Sephora's $12 Black Friday Sale!

Click on image for more info

Just a quick FYI to all you makeup addicts out there - Sephora is having a Black Friday sale tomorrow, for one day only! Lots of gorgeous looking items on sale for just $12 each! Apparently it's two per customer, and supplies are limited, so make sure to drop by as early in the day as possible.

Not sure which locations this applies to, so if you might want to call and double check if it's out of your way.

See you there! ;)

xo M.

Top Ten of the Week

 

 The other day when I was getting ready for work, I found myself reaching for the same thing as I had the day before, and I got to thinking about how I choose what to use each morning from the ridiculous amount of products that are currently cluttering up my bathroom. There are some things that I use every day for months, like my Smashbox Tinted Moisturizer in Luminous and my Makeup Forever Brown Gel. But then there are things that I will use for a week or even two, but then set aside and all but forget about. I realized that I tend to wear a few looks during the week, then experiment a little on weekends. I'll often stumble across a daytime look that I try out on Saturday or Sunday and it will become my favourite for the next week. But it's always changing. So I thought I'd share the things I found myself reaching for the most this week. Possibly I'll do this every week or few weeks - whenever I notice that I'm using different stuff than last time!


1. MAC Seasonally Spicy Technakohl Liner

I got this recently and am absolutely loving it. It's greats smudged along the upper and lower lashlines with Remotely Grey shadow on top for a super easy daytime look. Another bonus? You don't need to sharpen it!


2. MAC Remotely Grey Eyeshadow

As mentioned above, this shadow is great to smoke out a dark brown liner along the lashlines. I also love it as a lid colour for a daytime neutral look. Despite the name, it's more of a taupey-brown than grey, though I suppose it has the tiniest hint of a silvery/grey sheen to it. I really wish this wasn't LE, because in my opinion this is a must-have shade!

3. MAC Amplified Lipstick in Impassioned

I can't believe I never noticed this shade before! I went into MAC last week to exchange some of my Back 2 MAC empties, and they didn't have the lipstick I was looking for in stock. I was just about to give up and leave, when I glanced over and this shade caught my eye. It's the most gorgeous coral/pink shade that is both bold and tasteful simultaneously. Though it's not for every day, this is a super fun lipstick to wear for a night out!


4. MAC False Lashes Mascara (Black)

I used to use MAC Plush Lash every day. I decided to give this one a try, and I haven't even opened my brand new replacement Plush Lash that I bought a few months ago. This adds length and volume and can be worn in the day time, or built up for a night out. New fave.

5. Lancome Luring Eyeshadow (Sheen)

Okay, so I don't like Lancome because of the whole testing on animals thing, so I went back and forth about whether to include this shadow on the list. In the end I decided to because in all honesty, though I won't be purchasing from them again in the future, this shadow is one that I find to be unique. It is an iridescent shimmery shadow that has hints of blue, green and purple in it. I like to layer it over another shadow (or paint pot) that will accentuate one of these colours.

6. Bare Escentuals Buxom Lip Tarnish in "Caught on Tape"

You might not have heard of these pencils - I hadn't. They're basically lip stain/glaze in a pencil format that has BE's Buxom line plumping properties. I love the colour of this - it's between a rich burgundy red and a fuchsia pink - and you can build the colour up or wear it as a subtle hint of colour during the day. Great.


7. Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion

I'm sure you have all heard of this cream - it's something of a cult favourite. It's bright yellow and comes in a clear plastic cubic pump container. It also comes in handy travel-size squeeze tubes for $15 each. I have trouble with dry skin in the winter, so this is a very important part of my winter skin care. It's thick enough to provide lots of moisture, but it absorbs more quickly than other creams so it doesn't leave my skin feeling oily. Also it doesn't have much of a scent - if anything it smells a little like oatmeal - which is another plus in my book. Because I hate using hand cream and then forgetting and touching my face, I have actually been known to use this as a hand cream in the winter time as well, and it works wonders for my hands and if I do touch my face, it doesn't leave it feeling gross. Bonus.


8. Kiehl's Lip Balm or MAC Lip Conditioner

I don't shop at Kiehl's anymore, because of the whole animal testing fiasco (they are a subsidiary of L'Oreal), but I have a tub and a tube of their lip balm that I'm still working on using up. It really isn't anything special, in all honesty, so you can substitute Rosebud Salve or MAC Lip Conditioner or even a drug store brand of lip conditioner. But whatever you use, it's important to moisturized those lips in the winter time, just like you do with the rest of your skin. I use this before bed at night and in the morning when I'm doing the rest of my makeup. If I'm not wearing a coloured lip product I'll also use it throughout the day.

9. Bobbi Brown Longwear Cream Shadow in Sand Dollar

This is a great base colour or for a daytime neutral eye. It is a muted taupe colour with a hint of shimmer that makes it gorgeous worn alone or with a thin wash of similar eyeshadow over top. I like it with MAC's Wedge shadow in the crease and Seasonally Spicy smudged into the lashline with Remotely Grey (you can also use any mid-tone brown shadow). So easy!

10. Nars Blush Brush

I love that this is super soft, it picks up just enough product when tapped off lightly and is the perfect size to apply to the cheekbone - I hate brushes that are too large so that blush ends up everywhere, or too small so that it ends up in a thin line. Pricey, but I'm getting daily use out of it!

So there you go, that's what I'm loving this week! Until next time....

xo M.

Modern Pin-Up - Lisa Eldridge Tutorial

 

I originally clicked on this video because of the lipstick colour. I mean, just look at it. Goregous. As you know, I love deep pink lips - and Rebel by MAC is my all-time favourite. I wrote about it here, but all you need to know is that the shade is a plummy purpley fuchsia - and I have never seen a colour that looks more beautiful. If you're faimiliar with Rebel, you'll see the similarity when you watch this video (she actually suggests it as a MAC dupe for the colour she uses). Also, I absolutely love pin-up makeup - the dark liner, the long lashes, the clean lines, the bold lip - does it get any more glamorous?

After I started to watch, however, I was blown away by how wonderfully this look captures the pin-up look - yet isn't the same one you've seen over and over. Of course the trick with any classic makeup look (and by "classic" I mean a look that you can see repeatedly when you look back through the history of makeup artistry) is to find a way to update it; to bring it into today. Eldridge does an absolutely amazing job of taking this classic, iconic look and by tweaking it subtly (changing brow shape, updating lipstick colour) making it edgy and new. If you're a Bettie Page or Marilyn Monroe or Dita Von Teese fanatic, you will want to try this right away, but if you're looking for an unerringly classy, modern look, this will work perfectly for you, too.

xo M.

MAC - Glitter & Ice Holiday 2011 Collection

 via Temptalia's review

I have to be honest: I haven't bought much of MAC's holiday collection, and I don't plan to. Don't get me wrong, there are some beautiful products to choose from, but they're either too pale, too sparkly, or they're really similar to products I already have. 

That said, I did treat myself - just a little bit ;). As you know, I love MAC's paint pots. So I gave in and bought the one in the middle... and the one at the top:

 For Effect, Morning Frost and Let's Skate! Via Temptalia.

The one at the top is called For Effect, and it's a dark, gunmetal grey with shimmer. Smooth, creamy... gorgeous. I do find it to be more sparkly than metallic. The middle one is Morning Frost and is a taupey shimmer colour that I absolutely love. It's a pale enough colour to wear as a neutral shade, but if you layer it to build up the shimmer, add a dramatic liner, and pair it with a hollywood glam lip (if you want to stick with this collection, try Such Flare for a traditional red or What a Joy! if you want to vamp it up a bit), it will definitely live up to holiday parties! It's creamy and easy to work with, which is a good sign that it won't dry out too quickly in the pot (though, of course, make sure to close your lid tight after you use it!).This one doesn't have chunky sparkles like For Effect does, it ends up with more of a wet metallic finish.

For those of you who like sparkles, check out Let's Skate!, which is nearly transparent in terms of background colour, but is a mess of gold and pink duochrome sparkles. If you love frosted glitter looks, this would be a great paint pot for sparkly eye looks, but I could even imagine it working as a light dusting on cheeks - or even your collar bone - for holiday parties! (Just don't put it EVERYWHERE at once, or you will blind anyone who looks at you!)

The other thing I got was an eyeliner called Seasonally Spicy, which is a Technakohl liner. It's a warm, rich brown colour that I love. Originally I intended to just get the paint pots, but I was convinced to give it a try after watching Moodeve's YouTube video:

I absolutely love the simplicity of this look, and I wanted to give it a try. Works like a charm, and looks particularly beautiful if you blend it out with a cool brown shadow.

 via Temptalia

If you're more into the pale and sparkly than I am and want to check out the rest of the collection, I'd recommend heading over to Temptalia's review - she runs through all the products for you. Even better, check out her YouTube video full of helpful observations and swatches!

Ratings:
Packaging: Varies.

Product quality: For the products I tried, 5/5
Worth the price? Yep.
Would I purchase again? Limited Edition! :(

Cruelty-Free? Yes - appears on PETA's Cruelty-Free list.

Where to find it: MAC in store and online.