautiful matte medium-brown, perfect for using in the crease and as a transition colour 
light pink- a matte pale pink 
mauve- a matte pink-brown with purple undertones. Another beautiful crease colour 
sable- a matte dark chocolate brown, perfect for darkening the outer v 
espresso- a matte deep coffee-bean brown, perfect for darkening the outer v 
black- a matte black. A staple in any palette- can be used as liner, darkening the crease, outer v

The bottom row includes all the beautiful shimmery shades: 
nude- a shimmery champagne beige. Looks beautiful in the inner corners or as a lid colour 
champagne- a shimmery peachy-pink beige. Also, beautiful in the inner corners or as a lid colour 
gold- a shimmery golden copper 
light bronze-  a shimmery light bronze 
pewter- a shimmery chocolate brown colour with gold undertones 
garnet- a shimmery copper with red undertones. One of my favourite lid colours! 
deep purple- a shimmery deep plum with brown undertones 
slate-  a shimmery charcoal gray with a blue undertone  

I love the array of colours in the Pro Palette because you can use various shades as highlight colours, lid colours, and crease colours. You can easily transition your day look to a night look by using the deeper colours in the palette.

I ordered my Palette from the Sephora website for $35 with a $20 off coupon code I had for the month of December. I was willing to pay full price for it, but hey! A deal is a deal! ;)

I have one word to describe this palette- essential.

Two-Tier Velvet Jewellry Display

I have found my new favourite store. 

No, it's not a clothing store. It's a Canadian store that sells a variety of organizational and storage products. The store is called Solutions- Your Organized Living Store. 

I love finding creative ways to store and display things around my house. A few months ago I purchased a double-sided jewelry organizer from Target that looks like a little black dress (See the post here .) I mainly use it to store my earrings, so I wanted to find something to display my bangles, bracelets and watches.

I went to Solutions and I found the perfect display. It's called the Two Tier Jewellery Organizer . 

The display has a beautiful velvet finishing with two levels. You can use the top to display your necklaces as well as your bracelets. I love how chic the display looks on my vanity!

The organizer retails for $16.99. I purchased mine for $13.99 on sale. I definitely think the display is worth every penny. 

The only downside is that I foresee myself spending more money on new bangles and watches so that I can put them on display ;)

Tarte Pure Delights LipSurgence Lip Set

Today’s blog post is going to be about the second Holiday set that I purchased from Sephora’s VIB sale.

My favourite type of lip product comes in the jumbo crayon form. Ever since I tried Revlon’s Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, I’ve gravitated towards other similar products. When I saw Tarte’s Pure Delights LipSurgence Lip Set, I thought it would give me the perfect opportunity to give these jumbo lip crayons a try. I have read plenty of raving reviews about these lip tints so I knew this was something to try!

This particular set comes with 8 mini LipSurgence (4 regular LipSurgence lip tints and 4 Matte LipSurgence Matte lip tints). I don’t usually finish full size lip products, other than lip balms, so I actually quite like the fact that these products are in mini form. The packaging also makes them easy for travel.

Here is a description of each of the colours:

Tarte LipSurgence Lip Tints

The original Tarte Lip Tints are very moisturizing. The colours apply very smoothly and give a nice sheen to the lips. Compared to the Matte Lip Tints they are more sheer.

Believe- Coral Red

Grateful- Nude

Lovely- Baby Pink

Enamored- Cool Red

Tarte LipSurgence Matte Lip Tints

My main concern about the Matte Lip tints was that they would be drying. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they are still hydrating. What I like most about the Matte Lip Tints is the fact that they are more pigmented and leave more of a stain on your lips as the colour wears off.

Glee- Ripe red (watermelon)

Generous- Pink Nude

Destined- Deep Berry (Raspberry)

Cheerful- Mid-tone Warm Pink 

Final thought- I really enjoy this Tarte lip set because of all the beautiful shades it comes with. My favourite thing about the Lip Tints is how easy they are to apply to the lips. They are forgiving in application because you do not have to worry about looking in the mirror to apply them.

This set retails for $41CND and $34U.S from Sephora.

Stila Color Me Glossy Lip Glaze Set 2013

During this time of year, Sephora has its annual VIB sale where VIB members can get 20% off their purchase. This is also the time of year that Holiday gift sets start coming out. 

I love buying Holiday gift sets because you usually end up getting a great value that also allows you to try out a variety of products at once. For this year's VIB sale I ended up purchasing two Holiday gift sets. This blog post will be reviewing the first set that I bought- The Stila Color Me Glossy Lip Glaze Set.

 

The Lip Glaze Set comes in a card board box that opens up like an envelope.

 

Inside the box, you will find three separate plastic packages that each container three lip glazes. What I like about the set is that you can give the whole box as a gift to one person, or give the individual plastic packages as stocking stuffers to three different people. If you are giving the lip glazes as stocking stuffers you can even write on the gift tags as shown above in the picture.  

 

The set comes with 9 different lip glazes total. The colours are grouped as reds, pinks, and nudes. 

 

The red set comes with the shades Melon, Persimmon, and Cranberry.

From top to bottom, the red trio comes with melon (coral red), persimmon (bright red), cranberry (candy apple red with shimmer).

 

From bottom to top, the pink trio comes with the shades Dazzle-berry (bold wine red with shimmer), Wildberry (sheer berry) and Strawberry Cream (milky pink). 

 

 

From bottom to top, the nude/neutral trio comes with the shades Amaretto (milky nude pink), Kaleido-scope (sheer pink with glitter) and Passion Fruit (barbie pink with shimmer).

You can purchase this value set of Stila Lip Glazes for $34 CND or $28 U.S. from Sephora.

Sephora 500-point Perk (Honey by Marc Jacobs) and Birthday Gift!

As my birthday is approaching I decided to go to Sephora to pick up my free birthday gift. While I was at the checkout counter I noticed some of the 500-point perks on display and decided to redeem my points for one of the kits.

I chose the Honey by Marc Jacobs perk.

 

Here are the things that the kit came with:

• Honey Marc Jacobs mini roller ball
• Honey Marc Jacobs Body lotion (travel size)
• Marc Jacobs coin purse (so cute!)

 

The thing that caught my attention the most was the coin purse. I think it's so cute, and I will definitely be using it for my pocket change. As for the main attractions, the fragrance and lotion smell really fresh. The roller ball and lotion is perfect to throw in your purse and touch up when you feel the need.

Here is how the fragrance is described on the Marc Jacobs website:

The fragrance energizes with the freshness of green pear brightened with a splash of fruity punch and juicy mandarin. At the heart of the fragrance is orange blossom, a note of sparkling femininity that mingles with nectars of honeysuckle and peach. Honey, vanilla and smooth woods dry down to a warm, golden base.

Top Note – Pear, Juicy Mandarin
Mid Note – Orange Blossom, Peach Nectar, Apricot, Honeysuckle
Base Note – Honey, Golden Vanilla, Smooth Woods

The birthday gift (that I originally went to pick up) came with two sample size Benefit products.

 

The first product is the infamous Benefit They're Real mascara. I have never tried this mascara before so I'm excited to see what the hype is about. 

The second product is the Benefit Watt's Up stick highlighter. The highlight is a sheer champagne colour which is perfect to accentuate any areas you want to add that extra glow.I swatched the colour on my hand and the product glided on smoothly. Even though the packaging may look small, you actually get a good amount of product in the stick. Generally speaking, highlighting products last quite a while anyways because you do not need much. So, I don't foresee using this up too quickly either :)

 

Over the years Sephora has really stepped up its game with its free birthday gifts for Beauty Insiders. This year is no different. I hope the company continues to collaborate with other brands for its birthday gifts in the upcoming years. It gives us beauty fanatics a chance to sample more products. 

What product mentioned in this post intrigues you the most?

Airplus 'Hug My Heels' Gel Heel Liners

Like many girls, I am one who loves her heels.

Once in a while it's nice to take a break from them and wear something more comfortable. For example, in the fall and winter seasons I enjoy wearing boots. In the summer and spring when it gets warmer I usually wear various sandals.  

I have always loved the style of flats. They can be just as glamorous as heels. However, every pair of flats that I have tried have bothered my feet. Most of them dig into the heel of my foot making them uncomfortable to wear. I used to think it was just because I needed to break the shoes in. I soon realized they were just breaking my foot. 

I strayed away from flats for a long time. Until recently, that is. I saw a cute pair of pointed-toe ballet flats that were a chic nude patent leather style. I purchased the flats online without even trying them. I had a feeling the back of the shoe would be low and dig into the heel of my foot, but I still had hope that I could work with them.

The day the UPS man delivered the shoes, I immediately tried them on. Not surprisingly they were painful to walk in. Being the optimistic person that I am, I went on the search to find something that would make the shoes more comfortable. Returning the shoes was not an option.

I soon found the solution to my problem- gel heel liners. I purchased the Airplus Hug My Heels Gel Heel Liners from Walmart for $3 (on clearance). 

These gel heel liners are AMAZING! They have a sticky adhesive on the back that allow you to stick them to the heel of your shoes (flats, heels, etc). The fact that they have a gel texture cushions every step you take. I also really enjoy the fact that the liners are clear so that they are not as visible inside your shoe when you take them off. 

Here is what they look like inside of my new shoes.

As you can see the liners are not that visible. The comfort that these gel heel liners provide are well worth the $3 I paid. 

5/5 stars 

I am so happy that I have found a way to wear flats!