2010 Favorites

Okay, I know I'm a little late with this trend, but I HAVE to. These are my favorites!

1) Best Products for $1
Your hearing that right. My local Dollarama carries Bumpit's! I was impressed, I bought them in every colour.

E.L.F Cosmetic Brushes I managed to find about 5 different brushes, even big powder and blush brushes for $1!

2) Best Eye Shadow Products


I used these religiously all year, and they were all new additions to the collection last year. Funny story, the Milani Eyes palette was busted by my daughter, and she opened it and got black EVERYWHERE. I just noticed this picture was taken on that exact spot of my floor.

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips in Vegas Strip is one of my most used things. I use it for neutral looks, gold looks, even to contour certain looks. It's my favorite eyeshadow ever!

Milani Runway Eyes in Backstage Basics became a favorite very fast with me. I always wore the black/silver smokey eye to the bar, so finding this palette just rocked! Sadly it broke, and every time I go to purchase a new one, it's sold out.

Too Faced Galaxy Glam Baked Eyeshadow in Cocoa Comet & Magenta Moon were the first "baked" eyeshadow I used, and from there I fell in love. I just love how the different swirls of colour come together to form a gorgeous high shimmer holographic look.

3) Favorite Product Line
At first, I started writing this for my HUGE line of Lancome products I use, but while writing it, I realized I didn't really fall for it in 2010, I actually fell out of love with lots of the products. This year I discovered how GREAT Physicians Formula is! I use my Shimmer Sticks as eyeshadow, never has a bronzer. The Bronze Booster in Fair to Light is also the first bronzer I've found that wasn't too dark and heavy for my light skin tones. The 2 in 1 also goes great together, and there's no harshness or caking from having to apply them seperately. Over all, I love this brand! Everything was $19.99, a little pricey, but absolutely great! I can't wait to get more from this brand!

4) Favorite Lip Products


There's a lot of products here, and all I can think is "I wish all the glosses I lost were here". Yupp, I had about 5 other lip products I called favorites. I've always been a DuWop lover, more so I've always used Lip Venom. I was pumped when the tinted Twilight one came out, and was super impressed by the Reverse LipLiner. The dark red lipstick is Adrenaline by Annabelle, the pink is.. I don't know, the name has rubbed off. I do believe it's really old, and MAC. I also had sparkling lips thanks to Lise Watier Plumpissimp Corail, Bourjois Paris Effet 3D Max in Rose Gold, and all my little Sephora Shimmer lipgloss'.

5) Favorite Rediscovered Products

Covergirl products!! I got LashBlast mascara to check out the hype last year, and was all "wow, Covergirl is pretty good", so I went through the drawers and pulled out some old gems. This blush is fantastic! I love the multi coloured in 1, as you get more definition I find. I also don't know why I EVER gave up on this neutral quad, it's perfect (coffee, mink, barely beige and mocha - back when quads didn't have one single name!). I found a bunch of Bonnebelle eye pencils, and realized they have TONS of pigment! This Colour Mousse by Rimmel is also a fantastic colour (Splash), and brought me back to my love for teals and greens.

6) Least Used Products

I don't have a photo, but there wasn't very many products I bought and didn't use. There was TONS I already had and didn't use. Bright and high pigmented colour, as well as colour eye pencil's went unused for a long time. I also bought a lot of Milani singles, and didn't have a chance to use them. I also 100% gave up on concealers.

My Brush Collection!

So as you can see I have a decent collection. I'm going to do a small review on all my brushes. I use a large variety of brands, MAC, Quo, true you!, Clinique, Lancome, LaCrosse, Joe, E.L.F, even dollar store brands. I'll break it down into sections, face, eyes, liners, brows; so it'll be easier. Lets start, everything will be from left to right.
Foundation and Concealer Brushes:
- MAC 109 SE - $38.50 CAD - This is used for small contours. I used it to set my foundation a little better. After applying my foundation, I use this in a circular motion to make sure I have no streaks in my foundation. Amazing brush!
- True You! Foundation Brush - $5 CAD - I put a line of foundation straight across this, dab it on my face, and basically paint in an up and down motion to apply my foundation. I don't like the synthetic feel of this brush, but I find it's the same with all foundation brushes.
- Joe Foundation Brush- $7 CAD - This brush is from Superstore's (also called Loblaws) new line of make-up. I use it the exact same way as the brush previous, except I find it's even more synthetic-ish, but for some reason I use it all the time. I recommend saving up and buying a higher end brand brush for foundation, as I'm not fond of either of these brushes.
- True You! Concealer Brush - $5 CAD - I put the smallest amount of concealer on the tip of the brush, and apply it under my eyes, and as needed on blemishes. I however do not use the brush to blend it in, I use my finger. I find it absorbs into the foundation better that way. As well, do not rub it in, dab it. Remember if it's visible still your powder will cover it. I find all these brushes to be simple and the same, so I recommend getting a cheaper one like I have. This brush does the job well.
- Joe Concealer Brush - $7 CAD - I use this brush the same as explained above, just as much as the other, and will recommend this brush to anyone as well!

Facial Powder Brushes:
- e.l.f. professional Total Face Brush - $1 CAD - I lucked out and found this at Dollarama, and many other brushes by them. I use this brush for my face powder quite often, I go back and forth between this and my buffer, this I use with my light powder, the other I use with my darker powder. I put a generous amount of powder on the brush, and apply it in a circular motion to assure I have no lines. This brush can also be used for blush, which I find most powder brushes don't well. I highly recommend this brush, it's great!
- True You! Powder Brush - $5 CAD - I completely dislike this brush. It doesn't fan out in a circle the way I need it to, which means lines left over.
- Azziza Face Brush - $1 CAD - This is another Dollarama find. Unfortunately, it's small and doesn't do the trick quite as well as other brushes. If your in the store, I'd recommend grabbing an e.l.f. Total Face Brush (above) for the same price and much better quality.
- Joe Kabuki Brush - $9 CAD - This brush is great! I use it the same as the e.l.f. Total Face Brush, just for a different shade of powder (I wear a darker one in darker environments - bar, movies, fair..). I highly recommend this brush, it does blend much better than the e.l.f. Total Face Brush (I'm going to invest in another so both my powder brushes are one of these). This brush definitely competes well with the $60 one from MAC!!

Bronzer and Blush:
- e.l.f. professional Bronzing Brush - $1 CAD - Another Dollarama find (did I ever mention I bought actual Bump-Its there? Yeah, deadly place!). I LOVE this brush!! This brand is great, I've seen these at Winner's for $5+. I apply my bronzer everywhere! Most people just do highlighting spots, but I'm pale, so I find I can use some kinds all over (unless they are too shimmery). I definitely recommend getting one!
- MAC 187 SE Duo Fibre Brush - $50.50 CAD - This brush is for light powders, emollient, cheeks and water based foundations, but I find it works best for blush. I can't wear blush to dark, and this applies it very lightly. It's very expensive, and I'd recommend trying something cheaper before splurging for this, as for a multi-use brush it isn't great, I find it's only good use is blush.

Eyeshadow Brushes:
- Joe Eye Crease Brush - $7 CAD - I love this brush! It was my second crease brush, my first was huge, and works better as a blending brush. I like that this is small and contoured to the shape of the eye crease. I used to use smudger and shader brushes for this purpose. I always get a perfect eye with this! To use a crease brush, simply close the lid, go from the outer corner, follow your crease line, all the way to the inner eye corner. You don't always have to come this far, but I usually do, as I wear my eyeshadow big.
- Annabelle A-8 Small Shader Brush - $8 CAD - This brush isn't that great for shading in your crease, but works great for popping out the outer corner more. I also use it after my eye is done for more highlighting on my lid after shading, as it's small and doesn't mess up your crease. Good brush, but uses can be accomplished by any regular eye brush.
- e.l.f. professional Eye Shadow Brush - $1 CAD - As you can tell, I have two of these in the picture. I use this for basic application on my lid. Decent brush, I recommend getting one, especially for the price.
- Lancome Blending Shadow Brush #17 - $30 CAD - I got this brush as a free gift for.. shopping too much. I don't really like it that much, I actually use a brush below (in blending or multi-use section) that was about $5 for that. I find this just not fluffy enough for the job of blending.
- this is just a random plushy brush, I actually just gave it to my daughter to play with.
- MAC 239 SE Shader Brush - $29 CAD - I hate this brush. It's so hard that it doesn't blend anything what so ever. I rarely use a shader brush, I just use my big fluffy LaCrosse Brush to blend, but I do have my heart on the MAC 214 Short Shader Brush. I rarely use highly pigmented bright colours, I feel if I did this brush would be more for me, but given I use neutral shimmer's most of the time, a big fluffy brush blends better for me. I do like it for blending lines, especially eyeliner lines for a smokey eye.
- Clinique Eye Shadow Brush - $18.50 CAD - I find this brush only to be useful when applying one colour on the whole lid, or the center. It's too big to work well near the inner corners. I wouldn't recommend buying one.
- Clinique Eye Contour Brush - $18.50 CAD - This brush is pretty good. It works well for blending, and works semi-good for creases. I didn't find it to work well on lines or eyeliner to create a smokey look.
- Quo Smudger Brush - $12 CAD - This brush is okay for blending shadow, but amazing for softening hard lines and bringing out a smokey eye! I highly recommend it.
- this is the second of the e.l.f. shadow brushes listed above
- Annabelle A-21 Large Shader Brush - $8 CAD - I love this brush for all over application! I find almost every brush can be a shader, but it takes a really good brush to be a great shadow brush.

Liner and Angled Brushes:
-Maybelline Gel Eyeliner Brush - $8 CAD - This came with the gel eyeliner. I've only used it once, and I was very impressed. I'm used to a fine point brush, which was much harder to learn. I had an easier time with this brush than I do after years with a fine point brush. I definitely recommend this as well as gel eyeliners!
- true you! angled brush - $5 CAD - I don't really like this brush. It's too bushy and not angled enough in my opinion.
- true you! Small Shader Brush - $5 CAD - This is in the wrong spot, but is small enough to be used with gels and under the eye, so that's okay. I also use this in the inner corners of my eyes. Pretty good brush, many uses!
- Quo Angled Liner Brush - $15 CAD - This brush is great! The hairs are tight and angled deep, perfect for liners and under the eye. Great brush!

Brow Brushes:
I'm not going to review each brow brush, as they all do the same this, same as lash brushes!! The first is Lancome, the second is True You! and the third is no name, and I use for trimming. The last brush is a Caryl Baker Visage Brow Definer Brush. I use this with my brow powder for filling in my brows. I don't really mind it, although I'd like to switch to a gel and proper brush, I don't like these hard brushes and the eyebrow powders.

Other Brushes:
- True You! Fan Brush - $5 CAD - This is the most versatile everything brush out there. It's great for applying blush for a soft, subtle look. It's great for cleaning up fallen eyeshadow, it just sweeps it away. It's great for evening out an area of powder that isn't there anymore, after clean up for instance. The round tip is great for blending as well. Last of all, I sometimes use it to highlight my face. It's basically an everything brush, and great for travelling or having in the purse. I originally got it for sweeping away eyeshadow that falls after application, but it's fantastic for everything!
- La Cross Premier - $12 CAD - I find this brush far too big for the crease, but it is AMAZING for blending!! It's definitely a favorite brush.

I know it's been a long post, but there it is, all my brushes! The only thing really missing is my eyelash curler, but I have a huge collection, and use them all the same. If you have any more questions about brushes and uses, please ask me!!

Merry Christmas (over due post!)

So I've been super busy with Christmas the last month, but I've been also been make-up crazy. Lots of stuff for christmas, boxing day sales, best friend moved away so I go hand me downs! Unfortunate make up news, I had really, really wanted the Lise Watier Jingle Bell Eyeshadow Palette, but my WHOLE city is sold out.

I got a few new things before christmas:
- Benefit All You Need Is Gloss Set - Comes with 3 double sided lipglosses. This was my holiday substitute for not getting the Lise Watier palette. I'm really loving the I'm With The Band shade, reminds me of my favorite Mac Lipglass in Dreamy. I definitely recommend getting this, pretty good bargain for $30. Came with Life On The A List, I'm With The Band, Who Are You Wearing, 24 K, Back To The Fuchsia, and Almost Famous. They all had a good scent/flavour except for Almost Famous.
- Too Faced Galaxy Glam in Cocoa Comet - A friend got me this as a early gift after I went on and on about the Galaxy Glam Magenta Moon shadow. I had never used the swirly colours like these before, and I'm glad I made the leap. It's a shimmery brown, with hints of light brown, champagne, and sky blue. I've been doing the gold/neutral look for a while, so these go great on the outer corner's to glam up the look a little. They were (hopefully still are) on sale for $10.50 at Beauty Express, I recommend getting a few, they are so versatile! They are so neutral, but have a very sheen hint of colour.
- Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara - I've been using Maybelline Lashblast since I got pink eye a few months back, and had to throw out almost 4 tubes of Lancome. It was okay, but I've always been a fan of Hypnose, and have been dying to try the new "Drama". I find it takes less coats than the normal Hypnose to get the long, voluminous, dramatic look. I've also realized that it impossible to get off, I was sick for a few days and didn't wash it off, and it looked the same after 3 days of sleep as the day I put it on. It definitely gives you the fake lash look, although Hypnose has always been great for that. I also like the new colour this comes in, "Excessive Black".
- Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer - I ran out of eyeshadow primer, and really needed some, and couldn't wait for a Sephora order for Urban Decay. I'm not as impressed with this as Urban Decay Primer Potion. It's much more oily, creases more, and is much too dark. I find it doesn't hold the make up in place nearly as good as Primer Potion either. I'll finish the bottle and re-review it, although I don't really think my opinion will change. Proves the point that when you find something you love, stick to it!

Santa was also great to me! I have yet to use my true you! Brush Set, but will review it in the future! It was a 6 piece set, blush, foundation, powder, lip and eyeliner brushes, and of course a brow brush. I got lots of new little Bonnebell Smackers, I can never have enough, they hide everywhere! Tons of flash lashes, nails, nail polish (lots from the OPI Nicole line).

Also picked up some awesome stuff for boxing day!
- Quo Minerals Matter Eye Duo in Blue Lagoon - I put this on as soon as I got home! I wasn't able to find pictures of any of the Quo makeup I got today, but I'll explain the best I can. These two colours don't really go together, but on their own are amazing! One is a shimmery blue/green (more emerald) with gold highlights in it, and the other colour is a black with gold sparkles. I've always been a sucker for the shimmery colours, especially blue/green combo's.
- Quo Couture Eyeshadow Duo's in Shadow Lady, Beyond Bliss and Knights Amour - I couldn't tell you which one is which, as they were on clearance ($12 marked down to $3) and all pulled out of their boxes. I grabbed all 3 and boxes to let you know what the names were. First palette: shimmery gold with a sparkle, and shimmery emerald with gold highlights and a sparkly effect. These two are gorgeous! They are two of my favorite shades, and go beautifully together! Second palette: Shimmery/sparkly dark pink, and sparkly/shimmery black. I don't really wear these colours anymore (well, I use black), but it's a very cute combo, and a very innocent light shimmery pink that would go with anything! Last palette: shimmery dark purple and shimmery silver. These two are very like the last palette, just a few shades different. Not sure what I think of the silver, but the purple is gorgeous!

All Quo make-up is Canadian exclusive. They are very vibrant, long lasting shadows, and all together a great brand of make-up. I've also used their brushes, and love love love them! I use their eyeshadow liner brush and smudger. The lipgloss' are also soft, none sticky, and taste and smell amazing!!

I also got free samples of Icing's by Claire's new Flaunt Beauty line. I got a little tub of the dark red colour, called Guava. It's more of a gloss, but is definitely long lasting colour! I've been very impressed with this store's quality of make up. I had also picked up a 82 colour shimmer palette, smokey eye 4 shadow palette, and the neutral eye 4 shadow palette, both which I have been highly impressed by. The 82 colour palette has such rich colours, and are so shimmery!

I also made the switch today from liquid eye liner to cream eyeliner. I got the Maybelline New York EyeStudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Charcoal. I immediately used it as soon as I got home, and was so impressed! It goes on so much easier than liquid eyeliner, and blends and is so much easier to create different looks! I'm definitely excited about this new switch I've made! I definitely want to go pick another one up in Blackest Black while they are on sale, because they are so worth it!! I had thought the Charcoal would be a lot darker than it is.

I also got a few goodies from a friend who moved away, she was clearly out make up she never used and I scooped some up, mostly stuff I've never tried. She gave me 2 Beauty Rush Luminous Shadows (loose shadows by Victoria's Secret) in Emerald City and Blutopia. These are really light colours, but are insanely shimmery and sparkle! They are much like the Annabelle Pigment Dust (which we both happen to love), so shimmery and full of highlights! I'm definitely going to be running down to La Senza to get more. I have never tried N.Y.C before, and she gave me a neutral shadow duo in Duo de ville. One is brown, one is white, both have a very pearle look. As well, a pot of Smooth Mineral Loose Blush Powder in Almost Apricot. I'll definitely have to wait until summer to rock this, because it very dark. I'm also not used to the loose mineral powders and need practice. Something I had wanted to try for a while, L'Oreal's specialized eyeshadow colours for different eye colours. This one is for brown eyes (I have green eyes), but are neutral colours, so I'm excited to try them. I've loved the whole L'Oreal Wear Infinite line for years, but I'm sure I'll do a product line review eventually (that sounds fun!).

Anyways, I hope you all had a great christmas! New reviews soon to come, as well as full product line reviews!

Summer Haul + Reviews

So this summer I really cut down on higher end brands and started trying out more department store brands. I'll try to keep everything categorized by product. This is just for summer (June to end of August-ish). I think I'll do season reviews, plus monthy reviews and hauls each spree!

Things I Liked:
Gosh Velvet Touch Foundation Primer - $22 CAD - This was my first face primer. I can't compare it, but I can say I love it. It gives my face a perfect serface to apply make-up, and my face always looks more smooth and less cakey and powdering when this stuff is applied.

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Blush - Healthy Glow - $17.99 CAD - I recently learned to use blush from a friend (she also taught me how to use foundation), but had a hard time finding one that didn't make me look like a clown. This one was really light, and had a bit of sunkissed sparkle. I like the 5 different shade strips, so you can go darker, use all of them, or go light.

Physicians Formula Bronze Booster - Fair to Light - $17.99 CAD - I usually can't use bronzer, but this is the lightest one I've ever found, and it isn't overly sparkly.

Covergirl LashBlast Volume Waterproof Mascara - $8.99 CAD - I used to be a die-hard Lancome mascara user, but I seen lots of girls with amazing lashes who said they used this, so I had to give it a try. I had to throw out all 3 of my Lancome's after I got pink eye, so I grabbed a bottle of this. I absolutely love this stuff! My lashes look so big!! I highly recommend this to all you girls spending $$$ on mascara!!

Maybelline Eyestudio Eyeshadow - Purple Iron, Pink Persuasion, Give Me Gold and Irrisistibly Ivy - $9.99 CAD each - I love, love, love these pallette's! Each one has four shadows, the perfect whole eye coverage pallette. My first one was Purple Icon, a combo of silver and 3 purples. Then I bought Pink Persausion, a combo of silver, pink, dark silver and black. I bought the last two together, Irresistbly Ivy, a blend of beige, two golds, and a aqua green, and Give Me Gold, a off-white, yellow-gold, dark gold, and dark brown. I love every single one of these, and plan on purchasing the rest of the set!

Maybelline Expertwear Eyeshadow - Sunlit Bronze - $11.99 CAD - I am a brown/bronze eyeshadow lover, so I fell for this one as soon as I seen it. I started using this for days I had to be super quick in lue of my usual Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips + Maybelline Sparkling Wine. Great popping yet natural shades!

Milani Runway Eyes Fashion Shadows - Backstage Pass - $12.99 CAD - This has 6 colours ranging from silver to black. I love the silver/black shadow look, so I fell in love when I found this. It had all the colours I could ever need for the look. Sadly, after two months of addiction, it fell off a counter and shattered. I will be buying another very soon, this was a favorite look for going out!

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips - Vegas Strip - $17.99 CAD - This is the base to my everday eye, and has been since the day I bought it. It has five colours ranging from gold to bronze, which I use for my brow bone, lid and crease, which is followed up by Maybelline Expert Eye Shadow Sparkling Wine also applied in the crease and outer edge.

Maybelline Expert Shadow High Pearls - Sparkling Wine - $5.99 CAD - As mentioned above, I used this everyday with the gold. Absolute favorite!! Beautiful purple and golden colour!

Aquafina Hydrating Lip Oil - $1.00 CAD - This stuff really makes my lips feel amazing, and I like the cool tingle it brings.

Things I Didn't Like:
Rimmel Recover Anti-Fatigue Concealer - $6.99 CAD - This is bad concealer, I found it barely had any coverage. I purchased mine in Ivory which is around the same colour as everything else I used. Maybe I need to go darker, but this covered absolutely nothing under my eyes, and I don't even have to horrible of dark circles.

Maybelline Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner - $6.99 CAD - I really didn't like anything about this. It goes on streaky and I do not like sponge applicators. I will go back to splurging for Dior Show Style Liner!

L'Oreal Wear Infinite Eye Shadow - Smokey Eyes - $9.99 CAD - This pallette is of silver's and black, but even with primer, it isn't very "popping". I applied it very thick, and still no rich colour.

Maybelline ExpertWear Eye Shadow Shimmer - Silver Lining - $5.99 CAD - This is a very dull silver, I didn't like it at all.

Bourjois Effect 3D Max Brillant a Levres Lipgloss - Rose Red - $22.00 CAD - I assumed this was going to colour and give my lips and beautiful shine and sparkle. It's very clear, and has barely any shine or sparkle, or anything really amazing about it at all. Wasn't worth the money.

Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm - $2.99 CAD - I don't understand the huge hype about this stuff, because it didn't do anything for my chapped lips. It also tastes terrible.

Softlips Aromatherapy - Replenish - $1.00 CAD - This stuff didn't really improve my lips, and it also made them burn.

I also bought the following stuff, but I haven't really used any of it. Although it shall go into the use-more-to-review bin and be reviewed eventually!
- Physicians Formula Organic Wear Blush/Bronzer - Bronzer/Ginger - $17.99 CAD
- Annabelle Glitterama Liquid Eyeliner - Plutonium - $9.99 CAD
- Milani Eyeshadow - Coffee Shop - $6.99 CAD
- L'Oreal Wear Infinite Perle - Reflecting Pool - $5.99 CAD
- Bonnebelle VitaGloss 2o Moisture Stick - $1.00 CAD

I got quite a few brushes as well, as followed:
- La Cross Premier Crease Shadow - $9.99 CAD - I use this for blending my shadow, and it works great!
- Caryl Baker Brow Defining - $22 CAD - I don't like this brush a whole lot, it's very stiff and I think I'm going to switch to something softer (or possibly a tinted gel for my eyebrows).
- Joe Concealer Brush - $6.99 CAD - I do not like these brushes for liquids what so ever. They are a cheap synthetic or plastic brush that is impossible to clean! Not to mention terrible streaks!
- Joe Foundation Brush - $9.99 CAD - This brush is as bad as the previous, synthetic and impossible to clean, and super streaky!
- Joe Crease Brush - $6.99 CAD - Surprisingly, this brand made a slight comback. This brush is an okay crease brush, but I'm going to invest in something better and longer soon. It gives to thick of a crease.
- Joe Kabuki Brush - $9.99 CAD - I've never used a Kabuki brush before, but it's so much better than a regular powder brush! Applying is a circular motion it really stops caking and doesn't give the powdery look. I really recommend trying one!

This summer fashions were all over for me! Like always I went flipflop crazy. I tried out gladiators, and can still say I do not like them. I'm going to miss ripped up daisy dukes so much, as well as sun dresses! I got this amazing yellow strapless Fovever 21 dress. I also fell for a beautiful leather purse with studs and a huge studded peace sign (not sure the brand).