August Favourites 2013: The Convenience Month

Good lord, this year is going by so quick, how the hell is it already September? But I'm sort of glad for it, I just want to be done with uni for the year and then settle slowly into Christmas celebrations already. This month really has not been all that kind, what with my studies finally coming in full swing, losing a job, having to baby sit a very needy cat (and he's still here) and dance exams. So maybe it's good, we're finally shooting off into the final third of the year. 

I didn't have a huge range of favourites this month, everything seems so busy. So most of the products were really for convenience, a helping to look polished really easily. I only included one skin care product this month, and I used it when I could, just for an extra helping for my skin so it doesn't get too out of whack.

Maybelline Fit Me Shine-Free Foundation Stick in Natural Beige (220)
I mentioned this product in a previous post, and I'm not too sure that this can be counted as a favourite. I more used this just for convenience, but considering I basically used it every single day since I purchased it, I thought I could put it into my favourites. It's very easy to apply, just strategically place a couple war stripes on your face and blend with your fingers. Kind of true of all Maybelline foundations I've tried though, it seems to just not quite blend and more sit on top of your skin. The lasting power isn't too great either, but it provides enough coverage and you can carry it with you for a touch up during the day.

Shiro Cosmetics Fatality Finishing Powder
I am quite impressed with this setting powder. It is so finely milled, has a very faint but pleasant scent to it, and really does it's job. It sets your face without making it too matte, but will keep the oilies at bay and just makes your skin feel nice. No bad words about this one, Shiro the Indie cosmetics company did a great job formulating this bad boy and at such a great price too.

Maybelline Color Tattoo by Eyestudio 24hr eyeshadow in Tough as Taupe (35)
This was the first color tattoo I ever got, and it was purchased by my lovely brother for my birthday. I never really wore it much though, as it looked a bit dull on my eyes by itself, and not generally the shade of eyeshadow base I would reach for. But I saw posts online saying that Tough as Taupe worked brilliantly for filling in your brows, and I figured, hey, that makes sense, it is matte and quite ashy... So  I tried it out and good god why did it take me so long. I've never had brows better or more polished. The only thing is, is that it is a tad bit too grey for my colouring and my hair colour too. To combat this, I just top off my brows with Anastasia Beverly Hills Coloured Brow Gel in Graphite and there we have it. Perfect, sculpted brows all day.

Private affair palette first four shades

Lorac Private Affair Palette, shades 1, 2, 3, 4

This is what has really been helping me look quite altogether. Just a quick brush of any one of the extremely buttery shades helps perk up my eyes and make me a tad bit prettier. I usually just go for the third shade in the palette, but any of the first four can work well on my skin tone. I didn't really reach for the last two darker colours, just because they're a bit more "nighttime" than my everyday look, but any combination of the shades in the palette work well together. My favourite being shade 3 all over the lid, shade four in the inner corner and a tad bit of shade 5 in the outer v.

Maybelline Illegal Length  mascara in Blackest Black

Well, isn't Maybelline getting a lot of love this month? I've always been a tad bit curious about this mascara ever since they released it, as I do love fiber mascaras, and so I finally picked it up when Priceline had 50% off all Maybelline products. And really, this is a pretty decent mascara. Separates and the fibers really help to lengthen. It gives a really cute dolly look. There is not a whole heap of volume though and I've noticed that it can wear off a bit during the day, but I can always touch up and there isn't any flaking or that much smudging. 

Mario Badescu Whitening Mask

I'm quite the fan of Mario Badescu products, I think their Acne Facial Cleanser is what really helped turn my skin around. This face mask is said to "brighten up uneven or dull skin" and I really do think it helps, I can see changes straight after using it. It is smooth and creamy, smells really, really nice (almost like grape) and drys on your face like a clay mask. Keep it on for ten minutes and wash it off with warm water, there you have brighter, more even skintone.

So that's it! That's all I have for this month. Really, a month of mostly drugstore and convenience products that have just really help me to pull it all together in a timely manner. 

Shiro Cosmetics Haul

Why, internet forums. Why would you introduce me to the world of indie makeup. Although, at the same time I'm pretty chuffed that indie make up exists. Usually in the form of loose powders, indie makeup is damn affordable and so much variety, a lot of unique colours including shimmery eyeshadows and duochromes. After not very much deliberation, I decided to dip my toe in the pool starting off in the Shiro Cosmetics end. 

Shiro Cosmetics is an indie makeup company started by a girl named Caitlin who, from what I've heard, is absolutely lovely and so nice. All of their products are handmade, vegan and cruelty-free; the cool thing about Shiro and what helped me to hit checkout is that their collections are all geeky and mostly named after internet memes. How could I not purchase Master Ball or Nyan Cat what with them being such beautiful shades and cutely named? Overall, I ended up getting nine loose pigments, one setting powder and two lip products, or as Shiro calls them Intertubes. I was also lucky enough to get two more sample size products in baggies and two pieces of candy!

left to right: smashing, nyan cat

Intertube in Smashing

Described as a pinky-purpley-smashingness, fit for mermaids and dugongs. I could not agree more. It's a slight mauve colour that is moderately opaque and with a slight nice sheen.

Intertube in Nyan Cat

Described as a pink rose with gold shimmer. I don't really see the shimmer much in this, and have worn this one on my lips too and have not noticed it, but it's a nice bright but natural colour, with the same nice sheen as Smashing. Maybe a little sheen-ier.

Finishing Powder in Fatality

Pure white, transparent when applied. I didn't swatch this one (sorry) as I figured transparent, but for the record, it smells very nice. A faint smell, but I nice smell I wouldn't mind having on my face.

left to right, with flash: I like shorts, baker's boy, the wandering wizard, epona, everything is bears, when the thrush knocks. All applied with a wet eyeshadow brush.

Without Flash

I Like Shorts (Super Effective Collection)
Described as a soft velvety brown base with strong gold shimmer; lip safe. A little bit more velvety than a chocolate brown, this doesn't have too much shimmer, but it's obvious enough to perk up your eyes and blends in very well with the brown base.

Baker's Boy (Tributes Collection)
Described as a shimmery light golden brown with blue sparks; lip safe. This is a bit more pink than I expected, almost like a champagne colour.

The Wandering Wizard (There and Back Again: A Hobbit Collection)
Described as a pale matte blue-toned grey; not lip safe. Not quite as matte as I was expected and a lot more blue. This is more a grey-toned blue rather than the other way around and has a bit of lustre to it too.

Epona (Legends Collection)
Described as a soft velvety brown with a misty cream overlay; lip safe. Gorgeous cool toned brown colour and very much a velvet shade in terms of texture.

Everything is Bears 
I can't seem to find the page I added this from, but I remember that this eyeshadow was not in a collection. It has a tad bit more red than I expected but it's not too rusty. Has quite a lot of shimmer too.

When the Thrush Knocks (There and Back Again: A Hobbit Collection)
Described as late afternoon sunlight: soft coppery yellow-gold with light shimmer; lip safe. Soo gold, almost a shimmery ochre colour and is darker in shade than I was expecting.

left to right, with flash: master ball, farewell wherever you fare, huntress. All applied with a wet eyeshadow brush.

Without Flash

Master Ball (Super Effective Collection)
Described as shimmery red-toned purple; lip safe. I got this one in a baggie cause I wasn't sure I was going to use non-neutral pigments; this is bit more purple than I was expecting, but still such a pretty colour. I might tone it down a bit with a matte black shadow when applying.

Farewell Wherever You Fare (There and Back Again: A Hobbit Collection)
Described as cold, stoney greyed brown with light shimmer; lip safe. One of the free samples that I received, smooth metallic bronze. I'm quite glad I got this shade, it has quite a bit of shimmer, but I guess that depends on application.

Huntress (Tributes Collection)
Described as shimmering silver with a slight greenish cast and bright silver sparks; not lip safe. The other free sample; holy moley this is a pure silver colour. I don't see much of the greenish cast described, but maybe in different lighting. A shame this isn't lip safe cause it would look so nice as a foil.

And that's it! That's all I got! ... For now. Can't wait to use these pigments, probably more for going out cause they seem a bit more adventurous than what I wear for everyday; not usually one to dip into anything too reflective other than the occasional lustre, but I've started adding a bit more "light" into my routine. You can see that I'm even branching more out into pigments, considering my apprehension when I got my first pigment from an Illamasqua haul. There will definitely be more to come from these indie makeup posts (I'm currently waiting on another order from a different site, ooh, cheeky).

Tantalizing glow

I absolutely love bronzer. It might actually surprise some people that know me that I am actually a lot paler than what I appear to be; I just happen to wear bronzer everyday. I have quite sallow skin in my opinion, and I always need a tinted moisturizer or a bronzing product in order to perk my face up and maybe not look so ghostly. Despite already owning a number of beloved bronzers, I decided I that the Lorac TANtalizer® Baked Bronzer would be a wise addition, which I attained with purchasing the Lorac TANtalizer® To Glow Go Collection.

 

In the kit, the baked bronzer is about half the full size at 0.35oz, but still a nice hefty amount. Absolutely beautiful marbling of gold shimmer, bronze (of course) and thin veins of rich brown, this applies on the face quite sheer for my NC25-30 skin. It adds just the right amount of bronze and shimmer to make your face glow. I like to apply this high up on the sides of my face, just under where I place my blush, but not quite in the contour zone, and perhaps the greatest thing about this bronzer is that you can wear this bronzer alone.

Left to right, without flash: heavily swatched, single swatch

Same, but with flash

In the swatches, it looks quite pigmented, but I feel that this could work for quite a few different skintones, even those that are exceptionally light. I usually apply this with a very fluffy blush brush rather than a big bronzer brush so I can put more of the colour concentrated on my cheeks and then spread out the left over product on my forehead and rest of my face to give a nice overall glow. This bronzer comes in a number of sizes, the full size is 0.624oz, the "medium" size from the set is 0.35oz and Lorac even offers a mini size at 0.06oz, so depending on your preferences of bronzer use you can choose the size to suit. I think this bronzer is a definite addition to those that not only like bronzer, but those that feel they want a bit of colour in their face as well as a healthy glow. It's a very wearable and easy bronzer and definitely one of my favourites. 

Bourjois Affair

To say the least, I was not a fan of Bourjois. Granted, the reason being that my sole and first product that I owned by them broke me out (Blush Sculpting Duo Effect was the culprit), but this made me reluctant to try out anymore Bourjois products. However, with all the hype with their products and especially their foundations, I caved and introduced the Healthy Balance Unifying Powder into my growing collection when I decided I needed to have a new powder. (And they did have a lovely GWP that further convinced me that ended up including a damn good mascara and an eyeliner.) Unfortunately for me, I liked it. A whole lot. So I ended up purchasing the liquid sister Healthy Mix Foundation to use as an everyday foundation. Well, that would seem like an adequate amount, right? I couldn't help myself again, especially when I was lucky enough to find the Flower Perfection Youth Extension Foundation in my shade (one left!) at Target for almost half price.

Healthy Mix in Beige (54)

I'm quite pleased with this product, pretty much like everyone else that has bought it. I ended up not getting the serum version of this foundation as I have slightly oily skin, so I thought this would be more suited. It blends very nicely and gives a satin (more matte) finish and the coverage I would say is about medium. Very good for everyday wear, and smells good too!

Healthy Balance in Light Beige (53)

My first dip back into the Bourjois world after my terrible first encounter. I kept tossing up between shade 53 and 54 and in the end decided on 53, because, well, I would prefer a powder being too light rather than too dark. It would be easier to darken it to match with some bronzer. Really, really, really glad I got this product. When I first opened it, I, of course, took a whiff and I'm pleased to say it smells like fruity cake, but not too overpowering. The coverage on this powder is amazing and it lasts for ages. It looks so good on my skin and gives me that clean look without looking flat. Even better, it keeps the oilies at bay. Definitely a well worth it purchase.

Flower Perfection in Light Beige (53)

I'm pretty sure this is the highest coverage foundation with a matte finish that Bourjois offers. I will say it does dry out my skin the slightest bit, so it would definitely work better for summer, but nothing a bit of good moisturizing beforehand can't fix. This foundation feels incredibly smooth on the skin, and the packaging comes with a little sponge in the lid. I wouldn't recommend the sponge for application (germs and what not with not being able to chuck it), but I apply most foundations with my fingers anyway then blend a bit with either a brush or a sponge. The lasting power for this one, I feel, is even better than the Healthy Mix, given that the Healthy Mix can last a work day. This would be good for going out, especially where there are pictures due to the matte finish. If you were to purchase this foundation, probably go a shade up from your regular as I did, as this tends to run dark. 

left to right: Healthy Mix, Healthy Balance, Flower Perfection without flash

With Flash

Blended, without flash

Blended, with flash

It was very wise for me to give Bourjois another chance, but probably not so for my pocket. Bourjois is one of the more expensive 'drugstore' brands, if you count it as a drugstore brand (well, it's not high-end). As I mentioned in the intro, I've also tried their Clubbing Eyeliner and Volumizer Mascara and daaaang they are good. So I guess it can be better to give things a second chance. I've already got my eyes on some of their blushes.