Wedding makeup with Make Up For Ever's Aqua Rouge in #9!

As some of you may know, my little sister is getting married this October. When I heard of Make Up For Ever's new Aqua Rouge makeup line, the first thing I thought of was "oooh, wedding lipstick!". Since it's a long wearing, waterproof, budge proof lipstick, it made sense to me to try it out for a wedding look! Make Up For Ever offered for me to pick out a color for my sister, and while they thought I would like a soft pink, which is standard for wedding makeup, I knew my sister would want a dark reddish color. She's quite vampy with her lips! I settled on color #9, a dark, rusty red.

The lipstick has a liquid lipstick end, and a gloss end. We used the liquid lipstick only as we thought the gloss wouldn't appropriate for a wedding. Plus, the lipstick is no longer transfer-proof if you use the gloss, which would be a disastrous thing on your new husband. The lipstick applies beautifully, and is truly waterproof, budge-proof and long lasting. My sister said that she only saw a bit of fading on the inside of her lips after eating. It did not cause any of the pesky flaking these types of lipsticks usually create.

Makeup breakdown:
Foundation: Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet + mixed with Bourgeois Healthy Mix Serum in 52 Vanille
Eyebrows: My sister's Gosh eyebrow pencil + MAC Omega
Eyes: Make Up For Ever Eye Prime, Dior Earth Tone Quint - we used the beige/taupe shade all over the lid, then we used the Dior Aurora Palette's dark brown in the crease, Maybelline Master Precise eyeliner pencil in black, Pixi nude eyeliner in the waterline, L'Oreal Million Lashes mascara, Ardell 308 lashes.
Cheeks: NARS Laguna Bronzer, Tarte Exposed blush, MAC Lightscapade as highlighter.
Lips: Make Up For Ever Aqua Rouge in #9*

I think this makeup look totally works for a wedding! I'm not sure that my sister will necessarily go for a look like this, but it's fun to get an idea before the big day!

What would your wedding make up look like? Or what did it look like? I don't know what I'd like but I'm not sure I'd go for red lips - my boy would probably make another Joker reference.

Hope your week has been going well! My sister's bachelorette is this weekend and preparations are under way!



* I have received this products 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.

When in doubt about a product... try it anyway! My venture into the YSL Glossy Stain!

When I first heard about the YSL Glossy Stains, I wasn't immediately impressed. I'm not really a fan of stains as they tend to dry out my lips, and they almost never look even on me. Sure they look cool when swatched, and sure people were raving about the formula but I just didn't buy it. Until now that is.

After reading ChelseaWears' review, I decided enough is enough, I just had to find out for myself if it's good or not. I chose the shade #5 in Rouge Vintage.

I'm on the fence about the packaging. On one hand, it's compact and stylish, but on the other, it looks like a nail polish bottle (hence the "Vernis" in the title which is French for "polish"). Either way, it doesn't affect the product, and the heart/doe-foot applicator is excellent and makes application super easy.

Here it is with two coats.

And full face, with one thick coat:

The thing I like the most about this product is how easily it applies. Yes, it's a stain but it covers your lips evenly without having to try too hard. I also love the glossy finish of it. It feels very much like the love baby of a stain, lipstick and gloss. It does have a scent to it, but it doesn't bother me at all. I quite like it actually. Plus, it is really easy to layer. Example below:

Left to right: 1 coat of Rouge Vintage, 2 coat of Rouge Vintage, 3 coats of Rouge Vintage. Each coat was applied after a 30 second wait.

So I guess I do recommend this product. If you can afford it. They are not cheap. But if you're into cosmetics, I can guarantee you that you haven't seen a product quite like this before.

Thank you for reading and see you soon! 

Dior Vernis in Rouge Altesse, or Red Royalty - review and swatches

It's funny. I really didn't intend to buy this polish. The sales person was pushy and was trying to get me out of buying a Butter London polish, and kept saying Dior was much better. I caved in and she sort of proved herself right!

Dior's Vernis in Rouge Altesse, or Red Royalty in English, is a true almost cherry red. It's kind of cherry looking in my pictures but trust me, it's not cherry looking in most lights. It's a bright, true red. It has a silver shimmer running through it which you can see in the bottle if you look very closely. It's not apparent on the nail which was a tad disappointing.

The formula of this polish is excellent. It's incredibly pigmented but also quite fluid. However, it does not pool around the cuticles, and provides opaque coverage in one coat. It did stain my nails though. And the brush - I love it! It's stiff but wide - it's excellent for the three strokes application technique. It also wore quite well, lasting a good 4 days before chips.

I'm not sure I'd purchase any other of Dior's polishes since the price point ($24) is so high, but I must admit my first experience has impressed me. Perhaps the limited edition Vernis of the future will woo me? Yeah, probably.

Hope you've all had a great weekend. Mine was quite good and relaxing. I worked a bit on the layout of the blog. And since I now have an iPhone (5!!!), I have an Instagram account as well! Also, the boy and I completed the Rocky series - my favorites have been Rocky I, III and Rocky Balboa. I now have the theme song stuck in my head permanently. And forever. On repeat. Oh dear.

After three years with Too Faced Shadow Insurance, I'm breaking up for Make Up For Ever Eye Prime

It's kind of sad when you've used a product for what seems like forever, are quite content with it, and then you wander off to try something different and completely fall in love with the new product. Well, this is what happened with my trusty Too Faced Shadow Insurance. I broke up with it. I feel bad letting it go but it's for a good reason.

I was starting to get a bit disenchanted with the Too Faced Shadow Insurance - it wasn't making my shadow last all day anymore and it kept separating. I'm not sure if it's because it just got a bit old (that tube has lasted me forever!) but I thought it might be time to wander around and shop for another eye primer.

Since I now have (relative, 1+ hour drive) access to Make Up For Ever and just read a very favorable review of their Eye Prime on Temptalia, I thought I'd give it a shot!

Heavily applied on my hand. You need maybe a third of this for one eyelid.

I love this stuff. It blends in seamlessly and its doe foot applicator dispenses the perfect amount for my two lids. It doesn't have a scent and it is undetectable after blended in. I guess I do wonder if it'll dry out after a while since it's in a tube, but for now, I'm very happy with it.

MAC's Shale over Eye Prime left, Shale on its own on the right.

I tested it under MAC's Shale eyeshadow and surprisingly, I noticed the Eye Prime slightly altered the color. Shale looks lighter and more shimmery with the Eye Prime. I haven't noticed a difference in color using shadows on my lids, so I'm not sure it's too detectable, but it's worth knowing.

This product works wonders for my oily lids. Not only does the shadow stay in place all day, it does not crease, and does not fade either. That's honestly a first for me. It makes me excited to put on shadow in the mornings!

Hope this was helpful for you guys. If you have oily lids and are looking for a good primer, I highly suggest the Make Up For Ever Eye Prime. I think this will be a staple in my collection for a good long time.

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Bronzed Taupe and Amber Rush

I'm already a massive fan of L'Oreal Infallible shadows. When I saw these babies on sale at my local Lawtons, I knew they'd be welcome in my collection. I had been looking unsuccessfully for the lovely Bronzed Taupe, thinking it was unavailable in Canada, but there it was as well. And I must say, it is quickly becoming one of my favorite shadows in my collection!

Bronzed Taupe to the left and Amber Rush to the right.

Bronzed Taupe is a errrr, just that, a bronzed taupe! It is cool in tone and remind me of a better, more intense Satin Taupe. I absolutely love wearing it on its own, blended out into the crease, or under a black based, for a smokier look.

Here's a comparison of Bronzed Taupe (left) and Satin Taupe (right). As you can see, Satin Taupe is plummier than Bronzed Taupe, and less shimmery.

I wanted to see if I had anything like Amber Rush in my collection (middle) and the closest matches are MAC's Honesty (left) and Sleek Gift Basket (right). Again, Amber Rush is more shimmery and lighter than both shades.

Here's a look I've done with Bronzed Taupe

I cannot recommend these eye shadows enough. They are incredibly long lasting, gorgeous, and they are cheap! I highly suggest Bronzed Taupe as it is absolutely stunning.

I hope you all had a good weekend!