June 2015 Favorites

June is in the books, and I know I fell slightly silent on here for about two weeks. It was a combination of a bunch of things, mostly that the sun came out and I wanted to be at the beach instead of glued to my computer. It happens to all of us. But I’ve got the itch for blogging again, and I obviously continued to use beauty products throughout my mini hiatus, so let’s get into what I was loving this month.

I have to say, this month’s favorites is full of gems.

The Lush Cream Eyeshadow in the shade ‘Sophisticated’ has been absolutely fantastic for me this month. This is a gorgeous bronze-shimmer shadow that looks so effortless on the lid. I love this eyeshadow because it stays in place beautifully, it’s really subtle so I don’t feel like a clown in the office, and you just need this one shadow and your eye look is complete.

The Body Shop nail polish in the shade Rosy Cheeks is perfection for summer. I actually don’t find this polish to be rose hued at all, to me it’s a pink-coral that’s very bright on the nail. The polish is beautifully opaque in two coats, and lasts a solid week.

I snagged the Sonia Kashuk Eye on Neutral Palette well before Target peaced out of Canada, and I’m forever grateful I did. This is probably one of the best neutral matte palettes out there if you’re basic like me and shy away from all forms of colour. It has the most beautiful assortment of matte shades, I specifically love the shade on the bottom left all over the lid as a one and done shade. Big surprise here: I am lazy.

The Josie Maran Coconut Water Cheek Gelee, this one specifically is in the shade Pink Escape. I have 3 of these blushes and I am forever obsessed with them. They are so natural and easy to apply, they look beautiful and like you’ve just been out in the cold weather. One day, I swear I will own them all. I also really like these on the lips, they give a gorgeous natural flush to the lips, and they don’t dry anything out.

I have also been getting a lot of use out of my Body Shop Colour Crush Lipstick in Sunset Romance. Also known as the number 18 as the Body Shop has not gotten with the program and only puts the name on the wrapping that gets thrown out immediately. This lipstick is nice and sheer, and just gives a gorgeous hint of coral. I like this lipstick because I can easily apply it without a mirror, and it’s not a total full on colour, so I’m not completely intimidated by it.

I began my love affair with the Josie Maran Argan Oil Hair Serum this month. My boyfriend gifted me this travel size serum because I’ve been having some serious issues with my hair lately. A whole blog post is coming about the past two month nightmare that is my hair. This serum smells really lovely, and helps to tame away frizz, which my hair is very prone to when I don’t heat style it. This serum has never made my hair feel sticky or greasy, and a very, very small amount goes a very long way. I like to scrunch this into my hair on towel dried hair, and it leaves a gorgeous scent, and soft locks.

The Real Techniques Duo Fiber Brush has been all over my face this month. I have two of these, and I like to use one for powder, and one for bronzer. When the summer months hit, I find I want a really natural look, and these duo fiber brushes from Real Techniques do the trick. Plus they wash up beautifully, and are super soft.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been hitting the beach a lot lately, and because of that none of my base products match my skin anymore. I ran out and picked up the Flower Beauty BB Cream in the shade BB2. This is a really nice BB Cream, however I have to say it’s more like a tinted moisturizer. This has a matte finish and light to medium coverage. The only thing I’m not crazy about is the blendability, this product sets pretty quickly, so I’d recommend working in one section of your face at a time.

I’ve been all about the Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara again. This mascara is just my holy grail and I don’t think I’ll ever find one that’s as good as this one. The only thing I’m not crazy about is the price, but this just gives me all the length, separation, and volume I could ever ask for. This is the one, please never get discontinued.

That’s it for the month of June! July is my birthday month so I always look forward to it. It’s also my last month at one of my jobs as I’ll be moving into full time at the other. This adult-no-more-student thing is still very strange.

Talk soon,

Xx Brianna

March 2015 Favorites

I know everyone always says that the months just fly by but I seriously feel like March didn’t even happen. It was a crazy month, between helping my boyfriend move, to starting a new position at one of my jobs, to road tripping down to Seattle. There was not a lot of downtime this past month. Regardless of how fast time flies, there are always beauty favorites.

A pretty tame collection here, but these are all total gems!

For make up, I kind of stuck to some of my all time favorite products. One being the Josie Maran Coconutwater Cheek Gelee in the shade Poppy Paradise. This blush is just the easiest thing to slap on and look amazing. It pairs great with no make up looks or more polished and refined looks. Any situation and this blush looks natural and beautiful. I also was all over my BECCA Pressed Foundation in the shade Shell. My skin has been really really good, so all I need is this powder with light to medium coverage and I’m set on the foundation front. March was also the month I bought a new tube of my favorite mascara of life: the Pur Minerals Impact+ mascara. I will never not have amazing things to say about this mascara. It is just the most effortless, easy mascara to apply. It never clumps up or looks spidery, and gives added length and volume. Lastly I used the shade ‘Merci You Later’ from the Tarte Bon Voyage Palette a lot. Like every day. It’s my favorite all over the lid one and done eyeshadow.

Bath and body wise I have used the Desert Essence Jojoba Oil for everything. Literally everything. Eye make up remover, hair oil, facial oil, on rough patches, this stuff does it all. Jojoba oil doesn’t mess with my skin or clog it up at all which I totally appreciate. I also had been using my very old Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub a ton this month. My lips for whatever reason have been really dry so I’ve been trying to keep the dry patches at bay. Last but not least every time I wore the Body Shop Nail Polish in Frosting Fancy I got a compliment. It may take 3 coats to be truly opaque but all is forgiven for such a beautiful pale pink.

Onto April!

Talk soon,

Xx Brianna

Autumn Cheeks

In the Fall, it’s all about that Snow White, just got back from walking outside in the crisp air, cheek flush. I picked up a new shade of Josie Maran’s Coconut Water Cheek Gelee that does just the trick. I already own Poppy Paradise, but Berry Bliss is fantastic for Fall.

Josie Maran Coconut Water Cheek Gelee in Berry Bliss – $26.00 CAD

My goodness do I love these blushes. The gel formula is fantastic, looks so natural, and is really flattering on my pale complexion. As I previously mentioned it gives me that Snow White look, absolutely stunning with a smokey eye.

I apply these blushes with a stippling brush to create an effortless, natural finish. It may seem as though the price is a bit steep for 0.18 oz of product, but a little bit goes a very long way.

In the pot this looks absolutely terrifying, but not to worry it’s pigmented, but not to the point where you need to worry about over doing it. You can easily apply these with your fingers and blend it out. You can also use this gel formula as a lip stain.

These blushes claim to have up to 14 hours of skin hydration and up to 14 hours of color. The formula is apparently 50% coconut water, and full of argan oil.

Just like with Poppy Paradise, I’m totally obsessed. I’m going to need every shade.

Talk soon,

Xx Brianna