I thought I got my skin problems under control, but NO- these days if it isn’t my forehead erupting, it’s my face getting oily and bumpy. As much as I enjoy trolling people with my witty antics, I am also enjoying tricking people that I never have blotchy skin. I’ve tried various makeup products over my years as a blogger and so far I’ve narrowed it down to these favourites.
Face of the Day from Shiseido’s Makeup Class at The Bay
My friend had signed me up for Shiseido makeup seminar to go with her, but she ended up being out of town the day it was held at The Bay Richmond Center, so I went alone. It was a “No Makeup Makeup” seminar where some Shisiedo specialists taught you some basic makeup skills to looking natural. I never actually been to any sort of class before, I usually learn from self-experiment, blogs, and YouTube. Those who participated in the class also received a free book, a Translucent Powder and a Perfect Rouge lipstick. After the class I purchased the Lacquer Rouge in RD203.
In the beginning of the class we were matched with our foundation colour. In the class, we were given headbands and a personal set of tools (Q-tips, disposable lip brush, disposable mascara wand, etc) to use. The Shiseido trainer showed us the basics – primer, foundation (using the Shiseido foundation brush), concealer, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick. Luckily, I did not need to fill in my eyebrows!
Basically, a trainer had a model and showed us how she applied the makeup on the model. Students are given supplies and makeup to use on themselves in front of a mirror. The class had approximately 10 people. During each step, other Shiseido specialists gave us the makeup to use.
The foundation I used was the Perfect Refining Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 15 in B20 (Natural Light Beige.) I thought it gave me quite a good airbrush finish to my skin when applied over their primer. The foundation wasn’t heavy and I noticed that most of my pores, especially on my cheek were covered. For the eyes, I used the Luminizing Sating Eye Color Trio of purple eyeshadow and brown eyeliner.
We also got a disposable mascara wand and they dipped it in their mascara to try. This is the only portion I have a complaint of. I never smelt a bad mascara until now. It was obviously expired because the mascara smelled of chemicals and age. I wish I spoke up but I didn’t.
The blush for contouring is their new blush- OR308 Starfish. It was finely milled and easy to blend on the skin. It looked similar to Nars Orgasm with it’s peach colour tone. I could see the natural sun kissed look it gave me. For the lips, I used the Lacquer Rouge in RD203, which is a nude -coral colour.
Really loved the clean look of my skin! However, I didn’t want to purchase it as I almost never use foundation. The only item I purchased (hooray for Bay giftcards!) was the Lacquer Rouge. It was very moisturizing and the Shiseido trainer said that it has powder so it doesn’t smudge. Addtionally, it is like a lipstick/lipgloss hybrid, but better lasting power. It had great pigmentation and moisturizing as well. I will do a full review soon! 🙂
As for joining the class, I got these two lovely freebies, a review on each one will also come after I try them!
The Lacquer Rouge in RD203.
I never use Shiseido makeup so this was something new! I cannot find Shiseido makeup in stores, but it seems like you can purchase it online at Sephora or at The Bay. I will do a full review on each item soon to let you know what I think! Have you tried Shiseido makeup before?
Shoppers Drug Mart: My First Makeover Experience!
My friend and I were wandering around Shoppers Drug Mart (Coal Harbour location in Downtown Vancouver), and we randomly walked inside the store and greeted by someone who told us they were having a “gala” event. You can pay $10 for a ticket which will get you $5 off your beauty purchase, $5 donated to charity, a free gift with any purchase, and a complimentary makeover. This sounded a lot of fun, because all the Shoppers I’ve been to in Richmond never does anything exciting.
Needless to say, I was hooked immediately. Hearing “makeover,” “gift,” and “$5 off” sold me- I could get a small item from the beauty purchase and not spend as much! (However, I am not sharing what I spent, if you want to know, PM me!)
Here’s a mini fact about me before I begin talking about my experience:
I avoid all eye contact with makeup counters in department stores (The Bay) because I find the people too pushy and they don’t really care unless you buy buy buy. The people at Sephora are either very busy with others, or immersed in their own little world. I’m too intimidated by these people! But everyone at Shoppers were very friendly! Also, it was quiet (since this Shoppers is located a bit out of the busy area) which meant less people, and more attention to YOU.
The experience:
I had my makeover done by a guy named Shane. I felt bad because he was about to go on his break, but he was previously showing/describing Guerlain products to me and was very detailed. I waited until he was finished doing a makeover on another customer. And then, so begins my full face on makeover! I wanted everything!
He began cleansing and setting my face with Dior Micellar Cleanser, then Guerlain Super Aqua Toner and then Guerlain Super Aqua Serum.Hello, instant hydrated skin! To start on the face, he used Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Fluid Foundation in 02. Then, he used Guerlain meteorite pearls powder to give a nice soft glow for the face and to set the foundation to prevent it from melting. Afterwards, he used Guerlain Blush in 02 (Sunny Pink) for a nice rosy glow. To complete the blush, he also complemented it with Dior Shimmer Powder 001. I think the whole blush application took 5 minutes, with all the sweeping and buffing with Dior’s blush brush. Now I know I need to spend more time in making those cheekbones glow! When I stared at the mirror after all this, I was already amazed at the transformation.
Afterwards, Shane worked on the eyes. he used Dior 5 couleurs designer palette 508– a beautiful palette that includes a base, liner, and other shades of pink, rosewood, and a purpley-pink- taupe. It was gorgeous and I wished it was mine, but it’s not. He then used Dior waterproof liner Crayon 090 to line my eyes. Because I have naturally thick brows, he dabbed a bit of black shadow from Dior 3 couleurs smoky shadow 09. For mascara, I had Guerlain Noir 6 Mascara– that is smudgeproof, helps separate lashes, helps with curling, lengthening, and voluminzing.
Lastly, the lips! My lips were extremely dehydrated, because over an hour has passed since the beginning of the makeover, and I spent the whole day talking and walking with my friend in Downtown! To save those chapped lips, Shane dabbed some Dior Creme de Rose Lip Balm, and then he added a Guerlaine cream gloss which was my absolute favourite! The gloss was Guerlaine Kiss Kiss Essence de Gloss 461. It is an absolutely beautiful rose shade- it was creamy and moisturizing. If I ever splurge on a Guerlaine product, it’s the first on my list.
image from Guerlaine
I was extremely happy with the final result, and this whole makeover experience took well over an hour. Shane was absolutely detailed in showing me and explaining the product, and I managed to pick up some tips too! And, I didn’t feel pressured to buy everything he used at all. And thank goodness at that, because this whole collection would’ve costed me close to $1000 I think, and I don’t think my paycheque could cover it. 🙁 But, hopefully in the future, I can go down the list and tick off some of them! 😀
Oh, how did I manage to remember every single item? He wrote it all down! Here it is for all of you to see!
The result:
And, this is how I look! I did notice smudging under my eyes, and I have a feeling its is the eyeliner. Pencil eyeliner does not work well with my hooded eyelids, no matter how good the brand is. 🙁
I think this is the most makeup I ever had on my face, and I’m not sure how often I would go out with it, but I was surprised how natural I still managed to look in the end! This first makeover experience was fun and I learnt lots of new things and I have a bunch of things on my I-wish-I-had-money-to-buy list! I feel like one of the girls on America’s Next Top Model or something. How I wish I could wake up everyday and look like I had a makeover!
I’m still in love with that Guerlain Kiss Kiss Essence de Gloss! Even the name “kiss kiss” in it is adorable!
Oh- and the free gift with purchase was:
Thanks to everyone who read this LONG post and hope you enjoyed my first makeover journey at Shoppers Drug Mart!
What do you think of this look? 🙂 Has anyone used these products before?
ETA: Omg! Shoppers Drug Marts called me and said I won one of the baskets in the raffle draw! First time I won anything EVER- September 15, 2012.
I’m so excited to try these! A full sized perfume, and other skincare products I never tried!
A 4 Year Love Story with Bare Minerals Well Rested
Do you remember your first product from Sephora? I do. It was a pot of mineral powder from bareMinerals of “Well Rested” Multi Tasking Face Colour. My friend took me to Sephora for the first time and I had no idea what was going on. I was a noob at makeup and didn’t wear any of this. But, I felt like I should buy something, and the only thing I ever felt self conscious about back then was my eye bags. So, the sales associate put some of this on and I bought it for $23CAD. My heart broke at the wallet, but as long as it works, it’s worth it right?
Definitely, because I still have the same pot in my bathroom 4 years later. Although I didn’t use it often from the second-third year of owning this product, I am now finding many uses for this mineral powder.
Excuse the somewhat dirty/messy lid!
There is a sifter- you can tap a bit out on the lid, then use a brush or fingers to dab some on the problem areas! This is great to control the amount of product you are going to use!
Description:
Instantly achieve a wide-awake look with this innovative eye brightener. Our lightweight formula buffs on gently around the eye area to visibly diminish dark circles while the SPF 20 offers added protection against the sun’s harmful rays.
Benefits:
Masks your all-nighter by refreshing the eye area and creating a bright-eyed look
Keeps your true hue all day long when applied under bareMinerals Eyecolors
Ingredients:
Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163), Kaolin, Mica (CI 77019), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77499), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)
Although this product can be used as an under eye concealer alone, sometimes it doesn’t provide enough coverage, but it still makes my eyes look brighter and more awake. I prefer to use it over concealer, as it does a great job acting as a “finishing powder.”
It has good brightening properties.
I love using this cover redness– I just it on the sides of my nose, a bit on my cupid’s bow, and on the sides of my lips. It’s great in covering blemishes! When I got my wisdom teeth removed and I had ugly bruises on my face, I used Well Rested with another Bare Minerals foundation to cover them completely!
This product is also a great highlighter if you sweep some across the cheekbones and on the nose ridge! I also use it on my brow bone for a natural, yet highlighted high brow look.
I am still using this product, and I finally am able to make it work well! This is truly a great multi-tasker for dark circles, blemishes, redness, and whatever needs a little concealing! Great product, great ingredients, and will last a long time!
Sample/Freebie Haul at Sephora + Fresh Skin Consultation Event!
Today was a day of fun, one day post last day of summer school. I met up with my friend in downtown Vancouver at Sephora, and we stumbled upon a Fresh skin event. And I walked out of Sephora with a smiley face and samples.
There was a FRESH skincare consultation event. It peaked my curiousity, plus you get a free bag! And I actually needed a bag, because I was carrying two cardigans in my purse (call me crazy, I thought it was cold, but it turned out to be 23 degrees Celcius today. Go figure.) So I sat down with a FRESH skincare representative, and he kind of went through a skincare routine for dry skin. I think most people went through the same thing though, since they seemed to have only two types of products – Soy and and Black Tea.
He showed me the Soy Face Cleanser, exfoliant, serum, and the umbrian clay face treatment – and tried each product on the back of my hand. My hand did feel much smoother, but I didn’t buy anything since it was so darn expensive! It was fun to sit there though! This is a card that ticked off what he went over with me:
Then I got a giant tote bag and samples of the Soy Cleanser and exfoliant. Anyone else have tried any of these Fresh skincare products? Any opinions?
I’ve only tried the lip treatments! -speaking of, the Fresh person said that the lip treatments create a semi-permeable barrier on your lips that helps seal in moisture, whereas lipbalsm with petroleum jelly creates a complete barrier.
Also, the guy asked me if I used masks when he was showing me the Umbrian face treatment, so I said I use sheet masks…he had no idea what it was..is this an Asian thing only?! I didn’t want to start talking about My Beauty Diary masks to confuse him more.
I got an email from Sephora about free samples of Smashbox Photofinish Hydrating Under Eye Primer, so I snatched that up. I got a 5 mL sample. The description online states:
” Introducing the first primer dedicated to the delicate skin under eyes! We’ve taken our signature silky primer texture and infused it with 10 breakthrough benefits to address everyday eye woes. Plus, it keeps concealer looking fresh-never cakey or settled into fine lines-so eyes will always look well-rested.
10 under-eye benefits, 1 primer breakthrough for:
• Hydration, dark circles, puffiness, radiance, fine lines and wrinkles, texture, skin tone, age spots, clarity, soothing
• Wear alone to instantly brighten
• Wear under concealer to keep it looking fresher, better
• Unlike moisturizer, signature silky primer texture prevents concealer from slipping off and settling into fine lines
• Infused with anti-aging, good-for-your-eyes ingredients such as caffeine, peptides and optical diffusers”
Anyway, sound’s interesting, so can’t wait to try it!
Thanks to angelandthings – who posted a post on her sample haul so I remembered to ask Sephora for the Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Brightening Makeup. (I really wonder how long do companies take to think up foundation names, since there’s hundereds of foundations out there, and this name is seriously long.) This is a new foundation that Benefit came out with this year. I like how the miniature sized version has still the same packaging as the regular size. They were out of the lightest colours, and the lady gave me the lightest shade they had left- which was champagne. The size of this is 5.0mL.
Here’s a short description on what it is:
What it is:
A brightening, oil-free liquid foundation with SPF 25 PA+++ protection.
What it does:
This natural-finish foundation builds from light to medium coverage for a natural complexion and features light-diffusing properties and hydrating benefits. Its nourishing formula contains Benefit’s exclusive Oxygen Wow Hydrating Complex, which helps boost cellular respiration for a “plumping up” effect, protects against environmental stresses, and contains vitamin C and E derivatives known to prevent the signs of aging.
What else you need to know:
What does PA+++ mean? SPF stands for the protection grade of the UVB filter. PA stands for the protection grade of the UVA filter. The highest standard of sun protection rating is the three-star PA rating. Benefit’s foundation has three stars, which translates to the highest level of protection.
I figure I won’t use it much….since it is a bit dark. So here’s a swatch!
It’s a bit orange-y…so I’ll have to find some way to manipulate this into my routine..somehow.
And that’s it! 5 freebies and a tote bag 🙂