November Favorites

Hello everyone!

Here is my November Favorites video I'm slowly but surely learning the ropes of editing and creating videos, it's not quite as easy as I thought it would be but I do enjoy doing it. Now I need to save some dollars to invest in a good camera.

I hope you guys enjoy it and if you do please like, subscribe & comment.

What were your favorites for the month of November?

♥

Bri

Follow on Bloglovin, at 25 followers I will be doing a giveaway!

Benefit - Eye Bright

When I bought this my expectations were low but I was pleasantly surprised by this hidden gem.

The Eye Bright pencil from Benefit is an under eye brightener and although it works well, for what it is I find it a little overpriced for the amount of product. ($26 CAD).

Benefit describes it as a "nap in a stick"I don't know about it being on the same level as a nap, who doesn't love an afternoon nap? There's no feeling quite as good as being snuggled in your bed.

The stick is a bright pink which helps perk up the eye area to make you look more awake.

Not only does it make a great eye brightener but if you're looking for a subtle highlight you can blend a bit along your cheekbones and down your nose to brighten up the face. I use this mostly on the inner corners of my eyes as it really helps to make it look like you had a solid eight hour sleep the night before. I have tried using it under the eye to help with dark circles but I found it hard to blend out nicely and found it pulled the skin as well so unfortunately I'll stick to using it in my inner corners and under my brow.

Not a product you need but if you're in search of something to perk you up in the mornings other than your daily does of coffee this is a great little stick.

What do you use to brighten your eyes?

♥

Bri

Follow on Bloglovin for the chance to win a Huda Beauty Liquid Lipstick (Giveaway won't be until I reach 25 followers on Bloglovin)

Instagram Round Up #3

Good afternoon everyone!

It's been a long time since I last did an Instagram post so here I am with a recent Instagram round up from the past week. 

I hope you guys enjoy this type of post I know I do!

From top left to bottom right

The first one is from today, I wanted to see if the Urban Decay Naked and Coastal Scents Revealed palettes really were dupes when used on the eyes and I'd say it's a definite yes. On the left side I used the Naked palette and the Revealed on the right.

Another eye look using the Revealed Palette.

Neutral look using the Revealed 2 palette, do we see a running theme here? 

An OOTD, this was a post from this week on the blog.

My man and dog in Drumheller, AB. If you've never been to Alberta I highly recommend checking out Drumheller. The Royal Tyrell museum is one of my favourite places in Alberta. If that doesn't float your boat there's a gigantic t-rex you can climb and take a photo in it's mouth. It's worth doing at least once.

MAC's Woodwinked. This was featured in my Favourite Single Shadows post.

That's all for now.

Follow me on Instagram & leave yours below

♥

Bri

Follow on Bloglovin for a chance to win a Huda Beauty Liquid Lipstick

Shades of Gray - OOTD

Hello loves!

The Alberta weather has been so good to us lately, I hope it continues. Usually by this time it's already minus 25 and snow is everywhere to be seen. At the moment the sun is shining and there is not a speck of white on the ground.

I'm going to be wearing skirts & dresses until the weather no longer allows it.

The above photo didn't turn out great, my apologies.

I was quite rushed this morning and made many attempts to get a proper photo showing the back detail of this shirt but this was about the only one out of a hundred that did any justice.

The skirt and shirt were both handed down to me by a friend, nothing wrong with second hand in my book. Sometimes those thrifted finds are the best ones!

The sweater is fairly old and is from Sirens. I thought Aritzia carried a similar one but I was unable to find it on their site.

The boots are from Forever 21 which have lasted a long time for Forever 21's quality standards.

I hope you like it!

What are your favorite sweaters for Fall & Winter?

♥

Bri

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MAC Woodwinked - Favorite Single Shadow #1

MAC's Woodwinked is a remarkably versatile shade.

It's described as a warm antique gold. I find this shade a lot more brown toned than gold. When swatched though the gold reflex is much more noticeable.

This has become one of my all time favorite single shadows.

It's perfect for everyday as it can create a gorgeous wash of color on the lids with minimal effort. Being a shimmer shadow it adds extra dimension making it look like your eye makeup for the day was a lot more complicated than it was. 

I wore only this on my eyes yesterday all over my lid blended into my crease and lower lash line and although it was just one shadow it looked like multiple tones of browns and golds blended together.

For those days (if you're like me, that is) where you just want to lounge around in bed for those extra few minutes or...half hour this is great as you can easily blend it out and be out the door in only a few minutes. 

What more could you ask for?

What are your favorite single shadows?

♥

Bri

Don't forget to follow on Bloglovin for a giveaway

Lancome's Pretty Burgundy

Hello again.

This post was originally planned to be my top 5 Fall & Winter lipsticks but as I wore this today I noticed a lot of things I wanted to mention about it leading to a full blown review.

This is Lancome's Color Design in the shade "Pretty Burgundy" which is a cream finish. Dark colors in cream finishes often lead to a slippery finish that slides out of the lip lines throughout wear, this was no exception. I wish it were as it's an absolutely gorgeous plum toned berry shade.

The swatch is two layers as this is quite sheer for how dark it is when first applied but beware, when you try to layer it on the lips it turns into a disaster.

The formula gets insanely patchy when attempting to make it more opaque leading to splotchy lips and areas where parts of the lipstick start to ball up and flake off, not a flattering look.

Without a lip liner whether it be nude or a berry toned liner this slides everywhere making it look like a clown put your face on for the day. Even with a lip liner, I just used a nude one I noticed slight movement outside my lip lines which wasn't quite too noticeable up close but still bothered me.

If only this was a better formulated lipstick I would be all over it as the color is perfection I just can't be bothered to put that much effort into my lips for the day when I know there are very similar shades on the market with 100 times better formula.

Perfect winter berry? 

Maybe not so much.

♥

Bri

What's your perfect winter lipstick?

Don't forget to follow on Bloglovin for a chance to win a Huda Beauty Liquid Lipstick!

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge

 

I heard all the hype surrounding the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion sponge but for some reason never bothered to pick it up until this week.

A bit of a blogger fail for me as not only had I yet to try this but I hadn't tried any makeup sponges including the ever coveted Beauty Blender. 

Boy, was I missing out.

I love this sponge! There were a lot of negative reviews stating that they've changed this, that now it's more rough in texture and rips more easily. After the first wash I did notice a tiny bit of the foam ripped off just a very tiny corner though nothing disastrous. It blends foundation out beautifully and the pointed tip makes it so much easier to get into those tough to reach spots like around your nose and under the eyes.

I dampen mine with water to create a dewy glow to the skin. What I have noticed that since expanding when wet it hasn't gone down to it's original size even though its dry? Has anyone else's done this or just mine?

I am definitely thinking of picking up another one for contouring & highlighting as I think this would work better than anything else I own to blend it out. 

The Real Techniques sponge is under half the price of the Beauty Blender and although I can't speak for the Beauty Blender I don't know that I would pick it up as it retails for $24 CAD and I picked this up  for $9.99 from my local drugstore. 

I'm so glad I picked up this gem, it creates the most flawless base leaving you with perfect airbrushed skin.

What is your favorite beauty sponge?

♥

Bri

Follow on Bloglovin. At 25 followers I will be doing a giveaway!

 

Pamper Yourself with Montagne Jeunesse

 

Hey everyone.

Let me first apologise for the horrendous photo quality. No matter what angle I tried to take the photo from the light just reflected off the packaging and with it being winter there was no natural light to be seen at the time. 

Aside from that I was having quite a stressful week for reasons I'd rather not discuss and like any woman I thought a good pamper session was in order.

I picked up the "Nut Oil" Montagne Jeunesse mask. 

Montagne Jeunesse is a very affordable and easily accessible brand from the drugstore, not to mention they're cruelty free!

I've used many of the other masks from the brand and have always had a good experience. For a couple of dollars I don't think you'll find anything better. The only downfall with these is their packaging, I found it difficult to scoop out the mask easily which led to my ever so messy application as you can see below.

 

{Don't mind my face.}

 I left this on for twenty minutes as the package advised. Being a clay mask it didn't allow for much movement.

The mask is meant to deep cleanse and hydrate the face. 

After rinsing it off my skin felt wonderfully clean but most certainly not hydrated, if anything it made my face feel more dried out than usual.

For how clean my skin felt afterwards the dryness wasn't a big issue. I slathered on some night cream and was good to go!

 Did I mention this stuff smells good enough to eat? 

Upon opening the package that was the first thing I noticed and while waiting to rinse it off  it made me hungry as it was all I could smell for twenty minutes. 

Montagne Jeunesse is a cheap cruelty free option if you're looking for a night of kick backs and relaxation.

What is your favorite mask?

♥

Bri 

Don't forget, when I reach 25 followers on Bloglovin  I'll be doing a giveaway so don't forget to follow for a chance to win!

Harry Potter Tag

Anyone who knows me will know that Harry Potter has always held a special place in my heart so when I found this tag over at A Little Boat Sailing I just had to create a post for it.

1. What is your favourite book?

Out of all seven novels, the fifth is by far my favorite. The Order of the Phoenix is the largest book in the series and is where the story line takes a much darker turn. I remember staying up all hours of the night to finish this as the plot gets so intense you just can't wait to see what's going to happen next. Despite this being my favorite book it happens to be the one where a character I truly cared about has an unfortunate fate which left me in tears for hours.

2. What is your favourite film?

For entertainment purposes my favorite film is the Half Blood Prince albeit not following the book story line the movie itself had many moments that made me truly laugh out loud. {" I know, but I've got a really good feeling about Hagrid's. I feel like it's the place to be tonight. Do you know what I mean? "}

As far as the movies I think followed the books closely it would be the first two which of course were much easier to create and match to the plot as they were much smaller than the others.

3. What is your least favourite book?

It hurts me to say this but I was so let down by the Deathly Hallows. Was it because it was the last book? no. The ending to me seemed rushed and I honestly wish she would have just let it end with Harry finally defeating Voldemort. I didn't love the fact she wrote about their future lives, I think for her to go that way she should have wrote a much longer or even a whole other book on it because it just seemed like she wanted to create a quick little blurb about what happened to them and I didn't see the need for it.

4. What is your least favourite film?

The Prisoner of Azkaban, there was just so much they missed in the story line and I think they could have added so much more to explain things better and there wasn't enough Sirius Black for me. I truly hated that film with a passion. Every time I see it on T.V. it makes me angry quite honestly and usually turns into me ranting about how terrible it was and how much of the book they missed or got incorrect. I realize the movies will never be exact but I couldn't have been more upset with a book to film adaptation.

5. Which parts of the books/films made you cry?

Two character deaths, one in the Order of The Phoenix. The other in the Deathly Hallows. I cried in both the books and movies when they happened. When watching the second half of the Deathly Hallows I was a sobbing wreck from the point they showed Hogwarts until the end of the film, I'm sure people in the theatre wanted to kill me but Harry Potter was ending, my childhood was ending. I couldn't handle the emotions to say the least.

6. If you could hook up with any character who would it be?

Fred Weasley. 

7. Who is your favourite character?

Sirius Black even though he passed quite soon he was with me in spirit through the rest of the books.

8. Who is your least favourite character?

Dolores Umbridge, do I need to explain why? The casting director couldn't have picked a better actress for her.

9. What is your least favourite line?

"And Percy was shaking his brother, and Ron was kneeling beside them, and Fred's eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face" 

Even reading that again makes my eyes water.

10. What would your Patronus be?

If you know me you'll know I love dogs more than any animal as I don't think you'll find another creature who can love you so much so I'm thinking it would be something from the canine family whether it be a wolf or a dog.

11. If you could have the invisibility cloak, resurrection stone or elder wand, which would you choose?

The Invisibility cloak.

12. What house would you be in?

I know you can't believe internet tests but I'm not lying to you guys when I say literally every single one I've ever done (there's been a lot) including Pottermore has placed me into Gryffindor, That's not to say I think I belong to Gryffindor because I am not brave by any means. I'm more of a mix of a Gryffindor & a Hufflepuff.

13. If you could meet any member of the cast who would it be?

Rupert Grint. What I've seen of him in interviews he seems like such a funny guy who you could easily get along with.

14. If you were on the Quidditch team, what position would you play?

I would love to be a chaser, although I don't think I'd excel in any of the positions. I'm not the most athletically talented to say the least.

15. Were you happy with the ending?

This ties into my answer for question 3, I wish the books and the movies wouldn't have ended with their future selves.

16. How much does Harry Potter mean to you?

I began reading Harry Potter when I was in grade 2 at the age of seven (I've always had an advanced reading level) and continued growing up with the characters as I got older in both the books & movies. I love that these books can be loved by all ages they are absolutely amazing and pull you into a world of magic where you can forget your everyday reality. No one understands the place this series holds in my heart and my childhood memories. As an adult I will continue to read these time and time again. When I cried in the last movie it was more sadness that Harry Potter was over than anything. Although now the Cursed Child is out I can have a little of the magic back in my life.

Do you love Harry Potter? 

If  you do the tag make sure you comment below so I can read your answers!

♥

Bri

Follow on Bloglovin for my first giveaway! 25 Followers is when I will be doing it.

Weekend Watching - Game Of Thrones (*contains spoilers for season 4)

Hey everyone!

This past weekend was a pretty lazy one for me as I spent all of Saturday binge watching Season 4 of Game Of Thrones (I know I'm a little behind) When I say all day, I mean from 11:30 AM until 12:30 AM. 

I waited so long to watch the show as I was wanting to read the books before hand, although in hindsight it may have ruined the show for me. After many people telling me it's a lot different from the books I hopped on the bandwagon and I'm so happy I have! Don't get me wrong though the books are still on my long "to read" list.

I don't mind waiting to watch popular shows as I love binge watching, I mean hello, no commercials? Yes please. 

I must say I'm patiently waiting for my boyfriend to catch up as he just finished season 3 last night and it's taking all of my strength to not tell him everything that happened in season 4.

By far, my favorite episode in Season 4 was episode 2 where millions of fans celebrated the long awaited death of King Joffrey Barothean during his purple wedding. I don't think I've hated a character this much since Dolores Umbridge in the fifth installment of Harry Potter. 

Jack Gleeson, who plays Joffrey did such an incredible job of making people hate him. He was even congratulated by the writer George R.R. Martin, that's quite a feat if you ask me.

If you've yet to start the show, please do. It's amazing and has completely taken over my life for the time being.

Who is your most hated character?

♥

Bri

p.s. Follow on Bloglovin for the chance to win a Huda Beauty Liquid Lipstick. Won't be doing the giveaway until I reach 25 followers.

Maybelline

Maybelline has always been a firm favorite of mine at the drugstore but they've had so many new releases in the past two years there was no hope in my poor bank account keeping on top of things.

The Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara isn't a new release by any means but I've seen it splashed across the pages of many blogs I read so I'm very keen to pick this up. I think there are just as many if not better mascaras in the drugstores as high end. I recently tried Benefit Roller Lash and after I finished that I headed to my local drugstore and picked up my all time favorite mascara the Maybelline Colossal for a fraction of the price.


Maybelline Color Jolt These are a newer release (within the past year) and I wasn't too excited about them until this morning when I watched a video by RacchLoves  where she mentioned that there were shades in the line that are exact dupes for the Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipsticks which I fell head over heels for last Christmas. If I can save money you can bet that I'll try it!


Maybelline Vivd Matte Liquid Lipstick There's been a ton of mixed reviews on these, some people love them and some people hate them. Being the lip product junkie that I am though I'm willing to try them at least once.


Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer Another older product but one that was highly raved about on Youtube and various blogs. Come to think about it, I don't know if I've seen a poor review for this.

Maybelline Blushed Nudes Lately, I've been becoming an eyeshadow junkie. I used to be a girl who never wore eyeshadow as I just couldn't be bothered with putting in to much effort but as of late that's all changed. The color scheme in this palette is beautiful and for a drugstore palette I've heard glowing reviews.

Maybelline Nudes I want to try all the palettes in the Nudes Collection in case you hadn't noticed.


Maybelline Rock Nudes I like that this one has a few offbeat colors thrown into the mix. The blue and the almost olive toned looking gold shade, I would love to see how those look on the eyes. I think that olive gold would look gorgeous.

Maybelline Master Hi-Lighting Blush & Bronzer To be honest, I'm not sure if this is a newer or older release. Multi purpose products though save so much time on the weekdays when you really can't be bothered to get out of bed early. I've seen swatches of this online and it looks fairly subtle and natural, perfect for work.

Maybelline Master Strobing Stick  I love to glow. Even for day to day I like my highlight poppin'! This looks like it could achieve a fairly shimmery highlight. Some of the swatches I've seen it looks comparable to my ever loved Benefit Watt's Up

Maybelline Loaded Bolds More lip products? Of course there are! These are the newest release from Maybelline I believe. The shades I'd love to try are the blue shade which for some reason isn't on the Maybelline Canada website and "Gone Griege" but the entire collection looks wonderful. On second thought I might end up purchasing all of them, sorry bank account.

Maybelline Brow Drama Mascara I'm so basic when it comes to doing my brows, powder and done. I'd love to branch out and try new products that aren't powder. This looks interesting but I'm intrigued to see how you would use it.

What is your favorite Drugstore brand?

♥
Bri

Follow on Bloglovin if you want to win a Huda Beauty Liquid Lipstick!

HEELS THAT COULD KILL

Hey everyone.

I know you're all probably filled with sadness and disappointment regarding the outcome of the American presidential election and that a misogynistic & racist man is now the leader of the country. Although I may be Canadian I feel this will affect everyone and I'm shocked at the results. I feel as if I'm living in a dream and all of this is just a joke I will soon wake up from, though that isn't true.

Election aside, I wanted to post a quick OOTD to try and take my mind away from current events. The blazer and dress were thrifted from my friends closet as she never wore them and I couldn't stand to see them collect dust. 

Now these shoes, I L O V E these shoes but I have a very difficult time trying to style them therefore I never wear them. I bought these two years ago and they rarely see the light of day. It's quite sad actually because these were such a bargain! I purchased them for $25, down from $160 and if you guys know me I'm not exactly careful with my money (I should be, but I'm not) 

If you guys have tips or suggestions on how you would style them, let me know in the comments because these babies would love to be shown off.

Follow me on Bloglovin, at 25 followers there will be a giveaway! (be sure you're following my blog)

Coastal Scents - Lip Gloss

Hey everyone! 

Hope you are all having a lovely week, my morning hasn't been off to a great start but it's supposed to be a gorgeous day today which I'm looking forward to. 

I've had these Coastal Scents Smack Lip Glosses stashed away for a while now just waiting to be reviewed. I own two of the eleven shades. One is the shade "Challenge Me" and the other is in the shade "O'Scarlet" {O'Scarlet is discontinued}

Challenge Me is a coral pink with lots of gold reflex in it. This is definitely the more pigmented of the two. If you've read any of my other lip posts you will know that I'm not a gloss girl, I have maybe four glosses in my 65+ collection of lip products. I love a bold lip, think reds, purples and bright pinks so if I go for a gloss it's generally going to be an opaque gloss with lots of color payoff.

Challenge Me delivers on all fronts. I appreciate that the gold shimmer throughout this gloss doesn't come across when applied. You can see very little shimmer in the swatch, the same goes for when its applied. It applies nicely and evenly with fairly good coverage in one swipe. These do transfer and you need to reapply fairly often but I haven't found many glosses where you aren't constantly reapplying. The color is not my favorite though, I wasn't a fan of how it looked against my skin but the formulation is very well done!

O'Scarlet is discontinued it seems as I couldn't find it listed on the Coastal Scents website.

Much more sheer than Challenge Me, it works well as a lipstick topper if you were to wear a matte red but wanted a coat of gloss to finish it off.

It's a pink red with different colored flecks of glitter including gold, blue and purple.

It doesn't apply evenly what so ever, in the swatch you can see where it goops up along the edges. I found that even after wiping the excess off from the doe foot applicator it would still goop up along the outer line of the lips. A lip brush may work better to apply this so you could achieve a more even application. I'm wearing this today and on it's own I don't really like how it looks, it looks like I just applied a clear gloss and then threw some glitter on it. Needless to say it's not a flattering look. The texture of O'Scarlet is a lot tackier and stickier than Challenge Me which isn't the best feeling on your lips. 

I would think about repurchasing some of the more pigmented shades but I would stay away from the more glitter bomb looking ones.

Have you guys tried the Smacks lip glosses? What did you think?

♥

Bri

Don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin At 25 followers I will be doing a giveaway!

FURRY FRIEND TAG

Who wants to meet my pal?

Watch the video to learn more about her, by the way she even stayed beside me for the whole video!

♥

Bri

Follow me on Bloglovin for a chance to win a Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Lipstick