Wednesday, October 31, 2012

NOTD: Seasons are Changing

Hey guys! I have another post for you all tonight. I needed to repaint my nails and I realized I had completely forgot to do my staple Halloween nail. I typically do a black base with a flake top coat so it looks sort of spooky and Halloween-ish. I decided to do a similar combination but I paired Essie Wicked with Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure (this was a limited edition colour a few years ago but tons of brands have come out with similar polishes since then). I was really impressed with how it turned out.




I love how the colours look like the changing leaves in autumn! Autumn is by far my favourite season of the year. I just love how the colours look so rich and I love the smell of leaves and crisp air together and I love the way the leaves sound when you step on them. This nail combination just screams Autumn to me and that's why I love it. I filmed a short video so you could see the colours a little bit better as it was difficult to try and capture in a picture.


Is it still Autumn where you live? Sadly my city has progressed to Winter (quite a while ago actually) and I'm not impressed. No more frolicking in the leaves for this girl.

October 2012 Favourites

Hey guys! Here is a video I made about my favourite products from this past month. I hope you enjoy!



Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Masks! Masks! Masks!

So I've come to the conclusion that I'm an over-exfoliater. I tend to focus my skin care routine more on exfoliating products than I do on cleansing products to the point where I'm realizing it's detrimental to my skin. I notice that when I get a bit lazy and cut back on exfoliating products for a week or two my skin doesn't break out as much and just seems generally happier. Even so I always go back to my harsh routine of Clarisonic, peels, scrubs, AHAs, retinol, the list goes on and on. I think I'm seriously addicted guys. Before I go more in depth with this post I want to warn you all that I've spent the last 48 hours in hardcore paper writing mode so if this post seems a little bit too "academic sounding" I apologize.

For the past week I've been cutting back on exfoliation and increasing my clay mask use. I'm testing a system of using a mask every other day and using my Clarisonic as exfoliation on alternating days. I'll admit I did cheat today and use my Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel AND my Clarisonic... oops! So far the results have been better than I could have imagined. I was examining my face in a magnifying mirror (as one always does at some point in the day haha) and I noticed that the pores around my nose seemed way cleaner than usual. I have very oily skin so blackheads (eww!) are a big issue for me. I've tried everything to get rid of them: pore scrubs, pore strips, oxy pads, you name it I've probably tried it. Anyway, I swear my squeaky clean pores are because of the clay masks I've been using lately. The masks themselves aren't anything new but I think using them more frequently has made the difference.


Proactiv Refining Mask
Lancome Pure Empreinte Masque
Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask
Olay ProX Clear Intensive Refining Mask
Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque

I use each of these masks for different purposes depending on how my skin is acting. The Proactiv and Olay masks are great to use if I'm having quite a bad breakout. They are both sulfur masks but I prefer the Proactiv version. WARNING: they do smell a lot like sulfur and some people might not like this. I don't really mind the smell and I think the benefits of using sulfur for acne is worth a little bit of smelliness. The Origins mask is nice if my skin is misbehaving just a little bit. It's kind of for those occasions where I can feel something cooking under the skin and I want to nip it in the butt. The Lancome mask is included in this post just because I own it and am trying to use it up. It's not a bad mask my any means but I can't stand the smell. My favourite of the bunch is the Kiehl's mask. This is a great clarifying and cleansing mask and I use it when I'm feeling extra oily. To anyone with normal or dry skin: just say no to this mask. It can be a little drying if I'm even slightly dehydrated and a lot of the time I'll only use it in my t-zone. Combination skin should be okay, but stick to using it only in oily areas.

I'll keep you all posted on how this little mask experiment goes and hopefully it keeps working for me. If you have any clay/cleansing masks that you love let me know! I think I'll be finishing these up quite quickly if I stick to my current routine. What are your thoughts on masks v.s. exfoliation? Do you think one works better for you than the other or do you like a combination?

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Get Ready for Work With Me

I posted this video the other day about how I do my makeup for work. I do work in the makeup industry so my look tends to change every day and it can vary from a barely there look to a full on smokey eye and bold lip. To be honest, my go to look for work is usually just one colour on the lid blended to a smokey eye because I'm extremely lazy and always running late. I thought that was too similar to what I wear for my going out look so I decided to stick with a very wearable and office appropriate look so that anyone that does work in a more professional environment could take advantage of the tutorial. I like to do this look in the video when I have a little bit more time (and 20 minutes to spare on gel liner). I'm planning on making 2 more videos like this. One for my school routine and one for my going out look. I hope this is useful to some of you!





Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Loving Him Was Red

Haha sorry about the title. I've been ever so slightly obsessed with Taylor Swift's single Red and today it's been on repeat so I've got r-r-r-r-red stuck in my head. If you like Taylor then you've probably already heard this song but I like it so much better than her new pop songs. I'm not even a country fan but country Taylor all the way. Anyway I thought it somewhat applied to this post about red nail polish. That and - okay, let's be real - I couldn't think of a name other than "here are my favourite nail polishes right now".

Essie Wicked
Joe Fresh Brick
Essie Limited Addiction
China Glaze VIII
Ciate Cabaret
Essie Luxedo
OPI Vodka & Caviar
OPI Lincoln Park After Dark
Essie Bordeaux
Zoya Sooki
(top to bottom, left to right)

I've fallen deeply in love with all kinds of reds and plums this season. Surprisingly these are the only reds/plums/vampy colours I have in my collection... I swear I thought I had more because I love these kinds of colours for autumn and winter. For the past few months I've pretty much only been wearing these colours. Actually, I had a craving for dark nail polish back in the spring and since then I've been back and forth between LPAD and Wicked and my usual spring/summer colours. My top picks out of my collection are: Essie Wicked, Essie Limited Addiction, Ciate Cabaret for something a little different, and Zoya Sooki. To be completely honest I initially bought Sooki because I'm a True Blood addict but it's become one of my favourite reds. I haven't had the chance to wear all of these yet but just looking at them makes me so excited!

Is anyone else a vampy red fanatic like me? What are your top picks for autumn/winter nail polish?

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Some New Videos & A Kitty!!

Hi guys! I hope you're all having a great weekend! I'm writing this quite late so I'm going to keep it short and sweet. I recently posted two new videos, one of my current skin care routine, and one of my favourite products for pale skin. These are probably two of my favourite videos I've ever made because the two topics are so important to me.


My Skin Care Routine

I'm obsessed with skin care and this routine has gotten my skin in the best condition it's been in since I was about 14. I don't know exactly which product has been working it's magic or if it's a combination of them all but I'll be sticking with this until I find something I like better.




My Favourite Products for Pale Skin

The second video is near and dear to me because being a very fair skinned girl isn't easy in the makeup world. I know how hard it can be to find products that match a very light skin tone and it's taken me years to find good quality products that work for me. I wanted to make this video to help other pale girls out there and maybe let some of them know that it's okay to be pale!



I also wanted to show you guys the cutest little kitten I found outside my house last night. I was feeding my cat and I saw this little guy staring in through the window. We played for a bit and it was so cute and cuddly haha. It's funny because it actually looks just like my cat but mine is much bigger. I want to keep it but I think it must have an owner nearby. It was far too affectionate and well behaved to be a homeless kitty. I'm hoping it will come by again tonight and maybe we can make this a daily visit kind of thing.


Tuesday, October 9, 2012

My Current Beauty Wish List

This post was initially going to be about my current skin care routine to go along with my most recent video. However, I'm currently writing this while wearing a mask that I'm hoping will clear up a bad breakout I'm having at the moment. Needless to say I don't really feel like talking about skin care right now haha! I'll include that video in a separate post just in case you are interested.

I decided to instead make a list of the products I've been eyeing up and would be in my beauty collection right now 
if I had unlimited funds. Some of them are new additions to this seemingly never-ending list and others have been in there for a long time and are those items you always mean to pick up but it never seems to happen.




The first item is Stila Créme Bouquet. Oh. My. God. This is seriously one of the best smelling perfumes I've come across in a while. I was actually working at a makeup event right beside the Stila counter and for hours I was wondering why this store had such a nice smell. Eventually I found out it was the Stila makeup artist that smelled so good! She told me was wearing Créme Bouquet so I tried it on and instantly fell in love with it. It's not my usual type of scent so I was surprised I liked it so much. I'm really horrible at describing scents but I think it contains vanilla, lots of florals, and something sweet. It's a very girly and feminine scent and out of everything on my wish list this is the product most likely to be purchased by me in the near future.


Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial is a product I've been curious about for a while now. I haven't tried much from Korres so I'm not sure how my skin would handle it (I've got crazy temperamental skin FYI) but the name of this mask makes me think I would love it. Rose and vitamin C? Count me in! I also love the concept of a sleeping facial. It just sounds so luxurious.


I received a sample of the Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation a few weeks ago because I was curious about the "second skin" type of foundations. So far the CHANEL, Estée Lauder, and Clarins versions have been too dark for extremely pale me but I managed to find a decent match in this one. I use the shade 0.5 (the lightest colour Urban Decay makes) and it's only slightly off, nothing anyone normal would notice, really. I think I'll hold off on this one until next year when the weather get's warmer as I feel like this makes a nice spring/summer foundation.


I think I'm literally the only makeup obsessed person to not own an Urban Decay palette. I was never overly impressed with the gold/orangey, super shimmery shades in the first Naked palette so I didn't expect I would want the Naked 2 palette. I do think these colours would be so much more flattering on my skin and I can see myself using a lot of the shades. The problem is that if I were to just see this in the store, not knowing about all the hype, I probably wouldn't take a second look at it. It's not that I don't like the palette - I just don't use palettes unless I make them myself or I like all the colours inside A LOT. I know this would just end up being shoved to the back of my "spare palette" drawer and never been seen again. Is it wrong that I still want it? It's peer pressure I tell you, I need to get over this Naked palette obsession. It's unhealthy.


I love Living Proof. Everything I've tried from them has been great. Their shampoos are clarifying but non-drying. Their conditioners are moisturizing yet lightweight. Their mousse is volumizing and isn't crunchy. I could go on but I won't. I really want to try the Restore Mask Treatment because it's been ages since I've used a hair mask and I just feel like I should have one. I know I would like this product and I know it would be good quality but the price tag on Living Proof products is outrageous. I have seen some of their products at Winners for fairly reasonable prices so if I happen to stumble upon this there I'll probably get it.


I've mentioned the Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Face Polish in my videos a few times and I love this product! I got it as a deluxe sample from a Sephora purchase and it's the perfect texture for an exfoliant. The beads are gentle but it still feels like it's doing something. I also think it smells good but I honestly don't know for sure because I can't remember. I have like 3 other exfoliants I need to use up before I buy this and I've even been using them on my hands to try and use them up faster.



Last product guys! Many of you may know that I'm obsessed with the Fresh tinted lip balms. I have all of them with the exception of Coral because it was a newer release and I decided I already owned enough of these. When I saw the Berry version on Sephora I decided I could do with keeping one more in my bag. Now I haven't actually seen this in person yet but I'm 99% sure I'll love this colour. I'm hoping it will give me the perfect - "Oh, I'm not wearing anything! My lips are just naturally this pouty and gorgeous." - kind of look that I can never seem to find.

Phew! That was a long one. Realistically I'll probably only end up getting one or two of these products. I don't even know if I ended up purchasing anything off my last wish list post. Any-who let me know if any of you have tried these products and what you thought of them and I'd love to know what's on your wish list!

Monday, October 8, 2012

I'm Back!

Hi blog friends! It's been quite a while since I was last on here but recently I've been craving the YouTube/blogging lifestyle again. I'm not going to promise to make this a regular thing because we all know how that goes. Instead, I'm going to film and blog when I feel like it and when I have time and I hope you'll all be patient with my lack of consistency. ;)

You might have noticed that my blog has had a little makeover. I like it so much better than before! It still isn't as good as a lot of the blogs I read and admire but I'm hopeless with html so I'm happy with what I've produced using the blogger templates and limited formatting options. I've also changed the URL to www.beautymarkedblog.blogspot.com just for consistency (this shouldn't affect any of my current followers unless you're trying to type in the URL directly).

I'm working on my first "official" post of the year right now (this one doesn't really count) but in the meantime here's a video I posted about a week ago about some of the products I've accumulated in the past few months.

Enjoy! I'll talk to you all soon!



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