Some Drugstore Favourites

I just love browsing the drugstore for deals on all of the great beauty products offered. Some of my favourite products that I've mentioned a ton include Maybelline Color Tattoos and Revlon Lip Butters, but I wanted to write about a few drugstore items that I have not mentioned before. 

L'oreal Extra Intense Liquid Pencil Eyeliner in Carbon Black - This is a super creamy, super pigmented black eyeliner that is very similar to some high end eyeliners that I have tried. Actually, I would compare this to Tarte's Skinny SmolderEyes Amazonian Clay Eyeliner. They both have a similar texture, blend out nicely and stay in place. Both are long-wearing and also include a smudger on the end, which I love. The only real difference I see is that you can buy about three of the L'oreal version for the price of one from Tarte. 

There are a lot of drugstore lip products that are amazing, and comparable to much higher end products. In particular, I enjoy using the Rimmel Exaggerate Full Color Lip Liners and the Revlon Colorburst Lip Glosses. The colours I have in each are:

Rimmel Exaggerate Full Color Lip Liners:

• Eastend Snob - this is the perfect pinky nude liner that can be used with pretty much any lipstick besides red. I love this shade and use it on a regular basis.
• Ravish - when I want to do a red lip, this is the liner I use. It is a deep, almost brick red liner. I don't wear red lipstick that often, but when I do, it is nice to have an inexpensive liner that works.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Gloss:

• Bellini - this is my go-to peachy nude gloss that I use mainly in the summer. It gives that extra shine when I layer over my more coral toned lipsticks.
• Rose Pearl - this is a mauvey rose shimmering gloss that looks pretty layered over any lipstick, but particularly my berry toned lipsticks.

NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Powder in Sunny - You have probably heard about this bronzer, and that is because it is perfect, and so cheap. It is the perfect sheer matte bronzer that could warm up anyone's skintone, or provide the perfect contour. 

Physicians Formula Happy Booster Blush in Natural - I love this blush from Physicians Formula. It gives a really healthy natural looking flush to the cheeks, and it is so cute, with the hearts and the pink packaging. 

So there are a few of the drugstore products that I reach for on a regular basis. But the drugstore is always putting out new and great things, so I'll update my drugstore favourites as I discover and try them.

Thanks for reading!

Favourites - May 2013

It's favourites time again, and May was a month where, while I did purchase several new products, I mainly used items that were already in my collection. I suppose the two eyeshadow palettes are relatively new (mentioned here and here), but the blush, lip stain, polishes, primer, and hair oil are products that I have had for a little while.

Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment - I received this as part of a Glossybox. While it is a sample size, there is actually a lot of product. Of course with a hair oil, you only use a small amount, so this bottle is lasting a long time. I really like using this on the ends of my hair in the morning before I use my curling iron. It really makes my hair look a lot healthier and seals off any split ends. I want to purchase a larger size, as well as their Deep Repair Masque.

Murad Skin Perfecting Primer - I purchased the acne and shine control version of this primer. I don't find that anything completely controls my shine, but just helps me last a bit longer until I require a blotting tissue. I really like how this primer is tinted. It does not come in various shades, and the tint does not match my skintone, so this cannot be worn alone, but I do find that the tint helps me apply less foundation than normal, as my skin looks more even. So, I do really enjoy using this, and will be repurchasing once this tube is finished. 

The Meet Matte Nude and the Wet n Wild Sparkle Till Morning eyeshadow palletes have been my go-to eyeshadows for the month of May. I've been doing a lot of neutral brown eye looks, and between these two palettes, you really have everything you need. I don't even find it necessary to have a separate liner as the darkest shades in each palette can be used with an angled liner brush. 

Hot Mama from theBalm is such a gorgeous blush colour! I'm obsessed with it! It is a pinky-coral with gold shimmer in it, that reminds me a bit of Nars Orgasm. The shimmer is definitely not too much, but at the same time, you can skip the highlighter if you wanted. I'll be posting more about theBalm blushes in the future, because I have accumulated the whole collection, and they are all beautiful.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey - I just realized that I have never mentioned the Revlon Balm Stains on my blog! I really enjoy using them, and my favourite is Honey. It is a really perfect nude pink, but shows up really well on my lips. I love how they have a bit of shine, but also last so long. I forgot about this one for a little while, but used it a lot in May.

I have also been loving the Zoya Pixie Dust nail polishes in Nyx and Godiva. First of all, I have been having really good luck with Zoya in general, but these textured polishes are really fun. They dry down matte, with a little bit of glitter in the background. I love these muted shades, and the formula is so easy to apply that it looks flawless on the nails. Love these. 

I can't wait to see what June will bring!

Thanks for reading!

Favourites - April 2013

I can't believe it is May already! April went so fast for me, but I bought a ton of great things, and all of my April favourites are actually items that I bought in April, but loved so much that have been wearing them basically everyday since. This month was a real mix of both high and low products, which I love because great products can be found at any price point. 

My April faves are:

• Revlon Lip Butters in Sorbet and Juicy Papaya
• YSL Rouge Volupte Shine lipstick in #15 Corail Intuitive
• Cover Girl & Olay Simply Ageless Concealer 
• Cover Girl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation
• Bobbi Brown Blush in Nectar
• NYX Slide On eye pencils

Revlon Lip Butters in Sorbet and Juicy Papaya

Have I ever mentioned on here that I love Revlon Lip Butters? Well I do. And the new colours they recently put out for spring as part of the Pacific Coast collection, are so good. I might have mentioned in a previous post that I just picked up the above two? Well I went back and got the other two as well. I just love these. 

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte
Shine #15 Corail Intuitive

OK, so another lip product. I couldn't choose one! This lipstick is so pretty - it is a very subtle coral that is just lovely. And of course the YSL lipsticks are some of the best. I'm thinking of doing a post on my full YSL lipstick collection as I have accumulated several. This was one of the items in the picture here, that I picked up at the Sephora VIB sale. I like to take advantage of discounts when purchasing pricey items like this one.

Cover GIrl Simply Ageless Concealer in 205 Very
Light and Cover Girl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1
Foundation in 910 Classic Ivory

Honestly, I would never have guessed that I would be putting any Cover Girl products in my monthly favourites. Not because I have anything against drugstore makeup - I love the drugstore, but I used to use Cover Girl foundation when I was 14. And it wasn't very good. I've also tried a lot of other Cover Girl products back in my teen days (what teenage girl didn't have a Cover Girl pressed powder compact in their school bag?), but since then, I've found products that are so much better, whether they are low or high-end. So when both this foundation, as well as this concealer started popping up on beauty blogs, I didn't think it was worth checking out. But my curiosity took over and my frustration with my current foundation drove me to Shoppers Drug Mart where I picked up both of these (on sale, I might add). And I'm really glad I got them. I've been using both products ever since I got them, two weeks ago. The foundation shade Classic Ivory is a perfect match (117 in MUFE HD) and I just love the finish that it gives to my oily skin. Anyways, I don't want to do a full review here, but these are products that I will keep using on a daily basis.

Bobbi Brown Blush in Nectar

You may have received the email a few weeks ago about the Bobbi Brown friends and family sale on the website - the discount lured me in and I picked up two blushes, a bronzer and an eyeshadow. This blush in Nectar is perfect. It is such a gorgeous pink with a hint of coral in it that goes with everything. I can't stop using it! 

NYX Slide On Pencils in Gun Metal, Azure, Golden Bronze and Glitzy Gold

These eyeliner pencils are so good. I'd heard that they were similar to the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils, but had never tried them. I have to say that they seem like the same formula to me. They have the same creaminess, the same great colour payoff, and they last all day for me. These are amazing, and for the price, I highly recommend these. I will be going back for more colours.

So those are my favourites for April. What are yours?

Thanks for reading!

Top 5 - Lipsticks

Part 2 of my Top 5 series is lipsticks. Lipsticks are probably the most fun product to shop for as there is so much variety, and you can really have fun with colour. However, my favourites always end up being pretty safe choices. 

l to r: Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Airy Fairy, Dior Addict Lipstick #583 Backstage, Revlon Lip Butter in Sugar Plum, Chanel Rouge Coco Shine #54 Boy, Too Faced La Creme Lipstick in Spice Spice Baby

As you can see, these are all fairly conservative choices that can be worn with a variety of eye looks, and in any situation. I can reach for any of these colours without worrying about looking inappropriate, or like I'm overly made-up.

You might have seen my post on Rimmel's Airy Fairy here. It is a fairly nude shade, but with pinky-mauve undertones, it is very flattering. I usually stay away from true nudes that are more towards the concealer-lip look as I find it does not suit me at all. Airy Fairy looks great alone, but even better with a gloss layered over it.

Dior's Backstage is the lipstick that I bought for my wedding. It is a sheer berry that is so pretty. The formula is so moisturizing and easy to wear. I just love this lipstick. I posted a picture of it on my lips in this post.

Revlon Lip Butter in Sugar Plum is actually a fairly deep shade on my lips. With a couple of swipes, the shade could easily be worn for evening. But of course, one swipe is definately appropriate for day. I bought this because I read somewhere that this colour is very similar to MAC's Syrup. I don't own Syrup, so I cannot say how close they are, but I do love the Revlon Lip Butter formula for an everyday lipstick.

Chanel's Boy is an extremely popular shade. I'd been hearing about it forever before I actually picked myself up a tube of it. I got it in a duty free shop when travelling as I love to treat myself to a high end makeup purchase when I'm in international airports. I really don't think the prices are actually any better than at home, but it's just a fun treat. Boy is a "my lips but better" shade for sure. It is very sheer and on my lips, it looks very natural. It is somthing that I can apply with any makeup look and it just always works. 

I just posted a review on Too Faced La Creme lipsticks here. While I love both of the colours I purchased, Spice Spice Baby is the one that I reach for more often and will likely be something I repurchase when I run out. It is a gorgeous, wearable, everyday colour and the formula is moisturizing and extremely comfortable to wear. I just love it.

top to bottom: Too Faced La Creme Lipstick in Spice Spice
Baby, Chanel Rouge Coco Shine #54 Boy, Revlon Lip
Butter in Sugar Plum, Dior Addict Lipstick #583 Backstage,
Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Airy Fairy

I have actually purchased a couple of new lipsticks recently that I'm really loving, but I have not had them long enough to be considered favourites. It will be interesting to revisit my top choices in the future to see how they change!

What are your current favourite lipsticks?

See my Top 5 - Blushes post here.

Thanks for reading!

Drugstore Haul - January 2013

**Disclaimer - yes, my post yesterday was about using products up, and now today, I'm posting about new items! I see the irony here, however, my collection is very much a rotation. Out with the old and in with the new!

So there are plenty of new items at the drugstore right now, with spring collections coming out. It is really cold in Canada, so I'm not quite ready to start switching to pastels but... I couldn't resist picking up a couple of things.

I didn't buy all of these things at once, rather this is the accumlation of January drugstore purchases. I think I might try to collect all of my monthly drugstore purchases and then do one post a month.

Essence Cherry Blossom Girl Blush in Asian Sensation

This is my first ever purchase from Essence. To be honest, I normally pass by their displays because the makeup looks a bit juvenile at first glance. But this dual color blush really jumped out at me. It reminds me of an absolute favorite product several years ago - Smashbox Soft Lights Duo in Supermodel. Both of these blushes include a peachy pink (in the Essence compact, it is probably slightly more on the coral side), as well as a champagne highlighter. I'm excited to give this one a try as I ran out of my Smashbox version ages ago. The best part about this purchase might be the price - only $2.99!   

Revlon Nail Polish in Girly (260)

This polish is so pretty! Also, it is my first Revlon polish. I normally use OPI and Essie, so I'm excited to try this one. I have heard a lot of good things about Revlon nail products. This was $7.99.

Physicians Formula Sexy Booster Sexy Glow Blush in Rose

Beautiful! I just love this blush. I watched a review on YouTube by GlamLifeGuru and just had to go pick this up. The formula is quite sheer so I'm not sure how well it would show up on darker skin. The color is lovely on light to medium skin and there is a bit of a sheen that brings out my cheekbones. It smells good too. Actually, my blush brush now also smells good! I really want to try the Sexy Booster bronzer from Physicians Formula next. This was $17.99 (yikes..), but there was a $7 rebate coupon on the package.

Revlon Ultimate Suede Lipstick in Socialite 

I have given this a try. I can't say I love it. The color is very natural on me, which is nice, but I was looking for a bit more payoff. The swatch on my hand shows up fairly well, but I think my lips are a bit too pigmented to really allow the color to show up. Also, the formula can get a bit cakey on my lips if I'm not careful. I won't be going back for more shades, especially since I think the darker colors would probably look worse when the cakiness occurs. This was on sale for $11.49.