I got a deluxe sample size of this popular mineral setting powder from Sephora. My skin has become so dry that my Marcelle pressed powder actually hurt a bit these days, so I had to find a talc-free powder to go over my Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer.

Hoping to completely camouflage my dark circles (Bobbi Brown Corrector doesn’t do it completely), I use the Creamy Concealer on top of the Corrector (in Bisque). When I was talking to the makeup artist at Bobbi Brown, I was torn between two shades – Cool Sand and Sand – Cool Sand being a little lighter (just a little) than Sand. She assured me that Sand is better for coverage because it is more pigmented, so I went with Sand.

I bought this for US$10/CAD$11 from Sephora’s clearance sale, a real steal because the retail price is expensive! I am using a couple of great primers (Laura Mercier and Smashbox) but at this price, I cannot pass up. And this didn’t disappoint!

I am an avid tea drinker (when you have a young child, you need caffeine!), and I have noticed that my once-white teeth aren’t so white anymore. After reading so many great reviews about the Go Smile products, I decided to try it, especially when a very expensive system was marked down to only CAD$77 at theshoppingchannel.com.

I got a sample of this in my last order from Sephora.com, and loved it so much that I went and bought the to-go size. While I loved Laura Mercier’s primer, I found that this one from Smashbox really does provide a perfectly smooth canvas for makeup application, without feeling too slicky, silicone-y (think DHC’s Velvet Skin Coat) or flake off. It is also absolutely colorless and contains peptides.

Wishing all my Chinese and Vietnamese readers (and all who celebrate the lunar new year) a prosperous and healthy year!

Never in a millions did I think I would fall head over heels in love with a Philosophy product!

I never bought into the whole mineral makeup fad, partly because I don’t normally wear foundation anyway. All I need is a translucent finishing powder to give my skin a nice glow and polished look. I bought this from Shoppers Drug Mart for CAD$26.00 before my trip to Disney, hoping it to be my go-to one-step makeup. It was nicely priced, and talc free, and promised to be ‘the look of love in a compact’. What can go wrong?

I was never a lipstick person to begin with, and most of the lipsticks I had all dried my lips after an hour or two, even if they claim not to. I also don’t want to ingest lead or other chemicals in my body, the lips being the perfect place to do it, so I wanted my lip products to be as natural as they can be. Most importantly, now that I am a mom, I don’t have the luxury of taking out my fancy schmancy lipsticks to reapply after a meal or in the middle of an outing – I need something to be so user friendly that I won’t need a mirror, and I need that something to be easily carried. A tinted lip balm – which I had been using – is the perfect solution.

I cannot remember in the past 15+ years, since I started to take care of my skin and learned to do my own makeup, that I didn’t love Bobbi Brown. I love how real she is, and how real she makes all the celebrities look, not with some crazy, unwearable colours, but neutral, wearable shades for every skin tone and age. But I have never tried Bobbi Brown skincare – I always feel that companies that specialize in makeup, or skincare, just can’t seem to do both equally well. Many companies fall into this category, and I never really thought I would try Bobbi Brown skincare until now.

I bought this from Sephora when I fell in love with it at first sight. I have been lemming for some nice cruelty-free eyeshadows for a while, and after checking where they are made, I discovered that a lot of them are now made in China. Smashbox has some made in China too, so I checked but this was made in the USA, so it was a go!

While I loved the Marcelle Pressed Powder in Translucent Medium, it was a little darker than my skin tone and being winter (Canadian winter, no less), I wanted something a little less drying, which means something talc free. I bought Origins All and Nothing loose powder after reading so many good reviews about it everywhere (4.2 out of 5 rating on makeupalley.com). I love Origins so I had high expectations for this.

Since I had stopped using animal tested cosmetics, I had been using more Clinique makeup products. Since it is fragrance free and hypoallergenic, I find that I don’t react as much anymore, especially when it comes to eye products!

A lot of drug store hair care products are tested on animals, and after being disappointed with some of the natural brands’ styling products, I turned to The Body Shop, my go-to cruelty free brand that has affordable but good products.

Since I have pledged to be cruelty free on PETA, I have rediscovered some of the brands I didn’t always use before. The Body Shop, for example. I like their campaigns (just wish they didn’t sell to L’Oreal, one of the worst animal testing offenders) and what they stand for, but I rarely really used their products until very recently.

Happy New Year to all my dear readers!

I love Caudalie. It’s one of the nicest smelling brands and doesn’t test on animals, and they grow their own grapes to be used in their products. Everything about them is what the cosmetics industry should be.

I got this for my birthday and have been using it for over two months. This is my first time using Peter Thomas Roth; I had wanted and needed a retinol serum and unfortunately Leaf & Rusher discontinued theirs, I ended up trying a whole new brand.

My husband bought this at the LAX airport when he went to California on business last year. It was a special edition, no longer available on L’Occitane.ca or L’Occitane.com. What a shame because this is pretty nice stuff!

Merry Christmas to all my readers!

I got a handful of these samples with purchase from essentialdayspa.com, one of my favorite places to shop. I got more than in the picture, actually, 10 packets in total, and 5 will last more than a month. I have been using this for over a month now, so even though I have samples, they are enough to do a full review.

It was hard for me to try a new eyeliner since I loved Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Eyes, my favorite waterproof eyeliners I had been using for the past year and a half (I have two shades). I couldn’t verify whether Make Up For Ever tests on animals, and after reading rave reviews about Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil, I decided to give it a try since Urban Decay is cruelty free.

I have been using Origins A Perfect World™ SPF 25 for two months, and I have to say, this is the most pleasant sunscreen I have ever used!

I bought this a year ago, but didn’t start using it until two months ago. It was an expensive purchase; but I had loved the Very Previous Regenerating Concentrate (same price), and I needed a brightening serum to remove my freckles. Both were dry oil type serums, and my skin being so dry, I needed something emollient that won’t easily evaporate.

Sometimes good things come from places you don’t expect. Take Marcelle’s Pressed Powder, for example. After the fiasco with Revlon’s PhotoReady Translucent Finisher, I had become wary of any more drug store cosmetics. I generally don’t mind so much about the point makeup (eyeshadows, mascaras, lipsticks, etc.) from some of the drug store brands; but when it comes to base makeup, it has to be good.