Loving Lately - March 2015

March has been a busy month leading into the homestretch of the semester, which I'm now fully in the midst of. Products I've relied on have been highly functional, straight-forward and unfussy. Let's hop to it.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer 

in "Medium-Dark Warm" 

I rotate through different concealers all the time, but this one has held a spot in my makeup routine quite firmly all month. I'm a fan of UD Naked Skin Foundation, so I'm not surprised I like this concealer (also a fan of the UD Naked Skin Ultra Definition Powder Foundation), as it brings the same natural-looking coverage to the table. I've actually been applying a swipe of this on each section of my skin after a heavy dose of moisturizer and then buffing in with a duo-fibre brush (Real Techniques Stippling Brush) and it's just enough coverage for an everyday look. I have both "Medium-Dark Neutral" and "Medium-Dark Warm" and must note that the neutral shade is noticeably darker than the warm shade. Also, the neutral shade is too pink for my liking, so I don't use it without mixing it with another concealer (usually with a shade or two of NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer that I have that happen to be too yellow in undertone). If you're a person who sticks to spot-concealing with a little bit of powder to set, this is a sound option to explore. The shade range isn't massive, so if you have tricky skin to match, definitely try before committing to the buy. 

Loving Lately - February 2015

I couldn't be more thrilled that February is winding down, purely because this winter has been dangerously close to unbearable, and the end of February means spring isn't too far away. I have heard that we're allegedly in for an extended winter in Ontario, but I will be glazing over that because I cannot mentally handle the idea that this weather may very well drag into April.

I'm going to be taking off for a week after some academic deadlines pass, so I'll probably do a post about which products I'll be taking along with me (spoiler alert: probably a lot of sunscreens). Until then, here's what I've been into over the last 4 weeks!

Tarte Tarteist Clay Paint Liner

I had been staring at this liner on sephora.ca for ages and then was lucky to receive it at a Tarte spring/summer preview this week. A Tarte national makeup artist was on hand to do makeup touch-ups. I've developed an apprehension about the phrase "makeup touch-ups", but I removed my glasses and had this liner applied and the results were perfect. The idea here is that the liner is a consistency occupying a space between a gel and a fluid and after messing with acrylic and oil paint in my Parsons days, I have to agree that dubbing it a "paint" is certainly accurate. The tube format eliminates any opportunity for the gel liner to dry up before you have a chance to actually use it (novel concept alert!). The formula is waterproof, and the colour is matte black and I quietly suggested that Tarte produce a navy version ASAP, inevitably to replace my now-dried out pot of Tom Ford Noir Absolue. The bent liner brush that accompanies this clay liner is easy to use (reminds me of a bent liner brush Benefit did ages ago, which is apparently no longer - Quo also did one similar once upon a time) and allows you to create a flick without much effort. The bristles are long enough to lay the brush on its side in order to sort of "stamp" down the shape before filling it in with more liner. The liner-brush duo ring in at $29 CAD, which is downright reasonable, especially if you will actually get the full product life span of this liner because of its ideal packaging. A squeeze tube eyeliner. What will they think of next!?!

Bits I Bought in NYC

I spent 4 nights and about 4.5 days in New York, NY, crashing with my dear brother (you know, family day weekend and all). I mostly had intentions of seeing friends, eating and generally wandering the city as I used to. I had a couple items in mind that I wanted to check out, so here are some of the bits I came back with. 

Custom lipstick from Bite Beauty Lip Lab

I remember reading about Canadian brand Bite Beauty's custom-colour-making Lip Lab a little while ago, and then I saw Lesa whipping up a custom blend on Insta, and I made a mental note to check it out next time I was going to be in the city. My flight back to Toronto was pushed back substantially, so I had extra time to poke around. I made my way to Prince Street to partake in this experience and had a delightful time creating a custom lip colour. I decided to stick to a colour that I would wear more often than not, so a fairly neutral-leaning-ever-so-slightly-warm shade was born after two rounds of mixing and trying on the blends with my lip lab tech. The options include picking out a formulation (Matte? Sheer? and so forth and so on!), tweaking the colour to your liking, adding a scent via essential oils and deciding what type of lipstick cap you prefer (an odd but interesting choice to make).

My lip lab tech mixed too much of my custom colour, so I wound up with two bullets for the price of one. Custom lipsticks start at $36 each and go up depending on the formula you choose. I walked away with a flesh-toned sheer luminous creme lipstick scented with mango and mint essential oils. If you're never able to find a colour that pleases you, definitely stop by for a bullet or few as unique as your taste.

Tatcha Camelia Nourishing Lip Balm

This jar untouched was so pretty, but I couldn't even slow my roll enough to snap a pic of it before completely messing up the gold leaf of this lip balm. I'm so not blogger-minded in that regard! Oh well! What I can express is that this balm is reeeeeeally pretty (immaculate packaging, y'all), and is loaded with camellia oil. I recently fell hard for this type of oil after realizing it's the magic ingredient in Shu Uemura's Moisture Velvet range, as well as Shu Uemura's Essence Absolue hair oil. Those products are the only things that hydrate my hair, so I was more than willing to try this balm, and I'm quite pleased with it. There's a square of gold leaf on top of this balm that lends a hint of shimmer when applied to the lips, but once it's gone, you're looking at a pretty emollient formula.

Vaseline Rosy Lips

Once I saw this pop up on US blogs, I knew I'd make a point of hunting it down. I first asked the PR team for Vaseline if this was going to launch in the Canadian market any time soon, and after I received confirmation that it wouldn't in the foreseeable future, I began plotting. I hit several Duane Reades and didn't spot it, so then I carried on to Walgreens in Times Square, because desperate times call for desperate measures! I found a bunch, bought 3 (2 for friends - my hoarding mentality is more selective than that!) and have enjoyed the hint of tint and floral scent that this formula has. People have their views on petroleum jelly, but I cannot deny the way it keeps lips moisturized, even in heinous weather (and I spent three days outside for about 12 hours a day, and I barely reapplied - fantastic!). 

Aesop Moroccan Neroli Shaving Duet

Aesop has expanded aggressively in the US market (the brand originally hails from Australia!), with Manhattan proper being its primary focus. They have stores all over the city, all quite interesting and made from recycled or renewable materials, like old copies of The New York Times. When I lived in the city, I was an avid user of the Moroccan Neroli Shaving Serum. It's a lightweight gel texture that offers low-foam slip, allowing a razor to glide through with absolute ease. I admittedly grabbed this duo for my boyfriend to make up for a really foiled vday gift (Sidebar rant: Dear J.Crew, how did you completely mess up the execution of monogramming a scarf? Not one letter was correct!!!). The shave serum is accompanied by a soothing aftershave lotion, which is lightweight, hydrating and quite comforting to the skin thanks to shea butter and olive fruit, and a slew of other beneficial ingredients that Aesop just loves throwing into the mix (witch hazel. orange flower oil aka NEROLI, glycerin, ginger root extract)! You can find the Aesop range at Holt Renfrew Yorkdale if you're not keen on ecomm or heading stateside any time soon.

Laura Mercier Ambre Vanillé Eau Gourmande

I don't even know what the classification of "Eau Gourmande" is. Is that a thing? Do I just know nothing about fragrance concentrations?! Doubtful, but I need to go on record and say this was a wildcard buy for me. I'm not that into gourmand scents, and I truly haaaaate vanilla fragrances. Anyone who likes to smell like a cupcake is dead to me, and the success of scents like Aquolina Pink Sugar ASTOUND me. Suffice it to say, this scent does not smell that sugary. It's sweet, but it isn't cloying to me personally. The amber element sucked me in. I originally was drawn to the hand cream in this scent, then just started using the hand cream when I wanted to smell this, and well, logic eventually prevailed! YAY!

Best Neutral Lip Colours for Pigmented Lips

Hi, y'all. As you may or may not realize, I'm East Indian! As a result of being East Indian, I have pigmented lips. And not evenly pigmented, might I add, but almost like a fleshy ombre situation. The edges of my bottom lip are a few shades darker than the rest of my mouth. If I wear lip colour that is semi-sheer, people often ask me if I've ombre'd two different shades of the same colour family together. Nope, I'm just that annoyingly on-trend by nature !

I thought I'd throw a list together of my go-to "nudes". I use the term "nudes" rather loosely, because I will basically never be the girl who is all about a true nude concealer lip look, mostly because that would a) make me look absolutely dead and b) isn't what my naked lips look like, so it's actually more "nude" than I care to go for. The colours called out here are mostly neutral in nature, and will suit my fellow people (women, I suppose, but I really hate saying anything that specific) of colour quite nicely. A lot of rosy browns, a lot of mauvey shades because that's essentially the two shades at play in my lips.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in "Boy #54"

To be fair, this colour slays on everyone. In a brief stint at the Chanel counter to help out this past holiday season, any time anyone approached the counter to find a new lipstick, this was the first thing I suggested (unless they were in the market for a specific shade). I suggested it because it's a slightly slicker formula than others available from the brand (so it's shiny, but not glossy and you can forget about sticky [I don't have time for that mess -- my hair is shoulder-length and I don't like pin-thin strands of gloss across my cheeks after my hair gets stuck in it]), and the colour is so neutral and flattering on everyone. A universal colour that can honestly be applied without a mirror is what I usually said, and dag nabbit, I meant it! I love this colour dearly and was so enthused when it first launched 3 years ago, ahead of the rest of the colours in this range. I hope it never goes away (...and it probably will now because such is the nature of cosmetics)!!!

Dior Rouge Dior Nude Lip Blush in "Twill #618"

I barely made it past how redundant this product title is, but once I did, I fell pretty hard for this lipstick. This range came out in fall 2012, and luckily seem to have made it to the permanent range, even though I originally was under the impression they were to be limited edition (my worst nightmare/my trigger words). The formula is comfortable and relatively hydrating. The entire shade range of "lip blushes" that launched in this collection were all pretty great as far as nudes go...nothing too over the top or extreme. I nabbed a backup of this shade because hi, I'm crazy, but also because that's how much I love it. I also have Trench and Indiscrete (the latter of which is definitely too light for me for daily wear and I wear mostly with heavy eye makeup for balance), and they're both aces, so if you pass a Dior counter, check the neutrals out!

Rodial Glamstick in "Lust"

A recent addition to my swipe-on-with-no-mirror lifestyle is this stick of greatness right here. Vitamin E, hyaluronic spheres and cocoa butter make this one of the creamiest tinted balms I've ever encountered and it's been pretty helpful in this polar vortex garbage weather we've been enduring here in Toronto. I think it'd probably be a melty mess in the summer (as most hydrating creamy things are), so buyer beware, but grab it to tide you over til spring, whenever the hell that might be. *glares at snow*

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in "Brown Sugar" & "Pink Truffle"

A more wallet-friendly option and one that I continuously come back to because the formula is packed with many a butter (mango, shea, coconut!) to hydrate lips, these lip butters, worn together, are effectively MLBB. This is where I get all ~bloggy~ on you and explain that that stands for "my lips but better". *sighs deeply* The internet. What a place. ANYWAY, back to these pretty awesome lip colours... if you're not looking to break the bank or are the type to use a product up (...something I do so rarely myself, I'm not sure I even know how that works), this is a great option that doesn't compromise colour or leave you cursing me for getting you hooked on a $40+ product. Swipe on, dear friends (and don't you dare feel the need to bust out a mirror)!


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