CoverFx Monochromatic Blush Duo Review

Image 1 Comment

Peach blushes get me (well blush in general but that is neither here nor there)… every single time. I’m just a peachy girl. I love peach lips, peach blushes, peach eyes, so when Coverfx came out with their monochromatic blush duos I felt the need to pick one up. Coverfx is a Canadian cruelty-free, Sephora certified clean brand, and thus far don’t have too much in the way of colour cosmetics, more sore foundations and primers etc. I haven’t really reviewed many powder products other than eyeshadow palettes so hopefully, this review is thorough enough. 

My standard for blush is pretty low: I prefer a blush that isn’t super pigmented because I really like to swirl my brush in and pack it on. Think the hourglass blush formula and the mac sheer tone blushes. First, let’s go through the claims of this product:  Formulated talc-free for a color-true, high-impact payoff, these blush duos include both a matte and a shimmer shade, each, for a monochromatic, multidimensional effect. Use each shade individually or layer them together to customize your finish”

This blush was a welcomed change, I bought it in soft peach. I really like to glow (as you may now if you follow me on insta I do quite a few glowy looks over there) and I love that glow on the apples of the cheeks. I find the shimmer in this can be built up or just spackled on for a bit glow on the skin. The matte side really packs a punch and creates a beautifully peach look. These also work on the eyes as well. 

The packaging. This has lovely white, heavier packaging. It also has a huge mirror making it each for application. 

Pricing: $50 CAD sold at Sephora for 14.5 g of product. This is definitely a lot of bang for your buck (or maybe not I don’t really know maths but it seems like it). I compared it to some of my other peach blushes, but alas these photos didn’t turn out and I couldn’t be bothered to reshoot since my weeks are super busy! This shade is definitely more of a nude peach compared to both my Burt’s Bees bare peach and my mac peach twist. I like that it leans a bit more beige than peach so I find it pairs well with a lot of looks. 

Overall rating: 5/5 stars. This is like any other blush – but it lasts all day on my skin. I find that blush is something that my skin “eats” per se. And because this can be packed on and then fades nicely, it is the perfect daily blush for me. If you want a nice starter two in one product I would recommend this!

June Faves

2 Comments

June has been such a lovely month. Many awesome things are happening, my room decorating is coming along and my career is slightly starting! I haven’t done a ton this month, lots of work and chilling, but I did discover a few lovely makeup items. 

Pixi Delicate Dew Highlighting Duo 

This is a lovely, glossy highlighter. It feels similar to the NARS Forte De France highlighter in terms of texture, and shines like it as well, but is a bit more subtle. Because I have a slight tan, even though it looks darkish in the pan, it gives a beautiful glow. 

The Quo Colour Lust Lipstick in Gossip Session 

This is a lovely lip colour. It feels very similar to the MAC Lustre Lipstick formula. This is a lovely peachy shade that lasts well and moisturizes the lips. It’s also buildable and a great work day lipstick that you can reapply without a mirror. 

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze

This is a lovely cream shadow. I have had this before and it dried up and repurchased it. It is the perfect bronze shade and hardly creases. My mom complimented my eyeshadow and asked what it was, and I told her it was the Maybelline Colour Tattoo. This is a lovely sparkling shadow that is an easy slap on and go type of shade. 

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Away Concealer 

I love this concealer. It is expensive but it hardly creases. It is easy to spread out and doesn’t leave my skin feeling clogged under the eyes or on the face. It is a splurge item but for something I use every day, that takes a few seconds to blend out with fingers or whatever your preferred method is, it is worth it for me.

Pin for later!

Sephora Haul: Mini Reviews

4 Comments

I did a bit of shopping over the past few months at good old Sephora. I have been near a Sephora about twice a month for the past 6 months for work training, and I always took the opportunity to do a little bit of a pop in at Sephora. I got a few of these products online (during the Sephora sale) and a few in store during my journey’s there. I wanted to do a few mini reviews rounding up my thoughts on these products. I will do some more in-depth reviews coming in the next month! 

In Store Purchases

Mac fix plus and nudestix nudies matte

Mac Fix plus: This is an iconic product. I have heard on several makeup podcasts that its purpose is to not actually set your makeup but to refresh your skin and melt the powders together. I really like this, however, because it is not a setting spray it makes me miss my beloved Too Faced Hangover RX setting spray. This doesn’t irritate my skin and has a lovely scent. 

Nudestix nudies matte in sunset strip: This was a YouTube made me buy it product. As soon as I saw Jamie Paige Beauty and Samantha Ravndahl use this, I knew I was going to “need” it in my collection. This is a lovely, coral blush that is the perfect summer flush (or any season flush). It is creamy, and while it claims its matte I don’t find it to be a flat matte, it is almost like the Physicians Formula butter blush in a cream stick version. 

The Online VIB Sale Purchases

Clockwise: Kosas tinted face oil, Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar bronze and glow, Bite Beauty lip balm, Charlotte Tilbury Magic away concealer, Coverfx matte and shimmer blush duo

CoverFx Matte and Shimmer blush duo: This duo, again, something I saw on Instagram and it immediately piqued my interest. I love the idea of having the option of using a shimmer or matte blush or layering them. I also like to use these on my eyes as well. Full review and comparison coming soon! 

close up of charlotte tilbury filmstar bronze and glow
coverfx matte an shimmer blush

The Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow: This has been on my list of things to get for YEARS. Since I saw Allanarama use this back in 2016 I have been eyeing it ever since. Now, that Charlotte Tilbury is finally in Sephora (and I finally could justify this in my budget) I bought it. This is a lovely product. The sculpt shade is the perfect contour without being too grey that I feel I can wear on its own or paired with bronzer. The highlighter is beautiful and glowy, without being metallic or glittery. This is the perfect palette for work!

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Away concealer: Oh mama. This concealer. Is. Magic. See what I did there? This concealer creases so minimally and spreads out so easily while maintaining excellent coverage, I don’t know if I ever want to go back to any other concealer… although you know me I’ll always be trying more. However, I think that this is going to be my new holy grail concealer … it’s just lovely! 

Kosas Tinted Face Oil: This has mixed reviews from various sources. However, I really like this. It does tend to look greasy so I usually set my t zone when using this. I was concerned that this may break down on my skin but honestly, it lasts really nicely throughout the day. I don’t recommend this if you already have oily skin, but if you have normal to dry skin this is a lovely light coverage base. Full review to come! 

Bite Beauty Agave and Daytime Lip Balm: I got this because I needed a good lip balm. This is nice, but I find that it doesn’t really hydrate my lips as much as I thought it would. I wear this in the morning as I’m doing my makeup. I find that my favourite lip balm is still the Fresh one in terms of actually hydrating my lips. I will use this up but I’m not sure if I would repurchase this!

Pin for later

Pinterest Graphic


Beauty Minimalism as a Beauty Blogger

4 Comments

Beauty minimalism is something I wanted to talk about. I think the definition of minimalism is very personal but is tied with surrounding yourself with things that you genuinely love. The way I want to talk about the idea of minimalism from a beauty standpoint is discussing release fatigue. Basically release fatigue is when you are tired of brands releasing and releasing product (looking at you Colourpop). This is my daily struggle: my content that does well is reviews and hauls, and what else do you review than a new product? However, I battle between wanting maybe one or two products of each makeup category to loving trying and buying new products. I wanted to share some thoughts I have about release fatigue and the over-consumption (me included) of the beauty industry.

According to an article I found on the Allure website- over 3,000 women were surveyed by skinstore and found that women in the united states spend $300,000 on their face over a lifetime. A LIFETIME. I have never counted or added up the value of makeup collection mostly because I could porbably pay a large chunk of my OSAP. When you are not into beauty or skincare to this number is probably terrifying and the amount of makeup I personally own is probably mind boggling – however it is my only hobby that costs me money so I think somehow it balances out! But, to think about numbers like $300,000 shows how much the beauty industry is growing.

I think my biggest gripe with the beauty industry right now is how much companies are releasing. If you take a look at Trendmood’s Instagram you can see photo after photo of new products and new brands – which is great but can be overwhelming. NARS, Colourpop, Morphe are a few of the brands that I’ve noticed have been releasing collection after collection, MAC has always done those limited collections so I don’t get sick of their collections because in my humble opinion I feel like brands have tried to emulate that. I think my main issue is it feels like brands are capitalizing on trends and targeting consumers so they will buy more and feed into capitalism (which again obviously I do this too). However, I think that brands that curate well (like Glossier) do so strategically for marketing purposes. I think Glossier, and Hourglass are a few brands do well with having releases every 3 months or so making it less overwhelming for consumers. When brands like Colourpop (who I will admit don’t compromise quality) release a collection every which way I feel like for the average consumer this can get overwhelming. Even for me, an avid lover of the brand, it can just get overwhelming.

When I say overwhelming I say this for one reason: that someone new to makeup is just going to buy this affordable makeup and then not realize what they actually like. Am I speaking from experience? Yes. Yes, I am. When you first discover the world of beauty YouTube you just want to try everything and that means buying inexpensive products that either don’t work for you or you bought to try because you saw your fave person using or like me you use it once and realize its not your makeup style. Now I’m not saying Colourpop doesn’t make some of my favorite products or in fact doesn’t make products I use on the daily they are merely a good example of a brand that releases collections twice monthly. In fact most of the time I find myself gravitating towards my colourpop items because they are so good – however it is the best example I personally have in my Instagram feed of new releases.

What is the point of this post? I think my point is that I strive to be more intentional with my purchases. At the beginning of 2019 I bought a million drugstore products that didn’t “spark joy” as Marie Kondo would say (still need to read the book and will do so this summer) and then finding myself not gravitating towards drugstore makeup but using my high-end and boutique makeup (like the body shop). I think the other thing for me about trying to not buy makeup is to not buy it as an excuse for “research” for the blog. I built the beginning of this blog on drugstore beauty which I will never not lover but more and more when I picture my “ideal” collection it consists of high-end makeup with some drugstore and boutique brands spackled in there. While I don’t ever see myself losing the drugstore/affordable side of my blog I do think that because the beauty industry has boomed so much I want to start doing quality over quantity as well as treating ALL my purchases with more thought.

I also think that I struggle with the fun of trying new makeup and being creative with only owning what I need. For example, as a blogger, I love finding dupes for holy grail products which then means I am feeding into the mass market to try new things to help my readers find alternatives! Alas, the balancing act continues!

What are your thoughts on beauty minimalism as a beauty blogger?

Pin for later!