A Haul to End All Hauls

This is the most collective of hauls.
Over the course of the summer and fall, I've picked up a couple of new products here and there. There have been many-a-shopping excursion over the past few months aside from my recent Sephora Friends & Family Haul.
I picked up a lot of great stuff that I am absolutely loving, and some other things that I probably could have forgone. 

The product I am loving the most are these MAC Pro Sculpting Creams, part of the Face & Body collection they released this fall. 

Top: Pure Sculpture & Coffee Walnut
Bottom, right: [top] Coffee Walnut, [bottom] Pure Sculpture

I first got the colour "Pure Sculpture" (left) which is the more reddish/orange tone. This product is actually very comparable in colour and texture to my beloved Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel. However, for sculpting this was not a good colour match for me and I'm a little peeved that the MAC lady sold me on this. That being said, the second colour I picked up, Coffee Walnut (right), is an absolute dream! I also about this particular shade in my most recent Current Product Loves post. Coffee Walnut is a brownish/greenish shade and when applied to the hollows of the cheeks it just gives the most natural looking shadow. It's really a fantastic product and it was well worth all the hunting I did for it.

Another MAC product I've picked up is the 116 brush. 

I was looking for the 109 brush, but they didn't have it in stock and the MAC lady (a different one than the evil lady who sold me pure sculpture) offered up the 116 in replacement. I really like that it's a stiff, domed blush brush and I've gotten a lot of use out of it thus far. Happy purchase!

I had been dying to try the Too Faced Better Than False Lashes system, and in July, I finally picked it up for myself. 

This lash system is a 3 step process: first and third involved using the bigger gold tube of mascara to coat the lashes, and the second step is the "nylon lash extension." The application is simple and not too time consuming, it also doesn't take a lot of effort to get the desired look. My lashes definitely did look longer, so it worked! However, because of the fibres, my top and bottom lashes had a tendency to get stuck together when I blinked. It wasn't uncomfortable, per se, but it was definitely a strange sensation.

Too Faced Better Than False Lashes: this is the wand for the "nylon lash extensions" - you can see the fibres coating the wand

Two random baubles that I picked up were the Wet n' Wild Idol Eyes eye shadow pencil in the shade Pixi and MAC Studio Finish concealer in the shade NC20. 

I like them both, that's all I can really say about these. They're both pretty generic products. The WnW shadow pencil is really easy to apply to the eyes, and it blends easily, although I do recommend using a base and topping it with a shadow because it won't last long on its own. The MAC concealer is also really creamy and easy to blend and I have been using it mostly as an under eye concealer to help preserve the longevity of my beloved Bobbi Brown corrector. 

I've been a slave to my eyebrows lately and I wanted to try some drugstore eyebrow pencils. For days when I don't have time or don't want to spend the time filling in my eyebrows with powder (MAC Omega) I wanted a pencil for quick and easy touch ups. 

I picked the Rimmel professional Eyebrow Pencil in the shade Hazel and the Wet n' Wild Coloricon pencil in the shade Taupe. I won't be getting a lot of use out of the Rimmel pencil because it is way too orange for my brows/complexion. Unfortunately, Hazel is the lightest shade they have and the next shade up is way too dark. I do love the Wet n' Wild pencil though. Taupe is an ashy blonde colour and it works really well with my eyebrows. The texture of the pencil is very creamy/waxy (because these pencils are also meant to be eyeliners) so I find that it tames my brows along with filling them in. I wish that it came with a spooly on the end, but whatever.

I guess you can say I went a little blush crazy over the past few months.

I purchased my first two ever Topshop cosmetic products. I went for two cream blushes because I've heard the best things about those. I picked up the shades Head over Heels, which is a coral shade (definitely super easy to blend it out and make it more muted) and High Five, which is a bright pink shade. Both of these cream blushes are easily blended to create a flawless flush on your cheeks. I also finally caved and bought my first Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in the shade Tipsy. Tipsy is the most orangey/coral shade offered in the range, and I bought it on recommendation from Vivianna Does Makeup (as per usual). These blushes are super pigmented and definitely worth all the hype they get, in my opinion. I don't think I'll be able to get a lot of use out of this blush during the winter months because I get super pale in the winter I don't think I'll be able to pull off such a bright coral. But for summer, this blush was lovely.

REVLON KISSABLE BALM STAINS!!! I know, I'm probably more excited about these than any normal person should be.

bottom swatches: Charms, Honey, Cherish, Rendezvous, Adore

I was so stoked when these finally showed up in Canadian drugstores. Right off the bat, I purchased Charm, Cherish, Honey, and Rendezvous - brighter colours for summer, and Honey and Charm being more neutral/everyday shades that would have the most wear. Most recently, I picked up Adore, a deep red tube but the colour of the product itself is a lot more orangey/red, but still really nice. Here's a picture of me wearing it that I posted to my instagram:

As you can see, it's not the deepest red, but it's still wearable, especially this season.

Last up, L'Oreal Colour Riche by Colour Caresse (unnecessary long name)

The swatches are flipped
swatches [right pic]: Sunset Angora, Pink Cashmere

I picked up two shades: 171 Pink Cashmere and 176 Sunset Angora. I don't get as much use out of these as the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains, but I still do like these lip products. They are very creamy and they have better pigmentation than Revlon Lip Butters. They don't wear too long, maybe only an hour or two before they need reapplication. These are not to be confused with a tinted lip balm because they are not moisturizing nor are they forigiving on dry lips. The square gold packaging is very chic and I want to look into some of the deeper colours from this range for fall/winter.

WHAT A DOOZY

That was a long ass post for a big ass haul.
So that's a pretty good overview of the products that I've purchased throughout the summer, some that I'm loving and some not so much.

xoxoDarlingBuds

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

Tag! Most Worn Summer Things

This is a tag that has been going around YouTube. I decided to do my own little blog post tag, and  I also thought it was a really great way to summarize my all-time favourites from the summer, since I missed a couple of monthly Lovelies. 

These are the different categories of the Most Worn Summer Things TAG:
Most Worn Nail Polish
Most Worn Scent
Most Worn Hair Product
Most Worn Bag
Most Worn Shoes
Most Worn Accessory
Most Worn Clothing Item
Most Worn Foundation
Most Worn Blush & Bronzer
Most Worn Lip Product
Most Worn Mascara
Most Worn Eyeshadow

Most Worn - Nail Polish

 I couldn't just pick one nail polish. I featured both of these polishes in my Summer Nail Polish Picks post. Sally Hansen "Pacific Blue" (NOTD post here) I wore mostly on my nails. The bright neon pink colour, China Glaze "Flip Flop Fantasy" was on my toes the entire summer! A lot of friends also borrowed it and used it on their toes and fingers, hence the barely-there label. The neon pink makes you look so tan! 

Most Worn - Scent

When I think of summer, I automatically think of Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue eau de toilette. This has been my go-to summer scent for years! I actually used to wear this perfume all year round, but it has since been retired to seasonal purposes only. It's so light and fresh, citrusy too? I'm terrible at describing scents, but I think everyone has taken a whiff of this perfume and/or owned it themselves at one point in their lives. 

Most Worn - Hair Product

Sun damage, hair dye, chlorine, and summer in general really took a toll on my hair this summer. I used my bottle of MoroccanOil (light) religiously this summer! Every day, sometimes twice a day, I would reapply this miracle elixir to the ends of my hair. I don't even want to know what state my hair would have been in at the end of the summer if I didn't use this product.

Most Worn - Bag

I wasn't really out and about, shopping around much this summer, but when I did go out, I also tossed everything into my black Longchamps bag. No need for organization, and this bag carries everything I need. No fuss, no hassle. 

Most Worn - Shoes

These cruddy flip flops from Old Navy were glued to my feet all summer long. I was lifeguarding at a summer camp, and flip flops were always the easiest thing to just slip on. Flip flops are the definition of summer. 

 Most Worn - Clothing & Accessory

As I mentioned above, and in this blog post, I spent most of my summer lifeguarding at a kid's camp. It should come as no surprise that I basically wore my Lifeguard singlet every day (I had a couple, so it wasn't so grungy). As for accessories, the only accessory I wore every single day were sunglasses, and my sunglasses on choice this summer were my new Ray-Ban aviators. It all just screams LIFEGUARD!

Most Worn - Foundation

There were a lot of days during the summer when I didn't wear anything on my face at all except for a few dabs of concealer. But if I was going to wear foundation it would without a doubt be my Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer in the shade Nude. This is so light, and there's also some SPF in it so it was perfect for those hot, sunny summer days. 

Most Worn - Blush & Bronzer

I'm still addicted to my MAC Well Dressed blush (full review here) and equally addicted to my trusty Soleil Tan de Chanel cream bronzer. These two were an unbeatable combinations in brightening up my face, and giving me that subtle and natural flush and bronzy glow. Perfection!

Most Worn - Lip Product & Mascara

I was so excited when the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains became available in Canada that I jumped at the chance and got 3 all at once. The one I wore the most during the summer months, was "Cherish", a light blue-pink colour. I'm a planning a blog post in the near future dedicated to these new lip products! The mascara that I wore all throughout the summer was Maybelline One by One (the waterproof formula). This is such a great mascara! You can tell by the tube just how much I used this over the summer - the label has completely rubbed off! I haven't had a chance to do a full #mascaraproblems review of it yet, but I fully intend to once I pick up a new tube, with the label. 

Most Worn - Eyeshadow

I hardly wore any eyeshadow over the summer, but when I did it was always a cream shadow - more specifically, Chanel Illusion d'Ombre cream shadow in Emerveille. This is such a lovely peachy-pink sheer shimmery shadow. It was such a versatile shadow to wear no matter what my overall look was. I'm definitely glad I got this splurge of an eyeshadow. 

So that's it for my MOST WORN SUMMER THINGS!
I really enjoyed doing this tag, and I think I'll do more tag posts in the future. 

Now that I'm back at Uni and have all my blogging equipment more readily available (i.e. internet, since there was no internet up at the summer camp) I hope to be blogging more regularly again. Fingers crossed, and stay tuned!

xoxoDarlingBuds

FOTD: New Display Pic

Finally! A new blog post. I have been meaning to get this posted for many weeks now. Sorry for the wait!
I have a new display picture for my blog and this is the makeup I was wearing the day that I snapped that shot. 

the new display pic

I was in a blogging/photographing mood that day. I'm really happy with how all the pictures turned out and I am also very fond of how "natural" looking my makeup was that day. 

I'm not one to get all decked out in makeup everyday, I'm not joking. I always like to have a flawless base, i.e. my foundation and concealer, but in terms of eye makeup, on a day to day basis I like to keep it neutral with a subtle shimmer. The look that I'm wearing in this picture is SO ME it's not even funny. 

Face:

My Soleil Tan de Chanel and I have been inseparable all summer long. It has been a key product for me to even out my tan and tone down a bit of the redness in my face, inevitable from hours of sun exposure. I then used my handy dandy Bobbi Brown corrector in Porcelain Peach to get rid of the look of dark circle under my eyes. To even out my skin tone, I used the new Maybelline Dream Fresh BB cream in the shade Light-Medium. I've only used this product a handful of times so I don't yet have a good feel for how much I do or don't like it. My typical concealer routine consisted of Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer in shade 52 to cover any blemishes and discoloration. Maybelline Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser in Light to add another layer of concealer to my insanely dark circles; and finally Rimmel Match Perfection highlighting concealer in shade 003 to add some brightness to my face. I set that all with my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in the shade Medium Plus 

Cheeks:

I have been loving my new blush, Well Dressed from MAC (full review of this blush can be read here). This blush just adds the nicest hint of colour to my cheeks. I then contoured and warmed up my face a bit with Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in the shade Medium Dark. 

Eyes:

I found some NYX eyeshadows stashed away in my collection that I brought out to use for this look. Ever since then, they have been a staple in my makeup bag.

The lighter shade on top is Champagne. I used this shade on the inner third of my lid. The darker shade on the bottom is Iced Mocha and I used this shadow on the outer part of my lid to add a little bit of dimension.

I used Almay's One Coat Nourishing Triple Effect mascara (what a mouthful of a name). It's decent enough, but it didn't provide me with enough length or volume, but I do really like the wand and brush - full with natural bristles. 

Lips:

I decided to keep the lips pretty neutral, glossy, and feminine. I chose this pink gloss from Dior that I've had lying around forever (Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Reflect in shade #257). This was just a simple and clean way to finish up the entire look. 

xoxoDarlingBuds

P.S. this little gem came out of all the pictures I took for this FOTD. I couldn't resist, I had to include it. It's so funny! 

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

FOTD: TAN!

I love summer. 
It's such a good excuse to get out into the sun and be a bronze goddess. 
Over the past few weeks, I've managed to build up a pretty good tan so I can safely say now that bronzer has become a staple product in my everyday makeup routine. 
During the colder months when I'm more pale, I really only use bronzer to add some warmth to my face or to contour a bit. In summer, I put my bronzer everywhere! I always put sunscreen on my face, so in contrast to winter, my face now is actually lighter than the rest of my body (no orange face for me)
I've been really into using my Chanel's Soleil Tan de Chanel (or Bronze Universal, whatever you want to call it) cream bronzer to add an even bronzed tone all over my face. I use it lightly with a kabuki brush to give my complexion on even bronzed base
Here's the final result

And y'all know me, I used my newly bronzed visage as the perfect foundations for a summer makeup look.
Here are all the products I used to achieve this look: 

In typical ME fashion, I used a lot of products to get a fairly simple look. To me, it's all about having the most flawless base and then building up the extras (i.e. eyes, lips, cheeks) around that perfected complexion. One day, I swear, I'll have to do a FOTD using minimal products. I promise I can do it! 

FOTD: New Products!

Featured in a recent haul, were a bunch of products from theBalm that I picked up from Hautelook. Using a bunch of products from that haul, I came up with this look:

As I mentioned above, a great deal of the products I used for this FOTD were from that Hautelook haul of theBalm. I got a good deal of the quality of the products from this FOTD and I've been using them more frequently as of late. I'll try and give y'all an idea of what I think of these products 

click below to read/see more

May Lovelies

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

LOVELIES

FOTD: More like "the same makeup I have been wearing all week"

Is it a makeup rut if I've been following the same makeup routine for the past few weeks? Or does it just mean that something has finally contented me enough to not want to change it. Call is laziness, inspiration, perfection or whatever, but THIS is the makeup that I have been wearing...

Holla!

click below to read/see more

Uh Oh...I've done it again

Hue from MAC is one of my favourite lipsticks of all time; but, I hate the way it clings to any little dry patches on my lips. It's a glaze finish which is also a sheerer formula, another aspect I'm not too particularly fond of. I feel like it really just accentuates any flaw. So I went to MAC looking for a replacement, and I ended up coming out of the shop with 2 replacements! And then randomly, as if driven by some supernatural force, I ended up in Sephora...but I only bought one thing so that is a vast improvement! Yay me!

The MAC Lipsticks:

The pinky-nudey colour on the left is Creme Cup, and the peachy-nudey colour on the right is Creme d'Nude. Two colours which have coincidentally been on my MAC Want List for a while. When swatched side by side with Hue, they look sort of similar. Obviously Creme Cup plays up more on the pink tones in Hue, whereas Creme d'Nude leans more towards the peach and nude hues in Hue (ha, no shit).

I'll do a more in depth review and comparaison bientôt.

MUFE at Sephora

I have been eyeing this colour aqua cream shadow ever since I bought my first one way back in November. I couldn't decide between #15 and #13 at the time. I ended up buying #15 which as it turns out, is a total dupe for the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze . Which leaves MUFE #13. A lovely champagne-beige colour. It's got shimmer, but not too much. I've seriously been loving cream shadows recently because they're easy to apply, they last all day, and they don't crease or smudge. 

MUFE Aqua Cream eye colour, #13

Such lovely new products! I've been such a haul-zilla lately! 

xoxoDarlingBuds