Beauty May 22, 2019

Quo Summer 2019 Limited-Edition Collection

Eid Gift Ideas – Quo Summer Collection 2019

Quo; a Shoppers Drug Mart brand, comes out with the most amazing seasonal collections! I am particularly excited about the Summer 2019 collection because it launches with a theme of my favourite summer colours and cute stars on the packaging. Stars, that tie in with the moon and stars theme for Eid. So you bet I’ll be gifting this collection to family members! It’s the perfect addition to a basket full of goodies.

“Eid al-Fitr also called the “Festival of Breaking the Fast”, is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

Quo Ombre Eye Shadow Palette – $18.00

This palette comes in two options: Cotton candy and popping peach. I have the popping peach and the pink tones are great for every day and can create a beautiful warm neutral look.

Quo Ombre Face Palette – $20.00

This palette comes in two options: Dancing lights and berry beam. I love the summery shades and the true ombre look that can be achieved. The bronzer is a perfect tone if you’re looking for a sun-kissed look.

Quo Face Brush – $14.00

I’ve said this before in my previous posts, the limited-edition make-up brushes with Quo are my favourite! They’re unique packaging and the hairs on the brushes are superb. I’ve never had a limited edition brush I didn’t like. The wide handle fits your fingertips perfectly and I love the wide brush at the top for contouring or applying bronzer.

Quo Transforming Lip Kit – $16.00

The stain in the lip duo set has amazing staying power. I swatched it on my wrist and when I went to remove it, I had to use a cleanser. So awesome for long parties where you’ll be eating and drinking. Staying power is necessary. The sheer iridescent lip gloss, pairs perfectly with the stain. Gives your lip a nice highlight!

Quo Glow Beauty Oil – $18.00

This lightweight oil works alone, under foundation or even use it as a natural highlight in focused areas. Tip: Add a drop into your foundation for a more uniform natural glow. I love that it’s lightweight, perfect for the summer when you don’t want to feel like you’re wearing a lot of make-up.

Pick this collection up before it’s all gone! The limited edition can only be found at Shoppers Drug Mart.

Beauty September 19, 2017

Velour Lashes REVIEW + Live in Lashes EVENT [BEAUTY]

Velour Lashes is a Toronto based beauty brand that makes (in my opinion) the best luxury faux lashes! I had the pleasure of attending their very first pop up shop at the Eaton Center via Sephora. This pop up’s main goal was to “inspire lash confidence”. It did the trick for me, that’s for sure. A pro at applying falsies on others but terrible at doing my own. Finally a product I’m confident in applying to myself. Naturally I have long eyelashes and with mascara I can get them even longer and thicker. But the look I get with falsies doesn’t compare. You can see the difference in my pictures especially when I go full glam on my eyes.

Velour Lashes REVIEW + Live in Lashes EVENT [BEAUTY]

At the event, we were lucky to watch a make-up demo done by celebrity make-up artist Patrick Ta. He walked us through a live make up tutorial where he explained each step to create the look and the products used. As he did the make up tutorial, he took questions from the audience. Questions like how he likes working with celebrities like Jenner and Khloe Kardashian. As he applied the Velour Lashes to the model, he said:

“I love using these lashes on clients because it adds dimension to the eyes but is comfortable enough for everyday wear.”
– Patrick Ta, Makeup Artist

To be honest, he’s so absolutely right! Coming from someone who use to wear lashes once or twice a year, I’ve worn my Velour lashes already more than a handful of times, because they’re so easy to put on and feel super comfortable. The strip where you apply the glue is thin and flexible so it adheres to the skin as close as possible which I guess is why it feels so light.

I highly recommend getting the too easy lash applicator tool. I would be lost without it when applying lashes. The angled grip helps to get the lashes on perfectly. It retails for $27.00 CAD. Most of the lashes are in the $30 something price point and come in mink, silk or you can customize your own. Shop here.

At the lash make over station was where I had the pleasure of getting velour faux lashes put on me by Mable Lee. She is the founder of Velour and she is so awesome! She first tested a few different lashes against my last line to see which one would look best and to see if it needed to be cut and fixed. Not surprised, but the lash fit my eye ball and needed no adjustments. Which is one of the many reasons why I love these lashes.

One of the lashes I’ve been wearing on repeat is “dolled up”:

I talked to Mabel Lee about how she enjoys being a young entrepreneur, marriage, children and her favourite lashes. She is really down to earth and full of energy! Here’s here advice to women out there who are trying to become entrepreneurs:

If you take care of your lashes you can get up to 70x wear for a pair. Check out the below image for tips and don’t forget to save it on pinterest!

Beauty July 18, 2017

Hard Candy Make-Up Summer Collection 2017 [BEAUTY]

This is my first time trying Hard Candy make-up. Hard Candy products are sold exclusively at Wal-Mart and Walmart.ca. I shop at Wal-Mart at least once a week, if not more. Whenever I’m out of any of my make-up I first check Wal-Mart to see what they have that can replace my product. All of these products are reasonably priced. Last I checked at Wal-Mart all of these products seem to be priced at under $10.

Keep an eye out next time you’re at Wal-Mart for the below Hard Candy Summer 2017 collection:

Hard Candy Sheer Envy Color Correct Perfecting Powder
This powder helps those with redness, dull skin and any other colour correcting concerns. I don’t have any redness concerns ever since my acne cleared up years ago. It’s a natural brightener due to the orange/yellow tones in this powder. I’ve used it after foundation all over my face to set my make-up and then later in the day I touched up my make-up by applying this to my cheekbones as a highlighter. You can also use it to mattify your make-up throughout the day if you have oily skin. Swirl your powder or kubuki brush all over the colours and apply to the face. I love how smooth the finish is and no unnecessary shimmers or sparkles. Especially if you’re going for a more natural look. Another product for skin redness concerns that will help camouflage the redness is the green color corrector that comes with a sponge applicator top.

One of the first make-up products I usually run out of is my liquid or pencil eye liner. I love this Hard Candy marker eye liner because of the control you have to create a thin or thick line. The other side of the same pencil holds a khol eyeliner. Great for creating a smokey look as well.

Hard Candy Stroke of Gorgeous Kajal Supreme Eyeliner Duo

The Hard Candy Lip Artiste Lip Contouring Wand is a dual ended product, made to contour and highlight your lips. The highlight (seen above) is perfect to achieve the illusion of bigger lips by applying it to the center of the lips.

This highlighter, Hard Candy Sheer Envy Prismatic Highlighter , has a pearl finish and when I set it, it looked a lot nicer with a more natural highlight look. They also have a new banana powder for baking. I went out and bought that one to see how it compares to a Sephora brand I have. Stay tuned for the comparison most likely up on my Insta Stories.

Have you tried Hard Candy beauty products before? Which one(s)?

Disclaimer: The products are PR samples for review purposes. Opinions are my own.

Beauty December 3, 2016

Fall Winter Make-Up & Beauty Collections 2016 #ACIFall16

I love going to previews and sharing all of my favourites with you. Below are the #ACIFall16 collections that are the newest and happening shades/products of the Fall/Winter 2016 season.

Paul & Joe Beauty
Did you ever watch Tom & Jerry as a child? Okay, maybe even as adults?
Well if you’re a fan of those characters or Tweety, then you’re in for a surprise! Paul & Joe are launching
this super cute fall collection with the most adorable packaging ever! Super nostalgic!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Paul & Joe line of cosmetics, it’s a French brand known for their quirky, adorable packaging. The maker is obsessed with cats, so you’ll often see cat shaped items within different collections. The other cool thing about this brand is that they sell in refillable packaging. So if there’s a packaging you particularly just absolutely adore, then you can totally re-use that lipstick container, blush/powder case etc with which ever colour you like!

I love the packaging!😍 @PandJBeaute #ACIFall16 pic.twitter.com/WrSFVAJGQr

— Humara Kausar (@HumaraKausar) August 25, 2016

You can purchase the Paul & Joe Looney Tunes collection here.

Stila – Stay All Day Matte’ifcient Lipstick

This is hands down the most long wearing lipstick I have ever worn! You may even need to use an actual make-up remover to remove this lipstick completely from your lips. I plan to wear this colour to one of the holiday parties I attend this year. It’s so rich in colour and the perfect blackberry tone.It’s also infused with argon oil, castor oil, and vitamin E. You can purchase this lipstick here.

without flash stil alipstick bordeaux — No flash – True Colour of Stila Matte Lipstick in Bordeaux

With flash stila lipstick blackberry — With Flash – True Colour of Stila Matte Lipstick in Bordeaux

Mascara – #ACIFall16

Fusion Beauty – LashFusion Armour

This mascara is an enhancing and conditioning primer for your lashes. Have you ever tried anything from Fusion Beauty before? Well, you’re in for a treat! Whenever I think of Fusion Beauty I think of treatment and cosmetic in one. I remember being obsessed with their highlighter+filler. I’m not sure if they still have it but I’d wear it on my cheek bones and I swear not only would it temporarily fill my cheek but it would also be one of my favourite liquid highlighters. So this is a primer and mascara in one! I usually use it by itself during the day and for an evening look you just take it up a notch, by applying regular mascara over top the primer.

CARGO Cosmetics

Check out this gorgeous new palette! Great combination of warm and cool colours. You can buy it here.

And how about this CARGO mascara. If you’re a fan of the fine rubber brush, then you’ll love combing your lashes with this mascara:

Here’s a close up of the wand: (You can buy it here.)

KORRES Skincare

This is my first time using Korres products and I’m really impressed. For a product so rich, I didn’t break out even once! And the scent, wow…. I just can’t believe it’s all natural. I was really excited to try this line after attending the #ACIFall16 event,

According to wikipedia:

Κorres is a Greek company founded in 1996 in Athens by pharmacist Georgios Korres from the island of Naxos. It produces beauty products for women and men, based on natural ingredients.

Side note: Check out how they make this elixir in the video below – I really want to try it!

This wrinkle night cream is just the right amount of richness and moisture your skin needs. If you’re looking for an anti-wrinkle cream and you haven’t used many before, like myself, than this is an awesome one to start with. Particularly, because of the main ingredient being chestnut tree extract. Not just any chestnut, but chestnut tree extract from Greece’s Arcadian Forest! Castanea is also known as chestnut.

The leaves from the Chestnut tree hold amazing benefits like anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory properties and supports natural tissue repair! P.S These products were not tested on animals. You can buy them here (Night cream: $80 & Eye cream $60)

Have you tried any of these #ACIFall16 products? If so, which ones? Comment below!

Beauty June 14, 2016

L’oreal voxbox [Review]

When your @InfluensterCA voxbox has some of your most favourite products!😄 #WinningWednesday @LOrealParisCAN pic.twitter.com/4JqEfWEXET

— Humara Kausar (@HumaraKausar) May 5, 2016

L’oreal Voxbox Review

There are so many drug store cosmetics to choose from, and L’oreal has been a tested and true brand for me. Not everyone enjoys the high end boutique brands and some even find amazing dupes.

dupe²

d(y)o͞op/

verb & noun

verb: dupe; 3rd person present: dupes; past tense: duped; past participle: duped; gerund or present participle: duping; noun: dupe; plural noun: dupes

short for duplicate, especially in photography.

As a matter of fact, the first mascara I tried was the L’oreal Voluminous mascara. This mascara has always been my go to when I’m on a budget and need the look/quality of a more expensive brand.

Pros

– It doesn’t flake off from your lashes
– I usually get perfect wear from this mascara up to 10 hours
– Full lashes effect
– I can use it up till the 3rd month (it’s a general rule of thumb to throw out your mascara after 3 months of use)
But truth is I use it well after and only throw it out if it’s done or if I’ve lost track of how old it really is, I do the smell test. Smells bad, then throw it out.
– Affordable price

Cons

It’s really rare that I come across a product that I have zero problems with. So, basically I love this mascara!

I had this one L’oreal solo shade in matte black. When all of my girls would come over to get ready before going out, we would all use it to create amazing smokey eyes. I think I had all the girls hooked on it. At that time there was no other highly pigmented matte black (that I knew of I guess). I’m into the softer shades now so I wouldn’t know if the quality of their matte black has changed. By the way, to put things into perception, those were the days of the beige/gold packaging for their shadows.

L’Oreal La Palette Eye Shadow – Nude 01

Pros

– 10 colours in one palette
– Pigmented and build-able
– Shades you can wear everyday

Cons

– The brush included in the palette is average quality. Not stiff enough to build on colour nor that great for blending
– The colours are too similar to the la palette in nudes 2

Above, the last two products from the right are eye liners. Liquid and pencil. If you ask me, I prefer liquid on the top of my lid and pencil for the bottom. This liquid liner is amaze-balls! I love the ultra fine tip. Out of curiosity I wanted to see if I could write with it and effortlessly I could:

I can’t do that with any other affordably priced liquid liner. So that says a lot to me about the quality of the brush. Now I can get right to the edge of my lash line for that solid natural look or use it to create a perfect swoop for a half cat eye. The things you can do with a really good brush!

What I love the most about the pencil eyeliner is that its smooth and creamy. On the other end there’s a smudger and sharpener. Which means, you can create different looks with this one eye liner. Super skinny fine lines (sharpen it), sultry and smudged (use the smudger). Again, zero cons for both products.

Let’s talk about the brow liner. The L’oreal stylist definer brow liner in brunette. I’m not a huge fan of it. The first time I used it, it was dry and broke off. The other thing I don’t like about this liner is that it’s a retractable pencil. I think the retractable thing has to go altogether. In my experience all retractables dry up so quickly and break even faster.

Have you tried any of these products? How was your experience? By the way, I received these products complimentary via influenster for testing purposes.

Beauty April 24, 2016

Mistura Make-Up [Haul+Review]

Oh the world of beauty products! This is my Mistura make up haul and mini review of the products that I’ve tried. Above you’ll see the four products,starting from the top left, quad eye shadow palette, pressed powder, concealer/corrector and their plump and glow lip gloss.

MISTURA MAKE-UP

The plump and glow gloss actually reminds me of a favourite gloss I had years ago. The dermaglow lip gloss that also had plumping properties. The plump and glow isn’t sticky and actually leaves your lips feeling hydrated. Comes in 3 different colours. This is the gloss in Gwen:

The Bella Seta Eye Shadow Quad in Fashionista retail for $39.49. The eyeshadow colours can be worn during the day or evening depending on how you mix them up. The lightest colour can go all over the lid and the darker colours along your lashline for a subtle daytime look. Evening, the options are endless. Go smokey with all three dark shades. Check out how I wore the shadows:

The shadows aren’t super pigmented but you can get a stronger vibrant colour by using an eyeshadow base.

This is the 6-in-one beauty solution compact. It only comes in one colour because of its exclusive miracle match colour blend technology. This technology allows for this product to suit any skin tone. So for those who want one product that they can use to contour, bronze, apply as blush, eye shadow, or cover blemishes/rosacea and colour for lips.

This concealer ($37.99) went on very smoothly and is perfect for medium coverage purposes. It has a very light feeling, feels like powder even though when it’s going on it has a cream-ish texture. Also has a light scent. I love that the coverage is buildable and the bonus is that it has antioxidants, coconut oil and shea butter. Food for your skin 😉

Have you tried any Mistura products?

Beauty January 31, 2016

BeautyBlender announces new product: Liner.Designer

If you haven’t heard already, the makers of the famous beautyblender…..”you know that pink sponge that looks like an egg?” are coming out with a new product called Liner.Designer this March 2016! I love the beautyblender. I truly believe it makes a huge difference applying your foundation with a damp sponge vs a dry one. Love the shape as well.

So let’s talk about the Liner.Designer. It’s suppose to get you the perfect eyeliner look with no mistakes. It comes in a small case with a mirror and has three different sides you can use. One side is straight, one round short and another curvy edge. It reminds me of a guitar pick. Which I have tons of sitting in my guitar bag at home. After seeing this I’m considering taking one of them and placing it in my make-up bag. Why not?

These are the eyeliner looks you can achieve with the liner.designer. Pretty cool. However, I think it isn’t worth $16. You can save yourself $16 and use hacks like a guitar pick, paper or tape.

So if you have money to blow, go for it. Otherwise you can easily get the above results with things you probably already have at home.

Beauty November 27, 2015

#NYXINTHESIX Event & NYX HAUL

Two NYX events, one NYX store and a Rexall with a NYX section. Here’s my story…

#nyxinthesix lotus leaf — Photos by // Photagonist.ca

I was excited to be invited to the #NYXINTHESIX event at the East Room. So many top Toronto influencers that I recognized right away and some when I went through the hashtag #NYXINTHESIX on IG, at home… was like ohhhh yeaaaa. It was a perfect night for roof top shinanigans, photo booth fun, great music, bits and bites. So here are some pictures from this great event organized by Lotus Leaf.

east room toronto — Photos by // Photagonist.ca

Photos by // Photagonist.ca

#nyxinthesix 💄💋#torontoblogger

A video posted by Hum (@humjk) on Sep 26, 2015 at 9:55pm PDT

There was a time when you could only buy NYX products from a Rexall store, who by the way only have “some” products from the line and never have the ones that everyone is raving about, in stock. Hmph. But now not only can you shop online, go to Rexall if you must, you can shop at an actual NYX store! I’ve collected a lot of their products so here’s my mini haul with some swatches! (YouTube NYX review coming soon)

NYX HAUL

The packaging colour of these mascaras don’t lie. They really are bright!

nyx coloured mascara — **Colour Mascara in Blue & Perfect Pear**

I tried this lash primer and I have medium length lashes. The fibers in this primer made my lashes thicker and longer, giving the illusion of falsies! See for yourself (below image)

Top #makeup faves: taupe in MAC// browzings in Benefit// mufe hd found // Lash primer #NYX 💋👌 A photo posted by Hum (@humjk) on Oct 29, 2015 at 1:39pm PDT

nyx blush — **Blush in Baby Doll (left) Crimson (right)**

nyx black & white pencil — **nyx black & silver pencil**

I used this under my make up to moisturize and I didn’t have to use as much concealer as it had some coverage as well. There are no strong scents from this Beauty Balm.

NYX Soft Matte Lip cream Tres Leches (Left) Stockholm (Right)

I love these Soft Matte Lip creams. The texture of a lipstick but look of a pigmented gloss. The colour sets really nicely with a promised “matte” look. Although these colours look almost identical in their packaging, in reality Tres Leches is more on the pink side, where Stockholm is more beige/nude.

NYX highlighter liquid — NYX liquid illuminator sunbeam

I was a bit disappointed with this one. I was expecting a natural looking highlighter but this is almost sparkly. Too heavy for a daytime look. To be honest probably wouldn’t wear it at night either. It’s just too sparkly/bright for my liking.

NYX Intense Butter Gloss and soft matte lip cream — Intense Butter Top to bottom (Banana Split & Funnel Delight) and Soft Matte lip cream in red (Monte Carlo)

nyx solo eyeshadow — Punk Heart (left) & Smoke & Mirrors (Right)

The eye shadows are somewhat pigmented but will definitely need to build these shadows when doing a smokey eye look.

NYX matte lipstick and high voltage lipstick — Matte Lipstick Nude (right) Perfect Red (middle) and High Voltage Lipstick in Rockstar

So if you have olive skin tone then the matte lipstick in nude is not for you. Way too pale. The other two colours are gorgeous and go on pigmented. That’s it! In case you didn’t already know there’s a store at Square One and downtown on Queen Street. Enjoy shopping and let me know your NYX faves!

Beauty September 22, 2015

Tarte Showstopper Clay Palette

Packaging:

I love the packaging! It has a faux snake skin feel to the top and gold siding. I love that it’s in a compact shape, which only means that it won’t take up too much room when travelling and a better mirror shape.

What’s inside the palette:

This Tarte Showstopper Clay palette has six eye shadows and three cheek options. The champagne pink is really shimmery so I advise you to not use it on your brow bones and sparingly on the cheekbones. Unless you’re going for a strobe light look. The blush (fame) is one of my favourite colours for blushes. Especially for olive skin tones it gives you a natural looking glow. Pinks and reds tend to be too harsh for everyday.

The eye shadow colours are great for everyday, however if you’re hoping for the colour to be true once applied to your eyes, then you’ll need to use an eye shadow primer for the lighter shades. The darker colours were actually pretty good on their own. Without primer this is what the shades look like:

Price:

$46.00 CDN – A little pricey for my liking but with everything you’re getting in this one palette wonder, it’s worth it.

Have you tried this palette?

Beauty September 15, 2015

Kim Kardashian Inspired Turquoise Eyeliner Look

Where do you get inspiration for your next make-up look, hairstyle or even fashion? For make-up looks most of my inspiration comes from instagram. This Kim Khardashian look was found via my IG news feed. It’s pictures like this that strike a memory of what I have in my make-up inventory and gets me inspired when I’m stuck in a routine of wearing the same old colours day after day.

It’s funny how exactly 10 years ago I was rocking bright purple and turquoise on my peepers and now here I am lusting for bright colours again. I think a huge reason why I ever stopped was getting into the corporate world. I’ve never seen anyone at our office and many other corporate offices rock bright colour shadows or liners. Maybe bold lips, but that too can be risky sometimes. Enough jibber jabbering..

Products I used for this

Kim Kardashian Look:

Benefit High Beam
Smashbox Softlights Shimmer
Urban Decay Naked 2
NYC Palette Union Square
Tarte Clay Pot Eyeliner
Benefit Brow Zings
Clarins Turquoise Eyeliner
Marcelle lipliner in Nude
NYC lipstick in mousse
Benefit Roller Lash

Eyes

Quo Ombre Eye Shadow Palette – $18.00

Quo Ombre Face Palette – $20.00

Quo Face Brush – $14.00

Quo Transforming Lip Kit – $16.00

Quo Glow Beauty Oil – $18.00

Velour Lashes REVIEW + Live in Lashes EVENT [BEAUTY]

“I love using these lashes on clients because it adds dimension to the eyes but is comfortable enough for everyday wear.” – Patrick Ta, Makeup Artist

One of the lashes I’ve been wearing on repeat is “dolled up”:

I talked to Mabel Lee about how she enjoys being a young entrepreneur, marriage, children and her favourite lashes. She is really down to earth and full of energy! Here’s here advice to women out there who are trying to become entrepreneurs:

If you take care of your lashes you can get up to 70x wear for a pair. Check out the below image for tips and don’t forget to save it on pinterest!

Keep an eye out next time you’re at Wal-Mart for the below Hard Candy Summer 2017 collection:

I love going to previews and sharing all of my favourites with you. Below are the #ACIFall16 collections that are the newest and happening shades/products of the Fall/Winter 2016 season.

L’oreal Voxbox Review

dupe2

d(y)o͞op/

L’Oreal La Palette Eye Shadow – Nude 01

MISTURA MAKE-UP

NYX HAUL

The packaging colour of these mascaras don’t lie. They really are bright!

I tried this lash primer and I have medium length lashes. The fibers in this primer made my lashes thicker and longer, giving the illusion of falsies! See for yourself (below image)

Tarte Showstopper Clay Palette

Packaging:

Price:

Kim Kardashian Look:

“I love using these lashes on clients because it adds dimension to the eyes but is comfortable enough for everyday wear.”
– Patrick Ta, Makeup Artist

dupe²