Impromptu Makeup Purge / Declutter | March 2020

Since I'm stuck at home due to the Coronavirus, I've had more time to tackle things that I've been putting off.

This Impromptu makeup declutter took place because of an email alert I received stating that my photo storage was full. Since I had the time, I started going through and deleting years worth of old photos. I had pictures dating back to 2009.

As I approached the later years, I was not only shocked at how fast time has gone, but I was a little freaked out at how old I realized a lot of my makeup was! I began throwing out my expired makeup one by one as I went through the pictures, and before long I had this pretty large pile of expired makeup to declutter.

Note: I like ALL of this makeup! None of it was purged/decluttered because I didn't like it, It was solely because of how old they are.

Links to products provided in the product headings when available.

EYESHADOW PALETTES

Eyeshadow Palettes Decluttered:

• L.A Colors trio in Sunflower -awesome little dollar store palette (cannot find online)
• Glo Skin Beauty 8 pan shadows in The Velvets -one of my favourites, I didn't use it enough!
• Glo Skin Beauty quad in Hey, Sailor -Glo Skin Beauty quality is really good!
• Elf Mad for Matte -this is the original one, amazing all matte palette
• Elf Baked Eyeshadow palette in California -loved this one in the summer for a sheer wash of bronze across my lids using a wet and dense shader brush
• Elf Baked Trio in Peach Please -same as above in a mini, great for travel
• Elf Baked Trio in Bronze Bonanza -same as above. Would probably repurchase these minis vs the full size shown above. I like to use them with a dampened brush for a gorgeous wash of sheer colour on the lids. The dark shade works well as a liner. I get bronze goddess vibes from these baked shadows and wear them a lot in the summer. 

Total Decluttered: 7

LIP PRODUCTS

Lip Products:

• Baby Lips -pink shade, probably wouldn't repurchase
• Baby Lips- a great nude shade that I can throw on with any look and I don't need a mirror
• Burt's Bees Lip Balm in Pink Blossom- I like the formula and that it's 100% natural but would probably choose a different shade next time
• Too Faced Sweet Peach lip gloss in Pure Peach -love this one in the Summer!
• Maybelline Lipstick in Nude Lust - great formula and goes with anything- Jlo's Nude is still my fave though as it has a touch more pink than this one
• Glo Skin Beauty Cream Glaze Lip Crayon in Chiffon -dupe for my HG Sonia Kashuk lippie that was discontinued. This crayon is amazing for aging crinkly lips! 
• Burt's Bees Gloss Crayon in Outback Oasis -not as long-lasting as I'd like but the shade makes up for it! It really suits my complexion
• Morphe Liquid Lip in Virgin- Amazing product for a liquid lip considering I don't usually like liquid lip products. It's not too nude and not drying, wears off nicely too

Total Decluttered: 8

EYELINERS / BROW PENCILS/ EYE PRIMER

Eyeliner/ Brow Pencils / Eye Primer:

• Pure Anada liquid liner in Fig - gorgeous deep plum shade but I'm generally not one to reach for liquid liners very often
• Aloette Waterproof eyeliner is Greystone -I used as a liner under my eyes and a brow pencil. Great shade for those uses- they probably don't make anymore, this is super old!
• Annabelle Kohl Eyeliner in Taupe -another great shade for lining the under-eye area and doing my brows
• Mia Adora Unshakeable Liquid Eyeliner in black -very pigmented, easy to use- great liner if you like to work with liquid liners
• Wet N Wild / Fergie Take on The Day Eyeshadow Primer - it did the job but I prefer Essence I Heart Stage Eyeshadow Base)

Total Decluttered: 5

FACE PALETTE

Face Palette:

• Elf Illuminating palette -I replaced the darkest shade (bottom right) with a highlight shade from another ELF palette. I like that you can pop the shades in and out of their face palette quads to customize them. I would repurchase this as I adore the subtle glow that these powders provide. The perfect highlighters for aging or textured skin, or if you just want a subtle, realistic glow without the glitter! These perform like high-end powders IMO.

Total Decluttered: 1

BLUSHES

Blushes:

• Avon True Color Powder Blush in Goddess Pink- This is from at least 2010! I read about it in a magazine and had to have it! I loved it and didn't use it enough because I have too many blushes for one face (like all my makeup products I guess 🤷) Would buy again in a heartbeat!
• Rimmel Blush in Pink Sorbet- Perfect soft neutral pink shade that is difficult to overdo. I love blushes like this!
• Wet N Wild blush in Pearlescent Pink (old formula)- Stunning pink/coral shade that is not too pink nor too coral. This shade in the new formula appears different from this but I would still give it a try as I loved this one so much. Again, didn't use it enough as I have so many blushes! Blush junkie here!

Total decluttered: 3


GRAND TOTAL:

I like to see the numbers, so here is the summary of all of the victims of this declutter...

-Eyeshadow Palettes: 7
-Lip Products: 8
-Eyeliner/Brow/ Eye Primer: 5
-Face Palette: 1
-Blushes: 3

Grand total decluttered: 24 

It feels good to get these expired products out of my makeup collection. Now I can focus on what I have and feel good knowing that none of them are expired. From now on, I will do my best to label my products with the purchase month and year using some stickers. This way, I'll be able to keep on top of my expired products and purge them when they expire.

Thanks go out to Google for alerting me about my full storage! Otherwise, I'm certain that this declutter would not have happened.

Now I'm a little more motivated to tackle other areas that need to be decluttered as well!

Hope everyone is staying safe and finding things to keep you busy. Maybe my declutter will inspire you to tackle your makeup or another area that needs some decluttering. Let me know what you're doing to keep busy during this difficult time.

Some links are referral. Thank you for your support if you choose to use them. xo

Makeup Collection | Bronzers

When the makeup hoarder in me wants to go buy a new bronzer because Summer is coming but clearly I don't need any! 🌞😛🙈😂

I gathered up all my bronzers because I knew I didn't need any and I wanted to kill that urge to get something new by looking through my collection. So, I thought I'd share my bronzer collection with y'all.

I mainly use bronzers to add colour to my face and make me look like I have a bit of a tan or at least look like I'm alive and somewhat healthy. That's why I prefer bronzers with a bit of a red undertone vs. something orangy or ashy. I do contour my jawline and nose, but I just use the same bronzer for that purpose as well.

BH Cosmetics Bronze Paradise palette - I use this palette mainly for the eyeshadows but I do use the bronzer in here as a crease shade on my eyes. The bronzer here isn't my favourite formula, but at least it's there for when I might need it during travel etc.

Covergirl Serving Sculpt Palette in Bloom Babe - What an awesome and smooth formula that Covergirl created here! Each powder in this palette is fabulous and the colours are perfect! I know I've shared it on my site before. Definitely one of my favourites and great for travel since you have a highlight, blush, and bronzer in one.

Physicians formula Butter Bronzer in Bronzer & Deep Bronze- I purchased the original shade which is Bronzer, I find it a little muddy on me but I adore the smooth, blendable formula, so I purchase the Deep Bronze when it came out. Although my skin is fair, I much prefer the Deep Bronze shade as it is less cool-toned than the Bronze shade and doesn't look muddy on my skin.

Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in Medium to Dark- As you can see, I've hit pan on this one. TBH, it's so old now I should probably toss it but I really like this one. I do take some packing tape to it once in a while to take off any hardpan that's formed on the top. :)  The tone of this one is perfect and it's not shimmery and not matte. There are little shimmers in the pan but they don't translate on the skin. It's hard to describe but it just makes it so the bronzer doesn't look powdery or flat on my skin. This formula is not as soft as the Butter Bronzer by PF but it still goes on smooth and blends well. This is probably my favourite bronzer of the bunch! It gives me that tanned, kissed-by-the-sun look that I'm after.

Gathering up all my bronzers together has indeed worked and the urge to go purchase a new one is quelled... for now. 😉 I might have to do this with the rest of my makeup collection when I get the urge to shop for something that I don't need. And, I should definitely do this with my closet!

This post contains referral links. Thank you if you choose to use them.

#makeup #makeuphoarder #bronzer#summer #summervibes #beauty#beautyover40 #beautylover#beautyover50 #bblogger#bbloggersca #igbeauty#beautycommunity #discoverunder5k#flatlay #bestmakeup #slayallday#crueltyfree #antiaging #covergirl#bhcosmetics #physiciansformula#makeupcollection

An Old School, Random Little Beauty Haul!

I love sharing my recent finds with you guys, especially when I find great deals, so today, I'm sharing a small random beauty haul! 🙌

I'll be sharing my finds from Sephora, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Amazon.

I finally decided to try the It's a 10 miracle leave-in hair product that is so highly coveted. I purchased the big daddy on Amazon because it works out to be less than half the price of the small bottle and more than double the size! (So far so good).

I also purchased some new makeup sponges by Stay Fresh Always on Amazon because they were sold out of my HG Anbber ones 😭 I don't recommend these!

I always make sure I'm fully stocked with my Garnier Micellar Water  I 💖 the one for dry and sensitive skin and use it as my AM cleanse as it doesn't disrupt my skin's PH balance like water can.

I also picked up my Sephora birthday gift and went with Drunk Elephant because I'm dying to try their products!

Shoppers Drug Mart has Physicians Formula on sale for 40% off. I decided to get the Happy Booster Blush in natural. I used to own this in the pink shade but my taste in makeup has evolved and I'm no longer into everything that is a blue based pink!  Note: my new blush doesn't have a scent, so either they removed it or the one I purchased is VERY old.

I also picked up 2 Covergirl Tru Blend blushes (one missed the above photo but I've shown it below). I knew I'd be all over Covergirl once they announced they went #crueltyfree 🐰I picked up shade 100 (light) which is a highlight on me, and 200 (medium), a nice rosy shade with some sheen to it.

I picked up this StriVectin_TL Tightening Face Serum at Winners 'cause your girl can use all the skin tightening that she can get! It was on clearance from $25 for $20 and retails for approximately $100 from what I've seen online.

Covergirl Tru Blend Blushes in 100 (light) and 200 (medium). The light one was missing in my main photo. Both shades seem smooth and blendable, and both have a nice sheen to them. Although I find the light shade to be a highlight on my light complexion rather than a blush. The medium shade gives me some colour and a nice glow to my skin so I can forgo a highlight. I'm not really into matte blushes ATM, so these work out perfectly to add some glow and dimension in one step! I'm SO happy that Covergirl has gone cruelty-free and I will be all over their products now! 💗

Ps. These blushes were on sale and I think they are being discontinued, so hurry if you want one! Amazon still has some online.

Nip & Fab Dragon's Blood Fix Cleansing Pads were also on clearance and only $3! I think it's being discontinued here in Canada, so if you like these, hurry to Shoppers Drug Mart! They are one of my favourite skin acids for gentle but hydrating exfoliation.

I always love to see people's purchases, so I hope you enjoyed seeing my recent finds.

Happy Tuesday!

Not sponsored. Contains referral links. Thank you if you choose to use them!

Makeup Haul | Lisa's Cosmetics Warehouse Sale 2018

Yesterday, I finally made it to the semi-annual Lisa's Cosmetics Warehouse sale in Markham, Ontario.

This is probably my favourite warehouse sale as they not only have drugstore brands but also some higher-end brands like Stila Cosmetics and much more!

Note: They also had some great health and household items, purses, tons of fragrances and much more!

I was trying to be good and not go overboard with purchasing all kinds of things I don't need as I already have so much, but it was all very tempting for sure!

Here, I thought I'd share what I purchased in case you have any interest in these items. Note that they had testers for a lot of the makeup and most products were sealed!

If you are able to make it to the sale it is on until May 13th. I'll post the schedule at the bottom of this post.

This was the highest priced item that I purchased at $12.99. It retails for approx. $30. This is Vasanti blush duo in A Charmed Life. It looks like the perfect everyday nude blush with a hint of pink. It contains 7 grams of product which is a nice size! This product is paraben-free and contains skin loving ingredients like Lotus, Orchid, and Evening Primrose!

I was on the lookout for some blushes as I don't really have any favourites right now. This is Annabelle Blush in Spring Petal. It looks like the perfect blush for Spring and Summer. To me, it looks like the perfect mix of a coral and rose! It was only $2.99 and contains 3 grams of product.

This highlighter by Mariposa in #2 swatched so beautifully, I had to have it! It was only $3.49. I have never tried this brand before but I believe it's a budget brand. This shade is a beautiful peachy/pink light highlight. Great for light-medium skin tones. I am not even sure where this brand is available but I checked online and it looks like it may be available at some dollar stores, so I may not have scored a great deal here but it's so beautiful that I really don't care. 😊

I also picked up this Annabelle Bigshow Lipgloss in Whisper. It's a holo lipgloss and I couldn't resist for only $2.99 - a great price to try out one of the latest trends in makeup! I've had Annabelle Bigshow lipgloss in the past and I already know that I love it! It's not sticky at all.

Lastly, I picked up 2 mascaras to test out. Both of these were on sale for $2.99. There were many formulas available at the sale, most of which were $2.99 with the exception of the Revlon mascaras which were $4.99.

1. Almay One Coat Mega Volume mascara with a flared brush design.
2. Annabelle Super Nova mascara with a combing conical brush (retail approx $10)

Lisa's Cosmetics Warehouse Sale 2018 Schedule and Address

I had so much fun shopping this sale. Honestly, I could have gone completely HAM at this sale! They had so many great items to choose from but I really tried to be good! 

I wish this sale would come back to the west end of the GTA as I can rarely make it to this sale when it's in Markham, Ontario. I am grateful that I was able to make it this year though. 

The sale is on until May 13th. I hope you can make it too if you're in the area. If you do, let me know what you scored!

Happy weekend!

Not sponsored. #makeup#makeupsale #makeuphaul #beauty#beautyover40 #bbloggers #bblogger#bbloggersca #lisaswarehouse #mariposa#highlighter #blush #annabelle #almay#vasanti #vasanticosmetics #holo #hololips#lipgloss #spring #warehousesale#beautyhaul #makeuplover #beautyjunkie

Huda Beauty 3D Highlighter Palette in Golden Sands Review + Swatches!

I always love getting new makeup to play with. I mean, what makeup junkie doesn't!? So of course, I was excited when I got this new Huda Beauty 3D Highlighter Palette in Golden Sands.

I was skeptical about this palette for several reasons. 1. I already have highlighters that I love, do I really need more!? 2. I thought it was possibly just a lot of hype as are a lot of new makeup products these days thanks to social media. 3. I thought it would probably only work for younger skin, not my late 40's skin! 4. I thought that this Golden Sands palette would be too dark for my complexion.

Well, this palette proved me wrong on all of my concerns.

Let me start by saying this palette is huge and should last for a very long time. Pan sizes are listed below.

It contains 4 shades, one of which is cream based:

• Fiji - 7.5 grams (cream shade- creamy soft gold)
• Seychelles- 8 grams (soft gold with warm undertones)
• Tahiti- 8 grams (sun-drenched bronze)
• Zanzibar- 8 grams (a coral cove inspired pink with golden shimmers)

About: 3 Dimensional highlighter palette melted cream + powder. A luxury blend of light reflecting pearls, buildable glow, effortless blendability.

This Palette retails for $45USD on Huda Beauty's website. It is made in Italy and this brand is cruelty-free. 

From Huda Beauty's website:

The ultimate Insta-Glow is now in everyone’s grasp. Inspired by Huda’s hack of layering oil with powder highlight to amplify her glow, this palette is packed with 2 different textures:

– the Melted Strobe, a pearlescent creamy formula enriched with Karite Butter to create a flawless lit-from-within canvas for layering powders.

– 3 light catching pressed pearls staggered in complimentary tones to give you a sculptural, 3D radiance.

It turns out that these shades work beautifully on my light-medium skin tone and I'm currently at my palest as we are in the middle of winter here in Canada.

I have been using this palette all week now. The only shade that I haven't been using much is the cream shade (Fiji). I've been using all the other shades daily and I find that with very little effort, I end up looking like I have a beautiful bronze glowy look, which is right up my alley. All of the shades go on smoothly and blend effortlessly. The end result is a beautiful glow from within look. The products just meld into the skin, and none of the shades emphasize my texture issues. 💗

I love using the bronze shade (Tahiti) on my eyelids. My favourite shade is the pink shade (Zanzibar) which gives a very youthful and glowy look to my cheeks. I find that it gives my cheeks a bit of a lifted look, more plumped I'd say. Being in my late 40's, I really appreciate that. Which brings me to another feature that has me loving this palette, none of the shades have any glitter! 🙌 Can I get an Amen! Lastly, the highlight shade for my skin tone (Seychelles) is just beautiful! When I wear the pink shade from the palette, I don't use the highlight shade as I have enough glow for my liking, but I do use it with my other makeup products and it's gorgeous as a highlight. Of course, you can layer these shades and go to town if you like!

Swatches (top to bottom): 

• Zanzibar (pink)
• Tahiti (bronze)
• Seychelles (soft gold)
• Fiji (cream highlight)

I am thrilled with this multi-purpose palette. I just love the glow that it gives my skin. It looks like I put in a lot of work to achieve the looks that I get but it really is effortless. This palette is absolutely perfect for aging skin unlike overly shimmery highlights or ones with glitter. It brings a very youthful glow to my skin and I love it! I think it would be a good palette for many different skin tones. If you DO like glitter then this probably isn't the palette for you. If you want to look like a glowy bronze goddess, young or old, you should definitely give this a try!

Huge thank you to kaitiejalbert on IG for sending me this beauty! xo

What other Huda Beauty products do I need to try? Please let me know your recommendations in the comments and keep in mind my aging eyes and skin. 🙎ps. I do have the Mauve Obsessions eyeshadow palette (review to come).

The weekend is almost here! Hope you all have a great one!

This post is not sponsored. All opinions are my own. 

#hudabeauty

New! Essence Satin Touch Blush in Satin Love | Review with Swatches

I'm a huge fan of Essence cosmetics. They are so affordable, accessible, and they make some pretty awesome products. Not to mention they are cruelty-free!

I have several of their Silky Touch blushes and love them! So, when they came out with some new blushes, you know I had to try at least one.

I picked mine up at Shoppers Drug Mart, and by the time I got there the only shade left was this one in Satin Love (it comes in 3 shades). It's the shade I had in mind anyway. It was only $3.99.

This shade looks like a rosy nude shade in the pan. Applied to my face I get a natural flush of colour as if I worked out or was out in the cold. It's the kind of shade that goes with any makeup look.

I was surprised when I came home and got to swatching and realized that I have nothing like it in my collection. That's always a great thing when you have a rather large makeup collection. 😊

The shade almost morphs itself. At times it looks rosy nude and other times it appears peachy nude but either way, it will end up going with whatever makeup look you choose. I love that!

This blush is very pigmented, you really need a light hand if you have fair skin. I'm sure it would look just beautiful on medium to darker skin tones as well as it is so pigmented. I didn't realize how dark it is until I compared it to my other blushes at home.

I find that I can use this as a sort of blush/bronzer too. I think it's going to look even better on me when I have a tan.

It's also very long-lasting. It stays on until I wash my makeup off at the end of the day! Pretty incredible for only $3.99. It acts like a high-end blush in my opinion.

This product is another winner from Essence (linked here)  Now I'm curious about the other shades!

Have you tried any of these new Satin Touch Blushes?! If so, which one?

*not sponsored. no affiliate links. purchased by me and all thoughts are my own.

DIY / Hack: How To Fix Hardpan With Powder Makeup Products

Today I have a DIY beauty hack that I hope you will find useful.

I wanted to use up my IT Cosmetics Vitality Disk. It was getting very old and the bronzer had developed "hardpan." Even using my most dense and rough makeup brush, I could barely pick up any product. So I was getting prepared to have to throw out this product, but I really didn't want to as it was expensive and I really like this palette.

I was considering taking a knife to scrape off the top layer of product, but I was afraid I would waste a lot of product, so I decided to hit-up my makeup loving Instagram buddies for some suggestions.

My Instagram buddy,  Makeup By Starla, suggested packing tape. I doubted it would work so I decided to put it to the test. 

Thanks to Starla, my palette is totally usable again. After I fixed up my bronzer using her suggestion, I went through some hardened eyeshadows and a face powder and repaired them all! Thank you, Starla!

Let's see what I fixed and how EASY it was!

It Cosmetics Vitality Disk

 Shown above is my IT Vitality Disk. Most of the bronzer is covered in hardpan.

Using Starla's suggestion, I put some packing tape over the product.

I was in total shock when I pulled the tape off of my bronzer and saw what it had picked up in a nano-second. I rubbed my finger along the bronzer and voila, it picked up much more product!

Here is my fresh and revived bronzer. It's not as soft as it was when new but it's useable and I couldn't be happier that I don't have to throw it out as I actually really like this product!

Now let's see what else I was able to repair.

Annabelle CC Pressed Powder

The photo in the upper left corner is with hardpan. The bottom right photo is after using the tape method.

This also worked wonders on this Annabelle face powder. This product isn't very old at all but somehow it developed hardpan. Before using the tape method on the powder, I couldn't pick up ANY product where you see the hardpan, now It's like new again!

Quo Back To Basics Eye Shadow Palette

Upper left picture is with harpan, before the tape method. The bottom right photo is after.

Lastly, I tried the same method on my Quo eyeshadow palette and it worked wonders on that too. Now, my shadows are revived and my brushes pick up so much more product!

This method is like a little miracle. It's cheap and so easy! It only takes a second to lift up the dry, hardened product. It's really an amazing way to save your favourite products and give them new life. 

You can also go over the same product as many times as you like to pick up the more hardened product. I went over each item about 2 times with the tape.

I'm so grateful to have this trick now to save all of my powdered products. 

I hope this helps those of you who are looking for a solution to this issue. It's an easy, quick and cheap solution to the once annoying harpan!

If you have any Beauty Hacks, please leave them in the comments below!