The Best Makeup of 2017

My Christmas and New Years got away from me and I never got a chance to do this post, so I decided it was a great way to kick off 2018 on the blog instead!

2017 was such a great year for me when it comes to discovering new makeup. I was borderline obsessed with finding great new drugstore products as well as some splurge worthy high end products.

My absolute favourite find of 2017 was L’Oreal’s Lash Paradise. I loved this mascara the day I tried it and used up two tubes since. I was so devoted to my L’Oréal Telescopic Mascara for the last few years but Lash Paradise quickly replaced it. I find the tubes do dry out quite quick though so they do not even last me 3 months where Telescopic could last me forever (although that is not sanitary I know).

My favourite eyeshadow palette of 2017 has to be the Tarte Clay Play Face Shaping Palette. It is such a beautiful neutral matte palette. I rarely use it for a complete eye look but I usually use it for the transition shade and sometimes to darken the corners and then I add some type of shimmery shade or colour to the lid after. I literally reach for it every day!

The stand out product for me when it comes to innovation is the Stila Magnificent Metals. I own both types and I love them so much! These last so long and the shades are so beautiful. I have Kitten Karma and use it anytime I want a full glam look! I wore it for my 30th Birthday this year. There are no other products on the market that compare to these!

My favourite and most used foundation of the year was Wet and Wild Photo Focus foundation. It is so affordable, long lasting and provides great matte coverage. I highly recommend it!

My favourite highlighter I found later in the year and it was the Maybelline Master Chrome highligher in Molten Gold. It is the perfect pinky golden shade and it suits my skin tone so well. I literally wear it every day.

My favourite bronzer was definitely Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer. I have yet to find one that blends so easily and add the perfect amount of color. When I am tanned I can’t wear it as much because I need something darker but most of the time this is my every day go-to bronzer!

My favourite lip product this year is the NYX Intense Butter Glosses! I love how pigmented they are yet also hydrating. I wore one to an Arizona Cardinals game and loved how easy it was to touch up and how great it looked in pictures. I have bought a few more since then and plan to keep quite a few in my collection!

I hope you enjoyed reading my 2017 stand out makeup products. Let me know in the comments if you agree with my picks and what else you would add to the list!

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Tarte Don’t Quit Your Day Dream Palette Review

My sister Joyelle is a makeup junkie as well and recently got the Don’t Quit Your Day Dream palette from tarte. I have been bugging her to do a guest post on the blog and she finally agreed to review this palette! All the opinions and pictures in this post are hers. 

My sisters review: It is a perfect palette for everyday wear, I use it literally everyday. The “Lovee” shade (top right hand corner) is the perfect crease color, I use it for crease or transition color in every eye look I do. I really like the shimmer shades but it is better to use your finger as they don’t seem very pigmented when using a brush. I like the highlight shade for an inner corner highlight but find it too light for my cheekbones. The bottom left shade “Runway” is my favourite color in the whole palette. I was originally looking at Urban Decay Heat palette but I am glad I got this one instead because it is way better for everyday. This palette is also nice a small so it is easy to travel with. Every time my best friend comes over she wants to use it! It is on sale on the Tarte website right now, and its limited edition so I highly recommend you get your hands on it ASAP.

Makeup used in the above eye makeup look:

She used Essence 2 in 1 eye shadow and liner in 02 peach perfect as a base. Then she used the don’t quit your day dream pallet on the eyes – she used visionary all over the lid, then Loveee as a transition color, Mixed Werk and Runway for the crease and also Runway on the outer corner of the eye. Runway is smoked out on the bottom lashline. She also added Specter from the UD Moondust pallet over visionary because she loves extra glitter.

I hope you guys enjoyed my sisters review and eye shadow look! This truly is a beautiful palette and its awesome that it is currently on sale for $25 CAD on the tarte website. That is a steal for a higher end palette.

 

Top 3 Concealers

I never used to wear much concealer because I never had dark circles, bags or discolouration under my eyes at all. Fast forward to getting pregnant and having a baby and now I have bags and dark circles on the daily! I used to use concealer mostly to hide blemishes, but now I use it to brighten under my eyes and provide extra coverage for scars and blemishes. I expect my concealer to cover well, last all day and not crease or look cakey.

One of the first concealers I ever tried was the Maybelline Fit Me concealer. I love the Fit Me line and honestly feel their foundation is holy grail status for me. I like this concealer for natural makeup days when I want to wear some BB Cream and mascara and run out the door. I do not find the Fit Me concealer provides a ton of coverage but enough to brighten my eyes without looking like I have much on.

My newer favourite is Catrice Camouflage concealer. I like that it is waterproof and does not budge all day. It doesn’t crease or look cakey and it blends really well. I find it provides really good coverage and because it lasts so long I like to use it to hide scars and blemishes. It is a drugstore product so its super affordable, although I have yet to see it in any stores in Canada. I originally ordered it online from Ulta and have already reordered it!

My absolute favourite is Tarte Shape Tape. I was originally skeptical of this product because every YouTuber I followed swore by it and I often find YouTubers wear pretty heavy makeup so I wasn’t sure I would like it as much for everyday. I was wrong! I love it. I would use it daily if it wasn’t so expensive but it does come with a lot of product and a little goes a long way. The color range is pretty great for concealer and I find it is long wearing and very full coverage. I find it best for under the eyes, although it does also build to cover blemishes if needed. I highly recommend trying it if you haven’t already! If you want a more detailed review feel free to check out my post tarte shape tape contour concealer – Worth the Hype & Price?

Let me know if you agree with any of my picks and what your favourite concealer is!

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June Favorites

I have got quite a few new products in the last few months and in June I found myself using and loving makeup more than ever! Here are a few of my favorites this month:

Wet N Wild Photofocus Foundation in Soft Beige ($7.99 CAD) – I really like this foundation. I picked it up at Loblaws Superstore because I had originally bought some off Well.ca but it was way too dark so when I saw it at Superstore I was excited to be able to color match to my skin. This foundation is medium to full coverage and lasts all day. It looks flawless in pictures and is a great canvas for other makeup to sit on top of. I apply it with a flat foundation brush or damp sponge. I find both work well. I highly recommend this foundation!

Essence Long Lasting Lipstick in the shade All-time favorite ($3.99 CAD) – I ordered this online but you can also often find them at Shoppers Drug Mart. I just find my Shopper does not carry vary many shades and is often sold out of what I want. I love this color and formula. It is creamy and a perfect everyday mauve nude. It does not last very long but with lipstick I am fine with reapplying it throughout the day.

Sigma Tapered Blending Brush E40 – This brush is EVERYTHING! I did not know what I was missing until I purchased this brush. It helps me blend my crease colors effortlessly and I seriously use it everyday.  Sigma brushes are amazing quality and worth every penny!

Tarte Park Ave Princess bronzer (sample size) – I got this in my most recent Tarte haul and I really like it! It has a bit of shimmer but the color gives the perfect sun-kissed look on my medium tan skin. I have never hit pan on a bronzer but I have a feeling I will use this one up by the end of the summer!

Makeup Revolution Luxury Powder in the shade Banana ($8.45 CAD) – I really like this banana powder for under my eyes. Before I had this powder I was using the Kat Von D Shade and Light palette’s banana powder and I honestly like this one better. It blurs out my under eye area and sits really well on top of concealer without settling into my fine lines.

Benefit Roller Lash mascara ($30 CAD) – My first impression of this mascara was not great, I felt it was good but nothing special. However, the more I use it the more I love it. The brush separates my lashes nicely but it still gives me a bit of length and volume. It does help my lashes hold a curl as well. My favorite thing about this mascara is that it is super easy to remove. For an everyday mascara I need it to be easy to remove and this stuff comes off with simple face wash which is great! I definitely recommend this mascara for every day use.

That wraps up my June Favorites!! Comment below and let me know if you are loving any of these products as well and what other products you have been loving this month.

xoxo Sarah

 

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tarte shape tape contour concealer – Worth the Hype & Price?

In May I did a tarte haul where I revealed I ordered from their website mainly to try shape tape. It has not been available in Canada and so when the website started to sell it I decided I had to have it! I have been trying it for the last few weeks so I figured it was time to share my final verdict.

This concealer retails for $31 CAD on the tarte website. If you spend $75+ CAD you get free shipping, which is pretty reasonable. I purchased it in two colors, light and light-medium. Light is the forth lightest shade (fair is the lightest) so I figured it would work well for me when I am not tanned. I have only been wearing light-medium for the sake of this review.

You receive .34 oz of product which is quite a lot for concealer. To compare, NARS creamy radiant concealer only comes in .22 oz for $37 CAD. I feel like shape tape it is a pretty good value for a high end concealer, especially because a little goes a long way.

The packaging is heavy and it feels good quality. It is clear so you can actually see the color of the product through the package. The applicator is a large doe foot applicator and makes applying this concealer under the eyes very easy.

I mostly used this concealer for under my eyes, however I also used it to cover up some small blemishes and acne scars on my face as well. I have set it with various powders and once it sets I found it appears quite matte.

The one thing that everyone raves about is this concealers coverage and that it does not crease. I am not sure I can confidently boast about either. It does have very good coverage, but the coverage does not last all day and when I use it to cover blemishes I do not find it fully covers them. I do find this concealer blends well with my finger or beauty blender though and sets well with powder. I also find this concealer sinks into my fine lines and my under eye bags can sometimes show through. I have this problem with any full coverage products though so it may be more an issue with my skin type than the concealer itself.

I have not found a drugstore concealer with this much coverage before so at this point there is really no cheaper dupe for this product. I do appreciate that tarte is cruelty free and I find their products do not break out my sensitive skin. I feel with this concealer you really do get what you pay for and it is worth the price tag.

Overall I really do like this concealer and would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a high end full coverage concealer. It is great for days when I want to wear a full face of makeup and have good coverage under my eyes. It pairs really well with my Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation and together they look great in pictures and hide problem areas well.

However, I still find myself reaching for my Maybelline Fit Me or Age Rewind concealer for my everyday makeup, as I find they are lighter and less cakey and come at a much lower price point.

If you have bought tarte shape tape and been using it in your makeup routine, let me know what you think of it in the comments!

xoxo Sarah