essence Longlasting Lipsticks in Natural Beauty, Barely There & I Am Yours

You can't beat lipsticks $3.49, especially when they're actually really good. I received a few of the the essence Longlasting Lipsticks (exclusively at Shoppers Drug Mart) at an essence event. There are a few new shades being launched for Spring/Summer 2015, but the only new one shown here is I Am Yours. 

The essence Longlasting Lipsticks are your one-swipe type of pigmented. They have a creamy finish and last about 4 hours on my lips with eating and drinking. Given the price, I don't find them to be at all drying, just really smooth. I wouldn't go as far as saying that they're hydrating, but they're very comfortable on the lips and don't exaggerate lip lines or dry areas. Since all three of these colours are variations on a pink/nude/mauve, they're perfect for everyday at the office. 

Barely There

Natural Beauty

I Am Yours

Have you tried any lipsticks from essence? 

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FOOD: Ontario Southwest City Fare // #OSWCityFare #OSWPourAway #OSWDigIn

With beer, wine, cider, food and live music at Wychwood Barns, you can't really go wrong. Last weekend I attended the first Ontario Southwest City Fare hosted by the iYellow Wine Club, a pop up event featuring food and drink from restaurants, breweries and more, all from the region of Southwestern Ontario spanning South Cayuga to London to Chatham-Kent to Windsor. The iYellow Wind Club provided everyone a wine glass, as well as a nifty contraption of a plate (with a hole to hold the wine glass) and we walked around, picking at the 80+ food/beverage items to try. 

I took two guests (my parents)... because I'm cool like that, my dad is a self-proclaimed 'foodie', the parents are kind of funny when they've had a few glasses of wine and beer, plus they graciously provide the internet that I use to upload my mass amounts of blog photos. Speaking of blog photos, I took quite a few at #OSWCityFare... 

trout crudo with trout chicaron // sixthirtynine.com

amsterdam sour cocktails // twistedlemon.ca

pork ravioli // twistedlemon.ca

bacon skewers // smackwaterjacks.ca


bacon skewers // smackwaterjacks.ca


liquid nitrogen ice cream // bacon skewers // smackwaterjacks.ca

beer battered chips // ramblinroad.ca

black bean fudge // cktable.ca


asparagus taste test // kerrfarm.ca, cktable.ca

maple butter tarts // leapingdeer.com

don't count your chickens // bonnieheathlavender.com

aged cheddar // brightcheeseandbutter.com

gouda

lamb merguez // facebook.com/RobbiesGourmetSausages

lime basil chocolate // chocolatea.ca

verde fresco chocolate // chocolatea.ca

sweet potato bread pudding // blueelephant.ca


strawberry beer // blueelephant.ca

meatball tacos // hotpapads.com

smoked beef sandwich // jpsbarbeque.ca

jakeman's maple syrup // themaplestore.com

 chambord raspberry chocoholic marshmallows // theartsandcookerybank.com

Overall, a great couple hours of eating and drinking held in a beautiful space. I was pretty wowed at the fresh, quality products available just a couple hours drive from Toronto. I should probably be a better tourist in my own province. A few of the vendors are actually quite close to Waterloo, ON (where I go to school) and I'm 100% sure that in the near future I'll have to treat my parents to a wine tour or a meal at Six Thirty Nine or the Twisted Lemon out in Southwestern Ontario. 

Have you ever ventured out to Southwestern Ontario? 

sidenote: you can enter to win a $1,500 Dream Foodie Escape at http://www.oswculinary.com/ :) 

I received complimentary tickets to attend this event. 

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Mary Kay at Play Lip & Cheek Sticks in Peach Pop and Razzleberry

New season = new, fun things from the Mary Kay At Play Collection. The At Play collection seems to be the younger, edgier side of Mary Kay. The Mary Kay Lip & Cheek Stick ($12 each, available May 16th) colourful duos for a "glowing blush and picture-perfect pout".

Peach Pop

Razzleberry

Mary Kay's colour game is on point. Both Peach Pop and Razzleberry are extremely pigmented and very, very flattering flushes on the cheeks and lips. The product is soft and creamy, easily workable into the skin and to sheer out on the lips. The blush/lipstick duo lasts 3 hours on the lips leaving a light stain and 5-6 hours on the cheeks. Pretty good but by no means amazing. 

The chubby stick packaging of the Mary Kay At Play Lip & Cheek Stick is great for covering large areas of the cheeks but not so great for precision application on the lips. To curb this issue, I prefer applying the stick with a brush or with fingers, which is an extra step that I'm often to lazy to take. Thus, I prefer the product on the cheeks. 

What do you think of the Mary Kay At Play Lip & Cheek Sticks? 

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Empties & Tosses #14 // May 2015

A few things I finished in the month of May...

Here's my rating scale: 

(>'-')> <('-'<) ^(' - ')^ // worthy of dance party (repurchase)   

^u^ ^u^  // pretty great (maybe repurchase) 

-_- // indifference (will not repurchase) 

While the Sapien Women Body Moisturizer* -_- was lightweight and smelled of tutti fruity, it took forever and a day to absorb into the skin. 

The Aveeno Positively Nourishing Moisturize Shampoo and Conditioner* ^u^ ^u^ did wonders for my winter hair. However, the Pantene Pro V Damage Detox Conditioner* -_- was kind of meh. 

The My Beauty Diary Pearl Brightening Mask ^u^ ^u^ is $1 a piece and my skin looks "brighter" the next morning after using this. 

I LOVE the Revlon ColorStay Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat* (>'-')> <('-'<) ^(' - ')^. It works to prolong the wear of any nail polish, not just Revlon Gel Envy ones. 

I've had the OXY Clearing Treatment -_- and probably haven't used it since ... 2009. It's nearly full but it's about time I tossed it. 

I used the Chantecaille Magnolia, Jasmine and Lily Healing Emulsion -_-  whenever my skin felt irritated or itchy and the next morning, I'd wake up with my skin feeling calmed down. Bonus, it smells beautiful so it's like aromatherapy for your face. However, at $156 a bottle, I could buy a textbook instead. 

May TALLY: 

1 tosses

6 full-size

1 samples 

8 total 

YEAR-TO-DATE: 

26 tosses

36 full-size

18 samples

80 total

Not much focus on emptying things compared to my usual empties posts this month but I did manage to finish a few full size hair products.

What did you finish in the month of May? 

*Press samples denoted with an asterisk

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The Body Shop Honey Bronze Face Gel & Tinted Leg Mist

My neck and body have gone on a vacation, while my face has been living in Antarctica. Thus, I've come to the realization that I should probably take a break from my Asian "whitening" skincare products, as there is now a massive difference between the colour of my face and the colour of my neck and body. What's been helping me out? The Body Shop Honey Bronze Face Gel ($16). And while my legs are darker than my face, they're still a little pasty-looking from winter so The Body Shop Tinted Leg Mist ($20) has been helping me get my Summer glow on. 

The Body Shop Honey Bronze Face Gel

The Body Shop Honey Bronze Face Gel smells exactly like The Body Shop Honey Bronze Highlighting Domes, a light floral/sweet scent. It could bother some but it fades away within 5-10 minutes of application. The gel feels super light weight, almost watery in texture and slightly cooling.  The colour is a tad orange but extremely sheer and subtle without a trace of shimmer/glitter/iridescence, perfect for matching for my light-borderline-medium complexion to the rest of my body. The gel texture of the product sinks immediately into the skin, lasts ~6 hours and it's neither moisturizing nor drying. 

The Body Shop Honey Bronze Tinted Leg Mist

The word "mist" is misleading. The spraying contraption atop the Honey Bronze Tinted Leg Mist is kind of messy and sprays more product than you'd expect. It's runny and you'll definitely need your hands to distribute the product. A word of warning, you might want to apply this naked (or with minimal clothing) because it will stain. The good news? It's not at all streaky or shimmery. The colouring of the Honey Bronze Tinted Leg Mist is a little more potent than that of the Face Gel. Furthermore, it's slightly less orange and more bronze. Again, it works perfectly with my colouring for a subtle yet sun kissed tan. I have yet to experience the product transferring onto my clothing and it seems to last until I shower the product off. 

It's important to note that both the Honey Bronze Face Gel and Honey Bronze Tinted Leg Mist are non-permanent, wash-off tanning products. Overall, they both serve they're purpose. Since I'm working in an office this summer,  I'll happily be using these to look like I went on a vacation without needing to sit out in the sun! 

Do you use bronzing products on your face or body to colour correct? 

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Unpretty Rapstar (언프리티 랩스타) Cheetah (김치타) Inspired Make Up Look

While I might not look it, my favourite genres of music are hip hop and rap. My boyfriend got me hooked on a Korean reality/music TV show called “Unpretty Rapstar” (언프리티 랩스타), which features 9 female musicians rap battling for tracks with a renowned producer. Prior to watching the show, I had only been exposed to the upbeat girly-girl K-pop thing (and Psy). Unpretty Rapstar was a tangent from "normal" k-pop, as the contestants on the show masterfully strung phrases of both Korean and English together.

Enjoying the music was one thing but I also took notice of the beauty looks on the show. A majority of the 9 contestants on the show subscribe to the stereotypical Korean beauty look - puppy dog (downwards sloping) eyeliner, ombre stained lips, radiant skin, wispy false lashes. But one conetstant’s look (along with her stage presence and rap prowess) stood out to me most. Thick liner, dewy/wet skin, sculpted brows, contouring and a bold lipstick, topped off with a heavy band of false lashes CHEETAH (김치타) . In addition to her fierce makeup and nails, her wardrobe is also badass. 

And so... I went for it. 

Generally, the look is fairly simple. Winged liner, bold eyebrows, dark lips, lashes, a peachy brown wash of colour on the lid. The hardest part was creating dewy skin. For some reason I couldn't find any intensely dewy foundations, so I resorted to using a clear gloss on my eyelids and high points of my cheekbones (which messed up my eyeshadow and made my skin feel sticky... yuck). The result was a bit of a failure because my camera could hardly pick it up

FACE:

- Benefit Oxygen Hello Flawless WOW Foundation in All the Rage Beige

- MAKE UP FOR EVER Pro Sculpting Duo in #2*

- Wet n Wild Lip Gel (clear gloss)*

EYES: 

- Stila Stay All Day Brow Gel*

- Ardell Glamour Multipack in 105*

- Shu Uemura Drawing Pencil in M Black 01*

- Paul & Joe Liquid Eyeliner*

- Madison Street Beauty Moroccan Bronze (discontinued)

- Wet n Wild Lip Gel (clear gloss)*

LIPS: 

- Wet n Wild MegaLast Lip Colour in Cherry Bomb*

- OCC Lip Stain in Little Black Dress

Peace out

In another life, this would be my everyday makeup. Unfortunately, I don't think I was born to be a badass. For now, I'll just be a rapper in my dreams. 

Do you like k-pop/hip-hop/rap? 

P.S. Watch one of Cheetah's performances here.

 *Press samples denoted with an asterisk. 

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MAC In Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Smoky Mauve

The MAC In Extra Dimension Eye Shadow in Smoky Mauve ($24CAD/$20USD) deserves boatloads of praise. After the 2013 release of the MAC In Extra Dimension Collection (limited edition), it's easy to understand why MAC has re-released the In Extra Dimension Eye Shadows as a permanent range. With 18 shades of eyeshadow, the Prep and Prime 24HR Extend Eye Base, the 233 Split Fibre Eye Shadow Brush and the 234 Split Fibre Eye Blending Brush, this collection is sure to please any eye makeup lover. 

MAC says that the In Extra Dimension Eye Shadows come in sheer crystallized finishes to stunning metallic. It's clear that Smoky Mauve is most certainly classified as a stunning metallic, as it looks almost liquid-like. Below, I've swatched Smoky Mauve without foiling it. When wet, the shadow tends to sheer out. 

Left - heavily swatched; Right - blended 

Smoky Mauve is a cool, medium purple with tons of silver glitter that gives the shadow a ton of dimension. It's actually a great shade for wearing all over the lid because when blended, the colour mysteriously appears slightly brown. 

I could use all the beauty blogger buzz words to describe the texture of this eyeshadow. It's smooth, buttery, soft to the touch, silky and blends like a dream. For such a shimmery shadow, it's a bit startling that Smoky Mauve has little no fallout. Further, I have slightly oily eyelids and the shadow lasts all day without primer. Perhaps it's what MAC describes as a "modern hybrid formula" which pairs the smoothness of a cream, blendability of a liquid and the long-wear and dimension of a powder. 

All in all, well done on this re-release, MAC. A+. Beyond Smoky Mauve, there's quite a number of shades that are piquing my interest... (Silver Dawn, Legendary Lure, Stolen Moment...and more). 

What do you think of the MAC In Extra Dimension Eye Shadows? Will you be picking any up? 

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