current fav drugstore eye pencils & pen plus my first ipsy bag arrives!

Marcelle is the first eyeliner many Canadian girls get; they're ubiquitous since the brand is readily accessible across the nation. Even the smallest, crappiest drugstore in the middle of nowhere is likely to carry at minimum a selection of Marcelle's eye and lip liners in addition to their beloved eye makeup remover (reviewed here), which may partly be why it's one of Canada's top-selling cleansers. Well if this is the only eyeliner you can get, not to worry! Marcelle's Waterproof Eyeliner in Electric Blue amazes me with its intense metallic blue colour payoff. It glides on like any of the best gel pencil liners, but cost only $9.99 CAD at London Drugs. The most impressive thing about this liner is that it does not smudge or fade at all for hours upon hours, even on my waterline and tightline. This pencil outperforms most of my high-end liners for staying power, and doesn't require touch-ups or reapplication to stay vibrant until removed.

Another favourite pencil I picked up at the drugstore recently is this Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in the shade Nude for $7.99 at my nearby Shoppers Drug Mart after seeing countless rave reviews for these liners. Rimmel scores full points for this soft, creamy peachy-toned liner pencil that smoothes on with almost no pressure and sets to a virtually indelible finish, which makes it the ideal product to use for lining your waterline to make your eyes look bright, wide and well-rested. I've had no eye irritation at all from this liner. The stay-put formula will also work to your advantage as a cupid's bow highlight, to tidy up or correct makeup application, and will work as a reverse lip liner (just be careful not to overblend or it will lighten and muddy your lipcolour, but less so than most concealers) particularly necessary with fall's darker, less-forgiving saturated colours on their way.

This fine instrument renders sublime calligraphic assistance for the lining-impaired. Annabelle's EyeInk2 Mistake Proof Eyeliner + Corrector is an ingenious dual-ended marker-type eyeliner on one end, with a corrector/eraser tip on the other - how clever is that!?

The long-wearing black eyeliner side has a newer tip design that's stiffer than the classic liner brush with its long, unruly bristle hairs, nor as messy as the paintbrush-style felt-tipped liners currently on the market. This liner tip is more like the newfangled silicon liner tools I've seen that have less give and better precision.

But the corrector is why I bought this product in the first place. I've been looking for a pen-type eraser to salvage those makeup applications that are sabotaged by last-minute mascara or eyeliner disasters, but the one I had in mind was from another brand and always sold-out.
Well, sometimes the universe intercedes in your favour and you end up with a better product than you set out for. For less than one of the single-purpose corrector pens I wanted, I scored this 2-for-1 for $10.95 CAD, which made me so happy! Annabelle Cosmetics are widely available in Canada at drugstores, grocery stores and online.

 

FINALLY!! My very first ipsy subscription package arrived!! Here's what was in it: 

The bubble envelope alone made my heart race, I knew what it was right away!

Here's what my August Glam Bag contained:

Hikari Cosmetics' Lip Gloss in Merlot is a gorgeous gloss that's comfortable to wear yet thicker and longer-lasting than all those light, buttery glosses. This product is why I signed up for ipsy - a fantastic beauty find I would never have tried otherwise, in a perfectly-timed seasonal colour - I love it!

And this, my friends, is Trust Fund Beauty's Nail Polish in Elegantly Wasted. It is an exquisite shade of lavender/putty/grey that looks fresh and modern yet is neutral enough to match anything. I am loving this polish so much... it's pretty much exactly the colour I was trying to blend myself for years (with no luck). Just one coat over a base was all I needed for a perfect manicure with this cruelty-free, non-toxic luxury nail polish from Trust Fund Beauty!

The black eye pencil in the package didn't look like anything much, until I tried it on. I've been testing all my pencil eyeliners lately to see how they last for water/tightlining. Most smear down my lower lash line in minutes and work their way into racoon eyes before long. Well for an easy-to-use, deep pigmented line that adds inky-black drama to any eye look, this Ultra Precision Eye Liner by Doucce in Black is simply heavenly. True to its claim of being waterproof, my eyes began to water thanks to my tremulous mascara application, and to my surprise, this liner just said 'no' to all the drama, resisted fleeing at the first sight of tears, and instantly became my everyday black eyeliner.

Rounding out this month's ipsy haul are the Divine Skin Hydrator by Albertini (touted as dry skin specialists) a body moisturizer you apply at the end of your shower while skin is still damp to lock in maximum moisture, and a nifty sample of Good Night Face Cream in novel enviro-conscious packaging by LA Fresh Eco-Beauty. Both are products my parched skin and I will enjoy using over the next few days.

I was straining to fathom why it has taken me this long to sign up for a beauty subscription service. Then I had a dim recollection of my indignance at being waitlisted long ago when they were new to Canada whereupon I disgruntledly cancelled my subscription and gladly took to instantly-gratifying retail therapy as a salvo. It was only after weeks of recent deliberation, asking people I know and monitoring reviews, that I finally chose ipsy. I felt that the price was affordable, I wanted monthly delivery instead of quarterly, I am more interested in the brands they feature than most other services, and I like that they provide premium/deluxe sample sizes for most products. Full-size is too big and such a waste if I don't like the product, and I often find mini-samples to be so fiddlesome that they're not as helpful to figure out if I like a product enough to buy the full version. Plus, when I do like a product, I now have an ideal travel size that I can pop into my purse, gymbag or luggage. I appreciate how customized the shipments are, taking into account not just my skin/hair/eye colours but also personal style preferences and skincare challenges. I also didn't expect the endless subscriber-only deals, contests and giveaways that I now have access to with my subscription, all of which are making my ipsy experience thoroughly enjoyable so far - I can hardly wait until my next bag arrives!