Stila Coconut Crush Lip and Cheek Stain

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Henna

Stila’s Lip and Cheek Stains have been a cult classic the minute they came out, because they come in colours that look good on everyone, and they are easy to use! Instead of coming out with a whole bunch of colours at once, Stila is creating and releasing these one at a time, and their newest one is the Coconut Crush Lip Stain.

Now, when I hear coconut, I think white because that’s the colour of most coconut candies. What colour would they make this lip stain?

Coconuts are from hot weather places, and you get bronze when you go there, and guess what? That’s the colour of this lip stain.

Stila’s Coconut Lip and Cheek Stain is a lovely shade of shimmery bronze, and looks great on cheeks and lips. When I blended it on to my lips, it gave me a neutral hue because it mixed with the natural pink of my lips. It’s actually a very wearable colour and will go great with any bronzer you wear.

Check out your local Stila counter at Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Boutiques. The Coconut Crush is $32.

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Zoya Sunshine Collection – Summer 2011

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Henna

This collection is made up of 6 shimmery brightly coloured polishes.

The colours are:

Reva – A cool toned strawberry red with glowing golden metallic sparkle. A very rich and luxurious looking gilded red.
Kimmy – Gleaming metallic candy apple red brightened by gold sparkle. Not your usual red shimmer- this one has a fiery attitude.
Apple – Luminous yellow-toned apple green packed with gold metallic sparkle. A dimensional green that’s clean and bright.
Tanzy – Light, bright tangerine orange with yellow gold metallic sparkle. A sunny orange that’s easy to wear year-round.
Rica – Warm light coral with pink and orange tones and heavy gold metallic sparkle. An alternative to flat corals for when you want to shine.
Faye – A bronzed mauve with purple and brown undertones flooded with right gold sparkle. A unique gilded shade that will work in any season.

Both collections are available now, but I know that many salons won’t carry it for a couple of weeks so that they can get rid of old stock first.

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Lancome O d’Azur Review

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Henna

Has anyone noticed? I have my perfume mojo back and it’s actually because of this new scent.

Since January I’ve been feeling a little blah about some of the new scents. I was looking for something interesting and to be honest, after trying the By Kilian sampler package this winter, it was hard to go back to something that just didn’t measure up.

Until now.

Lancome O d’Azur is a flanker to Lancome O which I reviewed earlier this week. This new scent is supposed to smell like a bright summer afternoon. The opening notes include something called Caviar Lemon which is not a blend of salty caviar and lemon.  It is instead supposed to be a rare lemon that is so juicy that the insides look like little balls filled with juice – kind of like caviar.

The drydown consists of rose, peony, and then finally very slightly, musk, amber, and woods.

Like the original O, this is easy to wear, and quite long-lasting and tenacious considering that it’s supposed to be a fresh eau.  I like it just as much as the original, and I’ll probably be reaching for either throughout the year.

You can get O d’Azur at the Lancome counter.

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Nars Calanque Eyeshadow Trio

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Henna

I finally got my hands on the Nars Calanque Eyeshadow Trio that launched as part of their Spring 2011 collection. I love the trios because I think that they’re a more economical way to buy the Nars shadows, and I like that the colours are meant to be worn together.

Calanque is going to sell out because of all the lovely neutrals in the trio. The lightest colour is on the sparkly side, while the middle colour is a shimmery one. The darkest colour is very heavily pigmented. I couldn’t not use it in my crease because it was just too dark, but it looked pretty as a liner for a hint of colour.

Will you be springing for this group of shades, or is it not worth it because you already have something like it in your collection?

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O By Lancome Perfume Review

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Henna

As the weather gets warmer, we begin to see lighter perfumes, and those that are supposed to be eaus. When we get warmer, the last thing we want is to be doused in a heavy oppressing scent, and so I actually seem to gravitate towards the eaus because they are so easy to wear and completely unoffensive.

I am reviewing O by Lancome because pretty soon they are launching its flanker, O d’Azur.

O is a an eau fraiche, which means that it’s meant to be light and refreshing. For an Eau Fraiche, I have to say that O is way more long-lasting than most eau’s out there, and it’s got a tenacity despite its mixture of light fresh notes.

It’s a citrus scent and has notes of citrus, vetiver, honeysuckle, jasmine, sandalwood, and oakmoss. I wasn’t too keen on the opening because it smells so strong and very much like a men’s cologne, but the drydown is absolutely lovely and it’s worth waiting for. It’s musty and well rounded, and that’s why this scent is so long lasting.

O is already available at Lancome counters everywhere. It was actually first released in 1969, and it used to come in a frosted glass bottle which has now become clear because of the launch of the d’Azur flanker.

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Try Lush’s Perfumes

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Henna

In my best products of 2010 list, I noted that Lush’s Gorilla perfumes were the nicest ones that I had come across in a long time. They are strong and unique, and yet still so wearable. A must try for any perfume lover out there.

Well, now, Lush offers their Gorilla Perfumes in a sampler set, so that you can try them all. Imogen Rose, Orange Blossom, Lust, Vanillary, Tuca Tuca, Karma, and The Smell of Freedom are all there.

The kit is $19.95 and only available until March 21st at all Lush stores.

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Perfume Review: Very Irresistible Givenchy

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Henna

Because Givenchy launches an intense version of it’s Very Irresistible perfume this March (this is the one that features Liv Tyler in the ads), I decided to review the original version before I do the new one.

Very Irresistible is primarily a rose scent – the notes are Centifolia Rose, Peony Rose, Fantasia Rose, Passion Rose, Emotion Rose, Verbena Leaf, Star Anise.

The thing is that even with tons of rose notes in the juice, I don’t smell a primarily rose scent when I spray this!  Aspects of rose, yes.  Pure rose like in a Jo Malone or Lancome scent?  No.

What I love about this scent is that it’s a more sophisticated floral scent that’s appropriate for the night time even though most florals are day time scents.  It’s a strong mix too, because just one spritz can last the whole entire day.

The top notes of the scent feature a leafy currant, while the drydown is curiously sweet, almost like vanilla.  I say that it’s curious because there are no sugar notes listed, but they some how come out.

Because this is a powdery floral scent, I prefer not to wear it at work as I find it to be too strong, but it’s perfect for the weekends.

Review on the Very Irresistible Intense coming next week.

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Nars Smudge Brush

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Henna

My latest obsession these days is brushes.  Having the right tools makes applying makeup so much easier and you can do a much better job of it!  To that end, I’ve always had all the basic brushes, but now I want the ones that can take makeup application to the next level.  I’ve been stocking up, and you, my lovely readers, get to hear all about it.

My latest discovery?

The Nars Smudge brush.  I had no idea how different brands take things to the next level until I got my hands on this brush and used it.

The Smudge Brush is a set of tightly packed yet super soft hairs that come together in a perfect fine line.  This means that you can apply shadow right next to your lashes, and the shadow won’t go all over the place.  This can also be used to smudge eyeliner, and because it’s so soft, you won’t be hurting your lids.

I actually use this to apply shadow in the outer corner of my eyelid, and smudge into my crease, and it passes the test of a good brush.  The test is that you can hardly even feel it touching your eye – that’s how soft the brush is.  Yet, you still get control and can get the brush to do just what you want.  You don’t feel it but you see the effect.

The Nars Smudge Brush retails for $26.  Worth every penny.

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New From Nars: Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Henna

Nars’ Velvet Matte Lip Pencils have been a huge hit because they provide the precision of a lip pencil with the coverage and performance of a lipstick, so they’ve followed up with the new Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils. These are full coverage glossy lipsticks that are in the form of a thick pencil so that you can get the colour and precision of a lipstick with the feel of a balm or gloss.

The pencils come in 6 colours that range from nude pinks and peaches, to dark jam-like colours. I’ve been using Hopi which is a shimmery neutral pink-brown. I’ve found them to go on extremely smooth and be more long-lasting than a gloss.

Francois Nars recommends filling in your lips with a lip liner first and then topping with the gloss pencils, and I can see why. These wear off easily if you drink a coffee or eat something, and it would be nice if there was opaque colour underneath so that there’s some colour left over.

Also, these pencils need to be sharpened when they’re worn down, and for me, that means that they need to be sharpened almost once a day. It’s kind of inconvenient, but I love the colours and feel so much that I will be using these as often as possible.

Also note, that they’re kind of similar to the gloss pencils that other brands have come out with (Lise Watier, Tarte, etc) but they’re NARS colours and formula’s so I do feel like there’s an edge there. Many of the other brands have come out with their pencils in really bright colours which I just don’t wear to work, so it’s nice to have some everyday options.

You can get these everywhere Nars products are sold (Sephora, Holt’s, The Bay, etc.) and the Velvet Gloss Pencils are $30 each.

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Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Henna

After 4 long years on the market, Marc Jacobs has finally come out with a flanker to his 2007 release Daisy. Truth be told, I, along with my friends, have been huge Daisy fans ever since it came out, so it’s about time that we had another way to wear one of our favourites.

The Eau so Fresh is supposedly geared towards a younger audience than the original, but if you were a fan of Daisy, trust me, you will like this as well.

I am finding the Eau so Fresh to be a lighter version to the original but the main notes are the same. The opening of this scent is fruitier, and the base notes are woodsier, but it’s still a mature and long-lasting scent. I kind of like that this is more airy – it doesn’t stick to the skin as well as Daisy did, but it’s still there, and perhaps that’s what makes this scent for the younger audiences.

This scent is out on perfume counters everywhere!

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