12 Steps to Fabulous

Hello Goodbye

2012-11-27T22:17:00.000-05:00

it seems as though my relationship with blogger is coming to a close. I recently ran into some major issues with the blogger database. Basically, what happened is this: I can no longer upload anymore photos to my blog posts because I have apparently used up my quota of pictures (100GB) and can no longer upload anymore pictures to my blog posts through the blogger feed
I think this is a terrible problem for people who are trying to run a blog and honestly, I'm confused by the whole situation.
This is not necessarily bad news.
I am in the process of switching my entire blog over from blogger to wordpress. This will also mean a new domain name. I will be sure to post all of the information to my new website once it is up and running
the whole process should take no more than 3 weeks.
See you soon

-DarlingBuds

Music Monday #3: Holiday Edition

2012-11-26T12:06:00.000-05:00

Some of my favourite Christmas songs of all time!

Elton John - "Step Into Christmas"

(gotta love a good ole' classic 70s Elton)

Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters - "Jingle Bells"

(there's something about the Holidays that makes me crave jazzy tunes)

Wham! - "Last Christmas"

however, another version of this song that I love is the one by Cascada

Britney Spears - "My Only Wish (This Year)"

another classic pop Christmas song

AND OF COURSE, WHO COULD FORGET THE CLASSIC

MARIAH CAREY - "ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU"

And my new favourite song from Mariah Carey's 2011 Christmas album, "Oh Santa"

keep the music playing and bask in holiday cheer!

xoxoDarlingBuds

More Empties

2012-11-21T09:07:00.000-05:00

It's so satisfying to finally finish up a product. I have been hoarding these empties for the special occasion of a blog post. Now that's it's finally done, I can't throw these puppies in the trash!
I'm going to make this post as short and sweet as possible, because I have a lot of empties to get through. So for each product I'm just going to answer these two simple questions:

Did I like it?

Would I buy it again?

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Let's dive in, shall we?

L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base

Did I like it? No. I found it to be too thick of a primer, and I didn't notice that it did anything spectacular in terms of making my makeup last any longer. I just noticed that it felt very heavy on my skin.

Would I buy it again? NO.

Garnier Skin Renew BB Cream (full review here)

Did I like it? Yes. I think it's a very good drugstore BB cream, considering that there are lot of really bad bb creams available at the drugstore.

Would I buy it again? Probably next summer, the light/medium shade is too dark for my pale winter skin.

Laura Mercier Oil-free tinted moisturizer

Did I like it? YES!

Would I buy it again? YES! I'm already on a new tube of this product. I can't live without this in my makeup bag.

Neutrogena Natural Fresh Cleansing + Make-up remover

(as seen in my skincare routine here)

Did I like it? Yes, it smells like granny smith apples.

Would I buy it again? Maybe. I really like the original foaming makeup cleanser from neutrogena (comes in a light blue bottle) so I'll probably be buying that one next.

Neutrogena Natural Purifying Pore Scrub

(as seen in my skincare routine post as well)

Did I like it? It's a typical face scrub. I didn't notice that it did anything particularly outstanding for my skin.

Would I buy it again? Probably not.

Philosophy Purity made simple cleanser

(as seen in my skincare post as well)

Did I like it? This product is so over-hyped in the beauty community. First of all, it's not really that "pure" as the name would lead you to believe. I prefer cetaphil as a gentle cleanser.

Would I buy it again? No.

Neutrogena oil-free Acne Stress Control power-cream wash

(as seen in my skincare routine post here and "what's in my shower" post here)

Did I like it? Yes. I can feel it working and I see results after I use it.

Would I buy it again? I want to try the scrub from this range too, but I would buy the power-cream wash again.

Neutrogena oil-free Eye Make-up Remover

(as seen in my skincare post as well)

Did I like it? Yes. It effectively and gently removes all of my eye makeup

Would I buy it again? Yes. It's the only drugstore makeup remover I have found that really works for me.

Bioderma sensibio H2O (cleansing water)

(as also seen in my skincare post)

Did I like it? Yes. It's the most gentle way to remove makeup.

Would I buy it again? Yes. I prefer using bioderma to makeup wipe because I feel like I get more uses out of it than just the 20 or so wipe that come in a pack, but wipes are really good for travel.

Simple cleansing facial wipes

Did I like it? Yes. I noticed that these wipes effectively cleansed my face and were really gentle on my sensitive skin.

Would I buy it again? Yes. I like having makeup wipes around for quick cleansing and for travelling. I prefer the simple brand wipes to neutrogena ones, and they're cheaper too.

Bath & Body Works, Triple Moisture body cream (twilight woods)

Did I like it? Yes. Twilight Woods is my favourite scent from Bath & Body Works and I find that this lotion does an excellent job of hydrating my skin.

Would I buy it again? Not anytime in the near future. I'm really enjoying using the Vaseline brand cocoa butter lotion at the moment

Batiste dry shampoo

Did I like it? Yes - this is definitely one of the better drugstore dry shampoos on the market. Not only does it eliminate the look of greasy roots, but it also helps add volume to my limp, second/third day hair

Would I buy it again? Yes.

Sally Hansen nail polish remover, "maximum strength, moisturizing"

Did I like it? Yes.

Would I buy it again? I've already repurchased this exact product and am using it currently

OPI nail polish, "Elephantastic Pink"

(see it on my nails here)

Did I like it? LOVE THIS COLOUR! This is one of my favourite nail polish shades of all time. It was the saddest moment when it dried up (I was careless and didn't screw the lid back on all the way).

Would I buy it again? I am definitely going to repurchase this nail polish!

Physicians Formula eye booster liquid eyeliner

Did I like it? Yes. It's actually a very fine brush applicator, and I found it to be super easy to use and get a perfect line

Would I buy it again? Probably not. Maybelline has since come out with an eyeliner similar to this, although it's felt tip, and it gives similar precise results at a much cheaper cost

Maybelline "The Falsies" volum' express mascara

(full review here and here)

Did I like it? No. This mascara does nothing for my lashes and I don't know why everybody loves it so much.

Would I buy it again? No.

Maybelline "One by One" volum' express mascara (waterproof)

Did I like it? Yes! This has now become my favourite mascara. Because it's waterproof, it holds a curl amazingly well and it doensn't smudge or flake at all.

Would I buy it again? Yes, already have, and I definitely will again.

Garnier skin renew Anti-Dark-Circle Roller

Did I like it? Yes. I found this to be a really simple and quick 2-in-1 concealing/anti-fatigue product

Would I buy it again? I think I would.

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer (nude)

Did I like it? Yes. This was my go-to concealer over the summer (as you can see by the label, it was well used)

Would I buy it again? Probably. I want to try the touch magique concealer from L'oreal (same idea, different brand) and see which one I prefer, although they're probably nearly the same

Bobbi Brown corrector (porcelain peach)

Did I like it? Yes! This is my holy grail under eye concealer

Would I buy it again? I wouldn't buy it again in the shade porcelain peach, but I have already repurchased it in the shade light bisque

Lush Fresh Face masks: Cosmetic Warrior & BB Seaweed

Did I like it? Yes. Cosmetic Warrior is a mask that helps fight active breakouts. BB Seaweed is a mask that helps adds brightness and moisture back into the skin.

Would I buy it again? Yes. I would repurchase both of them.

I hope that was somewhat helpful. I think looking back on your empties are a great way of analyzing what products you really loved, or just used up to get rid of once and for all.

xoxoDarlingBuds

A Haul to End All Hauls

2012-11-20T14:16:00.001-05:00

This is the most collective of hauls.
Over the course of the summer and fall, I've picked up a couple of new products here and there. There have been many-a-shopping excursion over the past few months aside from my recent Sephora Friends & Family Haul.
I picked up a lot of great stuff that I am absolutely loving, and some other things that I probably could have forgone.

The product I am loving the most are these MAC Pro Sculpting Creams, part of the Face & Body collection they released this fall.

Top: Pure Sculpture & Coffee Walnut
Bottom, right: [top] Coffee Walnut, [bottom] Pure Sculpture

I first got the colour "Pure Sculpture" (left) which is the more reddish/orange tone. This product is actually very comparable in colour and texture to my beloved Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel. However, for sculpting this was not a good colour match for me and I'm a little peeved that the MAC lady sold me on this. That being said, the second colour I picked up, Coffee Walnut (right), is an absolute dream! I also about this particular shade in my most recent Current Product Loves post. Coffee Walnut is a brownish/greenish shade and when applied to the hollows of the cheeks it just gives the most natural looking shadow. It's really a fantastic product and it was well worth all the hunting I did for it.

Another MAC product I've picked up is the 116 brush.

I was looking for the 109 brush, but they didn't have it in stock and the MAC lady (a different one than the evil lady who sold me pure sculpture) offered up the 116 in replacement. I really like that it's a stiff, domed blush brush and I've gotten a lot of use out of it thus far. Happy purchase!

I had been dying to try the Too Faced Better Than False Lashes system, and in July, I finally picked it up for myself.

This lash system is a 3 step process: first and third involved using the bigger gold tube of mascara to coat the lashes, and the second step is the "nylon lash extension." The application is simple and not too time consuming, it also doesn't take a lot of effort to get the desired look. My lashes definitely did look longer, so it worked! However, because of the fibres, my top and bottom lashes had a tendency to get stuck together when I blinked. It wasn't uncomfortable, per se, but it was definitely a strange sensation.

Too Faced Better Than False Lashes: this is the wand for the "nylon lash extensions" - you can see the fibres coating the wand

Two random baubles that I picked up were the Wet n' Wild Idol Eyes eye shadow pencil in the shade Pixi and MAC Studio Finish concealer in the shade NC20.

I like them both, that's all I can really say about these. They're both pretty generic products. The WnW shadow pencil is really easy to apply to the eyes, and it blends easily, although I do recommend using a base and topping it with a shadow because it won't last long on its own. The MAC concealer is also really creamy and easy to blend and I have been using it mostly as an under eye concealer to help preserve the longevity of my beloved Bobbi Brown corrector.

I've been a slave to my eyebrows lately and I wanted to try some drugstore eyebrow pencils. For days when I don't have time or don't want to spend the time filling in my eyebrows with powder (MAC Omega) I wanted a pencil for quick and easy touch ups.

I picked the Rimmel professional Eyebrow Pencil in the shade Hazel and the Wet n' Wild Coloricon pencil in the shade Taupe. I won't be getting a lot of use out of the Rimmel pencil because it is way too orange for my brows/complexion. Unfortunately, Hazel is the lightest shade they have and the next shade up is way too dark. I do love the Wet n' Wild pencil though. Taupe is an ashy blonde colour and it works really well with my eyebrows. The texture of the pencil is very creamy/waxy (because these pencils are also meant to be eyeliners) so I find that it tames my brows along with filling them in. I wish that it came with a spooly on the end, but whatever.

I guess you can say I went a little blush crazy over the past few months.

I purchased my first two ever Topshop cosmetic products. I went for two cream blushes because I've heard the best things about those. I picked up the shades Head over Heels, which is a coral shade (definitely super easy to blend it out and make it more muted) and High Five, which is a bright pink shade. Both of these cream blushes are easily blended to create a flawless flush on your cheeks. I also finally caved and bought my first Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in the shade Tipsy. Tipsy is the most orangey/coral shade offered in the range, and I bought it on recommendation from Vivianna Does Makeup (as per usual). These blushes are super pigmented and definitely worth all the hype they get, in my opinion. I don't think I'll be able to get a lot of use out of this blush during the winter months because I get super pale in the winter I don't think I'll be able to pull off such a bright coral. But for summer, this blush was lovely.

REVLON KISSABLE BALM STAINS!!! I know, I'm probably more excited about these than any normal person should be.

bottom swatches: Charms, Honey, Cherish, Rendezvous, Adore

I was so stoked when these finally showed up in Canadian drugstores. Right off the bat, I purchased Charm, Cherish, Honey, and Rendezvous - brighter colours for summer, and Honey and Charm being more neutral/everyday shades that would have the most wear. Most recently, I picked up Adore, a deep red tube but the colour of the product itself is a lot more orangey/red, but still really nice. Here's a picture of me wearing it that I posted to my instagram:

As you can see, it's not the deepest red, but it's still wearable, especially this season.

Last up, L'Oreal Colour Riche by Colour Caresse (unnecessary long name)

The swatches are flipped
swatches [right pic]: Sunset Angora, Pink Cashmere

I picked up two shades: 171 Pink Cashmere and 176 Sunset Angora. I don't get as much use out of these as the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains, but I still do like these lip products. They are very creamy and they have better pigmentation than Revlon Lip Butters. They don't wear too long, maybe only an hour or two before they need reapplication. These are not to be confused with a tinted lip balm because they are not moisturizing nor are they forigiving on dry lips. The square gold packaging is very chic and I want to look into some of the deeper colours from this range for fall/winter.

WHAT A DOOZY

That was a long ass post for a big ass haul.
So that's a pretty good overview of the products that I've purchased throughout the summer, some that I'm loving and some not so much.

xoxoDarlingBuds

Music Monday #2

2012-11-19T23:10:00.001-05:00

Before Monday becomes Tuesday I want to get this week's edition of "Music Monday" posted. I think I'm going to try and make this a weekly thing. I'm going to post a song or songs that have been playing on repeat on my itunes.
Enjoy!

ZZ Ward - "Last Love Song"

Ke$ha - "Die Young"

(don't shoot me...this song is really catchy!)

Nashville cast - "If I Didn't Know Better"

(I have been so obsessed with this tv show lately! It's awesome. It's the tv version of the movie Country Strong [Donna]. This song is a cover of The Civil Wars song, and is it shameful that I like the Nashville one better?)

keep the music playing

xoxoDarlingBuds

p.s. oops, I just realized I haven't posted anything since last week's Music Monday. I have so many ideas for posts, I just have to hanker down and get all the photos and writing done. Please be patient!

Music Monday #1

2012-11-12T16:49:00.002-05:00

Here are some more songs that I'm currently listening to...

Ray Charles - "Georgia on My Mind"

an oldy, but an absolute goody

The Fray - "Never Say Never"

apparently, I've been into a lot of soft-rock moody tunes lately

xoxoDarlingBuds

Sephora Friends & Family Sale HAUL

2012-11-10T22:36:00.002-05:00

In terms of shopping, Sephora Friends & Family Sale is up there in my top 5 favourite shopping excursions. 20% off makeup that never goes on sale any other time...um, YES!
This year, I didn't purchase any of the "typical" products that I would usually go for. I didn't get any eyeshadows. I didn't get any blushes. I didn't get any nail polish. I know, strange. Needless to say, I'm super excited about the products I did get and I'd like to share them with you.
Firstly, one of the great things about the Sephora Friends & Family Sale is that it occurs so close to the holidays therefore all of the brands' holiday kits are already on the shelves!
From Korres, I saw this unbeatable deal: two full size products for literally $5 more than one of the products would have cost alone. WHAT A DEAL!

This particular gift set is called the "Radiance Revealed Wild Rose Brightening Duo" which sounded right up my alley. It's comes with two full size products: Wild Rose daily brightening & refining buff cleanser (left) and the Wild Rose + vitamin C advanced brightening sleeping facial (right). I've been wanting to try the sleeping facial for a while now, and I almost purchased it on its own but when I saw this duo I just couldn't believe the deal. To put it into context: the moisturizer on its own is $62.50, this packaged deal was $69. AMAZING! I'm so excited to start using these products.

Another amazing deal Holiday deal from Korres was this little bundle 3 full size Korres lip butters, in 3 different colours/scents. One lip butter on its own is $16 - $18). I only tested this lip butter out once on my lips but it was really really nice. I've heard so much about these lip butter from YouTube beauty gurus claiming them to be a miracle product for your lips. I finally caved and I'm inkling to see how they fair

FINALLY I purchased the Nars smudge proof eyeshadow base that I have been eyeing for a long while(haha, get it? EYEing).

I'm happy to have all of these products in my stash now, especially the eyeshadow base because that have been a long time coveted product.
Did you anybody else take advantage of Sephora's Friends & Family Sale??

Until next time,

xoxoDarlingBuds

The Most Festive of Birthday Nails

2012-11-05T22:26:00.003-05:00

My birthday was on November 1st and I've developed this kind of tradition where I always paint my nails like this for my birthday. I use OPI's Birthday Babe as a base and then top it with Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday. I love it! It's just another fun little way for me to get into the birthday spirit

xoxoDarlingBuds

Current Product Loves

2012-11-04T17:26:00.000-05:00

Monthly favourites get a little redundant when I'm not constantly changing out my products every month. I found that I've been having to stretch what I've been "loving" as opposed to actually using. I've decided now to just to some random updates as to products that I'm currently loving; hence Current Product Loves

Twas the Halloween season. I'm not a huge fan of halloween, but I do love decorations. The only halloween decor my roommate and I had going on in our apartment was this:

Mini pumpkins, one of which I covered in aquamarine glitter. A little glass pumpkin tea light holder. An owl; and a cobweb/skull tea light lantern. Nothing too extreme, but enough to make it feel a little bit festive. Now that Halloween is over, I'll be switching out all of these decorations for Christmas! Let me tell you, I go all out for Christmas.

here's a close-up of the cutest little glitter pumpkin there ever was. I just used Mod Podge and Martha Stewart craft glitter

In terms of beauty products, these are the ones that I have been using a lot of most recently.

the first two products kind of go hand-in-hand

1. MAC pro sculpting cream in Coffee Walnut

AND

2. Covergirl single eyeshadow in Brown Smoulder

I've been using these two products as contour shades. Firstly, I was using the covergirl eyeshadow. It looks super scary in the pan, and swatched for that matter, but because it's a matte eyeshadow, it did me quite well as a contour. I was finding that "contouring" with a bronzer was just making me appear more orange than anything. Brown Smoulder is a dark brown colour, with no red or orange understones - just your typical bear brown. I would use a really light hand of this through the hollows of my cheeks and it did the job of creating a shadow through my cheekbones quite well.

Until I found the Mac pro sculpting cream in Coffee Walnut. This is the most frightening looking contour shade I had ever seen. It's a greenish-brownish colour, but seriously it's amazing! It gives the most perfect shadowed look to the contours of your face. I use this through the hollows of my cheeks, on my temples, and across my jawbone. It's a limited edition product from the Face & Body collection currently out now at MAC. I had a lot of difficulty finding this product, though, so when I finally did find it, it kind of made it all the more special.

Top - Covergirl eyeshadow in Brown Smoulder
Bottom - MAC pro sculpting cream in Coffee Walnut

3. Dior Amber Diamond all-over shimmering face powder. The highlighter of the gods. I haul'd this a little while back (check out that haul here). I've been using this as my highlighter for the past month or so and it's a beauty. Subtle, yet oh so purrdy.

4. Beauty Blender sponge. This is the ultimate tool for getting flawless blend to my foundation. I dampen the sponge, and then dab my foundation into place. I'm planning a "favourite beauty tools" post, and this will for sure be in it.

5. Christian Dior crème de rose lip balm. Such a lovely product! It's rosy, and balmy, and lovely. I use this as a nighttime lip balm because it's nice and thick and has all night to settle in and smooth my lips by morning. I instragrammed a photo as soon as I got this puppy:

6. Benzagel acne gel. I've been breaking out like a...I don't even know. Just bad. I've been using Benzagel as an all-over treatment on any problem areas. I found that spot treatments just weren't cutting it for this issue, so I turned to the big guns. Benzagel is a 5% benzoyl peroxide solution. For me, salicylic acid on its own doesn't do a whole lot. I have better luck with salicylic acid and something else, or just something else on its own. So far, this benzagel stuff is doing me some good.

7. Collection 2000 concealer in 02 Light. A heavy duty, liquid concealer. Stays all day. Doesn't look cakey. I use the doe-foot applicator to apply this to any spots or discolouration, and then buff it out with either my beauty blender or a duo fibre brush. I wish they sold this concealer in Canada, but unfortunately, it's a UK only brand.

8. Since I've been breaking out a lot, I've found that I've needed a heavier foundation for me to feel happy with my face for that day. I've been using Clinique Redness Solution foundation in the shade 01 Alabaster. I like this foundation, it does a pretty good job at covering the majority of my redness and it had very good staying power. The only critique I have though is that this foundation would not cater to pale, pale skin. I'm finding that as my tan progressively fades and I get paler, 01 Alabaster is becoming a touch too dark. I find it a little strange that a brand like Clinique, who supposedly is one of the top skincare brands, especially for people with sensitive skin, wouldn't have lighter shades of foundation, given that a lot of people with sensitive tend to be more pale. You know what I mean? Anyways, for the time being, this foundation is really helping me along.

9. This is probably the most random product: Polysporin. Like I said, I've been breaking out pretty bad lately. I don't handle breakouts well. It's difficult for me to change my skincare and makeup routines to revolve around the changing texture and tone of my skin. That being said, I tend to pick. I always think that just getting rid of pimple by picking at it will solve all my problems. I'm totally not alone in this though, right? My picking has lead me to have some scars that I NEED to get rid of - hence the polysporin. I've been using this on marks I've left in my skin to help treat them quickly and to promote healing. I use polysporin at night, and Cicaplast from La Roche Posay during the day (which I mentioned in my Skincare Routine post which you can read HERE).

And those are the products that I have been currently using and loving.
That's it for now

xoxoDarlingBuds

I'm Dreaming of AH-Mazing Eyelashes!

2012-10-27T02:05:00.001-04:00

I found this product at Shopper's Drug Mart the other day and to say I was intrigued would be an understatement. I got all hot and bothered at the prospect of having glorious eyelashes all for the low low price of $19.99. Meet Peptalash. From the makers of Nanoblur and Hydraluron, Indeed Laboratories has now [hopefully] graced us with the miracle drugstore eyelash enhancer that we have all been waiting for.

I've heard many success stories from users of eyelash enhancing products such as Latisse and RapidLash; but I'm not in the state to be paying upwards of $100 for a product that may or may not even work for me. Mascara and the occasional pair of false eyelashes have done me well...that is until now [hopefully]. I'm getting a little ahead of myself here. I don't even know of this product will work for me - I hadn't even heard anything about this product until the day I bought it on a whim.
I'm going to continue using it for the suggested amount of time. If anything happens, well that has yet to be determined, but I will for sure be keeping updates on the progress

So far, all I can say that I like the application process of this product. It applies just like an eyeliner would - it is a very thin brush tip applicator. The product itself is a clear liquid, much like the consistency of gel.

The directions say to apply this product twice a day, i.e. morning and night. For daytime wear, I guess I'm supposed to apply it in lieu of eyeliner but still along the base of the lashes, even with mascara on. I'm a little fuzzy on the daytime details, but for nighttime wear this product has become a part of my nightly routine. It has now become second nature for me to apply peptalash to the base of my lashes, along with cleansing and moisturizing. How convenient.

I know I'm probably getting my hopes up in thinking that Peptalash could be a miracle worker. A girl can dream though, can't she?

Fingers crossed!

-DarlingBuds

New Music

2012-10-10T15:45:00.001-04:00

As I sit at my desk studying for my upcoming Social Psychology midterm - which is tonight, by the way - the words that I'm reading on the page of my textbook are becoming jumbled with the melodies of a few certain songs that I can't get out of my head.
I love finding new music. There's something so reassuring about knowing that there is always new music to be discovered - whether it be just new-to-me or fresh out of the studio.
I find music in a lot of different ways. Sometimes it's recommendations from friends, or as a late, it's been recommendations from people I follow on Twitter, Tumblr and Youtube. I also find music through television shows, movies, and strangely enough, film trailers. Sometimes, it's a song playing faintly over the radio in a store; or just completely randomly on the internet. The possibilities for music discoveries are endless.
These are the songs that have been on repeat on my itunes as of late:

PASSENGER:
My friend just recently turned me on to Passenger. He's the opening act for Ed Sheeran right now on their tour. Passenger has a very similar sound to Angus & Julia Stone (if you don't know them, go check them out - especially "Big Jet Plane", "And The Boys" and "Yellow Brick Road"). I seriously love this song. Passenger also does a lot of acoustic covers of his own songs. Anyone who knows me knows that I LIVE for acoustic covers. Perfection.
This song is called "Let Her Go"

and this song is called "Feather on the Clyde"

Next up...
BAG RAIDERS - "SHOOTING STARS"
This song is my current phone ringtone. It's such a good song to chill to, dance to, drink to, have fun to...it's fabulous.

I recently went out for drinks with an old buddy and at the bar there was a live band playing. They played so many old favourites, and it rekindled my love for some oldies.
first up, BOB MARLEY "LOOKIN' IN YOUR BIG BROWN EYES"

and secondly they played "GALWAY GIRL" by STEVE EARLE. Now from what I understand, this song was featured in the movie P.S. I love You with Hillary Swank and Gerard Butler. I haven't seen that movie, but I sure do love the song.

Finally, this next song is super new to me, but it's already on repeat on my itunes. My friend (who has amazing taste in music and always finds the best stuff) sent me the link to the music video and told me I had to check it out. It's a funny song, hilarious concept and jokes music video. I love when music is humorous
"THRIFT SHOP" by MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS

I hope you guys enjoyed some of these songs too
more beauty related posts are in the works. I actually lost my battery charger and couldn't charge my camera for these past 2 weeks. It was a major bummer. All that has been since sorted out and everything should be up and running very shortly

hang in there!

xoxoDarlingBuds

Tag! Most Worn Summer Things

2012-09-19T17:44:00.001-04:00

This is a tag that has been going around YouTube. I decided to do my own little blog post tag, and I also thought it was a really great way to summarize my all-time favourites from the summer, since I missed a couple of monthly Lovelies.

These are the different categories of the Most Worn Summer Things TAG:
Most Worn Nail Polish
Most Worn Scent
Most Worn Hair Product
Most Worn Bag
Most Worn Shoes
Most Worn Accessory
Most Worn Clothing Item
Most Worn Foundation
Most Worn Blush & Bronzer
Most Worn Lip Product
Most Worn Mascara
Most Worn Eyeshadow

Most Worn - Nail Polish

I couldn't just pick one nail polish. I featured both of these polishes in my Summer Nail Polish Picks post. Sally Hansen "Pacific Blue" (NOTD post here) I wore mostly on my nails. The bright neon pink colour, China Glaze "Flip Flop Fantasy" was on my toes the entire summer! A lot of friends also borrowed it and used it on their toes and fingers, hence the barely-there label. The neon pink makes you look so tan!

Most Worn - Scent

When I think of summer, I automatically think of Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue eau de toilette. This has been my go-to summer scent for years! I actually used to wear this perfume all year round, but it has since been retired to seasonal purposes only. It's so light and fresh, citrusy too? I'm terrible at describing scents, but I think everyone has taken a whiff of this perfume and/or owned it themselves at one point in their lives.

Most Worn - Hair Product

Sun damage, hair dye, chlorine, and summer in general really took a toll on my hair this summer. I used my bottle of MoroccanOil (light) religiously this summer! Every day, sometimes twice a day, I would reapply this miracle elixir to the ends of my hair. I don't even want to know what state my hair would have been in at the end of the summer if I didn't use this product.

Most Worn - Bag

I wasn't really out and about, shopping around much this summer, but when I did go out, I also tossed everything into my black Longchamps bag. No need for organization, and this bag carries everything I need. No fuss, no hassle.

Most Worn - Shoes

These cruddy flip flops from Old Navy were glued to my feet all summer long. I was lifeguarding at a summer camp, and flip flops were always the easiest thing to just slip on. Flip flops are the definition of summer.

Most Worn - Clothing & Accessory

As I mentioned above, and in this blog post, I spent most of my summer lifeguarding at a kid's camp. It should come as no surprise that I basically wore my Lifeguard singlet every day (I had a couple, so it wasn't so grungy). As for accessories, the only accessory I wore every single day were sunglasses, and my sunglasses on choice this summer were my new Ray-Ban aviators. It all just screams LIFEGUARD!

Most Worn - Foundation

There were a lot of days during the summer when I didn't wear anything on my face at all except for a few dabs of concealer. But if I was going to wear foundation it would without a doubt be my Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer in the shade Nude. This is so light, and there's also some SPF in it so it was perfect for those hot, sunny summer days.

Most Worn - Blush & Bronzer

I'm still addicted to my MAC Well Dressed blush (full review here) and equally addicted to my trusty Soleil Tan de Chanel cream bronzer. These two were an unbeatable combinations in brightening up my face, and giving me that subtle and natural flush and bronzy glow. Perfection!

Most Worn - Lip Product & Mascara

I was so excited when the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains became available in Canada that I jumped at the chance and got 3 all at once. The one I wore the most during the summer months, was "Cherish", a light blue-pink colour. I'm a planning a blog post in the near future dedicated to these new lip products! The mascara that I wore all throughout the summer was Maybelline One by One (the waterproof formula). This is such a great mascara! You can tell by the tube just how much I used this over the summer - the label has completely rubbed off! I haven't had a chance to do a full #mascaraproblems review of it yet, but I fully intend to once I pick up a new tube, with the label.

Most Worn - Eyeshadow

I hardly wore any eyeshadow over the summer, but when I did it was always a cream shadow - more specifically, Chanel Illusion d'Ombre cream shadow in Emerveille. This is such a lovely peachy-pink sheer shimmery shadow. It was such a versatile shadow to wear no matter what my overall look was. I'm definitely glad I got this splurge of an eyeshadow.

So that's it for my MOST WORN SUMMER THINGS!
I really enjoyed doing this tag, and I think I'll do more tag posts in the future.

Now that I'm back at Uni and have all my blogging equipment more readily available (i.e. internet, since there was no internet up at the summer camp) I hope to be blogging more regularly again. Fingers crossed, and stay tuned!

xoxoDarlingBuds

FOTD: New Display Pic

2012-09-06T14:24:00.000-04:00

Finally! A new blog post. I have been meaning to get this posted for many weeks now. Sorry for the wait!
I have a new display picture for my blog and this is the makeup I was wearing the day that I snapped that shot.

the new display pic

I was in a blogging/photographing mood that day. I'm really happy with how all the pictures turned out and I am also very fond of how "natural" looking my makeup was that day.

I'm not one to get all decked out in makeup everyday, I'm not joking. I always like to have a flawless base, i.e. my foundation and concealer, but in terms of eye makeup, on a day to day basis I like to keep it neutral with a subtle shimmer. The look that I'm wearing in this picture is SO ME it's not even funny.

Face:

My Soleil Tan de Chanel and I have been inseparable all summer long. It has been a key product for me to even out my tan and tone down a bit of the redness in my face, inevitable from hours of sun exposure. I then used my handy dandy Bobbi Brown corrector in Porcelain Peach to get rid of the look of dark circle under my eyes. To even out my skin tone, I used the new Maybelline Dream Fresh BB cream in the shade Light-Medium. I've only used this product a handful of times so I don't yet have a good feel for how much I do or don't like it. My typical concealer routine consisted of Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer in shade 52 to cover any blemishes and discoloration. Maybelline Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser in Light to add another layer of concealer to my insanely dark circles; and finally Rimmel Match Perfection highlighting concealer in shade 003 to add some brightness to my face. I set that all with my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in the shade Medium Plus

Cheeks:

I have been loving my new blush, Well Dressed from MAC (full review of this blush can be read here). This blush just adds the nicest hint of colour to my cheeks. I then contoured and warmed up my face a bit with Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in the shade Medium Dark.

Eyes:

I found some NYX eyeshadows stashed away in my collection that I brought out to use for this look. Ever since then, they have been a staple in my makeup bag.

The lighter shade on top is Champagne. I used this shade on the inner third of my lid. The darker shade on the bottom is Iced Mocha and I used this shadow on the outer part of my lid to add a little bit of dimension.

I used Almay's One Coat Nourishing Triple Effect mascara (what a mouthful of a name). It's decent enough, but it didn't provide me with enough length or volume, but I do really like the wand and brush - full with natural bristles.

Lips:

I decided to keep the lips pretty neutral, glossy, and feminine. I chose this pink gloss from Dior that I've had lying around forever (Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Reflect in shade #257). This was just a simple and clean way to finish up the entire look.

xoxoDarlingBuds

P.S. this little gem came out of all the pictures I took for this FOTD. I couldn't resist, I had to include it. It's so funny!

Where in the World Have I Been?

2012-08-15T15:21:00.001-04:00

What a summer!
I can't believe it's almost over
I was away for 6 weeks working as a lifeguard at a children's summer camp. I had so much fun while I was gone but at the same time, it feels so good to be home.
I have so many fabulous memories from this summer. Here's a glimpse into what I've been up to while I've been away...

some great friends of mine, Chris (left) and Mikk (right). I love being reunited with all of my friends at camp!

more fabulous friends! Kristina (left) and Leikki (right). I had so many crazy/fun/caffeinated/hilarious times with these two lovely ladies. I'm going to miss them during the year

me, busting a move on the dancefloor

the entire staff at camp! Never will you meet a more fun and outgoing group of people. I have so much love for all of these people. They made my summer amazing!

I hope to get back into a regular blogging routine in the upcoming days. I have a few more trips that I'm planning for the end of summer before I pack up and head back to university.

I have so many new makeup and beauty tips to share with y'all, but I'm asking for you to be patient with me a little longer. I'll try and make it worth the wait

xoxo
DarlingBuds

MAC blush - Well Dressed

2012-07-24T09:51:00.000-04:00

A lot of MAC products have a serious cult following, especially their lipsticks and eyeshadows. MAC blushes are popular in the beauty world, but I think NARS and Tarte blushes are the ones that garner the most popularity. Out of all MAC blushes, Well Dressed is the one that I hear spoken about the most. Everybody says that it is just the perfect blush colour to give your cheeks super natural flush and sheen.

I finally caved and purchased my very own Well Dressed blush from MAC. A lot of the blushes I own lean more towards the coral or peach end of the spectrum. I wanted to have just a very natural pink blush.

Well Dressed isn't too pigmented of a blush so you don't have to worry about accidentally applying too much product and dealing with a clown situation. It has a satin finish so there is a bit of a sheen to it, which looks really natural on the cheeks. Some other blushes, like Super Orgasm from NARS, have some major chunky glitter going on in their product but you don't have to worry about that with Well Dressed.

Looking at it in the pan, it even has some mauve-blue undertones. Hopefully you can tell from the swatch on my finger, that on the left side of the swatch, the light coming from the window that I take all my photos under, caught the sheen in the blush and made it so lovely and glisten-y.

Once it's applied to the cheeks, the blush just looks so natural and radiant. It truly is the perfect blush colour, and I think it would work fabulously on a multitude of different skin tones. I'm quite tan right now, and it still picks up on my skin. I've tried this blush out when I was paler too (aka minus my fake face tan) and it was lovely.

Blushes are a pretty generic product to me - they're pretty much all different variations of the same colour. It's fairly easy to find dupes for blushes and it's difficult to say that any one blush is super unique from others. I honestly think that MAC's Well Dressed is a one of a kind blush and I am so happy that I finally have it to call my own. I KNOW for a fact that I'm going to get a lot of use out of this blush this summer. It's one of those blushes that you don't have to think about what the rest of your makeup is going to be or what outfit you're going to be wearing because it will complement you in anyway.

xoxoDarlingBuds

Empties

2012-07-19T09:16:00.000-04:00

Hi everybody!

I cannot even tell you how long I have been holding on to some of these products. I wanted to have enough empties for a decent blog post, but now it's just gotten a little out of hand. I needed to get these empties photographed and blogged and then into they trash they go!

I'm actually very impressed by how many empties I have accumulated over the past 2 months. In the past, I was notorious for never finishing products. I've made it my new mission to always finish whatever I start, and that doesn't just limit itself to makeup and skincare products.
Here we go...

Skincare:

Bath & Body Works Country Chic Body scrub - I love this scent, and I like the scrub. I like how it comes in a squeeze tube thing so you don't have to unscrew a cap or lid. I already have another B&BW scrub on the go right now, just in a different scent
Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup remover - this is my go-to eye makeup remover. Ever since I used this up, I've just been using Bioderma to remove my eye makeup
LUSH Cosmetic Warrior fresh face mask - I bought this a while back (Shoppers & Lush Haul). My skin was really acting up at the end of May and this helped to subside any flare ups. It smells horrible, though. It has garlic in it which acts as a natural antiseptic, but when you apply it to your face and let it sit, the mask starts to smell like a wet dog. Nasty smell, effective product.
LUSH Catastrophe Cosmetic fresh face mask - This mask is supposed to be a soothing one (some of the ingredients include chamomile and calamine). After my skin started behaving itself again, I used this mask to try and soothe any redness. I actually really really like this mask and I would definitely repurchase it. Here's a pick of me using it (haha)

Neutrogena All-in-One Make-Up Removing cleansing wipes - another one of my favourite makeup removal products that I've used up. Because I've also use this up, my Bioderma has been doubling as an eye-makeup remover and a face makeup remover. I've also started using the Olivella daily facial cleansing wipes that I featured in my Optimum Points haul
LUSH Mint Julips lip scrub - I didn't actually get a chance to use this all up because the product actually expired before I could use it all up. That's the only thing about Lush products is that they do have an expiry date. I don't think I'll be repurchasing this scrub anytime soon because I've just been using my toothbrush and this lip scrubbing method from The Beauty Department
La Roche Posay Toleriane lotion - this is the facial moisturizer that I featured in my skincare routine post. I will definitely repurchase this product later on in the year, for the colder months.
Boscia Luminizing Black Mask - also a product I featured in my skincare routine post. Won't repurchase it. It didn't do anything and it's way too expensive to just have lying around.

Makeup, Hair, Nails:

Mars Anthony 2nd Day Clear Dry Shampoo - I actually really liked this product! This came in a continuous spray aerosol can; it doesn't leave a white residue, and it does a pretty darn good job at keeping oily roots at bay. I have a couple of other dry shampoos on the go right now, so I won't repurchase this year, but I definitely will in the future. There are also so many other dry shampoos on the market that I have yet to try
Rimmel Natural Bronzer - I mentioned in a previous post that this bronzer finally bit the dust. I dropped it and it completely shattered. Oops!
Seche Vite - I have use this top coat to its very last leg. It has now come to the point where it is impossible for me to get anymore product out of it. I will definitely repurchase! I did notice that towards the end of its life, it got very gloopy and it got a lot more difficult to paint onto my nails. It still dried evenly and made my nails look perfect, but the texture was off-putting
OPI My Chihuahua Bites - I don't think I was very careful the last time I used this product because I guess I left the cap unscrewed a little bit so all the polish inside is all gloopy and dried out :(
NYC High Definition Volumizing mascara - I did a full review of this mascara (read it here). I didn't particularly like it, so now it's time for it to go
NYC High Definition Separating mascara - Another mascara fail, full review here.
Maybelline Lash Discovery mascara (waterproof) - This is the best bottom lash mascara you could possible get at the drugstore. The wand is super tiny and dainty which allows you to coat every single lash perfectly with mascara. Unfortunately, I can only find this mascara at Walmart so as soon as I get a chance, I will re-buy this mascara! I also featured this is a mascara problems post, read it here
YSL Touche Eclat - I initially said I didn't think this was worth the hype or the price, but recently I have been dealing with the worst dark circles ever and I just want this back. I have a few other under-eye concealers on-the-go right now, and then I have a backup of this product which I cannot wait to dive into again
Revlon ColorStay liquid eyeliner - felt tip, black eyeliner - pretty standard. I'm really enjoying my Physician's Formula eye boosting liquid eyeliner right now, so I'm in no need to replace the revlon one

Hooray for empties!

xoxoDarlingBuds

p.s. On another note, for the next couple of weeks, I will be in a place without an internet connection. I am working as a lifeguard at a children's overnight summer camp. So if you were wondering why I wasn't posting as much, that's why. I will be back to a regular blogging routine in about a month.
I hope you're all enjoying your summer so far :)

Curling Iron De-Clamp

2012-07-16T20:39:00.000-04:00

Lately, I've been curling my hair a lot more than I've been straightening it. I have a curling wand and a regular 1 inch curling iron with a clamp, both from Conair. I prefer the curling wand because I find that the curl holds a lot better than the iron with a clamp. However, I like the way my hair curls with the bigger barrel of the 1 inch curling iron. Confusing, I know.

I remembered reading this tutorial from The Beauty Department about how to de-clamp a curling iron so I thought I would give it a try.

All you need is your curling iron and a screwdriver. Super simple!

First, remove the stand. The stand cover some of the screws that keep the clamp attached to the barrel. The screws left behind were super easy to remove; just jiggle the clamp and they fell out on their own.

Once I got rid of those, the clamp came right off.

Next I had to get rid of the spring. That's where the screwdriver comes in. Just unscrew!

TA-DA!

These are all the pieces left behind after I removed the clamp and all the parts attached.

I much prefer the looser curl that a curling iron gives, and now I don' t have to worry about the clamp getting in my way

Here's an example of the type of curl I get after using my new de-clamped curling iron.

I just love how relaxed the curls look. A spritz of hairspray and I'm good to go for the entire day

Now I don't have to buy a separate curling wand! YAY!

xoxoDarlingBuds

June Lovelies

2012-07-05T09:56:00.002-04:00

The month of June was all about staying bronzed while at the same time being protected from the sun

At the beginning of the month, I was laying out in the sun. Stupid me hadn't applied any sunscreen and of course I got a major sunburn!

I cannot even express how painful it was. Thankfully, now it's subsided and I just have some pretty serious tanlines. So because of that, I spent a good portion of the month tending to my "wounds" and ensuring that I didn't end up with any scarring from the burn.

1. I went to Walmart and picked up this Aloe Vera. It comes in a continuous spray bottle so I didn't have to worry about rubbing in the gel into my already really sore skin. This came in very handy!

2. Evidently, after my sunburn, I started putting on sunscreen any and every time I left my apartment. I used the Clarins Sun Care cream that I showed in this haul

3. Sunburns from my past have left scars. I wanted to really make sure that it didn't happen this time. I used Bio-Oil interchangeably with the Aloe Vera to help prevent scarring. Bio-Oil is super effective at preventing scars, but it really only works if you apply it to fresh scars (i.e. not any scars from months or years before).

4. THIS BOOK! I have a review coming soon of this book so look out for that. The Fifty Shades of Grey series is seriously the talk of the town. I recommend it if you're not to ashamed to a) be seen reading it or b) won't flush at the graphic sexual subject matter

5. Summer = heat. The weather in Canada has been exceptionally hot lately. I need to be certain that my makeup will last all day so I have been using the Urban Decay All Nighter long-lasting makeup setting spray religiously

6. I have been using the Soleil Tan de Chanel cream bronzer with a kabuki brush all over my face, neck, and décolleté to give me an even bronzed glow to my complexion.

7. I haven't been paiting my nails a whole lot this month, but when I do, I want to make sure that it doesn't take long to dry (so I can continue with my life instead of worrying about ruining my freshly painted claws) and I also want to ensure that it lasts as long as possible. Seche Vite top coat is seriously on of those super talked about products that is worth all the hype.

8. Along with my Chanel bronzer, I have been using my new Physician's Formula Bronze Booster Glow-Boosting pressed bronzer in Medium-Dark that I showed in my collective haul. This bronzer has a hint of shimmer to it which adds such a lovely glow to the face. I'm not using this to contour so I don't mind the shimmer. I use this on my cheeks and around my temples to deepen my tan and add radiance

9. The Caudalie Beauty Elixir is a really awesome multi-task product. I showed this in my Optimum Points haul. I use it mostly as a toner and facial mist/makeup refresher. It smells so good too! Like peppermint with a hint of citrus. I have been mostly using the big bottle that I got of this (travel size is the one pictured above). I keep this in my little basket that houses all of my skincare routine post. It's such a refreshing product for summer!

10. Under-eye circles suck. I don't know why, but the dark circles under my eyes have been exceptionally bad lately. I have still been using my bobbi brown corrector, but since I'm more tan now, porcelain peach just isn't cutting it anymore. I've been using my Maybelline Instant Age Rewind dark circle eraser in Neutralizer a lot more lately to help combat the blue undertones of the dark circles (I used this concealer is my most recent FOTD: Tan!). The thing that I really hate about this concealer though is the packaging. I don't really mind the sponge application bit, but you have to twist the top to release the product and mine always breaks! I've have 3 of these concealers to date, and they all break! I'm going to email Maybelline and tell them to do something about it!

11. Summer + Heat = Sweat. I saw this new deodorant from Dove and I decided to give it a try. It's an anti-persperant and it's suppose to eventually in time, lighten the pigment of your arm pits. So far, I haven't noticed any change in the colour of my under-arms (?) but I do like that it doesn't irritate my skin (some deodorants make me itchy) and it's a fresh scent, PLUS it's a pretty decent anti-persperant. I don't stay 100% dry throughout the day, but I would say a solid 91% compared to other products I've tried

12. I have been curling my hair a lot more with second day hair. I recently took the clamp off my regular Conair 1 inch curling iron and I love it so much more now! I never really used the clamp before so it wasn't sad to see it go. I have a blog post coming up about how I de-clamped my curling iron, so stay tuned for that one.

13. Because of my uneven tan situation, I have been trying to correct the situation by using the Clarins Liquid Bronzing Self Tanning lotion on my neck, décolleté and face. My body right now is a lot darker than my face so I need to try and even everything out. This is such a good product! I apply it at night, and when I wake up in the morning, I'm rocking a perfectly tan wherever I applied this. It never looks orange or streaky! It's an idiot-proof facial self-tanner

It's only to get hotter from here on out. The heat throughout the month of June has been sweltering enough, I hope I can take it for the rest of the summer.

Stay cool!

xoxoDarlingBuds

CHECK That Off my List √

2012-07-04T10:18:00.002-04:00

I've been hauling a lot over the past few weeks (collective haul, theBalm haul, MAC & Sephora haul, Shoppers & Lush haul). From those hauls, I've collected a lot of the products that I featured in my "Beauty Wishlist" post and my "Another Beauty Wishlist" post.

I'm like a kid on Christmas morning

So far, from my Beauty Wishlists, I've gotten:

Caudalie Beauty Elixir - I've been using this product quite a bit since I bought it and I am in love with it! It's the most refreshing, minty mist on a hot summer day
Clarins Instant Light Natural lip perfector in 02 Apricot Shimmer - Lovely lip product. I already have the pink colour, but the apricot shimmer shade adds a subtle wash of peachiness to the lips. Not a sticky lip gloss, or a super moisturizing lip balm, the Clarins Instant Natural lip perfector falls in between a gloss and balm. Super neat-o lip product. Highly recommend it!
Chanel Illusion d'Ombre eyeshadow in Emerveille - still haven't plucked up the courage to use this product yet. It'll happen, one day
Nars eyeshadow duo in Alhambra - This eyeshadow duo is amazing! The lightest colour in the duo is like a rosey-gold colour, and the darker shade is more of a peachy-gold. They're both lovely eyeshadows, either to wear together or separately. The texture of Nars eyeshadow's is so smooth and velvety, I will definitely have to get more in the future
Clarins Liquid Bronze Self Tanning lotion - I USE THIS EVERY NIGHT AND I FREAKIN' LOVE IT!!! I use it on my face, neck, and décolleté area. I don't particularly like subjecting my face to the sun. I use this self tanning lotion on a cotton round and apply evenly to my face like I would a toner. When I wake up in the morning, my face is perfeclty and evenly TAN, not orange

xoxoDarlingBuds

Optimum Points Haul

2012-07-03T11:45:00.000-04:00

I love Shoppers Drug Mart and I love Optimum Points. If you don't know what I'm talking about, let me explain. Shoppers Drug Mart is a huge chain of drugstores in Canada. You can get all sorts of stuff there: prescriptions, tylenol, toilet paper, snacks, shampoo, face wash, and many drugstore makeup brands such as Maybelline and Revlon, etc. A couple of years ago, Shoppers added a "Beauty Boutique" section of the store where they sell high-end makeup such as Benefit, Clarins, Smashbox, Lancome, Dior, etc.

Optimum Points are collected at Shoppers by using you Optimum Card every time you spend $$ there. You get 10 points for every $1 you spend. The points can then be redeemed for monetary value, for example 8,000 points gets you $10 off, and the highest level is 95,000 points gets you $170 off.

I only shop at Shoppers when they have a 20X the points event so you get 20X more points for every dollar you spend.

A couple times a year they have a bonus for points redeemed. So with 95,000 points, instead it being worth $170, it's worth $200 during the bonus event.

All year long, I save and save and save my optimum points throughout the whole year for THIS! The bonus points event. I then take my points to Murale, which is a Sephora-esque store affiliate with Shoppers and their optimum points program. At Murale, I go crazy.

This is this year's haul:

Caudalie Beauty Elixir (34 FL. oz & 16 FL. oz). I featured this product in my first Beauty Wishlist post. This is a multi-purpose product: toner, facial mist, makeup refresher. It has a really fresh scent, sort of pepperminty, and from reading the ingredient list I know there's also some orange extract and rosemary in this product. It's so lovely. It's a beauty recommendation from one of my favourite bloggers, Vivianna Does Makeup
Bobbi Brown corrector in Light Bisque. My current bobbi brown corrector in Porcelain Peach is getting dangerously empty. I don't ever want to to be without this product. I think the lady at the bobbi brown counter matched me to the wrong shade when I first bought porcelain peach, so I knew that when I purchased my next one I would go one shade up. I still have a couple weeks of use out of porcelain peach, but I won't be near a bobbi brown counter in a couple of weeks so I needed to get this stat!
Nars eyeshadow duo in Alhambra. (swatch below) This too was featured in my first Beauty Wishlist post. I've used this a couple of times already and it's amazing! Once again, everything I thought it would be. The lightest shade in this duo is like a rose gold colour, whereas the other shade is more of a peach-yellow gold. The texture of nars eyeshadows is so velvety and luxe. I would definitely look into getting more nars eyeshadows, maybe for my next optimum points haul.
Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Emerveille (swatch below). I talked about this in my second beauty wishlist post (Another Beauty Wishlist). I haven't had a chance to use this product yet, I'm kind of scared to ruin it, but it's just as lovely as I expected it to be. It's a very subtle champagne-pink, not too shimmery. It has a mousse-like texture. It's Chanel! Total luxury. I'll have to do a full review of this product in time
Bourjois Volumizer mascara. I know I'm doing my Mascara Problems series to try and find the best drugstore mascara, but this is my favourite mascara outside of the drugstore. If someone told me I could only have one mascara for the rest of my life, it would be this one. I know that Bourjois is a drugstore or high-street brand in the UK, but in Canada, this mascara is about $21 (not exactly drugstore prices). I'll also do a full review of this mascara when I get around to using it because it's a really neat concept
Olivella daily facial cleansing wipes. I was $7 short to my total, these wipes were $8 so I got them. The girl who was helping me at Murale said these were really good at cleansing, and also not harsh on sensitive skin. I haven't used them yet so I don't know if that's true. I'm waiting to use up the last of my Neutrogena makeup removing cleansing wipes.

Eyeshadow swatches

Nars Alhambra

Nars "Alhambra" swatch

Chanel Illusion d'Ombre Emerveille

The Chanel illusion d'ombre eyeshadow product comes with a cute little synthetic brush to use to apply the product. I'll probably just use my finger, but I thought this was so adorable.

Ah, Chanel. It's so lovely

Chanel "Emerveille" swatch

I haven't used the Chanel eyeshadow yet. It always takes me a little bit of time to rack up the courage to dive into using a luxury product. I'll get around to it eventually though. How can I not? It's such a lovely shade of champagne-pink. Right up my alley

So that's my Optimum points haul from Murale. In Canada, Murale is such a great place to shop for high-end makeup because they have some brands that Sephora doesn't carry, such as Chanel, Bobbi Brown, Deborah Lippmann, and a great selection of Clarins makeup. PLUS you can collect optimum points when you shop :)

Such a wonderful place. Bad though, for people like me, with a serious obsession with makeup.

xoxoDarlingBuds

I Nailed It (again)

2012-07-03T00:18:00.000-04:00

Deja Vu, anyone?

I painted my nails fresh today and I decided to re-do an old fave. This is what I'm rocking on my nails again!
I love the combination of pink and orange together. So fresh and summery. OPI's "Elephantastic Pink" and Essie's "Tart Deco" are an unbeatable combination
Check out my initial NOTD post here

xoxoDarlingBuds

Canada Day

2012-07-02T09:55:00.001-04:00

July 1st is Canada Day. This year was Canada's 145th birthday!

<3 Canada

I spent my Canada Day in Ottawa, the capital, and it was absolutely insane!
They shut down the main street along where the parliament buildings are. There were so many people everywhere!

There was a concert that was going on, no super special performers though. They had some French singers there, and Simple Plan and Feist were to perform later on in the evening but I didn't stay long enough for that.

Parliament Hill Festivities! We were way far away from the stage; you can just get an idea of how many people were in front of us. So many people were behind us too, trying to get closer to the stage, and also just walking around on the streets

Everyone was showing a lot of National Pride and wearing red and white. Apart from drunk hooligans, everyone who walked by you on the street was just super nice and patriotic. It was a really awesome vibe
For people who actually live in Ottawa though, it was a nightmare. It was impossible to get into any restaurant, bar, pub or club because everything was just so insanely crowded. A lot of streets were closed so cars had trouble getting to where they needed to be. A lot of families were out enjoying the festivities but it's not always a good idea to mix young children with massive drunken crowds.

All in all though it was an amazing day! This is the first Canada day in a long time that I've actually celebrated! To be in the capital city just made it all the more special

me (left) and two friends at Parliament Hill

xoxoDarlingBuds

FOTD: TAN!

2012-06-30T13:37:00.000-04:00

I love summer.
It's such a good excuse to get out into the sun and be a bronze goddess.
Over the past few weeks, I've managed to build up a pretty good tan so I can safely say now that bronzer has become a staple product in my everyday makeup routine.
During the colder months when I'm more pale, I really only use bronzer to add some warmth to my face or to contour a bit. In summer, I put my bronzer everywhere! I always put sunscreen on my face, so in contrast to winter, my face now is actually lighter than the rest of my body (no orange face for me)
I've been really into using my Chanel's Soleil Tan de Chanel (or Bronze Universal, whatever you want to call it) cream bronzer to add an even bronzed tone all over my face. I use it lightly with a kabuki brush to give my complexion on even bronzed base
Here's the final result

And y'all know me, I used my newly bronzed visage as the perfect foundations for a summer makeup look.
Here are all the products I used to achieve this look:

In typical ME fashion, I used a lot of products to get a fairly simple look. To me, it's all about having the most flawless base and then building up the extras (i.e. eyes, lips, cheeks) around that perfected complexion. One day, I swear, I'll have to do a FOTD using minimal products. I promise I can do it!

Face:

The first step I did after moisturizing my face (read my skincare routine) was to use my Soleil Tan de Chanel cream bronzer with my MAC 179 kabuki brush (this particular angled kabuki brush was limited edition last summer with the Semi Precious collection). I then used my Bobbi Brown corrector in Porcelain Peach on my under-eye area. This is my holy-grail under-eye concealer; I don't know what I would be without it. I always top the corrector off with a second under-eye concealer, so I used the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind dark circle eraser in Neutralizer to further neutralize any dark circles, especially more towards the inner corner of my eye.I didn't use any foundation in this look. Instead I just focused on any spots, redness, or discolorations with concealer. Like always, I used my Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage concealer in SC-3. I didn't want to powder my face too heavily so I just used a light dusting of Bobbi Brown sheer finish loose powder in 1 Pale Yellow, concentrated on my t-zone to help combat any oil that might develop throughout the day. When I powder my t-zone, I can usually keep oil at bay for a good couple of hours before I need to blot or re-powder.

Cheeks:

I didn't want to use too pink or peach of a blush because I was really looking to keep this look very natural-esque. I use my MAC blush in Buff which usually, for me, can be used as a contour shade. I just did a light dusting of this blush on the apples of my cheeks. For highlighter, I used theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter to add a bit of glow to the tan look I was going for.

Eyes:

As always, I wanted to emphasize my eyebrows so I used MAC Omega eyeshadow to fill in my brows (top left shadow in the quad palette) and my Revlon Brow Fantasy brow gel in Dark Blonde to set them. As a base, I used my new Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream shadow in #13. I topped that off with theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer, yes I used a highlighter as an eyeshadow. It's a really shimmery neutral shade, so it can definitely double as an eyeshadow. For a little extra coverage for my dark circles, I used Rimmel Match Perfection concealer/highlighter under my eyes and set it with Benefit Powderflage. Powderflage is a pink-hued, finely milled loose setting powder. Unfortunately, Benefit has discontinued this product so when this runs out, I'm just going to be using my MAC eyeshadow in Orb, a matte light pink/beige shade as my new under-eye setting powder. Anything to counteract the blue tones of dark circles. MAC Teddy eye kohl and Maybelline Mega Plush mascara to finish off my eye look.

Lips:

I always moisturize my lips before I put lipstick on. It's a necessity. I used my favourite lip balm, EOS lip balm. I topped that off with my new favourite nude lipstick, MAC Creme d'Nude.

Lately, I've been doing different variations of eyes and lips while keeping the same face makeup. As of late, this is what's really working for me. Once it starts getting even hotter outside though, I'm going to need to tone it down with the products. But that's a whole other FOTD post for another day

xoxoDarlingBuds

Book Review: Fifty Shades of Grey

2012-06-29T17:36:00.002-04:00

If I had to describe “FiftyShades of Grey” in 3 words they would be: So. Much. Sex.

Fifty Shades of Grey is thenewest “romance” series to sweep the universe. Many people are calling it “Twilight for adults.”

In all fairness, the basis forthe Fifty Shades series was Twilight. The author, E L James, wrote the series(initially titled “Master of the Universe”) as a piece of Twilight fanfictionand posted it on the internet.

Fanfiction is a lose term todescribe any piece of literature written about characters or setting written bynon-professionals, or fans, based on an original piece of work. Coincidentally,I found a quote from author Lev Grossman (author of “the Magicians” which wasalso featured in my last book haul):

Fanfiction is what literature might looklike if it were reinvented from scratch after a nuclear apocalypse by a band ofbrilliant pop-culture junkies trapped in a sealed bunker. They don't do it formoney. That's not what it's about. The writers write it and put it up onlinejust for the satisfaction. They're fans, but they're not silent, couch-boundconsumers of media. The culture talks to them, and they talk back to theculture in its own language.

—Lev Grossman, TIME, July 18, 2011

When I first heart about FiftyShades of Grey I thought it was going to be exactly like Twilight, vampiresand all, but for a more mature audience. Boy, was I wrong.

The premise of the story is that there is this girl, AnastasiaSteele, and she goes to do an interview for her University’s student newspaperon behalf of her roommate who is the editor in chief, Kate, who is sick. Thesubject of her interview is Christian Grey, the CEO of Grey Enterprises: he’s27-years-old, a billionaire, and totally hottie with some major issues.

Like Twilight, you instantly fall in love with the characters andwant them to be together. It’s a hopeless, erotically-charged, yet romanticlove story.

Their relationship isn’t realistically functional. Every issue intheir relationship is solved with sex. It’s literally based solely on sex. Nearlyevery chapter of the book depicted some kind of sex scene. “Foil packet” and“come” are the most overused words in the book. I’m not joking. There is a lotof very graphic sex scenes depicted in this book. There is just so much sex!

That being said, it’s a fun read. Nobody us reading this bookbecause it’s a good plot, or well written. Like Twilight, the story is totallyimplausible but still entertaining. It’s also a super easy read. I finished thefirst book in less than 2 days. If you’re uncomfortable with extremely graphicdescriptions of sex, I do not recommend it. But if you don’t mind reading asteamy and graphically sexual story, then I would definitely give this a go.

I do have some serious concern for this series though…

**SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT**

**SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT SPOILERALERT SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT SPOILERALERT SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT SPOILERALERT SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT** **SPOILER ALERT SPOILERALERT SPOILER ALERT**

The relationship between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steeleprogresses to a sexual relationship VERY quickly, and then soon after to BDSMrelationship. I’m talking 2 days after meeting the guy she decides to lose hervirginity to him. I know that this series is not meant for teens, let alonechildren; but Fifty Shades of Grey” hasbeen plastered all over the media lately and EVERYONE is talking about thisbook. I was in my local bookstore the other day and I heard 10 and 11 year oldgirls talking about this series. That seriously worries me. Where StephenieMeyer, through Twilight, preaches thevirtues of abstinence, and waiting until marriage to engage in sexualintercourse, Fifty Shades of Grey practicallycondones sex with strangers. Probably one of the most worrisome statementthrough the novel is Christian’s dislike of condoms and the pressure he puts onAnastasia to take birth control pills. CONDOMS ARE NOT JUST TO PREVENTPREGNANCY! The author wrote this book with an intended adult audience; however,the type of morals and values she proposes through the characters is less thanexemplary. No matter what age you are, there should be no rightful reason tolose yourself at the demands of a commanding billionaire. One of Anastasia’smain worries over the course of the novel that she and her “vanilla” sexualappetite will not be enough to satisfy Christians’ sadistic sexual preferences.She changes many aspects of her life in so many ways to make herself feel moresatisfactory for Christian’s preferences and lifestyle. In the end, she justcan’t understand to deal with the fact that part of Christian’s sexualpreferences involve wanting to punish Anastasia and hit her, flog her,or whip her. After one particularly “violent” sexual encounter, Anastasia walksout on Christian, leaving the fate of their relationship unknown at the end ofthe first book.
Anastasia really is a pathetic character. In that respect, she does remind me a lot of Bella Swan. Christian Grey and Edward Cullen are the badass characters that inevitably steal the hearts of the readers. Anastasia is just so...blah. She really doesn't have any redeemable qualities, nor is she that interesting. She's described as pretty & attractive in the book, but other than that, I really don't know why so many guys want her. She's nice and all, but super naive and sheltered. The only awesome thing about Anastasia Steele is that she gets to bang Christian Grey. Simple as that.

The plot line is mediocre, predictable, and unoriginal. The sex makes this book a seriously entertaining read. Kinky!

I've already read the second book in the series, Fifty Shades Darker, so I'll be sure to post my review on that soon :)
I'm hooked.

xoxoDarlingBuds

Book Review: The Maze Runner

2012-06-27T12:06:00.002-04:00

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I first featured this series in a recent Book Haul I did. I had heard about this book series through various Internet sources, it often being compared to The Hunger Games trilogy.

There are no spoilers in this review.

So click below to READ ON!

This trilogy begins with “The Maze Runner.” The story revolves around the life of Thomas and it is set from his point of view. At the very beginning of the novel, Thomas finds himself without any memories, in a dark elevator, which is slowly moving up towards an unknown source of light above him.

He among many other boys of varying ages, are sent to an unknown territory: it consists of a field surrounded by a maze. The field, simple known as the Glade, is where the boys, called the Gladers, make their home. They grow their own vegetables, fruits, and raise their own animals; overall the Gladers function as their own society and adhere to the set rules in order to efficiently live. One group of Gladers, known as the Runners, have the daily task of running around the maze surrounding the Glade all day long; searching for a way out. However, they have to be sure to return by nightfall so that the monstrous-mechanical slug-like creatures called Grievers.

Once a month, on the same day every month, a new boy is sent through the dark elevator thing to join the Gladers.

The moment that sends the Gladers life into a tizzy is when, the very next day after Thomas arrives, the dark elevator buzzes again – motioning that there is another person on his way up; only that time it’s a girl. The first girl ever in the Glade. With her comes the message that “the End is coming” – and that’s the plot of The Maze Runner with no spoilers.

Overall, I liked this book. I didn’t 'really' like it, but I liked it. It follows a lot of the same themes as The Hunger Games, dystopian society and all, but I found it more difficult to get into, if you know what I mean. I don’t want to compare it wholly to The Hunger Games because they are two separate books by two different authors. The Maze Runner begins and ends with a lot of ambiguity, and leaves you with so many questions. It’s inevitable that I had to read the second novel in the trilogy, “The Scorch Trials.”

One thing that I didn’t particularly like about this book is that there is a lot of back and forth between characters and it can become quite confusing remembering who is who. Some of the characters don't play a crucial part in the plot but they're still mentioned from time to time so that can be a bit confusing and irrelevant. There was also not a great sense of character development with some of the more important characters – if there was, it was mostly repeats of the same kind of descriptions.

The Gladers also have their own slang that they have adopted over time which is so weird and foreign, but by the end of the book, it makes total sense.

Sometimes this book frustrated me with how slow it progressed. But at other points in the story, I felt as if there wasn’t enough information given to the readers.

The one good thing I can say about this book series in general thought, or at least based on the first two novels, is that it gets better. I liked the second book more than the first and it took me less than half the time to read. If you are in the market for a series like The Hunger Games, I would recommend The Maze Runner trilogy, not because of the first book, but because the series really picks up and progresses with the second book. Does that make sense?

Give it a chance, I did

I’ll do a review of “The Scorch Trials” soon :)

Ciao for now

xoxoDarlingBuds