NYFW: Hourglass Cosmetics- Christian Siriano Spring 2014

I loved the makeup look created by MUA artist Polly Osmond for Hourglass for 

Christian Siriano's spring 2014 collection. 

The theme was vived hues seen by Siriano from hisrecent trip to Isla Mujeres on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. “I wanted the collection to be light, feminine and romantic,” says Siriano. “Like the girl left the beach but she had a cocktail party to go to, and threw on a dress, a bright lip, and little highlighter.”

Get the look!

CHEEKS
To create a multi-dimensional glow, apply all three shades from Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette (NEW) to the cheeks using a circular motion. Dab Hourglass No. 28 Primer Serum onto the apples of the cheeks for a hint of tropical sheen.

EYES
Apply the Incandescent shade from Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette (NEW) all over the lids. Follow with the shimmering Shell shade from Hourglass Vol. 6 Eye Shadow Palette, applied to the inner corner of eyes. Use the same shade to create a diffused liner along the top and bottom of the lash lines. Finish with a coat of Hourglass Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara.

BROWS
Brush a small amount of Hourglass No. 28 Primer Serum onto brows to create definition and a little shine.

LIPS
Prep lips earlier with Hourglass No. 28 Lip Treatment Oil for superior hydration. Apply Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Muse, an orange coral shade, to the lips. Create a diffused pout by softening the outline of the lips with a lip brush.

Check out some shots from the runway!

TIFF: L'Oréal Paris Collection Privée by Colour Riche

Do you smell it? The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is in the air.

Right now Toronto is full of celebrities, movies and great parties!

This TIFF L'Oréal Paris has launched their Collection Privée by Colour Riche.

This collection features four nail polishes ($3.99) with corresponding lipsticks ($10.99). 

Each set is inspired by lovely ladies such as Jennifer Lopez, Doutzen Kroes, Freida Pinto and Eva Longoria.

I will admit these colours are not the ideal nudes for my skin tone (that I am comfortable wearing).

 They would definitely suit someone who is light to medium tone in my opinion.

Now these are something I can get into! 

Great formula and consistency. The perfect neutral palette of Fall tones.
Freida is my favourite!

What do you think of  L'Oréal Paris Collection Privée by Colour Riche?

It Cosmetics Tightline Full Lash Length Black Primer

When I first took this out of the box, I didn't know what to do with it! 

I've never seen a brush so thin and I also expected it to be white!

Just like all the other primers I've used in the past.

I was sooo impressed with this product that I would definitely 

add it to my top five favourite mascaras list for 2013.

Tightline Full Lash Length Black Eyelash Primer is a true game-changer in mascara and eyeliner technology. This multitasking beauty must-have uses an ultra-skinny wand to let you coat your lashes at their actual roots for the ultimate in length and volume. But the best part is, if you have sparse or missing lashes, the Tightline brush lays down black pigment along your entire lash line, filling in sparse spots for a full, beautiful lash line and the look of an eyeliner!

Never would I thought such a small brush would do much! It's an mascara that can be worn alone, under or over your favourite mascara. Perfect for anyone who wants full lashes with little effort.

The skinny wand also allows the conditioning serum to infuse a blend of lash-enhancing ingredients, including peptides, collagen, proteins, biotin, nettle extract, green tea, jojoba, and vitamins all the way down to the roots for the most effective dosage of nourishment and protection.

Application: I start at the root on top of my lashes and sweep out. Then I let it dry and do the same process under my lashes. Then I wing out my outer lashes. 

I do the same application whether I am going to wear another mascara over or not.

Guest post Kmakesithappen 4 Ways to Get The Dewy Skin Glow

All Over Glow
If you’re looking for an all over glow, then using a foundation with a dewy finish will give you what you’re looking for. Revlon Photoready Airbrush Mousse Foundation gives an amazing dewy glow to your skin. For the parts that might appear a bit too dewy (T-zone and nose area) Take a pressed powder and just pat those areas down for a more satin finish. Other foundations with a dewy finish include Burberry Velvet, Neutrogena Health Skin, and NARS Sheer Glow.

Light Glow
If the all over dewy skin is a bit too much for you then try an illuminating primer. These illuminating products go on before you apply any makeup, and give more of a light glow. Illuminating primers are great to use with full coverage foundations and BB creams. Loreal Magic Lumi Illuminating Primer is a great illuminating product. Hard Candy Sheer Envy Skin Illuminating Primer is another good drugstore primer for dewy skin. A little bit more expensive is Quo Re-Texture Cream Face Primer.

Natural Glow
Liquid illuminators are great for all over use. You can mix them with your primer, your foundation, or just apply them to certain areas on your face. These along with the illuminator face primer are probably the most natural looking. Gosh Liquid Highlighter is a great illuminator; Benefit High Beam and NARS Orgasm illuminator are both super popular ones. MAC Strobe Lotions is another great liquid illuminator.

Controlled Glow
Powder illuminators are probably the easiest to use. Highlighting with powder illuminators is great for bringing out certain features, like your cheekbones, brow bones it also looks great on the tip of your nose and on your cupids bow. I love using Sleek Makeup Face Form Palette that comes with a highlighter, its super soft and natural looking. Skinature Inc Daylight Illuminator works great for underneath the eyes. Miaoou Magic Finish Cooked Powder and MAC inextra Dimension Highlighters are also super great.

Guest post by kmakesithappen

Guest Post: abeautywithbrains Let's Go Nude!

Yes I'm talking about lipsticks! A nude that complements your skin tone is a great finishing touch for your makeup. A smokey eye/nude lip combination is one of the most sexiest makeup looks to me. Kim Kardashian must agree with me because it's her signature look!

Nude lips can be worn in the daytime as well with more simple looks but it can be tricky selecting a shade. The wrong shade will have you looking like a corpse in a matter of seconds. Here are a few of my favorite nude lip recipes, WOC approved of course.

1. Loreal Colour Riche Lip Color "Fairest Nude" + Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss "Peach Petal"
2. NYX Round Lipstick "Tea" + Milani lip gloss "Secret"
3. NYX Xtreme Lip Creme "Nude Peach Fuzz" + NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss "Smokey Look"

I prefer having a satin or glossy finish, I find matte a little hard to pull off. Nudes look best with a creamy texture.

Don't be afraid to "go nude"!

Guest post by: abeautywithbrains

Guest Post: FabEllis’ Summer Must Haves

For many of us, summer is the season we wait for all year. It’s the time for warm weather, sandals and vacations. If you’re a beauty lover, not only does your wardrobe change to accommodate the warm temperatures, but so does your beauty routine. With summertime currently in full swing and the heat soaring, minimal is the name of the game.

Here are my three summer must-haves:

1. Maybelline Vivids Lipstick in Hot Plum
Summer is the ideal time to rock bright, bold lipstick. Maybelline’s Hot Plum lipstick is a gorgeous pink shade that looks good on everyone! I love this shade because it instantly adds fun to your whole look.

2. L’Oreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions Mascara
With the summer heat in full effect, I try to keep my makeup to a minimum; however, I still want to look polished. This mascara makes my lashes appear ridiculously long and my eyes bright. It’s perfect for the days where I need a little something without wearing any makeup.

3. Dickinson’s Oil Controlling Astringent
Since I have combination skin, the oil on my face likes to make a frequent appearance in the summertime. This astringent not only cleans my face, but helps keep oil at bay which is an absolute must!

What are some of your summer must-haves?

Guest post by FabEllis

Guest Post: discoveriesofself Sleek Original Palette Swatches

I've always been a lover of Sleek!

I love the fact that it's not only super affordable but it caters for a wide range of skin tones 

as well as carrying high pigmentation with its products.

I already own a few Sleek eyeshadow palettes however I hadn't brought one in a while so I decided to pick up The Original palette by Sleek.

This is a great palette for those of us who love a simply smokey eye for any occasion!

The palette contains 11 shimmer eyeshadow and 1 matte black eyeshadow.

The shimmer eyeshadows are beautifully soft and pigmented and how up well on my skin tone.

The swatches below were taken without any primer being added and without flash in natural daylight.

The top row of eyeshadows are fabulous for a great night out look, 

you can really have fun with these colours.

The bottom row were what I call more of 'highlight' colours, as gorgeous as they are they can appear slightly ashy on a skin tone such as mine, however for inner eye highlights these colours would work absolutely fine.

I decided to create two looks with this palette (one using colours from the top row and another from the bottom) for the sake of this post to test out their pigmentation and I can safely say that I was very impressed.

I used a Maybelline colour tattoo underneath the purple eyeshadow to ensure that the colours pop but to be perfectly honest it wasn't necessary, the purple was so vibrant!

The copper eyeshadow was equally as beautiful, I didn't use a base with this, only a thin layer of Too Faced Shadow Insurance primer, as you can see the colour pay off is top notch!

I don't really have a con for this palette, if I was to be very picky I would say the range of colours included in one palette may not be to everybody's taste but for the price and colour pay off I'm sure this can be forgiven.

Guest post by discoveriesofself

Guest Post PiinkCupcakez: Watermelon Frenzy

·      NK Base Coat

·      Essie "Splash of Grenadine"

·      Sinful Colors "Rise and Shine"

·      L.A. Colors Art Deco "White"

·      Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

·      rhinestones

·      dotting tool

·      tape

1. Paint thumb and middle fingers with Sinful Colors "Rise and Shine". Paint the rest with Essie "Splash of Grenadine".

2. Once nails are completely dry, tape your Index, Middle, and Pinky fingers as seen below.
*Tip* - Stick the tape onto your hand before sticking it to your nail. If the tape is too sticky it can pull off the nail polish underneath it.

3. Paint them with Sinful Colors "Rise and Shine" and carefully remove the tape while it's still wet.

4. Next, take your white nail art polish and create thin lines that follow the designs you've just created on your middle and pinky nails. You can then stick a rhinestone onto your middle finger using clear nail polish.

5. Get your dotting tool and dot it up!

Don't have a dotting tool? No worries.

I actually used the end of a bobbypin for this.

6. Apply a topcoat and you're done!

Of course you can substitute these nail polishes with your colors of choice.

Happy Painting!


Guest post by PiinkCupcakez

Canadian National Exhibition

It's that time again! 

The Ex always reminds me that summer is almost over. 

Every year, I take the Go train and check out the attractions & events at CNE. 

Check out some great shots I took this year!

Can you believe that this was made out of sand! 

I played the Birthday game and I won!

How effortless does he look up there!
I was so scared watching him.

The attraction rides!

I had to check out the shopping section!
So many deals!

 This week visit the CNE for only $5 after 5 PM on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings both weeks of the CNE excluding Labour Day Monday. 

Back to School must haves

I always remember the high of going back to school. Nervous for the new year but happy to see all my friends. I always had two weeks of brand new clothing ready and got my hair done right before classes. There are so many products out there to keep you looking your best for back to school. 

Here are my top must haves for back to school! 

• Lush Grease Lightning ($13.95 CAN)

A few days before school and a pimple shows up right in the middle of your forehead!
What do you do?
Dab Grease Lightning on your problem spot to speed up the process.
A gentle infusion of thyme, tea tree and rosemary cleans up problematic dirt and soothing aloe vera gel calms and hydrates irritated skin. See? Blemishes aren’t so scary after all.

• IMAN BB creme ($27.50 CAN)

Want to get a gorgeous glow in the Fall?

Try the IMAN BB creme. I found that this product works best for me when I'm having a low impact day. So it perfect to wear to classes or to the library... etc.

Hydrates with Kokum, Almond, Aloe and Vitamins A, E & C

• Blueberry Acai Smooth Sphere Lip Balm  ($3.99 CAN)

Dry lips before school?

Get an EOS sphere lip balm. Throw it in your backpack or makeup bag.

It delivers the love, delight and moisturization you always get from eos, but also the goodness and  delicious flavor of blueberries and acai berries.

• Kiss Nail Dress ($12.99 CAN)

Not good with nail art? Try Kiss Nail Dress nail stickers! 

They come in various unique patterns which are suitable for short & medium nails.
2 Looks in 1 Strip—French or Full Manicure. 22 strips that fit all nails and last up to a week. Goes on in minutes, off in seconds without remover.

• Garnier Skin Renew Dark Spot Treatment Mask ($19.99 CAD for a box of 6 masks)

You got rid of the pimple but it left a mark?
Hydrates and treats the skin to deliver results both immediately and over time. With half a bottle of moisturizing serum enriched in each mask, the Dark Spot Treatment Mask instantly hydrates and illuminates the skin for a more radiant complexion after just one application.

Sneak Peek: CoverFX has a new CC cream!

I always get so excited whenever I find a new foundation that caters to dark/deep Women of Colour. It took us a while to get a good BB cream in our colour and I was having a huge issue finding a CC cream. Every brand was way to light or I would have to mix it with my original foundation. 

Finally, I found one that sounds quite promising!  

Cover FX’s NEW CC Cream Time Release Tinted Treatment ($45.00 CDN)! It’s all you need for all day colour and complexion correction. This Do-it-all CC Cream treats, corrects and protects your skin with buildable coverage and is available in 8 inclusive shades. As with all Cover FX products, it is also clinically tested, Vegan and Free of the Inflammatory 5: Paraben-free, Fragrance-free, Gluten-free, Mineral Oil-free and Talc-free.

Availability: Cover FX products are available at www.coverfx.ca and at leading North American retailers including Shoppers Drug Mart and Sephora.

Once I come back in September from vacation, 

I will have a full review!

Lise Watier: TARTANTASTIQUE Get the Look

Fall is coming! Or is it already here?

Fall makeup is definitely one of my favourites.

Gold and plums make a beautiful combination.

If you love fall makeup you should check out the Lise Watier TARTANTASTIQUE collection. 

Both rebellious and sophisticated, our TARTANTASTIQUE Collection matches perfectly with this fall’s key looks! Plaids, checks and tartans are Britain’s runways inspirations. A modern twist on a classic look.

Products used:
TARTAN ($21.00 CDN)Lipstick

PRUNE ($20.00 CDN)
Dramatique Intense Extra Smooth Liner

QUATUOR EYESHADOW QUARTET ($32.00 CDN)
A brand new quad for autumn.
The "Les Mauves" Collection offers a selection of violet shades : deep mauve, a cool brown, pale beige, and metallic lilac. Four shades in perfect harmony, a feminine and classic composition.

HAUTE COULEUR High Coverage Lip Lacquer ($22.00 CDN)
An extreme shine and a sheer colour. A formula offering absolute comfort and moisture. Plus a non-sticky texture and extraordinary lip adherence.

Full look:

Are you a fan of Fall makeup?

Beauty News: Redken Diamond Oil

Redken does it again with another great hair care line called Diamond Oil. 

If the gorgeous packaging doesn't get you, check out the benefits it has for your hair!

Diamond Oil utilizes an exclusive formula of silicone free hair oils that include camelina oil, coriander oil, apricot oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil and other to strengthen hair from the inside-out. Results are unprecedented strength and shine. Through Redken’s exclusive Interlock Protein Network and multi-faceted Shine Strong Complex, Diamond Oil delivers a nourishing blend of coriander, camelina and apricot oils that target all layers of the hair to strengthen, replenish and protect with each use. Hair is fortified and sparkles with intense shine.

Diamond Oil Shampoo
This shampoo is for damaged and dull hair. Rich foam cleanser strengthens hair to prevent breakage and hair fall while boosting smoothness & shine.

Diamond Oil Conditioner
It contains essential oils which results in soft/ shiny hair. It also moisturizes, protect & detangle hair while reducing hair breakage.

Diamond Oil Deep Facets
This is a Hair Mask which is essential to hair care. Shine boosting deep conditioner nourishes, strengthens & replenishes hair to prevent damage & breakage.

Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine
An intense leave-in hair care. Strengthens & reinforces for smoother, shinier hair while protecting from breakage.

Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine Intense
If you have damaged/ coarse hair this leave-in hair care is for you. Strengthens, smoothes & protects hair from breakage.

COVERGIRL Mascaras

This summer Covergirl wants you to unleash your inner Beauty Rebel.

I automatically gravitated towards the new mascaras! Mascara will always be one of my weakness.
I can have five bottles open at one time. A different lash look for every occasion.

Both of these are very unique but get the job done.

Left:
Flamed Out Mascara ($9.99 CDN)
Make a bold statement with winged lashes that curve up and out. The unique wire brush coats your lashes for an instant volume boost.
If you're going for all over volume, I'd definitely recommend this mascara. You can also build more volume by letting it fully dry in-between coats. In my opinion, if you have time to play with your lashes this wire brush is awesome for getting the look that you want to achieve.

Right:
Clump Crusher Mascara by Lashblast (10.99 CDN)
A breakthrough in no-clump mascara. Get 200% more volume and zero clumps. Features an innovative double-sided brush with lash-loading and clump-combing zones to crush clumps.
This mascara is definitely for definition. I got more of a natural lash look when using it. This is the perfect mascara to use when you're in a rush because you do not have to worry about separating your eyelashes. Plus I love the curved rubber wand.

Wearing Clump Crusher Mascara by Lashblast 

Do you prefer wire or rubber wands?