Summer Copper make up look | Beauty

Most days I wake up and wearing make up is the furthest thing from my mind, other days I wake up with a colour on my mind. I woke up last Friday with thoughts of copper eyeshadow flooding my mind.  Sadly I don’t have the exact copper I was thinking about, but I did come up with this look using my Coastal Scents and BH Cosmetics eye shadows.
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yaw, I’m on the phone here hahah

What I used: 

Face:

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer
NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat Foundation- Chestnut
NYC Smooth Skin Loose Translucent powder
Coastal Scents 10 Bush palette- Bright coral
e.l.f  Blush and Bronzing kit- Turks and Caicos

Eyes:

Coastal Scents hot pot- S36 (golden orange colour)
BH Cosmetics 88 matte palette-orangey red eyeshadow
Wet N Wild Don’t Steal My Thunder trio- Charcoal (crease colour)
Coastal Scents Liquid eye liner – Jet
Maybelline Volum’Express The Falsies Big Eyes Mascara- Blackest Black
Maybelline MasterShape by Eyestudio brow pencil-  deepbrown
e.l.f. clear mascara and brow gel

Lips:

LA Colors pencil liner- Mahogany
Revlon ColorBurst lipstick- Peach
Revlon ColorBurst lipgloss- Papaya

e.l.f. Beauty Haul! | Beauty

About a month back or so, e.l.f. had a promotion and I decided to finally pick up some products I had been lusting after for some time. I didn’t get them sent straight here to Barbados, as it costs way too much with shipping PLUS duties (story of a bajan beauty girl). Anyway, I sent it to a friend of mine and when they came in it felt like it was Christmas as it was a guess to what I was getting, I had completely forgotten. I ordered online with my sister and we got quite a lot of stuff for just $50USD. Gotta love e.l.f prices!

Here’s my haul, I got 2 new face brushes, because I literally have one powder brush and I have to use it for blush, bronzer and face powder. I got the e.l.f Studio Angled blush brush and the regular blush brush. I love the shape of them both, they seem like they’d work very well.

I also picked up some of their Essentials All Over Color Sticks, after wanting to try them for some time. I had seen some reviews on the colours and pigmentation, and as mentioned in my June Favourites, I’m head over heels for Pink Lemonade. It makes a fabulous blush/highlighter. I’ll be doing a swatch post on the ones I picked up. Also for my face, I got the raved HD blush and the Contourin g Blush and Bronzer kit. I can’t remember if the colour I have in the contour kit is the original, but I am happy that it can work on my skin tone. The blush could be a bit deeper in tone, but it just means I’d have to layer it with another.

AsI want to be more on my brow game, I picked up the Studio Eyebrow kit in Medium, which Shaanxo always uses and raves about, it was $3USD so who could really complain right? I also got the Essentials clear mascara and brow gel duo. So far I really like how well it sets my brows.

Finally I picked up a handful of nail polish, because I hardly ever paint my nails and when I do it’s the same old boring colours. Stepping out of my box, I got some pretty neutrals, lots of glitters and a gorgeous bright teal polish that I cant wait to paint my toes with!

What do you think of e.l.f. products? I find they can be pretty pricey here when the locals are retailing them, but sometimes the products are worth the buck.



Disclaimer: These products were bought with my own money.

Golden Eye Makeup Tutorial | Beauty

Finally, I’ve made a picture-tutorial (Pictorial)! YAY! This is a lot harder than you’d imagine, I think making a video is easier, but I’ve really missed making make up tutorials and this is the closest thing I can get to it without my computer wanting to crash.

This look is quite simple and daytime appropriate, it’s just bright enough to capture people’s attention yet  would look great with glasses on. I typically put together this look if I feel like wearing eyeshadow during the day and I’m sure I’ve featured a FOTD if not an Instagram picture with this eyeshadow look or similar. I guess you could call this my go-to look.

Excuse the ashy-ness of the face in these pictures, because my BB cream contains SPF plus I powdered my face, it’s terrible with flash, but where I bronzed looked normal. I promise this BB cream suits my skin tone and looks normal in daylight, haha. Honestly camera flash is so brutal on powder, how do you balance between looking too oily and looking ashy?

Enough blabber, Here’s the tutorial! (products listed at the end)

Products used:
Face:
Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream- Medium/Dark
NYC Smooth Face Powder- Translucent
e.l.f. Studio Contouring Blush and Bronzer- Turks & Caicos
e.l.f. Essentials All Over Color Stick- Pink Lemonade

Eyes:
e.l.f Studio Eyebrow Kit- Medium
Wet n Wild Trio – I’m Getting Sunburned
Sleek “Oh So Special” palette- Boxed, The Mail (Highlight
L’Oreal Kohl Eyeliner- Black (really old)
Maybelline Big Eyes Mascara- Blackest Black

Lips:
Maybelline Baby Lips
L’Oreal Colour Caress Wet Stain Gloss- Lilac Forever

June Beauty Favourites | Beauty

Hey all, Happy 250 Posts!  It’s almost the end of June and I have been trying out a few new products this month, so why not post about my favourites. For May, I was travelling and my favourites were almost all the same as for April, so I didn’t post about them. Tons of reviews coming on these products, I must say e.l.f. is always able to impress me with something.

Anyway first up is my Maybelline BB cream, a repeat favourite, though from the new picture tutorial coming up, I feel as if it’s not matching my skin as well as before. Still it’s great for moisture and does brighten up your skin so you somewhat put together when you head out. I recently bought some e.l.f. face products and I must say I’m impressed by the All Over Colour Stick and the new shade of the Contouring Blush and Bronzer. Pictured is the All Over colour Stick in Pink Lemonade, and the Contouring kit in Turks & Caicos.

I’ve also been trying to focus more on my brows as they are a problem area for me. I am going to try to groom and shape them more often. To fill them in, I’ve been trying out the e.l.f Studio brow kit and the Maybelline MasterDrama Brow pencil. I like them both as I don’t need a lot of product for my eyebrows to look groomed, but not too bold. The only issue I have is the almost useless brush e.l.f. provides in their kit.  You should be seeing reviews of these coming soon.

Typically I’m not a fan of eyeliner, it burns my eye, makes them water or does not last at all on my waterline.. until I got the Milani Liqui’feye, but that’s so hard to find in Black sometimes. I bought some mascara a while back from Cave Shepherd and it came with the L’Oreal Kohl liner (which is pretty old mind you), but it is so creamy and works well, even my aunt liked it. It glides on easily, is very black and does not irritate me eyes. I can use it on my waterline and to line the top of my lids with ease. Being it’s a kohl liner, it never fully sets, but it definitely does a good enough job setting to not make me look like a raccoon.

I recently got the Maybelline ColorTattoo and  like it also, I’m thinking I should have gotten another colour besides Bold Gold though, because applying it with my fingers can be a hassle, leaving gold glitters everywhere on my lid. Another Maybelline product I’m loving is their new the Falsies Big eyes Mascara. I had been a bit disappointed by the Falsies when I tried the waterproof formula, and the brush was so big for my eyes, but I love the Big Eyes. Formula and everything, so look out for a review on that soon.

Finally, I’ve been in LOVE with this blue Nicole by O.P.I. polish (as seen in my NYC Beauty haul). I’ve already worn it 2 weeks in a row, that’s a record for me. I never remove polish to apply the same one. Hardly ever. I also painted my toes in this colour. I took it off of my digits for now as my hands have been quite dry as of late, so my nails or peeling :(. But I would put back on this colour “Listen to Your Momager” in a heartbeat!

New York Haulin’ | Beauty

Hey guys, sorry this post wasn’t up earlier today, had to do some errands before work this morning, threw off my schedule a bit. Anyway this is  a quick post on the beauty products I picked up while in New York. I got a few things for my girl friends as well, but I won’t show them here and risk ruining the surprise haha.

On the first few days in Brooklyn, I explored some of the streets and came across a number of beauty stores and while perusing I decided to pick up some false lashes. These some from Kiss are quite a bargain. There are TWO sets in this box and it was just $2.99USD, way cheaper than home!
I picked up the medium length Classic flares, I can’t wait to try them.

I also passed by a Walgreens, seriously every block seems to have a drugstore or 4. I got a few Maybelline  and L’Oreal items, they had some really good deals along with a few coupons that I had, I saved quite a bit on them :).


Pictured is the L’Oreal Colour Caresse Wet Shine Stain in Lilac Ever After, Maybelline Master shape Brow pencil, Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bold Gold and a new Maybelline Falsies mascara called Big Eyes. I tried out the bottom lash mascara and love how effortless it is to apply (no smudges yay!). I’m still playing with the lip colour, as I tried it on then scuffed down a bunch of food haha.

We went to the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets on Memorial day (I think) and I found a Cosmetics Company Outlet, yay! I always hear people talk about how you can find the limited edition, discounted and sometimes discontinued make up products there and I was so happy to stumble across this one. I picked up a value set from Smashbox Cosmetics. There were also so MAC, Clinique, Estee Lauder and Bobbi Brown products, but none of them really tickled my fancy. I’ll be doing a separate post on the Smashbox set.

Finally, because I promised myself from earlier this year to buy more nail polish and pamper myself, I picked up these pretties from Bed, Bath and Beyond. (Yeah, they have a beauty section, it shocked me too). Anyway, a few of the Nicole by O.P.I. were on clearance so I searched the bin and came across “Listen to Your Momager” from the Kardashian Kolors collection, and “You Can!”. I currently have on the blue polish and I’m in love! Also I picked up a Sinful Colors polish in “Innocent”, a nice bright chartreuse. my sister had this colour and I just had to get it!

Anyway that’s my haul, not too much. Definitely not everything I wanted, but I’m still happy I got something. There should be some reviews and swatches of these products coming up really soon, so just keep watching this space!

Maybelline DreamFresh BB Cream Review | Beauty

Hey all! Today I have a product to show you which has quickly become one of my favourites. This is the Maybelline DreamFresh BB cream which I retails for $17.95BDS at Collins Pharmacy. Although it’s marketed as a BB cream, I don’t really think of it as that because it doesn’t than many special properties such as anti-ageing or skin whitening, not that I would need those anyway.

 What Maybelline says it does:
1. Blurs imperfections
2. Brightens
3. Evens skin-tone
4. Smoothes
5. Hydrates
6. Enhances
7. Protects with SPF 30
8. 0% oils and harsh ingredients


Here’s my before picture.. I need some coffee lol (with flash)

This BB cream claims to have 8 properties in 1, though many of them are a matter of synonyms for the one word. I use this product daily to replace my moisturiser and sunscreen as it has SPF 30. It comes in a white squeeze tube and is 1 fl oz. I realised that it doesn’t clog my pores further, nor break me out. It has a dewy finish which easily is blotted to a matte finish with tissue. I didn’t notice a scent especially after I had applied it.

(from Favourites post)

It comes off a bit light at first, but as it settles about 10 minutes or so, it looks just like your skintone. It feels like you are applying a face cream and I apply it with my fingers. I find that using one coat is enough for me, as wearing two requires setting with powder, though on some days I do set it with translucent powder. It is light coverage as you will see with the swatches, so for persons with  more acne or scarring, I don’t think it would be suitable, you would also need a concealer. It’s also very light weight. I hate the cakey feeling I can get wearing foundation and powder.

One coat of BB cream without powder. notice the dewy  finish.

This product lasts I would say 4 hours, but would have to touch up, blot and such afterwards. I’m one of those persons who touches their face quite a lot, and my skin in normal so I don’t get very oily. However if you apply powder, it may increase the longevity, before you have to begin blotting.

Two coats of BB cream and translucent powder applied to T-zone.

It’s moisturising and doesn’t emphasize my dry patches when I have had a pimple, which is great. Foundation can be annoying for that reason. For darker skin tones, the colour selection isn’t fabulous. I have the Medium/Deep shade and after that is the darkest shade, Deep which looked like it would be too dark for me. I think this shade has a yellow to neutral undertone, which covers a bit of redness. However this will not cover any marks.

The Verdict:
Pros:

  • Affordable
  • Light coverage
  • Light-weight
  • Multi-purpose
  • 0% oils

Cons:

  • Will not cover acne or scars
  • Shade range
  • Takes a while to settle into skin (oxidise to skin tone)
  • SPF could be problematic to flash photography
  • Availability in Barbados
After I applied some bronzer, mascara and fixed my eyebrows.

The Raw Sugar:
I like the look that this BB cream gives although it isn’t an authentic Blemish Balm, it works for exactly what I need. As I add on layers it starts to feel heavier and requires powder to set it, but otherwise it’s very light-weight and gives the skin a nice even tone. It’s also a light coverage so a few of your imperfections shine through and it doesn’t look like a mask.

Where you can find it:  Collins Pharmacy (Barbados), Drugstores (USA)

Disclaimer: This product was given to me as a gift, opinions are my own.

Aspiration Diaries #12 & FOTD

Hey all! I’m back again to posting on Saturdays, yay! This week went well, outside of a small incdent that occurred late Saturday. But less on the negative, more on the positive side. My NYC trip is in just a few more days and my summer has officially started! I am starting to feel more restless/excited since I’ve been washing and preparing photos for blog posts next week.

This week, I had my research project presentation and it went surprisingly well. A lot better than I thought. The final marks will tell just how great though. Aside from that work is a bit boring haha, but I’m glad to have a job :).


Simple FOTD from this week. I love how my hair came out, I used flexi rods.

I have been busy trying to think up some posts and remembered a couple things I was to post about earlier, so look out for some reviews of skin care and make up items! You may be seeing an OOTD sometime next week as well.

Finally I’m making some prep for packing. But that’s something I love to do so It shouldn’t be too much stress.

This week I hardly have any goals, just one simple task…

Have fun!

I hope you all enjoyed this post and feel free to tell me about your week in the comments! I have to head off to meet up with some friends for the evening. Yup, it’s SUMMER!

Lush Purple and Golds for Spring Make up look | Beauty

Here’s another look that I had recreated from MayaMia on Instagram. I’m a huge lover of purple so I had to do this one. sadly the lighting started to get really really bad, so the photos are taken with flash. I hope you don’t mind. She had more purple lips in the picture, so I tried to add a bit of a frosty purple lipstick I owned. I doubt you can it though.

Products Used:
Face:

  • Maybelline Fit Me Foundation- 350 Caramel
  • Coastal Scents Foundation powder- #3
  • Coastal Scents Camouflage concealer palette
  • Coastal Scents 10Blush palette

Eyes:

  • Wet N Wild trio- I’m Getting Sunburned
  • Coastal Scents HotPots – S16 (old colour name)
  • Coastal Scents Liquid Eyeliner- Jet
  • Models21 Eyelashes – 2T
  • CoverGirl LashBlast Volume- Very black
Lips:
  • M.A.C. lipstick-  Daddy’s Little Girl
  • Milani lipstick- Grapetini
If you recreate this look, be sure to send me a link of tag me in the picture, I’d love to see it. Any requests for more make up looks would also be appreciated!

April Favourites | Beauty

Hey all! It’s the end of another month and although I don’t do these very often, I thought, why not? I have some great products to show you all!

First off, my new favourite cleanser from Clearasil which I mentioned some weeks ago that I got on a deal from a local supermarket. I removes mascara and my face products with very little work and I love the scent! It’s perfect for daily cleansing as it’s not overly drying and it cleans well. I do have to use a moisturiser after using this product however as my skin feels a bit tight.


Next up are my face products. I have been loving the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB cream (in Medium/Deep). It’s a very nice light weight product which moisturises, protects from sun exposure (since there’s some SPF in it) and it provides sheer coverage. For me, the latter is a great thing because I have some scarring from acne and blackheads and it just gives some coverage so my skin does not look as raw, while being subtle enough that people don’t ask me if I’m wearing foundation. This has happened before, and trust me, it feels weird even though I’m in college. I’ll be doing a review on this late with much deeper thoughts one it.

On the days where I don’t use BB cream, I have been trying to protect my skin by using the Neutrogena Dry Touch Suncreen (SPF45). I had promised myself to get more into wearing a sunblock on my face and body. I find that the formula is not greasy and absorbs fast. It smells like your typical sunscreen though, hence my boyfriend calls me beach face lol.

Next up is NYC Sunny Bronzer, which goes perfectly with the BB cream, because it can really take the colour out of your face. So I just do some light sculting, add a bit a blush and I’m ready to be out of the door. On my skin alone, this bronzer does not show up as prominently, but you can definitely see the difference when I apply BB cream first. (Not the darkest of bronzers for caramel or darker skintones, but it works for me to look natural).  

I have also been loving my CoverGirl LashBlast Volume mascara (regular formula), it’s light-weight and doesn’t make my lashes feel stiff or brittle. The only peeve I have about it is how wet it is and hence it get all over my lid when I apply it, no matter how far I tilt my head back. I may need to try the business card tip to fix this. But this mascara gives great volume and length without clumping your lashes together.

The e.l.f. Essentials blush in Glow has been another thing that I grab for almost daily. But not to be used as actually blush. This is a peach blush with a gorgeous gold sheen. It’s better as a highlighter for my skin tone, but I actually use it as a eye shadow. I do a quick wash on my lid and it brightens up my eye area.

For my hair, I have been liking the African Pride Olive Oil Miracle Leave-in Conditioner. I had a sample of this from the Girlfriends Expo and loved the smell and texture so much that I bought it full-sized! I’m still loving it. It’s great at moisturising and it feels like it refreshes my hair even on a really bad morning. It’s feels rather greasy though so I have to use a small amount of this product or my hair would be weighed down.

Finally, or should I say, as usual coconut oil is on my list of favourites haha. I can’t help myself but this product is just so multipurpose. Some nights I used it as a hair/scalp treatment, I also use it when I’m just at home as a face moisturiser and I have yet to use it again in my Shea butter mixture. I will make a post or video with me making it, since it’s really easy and saves you a lot of money on moisturisers.

I hope you all enjoyed my favourites, and hopefully you have a few favourites of your own to share with me. I’ll hear you all next post!

Maybelline ColorSensational High Shine gloss- Raspberry Reflections | Swatches & Review

Recently, my aunt got me this Maybelline gloss, which I previewed here in my DLG lipstick comparisons post, and I must say I am in love with it. I’m so glad she got me it. I had no idea that this gloss would apply so beautifully or last so well on the lips!

The colour is called Raspberry Reflections and is a late 2012 release from the Maybelline Color Sensational line. In the tube it looks like it would be a milky cool toned pink, bordering fuchsia. I did not notice any shimmer, so I’ll describe it as a crème formula. On the lips, it doesn’t come off as milky as it looks in the tube, which you will see in the swatches.

I love how this gloss applied. Colour from start to finish and a little goes a long way, and the applicator (slanted doe-foot) is great for this product, it really allows for precision yet speedy application. Of course the overall colour will be affected by the natural colour of your lips. As it looks slightly different on Jessica from Beautezine.

As the name suggests, it is a high shine gloss and lives up to the name without being sticky or irritatingly runny. I don’t feel the need to keep checking a mirror to see if it is runny down the sides of my mouth. It just settles in after a bit of wear AND the best part is, after 2 hours or so of wear it stains the lips. So the colour stays, even if the “high” shine is gone. It’s almost like wearing a lip stain without the annoying dryness.

I am really fascinated by the staying power as I wore this gloss for about 4 hours and although the shine faded, it still looked great! Mind you this was after coffee, lots of yapping and snacking haha. This gloss is also buildable, so the more you apply the better the colour and the staying power to some degree.

Online this is gloss is $6USD which I think is great especially since it’s such a good gloss. This goes perfectly with my M.A.C. Daddy’s little Girl lipstick. Although there was a coordinating gloss for that, I wouldn’t be paying for a M.A.C. one when I could get the same staying power with this affordable gloss. I’m just in love with this!

What do you think of it? Any other affordable glosses that can match up or even more fabulous? Be sure to leave them in the comments, I’ve love some more suggestions!

Disclaimer: This product was given to me as a gift, opinions are my own.