Estee Lauder double wear gel eyeliner stay bronze photos and swatches

Estee Lauder recently released some new double wear stay-in place gel eyeliners. Stay bronze caught my eye because it's a very red toned 'bronze' and somewhat unique. This color is limited edition.

For $23 CAD you get a pot of liner and a tiny brush to apply it with. I think it's totally worth the price because once this liner sets it does not budge at all until you take it off.

One thing about this color that is interesting is that it looks completely matte, but once applied you can see extremely tiny gold micro shimmer all through it. I love it. It's very hard to capture the shimmer in pictures, but you can see it IRL.

swatches of stay bronze:

My EOTD wearing stay bronze with some neutral colored Kat Von D eyeshadow:

I actually used the little brush it came with and it worked nicely. For a thinner line you would need to use something like the MAC 209. This gel eyeliner is excellent, I think I'm going to pick up the black one next when I have the chance.

Do you like any Estee Lauder double wear products? I really love the cream eyeshadows!

Wet n wild 902C bare it all mega last lipstick photos and swatches

I just had to post about this lipstick since it's become a daily staple for me.
This is one of my favorite lipsticks of all time.

Wet n wild 902C swatch:

This color is perfection. It's a mix of peach and pink that suits my pale face nicely. I really do think it would look great on anyone though.
I like the matte formula of the mega last lipsticks. I use a balm underneath and they don't make my lips feel dry or uncomfortable at all. They last for a few hours of wear which is great.

swatches on lips:

This is very close in color to MAC honeylove lipstick (see my swatch of it here) . I like honeylove a lot, but I like 902C bare it all even better because it isn't quite as light or peach as honeylove.

902C With Estee Lauder peach fizz gloss over top:

I highly recommend this lipstick if you are looking for a nice neutral go to color. For the $3.99 price tag I promise you won't regret it.
If they ever discontinue this color I will be so upset. That's what happened with my other favorite lipstick from L'oreal called in the buff.

What's your favorite lipstick of all time?

I recieved the versatile blogger award!

I am honored to have received this award. The lovely Vulcan Butterfly ever so graciously passed it on to me.

Here is a list of blogs I am passing the versatile blogger award on to :

• Adora BatBrat - You would not believe the versatility of this lovely lady! She models, bakes goodies all the time, does inspirational makeup looks and she is even starting her own store. One of the most interesting blogs out there!

• Scrangie - Always has what I'm looking for. It seems I enjoy similar taste to the brands and swatches/reviews she posts. She does wicked eye makeup and lots of nice nail polish swatches.
  

• Productrater - This gal is non stop posting reviews of the latest and greatest beauty products. Her reviews are honest and I enjoy reading them.
  

• Bleeding Beauty - I love the random gorgeous products she features (like Etude House marble marble!) and her really cool EOTD's are always inspiring.

• Phyrra - I'm sure she's gotten this award before because her blog is one of the most versatile I've come across. From skin care to foundations to contacts she covers a lot of beauty related material and always has swatches.

Seven random facts about me:

1) I was born in Kitchener Ontario, Canada but through my life I have moved approximately 20 times. The most amazing place I have lived was in Orlando Florida. The weather, the ocean and the lizards everywhere were all so amazing.

2) Unlike most beauty crazed bloggers who claim to be 'obsessed' with makeup, I actually am. I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and I swatch so much stuff daily because it's more or less a compulsion. (I only actually post about 1/4 of stuff that I swatch!)

3) I love reading. I am naturally a book worm and I have a book on hand wherever I go.

4) My favorite animal is the great white shark. I am determined to see one in real life (hopefully even swim with one!) before I die.

5) I am kind of obsessed with the Apocalypse. I love zombie movies, and any movies or books that have to do with the world ending. It's weird I know.

6) I adore Japanese culture. Sushi, anime, circle lenses, doll eyed makeup, visual kei, harajuku and ganguro style and all that awesome stuff. I also love Korean horror movies and makeup as well.

7) My dream career is to be a tattoo artist, which is not as easy as people think. I am trying to find someone to apprentice with but I think I am just going to teach myself. For the time being I am a stay at home mom with an 18 month old son. It's the craziest job I've ever had!

I hope I didn't bore you too much, my life really isn't all that exciting!

Three great bronzers for pale skin with photos and swatches

Guess what? Pale girls can wear bronzer too. It's totally possible.

For the first time in my entire life I went out and bought some bronzers to play with. I've never bothered with it before because 1) I love vampire white skin 2) I never saw a need for it and 3) They always look so orange and disgusting on my skin.

Well, this winter I was pasty and white and felt I was just looking a bit dull. I needed some warmth in my face and blush just wasn't doing it.
That's when I figured I should try and find a bronzer for my skin tone.
When I tried it I actually saw my face come alive with some glow! I guess that's why bronzer is so popular.

For reference here is my face without any blush or bronzer, just foundation:

My skin is extremely pale, most foundations are way too dark. I have blue and green veins so my undertone is neutral (a mix of cool/warm).
My best match in foundation is L'oreal true match N1 porcelain ivory. It is the exact color of my skin. You can imagine how hard it is to find a bronzer that doesn't look orange on my skin!

Well here is me wearing MAC 'bronze' bronzer, (quite heavily) sorry it's blurry but I was pouting too much in the other shots:

Pretty big difference a sun kissed look can give! It definitely perks up my skin and makes it look more 'alive'.
Here are 3 different bronzers with different tones that I would recommend to pale ladies and gentlemen such as myself. They are all quite affordable and easy to find.

Maybelline bronzer 01 sunlight $7.99 CAD

This is the very palest bronzer I could find. It is a light golden tan with shimmer. It isn't very pigmented but it's great for a subtle look. The shimmer isn't over the top but it is noticeable, so if you don't like shimmer than this isn't for you.
This would suit fair to very fair neutral, warm and olive/yellow skin tones best.

Maybelline sunlight swatch:

Wearing sunlight:

New York Color smooth skin bronzing face powder in sunny 720 $3.99 CAD

I picked this up on a whim because it's so inexpensive, and it turns out that it's pretty great!
The base color is medium brown, and it's got some warm orange and red tones to it but they aren't too much. You can layer to get a more sun baked look, or use lightly for a little bit of color.
The finish is matte, no sparkle or shimmer here. It looks quite natural.
I think this would suit fair to medium warm, olive and neutral skin perfectly.
This might not work for cool skin tones as it could bring out any redness or pink undertones.

Wearing NYC sunny bronzer:

MAC bronze bronzing powder (pictured in limited edition packaging) $27.50 CAD

I think MAC bronze bronzer is my favorite of the bunch. I really like the finish, because it is a little shimmery yet not noticeable on the face. It looks more glowy than anything.
The color is perfect, it's a nice deep brown bronze with a very subtle golden orange tone.
I would have to say that this would suit almost any skin tone. It's quite neutral and can be layered to deepen the color. When applied lightly it can look great on even the whitest skin.

Wearing MAC bronze bronzing powder :

There are a lot of bronzing powders out there and they are hit and miss. It's challenging to find the right tone that doesn't make you look fake.
I find it easiest to apply bronzer with a large skunk brush, since it doesn't pick up much product. That way I can use just a little at a time to ensure I don't put too much on.
Sun kissed skin is beautiful, and using bronzer instead of tanning can save your skin from harmful UV rays and irreversible damage (like age spots and wrinkles!).

You can even use bronzing powder on your body in the summer, to achieve a contoured glow without risking your skin. Just invest in a large brush so you can cover more area.
I love to use Lush Charlotte island body tint. I mix it with my moisturizer and it leaves just a hint of color on my skin. It also smells like chocolate! It's very nice because self tanners tend to smell horribly. I will never touch them again with a ten foot pole because they make me orange.

I hope this has been helpful, I know it's hard for pale people to get a nice fake tan! But it is possible :)

Ultraflesh panthera mascara review

This 'couture' mascara was love at first sight. One day I saw a picture of this cute little mascara with a jaguar head on it and it had to be mine.
I am such a sucker for packaging!

If I were to rate this mascara solely on the design, I would give it 5/5 for sure. It's slim, black cute and the cat head on it is just too cool. It looks great sitting on my vanity.

The brush... well it's ok. There are lots of teeth and they are spaced out fairly wide. It wasn't hard to use but I found it to be a little sharp. It did grab all my lashes pretty well.

panthera brush:

The results were not anywhere near as exciting as the cool cat packaging. I found the mascara itself rather mediocre. Not bad but not really good either. I had very high hopes for this.

Wearing panthera mascara (2 coats) :

It separated my lashes nicely, added a little volume and a tiny bit of length.
I didn't have much clumping even when I tried to layer and build more volume.
The formula stayed all day and didn't smudge or flake which was nice.

Overall, I was a little disappointed. I was hoping for more drama and length from panthera. I really like the packaging but when it comes down to it that's what I paid for since the product itself isn't anything special.
I wouldn't reccomend this unless you are feeling very frivolous. The best part is the tube!

Repurchase? No. way too expensive for an average mascara.

Price: $28 CAD

Rating: 3/5

I love Boots Fearnes favorites hat box of makeup !

Back in February I was the lucky winner of sparklz and shines awesome Boots fearne hatbox giveaway.
Fearne Cotton is a celeb from the UK who recently designed a makeup line exclusive to Boots stores. In Canada we have some Boots No. 7 products available but mostly just skin care, not the entire line.
Anways if it weren't for Sparklz' giveaway I would have never had the chance to try these goodies from Fearne's makeup line! Here are some highlights of the products.

This is the design on the heart shaped makeup bag. I love it!!! If you look close you can see two mermaids, some shoes, birds and the whole design put together makes a skull face. How cool!!!
Here are the loose pigments. The light one is white with a yellow shift, so sparkly and perfect as a highlight. The deeper one is a nice cool taupe with lots of shimmer, reminds me of something from Fyrrinae.

loose pigment swatches:

Here are my two favorite lip products from the bunch. The lipstick is the perfect pink/peach nude. It's not matte and not glossy, but really just right. The nude gloss pairs well with the lipstick. It reminds me of Stila lipglaze without any scent or stickiness.

lipstick (left) lipgloss (right):

nude gloss swatch:

lipstick:

perrfect nude lipstick!

The eyeshadow palette is really cute. The colors are great for summer. I love pairing teal with browns so this will definitely be getting some love.

Here's an EOTD I did using the teal, bronze and brown from the palette as well as the loose pigment to highlight:

Last but not least I have to mention the mascara, it is A++! It's called midnight lashes and it is perfection. The brush is plastic with lots of teeth, and it grabs every lash. It gives amazing length and volume. I wish I could buy this mascara separately somewhere, if anyone knows if Fearne has a full size of this stuff available please let me know ;)

Wearing midnight lashes:

I love trying makeup from different brands from all over the world. Even though I have my favorites I buy regularly, I still enjoy spicing it up whenever I can with new and exciting things that aren't available here.
I want to thank you again Sparklz for the goodies; and also I wanted to remind everyone some of these goods from Fearne's line are up for grabs on my current giveaway! don't forget to enter :)

Kat Von D Beethoven palette photos, swatches and EOTD

I am smitten with Kat Von D cosmetics, I can't get enough of it.
The quality, the packaging and the colors are all amazing.

Beethoven is full of cool colors, it's not my personal favorite but there is a lot of room for experimenting with this palette.

Swatches:

Here are two looks I did using the two sides of the palette:

EOTD #1 black/blue/green:




EOTD #2: purple/brown




The colors don't look overly dramatic in the palette, but once applied they look quite deep and smoky.
I am in the process of collecting all Kat's palettes, I only need memento mori and the new one called angeles to have them all!
I have been using these palettes regularly and prefer them to my MAC and NARS eyeshadow. I love how the colors blend together so well and I never have to worry about lack of pigment.

What is your preferred brand of eyeshadow? Do you have a favorite?