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?

Sleek liqueur lipstick photos and swatches

 I've had this lipstick for a while and just found the swatches I took of it, it is really such a great color.


Sleek lipsticks are packaged nicely in little black rubberized cases that are similar to NARS lipsticks.

If you are looking for an everyday go with everything color, this just might be it.
It's a nice neutral beige with slight gold pearl. It sort of reminds me of  MAC viva glam V (swatch here)

Swatch of Sleek  liqueur:

Wearing  Sleek  liqueur:

The finish is a nice creamy satin, and feels moisturizing on. Unfortunately lasting power isn't the greatest, so it needs to be reapplied often.

Do you have an everyday go-to lipstick? Tell me! Mine is MAC blankety :)

NOTD: MAC vintage vamp nail lacquer

I've been looking high and low for a deep blood red jelly polish... I thought vintage vamp was it but it's just not dark enough for my liking. It's pretty sheer and the color in the bottle seems deeper than what you get on your nails.

Still, it's a truly gorgeous vampy red jelly.

I am wearing 3 coats of vintage vamp, and it still looks slightly streaky. That is one thing I didn't like about this color - It's very translucent and hard to get an even application.


It gives a really shiny finish like jellies usually do, love that.


Although expensive, I really like MAC nail lacquers. With a top coat I can usually get 1 week of wear without chipping, which is great for me.

I think this color is super for fall/winter.

Have you tried MAC lacquers? did you like them?

Any suggestions for a deep blood red jelly polish?

Smashbox camera ready BB cream SPF 35 review

Can you believe the BB cream hype lately? It's pretty hard to ignore when every brand around puts out a BB cream weekly (or so it seems!).
Most of the BB creams you see out there are nothing more than tinted moisturizers, hyped up with advertising.
Smashbox did a pretty good job on this BB cream though, I must say.

This BB cream comes in a tiny (1 oz) squeeze tube that has a twist off sort of cap. Not the best packaging but hey, it's not bad.


I got the shade fair, and it was an excellent match on me! It has a very natural finish, and reflects light for a subtle glow.

Swatch of shade fair on my hand:

blended:

And, a (horrible) pic of me wearing just the BB cream by itself. I really should have put more makeup on but I was on holidays.

On my skin you can see this exaggerated dry patches, sunk into pores and didn't cover blemishes all that much. It did cover some redness, gave a glow and evened out my skin.

This BB cream is supposed to: moisturize, prime, perfect, protect and control oil. Seems like a lot for one product to do.

Did it live up to the claims?

- Moisturize? No. I have dry sensitive skin and it did not moisturize, it made dry areas look worse :(

- prime? Yes. It acted as a really good primer for makeup, helped my makeup go on smoother and last longer

- perfect? No. I don't think any product can really 'perfect' skin.

- protect? Yes. The sunscreen actives protect skin from UVA and UVB rays. The formula contains some great antioxidants that will aid your skin as well.

- Control oil? Yes. I do get slightly oily by the end of the day on my nose and chin, and this is where my makeup always slides off. I found the BB cream helped to keep my skin more balanced and less oily in those areas.


I like this product as a primer and sun screen.
It didn't offer enough coverage or hydration for me to wear by itself.
Unfortunately, it started to irritate my skin so I had to stop using it. Turns out I am sensitive to some chemical sunscreen ingredients.

Overall, I think you will like this if you are more oily skinned, and want a good primer with sunscreen. If you don't need much coverage it could be a good light foundation for some.
If you have sensitive skin like me, try a sample first.

One thing I wanted to mention is that this is available in 5 shades!!! All ranging from fair to dark. Now that is impressive, since most BB creams are only available in one or two shades.

It is a very expensive product for quite a small amount, but due to the high SPF rating and inclusion of skin beneficial ingredients I think it is pretty well worth it.
Smashbox did a very good job with this product, and I think it is the closest you will find comparable (locally) to an Asian BB cream. The only difference here is that the Smashbox BB cream does not contain any whitening ingredients like most, and the coverage is not quite as good as Asian ones.

Repurchase? No

Price: $50 CAD

Rating: 4/5

MAC studio fix boldblack lash mascara review

I love trying MAC mascaras since mascara is one beauty item that only lasts 3-6 months and instead of throwing it away you can back to MAC it. It's just great!

My latest mascara purchase from MAC was studio fix in boldblack - since I like intense black lashes :)


This is what MAC has to say about studio fix bold black :
'Innovative, mousse-like formula gives superior definition, volume and lift by filling in sparse lashes for a dramatic effect now in carbon black.'

I do agree that it does give good volume and some definition. The formula is quite wet and can be a little messy, it clumps really easily.

The brush is made of hard plastic with little teeth that grab lashes well.

studio fix lash wand:

I didn't like this wand too much, it wasn't flexible at all and it was rough on my lash line when trying to get the mascara into the lash roots.

It really gave a lot of volume and I loved the black intensity. Unfortunately, it did flake as you can see in the picture below.

Wearing 2 coats of studio fix boldblack:

You can see the little flakes under my eyes. Not cool.
With 2 coats it was very hard to get the mascara not to clump. I think it's because the formula is so wet that it makes it difficult not to get too much product on the wand. Wiping the wand with a paper towel before applying would be best I think.

Overall, I didn't really like this mascara as much as others from MAC. It held curl alright, added a little length and a lot of volume. But it flaked through the day, and it ended up irritating my eyes just like zoom lash did.

If you like volume I think you would like this, but I wouldn't recommend it because it does have the tendency to clump and flake. A better option for volume and length would be MAC's false lashes mascara which doesn't clump or flake. Oops I still have to review that one!

Repurchase? No

Price: $19 CAD

Rating: 2.5/5