Crown Brush Giveaway at Pursebuzz

Elessa at Pursebuzz is having a Crown Brush Giveaway.
You can enter on Twitter as well.
Ends June 3rd!
http://www.pursebuzz.com/2011/05/crown-brush-sets-giveaway-150-value/

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http://www.hautelook.com/campaigns/registration1?event_id=7038&sid=26611



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I have never personally tried Crown Brushes so I would be interested in giving them a whirl. I checked out Hautelook and I am liking the 15 Piece Italian Badger Brush Set but I don't have $80 to spend right now :( Had to get my car fixed :( Stupid igintion locked up!

Anyhoooo, thank Elessa for the Giveaway!

Also to note: Elessa is also have a huge Coastal Scents Giveaway...
http://www.pursebuzz.com/2011/05/coastal-scents-1200-giveaway/
Contest ends today May 31st

Good luck Everyone!

SCOOP

Snog on top
Keep A Secret on bottom

I stumbled onto a good thing this weekend. I stopped into Shopper's Drug Mart to pick up some makeup wipes. I am loving SDM's Balea 3n1 wipes lately.

Anyhow, Rimmel Vinyl Gloss was on sale. Buy one for $6.99 (normally priced $8) and get a second one free.  I grabbed Snog and Keep a Secret. I have been wearing Keep a Secret all weekend LOL. Love it!!!! I don't find the vinyl glosses goopy at all and they stay on quite a while for me.

The sale is until Thursday (June 2).  Let's not keep this one a secret, huh?

Gosh eye shadow base

I have been on the hunt for a great eye primer and came across the GOSH eye shadow base.

The GOSH primer is a creamy white base in stick form. Supposedly it makes application easier but I still swipe it on and blend it out with my finger. Once you get past the pearlescent white sheen of the base, you apply your eye shadow.  GOSH claims to have a high melting point so it should hold up under the sun and lights.  I haven’t put that to the test ;)

I used it for over a week before my allergic reaction. I thought it was pretty good. The shadow stayed on better and was more pigmented but I did notice some creasing after about 8 hours. LOL is it too much to ask for an eye shadow primer to last 24 hours?

Anyhoooo, I just started using it again and noticed something. It does not apply well to dry skin! Since my allergic reaction the skin around my eyes has been pretty dry and flaky.  It seemed to emphasize the minute flakes I had on my eyelids. YUCK! Like little white teeny tiny white dots!

So now I am back to my MAC Painterly Paint Pot. I really need to get to Sephora and try me some Urban Decay Primer Potion that everyone is raving about! Now that's 2 items for my Sephora wish list; smashbox Try Me Kit and UDPP!  

Makeup Geek Store Review

I joined the Makeup Geek site a few months ago. A few weeks ago I made a purchase from their online store.

After creating an account for the Makeup Geek store (in addition to my site ID), I purchased the 88 palette. Two of them actually; one for me and one as a gift. I found the site easy enough to navigate and ordering was a breeze. The Makeup Geek store accepts credit card and PayPal payment methods. They also provide a quote on the various shipping methods available. You chose which one you want when you checkout.

I had researched the web for various sites that had this palette. This is the same palette that is available from Coastal Scents. Makeup Geek had it for $19.49 and Coastal Scents had it for $18.95.

I decided on Makeup Geek because their shipping rate to Canada was more cost effective. So the $0.54 price difference made no difference. I can't remember the price exactly but the Coastal Scents rate was something like $16 for one palette to ship international whereas Makeup Geek cost me $12.51 to ship two palettes via USPS First Class International. I had no problems with Customs duties/taxes.

My order was processed that very same day and was in shipping status that afternoon. I received my package 10 working days later. I expected this and wasn't worried about it. My order came well packaged and nothing was broken or out of order.

All in all, I would buy from Makeup Geek again and recommend it to others.

Now for the palette...I love it. I don't know why I never got it before. I guess I thought that was too many colours or maybe I was too old for some of the colours. But now I really like to have the variety to choose from. The shadows are nicely pigmented and go on beautifully. I do use some sort of primer under the shadows but then I do for all eye shadows. Now I am eyeing up the 88 neutral palette LOL.

I can't wait to show some looks I have created from this palette but I will have to wait because the skin under my eyes is extremely dry and flaky right now due to the allergic reaction I had a couple weeks ago. ~~sigh~~

smashbox Beauty Snapshots Kit

I recently purchased the smashbox Beauty Snapshots Kit from where else? Shoppers Drug Mart.

It was $54. A little pricy for me but I had never tried smashbox eye shadows before. I figured from the cost of a regular palette ($30+)and what I would get in this kit, I would be better off buying the kit. This isn’t the same Beauty Snapshots Kit that was available in the US. I think this kit was put together for Canadian markets. It has a coupon inside exclusively for Shoppers Drug Mart. If you buy $75 of smashbox products you get 7500 SDM points. I am not sure if this is on top of the 7500 points you would already get for buy $75.00 worth of product.

This kit includes:

·         Fusion Soft Lights in Baked Starburst (travel size)

·         Photo Finish Targeted Pore and Line Primer (travel size)

·         Lip Enhancing Gloss in Pink Sugar

·         Limitless Eyeliner in Golden Ivy

·         Eye Shadow Palette in Beauty Snapshots

·         How to get the Look card (I tried it LOL)

The Beauty Snapshots eye shadows are all satin finishes. The colours are not named but I would classify them as a pink champagne, bone, copper, shimmering brown and steel grey. I really like how well they blend. The eye shadow palette comes with a thin blending brush. I don’t use it for the overall application of the eye shadow but it does work great for a crease brush. Pretty  packaging. I tried swatching them but I couldn't get my camera to capture the colours correctly.

I haven’t tried the Targeted Pore and Line primer yet, but once I get some time to play around with it, I plan on trying it out on my forehead and nose. I feel my pores are a bit large in these areas. So I will let you know how that turns out.

The lip gloss is a lip gloss. I was like Eh. It didn’t wow me. It has a brush applicator which I don’t like. The colour was cute though.

The Limitless Eyeliner is very nice. I don’t usually use this colour, a golden greenish brown, but I do love how it glides on. I have been using it on my bottom lash line when I use the eye shadow palette. It does come with its own sharpener on the lid. That’s always a bonus!

The bronzer - Fusion Soft Lights in Baked Starburst is lovely as well. It does have shimmer to it so beware if you do not like shimmery bronzers. I have been using it as a highlighter on my cheeks and a bit on my nose and chin. I will be using it more in the summer time when I get more colour on my face.

This is my look I created this morning. Champagne on lid, grey on brow bone, brown in crease and bone below the eye brow. I also used black eyeliner in my top lid and the Limitless Liner on the bottom lid.

What would you suggest from smashbox?

So my first foray into smashbox won’t be my last. I am loving their eye shadows - at least the ones in this palette. I think I will head on off to Sephora and get me some more smashbox. Maybe the Try Me Kit.

Face Battle - Week 2

As mentioned in a previous post, I had an allergic reaction to my new Avon eyelash curler. OUCH!

After treating the afflicted areas with hydrocortisone for a few days, my face had recovered for the most part. I was left with dry patches where the hives had been. Not a good thing for around the eyes. It aged me ten years! So I thought the next obvious step would moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. I proceeded to clean my face to make sure there was no hydrocortisone residue left on my face and put my night cream on. It was a little tingly at first but it wasn’t too bad. So I went to bed. After an hour, I had to get up and wash the night cream off as it was really stinging by this point. I went back to bed sans cream. I cannot remember the last time I went to bed without anything on my face. 

During the night I must have been rubbing my face because when I woke up in the morning my eyes were swollen. The areas where the hives had been had seemed to plump up again. They weren’t actually hives but the area was certainly VERY irritated. I was in shock and was on the verge of tears. I didn’t dare cry because the moisture coming from my eyes stung the swollen areas.  Now what to do?

I knew I had to re-treat my face again with the hydrocortisone cream but I needed to find something for super sensitive skin so I could clean and moisturise my face! I went to my local beauty counter which is Shoppers Drug Mart.  The lady at the counter greeted me as I approached the counter “Hello dear how are you” and as she saw my face she said,”Oh my poor dear, what happened?” I told her my story and what I was looking for – a moisturizer for super sensitive skin that does not have any SPF in it. That would probably just irritate my skin even more.

At this point, I noticed a lady on the other side of the counter. She was staring at me with her mouth open. I asked her if it was that bad. She said sorry for staring but she never seen a reaction to an eyelash curler before. She said she felt sorry for me and hoped I recovered soon.

The beauty assistant and I went off to the moisturizer section and really scoured through them. We found a Nivea sensitive cream, an Aveeno lotion and a Neutrogena moisturizer for dry sensitive skin. After reading all the labels, I settled on the Neutrogena Oil Free Ultra Gentle Facial moisturizer for sensitive skin. It is hypoallergenic, fragrance and alcohol free. No SPF.

Then the beauty assistant said that I should probably use a different face wash in the mean time as well. So we rummaged through the multitude of face washes -washes for sensitive skin, washes for dry skin, hypoallergenic washes etc. Then the beauty assistant stood up and said, “I am such an idiot! The Vichy wash! “

I was like what? Vichy? Isn’t that expensive?  She said it’s about $20.00 but Vichy has a milk cream face wash for dry sensitive skin. It would probably the best thing to help my skin recover. So off we went to find it. Vichy's Absolute Softness Cleansing Milk was was on sale for $15. Sold!

Off I went home and I washed my face with the Vichy face wash. OMG! This stuff was amazing! It was so soothing. I could have dunked my face in all day. I have been using it for a week now and I love how nice and smooth my face feels after. This face wash is a keeper. I have been using cream face washes for years. I love how moisturizing they are. They are dry skin’s best friend.

The Neutrogena moisturizer is really helping out as well. It is very moisturizing but I feel sometimes I need to reapply it during the day. It could be just my skin recovering and crying out for more hydration but I feel it doesn’t last all day like my other moisturizers do. And I am feeling a little guilty about using a moisturizer during the day that does not have any SPF in it. Until my skin has completely recovered I will continue to use it. And I am keeping my hands away from my face!!!

So far my face has recovered pretty well. A few fine lines remain :( but until I am back to using my nightcream (Arbonne's RE9 Advance) I will brave it out. Hopefully they aren't here to stay!

Review – My MAC Haul

Within the past month and half, I made several purchases from my neighbourhood MAC counter. Now that I have used these products, I thought I would give a little review of each.

Tan Pigment: it’s a wonderful colour. A little goes a long way. I am still going to try potting this pigment, once I find something to pot it in HAHA. I put this on my lid and Embark eye shadow on my brow bone and crease.

Embark eye shadow/217 brush –Embark is a beautiful dark brown mauve matte eye shadow and I use it every other day. It blends okay, not as easy as I hoped but it works just fine. Now that I have a decent blending brush for my brow bone, the MAC 217, it makes the job a lot easier. I have been looking around for something similar locally but to no avail. At $17, the 217 brush better do the job well! And it does. I would recommend this brush to anyone. Now I have to buy more MAC brushes. ~sigh~

Paint Pot in Painterly – I love the colour, it suits me. It really opens up my eyes when I apply it on my eye lids (lash line to brow bone). I like the creamy consistency and how easy it is to apply. The Makeup Assistant at the MAC counter recommended this as an eye shadow primer. I have been using it as an eye shadow primer but I still notice a teensy bit of creasing. Not a lot. Still I do like it. I like wearing it alone as it makes my eyes look more awake and youthful. Would I purchase it again? Yup.

Mineralized Skin Finish Natural in Medium: I like this powder but am not in love with it. Perhaps I have a heavy hand when applying but for a finishing power, I can see the powder.  Maybe I need a different brush or maybe I just need to learn how to apply it differently. I am not giving up on this powder. Even if I have to go back to the MAC counter and have the Makeup Assistant show me how to apply it again! At the MAC counter the Makeup Assistant put it on my face and it looked amazing. For some reason I cannot recreate it at home on my own. I still like my Arbonne Translucent Loose Setting Powder. I don’t notice the ‘powder effect’ with it like I do with the Skin Finish.

Fix+: I got to say I am impressed with this spray. It will fix any caked on mess. And believe me I have had few in the past few weeks! Once I am done with my makeup but before the mascara, I spray a couple pumps onto my face and it makes everything look nice and dewy. MAC should make a travel size of this so we can transport in our purses. I would carry the Fix+ with me but I’ve been told that it can leak. My coworker, who recommended Fix+, had an accident in her purse where the nozzle slide to the open position and leaked all over inside her purse.  Yikes! Perhaps I should buy a travel spray bottle and put some inside. Hopefully it would work the same way.

Lipstick in Touch: - it is lustre finish lipstick in a nude-y mauve shade. It goes on creamy and it has good wear to it. I wear it almost every day and I usually reapply around lunch time. Me likey. And it smells like vanilla!

All in all, I was very happy with my MAC purchases. I can’t wait to get more!

~signed lovingly MAC Addict

Avon Update - Eye Lash Curler

THE CULPRIT

I never mentioned this earlier but when I made my Avon purchase, I bought the Avon eyelash curler. It was on sale and I needed a new one as my old one had come apart at the connection.

The Avon eyelash curler is a run of the mill eyelash curler. Decent and gets the job done. Unfortunately for me, something in the metal caused me to have an allergic reaction. Huge welt-y hives appeared under my eyes and on the lower part of my eyelids.




Day after applying hydrocortisone

 

It took me a week to figure out what was causing it. I mean these hives burned when I put anything on them. Several hives also appeared on my chin area but I think this was just a secondary reaction as I kept using the curler for a few more days.

In my hunt for the cause, I had originally thought I had a reaction to the MAC Tan pigment I recently purchased but I tried the pigment again and did not get a reaction. So I tossed my mascara thinking that was the culprit. Nope. UGH I just tossed a perfectly good mascara!

Finally, I went to the pharmacy to get some Benadryl. The area around my eyes was so itchy, I thought I would scratch the skin right off! I showed the pharmacist my eyes and asked what I could use on my eyes for an allergic reaction. She took one look at me and asked if I used an eye lash curler. I said, "Yes why?" She said she has seen this before and that I must be allergic to nickel. The welts under my eyes were right where the eyelash curler sits when I curl my lashes. So she brought me some hydrocortisone cream and told me to take the Benadryl and apply the hydrocortisone cream and go to bed. I used the cortisone for two days and the welts receded. Thank God!!!
Now I have to deal with the dry skin patches the hives have turned into. AGGHHHH!!!  

My previous curler had a rubber coating on it so I did not know I was allergic to the nickel in eyelash curlers. I am allergic to some metals that are in cheap jewellery but I never knew I could have a reaction to an eyelash curler. Another lesson learned.

I am now on the hunt for a good plastic eyelash curler. Any recommendations?

Sparkled Beauty Giveaway May 2011

Halifax of Sparkled Beauty is hosting another giveaway! YAY Halifax! 

This giveaway is for a Lit Cosmetics MiniMe Kit.

The kit includes the following:

·         1 glitter colour (Beach Baby, a gold colour)

·         Clearly Liquid Glitter Base (30ml, full size)

·         Mini detailer brush and shadow brush (as pictured)

·         Sparkle duster (to remove stray glitter) and Mesh bag

Deadline for entry is May 20th.  Go enter!

Sparkled Beauty is a great blog. I read it every other day. I usually love checking out the weekly flyer deals. Even though she is in the Maritimes and I’m in the Prairies, I still find the information relevant. Particularly, the Shoppers Drug Mart Deals! We luv our Shoppers! I also enjoy reading about her recent purchases and reviews.

Thanks Halifax!

Shopper’s Drug Mart Deal!

I stopped into Shoppers Drug Mart by my house to get a prescription filled. As I was waiting, I read the flyer for the store. I noticed that they had a sale on Rimmel products.  A two for $7.00 deal on the Long Lasting Lipstick and Vinyl Gloss lipstick. Well I was all over that!

I chose a Long Lasting Lipstick in Paradise and a Vinyl Gloss in Heartbeat. The two work very well together. A nice little pick-me-up for an otherwise crappy day.  I have only worn it for a couple hours so far but I am liking it so far.



Swatch: Paradise (L) and Heartbeat (R)

This promo runs until Friday May 5^th. I will be going back for more. I also spotted in that flyer, a smashbox kit for $54. I will need to check that out as well. Ah Mama Mia!

Avon Eye Shadows YEA or NAY

At the end of February and beginning of March, I purchased two Avon True Colour Eye Shadow Quads in Smokey Eyes and Blushing Raisin. I also bought the 8in1 Eye palette in Natural Tones. I included them in my March haul post.  I have been enjoying the Onyx Luster Tri-Shadow so much, I thought I would try more Avon eye shadows.

I was immediately drawn to the 8in1 palette in Natural as I like to wear a more natural everyday look. There are some satin and shimmering colours. I found the colours to be too sheer for shimmery colours. It seemed like I had to apply and apply the colour to get the right balance.

The Blushing Raisin palette is also sheer and I needed to work it (more than most eye shadows I have) to get the balance right. Of the three palettes, this is the one I like the best and use. I only use 3 of the colours in the palette.

The colours of the Smokey Eye palette looked very pretty so I pulled out my brushes and tried out a look with it. First of all, the shadows looked really pigmented but go on very sheer. I mean really sheer. I used MAC’s Painterly  Paint Pot as  primer. I never have had a problem with the paint pot before so I do not think it was the fault of the paint pot. Secondly, I had to build up the colour so much that I had fallout and the lighter colours ended up being too shimmery for my taste. It was a huge disappointment.  The fallout from the shadows ticked me off. I had to clean under my eyes and reapply a bit of foundation.  AGGHHH.

So it got tossed to the back of my shadow pile to spend eternity in makeup drawer oblivion.

Last week I was tidy up my makeup area and found it again. I opened it up and sighed; “Oh pretty colours why can’t you be what I want you to be?”

I took the sponge applicator from the palette and whimsically rubbed a little of the charcoal on it and swiped it on the back of my hand. Surprisingly, the colour came off very true to the actually colour in the palette. Hmmm, I wondered, was it the brush application that caused the shadow to be so sheer and cause massive fallout? I must give this palette a second try.



my left eye was done with brushes



This time I used the sponge applicator that came with the palette and redid my original look. It came off much better. I was pleased with it so I wore it out.

my right eye was done with the sponge applicator

So maybe I will use the Smokey Eye Quad again. It will depend if I have the time to work with the shadow. The 8in1? I will give it a try again and see if I can make it work. Maybe it is all in the type of application. Perhaps I should try applying them wet?

Pros:

·         Nice packaging – very durable and transportable

·         Love the mirror in the quad palettes

·         Lovely colours, great colour matching

Cons:

·         The shadows seem like the consistency of a semi-creamy chalk? IDK how else to explain it.

·         The shadows are very sheer when applied with a brush and have fallout issues.

·         The light colours are very sheer and not really made to build up.

Will I buy more Avon eye shadows?  Probably not. I find them too much of a hassle to work it.

What are your experiences with Avon eye shadows?