Naked3 - Swatches & Review

Hello hello! I am thrilled to be sharing this post with you all - the much anticipated Naked3. Follow up to the coveted Naked and Naked2. The Naked3 features rose toned hues perfect for everyday neutrals, to more bold looks.

So far I'm loving this palette, however the Naked2 is still my favourite of them all. The colours are all very wearable, but a lot of the ones I'd reach for in the Naked3 aren't super pigmented, and you have to build them up quite a bit. The colours on the 2nd half of the palette are very similar to the ones in the Naked2 palette, with a bit of a twist to them. I really do like this palette however, and it will be a new staple to my collection!

L-R: Strange, Dust, Burnout, Limit, Buzz, Trick, Nooner, Liar, Factory, Mugshot, Darkside, Blackheart

Swatches L-R: Strange, Dust, Burnout, Limit, Buzz, Trick, Nooner, Liar, Factory, Mugshot, Darkside, Blackheart (from black line to black line, as some are sheer)

Look for it in stores 12/16!

xLB

Mini drugstore haul!

Earlier this week I had to make a stop at my bank, and half an hour later I found myself walking out of the drugstore next door with a bag full of goodies and no recollection.. OOPS. This happens too often..

I actually needed this magazine for class, so this isn't TOO bad..

Love me some baby lips! So soft!

On the left/top is Coral Crush, and the right/bottom is Peach Kiss

I feel like everyone in the beauty community and their mum have raved about these bad boys, so I had to grab another colour! Revlon Lip Butter in 040 Red Velvet - swatched

And the colour on - couldn't resist a selfie ;~)

Kate Moss for Rimmel lipstick in 04; I loooved this colour on the swatch..

..on my lips, not so much, quite scary upon initial application

But I really liked it once I blotted it down quite a lot, so this will definitely be high maintenance for me

And finally, Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes Mascara; The brush (R) compared to the original Great Lash mascara (L)

The brush is tiiiiiny, so cute! I liked it a lot for my bottom lashes and my harder to reach inner/outer top lashes, but I couldn't use this on the regular, I'm verrrrry particular about my eyelashes, keep that in mind. I like them very full and natural looking and I feel like this didn't really do that enough for me to repurchase, but I'll definitely use this one, and as always I'll repurchase the original Great Lash mascara - it's the drugstore mascara I swear by!

xLB

MAC Presents.. Archie's Girls!

As you may or may not know, MAC has finally recently launched the Archie's Girls collection! It's currently available online, and will be hitting counters in North America on the 7th, then will be en route internationally next month.

The line originates from the Archie comic books from America starting in the 40s. Even as a child I recall these being all the rage, so they definitely still circulate quite a bit.

In the comics two girls, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge, are after Archie's affections. The lines are translated from their personalities in the comics, and into the cosmetics range. Betty is the sweet girl-next-door, whereas Veronica is more on the sexy/ sultry side. These are reflected very well into the MAC range.

For Betty's line think pinks and corals, where Veronica's is more reds and plums. That being said, I was definitely more into the Veronica range.

Some of my personal favouites of the collection were:

Caramel Sundae Eyeshadow Quad: Four shades of eye shadow in Cheryl Chic, Dreammaker, Caramel Sundae and Showstopper. 52$ CAD

Pearlmatte Face Powder: Available in Flatter Me (Peach/Coral-y) and Veronica's Blush (Pink/Silver-y) I'm definitely going to need to swatch to make an ultimate decision! (But I'm leaning more towards Flatter Me) 35$ CAD

Pearlglide Intense Eyeliner: The packaging on this is so cute, I can't not get one! Available in four shades; a blue, bronze, black and purple. They have a bit of shimmer to them, so again, definitely going to need to swatch first. 20$ CAD

Lipsticks: Betty Bright (Light Vibrant Peach), Daddy's Little Girl (Midtone Pink Violet), Ronnie Red (Bright Red) and Boyfriend Stealer (Blackened Plum). The last three being Veronica's shades, hers are definitely the favoured for me. 20$ CAD

The brush kit also gets on honourable mention, because the brushes are so cute with the little hearts, but it was a pretty basic set of brushes I already own plenty of instead of the more per say different brushes I'm looking for to expand my collection.

If had to only choose one thing it would definitely be the eyeshadow quad; I've been on the hunt for the perfect neutral palette and I think this will do the trick! Runner up would be the Daddy's Little Girl lipstick. Gorgeous!

Overal, I'd rate this collection a 4/5 because I really like how by having ranges from the two girls they really target two very different customer profiles. Very clever! Great collection!

xLB

OOTD + FOTD || 24 January 2013

hi hi hi :~) so today I had a bad case of the winter blues (It's currently -11 here, with high winds making it -20) so I needed a pop of colour! Since it was one of my longest school days it was a comfy day ;~) The shirt is from my latest haul, from Forever 21, which can be found here!

OOTD

❤ Blouse - Forever 21

❤ Jacket - H&M (from 2 years ago in London)

❤ Leggings - Victoria's Secret Pink Yoga Legging

❤ Boots - Steve Madden Troopa Combat Boots in Black

FOTD

❤ Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Foundation

❤ Make Up For Ever Camo Cream Palette (Concealer)

❤ Urban Decay Naked2 Palette (Blackout, Tease, Bootycall)

❤ Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes Mascara

❤ MAC MSF in Lightscapade

❤ Benefit Coralista Blush

xLB

Clinique Gift Set - December 2012

I got this Clinique gift set from a family friend over the holidays and I absolutely adore it!

The packaging it came in; I saved this box because I couldn't bare getting rid of it, it's so pretty! I might use it for lip gloss storage or something like that, hm...

An outside look at the contents.. 

Take the Day Off makeup remover; I've yet to use this as I have quite a bit of makeup remover left to use.. so we'll get back to this one!

Clinique High Impact Mascara; I've read a lot of reviews on this mascara, and from those you either love it or hate it. For me personally, it didn't do it for me. I like my lashes to be one of the main focuses of my looks, however, they just looked extremely natural and almost as if I wasn't even wearing mascara.. I'll still use this however as it wasn't awful, but it isn't my first choice.

The mascara tube

And the wand; bristles, which I love! 

Butter Shine Lipstick; I'm obsessed with this, I love it so much I actually picked it up in another colour! When you buy it separately it has it's own packaging, so it comes in a silver tube. But I love how smooth it is, super moisturizing and it has a bit of shimmer to it. YAY!

Swatchy Swatch Swatch :~)

Clinique Happy; I looooove the scent of this perfume, I've sampled it several times so I'm happy to have yet another sample of it :) so light and fruity, my favourite!

xLB

Makeup Haul -- DEC12/JAN13

These were from two recent trips to both Sephora and Mac, I wanted to wait a bit before uploading so that I could test them out in my daily routine before reporting back to you lovely lot :~)

* I actually had some technical difficulties which resulted in this entire post being deleted after quite some time, so I apologize if it isn't as detailed as anticipated, out of sheer frustration :~( let me know if you want anything in more detail and I'll hop right on it! x

My lovely purchases from the first shopping trip :~) I did have quite a few gift cards to spend heheheheh

Here we have my much coveted MAC Mineralize Skin Finish (MSF) in Lightscapade; I'm obsessed with this! It's aimed primarily as a highlighter, It's a champagne colour with a pearl flex and blue veins, so pretty!

Nars Blush in Orgasm (32$); I don't know how I've never owned this blush seeing as it's one of the products/shades Nars is notorious for, but nevertheless, it's now mine! It's a peachy-pink with gold flex.. definitely a reoccurring colour in my collection. It's very pigmented and goes on rather well, although I only like a subtle amount of blush so this one requires quite a bit of blending for me, personally. Other than that, I loooove the colour!

Make Up For Ever Camouflage Cream Palette in No1 (43$); Another product I've been dying for for quite some time. The first three are used for concealer, depending on your skin colour you can blend them and the like, the fourth is aimed at under eye circles and the last one is green to combat redness. I love the consistency of these, I do find the product ends up with a bit of oily residue on it after using it (in the packaging, not on your face if that makes sense..) aside from that, great product. 

Stila Convertible Color in Peony (33$); I've eyeing this one for quite some time, but I'm not too skilled in the cream blush department.. but after swatching one day in Sephora I decided to take the plunge, and I'm glad I did! It can be used for cheeks and lips. (This shade at least) it doesn't have a strong colour change on lips, just kind of one of those 'your lips but better' shades, then on the cheeks it gives off a nice dewy glow. 

Benefit Coral My World (15$); This was one of those purchases that I picked up while in the queue at Sephora. I've been lusting after Benefit's blushes for the longest time, but not quite enough to shell out the 36$, so luckily this came along! Included is the Coralista blush (~1/3 of the full size) and a mini sun beam highlighter. I actually have a set of three benefit tint/highlighters of the same size also picked up while in queue at sephora, and they've lasted me for over a year, so all thought it looks small, a little goes a long way. The blush is a coral/peachy-pink with gold flex, just how I like it ;~) and the highlighter is gold,  which is quite nice as it's different from the usual pearl shades I go to. Perfect for the summer, I love sets like these as they let you try some products and incorporate them into your collection for cheap!

 Clinique Chubby Stick in 15-Pudgy Peony (19$); I'd recently fallen in love with Clinique lip products, so I decided to try this; the fact that it was a super pigmented balm in a bright colour really caught my attention. I love this because it gives you the colour of lipstick, but with the moisture of a balm. It's not an excessively pigmented lip colour, however they do have an 'intense' range if you're looking for more pigment. This satisfies my pigment needs. I'd definitely recommend this, I'm in love. And of course, the colour I fell in love is coincidentally called 'peony' .. can you say meant to be? Or obsession ;~)

First here is the Nails Inc Special Effects Holographic Polish (12$); I've been dying to try a holographic polish for the longest time, so when I saw this I finally took the plunge and purchased. I've yet to try it, but I'm sure you'll see it in a NOTD post in the future :~)

Next is the fresh Soy Face Cleanser* (17.50$); I've been dying to try this cleanser for the longest time, so I was beyond thrilled when I received a sample of it!! I'm OBSESSED with the fresh brand, it's one of my favourites. I've yet to use this, but will be using it tonight for sure! SOOOO excited, eeee!

Here we have the fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream with Super 7 Complex* (48$); This is another sample I received and will definitely be trying tonight as well with my soy cleanser. As stated above, I LOOOOOVE FRESH :~)

 

Finally, MAC Matte Lipstick in Russian Red (18$); Finally I've bought my very first matte finish from MAC, which is quite surprising as I really dislike glossy finishes.. I've been meaning to buy a red from MAC for the longest time so I was quite satisfied with this one! Deeper reds tend to look better with my skin tone, so it was hard to find one I liked but I'm in love with this one! YAY!

I know this was quite lengthy, but a haul is a haul, thanks for reading! Hope you're all having the happiest of happy new years! Cheers

xLB

2012 Favourites

Hi all, this post means the year has officially wrapped up (or is wrapping up depending on your time zone/reading time..) that being said, this post is dedicated to my favourite products of 2012, which include some of my favourite products of all time. Instead of doing multiple posts and clogging up your feed I'm just going to do them in one. They'll be sorted as; FACE, EYES, LIPS, SKIN. On we go!

FACE
Foundation: Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Foundation (46$ - Sephora)

Being honest, I haven't tried many foundations, but I've tried enough to know what I like. This one has great coverage, and it's the furthest from cakey which is ideally what I like. This foundation is also notorious for going with several skin tones. They have quite a few colours, but one of my friends (who does makeup artistry on the sides -- like for a CHANEL runway show!!) says when she does jobs they use this and only need to take 3 or so because they go so easily! 

Concealer: Sephora Collection Smoothing & Brightening Concealer (19$ - Sephora)

I love this concealer mainly because of the tip of it, but also the brightening factor. I use it after foundation and before powder and it's incredible! Also it lasts such a long time.

Powder: MAC Select Sheer Pressed Powder in NW20 (29$ - Mac)

I have been using this powder for YEARS and have no complaints. Depending on what you use to apply it with depends on the amount of coverage. If I'm wearing foundation I just like a light dusting of it. It's a great setting powder, translucent and very silky. Provides light coverage too, if needed.

Highlighter: MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Lightscapade (34$ - Mac)

* this one is limited edition, and I couldn't find it online, but I did see it in stores suuuuper recently

I'm currently obsessed with this one! The MSF's are one of MAC's best products in my opinion, I can't justify spending the money on the Natural ones, so I've gone crazy on the highlighter/blushers instead ;) I love this one because it's a very light, cool toned highlighter which is different from everything else I own.

EYES

Mascara: Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash Mascara in Black (25$ - Sephora)

I lovelovelove this mascara, I can't rave about it enough, it's probably one of my all-time favourites! The bristles grab all of my lashes and it makes them look thicker and longer and curled which I adore. I'm obsessed with this. I love my lashes to look dramatic and full, and this does the trick!

Eyeshadow: Urban Decay Naked2 Palette (60$ - Sephora)

I always thought these palettes were overhyped, and prior to buying one I never used much shadows. I'm normally one for just eyeliner and mascara, as I like my lashes to look dramatic. But once trying this I started with the matte shadows, then ended up gradually subconsciously using all of them. I adore this palette now, and I don't know what I'd do without it! 

Side note: I use powder as eyeliner, because I am absolutely terrible at applying liquid eyeliner for some reason, and I've yet to find an eye liner stick I like, so prior to this I used MAC's Carbon with an angled brush, but since this includes a black I'm now using blackout as my eyeliner :)

Primer: Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original (24$ - Sephora)

I started by trying a sample of this, and now I'm ready for purchase (once the very generous sample is used up). I never really thought I'd need a primer, and with other primers I've never seen much of a difference. But this primer helps my shadows withstand my shadows even after a long shift of work; impressive! I'm currently using the original, but they do have a range of nude colours as well.

LIPS

Clinique Butter Shine Lipstick (19$ - Sephora)

I received one of these lipsticks in a gift set, which I'll be reviewing shortly, and I fell in love with this one in particular so I ended up picking it up in another colour. The colour I received in the gift set in pink-a-boo, it's a pink with a bit of gold shimmer, it's so cute. Then I went out and bought raspberry rush, which is a dark pink/red with a bit of gold shimmer to it too. I love these lipsticks because they are glossy, but not sticky at all, very pigmented and super moisturizing. I'd recommend these to anyone, I'm obsessed! *colour pictured, not actual colour I own

Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Balm (19$ - Sephora)

As you might be able to notice, I'm loving Clinique's lip products. Prior I only knew them for their skin care range, but I'm now turning to them for lip products. This one is very pigmented, very moisturizing and very long lasting. It also leaves a bit of a stain too. It has the moisture of chapstick or a balm, and the colour/pigment of lipstick. They have a gorgeous selection of colours, I ended up purchasing "Pudgy Peony" just for the sake of my obsession with all things peonies heheheheh. It's a bright dark pink and reminds me a lot of fruit punch! 

MAC Lipsticks (18$ - MAC)

MAC lipsticks will always be la creme de la creme for me. They are my absolute favourite lipsticks in existence. Frankly if I could afford to, I would own the entire range. My favourite finishes are 'Amplified Creme' and sometimes 'Lustre' I don't like the frost or glaze finishes for the life of me, however. I like them to be creamy, and matte. I love how MAC lipsticks smell like vanilla :) an added bonus. I figured I'd just share some recent colours I've been wearing from MAC!

Colours: Girl About Town, Rebel, Blankety, Angel, Brave Red, Chatterbox

* not actual shades pictured

Rimmel/Kate Moss Lipsticks (5.99$ - Drugstores)

I seldom buy drugstore makeup, to be completely honest. Not because I'm a brand sob or anything, I just get really frustrated when I try to shop at drugstores? I don't know.. However when I do, Rimmel is a brand I go to. Majority of the drug store brand items I have are Rimmel. So when I heard they came out with a range of lipsticks with Kate Moss I had to check them out. The quality is nothing compared to my precious MAC lipsticks, but if you factor in the whole 'you get what you pay for' thing, then I think these are fab. I own them in two colours so far, and I'm definitely impressed with them. They're super pigmented and creamy, which I quite like, however they lack in longevity. But for the price, can't complain.

SKIN

LUSH Ocean Salt (21.95-34.95 - LUSH)

I've been using this off and on for several months now (I'm currently off because I've run out and have to travel a bit to get to a LUSH store because I'm too cheap to spend on shipping WHOOPS) but after using it I've noticed a significant change in my skin. This is one of those products I get excited to use. The scent is so invigorating, and it's so textured it's wonderful! It's a sea salt based scrub, so it isn't something I can use everyday, but that works out better because then it lasts longer haha! 

LUSH Cosmetic Lad Moisturizer (23.95$ - LUSH)

I was in LUSH one day, picking up my usual stuff, and they were fresh out of my trusted moisturizer.. dun dun dun! SO, the kind associate there recommended this one to me. I use it as my night time moisturizer, I've had it for months now and I've barely cracked a dent in it. A little really goes a long way with this one. It's super moisturizing, but it isn't overly greasy which I like, and it smells like creamsicles! It's supposed to soften facial hair as well, which isn't a bad thing!

Neutrogena Morning Glow Moisturizer (5-10$ - Drugstores)

This is my trusted morning moisturizer - I've been using it for years and don't intend on switching it. I use two pumps every morning and it keeps my skin fresh and glowing, without any greasy or oily residue. I lovelovelove it. I'm not sure on the exact price, as I'm sure it varies where you get  it.

Lancome Tonique Radiance (Toner) (35$ - Sephora)

This is another product I've been using for years and loving. It lasts quite a long time as well for me, again, a little goes a long way. I use it only at night time after taking off my makeup and cleansing, just to get every last bit off my face before bed. It does the toner trick without drying out my skin which I love.

Okay, so this was a super long post, if you're still reading, hats off to you! I'm still in dire need of a good cleanser, so that is one of my beauty missions for 2013! I'd love to see your favourite products as well, so if you've done anything of the sort, shoot me a link :) these are always my favourite posts! x

xLB