A Chance to Win August's Luxe Box by Loose Button!!!

OK my fellow beauty junkies, Luxe Box by Loose Button has 3 extra boxes for August and they're doing a special giveaway to beauty bloggers and vloggers.   The August box will then be given away to one of that blogger/vlogger's followers!!!  That means if you're a subscriber to my blog or youtube channel then you'll have a chance to win August's box.  You just have to help me win, so then I can do the give away to one of my lucky subscribers :)

If you haven't heard about Luxe Box by Loose Button you can check out my video on July's box here.

Here is what you need to do:
Step 1:  Subscribe to my youtube channel here and my blog too!
Step 2:  Like the Loose Button Page on Face Book here
Step 3:  Hit the Like button on my comment here(I'm about the 23rd post down, I'm listed as Michelle Cudmore Makeup Artist)  The person with the most amount of likes will be given the August box to giveaway to one of her subscribers :)

Get your "likes" going now!!! The contest ends on Friday, July 29, 2011 at 3pm EST time.  I really want one of you to get this box!!!!!

Crazy About Corals!

Coral is another one of my favourite summertime shades.  It's easier to wear then other bright summer colours, probably because it looks flattering on most skin tones.  And to me, nothing compliments a tan like wearing some coral!

If you're timid about injecting colour into your life, the easiest place to start is on your nails!  There are lots of coral shades out there, I like this one from Essie called California Coral.

I also love wearing coral makeup, and there are sooooo many products to choose from.  I would never suggest to wear all these coral shades at once!  But pick one, maybe 2 products, to create a beautiful summer makeup look.

These two products are from the MAC Surf Baby Collection.  A super easy way to add some coral into your makeup look is by using a coral blush and lipstick for a fun summer look.  If you were to go with coral lips and cheeks then I would keep your eye makeup to a minimum.  Maybe sweep a little golden coloured eyeshadow on your lids, lots of black mascara and you're good to go!

And for the more adventurous makeup lovers out there, try a coral coloured eye makeup look.  One of my favourite coral eyeshadows is Paradisco by MAC.  I find you really need a good base before you apply the shadow to really get a good colour payoff, but it's worth the extra step.  I use this colour on the lid, and then use a golden brown like MAC's Cork or Soba to blend into the crease.  A golden liquid liner with this eyeshadow would be fun, but you could also use a brown too.

 And if you're looking for some cool coral kicks, I'm really loving these shoes from JCrew.  I want them so bad!!!!!!!

Who's up for coral this summer?

Summer's Are For Yellow

I'm loving the colour yellow right now.  It's one of my favourite summertime colours.

One of the easiest ways to wear a bright sunny yellow is simply painting your nails, like this one from Chanel.

For the more adventurous you could try a yellow eyeshadow like these ones from MAC.  I like to apply the bright yellow over the lid and blend slightly into the crease.  Apply the blackest of black mascara.  And depending on how dramatic you want you could leave it at that or add some black liner.

Or you could try injecting some yellow to your wardrobe basics with these sunny shorts from J Crew:

What do you think?  Are you loving yellow as much as me?

July/11 Luxe Box by Loose Button

Have you heard about Luxe Box by Loose Button?  Well, in case you haven't heard, it's a Canadian company that you can subscribe to and each month they send you a beautiful package of 4-5 luxury sized beauty samples.  I got my first box last week.  if you'd like to watch me opening the box you can click here!

When you first subscribe to Loose Button you fill out a profile for yourself so your box is customized to your preferences, which I really like, so not everyone's boxes are exactly a like.

Here is what my box for July looks like:

And they also include a little card that describes each of the products as well as the retail value.

And here are the goodies :)

Stella in Two Peony Fragrance - OMG!!!  I LOVE this fragrance.  I will be buying this in full size for sure.  Not only do I love it, but my husband loves it too!  It's like a man magnet :)

Proclaim Hair Oli Treatment - I had never heard of this brand before.  It's an argan oil treatment.  Smells heavenly!  And so far I really like it in my hair.

Essie Nail polish - my colour is called In Stitches, it's a dusty rose kind of colour.  The colour is a bit "mature" for my tastes, so I think I may pass it along to my mom!

Trucco eye pencil.  I love the shade of this pencil, it's texture is soft, but not as soft and smudgeable as Urban Decay's 24/7 pencil.  I also have found it to be a bit crumbly when applying.  Bottom line on this product, I'll use it, but probably wouldn't repurchase.

I'm looking forward to August's box already!!!

Too Faced - Eye Love Palette

I recently purchased (with my Sephora VIB points) my very first Too Faced eyeshadow palette.  The palette is called Eye Love, and it has 8 eye shadows and a mini tube of Too Faced Shadow Insurance.

The palette is divided into 4 individual looks:  Natural Eye, Smokey Eye, Naked Eye, and Romantic Eye.

The Shadow Insurance is great, very similar to Urban Decay's Primer Potion.  

My thoughts:  The colours are beautiful and have great pigmentation.  There are 3 matte shades and the other 5 are very shimmery/frosty.  If you don't like frosty shadows, then this palette may be a miss for you.  But I really like that there is a mix of matte and shimmer shadows to choose from.  The palette also has a how to for each eye look, which is nice for beginners.  But don't limit yourself to those combinations.  A lot of these colours mix well together.  And mix the finishes too, an all shimmery look can be a bit too much, so combine a shimmery shadow with a matte for a more glamorous look.  I also think this would be a great little palette to travel with, it's compact and has a great range of colours.

Here are some eye looks I created with the palette:

The Smokey Eye

The Romantic Eye

Sephora Purchases for July/11

Some of my favourite days are when my long awaited purchases finally arrive at my door, and this month's July order took way longer then normal.  Thank's Canada Post!  Oh, well, at least it arrived :)

Here are some of the samples that were included in my order:

And I had 500 Sephora points that I redeemed for this Too Faced eyeshadow palette plus a mini tube of Too Faced Eye Shadow Insurance:

The palette comes with how-to instructions.  I think this little beauty would be perfect for travelling.  It's really compact so it won't take up a lot of room in your luggage.  But it has a range of colours that are good for day and evening looks.

And finally here are my actual purchases from Tarte Cosmetics:

These cheek stains are GOREGOUS!!!  The one on the left is called Blusing Bride, and it is not at all as scary dark as it appears.  It's absolutely stunning on.  And so is the shade on the right, which is called Blissful.

And these are Tarte's lip stains in Enchanted and Charmed.

Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow Palette

On July 12 (today!) Urban Decay is releasing a limited edition 15 colour eyeshadow palette.

Check this beauty out!

photo by temptalia

photo by temptalia

I have one of the Book of Shadows by Urban Decay, and I love it.  All of Urban Decay palettes tend to sell really well.  I'm still trying to get my hands on their Naked palette.  I think I might as well give up on that one :(

I'm not sure if I'll be purchasing this one, because I have a lot on my wish list right now.  But is you're interested you can purchase this beautiful palette on the Urban Decay website, Sephora or Ulta.  If you get one, let me know what you think of it!

The Royal Visit: What Kate Middleton Is Wearing In Ottawa, Canada

The Royals are in Canada!  And I don't know about you, but I've been dying to see what Kate is wearing during her visit to our wonderful country.  Especially during her visit to my home province, PEI - in only 1 more day!!!

Here she is on June 30, 2011 leaving London at the Heathrow Airport.  So classy, makes me think that sporting Lululemon on transatlantic flights just doesn't cut it :)  The blazer is by Smythe, a Canadian designer!

photo by Keystone Press

I don't know about you, but I so wish this is how I look when I step off a plane!  (not even close)  I absolutely love this dress by Erdem!

photo by Getty Images

Here she is on Canada Day, July 1st.  This is my favourite look that she wore, I'm in love with her red maple leafesque hat custom made by Sylvia Fletcher at Locke & Co.  Apparently she's wearing matching red shoes.  And her maple leaf brooch is borrowed from the Queen.

photo by Getty Images

And here she is last night in Ottawa wearing a royal purple frock from Issa London, the Queen's maple leaf brooch and black Prada pumps.

photo by Keystone

Only one more sleep till she arrives in Charlottetown, PEI - I hope I can catch a glimpse of them!!!