XOJENBEAUTY

10/26/2015

MOTD: Khaki Green | Fall Inspired Makeup Look

I have a new makeup look for you guys and its all about the colour green! Not the super bright or the tree coloured kind, but rather the fall appropriate green. I always wanted to do a look in this colour. Even though it wasn't the shade of green I wanted, I just worked with whatever I've got. Hope you enjoy this look!

Here are the products I used:

(note: The Sephora eyeshadow is no longer available on their website. I still linked it on their page which features other colours. You could still find the exact palette I used on amazon and ebay.)

With primed eyelids, I used #3 and blended it around my lid extending it towards the crease area. Since its such a light colour I added #5 and applied that only on the crease and the outer corners. Make sure to blend properly to make it look airbrushed. I applied #4 on the outer corners to darken them and to make it look a bit smokey. Using my ring-finger, I swooped it on #1 and spritz some setting spray before apply it on the center of my eyelids. This ensures that the colour pigmentation will be intense since the eyeshadow needs help in showing its intensity. Mixing #4 and #5, I applied it below my lower lashes to have that smokey effect. To brighten my eyes, I applied #2 on my inner corners. This is optional, but I added Champagne Pop (I reviewed the highlighter which you can also check out!) because I wanted a brighter and extreme highlight to have a more awake look. Anyways, then I applied eyeliner, mascara and falsies!

On my lips, I used the NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Chocolate Crepe which I also featured in my haul. I didn't use any lipliner because I was too lazy but you could if you want to.

Hopefully you enjoyed this look and gained inspiration from it! If you want more makeup looks in different colours, comment down below!

Have a blessed day!

xoxo,

DISCLAIMER

10/23/2015

Mini Collective Haul | Drugstore Makeup

I don't know about you, but I enjoy watching Youtube videos of makeup and skincare hauls. It allows me to know what other products are out there that I haven't tried, and which companies brought out new items. So that's what I am doing today!

I actually visited and bought new makeup from the beginning of this month from different drugstores. The photo above shows the items that I bought which is not much compared to most hauls. I will have swatches and links of each of the items from their respective website.

Beginning with the face products, I already own the shade 220 Natural Beige of the Maybelline Fit Me! Matte+Poreless Foundation, but I find it to be a bit light. It matches my face but not my neck and chest. The new one that I bought matches my neck and chest perfectly which is in the shade 230 Natural Buff. And, of course, I bought the matching Mayebelline Fit Me! Matte+Poreless Powder.

After watching Nicole Guerriero's How To Conceal Dark Under Eyes With Makeup video, I was instantly curious and hooked on concealing my under eyes. I was never serious about them but when she used the NYX Dark Circle Concealer, I immediately want to get my hands on it! I got the shade Deep which is a bit dark for my skin. Unfortunately, I wanted the shade Medium but, of course, its always sold out! I am honestly still trying to figure out how to use this and what would be the best method of application. Because so far nothing is working...

For the lip products, I first bought the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creme in Copenhagen which is a burgundy colour (it's actually described as rich plum on the website) that comes off as red on my lips for some reason. I posted it on my instagram which you can check out! ~~Excuse the self-promo there.~~ I also purchased the NYX Intense Butter Gloss in Chocolate Crepe which looks really natural-ish on my lips.

One of the most exciting part of my shopping trip was when I bought the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in the shade Rose Velvet (OMG I just noticed that I typed down velvet rose on the photo. That's a mistake! Also, I misspelled matte too! Sorry about that!). The only reason was because it was on sale for only C$3.99! Yes, you read that right! I kinda regret for buying one lipstick in that price so I might check in few days if its still on sale.

And the last two products I bought are the Essence Cosmetics Lipliners in the shade 05 Soft Berry and 08 Red Blush. I featured one of the lipliners in my last makeup blog tutorial which I used underneath the Revlon lipstick. I really wanted to buy a red lipstick shade so I just opted to buy the essence lipliner. Its honestly the perfect shade of red for my skintone! Also, any of their cosmetic line is cheap in price with awesome quality! I actually featured some of their products last August in one of my affordable finds post.

So there you have it! If you have any products to recommend me or if you want reviews and my thoughts of any of the items, comment down below!

Have a blessed day!

xoxo,

DISCLAIMER

10/19/2015

MOTD: Mauve-y Purple Glam Eye Look

If you're wondering why I'm posting on a Monday, that's because I am changing my schedule. I would elaborate more at the end of this post so just keep on reading to see today's makeup look and my sort of announcement.

The eye look consist of mauve-y purple colours from the Tartelette palette. I was inspired to create something from that shade because of the new lipstick I got from Revlon. So let us begin!

Eye products used:

Tarte's Tartelette Palette
Mary-Lou Manizer
Pixi Fairy Dust Favourites - Light Catchers

With primed eyelids, I mixed Natural Beauty, a mauve-y lavender shade, and Bestfriend, a darker mauve-y lavender shade, and applied on my crease area slightly extending towards my inner corner. I make sure that I apply generously but enough to have that colour peeking through when I apply a darker shade. I, then, create a V shape on the outer corner to have a diffused look.

Now, I applied Bombshell, a dark purple with brown undertones, on the outer corner of my eye. I am doing the same V-shape technique but slightly smaller. I also applied that same colour on the inner corners of my eye (only apply on the top of the eyelids not the inner corner where you apply a highlighter). Make sure to tap off the excess before applying because dark colours are a bit more difficult to work with compared to lighter ones. And don't forget to blend a lot! My arms at this part were beginning to ache but I just had to blend to make it look flawless. If you notice that I didn't extend my brush towards the middle of my crease area and that's because I only want the dark purple on the outer and inner corner of my eye.

After blending profusely, I applied Natural Beauty on the centre of my lids. Then, I dipped my brush on the gold pigment colour from the Pixi Fairy Dust Favourites (now that's a mouthful!) and sprayed a bit of setting spray to get a more intense pigmentation before I applied it on top of Natural Beauty. I only tapped the colour instead of brushing it on my lids. Now, I went back to re-apply Natural Beauty, Bestfriend and Bombshell because I noticed that the colours were fading. In other words, I went back and forth with those three colours and the pigment until I was satisfied with how it looks.

To finish it off, I applied a bit of the Mary-Lou Manizer on my inner corners, mascara on both my upper and lower lashes, eyeliner and falsies!

Lip products used:

On my lips, I lined Soft Berry and applied Rose Velvet on top of it. I can't explain the colour of the lip liner but I think the name itself describes it perfectly. And the lipstick was such a steal at my local drugstore because I only paid C$3.99! Its a muted rosy red with grey undertones. I think that is the best way I could describe it.

I hope you find inspiration in this look! I am actually enjoying putting together makeup up looks for you guys. Expect more from me! Haha.

Anyways, regarding my posting schedule, I am changing it to every Mondays and Fridays. I find it more convenient that way. Also, I am shifting my blog more towards to beauty because I am more passionate about it than fashion. I will do OOTDs here and there but not weekly as before. I hope you like the change because I can't wait to do more beauty related things!

Have a blessed day!

xoxo,

DISCLAIMER

10/15/2015

The Best Toner Ever!

Finding a good toner is essential for a skincare routine. It shrinks the pores, balances the pH of your face, refreshes and moisturizes, it protects the skin and prevents ingrown hairs. These are great benefits for those who have oily/acne-prone skin or those who want an extra cleanse to ensure all dirt is removed. Before I begin, I just want to let you know that I am not a professional but someone who did their research about skin care. (Read my disclaimer.) And this is my 3rd bottle purchase, so I'm safe to say that this toner works on me.

If you have been reading my blog for awhile or following me on any of my social media accounts, you know that my face is clear, free from acne. However, before all that, I used to have severe acne where I had to go to the dermatologist. Now, all I'm doing is preventing anymore of those nasties from appearing on my face. So when I found The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner, I know that this would become my holy grail.

This toner truly helps in preventing any of my pimples or spots from coming back! Whenever I see a pimple that's beginning to appear, I would just use it during my skincare routine and usually the next day it would either be gone or it would start to get smaller. Oh and by the way, I have oily-combo, acne-prone (I'm putting that in there because I do get small spots from time to time) skin. So this might work for you if we have similar skin types.

Here are the product claims from the brand website:

"Our Tea Tree Toner is a refreshing toner with tea tree oil that removes traces of cleanser, makeup, and impurities. The 'shake to activate' mattifying powder in the formulation helps to give the skin a matte, shine-free finish. It effectively tones the skin, helping to prevent blemishes with regular use. [...]

Enriched with Community Fair Trade Tea Tree Oil from Kenya
Perfect for blemished acne skin
Clinically proven to give clearer-looking skin"

Since the toner contains mattifying powder, make sure to shake it before using. And, yes, the colour will be green when you put some on a cotton pad. For those who are worried about the scent, it smells like tea tree oil which is a fresh, minty, herbal scent. I was bothered by the scent during my first few weeks but I got used to it.

The cool thing about the product is that it now comes in two bottle sizes.

250 ml/8.4 fl oz for C$12
400ml/13.5 fl oz for C$20

I haven't tried anything else in the tea tree line other than the toner but since my face has been clear ever since using this, I am excited to try more. I think the next products I'm going to try are the Tea Tree Pore Minimiser and the Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion.

Have you tried any of the products? What do you think about it? Comment down below!

Have a blessed day!

xoxo,