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!