Birthday Gifts Haul

I know I've been doing a few hauls lately but with my birthday coming up I have been spoiling myself. Last night, my family met up with me where I go to university and we had a birthday dinner. They’re leaving for a trip tomorrow and obviously Halloween isn't an ideal night to come up anyways. I’m heading out to a Halloween event tonight and I’m going as Tinkerbell!  What’s your costume if you’re going out?

Birthday dinners with my parents and sister always result in a bag full of gifts. Of course most of my gifts are makeup so I’ll be showing these on here! The pictures might suck because the weather is horrid today and I’m not getting any proper light in my windows.

Here’s a list of all the products I got:

I got my makeup for ever mat velvet +in shade 25 – which I mentioned in a previous post that I absolutely adore and couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

Yes my bedroom light is on... I know it's super dark... You should see how gross the weather is today. 

Also , I got the Laurier Mercier oil free primer which is amazing!

A while back when MAC’s Antonio Lopez collection came out I really wanted the 3 Lips/Red palette but didn’t have the money to buy it. My family bought it for me then and just kept it until now! So excited to have 3 different shades of red lips to wear now.

I got a bottle of Urban Decay de-slick which is hands down the best makeup setting spray EVER. Seriously, if you’re oily and nothing helps, go out and buy this.

My sister knows how much I adore Illamasqua and so she got me a lipstick from there! She got it in the shade Atomic for me which is a bright redish pink. The formulas awesome and longwearing. I highly recommend going out right now and stocking up on this brand. New favourite!

I have never bought myself Ro’s Argan body conditioner… It’s always been a luxury product I've wanted but felt guilty splurging. I’ve tried it out in sets and in samples….. My sister surprised me with this and I actually can’t wait to go shower after posting this so I can use it. My favourite scent in the world is this one.

Lastly, I got the Benefit advent calendar! 24 days of pure makeup heaven in December is the best way to get through the awful exam period.

So excited to break these products out ASAP.

xoxo

Michael Todd Mini Review

So here I am back on schedule with a review of one of the products I talked about in my Michael Todd true Organics haul! I haven’t properly tested out everything because I did have a bad break out and wanted to slowly transition into the products after that to see what caused it. All I know is that it definitely was not this one! I’m mainly going to be discussing the charcoal detox deep pore gel cleanser which is amazing. I use it every night and once or twice a week I’ll implement the charcoal scrub by MT in.  I’m all about the charcoal face products right now and my skins loving these two. When I stopped using the toner and moisturizer (one of them was breaking me out and I can’t figure out which one it is) my skin cleared up and I have had some stress and hormonal breakouts but that’s normal for me.

I know that this cleanser didn't break me out because if it was the reason for it I would have broken out right after my first use of this. and when I stopped with the toner/moisturizer duo I had very few spots come up. I have a feeling the toner broke me out because I tried to use it a few days ago as a way to experiment and the next day I had a new spot on my cheek which never happens. I will be testing out the moisturizer again after my birthday to see if that affected me as well.  I definitely want to try to antibacterial algae toner from MT instead because I've heard great reviews even from people who suffer from cystic acne. Some people say they don’t like the smell of these products but I am obsessed with the scents of the charcoal ones. I love everything charcoal as I mentioned before: my origins charcoal mask and these two charcoal products smell like heaven to me (I know… I’m weird!). I highly recommend these two charcoal skincare products from Michael Todd if you have oily acne prone skin and even if you’re sensitive these will work and won’t be harsh on your skin.

This is a picture from my Haul blog showing the products that came in my set! P.s the kaolin clay mask stings like a b**** but it actually works really well. It's awesome to use a spot treatment over night on any bad ones you may have. 

What are your thoughts on Michael Todd products? Tried any that have helped you immensely with acne?

MAC Haul!

I had to take my graduation photos today at my university and I figured I wanted to go shopping at MAC soon so I might as well get a makeup application along with it since you just have to spend $50 CAD pre tax.  Luckily today the Christmas collection was just launched in store and my amazing makeup artist decided to use the ones I was looking at. She used the warm eye palette which is gorgeous but i didn't actually purchase along with the Nude Eye Bag that I did buy!

The Eye Bag in Nude contains: 1 Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Utterly Becoming, 1 Fluidline Gel eyeliner in Past Twilight, 1 In Extreme Dimension Lash/ Volume and Curl Mascara in Black Extreme, a dual ended brush with one side being a flat shader and the opposite end being a gel liner brush. All of these are sold in a fabulous black and white small clutch bag. This collection is more mature and classy than last years bow tie theme. I loved last years adorableness but I find that this one will appeal to more people and I find it chic and classic! I have actually never tried any of the products in here (I know .... How can I love MAC but have never tried a paint pot or a fluidline gel eyeliner.....). I'm extremely excited because from what I can tell right now I'm in love.

The price of this was $47.50 CAD and I am going to list out the cost of the makeup products if you were to purchase them separately below so you can see what an amazing deal this is:

Pro Longwear Paint Pot: $24 

Mascara: $25

Fluidline gel liner : $19

So just the actual makeup products in this bag are worth $68 CAD. This does not include the double ended brush which I think the girl told me is estimated to be around $25-30 along with the cute clutch bag to carry them all in. If you want to purchase one thing in the whole kit I would recommend this one. It's the best deal and most versatile since you are getting a neutral paint pot, a darker liner and a mascara.

This swatch didn't do the maroon shade justice! It's a gorgeous colour. Sadly the weathers bad today so the lighting is off in my apartment. I promise its just as gorgeous on the lash line as it is in the jar. 

Since I  was under the $50 CAD pre-tax I decided I needed a new concealer and the girl chose to use the Mineralize one on me and said it was her favourite. They cost $24 and I actually loved the way it looked. The shade is in NW15 so I must have been matched wrong a few months ago when I went because I definitely have not gotten any darker and she thinks a 13 is too light. This is my first time trying out this concealer so I'll let you guys know if I like this just as much as more as Pro Longwear concealer!

Here are 2 selfies I took for my boyfriend and mom when I got my makeup done at MAC - they're a little small because they came from my iphone! I have to say that MAC is my favourite place to get makeup done even over Sephora. I find that my makeup always looks amazing when done at MAC.. Does anyone else feel that way?

Let me know what you think of MACs new Christmas collection! Which sets do you want this holiday season?? 

XOXO

Perfect Contour Shade for Pale Skin

I know I've been a little MIA lately but life has been so hectic with school, applying for jobs in the real world and interviews. I will be back on schedule this upcoming Thursday I promise all of you! I had been looking for a contour colour that would suit me for a very long time. I’m so pale that most colours would be way too dark and look extremely muddy on me. I finally decided to go get help at the MAC counter because so many brands in Sephora weren't suiting me. The girl recommended that instead of trying a bronzer why don’t I opt for a matte blush that is the shade of a more contour colour. This started my love affair with the shade Harmony. I could never use this shade as a blush and it’s the perfect shade of a brown contour for my fair skin (I’m NW13 in MAC foundations). It’s super easy to blend and I like to streak it down my contour line so I place it directly where I want it and then heavily blend it out for the most natural look. I refuse to do my makeup without contouring now. I have such a round face that it makes a huge difference and I realized no matter how fair I am I can contour, I just had to find the perfect shade for me! I hope this helps all of you fair skinned girls if you were struggling like I was to find a contour shade.

(Don't mind my super veiny arm in this picture I was in a rush and I didn't check my pictures before getting ready to upload them. It's really late and the lighting's not the greatest either).

Do you know of any good contour shades for  pale skin? Have you ever tried Harmony? 

Illamasqua in Canada

I live in the Toronto area and recently a handful of Illamasqua booths have popped up in certain The Bay locations. I think there’s only a small number so far and I don’t know if anywhere else in Canada has them because Toronto is usually the first city to get anything like this before it spreads to other major cities. I was walking through Sherway Gardens mall when I stumbled upon the counter and of course the makeup artist offered to put some makeup on me and I was sold. First I tried out one of the matte lipsticks which I have to say is incredible. They are so highly pigmented it’s crazy and it didn't bleed even without a lip liner. This lipstick got me through drinking lots of water from a BOTTLE, eating pizza (I know isn't that crazy?), and taking loads of liquid cough syrup. It lasted me from 11am to when I removed it at 6 pm and it wasn't even faded… I definitely need to stock up on some of these. The price was $24 which is more expensive than Mac but I do find these matte lipsticks last way longer and I would recommend them.  

The Regional Trainer was there and he suggested I try the skin base foundation which is a primer foundation and concealer all in one. It was pretty amazing, after one light coat all my flaws were covered and the girl just dabbed a bit more under my eyes and on an acne spot I had and it doubled as a concealer. It leaves a flawless finish and with some of the setting powder I barely got oily only needed to blot around 5-6pm before I went out for dinner. My foundation lasted me until evening without getting patchy or cakey. With foundation application blush always has to be put on.. especially with skin as light as mine. They have 26 shades and I was colour 6, so they do cater to a lot of extremely fair girls and a lot of deeper skin tones as well which is extremely important. She ended up putting a very light blush in the colour tremble on me which is a beautiful light peachy pink and I ended up purchasing it. I suggest this shade for any girls who are extremely fair like me and it is super pigmented so it really translates on the skin. If you are more medium you can try this shade, building it up it would look very pretty but if you border on a darker medium skin ton it definitely would be too light and I would suggest some of their deeper shades. The blush did not need to be reapplied even after 7 hours so it is extremely long wearing and highly pigmented. They are known for their blushes so I seriously recommend checking them out. They cost $26 but it’s worth it because they’re such good quality and so beautiful.

The swatch is not translating extremely well on camera. It looks very peachy here but it is more pink than peach. 

Michael Todd True Organics Haul! (Finally)

Super short post today and I’m so sorry for that but I've been a little under the weather with a bad sore throat and I figured a short post was better than no post!

I put in a purchase for the travel sized Acne/Oily Sensitive skin kit last week and to my surprise it’s already come! Usually it takes ages to get to Canada so I’m thrilled. It comes with the Charcoal Detox deep pore gel cleanser, organic lemon aha + dmae toner, jojoba charcoal facial scrub, moisture lite hydrating lotion and the kaolin clay detoxifying facial mask! All these products are in the size of 30mL / 1 fl oz and they come in a clear zip up travel bag which is nice (I know some of the pictures come across with tons of glare because of the bag but I tried my best!).

I also got a row of four samples which actually contain quite a bit of product. I’ll list out the samples here and say what skin type these are for. Cleanse and Tone (Cleanser, toner and makeup remover) which is for oily to combo skin. I got the hydration boost facial for all skin types… I might give this away because I think my skin may be too oily for this! Wild Rose Petal Creamy body wash came with it and I think they  secretly looked into me because anything rose I always obsess over.  The last sample it came with was the citrus cream moisturizer dmae and hyaluronic acid for all skin types, I will definitely use this because I've tried hyaluronic in the past and loved It plus citrus in skin products doesn't  usually break me out or make me more oily!

I’m extremely excited to test these all out and when I've given all these products a proper trial I will definitely come back and fill all of you in on which ones worked for my sensitive, oily, acne prone skin! Look out for my new blog post this upcoming Monday and be sure to check out my new bloglovin page! Lots of love xoxox 

Dreaming in Beauty blog button!

Hey guys! I wanted to create my own blog button that others could feature on their blog so we can all help support each other! Send me an email at dreaminginbeautybysarah@gmail.com or comment on this post if you'd be interested in swapping buttons on each others blog pages.
Here is the code that would be necessary to add this button:

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">

<a href="http://www.dreaminginbeautybysarah.blogspot.ca/"><img border="0" height="97" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YIPWNtKpioc/UlXDM5COMVI/AAAAAAAAAKY/qPLPt2WpTPA/s320/BlogBannerButton.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>

<br />

You can change the height or the width that correlates with your layout the best!

XOXO Hope to share some blog buttons on my page with you

New Favourite Makeup Combination

I've only got time for a quick post today so I wanted to fill you in on the primer/foundation/powder method I've been loving so far! Last night we went out for my mom’s birthday dinner and I tested out a new way to wear my makeup and let me tell you… it was flawless and I did not get shiny AT ALL. 2 hours later I was still matte and looked like I had freshly applied my face makeup. I’ve been running with samples so none of the products I’m going to mention I have in full size (but I will purchase them ASAP) so almost all of the pictures I will be providing below are off of Sephora’s webpage.

I didn't have extremely high hopes for the Laura Mercier oil-free primer because so many primers don’t work for me but it was incredible. It felt so light on the skin, it prepped the skin really nicely and worn with my foundation I did not get shiny even in my t zone a tiny bit!  I wore this primer with the Makeup Forever Mat Velvet Foundation (I am in the shade 25 I think) which I applied with my beauty blender. I didn't even need concealer on any of my acne scars or spots, pretty incredible I know. It isn't a cakey looking matte foundation like some of them tend to be, it looks very natural while providing really good coverage. It’s definitely a buildable coverage as I applied another layer on the redder parts of my face but I barely needed any extra. It’s a fabulous foundation that I can’t wait to go ahead and purchase.  I definitely still powdered the t-zone using my Mac Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Light which is probably my favourite setting powder at the moment.  I didn't take any pictures last night which I should have so you would have been able to see the incredible look of it but sometime soon I will do a FOTD (Face  of the day) post including the foundations and you’ll be able to see it!

Have any of you tried these products?

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My Favourite Nude Lip

Being as pale as I am with such light hair I have to be really careful with what tone of nude I wear. Going too light will make me washed out and dead which is definitely not the look I want to be wearing. I do have a love affair with MAC lipsticks and if I could afford every colour they made I would be buying them. The cremesheen formula is simply amazing and that’s why I think this lipstick is probably my favourite, not only is the colour fabulous but the actual formulation is so nice on the lips.

Shy Girl is a pretty popular MAC lipstick and I can see why. It doesn't look the same on everyone which means it’s more wearable for a greater number of people. The way it looks on my mom is completely different than how it looks on me. I think it also depends on how pigmented your lips are naturally because if they are the lipstick will come across with more of a pinkish undertone. 

  

On my hand shy girl looks like it has more of a browny coppery tone but it really doesn't on the lips. It’s the perfect neutral because it can go anywhere from being a light nude to more of a pinky nude on certain people. It’s definitely a MAC lipstick that anyone looking for a nude lip should try out.  This was my first nude lipstick ever and it made me way more adventurous for trying new products. I also think so many glosses work on top of it because it’s a nude. You can throw on an almost sheer gloss or you can for darker shades of nude to add some extra colour to the lip.

What are your favourite must have nude lipsticks?