Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation + Concealer - Review & Swatches

Hey everyone, it has been a very long time since the last time I actually sat to write a new blog post! It is good to be back and hopefully I will be staying and no more 'blog break'.

Recently my face has been more on the dry side specially on my cheeks and chin so I was searching and watching different videos to find a good drugstore foundation and I think I have found a pretty good one. 

Foundation: 400 Natural Beige, 303 True Nude, Concealer : light/medium

I finally picked up this wake me up foundation from Rimmel and it is actually my first time to try anything from the foundation part of Rimmel brand if I'm not mistaking and I have to say I am pretty impressed. Even though the drugstore I went to had testers for this foundation I still couldn't really decide which shade was best for me so I went for the last two shades they had because my colour is right in between the two. My drugstore had only four shades available for the foundation and the concealer so I still have to mix the last two darkest shades to get my skin colour but this whole process might be worth it.

First of all, it comes with a pump applicator which is always a plus in my book. The concealer has a spongy applicator like how lip glosses are usually so that is also a good easy way to use the product.

As you can see in the picture below, the foundation in the bottle has a nice sheen to it. So this foundation is no where near matte finish. It is more like satin finish and it is medium coverage and it is buildable so you can be able to get full coverage with this but I usually use a small amount to just even my skin tone and then use the concealer on the spots that needs more coverage.

One pump is more than enough for my full face but since I have to mix the two colours, I usually have a bit more than I need to use so I just wipe it off with tissue or something. 

It has a slight pink finish to it which is so not my skin's undertone but I manage to work with it since I actually like this foundation. I just use a full coverage powder that has a yellow/golden finish to it and lightly apply it to my face to cover the pink finish of the foundation and it has worked so far!

This foundation has a light perfume-y smell to it. It is perfect for dry skin which I have, also it doesn't accentuate dry patches if you have any.

I tested this foundation with no primer or setting spray and it lasted for more than 12 hours on me. I did my foundation at around 8 am in the morning and took it off at around 11 pm at night the same day and the foundation looked good after all those hours. No fading or anything. I just had to blot my T-zone one time during the whole day which is pretty amazing. I usually have to blot two or three times a day because I like to look matte in my T-zone which tends to get a tiny bit shiny during the day!

So overall, I would say this is my new favourite drug store foundation so far. It does have some down sides to it but it also has some good sides to it as well, so I would say it is worth the little hassle that comes with it. Such as mixing the two colours to get my match and also apply a golden toned powder to match my skin. Since it looks good when I am fully finished with my makeup, I try to be patient and take the time so this can work for me.

Have you tried this foundation? What are your thoughts on it?
Love, Dina

Physicians Formula Matte Collection Quad Eyeshadow in Canyon Classics - Review & Swatches

Personally, I don't tend to collect matte eyeshadows.. like ever. I like to have a few of the neutral necessities of the mattes and that is about it. But lately, I have been interested to find a good matte palette that pretty much had everything I would need. So when I stumbled upon this eyeshadow quad from Physicians Formula, I got pretty excited!

Now I was initially thinking of considering the Urban Decay Naked Basics but then I thought I wont be using just the matte eyeshadow for a full on eye look so I couldn't justify paying that much money for getting only half of the eye look I want. I only use a cream matte shadow for brow highlight, brown for blending the crease and sometimes black for setting my my eyeliner but other than that I use shimmer eyeshadow for the rest of the look, so you get what I mean when I say I would use it for half of the eye look I am going for. 

This matte eyeshadow quad comes in a grey/silver durable plastic packaging which I think comes very handy and it is travel friendly and doesn't take a whole lot of space. The overall packaging look is very simple and nothing flashy or overly exciting but it does not mean the product quality is bad. heh

Inside, this quad has a small thin mirror in the top and a sponge applicator which I just throw out because I prefer actual eye makeup brushes. haha

The eyeshadows are all matte as the name of it already tells. There is a cream/ white shade. Two brown shades which one has a warm undertone and the other has a cool undertone to it. Finally there is a dark grey eyeshadow as well.

The quality is very creamy and very pigmented. A little bit of this stuff goes a very long way and they blend easily as well. 

The price ranges between $7 - $11 depending on the store you get it from.

Overall, I think this is a very good matte eyeshadow quad to have, so if you are looking for a good matte eyeshadow similar to these shades, you might want to give this a try!

What are your thoughts on this eyeshadow quad? What are your favourite matte palettes?

Love, Dina

Photos of the Month : January 2014

Hello everyone!

I hope you all have had a great month of January and a good start to the month of February. I really enjoyed sharing some of "nature" pictures of mine during 2013 through these blog posts so I decided to keep doing them since it is so much fun for me and it is a little different than my usual beauty posts. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I do! :)

Winter is still happening here in Toronto! yes, it's all white everywhere STILL!! Don't get me wrong, I love snow and how beautiful it is, but sometimes you just get tired of how cold it is outside!! Well, it is Toronto and there is nothing I can do about that. In my opinion, Toronto is so UNPREDICTABLE!! One year we have the most pleasant winter ever and the next year it is all warnings of how being outside for 5 minutes the skin is going to freeze.

But honestly, some days can be a bit of a disaster. Let me explain to you so you wont think I'm crazy. So it snows A LOT and then nothing happens for a few days just super cold weather and lots of wind then one day the temperature goes high and it is so pleasant it feels like spring, well not really but you get what I mean. So the snow starts to melt, obviously, and then at night the temperature drops again and all that melted snow is now ICE!! So imagine walking on solid ice. That's how crazy it can get here. I'm sure it is a whole lot worse in other places but Toronto, come on... go a little easy on us would you??

Any ways, I really do try to look at the positive side of things which can be REALLY hard at times. Well, at a lot of times.. haha

I don't have a picture of those days that I had to walk on ice because I had to be careful not to fall, so I didn't really remember to bring out my cellphone and take a picture. Oops, my bad, forgive me!! :D

My "photos of the month" posts wont be complete unless I include some sort of delicious looking picture of food. So, this was my way of making easy, fast, home made pizza!

I hope for you all to have an amazing month of February. Stay safe, warm and happy lovelies.

Love, Dina.

CoverGirl LipPerfection Jumbo Gloss Balm - Review & Swatches

Today I come at you with a review on one of my recent favourite lip products to use. I have been really enjoying to use these jumbo types of lip products. Several brands have come out with their own way of a jumbo lip tint/ balm and sorts like that. One of my favourites to use lately has been from CoverGirl! 

These do not tint the lips and I actually really like this about them. Sometimes I want to use a lip colour in the morning and then later throughout the day decide to change it and the fact that these do not stain the lips actually lets me to change my lip colour in case I decide to.

I have four of the jumbo gloss balms from CoverGirl and I absolutely love them. These are pretty moisturising on the lips and colour pay off is really good. It twists up so no need to sharpen. The packaging is a black plastic tube that is slim and sleek. The cap is the colour of the lip product which is a big help as it comes in organizing the lip products as well as choosing them. You don't have to open the cap to be able to tell what colour you have picked up. haha 

Natural Light
Names from left to right:
Coral Twist #235, Apricot Twist #240, Mocha Twist #265, Cocoa Twist #270

The slight point these have makes the application a little more easy and precise. The size is pretty decent and it is not really bulky and will not take a lot of space in your make up bag. These have a faint scent to them but I can't point my finger on what exactly these smell like. I think it is just a cosmetic scent. nothing floral or fruity what so ever. The scent doesn't bother me and after applying, it doesn't linger which is good. If you have dry lips these can accentuate them but I think that is the case with every lip product isn't it? well, I always try to keep my lips moisturised so I don't have to deal with it later ;) 

Natural light, With Flash
The names in order from top to bottom:
Coral Twist #235, Apricot Twist #240, Mocha Twist #265, Cocoa Twist #270

Coral Twist : as the name says is a bright coral/ pink colour. I love this for spring specially. No shimmer in this one, just a slight shine to it.

Apricot Twist : again as the name says, it is a apricot/ coral colour but much less bright than the coral twist but still has a lot of colour pay off. No shimmer in this one as well, just a slight shine

Mocha Twist : is a brown/ mocha colour with slight shimmer to it and it has definite shine in the finish. this one is one of my go to lip products because I count this as an everyday neutral lip colour for me.

Cocoa Twist : is a much more brown/ cocoa colour with obvious shimmer to it and shine. This one is my other "everyday" favourite as well as the last one I mentioned.

Natural Light ,
The names in order from top to bottom:
Coral Twist #235, Apricot Twist #240, Mocha Twist #265, Cocoa Twist #270

These range between $6 - $9 depending on the store. 

So overall, I really like these jumbo balms and I would actually repurchase them when I run out of the ones I have. I recommend these to.. well everyone!!

Have you tried these jumbo balms from CoverGirl? What are your thoughts on it?

Love, Dina

L'oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara - Review

I am always very interested in trying out different mascaras as long as they have the plastic bristle applicator. So when I saw this butterfly mascara by L'oreal and saw the brush, I really wanted to try it out and of course like always, do a little review for you guys as well.

The packaging of this mascara is very sleek and simple and chic in my opinion. The brush as you can see in the picture below, it has plastic bristle and one side of the brush, the bristles actually flare out like a butterfly wing hence the name of the mascara. and the other side of the mascara is kind of curved. 

The brush is very flexible and moves easily. In the picture below, I have the brush of this mascara compared to the good oldie CoverGirl original lash blast wand. As you can see the length is the same but the width is a little slimmer I think.

L'oreal Butterfly, CoverGirl Lash Blast (original)

In the picture below, I have the before and after to show the effect of the mascara on my lashes. I applied only one coat of this mascara to my lashes and that was what I got from it. It gave me length and a little volume.

before, after ( one coat of the mascara)

I actually like how my lashes look in the picture but I did not enjoy the feeling of it on my lashes. First of all, the first impression I has from this mascara when I initially applied it, it was a little more wet than my usual mascaras, but not hugely wet so that was good. I felt the applicator was a little sharp, like I could feel the wand as I was applying it to my lashes which was weird. Any ways, I applied the mascara to my top and bottom lashes and right away, I felt my eyelashes clumping together. I hate clumpy eyelashes for me personally. It just bugs me a lot. I tried to separate my lashes as much as I could with a clean spooly brush without the mascara flaking on me.

After all that work, my lashes just felt a little hard, like I could really feel the mascara on my lashes. It was uncomfortable but I wore it for a full day and it stayed put on me. 

So overall, I am not so sure about this mascara to be honest. I really wanted to like it, but I had to really work with it to make it look and feel "normal" which for a day to day basis is a lot of work for just a mascara application. I might have not enjoyed this mascara but some one else might love it. It just all depends on the expectations and what you are used to get from a mascara.

This mascara retails for around $9 to $12 (Canadian Dollars) at any drugstore that carries L'oreal products.

Have you tried this mascara yet? What are your thoughts on it?

Love, Dina