July Favorites

My summer makeup routine is very minimal. Like to wear as little makeup as possible but still look fresh and put together.

This month I am throwing in a non-beauty product in my monthly favorite.

Bath & Body Works London Calling - tea & lemon 3-wick Candle

I stocked up on my summer-scented candles during one of their many summer sales. I ordered mine online when they had the $10 3-wick candle sale. This one is my favorite. I didn't think I was going to enjoy it this much. When it says tea and lemon, I thought how is tea going to scent nice. But it does. I am a coffee-drinker but enjoy tea once in a while. The mixture of tea leaves and lemon just give the right amount of aroma which is refreshing and not too sweet-scented.

Bioderma Sebium Mat- Anti-Shine Fluid 

I enjoy Bioderma Sensibio and thought I would try another Bioderma product. In the summer, I prefer to put on a light moisturizer. I have been looking for a lightweight moisturizer which is moisturizer and also helps with oil-control. This is a very light moisturizer and there is a very light fresh scent. I apply this after I put on my daily face sunscreen. This really helps with oil-control, especially on my t-zone and keep my face nice and matte all day long.

Chanel CC Cream

I think I have talked about this amazing product enough in my blog here. I have been a loyal BB cream user. But ever since I discovered this CC cream, this has been my go-to product throughout the summer. Even though this only comes in one shade(20 beige) which is a wee-bit too light for my skin tone now, I apply a bit of bronzer or my usual setting powder which is closer to my skin tone. This helps control oil much better than my BB cream. This is not yet available in Canada yet(I got mine from a reputable seller on ebay in Asia) but was told by a Chanel makeup associate that this is coming this fall.

Rimmel Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder in 004 Sandstorm

After I apply my CC cream, I apply this powder on my t-zone only to keep nice and matte. This is such an affordable drug store pressed powder which deserves all they hype it receives.

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Medium

Another score from ebay as this is not available here. I love my MAC prolong wear concealer but find this one much lighter and easier to blend. It has a sponge doe foot applicator making it a breeze to apply  evenly.

Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tint in Score

I bought this on my last Hautelook. Not sure if this is going to be discontinued or not as I have seen this on the Urban Decay website on deep discount and have not seen this at any Sephora stores. This is a very creamy coral blush. Like to layer this before I apply my powder blush. Makes my blush last a lot longer.

MAC Temperature Rising Collection Limited Edition Blush- Ripe For Love

I missed out on their online release and it was sold out very fast. Finally got my hands on this and I am so happy. Such a pretty coral shade which glides on cheek effortlessly. I love wearing coral blushes in the summer.

Revlon Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya

As if you cannot tell but I love coral. This lip butter has been my go-to lipstick. Goes with anything and so moisturizing. 

What are your summer must-have products?

Review on My New Drugstore Fav: Loreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder

Ever since I found my holy grail foundation, the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua(see post) earlier this year, I stopped buying any new foundation.

Until I see the new L'oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder Foundation at Walmart, I swatched it and was amazed the finish of this foundation.

Mine is in the shade 322 Sand Beige

It says "transforms from liquid to powder for the perfect bare skin finish". That is what attracts me. 

I love light-weight foundation. I don't like high-coverage foundation because I feel it looks too cakey on my skin. I love the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation because it gives the coverage I want and my skin can still peek through so it looks very natural.

As seen in the picture above, this foundation is very liquid-y. It resembles the formula from the Chanel foundation. 

I have used this foundation every day for the past week and I am very impressed with this. It dries up quickly so you will have to work fast with the foundation. What I do is to shake the little glass bottle first, then tilt the bottle just a bit to get some product out to my fingertips and I would dot it on my face. Do it a few times so I can do half my face first. I dare not try to get the product out by turning the bottle upside down as it is just like water and there is no way to control how much product is coming out. I would not want to try to apply this foundation with a brush as the brush would quickly absorb the product.

It dries off quite fast to give you a powder-feel finish. It is amazing and I never have foundation works like that before.  I find since it gives me a matte finish almost instantly, I do not need to apply setting powder as I always do with all my other foundation. On very hot and humid days, I would apply a matte setting powder(Rimmel Stay Matte powder) just on my t-zone. The foundation stays put for the whole day and does not grease me up.

Pros:

• nice natural matte finish
• does not need setting powder
• perfect for oily-combination skin
• wide variety of shades available

Cons:

• glass bottle and no control in getting how much product out
• applied best using fingers, not very sanitary
• quite pricey for drug-store(I got mine at Walmart for CA$15.98)

Have you tried any new drug store foundation this month? What do you recommend?

July Empties

It is that time of the month again and summer is almost over :( At least in this part of Canada. We will probably have one more month of hot summer weather then will be off to sweater season again.

I find my monthly empties are very minimal. I guess with so many products to use up, hard to use a product day in and day out to actually use it up.

Used up hair products: Moroccan Oil Treatment

Batiste Dry Shampoo

This Moroccan Oil Treatment lasts me more than 8 months. You only need a pump each time. I find the initial results were impressive but then after a while, I don't find my hair to be extra soft after applying this treatment. I have found other alternatives and don't think I would re-purchase this.

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Original scent is my stable hair product. It is very effective in refreshing my hair between washes and seems to give my hair a lift and more body. 

Lush used up products: Iced Wine Shower Jelly

Catastophe Cosmetic Face Mask

I have to say the Iced Wine shower jelly is my absolute favorite shower jelly from Lush. It is a Christmas limited edition and I pray that it will be back this Christmas. The scent is a very refreshing  one filled with grape, grapefruit and watermelon. Absolutely delicious scent and not over-powering. It is a lingering scent that fills your bathroom and you smell so good all day long. Have to restock these for sure.

Catastophe Cosmetic Face Mask is my go-to remedy mask. I break out more easily in the summer months and whenever problem skin arises, I apply the mask every other day and it sure does help with calming my skin and feel so soft afterwards.

Physician's Formula 2-in-1 Eye Boosting Eyeliner is my favorite eyeliner. This one lasts almost 2 years and I use it daily. It gives me the most precise application of the eyeliner. Doesn't smudge and stay on all day. Not sure about the lash-boosting property as I don't see any significant improvement on my lashes.

Urban Decay's All Nighter Setting Spray is a travel-sized product I got from Hautelook a month ago. It really does set my makeup all day long and I use it on the hottest and humid days this month. I have another spray I have to use up and I will definitely purchase the full-sized. Impressive.

This LaVanilla Natural Deodorant has been my healthy deodorant. This is my third or fourth one already. This deodorant smells amazing and as much as I like this, have to say on really hot days, I have to re-apply throughout the day to keep dry and fresh. 

Sigma Brushes Sale Alert

I am a big fan of Sigma makeup brushes. They are very affordable and high quality. I placed my order a couple of weeks ago as I needed a couple more brushes and their free gift with $30 purchase is the mini version of their spa brush cleaning glove.

F35 Tapered Highlighter

F40 Large Angled Contour

I need a good highlighter brush to apply my MAC mineralize skin finish on my cheeks. The current brush I use is the Sigma duo fiber brush but find it a bit too big to apply. This highlighter brush would be perfect.

I have always been curious about the new Sigma spa brush cleaning glove. The free gift is the tiny version. I thought it would be a bit bigger than that. 

This is smaller than the size of your palm but I am excited to try it out. It would be perfect to clean my brushes on the go. If I like it enough, I may consider getting the full size.

Here is a promo code if you are interested in getting the spa glove

Also, Sigma is having a 20% off sale until July 29, 2013. They usually have their 10% off but 20%, it is rare. Apply code SBAP20 at checkout. Their shipping fee to Canada is quite high so the 20% off is definitely a great deal.

Best Corrector

I am always in search of a good under-eye concealer. I have dark circles under my eyes and also suffer from puffy bags. Only a few months ago did I find out that the key to conquer under-eye problems is to apply a good corrector before applying concealer and other eye brightening products.

Small Haul from LeCosmetique

This is my second Graftobian High Definition Color Palette (buy here).  My current one lasts me over 5 months.

The color on the far left is my most-used shade. It is a salmon color which really helps with counteracting with the blue tone underneath my eyes. I usually mix it with the second right shade to brighten it up a bit.  Since the salmon color is the one I use the most, I got a separate pot of that in my order. 

This corrector palette is very reasonably-priced and I find it very creamy and moisturizing so it is perfect to apply for under-eye area. The best way to apply it is to dab a bit with your fingers or a concealer brush. Then blend it out with a sponge/beauty blender. 

Graftobian is a professional makeup company and it is not readily available in most stores. I got my order from LeCosmetique. There is currently a 10% off all orders when you apply the promo code RAE10(courtesy of youtuber RaEview)

Summer Playlist

Summer time and lots of traveling in the car. I am the type of driver who NEED my own ipod with my selected tunes while I am driving. I find good tunes make the drive much more pleasurable and easier to pass time. 

I came across this site and thought it is cool to share my playlist for summer.

Here is a short playlist of my current tunes:

I gotta feeling - The Black Eyed Peas

Brighter than the Sun- Colbie Cailiat

it's raining men - Geri Halliwell

Stronger - Kanye West

Firework - Katy Perry

if I can't have you - Kelly Clarkson

Harder to Breath - Maroon 5

How Far We've Come - Matchbox 20

Funhouse - Pink

Locked out of Heaven - Bruno Mars

She's so Mean - Matchbox 20

Mirrors- Justin Timberlake

I like more upbeat songs while I am driving. Also like songs that I can sing along to keep awake :)

July Ipsy Bag 2013

Same with my Topbox this month, my Ipsy bag has been all over the place this month according to Canada Post tracking. What is going on with Canada Post? Usually I would not be getting too anxious about receiving my boxes as the two monthly subscription box/bag are very reliable and ship same time of the month. But with this week's extreme heat, I am worried that some of the products may not make it in the mail box. Glad I caught the mail delivery and was able to snap this bag within minutes. 

This month's theme is beach beauty

comes in this neon pink transparent bag

COOLA Mineral Sunscreen SPF20 (.23 fl oz)

Big Sexy Hair Weather Proof Humidity Resistant Spray (1.4 oz)

Nailtini Nail Lacquer(15ml)

BHCosmetics California Collection Eye Shadow Sample Palette

POP Pouty Pop Crayon(0.1oz)

I saw sneak previews of this month's Ipsy bag and I see that there is some variation with the contents.

Have not tried any of the products from Pop. I love lip crayons and I am happy with the shade Coral Crush I got. Very pretty coral color and it seems very moisturizing.

I haven't tried any eye shadows from BH Cosmetics either. This is a eye shadow sample palette I receive.

Hollywood , San Francisco & Malibu

Besides Hollywood, the other two shadows swatch similar on skin as seen in the pan. Hollywood looks like a royal blue/purple in the pan but when swatched, it is more purple.

Nailtini Nail Lacquer in Mai Tai

I have been wanting to try a bright coral nail shade and am I glad I didn't grab any over the weekend.

The shade is much more vibrant in real life than in picture. A bit of neon papaya + coral is the best I can describe this shade. I received Nailtini nail polish a few months back and the shade they sent me is a very light pale pink. I am very excited to try this out and so impressed with the formula. Not streaky and actually I only need one coat for a smooth application but I did 2 coats to get a more vibrant look.

Very happy with this month's Ipsy bag. Much better than my June bag. 

July Topbox 2013(Regular Box)

Received my Topbox in the mail today. The box has been all over the place when I started to track my package last week. Sometimes don't know exactly what is going on with Canada Post. With the extreme hot and humid weather, I try to grab my makeup products from my mail box as soon as I can, fear that some products may be melted.

Anyway, better late than never. Here is my Topbox for the month of July:

I opted for their regular box this month as their prive boxes did not excite me that much.

Cuccio Colour Nail Lacquer (Full size 14 ml $10)

KMS California Freeshape Quick Blow Dry(1 fl oz)

Benefit Cosmetics Sugarbomb Ultra Plush Gloss (0.22 fl oz)

Belvada Cosmetics One Moment Essential Day Cream 

The Cuccio nail lacquer I got is in the shade Made a Wish in Rome. It is a pretty turquoise color and I am excited to try that out. I received this brand nail polish a couple of months ago but the shade was not my favorite and I did not try it out. 

Happy to get this travel-sized Benefit Sugarbomb lip gloss. Have been wanting to try this out for a while. I have their Sugarbomb box-set blush so this would be perfect.

The one product I am not quite sure about is this one from Belvada Cosmetics. Prior to reading the info card, I looked through the little container and thought is this supposed to be an eye pigments or cream shadow as it looks so weird with its texture. 

It is described as " pure 24k gold flakes as well as pearl protein help stimulate blood flow, build up Amino Acids and add a healthy glow to the skin for summer."

When I swatch this, it feels like a cool gel. The gold flakes seem a bit intimidating at first but after blending a bit, it is not that obvious on the skin.

The other product is the KMS FreeShape blow dry. It is supposed to help blow-drying faster and also acts as a heat protectant. Says reduce drying time by up to 50%. Excited to try that out as I have pretty thick hair and who wants to be blow-drying your long hair in the hot humid weather?

Overall, pretty happy that I opted for the July regular Topbox. How about you? Happy with what you received this month?

My New Phillip Lim Pashili Medium Satchel

Have you ever set your eye on something that you can't stop thinking about?

I have my eye set on the 3.1 Phillip Lim pashli satchel for a long time. Think probably over a year. This year they came out with a medium sized satchel which I thought would fit me better so I took the plunge.

3.1 Phillip Lim Pashli Medium Satchel in taupe (buy here)

As I mentioned earlier, I have my eye set on this bag for a while. They come out with different colors each season. I have been browsing on all the major U.S. department store websites but they rarely go on sale. 

Then I came about this website: ForwardForward.com by Elyse Walker.  After doing some research, learnt that this is an indeed legitimate website and this was run previously under Revolve Clothing which I have heard of before. 

The delivery time is pretty fast, considering it is shipped from L.A. Only took 4 business days to arrive at my doorstep.

All the brass/gold hardware is wrapped carefully to avoid scratches and the bag comes in its 3.1 Phillip Lim dust bag.

The signature look of this satchel is its front double zippers but when zipped down, makes the bag wider and also gives a more casual look. In this picture, I put the top cover inside the bag for another look.

There is a zippered compartment with the 3.1 Phillip Lim logo embossed on the leather. The lining is a satin/silk material. Very spacious and functional.

There is a little leather wrap-around to keep the handles together so it will keep its shape when standing up.

J. Crew Stitchwork Stripe Top (here)

old Levi jean capri

watch by Urban Peaches Boutique

To me, the medium-sized is just right for me. They have a regular/large size and a mini one. The large is too big for me for every day use and the mini pashli is just too small. I am used to carrying a lot of "junk" inside my purse and this is just the perfect size.

I was debating on whether to get this in the classic black with gold hardware or this taupe. I am so glad I picked the taupe color. It matches with everything practically and I know I can wear it all year round.

Another feature which sold me this bag is it comes with a shoulder strap. I believe the previous season's bags did not have that. Even though this size bag is not very heavy, it is always handy to have that option to wear it on your shoulder when your arm is getting tired.

Can also be worn as a cross-body bag.

Yes, I know, I am hard-selling this gorgeous bag. But you know when you have wanted something so bad for so long and when it arrives, it is everything and more than you have expected, you would be super-excited.

What pushed me to buy this bag now is that ForwardForward.com has a promo. You get 15% off your first purchase when you purchase from their in-app(you need either your iphone or ipad to install the app). The website has a great variety of designer items and I am very impressed with their customer service and for sure I would recommend this and will do more purchases definitely. 

Products I Regret Buying

I hesitate to do posts like this as I read others' similar posts and said " hey, that is my favorite product!" The products I include in this post don't necessarily bad products. They just don't work for my skin type, skin tone etc and hopefully if you have similar skin tone as me, or skin types, you can avoid buying these.

CoverGirl Clump Crusher Mascara

Benefit They're Real Mascara

Revlon Colorstay Smoky Shadow Stick(201 Torch)

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in Celestial

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in shade 55

MAC Paint Pot in Mooncake

Like many others, I try to do as much beauty product research before I go out for the purchase. Included in my post is a lot of highly-raved products. So apologize if some of them are your holy-grail products. 

I got this earlier this year after reading so many awesome reviews on these. One thing I forgot to look into further is: would this foundation work for my oil combination skin? I prefer lighter coverage foundation and thought this would be the ideal foundation for me. I have used this in the winter months and the problem wasn't as big as in the summer months. This foundation is really dewy on my skin after a few hours and even if I set it with my Tarte Amzonian Clay Smooth Operator setting powder, it still does not help with the problem. So with that said, I would use it only in winter months just to use it up.

Got this Rimmel Apocalips lip laquer through ASOS website as these were not available in North America at the time. They are now available in U.S. but not yet in Canada. This highly-raved lip product seems like a dream come true. Pigmentation, check. Smooth application, check. Lasting power, check. Color I got is celestial and it is the most beautiful mauve pink color. However, the scent of this lip product is just unbearable to me. Don't know how to describe the scent but it is scented like burnt plastic mixed with something. If you are not sensitive to scent of lip products, that would be awesome as I would definitely re-purchase this if they come out with a new formulation without the scent.

I bought the Revlon Colorstay smoky shadow stick after reading that darker shade of this stick is a close dupe of one of MAC's limited edition paint pots which sold out. I missed out on that paint pot and thought I would grab the dupe to try it out. From the swatches seen on the website, the color is very close. But the pigmentation is just not there. I still use this(both shades) for an easy eye-look. Just make sure to apply eye primer to help the lasting power.

A disclaimer: I have very stubborn Asian eye lashes. Not lengthy, hard to curl and hold curls.

I bought a whole bunch of mascaras to try out, knowing very little that the only mascara that would work on my pathetic lashes is the waterproof version. 

Benefit's They're Real Mascara is certainly very volumizing and lengthening. Beside the fact that they don't last on my lashes, this one is very "spider-y" like. If you like natural curls, this one may not be the one for you. 

CoverGirl Clump Crusher Mascara sounds too good to be true. How many time you wish your mascara wouldn't clump up when you're rushing to get ready? This one really does not clump at all. I really like their brush and it gets just the right amount of product you need. However, this does nothing for my lashes.

This is MAC's Mooncake Pro Longwear paint pot from their limited Baking Beauties collection released a few months ago. The color and shade is absolutely gorgeous. Always love the long-lasting power of the paint pots. But Mooncake is a pure GLITTERY paint pot. You can't really see it in the pot but when you apply it, it is so glittery. I tried to use it very light-handed, attempting to grab as little product as possible. But the glitter is so intense. I wear contact lens and at more than a few occasions that I feel small chunks of glitter is in my eye. 

Do you have highly-raved products you regret buying? Please share :)