Looking Glass Spring 2014 Beauty Trends & a $50 WalMart Gift Card Givaway #beautyunited

Good morning and happy Monday my friends! Today I'm bringing you a little giveaway!

I was kindly asked by Proctor & Gamble to pick out my favorite Looking Glass Spring 2014 Beauty Trends video, and try to re-create it using Cover Girl and Pantene products. Never one to copy a look completely, I decided that my favorite look would be a mixture of the Glamourous Grunge, and Gilded Glory. I loved the idea of a fresh skin with barely there makeup, but with the pop of color of a berry lip. And I loved the sleek pony tail in the Gilded Glory look. So I got to work!

Here are the products that came home from Walmart with me, courtesy of Proctor & Gamble. I wanted to give the ponytail of the Gilded Glory look a try by blowdrying my hair and smoothing it over using the Pantene BB Cream. I've only used it a couple times, but I love this product! Then I went for the Glamourous Grunge flawless skin with the Cover Girl Tru Blend Foundation and the Tru Blend Fixstick Concealer. A no-makeup look needs a good brow, so I picked up the Brow & Eye Maker Pencil in Soft Brown. Then for the berry lip, I went for the LipPerfection Jumbo Gloss Balm in Jam Twist. Just the name is alluring!

My products along with the two looks I was inspired from.

And the finished look! I used all the products mentioned, but also added a bit of dimension to my face with the Cover Girl Clean Glow Bronzer in Spices, and a lashing of mascara. This is definitely an everyday, fresh faced look, and I have to say I love it! The berry lip also helped me be more comfortable with so little makeup! I didn't have much in terms of headbands similar to the Guilded Glory look, so I used this one from Forever 21 I had laying around. I love the centre part of the low pony!

So now it's your turn! For a chance to win a $50 Walmart Gift Card, visit the Looking Glass on Youtube, and tweet with the hashtag #beautyunited to let us know which look is your favorite! Just let me know in the Rafflecopter below that you've entered by posting the link to your tweet! This is only open to Canadian residents and the giveaway winner will be announced on the 26th of February!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

*Disclosure: I am a #BeautyUnited blogger. As part of my affiliation with this group I receive products and special access to P&G events. The opinions on this blog are my own.

5 Recent Faves

Lately, I've been feeling like I have my beauty routine down pat. My makeup consists of products I trust, and reach for again and again. Here are a few of my favorite products of the moment that has made my life just that much easier in the past few months.

1. CoverGirl Flamed Out Mega Curl Mascara* - My new favorite mascara. It does everything a mascara should in my book - separates my lashes, thickens them, and curls them. The mascara stays on my lashes until I take it off at night, and its formula is really black! A+!

2. Almay Soothing & De-Puffing Gentle Eye Makeup Remover Pads* - There's nothing I hate more than having to rub my eyes with a remover in order to get all my makeup off. I don't want wrinkles! These Almay makeup remover pads are amazing! They don't pull at your lids when you're removing your makeup, just place them gently on your lids, and wipe the makeup away. It's that easy, and it removes every trace of makeup with ease. On top of this, they truly are soothing. My eyes are quite sensitive to makeup remove and this didn't irritate them at all! I'll definitely be repurchasing these!

3. NARS Laguna Bronzer - For a while, I wasn't wearing much bronzer. It's quite silly because it's the dead of winter and I'm pale as a ghost! But recently, I've rediscovered how much I love my NARS Laguna bronzer. It's the perfect color of bronzer for my skintone, and it blends beautifully. Plus, it gives me sculpted cheekbones - I just add a little bit of pink blush and I feel ready to face the day!

4. Estee Lauder Pure Color Crystal Lipstick in Crystal Baby - There has never been an easier lipstick for me to wear. This. goes. with. everything. Smokey eye? Perfect. No makeup-look? Even better. The creamy formula is moisturizing and the nude pink shade is absolutely gorgeous. There's a reason this baby is usually sold out at the Estee Lauder counter!

5. Clinique Superfine Liner for Brows - My absolute favorite brow product EVER. I recently ran out of my Anastasia Brow Whiz and was searching for a cheaper alternative. Enter this little gem in the shade Soft Brown. I have to say, I like it better in terms of formula than my trusty brow whiz because it is easier to use and more pigmented. Only downfall? It doesn't have the brow brush at the end like the Anastasia Brow Whiz. Bummer.

As always, thank you for reading!

*Disclosure: I am a #BeautyUnited blogger. As part of my affiliation with this group I receive products and special access to P&G events. The opinions on this blog are my own.

* 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.

CoverGirl Clean Glow Blush in #120 Spices - Review & Swatches

Hello friends! Today I'm bringing you a review of the CoverGirl Clean Glow Blush in the shade #120 Spices. I was lucky enough to receive this product for review, and I'm happy to say that it's become a staple in my makeup routine!

The CoverGirl Clean Glow Blush is, as the name of it suggest, a blush. But I personally use it as a bronzer to add a touch of color to my face. Since it's not necessarily meant to be a bronzer, the color of it is a bit pinker than what I would normally use for a bronzer, but I find that just gives a more natural finish.

I find the packaging of the product quite sleek and classy in design. The case is easy to open and close, and I love that you can see the blush/bronzer through the clear top.

#120 Spices, swatched on my hand.

And #120 Spices, under my cheekbones.

I mostly use the CoverGirl Glow Blush as a bronzer under my cheekbones, but what I love the most about it is that because it is a bit more pink in tone, it is the perfect color to blend out my blush under my cheekbones. It gives my cheeks a more seamless finish - there are no harsh lines separating my blush and bronzer. Plus, this product smells delicious, and lasts all day! If you're looking for a pigmented blush, I wouldn't recommend this as it doesn't give off a ton of color, but it's perfect if you're super pale like me!

Hope you're all having a great Monday!

*Disclosure: I am a #BeautyUnited blogger. As part of my affiliation with this group I receive products and special access to P&G events. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Toronto and the Proctor & Gamble Beauty United Launch

Last week, on Monday, one of the most exciting things ever happened. I was invited to Toronto by Proctor & Gamble to attend the Beauty United launch featuring Olay, Cover Girl and Pantene. It was a whirlwind trip, but I tried to photograph everything as best I could and will walk you through my VIP experience!

Monday started by getting picked up by a swanky car to drive me to the Fredericton airport. I took a direct flight to Toronto where another swanky car drove me to the Trump Hotel where I was staying. The Trump Hotel guys! Needless to say, that was definitely the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in, and by far.


Above, the luxurious bed, an over-excited selfie, a touch light control panel, and the swanky bathroom with a TV in the mirror. I need to repeat this: a TV in the mirror! The. room. was. ridiculous.

After a self pep-talk and half a mind to take a little shot of alcohol (I was a little nervous!) I headed down to the Beauty United event which was on the 10th floor of the Trump Hotel.

 How cute are the little BU aka Beauty United chocolate covered Oreos?! They were delicious too!

Some faces at the launch:

Above, the gorgeous Michelle from A Lovely Allure and I met one of my favorite bloggers ever Christine from Little Red Bow. She was so sweet and just like I imagined her - I felt like I knew her already! Bottom left bloggers are Christa from Periously Pale (which I was a little starstruck to meet), new friend Dee from Liner Glitter Gloss and the ever lovely (and hilarious!) Jenn from Procrastinating Pretty. And finally Alexandra from AlexFashionBeauty vlogging at the event!

After some very interesting presentations on the science behind Proctor & Gamble, we were introduced to the Fall/Winter trends from brand ambassadors.

We learned about the new trends for fall: big, unstructured & messy hair, bordeaux lips, sleek, side parted ponytails and burgundy smokey eyes. I'm really excited to try the burgundy smokey eyes on myself! And since I already have big hair, I'm apparently set for fall!

After the presentations, we were off to interactive booths to learn about new Proctor & Gamble products. Highlights included being instructed that I should color my hair a dark brown for fall (which I definitely will!) and the most surprising fact of the night: did you know that all Venus Razor handles fit ALL Venus Razor heads? I was blown away by this and have since told many friends who didn't know! How cool! I'm also really keen to use the new Herbal Essences with Moroccan Oil! Some of these products were in a very generous swag bag I received at end of the night so expect some reviews soon!

I had such a blast at the Beauty United Launch and would like to thank Proctor & Gamble for their generosity in sending me to this event. I'm so grateful I got to travel to Toronto, meet some beautiful Canadian beauty bloggers and talk to experts from the industry. It was such an amazing experience. Thank you thank you thank you!

Disclosure: I am a #BeautyUnited blogger. As part of my affiliation with this group I receive products and special access to P&G events. The opinions on this blog are my own.