Top items I'll be bringing out for Summer!

If you are at all like me in the summer I need to bring out products that not only hold up to the heat and sweat but also the sun, water, and fit the brighter colours of the season! Overall, that is quite a few different products from my normal routine, especially when I'm at the cottage which only has one air conditioning unit which isn't very good.

So I've made a list of my top sun and fun products in no particular order. You can click the names for the full reviews I've made of them in the past.

1) Marcelle Hydra-C Ultra Thin Matifying Fluid 
I love this product. Absolutely adore and I don't know what I'd do if they discontinued it. This is my main moisturizer which also mattes my skin and keeps it that way for hours. It comes in a great bottle, it is comfortable on and it actually has some skin enhancing ingredients.

Mascara - Black

2) Blinc Tubing Mascara
For those of you who have been reading this blog for a while, you've likely heard me mention this mascara. I adore it because due to my allergies I'm always touching my eyes, and this mascara won't smear and come off when I do that. It also lasts though Yoga, biking, crying and napping. Plus it comes off easily with warm water. I have this in both the black shade and the purple one (which you can't really tell is purple without looking really closely. Overall I love this product though, and a major part of easily looking great in the summer all day.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencil

3) Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeshadow Pencils and Milani Shadow Eyez Pencils
These are pretty much the same thing at lease formula-wise. Creamy, high pigment pencil eyeshadows in a long lasting waterproof formula. They last all day, only fade the slightest bit with wear and don't crease even without a primer. There is a huge difference in price but the Urban Decay has a larger selection of colours. There are some dupes in Milani range though so be sure to take note!

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush

4) Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Blissful
I love this blush in the summertime! A beautiful pigmented bright coral shade that lasts a ton better than any of my other powder blushes last ( as in hours instead of mere minutes). Has a lovely uplifting sun-touched feel to it.

Smashbox Cosmetics Smashbox Fusion Soft Lights

5) Smashbox Bronzer-Blush in Intermix*
Unfortunately since I received this Smashbox has started selling in China, and thus now tests on animals.  Note: Apparently they signed with PETA saying they aren't selling in China and thus are still considered cruelty-free (excluding their brushes which are real animal hair). It is just the other Estee Lauder companies that are still selling in China that are no longer cruelty-free.
Another lovely light bronzer-ish shade that really brightens and lifts your face with a sun-kissed glow. The only bronzer I've ever liked on my pale skin. Will be attempting to find a replacement for this eventually that is cruelty-free.

Sunscreen SPF 30

6) Glycolix Elite Sunscreen SPF 30
I'm super pale with very sensitive skin. This means I burn easily and sunscreen makes my face a super greasy mess. I really like this sunscreen however. It's matte on and because it's Zinc Oxide based it doesn't aggravate my acne. LOVE that it also goes easily under make-up. (Full review to come)

Bite Beauty High Pigment Matte Pencil

Tarte LipSurgence' Matte Lip Tint

7) Bite Beauty High Pigment Matte Pencil or Tarte Lip Surgance Matte Lip Tint
I really like both of these pencil types. Both have twist up mechanisms which is great, but my favourite part of them is that they both are highly pigmented and the Tarte one in Hope that I have lasts because it's matte. Long lasting colours are what I want in this warm weather! (Full review to come)

Urban Decay Cosmetics Eyeshadow

8) Urban Decay Eyeshadows
Urban Decay eyeshadows are what got me into cosmetics. They're smooth and highly pigmented. They also have some amazing shades that really pop. Flipside and Jinx are two bright blueish colours that scream summer pool party to me. Just using a little to line the lower lash line brightens my whole face.

What are some of your favourite summer products?

Urban Decay Desperation 24/7 Glide-on Pencil

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil, Desperation 0.04 oz (1.2 g)

I've neglected you my blog followers and for that I am sorry. I'm hoping the muse for blogging will be returning now that some more awesome products have crossed my radar. *fingerscrossed*

One of these excellent products is my new Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on eyeliner pencil in the shade Desperation.  I've been searching for a lightish grey eyeliner pencil for years it feels like and this fits the bill. It's not so light it looks strange but it's not so dark that it looks super harsh on my pale skin like most grey or charcoal pencils look, let alone black. It's a colour I can wear during the day that gives a smokey look but doesn't seem out of place like I'm going to a night club.

It glides on super easily and though it doesn't go on full pigmentation in the first swipe I like that I can have it a bit softer if I want but can easily build it to full in one other swipe. The grey of this is also very neutrally based, meaning it leans neither brown nor blue. I prefer that too as too blue based and it looks blue and makes my eyes look brown and too brown based and I no longer like the colour. So win-win for my pickiness.

The price is a bit of a down-side as Urban Decay is quite expensive in my humble opinion at $20 USD or the even steeper $23 CND not including 13% sales tax (bleh Canadian price schemes). You only get 0.04 oz but it is a beautiful pencil- and I've yet to actually finish an eye pencil so I guess that says something.

The only thing I really dislike about this is the fact it isn't a twist up. I hate having to sharpen eye-pencils ending with wasted product. Other than that though I am so glad I bought this. A neutral staple in my stash.

Rating: 8.5/10 Could be a twist-up, better pigmented and better priced but a good solid product with excellent consistency.

Would I purchase it again? Yes. I can see myself using this a bunch.

Autumn Favourites

Firstly, I'd like to apologize for my lack of updates. Right now it feels like the world is falling down around my ears and I'm quite stressed just trying to keep things running. Anyways, here are some of the products and colours I just love to use in the fall. Autumn is my favourite season by far and it really shows when you look at where my shade preferences are seen. Hope you enjoy!

• Spa Ritual polish in Howl (a black-brown with bronze shimmer)
• Mac Mega Metal eyeshadow in Spectacle of Yourself (shimmery auburn shade)
• Eyeko Indigo polish (Deep shimmery blue)
• Wet n' Wild Inferno (Bright orange with gold shimmer)
• Mac Kissable Lip Colour in Love Peck (Dark berry red)
• Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain and Balm in Twilight and Beloved- a berry and a purple
• The Body Shop Autumn Leaves blush in Berry (Shimmery red blush)
• Mac Fluidlines in Rich Ground (Copper), Dark Diversion (Dark Red), Midnight Blues (Dark Blue) and Dark Envy (Dark green)
• Urban Decay eyeshadow in Lounge (Dark brick red with blue-green duochrome), Perversion (matte black), Twice Baked (Shimmery Dark Brown), Misdemeanor (Blackened blue-green)
• Nars eyeshadow duo in Cheyenne (Burgundy and rich orange)
• Venomous Cosmetics Lip Poison in Hypnotize (Coral almost red)
• Morgana Cryptoria Lip Stick in Rose Plum (Berry)
• Fyrinnae eyeshadow in Fire Opal (dark copper), Pumpkinfire (Black with orange shimmer), Dokkalfar (Black with green shimmer), Vodka (silver with green tinge), Damn Paladins (Taupe with green reflect)
• Morgana Cryptoria eyeshadow in Brew Haha (Dark grey with some shimmer)
• The Body Needs eyeshadow in Moonwalk (light grey)
• Eyeko Polish in Vampira (Black with red glitter)
• Venomous Cosmetics eyeshadow in Distant Planet (Dark blue-grey- very unique!)
• Stila eyeshadow in Eden (Red-based malt brown)
• Wet n' Wild Color Icon Single in Brulee (Nude shade)
• Mac eyeshadow in Sumptuous Olive (Kahki green)
• Mac Lipstick in The Faerie Glen (Nude), Slimshine Most Wanted (Bronzey-red)
• Color Club Polishes in Snakeskin (Green-grey with gold shimmers), I Always Get My Man-Darin (Neon orange with light green shimmer)
• Wet n' Wild Fast Dry in Sea Witch (Dark purple with blue shimmer)
• Nars Cream Blush in Penny Lane

Not all the things mentioned were pictured and I apologize for the craptastic photo, I ran out of daylight and was using my iphone. 

As you can tell I'm huge into sultry eyes and toned down lips or red lips and toned down eyes. I love dark jewel tones for Autumn and it's the only time of year I wear orange. I also included in the photo a pair of earrings I'm fond of especially this time of year. Here are some other quick shots of some of the items.

Top to Bottom: Mac The Faerie Glen, Mac Slimshine Most Wanted, Revlon Beloved, Revlon Twilight

L to R: Color Club I Always Get My Man-Darin, Color Club Snakeskin, Wet n' Wild Sea Witch

Spa Ritual Howl


Mac Fluidlines


Revlon Lip Stain

What are your favourite trends for Autumn?

Urban Decay Fall Collection

If you haven't seen yet Urban Decay has some super awesome releases for their Fall collection! There are an absolute ton so I won't keep you. Enjoy!

4 new Urban Decay Lush Lash styles- $15 USD. The new designs are called Black Velvet, Sly, Flirt and Instaflare. As always they are made of synthetic fibres too. 

Urban Decay Lush Lash Mascara- $20 USD. This mascara really is supposed to make your lashes look lush- it's got a growth serum infused in with the black colour! It's also supposed to resist smudging as well as thickening and lengthening. Sounds like a good idea to me! Plus I'm loving the design on the case.


Urban Decay Urbanbrow Precision Tip Brow Tint- $20 USD, and Urbanbrow Styling Brush and Setting Gel- $20 USD. These are supposed to groom and set your brows to perfection as well as fill in brows smudge-free. They have two shades of tint Universal Blonde and Universal Brunette.

Urban Decay Supersaturated High Gloss Lip Colour- $19 USD. Onto the fun stuff! Bright lipgloss pencils! These are Sephora exclusives so they aren't on the main Urban Decay website yet, but Sephora currently has them in stock online. There are five retina burning super pigmented shades named Adrenaline (Bright Fuchsia Sparkle), Big Bang (Bright Pink Sparkle), Crush (Hot Pink), F-Bomb (Bright Red Cream) and Punch Drunk (Bright Orange Cream). These are supposed to feel completely non-gritty and last well. They also say that they're infused with plant derived ingredients to nourish lips.

Urban Decay The Revolution High Performance Lash Curler- $20 USD. This is supposed to eliminate pinching without a set 'cage' and fit any eye shape. Don't know if that's true or not but it also comes with 5 replacement pads which is a nice touch. Plus I like the gunmetal finish instead of standard silver.

Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner- $18 USD. These have gotten fairly good reviews so far!  There are 11 shades and they vary from matte to full out bling. They're all 0.25 oz in size. You can check out Temptalia's swatches and review here. The shades are:

• Bobby Dazzle- White silver iridescent sparkle
• Demolition- Deep matte brown
• El Dorado- yellow gold with gold sparkle
• Perversion- Matte carbon black
• Radium- Bright royal blue with silver sparkle
• Retrograde- Dark purple with purple sparkle
• Revolver- Dark grey with iridescent sparkle
• Sabbath- Deep matte navy
• Siren- Teal with blue shift
• Smog- Deep brown with golden shimmer and iridescent sparkle
• Woodstock- Hot pink with iridescent sparkle

Lastly, and my personal favourite from the fall release is the Urban Decay 15th Anniversary eyeshadow collection palette. Not only does it have a stunning box, but the 15 shades inside are all new! Make sure you check out Temptalia's 2 part review and swatches here. The shades themselves are absolutely stunning, they are:

• Midnight Rodeo- Sparkly taupe brown
• Tainted- Pink-lavender with gold shimmer
• Deeper- Bronze with gold shimmer
• Midnight 15- Frosty greyed champagne
• Junkshow- Hot pink with purple reflect
• MIA- Warm dark brown with slight shimmer
• Vanilla- Pale shimmery white gold
• Omen- Medium purple with blue reflect
• Ace- Charcoal grey with silver shimmer
• Flow- Peach shimmer
• Evidence- Dark royal blue with medium blue shimmer
• Blackout- Matte true black
• Chase- Medium warm brown shimmer
• Deep End- Teal shimmer
• Half Truth- Greyed dark purple

FOTD: Cool and Warm together!

Me with wet hair (just out of the shower!)

For this one I used some warms as well as some really cool colours too! Overall I was really happy with the outcome, what do you think?

I used:

• Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Shell
• Nars Cream Blush in Penny Lane
• Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Shadow Pencil in Sin
• Make Up For Ever Star Powder in 942 (purple-blue sheen)
• Physician's Formula Eye Booster Eyeliner in Black
• Blinc Black tubing Mascara
• Mac Kissable Lip Colour in Peacocky
• Physician's Formula Healthy Wear in Translucent Light Powder SPF 50
• TheBalm TimeBalm under-eye concealer in Lighter than Light

Hope you enjoyed! If you have any questions feel free to ask!

Note: Some of the products used in this post have companies that test on animals when required by law (only then) or owned by a company that does test but doesn't themselves.