My Everyday Makeup

Today while I was getting ready I had everything out and thought that I would share what I use on an everyday basis for work.

It's looks like a lot of products but I try to keep it pretty simple.  You know, one of those "no makeup makeup looks".

Usually I start with primer (not pictured as I am out of this) and I use Angel Veil by NYX.
Next I'll move onto a base and I prefer a more sheer coverage than a foundation.  Lately I've been back into using my Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue in Buttercream, I blend most of it in with my fingers and then go over it with a damp Beauty Blender.  I add some Mac Pro Longwear concealer under my eyes (dabbing a bit on my eyelids too) and anywhere else I think I need it (around my nose, chin and sometimes forehead).

I use my Besame French Vanilla powder to set under my eyes and Rimmel's Stay Matte Powder (not pictured) on my t-zone.  I don't do anything dramatic to my eyes but I do like to set the little bit of concealer I placed on my eyes with a cream colored eye shadow, so I've been using Urban Decay's Foxy (my favorite one to use).

Next is a new step to my routine and that is warming up my face and doing a light contour of my cheeks using Charlotte Tilbury's Filmstar Bronze and Glow (I also use the highlight after I do my blush).
I am absolutely in love with the 'Cherry' blush in the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani blush palette! It's been my go to blush since the palette came out.

For brows I use the NYX microbrow pencil in 'espresso' with Anastasia Beverly Hills brow gel to set it.
I use the Shu Uemura Lash Builder Eyelash Nourishing Serum on my lashes (obviously) and sometimes this is all I will put on, but the last two weeks I will put the Benefit They're Real Tinted Lash Primer over top just so my lashes aren't so pale looking.

And that is it!
It seems like a lot of work but it takes ten minutes max to do this, depending on how distracted I get.

I hope to film a get ready with me video some time this weekend so keep an eye out for that.

Have a fun Easter Weekend!

July 2015 Topbox

Hello All!
How is your Summer going?
Mine has been hot and fairly busy even without any time off from work.

This month's Topbox I received the regular version and I must say I was pretty impressed.
Topbox is Canadian subscription box and I honestly forgot how much it is as I've been subscribed for almost 2 years.
I can't find the price but it's somewhere around $13.00 with shipping.
You can choose between some prive boxes (Bobbi brown, Benefit, etc) and get only one or two products or the regular box where you'll normally get 4.
This was my first regular box in awhile because the prive ones are always so intriguing!

This month I received (from left to right) the Aveda Stress-fix lotion.
If you enjoy lavender scents then you'll enjoy this lotion.
Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner in brown, when I first tried a sample size of the push up liner in another box I hated it, but they've changed the sample so that it actually twists up like the real one and I quite like it so far!
Ofra eyebrow pencil, I've used this the past couple of days and I do like how smoothly it's going on! Now I just need to invest in a pencil sharpener.
Last the Seche Vite top coat for nails. I don't have any opinion on this yet but I was most excited about this out of anything as I'm always looking for a way to get dry nails faster.

If you subscribe to Topbox, what did you receive this month?

New Beauty Buys

Wow, March already.
It's crazy to think in a week I will be twenty seven years old.

So, we're still not quite finished moving in.  The majority is complete, but I still have some things at my parent's house that I've been too lazy to deal with.
We have a chair that should be here in a couple weeks and still have to decide on a couch.

Meanwhile I have been trying out some new things!

I recently bought the Bite Beauty 5 Night Fix for Lips which includes a cherry flavored scrub and their original lip mask.  This has been quite nice on my dry lips, but I'm not sure if I would purchase either again as I've tried alternative that work in the same way.  The Living Proof Instant Texture Mist is another one I decided to try as I've been on the hunt for a texture spray and I don't think this is quite what I was going for.  I purchased the smaller size, unsure if I would like it or not.  I've been wanting the Oribe dry texture spray to try but no where around here sells it and I can't find it online to buy (Canadian shipping).  I hate the spray nozzle on the Living Proof one, but I do get quite a bit of volume from it so that is a huge plus for me.  Maybe one day I'll buy the larger size, unless I find something else that I like. Anna at ViviAnnaDoesMakeup uses the Living Proof Perfect Hair Day 5 in 1 treatment so I bought Living Proof Perfect Hair Day 5 in 1 treatment.  I actually really like this stuff.  I don't use heat on my hair often, so it's in pretty decent shape but this makes my hair better.  I don't know how to explain it.  It's just smooth, shiny, no frizz....just good hair but better.

I recently received The Benefit Cosmetics prive Topbox for my February box.  Topbox is a Canadian subscription beauty box and in my opinion it is the best one out there.  I think with taxes in I pay just over $13.  In that Benefit box I received a sample of the new Roller Lash.  I have a new mascara love.  I usually use my Dior Addict-a-lash, but the Roller Lash has shoved that aside at the moment.  I honestly thought that it was going to be gimmicky, but the separation and length I get with this mascara is unbelievable.  Definitely going to be my next mascara purchase when I run out.
I feel like everyone and their dog have been using Too Faced's Hangover Primer.  I didn't know what to expect when I bought it but I had to try it.  I love the coconut smell and it feels so light yet moisturizing on my face.  I don't know about makeup going on any smoother because I don't use foundation, but it is definitely a good one to use when you haven't had a good night's sleep.
The Peter Thomas Roth Un-wrinkle Peel Pads intrigued me.  I'm all about preventing wrinkles and anti-aging skincare.  I do enjoy these but I'm not sure if they really do anything or if it's my sample of Sunday Riley's Good Genes helping my skin. I think it's the latter.  Will I purchase again? Maybe.  But I would prefer to splurge on Sunday Riley's Good Genes (I'm in love with my small sample and am terrified everyday that it's going to be my last pump.)

The last things I purchased are from FTBbeauty.  I have been in need of a full brush set.  I wanted the Zoeva rose gold ones so bad, but I couldn't justify the price point...okay more like I didn't want to pay the shipping cost.  So I searched for some rose gold or even copper brushes everywhere and came across these ones from BH Cosmetics.  They are so soft and I haven't had any hairs fall out, definitely a good buy!  Next I noticed they also sold Beauty Blenders, I usually buy the Quo version from Shopper's Drug Mart but I haven't been able to find them and mine are starting to look pretty beat.  So, I made the investment in the Beauty Blender Pro (double pack).  The Quo sponges are good, but these are awesome.


Have you tried anything new lately?
Any recommendations?
Enjoy your Sunday!

Trying Out New Products #1

Hello Everybody!

For the past couple months to even just a few days ago I have been trying a few new products and I thought that I would share.

[Palmer's Coconut Oil Formula with Vitamin E Strong Roots spray/Tony Moly Appletox/Bioderma H20/L'oreal Magic Lumi Primer/Olay Regenerist Serum]
Palmer's Coconut Oil Formula with Vitamin E Strong Roots spray- This spray claims to stimulate the scalp and promote healthy hair growth and create a "cooling sensation" to sooth dryness or itch.
I take it that you're supposed to spray this on to your hair after you shower, but after reading other people's reviews you can do it dry (but it does make your hair feel a bit sticky and like you have hairspray in it).
The smell is coconut with a eucalyptus and peppermint. I notice the coconut right away and only smell hints of peppermint, so I don't find it overpowering.
I tend to suffer with psoriasis on my scalp and while it hasn't acted up in two years, I figure this would be something new to try for my itchy scalp. I've been using it every 2 days and I notice that it does have a soothing sensation so that's a plus. But I will have to wait a few months before seeing any hair growth.

Tony Moly Appletox- I am quite in love with this so far. So basically you rub this cream all over your face, massaging it in, and after a few minutes dead skin should start to rub off (like those little eraser bits). Once you feel like you have no cream left to rub in you can rinse it off with warm water. Oh my gosh, my skin was so soft after this! I would probably only use it once or twice a week.

Bioderma H20- This is a cleansing water. It's supposed to remove all make up and reveal clean skin. This works really well, but I find that it leaves a big raccoon eyed mess with my makeup unlike some eye makeup removers I've used. So I don't know if I'll be repurchasing. One this I did like was that it didn't irritate my eyes or my skin.

L'oreal Magic Lumi Primer- This declares it is a "light infusing primer". You can mix it with foundation or BB cream, wear it under your make up or use it as a highlighter. I've been loving this to give myself a glow and wear it under my make up, I use a BB cream and find it gives a natural, healthy glow. There are times when I forget to put this on first and I end up using it as a highlighter and I find that works just as nice.  It's not oily or sticky feeling, it blends into the skin rather well and I highly recommend this.

Olay Regenerist Serum- This is supposed to improve wrinkles in 2 weeks.  I am really not sure about this product. I love how it feels, it doesn't sit heavy on my skin, it's fragrance free, the bottle/pump is so easy to use and the 50mls has lasted me about 3 months so far.
But have I seen improvements?
I'm going to be honest.  I've noticed the wrinkles around my eyes and mouth a lot more lately and after I'm done this bottle I'm going to try something new and if that doesn't work, I might come back to this just because I love how it feels. It's a staple in my everyday routine, but I just don't think it does anything.
Maybe my skin isn't old enough?

[L'oreal Super Slim 12hr liner/Tarte Lights,Camera Lashes Mascara/Anastasia Brow Wiz (Chocolate)/Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler/Benefit Cosmetics Cheeky Sweet Box O' Blushes]

L'oreal Super Slim 12hr liner- I was looking for a dupe for the Stila Stay All Day Liner, I think this is it.  I don't know what else to say, because I just think it's a very good dupe.  I need to get more use out of it to be 100% positive, but it's looking good.

Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara- This was the first Tarte product I ever bought and tried.  I want to try more!  I love this mascara. The length and separation is amazing, but natural looking. I did find that I had black smudges under my eyes at the end of the day, so it's not one I wear to work, but for the weekend when I can do touch ups if I have to, this is on my lashes.

Anastasia Brow Wiz in Chocolate- This is my first time owning this product and I don't know if I can ever switch to another brow product again, besides maybe trying out the pomade.  I used to use Benefit's Gimme Brow and E.L.F.'s brow kit. I think the brow wiz is my favorite, I find you get a lot more precision and a more natural looking brow.  I might try the brow wiz in brunette next time though. Thumbs up for the brow wiz!

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler- Another win here. I only bought this because I felt my eyelash curlers weren't doing a thing. So Boyfriend and I went to Sephora. I had two different Shu Uemura curlers in my hand, Boyfriend asked a salesperson which was better and this is the one I ended up with. Holy amazing. I didn't realize that's how curled lashes are supposed to look. It was a pricey purchase but worth every penny in my eyes.

Benefit Cosmetics Cheeky Sweet Box O' Blushes- I've owned this for about a month, I think.  I've never owned a Benefit blush before, but I've heard very good things. First off, these smell so good.  This set comes with Dandelion, Sugarbomb, Hoola, Coralista, Rockateur, Bellabamba and a mini Watts Up!.  My favorites are Dandelion, Rockateur and Watts Up!  I haven't played with the bronzer Hoola too much yet, but it's supposed to be the best there is.  Definitely a good little set if you're just being introduced to makeup or even Benefit products.

I hope the rest of your week goes well and talk to you soon!

-The Quiet Brunette

All these products were purchased by me and all reviews are my own unsponsored opinions.