My first Luxe Box...

A week ago I received my first Luxe Box by Loose Buttons. This is a box filled with 3-5 deluxe sample products ranging from perfume to moisturizers to makeup. Loose Buttons is a Canadian brand, but I do believe that there are a wide variety of these types of companies throughout the USA and Britain.

You subscribe to Loose Buttons like you would a magazine. It costs 12$ a month and you can choose either 1, 3, or a 12 month subscription. The shipping is free, which is Canada is really great. Now on with the good stuff.

There's just something about OPI's Skull & Glossbones...

"Find a penny pick it uuuu....AGH! I chipped my nail polish!" This pretty much describes the relationship I have with nail polish, until I bought OPI's Skull & Glossbones.

Is this some super powerful new nail polish blend? Does it have an adamantium core? No no, nothing like that. It just wears really well.

Back 2 Mac

Do you stroll into MAC and feel completely and utterly lost? Even after you have spent countless hours on blogs, youtube, makeupalley, reading up on products? For me it is like I am a kid in a candy store and I can't decide what I want. Normally, I am pretty fearless, I know what I want and nothing is going to stand in my way...but at MAC I am so overwhelmed, I want everything...(hence MAClust).

I am a huge fan of the Back 2 MAC program, it is one of the reasons why MAC is my favourite brand. So recently, I hauled in 18 items to MAC. I was nervous that they wouldn't take back my eyeshadows with the pan missing (as I depotted it) but I had no trouble. I feel like the "MAC won't return eyeshaows without the pan" is some cruel ubran myth that was generated on the internet.

Quarry and Handwritten ended up following me home. Quarry is a mauvey grey and Handwritten appears almost like a deep brown purple, but when swatched it is more brown than purple. Both are matte but Handwritten is classified as a Matte^2 (squared), which is intensely more pigmented than regular matte shadows. A gal could run into trouble with these if she isn't careful, these are great shadows for in the crease.

Left Quarry, Right Handwritten

Z palette thoughts

So...when your makeup collection reaches a certain...fullness, some choose to move to a new home where closets and counterspace are plentiful, others (like me) buy palettes. I have several MAC palettes that I use, but I can't bring myself to pop off the dividers and take advantage of just the magnetic pan underneath (I am a neat freak at heart). So, at Imats Vancouver 2011, I took advantage of the Z palette vendors and bought 2.

Gets dirty like a mutha..

The large zebra print was priced at $21 dollars while the smaller leopard print at $14. I consider this a bargin considering it is really difficult to find a online supplier for this in Canada, not to mention the shipping can be pricey.

Compared to MAC palette, size

Favourites Cup and unexpected FOTD

Remember the movie Practical Magic? With Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman? I watched it last night after reading the book that I dug up at a second hand bookstore. It still has to be one of my favourite films, I love it, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I have a little china tea cup that is always in my bathroom. It really doesn't seem to have a purpose, it just lives in my bathroom, so I will put it to use and dub it my Favourites Cup.

Favourites Cup

Will You Do The Fandango For Nyx's Bohemian Rhapsody?

Less theatrical than Queen (sorry Freddie) and leaning hard on the bohemian, this 10 colour palette is your one stop shop for matte and shimmer eyeshadows alike.

10 Color Eyeshadow Palette The Runway Collection - Bohemian Rhapsody

With 5 matte shades on the bottom including a black, peachy nude and cool brown, and 5 shimmer shades on top featuring silver, taupe and pink, pack liner, mascara and you're good to go!

My dry lips say, yes please, to Nyx's Soft Matte Lip Cream

Visions of a perfect matte pout, for me, seemed as unlikely as finding a good nail polish colour at the bottom of a half off bin.That is until I picked of 3 of Nyx's Soft Matte Lip Creams at Imats Vancouver 2011.

Right to left: Istanbul, Amsterdam, Stockholm

These babies stood out from the rest of the afore posted hoard, making me wish I had of gone back for more. It was difficult to know if these would be a hit or miss, as Nyx did not have any..sanitary ways of testing this product (there was no way a TESTER doefoot applicator was going anywhere near my mouth). After several swatches appeared promising, I took the plunge. 

Right to Left: Amsterdam, Stockholm, Istanbul

"It's not lipstick, nor is it gloss. It's

 like nothing you've experienced 

before. It's lipstick cream that goes 

on silky but looks soft matte."

Imats Hoard - Ben Nye

Hellloo August!

Hope you had a lovely weekend! Happy BC Day if you are Canadian...and from BC of course. It has been pretty hot here, finally!

I decided to test out my new Ben Nye eyeshadows, that I got at Imats Vancouver 2011. The deal was that if you bought 4 of any pan colour (which were a steal at 6$ each) then you would get the palette for free.

 The palette is magnetic and has small pinholes in the back that can be used to pop the colour out of the palette.

Top Left: Bahama Blue, Top Right: Royal Purple,
Bottom Left: Caribbean, Bottom Right: Fuschia 

The colours I got were Caribbean - green, Royal Purple - purple, Fuschia - pink, Bahama Blue - blue.

The pink was actually a blush, but it can be used for either a blush or an eyeshadow. This bright colour would look amazing on darker skin tones.

Left to Right: Bahama Blue, Royal Purple, Caribbean, Fuschia

So bright outside!

Eyes: My Ben Nye palette of course. Blue on the lid, Purple in the crease, Green underneath the eyes. Black in outer V, and shimmery white brow highlight. Nyx white eyeshadow base, Nyx Milk Jumbo pencil, Physicians Formula Black eyeliner, L'Oreal Intense Black Liquid Liner, L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara, MAC demi lashes.

Excuse the brows, I'm growing them out, I'm beginning to think that even though the lash glue says clear, you pretty much always need to go over it otherwise it looks white

Face: Nars Sheer Glow in Deauville (oh just wait for the review on this!), Hard Candy blush in PinUp, Hoola Bronzer

Lips: H&M Lipgloss in Jet Set Queen

Now how to make this look wearable!

Hope you are having a good day. I haven't been very productive. Damn Shark Week! I can't tear myself away!

-Emily