Canadian Beauty

OPI Gwen Stefani Collection

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Henna

After testing out a couple of streaky messy polishes this season, it was really nice to return to OPI’s failsafe formula used, in this case, in the Gwen Stefani collection. The set of six colours is super pigmented, bright, and a nice transition from fall/holiday to spring.

There are two glossy super pigmented cremes (my personal favourites): Hey Baby (bright fuschia pink) and I Sing in Color (eggplant brown), both colours that you can totally imagine Gwen Stefani wearing.

There’s also a glitter shade: In True Stefani Fashion (silver glitter).

And two shades in a brand new satin matte formula. A little matte, a little shiny. Love. Angel.Music.Baby is a satin gold, and 4 in the Morning is a satin black. Both so wearable.

The red is called Over and A-Gwen and is available in a set with Swarovski crystals and other fun shapes, along with nail glue, to make fun designs. That set is $18.95 and a must-have.

Here’s my “Over and A-Gwen” and “4 in the Morning” mani. The red is beautiful. Super-pigmented, glossy, almost like a jelly but not at all sheer, so just a gorg pop of colour. I used 4 in the Morning without a top coat (but with a base) and it lasted just as long as Over and A-Gwen.

Check out the collection in salons. $10.95 each.

Posted in Spring 2014 | Tagged Gwen Stefani, nail polish, OPI, Pictures of My Makeup, Swatch, Swatches | 2 Comments

Bobbi Brown Nude Glow Collection

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Henna

I’ve been a Bobbi fan for a long time. I follow her on Instagram, and watch interviews of her on YouTube when I can. She can do no wrong.

Nude Glow is just what I needed for spring and I think you’ll love it too.

This collection has three eye shadow palettes, 3 all-over Brightening Finishing Powders, Sheer lipsticks (a personal favourite), and some natural-looking nail polishes.

The colours are divided up into three colour families: Crystal (for the lightest skin tones), Nude (medium), and Bronze (deeper skin tones).

I got some of the shades in the bronze collection: the bronze eye palette and a couple of the darker shades of Sheer Lip Shimmer.

Here’s an image of my eye palette:

It features a Gold Bar Sparkle Shadow, Amber Shimmer Wash Shadow, Rich Bronze Eye Shadow (this is a metallic), and Toast Eye Shadow (a matte brownish peach). The Gold Bar is definitely too sparkly to use every day – it also has a lot of fall out so it’s best to apply it carefully. I like to apply it when I’m going out and even then I’ll gently pat it on with my finger only to the centre part of the eyelid. The other colours are perfect – Toast is a nice addition because you can blend it with any of the other colours to mute the shimmer a bit. Rich Bronze is perfect for the crease. The palette is $58 but I’m finding that I use it daily so it’s worth it.

You can check out the entire collection online. It is also available at Holt Renfrew and Sephora.

Posted in Spring 2014 | Tagged Bobbi Brown, Eyeshadow | 2 Comments

New Philosophy Loveswept Fragrance

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Henna

Philosophy comes out with its Loveswept perfume just in time for Valentine’s day so if you’re looking for something to gift, this would be timely.

A warm floral fruity blend, Loveswept opens with bergamot and then quickly moves on to notes of Jasmine, Lotus Blossom, and Passion Fruit. The drydown is musk, creamy amber and white cedarwood.

Loveswept is unlike any of Philosophy’s other fragrances. It doesn’t have that clean and fresh feeling that the other Philosophy fragrances had, and is more feminine because of the floral and musk notes. This scent is still very wearable – and Philosophy excels at creating wearable scents, but this one is not as skin-like as the others are. You definitely notice that it’s there, and its longevity ensures that it doesn’t just blend into the rest of your skin scents.

The collection includes

loveswept edt spray, 60ml, $55.00

loveswept body lotion, 480ml, $44.00

loveswept shower gel, 480ml, $31.00

loveswept rollerball, 10ml, $23.00

loveswept edt spray, 15ml, $20.00

The loveswept collection is available beginning january 2014 at Sephora, followed by Hudson’s Bay and Shoppers Drug Mart beginning april 2014.

Posted in Perfumes | Tagged Philosophy | Leave a comment

L’Occitane Cherry Blossom Petal-Soft Cream

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Henna

The Cherry Blossom collection comes to L’Occitane boutiques this spring, and in addition to an Eau de Parfum ($65), there is a new LE cream formulation called Petal-Soft ($28). Different from the Ultra Soft Cream we introduced you to earlier this year, this cream has more of a glycerine base and the formula is much lighter and absorbs into skin almost instantly.

The scent is fresh and floral with a touch of cherries coming through the freesia, lily of the valley, and cherry blossoms.

If you’re familiar with L’Occitane products, the texture of this cream is very similar to that of their limited edition hand creams that they come out with a few times a year. These creams still have shea butter in them, but not as much as some of the other creams sold by L’Occitane.

Check out the entire Cherry Blossom line at L’Occitane boutiques this spring.

Posted in For the Body | Tagged l'Occitane, Moisturizer | Leave a comment

Clinique Shades of Beige Collection

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Henna

Beige – we can’t get enough of it this spring, and if you’re still on the hunt for that perfect beige nail polish, Clinique has you covered.

16 Shades of Beige, the latest collection from Clinique, has an 8-shade eyeshadow palette ($40) and 8 limited edition shades of beige nail polish.

Needless to say, both are must-haves.

The shadow palette is called Neutral Territory and it features all shimmery shades. The majority of them are very light, but there are some darker options thrown in there. I especially like that they’ve thrown in a very dark brown to use as a liner, because it looks a little less harsh than a black liner.

If you’re looking at the polish and wondering what shade you would be, don’t worry: all of them look great on all skin-tones and I found that I liked the ones that were lighter or darker than my own skin because of the contrast that they provided.

This was my first time trying Clinique A Different Nail Enamel for Sensitive Skins, and I have to say, I am impressed. The colours I tried went on smoothly, without any streaking, and the polish sets itself to a high-shine finish. The wear-time is also decent and I got 3 days of wear with nary a chip when I used this polish without a base or top coat. That is almost unheard of!

The colours available are:Room Service, Peek a Boo I See You, Birthday Suit, Pajama Party, Tickle Me, Do Not Disturb, Chocolate on my Pillow, and Nighty-Night (in order above).

Here’s Chocolate on my Pillow. It is a chocolate brown with a touch of golden/bronze shimmer that’s quite subtle. Loved it even though it wasn’t a nude shade on me.

Pajama Party was closer to my skin tone.

Do Not Disturb was probably my favourite.

With so many amazing colours, like I said, you can’t go wrong with what you pick!

Check out the collection online and at counters. $14 each for the nail polishes, $38 for the eyeshadow palette.

Posted in Spring 2014 | Tagged Clinique, eye shadow, nail polish, Swatches | Leave a comment

10 Teas to Help You Burn Fat, Slim Down and Sleep Better

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Henna

These potent brews can help quell your stress, knock out your headaches and help you burn fat — no pharmaceuticals required

This is a TotalBeauty.com Health article

Green tea is definitely the popular kid of the brewed beverages world, but did you know that there are other teas that boast headache-curing, stress-reducing and fat-burning properties to help you get through whatever life throws at you? So skip your morning cup of Joe and reach for one of these instead.

see teas

Posted in More Than Beauty | Leave a comment

Thursday Threes: Awesome Spring 2014 Eye Trends

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Henna

It’s time to put away the smoky eyeshadow. Spring means a return to lighter makeup and this year is no exception. We looked to the runways to see how the cool girls are going to be doing their makeup, and give you some inspiration on how you can do yours.

1. A Wash of Colour, icy shadows, gleaming lids. Backstage at Armani, the challenge was to get the right shade on the lids – in the end it was emerald that was blended out so that it looked like a sheer wash. At Prada, makeup artist Pat McGrath used an airbrush gun to spray her colours in a sheer wash around the eyes. Soft pink shadow was dusted on at Burberry. Get the look at home by dipping your blending brush into a pale shadow and using a light hand. Dior’s latest quint has just what you need, and Bobbi Brown’s Nude Glow collection works too!

Your other option is to ditch the eyeshadow all together and do what was done backstage at Gucci: a slick of Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream to hydrate and add some shine.

2. Strong Black Eyeliner. ..and nothing else. That’s what was featured backstage at Missoni and Rodarte. Dip into Nars Larger than Life liner in Via Veneto and use your angled brush to have it looking perfect.

3. Shimmery Brows, Strong brows. Backstage at Valentino, Pat McGrath applied a shimmering gold cream on top of the brows. The final look was that the brows were groomed yet subtle. Replicate the effect by using a light brown or taupe pencil to fill in already dark brows, and we like Benefit’s Gimme Brow to keep everything in place.

Posted in Spring 2014 | Tagged Armani, Benefit, Bobbi Brown, Dior, Elizabeth Arden, MAC, Missoni, Nars, Rodarte | Leave a comment

Nude Lips: The Buffs By Maybelline

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Henna

Have you caught on? The trend these days is nude/naked/natural anything, be it nails, eyeshadows, or lips.

Thankfully, you don’t have to break the bank to get your hands on the perfect nude lipstick, thanks to The Buffs Color Sensational lipsticks by Maybelline. This collection of eight lippies offers a pretty nude lipcolour for every skin tone.

The eight shades available are:

Bare All – slightly frosted, almost whitish, pink
Truffle Tease -warm medium-toned beige pink.
Blushing Beige – baby pink yet warm toned
Nude Lust – warm beige pink
Maple Kiss – more of a raspberry brown (medium/deep)
Stormy Sahara – medium rosy beige
Untainted Spice – raisin
Expresso Exposed – burgundy brown

The lipsticks have a satin finish and look very natural on the lips. The formula is very nice – highly pigmented yet creamy and easy to apply. All the shades except for Untainted Spice and Expresso Exposed have a lot of white pigment in them which really blocks out any natural colour that might show through the lipstick. That means that all these colours show up lighter than they seem in the tube, and more beige than rosy. The lipsticks easily last a couple of hours on the lips, no matter what colour I tried.

The colours do wear on the beige side – I notice because I’m used to wearing a lot of pinks, and even the most pink tones (say Truffle Tease or Nude Lust) are have beige in them. That said, they work well with almost any kind of makeup look and when you find a colour you like, they’re so easy to wear. If you’re looking for the perfect nude lippie, don’t pass on these.

Available at drugstores and mass retailers for $9.99.

Posted in Spring 2014 | Tagged lipstick, Maybelline | Leave a comment

Balenciaga Rosabotanica Review

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Henna

This scent is addictive. Not that it smells so good that I can’t stop smelling myself, but more that it doesn’t smell like anything specific and I can’t figure it out and so I keep wearing it and smelling it. I like it… but I couldn’t tell you why.

Rosabotanica is described as a “dangerous floral” by the brand. It contains notes of Experimental Rose, Dry Woods, Fig Leaf and Citrus Notes.

The rose is subtle and mellowed out by the fig notes. The fig leaf adds green yet dry vibrancy to the citrus notes, and the dry woods are in the dry down and really make this a subtle scent.

Though floral, this scent isn’t typically floral and is very understated and subtle.

They say that Rosabotanica is meant to be worn as a second skin, and I’d definitely agree with that. It sticks close to the skin and really almost smells skin-like itself.

50ml Eau De Parfum: $100.00
100ml Eau De Parfum: $130.00
200ml Body Lotion: $60.00

The complete Rosabotanica collection will be available at The Hudson’s Bay and Holt Renfrew stores across Canada beginning January 2014. The Rosabotanica Eau De Parfum will also be available at Shoppers Drug Mart and Sephora stores across Canada.

Posted in Perfumes | Tagged Balenciaga | Leave a comment

Thursday Threes: Three Best Drugstore Blushes

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Henna

You don’t always have to splurge to look good, and if you know what to look for, you can find wonderful products at the drugstore. Here are our favourite drugstore cheek products – we’ve picked blushes and bronzers that have good pigment levels, go on smoothly, and last a long time.

1. L’Oreal Visible Lift Blush ($15.98). Used by makeup artist Beau Nelson on Julie Delphy at the Golden Globes, this long-wearing blush comes in natural-looking colours and the slight amount of shimmer highlights and lifts the cheek bones.

2. Revlon PhotoReady Cream Blush ($12.99). Highly pigmented this blush can actually go on sheer and feel natural on skin.

3. Maybelline Studio Master Hi-Light ($13.99). This satin shimmering blush is a mix of light and blush pigments that you blend and apply for a gentle flush. The silky smooth powder even lasts a long time on skin.

Posted in Spring 2014 | Tagged Blush, L'Oreal, Maybelline, Revlon | Leave a comment

OPI Gwen Stefani Collection

Bobbi Brown Nude Glow Collection

New Philosophy Loveswept Fragrance

L’Occitane Cherry Blossom Petal-Soft Cream

Clinique Shades of Beige Collection

10 Teas to Help You Burn Fat, Slim Down and Sleep Better

Thursday Threes: Awesome Spring 2014 Eye Trends

Nude Lips: The Buffs By Maybelline

Balenciaga Rosabotanica Review

Thursday Threes: Three Best Drugstore Blushes

Categories

Archives