The Makeup Monologues

I'm back with a roundup of some products I've been loving this season! Lately my makeup has been one of two things- ethereal, shimmery, and over-the-top, or grungy, boyish, and minimal. Read on for a rundown of what I haven't been able to put down lately, plus a look using all of the products! Let’s start off with a palette I’ve been loving for a few months! While upon first glance, the Too Faced Life’s A Festival palette looks like it would appeal to a rather small subset of makeup-wearers, I would beg to differ. A lot of critics of this palette cite the fact that there are very few matte shades to “complete” a look with, rendering the palette useless in their eyes. I would think quite the opposite. The one matte transition shade, Desert Vibes, works beautifully as a transition for any of the shimmers and duochromes in this palette, thus eliminating the need for multiple matte shades. I think that Too Faced did something unexpectedly brilliant with thi...

The NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipsticks have finally landed in Canada! I picked these two up from Rexall, but I've seen them at Shoppers DrugMart as well. How exciting! I picked up the shades Vintage and the much-coveted Stone Fox. The applicator is a long, tilted doe-foot. It makes it very easy to get a sharp lip line, which I really appreciate. (L-R: Vintage, Stone Fox) Vintage is a dark, rusty cherry red. Stone Fox is a steely blue-grey. Vintage gave me more issues on the wear than Stone Fox did. I found it required two layers to be fully opaque and not patchy, and then it took forever to dry down. I found that it was harder to get a crisp line with this shade due to its lack of opacity. Stone Fox applied creamier than Vintage, and only required one coat. Both lipsticks stayed creamy for a while after application, then set to a consistency that wasn't transferproof but definitely reminiscent of a traditional liquid lipstick. My problem with these was th...

Hey guys, long time no post! I'm here today to review the new Maybelline Brow Drama Pomade Crayon. This is an interesting product for sure- one of the many new and exciting things Maybelline has put out for us this spring. The crayon is a short, chubby pencil that is supposed to be a brow pomade in crayon form. There are obviously drawbacks to this design- while it's a cool concept, frankly, the thing is huge. Maybelline definitely should have gone with something a lot less thick. I got the shade Dark Brown, I believe. As you can see, while the product is sharp now, it doesn't take much to run it down and I fear for the day this becomes too nubby to use (I've been using it on an angle so far). The formula, however, is pretty gorgeous. It's soft and emollient, but amazingly pigmented. It gives a soft effect rather than a harsh line. Here are my brows with no product in them. And here is the Maybelline Brow Drama Pomade Crayon applied to them. I ...

I went on a bit of an obsessed- er, dedicated- highlighter kick in December, snatching up any highlight I could find. My roommate and best friend, Winter, was very perceptive of this and picked me up a gorgeous highlighter for Christmas! She got me one of the OFRA Cosmetics highlighters that they did in collaboration with the girls from the dupethat instagram account! She opted to get me the pinky-silver highlight, called You Glow, Girl!  OFRA has been all the rage on instagram and youtube lately, mainly for their liquid lipsticks and collaborations with beauty mavens. I'm very excited to own something by them! The highlighter pan is about the same size as my Mary-Lou Manizer by the Balm. The packaging feels a little cheap, but the product inside is perfection. The texture is incredibly smooth and barely powdery at all. Here's a swatch from one angle, showing the pinkiness of the highlight. From here, it almost looks like I could use this as a blush topper! But ...

This month's theme for the CBB is "Cozy Comforts." I'll be honest, I didn't know what the heck I was supposed to do with that theme when I first saw it. An eye look inspired by tomato soup...? However, I brainstormed a bunch of random things, and I'm gonna run with 'em. Hopefully they connect enough to the theme that the mods don't kick me out of the linkup. When I think of "cozy" eye looks, I think of peach, rose gold, and copper- but two shadows came to mind specifically. Those shadows are both by Colourpop cosmetics- two of their Super Shock Shadows (a measly $5 USD each), in the shades I <3 This and Game Face. They scream cozy and warm, yet still intense, which is what I like. I <3 This is a champagne with a pink sheen and silver glitter. It's a little gritty but gorgeous nonetheless. Game Face is, in my eyes, the perfect shadow. A fiery copper with a brown base and a strong, metallic gold sheen. It...

Here I am. About to embark on the single most in-depth review I've attempted, my Shiro Cosmetics indie eyeshadows. (Note: Bog Body is made by Detrivore Cosmetics and thus will not be featured in this review.) Shiro is a popular indie company that boasts "handcrafted makeup and geekery". They carry other brands in their online shop as well, such as Detrivore, Victorian Disco and Femme Fatale cosmetics. They offer a wide selection of cosmetics, including custom lip glosses, finishing powders, contouring powders, and blush- but their pièce de résistance is their fandom-themed loose eyeshadows. First off, I'm going to say: I love their online shop. It's so well put together and their product shots are gorgeous, and I browse without the intent to buy anything a lot because it's such a pleasant site to be on! Their checkout works very well, too, and their shipping prices are good, especially for an indie company. It took them about 10 days to...