It is time to do my Second Annabelle TwistUp post.
I picked another 6 random TwistUps from my collection, let the swatting and reviewing begin.
I chose the shades Romance, Naked, Absolute, Bubble, Fuchsianista and Breeze for this round.
Romance:
Romance is mauve-nude shade. It is creamy and opaque but soft on the lips. I think on my pale skin tone it looks quite flattering. This was one of the first TwistUp shades I tried out and I wear it by far the most often.
Naked:
Naked is nude! Big shock there, but it is as nude as I can wear without looking like I can comfortably wear. It has a slightly dry cream finish that runs just a bit peachy, which is what makes it different then a straight up brown nude shade and more wearable for me.
Absolute:
Absolute is considered a nude on the Anabelle site, and I get that it is pretty nude shade. That being said on me it runs pink, in fact on me it is a My Lips But Better shade (or at least I think so). It is also a bit sheerer then some of the other shades, so that is probably why it works so well as a MLBB shade.
Bubble:
Bubble is a creamy pink that is a bit more slick and has a slip to it unlike some of the other finishes, this makes it a tad bit sheerer, but still almost full coverage. It makes it quite a wearable pink for those who might not love overly bold pink shades.
Fuchsianista
Fuchsianista a bold, creamy pink with a full coverage. Sometimes you get a fuchsia that has a ton of blue in it, sometimes you get one that has just only a hint of blue in it. Fuchsianista is the later of the two. With less blue in it then other fuchsias it make this baby a really pretty bold pink. This is definitly one of the brightest shades in the line up (kinky pink is also up there, see part one of this series to see that shade), and is in my top 5 as far as favourites go.
Breeze:
Breeze is another mauve shade but this time with more pink and less nude-brown in it then Romance. It has a slightly sheer finish to it which makes it not too bold on the lips. Could I wear this shade everyday? Probably! Why, because it is really wearable on me.
There you go, another six of my Annabelle TwistUps. I love the easy to use TwistUp packaging, the fact a liner isn't needed and the general formulation and colour selection of the brand.
I plan on reviewing six more TwistUps until I am done my collection, so stay tuned for more.
A few years back Annabelle had a deal on their website, for $24 you could get all 24 of their TwistUp lipstick pencils. I jumped to get them, and then never really did anything with them. Now I owned a few already and loved them, but as a blogger I felt the need to photograph them before ever using them. Now time has passed and I have let these beautiful babies go unused for the most part. Now I have used some over time, but many not at all.
So today I declare, I will review these, so I can use them in my life without guilt.
Today I will choose six random TwistUps to swatch and review. Enjoy.
I chose the shades Orange Pop, Bazooka Pink, Mimosa, Kinky Pink, Mai Tai and Havana.
Havana:
Havana is a nude, a light nude at that. Even on me, it looks a little light. The first time I used it I did not like it at all, I felt like I had concealer lips. That being said now that I have worn it a few times with different looks I realize how much I do like it. Many nude shades are too dark or pink on me, this one seems to really work for a more lighter makeup look on me.If I was to wear bolder makeup, then no this would make me looked washed out, but a light look, this looks great.
Bazooka Pink:
Bazooka Pink is a light but bright pink. Light as in Barbie Pink, bright as in pigmented and vibrant. It clearly gets its name form pink bubble gum, and it really suits its name. I thought at first this would be a typical sheer light pink shade, but it wasn't. It went on bold and pigmented, defiantly one of their more vibrant colours. A vibrant light pink with a milky appearance might be the best description of it. I keep on thinking I am going to find something similar in my massive collection, but I don't. Mac's Candy Yum-Yum is as creamy and pigmented but much deeper in tone; this is a very light but bold shade. Anyways, I love it.
Orange Pop:
Orange Pop is another bold baby. It is ORANGE and their isn't much more to say. Its pretty darn opaque in its colouring, also pretty vibrant. I guess I can add it wears really well and I also love it. I seemed to have picked a bunch that I love this round.
Mimosa:
I love mimosas, definitely a favourite drink of mine. Mimosa is orange, but more sheer than Orange Pop. It also has a bit of gold shimmer to it, which to be honest is hard to see. Being sheer makes it more wearable for most people and the every day.
Mai Tai:
Mai Tai is sheer, with orange, but running more pink/red then Mimosa. I would call it an orange based red more than an orange. It glossy and just a bit sheer making it an excellent every day shade. If I had to pick between Mai Tai and Mimosa I would choose Mimosa, but in a bar the opposite would happen.
Kinky Pink:
Kinky Pink is an opaque fuchsia that is stunning. I love fuchsias...oh how I love them. I went through my collection and found that Mac's Something New is strikingly similar, but limited edition, so if you've been waiting for a re-release this might be the best match you'll ever find. Smooth and gloss, rich and bold, this is just a fantastic shade for those that love a bold lip colour.
There you go, six of my Annabelle TwistUps. I love the easy to use TwistUp packaging, the fact a liner isn't needed and the general formulation and colour selection of the brand.
I plan on reviewing six more TwistUps until I am done my collection, so stay tuned for more.
I love Annabelle products, a lot (see past Annabelle posts here). But you might already know that about me. You may also know that Annabelle is really known for having great liners and brow products and recently launched a Brow Bar section to their displays. Today I am going to talk about what has become my favourite product in the last 6 months for my eyebrows, their BrowShow brow liner pencil. I am using it in the shade Light.
BrowShow is a fat double sided pencil that features a brow shade on one side and a matte highlighter shade on the other. The brow part is just waxy enough that it helps create a fantasist bold eyebrow. While the highlighter side work by going underneath the eyebrow to highlight and make you brows pop out more.
The great thing about the highlighter side is that it is matte, so often these type of things run shimmery, but not this one. It also blends out so well with just a light swipe of a finger.
The brow side I love to use underneath the main part of my brow and then on top after the angle. I then take a spooly and easily blend it all in for a bold brown with a much better arch then my natural one. I also find because of it perfectly waxy texture I am able to extend my brows just a bit past my own for a better looking brow.
Here is a picture of my brows done up. The one on the left (my right eye) also has the highlighter used underneath the brow to show how it makes the eye look. It clearly isn't shimmery or frosty.
Overall I really love this brow pencil. I really do love Annabelle's brow products they all are so great and affordable. This one is also great being a fat pencil that you don't go thought it too fast and it has the added bonus of a great highlighter on the other end.
Have you tried any of Annabelle's Brow Products?
*I was sent this product for review, all opinions are my own.
2015 is no in the past, but that doesn't stop me from looking back at a truly life changing year for me. It wasn't what I hoped it would be, but was more what I knew it would be. I am glad I am closing this chapter in my life and have been moving forward with lots of hope and new goals.
All that being said, I wanted to thank you all for being there with me along the ride, supporting me when my father died, when I took a hiatus to be there for him and for my own recovery. I hope that in this new year I can move forward and get back to a routine that allows me to blog more regularly and better than ever.
Thank you all.
Now, on to my favourites of 2015 and some much hated items of 2015.
I'm going to list a few favourites here, but if you want a fuller list, check out the video bellow.
Annabelle Lipsies:
Oh how I love these babies. They are an adorable stick of scented and flavoured lip balms that deliver a bit of tint. They feel silky smooth and hydrate really well. I love the Lychee's smell and taste, it is just like a Lychee! I am shocked every time I apply it that it is so exactly like a real lychee. It also delivers a hint of brown to my lips which looks great. I also love Cherry. It is a very Cherry Lifesaver kind of smell and flavour, which is fun and great. But it also is red, so over a lip stain it can actually replace my lipstick. Which to be honest, if fantastic when your lips are dry.
L'oreal Infalible Pro-Lash Lip Colour:
I have two of these long lasting lipsticks and really want to get more. I love them. The colour part is applied with a doe-foot applicator, followed by a balm in a stick format. I can say that while the colour dries it feels awful, tacky and just so dry. But here is the kicker, once it dries and you apply the balm, your lips feel fantastic, and stay that way all day, even after the balm wears off. So just wait that 60 seconds for the colour to dry and you'll feel better after the balm. Why I am really loving it? It lasts and lasts all day. It also feels great on my lips while I wear it all day. It also doesn't come off on my cups or husband, so it really is a great long lasting lip product.
ELF Lash Tint Mascara:
I love this brush. That is really the draw for me. I sometime think I love an Elf mascara only to have it quickly dry up on me, lucky this baby didn't. But the real thing I love is the tiny brush for tightening. Oh it is fantastic. If you use it on its own it is a very natural effect mascara, but I like it for the roots and tightlining my lashes before a more fuller formula mascara. Regardless I love it.
CoverFX Custom Cover Drops:
I got these because everyone wouldn't shut up about them this summer. To be honest, everyone was right, they are everything you've heard and more. I run neutral with a slight pink undertone, so most foundations run either pink or yellow, leaving me to buy two foundations and mix to make my own town. These babies fix that forever. I just buy the closest one to my tone and can adjust to my perfect skin tone. I got P20 and N10 so that I can mix and make my own tone in any lotion or primer but also adjust foundations, BB, CC creams. AS well I can now boost a BB to a full coverage, I can take a medium or light coverage foundation and boost it to full if I need it to The options are endless.
Guerlain Meteorites:
Earlier this year I attended an event at the Bloor street Guerlain store, where I learned all about the iconic Meteorites. I quickly ran out and bought one, followed by the holiday collections Flacons Enchantes. These are a big splurge for me, but well worth it. I learned at the event that these adorable spheres of scented shimmer are hand made and packaged which only a handful of people in the world know the formulation for. A luxury I have been loving this past year.
Now for what I hated in 2015:
Hard Candy Lash Ink:
Years ago I feel in love with Revlon Lash Tint, a 3 day lash tinting product that wasn't really a mascara, but it made my lashes dark and never smeared, flaked or ran at work, so I loved it. It was discontinued years ago and I never found anything quite like it. Then I saw Hard Candy's Lash Ink and thought it might be the same.It is a stain that last for up to 4 days. It is so wet that applying it is almost impossible because the brush just has short stubs on it. If it had a regular brush it might be ok, but it doesn't. In addition to this you end up with really one big clump of lashes that you then have to spend forever separating. So if you can get it to look half decent, it never really sets, it just stays wet, so it smears, and clumps up again. Plus if a mascara never sets and smears, then it stays tacky, and it moves, so hair at my work sticks to it, leading me to be unhappy. And if it smears, it really kind of runs, because heck if I rub my eye and it ends up on my face, thats not good. Ok rant over...sorry.
Just go get Estee Lauder's Little Black Primer, its better.
Younique Mascara:
Ok, I know I'll get yelled at for this one. I got this in a swag bag, I know it costs $35, I know people love it (or sales reps I should say), but no, no, no, no! It is bad. I have tried fibre mascaras before, I like them ok, but I am not in love with them. Taking that concept and amping it up to a level that is insane isn't going to make the concept any better. The amount of fibres on the wand isn't even reasonable, it is just too much (for me at least). You end up with spider lashes not long full lashes. Even if you try to use it in moderation, it just looks silly, and really isn't worth the hassle. If you want a nice looking fibre lash kit look at Too Faced's Better Than False Lashes Extreme! It is a better choice.
Ok there you go some favs and dislike for the year, anything you loved or hated this past year?
Once again thanks for sticking 2015 out with me, lots of love.
I little while ago I was sent Annabelle's new Smokey Nudes Palette, which I instantly fell in love with.
I decided to do a look using it, which then of course escalated into an entire one brand look. Which is great since I love to pull out all my Annabelle goodies and create a look.
So first the look, I used the below:
Smokey Nudes Palette
CC instant Perfecting Base in Natural Finish
Skin True Natural Lightweight Foundation in Natural Ivory
CC Pressed Powder in Light/Medium (well loved as you can see by the amount I have hit pan on it)
Twist Up in Breeze
Blush in #44 Fawn Rose
Brow Show Pencil in Light
Big Show Mascara in Black (not shown in photo)
Smokey Nudes Palette
There isn't much to say about my look. I used the CC base as a primer on both my face and eye area. Overall it is a light look with just the right amount of nude shadows for the day. I also am loving the new Brow Show pencil, which I will talk about in another post (but man am I loving it).
I can't really say what I did with the palette since I winged it so much. pretty much the nude shade all over, some gold shade in the inner and browns on the rest. I also defined my crease a bit and used the darkest two shades to line my upper and lower lids.
On to the review part.
I really liked this palette. The colours are pretty darn creamy and blend really well. I found the first shade (the matte one) a tad bit had to swatch, but applied really well on my lids. In fact I think the first 4 shades, didn't swatch well at all, but were unexpectedly amazing on my skin. The gold might be my favourite. I think they didn't swatch so well because they are similar to my skin tone.
I like the range of gold, bronze, brown and even black in the palette, as well as warm and cool tones making it quite versatile.
The only negative thing I can say is that I wish the black didn't have sparkles in it and was a true matte. But even that is a minor thing not to like.
Pros:
Inexpensive - retails for $12.95
Easy to find - It is sold at mass retailers
Great colours - great selection in it for all skin tones
Creamy Shadows that blend well -isn't that we are all looking for?
Sleek case - the palette is a nice size , which makes it easy to carry or store (smaller then the Maybelline The Nudes and only .02 oz off in size).
Cons:
Not a lot of matte shades
Overall:
This is a great nude or smokey palette for just about anyone. With 10 shades it can be quite versatile due to its range in shades and textures.
It blends well and lasts all day with no issues. I really like the darkest two shades for lining.
I really am quite impressed with this one.
*This product was sent to me for review, all opinions are my own.
Bronzed to perfection! Get sun-kissed, radiant skin in seconds with the Big Zebra Bronzing Powder mix of bronze and golden shades. -annabelle.ca
I have never been much for tanning, its bad for your skin and I just honestly cannot do it. Everyone says to me "you'll look good with a tan", "you should tan" and "oh dear lord, Jill you're so pale, just get a tan already". Which are all things I just try to ignore. The truth is I am full blown allergic to the sun, I physically break out in hives I am in the sun with or without sunscreen on. I burn and then burn some more. So really I cannot get a tan even if I wanted to.
The good thing is with great bronzers like Annabelle's Biggy Bonzers I have no need to tan. I can get a sun kissed glow that looks good on my pale skin without crazy harmful sun rays.
One thing that usually hold me back on using bronzer is shimmer, but Annabelle solved that issue too, because now there is a a matte version of their famous Biggy Bronzer. Woot Woot.
Haute Gold
So lets first talk about what I love about Biggy Bronzer.
It isn't orange. Sounds easy enough, but some companies just don't seem to grasp that people want a natural bronze look, not a orange spray tan look. This bronzer never looks orange.
It comes in three shades. Haute Gold (which I have pictures of below), Dark Gold and Matte Gold (also photos of below). This means there is a good chance you can find something to suit your tastes and skin tone.
It is Big! Well the name should have given that one away. In case you were wondering it is 15.4 g in size (in comparison my Cargo bronzer is 8.9 g, my The Body Shop Bronzing Powder and Physician's Formula Happy Booster Bronzers are 11g each). Which means I get a lot of product and room to swish my brushes around in.
It has multiple colours in it. It has a fun zebra pattern on it, which gives you a few shades to work with and therefor a better overall shade (or at least I think so).
Matte Gold
It is cheap. Get this baby at your drug store, mass retailer (walmart, superstore) or even on line for about $11.99. Can't go wrong with that.
Finally there is a matte shade. I cannot say enough good things about it being offered in a matte shade. The one thing I really dislike about 99% of bronzers out there is the shimmer. I have a hard enough time working with bronzer since I don't naturally tan that adding shimmer to the mix has never been helpful. Most brands are just so shimmery I can't even consider making them look natural or remotely good on my skin. But the Matte Gold looks fantastic on me. I even love to use it as a contour product since it is matte.
Haute Gold on left and Matte Gold on the right.
So there you have it, a bunch of reasons I love Annabelle's Biggy Bronzers, and why you might too. Overall I love Annabelle's Biggy Bronzers. I truly do. If you are looking at getting a cheap bronzer, a large bronzer or even a matte bronzer I recommend you take a look at them.
* Products sent for review, this does not reflect my views on the products. All opinions are my own.
Jill Oliver-Fox is a Toronto based beauty blogger with a love for beauty, food, and pets. She began the blog in 2009 and hasn't stopped since. To read more click
here.