What's In My Convention Bag? - Anime North 2017

Hello friends!! When this post goes live, I'll be in Toronto for 3 days at a convention!

As some of you know, I'm a cosplayer who goes around to different conventions in my area! I dress up as my favourite video game characters!!

This is my 5th year. And I'm taking a laid back approach. And I'm only doing two cosplays for the 3 days!

I thought it would be fun to show y'all my favourite products for conventions. I'll be out in the sun and the heat from 8am to 11pm. SO I NEED my makeup to be SOLID!

This is the toiletries I'm bringing:

Makeup Removing wipes - Good for morning cleansing, removing makeup, removing body odor and sweat!
Tampons - I'm rooming with a few people who get periods, so you gotta be prepared!
Hair brush
Two SPF50 Sunblock lotions - one is a wet skin one, that gets stronger when you sweat or get wet. and since I'll be sweating I'm wearing this for sure!
Moisturizing Cream face mask
Night time face lotion
Foaming face wash
Hand cream
Brush cleansing cloths - to make sure my brushes are clean between days
Tweezers
Body Wash
Extra hair ties
Nail Clippers
Squeezy tube lip balm
Morning face lotion
Dry Shampoo
Hair Spray
Deodorant

This is what I'm bringing in a small zippered pouch, to go in my brothers back pack:

Extra Deodorant - again, I'm a sweaty stinky person!!
Back up Lash glue - I'm wearing falsies and I feel more safe with this!!
Mini Powder brush
Mini Tube of SPF for my neck/hands/body
Spray SPF for my face
Touch up Concealer - JUST IN CASE my foundation does get patchy after 12+ hours, I can top it up!
Mattifying powder
Blotting sponge
LUSH Silky Underwear powder - I'm wearing a skirt, and I get bad chub rub! So hopefully this will help!
Two back up Phone chargers
Tampon - just in case another person at the con needs it!!

Not pictured:
Bandaids, Tylonal, Glasses cleaner, Wall plug in, for when the phone chargers are dead!


For Base makeup, I'm bringing:

Hard Candy Smoothing primer
MUFE Mattifying primer
MUFE Conceal/Correct palette
L'oreal Infallible total cover foundation
ABH Stick foundation
NYX Dark circle corrector
Tarte Shape Tape
MAC Set powder


For Cheeks I'm bringing:

Tarte 12 hour blush in Paaarty
ELF Blush in Twinkle Pink
Colourpop Highlighter in Flexitarian

For brows i'm bringing:

Annabelle brow to go powder
ELF Eye brow pencil
Essence make me brow gel


For eyes I'm bringing:

Mascara
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
ELF Matte eye shadow palette
Two MUFE artist shadows - a glittery light yellowy white for the lids/inner corners, and a glittery brown for the lower lashline.
Too Faced Chocolate Soleil bronzer - supposed to be with the cheek products picture. But I forgot!


For Lips I'm bringing:

Since I'm doing two different cosplays/characters, I need two different lip looks. So I'm bringing

Colourpop London Fod Satin lip - Lasts through meals, and isn't super super drying.
Colourpop Bossy Lip pencil
NYX Lip primer
ELF Lip Exfoliator
Blistex SPF30 lip balm - For under both lip looks.
Jack Black SPF25 lip balm + FRESH Sugar Nude tinted lip balm -  I dont like the way the Fresh lip balm looks on it's own, so I'm going to mix it with the jack black lip balm to sheer it out, and make it more natural looking!


What I'll be wearing:

These are the two characters I'll be dressed up as,
Mitsuru Kirijo From Persona 3
and
Penelo From Final Fantasy 12!

I'll make sure to share photos of my time at the con, on either snapchat or intagram!
-Snapchat - goddamnitshanny
-Instagram - Goddamnitshannon

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Review - Severely Hooded, Oily Lids.

Hello again friends!!!

Today, we're going to talk about my holiest of holy grail's!!

I have severely hooded, oily lids.

This is my "least" hooded eye. I say that because my eyes are unevenly hooded!! One eye, has a hood that covers all of the lid from the lashline. and the other, is this eye here!

So all day, whenever I blink, or look around, my hood is rubbing against my lids. And thus distroying all of the hard work I did with my eye shadow!

Add in the fact that my eye lids are OIL SLICKS.

NOTHING used to last on my lids. I was lucky if I got ten minutes? of wear.

Until I tried Too Faced Shadow Insurance that is!

TFSI, is a thicker, light beige eye primer. I wont call it clear, because I haven't see how it looks on the deepest of skintones. But I imagine It could get ashy!

I use less than the above amount for both eyes. I take the smallest amount, and pat it from lash line to brow bone. And Because It dries to a tacky finish, I like to set it with my face powder or a matte bone shade to make blending out crease shades easier.

I NEVER get creasing with this product!! Nor do I get fading as well!!

I think this is a god send, for me and my eye shape. I wont say it'll be a miracle product for EVERYONE. But boy is this amazing for me!

Price: $24
Amount: 11g /0.35oz
Overall: 9.5/10!

A Mostly MUFE Artist Shadow EOTD

Hey all!! I'm bringing you all another EOTD.

I was getting ready with my friend this morning, and I noticed I use mostly MUFE artist shadows. They really are my favourite formula!!

For this look, I started off with Too Faced Shadow Insurance. And set that with Sephora brand eye shadow Swan Song (a matte light powder pink) I started with Colourpop Bel Air (matte light brown in the crease and the hood as a transition using a big fluffy crease brush. I then dipped into Coastal Scents Barista (Matte medium brown) and buffed that through the crease and hood lower than Bel Air. I switched to a pencil brush, and dipped into MAC Embark (matte deep brown) and i tapped that onto the outer corner of my mobile lids, and onto the very outer part of my crease to deepen. I then took a 217 and buffed and blended everything out. I then took the pencil brush and MUFE D-652 (A reddish brown with silver sparkles) and penciled that onto the outer lid for some shine. For the inner lid, I used MUFE ME-644 (metallic golden brown) and smoothed that on and out! After applying the main lid shade I decided to go back in with MAC Embark on the outer V. After blending it. To finish the look I took D-826 (Metallic reddish plum with glitter) on a smudger brush and buffed that under my lower lash line, added mascara and was done!!!

What do you think of this look? :)

Wet n Wild Megaglo Highlighting Powder in Precious Petals Review

Hey all!! Long time no post, am I right?

I'v been SWAMPED with work, and my best friend who lives in the next province, came to stay at my place for a work week. etc. Excuses excuses!

Lets jump into today's review/chat!

First off, I'm sorry I don't have any pretty brand new shots of this highlight. I bought it last month, while in America. And I DOVE into using this the morning after buying it!

This highlight, is a Peachy, Golden highlight. It's super easy to pick up on my highlighting brush, but not TOO much comes off on the brush. It's soft and silky. It almost feels like a baked powder!

I love love how versatile this product is! If I pack it on, it's a pretty blush. If I do a sheer layer, it's a beautiful peachy highlight. I can see this working for a few skintones! Not just fair/light. Remind me to apply this to my dark skinned friend and get back to yall on the results!!

This lasts a good 9 to 10 hours on my oily skin. With minimal fading.

It does accentuate my pores if I put too much on the apples of my cheeks. I will say that!!

Overall: 8/10!

My Favorite Sunblocks!

Hello again friends!!

Today i'm going to talk to you all about SPF!

I am a strong believer in wearing SPF every day. I am from Southern Ontario, Canada. We got a LOT of snow, and slush. But I still wear SPF50 in the winter!

I am a mixed race person, who is very lucky that I do not burn in the sun. I just tan. I'v only been burnt a handful of times in my life. But the first time I burnt, It blistered, and it was AWFUL. I was 9 at the time. And I still remember that pain. SHUDDER.

Because of this experience, I learned very early that SPF was very important!!

In the last 5 months, i'v introduced 2% BHA into my skincare routine. I use this every night as my first step in my skincare routine (after cleansing and washing my face of course!) And as i'm sure you all know, you MUST use sunblock while using AHA's/BHA's!!

I'm ALSO on a very aggressive acne treatment gel. It's 2.5% BP, where the usual dose according to me dermatologist, is 1.5% to 2.0%. And the treatment gel, makes my skin more susceptible to burning, and sun damage!

So because of all of these factors, I wear SPF daily!

I'll get off my soapbox (for now!!!) and I'll show you my favourite sunblocks!

Paula's Choice Extra Care Non-greasy Sunblock SPF50 - My third favorite sunblock! this is a super runny, liquidy sunblock, that does sink into the skin super easily and quickly!! I like to do a layer of this, let it sink in, then do a second layer!! It doesn't ball up, or ever feel heavy!! I love this!

Coppertone Clearlysheer Face SPF50 - My holy grail SPF! This truly sinks into the skin in a snap. It leaves my skin with a satin finish. It feels like NOTHING on my oily skin. It keeps my skin balanced, and happy! I love this stuff so much and will always have it on hand!

Shiseido Sun Protection Cream Water Resistant SPF50 - This has the same formula as the other Shiseido sunblock, It's light, creamy and airy. It sinks into the skin so nicely, and leaves me fresh and ready to go with makeup! It has a light floral scent.

Peter Tomas Roth Max Sheer All Day Moisture Sunscreen SPF30 - This is the thickest out of all of the sunblocks! It comes out of the container as a thick cream. And it is moisturizing as claimed. But it's not SO moisturizing that my oily skin feels heavy and smothered! It has a basic sunscreen scent. This is the lowest i'll go SPF wise!

Shiseido Urban Environment UV protection cream SPF40 - This is my second favorite sunblock! It's a nice fluffy cream, that sinks into the skin in about 60 seconds. And leaves my skin feeling dry and not sticky or tacky!! It has a floral scent to it!

Neutragena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunscreen SPF60 - This used to be my holy grail SPF, I'd wear it every day under my makeup. But Now that I'v branched out. I realize how thick, and moisturizing this is. And with my oily skin, that's a no-no. But as a sunblock for my Dry, KP covered shoulders, and arms? HEAVENLY! This also has a basic sunblock scent!

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer - Medium Deep

Hey all!! How are you today? I'm feeling so pumped and ready to go!

Today I wanted to chat with yall about my second EVER, matte bronzer. I'm 100% a shimmery bronzer gal. I totally prefer them. But I'v been super into bronzing and contouring my jawline lately. So here we are!

This bronzer is pretty light for their "medium/deep" shade. If the packaging didn't say it, I wouldn't believe it!

The powder came with a hard, chalky, layer overtop of it. So I had to scrape it a bit. But after that it became super soft, and easy to pick up on a brush and blend out!!

This is, I think, my perfect bronzer. It blends right into my skin, and adds warmth and subtle definition. I dig it!

There is a very strong cocoa powder scent to the product though!! It smells yummy to me, but I would have preferred they didn't add it.

Overall: 8/10! 

Even More Modern Renaissance Palette EOTD's

Hello all!!!

I haven't sat down and written a blog post in 2 weeks. So this feels so strange to me! Hahaha!

I thought i'd jump back into writing again with a few Eye's of the day pictures!!


First up is a look I'v done before, But I did it back in February, and I feel like my technique is much better now!!

For this look I primed with Too Faced Shadow Insurance, then took a large flat fluffy brush and pressed Tempera (matte cream) into the primer to lock it in place and set it. I switched to the brush that came with the palette, and used the fluffy crease end and buffed Buon Fresco (Matte mauvey plum) through the crease, onto the hood, and the outer corners. I took the same crease brush and fluffed Antique Bronze (Sheen-y Bronze) on the outer corners and crease for some depth. I took a clean blending brush and did little circles back and forth to blend everything together into a soft colour. I took a pencil brush and placed Cyprus Umber (Matte deep dark brown) directly into the outer crease and outer half of my mobile lids. I took the clean blending brush, and did little circles back and forth again to blend everything! I took a flat shader brush, and pressed Vermeer (Shimmery metallic pinky white) into the inner corners of my mobile lid and tear duct area. I took a wide flat brush and ran a mix of Antique Bronze and Cyprus Umber under my lower lash line.

I added two coats of mascara and we're good to go!


For the second look, I went a little more dramatic, smokey, and warm!:

For this look, I primed with TFSI, Pressed Tempera into the lids to set, then went in with Raw Sienna (Matte light wheat shade) and fluffed that through the crease as a transition. With the same brush I blended Burnt Orange (matte burnt orange) over top to add some warmth to the upper crease/hood. I decided to use Red Ocher (matte brick shade) in the crease to add some warmth and depth. I placed that directly onto the lid and the crease with a pencil brush then went in with a clean blending brush and buffed it all out. I then took the same pencil brush and placed Cyprus Umber on the furthest outer portion of my eye, and blended that up into the crease. I took a wide flat brush and Pressed Venetian Red (Matte red base with silver sheen) under my lower lashes to make the green in my eyes POP. I added Primavera (Mettalic Yellow/Gold)

I added some Tempera to my upper hood to blend it out, patted Vermeer onto the brow bone. Added three coats of mascara. And we're done!

Essence Pure Nude Highlight Review

Hello all!! Today we're going to look at an amazing, cheap highlight!!

This highlight is a light beige, with a low sheen. It's a more natural, and low sheen highlight. Perfect for oily skin, or people who prefer more natural highlights!

Here I am wearing two layers of Essence Pure Nude highlight on my cheeks, and one light layer on my nose and cupids bow.

This is a baked highlight, It's soft, and is easy to pick up on a brush. Totally different than what I think of when I think of baked powders.

This highlight lasts from morning, to when I wash my face at night. I have oily skin. My nose, and inner cheeks are where I'm the most oily.

Overall, this is a beautiful, easy, highlight perfect from Light/Medium skintones, to the deeper end of the Medium skintone range! I personally have not used this on a very deep, rich skintone yet. So I personally can not say what it would look like!!

Summer/Warm Weather Faves

Hello pals!!

I wanted to show you all some of my favourite warm weather staples!

Here's an overview of everything. Obviously I don't use all of this every single day. This is just what works for me in the summer/warmer weather!

I love this Freeman Manuka Honey and Tea Tree Clay Mask/Cleanser. I love to use this three times a week on my T-zone, and I'll use this to cleanse my face in the morning! You only need a tiny bit for cleansing. So these bottles usually last me quite a while!! I'm on my third bottle of this.

For moisturizer I'v been using Avon Nutraeffects Hydra Gel Cream. It's a very light gel, that lightly moisturizes my face and doesn't leave me shiny. Yet still hydrates my skin enough to not feel tight!

I also use Dr. Jart+ Water Drop Lotion in the morning. It's a light jelly consistency that when you moosh between your hands has bits of oil in it. It's the lightest moisturizer i'v ever used. It leaves my skin feeling slightly tight. It would work wonders for super oily skin!

When I want a no frills face cream in the summer, I reach for Clinique Dramatically different moisturizing gel! It's a super light gel, that moisturizes my face and isn't oily!

I love to scrub my lips, then apply a small dab of Jack Black SPF25 Lip balm! I'm currently using the LE scent Black Cherry.

These are my current Sunblocks. It's a must for me to wear SPF every day of the year. But it's even more of a must for me in the summer/warm weather!

I love:

Paula's Choice Suncare Non Greasy SPF50.

Coppertone Clearly Sheer SPF50

Supergoop Facial Setting Spray SPF50+++

Neutragena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch SPF30 - Favourite Body SPF.

Peter Tomas Roth SPF30

Shiseido Wet Force SPF50+ / Shiseido Environmental defense SPF40

For makeup, I like Paula's Choice Mattifying primer tapped into my oily parts. And Murad Invisiblur patted into any pore-y areas. 

Blotting sheets are a must for me in the warm weather. I like Clean and Clear's oil absorbing sheets. They work the best for me! 

Powder is also a must. I love to initially set with MAC Loose set powder. Then touch up throughout the day with MAC Blot powder! 

For lips, I love bright, BRIGHT, lipstick. I tend to wear less on the eyes in the warm weather (Less chances for smudging and running!) and focus on bright lips. 

I like: Clinique Chubby Stick in Heftiest Hibiscus (a orange chubby stick) LUSH Santa Baby (matte orange red) Etude House Cherry Tint (A creamy warm pink lip cream) and The Face Shop's Finger gloss (a neon hot pink gloss) 

I'm the type of person that THINKS about tanning, and I'm already tan. If I don't wear any SPF I'm a brown turkey. But since the switch I made three years ago to wearing SPF daily, my skin doesn't get as golden brown anymore.

So I like to give my skin a subtle warm glow in the summer. And for that I use gradual, subtle, self tanners. I prefer St. Tropez, and Jergens Natural Glow.

These give me a non streaky warmth to my skin. I use the deepest options!

For scent, I go through a 30ml of Atelier Colgone's Bergamote Soliel every summer. It's a bright sunny, fresh cut lemon scent that morphes into a more masculine scent over time. It's my favourite and perfect summer scent.

I ADORE Tory Burch's Perfumes in the summer as well!!

Versache Bright Crystal is a beautiful floral/rosey scent for summer evenings.

My deodorant of choice for summer is Dove Men+. It keeps me smell free, and dry! I'm a sweaty gal, because of my Auto Immune Disease, so I need a heavy duty deo to keep me stank free!

Lastly, I use HASK Bamboo oil in my hair to keep my curls smooth and soft!

I also use LUSH's No Drought dry shampoo in my scalp. I wash my hair 2-3 times a week. So I need a good dry shampoo. I used to use spray dry shampoo, but it was SO costly going through a bottle every two weeks. This bottle has lasted me 5 months and it's about 1/4 finished!

For any of my fellow Chubby people, you know Chub-Rub is a thing. And it's the worst!! I wear a lot of shorts, maxi dresses, and skirts in the summer. So I need something to help my thighs that rub together when I walk. So I use LUSH's Silky Underwear. I dust some onto my hands, and then pat onto my inner thighs! I can reapply throughout the day easily too!

What are your summer essentials?