September Ipsy Unboxing

I FINALLY received my September Ipsy bag. For those who do not know, Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription service that is completely customized to you. Each month, they send you a themed cosmetic bag filled with  four to five make up items, tools, shampoo, conditioner etc. It is ten dollars American (For Canadians add 4.95 for shipping).

I say finally because I had a whole bunch of issues with the billing on this bag.

This month's theme is Face Fashion and I'm really digging the expensive vibe this month's bag has.

Here is what I got

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream

We all know I love FAB's Ultra Repair Cream. So I was a little disappointed to get something I already know I love. However, I am happy I got it because I know I will use it all. This repair cream delivers intense hydration to dry parched skin.





Formula X Nail Polish in Ignite

I really love the Formula X nail polishes because I find they last longer on my nails. This color looks like the perfect fall color as it is a red with underlying berry tones. I like that this nail polish doesn't have any shimmer.


NYX eyeshadow palette made for Ipsy

Brown and black are built up

When I saw the preview for this on Instagram, I hoped I would received it. The colours are so gorgeous and they are perfect for a neutral eye. After swatching these shadows, I am really disappointed. The shadows need to be built up to get any sort of color payoff. The colors also come out very chunky.




Trestique Mini Matte Lip Crayon in Nantucket Nude

This lip crayon is amazingly creamy for a matte formula. I was dreading this nude color a bit but seeing it swatched, it looks absolutely beautiful. I am really excited about this product and I may have to order some more.



Not Soap, Radio Hand Cream

I never enjoy receive hand cream because it s product I just don't use enough if at all. This hand cream does have a great scent but I think it would be extremely difficult to use because it doesn't have a spout or pump, you dump it straight from the bottle.





JCat Lipitude in Speak Your Mind

I traded in 500 points for this hydrating lip stain. This lip stain has amazing colour pay off and it has a strong mint scent.






That is everything that came in my Ipsy bag. Overall, I am rating this bag 3  stars out of five because I am excited about the matte lip crayon, the nail polish and the Ultra Repair Cream. This bag lost the 2 stars because the NYX eyeshadow palette has terrible pigmentation and I never like receiving hand creams. I didn't include the Jcat product because it was an extra I chose.

 Are you a subscriber to Ipsy? What did you get in your September bag? Let me know in the comments below.

If you would like to sign up for Ipsy, please use my link: http://www.ipsy.com/r/1ik8u?sid=ipsypoints&cid=general

Stay beautiful
Sarah

*NOTE: The Ipsy link is an affiliated link. It gets me points that I can redeem for an extra product. Thank you*

IMATS Toronto Haul

As you may know, I went to IMATS Toronto on Saturday and I had an amazing time! I wrote about my IMATS List and asked if you all thought I would be able to stick to it.

Well, I stuck to it for the most part but after getting some information about the MAC Cosmetic booth, I decided to skip that part of my list, which in turn allowed me to get a couple more things (that weren't on my list).

The first booth I went to was Morphe Brushes! I stood in this line for about 45 minutes.

G30 - Flat contour brush. Part of their gunmetal line

M439 - Deluxe buffer brush








M332 - Fluffy crease









M330 - Blending crease









M441 - Pro firm blending crease - this brush was not on my list, but the girl beside me in line grabbed 5, saying everyone is going to want this... so I grabbed one too.

Unfortunately, the Secretive eye shadow was not there.





I next went to this  booth selling Beauty Blenders. I got a bag of 6. (not pictured)

I then went to this Friends Beauty booth and saw they had Sigma there.

F80 - Flat top kabuki that everyone raves about.









Brush Cleaning Mat - I wanted to try this and thought it would be easier to pick up at IMATS

Also, I got a free travel sized E05 as a free gift. (not pictured)






I then headed to the Benefit booth!

Hoola - A cult classic! I also needed a cool toned bronze









Dallas - This is supposed to look great on every skin tone! I think it looks beautiful!








Rockatuer - The girl at the booth recommended pairing this with the Hoola bronzer.

Since I bought three items, I was given a free Dandelion lip gloss. (not pictured)





That is everything I purchased from IMATS Toronto. I had such an amazing time and I can't wait to see what the vendors are for next year!

did you go to IMATS this year? What did you purchase?

Stay beautiful,
Sarah

IMATS List

I'm so excited to be going to IMATS Toronto tomorrow (Saturday). So I thought, I would post the list of things I want to get and then when I do my IMATS haul post on Monday, we can see how well I stuck to my list (hahah)

I'm not going to link everything (the post would be all links then), but I have broken it down by seller, so I'm sure it'll be easy to find online.

MORPHE
- M439
- M332
- M330
- G30
- Secretive eye shadow

MAC
- Prolong wear concealer
- Nylon eye shadow
- Wedge eye shadow
- Kid eye shadow
- Waterproof foundation
- Painterly paint pot
- Soft Ochre paint pot

I am also hoping to get some beauty blenders and the Real Technique Buffing Brush.

Do you think I'll stick to my list?

Wish me luck at IMATS. Have a great weekend everyone!

Stay beautiful,
Sarah

100th Blog Post

WHAT?!

Can we just take a moment and appreciate this.......

I just want to take this blog post and thank each and everyone of you who continue to read my blog. It means the world to me especially because I view this blog as a hobby.

This hobby is something I thoroughly enjoy and I love watching it grow.

I don't have anything else to say other than I am planning on holding a giveaway soon (I'm still collecting items for it!)

Also, if you are going to IMATS Toronto this Saturday, I will be there!

What kind of content would you guys like to see? Please let me know in the comments! :)

Thank you all so much!!

Stay beautiful,
Sarah

Foundation Stick Face Off

I have been noticing that it has been very popular for companies to create foundation in a stick form.

This form of foundation can be applied directly to the face and then blended with your fingers. This makes the process a lot faster and easier.

So I decided to buy three drugstore brands that have created this form of foundation and pit them against each other to see which one is better or if they are even worth it!



Maybelline Fit Me Foundation Stick


This is a mid range price at the drugstore. This foundation stick has 9grams worth of product and it is in the shade 110 Porcelain.

This foundation stick is oil free and it comes with a shine free core. This core will whisk away oil. I don't recommend this foundation stick for anyone with dry skin, like me!! I found it clung to dry patches and made them look worse. I also found that this foundation stick did not blend well and I think it was because the anti-shine core would mix with the foundation.

Elf Moisturizing Foundation Stick

This is the cheapest foundation stick. This foundation stick has 14grams worth of product and it is in the shade Ivory.

This foundation stick is very very creamy, which is it's downfall. This foundation is so creamy, I found that it tended to break off the stick as I was applying it to my face, which made a huge mess. I found the packaging to be very hard to turn and it tended to get stuck.  I like that this foundation stick is larger because it covers more surface area.

Revlon Photoready Insta-Fix


This is the most expensive foundation stick. This foundation stick has 6.8grams worth of product and it is in the shade 110 Ivory.

I really liked this foundation stick. I thought it went on with ease and it was very easy to blend in. I also found this one gave the best coverage out of the three. This foundation stick sometimes felt a little dry when applying it.

Overall, I don't think foundations sticks are that great. I think using a liquid or powder foundation would be a lot easier. However, I think foundation sticks would be a good fix for touch ups on the go.

The winner of this Face off is the Revlon Photo Ready Insta-Fix because it was the easiest to blend, had the smallest surface area (great for getting into small areas, like around the nose) and it provided the best coverage.

Have you tired any foundation sticks? What did you think of them? What items would you like to see face off?

Stay beautiful,
Sarah

Estee Lauder Sale Haul

The Estee Lauder Sale happens twice a year and it is an invite only sale. So when I was able to score some tickets from a friend, I knew I was going to shop a ton!

Unfortunately, the sale was a bit of a let down. I did buy some things and I love everything  I purchased but I found that the sale lacked some of the items I really wanted, like foundation.

However, I did get some great stuff at some price good prices! So here is what I purchased. I am going to break it down into categories - some categories will have a group photo and some will be individual product photos - just so this post does not get hella long.

Face & Eyes


Smashbox Halo Powder in Fair

I already know I love this powder. So, when I saw it, I knew I had to pick one up. This powder also came with a brush (surprise!)  and a sample of the Smashbox Photo Ready Foundation Primer.






M.A.C Turquatic Perfume

I have heard nothing but good things about this perfume and I wanted to pick it up. It has a nice clean and fresh scent to it. It is also a very light smelling perfume, meaning it would be perfect in the summer months.

Smashbox Photo Op Eye Brightening Palette


This palette is designed to make your eyes look brighter. I was drawn to the eye shadow in this palette. A double ended shadow brush, a eyeliner and a full size mascara is also included. The mascara, eyeliner and the black eye shadow all have a hint of blue in it because blue makes the whites of the eyes brighter.






Bobbi Brown Eye Shadow in Champagne and Estee Lauder Eye Shadow in Sugar Biscuit

Eye shadows at the sale were buy one get one free, so, of course I had to pick up two.  These two shadows are really similar in colour but I thought they looked gorgeous. I also have never owned a Bobbi Brown or Estee Lauder eye shadow before.


Lipsticks:




I bought three lipsticks - they were 10 dollars each so it was a pretty good deal.

- Snow Orchid > Amplified
- Glam > Matte
- Flamingo > Lustre





L to R; Real Doll, Make Me Gorgeous, Snow Orchid, Flamingo, Glam




Travel Items:

- MAC Fix+ x2
- Clinique CC Cream in Very Light
- Smashbox Hydrating Foundation Primer
- Bobbi Brown Everything Mascara
- Smashbox eye Brightening Mascara
- Lily Pulitzer for Estee Lauder palette x2
- Lily Pulitzer Estee Lauder travel bottle

Charity Bags:

You were able to give a donation for Breast cancer research and in return you were giving a bag full of MAC makeup. I bought the maximum number of bags, which was 4.

All of the bags come with a Mineralized Skinfinish Natural in Medium Deep so I have four of them.

I also got the MAC Fluidline Eyeliner Gel in Looking good. I have three of these because I traded one with the people I went with

I got three Real Doll Lipsticks. This is a Lustre formula. *Pictured above*

I traded with the group I went with to get

- MAC eye shadow in Bouffant Veluxe Pearl
- Make Me Gorgeous Lipstick > Amplified *Pictured above*
- Real Redhead Lipstick (this will be passed along to my mom) > Lustre *Pictured above*

That is everything I picked u during the sale. I'm not sure what I am going to do with the extras I received in the Charity Bags (I may be thinking about holding a giveaway!).

What MAC, Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown or Smashbox products are your favorites? Let me know in the comments below!

Stay Beautiful
Sarah

Sephora Favorites Give Me Some Lip Kit

I was shopping in Sephora the other day and I saw this Sephora Favorites Give Me Some Lip kit. I instantly put it in my basket. This kit retails for 30 dollars Canadian (25 dollars American) and one of these lip products is full size! Here is a review and swatches of the kit.

How cute is this packaging?!

Fresh Sugar Tinted Lip Treatment in Rose

I own one of the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments already so when I saw this in the kit, I decided to pass it along to my mom (she LOVES this line of lip products). This product is a light tint of pink. It is very moisturizing. I didn't swatch this one because I was passing it along.




Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lip in Lolita

The famous and hard to find Lolita was in this kit, YAAASSS! If you have wanted to try Lolita, this may be the easiest way to try it. I have heard nothing but good things about this lip product line, so I am very excited to try it. However, I thought Lolita was more on the pink side but when I swatched it, it was very brown in colour.

Make Up For Ever Artist Plexi Gloss in 202

Everyone in the Beauty community has been loving these but my first impression of this gloss is not good. This gloss is extremely sticky, so sticky it makes a pop sound when you pull the applicator out of the tube! This gloss did feel comfortable on my lips but it didn't show up very well. This gloss might work great to top lipsticks with.


Marc Jacobs Le Marc lipstick in Je T'aime

This is my first Marc Jacobs beauty product and it's the cutest mini ever! The packaging is adorable and this color is beautiful (the swatch picture does it no justice). This lipstick felt very creamy when swatched and the color payoff was incredible! This lipstick also left a bit of a stain too.


Sephora Collection Rouge Infusion in 19 Peony

I thought this product was going to be more like a lip gloss but it is actually a lip stain. This product has great color payoff! I haven't worn it on my lips yet but I have high hopes for it.


Tarte Amazonian Butter lipstick in Coral Blossom

This is the full size product! I love the Tarte Butter lipsticks because they have a great colour payoff, moisturizing and are very easy to apply. I also love that I don't need to apply a lip liner with these lipsticks. When I first saw this lipstick, I thought it had a bit of glitter or shimmer in it, when applied it looked so natural and you couldn't tell that there was shimmer or anything in it.

Overall, I think this lip kit is perfect to try some hard to find colors ( aka Lolita) and some higher end lips products, like the Marc Jacobs lipstick. This kit was strictly pinks, so I'm hoping Sephora comes out with other lip kits in other shades.

Have you picked this kit up? Any lip product you're excited to try? Let me know in the comments!

Stay beautiful,
Sarah