If you’ve been wondering how to take care of your roots at home, check out this video. I used the Kevin Murphy Retouch.Me spray in black. It’s pretty good but it leaves your hair stiff and you don’t feel like you can run your hands through your hair. My stylist reached out to me after I posted this video and told me that a powder is probably better if I don’t want the stiffness, so that’s what I’ll get next. this is pretty good in a pinch though.
http://www.instagram.com/tv/B-SwlZzpK0g/
A little while ago, a reader emailed me to ask me about a contouring palette that she had just bought. Hers was by Laura Gellar, but she wanted to know whether she had made the right decision in buying it. I’ll say this: Laura Gellar products are very good and I’ve liked everything I’ve tried (though I hadn’t tried the palette that she was talking about).
The thing is that you don’t necessarily need a palette to do a great job contouring. All you need is a nice shimmery shadow and a matte bronzer or powder.
Apply the highlighter on the highest parts of your face – the very tops of your cheekbones, your browbones, and the center of your chin. Apply the bronzer in the hollows of your cheeks and under your jaw.
Blending is key, and you want to make sure that only the effect gets shown and not your makeup. Step back and take a look at your work. Can you tell you’ve applied contouring products? If you can, you’ve put too much. Contouring only works if you’re subtle.
Contouring kits can be a huge help because if they’re good then the products have been formulated to be sheer and not sparkly, but even without a kit you can do a great job.
Kiehl’s boutiques are more widespread than they used to be, so this epic fragrance is more readily available than it used to be. If you’re a fragrance lover, or learning about perfume, then you need to read below and then go smell the OG of musk fragrances.
I’ve had Kiehl’s Original Musk for years now and I love the way it smells. It’s smoky and intense with a dry down of patchouli and, of course, musk. Lore is that this is the first Musk scent ever made and that every other musk after this one was a copy.
I love this scent, but at the end of the day, this is just too intense for me to pull off on most days. It just doesn’t fit my personality, but I like having it on my dresser in case I change my mind. Funny how you can love a perfume, but just not love it on yourself.
$57 at Kiehls.com.
It Cosmetics is having a family and friends sale right now, which means that everything is 25% off. You might be in a shopping mood, or you might want to stock up on your favourite things anyway. Here are my favs from the brand – reviews are linked.
This foundation is on sale right now for $35 (down from $50). Check it out. I loved this foundation and it’s one of the few that I’ve hit pan on.
Cult foundation brand Cover FX is known for having very pigmented foundations.
My favourite of the above is the Pressed Mineral foundation. It has a light texture and can be used either as a foundation or with a fluffy brush as a setting powder. The texture is light and airy, and unless you apply too much, there’s no cakiness.
This powder foundation is the most pigmented powder foundation that I have ever tried. It has 17.5% pigmented, whereas most powder foundations have close to 10% pigment. That means that you need less product to get the same amount of coverage. The foundation comes with a disk applicator which means that you can apply it on the go, but I found that I really liked applying lightly with a powder brush, and use a concealer brush in the areas that I needed more coverage.
The mineral foundation lasts the entire day. It absorbs oil and sweat and just sticks to the skin. It also doesn’t have a completely matte finish, because the foundation powder has pearlized powder in it, which makes the foundation look like real skin. You no longer need to look like you’re wearing a mask to get a full-coverage makeup look!
The powder foundation does not contain talc, fragrance, mineral oil, or parabens.
The foundation colours are divided into pink, neutral, and golden which speaks to undertones. The system is pretty fool-proof, but the best way to figure out the best shade you need, check out the Cover FX counter at Shoppers Drug Mart where a makeup specialist can help you find the perfect colour for you. The shades in each colour family are created with a science. Each shade with a higher number is exactly 3% darker than the shade before it. Finding the perfect foundation shade has never been easier.
If you need higher coverage, check out the Total Cream Coverage foundation which has 32% pigment and truly can be used as a concealer.
Cover FX is a Canadian brand that specializes in foundations – they got their start creating ways of covering up burns and scars! If you’ve had trouble finding the perfect foundation at a traditional makeup counter, then you need to check out this brand.
The Pressed Mineral Foundation is $42 and comes in 40 (FOURTY!!!) shades. I’m N40 which is medium with neutral undertones. It’s a tad darker than my skin colour on my face, but it matches my neck so I can pull it off. Pictures coming soon.
Find it at CoverFx.com or at Shoppers Drug Mart.
Update: the Superhero mascara and the liner are on sale right now for $22.50.
It’s actually fairly difficult to find an inky black eyeliner and mascara that match, last, and are the blackest black that’s out there. Bonus points for me if the black and a tiny bit of blue in it so that it brings out the brown of my eyes.
Now I can stop looking for that perfect combination because I’ve found It Cosmetics Superhero Liner and the It Cosmetics Superhero Elastic Stretch Mascara.
You can see that the Superhero Liner has a felt tip marker which helps you draw a smooth straight line that can be thin or thick. The liner is super pigmented so just one smooth stroke is what you need to get a fine line.
The Superhero Elastic Stretch mascara is easy to wear. One coat gives you super volumized thick lashes, so this is the perfect mascara if you like a major lash look.
What I love about both of these is that they’re super long-lasting. The mascara doesn’t smudge or smear even when I work out, and there’s no even any flaking when I wear a lot of it. I use a primer with the eyeliner and I find that helps it last the whole day.
The other thing that I love about the liner and mascara is that they’re super duper deep dark inky black, which is actually difficult to find in a mascara and eyeliner, and this duo both have exactly the same deep black colour.
$32 each, sold separately at Sephora, The Shopping Channel, or ItCosmetics.com.
Update: this foundation is on sale at Sephora right now for $37.50.
The problem with most matte full coverage foundations is that they look obvious on your skin, sometimes even magnifying skin imperfections and texture instead of making skin look smooth. It’s also difficult to make them look natural because real skin reflects light and matte foundation doesn’t in the slightest.
Make Up For Ever’s Matte Velvet Skin Full Coverage Foundation is different. Because the finish is a matte velvet, the foundation is matte but skin looks smooth and soft. It blends into skin effortlessly and can be sheered down for medium coverage or applied with a brush or layered on for more full coverage.
There’s no cake face with this foundation and it comes in so many colours and undertones that it should be easy to find a shade that matches your skin exactly. The texture is moussy and thick but it’s easy to sheer down with your fingers. Like I mentioned, it blends into skin seamlessly and actually lasts for the duration of the day. It can even cover freckles while looking natural.
More than 1200 recipes in one book; that’s what Martha Stewart Living New Classics Cookbook says you’ll get. It’s amazing the range that this huge tome provides and rest assured there’s a nearly fool-proof recipe for almost everything.
The New Classics series references the Old Classics, by giving you new versions of the old basics, and the back of the book has an index that tells you all the recipes in both books combined. The Old Classics book doesn’t do this.
I find that both the books are handy to have around because they have so many recipes together that you’ll never run out of ideas on what to make.
Specifically made for fine and flat hair, Dove’s Oxygen Moisture Line was calling out to me. My curly super dry hair needs an oomph every now and then so that it looks more full. As every hair stylist I’ve ever been to says to me: I have lots of hair, but it’s hard to tell because it is so fine. I just need to get it up and out so that every single strand is on display.
The problem, however, with most mousses and volumizing products is that they can be a little drying, or they don’t deliver any moisture to hair.
And now there’s the Oxygen Moisture Line which consists of a shampoo & conditioner, a leave-in foam, and a root lift spray.
The product I was drawn to right away was the Oxygen Moisture Leave in Foam ($7.98). Said to moisturize while adding up to 95% more volume, this sounded like a winner. What you need to understand is that Dove is the master of making moisturizing foaming product. Remember the Dove Style+Care Nourishing Curls Whipped Cream Mousse? It was a mousse and serum in one and needed to be tried to be believed. I knew that if they could make a product like that once, they could do it again, and the Oxygen Moisture Leave-In Foam does not disappoint!
This product does dispense like a foam (rather than a mousse) in your hand, but when you apply it to your hair you can feel the slickness that’s in this product and is being applied to your hair. There’s no stickiness or tackiness, and the product is almost like a very light serum or styling cream. My curls dried shiny and defined which was exactly the effect I’ve been looking for. I do find that I need to add a couple of pumps of serum with this cream but that’s because my hair is extremely dry and damaged right now. The best part is that my hair is super soft after using the whole entire line.
If you want volume close to the roots, then you have to try the Oxygen Moisture Root Lift Spray ($7.98). Apply it just to your roots and dry your hair using the method of your choice. Somehow, you’ll find your hair lifted off the scalp – I found this to be the case even when I air-dried my hair.
The shampoo and conditioner in this line are also great – moisturizing without weighing hair down ($6.75 each).
You can find the entire Oxygen Moisture line at drugstores now.
I’ve tried so many dry shampoos and these are my favourite ones – points go to ones that smell really good, and points for formulas that are clear – and these are – so that I can use them on my dark hair. Don’t put them directly where you part your hair – create new parts, spray the dry shampoo, rub it in, and then fix your part to where it originally was.
And those are my favourites! The Drybar Detox is definitely an all-time fav that I would rebuy because it smells the best.
