Beauty | CHANEL #90 Convoitise Illusion d'Ombre

Early last week I was at the mall with my cousin to try and find a dress for a wedding I attended. After the perfect dress was purchased, we did a bit more browsing and made our way towards Holt Renfrew.  I love perusing the beauty counters in Holt Renfrew and almost always find myself spritzing my wrists with the Jo Malone Earl Grey & Cucumber perfume or moisturizing my hands with the Laura Mercier Crème Brûlée Soufflé Body Crème (neither of which I can justify buying at this time).

I headed over towards the Chanel counter just to browse and swatch some of the newest products, when I found this little limited edition gem - CHANEL #90 Convoistise Illusion d'Ombre Long Wear Luminous Eyeshadow ($37 CAD).

The CHANEL website describes their Illusion d'Ombre eyeshadows with the following statement: 

"This intensely shimmering long-wear eyeshadow offers true versatility. An innovative gel texture that is both soft and cushiony allows it to be worn as eyeshadow or eyeliner. Includes a specially designed shadow/liner brush, developed specifically for this unique formula."

The packaging is classic CHANEL - sleek and sophisticated. The product is held in a glass pot with a twist on lid and an embossed CHANEL logo. This eyeshadow comes with a small blush for application, it can be used to apply colour all over the lid or to trace a precise line for eyeliner. I'm not too crazy about the brush, but it can be good for on the go touch ups and travel.

Besides the gorgeous colour, one thing I really love about this eyeshadow is its texture. It is a powdery-cream eyeshadow that is soft to the touch and has an almost pillow-y feel. It is very smooth and applies and blends with ease. When I first tried the product in store I was so amazed by the silkiness of the eyeshadow that I kept trying to get my cousin to give it a feel, haha!

Upon opening this packaging in the store and seeing the product I immediately thought of Urban Decay's Half Baked eye shadow and the Honey shade from the Stila 'In the Garden' palette. While in the pot, the three eye shadows may look similar but after swatching I was happy to see that Convoitise was not quite as intense.

Half Baked and Honey are more of an in-your-face golden colour. Convoitise has a more subtle gold/champagne hue with super-fine pink shimmer. Upon initial application, this eyeshadow is very sheer, but you can easily build it up for a stronger wash of colour. 

 The sheerness of this eyeshadow makes it perfect for a natural, everyday look or to be used as a base for other eyeshadows. I've only worn this product once so far and I found the lasting power to be quite good. I wore it to a wedding on Saturday night and it lasted throughout the evening without any creasing or fading. I did wear it over top my Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, though. The CHANEL website says it is long lasting, so I'm curious to see how well it holds up without the aid of a primer.

I find this eyeshadow very easy to apply and can be done with just your fingers for quick application. However, I used my Urban Decay Shadow brush (that came with the Naked palette) and found that it worked really well with the eyeshadow.

L-R: Stila Honey | Urban Decay Half Baked | Stila Breeze | Chanel Convoitise

I took this last photo just to compare Convoitise with the eyeshadows I initially thought it would be similar to. As you can see, Honey and Half Baked are much more intense and golden. The third shade, Breeze from Stila, is a shimmery beige colour and somewhat similar but less sheer.

I know it's a bit of a steep price for an eyeshadow, but I can really see myself getting a lot of use out of this for everyday use as well as for evening looks. I would definitely recommend this product, if your wallet will allow it!

xoxo Thanks for reading!

Baking | Vanilla Cupcakes + Salted Caramel Buttercream

Hey everyone! I have yet another delicious baking post for you today! I decided that yesterday was a good day to make cupcakes, so I whipped up these little beauties - vanilla cupcakes STUFFED with salted caramel, TOPPED with salted caramel buttercream and DRIZZLED with even more salted caramel. I really like caramel. Like, a lot.

I used this vanilla cupcake recipe from Glorious Treats, but go ahead and use your favourite vanilla cupcake recipe. For the salted caramel I followed this recipe from Design. Bake. Run. 

Salted Caramel Buttercream -

Ingredients:

1 Cup Room Temperature Butter

3 1/2 Cups of Icing Sugar

1/4 Cup of Salted Caramel (Recipe here)

1 Tbps Heavy Cream

Instructions:

1 - In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter.

2 - Slowly add the icing sugar into the butter. Continue mixing on medium-high speed until combined.

3 - Add in salted caramel mixture and mix. Repeat with heavy cream.

Adapted from Design. Bake. Run.

I used a cupcake corer to remove the centre of my cupcakes to fill with caramel. If you don't have a cupcake corer, you can use the wide end of a piping bag tip to punch a hole out in the middle of the cupcake, twist it and lift it out. Fill your cupcakes with your desired amount of caramel. To create an even surface on the cupcakes, use the bits of cake you punched out and place them over the caramel filled gaps.

This caramel will set, so if you do fill your cupcakes with this caramel do not expect it to be runny once you bite into your cake. 

Once you pipe your salted caramel buttercream on your cupcakes, use any leftover caramel to drizzle over the frosting. I filled a piping bag with my extra caramel and used a small, round decorating tip to drizzle with.

Once you've done all that, grab a tall, cold glass of milk and take a huge bite! Enjoy!

I hope you guys had a great weekend! Let me know in the comments below what your favourite types of cupcakes are!

Thanks for reading!

Wish List | One

o1. MOTO Blue High Waisted Hotpant - I really love high waisted anything, especially shorts. These cute denim ones are from Topshop and I need to get my hands on them. At the current time, I don't own any high waisted shorts, but I have quite a few tops that I think would pair so well with these for the Summertime.

o2. Cream Texture Scallop Swimsuit - I don't normally go for one piece swimsuits but the second I saw this adorable swimsuit on the Topshop Instagram account I knew I had to have it. Yellow and white is one of my favourite colour combinations and this one piece is no exception. I especially love the scalloped detailing and the retro vibe this piece gives off.

o3. Tiny Kitten Ring - Ever since Chelsea wrote a blogpost on her rings from Catbird, I have been lusting over nearly every ring on their website - especially this tiny kitten ring by Bittersweets NY. I'm pretty much obsessed with anything cat-patterned or cat related (crazy cat lady?!!) and this dainty, little ring would make such an adorable addition to my ever-growing cat collection.

o4. Mermaid's Dream - How amazing is this nail polish?!!! I'm a huge Little Mermaid fan (honestly, who isn't?) and I love most things mermaid related. This polish is metallic and turquoise and when applied it really does have a mermaid-esque look to it. I'm not usually a big fan of glitter nail polish on all my nails but I think I'd make an exception for this one. It would also look super cute just on an accent nail.

o5. Crystal Catmaster Sunglasses - I can't bring myself to splurge on a pair of Rayban Clubmaster sunglasses. I would worry about leaving them someplace or tossing them in my bag and getting them scratched up. These sunglasses from Topshop are a sort of hybrid between the classic Clubmaster and Cat Eye sunglasses frame. The Cat Eye gives these sunglasses a retro feel and I really like the green frames, as opposed to the usual black which tends to be a bit too harsh for my fair skin.

o6. Lilac Cologne Spray - Last month I did a blog post on my favourite perfumes and included a fragrance from Demeter Fragrance Library that smells amazing. They have so many different (and unique!) scents on their website, but the scent I most want to try is lilac. Lilacs have always been one of my favourite flowers and the smell of them reminds me of the backyard of my childhood home during the Springtime.

What items are currently on your wish list?

Weekend Catchup | Berries & Icing Flowers

Happy Monday Everyone!

I thought this blog could use a bit of continuity with the posts, so I decided every Monday (or late Sunday) I will dedicate a post to what I got up to during the weekend. This weekend I really didn't do that much. However, I do have some pretty photos to share with you all.

Saturday

During the Summer, my parents will often find themselves at the farmer's market very early on a Saturday morning. This past Saturday they came home with the tastiest, fresh bread and lots of berries for me to bake with. 

With these berries my mother and I made a Berry Galette. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of this, but it was really delicious served warm with a scoop of ice cream. If I do make it again (which I fully intend to do), I will definitely get some pictures to share and post the recipe.

Ontario Strawberries - So sweet! Much better than the strawberries I get at the grocery store!

Golden Raspberries - I've never seen these before! The colour is a little... weird, but they taste really nice! Not like regular raspberries!

Tayberries - A cross between the red raspberry and the blackberry! So tasty!

Sunday

Currently, I'm attending Confectionary Arts school on a part-time basis, every Sunday. I'm partaking in a decorating course and yesterday we worked on making flowers using icing and meringue. It took a lot of practice, but I think I managed to decorate some cupcakes pretty well!

I really don't remember which flower this was meant to be and I think it pales in comparison to the sunflower and rose. However, I do think it still looks quite pretty!

The sunflower is so cute! For the centre of the flower I used crispy, chocolate balls. I think a whole tray of sunflower cupcakes would be so cute for a party - they're so bright and sunny!

How pretty is the rose cupcake? It is definitely my favourite out of the bunch.

What did you guys get up to this weekend?

Baking | Lemon Loaf

This past Saturday I got in the kitchen and whipped up a lemon loaf using this recipe from the Chatelaine website. The icing sugar and lemon glaze on top gave the loaf a sweet and slight crunch - definitely my favourite part of this dessert.

This recipe was incredibly easy to follow and the cake turned out perfectly. Very delicious with great lemon flavour. This lemon loaf is the perfect dessert for the summertime and also makes for a great addition to your breakfast if you're like me and looooove dessert-y type foods for your morning meal ;)

Nothing pairs better with lemon than blueberry! My mother and I made this quick and easy topping to add to our slices of lemon loaf. The blueberries add an almost sour and tangy flavour to contrast with the light lemon taste of the cake itself. It's a match made in heaven.

For the blueberry topping, add however many blueberries you like to a sauce pan on low heat. Add in some agave nectar (or honey/sugar to sweeten) as well as some lemon zest. Stirring occasionally let this simmer on your stove top until warmed.

Essentials | Summer

Happy Saturday everyone! 

It has been incredibly hot here, so I thought I would share my summer essentials with you guys! Zoe and Louise recently posted a video on Zoe's channel (which you can view here) where they talked about their Summer essentials. That video inspired me to write this post. These are some of the products that I enjoy using or wearing during the warmer months. I've included some beauty items as well as a few fashion items and accessories.

First off, I have this super cute case for my sunglasses that I got from Forever 21 back in May. I can't find it on their website so I'm not too sure if they still have it in stock. Anyways, it was only a few dollars and it's just made of fabric so it's not structured or anything. If I had a pair of expensive, designer sunglasses I don't think I'd trust this case to protect them, haha. Inside I just have a really cheap pair of Forever 21 sunglasses.

Second, I have this beautiful Essie nail polish in California Coral ($8 CDN). It's a bright, fun coral (duh!) colour that is perfect for Summer. I love to use this colour on my toes.

Another one of my summer essentials is the Tea Tree Water Toner from Lush ($9.95-$21.95 CDN). This toner is alcohol free so it is not at all harsh on the skin. I love spraying this on my face when it's incredibly hot out to refresh my skin. While using this, I also found that any skin issues I had have settled down. The scent is light and fresh and I think this product would be great to bring on an plane to keep your skin refreshed and to prevent it from drying out! It comes in two sized bottles, 100ml (which is allowed in a carry-on bag in Canada) or 200ml.

Protecting your lips from sun is very important all year round, especially during the summertime. To keep my lips safe, I will often use lip balms with SPF. The current lip balm I'm using is the Blistex Fruit Smoothies lip balm in Melon Medley ($3.79 for a three pack). This balm keeps my lips super moisturized and contains SPF 15.

Instead of reapplying powder throughout the day to keep my face shine-free, I like using blotting papers. These adorable Hello Kitty ones I got from Sephora a while back, but I'm not sure if they still have them in stock (I couldn't find them on the website). Obviously you can find your standard blotting papers at your local drugstore, but these ones are just too cute and really keep me from looking overly shiny.

I find washing my hair very laborious. I actually hate having to wash it. During the summer months I find my hair to start looking greasy and dirty much more often. So, in between washes I use my Batiste Dry Shampoo (Prices vary). I just give my hair a few spritzes, let it soak in a bit and then brush it out and my hair looks much better than it did. I really enjoy the fresh scent, as well. It leaves your hair smelling and looking clean.

I use Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub from Lush ($21.95-$35.95) all year round, however I find that I reach for it a lot more during the summer months. This product can be used on both your face and body, but sometimes it's a little too harsh and drying to use on my face. I like to use this before shaving my legs to exfoliate. I find that it really scrubs off any dead skin (yuck!) and gives me a super close shave. It also kind of smells like margaritas :3

Next, I have the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunscreen ($11.99 CDN). I like to use this sunscreen just on my face because it's incredibly light and absorbs very quickly. Another great thing about this sunscreen is that after application my face does not look at all shiny or oily. After reading some reviews I've noticed some users skin broke out after wearing this product on their faces. My sister and I both use this sunscreen and neither of us experienced any issues with our skin. So, if you have blemish prone skin I would not recommend this. 

I really love denim shorts! They're comfy and super casual and can make any outfit look instantly cool. These two pairs I recently picked up from American Eagle while they were having a sale (buy one pair get the second for $10!) The first pair is the AE Destroyed Festival Shortie ($42.97 CDN) in a medium denim colour. The second pair is the AE Destroyed Denim Shortie ($42.27 CDN) and they're a light denim (they look a lot more blue-ish on the website than in person). There is currently a 40% off sale on the American Eagle website, so if you need anything - go check it out!

I'm not a huge fan of scarves during Summer, but this one was way too cute to pass up. I got it back in May from Chapters and I believe it is no longer in stock. However, they still have a bunch of equally cute ones that you can buy from their website here (plus a few of them are 30% off!). I like wearing this on cooler Summer days or during the evenings when I'm wearing a pretty simple and casual outfit.

My final Summer essential is my favourite Starbucks beverage to order during the warmer months, an Iced White Chocolate Mocha. I had no intentions of incorporating this in my essentials, however when my ever-so kind sister, Laura brought it home for me while I was taking my photos, I couldn't help but include it.

So! Those are all my Summer essentials! I'm thinking maybe I'll do similar posts for each season. Let me know in the comments below what your essentials for Summer are!

Happy Weekend!

Baking | Strawberry and Blueberry Muffins

Happy July everyone! And Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian readers!

 This morning my mom and I decided to put all the strawberries and blueberries in our fridge to good use. So we whipped up some delicious, summery muffins! 

The other day my mom made these really tasty strawberry-rhubarb muffins using this recipe from Satisfy My Sweet Tooth. The muffins came out great and were almost cake-like. I'm not the biggest fan of rhubarb, so when we made the muffins today we left it out completely. We used the same recipe but with minor alterations. Continue reading below to see what we did!

Strawberry/Blueberry Muffins -

Yield: 24 Muffins

Ingredients:

1/3 Cup of Grape Seed Oil

1 Cup Milk

2 Eggs

2 Tsp Vanilla

3 Cups Flour

1 1/2 Cups Sugar

1 Tsp Salt

4 Tsp Baking Powder

1 1/2 Cups Chopped Strawberries

1 1/2 Cups Blueberries

Lemon Zest

Additional Sugar for Topping

Instructions:

1 - Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line muffin pan with liners.

2 - In a bowl, mix together flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

3 - In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine oil, eggs, milk and vanilla until everything is mixed together.

4 - Add the dry ingredients into the wet and and mix until entirely combined.

5 - Grab a second bowl and divide the batter in half.

6 - In the first bowl fold in the strawberries until well incorporated. Use large spoonfuls to add batter to muffin tray.

7 - In the second bowl gently fold in the blueberries and add lemon zest. Again, use large spoonfuls to add batter to the muffin tray.

8 - Sprinkle granulated white sugar over the tops of each muffin.

9 - Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Recipe adapted from Satisfy My Sweet Tooth.

I think the muffins came out so pretty! Especially with the fruit inside all gooey and delicious, running down the sides! The muffins themselves came out so soft and taste amazing. They are packed with so much fruit and are perfect for summer!

Let me know if you end up baking some of these for yourself! Thank you so much for reading! I hope you all had a great weekend!

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