My Favourite Beauty Products

Excluding #6 and #10, I've been using these products for years and I'm only recommending them because I really enjoy using them. Clothing always comes first for me, so I'm not a huge spender on makeup nor am I an expert on it. (I think I spend under $100 on makeup products per year!) Regardless, I hope I introduced you to at least one new product! : ) 

1. Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler - I bought this a few years ago because it's one of the most popular lash curlers. I don't have much to compare it to since before this, I used my mom's really old one. So far, so good.

2. Vaseline Petroleum Jelly - I use Vaseline in place of mascara because it holds the curl so much longer than any mascara I've ever tried (but I still occasionally use mascara). There's a common myth that Vaseline makes your eyelashes grow thicker and longer, but I couldn't find solid evidence of this on the Internet. I've been using it on my lashes for years with no problems except for smudging when I wear (sun)glasses. This can be easily fixed by brushing black eyeshadow over the Vaseline to dry it a bit. I actually receive more compliments on how long my lashes look when I wear Vaseline than when I wear mascara!

3. E.L.F. Essential Smudge Eye Sponge - If I'm too lazy to apply eyeshadow (which is most of the time), I put on black or brown eyeliner and then use this sponge to smudge it for a smokey eye effect. Works like a charm.

4. Urban Decay Naked Palette - Eyeshadow isn't really my forté, but I really like this neutral colour palette. There's not much I can add to the thousands of reviews already on the Internet, so I'll just leave it at that!

5. E.L.F. Studio Eyebrow Kit (Light) - The name of this little "kit" is self-explanatory. It's reliable and I love the tiny mirror in the palette.

6. Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede Lipstick (Backstage) (c/o Revlon) - I'm on and off when it comes to lipstick. It seems like I can never find a good shade for my skin tone. Revlon sent me a beauty package a while back (thank you!) and this lipstick (shade sent at random) was included. Lipsticks always made my lips dry, but I was never one to spend $$ on "good" ones. This Revlon one is affordable and doesn't dry my lips out so I think I'm going to pick up a slightly lighter shade once I'm sick of this one. 

If you know of a good affordable lipstick, please share in the comments below!

7. Clean & Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets - These come in a pack of 50 and it takes me a few months to finish one pack because my face doesn't get oily often. They're a little pricey in Toronto (about $8 after tax? Forgot.), so I'd love it if you guys could recommend a cheaper pack of oil blotting sheets!

8. Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Concealer (330) - I used to use drugstore concealer, but none of them never wowed me like this MUFE one did. One of the things I hated with most of the drugstore concealers I used was the white blotch that appears under my eyes in flash photographs. I've been using this MUFE one for a couple of years now and  have no plans on switching.

9. E.L.F. Essential Lash Kit (Natural) - I always thought these were decent, cheap false lashes (which they are!), but I literally just realized a couple of weeks ago that I can get them in bulk for dirt cheap on eBay. I'm not a daily falsies wearer (don't know how some girls do it!), but I still like a good price - especially for disposable items like this.

What false lashes do you recommend?

10. Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream (Light) - I've used Skin 79 BB cream (pink bottle) before and loved the scent and how the product felt. Unfortunately, it was too light for my face and made me look ghostly. I was also sent a few BB cream samples from different companies, but none were for me. (FYI, the Stila one has such an unpleasant smell.)

I read a lot of good reviews about this Smashbox BB cream and asked for a sample at Sephora. LOVED it! I bought three bottles of the travel-sized one NOT because I'm obsessed, but because the Sephora lady told me it's actually cheaper that way. A normal bottle at 30mL is $50, whereas the mini bottle is $22 for 15mL. I saved $9 + 15% during Sephora's Beauty Insider event.

I love the consistency of this product and its sheer, light coverage. It comes in five different shades (many of the Asian BB creams come in only one). I recommend grabbing a sample at Sephora and trying it for yourself!

- - -
I'll be writing a post about my favourite skincare products later this month, so look out for that. I just realized that the blotting sheets can be considered as "skincare", but it's already up there so I'll just leave it.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post and all opinions are my own. Though I've previously worked with Shu Uemura and they gifted me a lash curler, I already owned one previously. Revlon also sent me a beauty package, but I was not asked to write about it.

I'd love to hear your recommendations on some of the bolded questions I asked above! I love learning about new products. : )

Red Summer Sandals

Red sandals c/o Oasap | Chiffon colourblocked shirt c/o Mexy | Ray-Ban Meteor Sunglasses

Helmut Lang jeans | Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAC in Lavender | Daniel Wellington Classic Sheffield Watch

Coupon Code for SheInside

Sheinside has a few coupon codes out for spring/summer and I'm writing this (non-sponsored) post to share some of my favourite pieces with you guys! I love shopping for warm weather clothing because you can easily layer them to for fall/winter. Customers can use the coupon code jessydust15 to receive 15% off all orders until July 30th. (I do not receive commission from Sheinside.)

Gold hollow bracelet // Colourful bib necklace // Gold triangle necklace

I wear statement jewelry pieces more often in the summer because they're easier to show off with short-sleeved tops. I'm fascinated with geometric-themed accessories (triangles & circles especially!).

Sleeveless blazer with shorts // Printed white pants // Sequined high-low dress // Black & white striped dress

Pink contrast blouse // Printed dress // Floral skirt

I chosen quite a few different prints in my picks above. Summer really puts me in the mood for prints and I'm currently loving stripes again. What's your favourite print at the moment?

It's been so warm in Toronto lately that I haven't gotten the chance to wear this jacket that SheInside sent me as a gift. Though I love the style and colour combination, I have to let it go because I am trying to make more space in my closet. My jacket collection has grown substantially in the past year and this was the one I chose to get rid of. For anyone interested, please email me and I'd be glad to send it over if you cover shipping. I have a size small (which would fit someone who wears XXS to XS) and all the measurements are listed here. 

Obsessed with Red

Balenciaga Continental Zip Around Wallet

I tend to go through colour phases and lately, I've been obsessed with red. I bought my Balenciaga wallet in 'Poppy' back in December 2012 because of the bright pop of colour (are we sick of this phrase yet?) and can't seem to stop eying other red clothing & accessories. It's been one of my favourite purchases from the past few months.

Oasap sandals

I prefer wearing low heels with my casual outfits and found these to be perfect for summer strolling. They're definitely one of the brightest additions to my shoe collection and I've been wearing it quite frequently (after my beloved Zara pumps seen here, here, & here). I'll be publishing an outfit post with these babies (c/o Oasap) within a week.

Unbranded iPhone 5 case

Like most of my phone cases, I bought this one on eBay. I've been so obsessed with its colour and texture that I don't think I'll be switching cases any time soon. Instagram friends were probably tired of seeing my pink melt case anyway.

I'd love to know...

1 - What's your colour at the moment?

2 - What case is currently on your phone?

Shop red items

Photo Editing Apps for Instagram

I have two folders on my iPhone dedicated to "photography" and I'd love to share my favourite apps with everyone! All of the apps I've chosen are available for free download with some having in-app purchases. Best of all, they're all user-friendly! Unfortunately, these are all for iOS since I own an iPhone. I hope to share some android-friendly apps in part two. : )

Collage App

For square or rectangular collages, I've been using Photo Collage Free for a while now. I've been trying different collage apps for the past year or so and this has been my favourite so far. All of the side-by-side outfit photos on my Instagram were created using this app.

Features

• different dimensions
• rounded or square corners
• thin or thick borders (my only issue is that you can't get rid of them, so I just make them thin)
• photo flipping & filters
• different border colours/designs

Other apps I've used, but deleted: Instaframe (too much going on), InstaCollage Pro (same reason), Pic Collage (great for freestyle collages, but not Instagram-friendly)

Watermark App

There are a lot of watermark apps that aren't available for free, so the one I'm recommending, eZy Watermark lite, is the best free one I've used. The app crashes when I add an image sometimes, but it'll work after 1-2 more tries (if it doesn't, close all other apps first). This could annoy a lot of people, but I have no problem with it since it's a decent free app. Another thing about it is that it doesn't let you save a few watermarks at the same time (ex. I use @jessydust and jessydust.com interchangeably). However, most people only use one watermark so this shouldn't pose as a problem.

Features

• set resolution and "pen thickness" sizes
• autograph, text, or image watermarks are allowed
• change angle, colour, font, opacity of watermark (currently no size change, but it's a good size for me)

Other apps I've used, but deleted: iWaterFree (the app adds its own watermark on top of your image unless you upgrade), PhotoMarkr (only one text size, which is BIG)

Square Photos 

Ever since the new Instagram update a while back, it got a lot hard to upload rectangular photos. Thankfully, there's an app (Squaready) for that.

Features

• change background colour
• zoom function
• crop & centre images
• flip & rotate images

This was the only app that I've used that specifically squares photos for Instagram; however, I do sometimes use the collage app mentioned above to make my vertical photos fit into a square frame. For those who want to know how I do it, feel free comment below or email me.

Mirror Images

I used to go through a series of steps to create the mirrored image effect for my photos until I discovered Mirrorgram. The app only produces square images, which can be a bit restricting if you want to show an entire rectangular photo. Not all hope is lost though because that issue can be fixed with Squaready (mentioned above).

Features

• horizontal, vertical, & diagonal mirror
• blurring/focusing (like on Instagram)
• filters (only a few require an upgrade)

This was the only app I've used that specifically mirrors images for you; however, I did used to manually flip my photos using another app then put them in side-by-side collages. Not the most efficient way of doing this, but I never knew there was an app for this.

These are all of the "basic editing" apps I use for Instagram. I'll be publishing a part two to this post for more "advanced" ones (such as actual photo editing) soon.

Thanks for reading!

I'd love to know...
Which apps are you using for the features mentioned above? I love checking out new photo editing apps!