GUEST POST: Sarah's Mardi Gras FOTD

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Today, a most celebratory guest post from Sarah... :D 

Hello, I'm Sarah from Workaday Ramblings. Steph is letting me take over today with a very special Halloween guest post. I've been doing a special Fantasy FOTD series on my blog featuring Halloween looks you can create with regular makeup, and I have a fun Mardi Gras mask look to share with you today. 

Why buy a Halloween mask when a makeup one is hands-free and more comfortable? There is also an endless array of options you can do. My Mardi Gras mask has a simple shape with an easy 3 colour striped look. I paired it with matching gold lips to complete the look.  

I used mostly eyeshadows to create this look, with a few other products thrown in. I started my tracing my mask outline using The Body Shop Gel Liner in black. This is a very opaque black and by using a brush I could create crisp lines to mimic an actual mask. 

I then filled in the entire mask with a layer of NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk. This created a sticky white base for my colours to stick to. My top stripe of gold colour was done using Prestige Cosmetics Total Intensity True Metals in Gilded. My middle purple stripe was BH Cosmetics in Hollywood, and my bottom green stripe was Pure Fusion Cosmetics in Demeter. My lips were done by layering Essence Dark Romance lipgloss effects in Black Shadow under and over Prestige Cosmetics Total Intensity True Metals in Gilded. 

Overall, this is a fun and rather simple Halloween look that can be customized in any way imaginable. I went with traditional Mardi Gras colours for my mask. What would you go with? Thanks for having me, Steph!

What do you think of Sarah's Mardi Gras FOTD? 

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HALLOWEEN: MirandaSings - Last Minute Costume Idea!

Ahhh Halloween - the perfect opportunity to dress up like your favourite youtube celebrity!  Got less than an hour to figure out a costume? Here's an idea. Overdraw your red lipstick and be MIRANDASINGS! Haterz, back off.  Plus, this costume was the perfect opportunity to take a lot of selfies with ridiculous faces for the sake of a blog post. 

To get the look, you need 5 products (3 if you've got perfect skin and lengthy eyelashes) - foundation, red lipstick, black eyeshadow, eyeliner, and mascara. I used my everyday base of the CoverGirl TruBlend Foundation in M3, overdrawn lips with the Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Underage (the messier, the better), haphazardly applied black eyeshadow courtesy of the NYC HD Trio Eye Shadow in 786 Skyrise Steel and to add some definition to the eyes the Annabelle Stay Sharp Twist Up Liner in Cappucino and the CoverGirl Clump Crusher Mascara. 

I also created a centre part and widened the shape of my forehead using one bobby pin on each side. Flattering, right? 

 

lol, I actually look normal in this one... 

All in all, a quick look that takes under 5 minutes to recreate. Pair this look with some over-sized clothes and you're good to go.

Do you watch Miranda Sings? What are you going to be for Halloween this year? 

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HALLOWEEN: Nails

Even if you're not one for the extravagant costumes (or makeup), you can still celebrate Halloween. Nails and nail art are the perfect way to be festive with minimal effort. Here's two easy ways to get your nails Halloween-ready! 

Dazzle Me, Pucker Up, Hollywood Satin, Treasure Island, Kiss Me Cupid 

Press-on Nail Art Designs. I've already expressed my feelings about the Broadway Nails Press-On Manicures ($8 each, see previous reviews here). In a nutshell, they're quick and easy to apply and come in awesome designs. This year,  Broadway Nails has launched six Halloween designs. From cute and festive to dark and spooky, whether you want cute nails or you're in a pinch for a Halloween party, these are designs are a great way to spice up your nails. 

The Basic Orange and Black Mani. A manicure that's totally appropriate for the entire week leading up to Halloween is a vaguely-related-by-colour manicure incorporating orange and black on the nails. I used the Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Color in 150 Sunkissed as a base and topped it off with the Hard Candy Nail Color in 651 Black Tie Optional. I think the Hard Candy top coat adds dimension and interest to the solid orange. Orange and black nails are subtle but celebratory. 

Are you playing dress up this Halloween or will you only be dressing up your nails?

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Shu Uemura #BraveBeauty Lasting Gel Pencil Eye Liners [Violet Purple and Green] // Vision of Beauty Volume 1

Fearless gazes start with these must have shades. Very soft and smooth gel pencil with a waterproof, tear proof gel formula doesn't smudge for 12 hours. requires no brush or sharpener. 

Originally in available in matte black and matte brown, two new, limited edition colours of the Shu Uemura Lasting Gel Pencil Eye Liners ($36 each) in Violet Purple and Green were launched as a part of the Vision of Beauty Volume 1 - Brave Beauty Collection. 

Firstly...Packaging, packaging, packaging, limited edition packaging. Self-explanatory. My one gripe with the packaging (despite its beauty) is that these eyeliners are not retractable. You've been forewarned, so don't over-twist. 

The Shu Uemura Lasting Gel Pencil Eye Liners are a slightly harder than something like the Shu Uemura Drawing Pencils and for a good reason...You know an eyeliner is long-lasting when... you apply eyeliner one day, you get lazy in the night, and unexpectedly, the next morning you wake up with near-perfect eyeliner. Story of my life (shame on me but it happens pretty often). These gel pencils last 12 hours and then some, no smudging, no transferring. 

Despite being coloured, these liners are surprisingly wearable. Working these pencils into the lash line for any eye look can help you inject some colour into your everyday makeup routine. 

Overall, the Shu Uemura Lasting Gel Eye Liners are a nice to have product in my books. The Violet Purple and Green might not be for everyone but if you love a subtle hint of colour and the gorgeous limited edition Shu packaging then these are a must-have. If not, the regular Shu range features the Shu Uemura Lasting Gel Pencil Eye Liners, available in your staple black and brown shades. 

What do you think of the Shu Uemura Limited Edition Lasting Gel Pencil Eye Liners? 

Press sample featured. I originally reviewed this product on BlushPretty.com. This is part of my eyeliner monday series - where I review a different eyeliner every...Monday. :) See more eyeliner reviews here. 

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In an attempt to look like Lupita Nyong'o... (GIVEAWAY!) // Wet n Wild X #CBBStealtheLook

On of my favourite low-cost beauty brands just launched an app. The app is called Steal the Look (download it at http://stealanylook.com/) and the premise of the app is to "steal" beauty looks from any celebrity, friend or your favourite beauty blogger and the app will generate a collection of Wet n Wild products so that you can re-create it. 

It's quite simple. Choose a photo from your phone, select the colours for (1) lips (2) upper lid and (3) crease, choose your skin tone (there's 4 options), and voila! The lip colour was pretty accurate but I find that the app is not so great at matching eye products. Each look that you "steal" gets saved into a little gallery so you can access your looks later. 

Wet n Wild has some amazing (and inexpensive!!) makeup products. Gazillions of lipstick colours and some crazy pigmented eyeshadows, too. I used to love Wet n Wild eyeshadows (see review here) but I somehow I developed an allergic reaction to them. So, I used the Steal the Look app for the sole purpose of figuring out what coloured lipstick I could pick to look like Lupita. 

Okay.. so I look NOTHING like Lupita but the lipstick matching function was really helpful (it's the Mega Last Lipstick in Purity Persimon). Here's something fun for you...

Steal a look and win 1 eyeshadow palette, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick and lipgloss to recreate it! (Canadian Residents only, best of luck!) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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HALLOWEEN: Creepy Cute Doll Makeup

Another Halloween makeup look (see more here!!). Probably one of the most common/cliche Halloween makeup looks I've seen around youtube/the blogosphere - the Creepy Doll. It's one of those weird looks that you can still make "pretty" with pastels eyeshadow and blush. 

Products Used: Hard Candy Sheer Envy Dark Spot Correcting Primer, Hard Candy Single & Loving it in "Oink", Hard Candy All Lid Up in "Lady Like", Hard Candy Top Ten Eyeshadow Palette in "Smoke Out" (Hard Candy products are available exclusively at Walmart), Kiss Ever EZ Lashes in #3, Kiss Looks So Natural Lashes in "Flirty", Kiss Eyelash Adhesive with Aloe, Revlon Skinny Liquid Liner in "Blackout", NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in "Milk", GOSH Giant Blush in "Pink Parfait", Almay Smart Shade Mousse Makeup, Rimmel Apocalips in "Apocaliptic"

EYES:  Primed the lids with the Hard Candy All Lid Up in "Lady Like", applied the Single & Loving it Eyeshadow in "Oink" all over the lid and then used a combination of purples from the "Smoke Out" palette to create deepen the outer corner of the eye. Underneath the eye, I extended the whites of my eyes with the NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in "Milk". I lined the eyes with the Revlon Skinny Liner. Oh and let's not forget the  two pairs of false lashes from Kiss. 

FACE: Dolls have prefect porcelain skin, duh. So I primed my face with the Hard Candy Sheer Envy Dark Spot Correcting Primer, then applied a medium coverage foundation from Almay all over the face and to conceal the lips. For the cheeks, I focused a cream blush from GOSH on the apples of the cheeks for a "dolly" look and then drew some freckles with a liquid liner. 

LIPS: I drew out the barbed wire with the Revlon Skinny Liner. The messier, the better! I drew out my lips a little smaller for a fish-face effect with the Rimmel Apocalips in Apocalyptic. 

All in all, a super easy Halloween makeup look to create. Wear it with bow headband and carry around a teddy bear for extra creep-factor! 

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The Body Shop Colour Crush Nail Polishes [Crimson Kiss, Frosting Fancy, Pink Cream, Meet Me at Dusk, Peach Babe, Mint Cream & Got the Blues]

Me and nail polish, we're good friends. New formulas from different brands are always fun. New and shiny at the Body Shop is the Colour Crush Nail Polish ($6 each). The formula boasts "nail-loving" (enriched with Marula Oil) , quick drying, and high gloss. It's also vegan-friendly and 5-free in 24 shades. I tried a combination of brights, pastels, and one dark colour - Crimson Kiss, Frosting Fancy, Pink Cream, Meet Me at Dusk, Peach Babe, Mint Cream, and Got the Blues. 

The brush is square and medium in width, allowing for one layer of polish to be applied in three easy swipes. The nice thing about these polishes is that the formula is consistent. From the darkest to the lightest colours (with the exception of Pink Cream), all of the polishes require two coats for full opacity. Furthermore, the polishes lasted me 4 days before chipping, which is pretty impressive. 

The "quick dry" claims are very, very true. I'm a fidgety person notorious for getting polish on white shirts and laptop keyboards. I can only wait 2-3 minutes between coats. So far, I haven't experienced any sort of smudges or accident. 

The "high shine" claim only just met my expectation. If you like ultra-shiny nails, you'll still want to add a top-coat. As for the "nail loving", I can't really say. None of these polishes stained my nails nor have I seen dramatic results to my nail health. Perhaps we shall see in the long run... 

Anyways, time for swatches!! (warning... very photo heavy!!) :) 

110 Crimson Kiss

810 Frosting Fancy

340 Pink Cream

820 Meet Me at Dusk

220 Peach Babe

640 Mint Cream

620 Got the Blues

All in all, a high-perfoming formula of nail polish that's vegan-friendly and nail-friendly. These polishes definitely exceeded my expectations in terms of colour and lasting-power. Beyond the 7 Body Shop Colour Crush Nail Polish shades shown here, there are 17 more beautiful colours available... all for $6 each, too! Keep in mind that the Body Shop almost always has some sort of deal both online and in-stores, so you can definitely snag these awesome polishes for even less and get more bang for your buck. 

Which colours of the Body Shop Colour Crush Nail Polish would you like to try? 

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eos 2014 Breast Cancer Awareness Collection

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a great opportunity to learn more about the breast cancer. eos (evolution of smooth) makes it easy to support the cause with a limited edition three-piece collection for which 100% of the net profits are to be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society. The eos 2014 Breast Cancer Awareness Collection ($9.99) is available September 2014 through November 2014 at Shopper's, Loblaws, Target, Walmart, Giant Tiger, Rexall, Lawtons and evolutionofsmooth.com! 

As mentioned, the set contains three eos products - the Strawberry Sorbet Smooth Stick Lip Balm, Pomegranate Raspberry Smooth Sphere Lip Balm (see blueberry acai review) , and Berry Blossom Hand Lotion. I've tried two of the three products (everything but the Limited Edition Strawberry Sorbet Smooth Stick). 

My feelings about the eos are just about the same as the rest of the world. Awesome 96-100% natural and organic, paraben-free, gluten-free product housed in stylishly ergonomic, purse-friendly packaging. I love the scent of the Pomegranate Raspberry Smooth Sphere and find the Berry Blossom fragrance a little strong but still nice. The Limited Edition Strawberry Sorbet Smooth Stick looks and feels just like the Smooth Sphere in Strawberry Sorbet (except for the tube form). Like all eos balms, the scent is fairly lightweight and the balm is on the hard side, which can be good or bad depending on what you're into. 

All in all, if you're a fan of eos products, this is the perfect way to stock up and support a good cause at the same time! 

Have you purchased any products for Breast Cancer Awareness Month? 

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Shu Uemura #BraveBeauty Look [Peacock-inspired Makeup]

"Be brave in pursuit of beauty." While I take joy in finding the perfect set of neutral eyeshadows, by far my favourite thing about makeup is experimenting with colour. I'm no makeup artist but colour pushes me to explore beyond the bounds of my comfort zone. The Shu Uemura Vision of Beauty Collection Volume 1 - Brave Beauty is the epitome of power and bravery through colour which does nothing but fulfill the colour-crazed beauty fiend in my heart. 

Shout-out to the wonderful boyfriend who bought me some peacock feathers to play with. It made for easy inspiration. The colours of the feather paired perfectly with the greens of the Shu Uemura Brave Beauty Eye Palette and its fragility seemed so reminiscent of the Shu Uemura Brave Beauty False Eyelashes. 

Shu Uemura Brave Beauty Eye Palette in Green, Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Lipstick in Maroon, Shu Uemura Drawing Pencil in ME green 51 and M black 01, Shu Uemura Face Studs

To create the look, I first applied a piece of clear tape from the outer corner of the eye to the tail of the brow to create a sharp edge, then applied NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk to prime the centre of the lid. Featuring the Shu Uemura Brave Beauty Eye Palette in Green, I patted the pale silver-green (GR4) on top of NYX Milk, used the matte aqua (GR1) to the inner and outer corners, blended the iridescent yellowy-green (GR5) above both and used GR4 as a browbone highlight. I mirrored the dark green/silver green sandwich on my lower lashline and then applied the Brave Beauty False Eyelashes. I lined along the lash band with the Shu Uemura Drawing Pencil in M Black 01 and along the lower waterline with the Shu Uemura Drawing Pencil in ME Green 51. Last but not least, I added some bad-ass Shu Uemura face studs atop my cheekbone and used the Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Lipstick in Maroon to complete the look. 

While this ain't your everyday makeup routine, this could make for an awesome Halloween costume paired with a green and blue dress and a few peacock feathers in the hair. 

Do you like playing with colour? 

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Sephora Collection VIP Pass Eyeshadow Palette

Eight neutral eyeshadows housed in a single, travel-friendly palette, all for $12. Sounds like a steal, right? Meet the Sephora Collection VIP Pass Eyeshadow Palette ($12 CAD). 

The Packaging: Gold, envelope-shaped, cardboard packaging a little larger than my hand. By my terms, it's fun size (i.e. good for travel, perfect for tossing into your purse). The only things it's missing is a mirror and some space for a little brush or sponge-tip applicator, perhaps. 

The Product: The palette includes 8 shadows in varying iridescent and matte finishes. The taupe grey and the black are matte, the rest have varying degrees of shimmer.  Pigmentation and blend-ability is good, albeit a touch chalky. The top row contains soft browns, while the bottom shades are more smokey. Although the 8 neutrals aren't entirely unique, they're a great combination of shades to create a day look. The addition of a matte blending shade and a matte highlighting shade to this palette would make this palette even more versatile. 

That being said, here's two looks I've created using the Sephora Collection VIP Pass Eyeshadow Palette: 

The Daytime Look 

The Evening Look 

Overall, a steal of a deal - great combination of decently pigmented neutral eyeshadows that's super convenient for on-the-go. It's limited edition so get your hands on it now - as a gift for yourself or for a friend! (pssttt... Sephora VIB sales are coming). 

What do you think of the Sephora Collection VIP Pass Eyeshadow Palette? 

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