Monthly Faves: June

I have been away from my blog for a little while now. I don't have a good excuse, just the usual ones: work, being sick,...life...

Anyway, I'm back on the last day of June to share my June favorites with you!

NARS Eye Shadow Single in Nepal
This is such an easy color to wear. I've been lazy this month, so I usually whack on some of this eye shadow and some mascara, and that's the extent of my eye makeup. Nepal is a pretty pink with a bronze tone to it - great for summer! Purchased at Sephora.ca

Benefit Benetint
Again, I've been very lazy this month. I put this on under my foundation to create the look of a natural flush on my cheeks. I can't be bothered with powder or cream blush at the moment...just give me a stain and I am good to go! I put a few streaks of this on and blend it in with a stippling brush. I am super excited to get my hands on the new shades of Benetint - Posietint (yes, I know it's been out for awhile, I just haven't bought it yet) and Cha Cha Tint. Purchased at Shoppers Drug Mart

BioSilk Silk Therapy for Hair
When my hair was longer and really damaged, I was using this every night on my damp, post-shower hair. Now that my hair is still short, I find I'm still using it! This oil helps give my hair a healthy shine and keeps it more manageable. It feels softer, and less brittle (even though I don't use heat on my hair!). Purchased at Wal-Mart

Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Shampoo
I don't know what it is this month, but I have been obsessed with coconut! The scent, the flavour...I just can't get enough. This shampoo smells divine - good enough to eat! It lathers very well and leaves my hair completely clean (no residue) and my scalp nice and moisturized. Purchased at Wal-Mart and Pharma Plus

L'Oreal Paris Studio Mineral FX Control Cream
Now that I've got a shorter 'do, I have an actual need for styling products. I picked this up because it's cheap. I've been using it at least 2 or 3 times a week to give my short pixie cut some definition. It doesn't leave my hair crunchy - it's got just enough hold to control hair but without making it wind-proof :) Purchased at Pharma Plus

Clinique Perfectly Real Makeup in Shade #1
Now that I've used the last of my Clinique Almost Makeup, I've moved on to using their Perfectly Real Makeup instead. I have to say, I'm impressed! The foundation provides light coverage, which is perfect for the summer. The foundation has not reacted with my skin, and it doesn't oxidize or make me oily at all. The drawback is the size of the bottle/amount of product for the price. While $30 doesn't make it the most expensive foundation I've ever bought, it certainly makes it pricey to re-purchase. Purchased at Sears.ca

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat
I absolutely LOVE this top coat. I does a great job of instantly drying my nail polish after I've given myself a manicure or pedicure. Will I buy it again? Absolutely! Purchased at Pharma Plus

Cover Girl LashBlast Volume Mascara
Ok - so if you're a follower of my blog you know I'm a fan of Cover Girl's LashBlast Fusion mascara. I had tried this version first, and didn't like it, so tried Fusion instead and fell in love with this. I was in Wal-Mart earlier in the month and was going to pick up another tube of Fusion when I saw that the Volume formula is actually a dollar cheaper. So, I bought the Volume formula instead. Honestly, I don't notice a big difference in the two formulas. Until the price of Fusion is the same as Volume, I'll be buying the Volume formula because it's cheaper. Purchased at Wal-Mart

GOSH Velvet Touch Lipstick in #86 Kitch
My go-to lip color for the month has been this GOSH lipstick. I really didn't know what to expect from this color since I really did not like Darling...but Kitch is a whole other story! This shade is a pretty nude/berry color. It's a shade or two darker than my natural lip color, which is why I have been using it this month. It's not often that I completely finish a lipstick before it expires (goes bad), but I can see this lipstick being one that I do manage to finish! Purchased at Shoppers Drug Mart

Here's a swatch of some of the products I have mentioned above:



Left: GOSH Velvet Touch Lipstick in Kitch
Middle: NARS Eye Shadow Single in Nepal (for whatever reason, it looks very gold in this swatch!)
Right: Benefit Benetint

What are your June favorites? Do you share any with me?

I will be back bright an early tomorrow morning with my First Annual Blog Birthday Giveaway! All of the details about how to enter and what the prizes are will be posted tomorrow!

REVIEW: L'Oreal Paris Colour Juice Sheer Juicy Lip Gloss

Product Brand and Name, Price (CDN), Where Purchased

L’Oreal Paris Colour Juice Sheer Juicy Lip Gloss, available at darn near every drugstore, Wal-Mart - anywhere L’Oreal is sold.

I would normally give you a price, but it depends heavily on where you buy it. Plus, I don’t have any receipts for these anymore and I don’t remember how much I paid for them.

The shades I’ve got are:

700 - Candy Apple
310 - Raspberry Smash
500 - Watermelon Crush
240 - Cherry on Top
230 - Passion Fruit Squeeze
220 - Berry Burst
115 - Bubble Gum
440 - Melon Punch
825 - Caramel Creme
200 - Pink Grapefruit
100 - Pina Colada

(they are in the same order in this list as they are in the photo above)

Reason for Purchase

I bought my first gloss in this line in Watermelon Crush first, and got hooked. Then, I bought 10 more.

Yes, you read correctly. I own eleven of them.

Notable Features

These glosses are formulated with SPF 15 to help protect your lips from sun damage.

Packaging

All of these glosses come in squeeze tubes, with a built-in slant tip applicator. When the glosses were first launched, they had a round-tip applicator.

Experience Using Product

The majority of these glosses are incredibly well pigmented, as you can see in these swatches:



(swatches are in the same order as my list of shades above)

They are sticky and have good lasting power for that reason. They also have a light fruity-vanilla scent to them, and no flavor.

I really like Raspberry Smash (a glossy matte red), Watermelon Crush (a shimmery dusky pink), Passion Fruit Squeeze (a matte mauve), Berry Burst (a pink tinted clear gloss with irridescent glitter) and Pink Grapefruit (a very light pink shimmer).

I don’t own any Lancome Juicy Tubes because they’re so freakin’ expensive - these are like the drugstore version. I kind of wish they came in fun colors like the Lancome Juicy Tubes, shades like sky blue, lavender, pineapple yellow and kiwi green.

These glosses layer on top of lipsticks very well; I usually try to put them over a lipstick in the same shade to add some intensity to the color and to make my lip color last longer.

Would I Re-Purchase, Recommend, or Reject

I would recommend this gloss to you if you are looking for a gloss with lots of pigmentation and you don’t mind stickiness. If you’ve already got a gloss that you love, you probably don’t need these ones.

Now that I’ve gotten into the NYC glosses, I don’t think I would re-purchase these. Don’t get me wrong, the L’Oreal glosses are great - but the NYC glosses great too and they’re cheaper! Additionally - I’ve got so many of the L’Oreal glosses and none of the tubes are anywhere near being done, so I won’t have to worry about re-purchasing for awhile yet.

To learn more about these glosses, check out the L’Oreal website.

REVIEW: L’Oreal Paris Studio Secrets Professional Magic Perfecting Base

Product Brand and Name, Price (CDN), Where Purchased

L’Oreal Paris Studio Secrets Professional Magic Perfecting Base, $15.99 CDN @ PharmaPlus (0.5 Fl. Oz, or 15 mL).

Reason for Purchase

I ran out of my NARS Smudge Proof Eye Shadow Base and needed to replace it with something.

I made a New Years resolution not to order anything from Sephora for a full year, so I cannot re-order the NARS base (rather, I will not let myself order it!) and needed to find a drugstore alternative. I thought I would give the L’Oreal base a try!

Notable Features

This product has a whole lot of promises, all of which can be found on the box the base comes in. Here’s the info:

Get the perfect skin texture, instantly and all day.

- Smoothes lines
- Hides pores
- Banishes imperfections

The silky, lightweight formula glides onto skin, leaving it velvety-smooth to the touch.

The result - a unified matte finish that’s flawless.

- Suitable for all skin types
- Dermatologist tested
- Non-Comedogenic

Wow! That’s a lot of information!

Packaging

The product comes in a small black cardboard box, with a window so that you can see the glass pot of base. I have also seen it on display just in the pot at Wal-Mart, which is a bit sketchy to me.

The primer itself comes in a small glass pot with a twist-off black lid.

Experience Using Product

I want to make it perfectly clear in this review that I am only reviewing this product as an eye primer. I did not use it on the rest of my face. Most days I do not need to wear primer on my face.

I have been using this primer for about a week, exclusively as an eye-makeup primer. It feels different than the NARS primer I had been using. This primer feels very soft, both in the pot and on your skin. When applied to your eyes, it feels like it is creating a thin, silky film on top - which is I guess what it is suppose to be doing. When you apply too much, you’ll be able to tell because it feels greasy and there is a residue. This is one of the first things I apply after I wash and moisturize my face. I want to give the primer ample time to ‘dry’ before I apply any eye makeup on top of it. You need a very small amount of this product to cover your entire eye area; I basically just tap my fingertip on the top of the cream, and that’s all I need for one application on one eye.

The longevity of this primer does not even compare to NARS; I get a good 3 to 4 hours out of this primer before my makeup will crease; for me, this means that any trace of my eye makeup is pretty much gone (minus my liner and mascara) before noon on a normal workday. With using the NARS Smudge Proof Eye Shadow base, I usually made it most of the way through my workday; my eye makeup wouldn’t start to crease until about 3 or 4 in the afternoon.

Would I Re-Purchase, Recommend, or Reject

I’m really not liking this product. I don’t find that eye shadow sticks to this primer - it slips and slides on it. Sure, this makes shadows easier to blend, but you can tell that the shadow isn’t adhering to the primer.

I give kudos to L’Oreal for trying to produce a primer that would compete with the ‘high end’ Sephora brands, but unfortunately they just aren’t there yet. I don’t recommend this product to you. Spend your money on a decent primer that lasts - both on your eyes and in the tube!

I reject this product and will not purchase it again.

Want more information about this product? Check out the L’Oreal website.

HAUL: Drugstore & Sears

I haven't done a haul post since my Boxing day purchases. So, I thought it was about time for me to do one! It's not a big haul, and it's actually not an expensive one either. Most of the things that I bought came from the drugstore - one came from Sears. I find it strange ordering makeup from Sears - which is weird, because I have bought makeup from the Clinique counter at Sears before. It's a bit weird they don't feature makeup in their catalogues, but they do feature perfume...I don't get it.

Anyway! Moving on!

Heres a photo of the haul:



And here is the run-down of what I bought:

L'Oreal Paris Studio Secrets Professional Magic Perfecting Base - I am running out of my favorite primer, produced by NARS. I am still dead-set on sticking to my resolution to order nothing from Sephora in 2011, so I have to find a drugstore alternative to that primer until I can get to Ottawa and hit a NARS counter at Holt Renfrew or The Bay. I have not read any reviews on this product, and I don't want to so that my opinion of it is completely un-tainted when I give it a try. This primer is available at my local drugstore, so the convenience of being able to buy it where I live will be really great if I end up liking it.

New York Color (NYC) Blushable Creme Stick in Shade 644U Plaza Pink - A good cream blush is hard to find. I have my doubts about this one, but I am going to give it a try! The blush kind of looks like a skinnier version of a NARS Multiple (of which I have 5...so that really puts the logic behind this purchase into question!). The shade is very pretty - I'm attracted to the Barbie pink.

Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in Shade 06 Woppin Watermelon - This is the one product in my haul that I have read reviews on, and I've seen featured in many a fashion magazine. I'm eager to give the product a whirl. I like the portability factor. I ordered this from Sears - so if I like it I can see myself getting a few more in different colors!

New York Color (NYC) Ultra Moist Lip Wear Lipstick in Shade 305B Ruby - I am not a huge fan of matte red lipsticks. About the only one that I do like is Ruby Woo by MAC. I already have large, full lips and I find matte lipsticks tend to make them look massive. A little shimmer and gloss helps me to minimize them. This is a lovely blue based red with shimmer. I've worn it a few times on its own and with gloss (the one below!) over top. I really like it!

New York Color (NYC) Extreme Lip Glider Lip Gloss in Shade 526U Chinatown Cherry - This gloss I bought specifically to layer on top of the lipstick above. I am really enjoying the fact the gloss is long and skinny - it makes it easier to find in a handbag, and it also fits neatly into my pen container at work! Again, this gloss is a bright true red and shimmery.

I'm pretty happy with all of my purchases, and I promise I will post reviews as I start to use everything.

Have a great weekend everyone!