Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate Review

I have been loving face oils for a few months now using the May Lindstom Youth Dew Hydrating Serum everyday as my daytime moisturizer. My skin has never been better as far as I am concerned. After washing my face at night, I have been applying the May Lindstrom Blue Cocoon. As previously mentioned, it is approx. $200.00 CDN so I need to use it less frequently as a cost saving measure. Laura from Buynowbloglater did a nice post about how much she loved Kiehl's Midnight Recover and since she never steers me wrong, I ran over to Kiehl's at Polo Park Shopping Centre, Winnipeg to grab some. Khiel's is also available online in Canada at Kiehls.ca or at Thebay.com. Both have good deals on shipping and free sample programs. I would shop at either but happened to be in Winnipeg when I picked this up.

Kiehl's is not a store I normally shop in, I am picky about skin products related to sensitivity. The Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate is $51.00 CDN for 1.0 fl oz or 30ml's, significantly less that May Lindstrom's $150.00 per oz Youth Dew, but also 1/3 of the product as far as I am concerned. I will continue to use this Midnight Recovery because I hate to waste but it is definitely not my favourite. For the person that needs a light moisturizer, this may be the ticket for you, but if you have dry skin, be warned that it is light, and almost needs a moisturizer overtop for nighttime use, which is it's purpose.

The dropper style top is easy to use and the bottle is a pretty blue glass. Products in glass bottles are luxurious in my opinion. This oil smells slightly floral but it is not offensive.

I find it sits on top of skin as opposed to sinking in which is part of why I do not like it. 5 drops applied in my palm, rub together then press in the skin and hop into bed, is my routine. Touching my face feels slippery like the oil does not absorb.

My skin does not feel any different in the morning. It has not cause my skin any sensitivity but feels nothing like the beautiful May Lindstrom Youth Dew or the lovely Blue Cocoon. That's my fault, I never should have tried those products first as I can't go back.

I will not repurchase the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate. My beloved Laura from buynowbloglater is not my skin sister, so I need to find another dry sensitive gal to watch on youtube
or become big enough that companies send me face oils, as they are pricey little bitches! I would love to try a few other oils including Sunday Riley Luna, Herbivore Botanical Face Oil Phoenix and a RyzRemi Face Oil that a girl from my home town is developing. Hopefully, I can get my hands on these soon as this Khiel's ain't cutting it.

Kat Von D Shade and Light Palette Review

Contouring is something I knew nothing about before 2015. I used bronzer to warm up my skin but never thought to use shadows and highlighters to trick the world into thinking my face is slimmer, my cheeks more pronouned or my under eye area bright and youthful. That is what I thought exercise, Botox and Juvaderm were for. I am no stranger to trickery though. When I met my husband I had hair extensions, gel nails and wore coloured contacts. He laughs to this day that I used my trickery to "bag him". Now I am o-natural, except my newly found love of a subtle face contour.

I have watched about 100 youtube videos on contouring ala the Kardashians. If you have been reading this blog you will know that I actually do not wear that much makeup so will never have that intense of a contour, but it does look stunning and really can alter a face. I researched all different types of products, swatched basically everything at Sephora before settling on the Kat Von D Shade and Light Contour Palette.

I bought this palette as part of the Sephora VIB sale but ended up ordering online as when I arrived at the store I found a lot of items that I was looking at were sold out. I did have a nice sales lady at Sephora Polo Park show me a contoured look with the palette before I committed to purchase online. I was impressed how it subtly slimmed my face and hollowed out my cheeks just enough to not make me too old and sunken in, rather 15 lbs skinnier..with just makeup. Holy f balls... it's my dream come true. This palette sells for $55.00 at Sephora.

Contour colours Left to Right: Sombre, Shadow Play and Subconscious

As I said earlier, I swatched a lot of different products before settling on the Kat Von D Shade and Light. It was really between 4 different products for me, the other 3 being the Anastasia Contour Palette (which I found extremely warm and I am not sure how people are using it as a contour), Lancome Le Duo Contour & Highlight Stick: a cream product that Essie Button recommended & Kevin Aucoin Sculpting Powder which my other blogger favourite Hey Claire mentioned in her favourites video. I really liked the sturdy cardboard packaging, having all products in one container for contouring and highlighting and the softness of the powders in the Shade and Light Palette. My Sephora Polo Park does not carry Kevin Aucoin products in store so I was unable to swatch it in person which is why I did not choose their Sculpting Powder for my first contour experience.

Highlights Top to Bottom: Lucid, Lyric, Levitation

Kat Von D Shade and Light Palette powders are very pigmented but easy to blend and really wearable colours for a contour newbie like me. The highlights are not very shimmery which is up my alley as I don't really have a "go out at night with my shimmery make-up" kinda lifestyle. We just 1 week ago got 2 new restaurants in my hometown where you could even go out past 10pm...what the what? I haven't done it yet but I hear its quite the thing this staying out past 10pm.

Darkest is obviously Subconscious with the lightest and most grey being Sombre

I find myself using the Sombre shade tapped once in the Subconscious for my cheek contour. I have been using the Real Techniques small contour brush but I would love to try the Elf Contour brush just for cost containment. A Canadian youtuber BeautywithEmilyFox uses this brush and it seems to work fine for the job. I did not purchase the Kat Von D coffin brush. Shadow play is pretty warm thus it is more a bronzer on me. I pop lyric under the eyes and levitation on the centre of my face. The swatch on my arm of the highlights is in the order they are found in the palette. This palette also comes with a guide to contouring. I would suggest a tutorial from a Sephora sales person as it accomplishes both a tutorial and a trial.

After I use this palette up I will be buying the Kevin Aucoin Sculpting Powder for sure. Kevin Aucoin products are also available at Beautymark.ca in Canada. I like to support local or smaller shops before buying at chain stores. I have ordered Kevin Aucoin, Mama Mio and Oribe products from them previously and really enjoyed my shopping experience. Check them out.

Has anyone tried Nyx Taupe as a contour shade?

Luxe Box Summer 2015 ho hum...

So I unexpectedly received my Summer Luxe Box in the mail this week. I do love surprises! I couldn't wait to get it open as I had not even peeked online to see what might be in it. Thank goodness I didn't as I would have been truly disappointed before it even arrived.

 Let's get right into this. The box is decadent. It is my favourite part of the entire beauty box and I will be using these to put gifts in or make-up storage...beautiful box Luxe Box!

The first thing I grabbed was a full sized pink lip gloss from Model Co "Fairy Floss". The mirror is broken on arrival....awesome, my favourite. It is a strawberry smelling sticky pink sparkly gloss. It looks pretty natural on my lips and would be a nice gloss but it is way too sticky for me to wear. My card says it "glides on for a non-sticky long lasting finish"..umm are you sure we are talking about the same gloss? It is quite tacky and retails for $20.00 and I am mainly disappointed in this product and receiving a broken one. Boo....

Broken Mirror Model Co. Fairy Floss

Swatch of Fairy Floss, a nice, sticky pink

Oooo Kerastase Elixir Kultime Oleo-Complexe & Morninga Immortel...wowza..that's a mouthful. It's 50ml of hair oil. Kerastase in general is a nice brand. The salon I used to go to in Winnipeg carried it. It was $52.00 for a hairspray so I prefer about half that price as I use hairspray everyday. 125ml is $55.00 of this product so I think this is a great sample size seeing that this box cost $28.00. I don't love the perfumey smell but that is a personal thing, I don't like flowery scents unless they are real flower scents. I didn't find it lingered in the hair. This oil is a multi use oil, you can use it before you shampoo on dry brushed hair or pre-blow dry. I used it pre blow dry yesterday and today and found it nice (shrugs shoulders in a generally unimpressed manner). I hate Bumble and Bumble Hairdressing Oil, it makes my hair soo staticy, so I was happy with the feel of this one in comparison and will finish this sample.

Now to the small samples which irritate me. I can get free samples anywhere at any beauty counter... so it disapoints me that there are soo many in this beauty box. Saying that, I do enjoy samples sizes of products as you get to try a small amount so if I don't like it..who cares, it can go in the garbage. I have a hard time throwing away full size products.

Elisabeth Arden Moisturizing Lipstick in red door, pretty pink and neoclassic coral. All nice colors, I will try them but it's a pretty crappy item if you ask me.

Bare Minerals Lash Domination: Even though it is a sample, this is one sample that I don't mind. They travel well and it gives you the opportunity to try a medium amount without the $18 dollar commitment. I am fairly particular about mascara and definitely have my favourites which I will share in another blog post. Look how tiny it is in my hand eeeeee.

La Roche Posay SPF 60 for Sensitive Skin....It's another pretty tiny little sample but again, I take these on vacation to put on my nose and cheeks as I don't typically wear that high of SPF at home or anywhere else on my body. I will use this sample but I expect more in a box I am paying for.

Last 2 full size items: Me Me Me Beat the Blues Pearl Pink Highlighter. My card indicates I got the Cheek and Lip Tint which this is not, again..wtf?. It retails for $10.00 and it truly looks like it. The website states to dab a few drops on the cheek bones for a luminated look. I will give this a go but i did not like the consistency on my hand, it looks cheap and patchy..but we will see if is has the same effect on the face.

Medusa Makeup Safari Headhunter Eyeshadow: A purple eyeshadow with some "micro sparkles". I don't like eyeshadow, I have a few but I generally have no use for them so this is a personal disappointment. It had a lot of fallout on swatching but I am sure it would look nice on someone who liked eyeshadows used with a primer or paint pot to help with the fallout.

Look at the large chunk just from a finger swipe...

Sooooo....I am going to cancel my Luxe Box.  I like the box more than the products even though there were a couple winners. Then adventurous nature of these boxes are a little to much for this girl to deal with, I would rather spend countless hours researching product and make my own decisions on what I need in my collections.

What boxes are you enjoying that are available in Canada?

Hourglass Ambiant Radiant Bronzer Review

Hourglass, the queen of the radiant ethereal glow, has a bronzer...it's limited edition...holy shit ballz, I must own it like now! That was my first thought on spying the bronzer as I was filling up my shopping cart in prep for the Sephora VIB sale. I ended up making a trip into Winnipeg, Manitoba during the sale so I was able to see these stunning bronzers in person before I purchased.

Hourglass Radiant Bronze Light

Hourglass Ambient Bronzers come in beautiful gold compacts that feel excellent in quality and are a manageable size for daily use and travel. They come in 2 shades of which I purchased the "darker" Radient Bronze Light for medium toned skin vs the "Lighter" Luminous Bronze Light. I wish I would have purchased both but these Bronzers are ridiculously priced at $60.00 each...yes...its a little cray cray. I am a bronzer collector as you know and felt this one needed to be part of my collection. I have been using it on the regular since buying and feel I am in a place that I am reaching for it often as my radiant bronzer of choice.

I do find this bronzer on the subtle warm side, it seems to come off warmer than it does on the face but it is definitely orangish in hue (which some bloggers might suggest it is not...come on, are we looking at the same bronzer?). Keep in mind that it is a bronzer, not a contour, and thus I don't mind the warmth coupled with the glow. It is very pigmented, so a tiny bit goes a long way. This bronzer will last a very long time with the amount of pigmentation you get from just a tap. I see some people trying to contour with it online, but it is too orange for that...shadows are not orange peeps. The hourglass powders in general are so beautiful on the skin that I didn't really expect anything different in this bronzer.

I personally would have preferred a slightly cooler toned bronzer and potentially this is what they will come out with on the next go around if they knew what was good for them (ooo sounds so threatening). Kinda Nars Laguna/ Benefits Hoola with the luminous silky quality of the Hourglass powders would be freakin amazing and I would be all over that one. HEY HOURGLASS, ARE YOU LISTENING?...I WOULD LOVE THAT.

I think you can see from the picture above that Hoola is the most neutral brown shade, Nars Laguna and MUFE Bronze Fusion 30M are pretty darn similar on paper, Nars Casino has a true milk chocolate red brown hue and that Hourglass is most definitely on the copper side which says orange to me.

If you are a bronzer lover, I would add this to your collection. You would have to be a fan of bronzers in general or Hourglass as a brand to spend this kind of coin on any make up product as far as I am concerned.

In my shopping cart now/still: Urban Decay Blush in Fetish, Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal, and I want to try the Lancome Miracle Cushion. Sephora in store indicated they could not offer samples due to the unhygenic sponge that poeple stick their fingers into...ewwww.

This Weak in Shopping: Clinique Heather Pop, Bite Beauty, MUFE Bronze Fusion

Yes, it's a pun. By weak, I mean....you don't need anything! But the wants consume my thought. I obsess about how much I "need that" and eventually just buy it. No point in obsessing about nonsense..much was the case this weak/week.

Arriving in the mail from Sephora.com was my newest bronzer acquisition, MUFE Pro Bronze Fusion. Bloggers indicate that this bronzer is a gel/ powder consistency and so finally milled that it is imperceptible as a powder. I'm not prepared to review it as I am just feeling it out, trying to get the hang of it. It is not a consistency I am familiar with so I am testing out brushes as I refuse to purchase the brush they recommend (a $38.00 MUFE Kabuki). MUFE fusion bronzer was purchased for $42.00 from Sephora.com in 30m. I would have purchased the 35i but it was all sold out and I just couldn't wait.

Second purchase was another Clinique Cheek Pop from their summer 2015 collection " Heather Pop". This is a beautiful pinky, purple shade that is in the same class as Tarte exposed or MUFE 310 for us blush addicts, just a touch more pink. I will speak further about these blushes in the future as I can see myself getting a few more (Nude pop, Melon pop?). It was $24.00 from Sephora.com.

Tarte Exposed, Clinique Heather Pop, MUFE HD 310

Bite Beauty Butter Cream lipstick in cream is part of my growing lip collection. I have a hard time wearing anything on my lips except a lip conditioner so this is my 4th actual lipstick (bullet form) purchase. I have worn it twice this week which is cray cray. I do not reapply. Once it's gone, it's gone. I would like to try an Estée Lauder Lip Envy and a Nars Audacious but give me time (and some money) and we will get there. I like Bite Beauty as it is food grade ingredients and made in Canada. It's pretty pricey at $32.00 and mine arrived broken, the cap won't stay on...errrrr.

Silver Jeans Tuesday Medium Rise Mid Straight in Dark Wash. I have worn Silver Jeans since the beginning of time. They are made in my home province of Manitoba, Canada at Western Glove Works in Winnipeg and the fits and washes are incredible. These happen to be my favourite at the moment and I got them online at silverjeans.com at 30% off and paid with PayPal, my true love. I had to get the 34 leg as they only had them in my size but I take them to Winnipeg and get them hemmed at Polo Park "Stitch It", Euro Hem, meaning that they keep the original hem. This is the only place I trust to hem my pants in a hurry. I don't live in Winnipeg so I just let them know I am from out of town and they will have them ready the next day, sometimes even the same day!

That's all for this week, I will post reviews on the makep up items once I get a better feel and can give a more thorough opinion about them.

In my Shopping cart right this second: Lancome Miracle Cushion Foundation, Urban Decay Afterglow Blush in Fetish and a couple birthday gifts for my sister, its her baby shower this week so I have made a few baby purchases from our local baby store theclothbuttique.com , my favourite place to shop for gifts for little ones.