GIVEAWAY: Bare Escentuals / Bare Minerals Makeup

I thought it would be nice to give away some red and pink products before February ends. This Soft Sweep Cheek Brush and Intrigue Blush (soft rose) are limited edition products that came out in the Bare Escentuals / Bare Minerals Surprise Collection. The brush handle and the lid of the blush feature shiny berry red accents. 

You can enter to win these items by filling out the Rafflecopter form below. 

Good Luck!

****This giveaway is open internationally and will close on March 6, 2015 at 11:59 PM****

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Week in Review: Makeup Products

When it comes to makeup, I like to take a less-is-more approach, especially during the hot and humid summer months.  Last week I wore a makeup combination that made me look put together without using a lot of heavy products.
Eyes 
Each day I began by applying Urban Decay Primer potion to keep my shadow from melting off in the heat. Next, I used my Sigma E55 Eye Shading brush to pat a bit of Pür Minerals Mineral Shadow in Vanilla Feldspar on my lids. I blended out any harsh lines with my Sigma E40 Tapered Blending brush. I chose this specific shadow because it is similar in colour to my skin tone and gives me that my-lids-but-better look while covering up any darkness, redness, or veins. I finished off the eyes by curling my lashes with my Shiseido curler and applying a generous coat of Buxom Lash mascara.

Lips
For lips I started off with a base of sun protection by applying my Vanilla Softlips with spf 20. Next, I added some colour with my Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie. For the past few months the lip butters have been drying out my lips a bit so I have been applying a moisturizing gloss on top. For this look, I used my Bare Minerals 100% Natural lip gloss in Heartcake. It complements the lip butter very well and, best of all, it smells like donuts!

Face
I kept my face makeup very minimal. My dark circles are more noticeable in the summer when the sun is shining so I used my fingers to pat some product from Garnier’s Anti-Dark-Circle roller under my eyes. I never use the roller directly on my skin because it applies too much product. I then applied Tarte’s Amazonian Clay blush on the apples of my cheeks with my Sigma F40 Large Angled Contour brush. To give a flawless finish and add a bit of glow, I used my Sigma F50 Duo Fibre brush to lightly sweep Benefit’s Sugarbomb face powder overtop the Tarte blush.

Let me know which products you wore last week! Also, would you like me to continue to do these makeup of the week posts????

Beauty Giveaway!!!!

Hi Everyone!

As you may already know, my blog recently got a makeover. To celebrate the new look, I’m having a beauty giveaway for my followers.

The Prizes (one winner will win all of the following prizes):

How to enter:

1. You must use the Rafflecopter form to enter this giveaway.
2. You must be a follower of this blog in order to be eligible to win the giveaway.
3. You must be at least 18 years of age or have permission from your parents to enter.
4. This giveaway is open internationally.
5. There will be one winner of this giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck to everyone who enters!

Bare Escentuals Sale!!!!

From April 19-21 bareescentuals.com is offering free shipping on all brushes. Use the code BUFF at checkout to take advantage of this offer.

Or, if you purchase two regular brushes you can use the code WASH at checkout to receive a free bottle of Well-Cared For Brush Shampoo (a $14 value).

Then on April 22 bareescentuals.com is having a 12 hour sale from 9am to 9pm PDT. Shop the site between these times to receive 30% off or more on select products. No coupon code necessary.

Spring Makeup: Light Pink Lipgloss

Yesterday I wrote about one of my favourite spring makeup trends—purple pastel eyeshadow. What better to compliment pretty purple lids than a light pink gloss on the lips?
The following pink glosses are my top picks for the season and it just so happens that they are all from Bare Escentuals.
*click photos to enlarge*
*100% Natural Lipgloss in 7 Layer Cake*
7 Layer Cake is  a pink mist colour with very fine baby pink shimmers. It is very sheer and gives the lips a soft glaze. It’s perfect for daytime and works great over lipstick.

*Buxom Lipgloss in Katie*
Like 7 Layer Cake, Katie is a very pale pink. However, it has a light lavender iridescence that makes it very unique and gives the lips a glowy ethereal look.

*Buxom Lipgloss in Bunny*
Bunny is a sheer pink with fine silver shimmers. It adds a light pink lustre to the lips that looks natural and pretty. It makes the skin look fresh and glowy when paired with a rosy pink blush.


*100% Natural Lipgloss in Wild Honey*
Wild Honey adds an understated metallic shine to the lips with its gold-pearl tones and pretty pink base. It can give the entire complexion a bronzy glow.

*Buxom Lipgloss in Trixie*
Trixie is another colour that gives the lips that golden pink lustre. It has slight lavender tones and looks less metallic on the lips than Wild Honey does. It is one of my favourite Buxom glosses.

*100% Natural Lipgloss in Heartcake*
A gorgeous rosy pink colour, Heartcake brightens the complexion and gives the lips a pretty sheen that is perfect for day or even a night out.

*100% Natural Lipgloss in Strawberry Creme*
Strawberry Creme is a pretty pink with slight purple undertones. It makes the lips glow with subtle pink and gold shimmers.

*100% Natural Lipgloss in Strawberry Shortcake*
Strawberry Shortcake is like a shimmer-less version of Strawberry Creme. It has those slight purple undertones but is completely free of shimmer.

*Buxom Lipgloss in Rosie*
Rosie is a ballerina pink colour that is also free of shimmer. This gloss came in the Buxom Babes flower girls kit, a set that includes four spring-appropriate glosses in shades of pink, peach, and purple.

Which light pink glosses are your favourites for spring?

Spring Makeup: Pastel Purple Eyeshadow

When I think of spring, pastel purple eyeshadow always comes to mind. It’s fun and colourful without being bright or too overpowering. You can wear it to school, to the office, and even for a night out. The following pastel purple shadows are my favourite for spring:
*click photos to enlarge*
*Bare Escentuals Princess*
If you desire a completely matte look, Princess is an ideal colour for you. This light lavender shadow is opaque and gives the lids an ethereal effect that is perfect for spring.

* MAC Digit*
Digit, a satin formula shadow from MAC, is the newest addition to my collection of purple shadows. It’s a soft violet colour with a subtle pearl sheen.  This purple applies very lightly which makes it perfect for daytime. To make it look as vibrant as possible I suggest using an opaque white or coloured base underneath such as one of the jumbo shadow pencils from NYX.

*Bare Escentuals Hugs*
For those who like only a slight shimmer, Hugs is perfect—it is matte for the most part but has some sparse tiny gold shimmers. I find that this colour is more on the warm side and would be perfect for those who do not feel comfortable wearing cool-toned purples.

*Bare Escentuals Sincerely, Heather*
Add shimmer to the eye with Sincerely, Heather. This lilac twilight colour is icy and glowy and is the perfect shadow for a shimmery spring look. Apply it wet for a glimmery night-time eye or pat it on the lids dry for a pretty shine during the day.

Which pastel purple shadows are your favourites for spring?

BE Cares Program

I enjoy donating to charities and support cosmetic companies that do so as well. I’m sure that many of you know about MAC’s Viva Glam program but did you know that Bare Escentuals makes products that help support charities as well?

The BE Cares program has been around since March of 2007. It was created by Bare Escentuals for the purposes of to supporting and bringing awareness to organizations and initiatives that promote education, provide aid and increase one's self worth. Every so often the company creates a special limited edition product (often an eyeshadow) that is sold to raise funds for a specific charity.

The shadows in the photos below are a few examples of BE Cares products. From left to right is Believe (Cancer and Careers), Puzzle (Autism Awareness), and Sanctuary (United Animal Nations). Aside from these specific shadows, there are many others that BE has created in the past to help raise funds to donate to different charities. Currently Bare Escentuals is selling Enlightened eyecolour which was created exclusively for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. You can purchase your own pot of this colour, as well as learn more about the BE Cares program by visiting http://www.bareescentuals.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-BareEscentuals-Site/default/Experience-Show?cgid=BE_CARES

*click photos to enlarge*

Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash Mascara Special Effects Blue Noir

 

This blue mascara from Bare Escentuals, which can be purchased at Sephora, is “a paraben-free, lash-volumizing mascara with special-effects color that shifts from blue to black before your naked eye.” The product also claims to hold the style of your lashes for a continuous 12 hours with no flakiness. It is meant to  darken, lengthen, and thicken lashes from root to tip without clumping.  
I have been using this product for a few months now and I will say that, like the original black Buxom mascara, this blue version is great at darkening, thickening, lengthening, and separating lashes without clumping.
Once applied, the blue colour is still visible but only up close. As you can see from the swatch below, the blue is a bit bright. However, on the lashes it turns more of a navy shade. That said, my lashes are naturally very dark so  light brown or blonde lashes may be tinted a brighter blue colour.
When wearing this mascara I feel like my brown eyes stand out a lot more. The whites of my eyes look much whiter and brighter as well.
My issue is with the flaking. This blue mascara is much dryer than my black Buxom mascara and it has been since the day that I purchased it. Within an hour of wearing this mascara I am left with horrible blue flakes under my eyes which give the illusion of dark under eye circles. Maybe I got an old tube. I hope that that is the case because I love how my lashes look when I first apply this mascara. I will consider repurchasing to see if a different tube will not cause flakes.
My rating 3.5/5
*click photos to enlarge*