Paramore: Live at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre — Misery Business

This is the video I filmed of Paramore at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre on June 25, performing "Misery Business" from their sophomore album, Riot!. Paramore's gotten into a routine with their live performance of "Misery Business" in these last two tours where they get a fan from the audience to sing the last bridge and chorus of the song on stage with them. They're actually the only band of this stature that I've ever seen or heard doing this, and that's one of the things I love so much about Paramore; they make sure to interact and connect with their audience and show their appreciation for their fans, no matter how popular they get.

Paramore: Live at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre — Let the Flames Begin Outro + Part II

This is the video I filmed of Paramore at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre on June 25, performing the "outro" to "Let the Flames Begin" from Riot! leading into "Part II" from their self-titled album. I'm kinda bummed that I didn't end up filming their performance of "Let the Flames Begin" as a whole because it's my favourite song off their sophomore album and I hadn't heard them play it live in years. I've always thought it was one of their most powerful songs, and I love the "outro" that continues the song when they perform it live (it's not on the album recording). I did manage to capture the "outro" that leads right into "Part II," which happens to be my favourite song off of their self-titled album (and is also literally the second part to "Let the Flames Begin"). I think this is actually the first tour where they've played both songs together in a single show, and it made for a most dynamic performance. So glad I could witness this live. 

Paramore: Live at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre — Decode

This is the video I filmed of Paramore at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre on June 25, performing "Decode," from the Twilight soundtrack. While I attribute this song to their rise to popularity back in 2008, and despite its cheesy connotations, I still love listening to it. It's actually a really different style to all of their recordings to date — they wrote this song specifically for Twilight in hopes of getting it on the soundtrack — but it works and they made it epic and memorable. I think they've actually played this song during every tour since its inception, making it the only song they play (not including covers) that isn't originally from one of their own records.

Paramore: Live at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre — Ain't It Fun

This is the video I filmed of Paramore at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre on June 25, performing their latest single, "Ain't It Fun," from their self-titled album. I've decided to upload my videos on YouTube instead of Vimeo because it's free for HD videos, it's way faster to upload (like, 20 minutes as opposed to eight hours), and it's much more accessible (and more user-friendly in general, in my opinion). So, for any Paramore fans, enjoy! Otherwise, I apologize for the surge of Paramore-related posts; I'm still on a concert high.

Paramore: Monumentour at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre (Part II)

More photos from the Paramore show I went to on Wednesday night at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre. As it turns out, I took over 500 photos because I am crazy. Again, there will be more photos after the jump for anyone who is interested!

Paramore: Monumentour at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre (Part I)

I went with my friend Austin to see Paramore during their Monumentour tour with Fall Out Boy at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre on Wednesday night, which marked my sixth time seeing them (coincidentally, they were the last band I saw live last year, and the first band I saw live this year). I managed to get us general admission tickets this time, so we had an amazing view and obviously had to take advantage of this to take a million pictures. Thought I'd share them here, but I know not everyone's as into Paramore as I am, so there will be more photos after the jump for anyone who is interested!

MAC Mineralize Blush: Shade Extensions

Last Thursday, MAC added three shades to their permanent Mineralize Blush range, making a total of eight shades in the line-up. Of the three, two are new and one is a re-promote. MAC releases a "Mineralize update" every year, which adds or switches out their Mineralize colour products (usually their eyeshadows and duos), and this is the first year that they have added new blushes. Mineralize Blushes consist of "baked minerals refined into a powder formula to provide exceptionally sheer and lightweight application. Colour builds lightly, layer after layer, without heavy coverage. Veils and enhances the cheekbones with a luminous, pearlized shimmer." Each Mineralize Blush comes in a new slimmer compact with a clear lid, contains 3.2 grams of product, and retails for $32.

Clockwise (from bottom left): Just a Wisp, New Romance, and Petal Power
Just a Wisp, New Romance, and Petal Power

Just a Wisp is a light cool-toned cotton candy pink with soft silver shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. This is a new and permanent shade. It has a lightweight, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque to opaque buildable colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and cooler than Dainty, more frosted than Well Dressed, and lighter and more shimmery than Dame.

New Romance is a light-medium warm pinked peach with soft champagne shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. This is a new and permanent shade. It has a lightweight, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque to opaque buildable colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is a touch lighter and more peach than Dainty, more frosted and less gold than Springsheen, and more pink than Style.

Petal Power is medium brightened warm melon coral with a soft gold shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. This is a re-promoted shade from February's A Fantasy of Flowers collection, and is now permanent. It has a lightweight, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque to opaque buildable colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more coral than Dainty, brighter and more coral than Peachykeen, and darker and more pink than Springsheen.

If you missed out on Petal Power earlier this year, you can rejoice now as it has been made permanent! This was my favourite product from A Fantasy of Flowers, and it's still a must-have to me now that it is available permanently. It should work well on all skintones, and it's not too warm that it wouldn't flatter those with cooler skintones. Just a Wisp is new and is now the lightest shade available in the Mineralize Blush range. It's perfect for our fairer, cooler-toned sisters who wanted some more variety in the Mineralize Blush collection. I can also see it working well as a pink-toned highlighter for darker skintones. New Romance is the other new shade that was added to this range, and it is the peach sister to best-selling Dainty. What sets Mineralize Blushes apart is the beautiful shimmer-sheen it leaves on the skin, almost like a built-in highlighter. The texture on Mineralize Blushes is so smooth, so lightweight, so silky; it applies and blends out beautifully, and looks seriously stunning on the skin. Without fail, I get compliments on how amazing my complexion looks every time I wear a Mineralize Blush. If you haven't yet discovered the beauty of Mineralize Blushes, now's the time!

Sunday Video Love: Give Me Love

So, I'm not a exactly a Demi Lovato fan or really even an Ed Sheeran fan, but this cover of "Give Me Love" is fantastic.

MAC Pedro Lourenço: Lipsticks

Earlier this month, MAC released their collaboration with Brazilian fashion designer, Pedro Lourenço. This collaboration "brings his unique elegance to a colour collection that emulates the same delicate balance he achieves in his design work." This collection is available online and at select MAC Store locations only. Pedro Lourenço features a total of 11 products — eight of which are new and limited edition, and three of which are permanent. Pedro Lourenço sees the release of four new and limited edition lipstick shades (Peach Beige will not be reviewed here). It comes in a special edition black "soft-touch" tubes with gold trim, as well as a matching secondary cardstock box. Each lipstick contains 3 grams of product, and retails for $21. Due to the special edition nature, these lipsticks are not applicable for the Back to MAC recycling program. 
True Red, Ruby, and Roxo
True Red, Ruby, and Roxo

True Red is a medium vibrant warm orange-red in an Amplified finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is more orange and shinier than Lady Danger, darker and more red than Morange, and more red and less shiny than Korean Candy Sheen Supreme.
Ruby is a medium vibrant neutral red in an Amplified finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is warmer than MAC Red, brighter than Russian Red, and slightly warmer than Everyday Diva Mineralize Rich Lipstick.

Roxo is a medium-dark cool-toned red in an Amplified finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is cooler and shinier than Viva Glam I, lighter and brighter than Diva, and cooler than Dubonnet.

If you like reds and you like MAC's Amplified finish, look no further because here are three beautifully rich, vibrant shades for you to pick from that suit a huge range of skintones. They all go on creamy and smooth with full colour pay-off, and wear for at least six hours with no dreaded white "dead skin ring" on the lips. I always find Amplified to be one of the more comfortable lipstick formulas to wear from MAC, and they are also the least drying formula from their regular lipstick range with the most pigmentation. Pedro Lourenço is all about balancing "strong graphics and a soft, feminine sensibility" in his fashion designs, and these three lipstick shades present a bolder, more saturated look against an otherwise soft, romantic, and neutral collection. That having been said, there are a ton of shades out there that are exactly like these, so while they are all gorgeous in their own right, you should definitely check your stash for dupes. Otherwise, they are entirely worth looking at, packaged in sleek and elegant tubes to boot.

MAC Pedro Lourenço: Corol Powder Blush Duo

Earlier this month, MAC released their collaboration with Brazilian fashion designer, Pedro Lourenço. This collaboration "brings his unique elegance to a colour collection that emulates the same delicate balance he achieves in his design work." This collection is available online and at select MAC Store locations only. Pedro Lourenço features a total of 11 products — eight of which are new and limited edition, and three of which are permanent. Pedro Lourenço sees the release of one new and limited edition Powder Blush Duo. It comes in a special edition black "soft-touch" rubberized mirrored compact with gold trim, as well as a matching secondary cardstock box. Each Powder Blush Duo contains 11 grams of product, and retails for $30. 
Corol
Corol (Shade #1, Shade #2, Shade #1 and #2 blended)

Corol Shade #1 is a light-medium muted warm peachy coral in a Matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and more pink than Melba, brighter and more peach than Tenderling, and more peach than Rosy Outlook Pro Longwear Blush.
Corol Shade #2 is a medium-dark warm rosy plum with a soft sheen in a Satin finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more plum than Desert Rose, darker than Breath of Plum, and more matte than Plum Foolery.

There are incredibly mixed reviews over this product because the press samples that were sent to beauty bloggers for consideration had a very stiff texture and didn't produce any colour pay-off. I'm glad to report, however, that the batches made for consumers (the ones that are available to the public in stores and online) are very different — soft, finely-milled, and pigmented. It applies smoothly and evenly, and is easily buildable and blendable. The lighter shade, which takes up two-thirds of the pan, looks quite light in the pan and even in swatches but it does execute brighter and darker on the cheeks to create a natural peachy flush. The darker shade executes exactly how it looks like in the pan so a little goes a long way, but it blends out easily to create a softer plum shade. My favourite way to use this duo, however, is actually the two shades swirled together — it creates the most perfect warm rosy flush that works well across all skintones. The packaging reflects Lourenço's aesthetic perfectly, too: sleek, elegant, and luxe. And at $30 for a whopping 11 grams of product, you truly get more bang for your buck here ($2.73/g vs. $4.17/g for a regular MAC blush). 

MAC Kelly Osbourne: Lipsticks

Last Thursday, MAC released their collaboration with Sharon and Kelly Osbourne. The collection is separated into two parts, one for Sharon and one for Kelly. The entire collection features a total of 26 products — 13 products for each Sharon and Kelly — of which 19 are new and limited edition, four are re-promotes, and three are permanent. Kelly Osbourne will see the release of five new and limited edition lipstick shades. It comes in a special edition lavender tube and Kelly's signature in red, as well as a matching secondary cardstock box. Each lipstick contains a total of 3 grams of product, and retails for $21. Due to the special edition nature, these lipsticks are not applicable for the Back to MAC recycling program. 
Strip Poker, Riot House, Kelly Yum-Yum, and Dodgy Girl
Strip Poker, Riot House, Kelly Yum-Yum, and Dodgy Girl

Strip Poker is a light warm pinked beige in a Matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is less pinked than Myth, slightly darker than Fleshpot (PRO), and lighter and less pink than Japanese Maple.

Riot House is a light warm orangey peach in a Matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. There is nothing similar to this in MAC's permanent lipstick range; it is brighter and more orange than Myth, and much lighter and less coral than Sweet & Sour.

Kelly Yum-Yum is a medium vibrant blue-toned fuchsia pink in a Satin finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is less neon and less blue-toned than Candy Yum-Yum, lighter than Pink Pigeon, and much brighter and less purple-toned than Love Forever! Pro Longwear Lipcreme.

Dodgy Girl is a light-medium pinked lavender in a Matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. There is nothing similar to this in MAC's permanent lipstick range; it is brighter, more purple, and more matte than Asian Flower Sheen Supreme Lipstick, and lighter and more purple than Up The Amp.

All four lipsticks are incredibly pigmented and go on creamy and smooth with full colour pay-off. The only issue I came across was with Riot House, which was quite unforgiving on the lips; it goes on creamy, but it emphasizes dryness and imperfections on the lips because the shade itself is simultaneously pastel and very matte, so I do recommend using a good lip scrub or a lip primer beforehand. Both Strip Poker and Riot House are very light, so they aren't as universally flattering as a result, but if you're looking for very light, pastel shades, these might pique your interest; they will work particularly well on very fair skintones (e.g. NC20/NW15 and lighter). If you don't have either Candy Yum-Yum or Pink Pigeon, Kelly Yum-Yum is definitely worth looking at, as it's almost like a mix of the two shades, creating a perfect searingly bright fuchsia pink without veering into neon territory. Fans of lavender lipsticks (e.g. Lavender Whip, Viva Glam Nicki 2, Fresh Amour Mattene, and Asian Flower Sheen Supreme) will love Dodgy Girl, and it's actually more wearable than many lavender shades because it's not too light. In the end, Riot House and Dodgy Girl are the two more unique shades in this launch and there aren't any good dupes within MAC's permanent range, so if they appeal to you, they are worth getting. Though they will all likely be sold out by the time of this posting... so I apologize in advance if this is just a big tease.

MAC Kelly Osbourne: Bloody Brilliant Eyeshadow Palette

Last Thursday, MAC released their collaboration with Sharon and Kelly Osbourne. The collection is separated into two parts, one for Sharon and one for Kelly. The entire collection features a total of 26 products — 13 products for each Sharon and Kelly — of which 19 are new and limited edition, four are re-promotes, and three are permanent. Kelly Osbourne will see the release of one new and limited edition Eyeshadow Palette, which contains four shades. It comes in a special edition lavender square compact with a clear lid and Kelly's signature in red, as well as a matching secondary cardstock box. Each Eyeshadow Palette contains a total of 5.6 grams of product, and retails for $52.50. 
Top: Spoonful of Sugar and Tickety BooBottom: Fizzy Rose and Shadowy Lady
Spoonful of Sugar, Tickety Boo, Fizzy Rose, and Shadowy Lady

Spoonful of Sugar is a pale warm silvered beige in a Veluxe Pearl finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, almost buttery texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more silvered than Dazzlelight, darker and warmer than Crystal Avalanche, and warmer and more pigmented than Filament.

Tickety Boo is a medium warm muted mauve in a Satin finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more muted than Haux, warmer than Quarry, and darker and more mauve than Malt.

Fizzy Rose is a light-medium cool-toned lavender pink in a Satin finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque to opaque buildable colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and more purple than Yogurt, darker and more matte than Seedy Pearl, and lighter and more pink than Beautiful Iris.

Shadowy Lady is a blackened plum-burgundy in a Matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more plum than Sketch, less sparkly and more purple than Beauty Marked, and much darker and more burgundy than Fig. 1.

Whereas Duchess is a much warmer, bronzier palette, Bloody Brilliant is the cooler, more purple-toned counterpart. Again, I like that they listened to their fans' complaints about past quads and upped their shadow palette game; all four shades from Bloody Brilliant have smooth, pigmented formulas and execute beautifully, easily blendable and buildable. Fizzy Rose is slightly less pigmented than the other three shades, but it has a very soft, finely-milled texture so you can get true-to-pan colour very easily. And the Shadowy Lady in this quad seems to be smoother and more finely-milled than its permanent version. I had no problems with any of these shades in execution, and they all applied exactly as I expected them to. Like Duchess, there are a variety of finishes in this quad, so they all work just as well together to create truly dimensional eye looks as they do separately. Note, though, that in the visual for this collection, Kelly's eye make-up leans much more purple than this palette, which makes me think they're using other products in conjunction with it. In general, this palette is a little edgier than Duchess, but still incredibly wearable and a great option for those who look cooler neutrals.

MAC Kelly Osbourne: Cheeky Bugger Powder Blush

Last Thursday, MAC released their collaboration with Sharon and Kelly Osbourne. The collection is separated into two parts, one for Sharon and one for Kelly. The entire collection features a total of 26 products — 13 products for each Sharon and Kelly — of which 19 are new and limited edition, four are re-promotes, and three are permanent. Kelly Osbourne will see the release of one new and limited edition Powder Blush. It comes in a special edition lavender compact with a clear lid and Kelly's signature in red, as well as a matching secondary cardstock box. Each Powder Blush contains 6 grams of product, and retails for $27.50. 
Cheeky Bugger
Cheeky Bugger

Cheeky Bugger is a light-medium warm strawberry milk pink in a Satin finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky, finely-milled texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter and warmer than Lovecloud, darker and warmer than Well Dressed, and darker and more pigmented than Rosy Outlook Pro Longwear Blush.

Like Peaches & Cream, this blush has a lovely texture that is soft and finely-milled, so it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has great pigmentation so it's easy to achieve true-to-pan colour. It is a lighter colour in general, but it does darken after application to create a lovely pink flush for very fair to light skintones, and a more subtle, natural pink for medium to medium-dark skintones. However, for those who have darker skintones (e.g. NC42/NW35 or darker), this is probably not going to show up all that well, not because of pigmentation, but just due to the nature of the shade. Still, I highly recommend this for those who are looking for a soft warm pink blush; it's one of my top picks from the Osbournes collection in general, and there's surprisingly not a lot of shades that are similar to this one in MAC's permanent range.

MAC Kelly Osbourne: Jolly Good Mineralize Skinfinish Duo

Last Thursday, MAC released their collaboration with Sharon and Kelly Osbourne. The collection is separated into two parts, one for Sharon and one for Kelly. The entire collection features a total of 26 products — 13 products for each Sharon and Kelly — of which 19 are new and limited edition, four are re-promotes, and three are permanent. Kelly Osbourne will see the release of one new and limited edition Mineralize Skinfinish Duo. It is described as "two luxurious formulas in one compact... a luxurious velvet-soft powder with natural finish and Mineralize Blush... Adds buffed-up highlights to cheeks and brows, or an overall polish to the face. " It comes in a special edition lavender compact with a clear lid and Kelly's signature in red, as well as a matching secondary cardstock box. Each Mineralize Skinfinish Duo contains 10 grams of product, and retails for $38.50. 
Jolly Good
Jolly Good (Skinfinish Natural, Blush, Skinfinish Natural and Blush blended)

Jolly Good Skinfinish Natural is a light-medium warm peachy beige in a satin finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, velvety texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and warmer than Medium Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, more peach than Medium Plus Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, and lighter than Medium Dark Mineralize Skinfinish Natural.
Jolly Good Blush is a light warm-toned pink with a soft gold shimmer-sheen in a frosted finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, silky texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is lighter than Well Dressed Powder Blush, lighter and more shimmery than Rosy Outlook Pro Longwear Blush, and more pink and less metallic than Soft and Gentle Mineralize Skinfinish.

Whereas the Sharon Osbourne Mineralize Skinfinish Duo was meant to create a much more sculpted, bronzed look to the skin, this one is meant to be more subtle and ethereal, which is captured in Kelly Osbourne's fairer complexion. Keep in mind that this particular Duo includes a Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, which is actually meant to be a face powder (as opposed to a bronzer or blush). It should well for those who have light to medium skintones as their finishing or setting powder (e.g. those who use Light to Medium Plus in the permanent Mineralize Skinfinish Natural range); those who are extremely fair (e.g. NC20 or lighter) can definitely use it to add a little more warmth to the skin or as a very subtle bronzer. The other shade, which is a Mineralize Blush, is too light to be a true blush on most skintones. Those with very fair to light skintones can definitely use it as a soft blush, but for most people, it will be used as a highlighting shade. When mixed together, it creates a lovely soft peachy pink that can be added all over the skin to give a subtle luminosity and lit-from-within glow; darker skintones can use them blended to create a lovely highlight without being too shimmery or metallic.