Friday Favourites: Vol. 4

Happy Good Friday! Hope you are all having a pleasant start to the long weekend! It's been a while since I've done a Friday Favourites, and I've acquired and tested out so much product over the past couple months that it was really quite hard to narrow it down to this list (so expect another edition of Friday Favourites really, really soon). But, here, my most recent favourites:

MAC Zac Posen Haute Contour — I totally thought I was gonna pass on this, but I finally decided to pick it up when PRO discounts were applicable (two weeks after launch), and I gotta say, I'm really surprised by how much I love it. I don't use the two shades separately or for contouring, either; I swirl my brush through both, and the result is a gorgeous peachy bronze with a soft golden sheen. This has been my go-to cheek colour for the past few weeks.

Too Faced Peanut Butter and Jelly Eyeshadow Palette — You can read my review of this palette here, but just to reiterate: Too Faced is on fire with their releases this year. This packaging is fucking adorable, the shades are stunning, and every single shadow goes on ultra-smooth and super-pigmented. Plus, they smell like Reese's Puffs. A serious must-have for warm shadow lovers. 

Dior Diorskin Nude Air Glowing Gardens Illuminating Powder in 002 Glowing Nude — By far, the illuminating powders are the stars of Dior's Spring 2016 collection. Formula-wise, it's a liquid-powder hybrid, so it's similar to MAC's Extra Dimension Skinfinish, Bobbi Brown's Highlighting Powders, Anastasia Beverly Hills' Illuminators, Laura Mercier's Face Illuminator Powders, NARS' Dual Intensity Blushes, etc. That also means that it's extremely lightweight with no powdery kickback or glittery fallout, and goes on incredibly smoothly with excellent colour pay-off. The best part about this formula is that you can get it to look really shiny and almost wet, but it's very easy to blend out to get a much softer glow. Glowing Nude is a soft luminous peachy champagne that works on all skintones from fair to deep dark. And honestly, how can you resist the gorgeous packaging and detailing on the powder? 

Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Major Volume Mascara — This doesn't quite beat out Urban Decay's Perversion Mascara as my holy grail, but it's really damn close. I actually find UD Perversion to give more volume because it's a wetter formula, but that also means it's more prone to clumping and smudging, which the MJ Velvet Noir doesn't do. The Velvet Noir adds amazing volume while still separating the lashes — but not so much that the volume disappears (this is my pet peeve with plastic or rubber bristled mascaras). The most impressive feature about this mascara, though, is its ability to hold curl. I wear three coats of mascara everyday, and I have straight lashes that require some hardcore curling to keep my lashes up. When using other mascaras, I notice that my lashes will droop a little bit by the end of the day, whereas the MJ keeps my lashes looking ultra-curled and perky for at least 12 hours (and it's not waterproof!). 

Dior Addict Lip Glow Color Reviver Balm in 005 Lilac — I had Dior's original Lip Glow from like, ten years ago; there was only the one pink colour and while it was nice, I didn't feel the need to re-buy it. And honestly, no one gave a shit about it back then. But everyone started talking about them again and Dior came out with this new Lilac shade for spring, so I decided to check it out. My friend gave me her staff discount at Sephora, too, so the $40 price tag wasn't as daunting. On me, the Lilac shade turns a very soft cool petal pink, but in a way that is very natural. However, what I like about this isn't necessarily the colour, but in the formula itself. It makes my lips look super-smooth and plump, and it actually hydrates immediately and over time as well (my lips continue to be soft even after the balm has come off my lips). It doesn't feel greasy or thick or sticky, but it has more substance than a waxier balm, making it a truly ideal lip balm for everyday use. And it has a very pleasant subtle vanilla mint scent rather than the really strong rose fragrance from their other lip products. 

Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Cleanser Daily Foaming Wash — I swear, this is responsible for all the good skin days I've been having. I didn't think cleansers could make such a distinct difference because you wash it off, but I've really noticed that my skin looks smoother and clearer and brighter since I started using it. It's creamy and gently foaming (not big luscious bubbles, but it foams up more than a milk cleanser), so it's great for all skin types, and it has a lovely subtle citrusy fruit scent. I have combo-oily skin and I feel like it targets both my oily T-zone and my dehydrated cheeks; my skin feels clean and fresh but not stripped. It is important to note, however, that I use this is my morning cleanser, so I don't know how effective it is on makeup removal. 

Philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar — I've been using this as my day cream. It has a beautiful lightweight whipped consistency and a very fresh, slightly floral scent. I haven't really noticed a huge difference in my skin's texture (to be fair, I don't have big pores or fine lines), but it leaves my skin feeling soft and hydrated all day without being greasy or heavy, and my skin looks smooth and glowy. It sits really well under makeup, too.

Sansotei Ramen — My favourite ramen restaurant in Toronto finally opened up an uptown location, which means I now only have to travel 15 minutes to get their delicious bowls of noodles in creamy pork bone broth.

Zootopia — I loved every single thing about this movie. The characters, the storyline, the rich colours and stunning visual details. It is funny, witty, adorable, snarky, and heartfelt without being cheesy. As Peter Travers of Rolling Stone says, "The last thing you'd expect from a new Disney animated marshmallow is balls. But, hot damn, Zootopia comes ready to party hard. This baby has attitude, a potent feminist streak, a tough take on racism, and a cinema-centric plot that references The Godfather, Chinatown and L.A. Confidential. The kids, paying zero attention to such things, will love it. But the grownups will have even more fun digging in."

What are your most recent favourites?