MAC Cosmetics Powder Blush Harmony Blush review + swatch

Helloooo! Today's review is for the MAC Harmony Blush which is part of their powder blushes. It is described as a "muted rose-beige brown" and it is a matte blush. I bought this because YouTube beauty guru Tanya Burr described this as a great contour colour so I decided to try it.

I have light-medium skin tone (around NC25) so I find that this blush has too much pink tone in it to be good for contouring. In my opinion, this does not have enough brown in it to be a good contour powder. Instead of for contouring, I often use it as regular blush on the apples of my cheeks and I think that this way provides a slimming effect for me.

It is $25 for 6g so on the pricey side but as with other MAC products, it is a good product. It has great pigmentation and lasts for a few hours. Since it is so pigmented though, it is easy to overdo it with this blush. I also think it is more of a winter colour since it is so dark. This product didn't really work out the way I wanted but I've been reading reviews saying that Blunt is a good contour shade, so I might try that next!

Swatch without flash

Wish flash

Happy Tuesday!

IMATS Toronto 2013 Experience and Haul!

After seeing many beauty guru vlogs about it, I finally got to go to IMATS! It was last weekend on November 9 & 10 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Since I have another friend also into makeup, we decided to go together and got an early start by trying to get there right at 8:30 when it opened :) I did a lot of research on the vendors and previous IMATS beforehand so I knew which products I wanted and what prices to estimate. This was my first IMATS and my first time in Metro in a while so I didn't really know what to expect. Let's get right to the haul! Sorry I only have a phone camera picture.

I came with a list of stuff to get and I got everything on it :) Plus a few more...so I kinda went over my budget haha. This is what I got:

	IMATS Price	Regular Price
Beauty Blender Duo	$24	$37.29
Make Up Forever Aqua Liner in 6, 13, and 14	3 x $18 = $54	3 x $30.51 = $91.53
Bdellium 940 pink	$7	$10.80
945 green	$7	$9.68
781 green	$5	$7.92
942 green	$7	$9.68
785 green	$5	$7.92
934 green	$5	$7.04
Royal & Langnickel brush roll	$10	$29.99 USD
MAC Chromaline in Black Black	$20.79	$25.99
OPI full size polish	6 for $30	6 x $11.13 =  $66.78
OPI mini size polish	$0.50 x 7 = $3.50	$2.83 x 7 = $19.78
Beauty so Clean brush cleaner in Cake Pop and Candy Cane	2 x $5 = $10	2 x $10 = $20
Total	$188.29	$344.40

Wow I actually saved a lot more than I realized. The best savings were probably at MUFE, where everything was 40% off! Classique Nails had good deals too since they were selling full size OPI for $30 for 6 and a bunch of minis for just $0.50! I definitely got more nail polish than I should have. They also had really good deals on Essie, China Glaze, and other top brands.

How far did I stray from my list? The main stray was at the nail polish because I only intended to get OPI Scatter the Scales and Essie Good to Go but they had neither of them :( At MUFE, I had only intended to get an Aqua Eyes and the travel size HD Finish Powder but since I once got Aqua Eyes for $12 at boxing day, I decided to just wait and they did not have the powder in travel size there. I did somewhat intend on getting an Aqua Liner...but getting 3 was too excessive :P Bdellium Tools was a problem for me too because the brushes were so colourful and tempting! I had a list of 5 brushes but ended up not liking 2 yet somehow still got 6 brushes haha.

Aside from the massive amounts of money spending, it was really fun! I got to see make up artists at work during the show and even sat down for a few demonstrations/talks. One was the 50 years of Doctor Who, a special effects sculptist, MAC session, and Battle of the Brushes. It was really fun to explore and look at all the different brands since a lot of them didn't have easily accessible shops in the GTA. There were a lot of special effect makeup and make-up artist tools as well so it was interesting to see all the different kinds. Now for some pictures!

My favourite one of the day! She was also really awesome at her model poses as well.

To summarize, I had a great day and really enjoyed seeing everything at IMATS. It seems to me like it is only a thing to go to yearly if you really have expendable income and are super crazy about makeup. Every 2 or 3 years seems like a better thing since girls only need so much makeup :P Will I go again? Definitely! but probably not until 2015 :)

P.S. I also made two Sephora orders that weekend (with the help of my friends) and thoroughly abused the 20% off VIB sale. Get ready for another haul when those packages arrive!

MAC Costmetics and Archie's Girls review + swatch

Today I will be reviewing all my MAC products: Studio Fix Powder Plus in NC 40, Brow Set, and my MAC Archie's Girls collection products.

The first review is for Brow Set in Clear. This is a clear gel that goes on to mold your eyebrows and cause the hairs to all go in the same direction. There is no scent to it nor is it very sticky. It actually has a nice cooling feel when you first put it on your brows. I bought to try to fix the fact that one eyebrow starts off more sparse then the other but that brow is too sparse for this to even move it :( This does help with the rest of the hairs and making them match direction though. I'm not sure if it's just me, but It costs $19 so I would have returned it, had I not lost the receipt and box :/ One main problem with it is that it gets murky easily. It may have been because I sometimes ended up touching skin the wand and I'm not sure you're supposed to :S Now I only use it when I'm at home (as opposed to on the bus) and have time because then I can rinse the wand to prevent it from going super gross. Here is what it is supposed to look and the next picture is how mine looks after about 1 month of on the go use:

The next product is the Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation in NC40. I decided to try this after a few years of using Clinique foundation and I really love it! It seems to stay on my face for longer, and is a way better match. It blends into my skin very well also has a nice coverage. I also like that the sponge is in a separate compartment, which helps keep the mirror cleaner longer! What I don't like is that it is more bulky packaging since it is a circle and is a little "puffed up" looking as opposed to flat. My compact's latch already broke from me dropping it several times, but it still closes without there being any open gaps. This is apparently good for oily skin, but I'm sure it can easily suit other skin types. It still doesn't get rid of shine (I doubt any foundation on its own will), but I like it and will definitely by another one. Not sure if it will become my regular for the next few years, but it's a good candidate.



Now lastly, the part I know you've been waiting for, my Archie's Girls Collection products!!! These three items set me back quite a bit, but it was definitely worth it. The products I bought were: Betty's Lipstick in Oh, Oh, Oh;  Pearlmatte Face Powder in Flatter Me; and Pearlglide Intense Eyeliner in Black Swan. I love all these products!! When I went into Nordstrom, I only intended to get the facepowder but then I saw the lipsticks and eyeliner and wow they were so nice!! Turns out that I got all Betty's line products without even intending too :P

The first product for review is the Betty's Lipstick in Oh, Oh, Oh. MAC Cosmetics describes this as a 'Sheer brown plum' and I can't really think of a better description so let's go with that. It has a little bit of shimmer to it but this is not visible on the lips. It also comes out somewhat sheer as described, but I like it because it makes it look really natural. This lipstick also seems moisturizing and is not sticky at all! I'm not sure if all lipsticks are like that, because I've never had one before, but I like it :P It lasts for a good few hours but is not able to last through the test of drinking and eating. The tube is very sleek and portable and has Betty's face on it, so that's always a plus! Would definitely buy this again if it wasn't limited edition :( If I manage to find it not sold out somewhere, I will stock up!

The eyeliner I got was Pearlglide Intense Eyeliner in Black Swan. As the name says, it actually glides like a pearl! As in it goes on really easily and effortless. If you even just dab it on your hand, you'll get a nice opaque black circle. It is filled with glitter as well so it's not that good for everyday wear but when I wear it for special occasions, it stays on all night!  The glitter stays well to the eyeliner and does not come off on my face :) The only downside to it would have to be that the pencil is so soft that I've broken it twice already after sharpening so I expect a lot of wasteage. Next time it breaks off I might put it in a separate container and use it as a cream liner instead. The Archie's packaging is a limited edition but the product apparently is not so no need to stock up on this! I will probably try the permanent line in Black Line. It's supposed to be 'black with gold pearl' and also apparently has an olive tinge.



Now for my favourite (ok lies, I love all of them) the Pearlmatte Face Powder in Flatter Me. This is a really nice 'golden peach with coral hearts'. I'm not sure how to actually use this as a face powder so I just use it as a blush. It looks very natural on and is a good way to add just a hint of colour. As for the wear, it lasts really long! I remember putting it on in the morning around and it still being there when I got back in the evening! Similar to the lipstick, it has really sleep packaging and is actually flat, unlike my Studio Fix compact. And like the other two products, this is a special occasion makeup since I'm not sure how long they will be sold for.  I tried to swatch but it didn't end up so well but here it is anyway:

And before I go, here's the sample I got of the MAC Pigment in Kitchmas. This was when I intended to buy the full size but I asked for another sample and the employee accidentally spilled a great chunk of pigment :D I like applying it with water because that avoids the mess of loose pigments and ends up being a nice pale glittery eyeshadow. These last really long and I never have to touch-up when using MAC pigments!

Los Angeles, Day 3

We started off this day fairly early as well with another "continental breakfast" ugh. After my strong desire to buy those two bags from yesterday, my mom decided to take me to the area where she looks at suppliers because there were a lot of wholesale places there. But first we had to go to the post office to deliver some package which turned out to be a complete fail since the supplier did not give any forms, so we had to repack and send it as a personal package instead :S The post office was kind of far from Little Tokyo but it was near our second hotel so she just checked in early and dropped it off. I got to walk around Walgreens and CVS while I waited and then we headed to the wholesale area. It was around noon so we got some Mexican food to eat first omnom. They had this sampler deal so I got a "naked borrito" and gumbo, delicious. When we got to the stores, first we walked around the children's clothes places first and there I found a place that was called "Kiddy" and had the letters in the same colour order as my parents' 'Kiddy Kidswear' sign did! LOL I told my mom that we could probably sue for defamation but we're not really sure who was the older company so she was just like "eh" and thought I was weird as usual.
 
After an hour or so of looking at children's clothing, it was time for the bags! That area seriously had so many stores that I lost track of how many I went into. Of course, I was on a hunt for those two bags or at least imitations of them because unlike Shiloh's price of $40, they would have been $10 - $40 for most of the bags at the wholesale stores. As my Accounting prof would say "That is a gooood deal." *in brown accent* This somehow bag hunt somehow lasted for about 3 hours and those 3 hours made me realize that a lot of people in the U.S. seem to like "blinged" bags. It wasn't for me so I ended up finding a random Asian place and got that mint green clutch. It was $26 after we bargained and my mom got this colourful flowery side bag (hard to describe) from there. Before leaving the area, we got a Tornado Potato lol! So good.

The next part of the day was more shopping! Yay. We went to The Grove and this was more of a commercial shopping area so a lot of chain retailers were there. This included Nordstrom, J. Crew, Banana Republic, and Barney's, to name a few. There was also a candy store and of course, I had to go there! I ended up getting some of the candy from the bins and also a Nerds Rope since it was one of the Valentine's sales candy. As for clothes, I did not get any since but I did get to go into MAC and see get my first glimpse of the MAC Archie's Girls collection!! They were all soo cool, but everything was sold out at the store :( But I ended up getting it all at Nordstrom so it all worked out haha. MAC shall be my next makeup review so I will go into more detail there. Another noteable stop was that they had a fresh store! Of course we don't have any so I had to go in and try stuff. I tried the Fresh Sugar Body Polish I believe and wow it made my hands so soft after! It's definetely not worth the $49 though because it's essentially a shit ton of oil and sugar, probably a few butters too.

The Grove area itself was actually really nice too and I liked that it was all outdoors. I'm not sure if Canada has a lot of these outdoor malls, but I like the concept! It makes it feel more relaxed and open. The only downside of the place was that the trolley was out of service :( They usually have a trolley that just goes along the pathway of stores but for some reason it wasn't working. We left sometime after I bought my Archie's and went back to do some last minute shopping in Little Tokyo since we were going to change hotels. My mom was still full (maybe we ate more than Mexican food, I forget) so I just got some takeout meal to eat. Day 4 is next and it was when we went to Seoul Sausage and the Santa Monica Pier :D

Make-up and Hair Products

Currently waiting in the 3rd floor of SAF for a PhD student's study thing that gives me money :) I hope I get the max of $25! This will help fund my $40 ticket to Marianas Trench! I know it's kind of expensive considering I've seen them for free twice, but I love Josh Ramsay.

So since this blog is pretty dead, I'm going to use it as sort of a 'whenever I'm bored' blog for myself.
Well since my Fall co-op I've been more into makeup and like accessories (actually just scarves). I started shopping at Sephora and even though there stuff is expensive, I think some of the stuff is actually ok for the price! After claiming 3 years worth of birthday gifts, I finally bought something LOL. Here are the high-end brands that I have tried since Fall (and the reason I cannot afford next term's tuition by myself hehe)

- Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo $21 (bought from U.S.)
- Sephora Collection 3-in-1 extractor $3
- Smashbox Photo Finish Light Primer $44 (DO NOT LIKE)
- Sephora Collection Matte Blotting Film $3
- Boscia Soothing Cleaning Cream $12 (for my mom)
- Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes Liner in Black $12
- NARS Super Orgasm Mini $12
- Hello Kitty Apple Cheeks in Blushing $9
- Hello Kitty Charmmy Eyeshadow Stick in Birthday Cake $7
- Benefit Creaseless Creme Eyeshadow in r.s.v.p. $12
- Buxom Lashliner Duo $12
- tokidoki Perfectto Eyeliner in Arlecchio $6
- MUFE Mist + Fix travel size $11
- Bliss Lemon+Sage Body Butter Max Moisture Cream $7
- Sephora Collection Long-Lasting 12HR Wear Eye Liner in Black Purple $11 (bought from U.S.)
- MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus in NC40 $32
- MAC Archie's Girls Face Powder in Flatter Me $30 (bought from U.S.)
- MAC Archie's Girls Betty's Pearlglide Intense Eyeliner in Black Swan $16.50 (bought from U.S.)
- MAC Archie's Girls Betty's Lipstick in Oh, Oh, Oh $17.50 (bought from U.S.)
- Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel $31
- Sara Happ Lip Scrub in Green Apple $30
- Nume Silhouette hair straightener in blue $65
- Macadamia Natural Oil Detangler spray $23
- Bubbi Brushes (Dual eye, dual cover, and angled eyeliner) $26 total

I think that is it! Maybe I'll do reviews of the things that I have strong opinions on eventually. Ta-ta for now.