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

Book Review: Fifty Shades of Grey

If I had to describe “FiftyShades of Grey” in 3 words they would be: So. Much. Sex.

Fifty Shades of Grey is thenewest “romance” series to sweep the universe. Many people are calling it “Twilight for adults.”

In all fairness, the basis forthe Fifty Shades series was Twilight. The author, E L James, wrote the series(initially titled “Master of the Universe”) as a piece of Twilight fanfictionand posted it on the internet.

Fanfiction is a lose term todescribe any piece of literature written about characters or setting written bynon-professionals, or fans, based on an original piece of work. Coincidentally,I found a quote from author Lev Grossman (author of “the Magicians” which wasalso featured in my last book haul):

Fanfiction is what literature might looklike if it were reinvented from scratch after a nuclear apocalypse by a band ofbrilliant pop-culture junkies trapped in a sealed bunker. They don't do it formoney. That's not what it's about. The writers write it and put it up onlinejust for the satisfaction. They're fans, but they're not silent, couch-boundconsumers of media. The culture talks to them, and they talk back to theculture in its own language.

—Lev Grossman, TIME, July 18, 2011

When I first heart about FiftyShades of Grey I thought it was going to be exactly like Twilight, vampiresand all, but for a more mature audience. Boy, was I wrong.

The premise of the story is that there is this girl, AnastasiaSteele, and she goes to do an interview for her University’s student newspaperon behalf of her roommate who is the editor in chief, Kate, who is sick. Thesubject of her interview is Christian Grey, the CEO of Grey Enterprises: he’s27-years-old, a billionaire, and totally hottie with some major issues.

Like Twilight, you instantly fall in love with the characters andwant them to be together. It’s a hopeless, erotically-charged, yet romanticlove story.

Their relationship isn’t realistically functional. Every issue intheir relationship is solved with sex. It’s literally based solely on sex. Nearlyevery chapter of the book depicted some kind of sex scene. “Foil packet” and“come” are the most overused words in the book. I’m not joking. There is a lotof very graphic sex scenes depicted in this book. There is just so much sex!

That being said, it’s a fun read. Nobody us reading this bookbecause it’s a good plot, or well written. Like Twilight, the story is totallyimplausible but still entertaining. It’s also a super easy read. I finished thefirst book in less than 2 days. If you’re uncomfortable with extremely graphicdescriptions of sex, I do not recommend it. But if you don’t mind reading asteamy and graphically sexual story, then I would definitely give this a go.

I do have some serious concern for this series though…

**SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT** 

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The relationship between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steeleprogresses to a sexual relationship VERY quickly, and then soon after to BDSMrelationship. I’m talking 2 days after meeting the guy she decides to lose hervirginity to him. I know that this series is not meant for teens, let alonechildren; but Fifty Shades of Grey” hasbeen plastered all over the media lately and EVERYONE is talking about thisbook. I was in my local bookstore the other day and I heard 10 and 11 year oldgirls talking about this series. That seriously worries me. Where StephenieMeyer, through Twilight, preaches thevirtues of abstinence, and waiting until marriage to engage in sexualintercourse, Fifty Shades of Grey practicallycondones sex with strangers. Probably one of the most worrisome statementthrough the novel is Christian’s dislike of condoms and the pressure he puts onAnastasia to take birth control pills. CONDOMS ARE NOT JUST TO PREVENTPREGNANCY! The author wrote this book with an intended adult audience; however,the type of morals and values she proposes through the characters is less thanexemplary. No matter what age you are, there should be no rightful reason tolose yourself at the demands of a commanding billionaire. One of Anastasia’smain worries over the course of the novel that she and her “vanilla” sexualappetite will not be enough to satisfy Christians’ sadistic sexual preferences.She changes many aspects of her life in so many ways to make herself feel moresatisfactory for Christian’s preferences and lifestyle. In the end, she justcan’t understand to deal with the fact that part of Christian’s sexualpreferences involve wanting to punish Anastasia and hit her, flog her,or whip her. After one particularly “violent” sexual encounter, Anastasia walksout on Christian, leaving the fate of their relationship unknown at the end ofthe first book.
Anastasia really is a pathetic character. In that respect, she does remind me a lot of Bella Swan. Christian Grey and Edward Cullen are the badass characters that inevitably steal the hearts of the readers. Anastasia is just so...blah. She really doesn't have any redeemable qualities, nor is she that interesting. She's described as pretty & attractive in the book, but other than that, I really don't know why so many guys want her. She's nice and all, but super naive and sheltered. The only awesome thing about Anastasia Steele is that she gets to bang Christian Grey. Simple as that.

The plot line is mediocre, predictable, and unoriginal. The sex makes this book a seriously entertaining read. Kinky!

I've already read the second book in the series, Fifty Shades Darker, so I'll be sure to post my review on that soon :)
I'm hooked.


xoxoDarlingBuds

Book Review: The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I first featured this series in a recent Book Haul I did. I had heard about this book series through various Internet sources, it often being compared to The Hunger Games trilogy.

There are no spoilers in this review.


So click below to READ ON!

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

Pantene Aqua Light REVIEW

This is a follow-up review to a previous post in which I was sent these hair products from a product review site called ChickAdvisor. 

I have been using these products for about the last month and I now feel comfortably delivering my review

First things first: I have fine hair, and a day or two after I was it, it starts to look greasy in the roots. The ends are split and rather dry. The Pantene Aqua Light line is supposed to deliver clean, nourished, weightless hair.  

Shampoo: it's a light-weight formula that did not weigh down my hair but also left it feeling very clean and healthy. After using this shampoo, but hair was totally weightless and had more volume than if I had used another shampoo. I usually try and look for "thickening" or "volumizing" shampoos, but I was pleasantly surprise by how much volume I could achieve in my hair just by using a "weightless" formula instead.The smell of this shampoo is nice, but I don't find that it lingers in my hair after it's dry, which could either be a good or bad thing depending on your own personal shampoo preferences. Overall, I really like this shampoo. I think it's a really great shampoo for me and my hair type: nourishing, yet weightless, just like the bottle says. Anyone with fine hair looking for a bit for oomph I think would really enjoy this product.

Conditioner: This conditioner lived up to its claims of leaving my hair feeling weightless and nourished. It didn't make my hair AS soft as other conditioners I've used in the mask, such as my Macadamia hair mask or Joico K-Pak conditioners (see What's in my Shower). As far as I'm concerned, this products did its job and deliveres on every note that it said it would. I've noticed that since using the shampoo in conjunction with the conditioner from the Aqua Light line, my hair hasn't been getting as greasy as quickly as it normally would have. This conditioner did not weigh my hair down at all, and still left my ends feeling pretty soft and healthy. I recommend this product for people who are searching for a lightweight hair conditioner that delivers on nourishing benefits as well. 

Conditioning Shake: I don't usually buy leave-in conditioners of any sort because my hair is fine enough as is it that I don't want to weigh it down with more product, but I gave this a try. I must say that I do like the fact that this is a 2-in-1 product, leave-in conditioning spray and heat protectant. The packaging too was nice and sturdy, and it wasn't awkward to spritz the product into my hair. Sometimes spritz bottles are too heavy or awkwardly shaped making it difficult to dispense the product, but this was one good.

However, before I even sprayed this on my hair, I unscrewed the lid and smelt the product and there was a definite scent of rubbing alcohol. Low and behold, the second ingredient listed is "alcohol denat." I have tried other hair products in the past with alcohol listed in the ingredients and those products always dry out my hair. This one was no exception. After spraying this on my hair followed by a blow-dry, my hair felt dry and straw-like. The moisture that was added to my hair from the awesome shampoo and conditioner from the pantene pro-v aqua light line was affected with this spray. I have tried this spray along with a different shampoo and conditioner combination and it still left my hair feeling dry. I would not recommend this leave in conditoner to people, especially not to people with fine hair. I will not repurchase


Overall, I really like the Pantene Aqua Light line, with the exception of course of the conditioniing shake. I will definitely be using these products throughout the summer, and a repurchase is inevitable. My hair will be lovely

xoxoDarlingBuds

Mascara of the Week #4: NYC High Definition Separating Mascara

WEEK #4

Week #4 of my Mascara Problems series. Up for review this week was the High Definition Separating Mascara from NYC (New York Color).

Mascara of the Week #2: Maybelline "The Falsies Volum' Express" Mascara

WEEK #2

Week 2 of my Mascara Problems series. I'm starting to get a good feel for what I should be looking for in my perfect mascara. Up for review this week was Maybelline "The Falsies Volum' Express" mascara. This mascara has been on the market for a couple of years now and it gets a lot of hype from bloggers, youtubers, and "common folk" alike. I decided to put this mascara to my vigorous (sarcasm) testing to see what I thought of it.

Mascara of the Week: L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes

WEEK #1

This past week, I've been using L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara. This mascara is pretty neat. It's a dual-ended mascara; the first wand is a primer, while the second is the actual mascara. L'Oreal claims that using the two formulas in tandem extends the body of your lashes. Not only are you supposedly going to get super long lashes, but the other super neat thing about this mascara is that to take it off at the end of the day, you just hold a warm water soaked compress to your eyes and the mascara just slides off in 'tubes' - hence the "beauty tubes" aspect of this mascara. 

wand #1 - the lash primer

wand #2 - the mascara

no mascara!

According to the packaging, this mascara claims to give "80% visibly longer lashes." On the packaging, it also promises that the benefits of tube mascara is that it's long wearing, smudge proof, flake proof, and clump-free. Let's test those claims...

one coat step #1 - the primer

one coat step #2 - the mascara

I have to admit, this masacara wears really well throughout the whole day. I didn't have any problems whatsoever with smudging or flaking. However, I did notice that on a couple days, this mascara applied a little clumpy, which I do not like at all! It also looks really hard and spikey AND it does not hold a curl very well at all. In fact, I noticed that after applying the primer, I still had a semblance of a curl to my lashes, but after applying the second step to the mascara, the curl was completely gone. I don't know if this mascara formula is heavier because of the "beauty tube" aspect but it definitely didn't hold a curl and that is something that I'm looking for in my perfect mascara. 

The wand itself was okay - it was a on the big-ish side, and awkward to get to the lashes in the inner corner but it wasn't overly difficult to use. It's your basic typical, spooley mascara wand. 

People may think that the dual-ended primer + mascara aspect of this product is probably just a gimmick. I honestly think that using the mascara in conjunction with the primer did add a bit of length to my lashes. And the primer also plays a role in the ease of taking the mascara off. Other primers may be a waste of time and packaging, but in this case, it's the purpose of this product.

after being removed with water - the mascara comes off in "tubes"

I'm going to rate the mascara now based on the categories initially mapped out in my "How I'll Conduct a Mascara Review" post

1. Lash separation: 4 out of 5
2. Lash volume: 3 out of 5

3. Lash length: 4 out of 5
4. Holds curl: 1 out of 5 
5. Staying power: 5 out of 5
6. Mascara wand: 3 out of 5
7. Taking it off: 5 out of 5

8. Overall appearance: 3 out of 5

9. Overall score 28 out of 40

I think this mascara is really good if you need a mascara that you know will last throughout the whole day without flaking or smudging. For staying power alone I would repurchase this mascara. The fact that it doesn't move until you soak your eye with water is also a plus. It's a tried and true stay put mascara, but the hard, spiky appearance and its poor performance in holding a curl is a big disappointment. For a night out or a long day, I would wear this, but it's not a go-to everyday favourite.

The search continues...

xoxoDarlingBuds

Mascara Problems

I have a problem. No the problem is not that I buy too many mascaras. The problem is that I haven't found a good mascara! I can estimate that I have been wearing mascara since I was 13, that's 6 years. If I go though 5 or 6 mascaras a year, plus the other randoms I buy in between...that's roughly 40 mascaras. And a lot of money. Not one has been 100% successful. That's why I'm in the hunt for the BEST mascara. I've taken it upon myself to test not every, but a lot of them. I'm only going to be testing drugstore mascaras. I don't think that I will have to spend upwards of $30 to go the best mascara so I'm sticking with the more affordable ones. I'll update y'all on my findings. Wish me luck!


xoxoDarlingBuds

Review: NYC Blushable Cream Sticks

From left to right: Plaza Pink, Big Apple Blush, Barry New Yorker, South St. Seashell, Urban Spice

This is my favourite cream blush from the drugstore. In all honesty, it's my favourite cream blush ever because I don't own a "high-end" cream blush, nor have I ever swatched one in the store that I deemed better than this. The NYC blushable cream sticks are a really easy way to add colour to your cheeks without having to working about cakey product. I find that, for summer especially, powder blushes tend to look and feel a little too heavy on the skin. Cream blushes blend flawlessly into the skin and make it look like you're blushing from the inside out. 

I really like the packaging of the NYC blushable cream sticks because the twist up stick makes it super easy to dispense the product. I don't have to worry about flimsy lids, or hard to open caps. The product itself is also really creamy and easy to blend. The colour pay-off is very good. It's enough colour to show a flush on the cheeks, but not too much that you're furiously trying to blend out the product. Some of the colours, such as Plaza Pink and Urban Spice, also have a bit of sheen to them and they act as a slight highlighter too.

From top to bottom: Urban Spice, South St. Seashell, Barry New Yorker, Big Apple Blush, Plaza Pink

Plaza Pink (used in my Drugstore FOTD), Big Apple Blush and Urban Spice (used in my Bronzed & Gilded FOTD) are my most used colours. Some of you might be interested to know that Plaza Pink is basically Nars' "Deep Throat" blush in a cream form.

NYC blushable cream sticks are available at most drugstores for around $3 each! I got some of mine on sale so they were even less than that! They're such a good bargain, too great to pass up!

xoxoDarlingBuds

Review: Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr

There have been so many people raving about this product over youtube and other blogs that I had to jump on the bandwagon myself. First off: I love cream eyeshadows. When I'm in a rush, want a longer staying power on my eye makeup, or if I'm in need of a good base, I always turn to cream eyeshadows to do the trick. Before Maybelline Color Tattoo, I only knew of higher end brands that had cream eyeshadows, like Benefit Creaseless cream shadows and MAC Paint pots. Never before has a drugstore brand taken on the difficult task of branching out into the realm of cream shadows. Until now...

 I have four colours so far from the Color Tattoo range (but I will definitely be going back for more). I went for the more neutral, everyday wearable colours because I wanted to be able to test them out on a regular day (i.e. wear them to class).

The staying power of these cream shadows is great, and they don't crease! Although I haven't tested the 24 hour wear claim, they last up very well for a prolonged time period. "Tough as Taupe" is the more unique colour because it's completely matte. It really is a true taupe colour, with undertones of purple and brown. All four of the shades that I have are all very wearable and nice. 

From top to bottom: Bold Gold, Tough as Taupe, Bad to the Bronze, Too Cool. 
As you can see from the swatches, all the colours apart from Tough as Taupe have a sheen/shimmer. I just love them! Although a word of advice, if you want to blend them, you'll have to work pretty fast because they set rather quickly. 
I have my eyes set on the some of the brighter colours from the range for spring/summer. There are so many colours to choose from that these cream shadows can be used for any and every makeup look. A very versatile product from the drugstore. A good buy indeed!


xoxoDarlingBuds

Review: Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB cream

This product could definitely be used as a replacement for foundation. It's like a tinted moisturizer, but with more skin-calming benefits for toning, pigmentation and overall luminosity. I will most definitely be replacing my $55 Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer with this bb cream. I just think the price and the overall benefits of a bb cream, particularly the Garnier bb cream, outweighs any regular tinted moisturizer. The coverage of this bb cream is the same, if not more, than any tinted moisturizer I've tried, and the finish of it satin-y which I like. The coverage is also build-able without being cakey or looking like there is way too much product on my face. It also smells fantastic! I can't find anything bad to say about this product. Well actually...the "light/medium" shade is definitely too dark for some fairer people out there so this product doesn't really cater to that wide of a demographic.

Another pro is I'm also starting to notice that some of my dark, hyper-pigmented spots on my face are starting to diminish and I've only been using this product for about a month. 
Sometimes, on days when I feel like I need even more coverage, I use this product under my foundation. On those days, I only use foundation in the spots that I need more coverage, like on my chin where I have some really dark spots. I don't find that those two products layered looks cakey; and I also don't notice that staying power is diminished or increase, it's just normal, I guess.

the finish of Garnier's bb cream (on my hand, obvi)

I'm really happy to see more affordable and effective products starting to make their way to the drugstores


xoxoDarlingBuds