MAC blush - Well Dressed

A lot of MAC products have a serious cult following, especially their lipsticks and eyeshadows. MAC blushes are popular in the beauty world, but I think NARS and Tarte blushes are the ones that garner the most popularity. Out of all MAC blushes, Well Dressed is the one that I hear spoken about the most. Everybody says that it is just the perfect blush colour to give your cheeks super natural flush and sheen. 

I finally caved and purchased my very own Well Dressed blush from MAC. A lot of the blushes I own lean more towards the coral or peach end of the spectrum. I wanted to have just a very natural pink blush. 

 Well Dressed isn't too pigmented of a blush so you don't have to worry about accidentally applying too much product and dealing with a clown situation. It has a satin finish so there is a bit of a sheen to it, which looks really natural on the cheeks. Some other blushes, like Super Orgasm from NARS, have some major chunky glitter going on in their product but you don't have to worry about that with Well Dressed. 

Looking at it in the pan, it even has some mauve-blue undertones. Hopefully you can tell from the swatch on my finger, that on the left side of the swatch, the light coming from the window that I take all my photos under, caught the sheen in the blush and made it so lovely and glisten-y. 

Once it's applied to the cheeks, the blush just looks so natural and radiant. It truly is the perfect blush colour, and I think it would work fabulously on a multitude of different skin tones. I'm quite tan right now, and it still picks up on my skin. I've tried this blush out when I was paler too (aka minus my fake face tan) and it was lovely.

Blushes are a pretty generic product to me - they're pretty much all different variations of the same colour. It's fairly easy to find dupes for blushes and it's difficult to say that any one blush is super unique from others. I honestly think that MAC's Well Dressed is a one of a kind blush and I am so happy that I finally have it to call my own. I KNOW for a fact that I'm going to get a lot of use out of this blush this summer. It's one of those blushes that you don't have to think about what the rest of your makeup is going to be or what outfit you're going to be wearing because it will complement you in anyway. 


xoxoDarlingBuds

Empties

Hi everybody!

 I cannot even tell you how long I have been holding on to some of these products. I wanted to have enough empties for a decent blog post, but now it's just gotten a little out of hand. I needed to get these empties photographed and blogged and then into they trash they go!


I'm actually very impressed by how many empties I have accumulated over the past 2 months. In the past, I was notorious for never finishing products. I've made it my new mission to always finish whatever I start, and that doesn't just limit itself to makeup and skincare products.
Here we go...

Skincare:

• Bath & Body Works Country Chic Body scrub - I love this scent, and I like the scrub. I like how it comes in a squeeze tube thing so you don't have to unscrew a cap or lid. I already have another B&BW scrub on the go right now, just in a different scent
• Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup remover - this is my go-to eye makeup remover. Ever since I used this up, I've just been using Bioderma to remove my eye makeup
• LUSH Cosmetic Warrior fresh face mask - I bought this a while back (Shoppers & Lush Haul). My skin was really acting up at the end of May and this helped to subside any flare ups. It smells horrible, though. It has garlic in it which acts as a natural antiseptic, but when you apply it to your face and let it sit, the mask starts to smell like a wet dog. Nasty smell, effective product.
• LUSH Catastrophe Cosmetic fresh face mask -  This mask is supposed to be a soothing one (some of the ingredients include chamomile and calamine). After my skin started behaving itself again, I used this mask to try and soothe any redness. I actually really really like this mask and I would definitely repurchase it. Here's a pick of me using it (haha)

• Neutrogena All-in-One Make-Up Removing cleansing wipes - another one of my favourite makeup removal products that I've used up. Because I've also use this up, my Bioderma has been doubling as an eye-makeup remover and a face makeup remover. I've also started using the Olivella daily facial cleansing wipes that I featured in my Optimum Points haul
• LUSH Mint Julips lip scrub - I didn't actually get a chance to use this all up because the product actually expired before I could use it all up. That's the only thing about Lush products is that they do have an expiry date. I don't think I'll be repurchasing this scrub anytime soon because I've just been using my toothbrush and this lip scrubbing method from The Beauty Department
• La Roche Posay Toleriane lotion - this is the facial moisturizer that I featured in my skincare routine post. I will definitely repurchase this product later on in the year, for the colder months.
• Boscia Luminizing Black Mask - also a product I featured in my skincare routine post. Won't repurchase it. It didn't do anything and it's way too expensive to just have lying around. 

Makeup, Hair, Nails:

• Mars Anthony 2nd Day Clear Dry Shampoo -  I actually really liked this product! This came in a continuous spray aerosol can; it doesn't leave a white residue, and it does a pretty darn good job at keeping oily roots at bay. I have a couple of other dry shampoos on the go right now, so I won't repurchase this year, but I definitely will in the future. There are also so many other dry shampoos on the market that I have yet to try
• Rimmel Natural Bronzer - I mentioned in a previous post that this bronzer finally bit the dust. I dropped it and it completely shattered. Oops!
• Seche Vite - I have use this top coat to its very last leg. It has now come to the point where it is impossible for me to get anymore product out of it. I will definitely repurchase! I did notice that towards the end of its life, it got very gloopy and it got a lot more difficult to paint onto my nails. It still dried evenly and made my nails look perfect, but the texture was off-putting
• OPI My Chihuahua Bites - I don't think I was very careful the last time I used this product because I guess I left the cap unscrewed a little bit so all the polish inside is all gloopy and dried out :(
• NYC High Definition Volumizing mascara - I did a full review of this mascara (read it here). I didn't particularly like it, so now it's time for it to go 
• NYC High Definition Separating mascara - Another mascara fail, full review here.
• Maybelline Lash Discovery mascara (waterproof) - This is the best bottom lash mascara you could possible get at the drugstore. The wand is super tiny and dainty which allows you to coat every single lash perfectly with mascara. Unfortunately, I can only find this mascara at Walmart so as soon as I get a chance, I will re-buy this mascara! I also featured this is a mascara problems post, read it here
• YSL Touche Eclat - I initially said I didn't think this was worth the hype or the price, but recently I have been dealing with the worst dark circles ever and I just want this back. I have a few other under-eye concealers on-the-go right now, and then I have a backup of this product which I cannot wait to dive into again
• Revlon ColorStay liquid eyeliner - felt tip, black eyeliner - pretty standard. I'm really enjoying my  Physician's Formula eye boosting liquid eyeliner right now, so I'm in no need to replace the revlon one

Hooray for empties!

xoxoDarlingBuds


p.s. On another note, for the next couple of weeks, I will be in a place without an internet connection. I am working as a lifeguard at a children's overnight summer camp. So if you were wondering why I wasn't posting as much, that's why. I will be back to a regular blogging routine in about a month. 
I hope you're all enjoying your summer so far :)

Curling Iron De-Clamp

Lately, I've been curling my hair a lot more than I've been straightening it. I have a curling wand and a regular 1 inch curling iron with a clamp, both from Conair. I prefer the curling wand because I find that the curl holds a lot better than the iron with a clamp. However, I like the way my hair curls with the bigger barrel of the 1 inch curling iron. Confusing, I know. 

I remembered reading this tutorial from The Beauty Department about how to de-clamp a curling iron so I thought I would give it a try. 

All you need is your curling iron and a screwdriver. Super simple!

First, remove the stand. The stand cover some of the screws that keep the clamp attached to the barrel. The screws left behind were super easy to remove; just jiggle the clamp and they fell out on their own.

 Once I got rid of those, the clamp came right off.

Next I had to get rid of the spring. That's where the screwdriver comes in. Just unscrew!

TA-DA!

These are all the pieces left behind after I removed the clamp and all the parts attached. 

I much prefer the looser curl that a curling iron gives, and now I don' t have to worry about the clamp getting in my way

Here's an example of the type of curl I get after using my new de-clamped curling iron. 

I just love how relaxed the curls look. A spritz of hairspray and I'm good to go for the entire day


Now I don't have to buy a separate curling wand! YAY!

xoxoDarlingBuds

June Lovelies

The month of June was all about staying bronzed while at the same time being protected from the sun

At the beginning of the month, I was laying out in the sun. Stupid me hadn't applied any sunscreen and of course I got a major sunburn!

I cannot even express how painful it was. Thankfully, now it's subsided and I just have some pretty serious tanlines. So because of that, I spent a good portion of the month tending to my "wounds" and ensuring that I didn't end up with any scarring from the burn. 

1. I went to Walmart and picked up this Aloe Vera. It comes in a continuous spray bottle so I didn't have to worry about rubbing in the gel into my already really sore skin. This came in very handy!

2. Evidently, after my sunburn, I started putting on sunscreen any and every time I left my apartment. I used the Clarins Sun Care cream that I showed in this haul

3. Sunburns from my past have left scars. I wanted to really make sure that it didn't happen this time. I used Bio-Oil interchangeably with the Aloe Vera to help prevent scarring. Bio-Oil is super effective at preventing scars, but it really only works if you apply it to fresh scars (i.e. not any scars from months or years before).

4. THIS BOOK! I have a review coming soon of this book so look out for that. The Fifty Shades of Grey series is seriously the talk of the town. I recommend it if you're not to ashamed to a) be seen reading it or b) won't flush at the graphic sexual subject matter

5. Summer = heat. The weather in Canada has been exceptionally hot lately. I need to be certain that my makeup will last all day so I have been using the Urban Decay All Nighter long-lasting makeup setting spray religiously

6. I have been using the Soleil Tan de Chanel cream bronzer with a kabuki brush all over my face, neck, and décolleté to give me an even bronzed glow to my complexion. 

7. I haven't been paiting my nails a whole lot this month, but when I do, I want to make sure that it doesn't take long to dry (so I can continue with my life instead of worrying about ruining my freshly painted claws) and I also want to ensure that it lasts as long as possible. Seche Vite top coat is seriously on of those super talked about products that is worth all the hype. 

8. Along with my Chanel bronzer, I have been using my new Physician's Formula Bronze Booster Glow-Boosting pressed bronzer in Medium-Dark that I showed in my collective haul. This bronzer has a hint of shimmer to it which adds such a lovely glow to the face. I'm not using this to contour so I don't mind the shimmer. I use this on my cheeks and around my temples to deepen my tan and add radiance 

9. The Caudalie Beauty Elixir is a really awesome multi-task product. I showed this in my Optimum Points haul. I use it mostly as a toner and facial mist/makeup refresher. It smells so good too! Like peppermint with a hint of citrus. I have been mostly using the big bottle that I got of this (travel size is the one pictured above). I keep this in my little basket that houses all of my skincare routine post. It's such a refreshing product for summer!

10. Under-eye circles suck. I don't know why, but the dark circles under my eyes have been exceptionally bad lately. I have still been using my bobbi brown corrector, but since I'm more tan now, porcelain peach just isn't cutting it anymore. I've been using my Maybelline Instant Age Rewind dark circle eraser in Neutralizer a lot more lately to help combat the blue undertones of the dark circles (I used this concealer is my most recent FOTD: Tan!). The thing that I really hate about this concealer though is the packaging. I don't really mind the sponge application bit, but you have to twist the top to release the product and mine always breaks! I've have 3 of these concealers to date, and they all break! I'm going to email Maybelline and tell them to do something about it!

11. Summer + Heat = Sweat. I saw this new deodorant from Dove and I decided to give it a try. It's an anti-persperant and it's suppose to eventually in time, lighten the pigment of your arm pits. So far, I haven't noticed any change in the colour of my under-arms (?) but I do like that it doesn't irritate my skin (some deodorants make me itchy) and it's a fresh scent, PLUS it's a pretty decent anti-persperant. I don't stay 100% dry throughout the day, but I would say a solid 91% compared to other products I've tried

12. I have been curling my hair a lot more with second day hair. I recently took the clamp off my regular Conair 1 inch curling iron and I love it so much more now! I never really used the clamp before so it wasn't sad to see it go. I have a blog post coming up about how I de-clamped my curling iron, so stay tuned for that one. 

 

13. Because of my uneven tan situation, I have been trying to correct the situation by using the Clarins Liquid Bronzing Self Tanning lotion on my neck, décolleté and face. My body right now is a lot darker than my face so I need to try and even everything out. This is such a good product! I apply it at night, and when I wake up in the morning, I'm rocking a perfectly tan wherever I applied this. It never looks orange or streaky! It's an idiot-proof facial self-tanner


It's only to get hotter from here on out. The heat throughout the month of June has been sweltering enough, I hope I can take it for the rest of the summer. 


Stay cool!


xoxoDarlingBuds

CHECK That Off my List √

I've been hauling a lot over the past few weeks (collective haul, theBalm haul, MAC & Sephora haul, Shoppers & Lush haul). From those hauls, I've collected a lot of the products that I featured in my "Beauty Wishlist" post and my "Another Beauty Wishlist" post. 

I'm like a kid on Christmas morning 

So far, from my Beauty Wishlists, I've gotten:

1. Caudalie Beauty Elixir - I've been using this product quite a bit since I bought it and I am in love with it! It's the most refreshing, minty mist on a hot summer day 
2. Clarins Instant Light Natural lip perfector in 02 Apricot Shimmer - Lovely lip product. I already have the pink colour, but the apricot shimmer shade adds a subtle wash of peachiness to the lips. Not a sticky lip gloss, or a super moisturizing lip balm, the Clarins Instant Natural lip perfector falls in between a gloss and balm. Super neat-o lip product. Highly recommend it!
3. Chanel Illusion d'Ombre eyeshadow in Emerveille - still haven't plucked up the courage to use this product yet. It'll happen, one day
4. Nars eyeshadow duo in Alhambra - This eyeshadow duo is amazing! The lightest colour in the duo is like a rosey-gold colour, and the darker shade is more of a peachy-gold. They're both lovely eyeshadows, either to wear together or separately. The texture of Nars eyeshadow's is so smooth and velvety, I will definitely have to get more in the future
5. Clarins Liquid Bronze Self Tanning lotion -  I USE THIS EVERY NIGHT AND I FREAKIN' LOVE IT!!! I use it on my face, neck, and décolleté area. I don't particularly like subjecting my face to the sun. I use this self tanning lotion on a cotton round and apply evenly to my face like I would a toner. When  I wake up in the morning, my face is perfeclty and evenly TAN, not orange

xoxoDarlingBuds

Optimum Points Haul

I love Shoppers Drug Mart and I love Optimum Points. If you don't know what I'm talking about, let me explain. Shoppers Drug Mart is a huge chain of drugstores in Canada. You can get all sorts of stuff there: prescriptions, tylenol, toilet paper, snacks, shampoo, face wash, and many drugstore makeup brands such as Maybelline and Revlon, etc. A couple of years ago, Shoppers added a "Beauty Boutique" section of the store where they sell high-end makeup such as Benefit, Clarins, Smashbox, Lancome, Dior, etc. 

Optimum Points are collected at Shoppers by using you Optimum Card every time you spend $$ there. You get 10 points for every $1 you spend. The points can then be redeemed for monetary value, for example 8,000 points gets you $10 off, and the highest level is 95,000 points gets you $170 off. 

I only shop at Shoppers when they have a 20X the points event so you get 20X more points for every dollar you spend.

A couple times a year they have a bonus for points redeemed. So with 95,000 points, instead it being worth $170, it's worth $200 during the bonus event.

All year long, I save and save and save my optimum points throughout the whole year for THIS! The bonus points event. I then take my points to Murale, which is a Sephora-esque store affiliate with Shoppers and their optimum points program. At Murale, I go crazy.

This is this year's haul:

• Caudalie Beauty Elixir (34 FL. oz & 16 FL. oz). I featured this product in my first Beauty Wishlist post. This is a multi-purpose product: toner, facial mist, makeup refresher. It has a really fresh scent, sort of pepperminty, and from reading the ingredient list I know there's also some orange extract and rosemary in this product. It's so lovely. It's a beauty recommendation from one of my favourite bloggers, Vivianna Does Makeup
• Bobbi Brown corrector in Light Bisque. My current bobbi brown corrector in Porcelain Peach is getting dangerously empty. I don't ever want to to be without this product. I think the lady at the bobbi brown counter matched me to the wrong shade when I first bought porcelain peach, so I knew that when I purchased my next one I would go one shade up. I still have a couple weeks of use out of porcelain peach, but I won't be near a bobbi brown counter in a couple of weeks so I needed to get this stat!
• Nars eyeshadow duo in Alhambra. (swatch below) This too was featured in my first Beauty Wishlist post. I've used this a couple of times already and it's amazing! Once again, everything I thought it would be. The lightest shade in this duo is like a rose gold colour, whereas the other shade is more of a peach-yellow gold. The texture of nars eyeshadows is so velvety and luxe. I would definitely look into getting more nars eyeshadows, maybe for my next optimum points haul.
• Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Emerveille (swatch below). I talked about this in my second beauty wishlist post (Another Beauty Wishlist). I haven't had a chance to use this product yet, I'm kind of scared to ruin it, but it's just as lovely as I expected it to be. It's a very subtle champagne-pink, not too shimmery. It has a mousse-like texture. It's Chanel! Total luxury. I'll have to do a full review of this product in time
• Bourjois Volumizer mascara. I know I'm doing my Mascara Problems series to try and find the best drugstore mascara, but this is my favourite mascara outside of the drugstore. If someone told me I could only have one mascara for the rest of my life, it would be this one. I know that Bourjois is a drugstore or high-street brand in the UK, but in Canada, this mascara is about $21 (not exactly drugstore prices). I'll also do a full review of this mascara when I get around to using it because it's a really neat concept
• Olivella daily facial cleansing wipes. I was $7 short to my total, these wipes were $8 so I got them. The girl who was helping me at Murale said these were really good at cleansing, and also not harsh on sensitive skin. I haven't used them yet so I don't know if that's true. I'm waiting to use up the last of my Neutrogena makeup removing cleansing wipes.

Eyeshadow swatches

Nars Alhambra

Nars "Alhambra" swatch

Chanel Illusion d'Ombre Emerveille

The Chanel illusion d'ombre eyeshadow product comes with a cute little synthetic brush to use to apply the product. I'll probably just use my finger, but I thought this was so adorable. 

Ah, Chanel. It's so lovely

Chanel "Emerveille" swatch

I haven't used the Chanel eyeshadow yet. It always takes me a little bit of time to rack up the courage to dive into using a luxury product. I'll get around to it eventually though. How can I not? It's such a lovely shade of champagne-pink. Right up my alley


So that's my Optimum points haul from Murale. In Canada, Murale is such a great place to shop for high-end makeup because they have some brands that Sephora doesn't carry, such as Chanel, Bobbi Brown, Deborah Lippmann, and a great selection of Clarins makeup. PLUS you can collect optimum points when you shop :)

Such a wonderful place. Bad though, for people like me, with a serious obsession with makeup. 

xoxoDarlingBuds

I Nailed It (again)

Deja Vu, anyone?

I painted my nails fresh today and I decided to re-do an old fave. This is what I'm rocking on my nails again! 
I love the combination of pink and orange together. So fresh and summery. OPI's "Elephantastic Pink" and Essie's "Tart Deco" are an unbeatable combination
Check out my initial NOTD post here

xoxoDarlingBuds

Canada Day

July 1st is Canada Day. This year was Canada's 145th birthday!

<3 Canada

I spent my Canada Day in Ottawa, the capital, and it was absolutely insane!
They shut down the main street along where the parliament buildings are. There were so many people everywhere!


There was a concert that was going on, no super special performers though. They had some French singers there, and Simple Plan and Feist were to perform later on in the evening but I didn't stay long enough for that.

Parliament Hill Festivities! We were way far away from the stage; you can just get an idea of how many people were in front of us. So many people were behind us too, trying to get closer to the stage, and also just walking around on the streets

Everyone was showing a lot of National Pride and wearing red and white. Apart from drunk hooligans, everyone who walked by you on the street was just super nice and patriotic. It was a really awesome vibe
For people who actually live in Ottawa though, it was a nightmare. It was impossible to get into any restaurant, bar, pub or club because everything was just so insanely crowded. A lot of streets were closed so cars had trouble getting to where they needed to be. A lot of families were out enjoying the festivities but it's not always a good idea to mix young children with massive drunken crowds.


All in all though it was an amazing day! This is the first Canada day in a long time that I've actually celebrated! To be in the capital city just made it all the more special

me (left) and two friends at Parliament Hill

xoxoDarlingBuds