Mineral Powder

The first time I used a mineral powder, I wasn't impressed. It was one by Amazing Cosmetics, and it was a pressed powder. It didn't do anything for my skin. And then 4 years ago I saw a friend of mine whose skin looked amazing...she just started using bareMinerals. So, off I went to get the starter kit. The only thing in that kit I didn't like was the Primer...it was horrible for my skin. About a year and half ago, my skin wasn't looking the way it used to, so I after some research, I decided to get mineral powder by Laura Mercier (Rich Vanilla). I found it to be lighter than bareMinerals, and after I started using that my skin (I think) started to look better. This summer I went back to bareMinerals because the Laura Mercier powder wasn't giving me the coverage I wanted in Toronto's humidity. Maybe I'm overanalyzing my skin, but lately even that hadn't been looking so good. So last week I bought MAC's Loose Mineralize Foundation (Medium- I'm around a NC30). In the store I thought it looked much better than bareMinerals, and felt like I didn't have anything on. Not sure if I'm just not putting enough on or I should finally retire my bareMinerals brush (just bought a Sephora mineral powder brush but haven't used it), but I'm not getting the coverage I want. However, I did use a primer at the store when I was trying it on, so that could be the case. Loved the primer by the way! It was the MAC Prep+Prime Face Protect SPF 50...amazing stuff!!Today I decided to see how they really compare. So, I put the MAC on one side of my face and the bareMinerals on the other. bareMinerals does provide more coverage, but can also look a bit cakey. MAC feels lighter but doesn't provide as much coverage. I really do like the MAC one and will use it for days when my skin if looking good. When it comes to actual jar, MAC is the worst of the bunch...much messier. The best is the Laura Mercier one..it has a twister that can cover the holes out of which you take the powder out.

MAC Mineralize Foundation

I would recommend bareMinerals to anyone who is looking for more coverage, and MAC to anyone who isn't worried about coverage and wants a very natural looking finish. Laura Mercier is also one that has worked very well for me, and does provide more coverage than MAC. I would love to know what worked for others...!

Inside beauty

Today's blog isn't about anything specific..I've been thinking about how we age and how I and people I know react to it. I have to be honest, I'm scared to get old....grey hair, wrinkles, gravity doing its work, etc. I look at myself and my friends and there's no one that "looks" their age. But, then again, what does that mean? How do you differentiate a 24 year old from a 29 year old? I don't think I would want to be 22 again...I've lived way too much since then to want to go back. I look at my table and in my bathroom and its scattered with skin products...do I need all of them? I'm not sure. Every time I read a magazine or go on to beauty sites, there's talk of different ingredients having different benefits. Retinol, hyaluronic acid, peptides, antioxidants (Vitamin C, green tea, CoffeeBerry, etc), ceramides, sirtuins, niacinamide, alpha hydroxy acids....and more. How can anyone keep up?! And how many products can one use?! I've used products with retinol, hyaluronic acid, antioxidants, and alpha hydroxy acids. Not sure how different my skin would have been if I hadn't...but I'm a bit hesitant to find out. I figure I'll reap the benefits later in my life. I have friends who have probably never used any skin care products for anti-aging and they look great...soo is it worth it? With science advancing and new ingredients and products always coming out, will it be possible to age gracefully and not look like your skin's been stretched out across your face or frozen with injections?

Urban Decay Smoked Eyeshadow Palette

 

I've been doing A LOT of make up shopping in the last week or so...absolutely love my new Urban Decay Smoked Eyeshadow Palette (also comes with an eye pencil and primer). The colours are gorgeous...very rich and long lasting. There are 4 matte shades and 6 metallic. I'm in love with Backdoor and Mushroom. The rest of the colours are great as well. This is wonderful for someone who likes dramatic looks and using colour. The eye pencil that came with it is Perversion, which is a very black...perfect for night time. I haven't had a chance to use the purple, blue, and green yet...maybe this weekend! I would definitely recommend this kit to anyone who loves to do smokey eyes...one of the best I've come across. Many others have the typical few shades but this really lets you experiment.

Concealers

Most days I can't go without concealer because of the redness I get on my cheeks and some minor blemishes. Years ago I used to use Lise Watier Portfolio Professional Correctors. It has 5 different colours of concealers that are used to disguise different imperfections. I think it's a great product if the beige and ivory match your skin tone. I went through tons of different concealers...Benefit, MAC, Clinique, Bare Minerals, etc. before I found the one I loved. Make Up For Ever (MUFE) Full Cover  Extreme Camouflage Cream is the concealor that I have been using for over 4 years. It covers well, doesn't feel heavy, and lasts. The colour that I have (10) matches my skin perfectly. I bought Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage about a year and half ago to try out something new, and this also a really good concealor. The good thing about this one is it has two colours so you can customize your colour. In the winter (when everyone is generally paler), use more of the lighter shade, and in the summer use more of the darker shade. This feels lighter than the MUFE concealor, so days when your skin is looking better this might be the better choice. I generally use a bit of concealer and then use mineral powder...looks natural and I don't feel like I have much on. I recently bought Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat (1 Luminous Radiance) for the eye area because everything else I use was making the eye area too dry (even after putting on eye cream before concealer). I find that it works pretty well, has good coverage, and is less drying. I'm sure there are other concealers that are a bit less pricey though. I'm still on the hunt!

I recently went makeup shopping with a friend and she ended up getting foundation and concealor from MAC. I love MAC for its eyeshadows and lipsticks, but that's it. Years ago I did get the Studio Finish Concealer and Powder Foundation, but found them both too heavy for my skin. My friend ended up getting Studio Fix Fluid (NC35) and Select Cover-up concealer, and it looked much better on her than the Bare Minerals Powder she was previously using. It had a nice finish and didn't make her skin look oily after a couple hours. So, yes, MAC is good for certain skin. I would recommend their concealers (and foundation) to those who need   
                                                        heavier coverage.

Dry Shampoo

So, dry shampoo has been around for a few years (as far as I know). I've bought a few different brands since then...Oscar Blandi, T3 Orlando Pita, Tresemme, Klorane, and Batiste are just a few of them. I found Oscar Blandi's Pronto Dry Shampoo Spray to leave a chalky residue...I'd rather spend the time to wash my hair! I used T3 Orlando Pita's Refresh Volumizing Dry Shampoo Dark Tone and found it to leave a dark chalky residue that I had to rub in like crazy. Tresemme's Dry Shampoo was cheap but didn't do anything. Klorane was a good one but it finished very quickly, and I've heard people complain about the cans and how the compressed air would slowly seep out and not be able to be used anymore. I started using Batiste earlier this year and have found it to be best of the bunch. It's very reasonably priced, and best of all, works! The one I have liked the best is the cool and crisp fresh and Original. The one I wouldn't recommend from Batiste is the XXL Volume...it made my hair very dry and tangly. It was much heavier than the other ones. My hair is usually on the drier side because its wavy/curly, so the XXL was not the one for me.

L'Oreal Eyeshadows



Goldmine



Reckless


I absolutely love eyeshadows...from neutrals to darks to brights. A lot of eyeshadows have been from Sephora (Too Faced, Stila, Benefit, Urban Decay, Sephora brand, etc.) and ofcourse, MAC. I have gotten the cheaper brands, like Covergirl and wasn't happy with the quality. L'Oreal's eyeshadows caught my attention, however, because of their deep colours and the variety. My first purchase was the L'Oreal HiP High Intensity Pigments in Reckless (514). This consists of two shades of purple (my favourite colour!) , and I love this duo.The powder eyeshadows go on smoothly and the lasts a long time (make sure to put on primer first though). I have Magnetic (206), Rascal (936), and Showy (224). I love how many different colours and combinations there are. Last year I came across the L'Oreal Color Infaillable Eyeshadows. The colours are incredible pigmented, but also tend to fall on the face when putting them on. I have All Night Blue (006) and Goldmine (027), which I recently bought a few weeks ago. I wet the brush slightly first and the eyeshadow didn't fall at all (yay!). The only negative thing I can say is that it took slightly longer to put the eyeshadow on because it was with a wet brush, but it came out looking great. I'm looking to buy a few more now that I know the best way to put it on is wet. I would recommend the L'Oreal eyeshadows to anyone who loves playing around with colour and doesn't want to spend a lot. My only concern with the Infaillable eyeshadows was when a friend of mine tried one. She's allergic to certain eyeshadows and this was one of them. She's still on the search to find a brand that doesn't cause a reaction....

Agera Microderma System

I bought the Agera Microderma System about two months ago right after I got an Agera Vitamin C Peel  at a skin clinic (like I said, I'm easy to sell to).  It consists of a mask and an activator. You put the mask on first. It looks nothing like the way I would typically think of a mask though; it contains Vitamin C crystals that you massage onto the face for a minute. The AHA (containing Lactic Acid) activator is then massaged onto the mask for about 2 minutes, which activates and dissolves the crystals.  So far I have used it twice. The first time I didn't notice anything special, but at that time by skin was very dry, probably because of having the heat on for soo many months because of the chilly weather in England. I'm in Canada right now (home!) and my skin has been in fairly good condition since being here, even with the extreme heat. I have a few dry patches on my cheeks and on one side of my nose that wouldnt go away, even with using my Dermalogica mask and trying not to use salicylic acid spot treatments. My skin has definitely changed over the years, and even in just one year. So I decided to give the Agera Microderma System another shot. When I used to mask I didn't feel anything, but the activator made my skin sting, especially my cheeks. My skin also started to feel like warm when I put the activator on, but that was alright...I guess that means it's hard at work! I wasn't sure what to expect because of the pain. After I washed my face there was a bit of redness, and I could feel my cheeks were still stinging a bit. After a few minutes the stinging subsided. My moisturizer went out more smoothly. The next day my dry patches were pretty much gone. I would recommend this product to anyone who doesn't have acne, because I think it would aggravate the acne way too much. Anyone who has dry skin would probably benefit from this. On the box it says to use this 1-3 times a week, but I think that's a bit much. I think once in two weeks is good enough.

Kiehl's Blue Herbal Gel Cleanser

From the time I was 14 to 24 I used Clean and Clear- Deep Action Cream Cleanser, and it was great. I never had any major breakouts until I turned 24. The I noticed my skin breaking out into small pimples and they wouldn't go away. It was time to retire good old Clean and Clear. I started using Clinique's Liquid Facial Soap, and for some reason, my combination skin just didn't react to it the way I wanted. So, I tried that for a few months and didn't like the way my skin was still. I've always read about Philosophy's Purity Made Simple, but had never tried it. Well, this was the one I ended up using for over 2 years... after I started using it my skin cleared up and was back to normal (with the occasional pimples).

I moved to England 2 years ago and me, along with my skin, had to adjust to the new place. I started breaking out soon after I moved there, and I just couldn't figure out why. I had little red pimples along my cheeks and even after using benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid (not at the same time) nothing happened. I decided to give Clinique another chance, so I started using their Acne Solutions Clear Skin System that included a cleaning foam, clarifying lotion, and clearing moisturizer. After a few days of starting to use my new products, my skin started breaking out even more. When I went to a Clinique counter, I was told that that was normal and my skin would start to clear up in a few weeks. I walked away a bit skeptical...and with Clinique's 7 day scrub cream (yes, I am very easy to sell skin care products to). My skin did start clearing up, but it was so horribly dry. I stopped using the moisturizer every day, and the dryness went away slightly but I still had very dry skin. So I searched online for cleansers for acne prone skin that hopefully wouldn't dry it out. I've never tried anything from Kiehl's before, but I figured why not. I bought Kiehl's Blue Herbal Gel Cleanser and I've been using it for the last year and a half. My skin gradually cleared up after using it. I usually use a salicylic acid spot treatment or benzoyl perozide if I have any small breakouts and then put moisturizer on. This cleanser has not dried out my skin, and in the morning I use very little so I don't overwash my skin. In the night I use a few more drops so all my makeup is washed off. I would recommend this to anyone who has acne prone skin. Clinique's Acne System is good anyone with very oily skin. I wish I could go back to using Clean and Clear...it was soo cheap!!

Nail polish

Stance by Illamasqua

Nail polish is probably the one thing I buy the least of. However, this summer I've had my nails looking very 'summery'. I've tried a few brands in the last couple of months...ranging from a few dollars to about $20. One of my cheaper ones was Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Red Carpet. It had a really nice shine to it and was glittery but in a more understated way. I had to go to a wedding, and ended up getting my outfit only the day before, and needed a nail polish that would look good with it. Xtreme Wear turned out to be better than I thought, especially for the price I paid. My only complaint was when I wanted to take it off...lets's just say there's a reason why it's called Xtreme Wear! So, yes, it will definitely last. One of my favourite burgundy's is Illamasqua Scarab. It goes on great, and is my go to colour for the fall. In the summer I prefer brighter colours, like purple, pink, blue, orange. This summer my ultimate colour has been Stance (a fuchsia violet) by Illamasqua...as well as many other colours by that brand!

I had Shellac done in June and it ended up lasting for awhile..I got tired of it after 3 weeks and wanted to remove it...well, no easy feat there. Went to a nail salon, and even they had trouble taking it off. Well, at least I know it really does stay on! Ultimately, after quite a few attempts, my nails were naked. A few people have complained that Shellac really damages the nails. Thankfully, my nails have been perfectly fine. I would probably suggest Shellac to those who have stronger nails.

Kerastase Nutritive Oleo-Curl

I've tried sooo many products for my wave/curly hair that tends to be frizzy all the time. From sprays to mousse to creams..it's been a long struggle. I used Tigi Catwalk Curlesque Strong Mousse for a couple of years and it was definitely the best out of the bunch. It made my curls stay the whole day and gave me volume on good days...BUT...it also made hair stiff, which was kinda expected. The last time I went for a haircut, my hair stylist used something else (Kerastase Nutritive Oleo-Curl) and I was surprised at how big and amazing my hair looked. Well, ofcourse, it's hard to recreate any look you get at a salon. But, even then, my hair felt soft and I couldn't feel there was any product in it. I've used a Kerastase conditioner before and didn't like it too much, but loved the Oleo-Curl definition cream. I usually never blow dry my hair (prefer to air dry) so those who use a diffuser are going to get a lot of nice curls and volume with this. Only a tiny amount is needed, and I feel that if I need a bit more I add it after. It is pricey, but because only a small amount is needed, it'll last for ages!