Hi all! I am getting mighty lazy updating this thing!  Well actually it’s not just all laziness, I’m kind of super busy some days too.  Anyways, I went to my friend’s pool yesterday and I thought that I could incorporate that somehow into a blog post.

I recently watched a video on YouTube by Promise Phan (dope2111), Michelle Phan’s sister-in-law.  If you haven’t checked out their videos, then get on YouTube now (of course after you read this post!). Basically what Promise did was a waterproof tutorial using products that should stay on after some fun pool time! (You can check out the video here).  I totally got inspired to create my own look and see how good it would actually hold up, one because I was curious and two, I’m going to Vegas again at the end of August and plan to just bake in the sun all day.

I used a number of products that I thought would stay on after vigorous pool time and that would have an SPF so I wouldn’t burn.

I apologize, all the photos in this post were taken on my iPhone, hence then quality difference.

So let’s get to it!

For the face I tried out e.l.f.’s Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20.

My mom recently picked this up at Target and I thought that because it had an SPF in it it would be great.  The moisturizer is very sheer, so it doesn’t present a lot of colour, but I mean that’s fine because you are going to be in the water anyways and you don’t want your face to look cakey.  And, for you tanners out there, I found I did have to apply sunscreen on my face throughout the day to prevent burning.

For blush, I chose a cream product.  Cream tends to stay on better under water than a powder, it’s something to do with the formulation in the product.

I’m not a cream blush user because I find the product hard to work with.  I prefer a powder one because I like just taking my blush brush, swiping it on, and then I’m good to go.  The only cream blush I seemed to have in my collection is this mini one from Clinique that I’m sure I got in a gift with purchase.  It’s the Blushwear Cream Stick in 01 Glow Blush which is more of a bronzy colour, which is perfect for the sun and beach/pool.  All you got to do is dab it on your cheeks and then blend to perfection.

Next is eyes, which is my favourite part!  Just like the cheeks, a cream eyeshadow is preferred, however, because I don’t have any cream eyeshadows I grabbed my trusty Urban Decay Primer Potion and dabbed that on my lids instead.  I then chose Half Baked from my UD Naked palette for my lids.

I chose a gold colour because it’s very summery and perfect for the pool.  Looking back now, I totally should have lined my lower lids with a blue colour for that extra pop of colour to the look (MAC’s Surf, Baby! collection has an excellent waterproof blue eye liner).  You can of course choose to use any colour for this look, its not just limited to golds.  However, with that being said I would definitely use an eyeshadow primer if you are going to use powder eyeshadow.  There are a variety of them out there other than Urban Decay’s (Two Faced Shadow Insurance, MAC Paint Pots, Benefit Stay Don’t Stray, etc.)

To finish off the eyes I used a waterproof gel liner.  You can choose to use whatever liner you choose whether it’s a pencil, liquid, gel, or shadow, but make sure it is waterproof!

The eyeliner I used was Sephora’s Waterproof Smoky Cream Liner in the colour Must Have, which is just a matte black.  I like this product because it’s very creamy and goes on jet black.  I personally don’t find a huge difference between gel liner and liquid liner, if I don’t want my liner to smudge then I will go with this one, otherwise I usually stick to my MAC liquid liner.

To finish up the eyes grab your waterproof mascara and coat those lashes!  Like I have mentioned before, I have eyelash extensions so I don’t use mascara and they stay curly in the water anyways.   I am in the desperate need for a fill though!

For the lips I chose a lipstick with an SPF in it.

I grabbed my Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte in the colour Fetish Pink (# 8).  This lipstick has an SPF of 15 in it so it has you covered for the sun (at least for a little bit).  I think that the lips are often the most overlooked when it comes to sun protection (for me), so you always want to make sure that you have some sort of lip product that offers a SPF.  If if comes in cute colours, then even better!

Alright, so that is all that I applied, here is the finished look.

I thought this look was very bare, it focused on the eyes and lips to create a pop of colour.  For my everyday look I use foundation and concealer, so I felt very natural without it.  And, I fully expected the lip colour to vanish throughout the day (which it did).

With my face being waterproof and full of SPF, I grabbed my sunscreen and shades and I was on my way!

Don't forget sunscreen! I like Hawaiian Tropic's Sheer Touch in SPF 15!

Alright, so now let’s fast-forward five hours and see how the look held up!

As you can see the lipstick vanished (although not as bad as I thought it would, there was still a hint of colour.  The eyeshadow and liner stayed on very well, however, there was some slight smudging under my eyes.  The tinted moisturizer wasn’t that pigmented so it wasn’t that noticeable to begin with before and after, and as for the blush it didn’t seem to make it.  However, if I used a more full-coverage foundation then the blush/bronzer would have been more noticeable.

Overall, I think the look worked.  I believe that Promise mentions a Maybelline foundation in her video to use, so if you want something with more coverage then give that a try.  I totally think the eyes worked and would definitely use these products again.

Let me know of any products you know of that hold well under water!  Also, keep a look out on my blog in the coming days and weeks, I have some very exciting news coming up!

I got my first MAC eyeshadow when I was about 15 years old. I purchased it at The Bay in Eaton’s Centre in Toronto and the colour was Pink Freeze, a frosty iridescent light pink colour, which I actually still have.

Since then I have collected a few more over the years, not a ton though because MAC eyeshadows are quite expensive in my opinion.  They are almost $20 CDN ($17.50) and you only get one.  Now as we all know, one eyeshadow is not a lot.  You need a base colour, a crease, highlight, accent, and if you really wanted, a eyeliner colour as well.  That’s five colours and if you buy five of them from MAC that will set you back $87.50 CDN.  That’s a lot for only five eyeshadows (albeit that they do last you a long time).

Enter the MAC Pro Palette.  I discovered this beauty a few years ago when my city finally got a MAC store.  Previous to the store we only had the counters at The Bay where you had to buy the eyeshadows in the pan or you can buy the special edition palettes.

Colours from top to bottom, left to right: Carbon, Soot (pro colour), Black Tied, Cosmic (limited edition), Satin Taupe, All That Glitters, Sketch, Indian Ink (pro colour), Trax, Pink Freeze, Beautiful Iris, Phloof!

So what is it?

The Pro Palette is a palette (available in either four or 15 slots) that you put your MAC eyeshadows into.  It has a variety of benefits; it keeps your collection together in one handy tool, it’s great for travelling, perfect for organizing, it looks cool, and best of all it will save you money.  The individual pans for this bad boy are $14 CDN or $11 USD.  The potted eyeshadows cost $17.50 CDN or $14.50 USD. Let’s do some math here.

Let’s say we were to buy the 15 slot palette ($17.50 CDN, $14.00 USD) and 15 shadows to fill it:

CDN: 15 x 14 = 210 + 17.50 = $227.50

USD: 15 x 11 = 165 + 14.50 = $179.50

Okay now let’s compare that to just the eyeshadows alone if we were to buy 15 of them.

CDN: 15 x 17.50 = $262.50

USD: 15 x 14.50 = $217.50

Therefore:

CDN: $262.50 – $227.50 = $35 (the cost of two potted eyeshadows)

USD: $217.50 – $179.50 = $38

I’m in no way a mathematician but clearly the Pro Palette saves you a ton of money on eyeshadows.

When you buy the colours they come in the panned version with a magnet on the back to stick in the palette.  There will also be a label that says the name of the colour.

So with all these pros there has to be some cons right?  The Pro Palettes and the pans to fill them are only available at the MAC stores or MAC Pro stores (stores that sell the Pro line colours and products), you cannot get the pans or palettes at a MAC counter (like in The Bay).  Most of the major cities across Canada have a MAC store, but for those who do not and only have a counter you can order online through the MAC website.  Also, the limited edition colours are only available in the potted form (some counters will tell you differently, the colours I have ever wanted were unavailable as just the pan).

So what if I have a ton of potted eyeshadows?  Well, luckily there are tons of videos on YouTube that show how to depot your MAC shadows.  They are actually quite easy, all you need is a hair straightener, some wax paper, and a knife.

Once the pans are popped out you can add a magnet and sticker and write the name on the back and stick it in the palette, it’s that easy!

And that’s not all! You can take the empties and if you have six MAC containers you can take them back to a MAC counter and exchange them for a lipstick of your choice, or at an actual store, an eyeshadow, lipstick, or gloss as part of the Back to MAC program.  It’s just win-win all around!

One more to go before I can get a free product!

I personally love my Pro Palette, I think it’s a super handy tool and it keeps my eyeshadows all organized, and not to mention, saves me money!

If you have any questions regarding the palette leave me a comment below!

Hi all!  So I have had requests for Ziggy to do a guest post, and when I sat down and discussed it with him (well kind of) we decided to do a photo blog instead!  It was pretty hot this afternoon so this is what Ziggy did.  Enjoy!

Ziggy has a dog house which he never ever uses (unless you count retrieving his ball from inside it).  Today because it was so hot we decided to set up his pool in front of it.  So yes, he has a house with a pool outside of it.  Lucky guy, huh?

It got so hot that he decided to take a dip with his favourite ball.  He gets pretty hot with that large winter coat he always wears.

Ziggy isn’t that much of a swimmer so he decided to go tan instead on his towel… he’s rather white…

Too sunny!!! Can’t see!!!!

Time to go inside now!  I’m hungry!

I hoped you liked this post!  I was a request and I always like taking photos of Ziggy.  Leave me a comment if you want other photo stories!