Sleek i-Divine Enchanted Forest Palette

Not sure if I've done a post on Sleek Makeup before. They are an affordable makeup brand from the UK with all of their 12-shade eyeshadow palettes priced at an affordable $11.99 USD. The brand really has a lot of great products and affordable shipping to the US or Canada but today I'm going to be talking only about their i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette in Enchanted Forest.

Shades:

Top Row: Glass Slipper, Beatrice, Perla, Fairy Godmother, Grand Duke, Drizella

Bottom Row: Pumpkin, Prince Charming, Happily Ever After, Anastasia, Daphne, Lady Tremaine

L to R: Glass Slipper, Beatrice, Perla, Fairy Godmother, Grand Duke, Drizella

Pumpkin, Prince Charming, Happily Ever After, Anastasia, Daphne, Lady Tremaine

I found the shades in the palette themselves gorgeous, but a little hard to work with together. They are such gorgeous princess type colours but I feel like I have to mix them with shades from other palettes in order to get them to work together best. Favourite shades are probably Beatrice, Fairy Godmother, Drizella, Pumpkin, Happily Ever After, Anastasia, and Lady Tremaine.

The pigmentation of Sleek's eyeshadow palettes are always great and there's no difference with this palette. I used mainly shades Fairy Godmother for the inner corners, Beatrice on lid, Anastasia on outer corners of lid, Drizella and Lady Tremaine for the crease. The shadows are easy to work with but I generally go for a softer look, which I didn't do here. I did a softer look with this palette as well but can't seem to find the photos I'd taken for that, so I will put them up here when I do find them! Overall I'd 100% recommend Sleek for affordable shadow palettes, they do have some interesting shade combinations as well.

This product was received for consideration. All opinions stated are my own and are not influenced by any affiliates. 

Paula's Choice Skincare Routine

Paula's Choice Skincare products are not very well known at all, and they are quite hard to get ahold of here in Canada. But the company and their products are quite unique and I have nothing but good things to say about the range of products I've been testing out over the past month. They were created by Paula Begoun and her team, a group who seem to want to do nothing but find the perfect products for all skin concerns. Each product is well thought out and non-irritating, 100% fragrance-free, dye-free, and not tested on animals. 

I got the chance to try out a range of 7 products, customized to my skin's needs through a personal consultation with one of Paula's Choice's representatives. Of course, it was EXTREMELY hard to test so many new products at once but none of them broke me out (woot!). I do of course, have favourites, and have more to say about certain products than others, so please read on! :)

Paula's Choice Resist Perfectly Balanced Foaming Cleanser (190 ml)

• Preserves skin's protective barrier

• Removes makeup and oil

• Leaves skin soothed and refreshed

This is a perfect cleanser! It has no added fragrance but still has a nice scent, and it doesn't leave the skin feeling dried out. I have been using it constantly and I would love to repurchase this. It does remove makeup but not very well. It is best to use after you've removed your makeup and will get off any foundation that is left on the face. It is a little foaming, and you don't need much to cleanse the entire face.

Paula's Choice Resist Advanced Replenishing Toner (118 ml)

• Super-charged toner smoothes wrinkles

• Builds collagen for firmer skin

• Anti-irritants calm redness

This toner is ideal to use after cleansing and with a cotton pad. As far as I can see from looking at the ingredients it does not contain any harsh ingredients that most toners do, such as alcohol. To be honest, I didn't find myself using this toner much because I am just the type of girl to forget to use a toner 95% of the time. However the times I did remember to use it, I was surprised as it did not irritate or sting my skin.

Paula's Choice Resist Barrier Repair Moisturizer (50 ml)

• Light lotion to hydrate and firm
• Repair multiple signs of aging
• Reduce wrinkles on face & eye area

This moisturizer is great for both night and day. If using it in the daytime it is best to be followed with an SPF afterwards, since this doesn't contain any. It contains retinol (a derivative of vitamin A to fight wrinkles and soften skin. It comes in a thin bottle with a pump dispenser. The moisturizer goes on very light and absorbs quickly. Sometimes I found it absorbing too quickly and I felt like I would end up needing more product than I wanted to use. Because the bottle is so thin (50ml) I wish I could use it more sparingly.

Paula's Choice Hydralight Shine-Free Daily Mineral Complex (60 ml)

• Light lotion to leave skin soft, matte finish
• Can be used with sensitive skin & rosacea
• Prevents signs of aging

This lotion is ideal for daytime use, as it contains SPF 30. It is fragrance free (as with all of Paula's Choice products) but it does have a scent that I can only describe as similar to a pencil crayon. I don't have much luck with moisturizers that contain SPF, but this one is really going to be a winner for the summer! I haven't been using it much, I mean I know there are still UV rays in the winter time but I hate applying SPF in general so I try to avoid it in the winter. It goes on with a shine but dries pretty quickly, although it does leave a slightly thick SPF feeling to the skin. Not SUPER thick but I mean, it doesn't feel as nice as the Barrier Repair Moisturizer feels on the skin. I will definitely be using this much more in the upcoming summer months!

Paula's Choice Redness Relief BHA Lotion (100 ml)

I don't want to bore you with so many moisturizers, so I promise this is the last one! This Redness Relief Lotion was also included in my routine and I had a hard time fitting it in as I was already trying to use 2 other moisturizers! This one however, contains 1% BHA and is ideal for reducing pore size and smoothing the skin. BHA is ideal for dealing with whitehead and blackhead prone skin. I actually didn't really like the packaging of this one, it has a pump but it felt a lot cheaper than the Resist Barrier Repair Moisturizer and the texture is thicker. I found this to be better as a spot moisturizer rather than for the entire face. It works best using it on problem areas only.

Paula's Choice Resist C15 Super Booster (20 ml)

Totally fell in love with this Super Booster, like I knew I would. It contains 15% Vitamin C and also contains Vitamin E & Ferulic Acid. Super Booster is ideal to fade brown spots and any scarring. I am always skeptical of products that say they fade brown or dark spots but I knew this would work seeing as it contains Vitamin C and E. I used it mainly around my mouth, to fade old acne spots, and it works slowly but surely. You obviously won't see results overnight, it takes time and consistent use, as with any vitamin C product.

Paula's Choice Resist Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum (30 ml)

This serum also contains vitamin C, although it leaves a bit of an oily feeling on the skin. It is ideal for fighting multiple signs of aging on the skin and I wouldn't recommend using it at any time of the day except before bed. I really dislike thick and oily serums like this so I have to admit that I didn't try this more than 3 times. It really doesn't dry well on the skin and is just a thick, odd, texture. I would much prefer to stick to using the Super Booster.

I love that none of the products I received came in a jar type packaging, all had either a squeeze tube or a pump! This keeps the products sanitary and quick to use. I chose not to list the prices of the products because I usually do this if the products are available in Canada and I list Canadian pricing. Paula's Choice is available to be shipped to Canada, but the products are coming from the United States and the pricing is a bit different (due to our terrible dollar!). 

I guess the only downside of Paula's Choice is that a lot of their products look the same! At the beginning it was a little hard for me to differentiate between some products at first glance. Like: I'd grab the moisturizer thinking it was the toner! This isn't a huge deal obviously but a better way to differentiate the products would be nice. 

Overall the products I would love to purchase would be the Cleanser, Barrier Repair Moisturizer and the Super Booster. I really have to test the Hydralight Daily Mineral Complex more thoroughly but I have a feeling I would purchase this once I run out too, since I have to start incorporating SPF into my routine!

What is truly special to me about these products is that they are fragrance-free, and I think that is what makes me fall in love with the brand! I'd also like to mention that Paula's Choice products are all made in the USA, and they offer their customers a 100% money-back guarantee within 60 days for a full refund or credit. 

These products were received for consideration. All opinions stated are my own and are not influenced by any affiliates. 

Joe Fresh Beauty, Now at Shoppers Drug Mart

Joe Fresh Beauty is a new brand that has been spotted in Superstore and Loblaw locations in Canada. They've recently expanded to include their beauty products in Shoppers Drug Mart! This making it easier for the average person to find their products. But... do you even want to try their products? I've tested 5 of them and the answer is yes! To be honest, 2 out of the 5 products I didn't like, but the other 3 I loved! Everything within the collection is over $8 but under $18 and there are a ton of new launches...

I recently attended the launch of Joe Fresh Beauty at Shoppers Drug Mart, see the few sneak peek photos I have:

(Click to enlarge photos). Selfie with Alysha who writes for Toronto Beauty Reviews, & Carly of Beauty and the Blog

Joe Fresh MAT Matte Lipstick in Scarlet ($8.00). It comes off as a deep red in the tube, but it actually applies more of a deep purple/raspberry shade. I probably would have preferred a more red shade, as I don't typically wear pinks. I couldn't really test the wear time properly as I don't like to wear this colour out, but as far as I can see it lasts a decent few hours before needing re-application. The initial application, I found a bit uneven. It is super hard to get an all-around even colour, and I probably would have been better off using a lip liner first. I wasn't too impressed with the colour, it was meh to me. It is not fragrance scented though, which I like, and instead it smells of a light rubber/plastic scent (but I prefer this over strongly fragranced lipsticks). 

The Joe Fresh Lip Creme ($12.00) gave me a new hope for the line, however! The Lip Creme I received is in the shade 'Wine', however there are 6 shades in total of the line so far. The Lip Creme's are described as a hybrid between a lipstick and a gloss... can we say Joe Fresh's version of a liquid lipstick!?! 

These are described as long wearing, conditioning, and rich in pigmentation. I can definitely vouch for these claims. The pigmentation is very rich, it is easy to apply and the colour goes on like a liquid lipstick. It can leave a stain so I guess it is a lipstick/gloss/stain hybrid! However, it doesn't dry down to a matte, and instead stays sheen on the lips. It has a slight vanilla scent and definitely smells better than the matte lipstick. It doesn't feel too sticky and I would wear this everyday if I had it in a more neutral colour. 

I really wanted to like the Joe Fresh Matte Liquid Eyeliner ($12.00) but it really just doesn't perform well for the price. The quality of the liner formula is great, but the applicator is such a disappointment! The wand is so long and the tip is so flimsy. It holds so much product but when applying it there is really no way to get precision. I was SO NERVOUS applying this liner. I think their Precision Liquid Liner (comes in a pen shape) would have a better outcome, and $4 cheaper too. In terms of wear, I didn't get an exact time frame but it wore as expected for a drugstore liner.

The Joe Fresh Highlighting Powder ($8.00) is something you NEED in your highlighter collection. First of all, it is only available in two shades, Champagne and Luster. I have here Champagne. It is very light. I can't imagine Luster being much darker, so I assume these are only best suitable for lighter skin-tones. If I was any darker, Champagne would not even look decent on me! It does not show up well with a brush, but it does when applied with fingers. I was impressed with the pigmentation when using my fingers to apply it and I would definitely use this on a daily basis and save my more expensive highlighters for special occasions.

A little hard to see but Joe Fresh Highlighting Powder in Champagne on cheekbones, Joe Fresh Matte Liquid Liner on eyes, and Joe Fresh Matte Lipstick in Scarlet on lips.

And to remove all the makeup I just put on, the Joe Fresh Makeup Remover Wipes ($10.00)! I didn't have high expectations for these but omg they are like holy grail worthy! They contain Vitamins A, C, D, are hypoallergenic, and dermatologist and ophthalmologist tested. Also alcohol free!

Great experience with them and I will definitely repurchase. $10 for 30 wipes is 33 cents a wipe and really not too bad of a price. They don't leave my face feeling icky afterwards, they are very saturated with products and maybe just a bit too big of a wipe (I can probably clean 3 people's faces with one wipe). It says no need to rinse but I always wash my face after using a wipe just to make sure everything is off. Literally, everything comes off so easily! Probably because they are so saturated and the formula just works. These didn't irritate or bother my skin, and are gentle enough for everyday use. They have a very typical makeup wipe scent but it isn't bothersome.

Joe Fresh Highlighting Powder in Champagne on cheekbones, Joe Fresh Matte Liquid Liner on eyes, and Joe Fresh Matte Lip Creme in Wine on lips.

Overall, the Joe Fresh Beauty products I tried were good quality, I loved 3 out of the 5 I tried (the Lip Creme, Highlighter, and Wipes), but the other 2 were just ok (not bad, but I didn't like them). It might come off surprising that an (originally) clothing brand could produce decent quality cosmetics! I would 100% recommend trying a few of their products, some can be huge hits and (with all brands) some can be misses. Out of the 3 products I loved, I think the Makeup Remover Wipes are the one thing I'll purchase and keep coming back to.

These products were received for consideration. All opinions stated are my own and are not influenced by any affiliates. 

Bioderma Hydrabio Serum & Light Cream Review

Bioderma is a super favourite brand of mine. Found at the drugstore, decently priced, and their products are effective and delicate on sensitive skin. These two products have almost the exact same packaging... it's a little annoying, I even get them confused sometimes. But one is a Light Cream, and the other is a Serum. They are both 40 ml, and both great products but I'm going to tell you which one is best suitable for your skin concerns.

The Bioderma Hydrabio Light Cream for Dehydrating Sensitive Skin is something I used quite often. At the start of winter my skin began to feel really dry, so I wanted to increase my moisture a bit with this. Because it is light, it isn't too thick, but it isn't the lightest cream either. It has a lovely light fragranced scent and doesn't take too long to absorb. One pump can cover the whole face which I like, I hate when I have to apply so much product to get it to coat my skin. It doesn't feel so much like a light cream to me, but it is great for winter, spring, or fall. Personally, I have combination skin and would find this too much for hot humid days in the summer, but perfect for night (sleep) wear. In the winter I find it fine to wear during the day but it can tend to make me a bit oily if I don't use the right stuff afterwards to set my makeup. 

Bioderma's Hydrabio Serum is ideal for Very Dehydrated Sensitive Skin. It is meant to be used alone, or preferably with a cream. It is non-comedogenic, hypoallergenic, and the fragrance is allergen free. It is described to be excellent as a makeup base, and I found it works ok under my makeup, but it isn't a miracle that helps my makeup stay all day or anything. To be honest, anything that adds additional moisture works well for me. Sometimes I forget to use this though, because it is just one of those skincare steps that tends to be forgotten (I literally always forget a serum...).

L to R: Light Cream, Serum

I really like the feeling of using these together, they aren't too heavy but I just prefer to wear them at night. If you have to choose one, I'd totally recommend trying out the Hydrabio Light Cream. If your skin is extremely oily, you might not be happy with either of these, in that case I'd try getting a small sample to try out before anything. My skin is combination again, and in the summer I can't see this working well, but for colder climates it is great! If you only want it for daytime use, I'd recommend trying the Hydrabio Serum itself because the Light Cream might be too hydrating.

The Hydrabio Serum is available in a 40ml size at $42.95 CAD at Shoppers Drug Mart and Rexall in Canada (and I might be missing a few other drugstores!). Note: Since writing this post I have been notified that the Light Cream will be replaced with a new Gel Cream and I will be sure to do a new review on that.

These products were received for consideration. All opinions stated are my own and are not influenced by any affiliates. 

Demeter Foolproof Blending Duo & Trio Sets

I can only describe Demeter as a very simple fragrance brand with a huge collection (like..hundreds of scents). Their scents are just that, simple, yet the majority of their scents are so accurate. Because the scents are so basic, they are very blendable. Super easy to wear together, or even to mix! Demeter realized this and has come out with Foolproof Blending Duo's and Trio's! They've paired compatible scents together to make it easy for you to make your own personalized scent. 

Demeter's Foolproof Blending Duo on the left, consists of Clean Skin and Sunshine, along with an empty bottle to do your own mixing in. The one I have is part of the permanent collection, however they did come out with limited editions sets for this past Christmas.

On the right is Demeter's Foolproof Blending Trio in Vanilla. It contains 3 scents I am completely in love with, Hawaiian Vanilla, Angel Food, and Gingerbread. The Trios also come in 'Clean' and 'Floral', but sweet scents are my thing so I had to choose Vanilla!

So the Blending Duos come with a mini funnel, droppers, perfume sampler strips, 2 full sized Demeter Fragrances, and an empty bottle for mixing. 

The Trios come with 3 full sized Demeter Fragrances and I believe they also come with the perfume sampler strips but I accidentally put them all together in one box (in the photo above, oops). 

Demeter Foolproof Blending Duo in Clean Skin & Sunshine

I am terrible at describing scents, but let me try. Clean Skin & Sunshine are very similar. Clean Skin has a bit more of an alcohol scent to it, like when you've just put toner on your face that has a slight floral scent to it. Sunshine is a bit more sweet, powdery and playful. Sunshine grew on me for sure and smells great mixed with Angel Food, Gingerbread (my favourite!), or Hawaiian Vanilla. I didn't really like Clean Skin mixed with anything at first, but I did end up liking it paired with Angel Food the best because it tones down it's sweetness. 

I love that Demeter gives you a separate bottle for mixing but.. it isn't totally necessary. It's very cute and fun, but I personally prefer to mix them into a smaller, more portable spray bottle (like from the dollar store) so I don't have to worry about it fitting in my purse, or dropping it.

Demeter Foolproof Blending Trio in Vanilla

I am so in love with these 3; Gingerbread, Hawaiian Vanilla, Angel Food! They all make me hungry for sweets. I can't decide on a favourite, I am going back and forth on them. They are designed to be mixed together pretty much directly onto the skin. Gingerbread smells like a sweet and spicy cake, it gives off a strong reminder of the holidays. Hawaiian Vanilla is light, but has a bit of a fruity creamsicle-like undertone. Angel Food is very strong, super sweet, and I really just want to eat something that smells like this. This is one I can see myself using quite often on it's own, I'm just drawn to it. 

Gingerbread pairs very well with both Hawaiian Vanilla and Angel Food! But Hawaiian Vanilla and Angel Food are a bit too sweet and similar to mix together.

The whole Foolproof Blending thing is so fun! I had an interesting time trying to see which fragrances would go best together. Then had to take a break because I was sniffing so many different scents.. my nose got confused! In the end I didn't end up liking the Clean Skin & Sunshine combination, I felt the scents were too similar to pair together. Are they supposed to be paired together? I'm not even sure. I did really like mixing together Angel Food, Gingerbread, and Sunshine! Favourite combo so far, but I'm sure there are plenty more that would go well together. 

Gingerbread also paired very well with Sunshine on it's own, and Clean Skin went well with Angel Food as mentioned above.

I also got a bonus sampler of Landromat to test out. In love with the fact that I can hang this on my keys but not my favourite scent. I mean it smells nice on my bed or in my car.. but I don't really want to smell like a Landromat!

Well that was one of the more fun posts I've done! I had fun experimenting with the different combinations and I have a feeling it won't stop here. I personally am now a big fan of the Blending Trio I received (Angel Food, Hawaiian Vanilla, Gingerbread). I can definitely use all 3 of the scents, but that is just because I am a fan of sweet or musky scented fragrances. I would also purchase the Blending Trio over the Duo because the empty bottle is a little useless to me, and the Trio is only $10-ish more. You can find Demeter Fragrances individually at The Superstore, Loblaws(?), in Canada and possibly other drugstores or chain grocery stores that I don't know about (heh, sorry). The Foolproof Blending Duos are $35 and the Trios are priced at $45. 

I received this kit through the Canadian Beauty Bloggers Network #bbloggersca, please check out some of my fellow Canadian beauty bloggers reviews on their Duo and Trio kits below! 

These products were received for consideration. All opinions stated are my own and are not influenced by any affiliates. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Annabelle Brows & Self Sharpening Liners

Annabelle brought out a ton of new brow and eye products in the Fall of 2015 and I have a few of them here to share with you. Annabelle is legit my go-to drugstore brand and I have a ton of positive things to say about the quality of their products. I've already talked about their Smokey Nudes Palette (here) and how well the palette was made considering the price point. Here I have their latest Brow Show, Brow-To-Go Kit, and Stay Sharp Self Sharpening Brow and Eye Liners.

I want to start off with the Brow Show Liner + Highlighter ($9.95 CAD) because it is by far my favourite product from the bunch. At first sight, I thought the results wouldn't be too noticeable and I was half right. Brow Show is meant to be very natural with no harsh lines. Everyone is opting for super bold brows right now but that isn't my thing at all. The shade I have is 'Light'. I like the inner parts of my brows to look defined and somewhat natural, so I love this for just filling in sparse areas after lining my brows. The Highlighter I don't typically use, but it's creamy and applies very effortlessly. 

There are two versions of this right now, the Light shade (mine), and Medium (probably suitable for dark hair colours only). 

In all my latest Instagram photos I've been using Brow Show for the inner part of my brows. Like here, and here.

The Brow-To-Go Kit ($9.95 CAD) is probably my least favourite of their newest launches just because I don't use this type of product on my brows anymore. There are two shades in the kit, Light/Medium and Medium/Dark. I have the Light/Medium, and each come with a fixing gel (wax) to tame the brows. It also comes with mini tweezers and a mini angled brush to apply the powder. While the colours are perfect for my brows, I just don't typically use powdered brow products anymore. It works for filling in the inner parts of my brows but I prefer the Brow Show for that. These kind of powdered brow products are just becoming a bit outdated in my opinion!

Here I have two types of Annabelle Stay Sharp Self-Sharpening Liners ($9.95 CAD). The top brown shade pictured is a Waterproof Brow Liner in Taupe. The metallic brown and black are Waterproof Kohl Liners in Bronzy and Black Metal.

I'm flabbergasted!! So many products claim to be self-sharpening but in reality they are just manual twist ups. Annabelle totally means it when they say self-sharpening. Every...single..time you open the lid, your liner will be properly sharpened. I'm guessing the lid has some sort of sharpener or shaper inside that helps to keep your liner with a perfectly pointed tip every time. This can mean the product running out slightly faster though, since some of it will accumulate in the lid.

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The Brow Liners come in about 6 different shades; Blond, Taupe, Auburn, Medium Brown, Dark Brown, and Ebony. I have Taupe, the second lightest shade. I personally find it quite dark though, and very universal if you're unsure of what colour you would be.

The Brow Liner is very creamy and can be a bit difficult to use if you want to fill in your entire brow (like I usually do). I'm wearing it below and as you can see it was a little hard to get a softer look with it. I did have better luck using it alongside other products though like filling in the outer corners of my brow after defining it with Annabelle's Skinny Brow Liner (review of this coming soon!).

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The Metallic Waterproof Kohl Eyeliners (here in Bronzy and Black Metal), are super creamy and intense eyeliners. Once it goes on it really doesn't come off! It dries quickly and therefore doesn't smudge. It is ophthalmologist tested and safe to use inside the eyes. I love when a product mentions this on the label so I have a peace of mind using it on my waterline. The liners have tons of shimmer and sparkle in them and the colour payoff is lovely. I do personally prefer matte liners but I can use these on days when I just need a little bit of colour around the eyes. 

Annabelle Brow-To-Go Kit in Light/Medium, Brow Show in Light, Stay Sharp Self-Sharpening Liners in Black Metal, Bronzy, and Brow Liner in Taupe

Annabelle is such a great drugstore brand and I feel like I can confidently recommend a lot of their products. They are available at Annabelle.com, at drugstores and pharmacies and some mass retail shops.

These products were received for consideration. All opinions stated are my own and are not influenced by any affiliates.