Tweet Birthday Haul :D

Today is my 21st Birthday!! 

*yay* I am now offiicially legal everywhere in the world :D haha feels pretty good!



Anyways, since im writing this post the night before, i cant really tell you what i did for my birthday just yet :p but here are some items that i hauled as a little present to myself hehe :D i didnt go too crazy because my new years resolution was to spend less lol so i told myself that after my birthday.. i will stop spending as much and restrain myself from purchasing items/products that i already have. hope it works out! lol

firstly, i picked up my free birthday gift from sephora

this year, the birthday gift is a vanilla birthday cake shampoo, shower gel and bubble bath from philosophy. Although i really wanted the gift from last year (which changed AFTER i got my bday gift) i have to admit, this stuff smells REAL good :D cant wait to try it!

Next, i stopped by MAC to take a look at their new collections :) I usually dont buy MAC even though i LOVE their products... cause they are pretty pricey and they add up FAST! lol but i swatched several of their products (i'll post swatches of the Peacocky eyeshadows i swatched in a separate post) and found two i really really liked! So i thought, why not :) i'll treat myself to a little birthday MAC gift hehe

i ended up getting the "let me pop" paintpot from the cham pale collection, as well as Dalliance eyeshadow from the peacocky collection.

Dalliance is a gorgeous white gold shade with green undertones.. i will do a separate post for review and swatches! but let me tell you, the peacocky eyeshadows are REALLY pigmented and buttery! plus, they are HUGE! haha much bigger than the normal eyeshadows :)

Let Me Pop is a gorgeous coral paintpot with gold shimmer. although i saw some reviews of the cham pale collection having gritty paintpots, i swatched this several times and so far, i think this ones pretty smooth! however, i do have to say it is very shimmery and not as pigmented as other paintpots.. still, i LOVE the color!

I also stopped by Zellers to pick up some more moisturizer since i was running low.. unfortunately, they didnt have any of my favourite in stock :( and i refuse to use any other! lol on the good side, i finally found wet n wild's LE holiday palettes! I was SUPER STOKED for these as im sure you know by now, these palettes are my all time favorite drugstore palettes :) and the new LE ones have such gorgeous colors plus many MAC dupes! *yay* i waited for these to come to canada for so long :D

i got 3 palettes out of the 4 :)  

 

golden goddess

 

sugar plum fairy

night elf

finally, to end off my makeup haul lol, i did stop by smashing cosmetica up in crossiron mills. For those who were a fan of this store like me (this was my fav store in that mall!), i am sad to say that they have now closed down that location :( if you're in the calgary area, the next closest smashing cosmetica will be in banff :( *boo*

BUT, good news is that before they closed, they actually had a pretty good sale! the majority of their products were all sold for $5!!! So i picked up several items i've been wanting to try :)

Firstly, i got thebalm shady lady eyehsadows! i've always wanted the full palette, but since they ran out of stock, i chose 4 shades which i loved :)

mischievous marissa, luscious lani

all about alex, just this once jamie

again, i will do a separate post to review and swatch, but i have to say, these are SOOO buttery and pigmented its crazy! i loveeeeee them and wish i tried them earlier!! <3

Along with the eyeshadows, i also picked up Becca's shimmering skin perfector.. which i think is like a highlighter :) this normally retails for (i think) around $50!! so picking it up for $5 is AMAZING! :D i've never tried anything from this brand, but this looks promising :)

Last item from smashing cosmetica was a stila lippie in olivia :) never tried their lippies but this shades looked like a pretty everyday shade so i couldnt help myself hehe

look at the pretty packaging!!

I also picked up a ring and a pair of suede gloves from H&M. i absolutely LOVEE the ring! and the gloves are pretty and classy hehe and they will keep me warm <3

love love love big ringss :D

warm suede gloves :)

Finally, the last two things i got are kind of random but i love them :) of course, i HAD to get my all time favourite cupcakes hehe these are the red velvet cupcakes from buttercream and they are sooo good! not too sweet but just the perfect balance between the cupcake and icing <3 love love love!

and then, i saw this pink hourglass at winners and i just couldnt not get it lol. i dont know.. it seems pretty random and all, but i just love it :) i think im going to put it on my bedside table and use it at night when i read. this hourglass is supposed to time 30 minutes so that should be a good chunk of time for me to relax before bed :)

 

So there you have it! theres my little birthday haul :D i will be doing separate posts for each makeup product and provide reviews and swatches as always :) my bf also just hinted to me that he has finished wrapping all my presents so i SUPER cant wait to open them up tmr! hehe :D hope you all have a good day and i'll be back soon with more goodies and reviews!

Tweet Holy Grail Wednesdays - TheBalm's Time Balm Concealer

Because of hereditary reasons  and the fact that i often have to stay up cramming school work, i have unfortuantely, very large dark circles :( Without the use of concealer or foundation, i would look like a zombie! However, in my quest to find my holy grail concealer, i think i have finally found one that works beautifully.. time balm concealer by thebalm!

Concealer in light/medium

Prior to purchasing this product online on sephora (this wasnt available in stores in calgary back then for some reason!) i serached up many reviews and tried to look for swatches. However, i could never ever find swatches that showed me the colour comparisons.. and therefore, based on reviews and computer generated swatches of the colours, i purchased mid-medium. Obviously, this colour was way too dark for me! But i kept it for those times when i get slightly tanned so that i can mix my concealers to get that perfect colour :) It took me a long time to finally find a store which sold light/medium, but this is the one that is slightly lighter than my skin tone so it works perfectly for both under eye circles and hiding those pimples :) Here are the comparisons and of course, the swatches!

Concealer in mid-medium on left and light/medium on right

Mid-medium on left, and light/medium on right - swatches with flash

Mid-medium on left, and light/medium on right - swatches with no flash

 

What they say:
This is the picture they post on their website. As you can see, you cant really tell what the colours look like. :( Click here for their website.

My take:
This concealer is super smooth and creamy. I find that the texture is more thick then liquid concealers so it allows for better coverage. This also works great for covering pimples and covering any redness and discolouration. and the best part? it doesnt crease!!! I find that with good application, it can last me all day without the slightest crease showing. In the past, i have found various concealers that have given me good concealing, but they have always started to crease as the day passed.. but this one doesnt! In my honest opinion, this one does very well for under eye circles and pimples or any discolouration you may have. definately holy grail material!


Application:
There are several different ways i have tried out when using this concealer. overall, i think this concealer performs quite well no matter which application method you use, but some may be better for certain reasons:


1. with a concealer brush - i normally use a concealer brush for other concealers because of its precise application, but i find that its not as good for blending. Although it does a good job in reaching corners etc, it may take a bit more work with applying and blending before achieving the desired application you want.


2. with a foundation brush - a foundation brush (preferably angled) allows for a much larger application. normally, i apply concealer under my eyes in a triagular shape with the side of my nose and the side under my eyes as guiding lines. (refer to picture below) By using a foundation brush, i can easily apply concealer to this area and blend well.

3. with my fingers! - using your fingers may seem not as professional, but it works the best for quick application and easily blending. the warmth of your fingers help work the concealer into your skin so it blends perfectly. Just make sure you wash your hands well before applying!

And this is what it looks like when applied on me:

Left: before concealer
Right: After concealer (can you kind of see the triangle reflecting the light?)

Have you guys tried out this concealer before? OR do you have other holy grail concealers? Let me know because although i am in love with this, i always want to try other products that work!


xAgnes