Perfect Contour Shade for Pale Skin

I know I've been a little MIA lately but life has been so hectic with school, applying for jobs in the real world and interviews. I will be back on schedule this upcoming Thursday I promise all of you! I had been looking for a contour colour that would suit me for a very long time. I’m so pale that most colours would be way too dark and look extremely muddy on me. I finally decided to go get help at the MAC counter because so many brands in Sephora weren't suiting me. The girl recommended that instead of trying a bronzer why don’t I opt for a matte blush that is the shade of a more contour colour. This started my love affair with the shade Harmony. I could never use this shade as a blush and it’s the perfect shade of a brown contour for my fair skin (I’m NW13 in MAC foundations). It’s super easy to blend and I like to streak it down my contour line so I place it directly where I want it and then heavily blend it out for the most natural look. I refuse to do my makeup without contouring now. I have such a round face that it makes a huge difference and I realized no matter how fair I am I can contour, I just had to find the perfect shade for me! I hope this helps all of you fair skinned girls if you were struggling like I was to find a contour shade.

(Don't mind my super veiny arm in this picture I was in a rush and I didn't check my pictures before getting ready to upload them. It's really late and the lighting's not the greatest either).

Do you know of any good contour shades for  pale skin? Have you ever tried Harmony? 

Illamasqua in Canada

I live in the Toronto area and recently a handful of Illamasqua booths have popped up in certain The Bay locations. I think there’s only a small number so far and I don’t know if anywhere else in Canada has them because Toronto is usually the first city to get anything like this before it spreads to other major cities. I was walking through Sherway Gardens mall when I stumbled upon the counter and of course the makeup artist offered to put some makeup on me and I was sold. First I tried out one of the matte lipsticks which I have to say is incredible. They are so highly pigmented it’s crazy and it didn't bleed even without a lip liner. This lipstick got me through drinking lots of water from a BOTTLE, eating pizza (I know isn't that crazy?), and taking loads of liquid cough syrup. It lasted me from 11am to when I removed it at 6 pm and it wasn't even faded… I definitely need to stock up on some of these. The price was $24 which is more expensive than Mac but I do find these matte lipsticks last way longer and I would recommend them.  

The Regional Trainer was there and he suggested I try the skin base foundation which is a primer foundation and concealer all in one. It was pretty amazing, after one light coat all my flaws were covered and the girl just dabbed a bit more under my eyes and on an acne spot I had and it doubled as a concealer. It leaves a flawless finish and with some of the setting powder I barely got oily only needed to blot around 5-6pm before I went out for dinner. My foundation lasted me until evening without getting patchy or cakey. With foundation application blush always has to be put on.. especially with skin as light as mine. They have 26 shades and I was colour 6, so they do cater to a lot of extremely fair girls and a lot of deeper skin tones as well which is extremely important. She ended up putting a very light blush in the colour tremble on me which is a beautiful light peachy pink and I ended up purchasing it. I suggest this shade for any girls who are extremely fair like me and it is super pigmented so it really translates on the skin. If you are more medium you can try this shade, building it up it would look very pretty but if you border on a darker medium skin ton it definitely would be too light and I would suggest some of their deeper shades. The blush did not need to be reapplied even after 7 hours so it is extremely long wearing and highly pigmented. They are known for their blushes so I seriously recommend checking them out. They cost $26 but it’s worth it because they’re such good quality and so beautiful.

The swatch is not translating extremely well on camera. It looks very peachy here but it is more pink than peach. 

Michael Todd True Organics Haul! (Finally)

Super short post today and I’m so sorry for that but I've been a little under the weather with a bad sore throat and I figured a short post was better than no post!

I put in a purchase for the travel sized Acne/Oily Sensitive skin kit last week and to my surprise it’s already come! Usually it takes ages to get to Canada so I’m thrilled. It comes with the Charcoal Detox deep pore gel cleanser, organic lemon aha + dmae toner, jojoba charcoal facial scrub, moisture lite hydrating lotion and the kaolin clay detoxifying facial mask! All these products are in the size of 30mL / 1 fl oz and they come in a clear zip up travel bag which is nice (I know some of the pictures come across with tons of glare because of the bag but I tried my best!).

I also got a row of four samples which actually contain quite a bit of product. I’ll list out the samples here and say what skin type these are for. Cleanse and Tone (Cleanser, toner and makeup remover) which is for oily to combo skin. I got the hydration boost facial for all skin types… I might give this away because I think my skin may be too oily for this! Wild Rose Petal Creamy body wash came with it and I think they  secretly looked into me because anything rose I always obsess over.  The last sample it came with was the citrus cream moisturizer dmae and hyaluronic acid for all skin types, I will definitely use this because I've tried hyaluronic in the past and loved It plus citrus in skin products doesn't  usually break me out or make me more oily!

I’m extremely excited to test these all out and when I've given all these products a proper trial I will definitely come back and fill all of you in on which ones worked for my sensitive, oily, acne prone skin! Look out for my new blog post this upcoming Monday and be sure to check out my new bloglovin page! Lots of love xoxox 

Dreaming in Beauty blog button!

Hey guys! I wanted to create my own blog button that others could feature on their blog so we can all help support each other! Send me an email at dreaminginbeautybysarah@gmail.com or comment on this post if you'd be interested in swapping buttons on each others blog pages.
Here is the code that would be necessary to add this button:

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">

<a href="http://www.dreaminginbeautybysarah.blogspot.ca/"><img border="0" height="97" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YIPWNtKpioc/UlXDM5COMVI/AAAAAAAAAKY/qPLPt2WpTPA/s320/BlogBannerButton.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>

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You can change the height or the width that correlates with your layout the best!

XOXO Hope to share some blog buttons on my page with you

New Favourite Makeup Combination

I've only got time for a quick post today so I wanted to fill you in on the primer/foundation/powder method I've been loving so far! Last night we went out for my mom’s birthday dinner and I tested out a new way to wear my makeup and let me tell you… it was flawless and I did not get shiny AT ALL. 2 hours later I was still matte and looked like I had freshly applied my face makeup. I’ve been running with samples so none of the products I’m going to mention I have in full size (but I will purchase them ASAP) so almost all of the pictures I will be providing below are off of Sephora’s webpage.

I didn't have extremely high hopes for the Laura Mercier oil-free primer because so many primers don’t work for me but it was incredible. It felt so light on the skin, it prepped the skin really nicely and worn with my foundation I did not get shiny even in my t zone a tiny bit!  I wore this primer with the Makeup Forever Mat Velvet Foundation (I am in the shade 25 I think) which I applied with my beauty blender. I didn't even need concealer on any of my acne scars or spots, pretty incredible I know. It isn't a cakey looking matte foundation like some of them tend to be, it looks very natural while providing really good coverage. It’s definitely a buildable coverage as I applied another layer on the redder parts of my face but I barely needed any extra. It’s a fabulous foundation that I can’t wait to go ahead and purchase.  I definitely still powdered the t-zone using my Mac Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Light which is probably my favourite setting powder at the moment.  I didn't take any pictures last night which I should have so you would have been able to see the incredible look of it but sometime soon I will do a FOTD (Face  of the day) post including the foundations and you’ll be able to see it!

Have any of you tried these products?

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My Favourite Nude Lip

Being as pale as I am with such light hair I have to be really careful with what tone of nude I wear. Going too light will make me washed out and dead which is definitely not the look I want to be wearing. I do have a love affair with MAC lipsticks and if I could afford every colour they made I would be buying them. The cremesheen formula is simply amazing and that’s why I think this lipstick is probably my favourite, not only is the colour fabulous but the actual formulation is so nice on the lips.

Shy Girl is a pretty popular MAC lipstick and I can see why. It doesn't look the same on everyone which means it’s more wearable for a greater number of people. The way it looks on my mom is completely different than how it looks on me. I think it also depends on how pigmented your lips are naturally because if they are the lipstick will come across with more of a pinkish undertone. 

  

On my hand shy girl looks like it has more of a browny coppery tone but it really doesn't on the lips. It’s the perfect neutral because it can go anywhere from being a light nude to more of a pinky nude on certain people. It’s definitely a MAC lipstick that anyone looking for a nude lip should try out.  This was my first nude lipstick ever and it made me way more adventurous for trying new products. I also think so many glosses work on top of it because it’s a nude. You can throw on an almost sheer gloss or you can for darker shades of nude to add some extra colour to the lip.

What are your favourite must have nude lipsticks?