Friday 31 August 2012

Tarte Maracuja C-Brightener Eye Treatment Review & LOTM


Tarte Maracuja C-brightener Eye Treatment

So I think I've found the perfect eye cream! Tarte Maracuja C-Brightener Eye Treatment is my secret to  fine lines!

I received this premium tester when I did my last Tarte purchase from QVC. I am so grateful because I have not been able to find an eye cream that does not sting my eyes and make them all sticky when I wake up in the morning!

My husband also used this eye cream when he had an eye infection. He rubbed the skin around his eyes too much and became extremely puffy and wrinkly, I suggested to him to use my eye cream and it caused no extra irritation to his already irritated eyes!!! Moreover it helps to soothes the skin and reduced inflammation.

This product doesn't claim to do much, but all your skin really needs is to be moisturised. Moisturised skin can prevent pre-mature fine lines and ease your makeup application!


Content

Pros:

  • Non oily/greasy
  • Does not cause irritation
  • Very moisturising
Cons:
  • Only available in QVC or Sephora (will be launched with the Fall Collection)

LOTM (Look of the Month)

To end this post, I'm sharing a look that I have been wearing VERY frequently this month. It's quick, easy, and long lasting!


Close up


See you!!


Sunday 26 August 2012

At a beautiful wedding! (LOTD)

Hi all! We attended Yoshi's cousin's wedding on Saturday at a beautiful apple orchard home. Everything went perfect and the decorations were absolutely amazing! I'll be sharing my LOTD and OOTD along with some pictures of the wedding scenes.


Seating area


Apples of Glasgow

It was a wonderful day and lucky for everyone, the weather was perfect!


Beautiful table setup!!!


Overlooking the very large "backyard"

Yoshi and I decided to be silly and took some shots of us running through the apple fields..


Yoshi & I

Finally, my LOTD and OOTD!


I had a coral + green look :D I figured it would be nice with some colours!


Hi again!

I got the dress  from F21 last month! Luckily no one had the same dress >.<



See you!!


Friday 24 August 2012

Simple Brown Smokey Eyes

Hi all! Today I'm back with a tutorial showing  you how to do simple brown smokey eyes, suitable for day and evening. This is particularly easy for those of you who do not have a habit of putting on smokey eyes.

Complete look!

Like usual, I begin my post with a bare face!


BEFORE

I recently went to Sephora and got a Laura Mercier kit for $80 and I'm trying out some of the products! So first prime your face either with a moisturiser/ primer/ sunscreen, depending on what you'll be doing for the day.

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer Oil Free

Next up, use your favourite foundation to even out your skin tone! Here I'm testing out the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser for the first time.

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser in Nude

This product is quite thick, much thicker than a standard one hence it feels more like a foundation but with a light coverage.

After tinted moisturiser

At this point I usually begin my eyes by tight lining it. 

Physicians Formula Eye Brightening Eye Pencil in Black (comes in a trio)


Shimmery Light Beige Eyeshadow

Using a flat eyeshadow brush, go into a shimmery light beige eyeshadow colour and put it all over the lids. This will work as a base for easy blending later.

As such..


Shimmery Taupe Eyeshadow

With a more dense brush, go into a shimmery taupe colour and place it as high as you wish it to be. For me I like to have it slightly visible when I look straight.

Non blended

Skin tone eyeshadow

Use a blending brush and an eyeshadow that is 2 shades lighter than your skin tone, blend out the harsh line from the taupe colour eyeshadow. This will also act as a brow bone highlight!

Almost there~

With the same eyeliner that I used for tight lining, line the upper lash line. 


Outer half lined

I prefer to only line the outer half for a more natural appearance. Smudge it out using the taupe colour and the same brush before. This will soften the line and also prevent it from going everywhere as time goes by!

Smudge out!

Eyeshadow on lower lash line

With the shimmery beige and taupe, line the lower lash line accordingly. If you like to line your water line, go ahead! I personally find that it closes my eyes and make them really tiny.

Etude House Powder Foundation

Set your makeup lightly with a powder foundation or a setting powder. I like to use a powder foundation with tinted moisturiser as it provides more coverage.

NYC Sunny Bronzer

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Dolly

Contour the sides of the face and nose to enhance your facial feature. Add blush to complete.

Here!!

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in 035 Charm

Finish your look with your favourite lip. I am using this as I'm opting for a more natural look.

See you soon!!

Thank you for your support and please leave a comment if you wish for me to review any of the products here in detail!!


Monday 20 August 2012

Benefit How to Look The Best at Everything Review - Light

If you have checked out my recent Sephora Haul, you have already seen me featuring the new Benefit How to look the best at everything kit in colour Light. Although I have some other Benefit products, but this is my first time using all the products in the kit. It is a great deal if you just want to try them out!

How to look the best at everything!!

And I'm sure you want to be the best - ALWAYS! 

BEFORE

As usual, this is my bare face! From now on I'll be filming and blogging from the bedroom because my lovely husband kindly bought and set up the new workspace for me :)


The inside

This kit cost $30 and in it you'll get a Porefessional (7.5ml), Hello Flawless Oxygen Foundation in colour Cheers to Me Champagne (7ml), 2 Boi-ing concealers in colour 01 and 02 (2x1.5g), Hello Flawless Powder in colour Me, Vain? Champagne (4g), and a small brush. 

Benefit POREfessional

I was surprised that the Porefessional is tinted, however the colour does not show through upon application. It's meant for covering up areas of the face with large pores. I applied this with a light hand, dabbing motion on my inner cheek area where I have some larger pores. I have to say that I see no difference in the pore size or the finish of my skin after the product. 

This base has a slight scent, nothing too crazy. It leaves the skin feeling smooth.

Hello Flawless Oxygen Foundation in "Cheers to Me" Champagne

I used this product with my F80 Sigma Flat Top brush to buff it out. This entire kit is slightly too fair for my skin, though the Medium one might be too dark.. which I won't be able to use during the long cold months here in Canada. Hahahahaha...

The foundation has light to medium coverage. Suitable for daily wear in low humidity.


After POREfessional and Hello Flawless Foundation

As you can see, my skin still looks fairly red and you can see some redness and freckles on my cheek area.

Next up I'll be covering up some dark circles and redness around the face.

Boi-ing Concealers in colour 01, 02

I have been wanting to try Benefit's concealers for ages cause I have heard SO MANY good things about that. Both the Boi-ing and Erase Paste has fairly good reviews. I used only colour 02 on my face.

The concealers are more dry in texture and definitely covers well. However to use it under the eyes, you will have to moisturize your skin very well before the concealer. I didn't, and I noticed a lot of fine lines!!!! (I'm not even 24 yet!!! T.T)  

I finish my skin with an overall application of the powder. The powder is lovely and it's the best thing in the kit after the concealers!

Close up!

Overall I think that this is a good value and you are able to pick it up at Sephora for only $30. Keep in mind that the sets seem to have darker shades than they labeled it as, and there are only 3 different kits to choose from. 

Tadahh!

If you are interested in what I bought during my trip to Sephora, check out the video!!


Thank you and please leave a comment if you would like me to try out any products for future reviews!

Thursday 16 August 2012

Etude House Nail Polish Review

Hi all! I'd like to share a favourite cosmetic brand of mine from Korea - Etude House. Their prices are very affordable and they have a large range of products from skin care to cosmetics, making you beautiful inside out! Unfortunately they are not so easy to purchase if you are not in Asia.

The packaging of the products are usually super cute and with each purchase you'll always receive a lot of samples!

I've been a long time customer of Etude House and today I'll be showing you some of their nail polishes. They are very affordable, approximately 3-5 dollars each depending on the location you go to.  Often times they are cheaper in Asia!

Yay for colours!


The quality of the nail polishes are phenomenal! They are opaque with just 1 or 2 coats and does not chip easily. Because of my laziness, I tend to wear them with no base or top coat and they last me for 5 days with no problem at all!



They have a decent colour selection and finishes. Here are the ones that I own and love!


FLTR: PP903; BR301; PP904; PK011; GR605

The lighter colours are more opaque than you expect them to be for such a good price. I have many nail polishes of different price categories but I always stock up on Etude House's when I am back in Asia!


FLTR: OR206; BL502; BL501; BL505; GR609

My favourite colour of all the ones that I own are the 2 blues above, BL 501 and 505. They look so unique and very flattering on Asian skin tone! Unfortunately the BL501 stains the nail a bit so I would recommend you to put on a base coat to prevent that from happening. Other than that particular one, I did not experience any stains with their polishes.


If you have any favourites please share with me in the comment box or Tweet me at AivysBeautyBlog! I would love to hear from you!

As per my last blog post, I have also started posting on YouTube! Please subscribe to my YouTube page for more hauls and reviews. I'll try to update my hauls as timely as possible so that you are able to jump on the sale-wagon (haha!)!! 


Tuesday 14 August 2012

Sephora Haul

Hi all! I hope everyone had a great weekend! Yoshi and I were lucky enough to be able to visit our families and went star gazing during the weekend. Unfortunately the weather in Toronto and surroundings are not so great.. so we only had about 30 mins of meteor shower watch until the clouds covered the sky again.

I was feeling a little bit discourage today and decided to head to Sephora to check out if there are any new products that interest me! Please click on the video for my haul! I'm including some swatches here for some of the products.

Link for my haul video: http://youtu.be/YuAHhWIPnN8?hd=1


YAAYYY for great deals!



Tokidoki Arte Palette $4

This is decently pigmented and super great deal now! They have this palette in another colour but unfortunately it is out!

Tokidoki Inferno Bronzer in Diavolina $8

I'm impressed on how smooth the powder is to touch!!!!! Hopefully it will turn out great!

Sephora Lip Sampler $30

This is the bomb! $30 for 6 products and some are full sized! Totally worth the deal!

Sugar Rose; Hourglass Child

Sephora Precious Pink; Bite Vintage

Tarte LipSurgence (not in box, coral) Joy; Tarte Hope

I'm extremely excited to be testing these products out! Grab yourself some before they run out at Sephora :)

I'll be doing more videos from now on so please subscribe to AivysBeautyAdventure for more beauty hauls and tutorials!