Hey Everyone,
Two weekends ago, my sister and I made our way to Toronto for the Beauty Board event hosted by the lovely Stephanie of Blush Pretty.
At the Beauty Board event, several companies (including DaLish Cosmetics, Cheeky Monkey and Cover Girl) display some of their products for attendees to test out and write out mini reviews on. The event also included a DJ, bartenders, awesome food, raffles, a scavenger hunt, the chance to purchase some of the products displayed and the opportunity to meet and/or catch up with others from the beauty blogging community.
Everything ran extremely smoothly and I loved being able to see some of my Toronto Beauty Bloggers friends including Meredith of 'et tu and you' (who is hilarious and so friendly) and Elaine of Toronto Beauty Reviews (who is super sweet). At the end of the event, everyone received a swag bag filled with products from some of the companies who attended the event. Although I was supposed to be on my project 10 pan (it's not going so well), I did manage to purchase a few things at the event, as well. Here is my Beauty Board haul:
Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics is a nail polish line created by the super enthusiastic and very funny Andrea Pahn. Bored with the same old polishes out on the market, Andrea created a shockingly named line (i.e., 'Raunchy Bitch')of non-toxic, 3 free (no formaldehyde, toluene or DBP) polishes in a variety of colours. While I plan to do a more extensive review on the polishes in a separate post, here are the polishes I received/bought at the Beauty Board event.
1) Cheeky Monkey Nail Polish in 'Whatever': 'Whatever' is a creamy red-brick colour that gives the nails a smooth opaque look in just one coat. While this is not a colour I would normally pick out for myself, I think it will actually be a great colour for fall.
2) Cheeky Monkey Nail Polish in 'Hot Damn': This light-blonde, gold polish is probably my favourite from the line (trust me, we tested a lot of them out). While I do own several other gold polishes, this one is unique because of its green undertones and very metallic finish.
3) Cheeky Monkey Nail Polish in 'Pearl Necklace': Pearl Necklace is a white, pearl polish with golden undertones. Surprisingly, I don't currently own any white or pearl polishes, so I am excited to steal this from my sister (it was in her swag bag) and give it a try.
4) Cheeky Monkey Nail Polish in 'Get Wet': Light blue nail polish is my weakness, so when I saw this baby blue with green undertones polish I just couldn't resist. This particular polish has a gel-like consistency and requires three coats for a truly opaque finish.
5) Cheeky Monkey Nail Polish in 'Booty Call': Booty Call, a deep purple with brown and green undertones is the perfect colour for fall and winter. This is the most complex colour of the polishes in my haul and unfortunately the swatches below don't do it justice.
Whatever, Hot Damn, Pearl Necklace, Get Wet, Booty Call
Consonant Body is a Canadian organic skin care line based out of Toronto. As their website states, "All of our products are 100% organic, and formulated with the highest possible concentration of organic botanical ingredients." Having never tried anything from the line, I was happy to purchase/receive two of their body soaps:
6) Consonant Body Soap in 'Organic Olive': This unscented bar of soap made with organic olive oil, beeswax, spring water and naturally occurring glycerine is extremely moisturizing and highly recommended for individuals with dry skin.
7) Consonant Body Soap in 'Vanilla': This super spicy scented soap is made with organic vanilla, buttermilk, honey and organic clove oil. To be honest, I haven't decided if I like this scent. While I love most vanilla scented products, the clove scent is a bit too strong for me.
8) Cover Girl Lip Perfection Lipcolor in 'Tempt': Not having tried any of the Lip Perfection lipsticks, I am really curious to try this super bright red-pink shade out. While I can't say if the company's claims are true (the website says their 'formula sustains moisture levels, helping to create soft lips in 7 days), I can say I love the colour and just how pigmented the lipstick is.
9) Cover Girl Nature Luxe Mascara in 'Very Black': I have never been a fan of Cover Girl's mascaras (yes, even the Lash Blast), so I really wasn't expecting to like this mascara so much. With its long, thin plastic wand and short stubby bristles, this mascara definitely makes my lashes look longer without any annoying clumps. New favourite for sure!
10) Revolution Organics Freedom Glow Beauty Balm in 'Bronzed': Revolution Organics is a 'Guilt Free Glam' company that uses all 100% natural ingredients in all of their products. Freedom Glow Beauty Balms come in three different colours and can be used on the eyes, lips, cheeks or body. Unfortunately, the bronzed colour I received is too dark for my skin tone, but I will be giving it to someone with a darker tone to try out and hopefully review.
One of my favourite Toronto Beauty Bloggers and friend, Elaine, was representing Mark/Avon Cosmetics at the Beauty Board event and was nice enough to include some sample products in our swag bags. I have never tried anything from the Mark line and was really excited to test these items out:
11) Avon Naturals Antibacterial Hand Soap in 'Pomegranate and Mango': There's not much to say about this antibacterial hand soap other than it smells super fruity and amazing!
12) Mark Glow Baby Glow Luxe Lipgloss in 'Lucky Luxe': First of all, how freakin' cute is this little sample of lipgloss?! This super sparkly coral toned gloss full of fine gold glitter is both moisturizing and shiny giving the lips a perfect kiss of colour. The only problem? It's too cute to use up!
13) Mark Juicy Gems Lipgloss in 'Honeydew Melon': At first glance, this lipgloss looks like it would be both super sticky and super glittery (two things I can't stand). Surprisingly, neither is true. This fruity scented gloss (it smells so darn good!) gives the lips a moisturized feel and while there is a lot of shimmer, it is not at all chunky, making the gloss look great on it own or over other colours.
Bronzed, Tempt, Lucky Luxe, Honeydew Melon
DaLish Cosmetics is another Canadian company that I had heard of but never got the chance to try out. From baby diaper balm to cream eyeshadows, all DaLish products are 100% cruelty free. As a lover of multi-purpose makeup products, I picked up three of their Lip and Cheek balms, moisturizing tinted balms packed with colour:
1) DaLish Cosmetics Lip and Cheek Balm in 'Berry Delux': Berry Delux is a red, berry-toned balm packed with fine golden shimmer. This colour is great for fall and I definitely see myself using this on both my lips and cheeks.
2) DaLish Cosmetics Lip and Cheek Balm in 'Hot Mama': This super hot pink balm is the first colour that caught my eye. I love bright pinks and even though we are coming to the end of summer and wearing super bright colours, I can still see myself wearing this balm all year long.
3) DaLish Cosmetics Lip and Cheek Balm in 'Pink Blossom': This light pastel pink balm is not a colour I would normally reach for and definitely not a colour I would attempt to wear on my lips. However, after swatching it, I realized what a great highlight colour this would be on the cheekbones, as it gives a lot of glow and only the slightest hint of colour.
4) Butter London Nail Polish in 'Tea With The Queen': While Butter London was not one of the companies at the Beauty Board event, Stephanie had some left over polishes she was selling from her boutique. Having heard amazing things about the company and their polishes, I snatched up this beautiful nude colour for only $10 CAD.
Berry Delux, Hot Mama, Pink Blossom, Tea With The Queen
It's so great being able to attend these fun beauty events and I am very thankful to Stephanie for organizing such a big event. I definitely hope to attend more Beauty Board events in the future and can't wait to try out more new (and Canadian) beauty brands.
Have you tried any of the products mentioned above? Have you been wanting to try any? Let me know in the comment section below.
xx
Alicia
