Shu Uemura Prêt-à-Palette in Ready-to-Wear Pink Hues

If it's not on the cheeks or lips, pink is a scary colour to work with. Shu Uemura makes it easy with the new Prêt-à-Palette in Ready-to-Wear Pink Hues ($85 available at shuumura.ca and Sephora - also get 15% and free shipping with the code DRAW15). The palette consists of 6 pink-toned eye shadows work harmoniously together to make eyes look pretty rather than ridiculously colourful or sickly. 

Three single pans in this palette are 1g, while the regular line of pressed individual eyeshadows are 1.4g (3 little ones = two big ones). 

I've reviewed a couple Shu matte pressed eye shadows previously (see  here). They're smooth, buttery, and pigmented - everything I could ever want from an eye shadow. The shadows in the Prêt-à-Palette are no exception. Each one is highly pigmented and ultra-smooth. From lightest to darkest: 

• PK1 (soft matte beige 813)  - I knew there was an an uncanny similarity to a colour I had previously reviewed here. Lo and behold, they are, in fact, exactly the same shade - an off-white beige.  
• PK2 (ME light pink 126) - a satin finish pale pink. 
• PK3 (pearl rosy pink) - a similar shade to PK2 but a touch deeper
• PK4 (G pink 135) - this looks nothing like it does in the pan. It's actually a non-gritty glitter that provides a "sparkling water" look to the eyes
• PK5 (matte smokey dark blush) - a matte light-medium pink. It's not so red-toned that it makes your eyes look sickly (high-five to that) 
• PK6 (matte smokey dark purple) - this shade is FLAWLESS. The matte purple goes perfectly with brown eyes and pulls more warm than cool so that it's not overly deep. 

As a whole, this palette works. The Prêt-à-Palette can be used to create a multitude of pink-toned eye makeup looks, as the palette consists of a range of light and dark, matte and shimmer shadows. My one gripe would be that the two satin finish light pink shades (PK2 and PK3) may look different in the pan but look very similar on the eyes, so a perhaps a slightly deeper, avant garde pink shade could have replaced on of them for a more complete colour range. 

Overall, a great selection of high quality eye shadows. If you've got a love for all things pink and big beauty budget, be sure to check these out. And if you're not into pink eye shadows, the Prêt-à-Palettes also come in ready-to-wear black and white, warm brown, and blue morning. 

Do you ever wear pink eye shadows? 

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GUEST POST: Get the Look - Wook's Sympathy for Lady Vengeance by Jenn of A Beautiful Zen

Hey guys, it’s Jenn from A Beautiful Zen.

"Red/white looks" is the theme July's BBloggersCA guest posting cycle and I just finished watching Director Park Chan-Wook's Symptathy for Lady Vengeance (which, along with the others in his Vengeance Trilogy, including Oldboy, is a must watch). So there you go, inspiration!

   

The look entails pale skin, red eye shadow and not much else.

Eyes:

MUFE eyebrow pencil

MAC Powerpoint liner - Buried Treasure

Lancome - Hypnose Star Mascara

Clio VF 21 Volume Brightener

BH Day & Night Palette - Fuschia, bottom half of upper lid

- Red, all over lid

- Shimmery white, inner corner, lower lash line

- Gold, lower lash line

Lips:

Clio BB Water VF21 dabbed over lips

Face:

Clio BB Water VF 21

MAC Minerlized Skinfinish - Lightscape

NARS - Laguna Bronzer

Ben Nye - Neutral Set (to get that extra white vampire look...sexy...)

I guess this can look a little dangerous but...with a smile, everything looks better, right? 

I'm going to have to pat myself on the back for this one.

Me:

Movie ad:

Thanks photo editing software!

Find Jenn: 

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An InLinkz Link-up

Find Stephanie: 

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Revisiting the CoverGirl TruBlend Foundation in m3 Golden Beige

Constant makeup struggle - foundation matching. When CoverGirl came out with a whole new range of foundation colours I got super excited. At the time, I didn't get the right colour but to my surprise in a brand spankin new bottle of a possible match came in the mail. Here's how it went... 

Remember my oompa loompa experience and review of the CoverGirl TruBlend Foundation in m4 Sand Beige? 

The new colour (m3 Golden Beige) is a much better fit! YAY. 

This time around, the colour matches well enough that I don't mind wearing it around all day. It's actually lighter than the colour of my face but definitely matches the rest of my my body to a T (which means that there was no way that M4 Sand Beige would ever work). The verdict? It's a pretty decent foundation - medium coverage with a natural (not dewy) finish. It's easy to apply with fingers or a brush and lasts about 5 hours on my summer skin (extra sweaty and oily... yumm). This won't be my go-to foundation around this particular time of year, but come winter/fall, it will be a nice pick-me-up for dryer skin. 

Have you tried the CoverGirl TruBlend Foundation? 

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GUEST POST: The Mary Kay Makeup Finishing Spray by Cass of Exquisitely Chic

Hello beauties! My name is Cassy, I blog at Exquisitely Chic where I blog out beauty tips, skin care advice and product reviews (along with other things that make me smile). This month is all about heatproof summer makeup and I'm more than happy to give you tips and tricks of the trade to take your summer makeup from "Hot Mess" to "HOTNESS".

On the CBB Website  we're also featuring Mary Kay products throughout our posts and such and I figured what a great opportunity to showcase one of my favourite products! 

Aside from switching to waterproof makeup (as well as using a great mattifying primer in prime oily spots - namely, the t-zone) the one tip I can give that keeps my makeup from melting away is using a good finishing spray. There are tons of finishing sprays out there. Almost every company makes one, and they're definitely worth taking a look at. The one I use is Mary Kay's Makeup Finishing Spray (by Skindinavia) is a fantastic finishing spray that leaves my makeup looking great all day. The company claims that it will help makeup last 16hrs (even on oily skin) and keeps the face feeling cool and refreshed.

This product by no means makes your makeup waterproof but it does keep makeup looking beautiful throughout the day, even in the heat. I used this when I went to the Barrie Waterfront Festival and my makeup lasted from 9:00am until very late that night. My foundation definitely lasted 16hrs, eyeshadow not so much but I didn't expect the design to last that long.

The Mary Kay Makeup Finishing Spray can be bought from the website or your local consultant for $20.00.

What's your one tip for keeping your makeup beautiful even in the humid heat we've been having?

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CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Gloss in Snow Storm

In the beginning of June, I professed my love for white nails, noting my struggle with finding the perfect white polish. The struggle is real but I think it's over. Once upon a time, the CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Gloss in Snow Storm made its way into my mailbox and I fell in love. 

Consistent with the other colours in the CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Gloss range (Skylight, Appletini, Orange Oasis) the formula is neither thin nor thick and definitely not gloopy or streaky. Despite being white, Snow Storm is surprisingly opaque in 2 coats (sometimes you'll need three depending on how good you are at applying polish). It stays put without chipping for 3-4 days and is so shiny that it doesn't require a top coat. Something about this polish just works for me and I like it.

Of course, this isn't a perfect white polish. I'd much rather have a one-coat white polish (which I don't think I'll ever find). I'm still open to trying more white polishes but for now this is my go-to for the perfect white nail or a great nail art base. 

Have you tried any polishes from the CoverGirl line? 

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MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Matic in ME-50 Metallic Golden Taupe

Love at first swipe. The MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Matic in ME-50 is the perfect neutral, gold taupe. It's not too warm or too cool and the new Aqua Matic formula is budge-proof, smudge-proof and most of all, fool-proof. 

The MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Matics ($25 CAD) come in 10 shades: Diamond Black D-10, Satiny Warm Brown S-60, Diamond Golden Grey D-12, Iridescent Pop Purple I-90, Iridescent Electric Blue I-22, Iridescent Turquoise I-20, Iridescent Lime Green I-30, Metallic Golden Taupe ME-50, Metallic Pinky Beige ME-54, and Satiny Flesh Coloured Pink S-52.

The Aqua Matics come in all satin, iridescent, diamond, and metallic finishes. Compared to the MUFE Aqua Shadows, these packaged in a handy, convenient twist-up plastic casing. Even better, there's a little sharpener on the end if you ever feel the need to create sharper edges for your eye shadow.

CoverGirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencil in Ginger Flame vs. MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Matic in ME-50 

The best colour comparison I could find in my collection was the CoverGirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencil in Ginger Flame (bottom). ME-50 Metallic Golden Taupe (top) leans slightly warmer with more iridescence and shimmer, while Ginger Flame is more of a flat out taupe. In terms of texture, the CoverGirl is actually slightly smoother, but I feel like there's a tradeoff when it comes to longevity and ultra-creamy textures. 

To put the Aqua Matic to the test against the CoverGirl Flamed Out Pencil, I swatched them on my arm and left them for two days. The CoverGirl Flamed Out Pencil lasted less than half the day, while the Aqua Matic didn't come off until I decided I looked a bit odd with golden-brown marks on my arm and scrubbed it off in the shower. 

The only caveat with these extremely long-wearing pencils is that they require an oil-based eye makeup remover. I'd suggest the MAKE UP FOR EVER SENS'EYES, a waterproof sensitive eye cleanser that's fragrance free and removes the Aqua Matic like a dream. 

The MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Matics set extremely quickly (less than 20 seconds). They're best applied one eye at a time so that you can quickly blend the hard edges. They can be worn by themselves or underneath other shadows. Even on my oily eyelids, the wear time is pretty flawless - all day long, 12 hours+. Moreover, if you wear another shadow on top that lasts too! 

I've tested out the MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Matic in ME-50 for over a month and I'm happy to say that I've been wearing it almost every day. It's the perfect golden brown base that works well for either a quick eye makeup look or a long-wearing, budge-proof base. 

In real life, I'm a neutrals girl, so ME-50 is perfection for the daily face. Rest assured, if I could have and wear all the makeup that I ever wanted, I'd definitely go for the Iridescent Lime Green. 

What's your favourite stick eyeshadow? Have you tried the Aqua Matics? 

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EcoTools Skin Perfecting Face Brush

Using  fingers to apply BB cream is messy, but fear not! The EcoTools Skin Perfecting Face Brush is here to save the day! 

If you're not familiar with Ecotools, it's a synthetic beauty tool brand that uses natural materials such as bamboo to create it's reasonably priced brushes. The EcoTools Skin Perfecting Face Brush can be found at select drugstores and Farleyco.ca for $9.99. 

The synthetic bristles are of medium dense and quite soft. I find that using BB creams with this brush makes the bristles stick together, creating a streaky effect on the face. To avoid this, using short, quick strokes works best for a light, even coverage that BB creams provide. Despite being a white brush, this tool is actually very easily cleaned. 

Overall, I don't have much to say about this brush because it's nothing groundbreaking. However, it is very much prefered over using my fingers! 

Do you prefer a brush or fingers? 

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