Kat Von D forever & never foiled love lipstick swatches and photos

Kat Von D foiled love lipstick is a super metallic, frosty formula. It is much different from the regular lipsticks (I love) which are either matte or satin type finishes.
The packaging is also different from the regular line, it's metallic silver with white rose designs. I always love KVD packaging!

I don't really go for frosty lip colors, but this was a gift so I thought I should try it out.
Forever and never looked like it would suit me better than any of the other foiled love colors. It's described as a 'metallic golden  peach'. I would say it's an accurate description.

swatch of forever and never foiled love lipstick:

It almost has a peach/bronze duochrome look to it. It's frosty - big time. It's not extremely pigmented in one go, but 2 layers gives you rich dimensional color.

wearing forever & never :

The redness in my lips makes this look more bronze, and very warm. It was a change from my usual nude colors that I wear. I am just not loving it on me.
I'm not sure if it was just mine or if all the foiled love lipsticks have a sort of waxy old lipstick smell? None of my other KVD lipsticks have this. Maybe I just got a bad one.

What do you think about frost lipstick colors? Love them or hate them?

Revlon photoready BB cream review

Revlon finally jumped on the BB cream bandwagon, so I wanted to do a quick review.

I like the packaging, it's sleek silver and looks nice. It has a twist off cap, which is decent.

 The color I got was 010 light, which is the lightest one of the 4 or so available. I wasn't worried about a color match because revlon's fair colors usually match me.

photoready BB cream 010 light swatch:

 blended:

This actually oxidized on me. When freshly applied  it looked ok, but after a few minutes it turned into an orange toned mess. I was not impressed. I could not wear it alone. I wore it under Revlon colorstay foundation (normal/dry) and the performance was not good. It made the colorstay wear off quickly and my face felt very greasy by the end of the day.

Photoready BB cream is another glorified tinted moisturizer. The finish is sheer and tacky. It's very similar to Maybelline dream BB cream. They both looked like an orange slick mess on my face.

pros:
- contains SPF 30
- contains antioxdants
- didn't irritate my senstitive skin
- not expensive
- moisturizing

cons:
- oxidizes after applied
- no colors suitable for very fair skin
- feels greasy, potentially pore clogging
- does not act as a primer as it claims
- rubs off easily
- very sheer

The only way I would recommend this is if you are looking for a very sheer tinted moisturizer, and if you have dry skin not prone to breakouts. I only wore this once and I felt clogs forming after. This did not impress me much. If you are curious, I'd say try Maybelline BB cream, because it's very similar in finish and also has SPF 30 for 1/2 the price of Revlon.

repurchase? No way

rating: 2.5/5

price: $16 CAD

Essence twilight shimmer powder 01 swatches and photos

Essence has some good cheap thrills. This powder is gorgeous, and is surprisingly good quality.

The color is a very rich light gold, no glitter at all- just shimmer. It's super pigmented, soft, buttery and blends into the skin nicely.

Swatch of twilight shimmer powder 01 'bella's secret' :

 Wearing the shimmer powder on my cheekbones (over Chanel fandango blush) :

This is a superb gold highlighter for any skin tone. I highly recommend picking this up. I think it cost $3.99 CAD, which is a total steal. It is LE, but if  you can find it grab it!

NOTD: Christmas decor

Can you believe Christmas is almost here? I'm definitely feeling the Christmas spirit. This mani is all about Christmas, my final entry in nail polish Canada's holiday nail art challenge.

I've done my nails in glittery red and green tinsel, swirly candy cane, Christmas tree, and a stocking.

If you like my mani, please vote for me here.

So, has everyone finished their Christmas shopping? I haven't even started yet! I am doing it all this week.

Maybelline the colossal cat eyes mascara review

 Maybelline is putting out new mascaras left and right lately! Just one after the other after the other...

I tried the original 'colossal' mascara a few years back and I really liked it, except that it flaked horribly.
Fast forward to a few months ago I tried the waterproof version, and it was so dry I couldn't get anything on my lashes.
So I was slightly hesitant to try this. But, anything to do with cat eyes grabs my attention, so I got this as soon as I saw it on display.

 The tube has a cute leopard print pattern on it, it looks a bit juvenile in my opinion, but I suppose they are pushing products towards the younger crowd these days.

The 'claw' brush, actually does a good job of grabbing and coating lashes. It's a little awkward to work with if you aren't used to curved a brush.

The cat claw wand (click for large size) :

The result is fanned out lashes that are nicely lengthened and a little volumized. The curved brush helps to curl lashes up and the end of it is great for flipping up the outer corner lashes. Adding mascara to those outer corner lashes does result in a more cat-eye look and overall sultry eye.

with 2 coats of colossal cat eyes:

The formula is very wet and smells of roses. it's the exact same formula as the original colossal. Therefore, I have the exact same problem with it, the flaking off :/
I really like the brush, and if the formula was better I would recommend it.

Overall, this doesn't do too much for volume but it's great for length. It can be layered but beware of clumping. If you liked the original Maybelline Colossal you will probably like this too.

Repurchase? No

Price: $8 CAD

Rating: 3/5

NOTD: Chanel nails

 This is week 2 in nail polish Canada's holiday nail art challenge. This weeks theme is gifts.

I decided to do a mani using the Chanel logo because all I want for Christmas this year is Chanel notorious sculpting veil <3 br="br">

I used sinful colors 'you just wait' (love this color!) as a base on all except the middle finger which I used MAC lacquer in endless night. Then I applied Icing's dark magic to the tips (horribly because the tape I used didn't work properly) and added on some purple gems stones to make it look more glam.

I had a few mishaps with this mani and I sort of gave up on it, so it's not my best, but I thought the idea was cool :) If you like this mani you can vote for me here in the challenge.

Dear Santa - please bring me Chanel notorious for X-mas that is all. Thank you.

Urban Decay naked skin foundation review

I recently tried Urban Decay naked skin 'weightless ultra definition liquid makeup'. I read a lot of reviews before buying it, and it seemed that most either absolutely loved it or hated it.

The packaging is very basic and plain like the Urban Decay naked palettes.
I liked the pump dispenser.

I chose the color 1.0 since it seemed to be the closet match to my skin at the moment. It is right on with MAC NC15 in comparison.

UD naked foundation 1.0 swatch on my hand:

blended in:

As you can see from the hand swatches it looks very skin-like once blended and set. I liked the finish. Not matte and not dewy, more satin yet still felt lightweight.

Here are comparison pics with the foundation on my face:

(Left = no foundation Right = wearing naked skin)

The coverage was medium, it went on light but I built up a second layer easily. It covered everything that I needed covered, redness and scars disappeared.
The main thing I was looking forward to was that it claimed to be 'weightless' and feel like you aren't wearing anything. Well, I sure felt it on my skin and it felt like any other foundaiton loaded with silicones.
It wasn't 'heavy' but it sure wasn't weightless.

An hour or so after initial application I noticed that it started to look cakey and settle into my fine lines and pores. I felt that it exaggerated the dry areas of my face, because it just sort of moved into every nook and cranny it could, leaving me with an uneven complexion. I was pretty disappointed.

It lasted about 6 hours on my skin and then I started to see most of my skin and the redness come through again. It likely would have been longer lasting with a primer, I only used moisturizer under it.
The dealbreaker for me was my face was irritated and bumpy the day after using it. I tried it again to be sure and I got a weird tingly feeling all over my face. I had the exact same thing happen when I tried urban decay skin brightening primer potion! It has a few of the same ingredients and I think the litchi extract is to blame.
 Sadly, naked skin did not work out for me, but I can see why a lot of people would love it.

I've included the ingredients list here:

pros:

- finish looks just like skin
- excellent shade selection
- contains peptides and antioxidants
- easy to blend

cons:

- filled with silicones that can dry out skin and clog it
- not very long lasting
- exaggerates dry skin
- settles into pores/lines soon after applying

I think those with normal to oily skin would find they like this foundation. I'd recommend using a primer for best results.
It's not a bad foundation but I've used way better ones. I was disappointed at how heavy it feels considering they are marketing it as 'weightless'. I think it's somewhat hyped up like most Urban Decay products.

Repurchase? No

Price: $45 CAD

Rating: 3/5

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics lip tar in tone swatches & photos

Believe it or not, I never tried OCC lip tars until a couple months ago. They are super popular, I had to see what all the fuss was about.
I chose the color 'tone' because it looked gorgeous, I have been looking for a nice nudish white lip color for a while.

Tone is a whitened up clean pink. No brown or purple tones. It can make you look very washed out.

Swatches of tone:

Erm, I didn't like this color on me. It looked pretty gross, I won't lie. It made me look a bit ill and settled into lip lines. I loved the rich pigment and lasting power, but that's where it ended.

I had no idea that lip tars contained a lot of peppermint oil. Why? I don't know, but I really wish it didn't.
I find mint extract in lip products to irritate and dry my lips. That is exactly what happened after I used this lip tar.

OCC lip tar ingredients: (click on pic to enlarge)

I wish OCC would make a mint-free version, then I would be very happy.

Is anyone else out there sensitive to mint extract in cosmetics?

Kat Von D Sin-full lash mascara review

Before I do this review can I just say how much I miss blogging? Well..I am back! I have so much material to cover, so many reviews to write - ah this will be fun!

I got this sin-full lash back in the summer, I had pretty high hopes it would be amazing. 

Of course the packaging rocks, as all KVD makeup has sleek pretty designs.

 

 

Sin-full lash is supposed to make your lashes look fuller, add length and curl...everything basically.  I watched an interview where Kat says she spent a lot of time getting the formula right, and even tested it herself.

So, does it do it all? Let's see.

The main thing I noticed was that this mascara made my lashes look nice and full. It sort of fanned them out and added some volume. Nothing too dramatic, but of course you can layer it and I never had much problem with it clumping.

The formula is a nice mix between dry/wet, right in the middle. It's got a really nice black pigment, nice and dark.

The brush is a good size, not too big and not too small.

sin-full lash brush:

 

So it added nice fullness and volume to my lashes, but it didn't do much for length. That is a deal breaker for me. I like length.
I also found it gave me slight raccoon eyes within a few hours of wearing. It smudged every time I wore it.

2 coats of sin-full lash on my lashes:

The biggest problem I had with this was the tube broke after I had it for 2 weeks. I am not sure how this happened to be honest. I remember it didn't close properly after I used it last and when I went to use it again it was like this:

I gueess I am too strong for my own good? I don't know.

Needless to say, I returned it, because I only had it for 2 weeks and it broke, and started to dry out. Really not cool. I've never had this happen to a mascara tube, ever! I'm always careful with my makeup and I thought this was weird.

Overall, I say pass. It only really volumizes, but will smudge by the end of the day. There are much better mascaras out there, less expensive ones too.

Repurchase? No

Price: $23 CAD

Rating: 2/5

NOTD: snow falling on sparkling asphalt

 One of the most beautiful things about winter is the way the snow sparkles through the sun, and the black pavement shimmers so bright.

I tried to capture snow falling onto sparkling asphalt in my mani for the holiday nail art challenge on nail polish Canada.

 To get this effect I layered a lot of polishes! Then I added on some 3-D nail stickers, to make it look more like snow.

Polishes used left to right: MAC everything that glitters, SH silver lining, Nails inc sprinkles sugar house lane, covergirl snowflake, random white from Halloween, SH hidden treasure.

What do you think? If you like it, please find and vote for me here tomorrow.

Quick update

To all my friends in the States effected by Hurricane Sandy:  I am sending good vibes and warm hugs your way. Stay safe and blessed be.

Just a super quick personal note...Well, I'm still alive lol My kids were sick on and off all September, then I was very sick with pneumonia most of October, in and out of the hospital. It has been rough and I'm still not 100% better, if you've ever had to take the drug prednisone you know how horrible that stuff is...I had horrible side effects from it and I'm still getting it out of my system. That stuff should be illegal.
Anyways just want to say I have lots of new blog material to post for you, and I will be back up to posting very soon. Thanks for reading,
~Lexa

Chanel tempting beige powder blush photos and swatches

This was my very first Chanel blush. I ended up getting a tester since it's the cheapest way to try it out! (You can find all sorts of Chanel testers for sale on Ebay for about 1/2 the retail price).


Tempting beige is a very warm rich brown toned peach. There are tiny shimmer particles laced through it but they seem to look natural and luminous on the skin.

Tempting beige is super pigmented and packs a nice color even with light application.
I found it very easy to blend, and the color left me with a natural glowy looking finish.

wearing Chanel tempting beige:

I really packed it on here to show the color on my face. Normally I use a less amount and blend it with my highlighter to create a more subltle cheek. 

I have been looking for a nice neutral blush color to wear everyday and just haven't found the right one. I thought tempting beige might be it, but it's just too warm for me.

I think tempting beige is a beautiful color that would suit practically any skin tone. For very fair skin I recommend using a lighter hand or it can make you look sunburned.

I like Chanel blush because it lasts all day and the pigmentation is amazing.
Have you tried any Chanel blush? What is your favorite 'go to' everyday blush color?