Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation Review!

The Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation has landed! When I was offered the chance to review the product, I was ecstatic. Who says no to reviewing a foundation!? Plus, the buzz is that this foundation is quite good!

I wanted to put it through a pretty rigorous testing process, to make sure it really hit all the marks that are important in foundation. To me, a good foundation blends well, stays put all day (or most of the day in my case, since I have oily skin), and doesn't clog my pores.

I was sent a few shades of the products, but my match was the lightest shade, 120 Vanilla. It is maybe a tiny little smidgen too light for me, but it didn't bother me. If I had mixed it up with 130 Shell, it would have been perfect.

My honest opinion? I actually really like this foundation. And I'm one picky foundation wearer. I'll tell you why. First off, it covers my redness/blemishes really well, all while still not feeling heavy. You can see the different in the pictures below. It is quite long wearing - I have quite oily skin, so I can't say it stays on perfectly all day (nothing does) but it doesn't break down some foundations might during the day, which, to me, is a really good thing. It also stays on much better with powder throughout the day.

If I were to pick on this foundation, and find it some nit-picky flaws, I'd say that it is perhaps not the easiest foundation to blend. I personally like to blend my foundation with a stippling brush, and this foundation sit much better on the skin if you apply it with your hands. The warmth of my hands gave the foundation a beautiful even finish while a stippling takes a bit more work to get the same finish. Also, since this foundation lasts pretty well on the skin, it's really important to cleanse your skin properly every night. You will not get this foundation off with face wash - you need to use a makeup remover prior to cleansing. I always do this to make sure I get everything off my face, but this foundation tends to stick, so I'm mentioning it because it's an important step to warding off clogged pores.

Like I mentioned, most of my redness (and some of my freckles, but not all of them thankfully!) was covered by this foundation, but the foundation also lives up to its name in being light on the face. However, I do have to say that it is not AS light as my Bourgeois Healthy Mix foundation, but in all my foundations, it is the closest match in terms of feel, wear and application. Anything that is similar to my trusty Bourgeois is good!

These are the products I've used in the "full makeup" face.

I used my Revlon Nearly Naked* foundation in 120 Vanilla, then set my brows in place with the Essence brow gel (suggested by Christine over at Little Red Bow), lightly contoured by face with the Sleek Contour palette in Light, and applied the Shu Uemura blush in M Pink 31 on the apples of my cheeks. For eyes, I used the Revlon Photoready Eyeshadow* palette in Metropolitan's darkest shade all over my lid, and applied the glittery shade on top, in the middle of my lid. I quite liked this look! To finish off, I used the Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes in 23L on my waterline, and smudged in my inner corners and topped it off with a sampler of Benefit's They're Real mascara. One swipe of Revlon's Lip Butter in Peach Parfait* and I was good to go!

I hope you enjoyed this review and that I was thorough enough to give you an idea of whether you'd like this foundation or not. My take is that for a drugstore foundation, it's really really good. And if you're looking to cut some corners in your beauty budget, this is a good option!

Have a great day!

* I have received this product for consideration but my opinions are always my own. I am not being compensated for this review and I always strive to review products with honesty.

Cajun Shrimp, you brighten up my winter!

Damn these winter blues! OPI's Cajun Shrimp is the perfect color to break up this spell that is called Canadian winter. It's the most perfect coral/pink color. In some lights it looks almost red!

Cajun Shrimp's formula was excellent. These pictures were taken with two coats, and a Seche Vite topcoat. This will definitely be a staple on my toes when summer comes around!

What's your go-to bright nail polish color?

Have you guys watched the Oscars? The boy and I watch all the Best Picture nominees each year, then place our own ballots. It's so fun! He scored 17/24 categories, and I did a meager 10/24. I'm usually so good! My bets were mostly on Amour and Silver Linings Playbook, hence why I did so bad on my scoring! Did any dress catch your eye? I loved Jennifer Lawrence's gown, but other than that, things were a bit meh this year. What did you think?

Another small little thing in life: Introducing Fashion Friday!

I thought it might be fun to change things up a little bit on the blog and start a new series! Fashion Friday will only happen on Friday (duh!) and feature something I wore during the week that I've especially enjoyed. It's not something I talk a lot about on here, but I love fashion. You'll get to see some of my favorite items of clothing, from my favorite stores!

Necklace - Silpada // Ring - Magnolia // Sweater - Gap (still available here) // Peacoat - Gap Factory // Jeans - Paige Denim (Ebay find) // Boots - Aldo // Nail Polish - Essie Mint Candy Apple // Lipstick - Revlon Lip Butter  Cherry Tart

After typing this up, I've come to realize that the necklace, ring AND boots are all gifts from the boy! He can't say I don't get use out of these items - I wear them all pretty much every day! Also, that Gap sweater is amazing - 100% cotton comfort. No scratchy wool here! Plus, I can totally see this carried out into spring with skimmer pants, or into summer with shorts. I know this baby will get so much use! 

Have a great weekend gals! 

Loving right now: Revlon Lip Butters

I think it must be the excellent sales that have come to my local drug stores that made me do it, but lately, the Revlon Lip Butters have been exactly what my lips have been looking for. Their softness, moisturizing properties and wide range of color have made them pretty much exclusively what I've been reaching for these past couple of weeks. You're pretty much guaranteed to find something you like in their range. I've gone pretty much all over the place - from the darkest red to the nudest nude.

From left to right: Creme Brulee, Peach Parfait*, Strawberry Shortcake, Berry Smoothie, Pink Truffle, Fig Jam, Red Velvet, Cherry Tart

I had too much fun snapping shots of these. They're just so colorful!

My favorites of the bunch are Berry Smoothie, Pink Truffle, Red Velvet and Cherry Tart (my go-to this week).

What's your favorite Revlon Lip Butter?


* I have received this product for consideration but my opinions are always my own. I am not being compensated for this review and I always strive to review products with honesty.

Lipstick + Winter = Why I'm now a Lipgloss Convert

Winter sucks. It just does. When you need to start wearing waterproof mascara because your eyes water in the (-31C) bitter cold and wind, it's too much. My dry lips haven't been enjoying lipstick with this cold. Lipstick has been flaking off, and my lips peel every time I use it. I've never been much of a gloss wearer, but since my lips can't handle lipstick lately, I've kind of converted.

Here are some of my favorite lip glosses of the moment

From left to right, we've got: Marcelle Creme Lux Gloss in Rouge Velouté, Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Creme in Cherry Flip (recently reviewed here), MAC Cremesheen in Partial to Pink, Clarins Color Quench Lip Balm in Peach Nectar, Marcelle Creme Lux Glossy in Spicy Nude (reviewed here), and Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Creme in White Russian. 

Of these, I place my Buxom glosses and the Clarins as the most moisturizing. The prettiest shade goes to Marcelle's Rouge Velouté (seriously gorgeous on!) and the my favorite nude gloss is definitely Marcelle's Spicy Nude. MAC's Cremesheen in Partial to Pink is a great year-round neutral pink gloss - and it smells delicious. I've been wearing these un-layered, on their own, for the past month, with a light foundation, groomed brows, blush, and water-proof mascara. Eyeshadow is often skipped because my eyes water too much with the wind we've been having. We're all familiar with tailoring makeup to heat and humidity, but makeup in winter is a whole other story!

Lesson of the year: winter sucks. Do yourself (and your lips) a favor if you live in a wintery place right now - whip out your lip glosses, and apply generously. Bonus points if the glosses are moisturizing. Winter: 3 points (-31C weather, 30 cm of snow on Saturday, 25 cm of snow tomorrow), Annick: 1 point for lipgloss. Can winter be over soon please?! How do you change your makeup routine for winter?

Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Cream in Cherry Flip

I'm not usually one to rave about a lip gloss, but lately, glosses have totally been floatin' my boat. I had tried the Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Cream before with White Russian when I received it as a point perk at Sephora, and loved the formula. So when I saw how friggin' gorgeous Cherry Flip was on miss Estee from Essie Button, I did not hesitate.

The Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Cream formula is gorgeous. It is not sticky, smells great, and the shade is gorgeous. I'm no lip gloss expert in any way, but this is a really good lip gloss in my book. It also claims to plump the lips upon application, and there is indeed a slight tingle. While I'm usually allergic to those types of lip plumpers, this lip gloss doesn't affect my lips negatively. I'd even say it's moisturizing - I don't feel like my lips are parched once it wears off. And it wears off as a light stain, which is a bonus in my opinion.

My lips aren't very pigmented, so this lip gloss is quite potent. I've been loving wearing it on casual days out, or for work. It's a bright lip gloss, but doesn't quite feel like the same commitment as a bright lipstick. It's definitely not something I already own in my collection, and I've really been enjoying trying something new. I think this will definitely become my go-to this spring!

If you're looking for a great gloss, that's not high maintenance, or very sticky, definitely give these Buxom Lip Cream a try! Cherry Flip is absolutely gorgeous on the lips, and Mudslide seems like it will be my next pick!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I'm not big on Valentines day celebration but thought I'd put together a little collage of pinks for you! A few of these are some of my favorite pictures I took for the blog!

What are your plans for the day? The boy and I (who wasn't supposed to be in town and magically made it happen anyway) are planning on a relaxed night with food and movies. Nothing really different than usual, but then again, it's so us and I love it.

Have a great day!

Clinique Chubby Stick Intense in Curviest Caramel!

I've recently mentioned in my January favorites that one of my go-to lipsticks on the month was the Clinique Chubby Stick Intense in Curviest Caramel. I was already a fan of the "regular" Chubby Sticks, and wanted to venture into trying the "Intense" version. Curviest Caramel is quite pigmented, so its title is quite appropriate for its performance. It's also resembles lipstick much more than the glossy finish that the regular Chubby Sticks give. It doesn't have glossy feel, but it's not quite matte either.

Like its less pigmented counterpart, the Chubby Stick Intense also has a twist bottom to ensure you do not waste any product. Another great thing about this product is that it is unscented. While Revlon's Kissable Balm stains might be a cheaper option, they do have a minty smell. I don't mind mint, but I always prefer my products to be unscented (except for Clarins... love that smell!)

Curviest Caramel is best described as a neutral rose in my opinion. I think it's sort of a chameleon shade depending on your lip color - if you have yellow tones, I believe this will be leaning towards brown, but if you have cool tones, this will look pinker. Since my tones are quite neutral, the color is a browny pink on me.


I really like this product. It's the perfect shade to go with any makeup. If I'm in a rush (which I always am) in the morning, I usually reach for this. It doesn't dry my lips out and it stays on for about 4 hours without needing reapplication. If you're not sure about all these glossy stick lipsticks around the market, and prefer lipsticks, this might be one worth giving a try!

January favorites!

It's time for January favorites!

After some new additions, and products that were being reused over and over again during the month of January, I thought it would be fun to do a post on those items. Some of these haven't been reviewed yet, but they will soon!

Clinique Chubby Stick Intense in Curviest Caramel: The perfect on-the-go easy neutral lip. I've been wearing it a lot paired with a brown smokey eye.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick Matte in Mauve it Over: Another slap and go lipstick. I picked this up on a whim, without much thought, and it turned out to be one of my favorite lipsticks of the month. It's matte formula doesn't always suit my dry lips, but it's really comfortable to wear, and definitely doesn't make dry lips worse. The Revlon Lustrous Matte formula is definitely worth a look if you haven't tried them yet.

Anastasia Brow Whiz in Brunette: Never thought I'd be one to love a pencil brow product, but this one is so easy to use. I also love that one side has a little brush for brushing my brows into place. It's also pretty much the perfect shade for my brow - no red tones in the pencil at all!

Hourglass Mineral Primer: Because of a few skin problems in the last month, I've been using this pretty much every day to make sure my blemishes are well covered, and stay that way.

MAC Painterly Paint Pot: I've been using this lately, in order to prime my lids and make sure eyeshadow stays in place. It's getting a bit dried up, so I'm hoping to make use out of it while it's still alive.

Laura Mercier Blush in Lush Nectarine: I reviewed this recently and spoke very positively about it - I must say my opinion hasn't change. It's an amazing blush that gives a pop of healthy color to the cheek. My dull January skin definitely needs it!

MAC Eyeshadow in Woodwinked (in the middle of the Z-Palette): This has been my quick out-the-door shadow of most of January. I didn't use to like Woodwinked that much before a few months ago, but now it's one of my favorites. There's something really pretty about having this shadow blended all over my lid and into the crease.

Guerlain Ecrin Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in Les Fauves: I have not stopped wearing this palette since I got it a few weeks ago. It is absolutely stunning. Lucky for me, I didn't have to pay for it since I had saved up some Shoppers Optimum points for it. I think I'll keep saving em' and get Les Fumes next time. These palettes are amazing! I will review it soon.

Bourgeois Healthy Mix Foundation: As mentioned before, my skin had a bit of a break out last month. I actually traced the problem back to not having enough moisture in my skin. This Bourgeois foundation is actually my most moisturizing foundation and I feel like it's kept my skin healthy!

Shu Uemura blush in Pink 31: I picked this up on a blog sale not too long ago, and it is seriously one of my favorite blushes ever. It's so easy to put on as it's not too pigmented, but gives the most natural healthy flush. I wouldn't be surprised if this one hits pan (one day!).

More Swatches of the Laura Mercier Metallic Eye Cream - Burnished Copper & Rose Gold

Because I'm a cosmetics addict, and I couldn't help myself, I've now purchased two more Laura Mercier Metallic Eye creams. In my defense, they are REALLY good.

I wanted to test these out a bit to see if they're as good at the Gold shade I've reviewed recently (read it here for more information), and I must say, they all perform really well. Burnished Copper applied a tiny little bit patchier than the others, but it's really not significant difference. Rose Gold is unlike anything I own. It is absolutely stunning on the lid, and really makes my blue eyes pop. I thought it would be the one I like the least, but it's honestly my favorite one by far. I wore it with MAC All That Glitters on top and was blow away on how it made the shadow come to life. It's one of my favorite combos!

Now on to the swatches!

 Burnished Copper is on the left, Rose Gold is on the right.

As you can see, Rose Gold has a sort of plummy tint to it. Burnished Copper is a deep bronze. It pulls quite warm on my lid.

These are incredibly pigmented. These swatches are done with maybe a blob the size of a grain of quinoa. Or 1/4 the size of a grain of rice. Basically almost nothing. So you're definitely getting your money's worth with these since you have to use so little of it.

Something I didn't mention in my previous review, is that I really like the packaging of these. They give you a lot of control over how much amount you want to dispense, and the packaging is plastic instead of metal (is it metal?) like those MAC Paints. I hate that kind of packaging. The plastic packaging is also very sturdy and compact.

Anyway, hope this is somewhat helpful if you were thinking of purchasing any of these! Again, my favorite is definitely Rose Gold at this point, but Gold and Burnished Copper are also absolutely stunning.

Gelcolor by OPI in My Private Jet

Just a quick post today to show you what I had on my nails all through last week. Gelcolor by OPI is simply put, regular OPI colors in a gel form which is curable under UV/LED lights. The shade I have on in these pictures is My Private Jet, and is also in OPI's regular nail polish collection. It's a gorgeous shimmery smokey gray/brown.

For this application, I used a Gelish base and top coat and it worked fine. I did find the Gelcolor by OPI formula very thick and gloopy. It wasn't necessarily harder to work with, but did take a bit of time to get used to it. My usual choice of gel polish (Gelish, Quo by Orly Gels) is usually much more runny. In a way, I find the Gelcolor formula makes an opaque application easier since it's so thick. Some Gelish shades I have are so runny and sheer, it would take 5 coats in order to get an opaque finish, and that's just too time consuming. I'd definitely repurchase the Gelcolor by OPI in other shades - who doesn't want a classic OPI shade on their nails with absolutely no chips for more than a week? It's a shame they are only available on Ebay (as far as I can tell) at a reasonable price.

If you're interested in gel polishes, feel free to ask me questions. I'm not an expert, but if you're looking for some pointers, I could probably help you.

Hope your week is off to a good start! Mine has definitely been! :)

A Collage of Red

Just had a little fun with Pixlr's collage function. I was wondering how many pictures I could find that would fit the theme of "red". Turns out, I have a lot!

Who knew I loved red so much?