Current Product Loves

Monthly favourites get a little redundant when I'm not constantly changing out my products every month. I found that I've been having to stretch what I've been "loving" as opposed to actually using. I've decided now to just to some random updates as to products that I'm currently loving; hence Current Product Loves

Twas the Halloween season. I'm not a huge fan of halloween, but I do love decorations. The only halloween decor my roommate and I had going on in our apartment was this:

Mini pumpkins, one of which I covered in aquamarine glitter. A little glass pumpkin tea light holder. An owl; and a cobweb/skull tea light lantern. Nothing too extreme, but enough to make it feel a little bit festive. Now that Halloween is over, I'll be switching out all of these decorations for Christmas! Let me tell you, I go all out for Christmas. 

here's a close-up of the cutest little glitter pumpkin there ever was. I just used Mod Podge and Martha Stewart craft glitter

In terms of beauty products, these are the ones that I have been using a lot of most recently.

the first two products kind of go hand-in-hand

1. MAC pro sculpting cream in Coffee Walnut

AND

2. Covergirl single eyeshadow in Brown Smoulder

I've been using these two products as contour shades. Firstly, I was using the covergirl eyeshadow. It looks super scary in the pan, and swatched for that matter, but because it's a matte eyeshadow, it did me quite well as a contour. I was finding that "contouring" with a bronzer was just making me appear more orange than anything. Brown Smoulder is a dark brown colour, with no red or orange understones - just your typical bear brown. I would use a really light hand of this through the hollows of my cheeks and it did the job of creating a shadow through my cheekbones quite well. 

Until I found the Mac pro sculpting cream in Coffee Walnut. This is the most frightening looking contour shade I had ever seen. It's a greenish-brownish colour, but seriously it's amazing! It gives the most perfect shadowed look to the contours of your face. I use this through the hollows of my cheeks, on my temples, and across my jawbone. It's a limited edition product from the Face & Body collection currently out now at MAC. I had a lot of difficulty finding this product, though, so when I finally did find it, it kind of made it all the more special. 

Top - Covergirl eyeshadow in Brown Smoulder
Bottom - MAC pro sculpting cream in Coffee Walnut

3. Dior Amber Diamond all-over shimmering face powder. The highlighter of the gods. I haul'd this a little while back (check out that haul here). I've been using this as my highlighter for the past month or so and it's a beauty. Subtle, yet oh so purrdy. 

4. Beauty Blender sponge. This is the ultimate tool for getting flawless blend to my foundation. I dampen the sponge, and then dab my foundation into place. I'm planning a "favourite beauty tools" post, and this will for sure be in it. 


5. Christian Dior crème de rose lip balm. Such a lovely product! It's rosy, and balmy, and lovely. I use this as a nighttime lip balm because it's nice and thick and has all night to settle in and smooth my lips by morning. I instragrammed a photo as soon as I got this puppy: 

6. Benzagel acne gel. I've been breaking out like a...I don't even know. Just bad. I've been using Benzagel as an all-over treatment on any problem areas. I found that spot treatments just weren't cutting it for this issue, so I turned to the big guns. Benzagel is a 5% benzoyl peroxide solution. For me, salicylic acid on its own doesn't do a whole lot. I have better luck with salicylic acid and something else, or just something else on its own. So far, this benzagel stuff is doing me some good. 

7. Collection 2000 concealer in 02 Light. A heavy duty, liquid concealer. Stays all day. Doesn't look cakey. I use the doe-foot applicator to apply this to any spots or discolouration, and then buff it out with either my beauty blender or a duo fibre brush. I wish they sold this concealer in Canada, but unfortunately, it's a UK only brand. 

8. Since I've been breaking out a lot, I've found that I've needed a heavier foundation for me to feel happy with my face for that day. I've been using Clinique Redness Solution foundation in the shade 01 Alabaster. I like this foundation, it does a pretty good job at covering the majority of my redness and it had very good staying power. The only critique I have though is that this foundation would not cater to pale, pale skin. I'm finding that as my tan progressively fades and I get paler, 01 Alabaster is becoming a touch too dark. I find it a little strange that a brand like Clinique, who supposedly is one of the top skincare brands, especially for people with sensitive skin, wouldn't have lighter shades of foundation, given that a lot of people with sensitive tend to be more pale. You know what I mean? Anyways, for the time being, this foundation is really helping me along. 

9. This is probably the most random product: Polysporin. Like I said, I've been breaking out pretty bad lately. I don't handle breakouts well. It's difficult for me to change my skincare and makeup routines to revolve around the changing texture and tone of my skin. That being said, I tend to pick. I always think that just getting rid of pimple by picking at it will solve all my problems. I'm totally not alone in this though, right? My picking has lead me to have some scars that I NEED to get rid of - hence the polysporin. I've been using this on marks I've left in my skin to help treat them quickly and to promote healing. I use polysporin at night, and Cicaplast from La Roche Posay during the day (which I mentioned in my Skincare Routine post which you can read HERE). 

And those are the products that I have been currently using and loving. 
That's it for now

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

May Lovelies

I'm sorry this is late, but better late than never, right?

LOVELIES

My FAVE Makeup Setting Spray

Now that it's summer, I've become a bit a worry-wart when it comes to my makeup. I've been trying to use products that I know will last all day. When in doubt, I use this setting spray. 
A couple spritzes of this all over my already-done makeup helps it to last all day. Sometimes I don't even use a setting powder when I use this spray. 
For summer, this is definite staple in my makeup bag. 


xoxoDarlingBuds

April Lovelies, and some "Not-So Lovelies"

I'm going to start a new little series on my blog: monthly favourites. Monthly Favourites videos are some of my fave videos to watch from beauty gurus on youtube. I just love seeing what other people are using, what some new products are, and re-discovering old faithfuls. I like to live vicariously through beauty gurus on the internet, either youtube or their own personal blogs. But now since I have my own blog, I can do these things for myself, and I have to say I'm pretty excited :)