So it's almost the weekend!! But unfortunately I have class on Saturday. But no class on Fridays so I do get tonight to relax at least. I've been trying out all sorts of new makeup and skincare products. I'll have to do a post on my updated skincare regimen, because it's been changing as I've discovered some wonderful new products. Just a few of them are Boscia's Lumizing Black Mask, Philosophy's Purity, Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes, Glamglow, and plenty more. I've been using a lot of samples and testing these products out and I have to say I do like all of them. However, I find that the Neutrogena wipes aren't moist enough for my liking. I'll have to try Philosophy's Purity wipes. I've also been using the Body Shop's Almond Hand and Nail Cream and the almighty EOS Lip Balm. I'll be talking about all these new finds in greater detail in another post.
Christmas Collections are starting to pop up all over the internet! I'll have a post on that soon. So far I've seen Too Faced, Urban Decay, and Stila. Benefit has some new stuff out too. So watch out for that.
Today's post is going to be on some new products (well new for me anyway). I've tried to use ALL new products in this look. By new, I don't necessarily mean new, but it's new for me and new to the blog. I picked up Illamasqua's Empower Eyeshadow Quad. All the girls at the counter agree that this palette is their favorite out of all the quads. It comes with 3 shadows and one liquid metal. What they call Liquid Metal is basically your Paint Pot / Fluidline (in MAC speak). The Liquid Metal, named Slick, is a shimmery medium grey color. The eyeshadows are Blink (a matte light/medium brown), Synth (a sparkly light pink) and Fervent (which is basically like MAC Club except more red/brown than green. it's a duochrome). All 4 shadows worn together is so beautiful! But what's great about this palette is that you don't have to go all out if you don't want to. You can pick and choose which colors you want to wear. Like for example if you want to tone it down a notch you can wear Synth (the pink) all over your lid and blended into the crease with Fervent as a liner. There are many ways to work this palette. I have to say that out of all their shadow palettes, I prefer this one. The quality of the shadows is amazing. They are all very pigmented and last all day.
Another new Illamasqua products I bought is my first ever cream blush from them, in the shade Promise. Promise is a medium pink (similar in color to their powder blush in Chased) and it is super pigmented! Really, a little goes a long way. I learned that the hard way the first time I used it! And I've discovered the best brush for putting on cream blush. The MAC 130 Short Duo Fibre Brush. It's short and packed so it doesn't flop when you apply it. I basically stipple the blush onto my cheek using a light hand. The brush allows you to have control over the amount of blush you apply and where you apply it. It's way better than using your fingers to apply blush!! I really recommend the MAC 130 brush. It really changed how I put on cream blush. As for the blush itself, it's your typical blue toned medium pink shade. It looks great and the quality of it is superb.
Another new Too Faced product (well, new for me) is Candlelight powder. Candlelight is a powder luminizer. I like that it isn't shimmery and sparkly like other luminizers I've used in the past, though I wish it had a touch of shimmer in it. This makes it great for everyday wear, but if you really want to shine (pun intended) at a party, there are better luminizers for that. As an everyday luminizer, it brightens up the areas that it's applied on. It does its job in that sense. It isn't overly noticeable but it does make a difference, especially if you compare both sides of your face, you'll see that the side with Candlelight is more luminous and glowy compared to the other side. I like it, but I'd prefer a hint of sparkle.
And the last newbie is Urban Decay's new lipstick and lip liner line! I bought both a lip liner and a lipstick in Obsessed. Their new lip liner and lipstick line are meant to complement each other so that you have a perfect pair. Obsessed is a bright pink color, which matches the blush to be honest, and makes this look quite bold.
Another Urban Decay newie for me is their All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray. I had bought a mini of this awhile ago but kept forgetting to use it. I've been using it a lot lately, especially when my days were really long, like 12+ hours long, and I needed my makeup to stay on. And this worked! I find it does a great job of keeping my face makeup on. I usually end up leaning on my hand in class so half of my face ends up coming off, but since I've been using this spray, I find that doesn't happen anymore most of the time, and if it does, it's considerably less. So if you need your makeup to stay on all day and all night, this is your setting spray!
Bold Makeup Look using Illamasqua (and some new Urban Decay)
Start by applying Slick, which is a cream shadow, to your lid using a small or medium shadow brush (Sephora PRO Medium Shadow Brush). Make sure you blend out any harsh lines using a blending brush (MAC 217 Blending Brush). I like to go back in and reapply more Slick on my lid. Now take another medium shadow brush (MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush) to apply Fervent onto your eyelid. You want to apply it on top of Slick. Now take a clean blending brush (MAC 217 Blending Brush) and apply Blink to the crease. I like to take a crease brush (Sephora PRO Crease Brush) to apply the highlight, Synth. Make sure you get the corners of your eyes and under your brow. We're almost done! Take an angled liner brush (Sephora PRO Angled Liner Brush) and apply Slick under your eyes. Then take that same brush and go over it with Fervent. Take a clean angled liner brush and apply Synth to the inner corners of your eyes. Now take a black eye liner, like MAC Kohl Power Eye Pencil in Feline and tightline your upper and lower lash lines. Finish off with a couple coats of Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. Don't forget to fill in your brows with Benefit Brow Zings.
Apply Too Faced Primed and Poreless all over your face. Take a concealer brush (Sephora PRO Concealer Brush) and apply MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer to your under eyes. Then apply MUFE HD Foundation using a stippling brush (Sephora PRO Stippling Brush) using stippling (dabbing) motions. If there's any redness or pimples still showing, use MAC Studio Finish Concealer and apply using your fingers or a brush. To set the foundation and concealer, apply MUFE HD Powder using a kabuki brush (MUFE HD Kabuki Brush). Now take a contour brush (MAC 168 Large Angled Contour Brush) and Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless and contour your cheekbones by starting at the top of the ear and going down the upper jaw line. Also apply bronzer to your temples, the perimeter of the face, and down the sides of the nose. Then take Illamasqua Cream Blush in Promise and use a short duo fiber or short stippling brush (MAC 130 Short Duo Fibre Brush) to apply the blush in stippling or dabbing motions. A little goes a long way. I like to go over the cream blush with more powder to set it. Now take a blush brush (Too Faced Petite Pouf Brush) and Too Faced Candlelight powder and apply it to the tops of your cheekbones, chin, down the nose, center of the forehead, and the cupid's bow to brighten up these areas. Lastly, apply Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil in Obsessed and Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Obsessed. My very last step is to spritz some Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray. Now you're ready to rock your look!
Eyes:
Illamasqua Empower Eyeshadow Quad
- Blink
- Synth
- Slick
- Fervent
MAC Kohl Power Eye Pencil in Feline
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara
Brows
Benefit Brow Zings in Light
Face:
Too Faced Primed and Poreless
MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer in NW20
MUFE HD Foundation in 110
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW20
MUFE HD Powder
Too Faced Candlelight Powder
Illamasqua Cream Blush in Promise
Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless
Urban Decay All Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray
Lips:
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil in Obsessed
Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Obsessed
Products Used:
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| Illamasqua Empower Eyeshadow Quad |
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| Illamasqua Empower Eyeshadow Quad in: - 45$CAD (clockwise from top left) Blink (eyeshadow) Synth (eyeshadow) Slick (liquid metal) Fervent (eyeshadow) |
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| MAC Kohl Power Eye Pencil in Feline - 19$CAD |
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| Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara - 30$CAD |
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| Benefit Brow Zings in Light |
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| Benefit Brow Zings in Light - 36$CAD |
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| Too Faced Candlelight |
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| Too Faced Candlelight - 38$CAD |
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| Illamasqua Cream Blush in Promise |
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| Illamasqua Cream Blush in Promise - 26$CAD |
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| Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless |
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| Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless - 38$CAD |
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| Urban Decay All Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray - 15$ for the mini (new packaging is 2X the size of mine), 35$ for the fullsize |
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| Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil in Obsessed - 23$CAD |
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| Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Obsessed - 26$CAD |
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| Swatches from left to right: Illamasqua Empower Eyeshadow Palette: Blink, Synth, Fervent, Slick MAC Kohl Power Eye Pencil in Feline Too Faced Candlelight Illamasqua Cream Blush in Promise Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil in Obsessed Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Obsessed |
Thanks for reading and I hope it wasn't too long!! There's just so much to talk about and so little space! I'm trying to cover all the new products I've bought since I went on hiatus. Again, I liked all the products that I used for today's look. Illamasqua always produces intensely pigmented shadows and blushes in beautiful colors. Urban Decay's new lip line is amazing and their setting spray is great too. Too Faced always has great products, love their luminizer and their new mascara. I mentioned in yesterday's post that MAC Feline is my new all-time favorite eyeliner.
So what did you think of the look? Personally I loved it! I felt like being bold today and going with punches of color everywhere. The Illamasqua Empower palette had a lot of nice shades and I find that each shade made the look that much better. What did you think of the Empower palette? I'm also digging their cream blush in Promise. Great texture and pigmentation and the color was great too. I finally tried Too Faced Candlelight Powder. I did like it but I can't say it wow'ed me. I like a little bit more sparkle than what is has, but if you're looking for a daytime luminizer, this is your best bet. What do you all think of Candlelight? And lastly, Urban Decay launched their Revolution Lipstick and 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencils a couple months ago. Which lipstick and lip liner did you get and which ones are on your wishlist? I'm loving Obsessed, it's your perfect blue-toned medium pink and the liner goes with it perfectly. Have you ever used their All Nighter spray and what do you think? I always thought those type of products were gimmicky until I actually tried it. I can say that it really does help your makeup last all day and all night long!
Thanks for reading, and there's a whole lot more stuff coming up!
Steph xo.
