Loving Lately - May 2014

Another month gone and gorgeous weather is setting in at last. I haven't been using as many products on a regular basis as I usually would, but when I do, I've been reaching for these PLENTY.

Dior Diorlisse Abricot Nail range

When I say range, I mean the whole kitten kaboodle: remover, base coat, ridge filler in "Snow Pink", top coat, nail serum and nail cream (which apparently darkens with oxidization, oh well). Sounds excessive (please see title of blog), but all the products have a pleasant scent paired with ingredients that strengthen and improve the condition of nails. The serum and creme work wonders on cuticles. Can't say enough good about the serum, since it doesn't drip, dribble or make any mess at all. I've been doing less and less colour on my nails (even with summer shades galore all around me), so this is my clean, healthy nail moment and I've been enjoying it!

Bobbi Brown Gentle Lash Curler

I used to use two different curlers because I'm actually neurotic to a point of firmly believing my eyes are that differently shaped from each other. Shu Uemura and Tweezerman were the two I used before this lash curler came my way, and I have appreciated how this curler fits both of my eyes brilliantly. It's best suited to anyone with larger eyes, less deep-set eyes, short-lashed people or almond-shaped eyes, so give it a go if you have any of the above and you'll inevitably experience less crimping and pinching than with other curlers.

Benefit They're Real! Push-Up Liner 

I'm not a fan of Benefit's They're Real! Mascara at all, but this product was love at first application (which, albeit, was only last Wednesday...), as it is a product that delivers on its claim! This is a matte black gel liner that comes in a twist-up dispensable pen format and it does not budge at ALL once on. It's a drier texture of gel, meaning it doesn't take ages to set (anyone who battles liner transfer to their lids, PAY ATTENTION!) and it's actually waterproof so an oil-based remover is your best friend if you choose to use this liner. It is absolutely excellent for tightlining due to its waterproof nature. Cat or kitten flick enthusiasts will want to try this pen due to ease of flick creation, thanks to the AccuFlex tip. On my first try, with a group of bloggers watching, I achieved a reasonably good kitten flick with one hand, so this is a user-friendly product, without a doubt. Honestly, I don't love the removal process of this liner, but I am so keen on matte black liner that I had to let y'all know about it. It's hitting stores June 27th here in Canada, so do keep your eyes out for it. It's a fantastic product!

Mascara samples

I like being able to try mascaras before buying (who wouldn't?), so mascara samples are probably the most appealing to come across when redeeming points at Sephora or interacting with a sales associate at a counter. That's more or less how I wound up with these four! The Guerlain Maxi Lash and Dior Addict It-Lash samples were from sephora.ca purchases as add-on samples, the Make Up For Ever Smoky Extravagant sample was actually a part of Sephora's VIB Rouge Birthday Gift this year, and the YSL Faux Cils Babydoll sample was from a kind associate at the YSL counter at The Bay Yorkdale. Out of these samples, I'd probably put my money towards YSL or Guerlain full-size versions for a voluminous yet defined lash. I love that the YSL brush is nothing like the other Faux Cils brushes, and it doesn't seem to dry out as quickly, so huge props there. Guerlain Maxi Lash is a well-rounded formula that applies without clumping, allowing me to build up for clean volume.

Murad Essential-C Day Moisture Broad Spectrum SPF 30 PA+++

I bounce around from sunscreen to sunscreen, because as long as I wear one, I'm not particularly fussy about which one I wear. I have been using this formula for a few weeks now and it has become a product I reach for more and more over the other sunscreens that crowd my bathroom vanity. I love the texture (not too fluid), the smell (citrusy!), and that it contains antioxidants and a bit of technology to attract and bind water in the environment to the skin to keep skin hydrated and healthy-looking. That can never hurt, am I right?


May was a real treat, as it was my birthday a couple wks ago and today marks 6 months with a pretty fantastic guy. I'm looking forward to the next few months of warmth, sunshine (with adequate SPF on hand, of course), and spending time with some great people. Hope everyone had a swell month! What've y'all been loving lately?

Travel Bits

I recently escaped the cold for a brief jaunt to sunny Arizona. Here are some products I used on the daily (if not multiple times a day) while traveling! 

Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré

This product alternative title is apparently "24-hour Miracle Cream", and I'm thinking that's a substantial claim, but not one that I'm really going to argue with. I first started using this when I heard about it in a Pixiwoo video and then stumbled upon it at Ricky's NYC. I'm pretty into the texture and hydrating properties (shea butter, beeswax, aloe vera, soy protein), though I'm not wild about the packaging. The metal tube is pretty beat up, as it's my go-to travel moisturizer. I figured it'd be a great contender for any airplane dryness I'd face (boo HISS @ connecting flights), and it was.

SkinCeuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50

It's a daily staple, not just a travel necessity, and frankly, sunscreen ought to be a daily staple for all y'all! This is an incredibly lightweight titanium dioxide/zinx oxide formula that absorbs quickly with no greasy residue at all. If you're at all averse to sunscreen greasiness of yesteryear, try this formula to have any and all of your sunscreen apprehension dramatically shift to complete and utter love. This one won't leave any whitish cast on your skin, so it's great for any and all skin tones. It's a needed product in your daily routine. Also: this sunscreen wears beautifully under makeup!

Nivea Sun Lip Care SPF 30

As I've mentioned, I have unusually pigmented lips, and time in the sun makes the edges of my mouth much darker. My go-to tinted balms that contain SPF usually melt in no time in heat (sorry,  Fresh Sugar Lip Tint), so I avoided carrying them in my bag for touch-ups or taking them with me when traveling. For sunscreen protection without a tint, I packed this Nivea stick, which is comfortable to wear thanks to vitamin E and sunflower extracts.

Benefit The Big Easy

A newcomer to the Benefit range and a totally welcomed addition to my warm weather face routine, this lightweight foundation formula adjusts to match your skintone (though there are multiple shades in the range to begin with), goes from a creamy liquid to a matte, powder-like finish and contains SPF 35. What's not to like about this?

Chloé Eau de Parfum (mini)

Nabbed a mini of this perfectly summery EDP as a Sephora VIB Rouge deluxe sample and have thoroughly enjoyed both wearing it and admiring the adorable nature of the teensy bottle. The pink peony, rose and amber notes are unusually appealing to me, a not-so-floral fragrance lover. Reminder: I like mini beauty things.

Jo Malone Vitamin E Nourishing Hand Treatment

I can't say I love decanting products too much for travel purposes. I seem to buy endless amounts of travel-size containers for this exact purpose and they all seem to collectively suck because they all end up being the containers that leak endless inside my Ziploc bag. No bueno. Every hand cream I had in my arsenal seemed to be 2+ ounces, so I was amped when this sample surfaced in a drawer. I've had a number of these over the years, and the smell now reminds me of air travel (in a good way - and yes, I do think that's a thing!), and it really does an excellent job of hydrating, softening and soothing hands. Well worth the full size purchase!

Good Things Come in Teensy Packaging

As I alluded to in my post on highlighters, I'm from a fam where we are serious fans of anything miniature. A little mini bottle of Heinz, a little jar of jam, it doesn't matter what it is, we just stop and and coo over it and comment on how cute it is. So that's how much I like mini condiment offerings... multiply that affection by about a thousand and that's how much I love beauty product minis.

Minis are always helpful in getting to know a product before committing to the full size, and I've actually been turned on to many a product by miniature sizes and samples. Sampling is essential in this industry in order to determine how compatible a product is with your skin, colouring or body chemistry. Sampling is just good sense, and I hope it's something that more brands consider engaging in if they don't currently have a sampling program in place. Minis that are given compliments of a brand are fun paraphernalia to have as keepsakes. That's how I view any and all Chanel bits that I've amassed since interning there. 

I've accumulated a pretty vast collection of tiny products over the years, given as samples from the counters or included in gift sets and the like. Here's a small (hehehe) sampling of my collection of minis that I doubt I'll ever tire of. They're just so precious and twee!

Included in this photoset: Chanel Les Exclusifs in Gardenia, Beige & Jersey; Chanel Coco Noir; Dior L'Or de Vie Serum, Eye & Lip Contour Cream and Face Cream; Calvin Klein Downtown; Prada Luna Rossa Pour Homme and Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia Eau Fraiche; NARS Mini Bronzer in "Laguna", Jo Malone Vitamin E Gel, Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus, Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer, Laura Mercier Eye Basics in "Buff", Bobbi Brown Rich Color Gloss in "Pink Buff", Benefit Ultra Plush Lip Gloss in "Hoola", Trish McEvoy Beauty Booster Serum, Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint.

Brow Biz - Benefit Brow Bar

The importance of eyebrows musn't be downplayed, dear reader. Brows are arguably the most crucial feature of your face. At the risk of sounding increasingly dramatic, they make or break your whole look! To prove such a point, my cute friend Zhen let me capture her brow grooming experience at Benefit Cosmetics' Brow Bar, located in Sephora Yorkdale.

Scrolling through the gallery above, you can see the various steps that Zhen was taken through by our Brow Expert, Kelly. Zhen's brows were initially tinted (pretty sure this was Zhen's fave step in the process, since filling in brows isn't her ideal pastime), and then the brow shape was mapped out using Benefit Brow Zings and an angled brush. Kelly used different points on the face to determine where the brow would begin (a line between the side of the nose and the inner corner of the eye), arch (a line between the side of the nose and pupil of the eye), and end (a line from the side of the nose to the outer corner of the eye) and mapped these points out accordingly.

After mapping, Kelly busted out the wax and began to remove hair in small sections starting on the top of the brows first and then moving to the bottom, ensuring that each section was completely tidy before moving onto the next, detailing with tweezers as she went along. Excess wax was removed with a bit of oil, as per usual.

The difference that tinting and shaping can make.

How significantly brows change once they're shaped and filled in!

Kelly used Benefit Instant Brow Pencil to lightly fill in Zhen's shape. All in all, Zhen was pretty stoked on her expert arches, which really do look so sharp! I think it's an appointment that's worthy of everyone's time because EVERYONE can use a little brow help and Benefit Brow Bar is conveniently located and super speedy, and most importantly, the brow pros there are really, really good at what they do.  For a location near you, click here!

Shine On, You Crazy Diamond: Highlighter Loves

I come from a home where there’s an extremely high appreciation of anything pretty (and also anything miniature, but that’s a different post!). My mother has spent years accumulating pretty things and she displays them just about everywhere, from her nightstand (where she keeps a rhinestone-encrusted stapler – she’s also a fan of anything shiny) to an asymmetrical curio cabinet in our great room (filled with Swarovski trinkets). The other day, I went home and a perfume box from a Creed Silver Mountain Water purchase I made 2 years ago when I was still living in New York had somehow survived the trek from NYC to Kitchener, and was now plopped on top of a control panel for the central air in her room. I asked her why this box was sitting in such an obscure spot, and she simply said, “It’s pretty, so I want to look at it,” and this pretty much encapsulates how I feel about highlighters and highlighting as a whole. Highlighting products, powders in particular, tend to be absolutely stunning in the pan, reflecting every bit of light and coming to life when swatched on the skin with your own undertones shining through. Highlighters are a beautiful cosmetic concept; they’re designed to draw attention to what we feel are beautiful features of our faces. Pretty product for pretty features sounds like good sense to me. Read on for some highlighters I adore.

Bobbi Brown Nude Glow Shimmer Brick

 

I have to start by saying this palette is limited edition for the Holiday 2013 season, so track it down as soon as possible if you think it may be up your alley! Bobbi Brown is known for many cosmetic accomplishments (lest we forget, this is a lady who started out by being selling her first 10 lipsticks to Bergdorfs – that’s a hell of a place to start one’s brand!), and her range of Shimmer Brick palettes is no exception. The palettes usually contain 5 powder strips of shade variations of one colour in a noticeably shimmery finish. They’re excellent highlighters for anyone who doesn’t mind a bit of overt shimmer that fortunately doesn’t migrate on the face. This palette is a departure from the usual Shimmer Brick format, since it’s in a quad format (gold, rose gold, silvery quartz, bronze), much more finely milled and has more of an incandescent, lit-from-within sheen than an outright shine. As soon as I tried it, it became a new favourite, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is afraid of discoball shimmer, because that’s so not what this palette is about. Bonus: the 4 shades in the palette can double as eyeshadows.

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in “Rose Gold”

Becca Cosmetics is an Australian brand that’s been making headway in the North American market in the last year or so, increasing their distribution through Sephora doors. I first saw the fluid Shimmering Skin Perfectors touted by Lisa Eldridge as a brightener and primer of sorts to be worn under foundation. The pressed powder versions that have recently launched are definitely more traditional powder highlighters best worn as a finishing touch to the face. I had an absolute fit when I saw this version pop up on sephora.ca and ordered it immediately. This is also an incredibly soft powder (a dab’ll do for both cheeks), and the shimmer is a bit more apparent to the naked eye, but who isn’t still in love with all things rose gold? It’s like candlelight that just happens to be lighting up your face all damn day. Get into it.

Benefit Watt's Up!

 
This champagne cream-to-powder formula is so neat. Literally. It’s tidy. I say this because it’s a fine shimmer formula and it also offers a degree of control since it’s a cream formula, so it really does go precisely where you apply it (this can be a downside to powder highlighters, so consider this in your highlighter hunt). I didn’t try this until this past May, when I, much like many of you, received this as a part of my Sephora Beauty Insider birthday gift. I was initially skeptical of the colour, because I thought it may be ashy on me since it’s a fairly light colour, but it was warm enough to work and it’s excellent for cheeks and highlighting the Cupid’s bow and tear ducts. A great shade for lighter skintones!

Edward Bess All Over Seduction in “Afterglow”

I first heard of Edward Bess from none other than The Beauty Look Book. Sabrina is one of my favourite beauty bloggers that I have been following for years and her taste level is super refined, so I admire her purchases and they often spur my own buys. I nabbed this up from Bergdorfs when living in Manhattan and the tiny black compact packs a lot of golden luminous sheen that lasts all day, doesn’t feel greasy and doesn’t sit on top of skin since it’s a cream texture that heats up and melds with your skin thanks to your body heat (yay for having a pulse!). This one’s particularly glam during summer months, but to me, winter is when you need luminosity the most so have at it, y’all!



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