Cute & Comfy Shoes from Reef

Cute & Comfy Shoes from Reef

I don’t live anywhere close to beautiful beaches, which is one of the reasons that I haven’t really been exposed to surfing or that lifestyle, so this was my first time hearing about Reef. I did some research & their website says the following: “Reef is a core surf company. [They] create authentic and innovative products intended to nurture an incredibly fortunate lifestyle that involves surf, sensuality and a life filled with happiness…Reef continuously creates high quality, comfortable sandals and surf apparel for an active lifestyle. Our products are eco-friendly as we constantly strive to improve our environment.”

Although I’m not a surfer, while browsing through their shoes for girls, I found cute shoes. I actually dislike wearing socks & boots all the time, so I avoid wearing them for as long as I can. I opt for flats at times even when there’s snow on the ground – yeah.. I can be a bit crazy at times. Keeping that in mind, here are the top 2 that I liked even though the weather in Canada is chilly these days & most people here wouldn’t choose these to wear right now:

Reef High Tropic Shoe

• “Suede wedge features hand woven textile from India”
• These would look great with so many outfits. You could pair these with skinny blue jeans & a casual T-shirt for a casual look. You could also wear them with skinny jet black jeans, a plain gray or white T-shirt tucked in the pants at the front with lots of jewelry & accessories for a more dressed up look.

Reef Tropic Solids Shoe

• “Mattress-inspired quilted PU foam footbed with anatomical arch support”
• I was attracted to these because of the colour. I have a handbag & a shirt that are similar to it & it’s hard to find casual shoes in this colour. & if you think you won’t be able to wear these with a lot of outfits, you might be surprised – I used to own mustard coloured flats that I wore with everything. They added that extra pop of colour, which I really like.

In the footer of their leather flip flops for women page it states that “This popular Reef footwear features ISA L.I.T.E. (low impact to the environment) leather sandals, soft suede footbeds, and comfortable arch support.” I’ve actually spent some extra money for flats that had soft footbeds & comfortable arch support & those were super comfortable even on days when I was on my feet all day, so I would definitely recommend you to look for footwear with these features.

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Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post written by me using images from the brand’s website.

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24k Drama

24k Drama

Before I start getting carried away on this keyboard, I want to let you know that this is a look that I did months ago (in Feb 2014 to be precise). If you follow me on Instagram, you may have spotted this look a few times already - I haven't included any of those pics in this post, but keep reading for links to them if you want to check them out. Also, this post is picture heavy, so I'll try to keep the rest of the post short.

If you don't follow me on Instagram (@saimese), here are the pictures & video that this look appeared in prior to this post: {picture 1 • picture 2 • video • picture 3 • picture 4 • picture 5}

Moving on to the products used.

Kisses:

Rimmel London Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in 063 Eastend Snob

Medusa's Makeup lip gloss in Whispers

Face:

Revlon Colorstay foundation for combination/oily skin in 250 Fresh Beige

Maybelline Fit Me concealer in 25 Medium

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in Honey - Medium 3-4 [to set the concealer & foundation]

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil matte bronzing powder [to contour]

Laura Geller's Blush-N-Brighten in Roseberry [cheeks]

I didn't remember to take a picture of the highlight product(s), so I'm unable to recall what I used since this was months ago. It seems like I used a combination of items, including an eyeshadow.

Winks:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Primer

Prestige Cosmetics eyeshadow in C-153 Angel [highlight]

Annabelle Cosmetics Studio Pigment in Magentini [browbone + crease + outer 3/4 of lower lashline]

Glow Essentials pigment in 24k [lid]

BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CM20 [black shade in the outer corner + crease]

Pari Beauty Transforming Eye Gel [mixed some in with the pigments & black eyeshadow for better colour payoff & to reduce fall-out]

Maybelline Ultra Liner waterproof liquid liner in Black [upper lashline + inner & outer wings]

Almay intense i-color defining liner in Onyx [tightline + waterline]

L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black [upper & lower lashes]

Since the look was super dramatic, I wanted to use dramatic eyelashes too.

Brows:

Senna Cosmetics Sketch-a-Brow pencil in Dark Taupe [inner third]

Senna Cosmetics Sketch-a-Brow pencil in Mink [outer two-thirds]

I wasn't aiming for an Arabic, Bollywood, or South Asian bridal inspired makeup look, but I know that's what a lot of people would call this. I just really wanted to use my 24k gold pigment that I bought from the beauty school (Glow Academy) that I went to because I hadn't used it before. One thing led to another & it just turned into this dramatic look while I was doing my makeup. I really like how it turned out.

xoxo

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Blinged Out Brows

Blinged Out Brows

When I saw Huda Kattan's (also known as HudaBeauty) video on Bling Brow by Benefit last week, I completely loved the look. I decided to try it the next day itself! I knew I wanted to wear a bold lip for fall too, so this look was created with both of those things in mind.

You do not need the Bling Brow kit for this look. You can use bindis instead, which are self-adhesive & are applied mainly by South Asian women on their forehead between their brows. These would be much cheaper. However, I don't wear bindis, so I used what I already had: rhinestones that are meant for nail art, lash glue, & a tweezer. I decided to go with 2 regular/clear rhinestones with a lavender rhinestone in the middle. Due to my rhinestones being smaller, the lavender one didn't show up as well in person or in pics, so next time I would definitely go for a darker purple or just use 3 clear ones. I've also used these rhinestones in other makeup looks that have been previously posted on the blog, but only on the inner or outer corners of my eye.

Winks:

Eyeshadow primer: Too Faced shadow insurance

Browbone + crease: MAC eyeshadow in Saddle

Lid: MAC eyeshadow in Bamboo

Outer corner + crease: BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in MM17

Waterline + lower lashline: NYX jumbo eyeshadow pencil in Purple

Lower lasline: BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CS06 & blended that out using BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in CM08

Tear duct + under brow arch: Hard Candy So Baked Bronzer in 129 Tiki

Liquid eyeliner: Milani Eye Tech Extreme Liquid Eye Liner in 01 Blackest Black

Tightline: Milani Liquid Eye liquid-like eyeliner pencil in 01 Black

Lashes (upper & lower): 1 coat of L'Oreal Voluminous Original

False eyelashes: BornPrettyStore.com in #L-09

I've posted close up pics of the eye makeup in the following post: Review: BornPrettyStore.com lashes #L-09 & brush 

Face:

Monistat Soothing Care Chafing Relief Powder-Gel (used as a primer)

Revlon Colorstay foundation for combination/oily skin in 250 Fresh Beige

Maybelline Fit Me concealer in 25 Medium (under my eyes & around my nose + mouth)

e.l.f. High Definition Powder in Clear (to set my concealer & the areas where I get oily)

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder in Original Chocolate (to contour my cheeks, jawline, & temples)

Hard Candy So Baked Bronzer in 129 Tiki (cheekbones)

Senna Cosmetics sheer face color powder blush in Moonberry (cheeks)

Brows:

BH Cosmetics eyeshadow in MM17 (fill in some of the sparse areas of my brows)

Rhinestones meant for nail art from BornPrettyStore.com

Kisses:

Vaseline (applied lightly before I started with my makeup)

Sephora cream lip stain in 03 Strawberry Kissed

Wet n Wild MegaLast Lip Color in 916D Raivin' Raisin (applied on top of the Sephora lip stain with a lip brush)

I'm trying to grow out my eyebrows, so they're all over the place. The look would be much better with cleaner brows. I still ended up LOVING the blinged out brows on myself so much that now I want an excuse to wear these.

They're over the top, but if you're confident you can rock them, especially if your rhinestones are as small as the ones I used. I did the look for this blog & ended up wearing this look to the mall, but that's just me. These would be perfect to wear to weddings too - they totally go with the bold outfits & makeup at South Asian weddings.

Would you wear these blinged out brows? I'm curious to hear what others think of these.

xoxo

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Tarte Cosmetics Brushes for a Flawless Base

Tarte Cosmetics Brushes for a Flawless Base

If you are someone who has to travel during holiday season, picking outfits ahead of time, packing presents, & packing all your hair, makeup, & skincare products can be a mission. To some people I know it might seem a bit early to speak about the holidays, but it’s already November & Sephora has its holiday gift sets on display. Tarte cosmetics is one of those brands that always has pretty holiday gift sets. This year, I decided to browse through their products online & I really liked some of the tarte cosmetics makeup brushes. The 3 makeup brushes that caught my eye will help you achieve a flawless base, which is important especially during the holidays when you’re taking lots of group pictures & selfies.

the buffer airbrush finish bamboo foundation brush

$32

This brush is actually on tarte’s best sellers list. It’s dense, which will allow for a full coverage application. It’s also fairly large, which means you can buff your foundation in quicker & it’s supposed to give you an airbrush finish. Quick & easy full coverage = perfect!

shape shifter double ended bamboo brow brush

$22

Whether I apply liquid or powder foundation, one step that I make sure I don’t skip is brushing through my brows with a spoolie brush. I do this because I already have really dark, full brows & I don’t fill them in unless I’m wearing a lot of eye makeup for a special occasion. Since I don’t do anything to my brows on a regular basis, I go over them with a spoolie brush to make sure the eyebrow hair is brushed through & in one direction instead of being all over the place since my eyebrow hair is long too. It also gets rid of any foundation that I may have buffed on to my eyebrows while applying it & my eyebrows look dark again.

If I was filling in my brows, I would use the angled side of the brush & I know a lot of women would use it for this purpose. However, if you’re someone like me & you already have full brows that you don’t fill in, you can use the angled brush with gel eyeliner to create a classic winged eyeliner look. I also use angled brushes to apply eyeshadow to my lower lashline, so this brush is definitely a winner for me.

the slenderizer bamboo contouring brush

$32

Even on days when I’m not wearing a lot of makeup, I love sculpting & defining my cheekbones & this is such a great multi-purpose dual-ended brush for doing that. This brush may be used in a lot of ways depending on your preference of how sharp you like your features to appear. The rounded end may be used to buff out any cream or liquid highlighter. Due to the brush being so dense, you may also use it to pack on a lot of product in the hollows of your cheeks to contour.

The angled end allows for easy product placement. It may be used to buff & blend out any product packed on in the hollows of your cheeks with the rounded end. If you’re not a fan of a really sharp contour, you may use the angled end alone to apply your contour powder lightly & this will give you a more natural contour. This end can also be used to apply blush once you are done contouring.

I love how these brushes would allow me to achieve a perfect base & save room so I can pack all my eye makeup brushes, which I have the hardest time narrowing down. These tarte cosmetics brushes are made from sustainably harvested bamboo. The bamboo handles along with the gold ferrules & densely packed bristles give these brushes a luxurious feel. & who doesn’t want that luxurious feeling during the holidays?

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*Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post written by me using images from the brand's website.

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