Friday, November 25, 2016

Sephora Favourites: Beauty's Most Coveted

This Sephora Favourites kit has to be my all time favourite! This kit focuses on the best selling makeup products. There is 12 products featured in this kit ranging from eye products, face products and skincare! This kit retails for $90 Canadian. Let's jump into this post!


Cover FX Enhance Click in Bubbly

This is a soft rosey peach shimmer. I like highlighters in stick form because they are easy to travel with and use. This highlighter blends easily into the skin. I have never tried a Cover FX before so I am super excited to try this out. This product is full size.


GlamGlow Supermud

This GlamGlow mask is supposed to target, prevent, and heal problem in the skin. I have never tried this type of mask before by GlamGlow so it should be fun to try. I think I will be using this mask more as a spot treatment to help with the occasional breakout I get.

Tarte Marine Boosting 4 in 1 Mist

This product is supposed to be a makeup setting spray, primer, skin refresher and hydrating mist all in one. I haven't tried this mist before but I am interested in it because of the hydrating mist claim.






Foreo LUNA Play

This is an even smaller version of the Foreo LUNA. This is a face cleansing device that uses pulsations for a deep but gentle cleaning of the skin. This Foreo has a non rechargeable battery so you can only get 100 uses out of it. I personally have the Foreo LUNA mini and I love it! My only issue is that this product isn't rechargeable. This product is full size.


 Laura Mercier Translucent Powder with Puff

This is a holy grail setting powder for a lot of people! This is a lightweight setting powder that is supposed to provide sheer coverage and make the skin look matte. I personally have never used this setting powder before so I am super excited to try this!




Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard

I spoke about this product in my makeup empties (read about it here). The colour Custard is darker than the one I previously purchased. The colour Custard is a yellow tone for light to medium skin tones. This concealer is also a holy grail product for most people!


Estee Edit The Edgiest Kohl Shadowstick in 01 Black Viper

This product is supposed to be a 3 in 1 product - eyeshadow, liner and primer. This shadowstick also claim to last up to 24 hours. When I swatched this product it was very creamy and pigmented! The Estee Edit line is new to me so I am excited to try this product. I personally will be using this product as a liner as I think it would look great smudged along the lash line. This product is full size.




Kat Von D Tattoo Liner

This is my favourite liquid liner! I love the brush tip as I find it easier to work with. This liner is supposed to be water proof, fade proof, crack proof, melt proof and run resistant. I have never tested the water proof but I have never had a problem with this liner fading, cracking, melting or running. This product is full size.

Benefit Ka-Brow! in shade 3

Benefit recently reformulated their brow products. This product is a cream gel brow colour that easily builds for natural looking brows. This product is also water proof. I like that this product comes with a brush! Benefit lists shade 3 as a medium shade perfect for light to medium brown hair and redheads. I have never used this product before.



Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in 714

Urban Decay recently reformatted their lipsticks. Shade 714 is bright red colour in  Urban Decay's Mega Matte finish. When I swatched this colour, I can say it was highly pigmented! I personally have not tried the new formulas of the Urban Decay lipsticks so I am excited to try. This product is full size.

Beautyblender in Nude

The beautyblender is my favorite way to apply foundation! I always find I get flawless foundation and concealer coverage and application when I use the beautyblender. I have never used the nude coloured sponge before but I don't think there is anything different about it except for the colour. This product is full size.




Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Moonstone

I feel like Becca highlighters are a holy grail product for a tone of people! Moonstone is a pale gold colour. When I swatched this product, it was very pigmented and blended into the skin nicely! I have never used a Becca highlighter before so I am very excited to have this one.


That is everything included in this Sephora Favourites kit! I really like the variety of products that was included in this kit and I like that most of them are products I have not tried or are new. I think this kit would be perfect if you want to try many different products or want to try some of the most loved products at Sephora.

Stay Beautiful,
Sarah

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Sephora Favourites: Lashstash

This is another one of the Sephora Favourites kits that I love to buy simply because I love to try new mascaras and formulas! This Lashstash features 10 mascaras (2 are full size) and formulas that are supposed stretch, volumize and enhance. The wands are supposed to curl, lift and define. This Lashstash also features a mascara primer.

Buxom Lash Mascara

This mascara is supposed to add volume to make lashes look bigger and more full. I believe that I have tried this mascara before but I can't remember my thoughts on it.






NARS Audacious Mascara

This is a buildable mascara that has a "lash catching" brush that is supposed to separate, lengthen and amplify the lashes. I have tried this mascara before and I did not like it. The brush did separate my lashes but it made me look like I only have four lashes on each eye because it made my lashes clump together. I will probably pass this mascara along to a friend who may enjoy it more than I did.


Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

I recently talked about this mascara in my makeup empties (read about it here). I really love this mascara! Although this mascara is only supposed to give the lashes volume, I find it gives my lashes amazing length too.





Tarte Tarteist Lash Paint Mascara

This mascara is supposed to provide amazing volume. I have tried this mascara and I didn't like it. I found the formula to be way to flakey and it didn't do much for my lashes. I will be passing this mascara along to a friend who loves this product.


Urban Decay Perversion Mascara

This mascara is supposed to provide length and volume! I remember trying this mascara but I can't remember my thoughts on it. I'm excited to try this mascara again.






Benefit They're Real Mascara

This mascara is a classic and is supposed to provide major length. I used to love this mascara but the last time I used it, I didn't love it as much as I originally had. Maybe the last one I tried was bad?

Smashbox Photo Finish Lash Primer

I have never tried this lash primer before! This primer is supposed to make lashes longer and make your mascara last longer with no flaking or smudging! I'm worried that because this lash primer is white, it will make my lashes look grey when I layer a black mascara overtop.



Estee Edit The Edgiest Up & Out Double Mascara

This is one of the full size products in this kit. I have never used this mascara but it claims to provide high volume and curl to the lashes. This mascara also claims to be clump-proof, smudge proof and sweat and humidity resistant. Some big claims to live up too!



Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara

This mascara claims to give volume and length for dramatically stretched out lashes. I don't think I have used this mascara before so I am super excited to try this one!






Yves Saint Laurent Babydoll Mascara

This is the other full size mascara in this kit. This mascara is supposed to provide defined volume, lash separation and can be worn for up to 24 hours. I have never tried this mascara before but I am looking forward to putting it to the test.

Overall, for the price of 54 dollars Canadian, this is a pretty good mixture of mascaras. I personally think it is a good buy for anyone trying to find a new mascara or as a gift for someone who loves beauty and may be hard to buy for.

Stay Beautiful,
Sarah

Monday, November 21, 2016

Trash Talk: Hair Care Empties

The final post in my empties series and this one is all about hair care! You can read my makeup and skincare empties here and here. Let's jump into this post.

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo

I really liked this dry shampoo. It made my hair feel less greasy and it provided a bit of volume to my hair as well. I didn't find that this dry shampoo had a strong scent to it but it made my hair smell clean. This product does leave a bit of a white cast but it was very easy to rub in.




Amika Perk Me Up Dry Shampoo

I fell in love with this dry shampoo and it has easily become my favourite. The sad thing is, this dry shampoo is so expensive as it is a salon brand and was only sold in salons until recently when Sephora Canada added it to the website. This dry shampoo did an amazing job soaking up the excess grease in my hair and give my hair a clean scent!

Bumble and Bumble Repair Blow Dry

This is a heat protectant that also helps to seal split ends and stop hair damage. I use this product primarily as a heat protectant as I use a blow dryer and a flat iron on my hair. This product also smells amazing! I have purchased a small travel size of this product after I finished this small sample size.




Batiste Dry Shampoo

This is my favourite inexpensive dry shampoo. It does an amazing job soaking up the excess grease and oil in my hair and the scent of this is very light. I usually get the original scent which is in a clean scent. This dry shampoo does leave a horrible white cast but it does massage away very easily. I have a whole bunch of backups of this product!

That is all my haircare empties and the end of this trash talk series! What products have you finished up recently?

Stay Beautiful,
Sarah

Friday, November 18, 2016

Trash Talk: Skincare Empties

I just posted my makeup empties on Wednesday (read about them here). I said in that post that I was drowning in empties and that included a bunch of skincare empties! Let's jump into these products as this is going to be another long post.

Nivea Sensitive Skin Toner

This is my holy grail toner! I have very sensitive and dry skin and this product doesn't irritate it. This product doesn't make my skin feel tight and it doesn't dry it out. I always have one of these on the go and another as back up.

ROC Micellar Water

My mom received as a gift with purchase (I believe) and she gave it to me knowing I would use it. I didn't use this product to remove a whole face of make up but it did remove regular lipstick well. I particularly liked to use this product in the morning as a way to refresh my skin instead of washing it.




Boscia Makeup Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil

This is my holy grail cleansing product! This cleansing oil removes all of my face makeup. It also removes eye makeup (I'm not brave enough to use it on my eyes). This cleansing oil leaves my skin feeling clean and not tight or dry. I'm currently using a big container of this right now.


NeoStrata Moisture Infusing Cream

Since I have dry skin, I am always looking for a moisturizer that adds a boost of hydration. This moisturizer did just that! I also loved how light this cream was and it quickly soaked into my skin. I bought a big jar of this stuff because it worked so well





Caudalie Beauty Elixir

I used to love this spray! It made my skin feel less tight after cleansing and this spray gave my skin a bit of radiance. However, after I got two bottles were the spray nozzle barely worked, I stopped buying this spray because I was annoyed and I didn't think the benefits of this product outweighed this annoyance.

Clarins HydraQuench Cream

The name of this product is no joke! This add a ton of hydration to my skin! I really liked the way it made my skin feel after it had soaked in. But, this cream was so heavy and it took forever to soak into the skin.




GlamGlow Thirsty Mud

I think this is my favourite GlamGlow mask (out of the ones I have tried). This mask adds just enough hydration that my skin does feel tight from the dryness. I also love the smell of this mask. I have never personally bought the full size of this mask because I find it very expensive and it doesn't give my skin that much hydration to justify the cost. However, I love using this little samples!

Origins Gin Zing Moisturizer

This moisturizer is specifically formulated to be used during the day. I loved the scent of this product, it reminded me of citrus fruit! This moisturiser was very light and soaked into the skin fast. I really like these two qualities in a day time moisturizer! However, I didn't find that this product provided any hydration to my skin.





Ole Henriksen Pure Truth Melting Cleanser

This is a cleansing balm that turns into an oil when you add water. I really enjoyed the scent of this product, it had an orange scent. This cleansing balm removed my makeup well and it didn't leave my skin feeling tight. The only issue I had with this product was it seemed that I was using a lot of it to clean my whole face.


Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation

This is a light weight moisturizer. This product has ingredients that are supposed to even out the skin tone and smooth the skin's texture. I personally didn't see this product meeting any of those claims with my skin. I also found that this did not give my skin any hydration.



Origins Night-A-Mins

I purchased this product because of the YouTuber KathleenLights. She also has dry skin so when she raved about this product, I knew I had to pick it up. I really liked this moisturizer. It was light enough that it soaked in pretty fast but it was also heavy which made it feel like it was actually hydrating my skin. I only used this product at night and it made my skin feel hydrated and smooth the next morning. I haven't repurchased this product yet as I am currently using another moisturizer.


Belif  The True Cream - Moisturizing Bomb

This moisturizer reminds me of a gel like consistence. It was very light weight and it gave my skin the moisture it needed. I will be considering purchasing the full size of this product because I did enjoy it but I am currently using other moisturizers that I need to finish first.



That is all my skincare empties! Next up in this trash talk series will be hair care empties! What products have you recently finished up?

Stay Beautiful,
Sarah

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Trash Talk: Makeup Empties

I am literally drowning in empties so there will be a few posts as I am having to break them up into categories. I decided to start with makeup first. Skipping a long introduction because this post is going to be long!

Smashbox Halo Powder in Fair

This is my holy grail powder! Not only does it provide some amazing coverage but it does so without looking cakey. I also like that you have to turn a base of the container to get the powder out make sure that you don't use too much. I'm using one of these powders right now and I have a back up.




Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray

This is my holy grail setting spray. This setting spray makes my makeup last all day and it takes away any of the powdery look that may have happened. I have tried the other "formulas" that this setting spray has but I keep going back to the all nighter one. I'm currently using a big bottle of this spray right now and I have a back up.

Urban Decay Prep Spray

Another holy grail product (are we sensing a trend?). I spray this before I put my primer on. I didn't see a difference at first until I stopped using this product. This spray helps create a perfect canvas for my makeup and it helps my makeup stick better to the skin. I'm currently using a big bottle of this prep spray and I have a back up.




Smashbox Primer Water

This may be my favourite primer. I always like testing primers but I always go back to this one (seriously, I'm using a big bottle of it right now). This product provides hydration to my very dry skin and it does create a nice canvas for my makeup. I think it helps my makeup last longer.

Smashbox Brow Tech Glossy Stick in Brunette

I received this eyebrow pencil in a Sephora Favourites Kit (read my review here). I really liked this brow product. The colour was a perfect match for me. I really enjoyed that it had a glossy finish and it didn't look like my brows were filled in.



Sample Mascara Time

Milk Makeup Ubame Mascara: I hated this mascara! I feel like it just made my eyelashes darker. It didn't hold a curl, it didn't lengthen and it didn't add volume.

Benefit They're Real: I used to love this uber lengthen mascara but this time when I tried it, I just felt "meh" about it.

Fusion LashFusionXXL: I didn't really like this mascara either. It did lengthen but not as much as I had hoped for (especially with a name that includes XXL). It didn't hold a curl either.

Make Up For Ever Smoky Extravagant: When I first used this mascara it was amazing. It lengthened, held a curl and added volume. But as it started to dry out, all of the good things started to go away and it started to get flaky and smudge.

Clarins Be Long Mascara: I can't remember my opinion on this mascara so it must not have been memorable.

Marc Jacobs O!mega Lash: I remember this mascara providing volume but no length. I also remember it being very flaky and it smudged a lot.

Ciate London Triple Shot Mascara: I didn't like this mascara because it was so flakey. It also didn't add the volume it said it would.

Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara: I used to really like this mascara but this one didn't provide the length I remember. Maybe a got a bad one?

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara: I really loved this mascara. It held a curl well, lengthened and provided just enough volume. I bought the full size of this mascara after using this sample up.

Benefit Roller Lash: I didn't like this mascara because I couldn't figure out how to do that "hook and curl" method. Since I couldn't get that method down, the mascara didn't perform like it did for other people.


Diorshow Maximizer Mascara Primer

I really loved this mascara primer. However, after a while I found it was making my mascara turn grey (it is a white formula). I also found that there was no point in spending the extra money on this product because I can find mascaras that do what I want without the help of a primer.

Wet N Wild Max Fanatic Cat Eye Mascara

This has to be my favourite drugstore mascara! I loved the length this mascara gave me and it held a curl pretty well. I also like that the wand on this mascara made the outer lashes longer than my inner corner lashes.




Wet N Wild Setting Spray

I did like this setting spray. It did make my makeup last long but not as long as my holy grail Urban Decay one. I also didn't enjoy the spray as I found it wasn't as fine as the Urban Decay one. However, for the price of this setting spray, I could for sure live with this setting spray.

L'Oréal Setting Spray

I bought this setting spray as everyone was raving about it and comparing it to my holy grail Urban Decay spray. Just like the Wet N Wild one, I found this setting spray didn't make my make up last as long as the Urban Decay one and the spray wasn't as fine. If I had to choose between this L'Oréal spray and the Wet N Wild spray, I would choose the Wet N Wild one.



Make Up For Ever HD Primer

This is the old formula for the MUFE primers. I really liked this formula, I would compare it to the Hourglass Mineral Veil as it feels the same on the skin. Unfortunately MUFE doesn't make this primer anymore. (That's how long I've been hold this empties, must do these more often).

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Light 2 Vanilla

This is a travel size version of the classic concealer. I did light this concealer but I personally prefer a squeeze tube to a doefoot applicator because I don't want bacteria in my concealer.





Tarte Opening Act Mascara Primer

I didn't like this mascara primer. It did turn my mascara grey on my lashes (again, white formula). I found this primer didn't add anything to my lashes.

Ofra Brow Pencil in Universal

I really liked this brow pencil. The colour match was good for me but I personally don't think it would be good for anyone with blonde hair or darker hair. Although, there is some of this pencil left, it became to hard for me to use as it was so small.





Laura Mercier Foundation Primer

I really like this primer. I mean, I like all of the Laura Mercier primers but this one was really good. It made my makeup last longer and it made my makeup adhere better to my skin. It didn't add that much hydration to my skin unfortunately.




Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 110 Porcelain

I had this foundation in the hydrate and smooth formula. I found that this foundation didn't add much hydration. This foundation provided great coverage and the colour match was good for me. However, once I got half way through the bottle, the foundation started to oxidize in the bottle. When I would apply it to my face, it made me look orange.



NYX Green Primer

This primer is green because it is supposed to counteract redness (which I have a lot of in my skin). This primer was incredible for making the redness disappear but it didn't make my makeup last longer. Personally, the fact that it made my redness disappear is amazing and it was the reason I bought it.

Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous in 105

I think this foundation is my holy grail foundation, I'm currently using a bottle and I have two back ups. This foundation provides great coverage and it doesn't dry my skin out. The colour match is also great for me. Also, I like the price tag on this foundation (#studentproblems).




Anastasia Brow Wiz

This is just as amazing as everyone says. I really like that it has a spoolie on one end. I also like that the formula of the brow pencil is easy to blend. I have two colours here: Dark Brown and Medium Brown: Medium Brown is a great match for me. I also like that this product line has a ton of colours!

Whew! That is all my makeup empties (told ya, it would be long)! The next trash talk will be all about Skincare! What makeup have you gone through recently?

Stay Beautiful,
Sarah

*NOTE: The Wet N Wild products were gifted to me at an event I went too. All opinions expressed above are my own and are 100% honest. Please see my disclaimer for more information.*