I'm leaving for Canada tomorrow!

Hi everyone!
I haven't been able to update much the last week - I've been super busy!
I'm leaving for Canada tomorrow morning and I don't know how much I'll be able to post while I'm over there. I'll bring my computer, my video camera and a small digital camera, so I hope I'll be able to post something during the next two weeks while I'm there, but I can't promise anything!

//Sofie <3

Trying out the MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator and Thermal Mask!

I think I've mentioned before, that I'm extremely excited about the Style Black collection but there's more to the collection than black eyeshadows and lipsticks!

The Volcanic Ash Exfoliater is being re-released along with the Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask!

Since my counter already received their Style Black stock, I had the opportunity to sample the two skincare products, and I tried them out last night before going to bed :)

Both products are black, so they do look quite funny on my super pale skin. Here's what I look like with the mask on!

The exfoliator:

This product has been very popular on the internet makeup communities since it's first release last year but unfortunately I never got to try it the first time it was around.

Looking at it, it isn't necessarily something most people would want to put on their face! It is completely black and looks a bit... dirty, I guess? However, even though some people probably find this product gross-looking I find the black colour different and interesting and it was honestly one of the things that made me want to try the product, haha :)

The concistency is like many other exfoliators. Easy to spread evenly on your face and neither too liquid or too dry.

The smell is probably the only thing I don't like about this scrub so far. I'm really bad at describing scents, but this is just not something I enjoy. I might get used to it tough, since I know a lot of people love the scent!

My skin felt extremely smooth after using this! But honestly, any decent exfoliator should get rid of the dead skin cells and make my skin feel like that. Whether or not this particular scrub does more than remove dead skin cells, I don't know yet, but I'm excited to find out!

I only tried the product on my face so far, but I'll give it a try on my body as well, since I did find it a teeny bit rough for my face, so I imagine it will be great for the body.

How to use it:

Like any other exfoliator, this product is really easy to use. Apply to damp skin and rub gently in circular motions for a couple of minutes. The product foams up a little, but not very much. The exfoliator rinses off easily with water and leaves your skin ready for applying either mask or moisturiser. As with any exfoliator, this product is not intended for daily use. It's recommended to use it 1-3 times a week.

The thermal mask:

I have to admit, that I was a little worried about applying a black mask to my face. Not because of the way I would look while the mask was on (hey, one of the fun thing about masks is the way you look when you have them on!), but because I didn't know what I would look like after taking it off!

If you've ever tried painting your face black with any kind of face paint/eyeliner/eyeshadow, you probably know how hard it can be to get all the black colour off - at least if you have any kind of visible pores on your face ;) On me, the black colour settles into my pores and it looks like I have 1238985701 blackheads on my face!

Luckily, this mask was super easy to wash off and didn't leave any colour residue behind.

The concistency is fine, but I found that I had to use quite a bit of product to cover my whole face in an even layer.

The smell is different than that of the exfoliator. I don't think this scent is as strong so I like it a bit more, but I don't love it.

My skin felt incredibly soft after using this mask! Probably softer than it has ever felt before! I'll have to keep using it to see if does anything more for my face, but even if it does not I will probably keep using it since it makes my skin feel so fantastic!

How to use it:

As said, I found this product a little bit hard to distribute evenly but I guess it's okay. After all, masks don't have to look perfect while on, haha :)

I'm not sure how long it is recommended to leave the mask on, since it isn't one of those masks that dry on your skin. I left mine on for about 10 minutes and it felt fine.

I rinsed the mask off with water and it left my skin feeling really soft and clean and ready for moisturiser! ;)

I used it after exfoliating my skin, which should give the best results, since the exfoliator removed all dead skin cells prior to application of the mask.

Please keep in mind that these are just my initial thoughts on the products, since I've only tried each product once.

The MAC Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask is being released with the Style Black collection on September 24th in the US+Canada and internationally in October.


I forgot to mention:
The packaging of both products is similar to the packaging of MAC Microfine Refinisher and MAC Creme wash, which is definitely an improvement since the last release of the exfoliator! This kind of packaging is really easy to use, doesn't leak and I find it pretty easy to get all the product out.

Red lips and dramatic lashes!

Another look for work ;)
I did the eyeshadow and thought it was quite boring so I added some fun lashes and bright, red lips! :)

Bluuuuuues! :)

Here's a fun, blue look I wore to work the other day :)

Night Violet mattene <3 look + tutorial!

Since Night Violet mattene is being re-released with Style Black soon, I figured I'd do a look with it :)

I'm going to Canada! :D

I'm really excited about this!

I'm going to be visiting my uncle, aunt and three cousins in Canada! In just a little over 2 weeks :D
I'm leaving on September 27th and I'll be back home on October 11th.

I'll be staying with my uncle and aunt in Edmonton, Alberta. Anyone from around there?
Know some great places to see or go shopping? :D
I'm (of course) already planning on going to MAC since it's way cheaper over there, but I also really want to check out brands that are not available here in Denmark where I live :)

Tutorial for the Smoke & Diamonds look :)

I posted a look using Smoke & Diamonds here and I got a lot of requests to do a tutorial for it, so here it is! :)




.
Eyes:
ArtDeco eyeshadow base
MAC Smoke & Diamonds e/s (LE w/ Starflash '08 & Love that look '09)
MAC Sketch e/s
MAC Beauty Marked e/s
MAC Plumdressing e/s
MAC Rave pearlglide e/l (LE w/ Suite Arrays '08 & Love that Look '09)
MAC Parfait Amour e/s
MAC Beautiful Iris e/s
MAC Shroom e/s
MAC Smolder e/k
MAC #36 lashes

Face:
MAC Hyperreal foundation NC100(DC)
MAC MSF natural light

Cheeks:
MAC Gentle blush

Lips:
MAC Cranapple l/l
MAC Most Popular l/s (LE w/ Hello Kitty '09 & Colour Craft '09)
MAC Funtabulous dazzleglass

A mask! - contest entry!

NikkieTutorials on youtube has a contest going on where you have to do both a mask and a "different" smokey eye.

I've never done a contest entry before, but it was fun! It was a great way to get inspired and do something different than usual. It's been forever since I've done a mask!

These are the looks I did! :)

First, the mask!








I used:

Mask:
Mehron Black (from the Basic palette)
MAC Dark Soul pigment
MAC Black Black pigment (PRO)
DUO glue
MAC 3D silver glitter (PRO)
MAC Aquamarine glitter (LE or DC?)

Eyes:
Mehron Black (from the Basic palette)
MAC Dark Soul pigment
MAC Black Black pigment (PRO)
MAC Teal pigment
MAC Violet pigment
MAC Point black lll
MAC Iris Eyes lll
MAC #48 lashes (LE '09)
MAC Silverstroke f/l (DC)

Face:
MAC Studio Sculpt foundation NC15

Lips:
MAC Lip Erase "pale" (PRO)


Aaaand, a "different" smokey eye ;)





Eyes:
ArtDeco eyeshadow base
GOSH Fox effect powder
MAC Motif e/s
MAC 100 Strokes e/s
MAC Smolder e/k
MAC Carbon e/s
MAC Gold glitter (PRO)
MAC #48 lashes

Cheeks:
MAC Style blush

Lips:
MAC Brave New Bronze l/s (LE w/ Style Warriors '09)

Tag + Award!

Crystal S from MakeupByCrystalS tagged me to do "10 facts about me", so here they are ;)

1: I have a huge, red bathrobe that I always wear when I'm too lazy to wear clothes - it's so sexy, lol! ;)
2: I used to play the piano but never got really good at it. I still play sometimes.
3: I love to read but I rarely finish a book. Right now I'm reading Final Theory by Mark Alpert.
4: I've been obsessed with the colour pink since I was around 14. Back then, my mom told me that to stop buying pink things since she thought I would get tired of the colour. Yeah, right! ;)
5: I hate, hate, hate cleaning and therefore my room is usually a huge mess.
6: I have Aqua's Barbie Girl stuck in my head for the 3rd day in a row!
7: My first perfume was Lacoste Touch of Pink. I still really like it.
8: I alwas carry my Nintendo DS aroud with me.
9: I have a pink iPod with matching pink+white Skull Candy head phones.
10: I have my belly button and both of my nipples pierced ;)

I tag everyone who reads this!! :)

Crystal also gave me this little blog award:

Thank you so much Crystal! I really appreciate that you thought of my blog when giving this award :)

Now, this award comes with a set of rules:

♥ accept the award

♥ post it on your blog, along with the name of the person who awarded you

♥ pass on the award to others

♥ share the love!!

So, the blogs I'd like to pass this award on to are:
TheGirlyShow
PinkIsMyFavoriteColour
HeleSays
KillerColours
MollyLoretta

10 things I wish I was the owner of - makeup, clothes and bag lemmings

This post is pretty different from the ones I usually do, but I've been lying in bed with my computer all day since I've been sick, and so I've spent my day browsing the Internet for goodies that my bank account probably doesn't think I should buy, and I wanted to share the things that I found + some things I've been thinking about getting for some time! ;)

Paul's Boutique ASOS Exclusive Neon PB Wallet - £30.00 on asos.com
I've never seen any of the Paul's Boutique items IRL, but I found a couple of things on asos.com and completely fell in love! The things are pretty over the top and some would probably call them tacky, but I think they look amazing!

Paul's Boutique Union Jack Padlock Bag - £60 on asos.com
Another asos find from Paul's Boutique. I think this bag would look great with a pair of jeans and a leather jacket!

Paul’s Boutique Loves Barbie Customised Leopard Padlock Bag - £80.00 on asos.com
I could have put many more of the PB-bags and purses in this post, but this will be the last! ;)
Over the top + leopard print + pink + Barbie = Love!
I mean, how can I not fall in love with this?!

Migi nail art set - $99.99 on miginailart.com
I've been seeing these nail art pens in a few YT videos lately, and I really want to try them out! I guess the conclusion is, that it does work when companies uses YT gurus for marketing!

MAC MSF in "Cheeky Bronze" which came out with the Colour Craft collection. I guess it's sold out at most counters/stores, but my counter still has it and I've been wanting to get it since it came out! It's the prefect blend of bronzy glow and pink colour!

OPI & China Glaze nail polishes - 4.95 & $2.99 on head2toebeauty.com
I've been wanting to try both of these brands for a really long time now. My problem is, that I can't get them where I live and the shipping from online retailers is pretty expensive.
I do think that the shipping costs would be worth it, but whenever I try to decide which colours I want, I am completely overwhelmed, haha! :D

B never too busy to be beautiful eyeshadow - £8.30 on asos.com
How pretty is that packaging?!
OK, it's silly to want it just because of the packaging. Especially since the packaging is kind of tacky-looking. But I just can't help it, haha! ;)

Illamasqua sirens collection eyelashes - £11 on asos.com

I've been wanting to try some of the Illamasqua products ever since I first heard of them and this pair of lashes caught my eye :)

Forever21 Zipper Accent Slvls Jacket - $27.80 on forever21.com
I'm obsessed with pretty much all things leather. Real or fake, belts, trousers, skirts og jackets.
I just wish we had a Forever21 here so I could try it before buying! Clothes like this has to fit really well to look good IMO.

I'm also completely in love with a pair of perfectly unpractical platform stilettos from H&M but I couldn't find a picture of those :( I'll share them with you if I get them, haha :D




I'd love to know what you think of posts like this - and what YOU'VE been obsessing with/wanting to get yourself :)

Another bright look :)

I did this look for work and figured I'd share with you :)













I used:

Eyes:
ArtDeco eyeshadow base
MAC Samoa Silk e/s
MAC Orange e/s
MAC Passionate e/s
MAC Paradisco e/s
MAC Shroom e/s
MAC Point Black lll
MAC Rave pearlglide eyeliner (LE w/ Love that Look '09)
MAC Parfait Amour e/s
MAC Beautiful Iris e/s
MAC #36 lashes

Face:
MAC Studio Sculpt foundation NC15
MAC MSF natural light

Cheeks:
MAC Style Blush

Lips:
MAC Fulfilled plushglass

Twitter!!

I used to have a Twitter account, but I never updated much.
A little over a month ago, when I finally wanted to start using Twitter more regularly, I found out that my account was hacked and the person/computer who/which hacked it spammed my followers and my account had gotten suspended.
I tried to solve the problem but after several failed attempts at contacting Twitter, I just gave up and created a new Twitter account!

Please follow me on there if you're interested :)
http://twitter.com/ZoffesMakeup



I'd love more people to follow too, so let me know what your name on Twitter is :D

Graphic Garden: Fresh Cut

I used the Fresh Cut palette from the MAC Graphic Garden collection to create this look :) I do love the palette, but didn't get it myself since I have dupes of almost all the colours. I wish Sun-Shy eyeshadow(the peachy orange one) came as a single though - I would totally get that! :) And I really do think that the palette is worth the money if you don't already have similar shades. They work amazingly well with green and blue eyes :)
The pictures were taken after a whole day of work, so please keep that in mind, haha :)












I used:
Face:
Don't remember.

Eyes:
MAC Bare Canvas paint
MAC Artifact p/p
MAC Foxy Lady e/l
MAC Poppy noir e/s(Fresh Cut palette. LE w/ Graphic Garden '09)
MAC Part Peony e/s(Fresh Cut palette. LE w/ Graphic Garden '09)
MAC Sun-Shy e/s(Fresh Cut palette. LE w/ Graphic Garden '09)
MAC Vanilla pigment
MAC Vanilla e/s
MAC Point Black lll
MAC Electrolady lll

Cheeks:
MAC Part Peony e/s(Fresh Cut palette. LE w/ Graphic Garden '09)
MAC Sun-Shy e/s(Fresh Cut palette. LE w/ Graphic Garden '09)

Lips:
MAC Just a Smidge tinted lip balm (LE w/ Baby Bloom '09)