Check out Amber's birthday giveaway!

Hey everyone, check out Amber's giveaway over at Lipgloss-flipflops.  She's hosting this great giveaway in honour of her birthday & has included a lot of ELF products, including one of my favourite blushes! 


Click on her blog link to check it out, you have until March 11th to enter.  Good Luck to everyone.  

I'm feeling the love!

Just a quick note to say I reached 100 subscribers (now 101 & counting), on Valentines Day Eve.  Wow, I'm truly blown away!

Image Source: weheartit.com

My 100th subscriber was Rainy Days & Lattes.  Go check out her blog, she just did the cutest  Valentines Day look, where she tells you about a dupe for Nars Giza, a beautiful nude colored gloss.  Oh, and she's also similarly obsessed with finding the perfect concealer.


Thank you so much to everyone who follows my little blog.   I have really enjoyed this whole blogging world & have met so many fabulous & interesting cyber friends from all over the world.   


I won't bore you with the all of the reasons why I started this blog.  I will tell you this has come at a great time in my life & I am truly thankful that anyone would want to read what I have to say.  To share these things with people who truly love beauty products & not just force it upon my poor friends/family has been wonderful.  I have also found some great non beauty related blogs, that inspire me daily.  I had no idea that the blogging world was so vast & talented! 


My intention is to host a little thank you giveaway soon, that I hope you will all enjoy.  I have been slowly buying things here & there and want it to be just right before I post it.  I can't wait, stay tuned!

In the meantime, I'm having a great time and I look forward to all that is to come.  I appreciate you all who take the time out of your busy lives, to stop, read, and comment on what I have to say.  So thank you, thank you, thank you! 

Review of the Sigmax brushes from Sigma Beauty

Well this review has been long overdue.  I got the Synthetic Face kit from Sigma, as one of my Christmas gifts last year.  This kit comes with the three Sigmax high density brushes.  Here's what they look like; 

        F80  Flat Top Kabuki      F82 Round Top Kabuki        F84 Angled Top Kabuki

According to Sigmabeauty.com, these brushes are intended for high definition, flawless makeup application.  The Sigmax filament is specially designed to apply both powder & liquid products without absorption into the fibers.  The shape, density and height of the filaments were carefully engineered to perfectly buff products onto the skin, resulting in a high definition effect.

Their description is truly accurate.  I have never used such dense brushes before.  While they are dense they are all incredibly soft & feel so nice on my skin.  I have read that some people find these tougher to clean because they are so dense, but I didn't really find that to be the case.  I use baby shampoo diluted with water in the palm of my hand.  I swirl the brush around until clean & then rinse, careful not to allow water past the ferule.  I do have to be sure to rinse these thoroughly, just to ensure I remove any trace of the soap.  I find they take a bit longer to dry, than most of my brushes, but that doesn't bother me...I just have to plan ahead.

Breaking them down individually, let's start with the the F84 (F=face in their brush numbering system).

The F84 is the Angled Top Kabuki and the one I have been using to apply my contour bronzer.  I typically daub the brush into my bronzer and then turn it on it's side, so I'm applying it using the length of the brush first.  I then hold it so that I use the entire span of the brush to blend it in.  This works great for me (if you can picture it) and makes blending so much easier.   It blends the product in so well that it's easy to remove any obvious lines, even with products that don't blend as easily.  I think it might be a little tougher to use when applying blush as you could easily overdo it, but you just have to be aware of that.  These brushes can really pack on the product!

Next is the F82

The F82 is the Round Top Kabuki.  It might be hard to tell from this picture, but you can see from the top photo how small the actual brush is.  It is very domed & densely packed.  This is the brush I have the most trouble with.  First after only a few uses, the ferule came loose & it started to wiggle back and forth-I hate that.  I did contact the company and they said they will be sending me a new brush (I'll keep you posted on that).  Also I can't quite figure out how to use this properly.  I have seen reviews that say they use it to buff foundation around their nose or that they use it for cream blushes.  This brush is so densely packed, so in trying to buff my foundation around my nose I ended up removing most of it.  The same goes for the cream blusher & I also removed most of the foundation underneath it.  I'm going to have to work with this a bit longer to try and figure it out.  

Finally the F80

The F80 is the Flat Top Kabuki and my absolute favourite brush of the bunch!  I do love my flat top brush from ELF, but this is better..hands down.  The ELF brush is not nearly as dense & does not buff as well as this brush does, nor is it as soft.  The F80 buffs both cream & powder foundations into my skin beautifully, especially the cream ones.  I do feel like it gives some of that air brushed effect when I'm done.   It's not a miracle worker mind you, you're skin is still your skin.  But the product just looks less obvious and seamless on your face.  

None of these brushes have any issues with shedding.  In fact I've barely lost a hair on any of the three, which is impressive.  I am happy to own these brushes, but if you could only buy one I would highly recommend the F80, which retails for $16USD on the Sigma beauty website.  

I will definitely buy more brushes from this site, and have my eye on the small contour F05, the tapered highlighter brush F35..oh and the retractable kabuki, to name a few. 

I also got the Naughty in Black travel kit as a gift, but I haven't used those brushes enough to give you a full review yet.  We all now know my issues with putting nice things aside & keeping them pristine and I'm really wanting to save this kit for actual 'travel'.  

Sigma really promotes their brushes among the beauty community, so just to be clear I was not sent any of these brushes and I have no affiliation with the company.  These opinions are my own.  

Do you have any Sigma brushes?  Which ones are on your wish list?

Comparison of the ELF Golden bronzer vs ELF Warm bronzer!

This will be a quick comparison of the ELF Golden bronzer & the ELF Warm bronzer.  

I have owned the Golden bronzer for months now & just bought the Warm bronzer at a local Winners.  Quick side note, it was $6.99CAD which is a large mark-up as you can purchase this online at eyeslipsface.com for $3USD, plus shipping.  But, I really like the Golden bronzer & wanted to try the other bronzers in the mineral line for a while now.  I don't have an ELF order pending, so I decided to buy it now.  

I primarily use the Golden bronzer, swirled all together, as more of a highlight.  There is some color to it but it is subtle.  I don't use it to contour or on my forehead, because it has quite a bit of shimmer in it.   You can use the colors individually, but because of the shimmer in them I typically don't do that, except to use the top right pinkish color as a cheek highlight on it's own.  

This is how they look along with the website descriptions of these products;

Golden Bronzer- An illuminating shimmer that is subtle and radiant. Ideal for summer or year-round. 

Warm Bronzer- The warm shimmer that will bring a glow to your face. Ideal for summer or year-round.

After reading the descriptions I wondered who (besides me) would even think they needed both, other than one is supposed to make you subtly shimmer & one gives you a shimmery glow.  Hmmm.  Now in my defence I will admit that I originally thought I had found the matte bronzer from ELF, but it turns out that is the 'Cool bronzer'.   

Here they are side by side, you can see the Golden actually looks like it has shimmer & it's more subtle in the Warm; 

Golden Bronzer                  Warm Bronzer

Colors from bottom to top of my hand: 1) Top left color from golden 2) Top left color from warm 3) Top right color from golden 4) Top right color from warm

Left shades from bottom right of bronzers: Bottom from Golden, Top from Warm

Right shades from bottom left of bronzers: Bottom from Golden, Top from Warm

I need help with labelling of these swatches so I hope that makes sense.  What sticks out to me is that the color payoff was stronger for each individual color from the Golden bronzer vs. the Warm.  That is surprising considering that the Warm bronzer actually looks a bit deeper in color in the pan.  

This is my attempt to get a swatch of all the colors swirled together; 

Can you see it?  No?  I know, it's barely visible but if you look near to the top side of my arm you can see a slight shimmer.  That is the Golden bronzer & the Warm bronzer was to the left of it.  Sad...I know, but I tried.  

Bottom line for me is that I don't think there is a need to own both of these bronzers, as they are incredibly similar. The only real differences come when you swatch them individually & primarily that was only for the bottom two colors.  The top colors swatch as pretty much identical.  I also can see a bit more shimmer from the Golden bronzer when swirled together, but it is barely noticeable.  Otherwise they are exactly the same to me.   

I do plan on getting the Cool bronzer eventually, and will be curious to see if there is much of a difference there.  What do you all think of these?  Do you own the any of the bronzers from ELF?

Makeup I Love But Don't Use and Why? Tag!

Andree from Straight Up Glam had this tag on her blog, and I thought it was so interesting to read.  I just discovered Andree's blog recently, she is a fellow Canadian and has a ton of great reviews & fun posts on her blog..check her out!  


The idea is to choose 5 things you love but never seem to use, and why.  As you all saw from my 'best of 2010' posts I have way too much of everything, but you'd be surprized how much of it I manage to slap on, on a regular basis.  There are some items though that just don't seem to get enough attention.  So, in no particular order here are the top 5 items that I love but don't use.  


1.  MAC MSF in By Candlelight

I do love this, or at least I love the idea of this.  Who doesn't want to have their face look like it's bathed in candlelight.  My biggest issue is that I just don't know how best to apply it.  I've yet to find a brush that works just right.  If any of you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them.  


2. Cover FX mineral foundation

Couple of things, first I hate the packaging.  This is such an awkward strange design, that makes it messy & difficult to store.  I also think this color is a bit too light for me so if I use it, I have to mix it with something in order for it to work.  Also, because of the design I have to tap some in a lid of another product so that I can apply it.  I will say I do love the coverage of this once it's on.  But the pain of the packaging, combined with the wrong shade results in me skipping over this all the time. 


3. Dark or Bright Lipstick

These are from Clinique & I got both of them in a free gift with purchase.  I always think 'oh I can sheer these out & make them wearable', because I do like the formulation.  But then, I never sheer them out and make them wearable, and they just sit in my drawer until they expire.  All the while, as I continue to reach for my light pink & nude colors.  At least they clearly print the expiry date on the tube.


4. Bobbi Brown eyeshadow

These are great shadows, they apply nicely, have great pigmentation, blend beautifully and have good staying power.  Why don't I use them more?  I have no idea, well actually I might...but I'll get to that in a minute.  These are huge shadows, as you can see from the comparison with the MAC MSF.  I did manage to finish one, which was a great base color.  The others, I've barely made a dent...but I'm determined & will make more of an effort to wear these.  

5.  Hard Candy Blush in Honeymoon

I love the look of this but this is not really a blush, it's more of a highlight.  A highlight that is very very very subtle, and I'm not patient enough for very very very subtle most days. This would be great for that daytime glow but I never seem to grab for it.  I keep it in with my blushes, maybe I'll move it to where I have my highlighters & that will remind me to use it.  


So there they are.  Did you notice that 4 out of the 5 items are higher end?  


Do you ever buy a candle & then never burn it.  Or have a 'good set' of dinnerware, glassware, etc. and keep them stored in a cabinet.  


Here's why I shouldn't have nice things.  I don't use them. If they cost a bit more money, I squirrel these items away.  I keep them pristine and untouched for as long as I can, until I forget that I even own them. It's a sickness, it's unexplainable, it's the truth.  Am I alone here? 


How about you, what are your loves that don't get love?  Do you regularly use everything all the things you love?  I tag anyone who wants to do this because I'd love to read it!  

p.s. To any of my family or friends who are reading this.  Please don't stop buying me nice things.  Thank you.

They have my number - Estee Lauder's summer 2011 collection

Just had to say...how gorgeous is this?  This is from Estee Lauder's summer 2011 Bronze Goddess Soleil Collection.  This product just screams my name, what do you think?

Bronze Goddess Sea Star Bronzing Blush ($19.00) (Limited Edition)

Bronze Goddess Sea Star Bronzing Blush is a beautifully-crafted, feather-light illuminating blush that enhances any skin’s bronzed complexion with a perfectly warm sun-kissed glow. Featuring an artful starfish resting on a shimmering sand-inspired background, the silky, soft powder bronzing blush gives skin a naturally radiant, smooth, sun-kissed finish. Color-true and with buildable coverage, this unique bronzing blush enhances your natural cheek color with an added touch more summer radiance with every stroke. Easy to apply and blend, the blush can be worn alone, or over any Bronze Goddess bronzer and will not streak or settle into pores.

For more information on this collection, check out further details at temptalia.com 

My next favourite thing - Bioderma!

Make- up artists use it, models use it, Lisa Eldridge and the Pixiwoo girls 
use it (youtube.com/pixiwoo), and now so do I!  What is it?

BIODERMA Sensibio H20!! 

I first heard about this after watching a Lisa Eldridge youtube video on makeup removal/skin care. 


Lisa Eldridge is from the UK and is a renowned make-up artist who's work is often seen on the covers of magazines.  If you haven't seen her on youtube you should check her out, she is fabulous with a capital Fab.  She mentioned that she has used this as her make-up remover for years, discovering it at local chemist boutique when she was a brand new make-up artist in Paris.  She talks about using this during modelling shoots when she has to apply multiple make-up looks to a particular model, as it's never harsh or irritating to their skin.  


If you watch any of Lisa's videos and see how beautiful her skin is, you will pay close attention to any nuggets of information that she offers!  


So of course I had to buy it.  


And I love it!  This is a very gentle soap free cleanser that should not irritate your skin and wont disrupt your skin's PH balance.  It actually feels like the most refreshing cool purified water on my face.  It doesn't even feel like there is anything more to it, until you see all the make-up that it removes!  Truly, at first I thought 'how can this work'? 


This cleanser is made using micellar solutions, which you can feel free to google but quite frankly I don't fully claim to understand.  Basically I believe it's a process whereby these types of cleansers remove everything that isn't water from your face.  


Now Vichy, La Roche-Posay, Marcelle, Lancome among others, also make cleansers using micellar solutions however I haven't tried those to know if they are comparable or not.  I did look at the ingredient list for the La Roche-Posay & Vichy cleansers and they are not the same as the Bioderma.  The fourth ingredient of the Bioderma is a cucumber extract, and I believe that is why the skin is left feeling so cool & refreshed.  Or at least in my spa loving mind, which associates only great things with cool cucumbers on my face. 

I use it on a larger cotton sized make-up remover pad, right after my eye make-up remover & before my Clarisonic & Kibio.  Some say that this can act as your make-up remover and cleanser, but I still use the Kibio as my cleanser and I do find that it removes some dirt & make-up that the Bioderma leaves behind.  

Now the bad news, this isn't cheap nor easily available in some places.   In Canada you can find it at Shoppers (and I believe London Drugs) for about $22CAD for a 250ml bottle, that may last me 6 weeks if I'm lucky.   If you're in the States you will likely have to buy this online, and it often sells out on Amazon.  If you're in Europe you're likely able to get this quite easily and for a relatively inexpensive price.  


If you can get your hands on it, I would highly suggest you try it.  You won't believe how amazing this feels on your skin!  


This is the information from Bioderma.com about this product:


• At the cutting edge of innovation, BIODERMA has pioneered micellar solutions. Specially formulated for sensitive, normal to dry skins, the Sensibio H2O micelle solution gently cleanses face and eyes. It removes water-resistant make-up.
The micelles contained in its formula effectively micro-emulsify impurities while maintaining the skin’s balance (soap-free, physiological pH).

• Soothing and decongesting active ingredients prevent the feelings of irritation often caused by cleansing.

• Sensibio H2O guarantees excellent cutaneous and ocular tolerance (tested under ophthalmological supervision).

How to use:

• Sensibio H2O is an ultra-mild cleansing formula, use it with the utmost care.
Soak a cotton pad with Sensibio H2O and cleanse the face and eyes and/or remove any make-up.
Repeat the application until the cotton pad remains clean.

• Sensibio H2O needs no rinsing, but it is essential to dry your skin. Dry gently. Dab your face with a clean cotton towel.

• Sensibio H2O can be used daily, morning and evening.

Lancome update!

As you might remember I was off to the Lancome counter last weekend.  I had to spend $34 to qualify for the gift with purchase, which had a few products I really wanted to try.  So what did I end up with?

I went with the Effacernes Waterproof concealer!  Exciting right?  I know it isn't some beautifully colored flashy product, but I am still happy with my choice.  I have only worn it twice now, so not long enough to give a full review, but I'll keep you posted.  Of course the concealer was $31, just shy of the required amount for the gift.  I told the salesgirl that I was on a strict budget so she suggested a sharpener for $5, to take me past the $34.  I was impressed by that, because typically the salespeople won't offer those kinds of suggestions & instead try and sell you another full price product.  

Here is what was in my gift bag

Shadow quad - tiny shadows, can you see the dime for comparison!; High resolution cream; Bi-facial eye makeup remover; Lipstick in Love it! - there is a darker one you can chose if you like; Genifique serum - tiny at .25 fl oz; Hypnose drama mascara; 
Eye Kohl in black ebony; plus the two bags

All in all, I think that you get a fair number & amount of products to try.  I'm hoping not to fall in love with the Genifique because it is quite an expensive line, even though the salesgirl told me I would.  We'll see.  This promo is on until Feb 14th at Sears while supplies last. 

I'll post an update down the road & let you know my thoughts.  

Good News - Great Shopping Site, Bad News - Discontinued Product!

Lets start with the good news first, at least for the Canadians out there.  I've been on the hunt for a place to buy Milani products.  I did find some of their line at the Superstore recently, but the selection was extremely limited. 

But I've now found an online site where you can buy Milani products, including the highly recommended Milani Liquif'eye eye liner!  The site is called Well.ca, the best part...free shipping in Canada!  Now I haven't ordered from here yet, but I do have a friend that orders from here regularly and recommends the site. 

Check it out & see what you think.  Oh & they also carry NYC, for those of you who can't find the blushable cream sticks or the bronzer in Sunny.  Exciting right?

Now for the bad news....I read that one of my favourite products is being dis-continued.  After a little research it appears that this is not just a rumor, but truth.  The product, Maybelline's dream mousse concealer!  

I know, right?  Here is an email that someone posted online after they wrote to the company for answers: 


January 27, 2011

Thank you for asking us about Dream Mousse Concealer. We are sorry to tell you that it was discontinued and that we do not have any available for you to purchase.
It was not easy for us to make the decision to discontinue Dream Mousse Concealer. This was a wonderful product that we know some of our consumers will miss. Unfortunately, demand was not high enough for us to continue manufacturing it. As consumers ourselves, we understand how disappointing it can be when a favorite product or shade is no longer offered.
We do not currently have a replacement product to suggest to you, but our creative teams are hard at work coming up with new and exciting products. Please continue to visit www.maybelline.com to learn about our latest offerings. We hope that you will find a product to take the place of Dream Mousse Concealer soon.
We appreciate your loyalty to Maybelline New York.


Needless to say I'm more than a little disappointed.  I went out and got a back-up today and would suggest you do the same if you love this product.  I'd buy more than one but I don't know if they would go bad before I could use them all...what do you all think?

Possible drugstore dupe for the new NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil

NARS just released a new Velvet Gloss lip pencil, which is a glossy version of the Velvet Matte pencil.  Available in six shades, on narscosmetics.com, retailing for $24USD.  

When I read this description of the pencils "the new pencils impart a non-sticky luminosity to lips, while featuring a lightweight formula enriched with Vitamin E"  I immediately thought of something I had recently bought, that sounded very similar.  Which was this....

The Visibly Wet Shockingly Glossy Lip Pencil by Hard Candy

I got this recently at Walmart when I was fruitlessly searching for Glamoflauge.  These caught my eye and I decided to try one.  I got the one in shade 240 'beauty'.  

If you look on the Hard Candy website you will see these come in 15 different shades.  I didn't see 15 of them at my Walmart, but they did have at least 6 or 7 different ones there.  They are about the same size as the NYX jumbo pencils, so you will need to keep that in mind for sharpening them.  

Anyway, I would describe this as a cross between a lip liner, lip gloss and lip balm.  They go on creamy smooth, and feel so moisturizing on my lips.  Not at all sticky, to me it feels almost like a tinted lip balm but with more of a color payoff.  Super easy to apply & lasts as long as any similar product on me.  

The color of this pencil isn't showing up as vibrant in these pictures, it's actually a much deeper pink.  I think if you wanted a product like the NARS pencil, but didn't want to shell out the money you might want to try this Hard Candy pencil first.  I bought mine for under $8CAD, which is a big savings!  

Has anyone else tried these?  What are your thoughts?