Sparkled Beauty

A late posting on a rainy day. I didn't feel too well, was putting together the mower to finally take care of the tall grass but it started raining.

Still the same eyebrows, I know, will get to them eventually. Just pay attention to the lip colour :) This is Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lipstick in Frambourjoise, layered. Not the strong intense red but more of a pink red, slightly easier to wear.

Other products used:
- Make Up For Ever HD Micro-perfecting primer #2
- CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 foundation SPF20 in 957 Golden Tan
- Cover Fx Conceal Fx Camouflage concealer in Light
- Annabelle Zebra Bronzing powder in Haute Gold (no blush).

On the eyes:
- Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
- Fyrinnae Unicorn in the inner corner, Meerkat topped with Rapunzel Had Extensions for the rest, and Steampunk in the crease
I chose the pressed eyeshadow format to avoid dealing with loose texture, but I dropped Steampunk and the pieces were impossible to pick up (they crumbled). Sad day :(
- Milani Eye Tech Extreme liquid eyeliner in Blackest Black for the wings
- Avon SuperShock gel eye liner pencil in Plumful on the lower lash line
- Annabelle Le Big Show mascara in Black 
- Wet n Wild ColorIcon brow & eye liner in Mink Brown.

I am a little stressed with a million things to do to get the house and the pool ready for the season, while the weather is not. Sick of the chill in the morning. This year, Canada might just be exactly how the world imagines it - igloos 24/7 :)

With all the raves from UK bloggers for Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lipsticks, I made it my mission to hunt them down with the last Super Redemption at Shoppers.

Rouge Edition Velvets are the hybrid liquid lipsticks with quite pigmented colours and a soft matte finish, which is on trend right now.

EDIT: Canada only gets 6 of the 8 shades, $23 each (6.7ml/ 2oz):
- 01 Personne ne rouge! (red)
- 02 Frambourjoise (berry pink)
- 04 Peach Club (pale orange)
- 06 Pink Pong (fuchsia)
- 07 Nude-ist (rosewood) and
- 08 Grand Cru (burgundy red).

I thought I would balance things out with a bright 02 Frambourjoise and a nude 07 Nude-ist. Interestingly, Nude-ist turns out to be not so lol.

The packaging: short rectangular clear tube with colour matching cap that twists close with a click, ideal for being toting around in your purse. The slanted doe foot applicator helps with a sturdy and precise application.

The formula (what makes Rouge Edition Velvet special): evanescent oils takes the credit for that soft feeling without drying nor fading.

Whatever that oil is (and what other ingredients that help it), all lip products should have it, as Rouge Edition Velvet has one of the lightest and most comfortable matte finish I have ever tried. Unless I press my lips together, I don't even feel the lipstick on, seriously!

The scent: typical lip gloss scent that I hardly notice, but thought I should note in case you are scent sensitive.

The wear: Rouge Edition Velvet last through breakfast (nothing greasy of course) but not much after lunch - I would say about 4 hours, on me. Layering and reapplying were easy though.

The pigmentation: buildable. Below is 1 coat of Nude-ist (right swatch) and 2 coats of Frambourjoise (left swatch) in different lighting, just to show that Rouge Edition Velvet could be light and sheer or pigmented if you want them too.

All in all, if these lipsticks weren't mid-range priced, I would have gotten more shades. Those in the UK who could get them for £8.99 (or 2 for £14 at Boots), there is no reason not to :)

Check out the FOTD with Frambourjoise.

I did not notice the new Bourjois So Laque! Ultra Shine nail polish line until I was sent a colour to attempt some nail art with. My regular Shoppers is not a Beauty Boutique where the brand is carried, so I hardly know about new releases.

But I fixed that. I have for you today Lime Catwalk from the Paris Show Time summer collection, with a French twist.

The line supposedly has twice as much vinyl and a blend of highly reflecting resins for nails with high shine, holding for up to 7 days. The bottle is 10ml, retails $10.

Above pic was outside, in the shade, and below was with flash which showed the brighter payoff of the colour. IRL, it is leaning more toward green than yellow.

I applied 4 thin coats, since the shade was a little sheer, and hid the VNL with the contrast French tips, using Bourjois Holiday in Hawaii as part of the LE Colour Pop Mini Nail kit.

The trick to the straight lines on the tips was striping tape. I chose the tape colour that was close to the tip colour to partly hide it.

I found the tape was helpful in keeping my tip colour in line but did not wear so well. By the first day, it already lifted up at the edges. Party my fault though, since I didn't have the cuticle scissors to trim it to the right length once it was on the nails. Lesson learned for next time.

Here you can see the mini bottle (3ml) of Holiday in Hawaii. I applied 2 coats here, quite good opacity.

I found this shade pulled a little at the tips, hence the tip wear that you can see here after Day 1. I'm not sure it was my top coat that caused this, but another coat of the colour will fix it.

All in all, I liked Lime Catwalk and would explore the So Lacque! line a little more when I come across them again. And to give Holiday in Hawaii another fair chance, I would wear it by itself next time and see what happens. The colour is pretty for both summer and fall, I'd say.

I'm back home past midnight on Sunday, exhausted. Spent all day yesterday recovering, unpacking and cleaning up. Not much excitement to report, other than this awesome Super Mega Redemption haul from Shoppers that a friend was so kind to do it for me while I was away.

Now you don't need any more introduction to these Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr eyeshadows, right? I myself don't own many MAC paint pots (like 3), so I can't pass up the chance to get something similar for a fraction of the cost of MAC - CAD8.99 each.

First row: Tenacious Teal, Audacious Asphalt (which I heard is quite close to MUFE Aqua cream #1)
Second row: Pomegranate Punk (very similar to MUFE #17), Bad to the Bronze and Tough as Taupe.

I might swatch Bold Gold and Fierce & Tangy to see if I want them too. With 10 colours in total to choose from, you will find something you like with these :)

And then, I gotta have all the new L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows in the L'Or collection, CAD10.99 a piece :)

Third row: Bronze Divine, Sahara Treasure, Goldmine
Last row: Black Onyx, Emerald Lame and Golden Mahogany.

I gave up on trying to compare shades we have here with those released in the US (with totally different names, why L'Oreal, why?), despite the risk that I might miss an exclusive colour, if any. I believe I now have all shades in Canada (except for the 4 matte ones that I didn't care for).

The rest of the haul:
Bourjois Smoky set (CAD36) with:
- Effet Smoky eyeliner in Intense Black
- Volume Glamour mascara in Noir Ebene, and
- Smoky Eyes eyeshadow trio in Gris Dandy.

CoverFx Total Coverage Cream foundation SPF30 in M50, CAD39.

Cover Girl & Olay Tone Rehab 2-in-1 foundation in Buff Beige, CAD17.99.

I am really excited being able to redeem my points for these. There have been so many new products coming out for the holidays and upcoming season that will keep us, beauty bloggers, busy. Hope everyone has a good start of the new year.

Are you a fan of Bourjois Paris? I had a good read of the Metro this morning regarding Bourjois being brought back to Canada, which is exciting.

Now, I am a "late boomer", so I wasn't aware of the brand being in Canada before. But it's back, and that's all that matters. Who doesn't want more beauty brands in Canada?

The author of the article rang a bell too. Janine Falcon is the lady behind beautygeeks, one of the first Canadian beauty blogs I read. It was a nice suprise reading her work outside her website.

According to Janine, Bourjois will be available at Shoppers (and Murale later) in Canada and Sephora in the US. Right now, Bourjois website doesn't have Canada as a country option yet, so you probably have to pick UK to browse :-)

For more details, head over to the post Bourjois Paris Makeup Comes Back to Canada on beautygeeks.

Photo credit: imabeautygeek.com