Preaches n' Cream

A few years ago I got hooked on Stila’s eyeshadow palettes; I bought one at the beginning of summer and used and almost finished every colour by the fall (this is unheard of as I hardly ever completely finish eyeshadow before I get sick of it).

The Stila colours were so pretty, the colour combination, the eyeshadow textures, their finishes-everything was perfect. I loved the fact that I could just wear one of their colours over my lids with just mascara, no contouring or highlighting needed; the eyeshadow had enough going on for itself, it didnt need no help.

Since that time I’ve purchased a few more of their palettes and have been equally pleased, but never as much as I was yesterday when I went to Sephora and bought Stila’s “Naturaleyes Eye Shadow Palette”.

It cost $50 and here’s what I got:

I’ve got my eye on “luster”…actually I guess I’ve got Luster on my eye, bahaha:

These 4 colours alone make the purchase worth it:

I am so excited to try these colours!

The palette comes with a booklet of eyeshadow ideas and I’ll probably give them a go, but like I said earlier, these shadows do wonderfully on their own, swiped over your lid with mascara, liner if you’re fancy. This means it’s a great choice for makeup beginners and ladies who dont have lots of time to do their makeup, but even cosmetic pros will love this set.

The Labour Day Long weekend is around the corner and it’s got me thinking beauty tips.

It’s pretty common to go to the cottage on the long weekend; it’s also pretty common to go up with your man or a group of party people that might include a future man.

Clearly this occasion requires you to look hot with minimal effort…Correction: minimal effort while you’re at the cottage; however, maximal pre-work is to be done.

The long weekend is for relaxing, swimming, sunning, drinking: you can’t wear makeup at the cottage-hanging out and prepping in the one bathroom allotted to 10 party people is a major cottage faux pas, plus makeup and done hair at the cottage is just plain weird.

If you’re not comfortable without makeup and a sprayed bouffant, this whole au naturel situation could pose a problem.

Fortunately, I’m your girl and I am here to rescue you:

Ideas to get you looking “naturally” beautiful, even if you are not-Cottage Edition.

• Go get a mani/pedi: this will make your hands and feet look clean and pretty. Choose a light colour like nude or clear for your hands because it inevitably will chip at the cottage. Go crazy with your toe colour, it’s pretty hard to chip toe nail polish, plus the Labour Day weekend is kind of like a last hurrah for summer colours. I say get “Pink Parka” in one last time before summer is out.

• WAX: Wax everything you can; your underarms, legs, bikini, eyebrows, toes. No one wants to take time to shave at the cottage and again facilities are usually limited. So wax what you would shave and forget about it: You’ll look smooth and sleek while everyone else is a stubbly mess.

• EYELASH TINT: Hello? Built in mascara? Yes. Please. Imagine emerging out of the lake with lush dark fluttering eyelashes. Or waking up in the morning and meeting everyone for breakfast looking like you’re just naturally gorgeous and just look that way all the time.  

• SELF TAN: Look like a bronzed goddess in your bikini. This also has a slimming effect, which helps if you’re drinking and eating hamburgers all weekend (not that I’d do that;). Check out this previous post for product tips. Please don’t mess up your self tan on your hands or feet; it’ll ruin the entire illusion. 

• Moisturize & SPF : Buy a cool double duty SPF cream, perhaps one that has sparkles or a self tanning element, at least get a good SPF-sun burns are so not sexy. Keep a great moisturizer on hand too, great skin is key when you’re traipsing around in a bikini.

• GLOSS: You can’t wear makeup but a shiny clear gloss is perfectly acceptable, paired with your dark tinted lashes and a sunkissed cheek, lip gloss will have you looking like an exotic cottage nymph day and night. 

• LEAVE IN SPRAY CONDITIONER: Keep your hair tangle free and conditioned while you’re in and out of the water and sun. Keep the bottle (along with your lip gloss) with you at all times. Spray condition freely, bonus if you have a wide toothed comb. You cant do your hair at the cottage, but this will at least help your hair look healthy and it’ll air dry quite nicely.

Good luck this weekend ladies…yes, it’s Wednesday and I’m already talking weekend, but you need to start your regime now in order to prepare. 

I don’t consider myself someone who wears a tonne of makeup; but I had to laugh at myself when I pulled all this out to go “au naturel” to meet a girlfriend for dinner tonight: