Sonia Kashuk Monochrome Eye Quad in Textured Mauve | Review + Swatches

On a recent trip to Target, I picked up this beautiful Sonia Kashuk Monochrome Eye Quad in Textured Mauve. I've been trying more from the brand lately since Target Canada is shutting down so everything is a really great price! So far I've loved everything I've tried from the brand and hope to get a few more things! I've had the Sonia Kashuk Eye On Neutral matte palette for a while and I really like that eye shadow texture, so I was hopeful about this one!

This quad definitely did not let me down. It includes 4 mauve shades in varying textures. There's a matte dusty mauve, a more peach-mauve matte with very slight shimmer, a shimmery pink-mauve, and a glittery mauve that works well as a topper shadow. All four of these shadows are so beautiful and are swatched above with no primer!

This is a look I created using the quad. I also used a deep plum shade from the Tartelette palette to slightly deepen the crease, as well as a shimmery champagne as an inner corner highlight. Though these shadows are all gorgeous, this palette can't really create a good variety of looks and it definitely benefits from being used with other shadows, especially highlight shades and deep coloured shadows since this palette is all mid-tone shades.

What other Sonia Kashuk products should I try? I'd love to know your favourites!

Born Pretty Store Brush Set Review

Born Pretty Store recently reached out to me wanting to send a few products for me to review! One of the items I chose was this 7 piece brush set*. To be honest, when I received it in the mail I thought the brushes seemed really cheap and not the best quality, but I gave them all a try anyway and I was pleasantly surprised! This brush set comes with a blush brush, medium flat brush, small flat brush, lip brush, angled liner/eyebrow brush, a sponge tip applicator, and a lash/brow comb. All of the brushes have very soft synthetic bristles. When testing this brushes I didn't experience any shedding. 

I used the blush brush to apply powder blush and highlight, and it could also be used for bronzer, contouring, or other powder or cream face products! I found the small and medium flat brushes to work well with powder eye shadows, but I especially loved them with my Colourpop Super Shock cream shadows! From now on these will be go-to brushes for me for cream shadows. The lip brush worked well to smooth out and even the lip line when applying lipstick, so I was pleased with that. I used the angled brush to do my eyebrows with the Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade, and though it worked well I found it to be a bit too small for my liking. I might try it with gel liner though! I did not test the sponge tip applicator or the lash/brow comb as those are not the types of brushes I typically use, though they would work for some people I'm sure, I personally will not likely use those two.

Overall I was pleased with the quality of these brushes! They also came in a lilac brush roll, though I found it to be quite cheap looking and feeling. If you're in the market for some new brushes but don't want to spend a lot of money, you might want to check these out! If you'd like to try this brush set out, or anything else from Born Pretty Store, you can get 10% off your order with the code TCH10.

What brand makes your favourite brushes?

 

*This item was sent to Lipstick & Lacquer for review purposes. All opinions reflect my honest thoughts of the product(s).

Colourpop Haul + Review

I recently made an order from Colourpop and I thought I'd share what I picked up! I already own 2 of their Lippie Stix which I received as gifts, so I had to get a few more, especially at only $5 each! The shades I got (swatched L to R above) are Lumiere, Brink, Clique, and Heart On. Lumiere is a cool matte mauve shade. Brink is a warm taupe pink matte. Clique is a vivid orange red matte. Heart On is a bright matte magenta. In my order I also got a couple of their Super Shock Shadows since I've heard such great things about them. I got the shades Desert (a light warm brown with a satin finish) and La La (a rose gold shimmer). So far I love everything I got! The Lippie Stix are super pigmented and long wearing, and also quite comfortable for a matte lipstick. The Super Shock Shadows are nice and creamy and wear beautifully for 8+ hours. If you haven't checked out Colourpop by now I'd highly recommend you do!

Born Pretty Store Eyeshadow Palette | Review + Swatches

I recently got sent a couple of products from Born Pretty Store to try out and review. I have already reviewed one item here, and this is the second item! This is an eyeshadow palette that consists of 5 shimmery neutral eyeshadows. It has a shimmery white, shimmery yellow gold, shimmery rose gold, shimmery olive gold, and a shimmery charcoal. The swatches above were all done with no primer. These shadows swatch fairly nice and opaque but the formula isn't really smooth. It does take a bit of work to build the shadows up to their full potential, but considering this palette is only about $6, it's not too bad! My favourite shades are the 2nd and 3rd shadows, which would both look beautiful on the lids. This palette would be ideal to pair with something like the Urban Decay Naked Basics palettes to use some matte shadows along with the shimmery ones here! 

If you're wanting a few more shimmery neutral shadows to add to your collection without spending much money, I'd recommend checking this palette out! If you're interested in trying this palette or any other products from Born Pretty Store, you can get 10% off your order when you use the code TCH10.

*This item was sent to Lipstick & Lacquer for review purposes. All opinions reflect my honest thoughts of the product(s).*

MAC x Isabel and Ruben Toledo Collection | Haul + Swatches

This morning I awoke bright and early to head to MAC to check out the new MAC x Isabel and Ruben Toledo collection. Ever since the promo images appeared online for this collection, I was immediately drawn to the bold illustrated packaging and knew I wanted to add some items to my makeup collection! I ended up getting the Blush Ombré in Ripe Peach, as well as 3 lipsticks in the shades Barbecue, Oxblood, and Victoriana.

MAC really went all-out for the packaging for this collection. The lipstick boxes all had sleeves, and the unique illustrations were also featured on the boxes. The lipstick tubes have a matte feeling (similar to NARS packaging) which feels really nice but I'll have to be extra careful to keep them clean and white!

 

Here is the blush ombré in Ripe Peach swatched. From left to right: peach shade,  pink shade, both swirled together, both swirled together and blended out. I'm so excited to have this gorgeous blush in my collection!

These are the lipsticks I got! From left to right there is Barbecue (matte vivid orange red), Victoriana (matte midtone pink red), and Oxblood (matte light peachy nude). All of the lipstick shades from this collection are gorgeous and it was hard to just pick 3! I tried to choose shades that would be unique in my collection, and I'm thrilled with my picks!

Will you be getting anything from the MAC x Toledo collection? What are your top picks?

Naked On The Run | Review + Swatches

I have a new addition to my Urban Decay Naked collection, the new Urban Decay Naked On The Run palette! This is an all-in-one palette that includes 6 new eye shadows (Dive, Fix, Resist, Dare, Stun, 5050), a blush, a bronzer, their Perversion mascara, a 24/7 Glide-On Pencil in Stag, and a full-size Naked Ultra Nourishing Gloss in Sesso. 

The eyeshadows all swatch and apply beautifully with the smooth texture and great pigmentation that I've come to know and love with Urban Decay shadows. The blush is a really nice cool-toned pink and quite different from many other blushes in my collection. The bronzer is a tad orange for me but if used lightly I can make it work. I like that they included a black-brown eyeliner in this palette rather than a black, because most makeup lovers have too many black eyeliner pencils in their collections already, and the brown compliments the neutral shades in this palette. The Perversion mascara is a super black formula which lengthens and provides good volume to the lashes. I don't think it's a mascara I'll buy a full-size of since I have other favourites, but it is a good mascara that I will use up. The lip gloss is a nice neutral peach that would work on any skintone. I'm not a lip gloss person at all, but for times I would wear a gloss this is a shade I'd go for.

This set would be great to travel with, as it was intended for, since many of the steps in a makeup routine would be covered by the products provided! If you're in the market for some neutral products, or want to try more from Urban Decay's product line, this palette would be a great thing to pick up!

The Olive Green Smokey Eye | FOTD

Lately I've been experimenting a bit more with my eye makeup. For the past many years my go-to look has been a light neutral eyeshadow look with winged liner. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love that look still, but I have a lot of eye shadows in my collection that never get any love and I want to start using them more! I've been going sans-cateye more frequently lately and I really like the changed look!

For the look above I swept an olive green shimmery shadow across my eyelid over primer. Then I took a medium brown matte through my crease. I highlighted my inner corner with a shimmery champagne shade. I then took the olive shadow along my lower lashline, and finished the look off with curled lashes and 2 coats of mascara. This look was super easy to achieve and I loved the result!


The star of this look was the gorgeous olive green eyeshadow, JoJo #18* from BornPrettyStore. It's a deep olive shade with gold shimmer throughout and applied smoothly with minimal fallout. It's good for someone like myself who is a neutral shadow lover, because it introduces some colour in a fairly neutral way. I feel like this look will be a new go-to for me, since it's super quick and easy and looks great!

You can get 10% off your order from BornPrettyStore when you use the code TCH10.

*This item was sent to Lipstick & Lacquer for review purposes. All opinions reflect my honest thoughts of the product(s).

Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipsticks | Review + Swatches

Attention all bold-lip lovers! You'll want to pay attention. There's a new liquid lipstick on the scene and this one is no joke. These are the Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipsticks. These are the first products in the Jeffree Star Cosmetics range and I am really impressed with them. I pre-ordered mine the day they became available, on Black Friday, and got the bundle with all 3 available shades (available on the Jeffree Star Cosmetics website). The three shades currently available are I'm Royalty, Redrum, and Prom Night.

I'm Royalty is a bright royal purple with a matte finish. Redrum is a bright blue-based red. Prom Night is a borderline neon bright Barbie pink. 

The formula of these is similar to products such as the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks and the Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipsticks. They apply wet looking from a tube with a doe foot applicator and set as an ultra-matte finish. These do not transfer like a typical lipstick would either. The wear time of these is great as well. I can wear these for 6+ hours without the need of a touch up! All three of the shades apply very opaque in one pass over the lips. The only down side to these for me is that application is a bit tricky since the doe foot applicator is a little flimsy. I might try to apply these with a lip brush next time to get a more precise application. But other than that this product is a total win in my books! Jeffree is currently working on expanding the shade range of these liquid lipsticks as well as adding new products to his range which I can't wait for!

Are these lipsticks something you'd try out? What are your thoughts on the super bold shades?

Colourpop Lippie Stix | Creature + Feminist

For Christmas, my friend McKenna gifted me a couple of Colourpop Lippie Stix! It seems like for the past few months Colourpop has been all over beauty blogs and YouTube channels and I've really been wanting to try out some products from the brand. Well, I've tried these two Lippie Stix in the shades Creature and Feminist and they did not disappoint! Creature is a deep red shade with a matte finish. Feminist is a blackened purple matte. As a fan of a vampy lip, both of these shades are right up my alley! These wear really well throughout the day and last around 5 hours before needing touch ups. They also remain quite comfortable on the lips considering they have a matte finish. If you get the chance to try some of the Colourpop Lippie Stix I'd highly recommend them!

Lorac Pro 2 Palette | Review + Swatches

When I was in the USA this summer visiting my friend Sara, I bought the Lorac Pro palette. Since then, it has become a staple in my collection. At the time the Lorac Pro 2 had just come out and though I was tempted by it, I decided to just stick with the original. Well, to my surprise, Sara picked me up the Lorac Pro 2 palette and sent it to me for Christmas! I was honestly shocked when I opened it and was so, so excited. Over the past 5 months I had come to love the Lorac Pro palette so much and was counting on buying this one next time I went to the states (which I don't know how far away that'd be). Since getting this palette I've used it multiple times a week!

This palette is in the same format as the original Lorac Pro palette. It's encased in matte, thin, cardboard packaging and has magnetic closure. Even though it is cardboard it still feels sturdy and nice. In the palette there are 16 shadows - 8 mattes across the top row and 8 shimmers along the bottom. The original palette was full of more classic neutral shades whereas this palette consists of some more unique shades. So far with my looks with this palette I've been playing it pretty safe, but I can't wait to experiment with some of the less neutral shades (I mean, just look at that navy!). I really can't say whether I prefer the original or this one. Both have the same amazing buttery, pigmented textured shadows, and both are so great for everyday wear to more daring looks. If you're an eyeshadow lover I really don't think you can go wrong with either (or both!) of these palettes!

Bite Beauty Lip Love Ultimate Lip Rescue Kit | Review

For Christmas one of my best friends gave me this Bite Beauty Lip Love Ultimate Lip Rescue Kit as part of my present. I was really excited to receive it since I have yet to try any products from Bite Beauty but I've really been wanting to! Bite Beauty products are all-natural and formulated with food-grade ingredients, so the occasional time you get a little bit of lip products in your mouth you know you won't be ingesting any chemicals when using their products. Included in this kit are 2 Lush Lip Wipes, BB for Lips in Tawny, the Agave Lip Mask, and the Whipped Cherry Lip Scrub.

The Lush Lip Wipes are individually wrapped pre-moistened wipes that you can use to remove a lip colour, and they also prep the lips for applying a new lip colour. They're supposed to be hydrating and also mattify lips before applying a lip product. I have yet to try these, but sometimes when I'm out all day long and wearing a bold lip, I like to switch to a more low-maintenance nude lip colour later in the day. I'll be putting these in my makeup bag I carry with me on-the-go for next time I do a lip colour switch while I'm out!

The BB for Lips in Tawny is a sheer nude-pink lip balm. It's said it can be used for hydrating and priming the lips, and it also has SPF 15. I've used this throughout the past week or so and it feels really nice on the lips. I haven't tried using it as a primer for other lip products specifically, but I have applied lip products while still having a little bit of this remaining on my lips and I haven't noticed anything slipping or sliding off my lips. It also smells great! This would be great for "no makeup" makeup days too as it is hydrating and comfortable to wear but also gives the lips a sheer wash of colour!

I was really excited to try the Agave Lip Mask as it's definitely one of the most raved-about products from Bite Beauty and I've been enjoying it! Once I managed to squeeze some out of the tube (seriously, it was hard to do), I applied this super-thick balm over my lips before going to sleep. I've done this the past few nights now and in the morning I don't have dry, cracked lips I tend to wake up with if I don't apply a thick balm before bed. I do really like this and it works great, but I think I still prefer my Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm. The Jack Black balm gives me the same results when wearing it overnight, but application is a lot easier (especially to do when I'm really lazy at night) and the price is much lower. Both are great products though! I'm glad I got to try the Agave Lip Mask in this small sample size tube and I will still continue to use it.

Lastly, the Whipped Cherry Lip Scrub is a cherry-flavoured mousse balm infused with exfoliating beads and is used to smooth and condition the lips. First off, this smells incredible. However, as a lip scrub it is not super effective. I'm used to using more abrasive scrubs like the ELF Lip Exfoliator or the LUSH Lip Scrubs, so when I first tried this it more felt like I was applying a lip balm that had a few beads in it. I'll use this on days when my lips are pretty smooth already and don't need much exfoliating done just to further smooth the surface before applying a lip product, but on days when my lips need serious exfoliating I'll be sticking with my ELF Lip Exfoliator! The smell of this alone makes me want to continue to reach for this though and it'll probably be good to use in the spring and summer when everything isn't so dry!

Overall this was a great kit to try a few lip care products from Bite Beauty. I don't believe this kit is still available online, but I have seen it in a couple Sephora stores lately so you might be able to find it there. But all of the products included in this kit are permanent, so if there's 1 or 2 specific items that are jumping out to you, you can still get them!

Have you tried any products from Bite Beauty? What are your favourite products from them?

Tartelette Matte Eyeshadow Palette | Review + Swatches

If you're a matte eye shadow lover, you'll want to pay attention. I picked up the new Tartelette palette from Tarte a couple of weeks ago and I have a new favourite palette in my collection (of course, I have many favourites, but now this is one of them)! The Tartelette palette consists of 12 matte neutral eye shadows ranging from highlight to deep, and warm to cool shades. All of the shadows are smooth and not too powdery either. I absolutely love it. 

The palette is perfectly laid out, with shades going from light to dark down each column. The first column of shades consists of a yellow-toned highlight, the middle shadow is a pink-toned highlight, and the bottom shadow is a neutral ivory. The second column includes 3 gorgeous shadows that are perfect as transition shades for the crease. The third column has your midtone shades which would look great in the crease, under the eye, or on the lid for a smokey look. And the last column has dark shadows that again could be used in the crease, but could also be used as eyeliner or to smoke out any eye shadow look!

If you're a fan of neutral shadows, matte shadows, or just eye makeup in general I think this palette is definitely an asset to any collection! It also works well accompanying a shimmery shadow or palette to help balance out a look!

What do you think about the Tartelette palette? Do you think it's something you'll be adding to your collection this year?

Nars Audacious Lipstick | Charlotte

Last week Sephora had a deal for VIB's where if you spend a minimum $50 you get $20 to spend in the store so I took the opportunity to splurge a little and finally buy myself one of the new NARS Audacious lipsticks! Ever since these were launched I've been dying to try them and I'm so glad I did. I chose the shade Charlotte, which is a deepened berry-toned red. The formula of these lipsticks is amazing. It's so comfortable on the lips with a semi-matte creme finish. It's also insanely pigmented and with one swipe over the lips it's fully opaque. The packaging is so nice too, with a sleek black matte tube with magnetic closure. For Christmas my friend Abby (hello Abby, I know you're probably reading this ;) haha) got me a Sephora gift card as part of my present from her and I'm thinking of using it towards another one of these lipsticks but in a nude shade for everyday wear! If you've been holding out on trying these lipsticks I say it's totally worth the hype and the splurge!

Tarte Bon Voyage Collector's Set

 

Today I've got another holiday palette to share with you all! This is the Tarte Bon Voyage Collector's Set for holiday 2014. One day when I was in Sephora I had swatched a few shades of this palette and for the next couple of weeks I couldn't get it off my mind! I eventually caved and went to buy it, and I also had a 10% off coupon that I got when I was upgraded to VIB, as well as a $50 mall gift card, so this palette only cost me around $23 of my own money for this! This set retails for $71 CAD.

This set includes an eyeshadow palette with 20 Amazonian clay eye shadows, a full size LipSurgence Lip Tint in Romantic, a full size LipSurgence Lip Gloss in Visionary, a deluxe sample of the Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara, a deluxe cheek stain in Muse, a deluxe Maracuja Oil, a deluxe Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay finishing powder, and a collector's travel bag! For all that you get in this set it really is an amazing value.

In this palette you get 20 beautiful neutral shadows. I love the colours in this palette as they range from mauve purpley tones, to warmer neutrals, to cool silvers and grays. You get 12 matte shadows and 8 shimmers, which as a matte shadow lover, I adore!

(Left to Right: Palace of Versaille, Moulin Rouge, I Think I Cannes, My Own Cotes du Rhone, Boudoir Noir, Fall in Louvre, Provence Upon a Time, Eiffel For You, Too Haute to Handle, Bastille in the Night) (Left to Right: Chantilly Lace, Merci You Later, No Champagne No Gain, Take on Bordeaux, French Riviera, C’est la Vie, Marseille the Word, Play Nice, On a Good Notre Dame, Le Cordon Bleu)

(Left to Right: LipSurgence Lip Tint in Romantic, LipSurgence Lip Gloss in Visionary, Romantic with Visionary on top)

Here are a few looks I've created with the palette! It really is so versatile and it's been a lot of fun to play with so far!

I haven't had the chance to play with the other products in the kit yet but if I end up loving any of them you can expect to see them in my monthly favourites! I thought I'd get this post up while the VIB sale was still on so you can get 20% off this set while you can!

The Best Matte Lipsticks at the Drugstore!

 

Ever since I first heard about these lipsticks a few weeks ago I've been searching my local drugstores high and low for them. I finally came across a display at WalMart (which was mostly sold out), but I managed to pick up two shades! The lipsticks I'm talking about of course are the new Maybelline Color Sensational Creamy Matte lipsticks! 

The two shades I got were Mesmerizing Magenta (swatched left) and Lust for Blush (swatched right). Both shades swatched really smoothly and applied opaque. They also apply really nicely to the lips and don't pull or tug at all which some matte lipsticks are prone to doing. And even though while wearing them they feel really creamy on the lips, they still appear to be completely matte! Since they are a creamier formula they don't wear as long on the lips as some other drier matte formulas, but it's well worth it for the comfort of these, and they're super easy to touch up or reapply as needed. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more shades of these!

Have you tried these lipsticks? What shades should I buy next?