Where in the World Have I Been?

What a summer!
I can't believe it's almost over
I was away for 6 weeks working as a lifeguard at a children's summer camp. I had so much fun while I was gone but at the same time, it feels so good to be home. 
I have so many fabulous memories from this summer. Here's a glimpse into what I've been up to while I've been away...

some great friends of mine, Chris (left) and Mikk (right). I love being reunited with all of my friends at camp!

more fabulous friends! Kristina (left) and Leikki (right). I had so many crazy/fun/caffeinated/hilarious times with these two lovely ladies. I'm going to miss them during the year

me, busting a move on the dancefloor

the entire staff at camp! Never will you meet a more fun and outgoing group of people. I have so much love for all of these people. They made my summer amazing!

I hope to get back into a regular blogging routine in the upcoming days. I have a few more trips that I'm planning for the end of summer before I pack up and head back to university. 

I have so many new makeup and beauty tips to share with y'all, but I'm asking for you to be patient with me a little longer. I'll try and make it worth the wait 

xoxo
DarlingBuds

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