Even more Colourpop! What I Spent My Birthday Money On Part 2

Hey lovelies,

In my most recent post, https://discoveringthedrugstore.wordpress.com/2019/06/09/more-colourpop-what-i-spent-my-birthday-money-on-part-1, I showed you some gorgeous new to me items I got from Colourpop and hinted I’d be revealing the 2 palettes next. So true to my word that’s the point of this post today.

Let’s start with the Just My Luck palette. This is one of their 9 pan monochromatic palettes that have recently been picking up in popularity. It was hard not to go with the pink or purple themed ones, but green is the color most wearable for my coloring, especially when my hair is coppery.

Hard plastic case with snap closure, also a large mirror

The back with names listed

The eyeshadows!!

Swatches on bare skin in sunlight- first 4

First Row: Chances Are… is a light minty matte, Kiss My Hass is a matte shamrock green and 50-50 is a deepened metallic hunter green. Second Row- Big Banks is a metallic emerald, Mary Jane is a shimmery chartreuse, Olive U is a golden shimmer olive. Third Row: Act Natural is a blue leaning pine green matte, Mo Bamba is a dark kelly green matte and Charmed is olive tinged khaki brown matte.

Same conditions-last 5

All together

Oh man, these greens are lovely. They are very easy to work with, with an excellent range of shades. I am especially crushing on Mary Jane, Olive U, Act Natural and Charmed. Charmed was such a smart choice, instead of throwing in a black or super dark green for crease work or lining this brown really works lovely against all the green shades. Olive You has a great punch of bright yellow green chrome too. I haven’t worn this for a long time yet but from what I have tried, I am definitely a fan.

These 9 pan palettes can be bought on the Colourpop website for $12 USD.

Last but not least, the whole reason I wanted to make this order. This was their spring released palette that was continuously going in and out of stock, but I couldn’t pass on this shade selection plus this one palette contains four different formulas in it including self- adhering pressed glitters and for the first time ever a version of their super shock shadow not on a jar. So this is the Sweet Talk 12 pan palette.

The cardboard packaging with holographic details

Holographic background, no mirror on this one

First row we have Catch Me, a light peach matte, Side2side which is the super shock formula in a champagne with glitter, Garden Date is a golden pink duochrome, while Work It is a orangey mustard matte.

First row, no primer and sunlight

Second Row has Prima Drama, a gold, pink and blue glitter, Meadow is a bold orangey coral matte, Early Mornin’ is a primarily yellow gold with a bit of silver glitter and Dream Maker is a reddish coral matte.

2nd Row

The final row has ICYMI, a matte terracota, Melody is a metallic golden deep pink, Westside is a warm brown and Feel Free is warm burgundy matte.

Last row, the first shades still have a little glitter stuck on from the last row

These shadows are beautiful. Anything I have to say on the semi-negative side would honestly be nitpicking. They are easy to work with, even the glitters! (although not to remove because ya know how glitters are) They last through the day, are blendable and the colors really speak to me. I find the two corals in the middle to be a tad similar but meh. I am extremely happy overall with everything I tried in both these posts.

This palette retails for $18 USD on the colourpop website.

What else should I try? Any C.P recommendations?

-Xo.Eryn

More Colourpop! What I Spent My Birthday Money On Part 1

As I mentioned recently I just had a birthday in May and what better way to celebrate than to treat myself to some much lusted for products from Colourpop. They happened to be having a sale just in time for my order so I got to be a little adventurous and try some of the products I had only read about before. For those of you not too familar with the brand, they are a smaller company that constantly is dropping new products with fantastic quality. They are manufactured and sold in California and sold primarily online for really reasonable pricing thanks to the fact they do everything in house. They are pretty much the only company I will buy from the States right now since our exchange rate is so poor.

So let’s start with cheek products:

I really wanted to try their super shock blushes so I picked up a newish one from the sweet talk collection, a beautiful matte called Growth Flirt. It is described as a mid tone pink and is a warm, deep flush in a very interesting creamy formula. I was afraid this would look to flat but it has the slightest sheen that helps it look skin like. I also got a pearlized super shock blush called Drop of the Hat which is described as a peach with gold duochrome but is a tad deeper, maybe a bit more coral. It is really pretty. It was described by some reviews as more of a blush topper but the color works for me as a blush. Lastly for cheeks another super shock highlighter this time in Flexitarian which was described as an intense white champagne color and is exactly right for giving a glossy, wet look to the face. It is so silky and blinding.

In sunlight, no primer. Drop of the Hat, Growth Flirt and Flexitarian

Next catagory would be lips:

Top is Baracuda, bottom is Tea Thyme

I decided to try two different formulas, an ultra satin lip in the shade Baracuda and a creme lux lipstick in Tea Thyme which is from the same collection as the Growth Flirt blush. Both are more moisturising formulas, the ultra satin is a more thin, comfortable liquid lipstick that dries nicely while the creme lux is a bullet lipstick with a surprising amount of longevity as it leaves a touch of stain and a soft feel. Baracuda is a deep berry color, Tea Thyme is a rosy terracotta, both are colors that can be worn often with a variety of different colored eye looks.

Finally eyes! I bought two palettes, which I am saving for part two so I can get more in depth with everything but I still have these 3 goodies to share with you.

So I really wanted more super shock shadows and IRL is one that kept catching my eye. It’s a duochrome (I knnnnnnow!! I am predictable) with a reddish peach base and a sparkly gold green shift. It looks cool on it’s own or layered over a color to transform it.

Then I really went for it and got two of the newer Jelly Much Shadows. These come in the same packaging as the super shock shadows but they have a little stopper to keep the product sealed and the texture is weird in the best way possible. Colourpop claims the formula is “longwearing, it won’t crease, fade, or transfer; dries down to a powder finish with zero fall out. Its unique water-based formula saturates the pigment for immediate intense color right on application.” It’s a wet, dense formula with a little bounce to it. The first shade Crystal Castle is a white base with pink opal shift, it would look great in the inner corner or an all over soft, etheral lid shade. Finally is Photosynth Sis, great name and even better color. This is a straight up melted looking metallic chartreuse green. Ridiculous and beautiful, I can’t wait to test it out for longwear and see if it dulls because it is so pretty.

On bare skin, Crystal Castle, IRL and Photosynth Sis

Catching the reflect a little

So that my lovelies is part one of my Colourpop haul, I will be back soon with part two which is diving into the two eyeshadow palettes I can’t wait to show you.

Anything here catching your eyes?

-Xo. Eryn

May 2019 Ipsy:The Month of Meh

Hi lovelies,

So my bag is quite late, and it took quite a few emails to finally get it this month but as always Ipsy Care where kind and quick to make it right. Was it worth the wait? Ehhhhhh….kinda. Let me show you.

The bag and goodies

The bag itself this month is a beautiful pink and gold multicolor sparkly plastic with a black tassel top zip. I recieved three full size items and two sample size. Although the mask was supposed to be a set of two.

So first up is the Farah 22E Shade and Blend double sided brush. The handle is a shiny iridescent silver with black duofibre bristles. It is packed quite dense and stiff which should make it great for creams and metallics. One side is short and flatter for packing on, while the other is a fluffier blending side. I am quite happy with this pick.

Swatches on bare skin in daylight

Next is the Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pencil in Copper Glow. This has a super creamy formula that once it sets is hard to move making it super long lasting. It doesn’t tug on the eyelid and has a good amount of shimmer. This color is a dark brown with slight reddish gold hint which is just alright for me.

Then Bobbi Brown’s Luxe Lip Color in Bellini. This has very nice packaging for a sample but it is so itty bitty. The formula is very hydrating which I like but sort of quick to wipe away. I had never tried the brand before as they are quite expensive so it was nice to see it in the bag. The color choice was not great for me.

Next was the Sistar Cosmetics It’s U Skin Perfecting HD Concealer in Ivory. First off I can’t believe how dark this ivory shade is. It’s very yellow as well which makes it good for the undereyes or lids but not great on my face. It’s a fairly thick formula that is supposed to cover tattoos. I will probably use this as a primer for my lids mostly.

And finally the Biorace Hydrating Spirulina Mask, as I mentioned before I was supposed to recieve two of these sheet masks but one was missed. The formula smells nice but not too strong, the serum is thicker which helps keep it on the face and I didn’t have any issues with it aggravating my skin. It left my skin soft and was hydrating but not life changing.

So this was my bag. I loved one thing and was just ok with the rest which is rare for me. Now onto the add-ons which is always my favorite part.

I got another of the Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pencils but I chose the color Rose Glow this time. The shade is more like an antique gold though, deep and dark gold metallic lighter bright sheen. It is very beautiful and the formula as I said before is pretty excellent.

Then another of the SLMISSGLAM brushes. This is the SS57 blending brush and it’s just as adorable as the other ones I have recieved. It has a clear lucite type of handle with suspended pink and gold sparkles, a few blue jewels on the ferrule and a pink and blue duochrome domed bristle top. This is excellent for blending.

And for the last one I chose the Pixi H2O Skindrink. This is a super moisturizing gel formula with skin soothing ingredients that instantly makes a difference. It does dry a tad tacky but that does help my makeup stick around longer so that’s not a deal breaker. The scent light and it has green tea extract, rosemary, glycerin and Aloe Vera all working to keep you smooth. Really like this so far.

So that’s my bag and bonuses, I am hopeful that next month will be a bit better and earlier showing up.

What did you guys get? Did you pick any add ons?

-Xo. Eryn

E.L.F’s Blush Palette in Dark

So Elf is a brand I have featured once or twice on here, and for the most part I truly enjoy. Some of the products are duds, but mostly I go by what reviews well and I am not usually disapointed. So I have had this on a list of stuff I wouldn’t mind testing out for a while and when I saw it at Winners for $4.99 it seemed like a no time like the present type of moment. So this is Elf’s blush palette in Dark.

This is a four pan palette closed in matte black packaging which loves to show finger prints. It feels like fairly sturdy plastic and has a strong snap closure. Judging from the back it would be simple to pop out an individual pan to place into a z palette for travel.

All four colors are matte, and pretty long wearing. First is a warm, burnt orange color which is the lightest of the set. Next a blue toned deep pink, then a darker coral matte and a lovely scarlet color. While matte these definiately have a subtle sheen to them that keeps them from looking flat on the skin. They are nicely pigmented so it is better to start with a tiny amount on your brush and add gradually.

Heavy swatches on bareskin in sunlight

Same swatches blended out lightly

I am impressed with how good these are considering the price and while they won’t be replacing any of my favorite glowy blushes I can see me travelling with this quite often. They give flush without adding attention to texture and do seem to last a decent amount of time. There is a lighter version as well which looks lovely. ELF can be bought at Winners, Walmart, their website and online at Shoppers.

Have you tried any ELF products recently?

-Xo. Eryn

Colourpop’s On The Cusp and Eternal Sunshine

Last night I got together with some of my favorite people ever to have an early celebration for my upcoming birthday which means I got some super thoughtful presents. Two of which I wanted to share as soon as I could with you because it was makeup of course. These are two products I never got to try from Colourpop so I couldn’t wait to dive in.

The packaging: The On the Cusp highlighter comes from one of the Kathleen Light’s collections so it has beautiful navy and gold packaging with astrological designs. The Glitterally Obsessed has a clear and white case with holographic silver writting. It has a stopper inside to keep the product from drying out.

The labels

The products

The Glitterally Obsessed body glitter in Eternal Sunshine is described as super fine opal ultra-violet with duochrome purple and teal glitters. The glitter is jam packed, uber shiney and has an unusual soft but sand like texture. It is listed as not being eye safe.

The Super Shock Highlighter in On the Cusp is silky and almost wet feeling. It glides on so nicely and sets beautifully. The color is like a light champagne with lots of reflect.

On the Cusp Super Shock Shadow on the left and Eternal Sunshine Glitterally Obsessed Body Glitter on the right

Unprimed and in natural light

So far I am having a ball playing with these and I can’t wait to sparkle up for the summer. I have a feeling I may have more makeup coming for my birthday so I will update you soon!

These are both sold on Colourpop’s website for $8 USD each.

-Xo. Eryn

Three Beauty Steps I Skip and Four I won’t

I am not a professional makeup artist in anyway but I am a big fan obviously and love to play around. There are, however, things I don’t just bother with so I thought it would be fun to dive into those today so you could see what I skip and what I won’t. Also a little clue why certain things don’t show up in my reviews that much. Also as a disclaimer, I usually have 3 or 4 days a week I go barefaced so these rules obviously only apply for makeup days.

Three Steps I Skip

1. Foundation-there is something my skin hates about foundation. Most of them cause an instant prickly feeling, if they don’t then after a while it just feel heavy to me. I just skip it, very ocassionally I will do a BB cream but really I don’t mind not having it. I do spot conceal a bit, mostly just my dark under eye circles because those really stand out.
2. Bronzing/Contouring-I am pretty pale, my cheeks are very red, so layering brownish shades on top tend to make an orange-y cast. I find the best way to cover my cheeks is to just put a little blush over it to even things out. I have tried contouring here and there but it’s not something I really gravitate to. I do like applying it on other people sometimes though.
3. Fake Eyelashes-Here is my tale of woe. My salon had no makeup artist the day of my wedding, which resulted in me trying to apply my own fake eyelashes, it didn’t go great but the morning after I awoke to leave for my honeymoon with a crazy painful eye infection/scratch on my cornea. My mother in law treated us with an upgrade to first class (my first time!) and there I sat with my pirate patch on trying not to look super sketchy as the eye wouldn’t stop tearing up. Needless to say I just skip this step now.

Four Steps I Won’t Skip

1. Eyebrows- My brows fairly full, and pretty dark still a extra little brow color and shaping goes a long way for the whole face.
2. Mascara- Just a touch to make me look more awake, darken and lengthen my lashes.
3. Concealer-A dab under my eyes for my dark circles.
4. Tinted Balm or Moisturizing Lipstick- A little color, a little moisture. The best of both worlds

These are my super quick face items, when I have only like 5 minutes to get ready and go. If I get 10 minutes I add a little blush, a swipe of highlighter and a simple eyelook.

So what are your skips and won’ts?

-Xo. Eryn

April 2019 Raves

Hey loves,

April totally flew past in the blink of an eye didn’t it? Especially being on our Newfoundland vacay for ten days, it made it feel even faster. So what did I enjoy using for April and the first bit of May? Two old holy grail products and three newbies.

First let’s tell you about the Cerave Foaming Cleanser. This is by far my most repurchased product. Before my preferred cleanser was just whatever was on sale, then I stumbled onto this brand after I kept getting prescriptions for it from a popular dermatologist in my city. My skin is, as you always hear, very dry. I have redness on my cheeks and fairly reactive skin. This cleanser is the first that doesn’t leave my skin tight or too dry afterwards. It’s super gentle on the eyes, has no scent and gets my makeup gone. There’s always a bottle in my shower. Right now I am trying out their moisturizing version but I don’t love it S much as the foaming. It’s my must have.

Second old favorite is Quo Solid Brush Cleaner. This has definitely changed the way I clean my brushes for the better. It’s quick, add a bit of water to the top, dip your brush in then swirl them against a textured silicone surface like a brush egg. Quick rinse and the bristles are left moisturized and nicely laundered. The goat’s milk has a light scent and I think keeps the bristles in good shape.

Onto the new ones, Physicans Formula Butter Lip Cream in Nights in Rio. This super creamy tinted lip balm. It’s the best combo of treatment and color with one of those formulas you don’t need a mirror to apply. It’s a flattering wash of color that doesn’t look out of place even without any other makeup on. It leaves a touch of a stain and a fairly long lasting hydrating feeling afterwards.

No makeup except the lippie

Top swatch is the Butter Lip Cream and bottom is the Essence Melted Chrome both unprimed in natural light

Next would be the Essence Heavy Metals Eyeliner in Platinum Beauty. Despite what the name infers, this is a lovely brown/burgundy metallic. I love this shade as something different from my usual black or green shades. This has a thin, flexible brush which makes it much easier to control and make a precise line. The eyeliner is long lasting and actually keeps it’s metallic sheen.

Then the Essence Volume Hero in Power Black. This really lengthens, thickens and adds a bit of a curl to my lashes. I usually have 2 tubes of random mascara on the go but I find myself going back to this one, time and time again. It’s one that actually is noticeable. Now I want to try the others from the same line too.

And finally my absolute favorite is the Physican’s Formula Butter Paradise. I know I just talked about this when I reviewed the set but this has been oh so good. I am shocked how many friends have complimented me on it. It’s a light, tropical soft scent that is just enough. The only down fall is it comes in such a small bottle and only with the sets as of now.

So what have you been loving lately?

-Xo. Eryn

Stila’s Happy Hour and After Hours Eye Shadow Palette

Sorry for my recent lack of posting, I have been burning the candle at both end this week but one of the things that tied me up helped me with this post so win-win. This weekend at Shoppers was one of our beauty galas which means I leave my regular pharmacy post and get to do mini makeovers on some lovely ladies for charity. It also means I get to try all sorts of new makeup and on different skin tones and types. At this gala the two new Stila palettes really caught my eye, I used both a few times and snuck in some quick swatches to show you all.

So first off the pictures are doing no justice to how sparkly some of these shades are! Formula wise the mattes are a tad dry, but buildable and the glitters are a odd texture, not entirely powder maybe, they sort of clump up like that kinectic sand almost but they go amazing on the eye. These definately perform better in actual practice then swatching. They do tend have a bit of fall out of both glitter and pigment so I would do eyes before face.

First up is Happy Hour, this primarily cooler toned color story is a beautiful switch from the all red or orange themes we have been inundated with lately. (Although I really love those personally, two of my best friends are cool toned so I thought of them for this one.) First row starts with a cream toned beige matte, a really beautiful rosey grey leaning brown matte, a sparkle filled lighter sky blue, a sparkly magenta, a sparkly grape and a shimmery midtoned gold.

I accidently cut off the first shade of the top row because it just blended in with my skintone and disapeared

-Second row has a matte black, a sepia matte, a shimmer gunmetal, a beautiful silvery lilac shimmer, a darkened teal shimmer snd finally a sparkly grey-brown color.

Finally it’s After Hours, the more warm toned palette. The mattes were a little more patchy in this one. The first is a champagne shimmer, a light reddish brown matte, a reddish copper, an ivory duochrome with a pink flash, a shimmery maroon and then a shimmery emerald green.

Swatched on unprimed skin

The second row is a peach shimmer, a chocolate brown matte, a light gold shimmer, a medium brown matte, a reddish brown matte and brown and grey shimmer.

These 12 pan palettes retail for $62.00 CAD.

A Mini Spring Haul and First Impressions

The other day I was wandering around Shoppers when I ran into the new Catrice display and had to stop and have a peek which led to this little haul happening. Nothing too exciting really, but a few little bits and bobs to replace some older items.So while there is a ton of things I really want to try from Catrice now that my store carries them (the foundation, dewy setting spray, concealer, lip products, palettes..ect) I limited myself to two small items that I would get alot of use out of.

Some makeup

Some makeup remover cloths

First being the Slim’matic Ultra Brow in Dark. This is one of the slim type of brow pencils that is perfect for filling in or actually making tiny little hair strokes along sparse areas. It is also one of the twist up mechanical kinds which means it’s great for my purse because I won’t need a sharpener. I thought looking at it that the color would be too light but so far it’s working well for me and lasts through the day also. This retails regularly for $7.99 + tax CAD.

Next I wanted to try one of the blush boxes, so I decided Glistening Pink would be a good everyday sort of color. I recently darkened my hair so I have been having fun with pinks again. (I tend to prefer orange-ish shades when my hair is copper or red) This is a midtone pink with a subtle gold shimmer and claims to be water and sweat proof. It was easy to apply, gave a little glow and seems pretty longlasting the couple of days I wore it. It is also regularly $7.99 +tax.

Then I wandered over to my old faithful brand, Essence which ironically I just discovered is owned by the same company that owns Catrice which is probably why both brands are so similar in price, quality and packaging. I grabbed the Extreme Lasting eye pencil in Silky Nude to replace my old Rimmel one. It was only $3.99, was creamy enough that it doesn’t tug and does stay put in my water line.

Then I wanted a moisturizing primer, so I picked up the Essence Glow Boosting + Pore Minimizing Primer with Pink Clay. This has a soft, fresh scent and instantly makes the skin feel soft and supple. It has a sort of pinkish iridescent shimmer that does help that glowy look. I didn’t remember to check out my pores but it did help my makeup stay around for the day. This retails for $5.99.

Then I picked up the Essence Melted Chrome Shadow in Copper Me. This formula was described as a bouncy, creamy texture and that was definately accurate. It’s the same semi firm mousey feel as the old Maybelline Bouncy Blushes. It wasn’t very even when I applied it with just a finger but using a stiff brush applied little lumps so I would suggest a combo of the two. It gave a lovely shine and this color was beautiful. This retails for $5.99+tax.

And last but not least from Quo, a duo pack of Makeup Remover Cloths. This is supposed to let you remove all your makeup with just water than you throw it in the washer and it is good to go again. These are uber soft, and seem to work fairly well. I haven’t washed them yet but that should be the true test of how I like them. They didn’t get all of my mascara off but it’s still a much quicker (and more green way) to get the rest of my makeup off.

Quo’s Makeup Remover Cloth

The eyeliner, eyebrow pencil, primer, eyeshadow and blush on umprimed skin

Another quick work selfie wearing all the new products

That’s it for today’s haul, any Catrice recommendation?

-Xo. Eryn

Physicians Formula Butter Collection×Casey Holmes

The outside featuring holographic leaf details

-When I first saw this collection pop up online I sort glanced at a few reviews, thought it looked nice but figured it wouldn’t come to Canada. But I actually did find it online and then on sale so I thought it was a great time to try out the butter collection and see what all the fuss is about. While I don’t watch Casey’s youtube channel personally I still love to see brands pair up with youtubers and like to support that.

The whole collection

-So this collection contains one of their famous Murumuru Butter Bronzers in the shade Deep, a Butter Blush in Copper Cobana and a Butter Higlighter in Just Beachy. The formula is super soft and filled with moisturizing Murumuru Butter, Cupuaçu Butter and Tucuma Butter that make it feel so good on the skin. Also everything is beautifully scented with a fresh, tropical scent that is pleasant without being overwhelming. The bronzer is cool toned enough not to show up as orange, the blush has an intersting sheen and a deep reddish- coppery shade and the highlight is a classic champagne that is almost like a soft mousse that unfortunately is loaded with silver glitter. But all the products perform really well and even though I think the colors would be better suited for someone a little deeper in tone than me, it is still workable.

Bronzer, blush and highlighter under sunlight

Same under artificial light

-The four eyeshadows included are very soft as well, and have an interesting texture but I wasn’t loving them to be honest. The ivory shade is pretty crumbly, the two middle shades are red brownish shades are way too similar to each other on the eye and the best is the last, a metallic forrest green. They didn’t seem very long lasting on my eyes but were not irritating at least even with the scent.

No primer and artificial light

The lipstick in Pop the Bubbly is a fantastic emollient, a little thicker without being sticky and smells as good as everything else in the collection. The color was not great on me when layered, but it had lovely gold shimmer and is mostly sheer when worn lightly. The formula was so nice I went and bought another shade pretty much immediately.

Unprimed in artificial light

And finally the perfume, Butter Paradise. This was the total star in my eyes. The scent of the butter products are amazing, so it was very clever to actually market a matching perfume. Also Physican’s Formula has onlu been selling the perfume in sets like this and the bottle is only 15 mls! The scent is sweet without being cloying. It is a mix of coconut, tropical fruit and the beach I think. I have really been liking it.

The collection is a great deal, I have seen it on sale for $17.99 several times on the Shoppers beauty boutique and now it looks like Ulta.com is carrying it.

Quick before work selfie wearing this collection

So, have you smelt any of these products yet?

-Xo. Eryn