Benefit
FOTD: Subtle Smoky Eyes with Steely Blues.
Aug 29th
Whew! I’m back with another FOTD. I attended a friend’s wedding yesterday and this is the look I wore. Thank goodness the hair was also cooperative. Those are flat iron waves created by yours truly, thankyouverymuch! 
I haven’t used my MAC Smoke & Diamonds (LE) eyeshadow in any FOTDs so I thought I’d pull it out of hiding for this look. I just kind of winged it, but I really like how it turned out. 
Don’t let the finished face fool you; this look was actually quick and easy!
Swatches (from left): MAC Smoke & Diamonds (LE), Annabelle B-Ray (LE), MAC Carbon, MAC Soft Brown, MAC Arena
Get the Look
For the eyes, fill in any sparse areas on your brows (Benefit Medium Brow Zings). After priming your eyes (Too Faced Shadow Insurance), apply a light shimmery peach (MAC Arena) on the inner corners and under the brows. Then, take a shimmery grey taupe (MAC Smoke & Diamonds, LE) all over the lid. Take a matte navy (Annabelle B-Ray, LE) to the outer crease and outer V with a crease brush, and go over it slightly with a matte black (MAC Carbon). Lightly blend above the crease with a matte warm brown (MAC Soft Brown). Smudge the matte navy to the outer two-thirds of the lower lash line. Line the upper lash line (MAC Blacktrack Fluidline) with a slight wing. Line the upper and lower waterlines with a pencil dipped in gel liner (Urban Decay Zero dipped in MAC Blacktrack) for maximum staying power. Apply mascara (CoverGirl LashBlast waterproof) to both upper and lower lashes.
For the face and cheeks, start by priming with a mattifying primer (CoverFX ClearPrep FX). Apply foundation (FACE atelier Foundation #6 Honey), concealer (theBalm TimeBalm Medium), and powder (Marcelle Translucent Medium). Sculpt the cheeks, temples, and jawline with a dark matte brown powder (MAKE UP FOR EVER #17 Espresso). Then, add a pop of matte peachy pink to the apples of your cheeks (Pink Beauty Object of Affection).
For the lips, get your favourite neutral pink lipstick (MAC Viva Glam V) and top it off with a golden pink gloss (Smashbox Candid).
A Brow Story, featuring Benefit Brow Zings.
Jun 5th
Once upon a time, there was a lady called Glitter Geek, who was blessed (or cursed) with full brows. One time, when her eyebrow hairs got really long (how sexy is she?), she came to a brilliant idea. “Time for a trim,” she says.
She then took her Sephora eyebrow trimmer/brush and went to work. ”This should be easy,” she thinks to herself. Should being the operative word.
However, this was not an easy task for young Glitter Geek. Instead of nice and neat brows, she ended up in sparse brow city:
Determined to make things right, she decides that there’s no better time to find a good brow product. So, she put Benefit Brow Zings in Medium to the test.
And look, a free brow lesson!
Then she went to work. Following the instructions on the packaging, her eyebrow started looking a little too drag queen, and the colour was way too warm.
So she spoolied it off…
… and filled again, this time with a lighter hand.
“Ahh. Good brows!” She was quite pleased.
On the next day, she tried Brow Zings again. It took some time getting used to, but she finally got the hang of it:
She still wished that the brow powder was more on the taupe-y side, but the lasting power of Brow Zings wowed her. Her brows remained perfect through a cardio kickbox class, which is very impressive for such a sweaty girl — again, sexy right?
The mini brushes in Brow Zings are surprisingly good. For everyday use, she prefers to use a full-size angle brush because of her limited dexterity. The tweezer is garbage; it was too small and too tough to squeeze.
In the end, she did like Brow Zings, but left this advice: “Make sure to try before you buy. If the colour works for your hair colour and complexion, and you have sparse eyebrows, then this is a must-have!” Rating: B+.
And she lived happily ever after.
PosieTint on a Lazy Day.
Dec 28th
Let’s face facts, shall we? There are times when a makeup addict wakes up lazy and doesn’t want to put a lot of effort to look nice. We all know the “no makeup” look actually does in fact require some makeup. On these kinds of days, I like to use Benefit PosieTint (CAD $35).
I know, it kinda looks like Pepto-Bismol. Push that thought aside for a sec, hmm? Let’s talk pros and cons.
Ski bunny, oh my!
Yeah I’m talking about the “I just got back from the slopes and my complexion is perfectly flushed, thank you very much” look. It’s genius. It also layers well for a deeper flush, so it’ll work for all skin tones.
Careful, careful!
PosieTint only likes a moisturized face. Don’t end up with streaks on your cheeks — that is not cute! Moisturize beforehand and PosieTint will treat you well. I also take extra precaution by applying it on my finger, then blending it into my cheek. I also get a lot of control this way. It has pretty amazing staying power (fortunately?), though, so moisturize well and go slowly!
Benefit also says that this can be used on the lips, too. However, I find that the pink is too cool-toned for my skin and looks a little off. This would work much better on cool-toned, fair skinned ladies.
This is the first product I’ve tried from Benefit. Overall, it is a great product that’ll make me check out the rest of the line. Rating: A-.
Beauty Hauls: I love Shoppers Optimum Points.
Sep 29th
I got to spend $100 worth of Shoppers Optimum points this weekend, and lookie what I got!
For the curious, in the photo above are the following:
- Benefit Posie Tint. This gives me the best pink flush ever. I was debating between this and Stila Convertible Color, but they had a Benefit counter at the drugstore, so I thought why not. This has become an instant favourite!
- Make Up For Ever Eye Shadow No 17. I originally bought Benefit Dallas as a contour, but when I got home I was so horrified because my face looked so red. It was a bad shade on me. I brought back the untouched box, and the makeup artist helped me to find the right brown colour for contouring. I ended up with an eye shadow, since we couldn’t find any blush or powder in the right shade. And oh my god, when did Shoppers start carrying MUFE?
- Smashbox Jet Set Waterproof Eyeliner in Dark Brown. I got a pretty brown shade for polished natural days.
- CoverGirl VolumeExact Waterproof Mascara in Very Black. This is the second mascara I tried recently by CoverGirl that I loved (the other is LashBlast).
- Neutrogena Wave. Exfoliate exfoliate exfoliate! I’m starting to get into skin care and I’ve heard lots of good things.
- John Frieda Weather Works Style Sealant Creme. I got a sample of this and loved it. So I bought a full-sized version.
The best part? I only paid $30.48.
