Makeup Wars Archives - Perilously Pale

Makeup Wars ~ My Favourite Mask

April 29, 2013 By Christa 13 Comments

For this weeks Makeup Wars feature I am going to do something I never do, which is review a sample. Now the reason I am breaking my rule is that this was a very generously sized sample that I received in a beauty box and I got weeks of use out of. And I have been missing it ever since it ran out!

The Pure+Simple Calming Cucumber Mask ($25.25 CAD/50 ml) got me through some vary harrowing skin times. I was trying to do my best to get an amazing retinol product to work for me but my dry, sensitive, rosacea afflicted skin would have none of it. My skin was raw, peeling, and sore. The Calming Cucumber Mask was like my little miracle tube. One treatment with the retinol product and I would be red and raw and then one treatment with the Calming Cucumber Mask and my skin was repaired. It was a yo-yo I continued a little longer than I should have but even afterwards I found myself turning to the mask whenever my skin felt overly dry, over exfoliated, or I was suffering from a rosacea flare up. The mask is designed to nourish and calm skin with its cooling and soothing properties and it does a wonderful job of it.

The Pure+Simple Calming Cucumber Mask contains Sea Algae to help restore moisture to the skin as well as antioxidants, Grapeseed Extract, and Vitamins A, C, and E. It infuses skin with hydration and plumps up skin cells leaving it feeling renewed and rejuvenated just as promised. Another bonus is you can cool this mask in the refrigerator to provide extra soothing to skin irritated from things such as sunburn and rosacea. You can even use it as an eye mask to help with puffiness and dark circles! You leave the mask on for 30 mins prior to rinsing off to ensure good penetration but you can also do what I did the majority of the time which is leave it on as an overnight treatment and rinse it off in the morning.

I can’t believe I’ve been letting my penny pinching ways keep me from buying a vat of this stuff. I had almost forgotten about how much I loved and then missed this mask. Pure+Simple is a Canadian company and you can find out more, as well as purchase their products, on their website.

Make sure to check out the favorite masks of the other Makeup Wars members. Just click on the thumbnails below or use the Previous and Next buttons at the top of this post. If you have missed out on the previous Makeup Wars be sure to check them out, including our Favourite Non Powder Eye Shadows, April Fools Day Prank, Spa Pampering at Home, Pantone Color of the Year Emerald Green Looks, Travel Picks, Valentines Day Look, Holiday Look, Holiday Wishlists, Favourite Mascaras, Favourite Fall Look, Favourite Red Lip, Favourite Makeup Brush, Favourite Fall Nail Polish, and Most Expensive Makeup Look.

Filed Under: Makeup Wars, Masks, Pure+Simple

Makeup Wars ~ Favourite Cream and Stick Eyeshadows

April 15, 2013 By Christa 13 Comments

Eyeshadows have always been one of my favourite cosmetic items. Your eyes are where you can be the most adventurous with your colour choices. I remember how very excited I was a few years back when I finally had LASIK eye surgery because people would finally be able to actually see my eye makeup. Powder eye shadows will always be my favourite. The gorgeous variation in finishes and shades never ceases to amaze and entice me. While I feel I have far more eyeshadows than any one person should ever need in one lifetime it does not keep me from wanting more on a regular basis. You may say that powder eye shadows are my cosmetic drug of choice. Cream eyeshadows are a product that I only began experimenting with more in the last several years. I still feel the need on most occasions to top a cream or stick eye shadow with a powder one but it doesn’t make me value them any less. As bases, colour altering or enhancing aids, or stand alone products, cream and stick eye shadows are something that every beauty lover needs in their collection. The Makeup Wars members are going to share with you our favourites today. All products are linked to their original reviews where available.

Painterly – Barely Branded- Warm Beige – Sandy Gold – Taupe – Pink Beige – Steel – Edgy Emerald

I have many, many potted cream shadows. I narrowed it down to 8 of my most reach for products.

MAC Paint Pot in Painterly - I use this multiple times weekly. It has become an essential base for me for evening out the colour of my lids for any look and helping eyeshadow look more vibrant and stay put.
Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Metal Eyeshadow in 70 Barely Branded (or 100 Barely Beige) – I love these cream shadows for making bright, light shades pop on my lid or inner corner. Take my Bright Eyes, Glowy Skin, Rosy Cheek Look for example.
Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream #13 Warm Beige – Beautiful alone on the lid or as a base for soft neutral looks this cream gets a lot of use in my pro kit as well. I love the MUFE Aqua Creams and have doubles of many for us on brides. These babies stay put all day without budging and make any eye look bullet proof.
Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Sandy Gold – I still need to get a review up for this gorgeous sandy gold shade. It has the most dreamy fine shimmer/golden iridescence that doesn’t come across adequately in pictures.
Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream #15 Taupe – I love this Aqua cream as a base for deeper neutral looks as well as for a quick and easy eye look just applied onto the lid and blended out into the crease.
Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream #16 Pink Beige - I get a lot of use on this for brides as well for romantic pink toned neutral eye looks.
Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream #2 Steel - This cream shadow is perfection as a base for a smokey eye look but also looks amazing worn alone on the lid blended out into the crease. It has a gorgeous finish.
Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 Hour Shadow in Edgy Emerald – This cream eye shadow became a favourite base for teal, or aqua infused eye looks including one of my favourites using the Giorgio Armani Summer 2012 Eyes to Kill eyeshadows shown in this Makeup Wars look post.
I’m also really loving my new Benefit Creaseless Cream eyeshadows. I haven’t found a way to fit them into my current storage with my other cream shadows so I totally forgot to included them when selecting my favourites to photograph for this post. Oops!

Painterly – Barely Branded- Warm Beige – Sandy Gold – Taupe – Pink Beige – Steel – Edgy Emerald

Now on to pencil/stick eyeshadows.

Milk – Sea Breeze – Absinthe-Minded – Champagne

I don’t have much in the way of eye shadow sticks but the brands that have really stood out for me are the Canadian brands Annabelle and Marcelle and also the Mally Beauty Eye Shadow Sticks are amazing.

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk - This cult classic is perfect as a base when you really want eye shadows to stand out. It works particularly well under pastels as well as in the inner corner of the eye.
Marcelle Lux Cream Shadow + Liner in Sea Breeze - This is a beautiful spring summer shade. I love it on the lower lash liner or on the lid. It has excellent staying power and doesn’t budge or smudge.
Annabelle Smoothie Eyeshadow Pencil in Absinthe-Minded - I picked this pencil up when looking for a beautiful shade of green for my Fashion Magazine Beauty Panel Emerald Green Look post.
Mally Eye Shadow Stick in Champagne - I adore all of the shades I have but I really love Champange for an eye brightening inner corner shade that will stay put all day.

Milk – Sea Breeze – Absinthe-Minded – Champagne

Product Finder:

Make sure to check out the favorite non powder eyeshadows of the other Makeup Wars members. Just click on the thumbnails below or use the Previous and Next buttons at the top of this post. If you have missed out on the previous Makeup Wars be sure to check them out, including our April Fools Day Prank, Spa Pampering at Home, Pantone Color of the Year Emerald Green Looks, Travel Picks, Valentines Day Look, Holiday Look, Holiday Wishlists, Favourite Mascaras, Favourite Fall Look, Favourite Red Lip, Favourite Makeup Brush, Favourite Fall Nail Polish, and Most Expensive Makeup Look.

Filed Under: Cream Eye Shadows, Eyeshadows, Makeup Wars

Happy April Fools’ Day! Makeup Wars Favourite Spring Trend

April 1, 2013 By Christa 3 Comments

At 10 am this morning I posted the following piece on my favourite spring trend. Well… it was an April Fools Day joke! A lot of comments were from my fellow Makeup Wars members following along but I was a little shocked to see how many unsuspecting people gave some attempt at positive feedback. Maybe I have started a new trend! Ha ha!

Colour Blocking has been increasing in popularity for the past number of seasons on the fashion runways. Well Spring 2013 has brought this amazing graphic and colourful technique to makeup with Colour Blocked Brow Bones. When I first saw the the Brow Bone Colour Blocking trend I was beyond excited. I adore colour and I absolutely love the fresh, bright shades that Spring cosmetic collections feature. Usually we see these bold shades incorporated with pops of colour on the lid or lash lines but with my hooded lids my explorations into new colour palettes is often shrouded by my sagging lids. What better way to bring the vibrancy of spring shades to your look than by prominently featuring them on our brow bones? The perfect smooth canvas for a bold statement.

Now the key to this look is to keep the rest of your look very simple with fresh, glowing skin and a subtle flush of colour on the cheeks. Lips are kept neutral with a sheer shimmering gloss. For the eyes leave your mobile lids and crease free of colour. I prepped my lids from lash line to brows with MAC Painterly Paint Pot. I applied black liner ONLY to my upper waterline to subtly enhance my lashes and applied a coat of black mascara. For tracing out the colour blocked areas I find the black liner seen on the runways a little harsh in real life. I prefer using a coloured liner to add to the interest of the look while looking a little softer than black. I chose Annabelle Smoothliner in Meteorite. It’s a gorgeous deep, shimmering blue. One of my favourite eyeliners. You need to make a straight line cutting across from just underneath the beginning of your eyebrow at a downward angle so it ends about midway between the outer end of your brow and your eye. You could colour block with two or three sections. I like to use two sections with the dividing line tracing straight up to the arch of my brow. I find this really helps to lift and accentuate the eye. Then fill in with your favourite spring colours. I chose Annabelle Royalty and Turquoise and filled in my brows with Violish.