The Makeup Monologues

Hey guys! I missed doing my Top 10 Beauty Wishlists, and I decided I was going to do something different. I'm going to be doing brand wishlists in either 5 or 10 slots, depending on how much I want from the brand. Today's is going to be a brand I'm oddly not that interested in, Benefit Cosmetics. Here we go! 1. They're Real! Mascara in Beyond Blue I love the formulation of They're Real!, I love blue mascara, and this has looked amazing and vibrant in every picture and swatch I've seen. I don't love the price tag- but I have a Shoppers Drugmart gift card so this might just be my next purchase. 2. They're Real! Push-Up Liner I've wanted this for a while- I really liked the sample size that I got and think the concept is interesting. This is something I can see myself using. 3. Gimme Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel in Medium/Deep It's Gimme Brow. C'mon, who doesn't want this stuff? It's ridiculously small and expensive, howe

And the scramble to review my indies continues! Today I have my Whipped Cream Soap from Little Luxuries Soapworks. Little Luxuries Soapworks, or Lilux, is an indie bath and body company based out of Nova Scotia, Canada. I have the 200g jar of their Whipped Cream Soap. I believe I paid around 6 dollars CAD.  The label is paper, which I think is a little silly considering it's supposed to go into the shower with you. It's wrinkled but legible after a month of shower use, though. I got the scent vanilla. It also comes in an unscented version. The soap is fluffy, like a meringue. It's not actually supposed to be pink, I bought a batch that was discounted because the colour turned out wrong. I love the pink colour though, and it doesn't stain my skin or tub! I believe the original colour is supposed to be white. To use the soap, I just unscrew the cap and dab my shower poof into the jar. A little goes a long, long way. It smells like vanilla soft-serve ic

Can you tell I'm trying to review all of my indies before the month is over? No but really, today I'm reviewing a product that, spoiler alert, I love. That product is Lilux Soapworks' Sugar Cube Scrub in Apricots and Honey. Little Luxuries Soapworks is an indie bath and body company based out of Nova Scotia, Canada. First, let me express how impressed I am by this genius and unique concept. I'm used to buying/making sugar scrubs in tubs; and scooping them out a bit at a time to use so the contents of the jar wouldn't get all watery and crusty from being exposed to the shower. I'd keep the hunk of scrub that I'd scooped out on a candle lid on a shelf in my shower. These cubes are a game changer. Instructions: " Take a cube or two into the shower, and smoosh them in your palm with a bit of water. Scrub away dry skin and moisturize in one step! *Not for use on face. May make tub slippery. Getting water into bottle will shorten shelf life."

A deodorant review?! Okay, Megan's officially jumped off the cosmetics train. Okay, no she hasn't, she just really loves indie Canadian brands, okay? Now she's going to stop referring to herself in the third person. So here's the object of this review, Simply Suds Lavender Deodorant. It's an all-natural stick deodorant from Simply Suds, a skincare and soap brand based out of my city's neighbour- beautiful North Bay, Ontario. I picked this up at a boutique in the North Bay downtown on a gorgeous summer day. It was one of the best days of my life, to be honest.  Okay, okay, onto the deodorant itself. I'll be completely transparent here. I didn't buy this because I think normal deodorant is dangerous or anything. I mean, it might be, but I just bought this because it's local. It's good for you, and doesn't contain aluminium, which is good, but it's not garnering any higher of a rating from me for its natural characteristics.

Well, I survived the oranges/corals, and I've been plugging on in my lip swatching. Today I have for you the first part of my pinks! This segment is mostly my lighter/brighter pink lipsticks and liners. L-R: MAC Viva Glam Nicki Minaj, Wet n Wild Megalast Lipstick in Rose-Bud, NYX Butter Lipstick in Little Susie, Wet n Wild Megalast Lipstick in Mauve Outta Here, OCC Lip Tar in Digitalis, elf studio line Moisturizing Lipstick in Flirty & Fabulous, MAC Lip Liner in Cranberry. Bottom: essence lip liner in Satin Mauve. Swatches! And now witness as I slather these on my lips. Viva Glam Nicki Minaj is like, seriously unflattering on me. I bought it because of my love for mama Nicki. It's a baby-ish pink with an orangey undertone and a very thick consistency. Rose-Bud, on the other hand, is flattering as hell. It's a warm rosy medium pink! Little Susie is a buttery candy pink, a couple shades lighter than a hot pink. Mauve Outta He

Spoiler alert: this stuff is great. You can see here that I'm reviewing four bottles of Country Cabin's Intense Moisturizing Lotion, but actually I have more. I've probably bought around ten or twelve of these, as they make amazing gifts. Country Cabin Candles and Soaps is an independent brand based in Val Caron, Ontario, and you can buy their products off their website, or at one of twelve (I think) locations around the Northern Ontario-Sudbury area. I buy mine from the Walden Guardian drugstore by my home. The brand also offers soy candles, body butters, goat's milk soap (they are SO cute) and soy wax melts! I want to get some of the melts for when I go off to university where I can't use candles. I keep one of these bottles everywhere in the house and these are the scents I could track down for my review:  Lilac, Oatmeal Milk 'n' Honey, Ruby Red Grapefruit, and Sweet Orange Chili Pepper. Lilac doesn't smell exactly like lilacs- it smells like

When it comes to Canadian cosmetics, I can be a bit spoiled for choice. Compared to my makeup collection at whole, I guess it doesn't look like much, but it's not much to shake a stick at! I wanted to do a makeup look using only Canadian makeup and realized that while I have lots of Canadian lipstick and blush, I lack Canadian incarnations of eyebrow products, concealer, eyeshadow primer, everyday staples like that. I actually had to run out to the store earlier today upon realizing I didn't have any foundation, powder or concealer that was Canadian- I settled on a loose powder by Joe Fresh then ran back home to do this post. Here's all the stuff I chose to smack on my face! ... Set against the beautiful background of a majorly outdated Toronto skyline. For my lips, I went with Bite Beauty, eliminating all of my Marcelle products. Sorry, Marcelle. I chose the lip primer, Luminous Creme lipstick in Violet, and lip gloss in Nine from the Watercolou

Hi everyone! This is Stephanie of Beauty Infinitum , guest posting for the lovely Megan! This month's Canadian Beauty Bloggers guest post theme is Canadian Love , and I had to feature one of my favourite Canadian brand (and brand in general), Annabelle ! Annabelle is a widely-available brand here in Canada, with very affordable, high-quality products. You might also know their sister brand, Marcelle . I've loved so many of the Annabelle products I've tried, and I've split my favourites into three groups below: Eyes, Face, Lips . Full disclosure: I do have a PR relationship with Annabelle, and some of my picks below were sent free for consideration. Those are marked with an asterisk (*). I really do love each product whether or not I paid for it though, and all opinions are 100% my own. Eyes I think Annabelle's eye makeup products were the first I delved into, as I kept hearing great things about their eyeliners. I love their Smoothliner  in Metal Daze

After years of thinking I was an autumn person, or a spring person, I have determined that I am definitely a summer person. Eating whenever I feel like it... forgetting what day of the week it is... and being able to paint my nails and having time for them to dry! Here's my top five picks for summer nails under five dollars. For summer, I'm a big fan of solid colours. I find that a solid creme in a bright primary or secondary colour can complement a tank and a pair of jean shorts like no nail art could dream of.  First up is Joe Fresh Tomato, a bright true balanced red. Then this one- my personal favourite- Rimmel London 60 Seconds polish in Blue My Mind, a fun light blue creme. It does chip like a bugger though. Revlon Parfumerie's Sunlit Grass, a bright sunshine yellow creme, is a staple for me in the warmer months. Sinful Colors' Exotic Green is one I thought I wouldn't like, but I find it really different. You don't often