My foundation shades!

Today we are going to talk about foundation!!

My skin type: Dehydrated deep down, Oily on top, Acne prone, and very prominent warm/yellow undertones!

I am biracial for any of you that do not know this. I am not fully white. And that's where I get my eye shape, my wide, flat nose, and my full lips from!!

I am very lucky when it comes to foundation/concealer. I am light skinned. But I'm not VERY fair to the point where everything is too dark. I can ALWAYS find a shade match (a undertone match is a very different story!) I'm usually in the beginning or middle of drugstore foundation shades!

These are my current "open" foundations:

From left to right we have:

MUFE Ultra HD liquid foundation in the shade Y225
LUSH Skin tint in the shade Dark Yellow
Garnier Oily Skin BB cream in the shade Light Medium
The Body Shop Vitamin E BB cream in the shade Glowing
Physicians Formula Argan Wear BB cream in the shade Light Medium
MUFE Velvet Mat + Foundation in the shade #40
MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF15 In the shade NC20
ELF Flawless Finish Foundation in the shade Sand
L'oral Infallible Pro Matte Foundation in the shade 104 Golden Biege

Here is all of the foundations swatched in the same order as above. As you can see, I'm yellow toned obviously, and I like full coverage matte foundations! I have pretty darn, clear, and even skin. I just really prefer the cake life.

Here I am, barefaced, in the middle of a canadian winter! My skin is pretty darn clear, I don't have a lot to cover besides under eyes.


My best match right now, Is ELF Flawless foundation in Sand, and MAC NC20. In the summer I know I'm a NC25, because I tan SUPER easily and don't burn.

I hope this helps someone to find a foundation match who is close to my skin tone!!

My signature perfumes/Every day scents I wear

I'm a girl who hates change. Case in point I'v been using the same perfumes for 7 years.

I have three "Signature" perfumes that I wear!!

When I want more of a soft, and innocent scent I go for The Body Shop Moroccan Rose perfume. It's D\C but I have a full bottle left. And I'm hoping it's on ebay or amazon :P It smells like a soft rose scent. It's VERY feminine! The perfume I'v used for 7 years.

My second scent, is LUSH Lust. It's a very heavy, sexy, jasmine scent for when I'm feeling myself. I wear this perfume the most!! It's my every day scent. It's heavy on the jasmine/floral. It lasts quite well and sets so beautifully on my skin! I'v been wearing this perfume for 4/5 years.

My third perfume is Atelier Cologne Bergamote Soleil. When spritzed onto the skin, it's very bright and sunny and very lemony!! It's like sniffing a fresh, clean lemon. It's not a sweet cakey scent. After an hour it sets to a more unisex/masculine scent. I'v been wearing this for less than a year!

Close up look of my last makeup look, before my surgery!

I don't talk about it a lot on here, because it's not beauty related. But I have a large grandiose tumor in my jaw.

And I'm having my final surgery to remove the whole tumor tomorrow. And I'll be knocked out for a good week or two. (I have enough blog posts scheduled for the whole time I'm out!!)

And obviously I wont be wearing makeup, because my cheek is going to be triple it's normal size :P

Today I went "all out" and did whatever made me feel happy!!

Base: I started out patting Benefits Porefessional into my skin. then swiped The Estee Edit Pore Vanishing stick onto my nose/sides of my nose and my inner cheeks! I then took my Make Up For Ever conceal and correct pallet, and I used the green shade and patted that all over my cheeks, around my nose, and between my brows. I took the orangey shade beside the green corrector, and I patted that under my eyes, and on my dark spots on my cheeks!! I set everything lightly with MAC set powder. Then I poured a dime sized amount of MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF15 onto the back of my hand, and used a paddle brush to blend that into my skin. I added two dots of NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard under my eyes and patted that out. Then I used MAC Blot Powder Pressed in Medium Dark to set my whole face.

Cheeks: I used ELF Contour kit, and I took the cool brown and ran that along my cheek bones, temples, and along my jaw to "slim" my face subtly. I took Makeup Geek Romance blush and I buffed that into the apples of my cheeks and swept it upwards! I finished off the cheeks with a bit of my HG highlighter, Sephora Brand Baked Luminizor 01 Star Dust.

Eyes: I primed with ELF sheer eye primer, then set it with Urban Decay Thirteen. I then buffed a bit of Urban Decay Radar (Golden sheeny brown) in the crease. Then switched to Urban Decay Whiskey (Matte dark brown) to deepen the outer corner/crease. I did a TOUCH of a reddish burgundy gluittery eye shadow to warm the look up a touch, and I patted that into my upper crease. I then took L'oreal Infalible shadow in Sahara Treasure and patted that onto my inner lids/inner corners. I tapped a bit of Colourpop Nillionaire onto my outer half of my mobile lid. I took the MAC 217 and buffed everything out so It was a nice warm glittery blend! Lastly for eye shadow, I took some of Colourpop Paisley, a sheer glitter top coat. and patted that onto my lids/inner corners/a bit of my crease. I did two GENEROUS coats of Too Faced Better than Sex. Then I did a small flick with Kat Von D Tattoo liner.

Brows: I took MAC waterproof brow set in Brown Granite, and just combed that through my brows and that's it!!

Lips: I took a bit of NYC Lasting finish lipstick in Air Kiss, then I topped it off with a similar coloured lip tint from Etude House!!

That's it!! I feel very happy and pretty today! And I feel mentally prepared for my surgery tomorrow!

Essence How to Make Nude Eyes Pallet Review

Hey all!! I'v had this pallet for quite some time, as you can see i'v hit pan on two shades.

This pallet is okay. The shadows are super soft and creamy to the touch, but they sheer out quite a bit, and aren't super pigmented to begin with.

So If you have trouble with shadows being too pigmented, I'd recommend this to you.

Personally, I only really like, two/three of the shades.

But whenever I wear them, With primer, and setting the primer, they fade and get muddy?? on me by the end of the day.

This is the shadows swatched. You can see there is NO mattes, all have a sheen or are metallic.

Top to bottom:

Eye Light Beige - A shimmery light white
Go For Gold - A metallic light golden brown
An Eye On Apricot - A sheeny/shimmery light peachy shade

All About Nude - Dark purpley shade with silver shimmer
Nude Night Out - Dark Charcoal sheeny shade
Team Nude - This is the most matte in the whole pallet. It's a warm medium brown.


Overall: 6.5/10.
It's a good cheap pallet for beginners/ultra fair skinned people.

What's in my every day acrylic organizer?

I made two New Years resolutions this year, and one is to overhaul my messy bedroom! And to start that process I'm buying more organizers/containers/shelving to keep all of my stuff organized!

I purchased a Acrylic organizer, that hold's anything and everything I could ever need/want for day to day and MORE. 

I couldn't get a good picture of it, as it's shiny and see through so none of my shots were looking 'swell! But here's a from above shot of the organizer and the stuff I'm keeping inside of it!

In the very back two compartments I keep these primers! These are my every day primers, or primers i'm testing out! I of course, don't use every one of these every day. I DO switch out. 

From left to right we have:

MAC Radiance Yellow - "Radiance boosting primer" I like to use this after my sunblock, it's a lotion consistency, that smooths over the skin easily! 

Maybelline Baby Skin - "Pore Erasing primer" This is "just" a clear silicone primer. I was given it for christmas, so I'm testing it out right now. 

Benefit PoreFessional - "Pro Balm" This is a silicone primer that fills in pores, and helps keep my oily skin at bay!! So far I REALLY enjoy this primer!!

Make Up Forever Step 1 - "Matiffying primer" I'd have to google it, but I don't FEEL any silicones in this primer. But it's a creamy primer, that you PAT onto the skin to maximize the oil absorbing abilities!! I would recommend this for oily skinned people. MAYBE Combo, but ONLY used on oily areas! It WILL accentuate dry skin. 

The Estee Edit Pore Vanishing stick - This is a siliconey stick primer. It's clear on my skin tone. (I say this because I have not seen it applied on lovely dark skin tones!) And I really adore it! I was given a sample of it, and I fell in love. I swipe it onto my forehead, sides of my nose, and inner cheeks, then pat/blend it out with my fingers. It doesn't absorb oil, but it really smooths and preps my skin!

Too Faced Shadow Insurance - This is a super lightly peach tinted eye primer. I squeeze out the SMALLEST bit and pat it from lashline to browbone. I have super oily, and severely hooded eyes. And this is one of two eye primers I'v tried that actually keep my eye shadows from creasing! It dries to a stiff finish. So I like to take a eye shadow/face powder lighter than my skintone and set it so it's easier to blend eye shadow ontop of!

ELF Sheer eye primer - This is the second eye primer that i'v found to work on my oily lids! The ONLY reason I don't switch to this eye primer (This is $2, and the Too Faced one is $24) is, I go through about 5 of these a year. Where I'v had the same Too Faced eye primer for over 2 years now. But it's just as good as the Too Faced one!!

Foundations I keep in the container from left to right:

Make Up Forever Mat Velvet+ #40 - This is a hair too dark for me right now, as it oxidizes a whole shade one my skin. It's also too orangey for my lighter mid winter skin right now. But I like it for mixing! I love the finish of this foundation, so I'm keeping it, to bring out in the warmer months!

MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF15 NC20 - This and the ELF foundation are my closest matches to my neck right now. It's a thick foundation, with pretty good coverage. I like to do a dot on each cheek, a dot on my forehead, and half of a dot on my nose and chin, then buff it out. It lasts so well on me, and it's the closest i'v gotten to matching my super prominent yellow undertones!

Physicians Formula Argan Wear BB Cream Light/Medium - This is a great FORMULA for Canadian winters, it's pretty dang moisturizing for my oily skin, and keeps my skin soft all day long! It's a touch orange for me, right now. But I just buff down my neck. It doesn't last as long on my face as foundations, but with face primer, and setting powder I can get pretty darn good wear!

ELF Flawless Finish Foundation Sand - This is my second best match right now! It's a hair not yellow enough, But It's not noticeable when I wear my hair down. It lasts all day, and is creamy and smooth!

Concealers I keep: 

Kat Von D Lock it Concealer Creme Light11 - This is a great concealer for quick days! it's super pigmented and blendable on my oily skin. I can use it as a foundation on lazy days as well! I just swipe it onto my cheeks, and dot it under my eyes and BAM good to go!

Make Up Forever Concealer/Corrector pallet #1 - I love the formula of these! They're super creamy for a potted concealer. And I love the two correcters!

Powders I use every day:

MAC Set Powder - I like to use this under my foundation to help absorb oil, and to set under my eyes! It's not heavy or cakey!

MAC Blot Powder Pressed Medium Dark - Despite this not being dark at ALL, I love this powder!! This is my second compact, and It's just as mattifying and great as the first!

Random Face stuff:

Sephora Brand Baked Luminizor 01 Stardust - My holy grail highlighter! This is my second compact of this, as I scraped out the first one. It's a beautiful yellow gold, that looks perfect on my yellow toned skin!

Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation Fair Light Honey - This is one of my favourite foundations!! |It's super thick, opaque, and yellow! I don't have the $51 plus tax to buy it right now. So I'm living out of a sample!

Urban Decay All nighter Foundation 2.0 - This is too light for me, but it oxidzes almost a full shade. I'm not a huge fan of how this looks on my skin. It's a bit cakey and patchy?

Colourpop Glitter Sheer eye shadow Paisley - This is a sheer yellow pressed glitter! I love this in my inner corners and on my lids!

Make Up Forever Artist Eye shadows - I just posted a review of these three shades, so do go check that out! But I use these three as a face pallet, and as eye shadows! 

Blushes/Cheek Products:

NARS Liberte - A satiny terracotta blush

NARS Sin - A berry blush with golden shimmer

Clinique Cola Pop - A dark satiny/sheeny reddish "flush" shade

ELF Contour Kit - a shimmery white, a matte banana, warm brown matte, matte cool brown

Little nick-knacks I keep in the lipstick compartments:

IT Cosmetics Super Hero Mascara - This is a great formula and brush! But it dries out quickly for me. 

L'oreal Voluminous Millions of lashes mascara - This gives me the BEST lashes I'v ever had!

MAC Brow Set Brown Ebony - My current favourite brow gel! It's tinted enough to add colour back to my brows, but holds well enough to set them in place! 

L'oreal Carbon Black liquid liner - My current opened liquid liner. 

Unknown glitter liner - I have less than a quarter left of this, it's a rainbow glitter in a clear gel.

Avon Always on Point Black liner - This is the BEST liner for my waterline! It lasts so long, and isn't painful or hard to apply. 

Sephora brand Liquid liner Life's a picnic - A green liquid liner with teal sparkles. I like it!

ELF Original Lip exfoliator - Self explanatory.

LUSH Santa Baby Lip tint - My HOLY GRAIL lipstick EVER!

 

Single/Cream Eyeshadows: 

Colourpop Hammard - Olive Green

Maybelline Colour Tatoo Bad to the bronze - Metallic brown

Shiseido GR707 - Shimmery olive green

Colourpop Paradox - Matte Burgundy/Red

Colourpop Nillionair - Glittery bronze with red glitters

Colourpop Stero - Blackend purple

Colourpop Crenshaw - Matte medium warm brown 

Colourpop Seeker - Matte dark brown 

This is everything I'v placed into my Acrylic organizer! I find I'm not reaching for anything else, or bringing out anything else from my makeup drawer. I'm planning to switch out my foundations/blushes/single shadows with the months/seasons! 

Neutrals with a twist MOTD

Gooooood morning, friends!!

As you all know, I'm a huge neutral on the eyes kind of gal. I love my olive greens, matte warm browns, shimmery bronzes, etc. I was doing my eyes and I was SO pleased with how it turned out, i'm going to share it with you all!

From far away this looks like my typical warm neutral look with purple/berry lips. Very wearable imo!

But from up close, you can really see the glitter and the sheen!!

Skin Care: I smoothed Marcelle Normal/Dry skin toner over my skin, then I applied some Marcelle moisture day cream, lastly for skin care, I applied SPF50 sunblock!!

Base: I smoothed on some Maybelline Babyskin primer over my skin, then I smoothed the Pore vanishing stick primer from Estee Edit over my nose and inner cheeks. I let the primers sink it and set, then I took my MUFE Conceal/Correct pallet and I patted the minty green over the apples of my cheeks, around my nose, and between my eye brows. I took the peachy orangey corrector and I patted that on under my eyes and I took a concealer brush and I buffed the peachy corrector over any dark spots on my cheeks. I then took my paddle brush and applied one layer of MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF15 in NC20 all over my face. I took the smallest dot of NARS creamy concealer in Custard under my eyes in the darkest spot aka my inner corner. Then I set everything with a combo of MAC Translucent set powder, and MAC blot powder.

Cheek: I took NARS Liberte blush (Matte terracotta blush) and a duo fiber blush and I circled the onto the apples of my cheek and up onto my cheek bones, I also took Physicians Formula Argan wear bronzer and applied that to my cheek bones (It's a glowy "bronzer" that's more of a highlight on my skin!) to buff everything out, I took Sephora brand Baked Luminizor in 01 Stardust and ran that along my cheek bones!

Eyes:

HERE WE GO, I primed my eyes with Too Faced Shadow Insurance, then to set the primer I took Urban Decay Thirteen (Matte light almost white shade). As a transition I buffed Urban Decay Combust (Very light browny/beige) I then took a purpley brown matte from a clinique quad I have and buffed that into my crease, next I picked up Urban Decay Whiskey (matte dark brown) and I buffed that in circular motions in my outer V/outer lid. For some warmth I lightly buffed MUFE D-826 (glittery reddish purple!) into my crease. I took some L'oreal Infalible shadow in 21 Sahara treasure on my finger and patted that onto the inner half of my mobile lids. With another clean finger, I took some of my all time favourite, Colourpop Nillionaire (Shimmery bronze with red glitters) and patted that onto my outer half of my mobile lid. I took a pencil brush and circled some MAC Embark (Matte deep dark reddish brown) onto my outer corners to deepen and darken! I took my MAC 217 and really buffed everything out so it was smooth and not choppy. Then I highlighted my brow bones and inner corners with MAC Nylon, and ran MAC Mulch along my lower lashline. Lastly for eye shadow, I took Colourpop's pressed sheer glitter in Paisley and patted that all over my lids for extra shine and glitter! I applied two coats of mascara on my upper and lower lashes. Then when my mascara was dry I did a small flick/wing with Kat Von D's Tattoo liner!

Lips: I exfoliated my lips, smoothed on some revo balm at the beginning, and by the time I got to my lips my lips were soft and smooth. So I just took Colourpop LBB and filled in my lips.

Brows: I took MAC waterproof brow set in Brown Ebony, and I brushed that through my brows to tint and set them!

And that's it!! I was so extra with my eyes today, and it looks like a lot of steps, but this was really SO easy and fast!!!

Urban Decay Naked Smoky Pallet Review

I was given the Naked Smoky pallet for christmas, and I'v used it almost every day since!

This pallet is pretty dark which is up to you if that's good or bad (But I will say, something with the name Smoky SHOULD be darker and not all light shades in my opinion anyway!)

There's five mattes, and seven shimmers/glitters. As a hooded gal, I'm pretty dark happy with the amount of mattes! I have some crease shades, yay!

I will say, some are what I expect from Urban Decay, (Soft, smooth, foiled, buttery.) And some are SO dry, and sheer, and patchy, which was unexpected.

There's some closer up shots of the shades.

Here is all of them swatched in order they appear in the pallet. Some are one pass, and a few are two to three (!) passes.

High - A super soft, creamy, glittery pinky highlighting shade! I love this on the inner corners!
Ditrysweet - A warm/orangey bronze which was soft, and metallic. This one's one of my least favourites colour wise on me!
Radar - This was the second biggest disappointment. It's THE most beautiful warm, metallic brown in the pan. But it's super sheer and stiff. This is three passes.
Armor - A glittery silver in the pan, but shows up more blue when swatched on me. It's soft, and smooth. But has fall out from the glitter.

Slanted - A metallic silvery blue, which was dry to the touch. But applied evenly.
Dagger - A dark grey matte with blue and silvery shimmers. It applies un-evenly (Some parts of the swatch and on the lid are darker than others)
Black Market - This was THE biggest disappointment to the pallet. The freaking matte black! It was so patchy, and dry to the touch. It was also sheer. This is three passes. I personally don't MIND a medium/sheer matte black so I don't go too overboard with it and can build it up. But this was just so dry and patchy!!
Smolder - This was one of my favourites in the pallet!! It's a deepened/blackened slightly shimmery purple. It looks like a matte on my lids, as most of the shimmer falls off. But it's so beautiful on my medium brown eyes!

Password - Matte grey. It's slightly dry! Not a "Me" shade, so I don't really reach for it!
Whiskey - Matte Neutral to warm brown. It's soft and silky! Just how I like my mattes. It blends onto my hood and lids with a few circles of my 217.
Combust - I don't know how to describe the colour of this one, It's a super light browny shade on me. it's perfect as a light transition for deeper looks! It's a HAIR too deep to set my eye primer with. It's soft and smooth!
Thirteen - A matte off white highlighting shade! I love this all over (Lashline to browbone) to set my eye primer, and to highlight my brow bones! It's SO soft, that it's a touch powdery.

Overal: 7.5/10

Would I rebuy: No. Because for one, it's $66 here in Canada, and I do not think it's 100% WORTH $66. I also don't adore all of the shades. I only like 8 out of 12.

Pros: Creamy, Beautiful shades, Well rounded pallet, I could take this with me on a trip and this could be all I need for eye shadows!

Cons: Hit and miss formula, Not the usual smooth heavenly formula from urban decay, patchy, dry, sheer.