Best of Beauty 2015

Happy 2016! I hope January is going well for you, and you are keeping your resolutions. I already broke my goal, I said I would post every Wednesday, and as you can see there was no post yesterday. But I am going to keep on trying. I am not giving up, and it is okay to make mistakes. 

Keep reading through till the end to see why I loved all these products in 2015. 

This is the year I have started to build my collection a little, and I have been really interested in makeup and different makeup techniques. I have enjoyed exploring different products, watching youtube video, and diving into the blog world.

Let's start with my favourite bronzer it is Benefits Hoola Bronzer. I love this bronzer it is the perfect color it is great for bronzing and contouring. It is warm enough, but has a slight cool undertone that makes it perfect.

My next favourite is the L'Oréal Paris Infallible Fixing Makeup Spray, this is such a great setting spray it makes your makeup last longer. The L'Oréal spray is very comparable to the Urban Decay makeup setting spray. They are so comparable because Urban Decay is owned by L'Oréal, because of this they seem to be almost the same product, I have used both, and I would say save your money and buy the L'Oréal spray.

I really love the Real Techniques Blush Brush this year, it was my favourite face brush this year. I loved it from bronzer, it was the perfect shape and size. It is also great for blush it was a great multi-tasker, I also love it for powder. If you can only afford one brush I would purchase this one.

My favourite blush of the year was the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush-Exposed this is such a beautiful shade, it is a dusty rose. I love the color it gives on the cheek and the sculpted look.

I have to say this is one of the best foundation ever, I love the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation. It has the perfect shade for me, I am shade #52. The coverage is light-medium which is exactly what I am looking for. It is very hydrating, which makes it perfect for the winter months, it gives the skin a great glow. I would highly recommend if you have dry skin like me.

Naked Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette, I love this palette mostly for the shade faint, it is the perfect color for doing my brows. It is so smooth so it is very easy and fast to get an even application on my brows. I do like using the other colors and faint for creating simple everyday neutral eyeshadow looks.

I love the N° 28 Primer Serum Travel Size by Hourglass. This little travel size is expensive but it has has lasted me a long time, you only need a very small amount to cover your face. This primer is the best primer ever for dry skin it adds so much moisture and gives a very nice healthy glow to the skin. This makes all my foundations looks great and apply evenly. I really only use this primer in the fall winter months, so you save money because you do not use it all year round. i tend to use a cheaper one in the spring and summer, or I do not wear a primer at all.

Simple Eye Makeup Remover is the best eye makeup remover if you have very sensitive eye area, I have tried many removers and they all burn my skin, this one is very gentle and it works effectively.

To end it all off is the Batiste Dry Shampoo XXL Volume, this is one of my favourite dry shampoos/texturizing sprays.  It gives so much volume like the label says, it is great when you are wanting a lot of volume in a bun or ponytail, I have to say you have to use it sparingly if you are wanting to wear your hair down, just because it gives so much volume at the roots.

Thanks for reading, and I hope your 2015 was great, and your 2016 will be even better!

-Ashley 

You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @makeupcuisine.

All photos taken with my Canon T5i.

Business enquiries email me at makeupcuisine@hotmail.com.

The Ultimate Purse

Hi everyone, I decided I would write a post on my favourite/best purse. I got this one recently, but it quickly has become my favourite purse. I love the color of this purse, and the leather will age beautifully over time.

This is the Fossil Sydney Satchel I was able to snag the beauty on-sale and had a gift card, so I decided to picked it up. The initial reason I was drawn to this bag was, I new it would be large enough to house my DSLR camera, and everything else I like to keep in my purse. 

You can see that this purse is deep and holds a lot, and there is still plenty of room to fit more. I appreciate that the zipper goes all the way down the bag. It makes it very easy to fit larger items like my camera. If you are looking for a new purse I would highly recommend this one

Thanks for reading everyone! 

-Ashley

You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @makeupcuisine.

All photos taken with my Canon T5i.

Business enquiries email me at makeupcuisine@hotmail.com.

What I Got For Christmas

Hello everyone, first off I just want to say what every other blogger probably says when they write this post, so I am going to be like everyone else for a moment. I want to say that I am not make this blog post to brag about what I got, or to make other people feel bad. I had a few people request this post, so I decided I would write it. I was really blessed this Christmas in all the gifts I received, and I am very grateful, especially for the fun times I had with my family and friends during Christmas. I hope you had a good Christmas and New Years, and I hope your week is going well. After that spiel let's get into it!

I received the Soleil Tan De Chanel, I have heard lots about this in the beauty/Youtube world. It is a cream bronzer base, I have been loving this. I wear it under my foundation and it gives you a healthy bronzed glow. 

I have started collecting Pandora rings. It all started when me and my mom got each other matching rings for each others birthday's. This is the third one that has been added to my collection. This is the Forever Love Ring, it is super cute, and I got it in a size that would fit my middle finger. I like wearing a lot of rings on my hands. 

This is the Mirance Touque from Aldo. I love the light grey color with the white furry pom pom. Touques are essential for the cold Canadian winters.

I really like this gift set, there are 6 sample mascaras and one sample eyeliner inside. Once you have tried and used all the samples, there is a card you can use to redeem a full size of the mascara you liked the most. I think this is a genius idea and it was really good value. My mom purchased this at Shoppers Drugmart, I am not sure if you can still purchase this set. 

This is awesome, it is a speaker that is waterproof and floats. I have used it in my bathtub and by floating in the water it creates great acoustics. 

Every year mom gets me and my brother pyjamas so this year she got me these, the pants are from Superstore and the shirt is from Walmart. They are both really soft, comfortable, and baggy (which is essential in pyjamas). 

This gift is one of those items you don't think you really need, but once you have it you never want to take it off. It is the comfiest thing ever, it is a robe from The Gap. The inside is so soft and I wear it everyday. This robe is like wearing blanket, the inside is so soft. 

I have always loved Lush products and this year I received the Father Christmas Gift Set. This set is filled with all bath bombs as you can see in the picture below. All the bath bombs in the set are apart of the Christmas bath bombs that come back each year. I really like this set because they all smell so good, I really like them all, there re no duds.  

The first time I saw this mug in Starbucks I was completely drawn to it. I don't know why, but I love it it, it is random, funny, and cute. The color of pink is really cute with the little yellow bananas. 

These cute initial earrings are really small, they are cute and dainty to wear. They are subtle to wear, and I really like wearing small studs. 

Thanks for reading! As you can see quite a few of my gifts were centered around comfort. As a university student I am always thinking about comfort. 

On a different note, ***I am announcing that I will be posting every Wednesday.*** I may also post some Sundays depending on my school schedule. If you want to be notified when I have posted you can sign up with your email, or follow my Twitter, Instagram, and Bloglovin' @makeupcuisine. 

All photos taken with my Canon T5i. 

Business enquires at makeupcuisine@hotmail.com.

Talk to you soon!

-Ashley

How I Saved My Dry Skin

Hi everyone, hope your Christmas was well and Happy New Year! Today's post is how I repaired my terribly dry skin. 

I have always had really dry skin, my forehead was exceptionally dry and flakey. I had tried so many things to fix it, I even resorted to Pinterest hacks, but nothing was working. So one day I was in Sephora and there was a trial kit of Laneige for $15, so I decided to give it a try. It claimed to be a hydration kit, and I was always looking for something to hydrate my skin. The kit contained Water Bank Moisture Cream, Water Bank Serum, Multi Cleanser, and the Water Sleeping Mask. 

I continued to use these products, and I quickly saw results. My skin felt softer and my makeup applied so smoothly. I was so excited, my skin had never been so hydrated. I knew that these products were worth buying the full size, so I did. I also added the toner to my skin care routine, I enjoy the toner for getting my skin extra clean after my Camomille Silky Cleansing Oil from the Body Shop. I did not use the Multi Cleanser from the kit very long, because there were small exfoliating beads in the cleanser that irritated my very sensitive skin. I enjoy an oil cleanser such as the one from The Body Shop, the oils in the cleanser are very moisturizing and gentle on my skin. 

I use the toner every morning and evening, along with the serum, and the moisturizer. The Water Sleeping Mask in the photo is still from the small kit I bought. You do not need a lot and I use it when I feel my skin needs an extra boost, which I would say is every few days. 

In the winter I add oils into my skin care routine. Lately I have been using Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil from the Body Shop, and I have received a sample from Sephora of the NUDE Skincare Progenius Omega Treatment Rescue Oil. I really like the NUDE Skincare Oil, it is very moisturizing on my skin, it sinks in nicely, and I feel it has helped the texture of my skin.

I would highly recommend Laneige skincare, you can find it in Sephora stores in Canada, and I know in the U.S. you can find it at Target. If you have really dry skin, or very sensitive skin I would highly recommend picking up this Laneige Hydration Trial Kit, this kit is larger than the one I bought, but there are more products to try. With a larger kit like this you can make a definite decision on what products you would like to purchase full size.

Thanks for reading! Hope this was helpful to people who have dry sensitive skin like me. These products have changed my skin completely, and I cannot recommend them enough! 

-Ashley

You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @makeupcuisine.

All photos taken with my Canon T5i.

Business enquiries email me at makeupcuisine@hotmail.com.

Christmas Q&A

Favourite christmas song?

My favourite Christmas song is O Holy Night, I really enjoy it as a duet, I also really like Josh Groban's rendition.

Do you go Boxing Day shopping? 

I have always gone with my family every year, it is crazy, but our family loves it. It has become a loved tradition.

Do you wear something cozy Christmas Day or something fancy? 

I wear pants and a nice top, I want to be comfortable but look nice. I have a feeling this year though I will be wearing a dress, because we are going out for a nice lunch instead of cooking.

Stocking or presents first? 

My family is German so we open our gifts Christmas Eve, it is a German tradition. We open our stockings Christmas morning.

What are some of your favourite Christmas movies?

My all time favourite Christmas movie is The Grinch!!!! I love it so much, I have even watched it in the summer time. I also really like Christmas Vacation, Deck the Halls, and Christmas with the Kranks.

What is your favourite thing about Christmas?

I really like walking around and seeing everything decorated, all the lights people put on their houses, and stores too. This will sound cheesy but I really like giving gifts to people picking out that perfect present for someone that you know they will love. I also really love all the baking. I know that is not one thing, but there is lots of fun things that happen around Christmas.

This is how I decorated my room for Christmas. I really like dim lighting in my room, so I decided to decorate my room with lots of lights. I also have a mini Christmas tree in front of my bed (ft. near the end). I also put a bow on the end of my bed.

This is a Christmas tree that is downtown in my city, by the outdoor skating rink. It is super cute and festive in the winter. Music is playing and you can skate and there is a gas fire pit to keep you warm. It is a really fun place to be in the winter.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed my quick Christmas post. I am very excited for Christmas, I love the little traditions that are at this time of year. If I do not post before Christmas, have a Merry Christmas! 

-Ashley

You can find me on Instagram and Twitter @makeupcuisine.

All photos taken with my Canon T5i.

Sephora Haul

Hello everyone, I got a coupon for Sephora where you spend $50 and get $20 off, so it though why not, sounds like a good deal. I realized as a left that everything I got was from the Sephora brand. They really have some great stuff, and they are more affordable than some of the other brands in Sephora.  I have already tried these items the past week so I also included a mini review. 

Let's get right into it!

Sephora PRO Tapered Crease Brush #19

This brush is really great for blending. It is very soft, so it doesn't poke me in the eye like the MAC 217 brush does. I would recommend it!

Sephora Hair Ties

I really like using these for putting my hair into a ponytail because I find it does not leave a kink in my hair, and they are very comfortable to wear on the wrist. 

Sephora Master Cleanse: Daily Brush Cleaner

I never really thought about buying something like this, because I wash my brushes regularly. But this is really good for quickly cleaning eyeshadow brushes when you want to go from using a dark shadow to a light shadow.

Sephora Rouge Shine Lipstick-Lovesick

I really love this it is very natural on the lips and quite moisturizing. I know the matte lip is a trend, but I personally like having shiny plump lips. This lipstick is so easy to put it on, it is like a lip balm with a bit of color.

Thanks for reading everyone, hope your week has been going well!

-Ashley 

You can find me on Instagram and Twitter @makeupcuisine.

All photos taken with my Canon T5i.