April 2013 Favourites

Hey guys! Sorry I'm a day late with this post, but better late than never right? We've reached the end of another month, which means it's time for a Favourites post! I have a bunch of things that I'd like to share with you so let's get started!

Super duper cute polka-dot boots from Target

I'm going to let you guys in on a little secret....I can't remember the last time I owned a pair of rain boots. I can be so stubborn when it comes to how my boots look, that I usually end up not buying any and coming home with soaking wet feet. But one day I was in Target and came across these amaaaazing polka-dotted boots and I knew I had to have them! They're super water proof and are great to have at this time of the year because of all the rain that spring brings. I forget how much they were but I do remember they were affordable!

Maybelline Colour Tattoo Eyeshadow in Edgy Emerald

I'd like to apologize about the lack of colour that is showing up right now...I'm still trying to find a good spot in my house for taking pictures. But anyways, this cream eyeshadow is a must have for the season because of it's vibrant emerald colour! I am obsessed with pastel colours right now and I love to use this shadow as a liner some days when I feel like being colourful. It adds a burst of colour to your eyes and can make such a playful look! Definitely check these shadows out!

Covergirl Jumbo Gloss Balm in Watermelon Twist

Alright, get ready for some lip products. I absolutely love pink, peach, and coral lipsticks for the spring time and this gloss balm has now become a Holy Grail product for me. I always see this shade (Watermelon Twist) advertised in Seventeen magazine (my favourite), and I saw missglamorazzi wearing it one of her videos and I just had to have it! It is probably my favourite pink lipstick at the moment, and since it's a balm it never dries out my lips! I highly recommend you guys check it out!

Mark Glossworks Lip Gloss in Tempest

....aaaand here's another one of my favourite pink lip glosses! I did a review on these lip glosses, which you can view HERE, so I won't go in too much about this product. But what I will say is that it is the hottest pink lip gloss that I own and is so glossy! My favourite thing about it is that it isn't sticky at all!

L'oréal Paris Lipstick in British Red

So the next two lipsticks are red lipsticks, which I typically wear in the autumn and winter time. Though I don't wear these products as much as the others, I still wanted to tell you all about how amazing they are! This first one in my opinion is the perfect red lipstick for me. It goes really well with my skin tone (fair-medium) and isn't too shimmery, which is what I like! Also, I find that the L'oréal lipsticks smell really good...

Avon Colour Precise Lipstick in Really Red

...and this next one...well, actually...I don't think I should write much about it...you'll have to wait until my next Avon Reviews post to know about it ;)  

Bath & Body Works Perfume in Paris Amour

 

Finally, this last favourite product of mine is this fantabulous spray from the one and only Bath & Body Works! According to the website description, this fragrance mist is "a dreamy blend of French tulips, apple blossoms and sparkling pink champagne, inspired by a romantic stroll through the streets of Paris". How does that not sound good?!?! 

This brings us to the end of another Favourites post! Before you know it, it will be the end of May and I'll be writing up another one!

xx Mandy 

Avon Reviews #2

A couple days after my first package from Avon arrived, I received my SECOND one. This time there were more products to review.....

Flor Violeta...a sweet surprise of vibrant violet blossoms, sparkling apple and dreamy musk

I cannot express my love of things that smell amazing. I will not leave the house without at least one sprit of some sort of perfume and/or wearing a scented handcream. I personally think it makes a great impression on people when you enter a room smelling all sweet and delicious, and I believe that wearing these Flor Violeta products will leave people following you every where you go just to get a whiff of you! The perfume ($30) is long-lasting and addictive- so watch out! The handcream ($12) leaves your hands feeling smooth and soft and do not make a greasy mess! Finally, the shower gel ($12) is great for washing yourself in because, just like the handcream, it helps moisturize your skin and leaves it feeling like a baby's bum! Overall, these products satisfied me 100% and I highly recommend you guys go and buy this next month when the collection is available!

Tip: Right after drying yourself off from using your shower gel in the tub, apply the body lotion for maximum moisturization! 

   

Avon's new cologne for men, Untouchable

Top notes kick off with a rush of water, wet greens and sizzling black pepper, followed by refreshing grapefruit. The scent unfolds with notes of lavender and violet leaves adding a clean masculine signature. The finish is earthy moss, Haitian Vetiver and worn leather. 

First off, the bottle looks pretty spiffy, right? It definitely has an edgy vibe to its appearance, and that description is pretty...well, descriptive, so I assumed that this cologne would have an edgy and different scent to it. And it does, that's for sure. To be completely honest, when I sniffed straight from the nozzle of the bottle, it smelled amazzingggg! I thought "I wouldn't mind if my boyfriend wore this around me!" I then sprayed it to get another sniff, but when I did it seemed to have a different scent. I don't understand how that could have been, but after I sprayed it I realized that it didn't smell as good as I thought it did. There are way worse colognes that I have smelled before, but this one disappointed me a little. But if you're still interested in it, go ahead and buy it! Maybe it will be a different opinion when it comes from a guy's perspective rather than a girl's. This cologne will be available in June for $25! 

  Breast Cancer Crusade Tennis Bracelet

Silvertone with pink crystals and pink enamel-look ribbon motif. 18cm L with 3cm extender. 100% of the net proceeds from the Breast Cancer Crusade Tennis Bracelet will be donated to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade.

Ever since my dad's diagnosis of lung cancer back in August, I have really been a sucker for anything that has to do with helping any type of cancer. So when Avon sent me this bracelet and I read about their Breast Cancer Crusade, I was head-over-heels for this bracelet! It is the perfect fit and looks great with anything you wear! Not only is it cute, but it's only $5, and as said above in the description, all net proceeds will be donated to the Breast Cancer Crusade. By purchasing this bracelet, you are helping this wonderful organization and all of those who are affected by this nasty disease. Definitely my favourite product of the bunch! It will be available next month for $5. 

Just before I wrap up this post, I just wanted to make a small memoir for my amazing father, whom we unfortunately lost on Sunday. 

  

May 3, 1963- March 10, 2013

You were the greatest father anyone could have asked for. I will never let go of all the memories we made when I was a little girl. I will always be your baby girl, no matter how old I get. You fought such a hard and terrible battle with the cancer, and your stubborness is definitely what kept you going those extra three months. You are my hero and always will be. I love you, daddy ♥  

xx Mandy

 

 

NOTW- March 12, 2013

I repaint my nails every week, and I last night I asked myself, "Mandy, what is the point of painting your nails if you aren't going to even mention them on your blog?! It sort of ruins the idea of having a beauty blog, but I don't know I'm just saying"....

So I followed my inner voice and decided to come up with this new segment called....

NOTW (Nails Of The Week)..... Creative, right? I know.

Every Tuesday I will be updating my NOTW, and the picture will be posted on the right-hand side of my blog so you can just click it and check out my nails! Eeeep, isn't this exciting? I think it is!

For this week's nails, I decided to go very simple with one colour. Not multi-coloured, not a fancy-shmancy design, just simple mint coloured nails.

 

Guess how many coats this is.... three? two?

One. This is one coat. One flippin' coat of nail polish.

I was flabbergasted when I first put on this nail polish! It's the new line of nail polishes from Covergirl. It has a built in top coat so you don't need to go that extra step with applying a top/clear coat! This fast-drying, long-lasting, opaque nail polish has won its way to my heart.... and nail polish collection. The shade that I am wearing right now is Mint Mojito, which by the way, is one of my favourite colours ever!! 

I highly recommend you guys go out and buy some (or all) of these polishes, because they will not let you down!  

Let me know what you guys think of the line if you have already tried it!

xx Mandy

Understanding Makeup Part Two: Lips

I hope you all enjoyed my first Understanding Makepup post!

Tonight's topic is lips. Now, there aren't nearly as many lip cosmetics as there are eye cosmetics. But here are some stuff you may find interesting when dressing up those smackers!

Lip Stick and Lip Gloss
When you want to make your eyes stand out by wearing makeup, you automatically think about what eyeshadow to use, right? Eyeshadows, eyeliners, etc. can help your eyes pop, but did you know that lip stick and lip gloss can also help?

For example, if you have blue eyes like myself, opt for nudes, pinks, and bright reds. For brown eyes, red lipsticks with green, orange, or gold undertones are your bestfriends. And for those green eyes, go for lipsticks that are pink, and ones that have green, red, or brown undertones.

Lip Liners
A must have for all of you lip stick lovers! If you have lips that are a little uneven in one section, a lip liner can save the day. These pencils help fill in those areas, creating fuller looking lips. Also, it stops your lip stick from "bleeding" (moving off of your lips, sort of like smudging on its own... bleh). Try to make sure your liner is close to the shade of lipstick you are using, unless you are going for the "outlined" look, which I personally find a makeup no-no. 

Red Lips

Kim Kardashian

One of the biggest trends out there right now. Red lips give off a bolder, sexier look. I love wearing red lip stick because it makes me look a little older, but not too old.

When wearing a brighter shade of red, try not to over do your eye makeup. The way I see it, it makes you look like a clown. A great combo is a pearl/ beige shadow over your lid, with a simple winged eyeliner to go with your bright red lips.

     
Darker reds are best for night time looks. This is when you can go a bit heavier with your eyeliner and shadows. Try a smokey eye!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post! And remember to keep your lips hydrated by applying a good chapstick with SPF so they won't dry out. I apologize for not posting this the day after my eye makeup post, but school does come first. Hopefully I can get up my last Understanding Makeup post (Face) tomorrow!

xx Mandy

Understanding Makeup Part One: Eyes

Earlier, I decided I was going to do an Understanding Makeup section of the blog, made up of three different posts: Eyes, Lips, and Face. For each post, I will talk about what kind of makeup you can use for the certain area, give descriptions of some of the products, the tools used, and some different looks that you might be interested in.

Eyes
Honestly, any kind of eye makeup is my favourite makeup. I love playing up my baby blues and trying out different styles and colours to make them pop [more].

Eye Shadows   
So many colours, so little time- right? I get extremely overwhelmed when I try to decide what colour I should use that day. Do I want to go blue? Maybe bright green? Ugh, this shouldn't be so hard.

Eye shadow is applied all over the eye lid, the crease, and right under the brow. It adds shape, depth, dimmension, and can sometimes create illusions to make your eyes appear a different way than they are. It can come in many different forms, which are the following:

• Sheer- a very faint shadow, comes in pressed form
• Matte- solid colour eye shadow
• Powder- comes in pressed form and is the most common type of eye shadow used
• Liquid- applied with a sponge or brush specifically made for this shadow; comes in matte or shimmer
• Shimmer- has a sparkle or metallic tint to the colour
• Pigment/Loose Powder- applied the same way as powder shadow, but is not pressed
• Baked- pressed; marbleized and baked in an oven; can be used dry or wet
• Cream- creamier than powder; can be shimmery or matte; commonly used as a base on the lid 
• Pencils- cream eye shadow in a pencil form

Pigment/ Loose Eye Shadow

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils

Eyeliners
Oh, the eyeliner. So bold and so much fun to use. I prefer liner over shadow because it finishes everything off and can make such dramatic looks. But, you can use an eye shadow as a liner, using a liner brush (see Eye Brushes below).

• Liquid- hardest to use; best to buy in pen form because you have more control over them
• Pencil- great for lining your water lines; make sure you have a sharpener for these
• Gel/Cream- a good creamy eye liner is very bold and shows well

 
Eye Brushes
There are so many different eye brushes that you can use when it comes to applying eye shadow.

Liner 

Applies a thin line of colour on the lid and defines the eye; apply right above/on the lashline

 

All Over 

Great for any area of the eye and most types of eye shadow

 

Smudge

Blends colours and expand smudge lines   

 

Crease

Adds colour to the crease; great for smokey eyes

These are just a few of the many brushes used for eye makeup.

Trends

Next time you want to switch up your look, try out these trends!

  Cat's Eye

Often seen on actress Angelina Jolie. While applying eye liner (opt for liquid or gel) on your upper lash line, sweep it out right to where your crease stops (or go farther for a more dramatic look).

Winged Eyeliner

Very similar to the Cat's Eye look, but when you sweep your liner out, bring it up to make a wing. My personal favourite, aswell.

Smokey Eyes

Probably the most popular look of all, not to mention simple. Though it is hard to describe in writing, there are many tutorials on youtube, and it's likely that I will be uploading my own tutorial at some point :) 

Wow, that was a long post. I hope this gives you a bit of an idea of how to use eye makeup. Tomorrow, I will write about how to use lipsticks and how to get that perfect red lipstick look that is in right now. 

xx Mandy

 

Eye Shadow Types:
http://www.examiner.com/article/what-are-the-different-types-of-eyeshadow-eyeshadow-101

All Eye Brushes are from Sephora:
http://www.sephora.com/

In The Know: Street Style

We've all heard of the trend Street Style or Street Fashion, but what exactly is it? 

Street fashion is fashion that is considered to have emerged not from studios, but from the grassroots. Street fashion is generally associated with youth culture, and is most often seen in major urban centers. Japenese street fashion sustains multiple simultaneous highly diverse fashion movements at any given time. Mainstream fashion often appropriates street fashion trends as influences. Most major youth subcultures have had an associated street fashion. 
                                                                                                                                      -Wikipedia

I don't know about you, but I am in love with Street Style. As mentioned in my very first blog post, everytime I'm downtown, I get overwhelmed by all the different looks I see. My personal favourite is the hipster look. 

Some other types of Street Style are:

Hippies

Teddy Boys

 Punk- as seen on the well known singer Avril Lavigne

Skinhead

Street Style never looks the same. It is so easy to add your own flare to it and make it an original look, whether it's an accessory, or your shoes. There is something about Street Style that appeals to me more than clothing on the runway.