May Favourites

Mark Glowdacious Illuminating Powder (Shimmied Up) ☼ I became a bit of a blush and bronzer fiend over the past couple months, but since my NYX highlighter broke multiple times (another story), I've been doubling this one up as a highlighter and bronzer. The light, center shade is a pale gold with loads of shimmer and shine, and I brush the outside colours on like a regular blush/bronzer after. I found myself grabbing for this multiple times this month! 


St. Ives Apricot Scrub ☼ I have a cleanser and make up remover that I use at night, but I use this every morning. Since I bought it a couple months ago, I have not had a single skin problem. I have been blessed with very clear skin, but I'm human and get zits every now and then. I haven't had one for over two months, and I'm not saying this is the reason why that is, but it is a change I made around the same time! I think it's definitely helped. It's really affordable and easy to find, too, which I like in a product.


Vaseline ☼ I thought about making a post just about how I use Vaseline, but there are tons of other bloggers who have done so and a quick Google can bring up some of those posts for you. I put it on chapped lips, legs and body after a shower, on my hands when they get dry, on my eyebrows to smooth them out, on my feet and elbows when they get dry.. and there are so many more uses that I haven't got around to trying yet! 


Annabelle Kohl Eyeliner (White) ☼ I used to wear white eyeliner a few years ago but I haven't had one since. I didn't really research or try many before picking one out.. I just kind of went to the store and saw white. I wore it every day for a week after I bought it! Annabelle is a Canadian cosmetics company with reat prices. I've only tried the pencil liners (I have a couple other colours), so I will be looking into more products. 


Avon Strong Results Length and Strength Complex ☼ I have the worst nails in the world. I love polish and I buy lots of it, but unfortunately I don't post many photos here because I have sad hands. I bite not only my fingernails, but hangnails and skin around my fingers and on my hands. It's a horrible habit! I have tried so-called miracle products like Witchcraft, which had an icky taste but didn't keep me off of the rest of my hands. On top of that, my nails are always weak and peeling. The Avon Strong Results treatment is like a clear liquid that you put on your bare nails for a few days and it makes them strong and moisturized. For me, it stops the peeling nearly instantly. I give my poor fingers a break every now and then and leave them naked save for this treatment with the Avon Silk Wrap treatment. I'm nearly done my bottle, so looks like I'll have to get some more!

Revlon Colourburst Lipgloss (Peony - not pictured) ☼ I don't know where I was around January when everybody was blogging about these glosses, but I had no idea they were so loved by bloggers until I read Cute and Mundane's post last week. I immediately knew from her swatches that I wanted Pink Ice, so I rushed out to the store and... then I couldn't decide. I decided to pick up Peony, which is a warm pink with gold shimmer. It's very sheer, but the shimmers are visible and it's a comfortable formula to wear. I normally don't like lipgloss, but this is awesome! It's safe for work and everything if you don't want to wear too bright or obvious colours on your lips. I am planning on going back to buy some more, simply because I've heard so many good things and I was impressed myself. I guess this technically shouldn't be a favourite of the month since I just got it, but oh well! Go look at some swatches and get to the store right now if you were like me and in the dark about these!

If you've made a May favourites post, link me to your blog in the comments!

Powdery and shiny things

Hello! I have a few new things, so here's the first of a few things I'll be talking about in the upcoming days. I'm completely done exams/my second year of college! You can expect to hear from me more often as I have more time to spare and hopefully more money to spend as I work through the summer months. 

Anyways, first up is Jessica Iridescent Eye. I picked this up randomly and thought it looked kind of nice (reminded me of the shiny rainbow you see in gasoline), but I wasn't crazy about it. I just can't leave a store without a new nail polish, so mine it was. Turns out I am absolutely in LOVE with this and I never want to wear anything else. I can't think of another nail colour I've ever liked this much. I've spent the last day just staring at my fingers and moving them in the light. It's kind of insane. 

This is two coats, but I definitely think I could have done with one. It's definitely one you want to use a top coat on. Some polishes can get away without one on me, but not Iridescent Eye. Some bloggers have compared it to Chanel Peridot and deemed it a dupe, while some others disagree. I don't think it's a question that they're very, very close. I say grab it if you don't want to spend the dough on Chanel.

Next are Mark glowdacious illuminating powder in Shimmed Up and Avon Smooth Minerals Pressed Foundation in Soft Ivory. I've never used a powder foundation before (I stick to liquid and cream-to-powder), so I thought I'd give it a shot. I seem to be collecting blushes and bronzers and various things, so I ordered Shimmied Up just to see what it was like. 

It looks like it's stark white in the picture, but I don't feel like it's that light in person. I admit I was surprised at first, though. The old Smooth Minerals liquid foundation I had was their lightest shade and it was borderline orange-ish in some lighting. I didn't imagine their lightest of anything would actually be this pale. I'm happy, though. It blends well, it's really soft, and as far as I can tell it's matte. There may be some shimmer, but it isn't noticeable. I used this today and loved it!

I like this. It's really shimmery and glowy, which I love. I'm worried it's a little too bronze/dark for me, but maybe I'm crazy. It doesn't look bad in pictures, so sometimes I think it's just the lighting of my apartment. There are two other shades, and I actually don't even know how I decided which one to get. I think I read one of the blurbs about, "what this model is wearing," and she was pale and blonde and had on this powder so I went with that. Loads of people complain about the shimmer, but like I said, I'm a fan of it. The compact comes with a weird little flat brush, but it seems kind of useless so I just use a different brush of my own.

So far with new things, it's been a success. I also bought the new Mark "Borrowed from the Boys" watch (I need to take links out and adjust it, it's huge), another nail colour, and an eyeliner. There's also more new Avon things I've ordered that I don't have quite yet, but I'm very excited for!

October favourites

I've had so much school work in the past couple weeks! I haven't had a lot of time to blog. I also have a couple packages with new things at my mum's house, so I'm waiting for a bigger post when I finally go pick up my new things. I ended up getting the Kat Von D palette I've been whining about, so look foward to that!

I joined a Zumba class this week and I've gone twice and it is AMAZING. If you want to work out but not pay for a gym, or you just want to keep active, or, hell, if you just want something to do.. I highly recommend it!

Anyways, these are some of the things I found myself constantly reaching for this past month.

Coconut Body Butter ~ The Body Shop
I think a lot of people are familiar with The Body Shop's Body Butters. Coconut is my go-to scent for pretty much everything.. lotions, shampoos, whatever. I've had this since last December (I bought it for myself when I was Christmas shopping). There's so much product for $20. I know a lot of people go through the full size Body Butters in no time, but I just can't, and that makes it so much more worth it to me. I'm not spending $20 to replace this super often; it's awesome. I like the smell and the forumla.

Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief Moisturizer ~ Clinique
Unfortunatley, this is just a sample bottle. I am actually convinced that I will buy the full size product when this is gone, though. I love it. I have normal skin and it makes my skin feel so smooth and moisturized. A little bit goes a long way!

Lip Glace in "Popsicle" ~ No7
I am not a lipgloss person. I am so picky with what I put on my lips. If it tastes like plastic, do not want. If it doesn't last, what's the point? You guys know the drill. I borrowed a different colour from a friend this summer when I went to Canada's Wonderland and applied it TWICE during a whole day of talking and eating and roller coasters. It's a little bit sticky, but a good sticky. It doesn't budge, it's long-lasting, but it isn't drying at all. It smells sweet, but it's not exactly flavoured. And it's SPARKLY! I just love it so much and used it so much this month.

i-Mark Custom Pick Eyeshadow ~ Mark
I like palettes, and I usually don't pick out my own eyeshadows. I know with palettes you usually get a shade or two you don't really use, but I find it more annoying and expensive to buy everything individually. I decided to stop being such a bum and bought a Mark Mezzo case (fits two blushes OR one blush + 2 shadows OR four shadows) and four shadows:

• Latte - matte pinky brown 
• Biscotti - shimmery cream/champagne
• Minx - shimmery taupe/silver
• Night Owl - shimmery navy

They are very well pigmented and fit into the case with magnets. They are $6 per shadow, with the case being something like $8. They have new sizes/names for the cases than what I have, but they're very similar. Anyways, I love these four shades together. I can leave out Night Owl and have the perfect neutral look, or make things a little more dramatic and smokey if I include all four colours. I take this one with me when I travel or stay overnight somewhere. I'm pretty sure I used Biscotti every single day in October. It's a very versatile colour and good for highlighting. I recommend all four of these colours and the other i-mark shades available. I have several other shadows and many of Mark's palettes that they've released. I might do a post on them some other time.

Anybody else really loving Mark products? Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one. There needs to be more Mark/Avon love online. 

i-mark metallic: Jazzy

First I want to (sort of?) apologize for not posting a thing for the past few weeks. It's back to school for me and this year I am balancing my part time job, student leadership responsibilites, and classes. The reason I am only partly apologizing is because I don't have any sort of following or readers or anything, so I'm basically talking to myself. Awesome.

I ordered three of the new i-Mark Metallics eyeshadows: Jazzy (purple), Sugar Sugar (pale pink), and moonshine (Silver). Unfortunately, they are back ordered and I only have Jazzy in my possession at the moment. I decided to give it a whirl today because I heard good things from Jackie and every photo elsewhere I've seen to date of these colours has made me very excited to try for myself!

I didn't do swatches because.. well, it was hard. The little eyeshadow is not soft and easy to rub off/apply like every other eyeshadow on the planet I've ever used. It took tons of work to even get any colour off and onto my eyelids. I layered, I used primer, I used a brush, I used my finger.. it's a little disappointing. Most people have said they are beautiful and well pigmented, but I just didn't get that from it. The colour is so pretty and almost irridescent and I simply LOVE it, but the texture of the shadow itself is just strange. I'm going to use it anyways, and I will still recommend others try it out. It's too pretty to throw in a junk pile and never use. I can deal with a bit of difficult application.

i-Mark in Biscotti (shimmery white/cream) from lashline to brow
i-Mark Metallic in Jazzy on entire lid
Random-ass darker purple from 88 BH Cosmetics Matte eyeshadow palette (I will do a post on that someday)
Wet n' Wild Mega Liner liquid eyeliner in Dark Brown (FAVOURITE. EYELINER. EVER.)
Lashblast Fusion in Black Brown

Good afternoon! First off, I just want to apologize for the fact that I suck at taking photos. I suck at finding good lighting. I just suck. But I wanted to show my foundations, because I use them every day and I love them. I also have a question at the end, if anyone can help out..

A peek inside my little makeup bag! I bought it at a thrift store I don't know how many years ago.. it fits almost everything I use a regular basis and it's compact to travel. I just have to sort through what I want and don't want in there every once and a while because it can get pretty full. 

My liquid foundation (center) is Avon Healthy Makeup. It has SPF 15 and it's a good sized bottle. I think I paid somewhere between $10-$15 for it.. they're always having deals where you buy one, get one free for foundations and blushes and stuff, so I can't remember exactly. I have since peeled the sticker off with what shade it is, but I think it's the lightest and it's called "Light Ivory." It is the lightest-feeling formula I've ever used and it has a slight shimmer to it: not so much that you feel like a stripper rolled in glitter (or KeSha), but enough so you look glowy! 

I bought the ideal shade foundation adjuster about a month ago because I've gotten a bit of a tan this summer. It's the "cool" shade and I just add a tiny drop to my regular foundation when I go to use it and mix it together and it makes my foundation a little darker so I'm not winter-white faced and brown everywhere else.. haha. I'm really freaking pale in the winter.

The lighting is HORRIBLE in my apartment, but I tried to show off the two individually.. the orange/dark one is the adjuster by itself and to the right of it is the foundation (you can hardly see it, hmm). I did blend it in a bit. 

The powder foundation I don't always use.. My mom had this exact same one (shade: Nude) and I tried it one day and liked how it felt a bit like a bronzer because it wasn't "my" light shade. I dumped a tube of Mark Crystal Shimmer in "Flirtette" into my own Nude foundation so it added all the shimmer you see in the photos above. The foundation on it's own is MATTE and not at all glittery. I customized this one because I was never going to use all of the foundation and never going to use all of the powder shimmer by itself. I dust it on some days when I don't feel like using blush.

 Anyways! That's my basic foundation routine.. liquid, adjuster, sometimes powder/shimmer. Now I have a dilemma (though it's unrelated to faces and foundation). I recently decided I would try REALLY HARD to stop my bad habit of nail biting. I bought Witchcraft STOP IT and it's been working wonders.. this is the length of my nails after one week - they're normally much shorter! But now I've come to the realization that the REAL problems lies with me biting, picking, and peeling my skin. I chew my FINGERS, not my fingernails! Is there any way to remedy this? I am embarrassed by my hands and fingers most of the time because they look so gross and sad. I moisturize the shit out of them and try to keep my hands out of my mouth and away from my face, but it's just something I don't catch myself doing until it's too late. :(

Anyways, time for work. Hope that last picture doesn't make you barf; it kind of makes me feel that way sometimes. ;)