The Autumn Tag!

The amount of tag posts I have to do is shameful, so I thought I'd take a step back from all the makeup/serious posts and do a refresher. Hello autumn tag!

I was tagged by Lucy of A Little of Lucy (thank you Lucy!), so let the festivities begin! (like my answers are anything festive) 

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1. What is your favourite thing about Autumn?

Generic answer of sweaters, cozy knits (thinking about knitting matching sweaters for my dog and I--hers will read 'puppy' and mine will read 'human'), apple + pumpkin baked goods, stepping on crunchy leaves, etc.

For a less generic answer--FINALLY I DON'T HAVE TO SEE HALF NAKED PEOPLE (THX 4 DA UNWANTED FREE STRIPPER SHOW, SUMMER), AND ALL MY FALL TV SHOWS RETURNNNNNNNN :'D. 

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It's a Liner-Off!! {Part Two}

If I had to choose a favourite segment of this blog, it would definitely have to be my 'liner-off' series! :D

(If you missed my previous one, click here!)

AND TODAY,

IT 

IS

BACK!

GIFS. SWATCHES. TEARS (well, water test). FRICTION (smudging, basically...). 
WHO WILL BE AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL LINER?

INTRODUCING OUR CONTESTANTS FOR TODAY: 

ESSENCE'S 'STAYS NO MATTER WHAT' EYEPENCIL

MAYBELLINE'S 'MASTER DRAMA' EYELINER

MILANI'S 'LIQUID EYE' EYELINER PENCIL

RIMMEL'S 'EXAGGERATE' WATERPROOF EYE DEFINER

AND

RIMMEL'S 'SCANDALEYES' WATERPROOF KOHL KAJAL

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU

MAY THE ODDS EVER BE IN YOUR FAVOUR

LET THE GAMES BEGIN.

Yeah, sorry for the ~dramatic~ intro...I'VE BEEN WATCHING TOO MUCH X-FACTOR DON'T MIND ME.

THE WHOLE SHEBANG BEHIND THE CUT!

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Review: Clinique 'High Impact' Mascara {+Birthday Bits!}

Confession: my eyes can't tolerate eye makeup. :(

.....yeah that's probably important to know.

OK OK, WELL, for the longest time I would blame my three year old mascaras (DON'T JUDGE ;-;) for the redness it would cause my eyes, but when I finally tried new mascaras (Almay, Maybelline, Rimmel, Benefit, Guerlain, e.g), the results were still the same--red, irritated eyes after a few hours.

I recently told a friend about this situation (hi Iriss!), and she asked if high end mascaras made a difference. I said it didn't, but after that, I randomly decided to re-try using Clinique's 'High Impact' mascara for a day.

And you know what?

Huzzah, minimal redness! :D

(Oh yeah, birthday dinner photos and the whole shebang under the cut!)

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This tube is actually a sample size I got with a Clinique purchase. The actual, full sized mascara retails for $19. This mascara does not claim to be waterproof. The formula is wet, and applies with a bristle brush.

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Eye charts!

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SHINY NEW THINGS! ʘ‿ʘ {A Collective Haul}

The previous week and this week has been a bit crazy in the ~spending~ department, mainly because it was my birthday last week (and with my birthday comes school stress), and Shoppers Drug Mart decided it would be a ~fantastic~ time to have an impressive makeup sale this week. Armed with coupons and the promise of sales, I made multiple journeys to Shoppers, and finally at last, I present to you my spoils of war. 

(I have to resist making a 'STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM NOW WE'RE HERE' joke every time I mention Shoppers Drug Mart)

 My haul bag. Paper bags are the cutest.

SHOW ME THE GOODS.

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I genuinely thought these few items would be the only items I would be picking up for my 'birthday'. HAHAHA, was I ever wrong.

Anyways, I picked up:

1) Kate Somerville's 'ExfoliKate Intense Exfoliator' from Sephora. I got a free sample and used it recently and was so impressed by the results until I found out it was $105 CDN ($80 USD) for 2 oz. HELLLLLL NAW. But $25 for 0.5oz seemed more reasonable, so I picked it up.

2) Benefit Birthday Kit from Sephora.

3) A Brazil Nut Body Butter from The Body Shop. I am soooooooooooooooo in love with the scent of the brazil nut body scrub, so I decided to pick this up as it was on sale. Unfortunately, while it still smells fantastic, the scrub smells waaaaaaaaaaay better, and I really encourage you guys to take a whiff of the scrub.

4) Real Nature Masks (x4) from The Face Shop. I picked up Kelp, Aloe, Bamboo and Avocado. (Uh, my brother and I used up 2 before we could photograph them. It was exciting.)

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Shoppers Drug Mart has a Maybelline sale this week (in Toronto), with most products being half off (now $5-6 apiece), and with the purchase of certain items came 2000 extra points, so I went a little crazy.
(Today is the last day of the sale, so if you live in Toronto, you might want to check it out!)

Here are the items from Shoppers that I picked up:

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PSA: Sheer Your Foundation!!

Oh foundation. Such an vital step in evening out skintone and serving as a base for other makeup to make us look ~naturally gorgeous~.

Unfortunately, foundation is also one of those steps where it's so, so incredibly easy to mess up. Too much, and you'll be sent to Madame Tussauds' (or Barbie's Dollhouse), and too little will....wait, who puts on less than they think they need? But actually, a lot of people put on more foundation than they need! And often, as a result, it's very noticeable and ends up looking like what people refer to as a 'cake-face'. (Not that there's anything wrong with that if it's deliberate, in my opinion)

Struggling to find natural-looking coverage during my first few years of acne was my main concern, and in the early years, I would slather a thick layer of foundation all over my face, despite only having a few blemishes. Crazy once you look back, ain't it?

(CAN WE JUST TAKE A FEW MINUTES OF SILENCE TO CRINGE AT MY HAIR, FOUNDATION MATCH, FOUNDATION FLASHBACK, AND BASICALLY EVERYTHING UGH AWKWARD TEENAGE YEARS, MAN)

Earlier this year, I decided to mix my Revlon Colorstay and Maybelline BB cream, and you know what? Natural-looking coverage for acne hyperpigmentation solved. (I also did I post on that here, but who reads my older posts, right?)

Here's how:

1. Mix together a full coverage foundation and moisturizer/BB cream. If you're feeling fancy, throw in your primer and illuminator into this cocktail.

2. With a foundation/buffing brush, buff the mix onto areas you need evened out. 

3. For extra coverage, stipple the mix onto areas of redness, such as areas of acne hyperpigmentation.

4. Set with powder. (Or don't, depending on your own routine and skin type/needs)

Alternatively, if you've got relatively good skin, just skip everything and head straight to concealer and spot-concealing.

Incredibly easy, and easier to control the amount of coverage you need for different areas compared to using a full coverage foundation alone. (E.g. It wouldn't make sense to slap on full coverage on a patch lightened hyperpigmentation, right?) (WELL, IT'S LOGIC, BUT OBVIOUSLY WITH GR.11 VANESSA, IT WASN'T, OK ;-; )

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Alright, you may be like, "ALL TALK, NO ACTION. I WANT ME SOME COMPARISON CHARTS."
Or even:

To that I say "RUUUUDDE." (But Happy Endings anyone?)

But you know, it wouldn't be my post without a comparison of sorts.  (Grossness ahead, proceed with caution)

30

First Impressions: Laneige Sleeping Pack_EX

They say by the end of the first date, you'll know if you've found the one.

I've always been skeptical of this claim, since nothing crazy and life-changing has ever happened to me, and I'm a grump and skeptic at heart, but man, Laneige's 'Sleeping Pack_EX' may be what I've been searching for all my life.

'........waitwat...'

What? Can't a girl just date a product?

After reading June's review on the sleeping pack almost two months ago, I was intrigued, but it was only three weeks that I finally took the plunge! Laneige Sleeping Pack_EX is also actually my first Asian skincare item, and I figured 'HEY, I'M AZN, I SHUD PROBS B USING AZN SKINCARE STUFF IDK'.

I'm usually not one to post first impressions, or even Asian makeup/skincare products, because I hardly come by products that are exceptional, and first impressions usually change after a few months (-coughcoughPrideandPrejudice), but I've been really impressed by this product, despite only having used it regularly for three weeks!

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