Is there a Scandal(EYES) in the Supermarket?

Hello Everyone!

Little bit of a later post this evening but I wanted to share a new find with you all! As I was trolling my local Wal-Mart (supposedly for cat food and people food) I just so happened to walk by the cosmetics department. Seems to happen every time, not sure why?

As I was innocently on my way to the cat food section, I saw out of the corner of my eye a bright orange display boasting dozens of these little babies. Of course I had to try this new mascara with its eerily similar look to Cover Girl's LashBlast and about $4 cheaper I was hoping for similar results!

What is it?

Rimmel's newest mascara is a plumping & volumizing formula for eyes that ScandalEYES. I'm all for any mascara that says it's going to plump and volumize my lashes. My lashes are already fairly long and curled (plus if they get any longer they hit my glasses) so volumizing formulas are my clear choice.

The first thing I noticed about this mascara is that the brush is absolutely huge. None of these photos do it justice but this thing is beyond big. When I put it up to my eye it practically engulfs all my lashes in one stroke! I thought LashBlast and Maybelline's Colossal had big brushes but this one puts those to shame!

Here it is (orange) compared to Maybelline's Colassal Volume (yellow) and LashBlast Fusion brushes. It doesn't look as different in this photo but in person dwarfs both of these. 

The results are great for this mascara, although it may not be as volumizing as I expected. It has great lengthening and curling power and comes in a very black, black (003) or an average black (001). I chose the blackest black as the tips of my lashes are very light. I do really like the effect this mascara gives (this is after 1 coat) my eyes look wider, my lashes look thicker and more defined. It wears well without flaking or smudging and to my surprise didn't even smudge on my glasses (big score if you wear glasses!). 

At only $5.98 I would definitely give this mascara a try. It reminds me a lot of Revlon's Grow Luscious formula with a little more oomph. I think this will become a staple in my mascara wardrobe.

Summary

Rimmel's ScandalEYES

$5.98 CAD

Available at: Drugstores

Have you tried this mascara? What did you think? Let me know down below!

REP Beauty: Eye Shadows (Review)

Hello everyone! Today I have a review post that I'm very excited about. Back in February I came across this new brand REP Beauty. They are a Canadian company out of Edmonton, Alberta that offers an amazing range of high quality products right in my (previous) own backyard. I entered a Valentine's day contest where you had to share your worst Valentine's Day experience (please don't make me repeat it again haha) and I won - proves how bad my story was! Included in my prize pack were three eyeshadows, two frost and one matte, that I will be reviewing today.

I will admit I don't wear eyeshadow on a daily basis. I usually just throw on some black eyeliner and top it off with black mascara. Simple, and to the point. That being said I've been venturing into eyeshadow lately and forcing myself to wear it more regularly and these shadows have really stood out in my collection.

The first photo in the post is of J'Taime and the second photo is the same in an opened compact. I initially (in the catelogue photo) thought this shade would be much more pink-toned but it leans much more towards a coppery, reddish-pink with gold shimmer. REP Beauty offers its shadows in frost or matte formulations, this one falling into the frost category. 

The next shade I received is Frost Bite - a true white with intense shimmer. I find myself using this one a lot to highlight the inner corner of my eyes and sometimes as an all-over wash of shimmer. This is also part of the frost collection. 

The last shadow shade I received is part of the Matte collection and is in a much bigger pot compared to the frost shades - although the gram weight is the same at 3 grams. This is a true matte shadow with great colour pay off that doesn't look chalky at all. The shade I got is Smoke Signal and is an ashy grey. I expected it to be hard to blend and tricky to work with like a lot of other matte shadows I own but I was pleasantly surprised to find it easy to blend and easy to wear (no creasing or fading). 

As you can see from the swatches the pigmentation in these shadows is great - frost & matte alike. I applied these to my hand with my finger. From left to right is Smoke Signal (Matte), Frost Bite (Frost and J'Taime (Frost). The shimmer in the frost shades is very intense. Usually I find frost shades to fade, only leaving the shimmer behind but these shadows stay true throughout the day (I still suggest using an eye primer or concealer as a base for any shadow). 

Here is a look I created using all three shadows for date I had last night. I blended them out really well as I'm still not completely comfortable with a lot of eyeshadow. I also added a coat of LashBlast mascara by Cover Girl in Blackest Black. 

Overall, these shadows give great colour pay-off, great staying power and a really pretty finish, both from the Matte and Frost formulations. The packaging is classic, glossy black with a flip top lid (Frost) and glossy black with a screw-off lid (Matte). The price is also very reasonable for the quality and quantity at $12.75 for both formulations. REP Beauty offers a huge range of colours and I hope to try many more of them. As of right now, REP Beauty is available online for purchase. Please check them out and support a great Canadian company with really great beauty products. Stay tuned for more REP Beauty product reviews. 

REP Beauty Website

Don't forget to follow them on Twitter and subscribe to their blog while you are visiting the site!

Disclosure: I won these products in a giveaway. All opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation. 

Deals & Steals: Wet N' Wild Color - Icon Single Shadows

Nutty (left), Brulee (right)

Hello ladies! Hope your week is going well so far! I have been busy catching up on everyones blogs this last week or so after my little break over the holidays and have been learning about some great drugstore finds! A few "Best Of" posts that I read recently (sorry don't remember the blogs exactly!) have mentioned these little guys - the Wet N' Wild Color Icon Single Shadows! I'm sure you have all heard the raves about Wet N' Wild's Color Icon 6 pan palettes, especially the holiday LE shades - these are the same shadows but in single form (and bigger!). 

These are an amazing deal, and when I say amazing, I mean AMAZING! Where else can you find single eyeshadows for $2.77 each with such amazing pigmentation and silky smooth application? I'll tell you.. NOWHERE! haha I was leery to initially try the Wet N' Wild brand. I used it in junior high and high school when I wasn't really into makeup and didn't want to spend any money on it. I remembered it being okay, I liked the eyeliners but since using new products they had definitely been pushed to the way side. What made my try the brand again is the success I've had with another inexpensive brand - NYC. I was also leery to try them, as I always am with inexpensive makeup products, I tended to believe you got what you paid for! NOT TRUE! NYC is a great brand with a few of their products being a staple in my everyday routine - and honestly, I think everything they sell is under $5! 

Anyways! Back to the review! I am very glad I finally decided to pick these up, I got the colours Nutty and Brulee - after hearing these were the best two shades! (Plus I love neutral colours!)

Nutty - This is an amazing medium brown shade with a great sheen! There is no noticeable shimmer or glitter but it has such a pretty finish! It is almost the same finish as a MAC Velvet! This would be a great everyday colour and very work appropriate! It has great colour pay off and wears really well over an eyeshadow primer! Seriously, I would pay 3x as much for this shadow (Shhh! Don't tell Wet N' Wild lol) because of its fantastic colour and texture!

Brulee - This is going to be an incredibly versatile shadow in my collection! It is completely matte with no sheen, shimmer or glitter but isn't at all chalky! This colour is great as a base, highlight or to blend out harsh edges and blend together colours!  The colour is extremely close to my skin tone when applied so this is perfect for me! This is a must have in anyones makeup collection and for $2.77 - you really can't go wrong! 

These two colours look especially pretty together as well! This is in daylight/no-flash, hopefully you can see the sheen of Nutty! I am more than impressed with these and will definitely be keeping my eye open at the Wet N' Wild section from now on!

Have you tried the Wet N' Wild Singles? What do you think? Any other great products from them that I need to know about? :)

L'Oreal Touche Magique

Good Evening ladies! Hope you are all having a great day and are close to your Holiday Vacations! In keeping with my "flawless skin" quest, I have yet another concealer (highlighter - hybrid sort of deal)!

This is L'Oreal's True Match Touche Magique. It is a play off of the infamous YSL Touche Eclat in that it is an illuminating concealer that draws light to wherever you put it - as well as providing some coverage. 

I have never tired YSL Touche Eclat but I have read the reviews! I do like a good highlighting concealer though and have tried quite a few of the more inexpensive brands. The one I really loved was The Body Shop's Lightening Touch, which is super fluid and has a great sheen!

I'm a pretty big fan of L'Oreal's complexion products, so when I saw this on sale at Superstore, I had to pick one up! I got this for $9.99, and regularly at Superstore they were $11.99. As you can see from the photo, this pen is pretty small and doesn't contain much product. It has a brush applicator and a twist bottom to get the product to come out.

The brush is pretty stiff and doesn't work well for blending. I like to apply it under my eyes, on my nose to mouth fold and on the brow bone then blend with my fingers. The shade selection is fairly limited with only 6 (I think..) options that include ranges of their True Match foundations, like the light warm shades and the cool light shades etc. They do blend very well though so there is no worry about not finding a correct shade!

Pros

- Price - Not bad at $9.99 compared to other illuminating concealers

- Accessibility - You can find L'Oreal anywhere!

- Blends great

- Creates a subtle luminosity

- Good, light/medium coverage of dark circles

- Looks really natural, not cakey at all

Cons

- Small Tube, not much product

- THICK consistency, I was really surprised by this

- Limited shade selection

- Poor Brush applicator

Overall, for what this product is I much prefer The Body Shop's version. This is TOO thick for an under eye concealer because it makes it a chore to blend and you end up tugging on the eye area. That being said, this is in no way a bad product! I like to use it to cover redness on other areas of my face because it does give good coverage and a luminous finish that looks natural. If you want to try this product I would definitely not discourage it! But if you prefer something more liquid and illuminating (more like Smashbox's Photo-op) I highly recommend The Body Shop's Lightening Touch! Its only $14 and comes with much more product (I'm out of it right now or I would have done a review on that too!) 

Thanks for reading ladies! XOXO

NYX Eyeshadow Base - Skin Tone

Hey Ladies! I'm always looking for a product thats going to make my eyeliners/eyeshadows stay on longer, (well, I'm always looking for products in general, lol) so I'm constantly trying out new "primers", "bases", "potions" etc.! Here is one I picked up from NYX, which is actually my ONLY NYX product because I can't get my hands on much here in Canada :(!

NYX Eyeshadow Base - Skin Tone

This eyeshadow base comes in a pot, much like MAC paintpots or Sephoras Eye Primer Pot. I'm not a huge fan of things in pots because my nails are a little long and I hate digging my fingers in them! I also don't really like applying this with a brush, I don't really know why I just find it blends in better with my fingers! 

Side view of the little pot

Having said that I don't like pots, I generally like the consistency of eye primers in pots better! I find that the thicker textured primers keep my eye products on better than the thinner ones in tubes.

Swatched

When you apply this on it comes out a nice flesh tone and blends in completely (just like UDPP and TooFaced Shadow Insurance!) Lets look at the pros and cons:

Pros

- My shadow didn't smudge or move (AS MUCH!) There was still slight movement, but again, my eyelids are very oily

- It has a great texture, thick but light feeling

- Comes in different colours

- Good Size for the price

- Inexpensive (and widely available for my USA friends!)

- Evens out my eyelid colour (which is great because they tend to be dark!)

Cons

- My shadows and liners still moved a bit (very oily lids though!)

- Not available in Canada in Stores
- Didn't really find it "intensified" my colours

I don't have many cons! It performed quite well! I always take into consideration that my eyelids seem to be excessively oily (no eye primers have ever worked flawlessly for me!) I think this is a really good option for an inexpensive eye primer and would be especially good if you had dry-normal skin on your lids! It does help shadow and liner last longer and it does even out the surface of your lids which is what an eye primer is supposed to do! Another great thing about this primer is it is available in different colours. It comes in White to make vivid colours pop, Pearl to enhance the shimmer in shadows and the skin tone for an original eye base. Overall, with this being one of my few NYX purchases I am definitely wanting to try more. I hope our selection in Canada gets widened soon! :) What do you all think of NYX products? Have you tried this primer? Let me know! :)

Annabelle Smudgeliners Review

Good Evening Ladies! I hope you are all having a great night, I know I am (blogging! <3) 

Annabelle's Smudgeliners
Top: Armour (Purple/grey with shimmer)
Bottom: Oh My Goth! (Black)

I am always looing for a good eyeliner! A while back I came across a LOT of great reviews for these Annabelle Smudgeliners! I am very picky about my eyeliner as I wear it everyday and like a particular look from it. (Don't worry I will review it in all aspects!) I haven't had very good experiences with eyeliners: too smudgy, too hard, too soft, too waterproof, not waterproof enough..Always something and it makes me very skeptical when trying new liners. Because of this, I tend to put them through quite the test before I decide if I like them or not! Here are a few photos of the liners swatched:

Top: Oh My Goth! Bottom: Armour

This is the liners applied one stroke forward, one stroke back so a total of two swipes. I find them to have very concentrated colour for a very minimum amount of effort and product!

Smudged out: Top: Oh My Goth! Bottom: Armour

The Built-in Smudger

These smudge really well with the built in smudger! BUT, they don't smudge too much! I find there is always a very fine line (haha, no pun intended!) between a liner that smudges well and a liner that smudges too much. I usually prefer a dark, thick line with really concentrated colour, but these have turned me onto the smudged line! Not only do these smudge out really well, but after you smudge them out they stay where you put them! These wear extremely well (and I have oily eyelids) so its hard to me for find a stay put liner!

The colours offered are very extensive, they have a lot of great colours and come out with new ones for collections sometimes! I absolutely love Armour, it is such an amazing Purple/grey without looking too bright or flashy, great to wear everyday instead of black! (I also love the black but come on, black is black and we all need a good black liner!) haha

So heres the breakdown:

Pros

- Colour Selection

- Wearability (don't move on your lids, migrate or fade all day)

- Smudgeable/blendable (without being excessively soft or smudgy)

- Price - these have quite a range in price depending on where you buy them - I got mine for $3.99 but they can go up to $7.99

- Canadian Company (yay!)

- Packaging (love the built in smudger and the lids stay on tight)

- Very Pigmented

Cons

- Hard to create a thin line

- Need to be Sharpened (I just don't like doing it haha)

- A little Soft in texture 

- Not an "all around" pencil for me

My only problem with these is that I can't make the precise line that I like. I would like these a lot more if they could be used for a defined line look and a smudged look. I find I only use them for a smudged look and stick to my Revlon ColorStay for a defined, dark line! Overall, I would recommend buying them though! They are a fantastic pencil to have in your makeup collection and are offered in such a wide variety of colours you are bound to find one you like! Have you tried these? What do you think? Let me know! :)

e.l.f. Natural Eyeshadow Palette (Holiday Edition) Review

Hey Everyone! This post is going to help prove that this blog is 100% my opinion! Just to remind everyone everything I write is my opinion and will obviously differ from some peoples. Please know that this is only my experience and is based on my preference in eyeshadows that I am sharing with you all. :)

Natural Eye Palette 

6-pan Shadow Palette

Inside View

Swatches (Left to Right, Top to Bottom) NOTE: Red on my hand is a stamp I can't get off!

I don't own a lot of e.l.f. products because of the availability in Canada. I spotted this at Zellers along with most of the rest of their Holiday Collection. I decided I would purchase one piece to test the e.l.f. line (I only own products from their Studio line thus far.) I was really drawn to the colour of these shadows as I love a neutral brown eye! This set me back $4.99 CAD which is pretty fantastically priced! Here is what I thought of the product.

Pros:

- Price - $4.99 for 6 shadows!

- Colour Selection - all fairly different from each other (although it may not seem that way in the photo of the swatches, but they are!)

- Packaging - cute, simple and sturdy black case with an applicator and small mirror! Great for in your purse.

Cons:

- Consistency - the first shadow was actually gritty, and not sparkle gritty, but just gritty! They also come out chalky fairly chalky.

- Variety - all are shimmer or glitter shades.

- Light shades are low-pigmentation (need to pack them on which just leads to excessive glitter!)

- Not much staying power without a primer

Overall, I will not buy again. I'm not sure I will dabble in any of e.l.f.'s shadow products if they are all like this. There are better options for not that much more money. I haven't had great experiences with e.l.f. but I see that a lot of people love their products and wonder if I am just getting "a bad batch"? Let me know your thoughts on e.l.f. products and share your experiences and what you like about them or dislike about them! :)

Fusion Beauty Review

Hey Everyone! This is going to be a review of a couple of Fusion Beauty products that I own! I am going to do this review a little differently than I have in the past in order for you to get the full picture of the products. I will list pros and cons and not just my rave reviews haha! I will also list details separately so that others who do not share my personal preferences in products can make a decision for themselves! Of course I will still share my opinion! Lets get started!

LipFusion in Clear

Doe-Foot Wand

This is the famous Lip Fusion. According to the web site (www.fusionbeauty.com) it is:

"A moisturizing treatment gloss infused with revolutionary technology. Lips become fuller, smoother, perfectly plumped within seconds. Results can last for up to 48 hours. Tiny, dehydrated, marine collagen micro spheres are instantly absorbed by the lips, and seek out the body's natural moisture. When spheres become re-hydrated, they plump and hold onto the moisture they've collected, creating a mild "swelling" of the lip tissue."

When this first hit the market I was skeptical that a gloss could really provide plumping effects and at the $36 USD price tag, I wasn't about to be the first to test it out!

Having said that, I did buy it (haha) but it had been on the market for a while and I heard great things. Here are the pros and cons from my view!

Pros:


- The gloss texture is amazing! Not sticky, but still thick.
- The colour (even though it says clear) gives your lips a really pretty look.
- The PLUMPING/SMOOTHING - I seriously do see a difference and have even had comments on how great my lips looked and "what are you wearing?" It obviously won't be a drastic change but enough to be noticed.
- The slight, not overpowering tingle. Just enough to know its working, not enough that it is uncomfortable.

Cons:


- The price. $36 USD a tube is excessive. Even though I love it and have repurchased I always cringe!
- The packaging isn't my favourite, the cap gets very scratched in my makeup bag.
- I don't find it all that moisturizing, it isn't drying in the least but not as moisturizing as I would like.

Overall, I will (and do) repurchase this. It has the best consistency, look on the lips and plumping/smoothing effects for me. It also has a delicate smell that isn't over powering (I'm not a big fan of smell in my lip gloss). I also love pulling it out of my purse and people saying "Ohhh, I've heard of that stuff, does it work?" great conversation starter haha. (I don't believe there is any cheaper alternative to this product, it is kind of in a league of its own!)

LashFusion XL in Black

Lush, Thick brush.

Next is the Lash Fusion XL Mascara. According to the web site (www.fusionbeauty.com) it is:

"A rich, creamy, and volumizing mascara form ululated to dramatically enhance volume for bigger, bolder, voluptuous lashes with just one stroke!"

This product has a much less intimidating price tag at $24 USD. (I got mine on special at Murale for $10 CAD). And, it does what it says!

Pros:

- Thickening: it is amazing for giving full, soft thick lashes! (what I look for in a mascara!)
- Rich Colour: the black is a really rich black that gives great colour pay off even when dry.
- Texture: it is a dryer consistency and really thick and rich. I love that in a mascara because I feel it layers to build extra thickness.
- Wand: big and fluffy, love that in a mascara wand, it gets every lash!

Cons:


- Packaging: It looks a little bit cheap and the writing all scratches off
- Smell: not the best smelling mascara (but which ones are?) a little chemically
- Excess: sometimes there is a little excess build up on the brush, easily fixable but may be annoying for some.
- Lengthening/Curling: this is a thickening mascara and thats about it! So if you want volume, I highly recommend and if you want length or curl, this probably isn't for you.

I would repurchase this again at the $10 CAD price but probably would not repurchase at the $24 USD price. It is a great mascara but there are just as good cheaper alternatives. If you love Fusion Beauty and want to try this mascara, it is a really good mascara! But if you don't have the money to shell out, there are comparable ones at the drug store!

Oh, Canada!

Hey everyone! I've been doing a lot of research on Canadian beauty brands lately and have been so excited with what I've found that I decided to do a whole look with ALL Canadian products! (YAY!) Lets get started on my Oh, Canada! look!

Canadian Made

Heres what I used.

1) LashFusion XL by FusionBeauty in Black

2) Annabelle Mineral Foundation in Nearly Nude

3) Annabelle Mineral Blush in Au Natural

4) CoverFX Clear Prep Primer

5) LipFusion in Clear

6) Balmshell Smear Campaign in Blackmail Betty

7) Annabelle Smudgeliners in OhMyGoth! and Armour

8) Annabelle Mineral Pigment Dust in Prism

9) Annabelle Studio Pigments in Matte Black 

10) Quo Optical Illusion Concealer in Sand

Concealer Placement

I started out with applying my CoverFX Clear Prep all over my face. Then used my Quo Optical Illusion Concealer with a concealer brush. I placed it under my eyes, the outter corner of my eyes, nose to mouth folds and the bridge of my nose. All places where I tend to get red! (I look so silly in this picture I can't believe I put it up!)

Set With Powder

Built into the Quo concealer is a little pot of yellow-ish toned powder to set your concealer. I used the little finger pad it came with to gently pat powder over my concealed areas for extra staying power and redness reduction.

Blush Placement

Next, I used my new Balmshell Cheek Smear in Blackmail Betty. I applied three dots to my cheeks and blended in with the built in sponge on the other end. (NOTE: You HAVE to be lightning fast in blending this! I stained by cheeks taking this picture and had to scrub to get it off! The end result is worth it though, its a gorgeous colour!) After the blush I buffed in my Annabelle Mineral foundation with a Kabuki brush. I then added a light layer of Annabelle's Mineral Blush for added glow and a bit of shimmer!

Upper Liner

Next, I moved on to eyes. I applied Annabelle Smudgeliner in OhMyGoth! (black) to my upper lash line and created a small wing at the corner to elongate my eye shape. I didn't use the smudger on the top lash line, I wanted a solid, defined look! I went over that line with my Annabelle Studio Pigment in Matte black to smoke it out a tiny bit and to give it more staying power! (By the way, ignore my terrible nail polish! Not even my Seche Vite could keep my Claire's Mood polish on... haha)

Lower Lash Liner

I then took Annabelle's Smudgeliner in Armour, a GORGEOUS grey/purple-ish (hard to explain but so pretty!) and smudged it into my lower lashes for a little colour and a soft line. After that I took a small shadow brush and dipped it into my Annabelle Mineral Pigment Dust in Prism (iridescent white/pink/purple - it changes colour depending on the light angle) and tapped it onto the inner corner and brow bone.

Finish with Mascara

I then applied two coats of LashFusion XL in Black to give my lashes some volume, curl and length!

Glossy Lips

And polished off my look with a coat of LipFusion in Clear (my favourite gloss ever!)

The Finished Product

So heres my finished Canadian look! (I personally think the blush is too heavy but this was my first time using it and as I said, I stained my cheeks taking that picture!) Other than that I absolutely love this look and I love that it is all from Canadian brands! I really hope to see more Canadian Labels making it big in the beauty world soon!

There are a couple things I would like to find from a Canadian brand that I don't yet have! If you know of any great Canadian eye primers, spot concealers (not undereye) or bronzers please let me know! And let me know your favourites from Canadian brands, I'd love to try new things and hear your opinions!

Thanks so much for reading guys, enjoy! :)