Hi Divas

How beautiful is this bronzer? Too beautiful to resist, I tell you. When I first laid eyes on it in Sephora I completely almost lost all sense of control. I think most makeup addicts can relate to this trance like state I am speaking off when they see new gorgeous cosmetics. I swear, Too Faced is that one brand that gets me hooked at first sight whenever it comes to their pretty packaging. The brand recently decided to vamp up their whole bronzer collection with a completely new look. They changed the solid gold packaging for a classy and sleek compact. They too added a new addition to the range, which is the Chocolate Gold Bronzer. I am a serious chocolate addict of note therefore anything that resembles and smells like chocolate, I am all for it. When I swatched it in store, my heart skipped several beats and I immediately put it in my basket. This Diva cannot pass on this gold chocolate goodness.


The packaging of this bronzer is all things luxurious and timeless. The compact is round and has sleek gold trimmings and rich brown themes. It reminds me of chocolate wrapped in pretty gold paper in a candy box. You know, when you unwrap a chocolate and reveal its sweet surprise. This compact is just like that. It is quite sturdy and comes with a decent size mirror. There is a cute gold heart that serves as a clasp to open and close the compact. I love how classic and sophisticated the packaging is but it still has that cute girly factor that Too Faced is well loved for. On the inside, chocolate gold lettering is embossed into the bronzing formula. It's so pretty that I have been swirling my brush around the letters to not disrupt the engravings. Another makeup addict problem, LOL!


The bronzer is described as a luminous brown with real shimmering gold. The colour is a soft milky chocolate brown with a radiant glow. Even though there are specks of gold in the pan, when swatched and applied on the face it does not give off a completely shimmery look. There are no chunks of glitter which I love. Instead the glow is soft and the shimmers are light and gives a soft shine. Any age can wear this bronzer as it would look like a natural sun kissed glow. The shade is slightly cooler in tone than what I am used too. Most bronzers that I have used have an orange tinge to them. This one does not. It's rich in brown tones without that orange tint. I can therefore use it as a contour shade as well as a bronzer as the shade is slightly cool. I like to use it in the hollows of my cheeks, around my temples and on my eyes. The formula is soft, smooth and buttery. It blends easily on the face and looks rich in pigmentation. A little product goes a long way. The formula is quite soft and therefore there is some fallout in the pan but not on the face.


The scent of the bronzer is absolutely divine. Whenever you open the compact you are hit with a delicious cocoa scent as the product is made with 100% natural cocoa powder and real gold. The scent is not artificial or overwhelming. It's so inviting and lifts my mood completely. The scent does not last on the face though. You won't be smelling like a chocolate box throughout the day, if you were worried. As you can see in the photos above, the bronzer compliments my medium skin tone really well. If you have a deeper complexion, the shade might be a little too light for you as a deep bronzer but you can use it to give a warm luminous glow to the face. The bronzer lasts well throughout the day on my cheeks and eyes. It does not fade or become muddy. The luminous glow is natural and not overbearing. The brown shade is soft and flattering too. I am honestly so in love with the chocolate gold bronzer. It is a gorgeous addition to my makeup collection and definitely recommend it.



Hope you found this review helpful. Thank you so much for reading.
Divalicious Kisses
Xxxx

Sephora Collection Makeup Haul

Hi Divas

As most of you may know, I have been to Qatar many times. On each trip I do a crazy shopping haul and purchase things that are not available in South Africa. One of my first and most important stops is SEPHORA!!! I remember the first time I was in a Sephora store back in 2013. I was so excited and overwhelmed, I didn't know where to start and what to buy. I was on a budget too and had to be wise on what I spend my money on. The Sephora Collection brand stood out to me because they had an array of cosmetics all at affordable prices. Each time I went on my little trips I would buy a product from the Sephora counters. The Sephora Collection brand never disappointed me. I feel that this brand has excellent quality and deserve more hype and praise than what they are getting now. I would like to share some of my absolute favourite products from the brand with you.This is going to be a LOooooong review, so get your coffee and your snacks! ;-)



Sephora MicroSmooth Baked Face Powder: This is one of my favourite products from the Sephora brand. I love it so much that I am on my second powder compact. The product is described as an ultra light foundation that gives a smooth and air brushed complexion. This is a baked powder infused with green tea extract and radiance boosting minerals. It is designed as a powder foundation that gives a flawless finish with a no makeup, makeup look. I have the shade Light Nude as I bought it as a brightening setting powder and not to be used as a foundation. Since the actual pigment powders are so finely milled, I prefer to lightly sweep this under my eyes on the top parts of my cheeks and top of my forehead and chin area. All the places I like to highlight I would dust this powder on my face for a natural radiant glow. It truly is amazing. It gives my face an airbrushed look and sets my makeup without caking up. The packaging is solid and with 7g of product it lasts a really long time.

Sephora Shimmering Bronzing Powder: I admit that I bought this bronzing compact mainly for the packaging at first. I couldn't resist the beautiful orange sunray design on the compact and inside the case. To my surprise, this turned out to be a wonderful multi purpose bronzer. I chose the shade Light Seychelle Cruise as I didn't really know what to expect and I am not much of a bronzing person since I am tan already, LOL. I use it to give a sun kissed glow to my cheeks and as a lovely warm toned eyeshadow. The bronzer comes in three different colours. There are two tones of brown and a lovely shade of a rosy pink. There is also tiny specks of shimmer in the product. It is so small that it hardly shows up on the face. It does give a pretty radiant glow though. When you mix all three pigments together you get a natural warm sun kissed colour on the skin. The bronzer works perfectly on the eyes as a transition shade too. I have already mentioned that the packaging is beautiful but the compact is great for travel as it is durable and comes with a good sized mirror. I definitely recommend it and would buy another one if I ran out.



Sephora Colourful 5 Shadow Palette: If my memory serves me correct, this was one of the first products I bought from Sephora. The eyeshadows are from the Colourful 5 collection. There are 8 palettes in the range all consisting of 5 shadows. I chose the Pale to Rich Taupe palette which is a neutral toned compact filled with brown and skin toned eyeshadows. There are no names for the eyeshadows so I will refer to them by colour. The darkest shade is a rich matte chocolate brown great for the crease and lower lash line. There are three satin shades consisting of a golden brown with slight glitter specks in it which can be used on the lid or crease for a smokey eye. There is a beautiful satin taupe shade that has purple and brown undertones and looks lovely on the lids as a sultry look. The next satin shade is a creamy champagne shadow that would look flattering on any skin tone. It is my favourite eyeshadow in the palette. The last shade is a full on glitter pearl eyeshadow which can be worn as a topper over the champagne satin shade or as an inner corner eye highlight. The quality of the shadows are wonderful. They are pigmented and blend easily. I will do a more in depth review on this palette at a later stage.

Sephora The Mascara Volume, Length & Definition: This is a mini version of the actual mascara. I picked this up while waiting in the queue at Sephora. They usually have travel size products at the till area and I just couldn't resist this little cutie. This mascara promises to give length, volume and define your lashes all in one sweep. I have the colour 03 Ultra Black. This size is really great to travel with and throw in your purse. It gives lovely volume and definition to my lashes. The shade is a true black and coats the lashes really well. I like the size of the wand. The brush is thick and filled with bristles which grab the lashes easily and gives good volume and lift. This is not a waterproof mascara and has a tendency to smudge before it dries. Make sure your mascara is completely dry before you attempt to place any eye makeup on the eyes or setting spray. I have exercised in this mascara and it does not run or flake. It also removes easily with a cleansing face wash. I recommend this mascara for travel. It's a good mascara for a quick fix but not for a glam night out.

Sephora Rouge Cream R61: I love Sephora lipsticks. They are seriously good quality. They have an array of shades to choose from. Each colour is highly pigmented and rich in texture. The formula of the creams are beautiful. It glides on the lips effortlessly without it bleeding or smudging everywhere. The creams feel comfortable on the lips and give a slight shine. Your lips will look plump and vibrant. I have the shade R61 Lucky One, which is a deep pink rose. It's like a browny pink tone and looks very flattering on the lips. This is my second lipstick from the Sephora Collection and I totally want to purchase more. The packaging is a sleek black plastic case with the Sephora label in bold silver letters. The design is stylish yet sturdy. It won't break easily and looks lovely displayed on a vanity table.


Let me know if you tried any of these products below. Thank you so much for reading.
Lots of love.
Divalicious Kisses!
Xxxx

Hi Divas!

Welcome to my blog! A place where makeup junkies and fellow crazy people can hang out with me. Today I will be reviewing a contour product by NYX called Wonder Stick. If you watch YouTube makeup tutorials you would know that there was a time when it was all about that contoured and chiseled face! Every brand was coming out with a contour palette and every beauty Youtuber was carving out their face like a professional sculptor. I was never on the contour bandwagon as I was too lazy to care because it was an extra step to my already long makeup routine. Plus all those products on my face tend to look super cakey when blended in with my foundation and powders, so I just gave it a skip. Unfortunately for me I wasn't blessed with beautiful supermodel bone structure. In fact I have no cheekbones and a whole lot of chubby cheeks on my face. So I would probably benefit the most from that contoured life but I just can't handle those cumbersome contour palettes. They just look clumsy and unnecessarily big to me. In comes NYX Wonder Stick. A petite and nifty product that I can pop in my makeup bag and be super inconspicuous on my vanity table while giving me that contoured life look. Whoop!

 GET THAT CONTOURED LIFE!


The Wonder Stick comes in 4 shades and I have it in WS02 Medium Tan. It is shaped like a chubby stick and has two sides to it. One is a contour stick and the other a highlighting stick which rotate up and down with a plastic cap. The highlight shade is matte and has a light but bright coverage. The contour shade is a matte taupe brown that looks quite natural on my skin tone and doesn't leave that horrible orange streaks. I love the packaging of the stick as it is small and super convenient. I have two products in one which can fit into the smallest travel bags. NYX gives a reasonable amount of product as it is quite similar to cream concealers that I own from other brands. The box comes with pictures and a step by step guide in how to achieve that perfect contour. For those who watch a trillion beauty videos like me you definitely don't need a guideline as the contoured rules have been etched into your brain already. For the newbies out there NYX does a great job in explaining where to shade and highlight on the face.

 THE CONTOUR WARRIOR HAS BEEN UNLEASHED!


How to Contour and a Key Tip:

As you can see in the photo above I used the lighter shade to highlight the bridge of my nose, under my eyes, centre of my forehead and chin area. Basically you draw a highlighted tree with the base down your nose and the branches across your forehead. Draw upside down triangles under your eyes to get a glowing effect on your face. For the contour we want to fake it till me make it and carve out those non existent cheekbones. Draw lines from your ear to the centre where your nostrils end right under your cheekbone line. Suck in those cheeks and create fish lips for a more precise measurement! Then draw contour lines on the sides of your nose, around the end of your jaw line and across the tops of your forehead. Now here is the key that defines a gorgeous contoured face from a disastrous one: BLEND, BLEND AND BLEND SOME MORE!
You will need a makeup brush or beauty sponge and blend those cream products until they look like shadows and highlights on your face instead of sharp drawn crayon lines.

What's my verdict on this product:
I love it! This is perfect for me as I mentioned before that it is so convenient and travel friendly. Both cream products blend wonderfully onto my skin without it looking cakey or harsh. I love that the shades are natural and they won't make me look like a oompa loompa once applied on my face. I like to set the contour and highlight with matching bronzers and highlighting powders to seal the cream products on the face. The lighter shade is strictly for highlighting purposes. If you want to hide blemishes or dark circles you will have to apply your favourite concealer underneath before you apply this product for extra coverage. The trick that I found to creating a flawless non cakey look is applying a light layer of foundation first on the face then apply your concealers and this wonder stick. Set everything with your desired powders and your face will look naturally highlighted and contoured. As contouring is an extra layer on your face it is important to not cake up your foundation on first application. Start light as you will be layering it with contour creams and powders. This will prevent your makeup from creasing under the eyes and end up looking like a hot cakey mess.


 Forget it or Get it!:
If you are looking for a no fuss contour that looks natural and blends well, then give this Wonder Stick a try.  I loved that it's a trouble free, no fuss product that gives me a natural contour. GET IT!



Hope you found this review helpful
Divalicious kisses
Xxxx