new neutrals

While I think Clinique's skincare line is top notch (love their Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief moisturizer and All About the Eyes cream), I'm not too familiar with their makeup line except for their Black Honey Almost Lipstick and Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss, both of which I have in my collection. When I was in high school, I tried on my mum's purple eyeshadow from Clinique and I vividly remember the eyeshadow having massive fall out and looking like someone punched me in the eye. 

One night, I happen to be casually browsing through the Sephora website, as one with a makeup addiction does and this popped up in the New Arrivals section. I was intrigued and decided to take a closer look in-stores. After the first swatch, I HAD to have it. Unfortunately, it was sold out at my local Sephora. A couple days later, I was downtown and checked out the Sephora there and they had it in stock! I threw it into my basket, booted to the cashier and 5 minutes later, I walked out with a new palette. 

It's very sleek and compact, fits nicely in the hand, comes with a dual-sided brush, and a full mirror. The eyeshadows are very creamy and blend perfectly with one another. I don't really use the dual-sided brush that it comes with but if I was in a pinch, it's not horrible to use.

I'm glad to have this is my collection and I think it's a great palette for travel and will look good on anyone, from a classic work look to a dramatic smokey eye.

playing lip service

I'm over winter. Non-stop flurries since Sunday and while this might not be the polar vortex that is coursing through the United States right now, I'm over it. I want spring to come. Badly. But, since it's not happening as soon as I want it to be, I'm indulging in some bright, vibrant colours for the lips.

From the drugstore (top to bottom):
Maybelline Colorsensational Elixir in Breathtaking Apricot 005, L'Oreal Extraordinaire by Colour Riche in Orange Tempo, and Rimmel Lasting Finish Colour Rush Long Lasting Intense Colour Balm in 300 Viva Violet. Peaches, oranges and a bright pink purple to boost the mood when the weather is so grey out.

These are the first Chanel lipsticks I've ever bought and I couldn't be happier with the colours that I've chosen. On the left is Rouge Coco Hydrating Creme Lip Colour in 54 Le Baiser, which is described as a deep pink with gold shimmer, but the shimmer isn't obnoxious or over the top. On the lips, the colour is more of a coral than a deep pink because of the gold shimmer, which makes the lips look fuller and glossy. 

The Rouge Allure Luminous Intense Lip Colour in 145 Rayonnante is a deep fuchsia with mauve shimmer. Again, the shimmer isn't too intense either, but it does provide another dimension to the lip colour. 

I'm ready for spring, so hurry up and get here!

bite me

I wandered into Sephora downtown with no real intention of buying anything and happen to stumble upon the Bite Beauty lip lab event, where you can choose your colour, finish (satin, matte or sheer) and essential oil to make your own custom lipstick for the price of $36. Of course, I couldn't pass up this opportunity and walked out with 2 colours: #23 a neutral pink colour with citrus and #27 a raspberry red with mint. 

I also got a free cinnamon plumping lip oil sample with my purchases, which I haven't tried yet. I'm assuming it gives you that tingling feeling as the cinnamon stimulates your lips, giving you that momentary plumpness.

*Sorry for the blurry last picture, my camera was having troubles zooming in onto the product. 

don't hate me cuz I'm beautiful

Another eyeshadow palette to add to my growing stack and this one is from NARS.  It's called the NARSissit and it's a 15-eyeshadown palette that ranges from neutrals, warm to cool tones and darker colours for a night-time (or day, depending on your preference) smokey eye look.

This palette contains 15 of NARS best-selling eyeshadows and there's a good mix of shimmer, matte to frost finishes that will satisfy everyone and their needs to make a variety of eyeshadow looks. I love the large mirror and the fact that it's incredibly slim in packaging, which makes it great for travelling. While you are getting a lot of colours in this palette, the size of each individual eyeshadow is quite small, if you were to compare it to other palettes like the Urban Decay's Naked palettes. The packaging does get dirty very quickly, but it's nothing that a wet wipe can't solve. The only real downside of this palette is the price: this palette retails for a whopping $85 at Sephora. Otherwise, if you're relatively new the the NARS brand and want to try a little bit of everything, and you don't mind spending a little more money, than this is a great palette for you. If you're looking for alternate options, I'd check out the Urban Decay, Stila, Clinque or Too Faced.

get it before it's gone

It's sad when you see a cosmetic line leave Sephora, but it's even more sad when it's name brand that you have always wanted to try but never really got around to it. The only good thing out of this scenario is the discounted prices when Sephora puts it all on sale to get rid of leftover stock. So, before everything disappeared for good (as you won't be able to find Lorac Cosmetics in Canada anymore, boo!), I picked up a few items to try out.

The Lorac POREfection Baked Perfecting Powder is smooth to the touch, not too powdery and really nice but it's just a tad shade darker than my current skin-tone. I think once the weather gets warmer and I start getting a "glow," this colour will be perfect me.

I checked the swatches on-line for this product, but I didn't realize how bronzed this highlighter was until I had it in my grubby paws. It's a lovely colour and kinda reminds me of the Dior Amber Diamond Skin Shimmer (which I can't seem to find on Sephora... is it discontinued?!)

Last but not least, is the Lorac Pro to Go palette, which is essentially THE perfect all-in-one travel palette. It comes with 4 natural eyeshadows, 2 highlighting shadows, 2 matte blushes (coral and pink), a matte bronzer and 2 small brushes. The design of the palette separates the eyeshadows from the blushes and bronzers, folds up into a sturdy, compact palette with magnetic closures and is pretty much all you need to create a day to night look.