About
My name is Mikayla! I'm a 22 year old University Graduate with a passion for all things beauty. I stumbled into the online beauty community a year ago and have been obsessed with youtube videos and blogs ever since. After watching hundreds of videos over the past year I figured it was about time I joined the community and posted my own thoughts in my own little space. I'm also recently graduated, unemployed and headed for college in September.I really enjoy all things beauty, and I really like telling my friends what I think about products so writing them down just felt natural. To me, make up isn't something that you wear to make yourself look prettier, it's something you do on yourself for yourself. It has the power to give you strength to tackle a rough day, the courage to find your inner confidence and sparkle like every girl is meant too.
Other than beauty, I love fashion. Beauty and Fashion are the keys to my heart, along with a great deal. I'm all about a decent deal, and budget shopping is my favourite.
I can't wait to start this journey with the internet and all of you!
Disclaimer
Just a general disclaimer:I am not a professional makeup artist, I am completely self taught, any posts on beauty products are purely personal opinion and should not be taken as fact.
Beauty items shown on this blog are purchased by myself, or as a gift from family members.
Any and all reviews on products are based on my opinions alone.
September Favourites!
Labels: Chloe, ELF, Elizabeth Mott, Irresistible Me, lush, maybelline, Midi Rings, monthly favourites, Pearl Earrings, urban decay
This month, I've been working a lot, so having a routine for my skincare as well as a pretty basic daily routine for my makeup has helped me not only be efficient in the morning but still have room for some creativity. I've found that most mornings I've been reaching for my Urban Decay Naked Palette as it is flexible in terms of colour range and I can really do a lot with it, and that the neutral colours are appropriate for an office. I've also been dealing with a bit of acne and some dark spots under my eyes great eh? and I've been reaching for my Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 10 Light I absolutely love this concealer, and I kept the package around just for this picture, I love the consistency and the coverage and the durability of it, all around I <3 it! For my inner corner and my brow highlight I've been reaching for my Elizabeth Mott All Over Shadow Brush that I got in my ipsy bag months ago when I still had it. I was doing my makeup one morning and wanted a clean brush to do my inner corner and grabbed it by chance- and I've used it every day since. I've also been obsessed with subtle highlighting no strobbing for me and I've been reaching for my ELF Baked Blush it's not really a blush and at first I was quite disappointed with it, but then I reimagined it as a highlighter and I really like the effect, especially on top of powder (because then I'm not putting a cream on top of powder)
Sitting at my desk every morning doing my makeup, I always look at this cute little notebook just sitting there I haven't written in it, but I do love it it really matches the decor of my room which is very London themed and I've always loved the message of "Keep Calm and Carry On" as a massive history lover. I've finally replaced my beloved Lush Vanillary Solid Perfume after it melted in the summer heat- seriously it happened, they have changed the packaging for their solid perfumes into a tin that I might seriously think is a lip balm at one point, but it smells the same and it's just absolutely amazing. When I haven't been wearing my Lush perfume I've been wearing this Chloe sample. I used 250 of my points at Sephora on this honestly because the bottle is ADORABLE but I wear it because I love the scent.
Finally my daily staples this month have been midi rings I got mine from LC by Lauren Conrad at Khols in America, and they are the only ones I have been able to find that fit my super skinny fingers the way they are supposed to. I've been wearing at least one of them pretty much every day. I've also been trying to wear earrings more often to really complete an outfit, I've had my ears pierced my entire life but I've never really been in the habit of wearing earrings. My go to ones are small pearl earrings I have no idea where or when I got these ones, but I love them because they are small and don't weigh a lot. Last but not least, I've been using this Irresistible Me 8 in 1 Curling Wand with the medium width wand every time I have curled my hair- this is an incredible wand, and you can expect a full review coming next week!
What have you been loving last month? I'm doing blogtober this year with a post every day for the month of October and I have lots of posts planned, so be sure to check back tomorrow!
Fall Makeup Essentials
Labels: bblogger, beauty, covergirl, ELF, maybelline, Morphe Brushes, Pixi, Revlon, round up, too faced, urban decay
My "Everything I Need" Bag
Labels: arbonne, blistex, essentials bag, maybelline
Blistex Lip Medex This isn't my favourite lip balm simply because it's in a pot, but it makes it easy to have with me especially because the winding down of winter is really drying my lips out. This stuff is kind of greasy in my opinion, which is another reason it's not my absolute favourite, but it does it's job well enough.
Granola Bar I don't get hungry, I get hangry. Keeping a granola bar on me is great especially if I am running late and forget to bring a lunch, or need a snack during my only class on certain days. It's always better to be prepared, which is especially true in the winter, when road blocks and blizzards could keep you on the road longer than expected.
Arbonne Vanilla Shea Butter Hand Cream This stuff smells amazing, and feels amazing. It is a sample size that I received as a gift which makes it the ideal hand cream to keep in my bag. I stick with more neutral scents in my essentials bag just because it goes with every season (unlike my Bath and Body Works Winter Candy Apple hand cream).
Hair Tie and Bobby Pin Long, thick, curly hair. I feel like this is enough of a justification, my hair is unruly 98% of the time, and when I get sick of it it's nice to throw it up. When my hair does co-operate I usually have a test, and I cannot write tests with my hair down. Also, wind. humidity. ya know? And that one annoying piece of hair you just have to pin down bobby pins=best friend
Arbonne Energy Fizz Tabs in Pomegranate Basically tabs that you can break in half, that are caffeine replacements, which are supposed to give you energy and encourage focus. These ones taste like pomegranate and make your bottle of water a light pink colour, the citrus ones make it a pale yellow and taste better in tea. I like keeping these with me to add something extra to another bottle of water at the end of a long day (I aim to drink 3 bottles of water a day- which can get boring sometimes)
Maybelline Colour Whisper in Rose of Attraction This just happened to be my lip product of the day. I rotate this pretty much daily, but this light rose shade is great year round, and perfect to have "just incase" which pretty much means it never leaves this bag
Do you guys keep an "everything I need" bag? What do you keep in it?
February Favourites
Labels: anastasia brow wiz, february favourites, MAC, maybelline, soap and glory
It's that time again, where I round up some of my favourites from the past month. I'm trying to figure out a system for what my favourites will consist of every month, do I put them into categories? do I just ramble? what? so hang in there with me while I try a couple different styles to figure out what I like best!
Lifestyle
Over the last couple of weeks I have really gotten into the habit of having a smoothie for breakfast, nothing too complicated, frozen fruit, almond milk, yogurt and protein powder. Since I've been doing this I notice that my morning just doesn't feel right without it, I've gone through 2 bags of frozen fruit, and it has helped me get in a serving of fruit and dairy without being too much of a struggle.
Beauty
Maybelline Baby Lips Dr. Rescue in Soothing Sorbet I've mentioned this product in a couple of posts before,which you can read here it is my go to lip treatment for the winter months. It is a cheaper alternative to the Fresh Sugar lip treatment, and has a slight tint this particular one so I don't feel like I'm sacrificing colour for hydration. Ontario's winter has been harsh this year, being very cold and dry, and this product has definitely helped keep my lips smooth.
Bath and Body Works Wild Madagascar Vanilla Perfume I love my vanilla scents, and this one is no exception, it has a more floral take on the vanilla type perfume, and this particular bottle is in a travel size, which is perfect to have on the go.
Rimmel 60 Second Hot Chilli Pepper Nail Polish I have been wishing for spring, and brining pops of colours onto my nails has helped me remember that the end of winter is near! This colour is a burnt orange shade, that suits pretty much any season. The quality of the polish is good as well, I really enjoy the Rimmel 60 Second collection.
E.L.F. Cream Eyeliner in Black For under $5 this cream eyeliner is my favourite. It goes on really smooth, and stays in place all day. It is a glossier finish, it doesn't dry over matte which gives it a slightly nicer appeal to me personally. It is really creamy and quite frankly- you can't beat the price.
Anastasia Brow Wiz Pencil in Caramel I got this in January and cannot believe I didn't get it sooner. This is quickly becoming, like for many other bloggers a Holy Grail product. I love how fine the pencil is, and how fool proof it is to apply. I also really like how it has it's own brush because then it limits me having to carry around a different brush!
MAC Cosmetics Custom Quad in All That Glitters, Sweet Lust, Blackberry and Wedge I made this quad almost 2 years ago, and I am still impressed at the colours I pulled together. I've been turning to this quad a lot recently, really gravitating towards Blackberry and Wedge. Wedge is a great crease transition shade, while Blackberry is perfect for outer corner, or even as a liner. You can read in an depth look here.
Soap and Glory Hand Food Like I mentioned for the Baby Lips Dr. Rescue, this stuff is saving my hands in the cold dry months of winter. I really like how it isn't greasy, and absorbs into my skin quickly, so it is more convenient to apply and get back to work.
Netflix
Over the month of February, while patiently okay.. not so patiently waiting the return of House of Cards (Watch that show- seriously!) I binged watched Downton Abbey, as my degree is in History, I'm a big fan of period dramas, intact this show made me watch too many documentaries in the past month!
All About that Base
Labels: all about that base, beauty, benefit, maybelline, sephora, too faced
I am a low maintenance face kinda gal, I prefer to spend the majority of my makeup time focusing on my eyeshadow and eyebrows those things are liiight on me and since I have been blessed with a relatively clear balanced complexion I really don't need much coverage, except under my eyes.
Sephora CC Eye Cream and Concealer I picked this up while christmas shopping in December. I believe it is a one shade fits all, and the concealing abilities are not fantastic but I use this primarily as an eye cream and primer for my concealer. I use this under my eyes and bring it up to my inner corner because of a birthmark.
Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser I use this as a cheaper alternative to the Benefit Porefessional. I use this on my nose and in-between my eyebrows where my pores are more visible, as well as on whatever spots I have to prime before concealer.
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser Like every other blogger out there I love this stuff. I really like the sponge tip applicator which disperses the product nicely. I put some on my finger to use on spots to prevent bacteria, overall I really like this stuff.
Too Faced Cocoa Powder Foundation I've mentioned this stuff a lot in the past couple of weeks, but I really like it, it isn't very full coverage which is perfect for me because I like my natural skin to show through. The smell is amazing not going to like it's my favourite part of this collection!
Benefit Watts Up Highlighter I found this in my collection recently, and can't believe I let it go missing! It is a champagne highlight, which along with the creaminess of the product give a really natural glow to the face. I use this on the tops of my cheeks, down my nose and cupids bow, and when I run out of this sample size I will for sure be repurchasing the full size.
A Few New Products...
Revlon ColourStay Moisture Stain 015 Barcelona Nights 
Revlon Parfumerie Ginger Melon 
The Balm Meet Matt(e) 
Maybelline The Rocket Volum' Express Waterproof Black 
Q&A A Day 5 Year Journal 
NYX Tinted Moisturizer 01 Buff 
NYX Baked Blush Spanish Rose (it's very sheer so I couldn't get a good swatch picture :(,) 
NYX Chunky Dunk Hydrating Lippie 01 Watermelon Cooler 
xo Mikayla
May 2014 Favourites
Labels: blogger, ELF, essie, may favourites, maybelline, physicians formula, tresemme, veronica mars
Onto another topic, it's the end of the month, which means it's time for me to round up my favourite products, fashion, tv shows, and random loves of the last month. This is my first favourites post (so it will be a work in progress over the next couple months). For this month, I only have beauty favourites, and the show I am currently power watching on Netflix. Either way, let's get into it.
May 2014 Favourite...
...eye product: Physicians Formula Kohl Kajal in Black (part of the 3 pack in Neutral)
...face product: ELF Baked Blush in Pinkalicious
...lip product: Maybelline Colour Whisper in Rose of Attraction
...nail polish: Essie Watermelon
...hair product: Tresemme Platinum Strength Heat Protectant
...tv show: Veronica Mars
Review: Maybelline Baby Skin
Labels: baby skin, beauty, blogger, haul, maybelline, new blogger, summer must haves
I wear something under my makeup pretty much year round (if I remember), but in the summer I am always on the hunt for something that will hold whatever little makeup I put on for the whole day. Well, I think I found it.
Maybelline recently came out with a skin product addition to their Baby Lips line, called Baby Skin- it's almost like a cheaper alternative to Benefit's Porefessional. It promises to blur pores and imperfections, while also priming the skin.
Frankly I enjoy it- I am not an oily or a dry skinned person, I'm pretty neutral grounded when it comes to my skin, but I do have some larger more noticeable pores on my nose and in-between my eyes. Usually a bit of concealer provides enough coverage to deal with that- but in the summer it's another layer that could possibly just oxidize and fall off my skin. I really do find that when I put this on my face, especially in those spots my pores don't look as large, or noticeable.
I put it on before my L'Oreal Paris Magic Skin Beautifer BB Cream- and it not only holds it in place, but it almost sheers it out, I don't use as much and get this fantastic feel to my face, that isn't too powdery or overdone, it doesn't feel thick, or like I have another layer of products on my face.
Now for the long lasting part- I took a picture literally after I did my makeup, and another 9 hours later, and to me it looks the same, I didn't notice my makeup oxidizing or falling off, I felt like I had just put it on. Now this might seem like an exaggeration but I promise, it felt like I had done my makeup maybe an hour ago, 9 hours after I had.
Overall, I like this product, it was worth the $7 I spent for it, and it works well, I notice that my pores that I usually cover with some concealer don't need to be concealed, when I wear this, and it keeps everything in place all day. Granted I also used a powder overtop, but I thoroughly enjoy this product. Well worth it in my books!