July Favourites 2012 ♥

Hey everyone,
Well, it's that time of month again...time for my monthly favourites post!  I cannot believe how fast the month of July flew by.  It was a pretty great month, of course, seeing as I didn't have to deal with exams and all the stresses of school. However, it did fly by, which is pretty unfortunate.   I've been savoring each month as it comes, and although I'm kind of excited to begin my last year of high school, I just don't want summer to end.  This month I discovered a few new beauty, accessory, drink and song favourites, so I'm just going to jump right into everything...

NOTD: Speckled Robin's Eggs

Hey everyone,
The manicure I'm sporting today is a variation of one I saw on a favourite beauty blog of mine!  The Speckled Robin's Egg mani is probably the simplest manicure ever, but I absolutely love it!  I used 2 coats of Essie Turquoise and Caicos and 1 coat of Sephora's gold glitter top coat.  The result was this beautiful bright nail that is right on trend for this summer and looks like a Robin egg (but with glamorous gold speckles, instead of brown)!

What's your favourite bright nail colour?

The 7 Deadly Sins of Beauty

Source

 Hey Everyone,

I've noticed the '7 Deadly Sins of Beauty' tag going around lately, so today I've decided to do it on my blog!  If you'd like to see my answers for this particular tag keep reading...

What's In My Everyday Makeup Bag 2012

Hey Everyone,
 I love reading posts that other people write about what they keep in their makeup bag.  I've always thought it interesting to see what makeup other bloggers use daily, and it helps me to discover new products.  I go through phases with my makeup where i'll switch up my makeup and foundation routine on a weekly or even daily basis, therefore there's no need for an every day makeup bag.  Lately, i've found products and a routine that I really like, so i've started using a makeup bag for my favourite products!  Here is what I keep in my every day makeup bag (I've also included links for where you can buy each product) :

How To: Personalize your Makeup Brushes

Shown here are my painted MAC brushes, which obviously need a deep cleaning!

Hey Everyone,
I've only been collecting high end makeup brushes for a short period now, but I take pride in my brushes and I treat them like children.  That means weekly deep cleanings, daily spot cleaning, and treating them with as much care as possible.  High end brushes can cost up to $100 for one brush, and the last thing I want is to have one of my little babies accidentally wind up in another person's collection, or to be stolen.  So, how do i ensure that this won't happen?  I personalized my makeup brushes.

NOTD: Viva la Juicy inspired nails

 Hey Everyone,
Whenever I'm choosing a perfume for the day, Juicy Couture's Viva La Juicy always catches my eye.  The gold charms and hot pink bow are ultra feminine, bright, and fun looking!  The weather here lately has been very dreary, so I wanted to paint my nails a bright colour as a change to the dark polishes i've been wearing lately.

Sephora Makeup Studio Blockbuster review and swatches!

Hey everyone!
I was planning on saving this post for February, but due to popular demand, this will be my last post until February.  As mentioned in a previous post, i purchased the Sephora brand makeup studio blockbuster palette for my sister for Christmas.  Well, she is in LOVE with it, as in, she's been using it every day and loves everything about it.  So today, i'll be swatching the entire palette for you guys!  There are 53 pictures so obviously this is going to one of my longer posts,  So let's just get right into it.

Christmas List 2011!

Hey everyone!
So, a few days ago I wrote my December wish list, and you all asked to see my Christmas list for this year.  I didn't need anything too big, so I mainly asked for small things, but I hope this post helps all of you trying to make up your own Christmas lists!

Holiday Gift Guide for Her 2011

As we head into the Christmas season, i'd like to share a few of my top gift choices for females.  This list will include both beauty and non beauty related items, and includes both high end gifts and gifts for the person on a budget, and I made sure to add a lot of different options. So, let's get started...

Dior 500 Point Reward at Sephora!

From the e-mail I received, so the source is sephora.com

 Hey Everyone!
One of the things I love best about Sephora is their beauty insider program.  This is free to join, and basically where for every dollar you spend you get a point, once you've reached 100 points you can redeem your points for a gift, and once you reach 500 points you can redeem your points for a better gift, and you achieve VIB (very important beauty insider) status.

Today, I just wanted to share my excitement for the new 500 point gift.  Everyone who's read my blog knows that I have a slight obsession with all things Dior, so you can imagine my delight when I received an e-mail telling me that the latest 500 point gift is an exclusive couture-inspired charm bracelet and mini Addict To Life fragrance, which I've been meaning to try.  I happen to have over 500 points in my 'beauty bank' right now, so i can't wait to head down to Sephora and cash in my points for this awesome gift!  Stay tuned for a more in depth review on both the perfume and the bracelet in the next couple weeks!

Sephora Makeup Studio Blockbuster

Source

 Hey everyone,
While shopping at Sephora the other day I came across the Sephora brand Makeup Studio Blockbuster palette.  This set contains:

• 96 Eye shadow shades
• 84 lip glosses
• 6 cream eye liners
• 2 eye liner pencils
• 3 blushes
• 1 bronzer
• 1 mascara
• 4 makeup applicator brushes

I purchased this for my sister as her christmas present because she's just starting to use makeup and I thought that this would be perfect for her as it includes almost everything she'll need.  It includes both neutral and bright, fun shades and is perfect to create a large array of looks.  It's surprisingly compact, and opens to reveal a vanity type set up, including a mirror.  This retails for $49.50 US and $59.00 CND.  Although the pots are a little small, it's definitely a great value.

If you like this palette, i definitely recommend putting it on your Christmas list, or purchasing it for a family member or friend aged 12+ just starting out with makeup.

UPDATE! I recently published a REVIEW and SWATCH post for this product, so check that out by clicking HERE.

Sephora Brand Waterproof Eyeliner in 01 Black review and swatches!

Hey Everyone!
The Sephora Retractable Waterproof Eyeliner is a water proof eyeliner which comes in a wide variety of gorgeous colors and delivers amazing results for a price of $12 US...so cheap for a high end product like this.  Two months ago I picked up the shade ’01 black’ so today I’m going to review it for you.  

Autumn Beauty Essentials

Hey Everyone!
Now that Autumn is officially here, the makeup, hair products and perfume that I use on a daily basis have changed drastically from what i was using during the Summer.  You may recall the post i published in July which listed the products that i found myself reaching for during the Summer, well, that post received pretty good feedback, so i decided to write another 'Beauty Essentials' post for Autumn!  Let's get started!

Urban Decay Super Saturated high gloss lip color - Fbomb, Buxom big and healthy lipstick - Amsterdam, Chanel lèvres scintillantes glossimer - 107

Benefit The Porefessional, MAC Studio Fix, Smashbox camera ready concealer

Large Autumn Haul: makeup, clothes, perfume, etc.

Helloooo everyone!
I recently did a little shopping at Sherway in Etobicoke with a few girl friends and I thought that I would share my purchases with y'all!  I decided that as a little birthday treat to myself, i would splurge a little and purchase some Fall essentials and a few things that I've had my eye on for awhile.  This haul doesn't include any of my birthday presents, but if you'd like to see a birthday haul post, let me know.  Below are some close ups of my purchases as well as links to where you can purchase the clothes and perfumes...

How to: Wear Red lipstick

Hey everyone!  

Red lipstick, if worn properly, can make a girl look sexy and sensual and feel as glamorous as Marilyn Monroe; but many people make the mistake of purchasing a red lipstick that isn't right for their skin tone, making them look more like a clown then anything else.  In today's post, I'm going to show you how to choose, try on, and wear red lipstick.  

Anastasia Brow Powder Duo Review

Pictures taken by me, from very late May

Hey everyone!
Having well groomed and filled in brows may not seem very important, but trust me when i say they are.  Eye brows are the first thing a person notices about another person, as well, brows serve as a frame for the entire face, therefore you want to make sure that your brows are well kept and lightly filled in.  As for the well-groomed part, waxing and tweezing can take care of that.  But if your brows are kind of sparse like mine, clearly, tweezers are not going to help you.  I've dealt with sparse brows my entire life, until now.  My life saver?  Anastasia brow powder duo in Brunette.

NOTD: Sephora by OPI 'Cover me in Petals'

Hey Everyone! 

Today's NOTD is 'Cover me in Petals' by Sephora for OPI.  I think that this is the most perfect nail varnish for Summer time.  It is a stunning and vibrant tangerine red and coral fusion. Everybody knows that bright colors will always be in when it comes to Summer time, but sometimes older women can't pull of bright and vibrant blues and greens or fluorescent pinks simply because it looks too 'immature'. (Although i say you're never too old for a bright and fun nail color).  Does this mean that they should miss out on the trend?  No. This color is bright, but also fairly sophisticated as it has a red hue to it, therefore i feel that it's appropriate for all ages and for all events.  This is a color that i could see myself wearing to the beach, but also to a semi formal dinner.   

Laura Mercier silk creme foundation: holy grail or fail.

Hey guys!  So as I've previously mentioned i've been pretty busy with a multidude of assignments and other projects so I've only been able to post a couple review posts.  Today i didn't want to leave you high and dry so I'm doing a very quick review on the famous Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation.  Please note that this isn't in the style of my normal reviews, it's basically just a straight up rant that i posted as a review on Sephora, but i thought i should post it here because i think you can see in the way i write it that i was super frustrated and upset by this product.  So yeah, you can find this review on the Sephora website, but it is written by me personally i just edited it a little bit.