The Makeup Monologues

I never ended up posting a July Favourites, even though there were some standout products in that month. I figured I'd just combine the two months of July and August into a Summer Favourites type of post! We're going to start off with eyeshadow palettes. I've got one for each month! July's standout palette was the e.l.f. 'mad for matte' palette, and August's was easily the Anastasia Modern Renaissance palette. The Modern Renaissance palette was one I wanted from the moment I saw it. It's got a ton of unique shades that are still very wearable. The pigmentation of these shadows is insane- I actually tend to spend a lot of time building my crease up because I prefer to use a lighter hand with pigmented shadows. They have a lot of kickup, very similar to the LORAC formula, but that's something I don't mind at all. All of the shadows work very well with one another, and I love that the mattes are all pigmented and soft enough to be used as ...

It seems that whenever I go on vacation, it's to spend a couple of days in Toronto. Truth be told, that's all I can afford at the moment- but you can bet that I'm gonna shop while I'm there! Sometime at the end of July, a good friend of mine from uni asked if I wanted to spend two days in The Big Smoke and check out some stuff he had free passes for (museums and the like- he works for Tourism Ontario in the Niagara region). We ended up doing a bunch of things I'd never been to before- mainly the ROM, the Bata Shoe Museum, the St. Lawrence Market, and a couple of bars in the Church-Wellesley neighbourhood.  And of course, I dragged him into every makeup store we passed. Once my mom, sister and I drove down, we decided to park at Yorkdale and take the subway downtown from there (I was carrying everything for the trip in my backpack and large purse. I did my best not to look suspicious, believe me!) We split up so my mom could go to the archives (she's a geneal...

I've been working on this post for a long time- as long as I've been harboring my love for DAVIDsTEA. I hope to integrate beauty and tea on my blog a little bit, and I figured this would be as good a start as any- connecting the two! Here are some makeup looks inspired by my top 5 fruity-flavoured teas from the brand DAVIDsTEA, in ascending order. #5- Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait was one of the first teas I loved from DAVIDsTEA. Its yogurty, fruity smell pulled me right in and I had to try it. Sadly, it's heavy in hibiscus, which I'm not overly crazy about. I tend to make my first cup of this tea as an iced tea, and then use the second steep for a latte as the hibiscus has been steeped out, so as to not cause the milk to curdle (which has been the source of much debate, trust me). Big chunks of strawberries and yogurt pieces make this herbal infusion positively scrumptious. For the makeup look, I wanted to evoke a latte made with this ...

Today (night?) I'm melding two posts I've been meaning to do into one: a disappointing products post, and a post about products that the internet 'made me buy' or otherwise influenced me to purchase (whether it be general hype or a specific recommendation from an idol or friend). And to get even more specific, this post will feature all face products, because I've got a lip and eye post coming later on! So let's just jump into this, shall we? I excitedly anticipated the release of the L'Oreal Pro Glow foundation after I saw the preview on instagram. I was sure it would become my new Holy Grail foundation. It claimed everything I wanted in a foundation, it was drugstore, for dry skin, had some very pale, cool shades, and it came in a squeeze tube.  What more could I have asked for? My excitement doubled when I heard youtubers reviewing this foundation- actually going somewhat in-depth- and raving about it. They said it lasted all day and made their skin ...

June went by in a flash. It honestly wasn't a very good month for me, and most of the time, I was either too busy or too depressed to wear makeup. I tended to go back to the same products again and again, and those products are going to be included in my monthly favourites! I have two makeup items, a skincare item and a tea. The first product is something I've had for a long time and never loved as much as I thought I would- it's finally getting the love it deserves! Behold, the Clinique Cheek Pop blush in Pansy Pop. It's a vibrant lilac-lavender blush with a dense, buildable formula. I found it paired extremely well with every eye look I was putting together this month, and since this doesn't require a skilled hand to apply, it was the blush I wore for most of the month. My second favourite is something I purchased more recently, but still didn't fall in love with for a while. The Too Faced Peanut Butter and Jelly palette has been my go-to for the past mo...

Who doesn't love a good gold highlighter? Some may have tons, but I've found two that I love and have stuck to them. Those two highlighters are the Wet N Wild Fergie Collection Shimmer Palette in Hollywood Boulevard, and The Balm's Mary Lou Manizer. Though one is drugstore and one is high-end, I love them the same!  I picked up the Wet N Wild Fergie Collection Shimmer Palette in Hollywood Boulevard over in the USA, for about five US dollars (I believe the Fergie line is actually being discontinued, so get it while you can!). It's gorgeous with a buttery texture, all sheen and no glitter. It feels like a luxury powder! Don't let the pink and brown stripes fool you- this product swatches a beautiful gold. It was my first (and only) foray into true gold highlighter. I wanted to know if it would look good on me- I was afraid gold would be too dark on my fair skin tone. However, I think it looks great! I especially love to layer it with the next highlighter I'...

Whenever I look back on my instagram to see which posts were the most popular, it's always the posts featuring products I've #hitpan on. The panning community in general is awesome, so I figured I'd do a post showing all the products in my collection that currently have some pan going on! And I'm sure I'll have another post like this soon, because I have so many products, particularly eyeshadows, that are soooo close to hitting pan. Anyways- let's get into the good stuff! First up is this Too Faced Jingle All the Way "phone palette" that I've had for ages. It was my first foray into high-end eyeshadow- picked up for a measly 15 bucks when I went on vacation to Washington, D.C. I believe it was part of a holiday collection, and I grabbed it out of the sale bin the following spring. You can definitely see which shadows were part of my "signature look" with this palette- I would use the light matte brown in the crease, the bronze/cop...