Empties & Extras #3

Hello glamour girlies!!

It's time for another edition of Extras & Empties. I have to say that I haven't really been collecting any Extras lately. I usually end up having a bunch when I buy sets, but I've been buying more individual items lately. There's no particular reason behind that. I'll be linking my very first Empties & Extras post where I go through ALL of the makeup and skincare extras that are hiding in my drawer. It hasn't changed much.

For empties, I've got a lot hiding in my drawer and I want to get rid of them and get some space back haha. Most of them are skincare items again, but I do have a few makeup and even fragrance items. You'll have to read on to see what I've used up and if I recommend it or not. Let me know if you want me to only show my makeup empties, as I feel that the skincare ones are getting a little repetitive because, let's face it, I've been using the same stuff for ages. Comment below what you think.

Also, let me know if you like these kinds of posts. I always thought they were interesting, seeing what people used the most and seeing the extras they've been stockpiling.


Now time for today's topic!


Extras & Empties #3

The Empties

Body Shop

Seaweed Pore Perfector X 2

A few months ago I tweaked my skincare routine. I took out some Tea Tree products I thought weren't working or could react with my skin better, and opted for the Seaweed line, which I heard could be used in conjunction with the Tea Tree line. I'm not sure if these pore minimizing products actually work. I'm going to have to say that I'm not really sure on this one. I can't tell if it's a combination of all my skincare products helping my skin not if this particular product is helping and how much. Will I buy it again? I have a few stored up, but I don't think I will buy anymore when they are done. I'm trying to find a skincare routine that is better than the one I currently have.

Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion X 2

This is one product that I'm absolutely sure helps my skin. I've been using it since I was a teenager. You can see the difference the next morning. It helps for scaring, redness, acne, pimples, you name it. It clears my entire face. This is one product I'll always recommend because it's fantastic. This will help your skin so so much. I'll always continue to buy these.

Tee Tree Skin Clearing Toner

The toner is pretty good I'd say. Obviously I haven't noticed anything obvious, but it does help to cleanse the last bits of makeup off my face that I've somehow missed. A girl always needs a good toner to help restore her face's pH balance back to normal. I'd recommend this product. Currently, I'm trying out a couple different toners just to see, though I have quite a few of these in my drawer. Hoarder much.

Tea Tree Face Mask

I've been using this mask for a little while now and it's been pretty helpful in clearing up my skin. It's a green mask that you wash off after 15 mins. It cools your face as well and I always notice that my skin looks a lot clearer the next day after using this. I would definitely recommend this mask to a friend. You know I hoard my skincare, but I have been trying out Boscia's skincare stuff lately so more on that later.

Seaweed Mattifying Moisture Lotion SPF 15

I recently switched from the Tea Tree Lotion to the Seaweed Lotion because the tea tree one was making my cheeks just a little bit too dry. I switched to this and it's pretty good. My cheeks aren't as dry anymore so it seems to be hydrating my skin pretty well. The only thing I don't like is how it goes on white. It mooshes with the rest of my skincare products and looks all weird and uneven after that whole mess of products. I would recommend this product to a friend.

Coconut Body Scrub X 2

I love the Body Shop's coconut scrub. I can feel it getting all the dirt off my skin, so the dirt doesn't flake off my skin after the shower anymore. I can get really clean! Not to mention the smell of this scrub is amazing and it leaves me smelling great. I deeply recommend this product for a good ol' deep cleaning of your skin.

Sephora

Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Perfect Iron Spray

I recently tried Alterna's Heat Protecting Spray. This is the first heat protectant I've ever used. It seems pretty good, but that can be partly due to the amazing hair straightener I bought, T3 Singlepass, which is also supposed to be nice on the hair. It keeps it from frizzing out or anything weird like that while I'm straightening it. After straightening, my hair is all sleek and soft and just beautiful. Whether it's this or the straightener, something somewhere is working. I recommend this product and I also recommend people to use a heat protectant before styling their hair, as it protects it from damage due to heat.

Makeup Forever HD Powder

This is the best setting powder I've ever used. They make an awesome powder and it goes especially great with their HD Kabuki brush. It does an excellent job of setting your makeup and preparing it for blush/bronzer time. It helps to create a flawless face. I use this everyday (unless I'm testing or switching it up) because I love it. I would def def def recommend this powder!

Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray

I always thought that setting sprays were a sham for some odd reason. No clue why, just always thought it was weird. One day at Sephora I saw they were selling these minis (yeah the old ones!) for 12$ so I figured why not. I wanted to give it a try after reading about the different setting sprays by different brands. This one seemed to be a good one. And wow am I ever happy I bought it. Setting sprays actually do work and they help your makeup to last longer. I find that I don't smudge my cheeks by the end of the day (I always rest my hand on my chin/one side of my face) when using this. I'm pretty darn impressed and I always remind myself to use this if I'm having a long day. I would totally recommend this to you, and especially to someone that has long 10 hour days who still wants to look fabulous at the end of the day.

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum

Ahh I finally finished a perfume bottle. Finally. This is my very first empty perfume bottle!!!! I've reached a milestone!!! OMG CELEBRATE!!!! I traded in my high school signature scent  for Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle in my early 20's. Even in my high school days, I loved this perfume. But honestly who would buy their teenage kid such an expensive thing as Chanel? Back then I always thought that Chanel was like, unbelievably expensive. Like a thousand times more expensive that Givenchy. Hah (In case you were wondering, my first signature scent, my high school one, was Givenchy's Hot Couture). I always loved the smell of Coco Mademoiselle, so I finally got it as a gift from my dad, who was on a business trip and passed by the Duty Free Shop. The Eau de Parfum has a very different smell than the Eau de Toilette so do be careful when buying and smell them both. Personally, I do not like the smell of the Eau de Toilette. I really really do not like it. The Eau de Parfum, on the other hand, smells soooo wonderful. I would definitely recommend this perfume to a friend, it's a classic!!

The Extras

As I said, all my extras are honestly all the same stuff I posted in my very first Empties & Extras post. I honestly haven't been hoarding anymore stuff, I only have like 2 new things, which isn't much to show off, since they're both minies anyway. Take a look at my first post for all the stuff I'm hoarding. 

Empties & Extras #1



Thanks for reading and again, I hope you enjoyed today's post and looking into my garbage! haha. I hope it was cool to take a look at my used up products. There's certainly a pattern, as I keep using the same products over and over again. What are your holy grail products that you use up time after time again? Let me know what they are!

In the very near future I will show you my new Too Faced Christmas 2013 item!! Gahhh so stoked about getting it. I also prepared that French Manicure post, finally! I was going to do it tonight but I got class in the morning and it's seriously getting late, so maybe double post tomorrow.

Steph xo.

Bold Makeup Look using Illamasqua (and some new Urban Decay!)

Hello glamour girls!

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:

Illamasqua Empower Eyeshadow Quad

Illamasqua Empower Eyeshadow Quad in: - 45$CAD
(clockwise from top left)
Blink (eyeshadow)
Synth (eyeshadow)
Slick (liquid metal)
Fervent (eyeshadow)

MAC Kohl Power Eye Pencil in Feline - 19$CAD

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara - 30$CAD

Benefit Brow Zings in Light

Benefit Brow Zings in Light - 36$CAD

Too Faced Candlelight

Too Faced Candlelight - 38$CAD

Illamasqua Cream Blush in Promise

Illamasqua Cream Blush in Promise - 26$CAD

Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless

Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless - 38$CAD

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

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil in Obsessed - 23$CAD

Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Obsessed - 26$CAD

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.