Friday, April 17, 2015

ColourPop Pastel Punch Super Shock Eyeshadows in Bites, Hello & Flux | Review & Swatches


Goodness gracious! It's been a hot minute (I hate that saying)! I've been so busy unpacking and trying to keep up with a seven month old that the ol' blog hasn't gotten as much love as it used to. I have, however, been keeping up with the newest releases and am back with some swatches and a review of ColourPop's new spring line "Pastel Punch". I only grabbed three shadows but I plan on buying the rest of the collection along with their new highlighters when they come out. RIP my poor, poor wallet!

Pastel Punch Flux, Bites & Hello
  • Flux - (a matte light mint green) Oooooh girl.  Mint + matte = one happy chick. While it's a teensy bit on the chalky side, it's still smooth, opaque, easy to work with and blend out. Like with all of ColourPop's shadows, it has the unique consistency of a cream but applies like powder. It's magic, I tell ya!
  • Bites - (a matte white) Finding a nice, opaque white without it fading on the lid is like the unicorn of the beauty world - incredibly hard to find. While this follows in Flux's footsteps and is a bit chalky too, I find it to be perfectly opaque and workable. 
  • Hello - (a matte soft yellow) Sa-woon! This is the most perfect butter yellow. It isn't as opaque in one swipe as the other two but it is buildable. It's also less chalky then Bites and Flux. 
(Flux | Hello | Bites)

A little festival-inspired eye look!
(Inner corner: Hello | Middle lid: Flux | Outer lid: Bites)

Colour PopShop ($5 each)
Wednesday, April 01, 2015

Day/Night Skincare Routine | With Paula's Choice


These products were sent to me from Paula's Choice via PRIMP along with compensation. You better know my opinions are 100% all me.

There was a time long ago when if you asked me what kind of skincare routine I'd probably laugh and say "skincare-shimcare". Skincare was just not a priority. Like, at all. Sure, I'd test products or buy the latest and greatest but life would get in the way and I wouldn't continue use. 

Inevitably, beauty blogging saved my skin. I soon realized that the key to fabulous makeup is fabulous skin underneath and if you take care of your skin, it'll really take care of you. Heck, I could even slow down the aging process with certain skincare products. How amaze is that, right? Now, I'm all about the skincare!

I would describe my skin as Sahara-Desert-dry. It gets super flaky right around my nose (to the point where it cracks and hurts) and right around my brows. 

Now this is part which I tell you that unfortunately, not all skincare is created equal and half of them don't even actually do what they're supposed to. I don't know how many moisturizers I've tried that have done the complete opposite and dried my face out even more. 

Cue: Paula's Choice - they understand that we need a skincare that keeps its promises (their words). 


About a month ago, I had a phone call with one of Paula's Choice's skin consultants. After answering some questions and explaining my skin and all its troubles, we came up with a fab routine centered around the Skin Recovery line. Let's check out my day and night time routine!


I don't know why but I think my night time routine is the most relaxing. It's my time to wind down and relax. Get off all my make up and just chill with a naked face. Isn't that the best feeling ever? First, I start with my Skin Recovery Softening Cream Cleanser. I wet my face, apply it to my Boscia Konjac sponge and remove all my makeup off with circular motions. The cleanser is a rich cream that helps with redness, irritation and even rosacea. Next, I take the Skin Recovery Enriched Calming Toner and apply it using a cotton ball and a dabbing motion all over my face. This toner is fab because it helps prevent aging and is a really nice milky consistency. Once that has dried, I move onto the Skin Perfecting 8% AHA Gel. This is used to even your skin tone and also stimulate collagen production. I love, love, love how this alone makes my skin so smooth. Then I apply the Clinical 1% Retinol Treatment. I use a small amount to my face but avoid my lips and eyes. I was actually really intimidated to use this at first because it said it's something you should use gradually and start with using it only three times a week and then work your way up to every other night. It improves your skin's firmness, smooths deep wrinkles and reduces dark spots. I'm only up to using this two nights a week so far. The back of the bottle recommends not using this with an AHA or BHA exfoliant until you see how your skin reacts to 1% retinol.


I finish with two products that I mix together: the Skin Recovery Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum and the Skin Recovery Replenishing Moisturizer. These two together leave my skin so soft at night without clogging my pores. I also really enjoy (with all Paula's Choice products) that they're fragrance-free as well as dye-free so I don't have to worry about falling asleep with these on and waking up to breakouts.

My favorite skincare product from Paula's Choice is hands down the Skin Recovery Hydrating Treatment Mask. I kind of load this onto my face and neck, let it dry and sometimes actually fall asleep with it on my face. Once I wake up in the morning and wash this off, my skin feels like it spent the night at a day spa. It's amazing! I use this about twice a week. You can get this for 20% off AND free shipping using this link! #treatyoself

Ahh, spa day in a bottle!

My daytime routine is pretty simple because mornings. Need I say more? I start off with my Skin Recovery Softening Cream Cleanser with a trusty Boscia Konjac sponge. I normally cleanse my face in the morning because I sweat like crazy at night and like to start with a clean slate. Thankfully, this cleanser is not harsh at all and can be used morning and night without drying your skin. Lastly, I mix a couple of drops of the the Resist Moisture Renewal Oil Booster into the Skin Recovery Daily Moisturizing Lotion, massage into my skin and I'm ready to start my day! The Oil Booster is great because it contains Argan oil and that really helps add moisture to your skin.

In the beginning, my skin was pretty dry. My biggest issues were dryness and flakiness around my nose and brow area. After using Paula's Choice Skin Recovery line for almost a month now, my skin has transformed. No more cracks around my nose. No more flaky brows. It also seems like my pores are slightly smaller which is just an added bonus for me.

Okay, okay. So they're not technically skincare but these two palettes have been on repeat all month long! I mean, seriously. Drool-worthy!
 
 Paula's Choice Blush It On Contour Palette & The Nude Mattes Palette


The Blush It On Contour Palette comes with six different shades. One highlighter (Pearl - a luminescent pink-toned highlighter), one contour shade (Bronze - a matte brown) and four blush shades (Delicate Coral - a vibrant, peachy shade, Peony - a medium-toned muted pink, Dusty Rose  - a medium pink with a hint of coral and Soft Mauve - a medium berry-pink). My favorite part about all these shades is that they're buildable. You can take it from the softest whisper of a color to bam-boom in yo face bold. I do have to note that the shade "Bronze" is perfect for my light skintoned friends but probably wouldn't work for my medium-dark skintoned friends. My fave two shades are Pearl and Peony!

(L-R: Pearl, Bronze, Delicate Coral, Peony, Dusty Rose & Soft Mauve)

The Nude Mattes Palette comes with 12 shades (11 matte, 1 highlighter). This palette has a great spectrum of light nude shades to dark with everything in between. The black shade is probably one of the most pigmented black shadows I've ever come across so high five on that! I really just can't say enough good things about this palette. I would recommend this anyone looking for a great matte palette.


Overall: I'm so, so in love with Paula's Choice skincare and palettes. The skincare has really changed my skin to softer and more moisturized. I rarely ever get cracked skin around my nose from dryness now. Paula's Choice has really improved my skin!

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These products were sent to me from Paula's Choice via PRIMP along with compensation. You better know my opinions are 100% all me.

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