March Favourites

  

March has come and gone, where has the month gone? I am not complaining though because I am almost done school! These are the products I have been loving especially this month. Let's get started!

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips All-in-1 Custom Palette in Natural Nude: I bought this at London Drugs regular it was $17. Physicians Formula is a brand that goes on sale frequently, I was able to get it for 40% off. I know that I have already mentioned this product in my highlight post, but I had to mention it again. When I got this highlight I thought it was nice, but I was not crazy about it. But I kept using it, and I quickly realized how great this product was. I have been using it with the Real Techniques Contour Brush. I dab the tip of the brush in the top two rows and dust it lightly on the tops of my cheek bones. Using the top tow rows together is such a beautiful highlight color.

These are the individual rows watched so you can see the colors. If you want to see a swatch of all the rows swirled together you can take a look at my Gotta Glow post. I love this highlighter because as you can see it is very versatile I have used it for a subtle eyeshadow look too. It is great palette at a affordable price (when found on sale).

Body Shop Skin Primer Moisturize It: I got this is a buy 3 get 3 free at The Body Shop. So this item was free, but the regular sale price is $16. It is not as affordable as a drugstore primer but still cheaper than something you would see at Sephora. I love this primer because it keeps the moisture in my skin and smoothes out my skin. It still has silica in it which smoothes out pores, but it is still moisturizing, this primer is magical. This primer helps my makeup last longer, and who doesn't like that!? This is such a great primer for people with dry skin, and this is why I have been loving it.

Real Techniques Stippling Brush: I have typically seen people use this brush for cream blush. But I have been using it with powder blush. Pretty much exclusively with Tarte Exposed. This brush is especially great with that blush. Because the Tarte is a longer wearing blush it can be harder to blend. Because this brush is dense and shorter. It is really great to blend the blush and put it exactly where I want it. This brush is around $10, it is a great quality brush for the price.

Mac 187 Duo-Fibre Brush: I use this brush for blending my my contour and blush together. It is easy to have blush and contour separated from each other. Which is a look I do not like, I want my blush and contour to be blended and cohesive. This brush blends products together so well to give a flawless look. My mom gave me this brush that she got in a kit because she didn't really use it very much, but I went on the website and the brush is $42. It is pricey but it works so well.

These have been my favourites of March. Hope you enjoyed

this post. Talk to you soon!

-Ashley 

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @makeupcuisine. 

Pictures taken with my iPhone 4s, and edited with the app Aviary.

Breaking Up With Your Makeup: Best Cleansing Oil

Before we get started with this post, I just want to say that I will not be having set post days anymore. When I have certain days I have to post blogging becomes a chore and that's not what I want. Blogging is a a fun hobby for me I love to write and share my thoughts. I will have one post a week for sure, that much you can count on. But if you are wanting to know when a post is up you can follow my social media, which will be listed down below. 

So now onto the post. I am talking about the The Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil. I started hearing people talk about cleansing oils to remove makeup about 6-8 months ago. I thought it was a really weird thing; why would you want to put oil on your face? The one I heard people talking about the most was the Boscia Makup-Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil. But that cleansing oil is $35, that's expensive. Soon after hearing about the Boscia I heard about The Body Shop's Cleansing Oil. So I was every curious sand wanted to give it a go. The Body Shop Cleaning Oil is $16, plus you get 1.75 more ounces than the Boscia Oil. You pay less money and get more, it sounded like a good deal to me. So let's get into the product. 

This is great, it dissolves all your makeup, which is exactly what you want it to do. I really like the scent of this. I have really sensitive skin as you know if you read my Best Cleanser for Sensitive Skin post, and this does not irritate my skin at all. This is especially great for getting off stubborn eye makeup. I wear waterproof mascara and this is the only thing that can get it all off my lashes. The one mistake people have made with this product is they use it as a face wash, that is not what it is intended for. You have to make sure you use a cleanser afterwards, like the CeraVe one I mentioned. My mom made this mistake when I gave her this to try. She said her face felt greasy afterwards, which it does if you were to just use that. But the use of a cleansing oil is only to breakdown the makeup, and the job of a cleanser is to clean your skin, and keep the acne at bay. You want to have all your makeup off so your cleanser can do its job and clear up your skin. I am not sure how well this cleanser would work for people with really oily skin, I have quite dry skin. I have heard people who lean more to the oil side like it a lot, and do not find it makes them oiler. But I am not sure if it would make your skin oiler if you have quite oily skin. But the great thing with The Body Shop is as long as you keep your receipt you can return it if it does not work for your skin. I know that is the way it works at my store, but I cannot speak for all The Body Shop stores. 

Hope this helpful, and maybe you found a new way to take your makeup off. Also keep in mind The Body Shop has great sales like buy 3 get 3 free. So you are sure to find a good deal. 

Thanks for reading, see you soon! 

-Ashley 

You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter @makeupcuisine.

Photo taken with my iPhone 4s.  

Best Cleanser for Sensitive Skin

CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser $15

This is the best cleanser I have found for very sensitive skin. My skin is very sensitive, for example: I used a lotion that on the bottle said made for sensitive skin but when I put it on my face I had a burning sensation. Also I heard that you can use toothpaste to dry out a pimple. Well I tried this and it  actually burned my skin. The mark is almost gone now, and I  have been using Bio-Oil to help. So now you know how sensitive my skin is. 

I chose to try this cleanser because it came highly recommend. It has been really gentle on my sensitive skin, but it has also been clearing up my face too. I have noticed less bumps and pimples on my forehead where I usually get them. You only need a small pump and you are good to go. So this cleanser will last you ages. I would recommend this to anyone, this is not just for people with sensitive skin, this is a great cleansers for anyone wanting a more gentle alternative. 

Thanks for reading, hope this helpful to anyone looking for a new cleanser. 

-Ashley  

Check in every Wednesday, and Friday for more. 

You can also follow me on Instagram and Twitter @makeupcuisine. 

Photos taken with my iPhone 4s. 

Best Volumizing Hair Products

Hey guys, Sorry for yet another late post... I am slacking on the dead lines. There will be a post on Friday, guaranteed (probably in the evening)! Moving onwards and upwards, this post is about all my favourite products I use to get lots of volume in my hair. We will start in the order I use them.

Garnier Fructis De-constructed Texture Tease: This stuff is awesome, it is only $4 at Walmart, but it is such a great texturizing spray. I concentrate it on my roots, then do a quick scary all over. This gives really good lightweight texture. 

Batiste XXL Volume Dry Shampoo: I LOVE THIS STUFF!!!! This is the one hair product I can not live without. I just opened this one and this weekend I will go and buy a backup. This gives so much volume, and absorbs all the oils in my hair. It is the best all in one product. I feel like not enough people talk about it, but it is truly amazing. 

Michael O'Rourke Rock Your Hair Mega Volume Hairspray: This is great hairspray for volume and hold. You have to make sure that you spray it further away from your head because it can make your clumpy, if that makes sense. I really like this if I am trying to get that extra volume in a hairstyle, but also wanting hold.

Thanks for reading sorry for my persistent lateness. Also sorry for the slightly crooked products in the photos they kept rolling around. See you Friday!

-Ashley

Check in every Wednesday, and Friday for more. 

You can also follow me on Instagram and Twitter @makeupcuisine. 

Photos taken with my iPhone 4s. 

Gotta Glow

Hey everyone! Sorry for the late post I have been quite busy with school and just life in general. Since it is now spring I am wanting a fresh and bright look. To achieve the glow I have been into using my highlighting products more. These are my favourite highlighting products to use. 

This is the Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips All-in-1 Custom Nude Palette in the shade Natural Nude. Wow, I think that wins for the longest name ever! The idea behind this palette is that you can do multiple things. You can use it as a highlighter, blush, and eyeshadows. The top is for highlighting. the middle is for blush, and I would use the bronze shades as shadows. It is a great product to pack when traveling because it can almost do it all. Comment down below if you would like to see a look just using this as my blush, highlight, and eyeshadow. 

This is the Covergirl Eye Enhancer in the color Champagne. This is meant to be an eyeshadows but I find it makes a great highlight because it is a true champagne colored highlight. This is also great to highlight under the brow bone to give more definition. 

This product is the L'oreal Magic Lumi Light Diffusing Primer. But I do not use this as a primer because all over my face it is too much glow. I love use this on the top of my cheek bones to give a nice natural glow from with in. I do usually like to use a light dusting with one of the highlighters mentioned above. It helps to add an little extra and help set the product in place.

From left to right: L'oreal, Covergirl, and Physicians Formula. 

As you can see the L'oreal has a very nice glow to it, while the others have that bit of shimmer. The Covergirl is that nice classic Champagne highlight. The Physicians Formula look more bronze, this is because I swirled my finger around the whole product. But I do usually just use the top colors as my highlight. 

With the powder highlights I use my Real Techniques Contour Brush from the Core Collection. It has the perfect tapered shape to get the tops of my cheek bones. For the L'oreal I blend that in with my makeup sponge by Quo from Shoppers Drug Mart, works great with this liquid product. 

Thanks for reading, hope your week is going well! Just wanted to let you know that for the rest of March till the end of April I will only be posting on Wednesdays and Fridays. With finals coming up I have to focus on my school work. But beginning of May the posts will be back to the regular Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 

-Ashley

Check in every Wednesday and Friday for more. 

You can also follow me on Instagram and Twitter @makeupcuisine. 

Pictures taken with my iPhone 4s.

Mini Walmart Haul

Where I live, the Walmart always seems to be low on stock. So when I had the chance to go to a Walmart in another city, you betcha bottom dollar I took that chance. I love Walmart, it is my personal store of choice. As you can see it was primarily a skin care haul, because that is what I was looking for. Now for a brief insight into these products. 

I have heard a lot about these Freeman Masks, people say they are affortable and they work well. So I wanted to give them a try, but I never saw them at my Walmart. They had some other face mask brand that I have never heard of. So when I stumbled upon these I was very excited. I have wanted a peel off mask, so I got the Pomegranate one. This one is made to refine and purify, I really like using it on my nose, because that is where all my blackheads are. I have only used the Golden Grains mask once, so I can not testify to its claims. But it did not dry out my face (I have VERY dry skin) so it is living up to the hydration claim. So far both have been a good $8 investment ($4 per mask). 

I tried these Bioré strips in a magazine sample one time and really like it, but for some reason never went out and bought any. Then when I took a trip to Seattle I came across a Daiso Japan store, there they had a cheaper version of these but with charcoal. Those worked great, so when I went to this new and exciting Walmart they had these and right beside them a $2 off coupon. So it became a must buy! I love these for pulling black heads out, I know super attractive. 

 

This is one of the Wet n' Wild Mega Last Lipsticks in the shade Mocha-licious. If you are wanting a brown lipstick this is the one for you. It looks much more brown on the lips than in this photo. You already know I love these lipsticks and you can read about why in my Drugstore Favourites post. I have wanting to try a more brown lipstick, but I don't want to spend a lot of money if I am not going to like it. So this was a great option, I have only tried it on once. So I will have to see how I can style it; great buy for $2-3. 

Hope you enjoyed this little haul, sorry for the late post. It has been a very busy, for anyone who read my Wednesday  blog post the concert was great! The group was Celtic Thunder and I am in love, haha! Hope your weekend is going well. See you soon! 

-Ashley

Check in every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for more. 

You can also follow me on Instagram and Twitter @makeupcuisine. 

Photos taken with my iPhone 4s. 

Dollar Store Makeup Haul

I recently went to Dollar Tree and was intrigued to try this makeup brand, I had heard some other people say some good things about this brand. So I wanted to to give it a go. Everything I bought was a $1.25. Therefore I tried a lot, because if it sucked then it wasn't a big deal. Now let's get started!

These are the lipsticks I bought, they are regular lipsticks as far as I know, nothing special to them. The colors from left to right are: Natural Shine, Luscious Wine, and Mauve Glaze. For the price these lipsticks are great, they are very creamy, and I found they lasted relatively well. 

I was happily surprised about the quality of these eyeshadows. They are great; there are a few dud colors in some of the palettes. But for a $1.25 each I really got my money's worth. I recommend you use a synthetic brush when applying these. I tried my real haired brush and it did not pick up the color very well. The palette names from top to bottom: Precious, Orchid, Trendy. In Precious the yellow color was the dud, it was too chalky for me, and needed multiple layers to show color. All the colors in Orchid are beautiful, they all have great pigmentation and shine. I did not swatch all the colors in Trendy, but I can tell you the flops are the lighter colors. The pigmentation is not strong like the dark colors, I am not sure why, could just be they are too light in color spectrum. I would say any of the palettes are worth the few dollars you would spend. 

These are their shimmering loose eyeshadows, there was a brush in side but I took it out, and I just dump the powder in the lid. The colors from left to right are: Radiant and Honey Suckle. When you use these make sure your brush is damp. These swatches I took are of the eyeshadows wet. When you use them wet the pigmentation becomes stronger, and the fallout is very minimal. Once they dry on the eyelid you will have a beautiful shimmer. 

As you can see this powder is just a but darker than my skin color. The reason I bought this powder is because I thought it would make a great contour color for fair to pale skin. I was right, the only problem is this powder has a lot of fallout, and can be quick powdery. I did use this on my skin and it looked good if applied with a little bit of technique. You just have to make sure you tap your brush off, and blow on the compact. It is not the best powder I have used but if you are on a budget it is great. The shade of this powder is Tan. 

Hope this gave some insight into the Dollar Store makeup world, thanks for reading!

Ps. My post for Friday will be delayed till Saturday, this is because I am going to see a concert that night. And with all the homework I have with University I do not have the time to write it before hand. Sorry for the delay, talk to you soon!

-Ashley

Check in every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for more. 

You can also follow me on Instagram and Twitter @makeupcuisine. 

Photos taken with my iPhone 4s. 

My Everyday Makeup Routine

Hello everyone, hope you had a good weekend. This is my everyday makeup look, I will show you step by step how I do my makeup (with photos). I took these pictures on Saturday during the day, and trying to get all the right photos I ended up spending twice the amount of time on my makeup. Just for reference this usually takes me thirty minutes, that may because I have "mastered" it. But trying to take photos and do my makeup at the same time took me just over an hour. 

Let's get started!

  (Naked Face, besides some Nivea)

First we need to apply foundation, I do not use a primer because I find I don't need one, and they usually dry out my skin. I used the Annabelle Skin True Foundation in the shade Medium Beige*. I use my fingers to spread it on my face, then I use a blending sponge to blend in all in, mine is the Quo one from Shoppers Drug Mart. It was only five dollars and it does the job very well, I use it dry, but you can dampen it for a more sheered out foundation. Make sure you blend your foundation all down your neck and by your ears, otherwise your face will be one color and your neck is a shade lighter, it is just not a cute look. Unless that is your thing, then you go for it girl! 

Then I go in with concealer, and cover any blemishes that are still noticeable, and cover my dark under eye circles. I used the Nars Creamy Concealer in the shade Vanilla*. After I have swiped it on my face I use my blending sponge to blend it out, you gotta blend baby! 

To set my foundation and concealer I use my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder* on my T-Zone, and I go in with my e.l.f. Under Eye Setting Powder. This powder sets the concealer under my eyes and there is no creasing all day! The brush I use to powder my T-zone is the e.l.f. Powder Brush, and the brush I use for under my eyes is the M.A.C. 224SE. This M.A.C. brush is perfect with this setting powder, because there are little sparkle fleck in the powder, but the brush just flicks them off my face.

Sorry for some of the poor quality photos, I'm
trying my best with an iPhone.

After setting my foundation I bronze! This has become a very necessary step for me, because my face is very pale in the winter. I used the The Body Shop Honey Bronzer in the Shade 02. I love this bronzer because it is matte and is not orange looking on the skin. As the photos shows you want to blend your bronzer into your neck. Again making sure your neck is the same color as your face. I also apply bronzer around the temple of my forehead. I used the Real Techniques Multi-task Brush for bronzing.

After bronzing it is time for contouring, I have enjoyed using the Hoola Bronzer. This bronzer is great for contouring for me because on me it doesn't have any orange color in it. It gives a nice shadow, and too apply it I use the Real Techniques Buffing Brush*.

Next I applied blush, which I am not including a photo of, it was just too staged looking (not that these all don't looked staged haha). I used the Tarte Blush in Exposed*, and I also used the Real Techniques Multi-tasker Brush. This brush helps get really nice sculpted cheeks.

Cue Classic Mascara Face

I now applied mascara and I always seem to get it on my face every time, it never fails. I used the L'oreal Voluminous Lash Mascara in the Waterproof formula. I like to use waterproof formulas because they usually always hold a curl really well. I especially like this mascara because it makes my lashes nice and fluttery.

This is me filling in my brows, this is a must for me (and mascara) even when I am not going to wear any face makeup. I just love the polished look it gives, I used the Annabelle Skinny Brow Liner in the shade Universal Medium*. After this I used my L'oreal Brow Plumping Mascara in Light to Medium* to set my brows in place.

Lips are my favourite part of this whole look! I used the Rimmel Exaggerated Lipliner in the shade Addiction*. I love this shade because it gives a good 90's brownish pick color. But to give the lips that extra oomph I really like using M.A.C.'s lipstick in the color Modesty, it is a creme sheen finish so it gives that bit of shine. But in conjunction with with this lipliner it gives the nicest color, and last a very longtime! I have been wearing this lip combo everyday since I very recently discovered this duo.

Hope you enjoyed seeing my everyday makeup routine! Sorry if this post was a little long I just have lots to say, haha. Thanks for reading!

-Ashley

Excuse the messy hair, it wasn't a very good hair day. 

*See my February Favourites  or Drugstore Favourites post to see my thoughts and opinions of the products. 

New posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!

My Drugstore Favourites

Hello everyone, I hope your week treated you well. This post is my current drugstore favourites. Some of these have become more recent favourites and others are tried, tested, and true. 

Annabelle Skin True Foundation (Medium Beige) $10.95: This is the best foundation I have ever tried! I have very dry skin, and this foundation never shows my dry patches. Medium beige is a great color match for me, I usually wear a pretty light foundation. So when I picked this up I was nervous it was going to be too dark, but when it absorbs it looks flawless! It never looks too dark or dry on my skin. 

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder (Translucent) $4.99: Like I mentioned before I have dry skin, but I can get slightly shiny in my T-zone. I love this powder for keeping the shine away, but this powder is also great for setting my makeup in place. I never find it looks cakey, I am sure it could if you packed it on (but Isn't that all products). This is a great affordable powder to keep away shine and set your makeup. 

L'oreal Infallible Makeup Extender Setting Spray $13 (Wal-mart): I have tried the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray and this is even better! I personally found that the Urban Decay spray would dry out my skin, which makes my makeup look worse. The L'oreal setting spray sets my makeup all day and the moisture is not sucked out of my skin. This is a great affordable way to set your makeup. I do recommend you get it from Wal-mart, because everywhere is else sells it for $16-18. 

Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liners $4.76: These are great lip liners they are automatic, which is great because sharping can be a pain. The formula of this product is great, it is matte and it lasts a very long time! I only have two color and I love them, the pink one is East-end Snob, and the more brown toned is Addiction. East-end Snob is a great if you are wanting a your lips but better color. I really like to wear it on it's own. Addiction is more a brown pick, possibly a Kylie Jenner lip color. But what I love is pairing Mac's lip stick in Modesty. These are great lip liners for the drugstore price.

Wet n' Wild Mega Last Lip Sticks $2-3: These lipsticks are very inexpensive and so incredibly pigmented. The colors in these photos from left to right: cherry picking, wine room, purty persimmon, and cherry bomb. These are a matte formula which can be drying, so what I do I put a light chapstick under the lipstick, and that solves the problem. What sends these lipsticks over the top for me is the price, they are so cheap! There are so many colors and I love a good matte lipstick. I think everyone should have a few of these in their collection. 

Rimmel Lasting Finsh Soft Color Blush (Madiera) $5-6: I only have this one color, I do love it. The formula is great. The color reminds me of Tarte's Amazonian Blush in Exposed. They are not color dupes but you can get a very similar sculpting effect. It is a great color if you are wanting a nice sculpted cheek. 

Make sure you check in every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for posts. Thanks for reading! 

-Ashley 

Photos taken with my iPhone 4s.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @makeupcuisine.

All these products can be found at Walmart in Canada, Annabelle can be ordered online if you live in the U.S.