The Makeup Monologues

For 2015, I chose an array of products- makeup and skincare- that I would try and use up throughout the year. For the first half of the year I worked at them diligently, but as my makeup collection expanded I sort of fell off the bandwagon. I don't have pictures of everything in its current state, so I've taken the starting pictures and labeled them. Blue X= finished. Green X= given away/tossed. So first, the makeup. Ardell Brow Powder: Finished the top and middle shades. Had no use for the bottom one, so I threw it out. Maybelline Dream Matte Powder: Finished early in the year. I still miss this, the best powder I've ever used. The Body Shop All-in-One Cheek Colour in Bubblegum: Finished! I can't believe I finished a blush in a year! I've since repurchased it because I can't live without it... Rimmel Vinyl Gloss : Finished it about 3/4 of the way and then tossed it because I hated the scent. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Pencil in Bla...

My day 12 for my favourites of 2015 is supposed to be "eye extras"- so I chose two palettes I've been loving this year! The first is my Too Faced Jingle All the Way Phone palette. It was part of my use-it-up 2015, so I used this a whole ton in the first half of the year. Here's my (really badly done) review on it- that's all you need to know. But then... the Lorac Pro 2 palette came into my life around June and changed everything. These shadows are amazing, pigmented and soft. I never did neutral eyes until I encountered this palette, but now I also use it almost every single time I do colourful makeup too! I mostly used the left side of the palette (I've since hit pan on Buff, the top left shade). Here are some looks I've done with it. Cool Gray and Lt. Brown are the stars of the show here. Cool Gray is probably my favourite shade in the whole palette- it's so unique! And here's a look featuring some of the rose-gold-y s...

Well, my really late Day 11 for my Beauty Favourites of 2015 is mascara. I fell off the bandwagon with holiday and finals panicking, but I think I'm back! I'm gonna keep this one short and sweet because frankly, this isn't my favourite mascara anymore. I've found something better, but the fact remains that this was still my favourite mascara of 2015: Benefit's They're Real! Mascara. It was good, it was bold, it coated the lashes and provided just the right amount of length! The only problem with this mascara is that it's a b to get off. Regardless, it does look amazing on the lashes and didn't smudge. Here's how it looks on my face! Benefit's They're Real was what I wore on my lashes for a good 7 months out of this year, so of course it qualifies as my favourite for this year. However, stay tuned for my new favourite mascara in my December favourites!

Today's pick for 31 Days of Beauty is eyeliner- and this was a contentious one for me. I really, really wanted to pick Marc Jacobs' Highliner in Blacquer, because I've loved it longer, but my love for the liner I chose burns hot. That eyeliner is the Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner. This liner is perfection for me, while I agree that it's not for everyone. I don't use liquid liner, or even most gels, because they take too long to set and inevitably smudge on my hooded eyes before drying, or transfer throughout the day. The Benefit's They're Real Push Up Liner is a matte black gel liner that sets immediately. The slanted tip that deposits the gel is perfect for creating a no-fuss wing, even for a winged-liner amateur like me. Here it is in action! It really does hug the lashes, I've never seen a liner do this before. This liner also doesn't transfer throughout the day- another reason why I love it. I feel like this wil...

I'm late for today's 31 Days of Beauty Favourites post, but that doesn't mean I love this pick any less! Day 9 is eyeshadow! I thought I'd never be able to pick just one eyeshadow, but slowly, this baby nudged its way into my heart. My favourite eyeshadow of 2015 has to be Makeup Geek's Foiled Eyeshadow in Fortune Teller. It's an intensely metallic yellow eyeshadow, super smooth, with a gorgeous reflective golden sheen. Seriously, look at that swatch. That's just from me dipping my finger into the pan. See that glow? How can you not love it? Here's another swatch where you can see the sheen. And one that shows more of the true colour of the eyeshadow. When I first ordered a bunch of Makeup Geek's foiled eyeshadows, I totally thought that my favourite was going to be the same as my friend's- Flamethrower. Or something, you know, less out-there than a freaking yellow. But when you see how this shadow looks on the lids, you'll ...

Day 8 of my 31 Days of Beauty Favourites is dedicated to my favourite eye primer! Practically the only eye primer I used in 2015 was the Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer. One deluxe-sample sized tube lasted me the entire year! I had a brief, couple-of-day flirtation with the Tarina Tarantino Dollskin Eye Primer but it didn't do anything close to measuring up to my beloved Smashbox. I've heard this is great for oily eyelids, which means it must be even better for my dry lids! It keeps shadow on like nothing else. If you know you're going to be wearing makeup for more than 8 hours, seriously, get this primer! My shadow doesn't fade or crease at all throughout the day, even through sixteen hours of activity and even a nap or two. Plus, you need barely any product to get this effect. I've found my eye primer soulmate, and it's the Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer!

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It's the day to talk about my favourite highlighter of the year! I waffled over this for a bit, because this really was the year I got into highlight (since it's the first year I really started applying foundation, and on me highlighter just makes my uneven skin texture stick out like a sore thumb if I'm not wearing primer and foundation. I had another one that I really loved, but I just had to go with my theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer. It's the first highlighter I ever owned and she's gorgeous. An intense golden shimmer that lights up the cheeks! This picture I took a few days ago- I actually hit pan today! This picture was supposed to demonstrate just how much of Mary I've used. Here's some swatches- the blended-out one is one the bottom. And here in the sunlight, so you can see her glow. And here's me wearing her. Ba-BAM! I think you can see why she's the highlighter I wore the most thi...

On the 6th day of beauty... I talk about my favourite blush of the year! Well... my three favourite blushes. Blush is a very seasonal thing for me, so I picked one favourite blush for each season, excluding winter, which hasn't even landed in my city yet (is this what living in BC feels like?) My favourite blush in the springtime was hands-down, my Joe Fresh colour adjust blush in Coral. It's a beautiful blush, a bit powdery, super pigmented and the colour of a ripe peach. In the spring, it wouldn't change colour on me much- it looked pretty much the same on my cheeks as in the pan. But once I tried to wear this is the summer (to my job at a pizza place, no less) and the heat of my face turned it bright pink. It looked awful! But for the spring, I just couldn't get enough of this blush. Aaand here it is on my face! The blush I couldn't get enough of in the summertime was the Josie Maran Coconut Watercolour Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape. It looks incre...

Hey guys! I've got finals this weekend, so I thought I'd lump a bunch of favourites for the year into one post. I won't be providing swatches in this post, sadly, but when I get to more "interesting" things- blush, eyeshadow, lipstick- I will. Here are five ultimate favourites I've used or discovered in the year of 2015! Day 1: Foundation Primer Laura Mercier Foundation Primer- Radiance This primer is gorgeous, and while I can't use it everyday- if my skin is too dry or uneven-feeling, I use a smoothing primer- when I do use it, it imparts such a radiant, healthy glow to my face that I love. I try to use this whenever I can! Day 2: Foundation  Wet N Wild Coverall Cream Foundation in Fair My old faithful. I've tried other foundations, but nothing matches my skin tone, undertone, desired amount of coverage and skin type like this does. And for five freaking dollars! It doesn't cling to any dry patches, blends out super nicely, isn...

It feels like this month that I've been running on empty, so I might as well share with you all what products I've emptied lately. Let's just get right into it! First, the boring- makeup wipes. I finished 2 packs of Up & Up Makeup Remover Cleansing Cloths . These are my favourite wipes- soft, thick, and wet enough, and don't really sting the eyes. I have 10 packs of backups. Then I went through one pack of Up & Up Eye Makeup Remover Pads , which are good for after my regular makeup wipes if I went hard on the eye makeup that day. I also use them to clean up eyeshadow fallout under my face and to clean up the edges of my crease. Makeup!!! Yay! I FINALLY went through this deluxe sample size of my Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer . This tube lasted me over a year, and it's the best eyeshadow primer I have EVER tried. Keeps my shadow on, vibrant and crease-free for up to 14 hours, I find- never tried it for the full 24! And you hardly need...