Utter PAN-demonium! March 2013

So today's post is something I've never done on my blog before, but I thought it might be fun! This is going to be a post all about products that I've "hit pan on", or you can see the bottom pan on it. The reason I'm sharing this is because if I've hit pan on something, it most likely means I like it a lot! So this post might give you some new items to try! Let's get started!

FACE:

1) L'oreal True Match Powder in Neutral 1

This a powder that I've been using for quite awhile now, and I really enjoy. It's a much loved product around the beauty community anyway, probably because of how natural it looks and how much coverage it gives.


2. Revlon Colorstay Whipped Foundation in Ivory

I've already posted a review of this foundation, (you can see that here) but I absolutely love it! It works well on my dry skin, and has great coverage. I've been using it solidly for about six months, and I'm only just running out of it now. Luckily I have a backup!

EYES:

1. MAC Eyeshadow in Phloof!

Finally hit pan on this little guy after using it for about two years. Not much to say about it, except that it's a frosty pink toned light shade, and my absolute favourite shade ever to use for highlighting. 

2. ELF Single Eyeshadow in Pebble

This is the eyeshadow I use everyday to fill in my eyebrows, which is probably why I hit pan on it. It's a matte taupe colour, and the reason I like it so much is because it isn't too warm toned, and it doesn't make my eyebrows look red. 

3. Covergirl Eyeshadow in Tapestry Taupe

I've talked a lot about this one on my blog already, but I finally hit pan on it this month! I could have sworn it was a bottomless shadow, seeing as I've only just hit pan on it, and I've used it A LOT. A great basic to have in any collection. 

4. Urban Decay "Naked" Eyeshadow

This is from the first Naked palette, but it can also be bought on it's own. It's a matte light brown, which is wonderful for just running through your crease, which looks natural, but also adds a little something to a neutral shadow look. 

5. Smashbox Liner Palette

I hit pan on one of the cream liners in this palette that I've been using for a long time, on a daily basis. It's just a plain black liner, and I used it everyday on my upper lash line. I finally bought a new liner this month, which is a liquid liner, so I don't need to use this one anymore. But it was a good liner while it lasted!

So that's it for my PAN-demonium this month! This probably won't be a monthly thing, but I'll do another one when I have more things to make a post on.

Thanks for reading!

Melissa

I <3 Drugstore Makeup Tag!

So emilynoel83 of Youtube tagged me to this tag. So without further ado, here is the "I <3 Drugstore Makeup Tag"! It consists of eight questions, all about my favorite brands/products you can get from your local drugstore.

Let's jump right in!!

1) What is your favourite drugstore makeup brand?
This is sort of a hard question. I like lots of brands from the drugstore; as I think they all have their hits and misses. I can't just choose one! Ok, I'll pick one for each category. I like Revlon for their face products, I like Covergirl for their eye products, Maybelline for their mascaras, and Revlon for lip products.

2) What are your favorite face, cheek and lip products?
My favourite face product
 would have to be a primer from Rimmel- The Fix and Perfect Pro.

Rimmel Fix and Perfect Primer

This makes my foundation stay on a lot longer!! And it makes my face very smooth and soft. I'm not sure that's viable criteria for a good primer, but whatever.

My favourite cheek product is a highlighter from Revlon- the Colorstay Mineral Finishing Powder in Rose.

Revlon Colorstay Mineral Powder in Rose

It gives such a nice glow to the cheeks. I apply it on my cheekbones, above my eyebrows and on my cupid's bow and it really brightens up my face.

Another favourite cheek product is a blush from Rimmel. It's in Pink Sorbet. It's more pigmented than any of my MAC blushes, and it gives a nice sheen to the face without being shimmery or sparkly. 

Rimmel Lasting Finish Blush in Pink Sorbet

My favourite lip product is also from Revlon. It's the Lip Butter in Sugar Frosting, which is a light pink with gold shimmer. It's a good way to do a nude without washing yourself out.

Revlon Lip Butter in Sugar Frosting

I also really love all the eos lip balms. They make your lips very soft without being too thin or too thick. And they smell great!

3) Least favourite product?

That would have to be something I bought from Hard Candy (sold at Walmart) a while ago. I was hoping it would be a good highlight, but it turned out to be a chalky white powdery with yellow glitter scattered around. Not a fan.

Hard Candy Moon Glow Powder

4) What is your best makeup bargain?

For me, that would be Covergirl eyeshadow (the singles, duos, trios and quads). They run about $3-$6 CAD, and they have really great pigmentation and colour payoff. One of my favourites is the colour Tapestry Taupe.

Covergirl Eyeshadow in Tapestry Taupe

5) What is your favourite underdog product? (Something you love that often gets overlooked?)

Annabelle eyeliners! They are such amazing quality and they are so inexpensive!! They are comparable to Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliners.

Annabelle Eyeliners

6) A drugstore product that is overpriced?

I don't have a specific product, but I think a lot of L'Oreal products are overpriced, when they're quality doesn't really surpass some more reasonable brands.

7) Show your best drugstore dupe(s)!

Well, this question brings me back to the Annabelle eyeliners. Particularly a line called the Smoothliners. A lot of the colours in the line are dupes for many of the Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliners, which are about three times the price.

Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Perversion

Annabelle Smoothliner in Brownie

These aren't exact dupes (one is black and the other is brown), but the intensity of their pigmentation is very similar.

8) Drugstore product that isn't worth the hype?

I know this isn't technically a drugstore priced item, but these are sold at the drugstore. And they're Essie nail polishes. I know a lot people love them, but I own three, and they just don't live up to the quality of my OPI and China Glaze ones.

Essie Polishes in (L-R) Case Study, Fishnet Stockings, Fiji

 

So that's the entire tag! Thanks for reading!!

Melissa

July Favorites!!!

So since it is now the beginning of August, I thought I would share some products that I was loving in the month of July. So let's get started, shall we?

Benefit's They're Real! Mascara

1. Benefit's They're Real! Mascara: I got this mascara a couple of months ago, along with two other  high end mascaras. When I first started using this, I absolutely loved it. It was my most used out of all three.

But about a month into using it, I started getting really into the other two mascaras and stopped using this one. One day, I decided to use it again, and I didn't really like the results. It made my eyelashes too clumpy. So I put it aside again, and then on my third day of vacation, I decided to try it again...and loved it!! I don't know what changed, maybe the formula dried out enough to give those results? But whatever it was, it made my eyelashes longer, fuller and could hold a curl. A definite favorite!

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Stickers in Kitty Kitty

2. Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Stickers in Kitty Kitty: I bought these for my vacation before I left. I had used one of these packs of stickers before in "Laced Up", but never this one. I really like this one better, to be honest. It stayed on longer, and looked more realistic.

This is the look I did with them on my vacation. Sorry for the visible nail beds; these have been on for eight days. But no chipping!! :D

Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil in Cia

3. Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil in Cia: I got this for Christmas, and up until recently I hadn't really used it much. I had other concealer that I used, and it was just too thick for an undereye concealer.

swatch...sorry for the blurriness

It just kind of sat in my makeup drawer, until one day, on a whim, I pulled it out to use on a tiny blemish. It worked wonders!! I couldn't see it after one swipe!! Now it is part of my daily makeup routine.

Smashbox Metallic Cream Liner Palette

4. Smashbox Metallic Cream Liner Palette: I had been eyeing this palette in my Sephora for a long time before I finally broke down and bought it.

Top Row (from L-R): Onyx, Topaz, Emerald, Sapphire, Gold

Bottom Row (from L-R): Amethyst, Blue Topaz, Graphite, Platinum, Bronze

Being a neutral eye makeup lover, I was quite surprised that I preferred this palette over the more neutral one that Smashbox also offers. 

My most used shades are Amethyst, Sapphire and Graphite, as you can see from the dents. These are really good shades for any colorful and neutral looks, although I don't quite see the purpose of having a sparkly silver cream liner. But ah well. One out of ten going unused isn't bad at all. I paid $40 CAD for this palette (it is Smashbox, after all) but that's still $4 CAD per eyeliner, which is pretty good. Anyway, these are pigmented and stay on well. Not much more I can say!

Essence Cream Liner Brush

5. Essence Cream Liner Brush: I don't actually use this for cream eyeliner, as all my cream liners have their own little brushes. I use this to darken my lower eyeliner by running some dark eyeshadow under my lower lashes, all while staying close to the lashes, so it blends in with my eyeliner.

I also use this on my upper lashline, too, when I'm using dark eyeshadow for eyeliner. I think I paid $2 CAD approximately for this, which is pretty good for the amount I use it!!!

So that concludes my July favourites!! 

Thanks for reading!!!

Melissa