Fall Beauty Review 2011: Calvin Klein Forbidden Euphoria Is Pure Seduction...

Looking to snag that sweet someone? Sure, you need some killer confidence but a memorable scent will make you utterly irresistible. Calvin Klein's newest star, Forbidden Euphoria, is truly intoxicating but not in the headache-y kind of way. It's a fresher, younger, sexier version of the original. The only thing forbidden is not wearing this!

Notes:
Sparkling Mandarin, Peach Blossom, Iced Raspberry, Pink Peony, Tiger Orchid, Jasmine, Cashmere Woods, Patchouli Absolute, Skin Musk.

I usually gravitate to deep, musky fruity, vanilla, or flowery scents because it just works with my body chemistry. As soon as I opened it, my husband took one whiff and wanted me to spritz it all over! I would wear a scent like this during the day, but if you usually don't wear muskier scents save it for a night cap. If you're in the market for a scent for fall that you can wear into the winter this is definitely one to add to the list. 

If you want to try it for yourself enter the "Forbidden Euphoria Giveaway" contest on the Scent Society Facebook Fanpage! Between now and November 21st, Scent Society is giving away TWO daily Forbidden Euphoria rollerballs. They are giving away 30 rollerballs twice a day!

Contest is open to all Canadian residents. To enter, click on the link below and register once a day.
https://www.facebook.com/ScentSociety?sk=app_236495976405641

What's your signature scent? Have you tried Forbidden Euphoria? 

Calvin Klein Forbidden Euphoria retails for $45-80 USD.

Product was sent for editorial consideration and I truly love it.

EOTD: Blue Steel using BFTE

Click me! :D

 **Edit: Check out my new tutorial for this look HERE!**
Hey guys, just a quick EOTD post for ya! My fingers were itchin' to do makeup today, so this is what I did. I knew I wanted to use blue and silver, and of course BFTE supplied my needs perfectly! I also got a chance to use a few new products from my previous post, so keep reading for the deets ;)

Click me, too! :3

Products used:

-UDPP

-DGC Glitter Glue (LOVE this stuff)

BFTE shadows:

-Gun Metal(light silver, inner half of lid)

-Spellbound(dark blue, outer half of lid)

-Blueberry(bright true-blue to blend Gun Metal and Spellbound)

-Casablanca Nights(black w/ blue glitter, outer edge)

-High Roller(bright blue glitter, outer half)

-Moonlight(shimmery white, tear duct)

-Very Vanilla(matte skintone, browbone)

-Truffle(matte medium brown, on brow)

-Sephora white eyeliner(tear duct)

-Wet N' Wild Fantasy Makers confetti(silver/rainbow holo-glitter, inner corner)

-Cover Girl clear mascara(on brow)

-Wet N' Wild Megaliner in Black(matte black liquid liner, top only)

-UD 24/7 liner in Zero(black, waterline)

-Shu Uemura curler

-Cover Girl Lash Perfection mascara in Very Black(top and bottom lashes)

-Coastal Scents camouflage concealer palette(lightest shades, around eye)

The pics didn't turn out that great, they're a little blurry but I'm not used to taking pics in daylight lol. The first pic was with flash, the second was daylight, but it was getting dark and I couldn't get a great angle. Ah well :3

I messed up the liner since this was my first time using a brush-tip applicator in I don't know how long, lol. The inner corner looks pretty gnarly :( But no biggie, hopefully I'll get used to it soon. x3 Otherwise the liner is pretty nice, it's easy to apply and it is BLACK! Since it dries totally matte, it looks so velvety. It was a little too dramatic for this look, so I brushed some Spellbound over it to tone it down a little bit. (I was also trying to conceal my epic liner fail.. it didn't work, lol.)

So far I like the mascara too; I used about 2 coats for this look, and my lashes look nice and black! It also works a lot better for length than previous mascaras I've used, my lashes looked longer than normal which is awesome! I liked the thinner applicator too, it was less clumsy to use and get all my little lashes. Hopefully it'll be my new HG, I'll keep you posted after I use it some more ;)

I posted this look on BFTE's fanpage and my fellow BFTE-junkies seem to like it so that makes me feel pretty awesome :) Someone suggested I do a tutorial on it so I may try to recreate this look step by step; we'll see how that goes though.. I'm not good at tutorials because I always forget to take pictures for each step lol. But I'm willing to give it a try! ;D

That's all, take care and thanks for reading!<3

UPDATE: Beauty News: IMATS Is Almost Here In Toronto!!

UPDATE: Promos Added

I added the prices to the special promos and HD Blushes were added! The MUFE booth is always crowded with people. I haven't been able to buy anything from the booth because of the crowds but that is about to change this year! Favourites: HD Blush, Aqua Creams, Aqua Liners, HD Primer.

Floriane David, Director of Education at the MAKE UP FOR EVER Academy in NYC will be doing body painting demos on Saturday Nov 12th between 12-3pm. She will also be hosting a seminar on Sunday Nov 13th at 11:30am.

Special Promos: 

1. $130 ($230 value) with the purchase of any 5 HD Foundations

2. $90 ($160 value) with the purchase of any 5 HD Concealers
3. $49 ($87 value) with the purchase of any 3 HD Blushes
4. $61 ($108 value) with the purchase of any 3 Full Cover
5. $74 ($131 value) with the purchase of any 3 Perfect Primers
6. $125 ($213 value) with the purchase of 10 eyeshadows Palette
7. $81 ($144 value) 15 Lipstick Palettes
8. $165 ($293 value) Brush Kit - 9 Brushes

The name "Eve Pearl" is a name that is well-known in the makeup industry. Emmy award winning makeup artist, Eve Pearl, and her team will be at IMATS Toronto and they have some amazing deals for us fans!!

Enjoy 60% off all their products! How phenomenal is that??

And they will have their popular makeup artist must-have, Thumb Palette! It's a genius product if you're applying makeup on other clients especially if you're clumsy like me. I don't know how many times I've dropped my palette! I will definitely be picking this up.

And for the first time in Toronto, the brand will be featuring their HD Liquid Foundation! Oil Free, Fragrance Free, Paraben Free, Water Free, Petrolatum Free and Cruelty Free!

Photo Source: www.imats.net

Can you feel the excitement in the air?? IMATS is descending on Toronto November 12-13!! In 11 days, I will be shopping my favourite brands, listening and learning from the best of the best in the industry, and most importantly connecting with all my fellow makeup artists and beauty bloggers! It really is like a reunion. If you haven't experienced IMATS yet, you must! It's not only open to makeup pros but to all you makeup lovers! 

When: November 12-13

Where: Toronto Congress Centre, North Hall H
650 Dixon Road
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Hours:  Saturday, (General admission) 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday, (General admission) 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Buy Tickets: Click here.

List of Exhibitors: Click here.

List of Speakers: Click here.

IMATS is a place to learn about new products and new makeup techniques. It's also a great place to score on amazing discounts. IMATS is my favourite place to stock up on quality brushes at insanely affordable prices! Here are some special promos from some of my favourite brands. To view more, check out my friend Arianne from Glitter Geek's page here!

The MUFE booth is always crowded with people. I haven't been able to buy anything from the booth because of the crowds but that is about to change this year! Favourites: HD Blush, Aqua Creams, Aqua Liners, HD Primer.

Floriane David, Director of Education at the MAKE UP FOR EVER Academy in NYC will be doing body painting demos on Saturday Nov 12th between 12-3pm. She will also be hosting a seminar on Sunday Nov 13th at 11:30am.

Special Promos: 

1. 50% discount with the purchase of any 5 HD Foundations

2. 50% discount with the purchase of any 5 HD Concealers
3. 50% discount with the purchase of any 5 Uplights
4. 50% discount with the purchase of any 5 Aqua Liners
5. 50% discount with the purchase of a Brush Kit

In addition, everything is 40% off!

Face Atelier is my go-to foundation! I love stocking up on their foundations. But this year I really want to try Facade, their lip/cheek stain which they will be debuting in Toronto! They will also be introducing their Ultra Matte too. 40% off for professional makeup artists.

What do I not love from CoverFX! If you're looking for some serious coverage be sure to visit CoverFX! I also love their primers. 

General show special: $70.00(value $165) - 1 Cover FX Trio, 1 Conceal
FX, 1 SkinPrep FX, #160 brush

Special for the Pro's- for the artists that want it all. The last day
special for $195.00 (value over $300): 16 pro pots (8 light to medium
and 8 medium to dark), Setting FX light 6.5gr, Matte FX Medium, SkinPrep FX,
#160 brush
Pro Pot Shades:

C - 10, 30, 50, 60

E - 0, 20, 40, 60

M - 20, 30, 50, 80 

B - 0,15, 25, 45

Other brands to check out: Crown Brush (amazing brushes), Alcone (for sponges, wands), yaby, temptu (for airbrushing),  Eve Pearl, Kett Cosmetics, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, and Zuca (the only makeup kit to have!). 

To read past posts of IMATS Toronto click here. I will be attending the Saturday show and hope to catch Eve Pearl's Flawless Bride seminar at 2:30 pm! I look forward to seeing some familiar faces and saying "hi" to some new ones!

Fall Beauty Review 2011: Clinique Black Honey Fall Collection

Clinique's Black Honey Almost Lipstick is a cult classic. I remember my first introduction to Black Honey was when I was in college working at a poster shop. My co-worker was a stunning girl with pale, olive skin and long, shiny black hair. I remember the first time she whipped Black Honey out and applied this deep, berry to her lips without a mirror. I couldn't believe how dark the shade was in the tube, but on the lips added just the right amount of colour. The skinny, silver tube was all very eye catching especially since I was used to black lipstick packaging. 

Fast forward 10 + years later, and although a classic, I hadn't tried Black Honey until Clinique came out with a whole collection for Fall! So, you can imagine my excitement when I had the collection in my hands. I immediately swiped on the 2-in-1 Almost Lipstick/Black Honey Gloss. One side is the lipstick and one side is a gloss which is not shown in the picture above. The moisturizing texture I loved. But sadly, I was really underwhelmed with the colour - on me at least. I know all you Black Honey fans are thinking I'm just crazy, but it turned more of a reddish-brown on my lips. I was expecting more of a blackened purple undertone. It could be that I have some natural pigment to my lips and it pulled more of the brown undertones. It didn't necessarily look bad against my skin tone, but I felt it looked a little dated on me. It reminded me of my M.A.C. Paramount lipstick I used to wear religiously in high school/college. Not cute and just not me anymore.

The eyeshadow quad was also underwhelming although it is a quad with basic everyday shades. Beware that this palette could look muddy on some skin tones and make you look tired. Again on me, it worked but I felt it looked dated. The textures were also pretty frosty. If you have wrinkly skin on your eyes, the frost will just accentuate that.

The Black Honey blush I actually didn't mind. It is a gradation of colour going from dark to light. Use one side to sculpt and the lighter to add colour on the cheeks and highlight. The texture of the blush is really smooth. It gives the skin really nice warmth and is perfect for the Fall season. Lighter skin tones should use a lighter hand when applying this blush as you don't want to look bruised. 

All in all, I think the Black Honey shade works best as a lip colour as it seems to be flattering on most skin tones. I just wish it would had more of a purple undertone to it. Otherwise, if you're a Black Honey fan you will love this collection. 

Are you a Black Honey fan? Did you love the collection?

www.clinique.com

Products were submitted for editorial consideration.

Small drugstore haul: pics, swatches, impressions

 Yesterday I went to Harmon (armed with a coupon!) and got a few things to replace old/used stuff. I'm trying some different products this time so watch out for some reviews on those! For now, check out these couple o' pics with swatches and my initial impressions :)

I've been wanting to try these Wet N' Wild Megaliners forever, since I keep seeing bloggers using them. I was looking for a replacement for my old Go-To Almay liquid liners, which I suspect are responsible for eye discomfort whenever I wear them. Strange, since Almay is supposed to be somewhat known for their sensitive-eye-safe products. These have brush tips as opposed to the felt tips I'm used to but I'm definitely going to give them a try. With my coupon discount, these babies only cost me $2.17 each!

NYX lipliner in Hot Red; I've also had my eye on this pencil for months but it just always seemed like such a splurge/luxury type item, not because it's expensive but because.. well, when in the world am I gonna wear a hot red lip pencil? lol. Regardless, a classic red lip is something I've been obsessed with for a long time but never really done myself. With coupon discount it was only $2.81, not bad at all!

This was kind of a last-minute addition to my basket, lol; I'd see these Wet N' Wild singles all the time in stores and the green one especially always caught my eye but I wasn't sure it would be worth buying. After looking at swatches online I decided I had to own this gorgeous little eyeshadow and I'm so glad I got it.

The pretty swirly pattern is a little messed up in these pics, as I'd already swatched it. ;)

Here are the swatches; click to enlarge! Top, from left: Envy over mark. eye primer and over Darling Girl Cosmetics Glitter Glue. Bottom, from left: Wet N Wild Megaliners in Black(bottom) and Dark Brown(top); NYX Lip liner Pencil in 817Hot Red.

This was the only pic taken without flash

Impressions:

-Wet N' Wild Eyeshadow Single in Envy: This shadow is pretty much what I've been looking for, a nice medium low-shimmer green. No chunky glitter which I hate, just the perfect amount of soft shimmer. When used over the glitter glue, it becomes almost metallic. It's a great color, not too blue or yellow. I tried swatching it over different bases and green eyeliners and and they all looked fabulous. For only $1.44 with the coupon, I'm definitely picking up a few more of these singles sometime.

-Wet N' Wild Megaliner in Black and Dark Brown: I haven't used these yet besides swatching them but so far I think I'll like them. There's tons of product on the brush so I won't have to worry about getting a good line over eyeshadow. Also, they seem to dry totally matte which is something I've been looking for so I'm really excited to use these! Time will tell how they behave on my eyes and how long it takes the bottles to dry out. They're cheap enough though that I wouldn't mind replacing them a little sooner.

As you can see, the 2 colors appear almost identical but the brown is just a little softer, which is useful for me since I sometimes feel true black is a bit harsh on my light complexion. From swatching these twice, the brown seems to take longer to dry than the black but that may be because both times there was a bit more product on the brown applicator. I did notice that both colors took longer to dry than I'm used to but I doubt that will be a huge problem for me.

-NYX Lip Liner in 817Hot Red: As I mentioned above, I've always been fascinated with a bright, bold red lip but never done it on myself. (Except once for my Vampireish look last year. I don't even really own a true red lipstick.. that look was done with a sample, lol.) For some reason I tend to balk at buying lip products; I guess it seems like a lot to pay for one color that I may never use. Too risky. That being said, I would absolutely love to get into lipcolor and while hot red isn't an ideal place so start, I had to have it anyway. I really wanted a lip pencil because my lips are pigmented but the pigmentation is a bit uneven. I need something to even them out and fill them in so I can get a really true color and the lipstick doesn't wear off all patchy and weird. Anyway, I got this NYX pencil because it was pretty much the boldest red I could find in the drugstore that didn't cost more than I was prepared to shell out.

It seems to be a nice consistency, not too dry or too creamy. It goes on fairly smoothly and delivers good color payoff, which I'm happy to report. If this thing had been a dud I probably would have cried, lol. Things I'm not crazy about are: first that these pencils don't have any seal on them so people tend to uncap them in the store and draw with them, however I didn't have any problem finding one with a pristine tip. The other thing I was slightly disappointed about was when I swatched the pencil I noticed it does have a very cool tint and an almost hot pink undertone if swatched sheerly. I'm a little concerned that my already pink lips will turn the color even pinker, but not TOO worried since the color is very buildable and pretty opaque; I think the shade can be evened out if worn with a warmer lipcolor on top or what-have-you.

All in all I'm very pleased with my purchases so far! I also got a new mascara, Cover Girl Lash Perfection. I researched top mascaras on makeupalley and this one got surprisingly stellar reviews so I thought I'd give it a whirl. With coupon it only cost me $4.20, which is excellent for a mascara! I'll post a review after I use it a bit. :)

I guess that's all for this post so thanks for reading! If any of you have tried any of these products, please let me know what you thought of them in a comment! Also, if anyone has any recommendations for good drugstore lipliners/lipsticks, PLEASE tell me! I'm thinking of trying some of the Maybelline Color Sensational or Revlon Matte/Color Burst. Any suggestions? :3

Makeup group on Facebook?

Hey guys, I just have a quick question I was hoping you all could help me with!

I often see bloggers mention Facebook makeup groups they're a part of, and I was wondering if any of you could suggest a good one for me to join? I've tried other makeup communities such as message boards and stuff, but truth be told, I just never get around to checking-in much after joining; the sites are usually just too out-of-the-way. Not to mention, most communities I'm a part of actually have so many rules about what you can and cannot post, brand affiliations, etc, that they're just not a very practical or fun place for a person who loves all kinds of makeup-related stuff like me. :(

Facebook would be perfect since I spend so much time on there anyway, so if any of you know of an awesome, active, group that welcomes new members, I'd love to join! I need somewhere interactive where I can talk about makeup, share tips and reviews on products, post photos, looks, blog links, and basically just go to town, lol.

Any recommendations would be welcome! Thanks in advance, hope you guys are enjoying your Wednesday! ;)

Winner Announced

 This year came with some ReAlLy good costume entries but one really BLEW my mind!!! Behold! Camille's sister (since I never got a name LOL) is the winner of our Classy Halloween Contest for 2011 =D. Just send me an email with your information within 48 hours and I can send you your gift!!! Check this out everyone...

How gruesome and cool is THAT??? My mom also sent me some pictures of dArLiNg trick or treating costumes. Here are my favs!

 Audrey is ALWAYS classy!

 She's PERFECT!!!!! Look at those brows! That expression!!!

 So beautiful

 LOVE!!!!! Darling, and perfectly Fall colored with the cutest pigtails EvEr!!!

 Bah ha ha ha haaaaaaa!!!!!

This little smoosh was at our church party and his whole family was dressed up as Legos. Notice the genius of using his costume as a double chin rest = D. I LOVE HIM!!!!!!!

Here's me and my hubby for our Halloween party. We won best costumes yay!!! =) What did you dress up as this year?