VFAV Beauty Awards 2011 - Make-Up

So here it is, my last post for 2011 awards! I had a lot of fun doing the these. Hope you've checked out my posts for hair, body and face care awards.

Best face primer: GOSH Velvet Touch Foundation Primer $28.99 CAD

I've only used the clear, not the apricot (it's supposed to firm the face as well). I had only used one by Avon previous to this, and much prefer this one. It's a heck of a lot more expensive, but worth it. It's got a very silky smooth but thick feel to it. It does help fill pores very well, and keep your make up on. It'll make your skin shiny, but once your foundation/powder is on it won't. It keeps my face from melting off in the summer, and I never need to retouch my face (okay, if I'm sweating lots, I need a little powder touch up). I also find I can skip the moisturiser with this, as it's very soft on the skin and gets rid of dry areas.


Best foundation: Covergirl Natureluxe $11.99

I wasn't pleased with the heaviness of my usual brand (Estee Lauder) of foundation, and heard good reviews on this stuff, and figured I'd give it a try. I was also having a hard time finding a really pale shade to match my skin as well. I have been so in love since the first time I used this. It's very lightweight and silky for how great the coverage is, and blends great as well. I never had troubles with it caking (even if I'm wearing it all day) or being to heavy. It's especially great for summer, or when your doing make-up in the blasting heat. I generally don't like budget make-up, and didn't even really like Covergirl before, but this stuff really turned the page on them for me. I also like the smell, a big battle I have with foundations (so many of them smell horrible). This has cucumber water it in, so your face smells nice and refreshing. I have honestly used about 20 different foundations, and this is by far my favourite.


Best concealer:  Mark. Speedway $9.99 CAD

Like foundation, I've used a billion and one concealers. Some are too cakey, some are too oily, some don't work, some are goopy. I had been on a Mark. kick for quite some time, and gave this a go and gave up my coloured concealers. This stick is very silky soft without being oily. It goes on smooth in cream-to-powder form and blends in really great and doesn't create noticable patches under your powder. It works great all over (I generally use it for under eyes, nose and scars). The coverage is great too, I have a very dark scar on my face that it hides remarkably. 

Best powder: Sephora Mineral Matte setting powder $8.99 CAD

This year I gave up pressed powders of all kinds, and even coloured mineral setting powders as well. I thought I wasn't going to find anything I really loved, until I ordered this on a whim on sale. I hadn't used a matte setting powder before, and I think that's what changed everything. I finally had no shine!! Not just that, this stuff is translucent, so matching it to my skin was easy. Plus, being translucent makes you able to wear this year round over any foundation. I found other mineral powders to itch, but this one never did. The way it makes make-up look is just amazing too. Any small brush line from foundation, or spot I didn't blend well in enough is gone! This really pulls everything together for a great, matte perfect face.

Best eye primer: Smashbox Photofinish Lid primer $20 CAD

I've always been an Urban Decay Primer Potion junkie - never strayed. But I ran out, and sadly it's not sold where I live, so I purchased this to get my by. 2 bottles later, I still haven't ordered my Primer Potion. It's the same taupe colour that blends in great, and has the exact same silky texture as Primer Potion. I put my make up through a lot of blood, sweat and tears - okay, just sweat - on lots of occasions, and it ever melts or runs or fades. Sometimes, when I forget to take make up off at night, it's still in place in the morning. This is also a better deal, the shape of the bottle lets you get a lot more out of the product than Primer Potion. It only comes in one colour, but I find it blends well under everything and makes any colour more vibrant.

Best eyeshadow: Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips in Vegas Strip $12.95 CAD

I'm a pretty firm believer that a good gold eyeshadow is your #1 eyeshadow staple. I work golds into so many different looks, whether it's a low key day or a fancy going out look. This palette comes in 5 shades. The pigments are just amazing, and the options from blending are endless. You really can achieve almost any golden colour with this single palette.

Best eyeliner: Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Liner $8.99 CAD

  This year I took a huge leap! I gave up crayons and liquids for my general eyeliner. I always wear heavy black liner, always have, especially on the tops of my lashes. I loved my Dior Styleliner, but it cost a small fortune given I needed a new one every month. I borrowed this product from a friend, and immediately ran out and bought my own. It's so creamy and pigmented, which I often had a hard time finding in a liquid. The thing I really liked about this was that it's really easy to apply - much easier than a liquid! The brush is very fine tipped as well so you can do different thickness' and cat eye effects with it. It goes on smooth, silky and easy, stays on and is good on the wallet.


Best mascara: Lancome Hypnose Drama $29.99 CAD

Hypnose has always been my #1 mascara. I love trying new ones, but it's always my go to. I was super excited to see a new Hypnose came out, especially called Drama, since dramatic is what I go for with eyelashes. I like them long, dark, thick and just HUGE, which is what Hypnose always delivers. It's never flaky, you can cry through it and it makes the most beautiful lashes ever. Drama upped the awesome and delivered darker, even fuller lashes.

Best blush: Covergirl Instant Cheekbones (Contouring Blush) $8.99 CAD

As much as I experiment with blushes, ranges of pinks are always the best on my skin. A flat light pink isn't enough, and a dark pink is too much. This little palette is great because it blends 3 shades that work perfect for my light skin. It blends in great on skin without looking powdery and has a very natural look. This blush also looks great with any make-up look, which is something I find hard to find. It also lasts a really long time, which I love in a product.


Best bronzer: Physicians Formula Bronze Booster $15.99 CAD

This is another product that rocks for my light skin. I've tried quite a few bronzer's before, and all of them are far too dark for my skin, even the lightest colours they sell. This is very subtle and natural, and creates a perfect sun kissed look. It blends great without leaving noticeable lines and is a perfect touch to any look.


Best lip balm: JR Watkins Weatherproofing lip balm in Pomegrante $5.99 CAD

I suffer from extremely dry lips, and am always on the search for a perfect balm. I've tried it all from Blistex, LUSH, Body Shop, Burt's Bee's with little lasting results. I found this in a sale section, and figured it was worth a try. The taste is great, something I don't find often in a good lip balm. You lips feel instantly moisturised, and it's long lasting. I find a lot of them don't have many long term effects, even if used on a daily basis. When my lips are really chapped, I can put this on at night and by morning I have soft gorgeous lips.


Best lip plumper: DuWop Lip Venom $19.99 CAD

This probably doesn't come as a surprise - it'll probably be my winner for many years to come. I tried a few competing products with nothing even close to results. Lip Venom has a very strong cinnamon taste, a big tingle. I don't find it to be a painful sting, I quite enjoy the tingle. I find it really evens my lip thickness out (I try to focus it on my top lip), and gives me a good, long lasting plump.


Best lipstick: No. 7 $19.99 CAD

I can't pick just one colour from this line, because I love them all! They are very creamy rich formula with amazing colour. I have quite a few from the different lines they have out, and have enjoyed them all. I love the rich reds and the high gloss pinks. They are very long lasting, and smudge proof. An added bonus is that they are very moisturising, so your lips don't look dry or flaky. 

Best lipgloss: Lorac Multiplex 3D Lipgloss $22 CAD

I got my first one in a Sephora sampler box, and became completely addicted after. It has holographic pigments, high shine and long lasting colour. The effect is very holographic, and absolutely amazing. The way they shimmer and have a "colour changing" effect in the light is absolutely wild. I wear it over a light pink lipstick for a boost, and it results in the most to die for pink lips you'll ever see. It's definitely different from anything else you'll find!

What I learned about make-up this year:
Gel liner is longer lasting, pencil's leave such an uneven mess at the end of the day. Colouring in my eye brows is not for me - vege dye at the salon is the way to go! Chances are, your lip liner is going to last longer than your lipstick, at some point, it's going to cause you an embarrassing moment. Never forget to blend your foundation. Over blending is better than under blending. If you don't prime, expect to look nothing like what you did in the mirror in a very short amount of time. It doesn't matter what fancy speciality brush you have - it's how you use them.

Well that concludes all the awards this year ladies. I hope you enjoyed them, hope I found a few new followers, and hope you stick around for some other great new posts coming this year!!

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.

October Favourites

My make-up has basically been the same as last month, but I have changed a few things, started using something else, or have just taken new a product. Anyways, here goes!

Vaseline Cocoa Butter Deep Conditioning Body Lotion - $6 - I swapped my summer flowers for chocolate. This stuff is also way lighter, and doesn't leave a greasy touch after (my bath and body works always did).

The Body Shop Almond Oil Intensive Hand Rescue - $15 - I bought this last year, and put it away for the summer. I have really bad cracking hands in the winter, and since it started getting cold, I started using it again. It has a really greasy texture, but my hands stay amazing all winter.

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Blush - Healthy Glow - $17.99 CAD - I've already reviewed this as an amazing blush, but I started wearing it a lot more recently. It's really light, and I love it! The 5 strips gives you different strengths of shimmery pink.

Joico K-Pak - $16.99 each - I've been using it for a while now, and I recently bought two new products, so I'm using a combination of 4 products randomly when showering. I have the Shampoo, Conditioner, Intense Hydrator and Deep Penetrating Re-Constructor. I swear my hair would die without all this! I bleach and dye a lot, so I need to keep it super healthy. If you have slightly damaged hair, died hair, or just not so great hair in general, buy this stuff, it'll fix so many problems with your hair! My hair is much shinier and healthy!

Other than that, I've basically been using the same stuff as last month. Oh! I did however fall in love with a Diva Cup this month! To all the girls, look it up and buy one!

I also got this super cute leather owl purse from Claire's (which I will include a picture at some point of). I also got two new pairs of ripped skinny's from Stitches (which I swore I would never buy again because they always fall apart), and a sweater from Aeropostal because I promised my sister something from there, and sweaters were onsale for $7.50.

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).

September Favorites

So since before I re-did my blog, I wanted to do a month's favorite list because they kind of rock. So, since I just re-started, and it's the ending of a month, I'm going to do one for October! It is going to be long, since Fall is keeping a summer glow and being bronzed up, so I used a lot of different things, as well as I discovered lots of new things this month!!

Clean and Clear Morning Burst - Facial Scrub, Facial Cleanser and Make-up Dissolving Foaming Cleanser - $8 CAD each - I starting using these after I ran out of Lancome Creme Radiance last month, and I don't mind it. I didn't really like the Facial Cleanser, but the Facial Scrub was awesome! I also don't find the Make-up Dissolving Foaming Cleanser a good make-up remover, I will be going back to Lancome Bi-Facil.

Bath and Body Works - Wild Honeysuckle Body Lotion - $12 USD - My mom won two big baskets of Bath and Body Works, and she doesn't like strong scents, so she gave me quite a lot of stuff. I was using the Butterfly Flower Body Lotion for a long time, but switched to this one last month-ish. I absolutely LOVE this body butter! I absolutely love anything that smells strongly like flowers, especially honeysuckle or lilac. I smell great all day, and am so soft after using this. I love crawling into bed after rubbing it on, the smell is so smoothing!!

Dove Energy Glow Face Moisturizer - $8 CAD - My face doesn't get as tan as my shoulders and back, so when summer's over I like to keep the tiniest amount of tan I get (it's such a little tan, it's shameful). I like this stuff because it keeps my face a little browner and glowy when summer ends, and is a great moisturizer, especially for the price.

Kaaral Dazzling Perfectly Straitening Cream - $17.95 CAD - Best straigtening balm I've ever used, been using it for years, I recommend it to everyone!!

CoverFX Matte FX Oil Absorbing Powder - Medium - $32 CAD - This powder is much darker than my face, so it keeps it looking a bit darker after I loose colour. It seems a bit thick, but not cakey at all. It wasn't shiney or oily, in fact my face looked amazing all day. I used to only wear this out to bars/anywhere darker, but since summer I wear it all the time. I do warn that the Medium is extremely dark. Once my tan is gone I'll need a new colour.

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.

My eyeshadow routine I've been mostly doing every day was Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips - Vegas Strip ($17.99) on my brow bone, crease and lid. I have also been going over the crease and outer corner with a darker gold with purple in it, Maybelline Expertwear Eye Shadow High Pearls - Sparkling Wine ($7 CAD). I really dig the gold with the golden purple on the crease and outer corner. I always use Dior Show StyleLiner ($35 CAD) on my lids, Lancome Le Crayon Khol ($26 CAD), and as of this summer Covergirl LashBlast ($9 CAD).

Last new thing of the month, before I died my hair blonde, I tinted my eyebrows. Now that I'm blonde, I can't, so I fill them in. I've been using Caryl Baker Brow Blend a lot, and I do really like it, as it comes with 3 shades, but I'm curious about tinted gels, so I may switch soon!

I think that's it cosmetic-ly? Yupp! So this last month I've been addicted to two things, my red tulle coat from WetSeal and my black boots by Bear Paw (totally the new Uggs). I'm also in love with my grey draped cardigan from Stitches! I've also been in love with white dress shirts (they look a lot like chef shirts, or maybe that's just my opinion. Also got one in blue), waiste belts (I bought 3, leather western style, stretchy with zipper, and one that does up in the back with chains on the front), lacey tights and pencil skirts!

Other things I'm addicted to for September, the show Sons Of Anarchy and the band Florence + the Machine.