Fixing Broken Makeup - Tutorial Teaser!

Good afternoon y'all!

I woke up several hours earlier than usual this morning because I had a dental consultation at 7:30 (ugh). I don't even wake up at 7:30AM normally. I found out that I have to get all four of my wisdom teeth removed (BOO) because they're overcrowding my mouth like crazy. On my way home, I dropped my makeup bag on the concrete in front of my house.

Have you ever dropped your makeup bag/some other palette on a hard surface before? Every time it happens to me, or every time I see it happen, I gasp and my heart literally skips a beat. Nothing sucks mroe than opening up your makeup bag only to find your precious pressed makeup crumbled, smothered all over everything else in your bag that (hopefully) didn't break.

To my surprise, the majority of my makeup survived the fall. The only exception was my E.L.F. Studio Bronzer in Warm (As featured in my very first post, here).

The only casualty from this morning's dreadful makeup bag drop.

I'm lucky it didn't spread everywhere and that the rest of my make up remained in tact. This is however my current go-to bronzer. Despite the fact that it's only $3 and I could replace it in a jiffy (well a little longer than that because I still have to order it off of ELF's website and wait for it to ship to Canada), I wanted to save it. I hate seeing makeup go to waste because it's broken. Pressed makeup- eye shadows, pressed powders, blushes, etc. are actually relatively easy to fix; so easy that you likely have the products sitting in your own house right now.

My bronzer is currently in repair. One it has returned to it's usable state I'll finish this post and show you how to fix your broken makeup without having to destroy and crumble the entire thing (Which would be detrimental in this case because this bronzer is segmented into four lovely separate colours). I actually managed to save the two that were broken and press everything else back into position. It's a little lumpy looking... hopefully I'll be able to rectify that before I post it up here.

Stay tuned! I'll be posting a great tutorial for all of you in the next 48 hours, complete with step by step instructions on how to repair your shattered but prized pieces in your makeup collection.

xox,
Ysobel

What's your Skin Type?: Digging up the dirt on skin types to help you find the best products for your skin

Hi everyone!

So the other night my friend came over to my place, complaining that his (I quote) "face was falling off". He had some flaking, things were itchy, and being a guy, he was picking at some weird scab on his nose. I ran upstairs to grab my emergency face-saver kit (which I will share in a future post) and gave him a mini-facial in the comfort of my living room. In the same way I was trained while working on a cosmetics counter at a department store, I asked him what his skin type was, how he felt after washing his face, etc. to make sure I was applying the right products for him.

Then it dawned on me. I guess a lot of people don't know what their skin type is. People are probably buying the wrong skin care products for their skin type... which is probably why so many people are complaining about their skin. It is imperative that you use proper skin care products to (1) make sure you're using the right combination of things to keep your skin looking its best (2) to prepare a canvas for any makeup application.

So, Mr. Suburban Bachelor, this post is dedicated to you. Here is my guide to figuring out your skin type, which will help you find the best products for your skin later on.

Generally, there are about 3 major classifications that most skincare companies use to organize their products: OILY, DRY, COMBINATION. You may also have heard of terminology like dehydrated and sensitive that I will address later on.

When figuring out your skin type, here are some questions you need to ask yourself:
How does my skin feel after I've washed my face (with your normal cleanser)? Does it feel dry and tight? Is it shiny?
Where is it dry/shiny?
Halfway through the day, do you have any shine on your face?
Do you need to blot? Blotting tissues help remove excess oil.

OILY SKIN: Generally after washing your face, you don't want to put anything else on it. You don't want to put any toners or moisturizers or anything on your skin because there is a film of sebum (facial oil) on your skin's surface. Nothing feels tight, and you are super shiny all over your face and feel that you need to use blotting papers several times daily.
There is a benefit to being oily-skinned: Despite looking like a greaseball, you will age gracefully. As we get older our skin tends to move more towards the drier side of things. Excess oil as a youngster means balanced skin when you're older. Your excess sebum will help (future) fine lines and wrinkles that contribute to aging.
Products: Use things targeting Oily Skin. These are light-weight, oil-free moisturizers, toners and cleansers that will help manage the excess oil on your face instead of add more. Even though you may feel like you don't want to add moisture to your face, but it is crucial that you use a moisturizer because it is possible for oily skin to be dehydrated.

DRY SKIN: After washing, your forehead and cheeks feel tight and drier than the Sahara Desert. Even after moisturizing your face feels tight, sometimes you'll experience occasional flaking from your dry skin cracking. Your skin is matte and you have little to no shine on your T-Zone (Forehead and Nose area).
Unfortunately, dry skin get even drier as you age, making you more prone to fine lines and wrinkles. This is why it's so important to get yourself on a proper, regular skin care regime that moisturizes your skin properly to help fight aging later on.
Products: Use products targeting dry skin (duh). These balance the oil-based and water-based moisture on your face to help keep everything soft and supple. Stay away from toners with alcohol in them because they will strip your face of its water content. Exfoliate regularly to keep your flaking at bay and make sure to use a moisturizer at night to allow your skin's night-time repair process to work as efficiently as possible.

COMBINATION SKIN:  Your forehead and nose feel comfortable after washing but your cheeks tend to flake. You have excess sebum glands on your forehead and nose but not so many on your cheeks, which is why your forehead and nose are oily but your cheeks are dry. You need to blot your T-zone 1-2 times daily to keep shine under control, but the rest of your face is matte. Sometimes you experience flaking on your cheeks and in the side crevices of your nose but seldom on your forehead and nose surface.
Products: Products targeted to Combo skin help rebalance the oil on your face - making the oil parts less oily and the dry parts more moisturized. You can use toners with a little bit of alcohol in them, but make sure they are of a gel-like consistency to help moisturize while it balances the excess oil.

Sensitive skin reacts through swelling, redness, or inflammation to products that your body will naturally reject. There are few products you can use on your face, even plant-based ones, because you will probably flare up. Stay away from products that contain fragrance because those are usually what irritates the skin.
Dehydrated skin lacks water, not oil. That is why it is possible for oily skin types to be dehydrated. Water hydration in your skin is within the epidermal layers, not on the surface. Look for products that have Sodium Hyaluronate or Hyaluronic Acid in them, these will add water-based moisture to the inner layers of your skin.
How do I know if my skin is dehydrated? When looking in a mirror, place your finger against the side of your cheek and gently push upwards without pushing into the skin. If you see fine horizontal lines on the skin on top of where you are pressing, your skin is dehydrated.

My tips for all skin types:
Exfoliate regularly. You need to use either a facial scrub or peel one a week to slough off dead skin cells. This ensures that your moisturizers and other products are penetrating the skin instead of sitting on the skin's surface.
Use a toner. Toner helps to balance the moisture of the skin's surface and primes it for moisturizer. After using a toner you'll find your moisturizer goes on much smoother. Stay away from anything with too much alcohol in it (IE: Alcohol is first or second ingredient) because it WILL strip your skin of its water content.
Use Sunscreen. Since the majority of our aging is due to the environment, SPF is the greatest anti-aging agent you could ever have. Invest in a moisturizer that is at least SPF 15, or find a facial sunscreen you can wear over your current moisturizer to boost its SPF.

Like skin tones, skin types are an entire spectrum. You can be Dry-Combo and Oil-Combo. You can have dry, sensitive skin, or you can be oily but dehydrated. Some companies have skin care products for the in-betweeners (Dry/Combo and Oily/Combo) and for people with sensitive skin. The key is to figure out what you are - that way you can purchase the products that are made for your skin that will help your skin look its absolute best.

Thank you, Suburban Bachelor, for inspiring me to write this. (There is a link to his blog, in case any of you ladies want the inside scoop on this guy, haha).

Let me know your experiences with any skin care products you've tried in the past. I'd love to hear from you!

xox,
Ysobel

Crazy Good URBAN DECAY deal!

So I have this coupon for the shopping network and I was browsing the site trying to find something to use it on. Then I found this. It's a crazy good deal and I couldn't help but share!!

Urban Decay Midnight Cowgirl Makeup Bag Set

I am a HUGE bargain shopper and will buy things in sets to get the best value (that's why I love buying during department store GWP time because I get all those free goodies!).

So this is going for $39.00CAD plus $6.96 shipping. It ships from my hometown so I don't have to worry about it taking ages to get here. It includes...

24/7 Glide on Pencil in Zero (0.04oz, 1.2g) - FULL SIZE worth $23 CAD
Big Fatty Mascara (15mL, 0.51oz) - FULL SIZE worth $24CAD
Eyeshadow Primer Potion (25mL, 0.85oz) - PROFESSIONAL SIZE worth $34CAD
Cosmetic pouch

So that's $90+ worth of product for $39.00CAD plus taxes, shipping and handling. NOT A BAD DEAL!

Rimmel London's Sexy Curves Full Volume and Curve mascara

Hi everyone!

So today's post is dedicated to a mascara that I bought a few years ago that I left in my make up case as "stock", and only opened a few weeks ago because I was running low on mascara and couldn't find my trial sizes.

Sexy Curves Mascara.

This is Rimmel London's Sexy Curves Mascara, a mascara that promises full volume and curve. I think I purchased it at Shopper's when they had this sale where a bunch of Rimmel products (including this one) were $4.99. Otherwise I believe it retails at about $6-8 CAD for 8mL of mascara. It comes in a slim purple tube that does stand upright (though I'm not sure if that's an advantage or not). I purchased this in 001 BLACK.

The Mascara wand, brush head compared to the size of an American Penny for size. I live in Canada (where we don't use pennies anymore), and the only coin I had close by was this old American one. The Bad boy's pretty chewed up... looks like it's been run over two or three...hundred times.

Triple Plump brush Close-Up. I think my picture above was better than this. My bad.

The reverse side of the packaging mentions Rimmel's New Triple Plump brush used "for fuller curvier lashes". So... here's the Triple Plump brush. It's almost like three balls of silicone spikes stuck together and elongated a little.It's about an inch long, and it's actually pretty flexible, making removing excess mascara from the wand a breeze. The ball on the end makes it surprisingly easy to apply mascara to the inner corners and outer lashes without worrying about poking your eyes out.

The formula is creamy but really wet (so wet that you hear a moist "pop!" when you take the wand out of the tube). I'm not a fan of super wet formulas because they are a little difficult to apply on your lashes. I find they make them clump and stick together, unless you apply with extreme caution. Then if you're lucky, you'll get every single lash.

Sexy Curve Mascara applied to both eyes. No curling. One coat.

When applied properly (as in, 3-4 minutes of you poking at your eyes with utmost caution), the mascara has a really nice natural look. there is a but of added volume but not too much curl. With a name like "sexy curls" I was expecting almost a false eye lash effect, but as I was building my lashes got chunky and clumpy and they were not a pretty sight. It's also not the blackest mascara out there, but for a natural, everyday look it isn't bad.

Yesterday I was wearing this mascara and my sister made me laugh so hard I was crying. She told me my mascara was running everywhere and so I ran to the washroom. there was ZERO mascara left on my bottom lashes after a few tears. Now I know the formula doesn't claim to be water proof, but I like a mascara that can stand up to a few tears and not dissolve all over your face. Sometimes waterproof mascaras emit fumes that tend to make my eyes sting so I stay away from them. They're also a pain in the butt to remove.

After a few hours of wear I find the mascara flakes all over my eyes. But for only a few bucks, I guess you can't expect smudge-free wear and flakeless lashes.

The verdict? It's okay. It's cheap and it does the job. If you have a 12-13 year old girl who is just venturing into make up then I think it'd be a good mascara to start her on. It's relatively cheap and creates a natural look that's great for everyday. However, I wouldn't consider it HG status and I wouldn't wear it on a special night out.

xox,

Ysobel

Have you tried this mascara? What's your favourite one to use? What's your opinion of other Rimmel London products? I'd love to hear from you!

Clinique Butter Shine Lipstick in Pink Toffee vs. Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Pink Toffee

Good morning everyone!

Today's topic is inspired by one of my recent lipstick purchases. I owned a tube of Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Pink Toffee, and it was honestly my most favourite thing ever. And it gave me a MLBB (My lips but better) kind of look. Unfortunately the product removed from the lipstick shaft one day and left me a with a giant mess of yuckiness. In a desperate search for the next best thing, I went around my local department store, swatching every single brownish pink lipstick I could find, and I came across this- Clinique Butter Shine Lipstick in Pink Toffee. Here are the comparisons.

Clinique on the left, Revlon on the right. I actually had to clean out the case of my Revlon lipstick before taking this because it was that gross.

 Both lipsticks come in your standard twist-controlled tube with a metallic shaft. I'm a fan of Clinique's packaging; the tube has some heavy weight, the twisting mechanism is very smooth, and it's bamboo shaped (I love bamboo anything). The Revlon packaging is a little lighter in weight, not as well constructed but still decent.

In terms of product, Revlon's is a little harder with a firm consistency, great for keeping smudges under control. Clinque's is softer, and though it feels soft enough that the lipstick will totally bend out of the tube on you, it actually doesn't, which is awesome (because that's exactly what happened to my Revlon lip butter).

Swatching Clinique's Pink Toffee vs. Revlon's Pink Truffle

 In terms of colour, Clinique's is much more rich in colour and has a nice sheen to it. It has great colour payoff and lasts a good 3-4 hours without reapplying. Revlon's is a little more sheer and with a cooler tinge with a similar sheen, but I find I have to reapply it every 2 hours or so. Pink Toffee seems to be more orange than it's Revlon counterpart.

Clinique and Revlon on the same pair of lips

Side by side on my lips, the two colours are almost undistinguishable (is that even a word? the spell check on this is flaring up on me). Here the colour pay off of Pink Toffee is very obvious, you can really see its melon undertones against the cooler tones of Pink Truffle.

The Verdict? I would say that these are suitable dupes of each other, not 100% identical but nearly there. Clinique's version will set you back $19CAD, Revlon I've seen anywhere from $7-10$CAD depending on where you buy it. If you must choose one to have in your lipstick collection, I'd reccommend Clinique's Pink Toffee. You won't have to reapply as often and it will definitely last almost twice as long as Revlon's lip butter. When comparing price and hours of wear, it makes Clinique's Butter Shine worth about the same as the Revlon counterpart. It does cost a little bit more, but you're paying for quality packaging that isn't going to muck up on you and a product with twice the lasting power. I'd say that's worth it!

xox,
ysobel

Have you tried any of these lipsticks? Do you own anything in the Butter Shine or Lip Butter family? I'd love to hear from you!

Too Faced Natural Eye Neutral Eye Shadow Collection

Aloha! Today I will be reviewing Too Faced's Nautral Eye Neutral Eye Shadow Collection, a selection of 9 neutral shades with a variety of finishes: Matte, Glitter, Satin/Metalllic.

The Too Faced Natural Eye Neutral Eye Shadow Collection.

The 9 shadows are placed into three categories. Day, a matte collection, contains Heaven, Velvet Revolver and Sexpresso. Classic, a satin/glitter collection, contains Silk Teddy, Push-Up, and Erotica. Fashion, a glitter/metallic collection, contains Nude Beach, Honey Pot and Cocoa Puff.

Heaven - This is one of my favourite colours in this palette. This is a highly pigmented, creamy coloured matte shadow that is great to use underneath your brow bone as a matte highlight or all over the upper lid. I honestly think I use this colour every single day (Check out that giant hole in the shadow. Can't believe I haven't hit pan on this one yet.
Velvet Revolver - A matte taupe-coloured shadow. I LOVE this colour but because of my skin tone (As you'll see in my swatches below), it barely shows up on my skin! It's great to use all over the lower lid, but the only way it shows up on me is if I use it in the crease with another lighter neutral shade on my lid (Strange, right? It barely shows up on my lower lid).
Sexpresso - A matte, coffee coloured shadow. VERY pigmented - I love to use this to line my eyes, fill in my brows, but it requires a little bit of coercing when used in the crease. This is the only shadow in this collection that I have a fall-out issue with, I always find that after I use it, I'm brushing dark brown flecks of shadow off of my face. Its texture is a little bit chalky, and after wearing it in my crease for an entire day the colour does get a little muddy looking.
Silk Teddy - A peach tinted shadow with a satin/metallic finish. This shadow has awesome colour payoff, its texture kind of reminds me of some UD shadows. I don't really use it much as an everyday shadow, I usually use it on special occasions to use in the inside corner of my eye as well as the lower inside half underneath my eye as a liner. It's too metallic as a highlight shade under the brow bone IMO, but I do like to use it on the upper lid. Because of its awesome colour payoff and texture, you really don't need to use a lot of it.
Push-Up - Another one of my favourites in this collection. This medium brown, satin eye shadow would pair nicely with any of the other shadows on this palette. As you can see I've done some damage on this shade as well haha.
Erotica - A Dark brown shadow that looks like its super glittery, but it isn't. It has small sliver glitter in a dark, cool brown matte base. As for colour it's not my favourite, I feel like there are a lot of other dark brown, glittery shadows that have better colour payoff and are more flattering. It's just meh.
Nude Beach - HUGE peachy coloured glitter in a similarly coloured, slightly satin-finished base. I never use this shadow because the glitter is nearly impossible to pick up without a sponge applicator and falls off your lids within a few hours. It's nice to look at but impossible to wear. I haven't tried wearing this with an eye shadow primer, but if any of you have, let me know! Maybe I'll give this shadow a second chance... Who knows.
Honey Pot - This is your 24-K Gold eye shadow. Honey Pot has a great metallic finish and a silky texture similar to Silk Teddy. I'm starting to like it more and more everyday, now that I'm switching between some of these shadows for daily wear.
Cocoa Puff - I would consider this the warm counterpart to Erotica. Warm, dark brown, matte base with very fine gold glitter in it that barely shows up on the lid. The matte base is very pigmented, but I with the glitter in the shadow was more pronounced. Like Erotica, to me it's only okay.

L-R: Heaven, Velvet Revolver, Sexpresso, Silk Teddy, Push-Up, Erotica, Nude Beach, Honey Pot, Cocoa Puff.

These swatches are in two kinds of lighting (natural on top, artificial on the bottom) with one swipe of shadow, so you can get an idea of the tones and colour pay off of each shade.

This is my current go-to natural eye shadow look, sans mascara. Heaven on the upperlid/under brow, Honey Pot on the lower lid, Velvet Revolver on the crease. Sexpresso used to line the eyes and fill in eye brows. 

The Verdict? It's not a bad palette! The shadows are extremely versatile and would flatter any skin tone. I only have pressing issues with Sexpresso (chalky texture) Nude Beach (which requires you to pack on tons of shadow to get decent glitter payoff) and Erotica (just a 'meh' kind of shadow). The others have a wonderful silky texture that is highly pigmented and easily blended that doesn't fallout all over your face. This is currently one of the few palettes that I have in my daily makeup bag.

If you're looking for a great neutral palette but you don't want to hop on the UD Naked bandwagon, check this out. This palette is priced reasonably ($50CAD at Sephora) and will last you a very long time. For those of you that are new to the makeup world, this palette, as well as several other Too Faced collections, contains tutorial cards that you can use to create different looks with these shadows, making it a great staple shadow collection for newbies, seasoned pros, and anyone in between.

Have you tried this palette? Any of the same issues I've had? Do you own any dupes for these colours? Let me know!

xox,
ysobel