May 2015 Favorites

Another month in the books! I’m always amazed at my perpetual surprise when another month comes to a close. As I’ve gotten older I feel like time goes by faster and faster. And as per usual, there were beauty products I was gravitating towards.

The black, gold, white and pink theme was completely unintentional. A happy accident!

My nails were constantly painted with the Nails Inc x Victoria Beckham Bamboo White nail polish. It is just the perfect neutral shade that goes with everything. I foresee this also being a favorite for June, July, August… and on.

The Tarte Park Ave Princess Palette isn’t a favorite per say, but I really have been using the heck out of the bronzer in this palette. Vancouver’s weather has been exceptional the past couple of weeks, and I’ve been feeling the bronze vibes as of late.

For office days, I have been reaching for Bite Beauty’s lipstick in Fig, as it’s a no-fuss, very neutral and safe lip colour. This also feels exceptionally comfortable on the lips.

As I mentioned previously, the weather in Vancouver has been absolutely stunning, and when the weather is nice I tend to reach for the Jouer Matte Moisture Tint, I have the shade porcelain. I like this for hot days because it tends to keep my skin on the matte side. This has also been a nice base for me as the weather has gotten less dry, therefore I have fewer dry patches for this to cling to.

The Lush Lid Paint in the shade Sophisticated is a gorgeous cream shadow that I have been using as an all over eyeshadow look. This is a great stand alone shade that can be sheered out for just a little hint of something on the lids, or can be built up for a gorgeous taupe-y bronze eye look.

As previously mentioned, I’ve been loving bronzer this month, and to apply it I have been exclusively using the Real Techniques Duo Fiber Face Brush for a sheer wash all over the face. Just to keep things from getting cakey.

I’ve still been loving the Lush Pearl Massage Bar, both as a moisturizer, or as a solid perfume, as this massage bar is especially potent with Lush’s Rose Jam scent.

I picked up a new deodorant this month, the Lavanila Healthy Deodorant in the Grapefruit Vanilla scent. I really like this for causal days, however in the recent heat I’ve noticed it’s shortfalls. This is not an anti-antiperspirant and that becomes painfully obvious once the sun beams are out. I still really like this deodorant. A full review will be up shortly.

Lastly, my skin savior: the Body Shop Vitamin E Sink in Moisture Mask. I use this every night as a night time moisturizer, and my skin has never felt better. This keeps the dry skin away completely, and I’m currently wondering what I ever did without it. This is quickly becoming a product I’d never want to be without.

June: here we come!

Xx Brianna

April 2015 Favorites

Another month in the bag! Time flies while you’re having fun, and I guess I had a lot of fun because I’m not really sure where this month went. It’s been a very busy month for me, and a very makeup-y month for me as well! I addressed a lot of ‘needs’ (lets me real… they’re all non-necessities) in my beauty collection, and I’m really happy with this collection of favorites.

Some old and some new – let’s get into it!

I was all about the Naked 2 Basics palette this month. This palette just has everything I need, it’s got lots of mid-toned neutrals which are apparently all I own, some lighter highlight shades, and a perfect shade for my brows. I feel like this palette is in every single one of my Face of the Day posts, but that just goes to show how much I reach for the thing. The Wet n Wild polish in the shade A Latte Love was pretty much omnipresent this month. I wore this polish back to back, something totally unheard of for me. I think I wore it 3 out of the 4 weeks this month, which really says something. It’s the perfect shade for any occasion at a really affordable price. And the formula is on point. The Jouer Matte Moisture Tint in the shade Porcelain was my go to for the month of April. My skin has gone from oily to more dry, so I find I don’t even really need to powder (just my nose) when I use this as my base. It covers nicely, but naturally, and doesn’t cake up or settle into pores. For face powder purposes I really found myself reaching for the Tarte Park Ave Princess palette. I use it all. Bronzer: awesome, blush: gorgeous, highlight: subtle and glowing. This is a traveler’s best friend, as you can easily use the highlight and brozer for a simple eye look. Totally (still) in love with this palette.

Some stuff went down with my skin this past month. I’m not really sure how this happened but my skin got so dry and so flaky that just exfoliating was not doing the job whatsoever. So I marched on down to The Body Shop and picked up the Vitamin E Sink in Moisture Mask. And it has totally done my skin a solid. I use it as a night cream and I have not seen a flake on my skin since I started using it. You can bet your bottom dollar that I’ll have a full review up in the near future. I was reunited with my Bite BB for Lips in the shade Flush this month. I really like this for work, or when you just want to slap something on super quickly. Last up is Lily Lolo eyeshadow in the shade Vanilla Shimmer that busted me out of my matte shadow funk. This is a beautiful shadow to just sweep over the lid and head out the door.

I may or may not have acquired a LOT of new products over the month of April, it was tempting to throw them all in this post, but I really wanted to give everything a fair shot, so expect a lot of reviews up in the coming weeks.

Talk soon,

Xx Brianna

Face of the Day – Simply Spring

Is anyone else just totally inspired by the fresh new season? I don’t know what it is but this Spring feels like the first time I’ve seen sunlight in my life. I was inspired by the sunshine to do a quick and simple face of the day.

FACE & LIPS

Once the weather warms up I like to try and use the fewest amount of products possible. My skin was behaving so I just used the Jouer Matte Moisture Tint in the shade Porcelain as my base. Since my skin has become more dry I find I don’t even need a powder to set this product. I added some brightness to my face with the Milani Coral Cove blush using the Real Techniques Duo Fiber Face Brush for a soft finish. To match I quickly put on the Bite Beauty BB for Lips in the shade Flushed. I think the lip colour complimented the blush quite nicely, if I do say so myself.

EYES

Eyes, as per my usual, were kept simple. I used the shade Skimp (the lightest) from the Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics palette all over my lid with the Eco Tools Blend and Smudge Brush, and then fanned the shade Frisk (third from the left) through my crease with the Real Techniques Angled Shadow Brush. A quick one two punch that I find I can always go-to when I’m in a rush or just downright lazy. I added a little nude liner (the NYX Wonder Pencil) to my waterline, and added mascara from Pur Minerals… my absolute holy grail. For my brows, I used the shade Undone (the darkest) from the same palette on my Tarte Shape Shifter Double-Ended Bamboo Brow Brush, and sealed all that powder in with the essence Brow Gel.

I feel like this would be a great face for when you’re out and about in the sun. I’ve got all my SPF needs covered, and have the ability to sweat and not have make up literally all over my face.

Talk soon,

Xx Brianna