Goodbye July, Hello August!!! My Long Weekend Look

I can't believe it's already August!!! This was a long weekend for us here in Canada - and one of my favorite long weekends of the year. This "goodbye July/hello August" weekend has always felt to me like the pinnacle weekend of the summer - the weekend that all the summer days have been leading up to....and the weekend after which we start heading steadily into fall. Typically in Toronto, the weather does a dramatic dive southward after this long weekend as August breezes begin to pick up and days get ever so slightly shorter. Which is why I always look forward to getting out and enjoying at least one of the many events that take over the city this time of year.

In my younger days, you would have found me spending this weekend jumping up at the annual Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival and then dancing the night away at one of the many long-weekend parties taking place. This year we were lucky to be kids-free and spent what is most often referred to as "Caribana Saturday" taking in the AMAZINGLY funny Kevin Heart at his sold out show at Toronto's Air Canada Centre. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to take advantage of overnight babysitting during what is arguably the biggest party weekend of the year here in T.O. I dressed for what I knew would be a long night of laughter, drinks and dancing.

I wanted a look that would take me from the show to dinner and drinks and then eventually to the dance floor. I decided that in this case, simple sophistication in a classic colour palate would get me where I wanted (style-wise) to go. I opted for a chic black and white combination for my long weekend night out:

Always a fan of mixing things up I decided to go for a combination of both black and gold accessories for added personality and "hipster flare"

This look was super easy to put together and incredibly comfortable hours after the night began. The base of this outfit is just a simple black racer-back tank and pair of comfy basic H&M leggings.

I added a light-weight, off-white blazer from H&M to pull the outfit together and add a bit of sophistication.

I decided to go with a comfy pair of black wedge-heeled gladiator sandals by Sam Edelman and this structured leather cross-body handbag that I picked up in a little shop a couple years back in Venice.

The great thing about this look is that I could easily remove the jacket and wear my purse across my body leaving my hands free for sipping cocktails and dancing the night away (as we did!!!) when the nights antics lead us to the ever popular over-30 T.O. nightspot - Pravda Vodka Bar.

Jacket - H&M

Tank - Winners (similar)

Sandals - Sam Edelman (similar)

Handbag - (similar)

I slipped my scent-of-the-moment rollerball - Balenciaga B. - along with my new fav lipstick and gloss combo (MAC's Angel and Revlon's Ultra HD Lip laquer #540 ) into my purse and was out the door. We met up with our friends just as the show was about to start, and a great night was had by all! Oh how I love this long weekend!!! 

Which is your favorite summer long weekend?

Linking up with these fabulous blogs!!

Annual Estee Lauder Companies Sale (aka "The MAC Sale"....aka another excuse to Binge on Beauty!!!)

I have been fortunate enough over the years to know people who know people who think of ME when they find themselves in possession of an extra ticket or two to the annual Estee Lauder Companies Sale held just outside of Toronto at the Markham Fair Grounds :)

Last weekend I once again found myself the lucky recipient of an invite to this year's "MAC Sale" as my friends and I always refer to it, but which actually includes products from a number of different lines that I had no idea were part of the beauty EMPIRE that is Estee Lauder. Brands included Clinique, Bobbi Brown, MAC, Estee Lauder, Smashbox, as well as fragrances by Coach, Michael Kors and some others that I am unfortunately forgetting. 

Products available include skin care, makeup,  beauty tools, cosmetic bags, nail polish, fragrances, and more. 

It can be a bit overwhelming when you first enter the product halls - which are really just huge warehouse type spaces, with items laid out for testing on 8 foot long wooden folding tables. After spending almost an HOUR (yikes) in the line up, I wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible and so I made sure that I came with a game plan:

1. Know what I DON'T need

Typically when shopping, I go out with an idea or a list of what it is I am looking for - a black dress, strappy sandals, a new tote bag, etc...For this sale, I felt like in order to maximize my efficiency in going through the halls, as well as ensure that I don't leave with a bunch of stuff that I really don't want OR need, I made a mental note of  things that I already have enough of so that I could skip those sections altogether and avoid dangerous impulse purchases. As you saw in my recent Sephora post, I just purchased two new eye shadow palettes as well as the Nars blush/bronzer duo and  bunch of makeup brushes. I also recently purchased Balenciaga B. (which I am LOVING ♡♡♡). No need to check out the fragrances!!

2. Know what I DO need

I haven't purchased any new lippy products in some time, and as MAC is known for there amazing lipsticks, I figured this would be a great chance to grab some new lip candy :) This really was the only item that I was truly "looking for".

3. Avoid the urge to buy solely based on price 

I've been to this sale before, and some of the prices seem SO low that it can be tempting to buy crazy multiples of products, or even products you don't need or use, just because the prices are so good.  To me, this is a recipe for a makeup hoarding DISASTER (note: I am not a makeup artist - whatever I buy is for my own personal use). Also, if you aren't well versed on your beauty price points (which I, admittedly, am not) you can end up thinking you are getting a great deal but when you actually look at the price you are paying and the volume of product, it's not much better than in store.

All this being said, I walked away from the sale with exactly what I did need (a couple new lipsticks and a gloss) and none of what I did not need (didn't buy a single eye-shadow powder although I did grab two Pro Longwear Paint Pots and a gorgeous 15 hour wear cream shadow by Smashbox!!).

Here's what I got:

The first exhibit hall had a bunch of fragrances and fragrance gift sets which I did not need as well as some makeup brushes and sets. I pretty much zipped through this section until I got to the very end of the hall where there was a $4 product station with about 15 different bins of products, all being sold for $4 each:

I grabbed two each of these lid and face primers by Smashbox

 

I have been a devoted fan of Oil of Olay's "Total Effects" moisturizer for years but for 4 bucks, decided to give this "Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion" by Clinque a try

In light of my "advancing" age (yes darlings, I am on the other side of the mid thirties hump) I was happy to pick up a few more eye and face creams and got two each of the "Advanced Time Zone Age Reversing Line/Wrinkle Cream" by EL as well as the Clinique "All About Eyes" cream for circles and puffiness

My good friend Melanie first introduced me to Clinque's turnaround cream ages ago, and so I had to grab two pots of the overnight cream as well :)

The last thing I got from the $4 bin was two "mini" mascaras - ELs "Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volume Mascara" and Smashbox's "Full Exposure". I really LOVE mascara...it's probably my biggest beauty can't-live-without, and to me even more important than the formula is the brush. And so when I saw how big and thick the bristles were on these wands, as well as how wide the diameter of the brush heads were, I knew I had to give them a try :)

I was greeted in Exhibit Hall #2 by a beautiful spread of lipsticks and glosses from a variety of lines including MAC, Bobbi Brown, Smashbox and Clinique. All of the lip products were a bargain at just $10 bucks each and I ended up getting two MAC lipsticks in the colors "Angel" (of Kim K fame), and "Lustering":

I also grabbed a lip gloss by smasbox in this super pretty colour called "Pixel":

And one more lipstick in a brick red color with pretty gold flecks by Bobbi Brown called "Raspberry Shimmer":

Weaving my way through the last hall I came across a lot of face products including cleansers and toners, cosmetic cases, perfume gift sets and finally eye makeup and concealers. I came across this "Skinsheen Leg Spray" by MAC in the color "Medium Dark" that were two for $10: 

Two pregnancy's and the subsequent swelling I had in my legs and ankles did a number on my circulation, and I now am dealing with spider veins on my calves and ankles that are not painful, but which I really hate the look of. I am contemplating laser removal but in the meantime, this could be a nice temporary solution - if it works (stay tuned!!!)

I knew I really didn't need any more eye-shadows, but I couldn't resist when I saw the MAC paint pots. One of my FAVORITE♡  beauty gurus is @tymetheinfamous and she almost never does a beauty look without first applying MAC's paint pot in "Soft Ochre" on her lids. Her complexion is quite a bit fairer than mine, so I picked up  "Layin' Low" and I figure this should be an appropriate color equivalent for me to use when trying to recreate some of her eye looks. I also grabbed the color "Bare Study" by MAC and "Icon" by Smashbox because they were just too pretty and irresistible to pass up. And at just $12 each, the price was a steal.

(From the Left: Bare Study, Layin' Low, Icon)

Happy with my selections, I made my way over to the cash to check out and was given my "thank you" gift - a bottle of Estee Lauder's Pure Color Cheek Rush in the colour "Hot Fuse". To be completely honest, when I got home and opened this, I wasn't sure what it was! I actually had to look up the product online for a description. Turns out it is a really sheer gel blush or cheek tint. It's very lightweight, and is almost like a stain. I haven't tried it yet, but I did give it a swatch. Jury's still out on this one for me, but I will give it a try and post a photo to my Instagram @commonroyalty so you can see what you think. 

All in all, a successful day at Toronto's #esteelaudersale. A big thanks to my girl Liz for the ticket (mwah!)

Casual Glam - Girls night Out!!

Hey Friends!

Hope everyone had a great long weekend :) It was Family Day on Monday here in Ontario - although, now that I'm on mat-leave, everyday is Family Day!! 

So last Friday, I went out to dinner with my sister and cousins SANS bebe!!! I was super excited as I pretty much am never anywhere without Emma (not including quick trips to Walmart/Shoppers Drugmart/Foodbasics - i.e. anyplace I can get to and from before the next feeding...). We went to Joey's at Yorkdale (one of my fav chain restaurants) and as it was Friday night, and I was without baby, it was all the excuse I needed to glam up my "mommystyle".

I decided to really play up my makeup and hair. On my face I did a bright red lip and a charcoal and navy smokey eye:

For my smokey eye look, I used "blackout" from the Urban Decay Naked2 palette all over my lid and then used "Sea" from the MAC Sea and Sky Mineralized Eyshadow Duo in the crease. I then used "suspect" from the Naked2 pallet to blend the colour from my crease up above my lid towards the bottom of my brow bone. I finished the shadow look by using "bootycall" from the Naked2 palette in the inner corners of my eyes.

Here is a shot of my lids:

I used my drugstore faithfuls, L'Oreal Lineur Intense liquid liner in "Carbon Black" on my top lids (I think I probably could've gone a bit thicker) and smuged Rimmel London Soft Khol Kajal pencil eyeliner in "jet black" to my bottom lid. Finally, I finished the eye look with two coats of  Maybelline's Volume Express "The Falsies" mascara in "black drama". 

On my cheeks I always use "gleeful" by MAC. It's a mineral blush that I think looks really soft and natural on my skintone:

I don't think that MAC makes this shade anymore but they have a similar product here.

When I want to really "glam" up my make-up look, I love to use E.L.F's High Definition loose powder in "sheer": 

It is ridiculously cheap at under $10 and I love, love, LOVE the overall finish and effect!! You need such a small amount that I am sure this container will last me a lifetime!

I used Revlon's Colorstay Lipcolor in Raspberry Mousse to create a bold red lip, and volia!

                                                    

                

I went for a comfy, "casual/cool" outfit choice:

I threw on a pair of sunnies and my Kensington Parka (it was -32 degrees on Friday!!!) and had a great girls night out!! 

I hope you had a great weekend - I'd love to see photos of how you do "casual glam"!!