REVIEWED: Almay intense i-color Mascara

Admittedly, I've been a little obsessed with the idea of taking my eye makeup to the next level. I thought hey- a coloured mascara, coupled with a complementing eyeliner and/or eye shadow would look pretty darn great together. Thing is, I wasn't having much success finding many brands that carried coloured mascaras, apart from the usual colours of navy, black, brown, brown-black, etc. I was looking for bright colours that would make my lashes pop!

As mentioned in my previous review, I ended up purchasing two different coloured mascaras, one in a purplish colour, the other in green. Almay's intense i-color cost around $9 CDN and I purchased it in the color Purple Amethyst. The tube contains 0.27 Fl. Oz/7.9 ml. The product is supposed to help "intensify the color of your eyes". In some ways this is true, but for the most part it is not...

Before I elaborate, here are some pictures.

REVIEWED: Rimmel Spark it Up Gleaming Eye Darkening Liner

A week back, I took a trip to a local Walmart to pick up a new cleanser for my recently diagnosed 'sensitive skin'! Apart from causing me to change my entire skincare/makeup routine, this revelation has forced me to 'get back to basics'. When I first started wearing makeup, it was all about the eyes for me. Then, it became about the face and flawless skin. Now, I've decided to give my face a bit of break (while I search for skin-friendly face makeup) and return to playing up my eyes!

So on this trip to Walmart I decided to drop into the makeup section to take a look at what drugstore brands carried coloured mascara (my obsession at the time). I wasn't convinced that it was necessary to spend $18 CDN on MAC's Wonder Woman Opulash to get a decent coloured mascara. I was able to find two mascaras- one from Almay called Intense i-color, and the other from Hard Candy called 1, 000 Lashes (*Reviews forthcoming).

During this search, I came across Rimmel's makeup display and found their Spark it Up Gleaming Eye Darkening Liners, from their sub-brand Rimmel Underground. I swatched Lapis on my hand and instantly fell in love. The texture was creamy, and it was exactly the colour I'd been wanting to add to the collection. I've had my eye on Urban Decay's 24/7 liner in Binge for some time. So this eyeliner colour was a great substitute for me!

The liners retail for $6.00 CDN at Walmart, $7.00 CDN at Rexall. I purchased Lapis from Walmart at regular price, and got the other two for 25% off at Rexall. The latter two ended up costing $5.24 after taxes! A pretty sweet deal, I'd say! Who says you need to spend the big bucks to look good?

SWATCHED: Random e.l.f. Studio Products

So this is the first installment of a new category of postings I'll have on my blog. I'll be showcasing swatches of products I have not yet had a chance to review, or don't plan on reviewing at all. I know before buying products, I rely heavily on swatches and reviews, so hopefully some people will find these posts useful. Collecting all these items made me realize that I've been kind of lazy with my makeup reviews! Hopefully I can get to some soon.

e.l.f. Studio Blush

e.l.f. Studio Cream Blush

From L to R:Pink Passion, Tickled Pink, Mellow Mauve, Blushing Rose
Bottom: Flirt

Interesting Finds, Part XI

I came across this entertaining channel on youtube called How It Should Have Ended. Their popularity has skyrocketed in the past few weeks! They basically create spoofs of popular films and television shows and portray different endings for each of them. The animations, scores and voices are really interesting to watch! I went through a few of them a while back, and below are my favourites.

To continue with the 'arts' theme of this particular Interesting Finds post, there is a cartoonist whose work I came across recently. The artist, Barry Deutsche creates political cartoons "with a generally progressive sensibility", which is totally my cup of tea! His anti-racist cartoons are the most interesting! Though I have not yet had the chance to browse through his other categories.

Why so much hate?

This is absolutely shocking. Such deep, seething hatred and ignorance from these individuals.

I can't be alone in thinking that something is fundamentally wrong with this picture. History is rife with examples of such similar incitements of hatred directed at minorities. The US is certainly no exception.

We should never forget the millions across the world that have lost their lives (and continue to do so) due to similar rhetoric. Left unchecked, these volatile notions of 'sub-humanity' will prove disastrous.

At the end of the day, this out of place protest reflected very poorly on its participants. It illustrated how un-American their actions and behaviour really was.

And despite their efforts to intimidate the OC Muslim community, their protest probably achieved the opposite- as news of this event has gotten worldwide exposure! With their belligerence on full display for everyone to see.

To those who believe in equality, inclusion, and our common humanity, let's hope together for a better tomorrow!

* Great read on how getting to know people from different backgrounds, etc can help expand our civility and humanity. The article discusses a number of studies that give me hope when I've been made aware of situations like the one above.

"There is no legitimacy other than that of the people."

 -from a statement prepared by the Egyptian Army.

The news of dictator Hosni Mubarak stepping down in Egypt, was great news to wake up to this morning! So much has been written, reported and discussed about the popular uprisings/movements in North African and Arabian countries during the past few weeks, it has been a lot to keep up with. Lives have been lost, thousands have been injured, but protesters were resilient in their determination to escape the throws of their authoritarian leader-impostors.

In a piece written on January 31st, Professor Tariq Ramadan shared two important points that resonated with me greatly. He said, "From our vantage point in the West, our obligation is to follow closely and lend our support to popular movements in Africa, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia as they reject dictatorship and repression and seek to live free. It is our moral duty."

And later, pointed out that the "Time has come to stand up for the principles of justice and liberty, of true democracy and respect for peoples rather than pay only lip-service to democratization and popular outrage while political systems remain hermetically sealed and collaboration with dictatorial regimes has become an open secret." He's really hit the nail on its head here.

The coming months will be trying for the incoming government and the Egyptian people. May God guide the Egyptians, Tunisians and all other oppressed people in their quest for liberty, sound leadership and a restoration of order. Ameen.

*For further reading, here is a heartfelt message to Egyptians, an interesting backgrounder on Suleiman, and an article discussing what might be next for Egypt. More to come!

In the meantime, check out this video by a few North American artists on the Egyptian plight! Here are some other songs to listen to as well!



I wonder which country may be next....?

REVIEWED: e.l.f. Studio Tinted Moisturizer

Some time back, I purchased the e.l.f. Studio Tinted Moisturizer for $1.50 CDN (hooray for e.l.f. coupons!) in the shades Nude & Sand. And even more recently, I purchased a second bottle in Sand because I didn't want to run out unexpectedly! I find e.l.f products are either a hit or a miss. This tinted moisturizer definitely falls into the former category! In fact, I have recently decided to change my face makeup routine because of it! In the hope of finding more natural looking face makeup, I'm glad to have stumbled on this TM.

In Sand.

Farewell, Friday Night Lights...

Just finished watching the series finale of Friday Night Lights and I have to say, I am quite sad to see it go. After 5 short seasons, the show's wrap up was very satisfying. They tied up all the right loose ends and having seen many a series end, I can say that this one was definitely one of the better ones.

This show contained everything you could desire from a great television show--a solid plot and storyline, genuine and sincere acting, major character growth, romances, bromances...the works!

From coach's relationship with his wife, to Smash and Vince's struggles, to Matt and Landry's bromance, to Buddy's insane energy, the show took you on an emotional rollercoaster and never failed to impress (except on the rare occasion!). Such memorable characters. Bien fait.

One of the best damn shows of all time.

You'll be missed.

DIY Beauty: Cutting your Own Hair

Like most girls (and probably some guys!), I have had some horrendous experiences at the hair salon! The few times I have received nice haircuts, it has always been at great expense. At the moment, I find myself at a point where I would like to add some shape to my hair, but am unwilling to pay a huge sum of money to achieve this result. So, in search of some cost-effective tips, I decided to head to Youtube to learn how to cut my own hair.

I have trimmed my own hair before, and have also cut my own bangs and side fringe in the past- so I'm not afraid to get messy and take a few chances. After all, it's not as if most hair stylists (in my experience) could do that much better than myself.

I'm feeling inspired by the possibility that I'll surprise myself with my haircutting abilities and that I may very well have found a solution to my hair cutting issues once and for all. The prospect of learning how to cut hair does excite me quite a bit!

I recently purchased some haircutting tools including shears, thinning shears, as well as a comb razor. I'm planning to purchase a folding hair razor for my side fringe, from Sally Beauty Supply, before I embark on this adventure though! Altogether, I think these tools should make this process a lot more complete.

So what I have done is collected what I think are the best youtube videos on women's diy haircutting. With each video, I have included my own ideas about what I feel might be good/bad/useful from each one. So let's get started!

Beauty Video Finds!

I've been spending quite a bit of time recently on the 'How-To/Style' section of Youtube! And below are some of my finds. This first video has some good suggestions on how to avoid a cakey appearance while applying foundation. There are an incredible amount of make-up how-to videos online, but I think this British fellow has a pretty solid understanding about make-up application, etc.