August Ipsy Bag

Hello Beauties, 

So this month the theme for the Ipsy bag was back to school ( prep school to be exact)

The bag this month was a patterned and slightly textured bag in black and white with hot pink accents.

The 5 pieces I received inside my bag this month were:

1. Hikari lip gloss in "salsa:
2. City Colour HD powder ( SO EXCITED!)
3. Briogeo Blossom and Bloom Ginseng and biotin volumizing spray
4. Lather ultra mild face wash
5. Starlooks liquid liner pen in black


This month my bag was just alright.  I really enjoyed 3 of the 5 products, however the other 2 were a complete miss.


The Hikari lip gloss is beautiful, it is a fully pigmented ultra shiny gloss and the colour payout is AMAZING. It really wears more like a lip lacquer than a lip gloss. The downside is that because it is ultra shiny, it is also sticky. I found because of the high shine in the product that it never really "dries" which means that your lips stay tacky for as long as you're wearing it. The second issue I had with this product is that it does not have the staying power of some of its peers the wear time is relatively short.

I am trying to get into filming YouTube tutorials right now, so this powder is fabulous. I am able to set all of my looks without the harsh blow back that you would get from other traditional translucent/ setting powders. I wish that I had gotten it in a pressed powder formula instead of the loose powder (just personal preference). The powder performs well, it set my makeup and has kept it in place through the hot and humid August days.

The Briogeo volumizing spray was not one of the products that I used a whole lot of. I have a tonne of volume naturally, my hair is thick and curly, so I only ever really used this spray to try and help my hair along after I had back combed it. I can't honestly say if this spray made a difference or not, I really didn't notice any difference in my hair when i used the spray Vs not using it... Womp

Oh, the lather face wash... I was really hoping that I would like this one. I had heard really good things about this face wash and if I'm being totally honest, it worked really well BUT it smells awful. I just don't want to put it on my face again.

Last but not least, and possibly one of my favourites the Starlooks liquid liner pen by Doucce. This liquid liner is killer! the fine tip give you ultimate control over your liner look, whether it's a graphic liner, or something super simple. The colour payout is great and it stays ALL day. This was a great find for me.

Review: July Ipsy Bag

Hello Beauties,

It seems like it has been a while since I last posted and I am sorry about the delay. I took a little vacay with my fam jam in July so there was no internet for a good portion of the month.



A little while ago I decided to be to a monthly beauty box of some kind so that I could stay up to date with the newest products, and test them out for some honest reviews.
Then I kept forgetting to subscribe to one...womp womp.

This month I FINALLY signed up for the Ipsy bag, which is the monthly subscription bag started by the beauty guru Michelle Phan. Basically, you take a quiz and then receive 4 - 5 personalized deluxe sized samples in a cute cosmetic bag once a month.

This was my first month using the subscription service and I have to say I was not disappointed.

This month I recieved :

Jorel Parker Classico eau du parfum roller ball ( I will say that I do wish that it was a spritzer rather than a roller ball, but I suppose beggers can't be choosers, right?)

"Exotic, inspiring, and full of surprises, Classico whisks you away from the day-to-day. Indulge in the spicy seduction of Indian Tuberose, the striking and sweet sensation of Turkish Cyclamen and the purifying calm of Spanish Mandarin"

It took me more than one time wearing this fragrance to decide how I felt about it, but I really like it. It is well balanced and neither to floral, nor too spicey. It fades well too, I especially love the bass notes in it.


Mongongo Lip Balm Conditioner in Vanilla Coconut

I honestly love this stuff. I would definitely buy it if given the chance. It hydrated my lips and kept them soft and smooth without having to continually reapply. Essentially exactly what you want out of a lip conditioner


Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Bronzer - Park Avenue Princess

I have to be honest here, I was NOT happy to see that I was getting this in my bag. As a red head, I am very fair, so I don't EVER wear bronzer. When I first saw this in there, I was thinking, great a product that I will never, ever use, I even tried to go online and see if I could switch it for another one of the products they were offering. As it turns out, you can not switch just one or two of the products, so i waited for the bronzer to arrive figuring at the worst I could give it to a friend.
When I opened my bag for the first time, I decided that I would use all the products just once to create a summer look, and that way I would get the chance to test them all out and see what I liked.
The bronzer is gorgeous against my skin, gives me the perfect sun kissed glow and would double as a great eye shadow. I am totally sold on the idea of a bronzer now.


Eyetini Swizzle Stick - Blue Hawaiian

This liner I felt I could take or leave. It is a great consistency, and the colour payout is fantastic, but I really wish that I had gotten a more neutral colour instead of the bright blue.
I think it is a beautiful shade, but not one that I think I would personally wear often.

Fianlly I also recieved a Belle Pierre Lipstick in shade P.I.N.K

The lipstick goes on creamy and smooth and the colour payout is great. I love this one on it's own, or mixed with a lighter shade to create a more natural pink tone. It's just a really pretty bright pink.


All of the products arrived in this cosmetic bag. It is super bright and summery and just a lot of fun over all

So far my experience with Ipsy has been great, the bag arrived right on time, and I really like the products that were selected for me this month. I have kept my subscription for the month of August and I can not wait to see what I get this time around.

I'll be sure to share another one of these with you in the next few weeks

stay beautiful and thanks for reading

Danielle

How To: Contour and Highlight - Cream Edition

Hello Beauties,

Highlight and contour are so important for any makeup look, it helps to define and sharpen your bone structure, or can be used to create an entirely new face shape all together.

Contour can be used to change the shape of your nose, slim your face, define your cheek bones and even reduce a double chin. It is MAGIC!

While contour is meant to diminish/ hide, highlight is meant to brighten/ make more prominent. The more light that is forced into an area the more noticeable it will become.

I know that I've written a post in the past about highlighting and contouring; but th at was before the so called "Kim K" method using creams became so popular.

So, let's begin! How to do it in just 7 easy steps

You'll need:

- Moisturizer (I'm using Olay complete for normal skin)

- Foundation/ BB cream (I'm using rimmel stay matte in 100 fair ivory)

- Setting powder (I'm using MUFE HD powder)

- Cream concealer in 2 shade - one lighter than your skin tone and one darker (I'm currently using Cover FX in the lightest shade in the line and Tom Ford traceless foundation stick in 08 Caramel)

- RE-usable cosmetic sponge ( I use the faux beauty blender by QUO)

- Large powder brush (I'm using one by Pari)

- Highlight powder (I'm realyl fair, so I am using MAC mineralized skin finish in lightscapade)

- Blush or fan brush

- Contour powder (I use MAC blot powder in dark OR MAC always sunny pro long wear shadow)

- Contour brush ( again - Pari)


Step 1 - Prep your skin

Moisturize your face and allow the moisturizer to full absorb before you apply anything else. If you're going to use a primer, now is the time to apply it.

Step 2 - Apply your foundation

apply your foundation to your entire face as you normally would. Make sure you blend well.

Step 3 - Set your foundation

Apply your setting powder to your entire face. Once you've applied your powder, take a large CLEAN powder brush and sweep gently over your face again, taking away any excess that might be lingering

Step 4 - Contour

Find the hollows in your face/ places where shadows naturally occur - (Usually below the cheek boens - near the temples - forehead, near the hairline - sides of the nose - and below the jaw bone)- Apply your darker concealer in those areas and buff it out using your cosmetic sponge. You don't want to completely remove the colour, but you don't want any harsh lines.

Step 5 - Highlight

Look for areas on your face that light would naturally fall -(Usually the forehead, bridge of the nose, under the eyes, and cheekbones) - Apply your lighter concealer and then blend out with your cosmetic sponge. Again you don't want to completely take the colour away, but you don't want any harsh blocks of colour either

Step 6 - Contour...again

Now it's time to go back in with your contour powder and make sure that your contour is set and well blended. Remember that contour powders should be Matte to give you the best effect. While you can use a bronzer - you're better off using a matte powder or eye shadow to create depth in your contour.

Step 7 - Highlight....well you get the drill

Go back in with your highlight powder of choice and make sure that your highlight areas are set and well blended.


Flawless looking skin every time ;D

Thanks for reading lovelies, leave me comments and let me know if this helped you

Danielle