Hard Candy Top Ten Eyeshadow Collections in Smoke Out and Feelin' Blue?

The name of Hard Candy Top Ten Eyeshadow Collections in Smoke Out and Feelin' Blue (~$6, available exclusively at Walmart) describes exactly what it is. A set of 10 eyeshadows in one handy dandy palette. The Top Ten Eyeshadow Collections are available in 5 colour combinations, the other three being Pinking of You, Green with Envy, and Naturally Gorgeous. 

First off, I do not condone this packaging. I like that through the clear plastic I can see the colours of the eyeshadows. However the lacy overlay over shiny fabric on anything and anywhere should be illegal. What I do like is the extra-long mirror on the inside, though I wish it was the full height of cover instead of the half behind the fabric/lace combo. 

Secondly, the eyeshadows throughout both palettes are consistent in quality. They're good but not great. On one hand, the colours are true to the pan and quite soft, pigmented, and easy to blend. On the other hand, there's a ton of fallout (because who doesn't love blue glitters all over their face? Ke$ha for one...) and despite being soft to the touch the shadows appear slightly gritty and clumpy when applied. 

Feelin' Blue

Feelin' Blue contains 7 blue shades from pastel to brights to dark navy. The other three shades are "neutrals" of sorts - a shimmering white, satin true grey, and a slightly blue-leaning grey. While the Hard Candy website indicates that there is a combination glitters, shimmers and mattes, I disagree. Every colour has a slight sheen and therefor the palette contains no true mattes. As for the combination of shades, nobody ever wore blue eyeshadow for a "natural" look but the greys and the white shimmer are helpful for toning down the colour if you don't feel like going all out. 

Smoke Out   

Smoke Out feels like quint palettes in one rather than one cohesive palette of 10 (a purple palette and a grey palette) especially because they're not organized from darkest to lightest to the likeness of Feelin' Blue. Similar to the aforementioned, there are no true matte colours, mostly satin shades and glitters. The colours in this palette are a bit more subdued as half is colour and the other half is smokey grey neutrals. I actually prefer Smoke Out over Feelin' Blue because there's more room for versatility. The purples and greys can be used separately or together for a "smoked out" look. 

Overall, I'm kind of on the fence about the Hard Candy Top Ten Eyeshadow Collections. While they offer a variety of coloured eyeshadows for a very reasonable price, the packaging is slightly off-putting. If you can put up with a bit of cheap lace and some fallout, then you'll definitely be satisfied by these drugstore eyeshadows. 

What do you think of the Hard Candy Top Ten Eyeshadow Collections? Smoke Out or Feelin' Blue? 

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FOOD: Makkal Chon Korean BBQ

Long time no food review.

Seemingly, all of the best ethnic restaurants in Toronto are tucked away in some of Scarborough's sketchiest strip malls. Such is the case with Makkal Chon, tiny Korean restaurant known for its deliciously authentic food. Unknowingly, my parents and I had walked into the second Best Korean Restaurant in Toronto according to blogTO. 

Stonebowl Bi Bim Bap (hodgepodge of rice, eggs, carrots, beansprouts, cucumber, mushrooms and beef) 

Bulgogi on a hot plate (marinated beef served with rice)  

Makkal Chon is tiny and slightly divey (given the location and minimalist decor). My parents and I went for a late lunch (around 1pm) on a weekday. About half of the seating was filled, so I could imagine that dinner on a weekend could be disastrous. Service was minimal but fast and attentive when necessary. The food came out within less than 15 minutes. 

For the three of us, we ordered two dishes with prices ranging from $9.95 to $10.95. The complimentary banchan (appetizers) were very generous. There were 8 offerings including eggplant, jap chae (glass noodles), kim chi, sugar-coated potatoes, and some other pickled veggies I couldn't quite figure out. Surprisingly, I actually liked the kim chi at Makkal Chon. It was more mild than what I'd had previously, rather than being overly sour or pungent. 

The Bi Bim Bap met my expectations to a tee. That being said it was pretty darn tasty, especially the pieces of crunch rice that stick to the sides of the bowl. Everything came piping hot inside a stone bowl and tasted a little plain until I doused it all in spicy sauce (as I typically find with Bi Bim Bap). 

As for the Bulgogi (served with purple and white rice), it was flavourful and not dry but slightly too sweet for my tastes. Bulgogi is a grilled, thinly-sliced beef, marinated with soy sauce, sugar, seasame oil, and garlic. By those standards, it was pretty on point. 

Overall, Makkal Chon was really good. Good flavours, tasty kim chi, and a ton of banchan. I'm slightly obsessed with Korean food and Makkal Chon is a quick 15 minute drive from my house, one of the only Korean restaurants in close proximity. I'll definitely be back again to try more!

Food purchased by my mommy and daddy :) 

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Sephora Collection Bronzed and Blushing Face Palette

The Sephora Collection Bronzed and Blushing Face Palette ($18 CAD, exclusively at Sephora) contains one bronzer (Los Cabos) and two blushes (blushing pink and coral punch). Another limited edition palette for the holiday season, this one's great if you're going on vacation and want to add a little sun-kissed warmth to your winter skin. 

Los Cabos, Blushing Pink, Coral Punch

All three products in the palette are matte. HALLELUJAH. Los Cabos is a medium chocolate brown. It works better as a contour than a bronzer on my complexion, as it's lacking a lot of yellowy-orange tones. Blushing Pink is a pale rose and Coral Punch is just as the name says it is - a bright coral. Both blushes show up on my face. Blushing Pink adds a hint of colour while Coral Punch provides a warm flush to the face. 

The powders aren't the softest but the colour is easily picked up on a brush and transferred to the face. They're also quite buildable or blendable depending on if you like a softer or bolder cheek look. Wear time is less than perfect at 4-5 hours. 

Wearing - Los Cabos and Blushing Pink 

Overall, it's a great starter kit at a nice price. If you already own a lot of blushes/bronzers, you'll already have these basic colours in your collection (I know I do). Considering the Sephora Collection Bronzed and Blushing Face Palette contains 3 products at $18 total, that's $6 each - comparable to drugstore prices at Sephora Collection quality. 

What do you think of the Sephora Collection Bronzed and Blushing Face Palette?

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Femme Fatale Designer Mink Lashes in Selfies

I've already admitted that I'm a total false eyelash noob. This also includes mink eyelashes. The latest pair I've been testing is the Femme Fatale Designer Mink Lashes in the style Selfies ($30 at http://www.femmefatalelashes.com/). 

Femme Fatale makes their lashes out of 100% mink fur. The lashes are cruelty-free, handmade and hypo-allergenic. The lashes can be used up to 25 times and come in a plethora of styles. 

After doing a little research, I found that the differences between mink and synthetic lashes are that (1) mink lashes are very fine this means that they're more natural-looking (2) mink lashes also imply that their made from animal fur - so if you're not about animal products in or on your face, then this is something to keep in mind. 

The fact is that these lashes DO look much nicer than regular, old synthetic lashes. The hairs are slightly less shiny so they look like hairs instead of plastic fibres. 

The Femme Fatale Designer Mink Lashes are housed in a hard cardboard box with confidence-inspiring little messages. Upon opening you get a Hello, Gorgeous! and underneath the eyelashes you get a Be prepared to break some hearts. It's sweet and something about a box telling me I'm flawless makes me feel good about myself. 

The Selfies are a wispy false eyelash - every few hairs alternates short and long pieces. I cut about a centimeter off of the outer edges to fit the false lashes onto my eyes. The lash band is flexible and easy to manipulate onto the eyes. Despite being a fuller-looking set of eyelashes, they're actually lightweight and I can wear them for upwards of 6-7 hours.

As for looks, I'm not a fan of this particular style. It's a bit too much drama for my face. The longer hairs of the eyelashes are so long that they reach up to almost my brows. The hairs don't really shorten from the outer to inner corner of the eye - which is unnatural compared to how natural eyelashes taper slightly towards the centre of the eyes. 

Despite my dislike for this particular style of lashes, I prefer mink lashes over synthetic lashes. Femme Fatale offers more natural styles, so those are up for consideration for special occasion makeup, as I like the way the mink lashes feel on my lids. 

Have you ever tried mink eyelashes? How do you think they compare to synthetic ones? 

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Inglot Sleeks Cream Lip Paint in #90

At the grand opening of the INGLOT Toronto store, I picked up a couple items (not eyeshadows, lol) one of them being the Inglot Sleeks Cream in #90 ($16). Not knowing much about Inglot, I kind of picked this up on a whim. I spotted the colour out of the 20 available Sleeks Creams in the display, grabbed it, tried it on and fell a little in love. For the record, Sleeks Creams are referred to as "lip paints" as opposed to "lip glosses" because they have a glossy luster with subtle colours as opposed to the soft and slight colour with sparkles or heavy coverage and high shine of the Inglot Lip Glosses. 

I'm a little obsessed with the tube-tester form of the packaging. It's so unique with the only issue being that it can only stand upside down when you want to store it. There's the classic doe foot applicator, so no issues there.

The Inglot Sleeks Cream in #90 is a soft warm pink with no shimmer or sparkle. It adds a transparent sheen of colour to the lips without being overly thick or sticky. It smells of a light vanilla when applied and the scent wears away quickly after application. The formula is very moisturizing however, it does pick up on dry patches if you haven't exfoliated beforehand. Lasting power is the same as any other gloss, 2 hours give or take. 

While it's not the most interesting of lip products, it's one of those my lips but pinker colours that just adds life to my face. Plus, it's sooooooo wearable and it goes with everything. A+ to the Inglot Sleeks Cream Lip Paint in #90. There's no doubt in my mind that I want to try more Inglot, including another of these Sleeks Cream Lip Paints. 

Got any Inglot recommendations for me? :)

Whoa. It's not a press sample. This was purchased by me. 

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Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura #Shupette Holiday 2014 Collection + Look - Eyeshadow Trios, Face Powder and Glitter

An entire makeup collection marked with cat drawings and paw prints. What's not to adore? Inspired by Karl Lagerfeld's pet cat Choupette, fittingly, Shu Uemura and Karl Lagerfeld have come together to create the Shupette Holiday 2014 Collection. From an all-out eye and lip palette with a faux fur cover to cleansing oils and furry eyelashes, this post captures just a few of the pieces in the collection. You can see press photos of everything else here. 

Sometimes it's hard to review the product itself because I'm so enamored with the packaging. It's almost pointless for me to ramble on about the kitty cat, pastel colours, and paw prints. Just look at it. I'm not even a cat lover and I think that this collection is highly covetable. 

eye-need-shu eyeshadow trios in Parisienne Chic and Tokyo Kawaii ($45 each)

Shu Uemura eyeshadows are always such a joy to work with. The eye-need-shu eyeshadow trios are just like other Shu Palettes in that they're easily depottable and slide out of the casing for storage in a larger palette. Particularly in Parisienne Chic (blue) and Tokyo Kawaii (pink), certain colours are less pigmented than others. The pale yellow-gold and white-blue (lightest) are quite sheer. The pastel pink and blue and the navy blue and burgundy are less sheer. All together, these shadows are still easy to work with and pair nicely together. Despite the lack of neutral shades in these palettes, I find the sheerness makes for the most more natural-looking coloured eyeshadow looks. 

my precious glitter set (trio) ($58) 

The my precious glitters set comes with a gold, pink, and silver glitter.The packaging of the glitters is not the best (I would have preferred an uncovered top instead of the hole, as it's hard to put the product back into the pot if you pour too much). It's important to keep in mind that these are glitters not pigments because they're quite sheer and require some sort of sticky base in order to adhere to the lid. The glitters are quite fine, but I was disappointed to find that they don't have enough sparkle. If anything, they're more like a fine, sheer semi-sparkly glitter and nice to pat over the lid if you want something subtle.

pampearl-me face powder ($50)

The pampearl-me face powder is like nothing I've worked with. It seems to be a sheer face powder + very, very fine shimmer that works beautifully as highlighter. To me, this is the most impressive of the collection that I've tried. Putting on your face is the equivalent to fairy dust, it's light, airy, and adds a subtle glow to the skin. Plus, the included powder puff has little paw prints that are just so fluffy I could die. 

Final exam season is upon us, so I haven't really had the time for crazy eyeshadow looks. Instead, I went for something simple and the Shupette collection as a whole is actually perfect for "cutesy" natural looks with a refined pop of colour. 

I used the Eye-Need-Shu Eyeshadow Trio in Tokyo Kawaii (white-gold in the inner corner, pink on the lid and burgundy in the crease) and patted pink glitter on the centre of the eyelid. I also applied some of the Pampearl-Me Face Powder on the bridge of my nose. 

What do you think of the Shupette collection? Will you be picking anything up this holiday season? 

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Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura Shupette Holiday 2014 Photos

Feast your eyes on the Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura Shupette Holiday 2014 Collection decorated in cats and speckled with paw prints. This is not a review. Simply a way of sharing the rest of the swoon-worthy Shupette by Karl Lagerfeld Holiday 2014 collection with you. I've reviewed the eye-need-shu trios in Parisienne Chic and Tokyo Kawaii, Pampearl-me Face Powder, and My Precious Glitter Set here. 

eye-need-shu liners in gala brown and midnight black ($28), ultime8 sublime beauty cleansing oil ($98), TSUYA skin under base mousse ($46)

rouge bonbon fantasy lip colour trios in Parisienne Chic and Tokyo Kawaii ($45)

 Shupette's flair eyelash curler ($24)

with-love-from-paris brush set ($95)

eye-need-shu fals eyelash ($35) and furry fantasy premium false eyelashes ($100)

Shupette has-it-all eye & lip palette with faux fur cover ($115)

silk cushion cheek colour in orange and salmon pink ($35)

This collection is just chock-full of cuteness. All the products are limited edition available November at Holt Renfrew, select Sephora and Hudson`s Bay location, and shuumeura.ca.

What do you think of this collection? Do you think Shupette is creepy or cute? 

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