Beauty, Fashion, Photos, Reviews, Videos

Ready for the holidays

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Can it be Christmas time already? I’m patiently waiting here.

Fun fact: I used to wake up on Christmas Eve morning hoping Santa came early to our house. He never did.

While the Canadian thanksgiving feels like forever ago, the American one is coming right up. I feel like I should get ready to put my winter snow tires on, and wake up one morning with light white fluffy stuff falling from the sky. I promise I’ll only like it the first few snow falls, then I’ll get over it in a hurry, wishing I was basking in the sun, somewhere down south.

As you can tell, I’m so ready for the holidays. I put up my adorable (yet huge) nutcracker, and miniature (how fitting, right?) glass Christmas tree up at work last Friday. Oh, and I have most of my Christmas presents purchased already, with the exception of a few family members. Did that just make you sick? Sorry. I shop all year round, and keep a list of what I want to buy, or what I have already purchased in an e-mail draft in my Gmail account. I. Know.

So all of these holiday collections are coming out, and Make Up For Ever is just another one with some fabulous products to buy for yourself, or get for a girlfriend. Of course, it’s limited edition and the great part about that is it’s usually cheaper to buy the kit than it is to buy everything individually.

Make Up For Ever Holiday 2012 All Eyes On You is sold at Sephora for $65 CAD / $59 USD.

The All Eyes On You kit includes a lot of the top selling products by Make Up For Ever, including my very favorite mascara of all time. All. Time. you guys. Smokey lash. I think I picked up three extra’s at the last Sephora VIB 20% off days. THREE. As in back ups. I’m good for a year now. Have you not tried it yet? It’ll make your eye lashes about 4 inches long and people will ask if you’re wearing falsies.

This set contains:

  • HD High Definition Powder ($18 CDN)
  • Aqua Cream in 16 Pink Beige $26
  • Aqua Eyes Waterproof eyeliner pencil in Mat Black 0L $20
  • Aqua Eyes Waterproof eyeliner pencil in Dark Grey 21L   $20
  • Smoky Lash Extra Black Mascara $25

An $109 value for $65. Guys, save yourself the forty bucks and go buy it!

Anyway, I’m not a regular user of eye liner pencils, because I’m lazy in the mornings and I don’t see anyone at work but a few co-workers. So when I do get fancy I break out my $6 covergirl twist up liner. The Make Up For Ever one was a comfortable application and I didn’t have to go over my eye endless times, and there was no dragging on the delicate eye area. The pencil itself was very soft and I chose to wore the soft charcoal color on this look below.

Before and After. Love the soft pink on my eyelids! Plus, the grey liner is a nice touch on the lash line as it’s not too harsh, and very easy to work with as it glides on.

Closeup and after pic.

I also filmed a YouTube video yesterday on the re-creating the easy eye look.

Such an easy look to re-create. Just three steps. Apply the aqua cream onto your lids, then add the pencil close to your eyelash line, and add mascara! This is my second aqua cream and it almost feels more silkier to apply. Perhaps my other one is a little dried out now that it’s almost six months old.

This is not a sponsored post. I was sent the holiday kit free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Beauty, Daily, Photos, Reviews

Make Up For Ever goody bag

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Look at my eyes in that photo above. I posted a photo of my crazy lashes on instagram (@spiffykerms) and everyone commented asking me if I was wearing falsies. I wasn’t. Quite frankly I am somewhat afraid of gluing something so close to my eyes. With my luck, I’d have one eye glued shut, and the other false eyelash somewhere up on my eyebrow. Now, that would be a sight hey?

That’s where my Make Up For Ever obsession comes from. Their Smoky Lash mascara which you can get at any Sephora stores.

I got a goody bag which was given to me after attending the Make Up For Ever event with Madonna’s make up artist. Remember that? No? Here’s the re-cap in case you missed it.

I’ve decided to focus this blog post on two of my most favorite things in the goody bag.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in shade 05. You can use this on your lips or cheeks. I have no idea how to apply it properly to make it look good on my lips, so I just keep it for my cheeks.

Then, Make Up For Ever Uplight, which is a face luminizer gel.

It doesn’t look like I used a lot. But that’s because the first few times I pushed my index finger in the cream pot a little too hard, got a lot of product and ended up putting it on my face. Thankfully it was the weekend and I didn’t have any place to go. So I walked around our apartment with these too-bright glowy cheeks for the day.

I learned that less is more, especially with this product.

Lindsey, the Make Up For Ever rep I’ve been dealing with (and finally met!), says that this is one of her favorite Make Up For Ever products and that it’s so very underrated! I so agree.

Same goes for the Uplight Face Luminizer gel.

Why do I try to pile it on, before testing it out on a small patch on my cheek? Again. It was the weekend, most likely the same day — it was like flashlights beaming from my cheeks that day. I was home alone, not to worry. Scott was away that weekend in the states for a race. I have no shame.

I now know how to apply these. You have to make sure it’s subtle. It’s why it’s in a small container. Because you use much less than you think you need, and that way it’ll last you years!! Y. E. A. R. S. I’m not lying. I don’t know how I’m going to get through this pot of blush/lip thing

My next on things to try from Make Up For Ever:

5 Camouflage cream palette (a bunch of concealers)

Have you ever tried anything by Make Up For Ever?

What is your favorite make up brand?

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Beauty, Daily, Fashion, Photos

Hanging out with Madonna’s Make Up Artist

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I took the 6:30am train into Toronto with all of the regular commuters last Thursday. I was surprisingly relaxed throughout the ride, and when I arrived at Union Station I hopped on the subway to get to my first location. A Make Up For Ever breakfast!I’m someone who gets lots fairly easily and need a lot of reassurance when I’m going somewhere. So tons of maps were brought with me. I know, I know. I could use my BlackBerry for times like these. But in most cases paper is faster than phones and especially when you’re feeling a little stressed your phone may decide to be annoying and load really slowly. I did not get reassured by the construction worker men who told me that I was a 25 minute walk away from my destination. I needed to be there in 15 minutes! Luckily I had my flats on and I speed-walked my way down Bloor Street at 8:40 in the morning. Outta my way!

Since this event was taken place at the very fancy exquisite  One Restaurant, Hazleton Hotel (the only 5 star hotel in Toronto) in Yorkville. I did some research about it before hand and noticed some of the reviews saying that “a lot of celebs” visit this place. So I knew in advance it was going to be quite spiffy … I did that on purpose. After my brisk 6 minute walk, not 25 (So exaggerated) I needed to freshen up.

The washrooms were floor to ceiling black marble. Gorgeous.

I was invited by the girls at Make Up For Ever to join them in their unveiling iconic collaboration for Fall 2012 with special appearance from Madonna’s Make Up Artist, Gina Brooke.

Madonna’s makeup artist (!!) Gina Brooke.

Look at how close I was to her!

We were served a three course brunch which was all so completely tasty.

It was amazing hearing Gina’s stories about how she ended up working with Madonna, and she had the whole room intrigued. We were laughing, and even gasping at some of the things she was telling us. I was literally speechless, and probably staring at Gina in awe of everything she was telling us, especially since she was sitting right next to us. Luckily, other bloggers asked some really great questions. Like, What’s Madonna’s favorite foundations and concealers? Answer: Clé de peau. Such a luxurious product.  Must get me a sample of that at Holt Renfrew! Of course, like any make up artist, she doesn’t stick to just one brand.

Gina likes to keep things light, especially on mature or dry skin. She mentioned that she enjoys using the Make Up For Ever Face & Body foundation, which I’ve heard great things about. Here are some photos that were taken before and during the event at One Restaurant.

Here are the Make Up For Ever girls that were just so sweet. I was so happy to finally meet them all, after speaking with Lindsey via e-mail for months now!

We even got a loot bag for beauty lovers! Some of Gina’s favorite Make Up For Ever products!

Gina was talking about how Madonna wanted to create her very own custom lip color for Make Up For Ever for Tour De Force. The aqua line by Make Up For Ever is smudge proof, water proof and will not budge. Gina was wearing the #8 (the Madonna color!) and showed us how it doesn’t transfer.

The great thing about the custom red lip stick, is that Gina said it’s wearable for every skin tone. Why? Because there are blues, and oranges and all undertones in it that will suit everyone whether you’re pale or dark skinned.

I got my photo taken with Gina Brooke, and I’m so glad the photos that were taken of us, weren’t awkward looking. My lips sure were quivering when I was posing for a few of these snap shots! Hooooo-wee. Also, I didn’t realize how large my head is, haha.If you’re interested in continuing on, reading about Gina Brooke and Madonna using Make Up For Ever products, read a more detailed version on Fashion Canada’s blog — they were there too!

My blog post has gotten a bit too long! So stay tuned for my next blog post, where I thought I’d need my asthma inhaler while visiting Fossil Canada Headquarters!

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