Making A Change!

So I have decided to make a change. I decided that I want to take my blogging more seriously and I would like to purchase a domain name. Unfortunately don'tquityourdaydream14 makes a dumb domain name. I've also been having some personal issues with my blog and my life and thus decided to purchase a domain and start a new blog. I am going to transfer almost all, if not all of my posts to my new blog so nothing will be different but the name. I've just been feeling in a bit of a rut lately and I thought that a new blog would help me with that. I will still be doing product reviews and beauty posts and I want to incorporate more posts about my family and personal life. I love all of my readers and I hope that you will all follow my to my new blog. I promise it will be bigger and better than this one could ever be.

My new blog is called Ginger Chic and you can find it by clicking on the link or going to gingerchic.com.

Mario Badescu

At the beginning of the year I tried to purchase Mario Badescu Skin Care products but didn't have any luck. I couldn't find them at a department store in Canada and American department stores online wouldn't ship to Canada. I went on the Mario Badescu website but it would have been around $40.00 just for shipping which seemed a little steep. Then a while later I found the products in a flash sale on Haute Look which was amazing because the prices were cheaper and they shipped to Canada! I was super pumped because I have heard such amazing things about the skin care products and they have so many options for different skin types.

First up I ordered the Alpha Grapefruit Cleansing Lotion. This bottle is huge! I doubt I will ever use up this much toner, especially since I am guilty of not using toner as much as I should! As described on the bottle, this is a citrus based toner that refreshes and exfoliates your skin. It has aloe to calm sensitive skin and seaweed extract to nourish dry skin.  So far I really like this. With most toners I tend to feel drier after using them but not with this one. It smells great and leaves my skin feeling super clean without feeling extra dry. The only minor thing I don't like about this is that it is an orange color so it is hard to tell if you have gotten your face completely clean by looking at the cotton pad.

Next I had to purchase the Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater because I have heard a ton of people rave about this facial spray. It says you can use it to set your makeup, soothe your skin or add a bit of moisture. I love this! It smells just like roses but isn't too overpowering. It is very refreshing and is perfect for the hot summer days. I use this to set my makeup and I think it does a pretty decent job of making my makeup last a bit longer. This definitely goes with me when I'm spending a long day out in the heat!

Next I got the Flower and Tonic Mask - this mask claims to tightens pores and calm redness and sooth skin. I have a few masks that I really like but this one has become my new favorite. It is a green color which is always fun and it leaves my skin feeling softer and less irritated. This mask does not dry me out at all and I reach for this whenever my skin is extra red or irritated and it definitely calms it down.

I was in need of a new eye cream so I decided to try the Chamomile Eye Cream. I loved how this felt and was using it religiously but then my under eye and inner corner areas started to get extremely dry and flaky and sore but I am not sure if it was the cream that caused it or a new concealer I was trying out so I decided to take a break from this until my skin is back to normal and then I will try it again. 

The last thing I ordered was the Drying Lotion. This is a product that is used for blemishes. Do not shake this product!! As the directions state, you just dip a q-tip all the way into the pink area and then dab it onto your blemish. I have done this a few times and I put it on before bed and when I wake up in the morning my blemish is practically gone. I wouldn't necessarily say that this makes your zits disappear over night but it definitely makes them disappear faster and calms down redness and irritation.

It will take me a long time to run out of these products but let me know if there are any other Mario Badescu products that I should try! 

xoxo

Recent Purchases

Hey Guys!

So I was going to do a June favorites post but then I was late to the game and decided it would be too late. But then I realized that lots of my favorites were recent purchases so I just decided to write a post about my recent purchases this last month.  I won't go into huge detail but if you want a more thorough review of these products leave me a comments and I will be happy to do a review post! 

Of course I got a ton of new lipsticks. I have had a major lipstick obsession lately so naturally I had to buy a bunch. (Ps while I was typing this, my phone autocorrected bunch to nunchuck. That is both absurd and amazing.)

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate in 102 - I love the formula of these lipsticks. They are super creamy and long lasting. This is a soft berry pink color.

NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm in Pink Lady - this is basically a tinted lip balm and it goes on smoothly and smells good but I was hoping for a bit more pigmentation.

Wet n Wild Mega Last in Rose Bud - I am obsessed with these lipsticks so I had to add this one to my collection. This is a rosy pink color that is very similar to 102 but a tad darker.

L'Oreal Color Riche in Sunset Angora - this is the first Color Riche lipstick I have tried and I am in love. The packaging is cute and it goes on soo smooth and creamy and is the most gorgeous pinky coral color. These feel more like a lip balm with the pigmentation of a lipstick!

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate in 103 this is a very similar color to 102 as well but has a bit more of a purple undertone.

Revlon Super Lustrous Shine in Lovers Coral - I am obsessed with the name of this lipstick! Every time I put it on I chuckle. I am a huge fan of all the Revlon lipsticks that I have tried and this is no exception! This is a super pretty orangey coral shade.

Wet n Wild Mega Last Lipstick in Bare It All - I thought about getting this lipstick for a while but didn't think that it would look good on me so I held off but then I caved and purchased it. And although I am still not sure that I can pull it off, this is a very similar color to the one that Kylie Jenner is making popular these days so I have to try it out and give it a go. Everytime I put it on I feel like I've gone back to the 90s. Which isn't a bad thing.

102, Pink Lady, Rose Bud, Sunset Angora, 103, Lovers Coral, Bare it All

Maybelline Color Whisper in Pink Possibilities - I love these! They are more of a tinted lip balm but have pretty impressive pigmentation without being over the top. These are perfect for minimum makeup days! This is a gorgeous neon pink color with just the right amount of pigmentation to still look classy and subtle.

Revlon Matte in Pink Pout - I have been looking for this shade for a while now but no where around me carries the Matte line which sucks because I love matte lipsticks. Anyways I found it out of town and I am happy I did. This is a cool toned berry pink and it is so gorgeous and creamy!

Maybelline Color Sensational in Blushing Beige - This is a pinky beige nude and I have worn it a few times but it isn't a shade that I can wear alone because it washes me out and isn't the right nude for my skin tone.

Revlon Super Lustrous Matte in Stormy Pink - I have also been looking for this one for a while now and found it at the same time as I found Pink Pout. This color is hella gorgeous! It is a bright fuschia purpley pink and it is soo amazing!

Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate in 109 - this is a really bright orange color that is still surprisingly wearable!

Pink Possibillities, Pink Pout, Blushing Beige, Stormy Pink, 109

I love Hard Candy products but my Walmart doesn't carry much so when I was out of town I picked up a couple of things I had never seen before.

Hard Candy CC Tinted Moisturizing Stick in Porcelain - this is similar to the Maybelline Fit Me foundation sticks but this one is supposed to be moisturizing and color correcting. It has the tinted moisturizer around the outside and the inside is green and purple to counteract any discolouration. I am not a huge fan of this. It covers nicely and does reduce my redness but seems a bit too yellow for my skin.

Hard Candy Lite Bright Whipped Brightening concealer in Fair- I was excited for this because it looked light enough to highlight my skin and in fact it was but when I put this under my eyes, down my nose and on my chin and then went to blend it all out, it was really hard to blend. It seems like it dries super fast so you need to put it on to one spot and blend it out before you move on. This also left me a little cakey looking under my eyes. So far I am not a fan of this but I am going to try and make it work because the shade is perfect for me.

CC Stick, Lite Bright

Garnier 5 Sec Blur Skin Renew Instant Smoother - I ran out of my favorite Elf Mineral primer so I picked up this one to try. It feels nice on the skin and but I haven't noticed it making my makeup last any longer.

L'Oreal Sublime Soft Gentle Micellar Solution - this is a cleansing water which I have never tried before. It is basically a makeup remover that is good for dry and sensitive skin. It claims that it basically melts your makeup away and you don't have to rub it off but I still rub. It does work good though and doesn't burn my eyes at all.

Physicians Formula Bronze Booster in Light to Medium -  I might be a tad dramatic if I say that this bronzer has changed my life but it really has. I was constantly struggling with finding a bronzer that would be light enough to look natural without being orange. I love my Benefit Hoola bronzer and my NYC sunny bronzer because they are both light and both matte but even with the lightest hand they don't look very natural to me. This one is even lighter than those but is still quite pigmented and buildable. In the pan it looks a bit shimmery but on the skin it looks matte. This is the best bronzer I have ever used. If you have light skin and/or are having trouble finding a natural looking bronzer I definitely suggest picking this one up! Plus the packaging makes me feel bronzed just by looking at it!

Hard Candy So Baked Bronzer in Hula Hula - when I first got this home and swatched it I was disappointed with how shimmery this bronzer was but after playing around with it I am a fan. I definitely won't be reaching for this all the time but it does give a gorgeous glowy shimmery bronze to the skin and with a light hand it actually works for me! 

Bronze Booster, Baked Bronzer

I have been mega obsessed with Highlighters lately and of course had to try more. 

Physicians formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls in Translucent Pearl -

This is 100% my favorite powder highlighter at the moment. It is comparable to the Mary Lou-Manizer but not quite as crazy pigmented and this one has more of a pink base to it which I actually like more. 

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips in Vegas Strip - I have heard a lot about these shimmer strips so decided to pick one up. I'm not sure if these come in other shades so I got the gold one. These are a shimmer brick with 5 different shades that can be used on the face or eyes. You can swirl all the colors together or use them individually. If I mix them all together it makes a gorgeous shimmery bronze color that is too dark for me but if I use the top lighter shades it gives me a great bronzey highlight. I'm really interested to know if there is more of a pink toned one.

Hard Candy Glow All The Way Face and Body Illuminator in Dollface - this is a cream product that I have been trying to get my hands on for a while and now that I have, I'm not that thrilled about it. The packaging is huge which is both awesome and annoying and the highlighter itself is just subpar. The highlighter itself is alright but the color is very pink. There is also a gold one that I have tried that is very gold so I wish there was a shade in between the two as well because it would probably be perfect. 

Revlon Highlighting Palette in Peach Glow - this was very meh to me. I had heard that this was basically the exact same as their liquid highlighters but I don't see the similarity at all. I have managed to use this as a very light peachy blush but it doesn't really work as a highlight for me.

L'Oreal Infallible in Hourglass Beige- I am so obsessed with my Infallible eyeshadow in Amber Rush that I had to get this champagne color for my lid and inner corner. These are a pressed pigment and are ao crazy pigmented! If you haven't tried these, go out and get them now!

L'oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Mascara- everyone and their Grandma's have been talking about this mascara so naturally I had to see what all the hype was about. It has fibre bristles and a little notch in the wand so that it bends a bit when you apply it to your lashes. This mascara is pretty good but I have yet to see a dramatic difference from other fibre wand mascaras. 

Wet and Wild mega Lenght mascara- I think I had this before and got rid of it before I even really used it simply because the tiny rubber brush with barely any bristles seemed ridiculous to me. Well I've been looking for a good bottom lash mascara and decided to try this one again and it is perfect for bottom lashes!

What new products have you purchased lately? 

xoxo

Coastal Scents Haul

Recently I placed an order with Coastal Scents online. This is the first time I have ordered from them and their product selection reminds me somewhat of BH Cosmetics because they are very affordable and have a ton of palettes including create your own palettes. I placed my order on June 5th and received my order today so it did take quite a while to ship to Canada. 

This is what the box looked like which I thought was cute. It was a little squished and dented from transport but not bad enough to make me worry about the products. 

I had heard a lot of great things about the Revealed Palette and the newly released Revealed 2 Palette so I picked up both of those as well as two face brushes. 

In the box there was a little information pamphlet about their Project Ghana program which is basically a program to help women in Ghana get involved in Fair Trade with their natural products. Fair Trade is something that I am personally interested in so I will have to look into Project Ghana some more in the future. They also sent a cute "I <3 Makeup" sticker and a Coastal Scents business card. 

They also sent this little eye shadow sample quad. I was really excited about this and immediately swatched them because I was in love with the Peachy Keen shade. 

  

Ice Ballet, Peachy Keen, Bombay, Raisin Berry

The shadows felt nice. They felt smooth but a little chalky. All of them were very pigmented except for Bombay but it is a very nice light grey color which would be good for highlighting the inner corner. Ice Ballet and Peachy Keen are perfect colors for Spring and Raisin Berry will make a nice outer corner shade. 

I decided to order a couple face brushes. I ordered a Stipple brush and a Flat top brush. To be honest I don't remember why I decided to get these two brushes because I have a bunch of stipple brushes already and I am in love with my Sigma Flat Top Kabuki brush, so when I realized today that I ordered these ones I kind of wished that I had ordered maybe a Round top kabuki or something else that I don't have but oh well. That just means I will have to place another order. 

This is the Classic Stippling Synthetic Brush. When I took it out of the package it was pretty much flattened but I managed to round it out pretty quickly. It is very soft and thin and compares to my other Stipple brushes that I have. I used this to apply blush today and it worked wonderfully. $6.95.

This is the Bionic Flat Top Buffer. It is very similar to the Sigma F80 but It is softer and not as dense and firm. I honestly thought that I was going to be disappointed but this but I was wrong! I used this to apply my L'Oreal True Match foundation today and it applied it so well. It is super soft and blended my makeup in flawlessly with no effort. I am already a fan of this brush and will probably be using it every day in place of my Sigma one for a bit. $6.95.

Next I had to order the Revealed Palette. This palette has 20 eye shadows in it. It came in this cardboard box. $19.95.

This is what the Coastal Scents website had to say: 

      Expose your natural beauty with this exquisite collection of nude and metallic hues. These smooth,        powdered shadows blend seamlessly to create an array of day or evening looks. The slim palette           holds all twenty shadows, allowing for easy on-the-go application.

After opening the box, the palette was wrapped in a bubble wrap sleeve. The palette packaging looks exactly like the box did. It is made of cardboard and has a magnetic closure. I have heard people complain about the packaging because it is thin cardboard instead of tin but I actually like that it is. It might not be the safest palette for travelling but I like how light weight it is. I don't like however, that it doesn't have a mirror. Not that I ever even use the mirrors in my palettes but it is one of the things that I appreciate in a palette. I have heard many people compare the Revealed and Revealed 2 palettes to the Naked 1 and Naked 3 palettes. I do not own either of the Naked palettes yet (frown) but I have seen swatches and comparisons online and from what I can tell they are very similar. 

This palette has 20 shadows, 5 matte, and 15 shimmer/satin. The shimmery shadows are more chalky than the matte but they are all easily blendable and if you tap your brush after you grab the shadow then there isn't much for fallout. I love that this comes with a matte black shadow because that it hard to find and it is one of those essential shadows that everyone should have. It has a mix of warm and cool toned neutrals. I used the warm brown matte shade today mixed with a matte brown in the other palette to do my eyebrows and played around with the shadows on my eyes before I got ready for the day and they are all pretty pigmented except for the lightest shade but I bet on someone darker than me it would show up a lot easier. This palette is so universal and you can really do anything with it. You can do a very subtle basic eye or deepen it up and make it smokey or play up the coppery shades. I am a fan and I can't wait to play with it some more. 

  

Top Row. PS how gorgeous is that copper shadow third from the right?!

   

Bottom Row

I also ordered the Revealed 2 Palette which was released very recently. This palette also retails for $19.95.

The outer packaging is the exact same style as the Revealed palette and the palette itself was wrapped in bubble wrap as seen below. 

This is what the Coastal Scents website had to say about this palette:

       Influenced by the lustrous beauty of its predecessor, the Revealed 2 palette presents an ALL NEW       selection of twenty gorgeous mattes and shimmers.

The packaging is the exact same style and this one does not come with a mirror as well. 

This palette has more rose gold/pink neutrals in it which I am obsessed with lately. I was so freaking excited when I opened this palette because it is so gorgeous and totally the colors that I have been gravitating to lately. There are 7 matte shades in this one and the rest are shimmery/satin. The 4th shade from the left on the top is more sparkly and I am not a huge fan. It is pretty chunky and when I tried to apply it today it didn't blend out very good and there was a ton of fall out. But the other shades I am in love with. It has a lot of pink shadows and some are more gold or coppery and it has some warmer burgundy shades. I am seriously obsessed with this palette and I just got it. I think that I love this one a tad bit more than the Revealed palette simply because I am in love with rose gold. I wore this today on my eyes and the shadows all blended together beautifully and has lasted all day with no fading. 

  

Top Row

  

Bottom Row

So overall I am super happy with my order besides the fact that it took a while to deliver. I am happy that I purchased these before the Naked palettes and honestly I don't know if I will even bother with the original Naked palette now. I will probably still order the Naked 3 palette though because I am obsessed with rose gold anything and the case is enough to make me need to have it! I think that these are perfect for someone on a budget. I have tried out several inexpensive palettes and these are up there on the list based on quality. 

I also found this on the website which I was happy about:

      We do not test products on animals and only support suppliers that do the same. All the products we carry are produced cruelty free and no animals are harmed. Even though some companies still test on animals, we believe that it is unnecessary, unethical and is scientifically unreliable. We want to be sure that our products are safe on humans, so our products are rigorously assessed and tested by human volunteers.

As a company with many natural products, we also help our environment by recycling.

I do want to try the individual hot pots and some more brushes so I will keep you posted if I make another order. Leave me a comment if you have tried anything from Coastal Scents that you think I should try! 

xoxo