Best Beauty Products of 2011

With less than 8 hours to go for 2012, I thought I'd post some of my favourite beauty products from this year and even though I haven't reviewed each of them individually, I'll definitely be doing so in the next few months! So let's get started:

Best Blush: MAC Pinch Me Blush & MAC Sur Blush (from the Mickey Contractor collection in January 2011) - I reach for the first one constantly and it's an absolutely beautiful warm shade of pink. The second one, is another absolute favourite as well, but I hardly use it because it's limited edition and I unfortunately didn't pick up a backup :(

Best Eyeshadows: MAC Mulch, Satin Taupe, Sketch and Victoria Secret's Beauty Rush Eyeshadow in Bronzedinger - All of these are quite pigmented, although Sketch despite being a drop-dead gorgeous shade may be quite patchy in its application.

Best Eyeliner: Korres Eyeliner Pencil in Black & Marcelle's Pure Gold Lux Diamond Liquid Eyeliner - The Korres eyeliner is absolutely the softest kohl pencil eyeliner that can be smudged along the lashline for a soft 1-step smokey eye; it's also made of natural ingredients and my recent purchase of a second pencil is evidence of how much I love this beauty staple. The Marcelle eyeliner is an alternative to the traditional black eyeliner and it's perfect for festive looks, providing a beautiful shimmery gold accent to your eye look.

Best Mascara: Tokidoki Punk Lash in Sabochan and Clinique's Naturally Glossy Mascara - The first product in this category, was something I used in the beginning of the year and the only reason I stopped using it because I didn't want to go shell out another $23 for it but now that I've been using up my other mascaras, I'll definitely be picking up another Punk Lash in 2012! The Clinique product was a sample I received and I'm not sure if I love it solely because of the sample size of the wand which really lets me reach each individual lash or because of the product's formula instead, but so far I've been loving it this past year.

Best Lipstick & Lipgloss: Korres Mango Butter Lipstick in Natural Purple 25, NYX LSS in 513 Electra and Smashbox O-Gloss - The Korres lipstick is honestly my HG lip product, and with its sheer application, I'm more than comfortable using this is as my go-to lipstick. The NYX lipstick is one of the most pigmented lipsticks I've ever come across and is so unbelievably smooth in its application that my lips don't feel parched whatsoever; for someone who loves rocking a red lip, it's a no-brainer and an affordable choice! Lastly the Smashbox O-Gloss, is just a fun concept and with its silicone-like texture, my dry lips couldn't be happier.

Best Brow Enhancer: Clinique's Instant Lift for Brows - This has been the only brow-product I've used in the past few months to subtly fill in my eyebrows and with the dual-ended product, I can quickly highlight my brow bone with a beautiful, shimmery slightly-peachy champagne color.

That's my Best of 2011's Beauty Products, I definitely hope you'll try some of them and don't forget to share your beauty favourites from this past year in the comments below! Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!!!

Marcelle Pure Gold Lux Diamond Liquid Eyeliner

Hey everyone,
In the past few weeks, I've been quite curious about trying out glitter eyeliners, especially since they've been very popular during the holiday season. So when I found out that the Marcelle Lux Diamond Liquid Eyeliners were on sale at Shoppers Drug Mart, I ran as fast as I could to pick myself up the Pure Gold shade.

Marcelle Lux Diamond Liquid Eyeliner in Pure Gold

December 2011 Luxe Box Arrival and Review

Hey everyone,
This is going to be my unboxing and review of the December 2011 Luxe Box by Loose Button. I won't have pictures of everything, except for the actual products but if you do want a visual walk-through of everything then definitely be sure to check out my November 2011 Luxe Box post. So what beauty products did I get in the mail this month? Keep reading to find out!

Clinique High Impact Mascara

Hey everyone,
Today I'll be reviewing Clinique's High Impact mascara in 01 Black, which I purchased at Sephora a few months back. I was searching for a new mascara since my Tokidoki Punk Lash was sort of drying out and I was curious about Clinique's line of mascaras.

Clinique High Impact mascara

(Belated) Wednesday Wishes

Hey everyone,
I was a day late in posting my wishes post for this week but since I'm trying to be more diligent about posting, I thought I'd do it anyways. So what's made my wishlist this week? Keep reading to find out....

Tuesday's Favourite Video

Hey everyone,
This week's favourite video would have to be Marlena's tips on matching lipsticks to eyeshadows. Her tips do actually work because the other day I was wearing M.A.C.'s Shale eyeshadow (a cool-toned pale lavender color) and I paired it with a peachy-pink lip gloss from Smashbox and it really tied the entire look together. Now do keep in mind, I personally never wear cool-toned lip colors, so regardless of my eyeshadow shade I will always wear a warm lip shade.
Anyways, I hope this was useful and let me know in the comments whether this advice worked for you!

Have a great Tuesday!

Giveaway!

Hey everyone,
I know I've been missing in action for some time but I've got amazing reviews lined up and I'll be resuming my weekly series as well! Anyways more importantly there's an amazing "Prepared to Get Really Naked" contest being held by Beauty Crazed until December 30th where they are giving away 1 of 6 nude/neutral eyeshadow palettes. It's really simple to enter and here's the corresponding contest link, so be sure to enter:

http://www.beautycrazed.ca/2011/12/prepare-to-get-really-naked-contest.html

Good luck to everyone!

November 2011 Luxe Box Unboxing

Hey everyone,

Updated: Pictures have now been added!

So I received my November Luxe Box at the doorstep yesterday afternoon and boy, was I excited!! I had been waiting for the email with the tracking number and shipping information since Monday and though I didn't get one, the box was rather unexpectedly delivered to my house.

Luxe Box Arrival!

Hey everyone,
I just (as in 5 minutes ago) my November Luxe Box from Loose Button! In case you're not familiar with this product, it's basically a collection of 3-5 deluxe sized samples of various beauty products that you receive in the mail every month. I'll be providing details in my unboxing and review post which should be uploaded within the next few days so definitely keep a look out for that! (click here to be directed to my unboxing and review) 

Have a great day!

Tuesday's Favourite Video

Hey everyone,
This week, my favourite video has to be by GregoryGorgeous, who is absolutely hilarious. Here's the link:

Have a great rest of the week!

Tokidoki Perfetto Eyeliner

This long overdue post, is going to be my review of the Tokidoki Perfetto Eyeliner in Sabochan (available at Sephora). It's a pen-style liquid eyeliner, with quite a hard felt tip and at first looks like a shiny black line tracing your lash line but dries down to quite a matte finish.

Haul

So I went to Square One this morning and going back after nearly a month, I was definitely prepared to shop! I went to Sephora first, and after browsing around for some time and asking for samples of the Purity Made Simple facial cleanser as well as the Purity Made Simple™ Mineral Oil-Free Facial Cleansing Oil (which the sales associate suggested for dry skin), I purchased the Clinique Chubby Stick in 02 Whole Lotta Honey and it came to about CAD $22 with tax; it's a gorgeous nude color with moisturizing properties.
Then I dashed over to The Body Shop because of their promotion this weekend, where you could choose to get two items for 50% and 30% off (you decide which item gets which discount) and then you can also repeat those discounts (50% and then 30%) for two additional items (if you use all four discount stickers you get to pick a free travel sized item). So I knew immediately that I had to get the Eyeshadow Blender Brush which I've been eyeing for some time and though it retails for CAD $18 but I got it for 50% off; I also picked up the White Musk Libertine Body Mist (CAD $15 regular retail price and 30% off that) and then after the cashier asked me if I was sure I didn't want to use my second 50% off sticker, I decided to get the 100% Natural Lip Roll-On in Orange.  My last stop was at the drugstore, Rexall and one of the items I picked up was the La Roche-Posay Lipikar Xerand Hand Repair Cream for CAD $10, although it was quite difficult to restrain myself from buying a new face cleanser, moisturizer (day and night time) as well as their body wash and moisturizer for extremely dry skin. Sigh, I guess those items will have to wait till next month or so to join my skincare collection.

So all in all, I enjoyed my mini shopping spree and I'll be posting reviews after I've had a chance to really test the products. Also, I've posted a few pictures below and I apologize in advance for the poor image quality but I snapped these with my iPod since my camera isn't working at the moment but thanks for reading!

Giveaway

Hey everyone,
Here's a link to the massive makeup giveaway contest being held by BeautyCrazed until November 25th. Just follow the link and there will be instructions on how to enter, good luck to everyone!

http://www.beautycrazed.ca/2011/10/fall-into-great-big-bunch-of-makeup.html?showComment=1321132067175#c1602899540667305729

Wednesday Wishes

Here are the items that made it onto this week's wish-list:

1) Smashbox Photo Op Under Eye Brightener - Not only do I want to use it in conjunction with the M.A.C. Select Cover Up Concealer as described by Karen on her Makeup and Beauty Blog to really brighten up the under eye area but I would love to try it out as a cheekbone highlighter since it is a beautiful iridescent peachy pink. 

2) Phyto Phytokératine Serum - As I was browsing on the Sephora website, I came across this serum treatment which is meant to "repair damaged and split ends". I've never been disappointed with Phyto products I've used in the past, and really want to pick this up within the week, to hopefully start using it after my haircut on Sunday.

3) Sephora Collection Pro Concealer Airbrush #57 - I've seen rave reviews of the Pro Foundation Airbrush and after reading that this brush contains only synthetic fibers and helps give an airbrushed look, it's made its way onto my list of coveted beauty items.

4) La Roche-Posay skincare items - Now I don't have any particular item on my list from this line since I'm looking for both a day time and nighttime moisturiser as well as a gentle cleanser; but these products are meant for people with varying skin problems such as skin sensitivity, dry skin as well as redness, to mention just a few. 

That's it for this week's list, but be sure to share your most wanted beauty products for this week in the comments below!

Tuesday's Favourite Video

This week, I chose one of my favourite looks created by one half of the Pixiwoo sisters, Nic; she recreates the Victoria Beckham smokey eye look and it turns out absolutely gorgeous!

Have a great day everyone!

Giveaway

Hey everyone,
Just a quick post about a giveaway I heard of today; the winner (who must be a follower of Sara Hassan's Blog) will receive Sigma's NEW Precision Kit & F86 Tapered Kabuki. Follow the link http://bit.ly/s1KNCh. You can increase your chances of winning by following the instructions on the giveaway blog post.

It's an amazing giveaway, and I really hope I win.
Good luck to everyone!

Wednesday Wishes

The weekly Wednesday series is back! I love writing this series of posts just because it provides me with virtual retail therapy. Anyways enough ranting, here's this week's list:

1) M.A.C. eyeshadows in Phloof!, Ricepaper, Satin Taupe, Folie and a number of others but the basic plan is to fill up a 15 eyeshadow palette :)

2) Urban Decay's Lush Lash Mascara - I've wanted to run (yes, literally run) to Sephora to buy this mascara for the past month and a half, maybe two months. I've read that it's good for sensitive eyes and even better than that, it has a rubber or plastic wand which is the kind I love and it helps condition your lashes. And did I mention the adorable packaging?


3) Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencil Stash - This was released as part of the Holiday 2011 collection and I feel it's a good way of trying out a few different shades (especially if you're into neutral eye looks) since one full-sized pencil is CAD $24, and in the set you're getting 5 (not full-sized though) for CAD $41. I've tried them out at Sephora and they really do glide onto the skin and after a few minutes (I forgot to smudge them during this time), they really do set and they don't smear, melt-off or budge whatsoever.




4) Clinique Even Better Makeup - I love that this foundation claims to be oil-free while also over the course of four to six weeks, brightens and evens out your skin tone. Even though I've never wanted to really buy a foundation before, this particular one's really caught my eye. Also, I'm loving the number of shades available for women of color.




5) M.A.C.'s Select-Cover Up concealer - I've read reviews that this concealer is perfect for covering up dark circles and some have said that it can be sheered out to be a light foundation; but I would mostly use it for concealing purposes. 




6) Everyday Minerals' Brushes - Finally a decent price for synthetic and eco-conscious brushes! I'd love to try out the Itahake Brush, Dome Blending Brush, Everyday Eye Smudge brush, to mention just a few. 

That's all for this week, and thanks so much for reading!

Tuesday's Favourite Video

Hey everyone,
I thought I would start a new weekly series where I post my favourite beauty related video. The clip will be either a tutorial, product review of something I do not have access to in my city or just an informative beauty tip.
So this week's video is by Wayne, also known as gossmakeupartist on Youtube, where he talks about the perfect application of blush. I swear by this technique, it really does give your face a lifted look.

Thanks for reading!

Dior Addict Lipstick

Hey everyone,
I'm really sorry for not posting for such a long time but I've been extremely busy with school and some other personal stuff, but I have a couple of reviews lined up and the Wednesday Wishes series will resume this week.
So I wanted to get back into the swing of things by reviewing the Dior Addict Lipstick in Créateur 445, I bought from Sephora during the 20% off sale, way back in April. Now since everything was 20% off, I thought it would be a good opportunity to buy something expensive for myself and was torn between the NARS Tzigane from the 2011 spring collection and the Dior shade.

Wednesday's Wishes

This past week I've come up with a pretty long wish list which mostly include makeup products, so here we go:

1) Clinique's Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Color Balm - These released this past spring, and although they look fabulous, I haven't had a chance to try them out as yet. I'm dying to pick up Mega Melon, Whole Lotta Honey, and maybe Super Strawberry.

2) Clinique's Black Honey Shimmering Tones Powder - This product is exclusive to Sephora so I'll have to drop by to see it in person, but it looks absolutely beautiful, though I wonder if it would impart more of a sheen or chunky glitter onto the cheeks?

3) Clinique's Color Surge Eye Shadow Quad in Black Honey -  I'm really having a moment with the Black Honey collection, aren't I? I'm hoping to use this for daily neutral eye looks but it could be jazzed up for more a more dramatic evening look with a winged black liner and thick mascara (possibly false lashes).

4) LORAC Behind the Scenes Eye Primer - I haven't used eye primers before but the reason I picked this particular product over Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion or Too Faced Shadow Insurance, is that it doesn't have any tint to it at all (completely invisible) and it's paraben free.

5) Soap & Glory Super-Color Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Plumping Gloss - Having seen this at Shoppers Drug Mart, the Half-Naked shade really caught my eye - it's described by Sephora as a dusty rose and I think it would work beautifully on it's own or even with a light application of a rose-colored blush, high on the cheekbones. 

6) M.A.C. Pro Palette Eye Shadow X 15 - I have the 4 eye shadow palette but this would give me an excuse to pick up some more M.A.C. eye shadows that I've been wanting to add to my collection for some time now ;)


Anyways, that's my list for this week and I'll be back with another product review soon. Thanks for reading!

Clinique All About Eyes

Today I'll be reviewing Clinique's All About Eyes eye cream which according to the Sephora website, "brightens dark circles and sends puffs packing while actually helping to hold eye makeup in place. For use morning and night, both under eyes and on lids."  I got this in a mini sample jar last November when I had bought a bunch of skincare and makeup products with my mom and have been using it on and off ever since. The jar was similar in size to Clinique's Brush-On Cream Liner, so I did get a decent amount of product to try out for the first time.

Collective Haul

Since I bought a few beauty products this past week, I thought it would be fun to share my collective haul. They were mostly drugstore items, but hopefully I'll be able to swing by the M.A.C. store at Square One this weekend and maybe, *fingers crossed* pick up a few items from the MAC Me Over collection. So, here are some of my beauty purchases since last Friday:

1) Essie's Merino Cool - I've been dying to try out this nail polish brand and since it was on sale for 8.99 from 11.99 at Shoppers Drug Mart the week before last, I picked up this really beautiful, taupey-purplish shade (it's the shade I was hoping M.A.C.'s Shale eyeshadow would be, but I'll discuss that in depth in another post). When I tried it out the first time, the formula was a dream to apply - it took only 2 coats to get a nice opaque color and it dried down pretty fast without any smudging. The two things I disliked about the Essie polish was the fact that firstly, the bottles were quite small - even though they looked really cute, it was somewhat strange to hold such a tiny cap and brush, compared to OPI polishes. Also, the bottle doesn't come with the plastic seal so someone could have tried out the polish already.

2) Infusium 23 Moisture Replenisher leave-in treatment - It claims to recover "hair's lost moisture" making it "soft, silky and deeply replenished." Being quite eager to try it out since my hair has been extremely dry (nearly straw-like, especially at the ends) I sprayed it all over my clean, dry hair and combed through as per the instructions; it didn't restore all the moisture back to my hair immediately, but I'm going to try it on wet hair the next time and post a review once I get a chance to use it more often.

3) Nivea Soft cream - This cream can be used for facial, hand or body moisturising. After trying it out on my hands, it makes them feel silky soft and the scent is divine - it reminds me of my childhood.

4) JOE's Lagoon - I picked this up hoping it would be similar to OPI's limited edition Mermaid's Tears shade but it is much brighter, has a bluer undertone and a slight pearl to it - still very pretty though. 


Those were all of my beauty purchases this past week and I hope you've enjoyed reading!

M.A.C Pinch Me Sheertone Blush

About a month ago, I wanted to pick up a blush from M.A.C.'s permanent collection. After spending a good 15 minutes swatching blushes over every available square inch on my arm, I asked the MUA what her recommendation would be for my skintone, I chose Pinch Me as she said it would be quite a dramatic color and more suitable for an evening look.

 

Wednesday's Wishes

This is going to be a new series, where every Wednesday I'll share my most wanted items for that week. The items will be from various categories but will definitely include a beauty product every week, so here we go:

Beauty Wishes:
1) Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Foundation - I don't really wear foundation but I feel it'll be a nice addition to my collection. And when I swatched the product at Sephora, shade no. 155 seemed to be the best match. 



2) Clinique's Gradient Powder Blusher in Black Honey - as part of Clinique's Fall 2011 collection, its a must-have product, I feel the color will really complement medium and olive skin tones and the gradient effect will allow for both a flush of color as well as highlighted cheeks.

Isn't it absolutely gorgeous? 

3) M.A.C.'s Offshoot Lipstick from the new M.A.C. Me Over collection

4) M.A.C.'s Dark Diversion Fluidline - I've never tried any of the idolized Fluidlines, but this new limited edition shade is a stunning deep burgundy red and I want to try it as a graphic liner on the top lash line or as a colored base all over the eyelid under powder eyeshadows.

5) M.A.C.'s Stunner and Equilibrium blushes- Stunner will be perfect during the winter as it provides a wash of pink with a slight sheen and Equilibrium could be used to bronze the cheeks and nose during spring or winter, adding some warmth to the complexion.


Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed reading about my Wednesday Wishes, and I'll be back with another list next week!

Marble Nail Art

This being my first ever blog post, I thought it would be about some beauty product or technique I've tried within this past week; so today I'll be sharing my experience with marble nail art. It began while watching MissJenFABULOUS Youtube channel where I came across one of her nail marbling tutorials. Nail marbling is transferring nail polish that you've created "marbled" designs with in the water, onto your nail and giving it a very modern, edgy look.

Now given that MissJen is an absolute expert at anything related to nails, I thought I'd try following one of the tutorials. Her technique is really detailed and helps you get decent results the first time you try it. Now, I was quite excited to say the least, about "marbling" my nails, so I didn't use the perfect water temperature the first time, thereby resulting in fairly average designs. Although, after watching another video and practicing a few times, I was really pleased with the results and even tried it out on my sister and mom.
So just a quick summary of the entire process:

You start off with a little container filled with room temperature filtered water (that's really important!) and paint your nails with a very neutral color. I chose a French Pink nail polish that had originally come in a box set, but wasn't anything particularly special. Also, by using a neutral/nude color as the base coat, it allows all the attention to be on the colors you pick to be in the actual marbling design without competing with the base coat. Then once your nails are dry, you take three pieces of scotch tape and put them around the nail bed so as to prevent the skin from being stained and it speeds up the clean up process afterwards. Once you've finished with that step, pick the colors you want for the design, I chose Sephora's Opening Night and Joe's White as alternating shades; beginning first with a drop of blue into the water, once it had spread to the edges of the container, I added a drop of the white polish. I repeated these steps until I had about 10 or more rings of polish in the water, after which I used a toothpick to "drag" the polish around, thereby forming a design (I actually forgot to take pictures while creating the design, but I've added a few images from earlier when I alternated between black and red). Once you have the perfect design, you just stick your nail in, either straight down towards the bottom of the container or while the entire nail surface is submerged at the same time, getting a better transfer of the design. Then using a q-tip to clean up the rest of the polish left on the surface, I removed my hand from the water and let it air-dry. Finally, after removing the tape and cleaning a bit around the cuticles, you should be left with beautiful marbled nails!

Here's the most recent marbling design that I came up with - hope you like it!

Thanks so much for reading!

Aysha