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.

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

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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.

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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

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.

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

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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.

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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

Vitamin E Moisture Mask

If you’re like me, your skin is feeling more reptilian than human lately. I’ve never had issues with dry skin in the past, so when all of the sudden my skin switched from oily to dry, I had no idea how to combat it. I would exfoliate, but still be left with dry patches on my nose and in between my eyebrows. I finally decided it was time to amp up my moisture game.

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The Body Shop Vitamin E Sink-In Moisture Mask – $22.00 CAD

I mentioned this product in my April Favorites post because it has legitimately been a savior. I knew I wanted something like a moisturizing mask to really dig deep and get moisture to every layer of my skin. This mask is really interesting. It’s meant to just be a 10 minute mask, which is kind of confusing because to me ‘sink in’ means a sleeping facial mask.

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This mask has a lovely but not overpowering scent that I can’t really put my finger on. It’s just light and pleasant. The texture is really odd too. It’s kind of like a super creamy whipped mousse texture that giggles in the pot. After you apply this mask to your face you’re left with a sheen, that’s for sure, but I find it sinks right in after a few minutes. This hasn’t clogged any pores or caused any breakouts for me, it has very simply replenished my skin with moisture. From the first time I used it, about a month ago, until today I have not seen a flake of dry skin.

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I tend to not really use this as directed. I use this mask as a night cream every night and have had not one problem doing so. My only issue with this product is the fact that it’s in a tub and things get unsanitary real fast in this kind of packaging. I always make sure to use clean hands when dipping my fingers in the pot to keep things bacteria free. Other than that, I can see this being a product I purchase over and over again. And you can always get this mask on some kind of in-store promotion that the Body Shop almost always has going on.

Talk soon,

Xx Brianna