Pretty In Bronze

Sunday, January 07, 2018

Silver & Gold Halo Eye GRWM ~ Too Faced Chocolate Gold Palette
January 07, 20180 Comments
Hello!


I just posted a get ready with me video featuring the new Too Faced Chocolate Gold palette! I've already done a post with all of the swatches from the palette and my opinion remains the same. This palette is amazing! I'll talk about it more in a favourites video or blog post, but for now check out this video to see it in use!

See you soon!


Thursday, December 28, 2017

Too Faced Chocolate Gold Eyeshadow Palette ~ Swatches
December 28, 20170 Comments
Hello!

I have some awesome swatches today. I got this palette a few days ago as a Christmas present from Steven's dad step mom (pretty much my in-laws). I immediately started playing with it and I'm already in love so I thought I'd share swatches since there aren't a ridiculous amount out there yet!

Here are a few pictures of the palette and what came in the box!


I swatched every single shade without any primer or glitter glue or makeup spray (just my finger and the eyeshadows as is).


There are all the swatches and close-up shots of the colours! I will likely be wearing this palette in a post soon for certain false lashes, and I will definitely be wearing it on Instagram and YouTube! I highly recommend this palette for anyone who enjoys shimmery or metallic shadows, but still enjoys having those staple transition shades. This palette seems to be permanent so you don't have to rush, but the quality is amazing so I highly recommend!


See you soon!

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Vegan Hair and Body Products ~ Review!
December 24, 20170 Comments

Hello again!

This is part two of my blogger box review of the products I received. I'm going to jump right in with the review this time, but if you want more info you can check out my last blogger box post here!


This Divine Essence essential oil is awesome! It smells a lot like the Vick's rub we all grew up with (at least it does to my coworkers and I) and I love to put it in the diffuser at work when I'm feeling stuffy. This stuff seriously relaxes me. I've strongly hinted at wanting a diffuser / told Steven several times that I wanted one so I'm hoping I'll have one for my apartment after Christmas and I can enjoy this at home as well!


These products are specifically for men, so Steven tried these out and even wrote notes down on what he thought! I thought it'd be more authentic if I just paste his notes below (and funny for me) so here are his thoughts in point form:

Decode shampoo:
  • Aroma is good, not too strong but not lacking scent. 
  • Definitely smells of peppermint oil (which is advertised, and if that's your thing than great. I'm on the fence about it.
  • Used a dollab the size of a quarter and about 3/4 of a cm high which is ~50% more than my usually shampoo to get the same lather. 
  • "Cool" feeling begins after 2 minutes on scalp and stays after rinse. 
  • Didn't strip hair of all oils which is nice for short outings


Decode shaving lotion:
  • Smells of a clay mask and something else I can't put my finger on but it's not bad at all.
  • Had to use quite a bit to get a decent lather for a mans face. 
  • Lubrication qualities are slightly below average for a shaving lotion.
  • I can definitely see this being useful for large-flat surfaces like legs/arms rather than more denser areas. 
  • No irritation
  • Didn't leave my hands feeling oily (aka not having to spend 3 minutes washing my hands in the shower to get the oils off in fear of grabbing my razor, having it slip out of my hands and cut me) after lather.

So from Steven's review it looks like the shampoo wins. I personally love that cool tingly feeling on the scalp and know a lot of men that do as well, so I think that's worth looking at. As for the shaving lotion, Steven thought it was ok, but not worth it considering we just buy cheap shaving cream for a buck. However, he did text me that it would definitely work well as an alternative if you live a vegan lifestyle or if you're cruelty free!



I'm really enjoying this shampoo and Conditioner by Giovanni Cosmetics! This really makes my hair clean and keeps it feeling clean for longer. I'm surprised it doesn't wash out any colour because of how clean my hair gets, but it does tend to feel a bit more dry because of it. I now have this in my shampoo rotation where I have two other shampoos that I like to use every few weeks. Sometimes I mix one of my other shampoos with this depending on what I want my hair to feel like, but I can safely say that I prefer this shampoo if I want to spend less time straightening my hair.



Last, but not least, is this Surya Brasil nail polish. I've never seen a Vegan nail polish before (though I have seen cruelty free), but I really like this! The packaging is really nice, and the polish itself is pretty good. It isn't my favourite nail polish, but it's also not bad. This applies really nicely since it has a dense brush that is shaped perfectly (not those flimsy brushes with bristles randomly glued on). The polish with three coats reminds me of those 90's jelly sandals like I showed in my video, but that also means it isn't super opaque. Because this requires several layers to get to my desired opacity, it ends up being pretty thick and peels off easier. Overall the polish is pretty nice. If you are or know anyone that is Vegan, I recommend! Especially around the holiday season as a gift (or a gift in general for anything) because it can be hard finding products like these that are Vegan. I also like the name because I'm Brazilian, but that has nothing to do with the product.

That is it! Hopefully this review has been helpful! With the holiday season starting soon it's always a good idea to read up on reviews as much as you can! Especially if you're trying to figure out what to buy your Vegan friends or family! If you want to find all of these products, just head onto Well.ca and you will find it all!

See you soon!

Saturday, December 16, 2017

#Benefaves Voxbox Review ~ Influenster
December 16, 20170 Comments
Hello!

I was lucky enough to be chosen for the #Benefaves voxbox from Influenster! I've already completed the main badge, but there's a bonus badge so I thought I'd share a few pictures on here as well! As usual, Influenster means getting the products complimentary for review purposes. Here's everything that came in the box:


I had already tried the porefessional and didn't really care for it. It helps smooth my skin out a bit, but not enough to make it worth using, and especially not purchasing. I have pretty normal skin with a few dry patches, and a normal to oily forehead. I think this might work if you have super dry skin, but it makes my forehead look too greasy.

The They're Real mascara is one of my all time favourites! If you want to buy a high end mascara for the first time, I recommend this! I've had a few mini's before and still love this just as much as I once did. The brush is amazing on this!


This was the first time I tried the Hoola bronzer and I'm impressed! It's crazy pigmented so you do have to be careful if you're really light skinned. I'm light/medium and still managed to pile on too much when filming my video using these products (it will be at the end of this blog post). I don't know if I'd repurchase just because I have a holy grail bronzer from the drugstore, but once again, if you're looking to buy high end you can't go wrong with this!


This is now my favourite eyebrow pomade product. Will I purchase? Probably one day, but not in the near future. It's a bit too expensive for me so I'll stick with drugstore, but I will say that I prefer this over my ABH Dip Brow Pomade because it's creamier and easier to use.

I will insert a bunch of pictures where I'm wearing all of the products. In the first photo my eyebrows hadn't been done in over 6 months, but in the rest they were recently plucked so you can see how amazing the ka-Brow works!



Here's the YouTube video where I use all of the products!


I hope you enjoyed the post! See you soon!

Sunday, December 10, 2017

GummiBand Hair Cord Review! + Giveaway
December 10, 20170 Comments
Hello!

I have another review for you today and it is on GummiBands. GummiBands are awesome hair cords that retail for $7.99 CAD on https://www.gummiband.ca/ and will make you never want to go back to regular hair bands ever again (at least that's how I feel about these)! I will have my full review in this post along with pictures of the bands in use and on their own. There will be a coupon code, as well as an awesome giveaway that I'm hosting so definitely keep on reading for that!


GummiBands come in several neutral an fun colours. The brand was nice enough to send me most of the colours, which I was very excited about. These GummiBands are all kinds of awesome! They work way better than regular hair ties on my hair—whether it's curly or straight—and there are a lot of benefits to using them that I will share with you. I learned a lot about these hair cords.

  • Hypoallergenic!
    • It's not fabric, so nothing gross will grow on them
  • Reusable
    • They'll return to normal size after a little while
    • After a long time of use, you can put them in hot water or blow hot air on them and they'll shrink back to normal!
  • One year warranty
    • GummiBand gives you a one year warranty so if your bands break, you're covered!
  • Gentle
    • Your hair won't snap
    • These won't leave big dents and ruin your hairstyle
    • Easy to take off (surprisingly)
  • Born in Canada
  • Gives Back
GummiBand is a Canadian brand that is 100% female operated. The GummiBands are only $7.99 CAD, and shipping is always free in Canada. Right now these are only available in Canada, but I won't be surprised if these start selling in other countries soon because they're awesome!


As you can see, GummiBands really hold my hair well! I only have one in my hair in these pics, and I have A LOT of hair. If you have super duper thick hair you can double up, but I only need one at a time—even if I'm wearing my hair curly!

I have a coupon code for you if you're interested in purchasing GummiBands! Use my code BONUS32 when you purchase any 4-cord pack of GummiBands and you will receive 2 extra GummiBands for free!

GIVEAWAY

I told you at the beginning of this post that there was going to be a giveaway, so here it is! One winner will be getting 2 packs of GummiBands! The giveaway is posted on Instagram so you do need an account there to enter. You do need to be a Canadian resident to enter, but all of the rest of the rules are included in my post, so please click on the photo below or visit @beautybyamysousa on your app or browser to view the post and enter!

A post shared by Amy Sousa (@beautybyamysousa) on

Also: I found this cute picture on https://www.gummiband.ca/ and thought it was an adorable home decor idea if you have these, or anything colourful like this. I now want to find a cute jar for me to store all of my GummiBands in just like this pic!


That's all! I hope you enjoyed this review, and please don't forget to enter my giveaway! It ends in under a week so go enter now! 

See you soon!

@beautybyamysousa