Sparkled Beauty

I did wear Make Up For Ever HD Microperfecting primer #2 Mauve in this look, but since it is an invisible primer, I am bringing back some oldies from the holiday to show you instead.

I forgot how fab Kat Von D Spellbinding eyeshadow book was until I pulled it out again. Been using it all week. Here are:
- Countess as brow bone highlight. It bronzes the area instead of highlighting it, something different
- 8 Bit as transition colour, and
- a gradient of Hexagram, Birdcage and Gunner on the lids.

On the lower lash line is Avon SuperShock gel eye liner pencil in Aqua Pop. Now that summer is here, bright liners are in full force for me :)

Another blast from the past is Make Up For Ever Ultimate Long Lasting Lip kit. I used Aqua Eye 18C and Aqua Rouge 18 Coral for the lips this time.

On me, it's more of a coral pink. My lips alter every colour that is put on them, sigh... I do like this colour but wish it were more coral, maybe more neon too!

Other products used:
- Maybelline Fit Me Shine Free foundation in 230 Natural Buff
- Joe Fresh lip tint in Crush Orange as blush
I like using these lip tints on the cheeks more than on the lips, for their natural look after blended
- Yves Rocher Sexy Pulp Collector Ultra Volume mascara in Black
- Avon Ultra Luxury brow liner in Dark Brown.

The primer held up the makeup all day with this look, I was quite pleased. Warmer weather would call for primers more often and I am happy to have this bottle this year, together with other BB/ CC/ DD creams in the stash :)

I have so many reviews to post but am falling behind in drafting the posts. So much to do in the house and backyard, and when it's nice out, I want to get outside. Also feel discouraged trying to keep up with Canadian releases as we always fall so behind the US or UK with drugstore brands. I am losing it!

Do you guys who blog feel the same way? Sure, if it is my full time job, I would suck it up and work. But this is purely recreational (lol) so I am lagging. You'll understand, right? :)

Have a great sunny day!

How is it for a "bold" post title eh? Product names though, not my creation lol.

Here is a look I did with NYC Big Bold items I just reviewed:
- Big Bold Curl mascara in Extreme Black and
- Big Bold Plumping lip gloss in Big City Blush, used on top of a stain to add some colour to the lips.

Like I mentioned yesterday, on its own, Big City Blush only adds shine, not colour, to my lips. I wear it by itself or on top of a nude lipstick for the bus ride to work, and touch up with more colour after my morning tea.

Also featured in this look is Avon SuperShock gel eye liner pencil in Cobalt, one of the pretties dark blue liners I have. To repeat myself, it is so soft and pigmented that I only have to apply it lightly to get tons of colour.

Other products used for the look:
- Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover foundation in 123
I am still recovering from a few breakouts I "earned" during vacation, thought a good coverage foundation would do me good :)
- It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eyes full coverage concealer in Neutral Medium
- Maybelline Color Tattoo in Tenacious Teal as base
- Marcelle Spring 2013 makeup palette (the one with 9 eyeshadows, 2 blushes and a highlighter, no specific name) - I used 2 shades of blue for the eyes, the white eyeshadow on the brow bone, and the peach blush for the cheeks.
Avon Cobalt fits right in the blue theme of things, but I am also known for wearing a random colour on my lower lash line too :)
- Avon Ultra Luxury brow liner in Dark Brown.

The lighting was quite forgiving in these shots, I was thankful for a bit of sunshine I got that day.

Been a bit under the weather and lost some sleep over crazy wind on Saturday and last night. Count me cranky! One positive thing is Squirt and I were productive in the weekend, putting together 2 Alex's, a dining set and 3 bar stools lol.

Shopping wise, I did make it to Victoria's Secret sale for a few makeup items and fragrance sets (65 - 75% off). Check it out if you haven't already. Also pulled some online purchases for clothes, resisted a Skindinavia order because they cancelled the discount code (good for my wallet then!).

And... my new US CP package is on its way, with items from QVC (It Cosmetics) and drugstores. I am super excited!

Remember way back when the pixiwoo sisters mentioned Avon SuperShock gel eye liner pencils? Lots of us were disappointed to know that they were UK exclusives at the time.

Fast forward to the day I saw them in an Avon brochure, it felt like Christmas lol. I have since ordered 4 of them (see colours below).

According to Avon, these pencils are formulated with 20% liquid gel and vitamin E to smoothly create a flawless line every time - with the ease and precision of a pencil and the high-impact color of a gel.

pixiwoo's raves did raise a high standard that I hope these pencils would meet. And they did!

The shades I got, from top to bottom, are Intense Brown, Plumful, Cobalt and Aqua Pop. I was in the mood for colours, so I passed on Blackout. Looks like it was used on Kat Denning at the People's Choice Awards lol.

Look at the holographic letters on the pencils, they are the "SuperShock" after all :)

Here are the colours, in the same order.

By the look, Intense Brown seems to be the most basic, no shimmers. From Plumful, Cobalt to Aqua Pop, we start seeing a bit of shine. The swatches below prove that too.

The pencils are not the twist up kind, so yes we have to sharpen them and lose some of the precious gel core in the process :( I have not used these to the point they need sharpening, but I can already see the pain of that day.

It might sound silly to you, but I can't pick a favorite among these four shades.  

Intense Brown satisfies my daily/ work look uses, while Plumful, Cobalt and Aqua Pop spice up any neutral look when I want to. And they are all very pigmented, so smooth, soft and comfortable on my eyes, thanks to that gel texture.

I did two swipes of the pencils for each swatch here to show you the colours, but on the eyes, I only needed one swipe. I almost didn't have words to describe my excitement. All the raves hold true!

These SuperShock pencils retail for $10 a piece but are on sale at times for around $5-$6. I totally recommend them, and hope Avon will bring out more colours to the line.

Check out my FOTDs wearing Cobalt, Aqua Pop :)

We have my first dip into Avon Brushed Metals collection today.

Yes, I know texture nail polish is everywhere these days, but Avon's collection looks quite pretty in the brochure and I thought I should pick some up to try. I don't think they did a bad job at all.

This is Dusky Copper, a dark charcoal texture with multi coloured shimmer. I did one coat with no top coat, which was opaque enough under naked eyes. In closeup, however, bald spots are visible, so I'd suggest two (thin) coats for good colour coverage.

I love it when I can steal the whole show with just one polish. Of course I don't mind layering up colours/ finishes when I want more, but "one polish does it all" is a godsend when it's 11pm and you realize your nails are chipped :)

Wear wise, due to the lack of top coat, Dusky Copper last about a day and a half on me. But if you ask me, I still prefer it without top coat, just so that all the shimmers shine through on top of the rough texture.

My Body Flow instructor noticed my nails one time and asked if she could touch it. She concluded that she couldn't wear textures as she'd pick at them. I guess that's fair :)

And here's the closeup glory.

Dusky Copper, to me, is a good choice in the Brushed Metals range if you like dark shades with character. The grittiness is medium, not as intense/ bumpy as China Glaze's, so it won't overwhelm you.

It is Thursday already, then we (Canadians) have a long weekend. I don't know if Squirt and I will have a Thanksgiving traditional meal, but we'll find some good food to treat ourselves.

Have some good family time, whether it's a holiday for you or not.

Alright, a FOTD featuring Avon Ideal Flawless foundation in Medium Beige. As mentioned in my review, this shade is a bit dark on me even though it does not look like it in the pics :)

The regulars for the face:
- Sunscreen: La Roche-Posay Anthelios SPF60
- Moisturizers: Yves RocherAnti-age Global day cream and eye cream
- Primers: Annabelle CC Instant Perfecting base in Natural and Luminous finish
- Concealer: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Spot treatment corrector in Light/ Medium
- Brow liner: Annabelle Skinny brow liner in Universal Medium
- Blush: Maybelline Color Tattoo in Fierce and Tangy
- Lips: Joe Fresh matte lipstick in Bubble Gum.

The Annabelle CC creams are now a natural step in my makeup routine. Maybelline Color Tattoo as a blush is not new, but Fierce and Tangy requires a bit more blending and is easy to look overdone in photos. Self reminder :)

On the eyes:
- Eye bases: Maybelline Color Tattoos in Tenacious Teal and Electric Blue
- Eyeshadows: L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows in Goldmine (to add shine to mid lids) and Eternal Black (just a tiny bit in the crease, an awesome black with silver glitters)
- Brow bone highlight: Annabelle eyeshadow in Aura
- Eye liners: Annabelle Smoothie eyeshadow pencils in Absinthe-Minded and In Mauve-tion
- Mascara: Lancome Hypnose mascara in Black.

In sharpening my Smoothies one night, I realized that I had forgotten to use In Mauve-tion, as it is now the longest pencil among the Smoothie bunch in my drawer. Correcting that now, as no Smoothies should feel left out :)

I like Joe Fresh matte lipsticks, as they are pigmented and not drying. Bubble Gum is not a colour I reach for often, however. Its blue base tends to make me look washed out. It'd look gorgeous on fairer skin toned ladies. Maybelline Vivid lipstick in Pink Pop is a similar case that comes to mind.

Near the end of the day, my face got a little oily but like I said before, the foundation last quite well. All in all, Avon Ideal Flawless foundation is a pretty good medium coverage foundation. I just need a lighter shade for the time being or mix Medium Beige with a lighter colour to match.

We made it half way through the week already, and 4-day long weekend can't come soon enough. I am frustrated with April travel arrangement to Toronto (seat sales are terrible right now), summer care for Squirt above everything else. Times like this, I wish I had a family member living with us, so I can get some extra help in a pinch. Hope your day is going better than mine :)

Heard about this foundation quite a bit on youtube, I finally went and got myself a bottle - Avon Ideal Flawless Invisible Coverage liquid foundation SPF15 (Broad spectrum) in Medium Beige

Advertised as having complete coverage that looks and feels 100% natural, Ideal Flawless is lightweight and oil-free, suitable for all skin types.

To me, it is a buildable medium coverage foundation, as I do have a lot to cover up and need concealer after but love the natural finish. If you have fewer flaws, this would work great for you.

Excuse the colour inaccuracy here, blame it on my camera :) The 2 pics below are true to colour.

Bonus points for the pump dispenser. Here is Ideal Flawless, with the cap off, next to my MAC NC35 (no pump). The shades in the bottles look pretty close right? Not really :)

Since we have to order Avon products based on catalogue pictures, I unfortunately picked a shade that was a bit darker than my match shade, but other than that, I have no complaints about how this foundation performs.

It last quite well (with a primer) for a work day, some fading near the end but by that time, I don't really care if my foundation fades anyway :) The skin feels light and I didn't suffer from any breakouts using it. SPF15 is a bit low in sun protection department, but I do use sunscreen on my face all the time, no biggy.


Swatches of Medium Beige (on the left) in comparison to MAC NC35 (on the right). See the difference now? Ideal Flawless has thicker consistency too, which I prefer.

I am holding off this foundation till the warmer months when my face gets a little darker, but I did do a FOTD with it on to show you :)

Ideal Flawless retails for $15 for 1oz/ 30ml from your Avon lady, but is often on sale. Note that the three darkest shades of this foundation (Earth, Dark Cocoa and Rich Espresso) have no SPF.

Hi everyone, I have been bad with taking pictures of my nails lately. I have been wearing lots of pretty/ popular shades with blingy glitters and didn't stop to take any shots of them. Plus, I am still in the bright colour phase which might not be season appropriate, lol.

Anyway, a rare occasion where I wore a dark shade - Avon Golden Twilight. The name suggests some prettiness, doesn't it? Let's see.

Golden Twilight is a dark deep vampy purple shade (very close to black) with slight gold shimmers. An LE and is not around anymore, I'm afraid, as it was part of the 2009 Sparkle holiday collection from Avon. I grabbed this from a blog sale a long time ago.

Application and wear were good, nothing to complain. I only needed 2 coats for opacity. A winner all around, especially if you are a fan of dark shades.

If you are wondering why the colour on my middle finger looks a little different from the rest, I did add a coat of NYC Love Letters on that nail as an experiment. Look how pretty they look together, a duochrome eh?

Hope you all have a good day. This week is going to be long for me, but at least it's close to Halloween :)

Taking a break from a long haul post yesterday, I'm posting a short NOTD.

This is Avon Nailwear Pro in Rave, a shade that kinda takes the back burner when other more talked about shades get the spot light. But I like it. With the craziness of dark shades, cremes and flakies lately, I sometimes forget the simple shades that can balance that all out.

I ordered this shade in a wimp, after seeing a beautiful swatch online. It is what I imagined it was. Gorgeous shimmer, toned down colour that is great for work and reasonable wear. No problem with application either. I believe this is 2 coats.

I am having a roller coaster of emotions this morning, which explains the short post. I was researching about some warehouse sales in Toronto that I might get to go when I'm in town next month. Getting all excited and all, then I heard about the passing of a very talented makeup artist, Ale, aka QueenB Makeup. Her blog was one of the very first blogs I read, and it was very inspirational. I remember I wished I could one day do something half as good as what she did. She is so young and cheerful, why gone so soon?

I'll be back to regular posting tomorrow. For now, I can't find words to say. Sorry, everyone.

I bet lots of you have seen Avon Violetta from the matte line that they promoted awhile ago, so this post is to document a few experiments I did with it, and it was fun.

Violetta is a gorgeous colour but it looked so flat on my nails that I didn't bother to take a pic. I don't normally dislike matte shades as I own quite a few of them, but just not this one. Plus, you always have to accept the fact that matte polishes don't wear very well. And I'm talking 1 day in this case.

A twitter conversation with macbella2 sparked the interest of improving the wear of Violetta, by applying a matte top coat over it. So I did.

This is Avon Violetta with a coat of Claire's matte top coat. You would think it would look even more flat, but nope, it turned into a satin finish which surprised me. Under direct flash, it even shone a little, lol.

So Claire's matte top coat solved the issue about the flat look of Violetta, but unfortunately didn't improve the wear much. It last an extra half a day on my nails before horrible chipping happened. At this point, you would suggest a regular (glossy) top coat, wouldn't you? :)

Here it is, my first attempt with the Scotch tape. I placed the tape across my nails diagonally and painted Seche Vite on the halves of the nails that have the free edges. This is to spice up the matte look and to test the wear of Violetta with a regular top coat. I figured chipping normally happen at the free edges first.

And again, I got a day and a half out of this mani, free edges or not, lol. It is quite persistent eh? However, I did get something out of it.

Click the pic to enlarge to see how pretty Violetta is with a top coat. The magenta and silver sparkles which did not exist when the shade was matte came alive. It was very pretty when the sun shone on my nails.
A close up on my thumb to show you the Scotch tape effect. And to summarize the experiments, I would wear Violetta again with a top coat as I think it shows up better that way - unless you are a huge fan of matte looks. And be prepared for the chips :)

Note that application isn't the best. It dries too quickly, so any mess I make along the way cannot be fixed easily, which explains the uneven edges near my half moons. I did do better the second and third runs with it though.

It's the first day of December, everyone seems to have a count down going on - either 24 days before Christmas, or 31 days before the year end. How crazy is that?

I was going through my NOTD pics to prepare a new post and realized I haven't even told you about the hauls that they are part of, lol. I know I keep getting more nail polish, but I found good deals and it was just so easy to cave.

Anyway, here are some nail colours I got from my Avon lady. Avon nail polish normally runs around CAD5.99 or so a piece but I grabbed them when they were on sale for half off.

First row, from L-R: Avon Matte Red Velvet and Violetta, Avon Speed Dry Mink
Second row: Avon Nailwear Pro Rave, Deluxe Chocolate and Jade.

The matte shades are the latest release while Jade came out a few months back. The rest are all dark colours which I thought are appropriate for the season.

Now we're getting to the exciting part. My blog sale haul. I love blog sales, as I can get my hands on hard-to-find brands or find colours that have been long gone in the market, with awesome prices.

Check out what I found:
First row, from L-R: NYX Asphalt, Essence Pool Party, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Rockstar Pink and China Glaze Harmony.

Second row: Orly Pixie Dust, LA Girl Rock Star Addict, Avon Nailwear Pro Blue Flare and Golden Twilight.

Well the first 3 I can buy around here but for a lot more than what I paid. The 2 Avon shades, I don't recall seeing them being released in Canada (or they were released before my interest in nail polish started). The other 3 are ones I have been wanting for a while.

And that's not all. Do you see what I see in this pic?

- Isadora Graffiti Spraycan Blue and Subway Green (yes, the coveted crackling polishes)
- Milani Teddy-Bare and Fairy Tale (which are from the Bare It All and the Halloween 2009 collections, not available in Canada)
- Gosh Rainbow (O.M.G., Canada never has it, ever), and
- NYC Love Letters (one of the most raved about chameleon top coats).

I was extremely happy with this bunch and, like I said at the beginning, I already started putting some of the shades in use. The NOTDs will be up soon, but if there's anything you want to see first, let me know and I'll get to it.

Morning everyone, it's Monday :) It wasn't easy to get out of bed this morning, was it?

Today I have a little review for you. It's Avon Healthy Makeup Lipstick.

I was quite curious about the whole Healthy Makeup line that Avon promoted a few weeks back. As they offer special introduction price for them, I couldn't resist and bought 2 items to try out.

The concept behind the line is quite neat. According to Avon, Healthy Makeup products are infused with skin-loving nutrients, vitamins A, E and B complex to diminish dryness and restore a rosy glow.
The lipstick formula is non-feathering. They come in the 3g tubes, retails CAD9.99 reg.

Here are what I got, and swatches (same order as the pic above):
- Left: Healthy Makeup Lip Conditioner SPF 15 in Rose.
- Right: Healthy Makeup Lipstick SPF 15 in Apricot Burst.

The stick colours look a bit more intense than IRL, so the swatches are more accurate. Don't let the flash fool you, as the sticks do not have any shimmer in them.

The lip conditioner applies sheer which makes sense, as it is supposed to provide just a hint of colour. The lipstick has more pigmentation, obviously. They both are very creamy. It depends on what you need, so pick the right product to serve the purpose.
This pic is without flash. It shows the creamy texture of the lipstick better. See how sheer the lip conditioner is? It's almost unnoticeable on my lips (see below).

So the effect: I like them both, as they apply smoothly and keep my lips moisturized quite well.

However, I found the lipstick applies better by itself, without the lip conditioner or any kind of lip balm underneath. It would glide around a bit and shows up unevenly otherwise. Thanks to its moisturizing formula, you can get away with just the lipstick on your lips.

Here are lip swatches, same order as above - lip conditioner first, lipstick next.

I don't normally do lip swatching, as my lips aren't the best to show colours. They are naturally dark/ pigmented and most of the time, lipsticks show up totally different on my lips than on my hand. I figure if you have naturally pink lips, my swatches aren't helpful at all lol.

About the packaging, I'm not a big fan of the big round wide tube that these products come with. It's bulky to store in my little lipstick drawer. The light gold colour is catchy though, easy to tell from other black tubes.

In summary, I think the Healthy Makeup lip products are worth a try. I prefer the lipstick, as I think it kinda does the job of the lip conditioner already, plus the pigmentation. But get them when they are on sale (which is quite often with Avon), as I wouldn't want to pay full price for them.

Yep, it's Avon :) I was coming home one day and saw a few pretty little catalogues from Avon at the front door, thought I could take a look. And that was how it started, lol.

There were lots of things in Avon catalogues that I never heard of or tried before. Sometimes I looked for blog reviews first, sometimes I bought it to try myself if the thing is not expensive.

So this is Avon Moisture Effective Eye Makeup Remover Lotion, reg. CAD3.99 (2oz/ 60ml), often on sale for just CAD0.99 like it is right now, at the time of this post.

Like the name suggests, the product is meant to remove your eyemakeup and moisturize the eyes during the process. You rub/ pat the lotion on the lids to loosen the makeup, then wipe it off and rinse afterward.

I found this product in a catalogue about 2 years ago, and liked the idea. I love doing eyemakeup but dread removing it off at the end of the day as I hate seeing a "rainbow" mess around my eyes during washing. This product might just be what I needed.

This is how I use it: I put a few squirls of the lotion on a damp cotton pad (like in the pic), spread it out evenly on the pad with my finger, and then use it to wipe off my eye makeup. For mascara, I leave the pad on top of my lashes for a few seconds before wiping. This way, the "rainbow" mess is on the pad, not on my face or fingers. No greasy feeling aferward, no scent to it either. I follow up with a cleanser, for the whole face.

The lotion works very well removing eyeshadows and daily mascara, very gently (i.e. 1-2 coats, including waterproof). For night time mascara (3-4 coats), it might take a second cotton pad, or some makeup remover oil/ liquid, but I'm totally fine with that. By using the lotion, I use a lot less Bi-Facil or any other kind of makeup remover I have. The moisturizing part, I doubt it works, as the lotion is only on my lids for a few seconds, but at least I know it is not harsh or stripping the delicate skin around my eyes. That's good enough.

I have gone through a few bottles of this, always stock up when it's on sale. For a buck, and it works for me, why not? The bottle is plastic, and small enough for travel. I know some of you use Pond's Cold Cream for the same purpose, but I prefer the bottle than the jar, and I think Pond's costs a bit more :)

I have a little haul coming from my Avon lady, and this lotion is certainly part of it. Hope this review is helpful for some of you. If you tried this product before, feel free to let me know how it worked for you.