Too Faced: Brow Envy Kit Preview

Hello everybody! (*´・ｖ・)

It's mid April and finals are almost done for me, hooray! I previously wrote a couple of finals, although, truthfully, I'm not feeling that confident for one of the finals I just wrote last week (✖╭╮✖). Seriously, it's probably due to the fact that I have a horrible habit of procrastination to study and even now, despite having an upcoming final, I'm here writing a blog post, which proves my horrible habit.

For this post, I'm excited to show you guys a preview and a look at of Too Faced's Brow Envy Kit. I got this from Nordstrom Rack's when I went to Portland with a close friend, a few months ago, since I need help maintaining the shape of my eyebrows, hahaha. (✿╹◡╹)

I haven't used the set yet, so this won't serve as a review, but more as a preview, to show what the set contains. As a warning or a heads up, this post will be obviously, picture-heavy!

Overall preview for the set.

At the back of the product, the description says:

"Be envied for your gorgeous brows with "Brow Envy", Too Faced's fool-proof kit that will have you arched, defined and framed like a star! Stop dreaming about having celebrity styled brows; have them! You'll be the envy of the A-List!"

First of, what I really like about the product, besides the colour of the packaging, hehe, was the fact that the overall package was adorable. The kit itself, is quite small, which is another factor I like about, since it carries numerous items within it, that I will go in further detail.

Pictorial instructions.

When you open the kit, the very first thing that comes up, are the instructions, which also have pictures, (thank-you!) that is super helpful, since I'm not the best, at shaping my eyebrows.

The instructions are:

1. Select the stencil shape that best defines you.

2. Combine the powder shades to match your desired brow color and fill in stencil

3. Tweeze the hairs outside the stenciled area.

4. Apply the brow wax with brush to set hairs and powder for perfectly set brows.

5. Use the pencil to create the perfect arch and tail for brows.

6. Finally, apply the highlighter under arch and blend outward for an instant eye lift.

Details of the products in the kit.

The very top layer of kit, contains four circular quads, a setting wax, a highlighter and two powders: a blonde brow powder and a brunette brow powder.

Closeup of the tools that were included.

The tools that came with the kit were:

a) Eyebrow angled brush - To apply the powder on

b) Miniature spooly - To comb the eyebrows, to make it look neater

c) Tweezers - To pull out excess eyebrow hair, making the eyebrow shape look cleaner.

Stencils and eyebrow pencils.

So what also makes the packaging somewhat unique, is that under the top layer, there is a mini drawer that contains three different stencil shapes and small eyebrow pencil in dark brown. 

 Femme Fatale.

 Girl Next Door.

Glamour Girl.

The size of eyebrow pencil, is smaller than the usual eyebrow pencil.

The eyebrow pencil comes in dark brown and a small sample size. From the kit, it was the only product that I used, since I swatched it. The product itself, is very smooth and soft, however, it also breaks easily, as after I used it, the tip immediately fell off.

Swatches of the eyebrow pencil.

To the left, I swatched the pencil twice, while to the right, I only swatched the eyebrow pencil once, hence the line being thinner and lighter.

Products that I use.

So the picture that you see above, are the products that I use currently for my eyebrows. The eyebrow pencil is from Joe Fresh, a Canadian company within the supermarket, Superstore, The colour that it is in is ash-brown. The eyebrow gel, is from the brand, Sonia Kashuk, which I got from Target, for really cheap, before it closed. (Oh, Target we hardly, knew ye!)

Daiso eyebrow pencils.

And of course, I went to Daiso a few weeks ago, and I picked up two eyebrow pencils, which I will review in a future post! The one on the left is in dark brown, while the other is just in brown.

On a side note, from my last post, I completed one of my monthly goals! :D I'm now an official tutor, and I will be teaching a learner how to read and write. I'm a bit nervous, since for me, it's a major position were it's a leadership position, as I've always been in the follower role. That being said, I'm excited to for this experience and hopefully I will find more volunteering opportunities!

Thanks for reading,

Courtney ♡

Small Collective Beauty Haul. {{Quick Review ft. Rimmel's Vinyl Lip Gloss}}

Hey everyone,

So I know when it comes to collective hauls, most people/bloggers usually post it right before the month ends, to show what they got throughout the month, but I'm going to do something different, and just show what I got recently.

And the reasoning behind it is that I left my retail job, in order to focus more on school. Now that I don't have any source of income, I probably won't spending as much money anymore on beauty related items or clothing for a quite a while. >-<

I was going to review the majority of items in this post, but I decided against it since if I did, it would be really quick and rushed reviews. I rather be thorough whenever I'm reviewing any products that I'm about to use. Besides, I actually haven't used and opened some of them yet.

However, I will be reviewing one of the products, which is Rimmel's Vinyl Lipgloss, as I did use it and worn it out already.

Anyways, I present you guys my haul, and just for a heads up this post is going to be very picture-heavy,  so enjoy or not.

But first, some closeups ^-^

Now let's go into detail and by store:

THE FACE SHOP

What I got:

1. Pomegranate Cleansing Cream

2. Rice Water Bright Cleansing Milk

3. Raspberry Roots Sleeping Mask

4. Black Label Lipstick in #11 Lovely Pink

Closeups of the products.

#11 Lovely Pink Lipstick

I was so excited when Metrotown reopened another Face Shop, I love the skincare products they sell there! Plus, it means that it's less travelling for me to go all the way to Richmond Centre's Face Shop. As you can see, I haven't used any of the products that I bought from the Face Shop, yet.

However, a few of my friends who work there, showed me how each product works, and I'm excited to use the Rice Water Cleanser soon! My friend demonstrated to me that its good enough to cleanse dark/deep eyeliner off your skin.

You can be sure/expect that I will do a detailed review on all these products in the near future! c:

♕

SEPHORA

Sample sizes, samples sizes, everywhere!

What I got:

1. VIP Pass Eyeshadow Palette

2. Living Proof: Perfect Hair Day Collection Sample Size

I bought and had these...wow, xD since Black Friday, which was months ago. I really, really like the Living Proof hair products, it's one of the few hair products that make my dry hair actually smooth. I haven't gotten around to using the palette yet, but what I like about it, is the size of the palette, very travel friendly.

♕

DAISO

Sorry for the out of focus.

What I got:

1. Makeup Brush Cleaner

2. Daiso Winmax Slim Lipsticks in Cherry Blossom & Raspberry

From my previous post and my username (hahaha), I love the store Daiso. In fact, if people ever bought me gift cards from there, I would be so happy! :D That being said, this is actually my first time buying cosmetics from there. I don't tend to buy makeup from there because I don't trust products that will eventually go on my face that is sold so cheaply.

Although, one of my friends who does, advocated Daiso's cosmetics to me. I remember her telling me that the quality is really good. So I gave in and plus the packaging for the lipsticks were really adorable.

I bought the makeup brush cleaner because I searched up other reviews and the majority was positive. I also wanted to try it out myself for comparison as I've been using warm water and baby shampoo to clean my brushes.

♕

WALMART + YESSTYLE

Out of focus, yet again. ._.

What I got:

1. Rimmel's Vinyl Lipgloss in Starlet

2. Skin79 BB Cream Miniature Set

A few weeks ago Yesstyle was having their annual Christmas sale, which I took advantage of, since I always wanted to try the miniature set of the BB creams. I haven't quite opened it yet, but I promise I will do a review and swatches on the BB creams so be sure to look out for that.

Now with everything finally out of the way...this brings me to my Rimmel's Vinyl Lipgloss review!

||Review||

From all the types of cosmetics products, I enjoy using and buying lip products or as I like to call it, "Lippies" the most. So it's no surprise that the moment I saw the price of this gloss I had to get it. Luckily for me, I got lipgloss for a good price for only a $1.50 from Walmart!

Rimmel's vinyl lipgloss states that it is a voluptuously shiny lipgloss, which rings true. With one coat, I already noticed that my lips were a bit plumper, however, with two coats, it's a lot more noticeable. 

The shade that I selected is called Starlet, it's colour is a slightly light shade of cerise, with shimmer within it. The shade is very subtle, with only one coat, the shimmer or sparkles is more of the focal point, although, with two coats, the colour shade is exposed more. The pigmentation for me, is both a good and bad thing, it can go both ways. I like the subtleness of it, though, at the same time I like bold colours, that will make my lips stand out.

The application of the gloss is very easy, it's smooth and buttery, and it's not as sticky in comparison of other glosses that I owe. The wand stick is firm which I love.

A feature that I have to point out is the duration. Like most glosses, the duration is not too great. At maximum, the duration is at least between 1 and a half-2 hours, without eating. By when after eating or drinking anything, the coats disappear right away.

The last thing that I have to state of the gloss is the smell. Personally, I absolutely hated it. The smell of my gloss reminded me the smell of CHERRY COUGH SYRUP. Which brings me back to my childhood, and I really hated drinking and smelling cherry cough syrup when I was sick.

The worse medicine, ever.

PROS:

-The price

-The subtlety of pigmentation

-Easy application

-Generous amount of lip gloss

 -Texture is smooth and not sticky

-Makes your lips plumper and shiny

-The shimmer is not overwhelming

CONS:

-The smell

-Hardly any pigmentation

-Duration is short

Would I BUY the Product Again?

Yes and no. I would most likely buy another shade of gloss as I read on other blogs, that different shades have different smells. Though, I would not buy the exact gloss, as I hated the smell.

Would I RECOMMEND this Product?

 Yes, I would. It does it's job well, and it comes in many shades. Unless you don't like too much shimmer or you want a bolder lip gloss, than this product is not for you.

OVERALL RATING:

❤❤❤♡♡

I would like to give this product a higher rating, except I detest the smell.

Wow, ._. this was a long post, I applaud to those of you guys who actually read and stuck through the whole entire thing. For me, I absolutely love writing long posts, its something I enjoy, so most likely in the future expect more or even longer posts than this one.

And for sure, I will be writing upcoming reviews for the products you saw above and in the photos.

Thanks for reading,

Courtney ♡.

Maybelline Smokes Palette Swatches

Before I head back to school (ew) and still have some free time left, I wanted to share with you guys the swatches of Maybelline's new Smokes palette! :D

When the Nudes Palette came out, I really wanted it, since when it comes to eyeshadow for me, I tend to go for more of the natural colours. Unfortunately for me, by the time I was searching for the said palette, it was all sold out T_T. 

However, luckily when I was browsing at Shoppers Drug Mart, I spotted the Smokes palette on sale, and I was able to pick it up! ^^ While these are the not the colours I would usually use, I thought I might as well try and play around with it, and teach myself how to do different looks, after all it is a new year!

What I like about the palette is the numerous eyeshadows it comes with, in total it comes to twelve. Another plus, is that there is an illustration at the back of the palette that shows you how you can use the eyeshadows, and there are three ways either in: quads, trios and duos.

A closeup of the palette.

With the palette, you get different and numerous shades that are matted, shimmery, metallic and gunmetal. The colours you get are various forms of silver, grey, black, pink, purple, brown and a few neutral shades as well.

These swatches are from the very top row, from left to right.

These ones are from the bottom row, from left to right, as well.

I have to say, there are some shades that are very pigmented, while others are not so pigmented, at all. The most pigmented ones are the gunmetal and metallic ones, the lighter ones, such as the neutral shades and the pink one do not show up as well. 

This is going to be all for now regarding the palette, I'm not going into a thorough/detailed review as I have not played around with the palette as much, as I should have. >_<

And to end this short post (I'll write a longer post next time!), here's a picture of my dog, Tobi! :D

Tobi is a Lhasa Apso, and he also has an instagram account! :)

http://instagram.com/tobithelhasaapso

Thanks for reading,

Courtney ♡.

Merry (Late) Christmas + Happy New Year! {{Swatches, Ootds & Quick Review ft. Dr. BrandDt BB Cream }}

First things first, (and late as well):

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Hope you guys had a great and fun Christmas this year!

For me, it was family dinner after dinner, which was good, I got to eat a lot of food! :D Although, nowadays, when I get older, I'm starting to find myself thinking that Christmas, goes slowly by. I remember when I was really little, the day, went so fast, since I was very excited about receiving and opening gifts. I like to think it's a sign that I'm growing up, hahaha.

One of the gifts that I received this year, was a small makeup haul, (woot!) from Sephora.

In detail:

-Silver Sephora brand nail polish 

-Sephora eyeshadow [in Western Leather No. 20]

-Tarte lipglosses 

-Laura Mercier lipstick [in Passion Fruit]

-Dr Brandt bb cream [in light to medium]

I've never bought a single/separate Sephora eyeshadow myself, so I was pleasantly surprised that when I applied it to my lids, it was very smooth. Oh, and it was also very pigmented, another plus! Although I shouldn't be too surprised since I reviewed about sephora 4 eye look book palette previously.

On the picture, the darker lip gloss is actually, a dark pink and not red, as it is depicted on the photo. Both glosses are very shiny and very bold when put on. The lip glosses itself, don't have a specific name, as I believe they are sample sizes.

Ahh, when I saw this lipstick, I was so excited, after all, its my first Laura Mercier product! :D The colour of the lipstick is called Passion Fruit. The lipstick itself is very light and shimmery, its a very nice colour, although I recommend, its best use over another lipstick colour.



||Review||

I'll be the first to say, that I heard of numerous BB cream brands, but when I recieved this one as a gift, I was quite intrigued and excited, as I never heard of Dr. BranDt, before. 

As soon as I could, I tried the BB cream out, and let me say there are some pros and cons about it:

Sadly, it does not smooth out well.

The colour could be a bit better, it really depends on your skin tone. The one I received was 'light to medium' which was way too dark for my skin, but if it fits/matches with your skin, then you have a winner!
❤❤❤♡♡

The coverage was average at best, it did cover some imperfections of my face, but for some it did not do its job.
❤❤♡♡♡

The application was confusing to me, O-O. While I put it on, I had no problem, it was silky and smooth. Yet, when it came to blending, thats when the problem arise. I blended the BB cream as best I could, but it still came out patchy.
❤❤♡♡♡

My overall thoughts/rating:
❤❤♡♡♡

[{Outfits}]

Here are a couple of shots of my outfits for Christmas dinners.

***Sorry for the quality of the pictures, I no longer have a camera at the moment, so I have to use my samsung S2's camera instead.

Dress: Free People
Cardigan: American Eagle
Shoes: DSW Shoes
Necklace: Forever 21

Dress: Urban Outfitters
Socks: Forever 21
Shoes: DSW Shoes

Sweater: YesStyle
Skirt: Urban Planet
Socks: Forever 21

And finally, I can say this with pleasure and somewhat proudness (as I am going to post a post on the actual event on the actual day :p)

I hope the new year brings you guys happiness and fulfillment. Hopefully, I will be able to achieve all my new resolutions for this year, especially when it comes to school and my career choice, and personally, for this blog, to write more!

Thanks for reading,

Courtney ♡.