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 ...

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...

Today I'm going to talk to you guys about something I rarely do: skincare. More specifically, my facial skincare routine as it exists on the daily, step by step, excluding special treats like masks and scrubs. Let's get right into it- here's the breakdown! Step 1: Makeup Remover Towelette.  I use these Up&Up ones (the Target house brand)- I bought them in bulk after Target closed and the overstock got sent to Dollarama. I snatched about 15 packs of these for a buck twenty-five each, hell yeah. They're effective and don't irritate my eyes, and remove my makeup with efficacy. Step 2: Rub-in cleanser. Okay, this Ole Henriksen Pure Truth Melting Cleanser is a treat for me. I love this stuff. I actually usually use this or the towelettes, not both- but if I'm wearing heavy foundation then I'll rub this in before or after the towelette. It's a makeup remover/cleanser that you rub on to dry skin and it melts yo...

Reviewing yet another christmas present from a friend! This time a Body Shop eyeshadow from my friend Emma, in what I believe is Mon Cherry, because I'm a dummy and ripped the label off. I went on the website and this seemed to be the closest colour match to what I have. Mon Cherry (I'm assuming) is small but stunning. It's a gorgeous mauve with a pink shift. It's shimmery, smooth and colour can be built up to your satisfaction without getting powdery, crepey or cakey. It's certainly red-toned on the eyes, but not in an I-just-had-an-allergic-reaction way. It lasts about 4 hours without creasing without any primer, and 7-8 with a good eyeshadow primer. There's not really much more to say about it. It's nice! I don't know if I'd necessarily recommend it over other shadows but I really do enjoy the Body Shop's eyeshadow line. Just don't put their lipsticks near me.

I'll give you a spoiler alert: this is my favourite blush. You should still read the whole review though, because this is a tricky product. The story goes: One day, a 15 year old Megan was in a strange, small town, visiting relatives. She was going rather stir crazy, itching to shop, and the only thing she had in her wallet was a Body Shop giftcard.  She was a makeup novice, but interested in learning, so she picked up the brightest pink blush she could find. That blush... was The Body Shop All In One Cheek Colour in Bubblegum. The first blush I ever bought, and still my favourite. It's not perfect ... but it represents me, I think. You can see how loved it's been... and how many times it's been dropped. Bubblegum is a blue-toned light pink. It's lighter on the face than on the arm. Its texture is chalky, but even, and I can put it all over my cheeks without it looking like too much. I apply it all over my cheeks to give me a light pink, cotton candy col...

Buyer’s remorse is a real thing, people. It’s even worse when you think something is going to be amazing and then you’re let down big time.  That’s what happened to me with these babies. Don’t the tubes look sleek? Isn’t the one on the right such a unique-looking shade?   They’re really hard and sheer in swatches. Let’s Grape it On is a mauve purple with a ton of gritty gold glitter. Candy Cuddle is a basic pink, the colour of dubble bubble. Not too offensive. My problem is how they wear.   Let’s Grape it On (seriously, what the fuck does that even mean?) looks okay but feels super gritty on the lips. I end up with chunks of glitter stuck in my teeth, somehow. Plus, the bullet is so hard I have to pass over my lips multiple times for the colour to show, which makes me feel like I’m using a lip scrub made of glitter. Then this shit disappears or goes patchy as hell in, like, an hour. Candy Cuddle should be better because it’s not glittery, right? Wrong! I...