Clean Brushes are Happy Brushes.

[From L to R:] Coastal Scents Synthetic Angle brush, aDesign Medium Concealer brush, Coastal Scents Buffer brush, Ecotools Blush brush, Lise Watier Eyeliner brush, Quo Powder brush, MAC 226 brush, Coastal Scents Angled brow brush, aDesign Pointed Foundation brush, MAC 217 brush, Quo Lip brush, Quo Liner / Brow brush, Quo Smudger brush, Coastal Scents Eye shadow brush, Ecotools Eye Shading brush.

I love clean brushes, but most of the time I'm too lazy to clean them. Here are my little soldiers drying after taking a bath. :)

My Costa Rica Getaway Part 2: Relaxation!

I don't know why this has been delayed to eternity... but nevertheless here it is!

Playa Samara. Hands down the best beach in Costa Rica! Less touristy than most, gorgeous waters for beginner surfers...

Student surfers of the day :)

And look who joined me for breakfast! Cutie kitteh.

Sand in my feet. I could do that again.

Boogie boarding queen.

Playas Del Coco. It looks like a dream doesn't it?

Boyfriend giving a thumbs up!

The turtle we saw while snorkeling in Playas Del Coco.

Testing out the waterproof camera bag at the pool in El Coco.

Sunset at El Coco.

Our rental scooter in front of our room at the hostel in Quepos.

Bambi! LOL At Manuel Antonio National Park.

At the lookout point in Manuel Antonio National Park.

Capuchin monkeys at Manuel Antonio National Park.

Steps up to our room in Makanda.

It was pretty difficult to leave that room... it was just so cozy!

I can say that I fully appreciated the ocean view. Amazing!

The pool at Makanda.

Our awesome ride for 5 days!

Our last sunset at Manuel Antonio.

Goodbye Costa Rica! :( Til we meet again!

Perfect your Summer Face with MAC Fix+ Rose.

I don't know what's up with my skin lately. It used to be an oil slick, but recently I've been having dry combination skin. What this means is, when I put on my powder... well, it looks overly powdery. Not cute, right?

MAC Fix+ Rose

MAC Fix+ Rose (Limited Edition, but still available at MAC online) came to my rescue. I have been using this every single time I do my makeup since I got it. Yes, yet another step to my already makeup routine. But it is oh. so. WORTH IT.

Perfect dewy finish.

From the MAC website: "Our popular Fix+ enhanced with rose water. Formulated from spring water, rich in added minerals, this aromatic mist refreshes, hydrate, and conditions the skin while acting as a perfect finishing fix for makeup. Smells great, too. Limited edition."

I can see why so many people like this so much. I present to you Exhibit A. I'm in yellow with my gorgeous cousins.

(By the way, who knew yellow was so flattering on Asian skin? I need to buy more yellow tops.)

But wait... how do I use it?

There are many ways to use it. After you finish applying your makeup:

• Spritz all over your face, then use a skunk/stippling brush to stipple it into the skin.
  
• What I do: spray my skunk brush and stipple all over.
  

I've also seen it used to intensify the colour of eye shadows or eyeliner by wetting the brush first.

This is a definite holy grail for me. And yes, it does really smell good. Pure luxury. Rating: A+++++.

Emma Watson: from Cute to Fabulous!

I must admit. Emma Watson is my newest girl crush. When did she go from being cute and smart little Hermione to such a stylish young lady? I am really loving her Burberry ads for the new Autumn campaign. Just pure chic!

That trench = love.

The bag = love.

The smokey eye = LOVE!

Oh, and who else is eagerly awaiting the new Harry Potter movie? I remember telling some of my friends who were Harry Potter fans since the beginning on how nerdy it seems, but years later I saw the first and fell in love. Obviously I am going to see this one soon, maybe next weekend.

Ginger is Back... and with Another Giveaway!

Ginger Won't Snap is back with a vengeance. After a period of down time, Ginger has returned... and get this, giving away Duh-Licious cupcakes to one lucky winner!

If you live within the Greater Toronto Area and if you love your cuppy cakes like I do, then head on over there now: click here for details on how to enter.

Beauty Spree of Massive Proportions.

Warning: shiny sparkly stuff ahead!

MAC Blush in Style

MAC Fix+ Rose, 20% off from F&F Sale

MAC Liquidlast Liner in Electrolady, 20% off from F&F Sale

MAC Holiday 2008 Smokey Eyes Palette, US$26.75 at CCO

Crabtree & Evelyn Scrub: an old standby, US$5 marked down from $10! and Body Butter, US$3

Crabtree & Evelyn Candle, US$5 marked down from $24 (because I can! :P)

Fly Girl Pigments in Hex (glittery black *love*) and Grape Soda

Sally Hansen Carmindy Blush in Orchid: amazing on tanned skin!

Victoria's Secret Bare Bronze Facial Moisturizer

Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil in Covet, US$6 marked down from $13 at Duty Free

Urban Decay Heavy Metal Set, US$3 marked down from $26 at Duty Free

My Recent No-Fail Summer Look.

Hi everyone! I'm blogging from Washington state, where we are visiting family. Today I wanted to take some time and talk about my makeup routine these days, and the products I use.

Summer's all about the fresh, glowy skin; never heavy or overdone. This has been my routine lately. Super low maintenance look, which is a big deal for someone who likes dolling it up. I'm really enjoying the low key look though.

Super Natural...

1. On a clean face, start with sunscreen all over your face and neck. I use Neutrogena Ultra Sheer® Dry-Touch Sunblock SPF 100+ with Helioplex for maximum protection. If you can't reapply sunscreen on your face during the day, you might as well go as high an SPF as you can to stay protected longer.
   
2. Once that's dry, I conceal any unevenness or redness with COVER FX Total Coverage Cream Foundation SPF 30 with a concealer brush. Blend away with a stiff foundation brush.
   
3. Set your makeup with powder. My favourite right now is MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural for a natural finish.
   
4. For a pop of colour, I apply a peach blush like MAC Style on the apples of my cheeks.
   
5. To really make your makeup last with a natural glow, finish with MAC Fix+ (I use Fix+ Rose, Limited Edition) on a stippling brush and stipple on to the face.
   
6. Quickly fill your brows, curl your lashes, and swipe on some lipgloss!
   

This whole process shouldn't really take more than 5 minutes.

Have More Time?

• Eyes: I am loving coppery-golden eyeshadow all over the lid, with grey liner smudged on the top and bottom lash lines. Finish off the eyes with your favourite mascara.
  
• Lips: Go bold and go orange! Lipstick will give you the most impact, but for those who are colour shy, use an orangey lip gloss instead.
  

I'll post some face pictures some other time, but I hope you stay protected from the sun, have fun, and stay pretty!

Glitter!

Window shopping at Sephora yesterday and found these:

LORAC's Sparkle Pencil

And the swatches. Pretty eh?

Unfortunately they don't last very long; such a shame. For now I will wait for Stila's Smudge Pot in Golden Noir to arrive at Sephora.

In other news...

I bought my own domain yesterday and I called it GlitterGeek.ca! I'm hoping to get it up and running sometime this summer. But I'm so excited yay!

Major Concealing 101.

Hello everyody. You might be wondering where my face has been for the past weeks. Well I have been hiding. Why you say? Because of this:

Hello naked face. And I'm also sporting a pink eye under the sunglasses. Fan-freaking-tastic. Apparently I have a fungal infection from sun exposure. I got a cream from the doctor that's treating it, but for the mean time, how am I supposed to show my face to the public?

This post will show you that you do not have to cake on so many products on your face to conceal flaws, even something as bad as what I have above! A concealer with a good colour match will do just fine.

Let's see that again, shall we?

It is mostly on my right cheek, and also on the very top of my forehead.

After countless adventures to the MAC counter (I'm really starting to doubt MAC MA's because they always match me too dark. And Studio Fix concealer = fail), Sephora (Kat Von D's Tattoo Concealer, theBalm's Time Balm, MUFE Full Coverage = not enough coverage, bad colour matches), and Sears counters (Lise Watier concealer palette was okay), I was really starting to despair. There has to be something that'll hide this!

The lovely lady at the Lise Watier counter was nice enough to suggest Cover FX, carried by Shoppers Drug Mart. And if I'm not mistaken, it's also at Sephora.

Funny enough, the first shade I picked out to try was... perfect. The cream foundation ($39) also doubles as a concealer, which is probably the only way I would ever use it.

Oh my god. I'm wearing the shade M80 (for MAC cross-reference, about NC42), and it is pretty much gone. Can you say HOLY FRICKIN GRAIL?

Then, set it with your favourite powder. I'm using MAC Skinfinish Natural in Medium Deep.

Loves it.

The Poor Girl's Vanity Table.

It works like it's supposed to.

Ladies, take it from me: do your makeup in natural light! It's so much easier to overdo your makeup in artificial lighting.

I return a MAC concealer in exchange for a peach blush called Style. You could see the glow on my cheeks from my reflection! The close up of the face will have to wait for another day, because my allergies have caused my eyes to puff up a little bit. Boo!