Too Faced Sweet Smell of Christmas Matte Liquified Lipstick Set

Halloween is not even here and holiday gift sets are starting to roll out already. I love Christmas gift sets as they are deluxe-sized and it is a great way to try different products and honestly, how often do you ever finish a full-sized product?

Sweet Scent of Christmas Lipstick Set

4 deluxe-sized liquid lipsticks

Too Faced Melted Matte Liquified Lipsticks have been my holy grail liquid lipstick. The formula is excellent. Lasting power is long and do not dry out my lips. Check out my previous blog post about my obsession. 

When I found out Too Faced is launching their holiday collection with this set, I was so excited. I picked mine up from Sephora for CAD $32.

4 shades ranging a nude pink to bright red

Sugar Cookie

Hot Buttered Rum

Pumpkin Spice

Cinnamon Bear

These cute deluxe sized lipsticks not only have great color pay-off and pigmentation, they smell amazing. Each lipstick smell exactly like what the name suggests. I am not a big fan of pumpkin spice latte (unlike everybody else on this planet!!) but I enjoy the scent of pumpkin spice on my lipstick. If you are sensitive to scents, you don't really have to worry much as you can only smell it when you apply and the scent doesn't linger on too long.

Too Faced has launched their Christmas holiday collection.

Gingerbread Spice Eye Shadow Palette

Melted Gingerbread Girl Liquified Long Wear Matte Lipstick

I am still contemplating on whether to get this shade in Gingerbread Girl. It looks a bit brownish on the website and I have quite a few similar shades in my collection. They also have the Gingerbread Man on the Too Faced website from last year. The two shades are quite similar and I prefer the Gingerbread Girl. 

Are you excited about all the holiday gift sets? What will you be picking up?

Anastasia Liquid Lipsticks found at Winners

I have been watching a lot of TJ Maxx Haul videos on YouTube lately. US TJ Maxx is similar to Winners/Homesense here in Canada. I enjoy shopping at Winners as you never know what you can find in stores. Very often when I have a few things to look for in the store and come out with a whole bunch of other items.

I was at my Winners this morning and found some Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipsticks. There were 4 or 5 shades there and I bought two of them: Ashton and Striped.  They are both CAD $9.99. 

This is my first ABH liquid lipstick. Ashton is a brownish mauve shade with a hint of orange in it, perfect for the fall. Striped is a pale pink shade which I am going to gift to my Mom as she prefer lighter lip shade colors.

This is how Ashton looks on me. In real life, it is a tiny bit darker. As a liquid lipstick, this ABH one is ok for application. As this is a more pigmented darker shade, it takes a bit of practice to apply with the flat doe-foot applicator. It does go on smoothly and it dries to a matte finish. A bit of transfer and not as long lasting as the Too Faced Melted liquid lipsticks and my new holy grail: Kylie Cosmetic liquid lipsticks. 

I have a couple of similar shades in my collection. ABH Ashton is more brown than Kat Von D Lolita 2 but not as vampy as the original Lolita. 

For $9.99, I am happy with my new purchase. Would I get any more from the brand? Probably not. It is not a bad deal at all to get as deep discounted price at Winners though.

Have you scored big at your TJ Maxx or Winners?

Favorite Rose Pink Makeup Look

Ever since I missed out on the limited-edition Pillow Talk Eyeshadow Palette by Charlotte Tilbury earlier this month, I was so bummed that I couldn't get my hands on the beautiful eyeshadow quad. What did I do? Shop my stash.

Shopping your own stash is a great way to decide if you really need the new products in the market. More likely, you would find similar shades in your makeup collection. 

I like more neutral eye look as I can only carry more natural shades. Mostly neutral shades like earth tones fit me the best but I would like to switch things up once in a while and a rosy pink tone is my second favorite.

The pillow talk eyeshadow quad has 2 matte and 2 shimmery shades. When I try to look for similar shades in my stash, I found the Urban Decay Naked 3 which has a lot of similar shades. But I need some strong shimmery shade and I found a palette which I only used a handful of times: Coastal Scents Beijing palette. To be honest, I can't even remember that I have this in my collection. The shadows are amazingly pigmented and creamy. I use a shimmery peachy pink shade over my lids and use some mauve/pink matte shades from the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette on my crease. 

For my face, I use my current favorite cushion from Moonshot. Check out my previous blog post for a review. Since I was shopping my stash, I rediscovered a few blushes that I forgot. Hourglass Diffused Heat is one of them and I love how natural this blush is and it has beautiful highlighting powder within the blush that it creates an amazing natural glow.

I am obsessed with Charlotte Tilbury's pillow talk lipstick and as pretty as the shade is, I don't want to ditch out another $27 for a lip liner. I found Annabelle Demure lip liner which is very similar to the Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk. 

Do you shop your stash to re-discover forgotten products?

Moonshot Micro Setting Fit Cushion Review

Ever since I became a big fan of KPop king, G-Dragon, I am more drawn to Korean makeup and skin care. I have raved many times about one of my holy grail sheet masks, GD Shining Mask, from the brand, MoonShot. Many times when celebrities put their names on their products, I have always been skeptical about how good the products are. That sheet mask really changed my view on those and I have decided to try more products from the brand.

MoonShot Micro Setting Fit Cushion

Let's talk about the packaging. Moonshot has a few cushion foundations and each packaging is different. G-Dragon's black, BlackPink(an all-girl Kpop group)is Beige. This one is named after Blackpink's member, Lisa and the cover of the cushion is a holographic glitter top. Very pretty.

The puff it comes with has a pointy top, making it easier to apply cushion on the inner corners of the eyes and around the nose.

Shade 201

This cushion comes in only 3 shades: 101, 201 and 301. I picked 201 which is a light beige.

In comparison with shades, Moonshot Micro Setting 201 is in between IOPE XP C23 and Hera #23. 

For coverage, Moonshot Micro Setting Cushion has a light to medium coverage. The application is quite smooth and with the pointy puff, it makes the application much easier around the eyes and nose. The finish is not as dewy as my other Korean cushion foundation. I have oily combo skin, leaning towards drier skin now, this cushion is very good. I don't need to set the cushion with a setting powder to keep my t-zone matte throughout the day. But if you have dry skin, I am not sure if this one would be the right choice for you as it can cling onto dry patches.

The lasting power for this cushion is quite good. I tried it out yesterday going to the gym. It holds up quite good with excessive sweating on my face. I didn't notice transfer of cushion onto my towel. After gym, I had to reapply just by dabbing on top of my cheeks and I can go on with my day. I did notice after re-application that the cushion did cling onto blemishes. 

I got mine from YesStyle when they had a flash sale. Price is around CAD $25-38 on average. It does not come with a refill so I would say the price is a bit high for just one cushion. 

Moonshot Micro Setting Fit Cushion is a good cushion to try if you:

• have normal to oily skin
• are not into dewy skin
• don't want to set your cushion with setting powder
• have fair to medium skin tone
• want buildable coverage 
• like lightweight, non-greasy finish
• have relatively good skin with few blemishes

Overall, I am quite impressed with Moonshot Micro Setting Fit Cushion. It is perfect for summer and warmer days into the fall. It is lightweight and it doesn't feel greasy or " I need to take off my makeup" feel at the end of the day. It is good for my oily combo skin but I might have to moisturize my skin good to use before applying this in the dry winter months. 

First Online Order w/ Beauty by Shoppers Drug Mart

I have been shopping at Shoppers Drug Mart for a long time. It is similar to CVS in the US. Drug store, makeup and groceries. They have a very good loyalty reward program. Used to be much better but still good now as they are with the mother company of one of Canada's biggest grocery chain, Loblaws so I can redeem my points buying groceries.

Shoppers Drug Mart has revamped its beauty online store a while back but this is my first online order with them.

I placed my order on the weekend and it took 2 business days for my order to arrive. Very happy.

I usually get my GlamGlow SuperMud from Sephora. But I am down to my 1/8 jar and I don't think I can wait until their VIB Sale next month. I was just browsing the Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Boutique website and pleasantly surprised that they carry GlamGlow. I got SuperMud Clearing Treatment and my regular La Roche Posay Anthelios face sunscreen. It was 20X points so I thought why not.

What I didn't realize was I was gifted a huge bag of products with my first online order.

I am overjoyed with all these. I couldn't believe it. Pixi Glow Tonic, Garnier Micellar Water, Cake Dry shampoo, Loreal lipstick etc.

With the 20x points, I received over 30,000 points which equals to $30 on a regular redemption day(it would be more if I redeem on a bonus redemption day). 

Beauty by Shoppers Drug Mart is now carrying drug store makeup online as well, not just high end brands. It makes life easier as sometimes I would like to get the drug store brand but not all stores carry that brand or the shades I want. I can now just hop online and get my products instead of driving to 5 different stores to hunt for them.

Sephora Rouge Event Sep 2018

Just came back from my Sephora Rouge Event. Not very exciting to be honest. I wanted to check out Holiday gift sets and Charlotte Tilbury products but the store I went to didn't have a lot on display. Maybe if it is a bigger store, they would have more selection.

Charlotte Tilbury display

I was told that the store I went to will not carry Charlotte Tilbury so whatever they couldn't sell, they would send those back. I was only able to grab a pillow talk lipstick. Very disappointed that I couldn't even get the lip cheat(lip liner). Will have to order online, I guess.

Refreshments

Very nice selection of refreshments, including pastries from Tim Horton's.

Nars Orgasm Infatuation Palette

Bite Beauty 4 little Bites Amuse Bouche Lipstick Set

Too Faced Dream Queen Limited Edition Make Up Collection

Beauty Blender Sweet Surprise Mystery Bag

Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillow Talk

Gift bag with samples

Origins Friends & Family Sale

When there is a sale for skin care brands, take advantage as they rarely go on sale.

Origins is having their Friends and Family Sale until Sep 16. Get $25 off your $60 order and also a free full-sized eye cream of your choice for orders over $80 (use promo code FRIEND)

I took advantage of the sale and stock up on my favorite toner. The eye cream deal is also a great one so I decided to try three new eye creams. I think I have tried the Plantscription Anti-aging eye cream in deluxe sample size before.

I split my haul into 2 orders. First order is 2x United State toner. Original price was $30 each. With the $25 discount, my subtotal came to $35 + tax. My second one consists of 2 eye creams at $59 and $48. With the discount of $25, my subtotal is $82 plus I got a full sized Plantscription eye cream (at $61). It is an awesome deal for $117, I got products worth $228.

If you need to stock up on your Origins skin care products, this is a great time to take advantage of their sale.

Totally Worth the Hype - Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kit -Posie K

Have been wanting to try the Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kit for the longest time. But since it is not readily available in Canada, I kind of gave up on getting my hands on the highly-raved lip product in recent years.

I was just browsing in the mall last weekend and saw a display at the Show Case (store which sells mostly as seen on TV info-mercial programs). Saw the Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kits and glad I went inside to check them out. They didn't have a whole lot of shades. But I quickly decided on the shade I want.

Posie K

Left: Liquid Lipstick in Posie K

Right: Lip Liner in Posie K

Left: Angel

Right: Posie K

I bought two kits. Posie K for myself and Angel for my sister-in-law. Since it was a gift, I didn't swatch Angel but it seems to be MLBB but has more of a beige undertone.

Kylie Matte Liquid Lipstick comes in a tube with your standard doe foot applicator. The shade I picked is Posie K which is a MLBB shade, is described as a cool mid-tone berry shade. It doesn't have a lot of brown in it which I am happy about as I have a lot of MLBB shades like that in my collection. 

Review:  It has a sweet dessert scent. I am not a big fan of the scent but it does not linger on long fortunately. I line my lips with the lipliner in the kit and apply the liquid lipstick on top. Very smooth and buttery. When first applied, it is glossy but after a few seconds, it dries off to a matte finish. I have tried many liquid lipsticks and this one performs so well in terms of how easy it is for application. Lasting power is amazing. At least a good 6 hours, even after eating. I don't even have to bring the lipstick out to re-apply midday. No transfer. You would think for a formula that long-lasting, it would dry your lips. But not surprisingly. I don't even apply lip balm before application and my lips feel fine throughout the whole day.

3 hours after first application and this picture was taken right after I had lunch (salad with a lot of dressing)

This lipstick just doesn't budge. I do need to remove it with eye makeup remover at the end of the day . I now understand fully why this receives so much rave in the makeup industry. My current holy grail liquid lipsticks are from Too Faced(check out my blog post on my collection). Compared to Too Faced, Kylie liquid lipstick is more long-lasting. For the Too Faced ones, I do have to re-apply after meals. 

Left: Kylie Posie K

Middle: ColourPop Ultra Satin Lip in Wink

Right: Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Marvellous Mauve

You bet I am going to visit another Showcase store and see if they have more shades selection from Kylie Cosmetics.

Sheet Mask Performance by Skin Analyzer (Part 2)

I am still committed to using facial sheet masks. I do sheet masks maybe 5 times a week minimum. I know there are a lot of debates about how often you use sheet masks. Some people say if you overdo it, you would clog your pores and have a negative effect on your skin rather than benefiting it. 

My theory is pick sheet masks which are suitable for your skin. For example, my main concern is hydration. I find with the right amount of hydration, it really helps my skin and making it plump and produce less oil and thus less breakouts, even in the hot summer months. 

My skin type is oily combination, more towards on the drier side these days. I don't pick sheet masks which are rich in hydration two times in a row. I would pick a hydrated one on first day and the pick another one which is aiming towards wrinkle-prevention or brightening benefits. In the cold dry winter months, I may do more hydration masks simultaneously.

I have tried a few new sheet masks the last little while and is happy to report that I have found a very good Korean brand, recommended by my sister-in-law. Brand is JM Solution. I have tried a number of different versions from this brand and so far all perform very well. 

Moisture level: 66%

Oil level: 20%

Moisture level: 69%

Oil level: 19%

Moisture level: 66%

Oil level: 20%

Moisture level: 59%

Oil level: 19%

Moisture level: 70%

Oil level: 20%

Moisture level: 73%

Oil level: 23%

Moisture level: 61%

Oil level: 19%

Moisture level: 58%

Oil level: 18%

Moisture level: 63%

Oil level: 19%

Moisture level: 68%

Oil level: 20%

Moisture level: 77%

Oil Level: 22%

The last one is from JM Solution called Water Luminous Silky Coconut Mask. It gives a record-high reading of 77% in moisture level for me. When I opened the package, I could just tell how rich the mask is and is loaded with essence. The texture of sheet masks from this brand is very nice as well. Thin enough and fit my face shape well. Doesn't slide down my face even with the supple amount of essence. Best part is this brand is easily accessible here in Canada and very affordable.