2018 Makeup Declutter- foundation / The Painted Lip

Haulin'- Kevyn Aucoin, Hourglass, M.A.C., and Drugstore!

I just can't help myself, I had to give in. Over the past couple of months,there have been some beautiful collections and wonderful new products. 

Makeup Essentials

As a teenager I didn't really wear much, if any makeup. However, I started "collecting" makeup in my 20's, a little later than most, but I have made up for it, trust. In my day-to-day life,  I am asked quite often about the makeup basics - what are the essentials? I generally have to probe a little further and see their comfort level with makeup.

One doesn't need to spend an exorbitant amount on basics as the drugstore brands have some really great products. Honestly, unless you are willing to fork over $40 to $50 on a foundation, stick with the following:

Base:

This includes liquid foundation, cream,powder, BB Creams, tinted moisturizer. Depending on your skin type and desired look, a base is literally like your house's foundation. It is the base on which everything else relies and depends on. Be the pickiest with this and choose the proper colour, finish and type. 

For those with:

Normal to Combination-Oily

Revlon Colour Stay

Maybelline Fit Me stick

L'Oreal True Match

Marcelle BB Cream

Revlon ColorStay Whipped

Normal to Dry skin

Rimmel Wake Me Up

Marcelle BB Cream

L'Oreal Magic Lumi

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum

 

If you want to "set" your base, which isn't always necessary and an extra step, I recommend Rimmel Stay Matte. 

Additionally, concealer is a girl's best friend. If you are blessed to have fabulous skin with minimal discolouration or spots, all you need is a concealer.

Rimmel Wake Me Up

Revlon Photo Ready - not under the eyes

Maybelline Age Rewind

Maybelline Fit Me

Mascara

Most makeup artists will tell you that mascara is the little black dress of makeup.While, I understand this, I didn't start wearing mascara until about 5 years ago. However, I believe if you want to draw attention to your eyes and wear the minimum, choose mascara.

Rimmel Sexy Lashes

L'oreal Voluminous

Maybelline The Falsies and Colossus

Drugstore mascaras are brilliant and they are so much cheaper than their high end counterparts. I do not like throwing away money and every 3 months, that mascara has got to go.

Cheeks

Once you use your base, you need to bring the colour back into the cheeks to give you some dimension. This is where the mass brands need work. Most do not carry cream blushers and the powder ones are chalky and not finely milled. However, NYX makes fantastic powder blushers as does Revlon. Most recently Marcelle brought out a Jelly Cheek Flush reminiscent of Givenchy's cheek product. Rimmel also makes a great matte bronzer.

Eyeshadow

I love eyeshadow and playing up my eyes. This is the easiest way to look "done". Cream shadows are so nice and new formulations make them easy to use and not crease. I personally love Maybelline Colour Tattoo shadows. Additionally, L'Oreal make fabulous loose powdered shadows that are smooth like butter.

Along with shadow, one can use eyeliners, but this is an accessory and therefore not necessary. Eyeshadows can be used as an eyeliner and they create a softer look than a kohl or liquid liners. However, you want to use an eyeliner, Rimmel ScandalEyes are better than most high end liners. 

Lips

Lest we forget the lips. Most brands have amazing lipsticks, glosses and balms. Honestly, depending on how sheer or opaque you want them, there is a product for you. Revlon's Lip butters are hugely popular and for good reason. They are sheer but still give you enough colour to be noticeable. Additionally, you don't need to fuss with them and they come in a variety of colours. Revlon also brought out the Kissable Lip Stains. They are long lasting without drying the lips. Another long lasting lip range are the Maybelline 24hr lip series- stains, lipsticks. Fantastic!

If you want a more lacquered and opaque look Rimmel just recently launched the Apocalips in Canada. I can't rave enough about them. 

L'Oreal and Revlon have always had great lipstick shades and formulations. However, I can't get over the fragrance. Therefore, it is hard for me to recommend them. With that said, they are trendy and smooth with some great classic colours.

Thanks for coming by

cheers,

xo Megs

Shop and Share - MAC, NYX, Revlon, Daniel Sandler, Embryolisse

After the makeup madness of Christmas, *sigh* I really didn't think I needed anything else. Maybe "needed" isn't quite the word......I didn't think I would desire anything else for a while. Guess I was wrong ;)

 

Shop and Share (Haul) - YouTube video

MAC - All Woman palette - from the Strong Collection. Limited Edition
Palette refills:

• texture- medium caramel brown
• brown down (being discontinued)- dark warm brown
• mystery- cool tone dark brown
• swiss chocolate- medium warm brown
• soft brown- light caramel brown

Lipsticks- Plum Dandy (frost) purple plum with shots of metallic silver and gold, Dare You (Cream Sheen)-sexy, ruby red creamy and hydrating

Revlon Colourstay foundation 150 Buff. Brilliant foundation. Great coverage and satin finish

NYX  Bush Taupe- great for contour, cool grey, purplish taupe

Real Techniques Eye Brushes- high quality for good price. Synthetic and wonderful for application and blending

Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentre- moisturiser for all skin types. Fantastic for cold weather

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush Flush and Cherub- watery cream blushes. Flush -berry pink, Cherub- light pink. Very natural on the skin

Maybelline Eyestudio Cream Liner - Lovely, lovely liner. Comparable to MAC's fluidline and Bobbi Brown's Gel liner. 

Let me know if you have tried any of the aforementioned. Any recent discoveries?
xo Megs

The Who's Who of Beauty

As someone who uses and "collects" makeup, I have a habit of being a tad biased when it comes to some companies. I have always noticed, whether it was the packaging, texture or ingredients, obvious similarities between high-end and low-end cosmetics. This can be explained by who owns them. Now, most people know L'Oreal owns Lancome, Maybelline, Vichy and La Roche Posay and Estee Lauder owns Clinique and MAC, but there were some other brands that many do not know about. There are four major players on the beauty scene and these include Estee Lauder, L'Oreal, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) and Shiseido.

I have compiled lists of some of the companies and their brands:

Estee Lauder

• Aramis
• Clinique
• Smashbox
• MAC
• Prescriptives
• Bobbi Brown
• Origins
• Tommy Hilfiger
• La Mer
• Aveda
• Jo Malone
• Bumble and Bumble
• Michael Kors
• Darphin
• Tom Ford
• Coach
• Ojon

L'Oreal

• L'Oreal Paris
• Garnier
• Maybelline New York
• Essie
• Giorgio Armani
• Keratase
• Redken
• Matrix
• Shu Uemura
• Ralph Lauren
• Lancome
• Helena Rubinstein
• Biotherm
• Cacharel
• Viktor and Rolf
• Diesel
• The Body Shop
• YSL Beaute
• Vichey
• La Roche Posay
• Kiehl's
• Roger & Gallet
• Skinceuticals
• Stella McCartney

LVMH

• Benefit
• Acqua di Parma
• Guerlain
• Givenchy
• Marc Jacobs
• Christian Dior
• Kenzo
• Fresh
• Make Up For Ever
• Sephora's namesake line
• Fendi

Shiseido

• Ayura
• Cle de Peau
• Decleor
• Iso Hair
• Joico
• NARS Cosmetics
• Jean Paul Gaultier
• Issey Miyake
• Narciso Rodriguez
• John Varvatos

Bourjois/Wertheimer

• Bourjois
• Chanel

Clarins

• Kibio
• Thierry Mugler
• Azzaro
• Stock holder in L'Occitane

Revlon

• Revlon
• Almay

Coty

• Rimmel London
• Lancaster

Elizabeth Arden

• Prevage
• Fragrances such as Britany Spears

Surprising eh? So when we look at a Lancome mascara, just know that the L'Oreal mascaras have the same research/technology and ingredients behind it. Or when we look at the baked blushes at Bourjois and compare them to Chanel, they are going to be relatively similar, at a fraction of the cost.

Cheers,
xo Megs