NOTD: L'Oreal "Now You See Me"

Hey everyone! Thought I would post this NOTD today to get myself psyched for the imminent L'Oreal sale that goes on in Montreal (which I'm crossing my fingers I get tickets to!). The reason I say this is because I picked this up at the last L'Oreal sale but never actually used it until recently. I guess I was waiting for the fall weather to kick in a little ;)

"Now You See Me" is this really beautiful wine red color that I think is great for fall. For reference, it's not quite as plum-brown as Essie's "Bahama Mama" (which I can't wait to put on, by the way). I used three coats in the above picture just to get it all smoothed out, but the consistency is good to work with, as are most L'Oreal nail polishes. Overall I'm really pleased I picked this up when I did because I foresee myself wearing it a couple more times throughout the season!

First Ever Collective Haul

I never have enough products to do a proper haul on this blog, but yesterday I felt like I had gathered a good bunch of products lately so I figured today would be the day: my first haul post!

The reason why I haven't done a haul before is because I've been desperately trying to save up my money. If you've been a reader of mine since the very beginning, you'll know that I spent a portion of my summer in Italy, wherein I literally drained my bank account to $0 (come to think of it, it might be interesting to do a blog post on what it's like to be completely broke lol!).

However, upon entering tons and tons of giveaways, I have been able to keep up this blog solely on giveaway wins (incredible, right?), so I'll go through the products and let you guys know how I acquired each of them.

Benefit "Benetint" Lip & Cheek Stain: I've always been super intrigued by this product because it's the one that Benefit Cosmetics built its company from. It originally started out as a nipple stain for a stripper (!?) and then a whole line of cosmetics grew from there. Being a big fan of Benefit, I knew I had to try this product at some point in my life, so when @BenefitCanada was doing a Twitter giveaway, I entered immediately and won! Yay! :D

Aussie 3-Minute Miracle Conditioner: If you read my previous wishlist post, you will know that this product, along with the Revlon balm stain and Rimmel Stay Matte powder were on there. Well, I was having a terrible day on Sunday, and yesterday, my mom surprised me with them! She literally came on my blog, wrote down the products and went out to buy them for me! Best mom award. Anyway, I'm going to write a proper review of this product in the next few days (I'll try it when I shower later today!).

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in "Honey": Again, this a product my mom surprised me with. I'd been looking for this baby for weeks and weeks and could never find it in-stock. I should also mention that, according to my mama, this product is marginally cheaper if you buy it at Wal-Mart as opposed to Pharmaprix (or Shopper's Drug Mart if you don't live in Quebec).

China Glaze "Prism": Alright, so I purchased this product along with the NYX eyeliners using $25 PayPal I won in a giveaway. The giveaway was originally for a Sephora e-gift certificate, but because those aren't eligible for use in Canada, Meredith (the girl I won from), was nice enough to wire me some PayPal money. I should also mention that she doesn't advertise her giveaways very much, so your odds in winning are very good: http://nycmakeuplover1.blogspot.ca/p/giveaways.html. Surprisingly, I have a total of 0 glitter polishes so I knew I should invest in a good one!

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in "Pacific" and "French Fries": So I got these with my $25 PayPal money as well, and the website I purchased them from is BeautyJoint.com. I can't remember how I found this website, but they sell brands that are difficult to get in Canada (or at least Quebec) like China Glaze and NYX, and they only charge a flat rate of like, $3.50 for shipping. Incredible. I'm definitely going to be purchasing more of these because I can already tell I love them.

Essie "Bahama Mama": In addition to my wishlist surprises, my mom also picked up this nail polish for me. Now... How on Earth did she know that this is the fall nail color? I have no idea. Anyway, can't wait to wear this because I've heard so many great things about it.

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder: Tanya Burr talks about this product non-stop, and I'm running out of my current pressed power, so I'm very excited to try this out. I love the way it makes her skin look in her tutorials!

Maybelline Color Tattoo in "Pomegranate Punch": This is probably the only product on here that I purchased with my own hard-earned money (not bad, huh?). I got this one at Shopper's about a month ago when I was in Ontario. It was about $9 as opposed to $3.50 at Wal-Mart (insane), but it was out of stock there and I was dying to have this shade after seeing Amarixe's swatches.

Sally Hansen Kwik Off (not photographed individually): This is kind of boring, but I like using this product as a nail polish remover and we were out so my mom picked up a new one. Not very exciting but I thought I'd throw it in lol.

Here are some swatches and initial impressions of these products...

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in "Honey": It's a little more on the brown side than I hoped for. Have yet to swatch it on the lips.

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils: These babies glide on amazingly. I'm probably going to use French Fries on a daily basis, and save Pacific for spring and summer. Also, I may or may not have picked one up for an upcoming giveaway.......

Maybelline Color Tattoo in "Pomegranate Punch": I adore this color for fall! I can't believe I haven't seen any beauty guru use it in a tutorial yet. Maybe I can be the first? :O

Benetint Lip & Cheek Stain: Admittedly, this isn't a life-changing product and the color is very, very subtle. I'll use it on a day where I'm feeling a little pale.

I hope you liked my first ever haul post! Let me know if you want to see in-depth review of any of these products in particular because I would be happy to do so.

I ❤ FALL TAG (via MissJenFabulous)

Hey everyone! I haven't done a tag in quite a while (at least that's what it feels like), so I thought it might be nice to do a quick one for today because I feel like being talkative! I picked this up from MissJenFabulous on YouTube (if you aren't subscribed to her then you should be!). I will tag a few specific bloggers but everyone is welcome to join in on this tag :)

Favorite Fall lip product?

I have an entire blog post on this that I wrote up a couple days ago (click HERE). But apart from those, I love using my LUSH lip scrub (bubblegum flavor) because my lips tend to get flakey when it's cold.

Favorite Fall Nail Polish?

This is tough because I like changing up my nail polish quite a bit and never really stick to one specific polish, but I really like wearing greys and taupes when it starts to get cold because I feel like those colors are more weather-appropriate and I don't get to bring them out in the warmer months! BUT I've wanting Essie's Bahama Mama because everyone talks about it so much!

Favorite Starbucks Fall Drink?

Pumpkin Spice Latte, of course! I look forward to having this every fall. But apparently there's a pumpkin spice latte shortage going on right now... Not cool...

Favorite Fall Candle?

I just finished a mini-sized Pumpkin Caramel Latte from B&BW so I'll have to go pick up the 3-wick one soon.

Favorite Fall Scarf or accessory

Hmm, no specific item comes to mind, but I like wearing pashminas during this time of year. I have a ton of different colors.

Haunted house, haunted hay ride, or haunted corn maze?

I've never been on a haunted hay ride or in a haunted corn maze, but I hate haunted houses! I don't like being scared lol!

Favorite Halloween movie?

I like the Disney Halloween movies, like Halloweentown High, Twitches, and Phantom of the Megaplex. Surprisingly, I don't think I've ever seen Hocus Pocus (!?). But yeah, I'm such a child haha, I can't wait until they start airing these. 

Favorite candy to eat on Halloween?

Laffy Taffy! I feel like this a Halloween exclusive, for some reason. I never come across them throughout the rest of the year. Oh and I love Rockets too!

What are you dressing up as for Halloween?!

Ehhh, I'm not sure! I don't know if I'm doing anything for Halloween yet (to be honest, I like everything that comes with Halloween, but I hate the task of dressing up!). 

What is your Favorite thing about Fall?

My favorite thing about fall is just the general coziness of the season. And all the TV shows that start up again. And Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

I tag: Face This City, Southern Glamourista, Pandora's Basket, Sophie Rose Hearts, and Vibrant Beauty Blog

Fall/Winter Bold Lip Picks

Hey everyone! I felt like showing you guys a few lipsticks that I would wear in the fall/winter months, so here they are. I have one plum-purple color and two red-based ones.

Here are the swatches. I'll go through the formulations and colors individually but this gives you a really good idea in terms of color comparison. 

So the first lipstick I have is this Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick in the shade Vivid Violet. This one applies incredibly smoothly and can be built up for a really dramatic look. The only thing I'm not crazy about is that this formulation seriously clings to any dry skin you have on your lips (you can see a few spots in the photos above). BUT, if you use a scrub and a balm before application, it doesn't really matter.

I feel like these photos make it look a little more fuschia but I can assure you that it is a very deep plum color (as you can see if you look at the photo in the top left corner of the bullet). Lately, I've been wearing this to school dabbed on very lightly and then smoothed out with clear lip balm. The effect is really subtle and pretty.

Okay, so, now I have the Revlon Lip Butter in Red Velvet and, admittedly I wasn't too crazy about this color at first. If you can recall that far back, I even included it in my "products I regret buying" post. To be honest, I really didn't expect the color to be so dark (which doesn't translate well in the photo, but if you scroll up to the swatch, you'll understand). It's an almost-brown lip color and even though it's considered a "butter" this can be seriously built up. This is also the glossiest of my three picks. I think I'd save this color for more of a night out.

Last but not least, I have the infamous Russian Red by MAC. This is one of MAC's matte finishes which makes it very unique from the other two. The reason it's so used up is because my mom and I both use it (she more than I, lol!). I have to say that it applied really nicely and I would quickly like to mention that MAC lipsticks are not overrated in the slightest. They cling to the lips like it's meant to be. I suggest using a lip liner, applying with a thin brush, or lining the edges with concealer to give it that crisp finish. Also, it's a blue-based red meaning the undertones are not orangey or brownish, so it'll make your teeth look super white :)

Here's a (low quality) photo of myself wearing Russian Red last fall with some lip gloss overtop (can't remember which one!).

EOTD ft. Coastal Scents Smokey Palette

As a continuation of yesterday's post, here is a look I created using the Coastal Scents Smokey Palette! I called it a fall smokey eye because I basically just experimented with fall colors.

I'll quickly go through the steps I used to achieve this look in case you want to recreate it :) I should also say that the colors were more vibrant in person and these pictures are kinda overexposed (I have to learn how to fix that lol...)

So the first thing I did was primed my lid with Urban Decay primer potion (you can use any primer you own). Then:

1) I used this red/cranberry color as an all-over lid color*

2) I put this dark black-red in the outer third of the eye and crease (which accounts for the smokey effect)*

3) Because I don't own brown eyeliner and I thought black would be too harsh, I dipped a liner brush in water and mixed it with this dark matte brown shade and then dragged it over my upper lashline (ideally, you should use a brown pencil liner and then smudge it out)

4) Drag a bit of this matte green on the lower lashline, and then smudge it a little with the brown used in step 3. I also used my Shiseido eyeliner in green on my waterline.

5) One thing that bummed me out about this palette was the lack of true gold colors! I didn't want to use  yellow because I thought it would clash, so I pulled out my Naked palette and went for Half Baked, which I popped in the inner corner

6) To make the inner corner sort of "connect" with the rest of the look, I used a tiny bit of this shimmery pumpkin color and brushed it upwards into the red/cranberry

7) Apply mascara! :)

* Make sure to blend out every step as you go. A great brush for that is the Sigma E40 Tapered Blending brush (which I reviewed HERE and you can go ahead and purchase HERE).

Hope you enjoyed this! Let me know in the comments if you find these "tutorial" type posts helpful :)

NOTD: September 22nd, 2012

So today I have a quick NOTD for you guys with a nail polish that I picked up while I was on vacation in Italy. If you ever find yourself in Italy and want to pick up some Italian brands, I highly recommend this one. I got this nail polish and a liquid liner from them, and I adore both of them. The brand is also relatively cheap and is sold in Italian beauty shops (or "profumeria").

As you can see this is a very deep raspberry color. I think it's the perfect shade for fall and the formulation is just something else. This is by far the best formulation nail polish I have ever used. It's a "gel effect" polish meaning it goes on really thick and shiny. Honestly, I could have done with just one coat. It also dries in like, record time. I can't recommend this enough! OH, and I almost forgot to mention the brush size. The brush is "XL" and it literally only takes two swipes to cover your entire nail. Amazing.

Have you tried any Bella Oggi products?

Nail Polish of the Day: August 30

My giveaway is ending soon! Don't miss out :)

Hey everyone! So here's today's nail polish of the day. I included this polish in my "Most Worn" summer items tag and I figured I should probably use it in a NOTD. It's L'Oreal's L'Orange and I think it's the perfect sumer-fall transition color. It's a bright orange but it's not neon, so I definitely foresee wearing this polish in the autumn time around Halloween as well.

What I love about this polish is the consistency. It's not streaky whatsoever, in fact the finish reminds me of gel nails. The top coat I added seemed almost superfluous because the polish itself is so shiny and smooth. The only thing is that this was a three-coater. One coat definitely wasn't enough, and two coats didn't seem "finished". I don't mind, though. It's such a pretty color anyway.

Have you guys tried L'Oreal polishes? I'd be interested in buying a few more for fall, considering I loved this one, and Amarixe raves about them over on her blog. They're inexpensive compared to higher-end nail polish, and I really love the quality!