T-Dot Beauty Bloggers Party it Up with BALMSHELL!

On Wednesday night I was able to attend the Balmshell Beauty Blogger Party located at their office in downtown Toronto.  After a long and tiring day at work I was almost hesitant in attending but thank goodness I went because I would have totally regretted it!  

 L-R: Fiona, Andrian, Jennifer, Karyn

I went down with none other than Fiona (aka: fionaman on YouTube).  Upon arriving I was totally wowed by how cute and very girly the office was.  It was decorated with red balloons and you could see Balmshell's signature colours black and hot pink all around the office. Bloggers were offered drinks by Girls Night Out Wines who was also a sponsor of the event.  We munched on yummy appetizers and food and indulged in delicious cupcakes made by Adjoa of Pretty Sweet Boutique. 

Cupcakes by Pretty Sweet Boutique

Also on display were the Balmshell Lip-Glosses.  We also had the opportunity to test some of the glosses out.  I tried 3 of them on but the one that won my heart was Confessions of a Call Girl a pretty orange/choral color which I thought would be great for the spring season.  I also tested out the cheek stains and ended up picking up Blackmail Betty which is a deep dark berry color. 

I had the privelage of meeting the founders and creators of Balmshell, Jennifer and Fiona Lees who are two of the nicest and sweetest twins you'll ever meet!  I also got to meet the lovely Adrian, who by the way was the only brunette at Balmshell and Balmshell hottie Karyn (aka: LoveBalmshell on Twitter).  I felt so tiny standing next to the Balmshell beauties and Karyn kept telling me how cute and tiny I was.  She even asked me to take a pic with her very tall boyfriend and bartender of the night.

 L-R: FIONA, JEN from Spiced Beauty, ARIANNE aka Glitter Geek

I had so much fun meeting all these lovely beauty bloggers.  It was so nice to finally meet everyone who I talk to on a daily on Twitter. 

A big thank you to Balmshell for hosting such an amazing get together!  I'm looking forward to future Balmshell products and expanding my collection.  Also looking forward to more awesome events like this one!  I think I did unleash my inner Balmshell that night!

For more pics check out my Fan Page on Facebook!

www.balmshell.com

Requested Lipstick Review: GOSH Darling vs. YSL Rouge Volupte no.2

I got a request from one of my favourite YouTube Guru's, Fiona Man to do a comparison of two lipsticks that I really like.  You may have noticed Fiona after Koren (aka: Enkoremakeup) featured her on his channel reviewing one of his duo fibre brushes.  This is how I got to know of Fiona and eventually we became really good Twitter buddies!  So be sure to check out Fiona's channel on YouTube and be sure to hit the "subscribe" button!  She also has a Fan Page on Facebook as well.  So be sure to check it out and join!

Two lipsticks I tend to reach for on a daily basis are GOSH Darling #134 and YSL Rouge Volupte no.2.  I'm a nude lipstick freak and if you've even seen my lipstick collection I would say that 75% of it is pretty much nude.  I know it's weird to have so many nude lipsticks in so many different shades but I just can't help myself.  It's what I grew up wearing and I just can't seem to let it go.

GOSH Darling ($16.00 CAD)

I've seen so many reviews on YouTube about this lipstick that I just had to see what the hype was all about.  So I went over to one my nearest Shoppers Drug Mart's to pick one up.  I couldn't wait to try it that I put it on as soon as I finished purchasing it.  All I could say was that I was in love!  The texture is so creamy and smooth and instantly my super dry lips were moisturized.  One downfall of this lipstick is that it can be a bit slippery so it's probably best to use a lipliner or primer prior to putting it on.  As far as the color goes, it is more on the peachy pink nude side which is great for light to fair skin tones.  It also has a nice sweet smell and isn't too overbearing.    Can't say much about the packaging.  It's just plain black, nothing special.  Kinda boring actually.  But overall it's a good lipstick, especially if you've got dry lips like me.

YSL Rouge Volupte #2 ($42.00 CAD)

One thing that stands out specifically about YSL Rouge Volupe lipsticks is the packaging.  By looking at the above picture I'm pretty sure you'll agree with me that they are just absolutely gorgeous!  Not only is the packaging gorgeous but so is the color #2 which is a pretty pink rosy nude color.  I think this color is probably most suitable for medium skin tones.  As for consistency this lipstick is very very creamy.  More creamier than GOSH Darling.  I would have to say that this is the downfall of this lipstick.  It is so creamy that the product melts on the lips fairly quickly.  After two days of application I began to notice that a lot of it had gone down probably 2 mm.  Pretty fast right?  Another thing I'm not too keen on about this lipstick is the smell.  It does have a very distinct smell.  It's a little too strong for my liking.  If I were to describe the scent I'd say it kind of reminds me of marachino or candied cherries.  And unfortunately I don't like either of the two.  Now let's talk price, $42 is way too expensive to be spending on a lipstick but I'd have to say the the packaging really got me and I'm a sucker for pretty things.  The lipstick is very pretty as well.

Left: YSL Right: GOSH

All in all both lipsticks are great in my opinion.  If you've willing to dish out the funds for YSL Rouge Volupte I'd say knock yourself out but beware of it's downfalls.  GOSH Darling is a safe choice if you're into the nude look and aren't willing to pay as much as YSL.  Hope this helps Fiona! :)

Do you own any of the two?  If so, how do you like them?  Do you have another nude lipstick you'd recommend?  Comment Below!

Hope for Haiti Beauty Benefit

On February 7th a group of beauty industry professionals and about 50 attendees joined together for the Hope for Haiti Beauty Benefit which was organized by makeup artist Rhia Amio with the help of fellow makeup artist Joy David-Tilberg.  Attendees were asked to make a minimum donation of $25 to the Canadian Red Cross and all monies raised would go towards relief efforts in Haiti.  This fun filled day consisted of makeup and hair makeovers, pigging out on delicious cupcakes and food (well I could only speak for myself! haha), taking some before and after head shots, entering to win beauty prize raffles, and mingling with everyone all around.

At the end of the day everyone took home some awesome swag bags filled with goodies.  And in total we raised an amazing $2,354 which was way more than what was anticipated!

Event organizer, Rhia and Me

A big thank you to Rhia for organizing such a successful event.  Looking forward to more events like these!

 

Me and Makeup Junkie, Joy

Be sure to check out some pics from Hope for Haiti below and a list of volunteers and Sponsors.

 

I can't count how many of these I had!  

Check out www.sointocupcakes.com 

  

Pretty floral arrangements added a nice touch to event 

Check out Madame BLOOM

Annette after her makeover

  

Makeup Artist Delia

  

Anne's makeup by Delia

 

Glowing Mama to Be, Mae

Makeup by Yours Truly

 

My Gals!

 

Robyn's before shot taken by Spencer Fu

 

Robyn's aftershot

Makeup by Me :)

Photograph by Spencer Fu

 

The gang of Beauty Pro's

Photograph by Spencer Fu

MAKE-UP:
Rhia Amio (http://www.artistrhi.com)
Joy David-Tilberg (http://make-upjunkie.blogspot.com)
Maggie Ng (http://www.maggieng.com)
Ande (http://www.makemeoverservices.com)
Donna Marie (http://www.makeupbydonnamarie.blogspot.com)
Nicole Robinson (nahmakeup@gmail.com)
Jennifer Min
Bernadette Howard
Delia Lupan (http://makeupbydelia.ca)

HAIR:
Suzie Choi Bridal Hair (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzie-Choi-Bridal-Hair/155570319978?ref=ts)

PHOTOGRAPHY:
Spencer Fu (http://spencerfu.com/blog/)
Nadia Cheema (http://www.nadiac.com)

CUPCAKES:
So Into Cupcakes (http://www.sointocupcakes.com)

FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS:

MadameBLOOM (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mississauga-ON/Madame-BLOOM/166149826089?ref=search&sid=512076013.1514506884..1)

SPONSORS:
CARGO (http://www.cargocosmetics.com)
BALMSHELL (http://www.balmshell.com)
Mary Kay (http://www.marykay.ca)
Shoppers Drug Mart (http://www.shoppersdrugmart.ca)
Face Atelier (http://www.faceatelier.com)
Vidal Sassoon (http://www.sassoon.com)
Cake Beauty (http://www.cakebeauty.com/home.asp)
CoverFX (http://coverfx.com)
LIFT Beauty Boutique (http://www.liftbeautyboutique.com)
Brill Communications (http://www.brillcommunications.ca)
Vasanti Cosmetics (http://www.vasanticosmetics.ca/can)
Lash Extensions by Maggie Ng (http://www.maggieng.com)

MAC Pigments: Old vs. New

If you haven't already heard MAC has decided to downsize in the quantity (weight) of their pigments.  If you're a MAC pigment user you'll know that the old MAC pigments contained a lot of product in it (7.5g of pigment to be exact). The new MAC pigment contains only 4.5g of pigment.  The new packaging comes in a much sleeker and taller but slimmer jar.  I have to admit I really like how it looks but I don't like the fact that there's less product in it.  It's a little bit bothersome because you're still paying the same price as the old packaging.  You are losing product which to me seems unfair.  Why they decided to downsize is beyond me.  I know that with the old packaging it would take you forever to finish 1 jar anyways but that's besides the point.  MAC if you're going to downsize in product at least lower the price too!  That's my 2 cents.  What's your opinion?

www.maccosmetics.ca

$23.50 CAD