Sephora Haul! - Shiseido, Hourglass, Ole Henriksen, Shu Uemura, Marc Jacobs, Josie Maran, and more!

Yay my first haul posted for the blog! Post under the comment section below if any of you lovelies would like a review on any particular product. Have a beautiful day! :)

Marc Jacobs Beauty - Lash Lifter - Gel Volume Mascara

Caudalie - Vinoperfect Enzymatic Peel Mask

Stila - Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer Oil-Free SPF20

Hourglass - Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil

Kat Von D - Tattoo Liner

No Bleeding Lips Secret Lip Liner

Anastasia - Illumin8 Eyeshadow Duo

Stila - Eyeshadow in "Kitten" 

Dior - Dior Addict Lip Maximizer High Volume Lip Plumper 

Shu Uemura - UV Underbase Mousse SPF30 PA+++

Shu Uemura - Silk Smooth Eyeshadow in "White Silver 909" 

Benefit - Benetint

Ole Henriksen - Perfect Truth CC Creme SPF30

Ole Henriksen - Perfect Truth CC Eye Creme SPF15

Josie Maran - Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelée

Josie Maran - Argan Color Stick 

Nars - Light Reflecting Loose Setting Powder

Shiseido - Bio-Performance Super-Refining Essence

Deborah Lippman - Nail Polish in "Happy Birthday"

Review: Sephora Waterproof Smoky Cream Liner - Cafe

Hi beauty enthusiasts! 
Todays review will be on the Sephora Collection Waterproof Smoky Cream Liner. 
Little backstory: I have tried MANY gel eyeliners, from high end to drugstore, with all failing to provide a crease-less wear. I have hooded, oily eyelids and gel eyeliners tend to crease and transfer onto my under-eye area. Many waterproof, long-lasting formulas have failed to be effective on me.

At a reasonable price point of $15 CAD, I figured it was worth a shot after hearing much hype from the Sephora Rep. I purchased the brown shade in "Cafe". To my surprise, this eyeliner exceeded my expectations, and it is easily my favorite gel eyeliner. 

Packaging: Very basic packaging, a simple plastic jar with  4.5g (0.15oz) of product in it. I actually think it's the plastic jar that prevents the liner from drying up so quickly, unlike my MAC gel liner in "Blacktrack" and MAC Paintpot in "Painterly" which are so dry that the product has receded from the edges of its glass container.

Texture: VERY smooth and creamy it's unbelievable! It can definitely be smudged out before it sets for that sultry, smokey, or natural look! Impressively long-lasting on the waterline- although I would personally set it with a similar eyeshadow color to ensure it doesn't budge. 4 months into having this gel eyeliner, it still has not dried up and is still as creamy as when I first purchased it.

Colour: A great dark brown shade that isn't khaki brown in color like a lot of brown eyeliners I've come across. This dark brown shade gives a more natural look than black ( called "Must Have", which I intend on purchasing soon ^^)

Upholding Claims: As it claims, it is a waterproof eyeliner that's long-lasting on the eyes. To test these claims, I swatched the eyeliner and washed my hands with water, then moderately scrubbed the eyeliner. Result: Did not budge, VERY LITTLE of it flaked off, but did NOT smudge. Did it crease though? It creased so little on me that only I could notice it if I were to look very closely into a mirror. With an eyeshadow primer, it doesn't crease on me.

Overall: This eyeliner is truly a hidden gem amongst the many popular Sephora Collection products. It's cheaper than a lot of the other gel liners from competing brands sold at Sephora, and it holds up just as well if not better. 

Review: Highlighters: My Hits and Misses!

 Hi Everyone! ^^

      This is my take on several products for highlighting that I've tried over the past few years.

I am a HUGE fan of looking glowy and radiant throughout all seasons because I think it makes a person look healthy and refreshed, as well as its ability to make a persons face look more 3-dimensional (especially for people like me with no prominent cheekbones :$). Do keep in mind that I have dry/normal skin year-round and the slightest bit of an oily T-zone in the summer. If you do have oily skin, keeping your face matte is important, but if your oiliness can be controlled and isn't severe, highlighters are nothing to be afraid of! (just learn to apply it on the areas you need it!)

The Hits

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer- Radiance - 50 ml - $32

  For an all-over glow, this has been my fav product to use lately! Rather than applying it under my foundation, I like to mix the two together. This method not only makes my skin look AMAZING, but it makes my foundation a breeze to blend into my skin. You don't need to use a lot of product either! The colour is beige, almost golden in the tube and sheerer in colour when blended. It really compliments the yellow-undertones in my skin. As for scent, it doesn't smell that great..but it's not unbearable either. I find that Laura Mercier doesn't really pay attention to the scent of their products very much.
Texture: The main ingredient is water, so it doesn't feel like the typical silicone primer. It blends like a dream on the skin, but it doesn't dry quickly during application. This primer leaves a supple feeling on the skin, so I think this primer would be best in the winter or for dry/normal skin types.

The Balm's Mary-Lou Manizer - 8.5g - $30

Left: swatch. Right: blended

     I have nothing but good things to say about this product. It's finely-milled, shimmery, and VERY pigmented. The packaging is adorable and it's such a multi-purpose product. It gives you a gorgeous highlight.
LOVE. LOVE. LOVEM.A.C's Strobe Liquid Lotion - 50 mL- $31

This product is for a lighter, more subtle glow. I recommend the lotion formula for oily skin because the strobe cream is a lot thicker. Rather than applying it underneath foundation, mix it with your foundation or just apply it to the high points of your face after. Underneath your foundation, you really can't see it. This product doesn't have chunks of glitter either. It's an iridescent pigment. It is just sheer and glowy like the Laura Mercier primer mentioned above. Under the light, it can almost look like a light pink. As for smell, this smells similar to the Laura Mercier Primer..not good but not bothersome either.


Sephora's Harmony Trio Bronzer - Rose Pink - 3g - $7 (got at Sephora sale)
   

furthest up is all 3 colors blended.

This stuff is very BA-BAM on the skin. It's pigmented and finely-milled. With a light hand, I can use it as a blush that's not too overly shiny..but I do prefer using this as a highlight more. All 3 colours blended together is too pink (you can use these colours as eyeshadows, it's lovely.) though, so I like to just selectively mix the lighter 2 colours together for my highlight :). This isn't going to be a natural glowy look but it is definitely a beautiful highlight if you use the right amount!

The Misses:

Hard Candy - Glow all the way - 76.5g - $10

pinker in person!

I REALLLLY don't like this product. Not only is this stuff thick, but it is very pink. The shimmers are very noticeable. The main issue I have with this product was how pink it was under the light. I just..I just couldn't like it.

 Stila - One Step Primecolor - Kitten - 0.33 fl.oz. - $10

after multiple applications

    As a primer, I could barely see the highlighting/illuminating effects at all. This product felt very silicone-like out of all the highlighters. It had the smoothest texture out of the other highlighting products. Even when I tried applying this product overtop of my foundation around the cheekbones, it wasn't noticeable at all. You have to use a lot of this product to see any effects. I was quite disappointed with this, because 'kitten' is my favourite colour from Stila.


     This is my first blog post. I tried to make it short but I guess I wasn't very successful with that.. nonetheless, thank you so much for visiting my blog and taking the time to read this! Much love, cnteablog  ^^ !! <3