looking for a new primer? I've got you covered.

There are a lot of people who don’t find primers effective. I’m on the other side of that spectrum. I find that using a base before foundation helps smoothen skin, masks skin imperfection and helps control natural skin oils. There are a variety of different primers out there, so today I thought I would share my top 6 primers that I always have within arms-reach.

dry shampoo life | which one worked the best?

Dry shampoos are like culotte pants; I want to love them but they just don’t seem to work for me. Luckily, I have persistence on my side and a box of dry shampoos from a Sephora favourites box I ordered last Christmas during a “treat yo-self” moment. Personally, I love the feeling of clean hair but I know washing it daily isn’t good for it. Since picking up these mini dry shampoos, I’ve made a conscious effort to try them out, even on days when I really don’t want to. There are some hits and misses in this variety pack – let’s get started on the reviews!

1.     Bumble and Bumble Bb. Pret-a-Powder Tres Invisible Dry Shampoo withFrench Pink Clay (Score 5/5)

This was my favourite of the bunch. I found that this product absorbed oils really well and volumized, while providing that healthy shine I get when I wash my hair in the shower. The product smelled great when applied and the scent faded throughout the day. The press nozzle was user friendly as well. I rubbed in the product with my fingers and was instantly ready to go!

2.     DryBar Detox Dry Shampoo (Score: 2.5/5)

This was probably the product I was most excited to try. Seeing beauty gurus leaving the drybar salon with their healthy bouncy blowouts made me think DryBar was all sorts of magic. This product absorbed oil fairly well but I couldn’t get over the strong scent! The smell was long lasting and I could smell it throughout the work day. It was so strong that it actually distracted me at some moments.

3.     Living Proof Perfect Hair Day (Score 2/5)

I really like this hair product line but unfortunately, this scent was also too overpowering for my taste. Again, I could smell my hair throughout the day and was paranoid that others in my work place could smell this chemical scent as well. I found that this didn’t do as good a job of absorbing oil as others, but if it’s all you have, you could make it work.

4.     Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo (Score 4.5/5)

This was a new name to me and is carried only online at Sephora (when it’s in stock!). This was a pleasant surprise. This shampoo absorbed oil really well and made my hair feel less greasy. The smell was fruity, reminding me of those pre-teen perfumes that I’m sure we all drenched ourselves in. Although fragrant when spraying, the scent doesn’t last all day.

5.     Ouai Dry Shampoo Foam (Score 0/5)

Ouai is another brand I was excited to try out, however, this foam shampoo only added more grease to my hair. Luckily for me, I tested this out over a weekend so I had time to wash all that extra grease out of my hair after applying it! It was all sort of bad – strong scent, added grease and flattened my hair. I would have loved to give this even a .5 mark but there was literally nothing okay about this product.

--> Have you tried any of these dry shampoos? Which one worked best for you?

BECCA blushed with light palette review | limited edition

This past weekend has been so much fun! I have been popping in and out of Sephora stores all over the city to find products I have been lusting over for months and to stock up on products I'm almost out of. My husband knows all too well about my beauty addiction and was sweet enough to keep me company while I visited yet another Sephora to pick up this beautiful blush palette by Becca Cosmetics. 

Becca cosmetics has blown up in the beauty industry with their collection of incredibly stunning highlighters and most recently, their luminous blushes. This year, they introduced their first limited edition blush trio called Blushed with Light (3 x 0.16 oz, $41 cdn) that offers a lovely variety of shades. 

This is an ultra sleek compact that houses a full sized mirror, two mineral blushes and one luminous blush. 

0.16 oz Mineral blush in Wisteria (soft rose)

0.16 oz Mineral blush in Songbird (peachy pink)

0.16 oz Luminous blush in Snapdragon (coral)

This trio is on the more affordable end of blush palettes at Sephora, and what's great about this one in particular is that you get three blushes that equal to just over two full sized Becca blushes for the cost of one. This is a great bargain considering other brands create holiday sets with less products and generally at a much higher price point.

I don't own any Becca blushes so I'm excited to finally add some to my collection. All three powders apply beautifully on my light-medium toned skin, however, I find that Songbird and Snapdragon glide on creamier than Wisteria. 

The luminous blush in Snapdragon was the shade I was most excited to try. A fan favourite, it looks very similar to the colour Orgasm by NARS, and has the same consistency as the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes. It has a touch of gold shimmer that helps create a lovely warm glow to your cheeks. This is a great everyday blush and my favourite out of the three in this palette. 

Songbird is a peachy pink mineral blush that is another fan favourtie and has a warm undertone to it. For fairer skin tones you could use this shade to create a more natural looking contour. It has a beautiful pigment and will be especially gorgeous during the spring/summer. 

Wisteria is a new shade that is exclusive to this palette. This is a matte finish blush in a soft rose shade. It applies the fairest out of the three but gives you the most lovely subtle colour to your cheeks. If you want a natural everyday makeup look with just a flush of colour to your cheeks, this is the shade you should reach for. 

I have been wanting to try the Becca blushes for quite some time and so happy they have created an affordable palette this holiday season. The packaging is beautiful and the shade selection is incredible. I am so, so happy that I picked up this palette. For my light to medium skin tone, these three powders apply smooth and last all day. Keep in mind this is limited edition, so once it's gone, it's gone!

the budget buy: elf moisturizing foundation stick review

I have wanted to try out a stick foundation for a few months now, but couldn’t bring myself to spend money on a product I didn’t think would work for my combination skin. Since I wasn’t willing to spend a ton of money on a stick foundation but wanted to test one out, I decided to take a trip to the drugstore. When I saw that Elf had a foundation stick, I knew this was the one I wanted to try.

The Elf Moisturizing Foundation Stick (0.49 oz, $3.99 cdn) came out in 2014 and claims to provide an easy gliding, hydrating and natural looking finish with an abundance of natural ingredients and antioxidants listed. The foundation comes in three shades – ivory, natural and nude. 

Packaging

The pull off cap and twist tube is made of a matte plastic and looks quite sleek. One thing I really like about foundation sticks is that they are travel friendly and not messy. The Elf stick in particular feels durable enough to be thrown around from one bag to another without any worries of leakage.

Product

The foundation stick applied smoothly and felt like I was gliding on a thick cream. The first time I applied this, I used a foundation brush to buff it into my skin but noticed that it was applying unevenly and super patchy. I took my beauty blender and dabbed overtop the foundation which created a much smoother and more lightweight appearance. I’m actually really happy with how it applies with my beauty blender!

The foundation lasts about 7 hours for me and was surprisingly less drying than I expected. I always use my Tatcha Beauty Papers to blot my t-zone mid-day, but with this foundation I didn’t use my blotting papers at all. (I used my HD pressed powder to set my makeup in the morning). When I asked my husband if he noticed anything different, he couldn’t tell the difference between this $3.99 foundation vs. my Ultra HD Make Up For Ever Liquid Foundation that retails for $52!

This foundation is fragrance free but definitely puts out a chemically smell if you intentionally try to sniff it. I’m not super sensitive to scents, so I didn’t notice the chemical smell while applying the foundation.

I have heard that the ivory shade doesn’t work as well as the natural and nude colours. It comes off as patchy and doesn’t get absorbed into your skin very well, so it literally just remains as a layer on top of your skin. However, if you’re lucky enough to colour match to the natural or nude shade and have combination to dry skin, I would recommend trying out this foundation. It is quite hydrating, so oily skin types might not like that extra boost of moisture.

This product is a great value. If you’re looking for a foundation stick with an affordable price point that hydrates and provides medium to full coverage, you should absolutely try this out!