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

All About Those Mattes

I never really saw my obsession with matte eyeshadows coming, but I must admit that I am totally loving how matte neutral shadows look. I really enjoy an undone, effortless make up look, and matte shadows are seriously the best way to go about creating those types of looks. I rummaged through my collection, and I’m going to share my favorite matte eyeshadows, starting from my least favorite formulation, all the way to the cream of the crop.

My very first introduction to matte eyeshadows was with The Balm’s Meet Matt(e) palette. I actually believe that The Balm no longer makes this specific palette, however they have since come out with the Meet Matt(e) Nude palette, and I have to say I prefer the shades in the newer palette. The Balm palette was a great introduction to matte shadows, and had some fun pops of colour, however I was always left a bit disappointed in the pigmentation. The formula is a little chalky, however it certainly gets the job done with a little elbow grease.

I then moved on to the NARS eyeshadow duo in Portobello. This is a great one-two eye that is pretty much fool proof. I do like the consistency of these shadows, however I’d warn you not to use them wet, as you’ll end up ruining the shadow. These are nicely pigmented and blend well. As I write this I’m making a mental note to crack out this duo more often.

Another middle of the road formula is the Jouer single eyeshadows. I have the shades Chestnut and Almond here. There are great mattes that blend well, don’t feel chalky, but do have a little bit of fall out. There are a variety of shades in Jouer’s range, and there are some glitters and shimmers available. These are nice because you can pick and choose the shades you need, and connect them into a little customized palette.

The runner up is the Sonia Kashuk Eye on Neutral palette. I picked mine up from Target a good 3 or 4 months ago, and I have to say it’s a fantastic palette. The shades are really fantastic, and for a drugstore product you cannot argue with getting 12 shadows for 20 bucks. The formula is really great, super pigmented, really smooth, blends well, and has just a little fall out when you stick your brush in the pan. I find these shadows to last all day, and I really love using the matte black as a smokey winged liner. I’d highly recommend this palette if you’re just getting into make up, or have very few mattes in your collection, as this will supply any matte neutral shade your little heart desires.

Onto the best of the best: the Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics palette. I never really understood what the phrase “buttery smooth” meant before I met this palette. My goodness this palette is a dream. Talk about pigmented, the slightest touch of your brush in these shadows gives you all the pigment you could ever need. The shadows all blend together seamlessly and with very little effort. The colour range, for me, is really nice, I like the use the darkest shade in my brows, the three next to it for eyeshadow, and the matte neutral as a highlight. If I’m going away, this palette is all I’ll ever need.

What are your favorite matte shadows?

Talk soon,

Xx Brianna

Diamonds

It’s insane to think about, but holiday season is upon us. Christmas is just around the corner, and I’ve seen holiday gift guides popping up on my YouTube subscriptions. To me, this is a little early, as exams start next week, but to each their own. I find the best way to get your make up look holiday ready is to throw some shimmer on it.

Sonia Kashuk Pearlescence Longwear Cream in Diamond – $8.99 CAD

If you’re like me, practically the entirety of your make up stash is matte. A little boost to your make up collection could be this cream shadow from Sonia Kashuk. I picked this up on a whim quite some time ago, but being stuck in a rut filled with matte eye shadows, I just recently got around to incorporating this into my make up looks.

This cream shadow comes in a tube with a doe foot applicator. The formula claims to be long wearing and nourishing to the skin. The formula is super smooth and easy to apply, and although there is shimmer in the formula, I don’t find it to be chunky or off putting.

I picked up the shade Diamond because I thought it would work great as a shimmery base for any look. There are 3 other shades in the range, Moonstone, Quartz, and Tiger’s Eye. All 3 of the other shades are much deeper. The shade diamond is a very true cool cream shade with white glitter.

The finish is most definitely a satin finish. There’s no crazy chunks of glitter here, and it’s definitely not a metallic finish. I find that when I use this as a base, and layer on matte shadows, it creates such a subtle yet pulled together look. One thing I would like to mention is that this cream shadow is tacky before it sets, so it’s important to wait until any tackyness goes away before you start applying powder shadows, otherwise things can get out of hand really quickly. There’s no creasing or budging once it does set.

In the photos above I have the Pearlescent Longwear Cream in Diamond all over the lid, and a medium brown powder shadow fanned through the crease. For the holidays, or any occasion where you want to add a little shine without going overboard, this is a fantastic addition to any collection.

Talk soon,

Xx Brianna