My Daily Makeup Routine

Hello everyone! Today I want to share with you my daily makeup routine as of late and what products I've been reaching for on a daily basis. I prefer a neutral makeup look that goes great for work, school, running errands, and going out with friends.

Voilà! All the products I use and love!

I've really zoomed in so that  you can see the packaging in full detail! Sorry for some of the grungy products, they've been everywhere and back again but hey, at least that means they're well used and worth it!

After applying my daily moisturizer and sunscreen, I start with the NARS Oil-Free Pro Prime Pore Refining Primer. I've talked about this a lot before, and now I've finally gotten the full sized bottle because I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. It really smoothes out my skin before applying my Smashbox Sheer Focus Tinted Moisturizer in Light. This is my second bottle and I'm really loving it for sheer, natural coverage. On occasion, when I'm tired, I use the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Concealer in Nude under my eyes and the Benefit Watt's Up highligher on the apples of my cheeks.

To give my face a healthy glow, I use either the Lancôme Blush Subtil in Aplum or Joe Fresh Blush in  Hydrangea for either a rosy or pink flush. To contour, I use the Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Light since it's matte and not at all orange.

On my eyes, I always start with the NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base followed by MAC's Bare Study Paint Pot to add extra oomph to my eyeshadow. I always, always use one of these two palette: Urban Decay NAKED2, or Maybelline's Chai Latte. As you can tell, this palette, along with my Milani Liquif'Eye eyeliner in Brown and Urban Decay Bourbon get a lot of use! Lastly, I use my trust shu uemura eyelash curler and Yves Rocher Sexy Pulp mascara to finish my look.

My absolute go-to lip colour would have to be the Korres Lip Butter in Pomegranate. It has a heavenly scent and tints my lips with a sheer, but buildable layer of pinky coral goodness that is especially perfect for spring and summer.

What recommendations do you have for adding to my daily routine? Let me know in the comments! As always, give me a shout on Bloglovin' and I'd be happy to take a look at your makeup routines and collections as well!

My Favourite Spring Blushes!

Spring is kicking into high gear and I have recently come to appreciate the power of a good, natural blush to complement my face and to just give me that extra touch of je ne sais quoi on any given day!

Without further ado, here are my favourite blushes for the spring season! I chose colours that were bright yet natural, and go well with a variety of skin tones.

From L to R: Smashbox Love Me Blush in Idolize Me, Joe Fresh Powder Blush in Hydrangea, Lancôme Blush Subtil in Aplum, and Anna Sui Face Color Accent in Shade 700.

P.S. I'm sorry but the photo WILL not adjust right side up! I've tried many times :(

Here are my quick takes on each of the blushes individually:

Idolize Me: (Which you should never do!) This is a lovely light, coral pink that is the lightest blush I own. I adore the embossed "Love Me" and heart design on the front! This blush might pull a bit chalky on some people, depending on your skin, but it works well on my combination skin and doesn't fade after application.

Hydrangea: I picked this blush up on a whim last year while browsing the Joe Fresh cosmetics section at my local Loblaws. It's one of my favourite blushes of all time as it provides me with just the right amount of pink and peach mixed together. On my skin, it pulls slightly more peachy because of my yellow undertones.

Aplum: Just looking in the pan, I would never have expected this blush to turn out such a beautiful colour on my cheeks! It comes out a nice mix of rose and plum, and gives me the most natural, barely there flush that is appropriate for school or the office! This blush is also lightly scented in a way that reminds me of a slightly floral powder, but disappears upon application which is great.

Face Color Accent 700: This is my favourite blush of ALL time and sadly, it seems to have been discontinued! I can't find it in Canadian stores anymore and I will continue to scour online or perhaps ask people in Hong Kong if they still have it there. This blush has some slight shimmer and comes across as a peach coral colour with a hint of bronzer. Despite all this, it still looks good on my NC 25 skin with yellow undertones and I save it for special occasions only!

Let me know what your favourite spring or summer blushes are in the comments! I love a great blush and would love to hear what your recommendations are as well!

Follow Fridays: Fashionable Heart (And Her Spring Giveaway!)

Hello everyone! I would just like to share with you all one of the cutest and nicest blogs I have come across in a little while today. Wendy from Fashionable Heart has a lovely blog that has amazing posts! She also has a great Spring Giveaway going on right now! Just head on over to www.fashionableheart.com and take a look! I love her sense of beauty and fashion style!

I'm Moving to Bloglovin'

Hello everyone,

Since Google Reader will be shutting down in July (preposterous, I know!) I will shift everything over to Bloglovin', so come follow me over there at the following link please!

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/6925603/?claim=mezf8y74t3q">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

My Current Favourites!

After a hectic month of work and school, I'd like to show you all a quick rundown of what I've been loving and reaching for on a daily basis this past little while! These products which I'm focusing on all have to relate to skincare in terms of a better makeup-free base, and lighter products as spring and summer are upon us!

Makeup Favourites

First of all, my HG face primer without a doubt is the NARS Pro-Prime Pore Refining Primer in the oil-free formula. This is my absolute favourite primer because it makes my skin so smooth and it can keep it oil free for the whole day, for upwards of 10 hours! It's amazing and a little goes a long way!

Secondly, I've been loving my Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Lip Protectant Stick Sheer Tint SPF 15 in Blush. Although the colour can appear to be quite vivid in the tube, don't let it scare you off! It actually goes on quite sheerly and can build up to a nice wash of colour, just perfect for those days when you want light makeup.

To finish off my eye makeup, I always use Yves Rocher Sexy Pulp Lash Plumping Mascara in Black. This has a huge brush which coats almost all my lashes in one sweep and gives them a good curl. It also sets quickly so it won't crumble off immediately. 

Skincare Favourites

The Murad Clarifying Cleanser is great for those of you, who, like me, have combination to oily skin. It has a very slight tingle from the menthol in the cleanser, which disappears in a minute. I like how it gently foams up and doesn't leave my skin feeling parched and stretched afterwards, and it's gentle enough for daily use. 

New to me this month, I started using the Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial at night, as I wanted to lighten up some of the hyperpigmentation from a few bad pimples I had a while ago. I have been using a sample tub (hence no photo) but this is incredibly moisturizing and seems to have evened out my skin tone! My one word of advice: for those of you who don't like the smell of roses, steer clear! Otherwise, it's a great choice!

For spring and summer, what are some of your favourites? Let me know in the comments below!

Nailing It! Avon in Luxe Lavender

I haven't been able to do a nice manicure in ages, because I want to have the time to sit down and do a proper nail session (otherwise my nails get lines and chips very quickly!) I saw this polish on my friend and I knew it was a perfect, although early, transition colour to ease into spring! Introducing Avon's Luxe Lavender from their Nailwear Pro collection!

What I love about this colour is that it appears drastically different under different kinds of lighting. In natural lighting, it appears to be a creamy, grey-tinged lavender, while in fluorescent lights, the polish turns blue or even slate grey. Here are two pictures to show you exactly what I mean! The second one I used a filter to show the true-to-bottle colour. I love the cornflower blue and cloudy sky nuances this colour has!

I received many compliments about this colour today, and considering I only painted them last night, I consider this polish a stellar, all-around winner! The formula and brush are amazingly easy to work with, and I prefer using one thick coat as opposed to layering thin coats with it. I will definitely be using this again the future!

Review: NARS Pro-Prime Pore Refining Primer- Oil Free

Today I have for everyone a review of one of my  HG products for flawless skin makeup- NARS' Pro-Prime Pore Refining Primer in the oil-free formulation. This product name is such a mouthful, but it really does wonders when I'm preparing my skin, especially for a long day because I don't like to retouch my makeup, nor carry around additional products with me. I used to never wear primer underneath my foundation or tinted moisturizer and I found that it works wonders to even out skin tone, eliminate redness, and keep my face free from the nasty shine of combination skin!

As with all NARS' liquid makeup packaging, the bottle is sleek, fuss-free, and compact. Keep in mind that the size I have is 0.53 fl. oz., while the full size bottle is 1 oz. I love the gel texture of this primer as it absorbs quickly without the stickiness associated with silicone primers- this is great for guys and gals who don't always want to use silicone! As well, it has a fresh scent that disappears upon application that is reminiscent of philosophy's purity made simple.

A little goes a long way, and I usually only use a pinky nail sized dab of product to cover my entire face, even on days when I'm not applying makeup on top, it just helps complete my skincare routine. This is a definite winner in my book and I will continue to purchase this in the full-sized bottle once I run out!

Review: MAC Lipstick in See Sheer

Hello lovely people! I realize I've been on a little bit of a roll with posts about lippies, so I'm happy to bring to you all today one of my favourite lippies of all time! Since I am always on the search for "that perfect lip colour," when I found this lipstick, I did a lot of researches into swatches and found this gorgeous coral shade during the summer and I have loved it so much even in the winter months that I wanted to share it with you all! Of course, it's also perfect for Valentine's Day (TODAY!), whether it's a romantic date night or you are just going out with friends!

The tube looks so red! Fortunately it comes out coral pink!

MAC's See Sheer (Lustre) is one of my absolute favourite corals because it is so versatile! With a light swipe of colour, I get the perfect daytime colour for school or work, and a few extra swipes easily builds up the colour without accenting any chapped spots on my lips. It is coral and leans pink on my lips, so it doesn't have that orange vibe to it. I wear it on a regular basis to give a punch of colour to my winter outfits and to brighten my day, and See Sheer also adds mega confidence! A huge bonus for me is the vanilla scent of MAC's lipsticks, which fades away within minutes of application. I know this lippie will be a definite repurchase for me!

Review: Dior Addict Lipstick in Miami

So far, so good! I'm back on a regular blogging spree (updating a few times a week!) Following along the list of lovely Sephora purchases, I am going to excitedly put this out there: I think Dior Addict may just be my new favourite lipstick now! It's right up there along with MAC lipsticks and L'Oréal Caresse sticks for me in terms of winning formula.

First of all, I absolutely adore the packaging. The metallic sheen and knob at the end are very classy looking and although a little larger than most lipsticks, protects the product very well.

Moving on to the product itself- I chose the colour Miami #635, which is a warm, strawberry kind of pink with a hint of shimmer that reminds of a warmer version of Revlon's Lip Butter in Peach Parfait, which I am unfortunately allergic to! I know! I must be the only girl out there who doesn't like lip butters for this reason! I love that the product glides evenly onto lips and only takes two or three passes for semi-sheer coverage, just what I need during the day. It is very feather-light and doesn't have the waxy feel that some lipsticks may. One huge bonus for me is that it wipes off easily at mealtime because I hate eating something messy and then eating some lip colour, which I can imagine is really bad for you!

All in all, this is a winning product in my eyes and I would love to try another shade in a different finish! The $31 CAD that I shelled out was definitely worth it!

Review: D&G No. 3 L'Impératrice

Hello lovelies! Sorry for the month long gap I took from blogging! I had lots of things going on in my life and just too much on my plate at once. I'm going to try to use all my free time now to create drafts of blog posts, so that when it comes time to put one out, I always have something new for all my readers!

Today, I'm going to be reviewing one of my favourite fragrances that I've recently discovered- one of my friends showed it to me at Sephora, and I couldn't stop thinking about it for a whole month! I finally decided to go get it, because it smells THAT amazing!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you D&G No. 3 L'Impératrice! I love the fact that it comes in a simple bottle and has a pretty light peach colour to it. It has top notes of rhubarb, kiwi accord, and red currant, and a heart of pink cyclamen, watermelon, and jasmine. For the base, I can definitely agree with the description of musk, and seeing as I usually don't quite like musk, I'm surprised I love this one so much! When I first spritz it on, I apply it to my pulse points (on my neck and wrists, then I swipe a small dab to put behind my ears- it makes your hair smell so nice!) and I get the kiwi and red currant right away. After around 2 or 3 hours, it fades to the lovely heart fragrance and usually lasts me through a whole school day without reapplication.

My only gripe with this perfume is the fact that the bottle can be quite bulky, as the glass bottom is quite heavy and thick! Overall, I love the scent and I think that it has the perfect lasting power and sweet touch without overwhelming people within a small radius! This just might be my new signature scent!

More Empties!

I was recently inspired by one of my friends who had cleared out six months worth of empties from her stash! I am now diligently dwindling down my makeup, skincare, and bath and body product collections to reasonable sizes, so that I can save money and only buy things to replace those that are finished!

I have recently finished these three items:

Bath & Body Works- A Charmed Life Shower Gel
Shiseido Pureness Mattifying Oil-Free Moisturizer
Yves Rocher Phytum Hair Care- Nutrition S.O.S. Split Ends Leave-In Treatment

Two of these items were on my P10P (Project 10 Pan) list from the end of August, and I will definitely do an update on the progress of that soon! For now, I can check the Shiseido moisturizer and the shower gel off my list! I am glad that I am slowly, but steadily finishing up some products to free up storage room and also save money for new ones! As always, I will get around to blogging some of the new holiday treats I have gotten shortly!