A Tale of Two Brushes: Morphe M433 vs MAC 217

If there is one brush every makeup artist from here to edge of the Earth has owned at one time or another, it's the MAC 217. More than a humble blending brush, the 217 has the perfect tapered edges for crease work, while still being flat enough to lay down colour, and it's soft enough to blend everything out. If you asked me to recommend only one eyeshadow brush that would give you the most bang for your buck, it would be the 217. But what if I told you there was a dupe for a quarter of the price?

Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops: The Hyped Up Highlighter You Might Need

Oh boy, do we have a winner on our hands with this one folks. If you've been hiding behind a dial-up connection for the last month or so, you may have missed the launch and subsequent hype behind the Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops. With YouTubers and Beauty Bloggers raving about these little bottles of pure glow, I knew it was something I needed to try and let me just tell you, they completely lived up to the hype.

Shopping the Tarte 30% Off Friends and Family Sale

I don't normally do "shop the sale" posts because I am a bit of a makeup floozy and like so many products from so many brands. Tarte, however, is one of my favourite brands ever, and it's rare I come across something from the brand I don't like. Since they have their incredible 30% Off Friends and Family Sale going on right now (it ends July 27th, so hurry!), I thought I would share some of my tried and true all time favourites from the brand!

Tarte Naughty Nudes Amazonian Clay Blush and Highlighter Collection

If you've ever read this blog before, you will already know that the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blushes are my favourite blush formula of life. Until a week ago I owned 9 shades, and that collection just gained 4 more and a highlighter thanks to the Naughty Nudes collection! I'm thrilled the brand expanded the range to include some warmer neutral shades, and while they're all gorgeous I have some definite favourites.

500th Post: 10 Products I'd Cry About If They Were To Be Discontinued

If you'd asked me 3 years and 500 blog posts ago if I would still be writing Girl Loves Gloss, I probably would have had a doubtful answer. Over the years this turned in a sleepy little blog to something that people actually read occasionally! Whether you started reading 500, 395, or even 3 posts ago, thank you so much for you support. I get a bit emotional thinking about it, so here are 10 products that I might actually cry if they were discontinued. 

Stila's Perfect Me, Perfect Hue Palettes for All Skin Tones

Stila hit the scene in a huge way back in the late 90's and early 2000's with their iconic Kitten Eyeshadow {my first ever Sephora purchase} and signature cardboard packaging. Since then they've gone through not one, but two packaging revamps and have really started to put function over funky. Case in point: the new Perfect Me, Perfect Hue Eye & Cheek Palettes that combine beautifully paired shadows and blush based on skin tone rather than eye colour. I recently got my hands on the Fair/Light palette to put to the test; Keep reading to see why it's become my go to travel palette and why I think Stila's got a winner concept going for them!

The Cult Classic: Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer

When it comes to some beauty brands, there is a star product that the range becomes famous for. When it comes to bronzers, that brand is no doubt Guerlain. The brand that has been in the business of beauty since 1828 (yep, you read that right!) now sells one of their renowned Terracotta Bronzers every 25 seconds around the world. How's that for a cult classic? I recently picked up one of the highly hyped powders to try out to what all the fuss was about, keep reading for my review!

Urban Decay's Alice Through the Looking Glass Palette

As little girl, I fell in love with Wonderland. Everything from the White Rabbit, to the Mad Hatter, to the Chesire Cat and hookah smoking Caterpillar had me captivated. Alice, with her curiosity and sense of adventure lured me right in and Lewis Carroll's stories of Alice and the quirky characters she crossed will always be some of my very favourite. 

So naturally, when I saw that one of my all time favourite brands, Urban Decay were collaborating with Disney's 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' film on a collection, I was a little beside myself. I don't think I've ever torn into a package so quickly as I did this one, and have been so eager to collect some thoughts and swatches for you!

Urban Decay Afterglow 8 Hour Powder Highlighters : Review & Swatches

With brands launching highlighting products everywhere you turn, there's no doubt that the whole strobing/highlighting-to-be-seen-from-space trend is going nowhere. So really, it was only a matter of time before ever trendy Urban Decay launched a highlighting powder worth hyping. Enter in the Afterglow 8 Hour Highlighting Powders*, which come in three shades and we've got ourselves a serious contender for maximum glow factor. 

Tom Ford Soleil Collection : Moisturecore Lip Color Review & Swatches

Though relatively new to the beauty world, Tom Ford has made a name for itself when it comes to incredible quality luxury cosmetics I've been dying to try the much touted lipstick formula for sometime, and when I saw the new Soleil Collection for Summer was releasing the limited edition Moisturecore Lip Color* I was instantly intrigued. I got my hands on three of the six shade release and put them to the test to see if they were worth all the fuss (and $$$!).

Beauty Rediscoveries : 5 Products I'm Loving, Again

In the last month I found myself loving several products that I had loved at one time and then for whatever reason moved on from. This is probably due to "must try all the new products syndrome" - it's an illness I swear. After one or two, "oh yeah I forgot I loved this!" moments, I went on a bit of hunt and next thing I knew I'd pulled out five amazing products from my stash that I don't know why I ever put away in the first place!

Clarins Instant Glow Spring 2016 + Giveaway!

When Clarins announcing it's seasonal collections, I know they are going to be full of pretty, wearable shades - that's a given. When Clarins announces they are finally expanding my absolute favourite lip product line, the Instant Light Lip Perfectors with two new shades? Well that's something to get excited about! Today not only do I have the details on the Instant Glow Spring 2016 Collection, but make sure you read to the end for a sweet little giveaway!

Illamasqua Veils | Hydra, Matte and Radiance

If you've been reading GLG since the earlier days, you might remember one of my first ever raves was about Illamasqua's Hydra Veil - which is one of my all time ultimate holy grail products. A hybrid of skincare and primer, the brand has now expanded the 'Veil' range with a Matte and Radiance option, so I decided to put all three to the test...

2015 | My Top Ten Makeup Products

Last week I posted about my Top Ten Skincare Products of 2015, and a promised, here are my Top Ten Makeup Products of 2015! I feel like 2015 was definitely the year I found myself having some distinct favourites and holy grail products added into my collection, and I can't wait to see what 2016 has to bring/ Let's break down the products I couldn't be without last year...

Cult Classics | Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair

The Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex II might be one of the most well known, iconic serums on the skincare market. The recognizable tortoise brown bottle with pipette packaging has been hyped up and praised by women (and men!) of all ages for years now (this is actually the newly improved formula that the brand switched it to a few years ago now). With such incredible cult classic status, I am surprised I've never written about it here before, because it really is one of those products that just does great things to skin. Let's talk it about it some more, shall we?

2015 : The Most Memorable Makeup Moments

With the dawn of 2016, I can't help but look back on the last year and reflect on some of the highs, and lows of the beauty industry. There were plenty of memorable makeup moments last year, so I thought I'd break it down into 10 categories. I also have my Top 10 Makeup, Skincare and Hair of 2015 posts coming soon, so stand by... 

The Must Have | L'Oreal True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation

When it comes to foundation, I'm kind of tough to please. When it comes to foundation from the drugstore, I am almost impossible to please. When I saw L'Oreal True Match Lumi Cushion displayed at my local drugstore I knew I needed to try it. With cushion compacts being all the rage thanks to Korean beauty trends forever paving the way for new and innovative cosmetics, I knew it would only be a matter of time until some big name beauty brands started stocking the shelves with them here. 

Clarins Blogger Advent Calendar

It should be no surprise to readers of GLG that I am a fan of Clarins. Their Instant Light Lip range is holy grail status for me, and I adore the Complexion Illuminating Base. So when Clarins Canada asked me to participate in their Blogger Advent Calendar, I jumped at the chance to rave even more. The Blogger Advent Calendar is featuring different bloggers throughout the month of December focusing on their favourite Clarins product, and my must-have-never-want-to-be-without-product is hands down the Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner. Keep reading to find out why this has a permanent home in my stash.

Five More Hyped Up Higher Priced Products Put to the Test

One of my favourite things to do is to try out products that everyone else seems to love; Products that have gained their own following, or have enough hype not to need promotion. I find sometimes we convince ourselves that something is worth its price tag because we are inner-cringing at how much we sent on it in the first place. Other times I find myself saying, "but it gets such amazing reviews from everyone!?" - so here I am to break down five more higher priced beauty products for you all and let you know if they really are worth the hype!

Good Grease | 5 Different Balm Cleansers

Something that's come as a bit of a skincare epiphany to me in the last couple of years is the world of balm cleansers. They seemed terrifying at first, as if I was smearing grease all over my face, but once I felt the real effect of how thoroughly they actually cleanse the skin, I don't know if I could ever not use one in my routine. So here are five different types of balm cleanser that get my approval, and which I reach for when...