Review: Cocoa Contour by Too Faced

Want to get a chiseled to perfection look in just one easy kit? This will be your new favourite tool!! Read my full review for the Cocoa Contour by Too Faced below. 



ABOUT / FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I have been on the hunt for a great contour kit - one that is easy to use for beginners, won't show up too dark on my light skin tone, and also give me an effortless "chiseled cheekbone". I found all of that and more with this Cocoa Contour palette by Too Faced. Inside, it comes with a light cocoa, a medium cocoa, a day cocoa, and a "pop or light" (highlight). This kit even contains an adorable gold handled kabuki brush! Perfect for applying this contour product. 



APPLICATION

I first tried this product out never having any experience with contour powder. I have only ever used bronzer. So, I thought that patting the brush into it, to get the full effect would be appropriate. I used the medium contour to start with, and I admittedly got a little bit too much product on my brush. The contour line that I stated on the hollows of my cheeks looked pretty dark. A little bit goes a long way! I then removed it, and started again. With only one small pat or light press into the product, and then glided across my cheek hollows, it looked much more natural and subtle! Just the look I was going for. 



ALL-DAY WEAR

This contour sticks to my foundation very well, and lasts all day long. The contour also shows up well in photographs. I would say this is a long-lasting product!



OVERALL REVIEW AND RECCOMENDATIONS 

The contour is great for chiseling out your cheekbones + adding that pop of shimmery highlight. It isn't (in my opinion) for everyday wear, though. I would take the time to do this for an event,  a photo shoot, or an evening out. The medium contour does a great job for me, but as for the others two - I feel as though they are way too light, or way too dark. The highlight also isn't as "highlighted" as I thought it would be. It is more of a sparkle and not as much "wow factor" as I thought it would be. 

Overall though, this is a great beginners kit that will allow you to play any look up in a simple and straight forward way. 


You can find this for sale at Sephora

Photos by Mikayla Kuehn

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This post was not sponsored

WMCFW Outfit Look











Toronto Fashion Week was last week, and I had decided to play up my look for some street style shots and head down to David Pecaut Square. 

This outfit was a chic, yet feminine look. I wore a basic black knit turtleneck sweater, and put on this amazing and flowy pink/purple midi skirt to add a girly touch. I also wore these little black booties to add some edgy-ness and complete the look. 

It was fun to look at all the street style and incredible fashion sense of other individuals at Fashion Week, too! If you missed my previous post about it, check it out here.  

Even though I didn't attend any of the shows, it was still fun to hang out at David Pecaut Square, get some blog photos, and also get my photo taken by other photographers! See the photos that were captured of me and others by searching the hashtag #WMCFW on Instagram. 

PHOTOS BY LEXI CLARKE

What I Wore:

Sweater // H&M
Skirt // Choies
Sunnies // Calico
Bag // DAILYLOOK
Booties // H&M
Watch // Michael Kors 
Lipstick Shade // A Different Grape by Clinique

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Toronto Fashion Week

Photo by Lexi Clarke

Photo by Lexi Clarke

This past week, (October 19-23), it was Toronto's Fashion Week. A week filled with Canadian designer shows and exclusive events. Although I did not attend any of the runway or studio shows, I traveled down to David Pecaut Square to take a look at all of the amazing street style and get a chance to dress up a bit myself, for some fashion-blogger worthy posts. 



There were so many photographers and lots of fashion-savvy individuals down there! It was so cool to check it all out and pose for random photos in my pink cocoon coat and Valentino-inspired heels. 

Photo by Lexi Clarke

Photo by Lexi Clarke


Photo by Lexi Clarke

What I Wore:

Jacket // boohoo.com
Top + Pants // H&M
Sunnies // Calico
Shoes // Shop TOBI
Bag // DAILYLOOK
Lipstick Shade // Schiap by NARS



Watch the video I compiled together of shots from David Pecaut Square at World Master Card Fashion Week! 


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Current Claws: Black + Gold Inverted Manicure









My current claws in this post are a black and gold inverted manicure! I painted my nails entirely black, and then dabbed a half moon shape of gold polish at the base of my nail for this effect.

I had previously got this idea from Style Blogger, Carly Cristman in a photo of her mani. I decided to recreate the look, and it worked out well!

For more nail inspiration, check back soon on the "Current Claws" tab.

Polishes Used:

Black // Sally Hansen
Gold // Cover Girl
Gold Luxe Effects // Essie

If you give this nail art design a try on your own nails, take a photo and hashtag it with #makcurrentclaws! I would love to see your recreations. 

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Review: ColourPop Cosmetics Eye Shadows

I recently jumped on the ColourPop band wagon and decided to try out four fun-coloured eye shadows. In this post, I will state my own opinions and overall experience with these! Also, see my swatches video below. 


ColourPop is an up and coming makeup line that offers a few amount of products, but in various shades and finishes. Their whole purpose is to give makeup lovers the freedom to experiment with killer shades without totally breaking the bank. "They are bringing fast fashion to the beauty industry by dishing out a continuous supply of fresh." 

I was torn on what to try first, but definitely gravitated towards the shadows. There are over 54 shadow shade options, and six finish options. 

I decided on the following four: 




This was my experience while using the shadows I bought:

PURCHASING + ONLINE SERVICE/SHIPPING

The online process can be pretty annoying, especially when shipping to Canada. Shipping can be so annoying in cost, wait time + uncertain duty costs. Ordering from ColourPop was actually a great experience for me as a Canadian customer. The shipping cost for my purchase was approximately $12.00 CAN. For four $5 U.S. shadows, that may be a bit much. And with the currency exchange on top of that (turning the shadows into $6.50 CAN each), it may seem a bit pricey. But I was happy with the quick delivery time, compared to other online shops I've dealt with from the U.S. 

My package arrived in probably less than two weeks! Inside, along with my purchases, was a super cute hand-written note too! ColourPop sure knows how to make their customer feel good about their purchase.


PACKAGING

The ColourPop branding, in my opinion, is amazing! I love the easy-to-open caps on the potted shadows, and the holographic ColourPop logo makes it look so pretty against any shade of shadow. Even when it comes down to the teal green and white boxes they came in, everything is perfect. 




SWATCHING / FIRST IMPRESSIONS

When I first swatched these shadows and tried them into some eye makeup looks, I loved the shimmer and shininess in the Metalic Shadow (Tassel), the pearl effect in the Pearlized Shadow (Bubbly), and really appreciated the magical tones and sparkle in the Pressed Pigment Shadows (Fantasy and Slave 2 Pink). I was pleasantly surprised in the smoothness and quality in the product!



APPLICATION

The application of these products requires whatever you choose - you can use a regular eyeshadow padded brush, a small makeup brush, or even your finger. This product is so easy to work with and the product is super compact inside the container, so it won't get messy! Whatever you apply goes right to the place you put it, and it is super easy to work with. The shimmery ones are beautiful to blend together with other more pigmented shades because it adds more sparkle, and I love that!

ALL-DAY WEAR

Other Beauty Bloggers swear by these - saying you don't need primer or anything to lock down the shadow for all-day wear. In my own experience, the colour did not budge, but because of my oily type of skin, the shadows did seem to crease a bit. I like to use a primer or powder of some sort to help my eye shadow throughout the day. 
  


WOULD I REPURCHASE?

It is very tempting to say that I will repurchase - or even try something different from ColourPop, like their ever so popular Lippie Sticks. As for now, with my student budget lifestyle, I will have to hold out for a while. The currency also isn't that great these days for us Canadians to be buying in U.S dollars, anyways! Nothing against ColourPop and the overall product performance, it just will have to be a really exclusive colour or product for me to jump onto ordering something new again!

Here is the full swatches video of each of the four shadows! Enjoy!



Also, see my tutorial below using ALL four of these shadows! I called it a "Pink Galaxy Princess" look. 


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