Review: Tarte Tartelette in Bloom Palette

Hi everyone! Today’s post is a review on an oldie in the makeup world: the Tarte Tartelette in Bloom palette. I’ve wanted this palette for years, but for some reason I always held off because I would end up getting sucked into buying another palette instead of this one. When Tarte was having a 25% off sale a few months ago, I finally decided to take the plunge.

THE BASICS

The Tarte Tartelette in Bloom palette is a 12-pan palette consisting of 3 shimmers and 9 mattes in shades of neutral. Each shade contains 0.053 oz of product. The palette uses the brand’s signature Amazonian Clay formula, which is supposed to be long-wearing and pigmented. It retails for $49 CAD, and can be purchased at Sephora and the Tarte website. It is made in the USA.

My Most Repurchased Beauty Products

Last week, Nicole from Pretty Ruff Life shared a blog post about her most repurchased products, and I thought it was such a great idea. Often, repurchased products tend to be holy grail status – it says a lot when makeup lovers buy the same things over and over again, especially when they’ve tried so many different products. It means that the ones that get repurchased are really top notch! I rarely buy products over and over again, so the fact that I’ve repurchased these means they’re really close to my heart.

Just as a note, I didn’t take my own photos for this blog post because I’m using a lot of new products this year and I don’t currently own a lot of these, but just because I don’t own it right now doesn’t mean I don’t love it or have bought a lot of them over the years. If I’m currently using something else right now, I will make a note of it.

Feel-Good Friday

I love me some fall colours and pumpkin spice everything, but can people please stop talking about how they’re ready for fall? The summer felt like it was two weeks long. It went by way too fast and I’m not ready for it to end! Today is another Feel-Good Friday post – read on to see what I’ve been enjoying and what I’m wanting!

THINGS I’M LOVING

The Fosters

I started watching The Fosters on Netflix a few weeks ago, and I freaking love it. It’s about a family called The Fosters, made up of lesbian moms Stef and Lena, and their five children. The name of the show has a double meaning – Foster is their family name, but four out of five of their children are fosters (that they eventually adopt). This show hits me in the feels – the family has so much heart and love, it gives me the warm fuzzies.

Music

Despite being born and raised Calgary and country music basically being a birthright, I’m not a fan of country music. However, for whatever reason, lately I’ve been really into country right now. I’ve discovered a bunch of corny pop-country songs that I love: Tequila by Dan + Shay, Speechless by Dan + Shay, Mercy by Brett Young, and Marry Me by Thomas Rhett. Don’t judge, okay?

 

Terrace House

Okay, The Fosters is great, but I started watching the latest season of Terrace House on Netflix and I. Am. Obsesssssed. I watched twenty-four 40-minute episodes in four days, but now I’m caught up and waiting for the next 8 episodes to come out. Terrace House is a Japanese reality show about 6 strangers (3 boys and 3 girls) who move into a beautiful house together, and you follow their interactions and lives both inside and outside the house. There’s no point to the show – people aren’t trying to oust each other, aren’t (necessarily) trying to find love, and aren’t trying to win anything. North Americans may think it sounds like Big Brother or Real World, but it’s not. People on Terrace House are polite, get along with one another, and genuinely like and respect each other.

It sounds boring – why would anyone want to watch a show about people getting along? Yet somehow it’s so captivating, because interesting stuff still happens. The show follows them when they go on outings as a group or dates with one another, and also if anything interesting happens at their jobs. They are allowed to leave the show at any time, and are replaced by a new member which sometimes causes some drama (but polite drama lol). Each episode is also interspersed with a panel of commentators made up of 6 Japanese celebrities/comedians who discuss what they’ve just witnessed, and they are HILARIOUS. Last season took place in Waikiki, Hawaii, but this season takes place in Karuizawa, a snowy city North of Tokyo, so they go snowboarding instead of surfing. I loved the Hawaii season, but it doesn’t even compare to this season. I can’t sell it well – you just have to watch for yourself. The first episode or two is confusing (or at least I was confused, particularly by the commentators), but you get sucked in pretty fast.

THINGS I’M COVETING

I’ve never been one for nail art but I want these nails so much! I’m thinking of getting these before I go on vacation, but I can’t decide…

I’m currently looking for a tight turtleneck for the upcoming fall season and this one is perfect – I love all of the colours that it comes in!

I’m on the hunt for sneakers and these and these have really caught my eye. I love how the pink ones are made of fabric, but I wish it came in white!

I recently discovered Desenio and I really want to buy some prints from them. There are SO many I want to buy, but I don’t really want to go and spend $200 on prints…

This mug is hilarious – my friend and I always joke at work that we’re not in the mood to work.

Does anyone have any recommendations of makeup and skincare brands and/or specific products that I can find in Asia? Namely Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan. I will be visiting these places in the fall, and I do have a small list going, but I’m hoping to get some more ideas!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Sephora Beauty Insider Appreciation Sale Wish List

Apparently, Sephora is finally revamping their Beauty Insider perks, and they’re starting it off by having a sale. This is big, considering Sephora is known to have store-wide sales only in April and November. Here are the details of the sale: starts August 24 to September 3 for Rouge members, who get 20% off with the code YESROUGE. VIB members get 15% (code YESVIB) and BI members get 10% (code YESINSIDER), and the sale for them runs from August 30 to September 3.

In addition to the sale, Sephora is also adding some other perks based on tiers. All of this is a step in the right direction, but I feel like they still have a ways until they get close to places like Shoppers Drug Mart and Ulta.

Anyways, my post today is mostly about the upcoming sale. While this surprise sale is very exciting, I’m going to try not to go too crazy. I’m going to Japan in September and I’m probably going to buy a lot there, so I’m trying not to go crazy. I always have a running list of things that I want from Sephora and I usually have a good idea of what I’ll actually pick up during the sale and what is staying on the wish list, but this time I’m undecided as to what I will actually purchase. Read on to see my list!

Thursday Chats: Blogging as a Full-Time Job

Last week, I watched Samantha Ravndahl’s Q&A video where she talks about the “influencer” industry and her job as a content creator, and some of the things she said really made me think. The topic of this Thursday Chats blog post is a result of her video, which is rare because I wrote it in a week. Normally it takes me a few weeks to gather my thoughts together coherently enough for a Thursday Chats blog post! 😆

Review: Physician’s Formula Murumuru Butter Line

Given the hot summer weather, I thought it would be the perfect time to do a review of the ever-popular products from the Physician’s Formula Murumuru Butter collection. I know these products have been out for a long time, but it actually took me quite a while after the release to purchase all of these. I now own one shade from each of the bronzers, blushes, and highlighters and have had a few months to test them out, and will be reviewing all three in this post.

THE BASICS

To me, Physician’s Formula products are one of the higher priced drugstore products out there, and I never buy from them unless they’re having a sale. All of these products range from $14.99-$21.00 depending on where you buy it.

The Murumuru powders all smell the same – a fun, tropical scent that reminds me of a pina colada. I can’t detect it when it’s on my skin, but the scent is pretty strong – when I open my makeup drawer, I usually get a whiff of it. I can imagine that it’s strong enough to bother some people.

According to Physician’s Formula, these powders all contain Murumuru Butter, Cupuacu Butter and Tucuma Butter, all of which are from the Amazon. These products are also supposed to contain some great ingredients such as essential fatty acids and pro-vitamins that are supposed to make your skin nourished.

Review: Tarte Chrome Paint Shadow Pots

Hi, everyone! Today I’m sharing my review of the Tarte Chrome Paint Shadow Pots. I first heard about these from Nova from Super Nova Beauty earlier in the year, and after seeing the swatches in her review and on Instagram, I just had to get my hands on them. I bought both of these around May, when Tarte was having a 25% off sale on their website. They’ve been a part of my makeup routine for a few months now, so now I can finally share my thoughts on these.

THE BASICS

The Tarte Chrome Paint Shadow Pots are marketed as loose pigments, but they are actually pressed loose pigments. There are 9 shades available, and they retail at $27 for 3 grams. I find these to be a bit pricey – if you think about it, you’re paying $27 for a single shadow. However, there is also significantly more product in these compared to a  pressed shadow. I for one know that I’m never going to get through one of these Chrome Pots!

The Chrome Paint Shadow Pots can be purchased at Sephora, Ulta, and the Tarte website, and they are made in Italy.

New Beauty Releases: What I’m Buying and What I’m Not

Hi everyone! As per usual in the beauty community, we’ve been seeing rapid-fire new releases from brands. In today’s post, I’m sharing my thoughts on some of the new releases we’ve been seeing, and whether I am thinking about purchasing them. Read on to hear my thoughts!

 

ColourPop x Kathleen Lights Zodiac Collection

When ColourPop first released the teaser for this collection, I was so. excited. However, when I saw the actual palette, I was a little disappointed. The palette does look nice, but it just wasn’t what I was expecting. I know a lot of palettes these last two years have had really interesting colour combinations, and I feel like this is one of them. I know Kathleen chose the shades based on the actual colours of the zodiac, which is actually pretty cool. I like about half of the palette – I was just personally expecting a lot more smokey shades, bronzes, and jewel tones, and I feel like if the palette had looked like that, I would have been more inclined to buy it. I feel like I’m still undecided, but leaning towards a no. All of the other items (lip products, highlighters, liquid eyeshadow) I wasn’t really interested in from the beginning.

Review: Herbivore Pink Cloud Rosewater Moisture Creme

In an effort to review all of the items I’ve purchased this year, today’s post is a review of the Herbivore Pink Cloud Rosewater Moisture Creme, which I bought during the VIB sale. This was one of the many creams I had been eyeing during the sale, and after choosing between three or four, I decided to give this one a try. I feel like it takes a few months to really see the full results of skincare, and I just saw the bottom of the jar last week, so I thought that was a sign that it was time to review this cream. Read on to see what I thought!

THE BASICS

The Pink Cloud Rosewater Moisture Creme retails at $60 for 50 mL and is made in the USA. Herbivore is actually carried in a wide range of places, from the official brand website to Anthropologie to Chapters/Indigo in Canada, and apparently it’s carried in a few boutiques in my city (according to the website’s store locator, but for Canadians, it is most easily found at Sephora, Nordstrom, and Well.ca. The brand’s products are all vegan, cruelty-free, and made without synthetic ingredients or fragrances, and the Pink Cloud is no exception.

July Collective Haul

Hi everyone! I haven’t really been doing hauls since I stopped my yearly low-buys, but I did more shopping this month than anticipated, so today I’m sharing all of the stuff I purchased.

SEPHORA

Too Faced Just Peachy Mattes Palette – $27.50

When the Just Peachy Mattes came out last year, I felt like I really wanted it. As I watched/read reviews, I started to realize that as pretty as the palette was, I wasn’t sure if I would get a ton of use out of the colours. However, a few weeks ago, this palette was part of the Weekly Wow sale at Sephora, and it was only $27.50 which is half price! I didn’t want to try the palette at full price, but at half price, I was definitely happy to try it.

Ouai Canada Day Set – $35

I’ve been meaning to try Ouai for a while, and I thought that their sets were probably the best way to try the brand out. I had seen that this limited-edition set was released on the Sephora app right before Canada Day, but it sold out almost immediately. When I picked up the Just Peachy Mattes palette a few weeks ago, I saw that this was available again, so I picked it up in the same order. Ouai offers a few different sets, but I was drawn in by this set because it’s limited-edition, and plus…patriotism, am I right?! The packaging is adorable. This comes with a dry shampoo, soft mousse, wave spray, texturizing hair spray, and finishing creme. The only product I’m not particularly familiar with using is the mousse, so this should be interesting. This is still available for any Canadians if you’re interested!

COLOURPOP

ColourPop almost always has sales – never buy ColourPop for full price! At the beginning of July, they had a 20% off sale off of a bunch of their items. When I browsed through their list of sale items, there were a few things that have been on my wishlist for a while, so I decided to make an order. All of the things I wanted only ended up adding to $10, so naturally instead of forking out $10.99 for shipping, I bought another $40 worth of full-priced item just so I could get free shipping. In total, I spent $50.77 USD – just enough to get the free shipping.

Pressed Powder Shadow in Come and Get It 

I’ve been meaning to try ColourPop’s pressed shadows for a while, so I wanted to pick some up in this order. I’ve always been obsessed with peachy shades with a duochrome shift, but I’ve been even more into them than usual lately, so you know that I had to get this shade!

Pressed Powder Shadow in Dragonfly 

I have a million versions of this shade in my collection, but I was curious to see if this is a little different than all of the rest. Either way, this taupe-y shade is right up my alley, so I’m super excited to try it.

Pressed Powder Shadow in Glass Bull 

Although I love duochromes, for some reason I have always been rather undecided about this eyeshadow -I feel like maybe because it reminds me of duochromes I already own. However, this is one of ColourPop’s bestsellers, and I wanted to try to see if this was worth the hype.

Super Shock Shadow in Bae 

I have had my eye on this deep shade for a long time, but I have absolutely no idea where I’m going to wear this dark shade. However, this was part of the sale, so I thought I might as well take advantage and buy it.

Super Shock Shadow in Nillionaire 

I was undecided about this eyeshadow because I thought it might be quite similar to the shade So Quiche, which I already own. This bronzey shade is so gorgeous, but I’ve swatched it once and I’m not that impressed with the quality. This is supposed to be one of ColourPop’s most popular shades, so I think I will have to play with it a bit more first!

Super Shock Shadow in Wattles 

This is another eyeshadow I’ve wanted for the longest time, and everyone keeps telling me that I need to have it in my collection. At first, the shadow looks pretty boring inside the pan, but the swatches of this shade look amazing. I can’t wait to wear it!

Super Shock Highlighter in Flexitarian

I am such a highlighter junkie, but have yet to try one of the most popular highlighters that have been released in the beauty community in the last few years. I’m excited to make my cheekbones look like a beacon of light!

Lippie Stix in Brink 

I hadn’t been meaning on trying another lip product from ColourPop considering that I thought the ones I bought from my last order smelled funky. However, this shade was on sale, and it just so happened to be a shade I had wanted to buy during my first ColourPop order. I was a little interested in seeing whether this shade would smell better, or if all of ColourPop’s lip products smell bad. So far, it smells like vanilla – I must have gotten a bad batch last time!

Brow Boss Pencil in Soft Black 

I have been meaning to try this brow pencil for a while, and I have also been meaning to purchase a brow pencil since I am going to be doing a lot of travelling in the next few months, and I find brow pencils a lot easier to use while on the go compared to my current brow pomade.

Clear Brow Boss Gel 

Can you believe that I’ve never used a brow gel before? I kind of need one though. My brow hairs never behave the way I want them to. I thought that $6 isn’t bad to try one for the first time.

Small Fluff Brush 

Honestly, I bought this brush because I need another $5 to get free shipping and I didn’t really have any other makeup I wanted to buy. I haven’t tried any of their brushes or even heard all that much about them, so I thought I’d go ahead and give it a try.

And that’s it for my July haul! What did you buy in July that you’re excited to use?