The Charlotte Tilbury Brightening Finishing Powder is new. I have it in the shade fair/medium and as you can see it looks white in the pan. It does apply clear but it definitely brightens skin. I like it under my eyes.
Charlotte Tilbury Brightening Finishing Powder
Prada Amber vs. Chanel Coromandel
In my search for a cheaper dupe of Chanel Coromandel, I came across Prada Amber as a comparison, and from far away, I can see it, but close up, it’s not true, not even in the slightest.
Have you smelled these?
I’ve had Prada Amber forever, and I’m so familiar with its scent that it’s hard for me to describe it. It’s a soft sandalwood-dominant amber that’s not sweet. It’s comforting and calm.
Posted in Perfumes
Tagged Chanel, Coromandel, Fragrance Review, Les Exclusifs de Chanel, Perfume Review, Prada, Youtube
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L’Artisan Parfumeur Ambre Extreme
Last work day of the year, and I wore Ambre Extreme by L’Artisan Parfumeur. It’s a vintage bottle, and as much as it’s nice to say “they don’t make them like they used to”, actually, they make them just fine, and there’s a plethora of beautiful ambers out there so you don’t need to go hunting for the vintage bottle. Of course, the bottle is gorgeous and so is the perfume, but it had barely any sillage so that mouth-watering cardamom just sat on my skin. Then again, this is Jean-Claude Ellena working with what was there at the time, and I find that it’s pretty difficult to overdo any of the old L’Artisans and that’s also what I like about them. I know that I’m not going to end up with a headache, so maybe next time I’ll just spray it in my hair and I’ll get a whiff of it every time I turn around. Of course, that cozy vanilla-benzoin-patchouli combo is just right, and maybe this leans a little powdery and a little old-fashioned for some, but I like it, it’s cozy like a big warm scarf.
What I’m really saying is that I wouldn’t mind a gallon of this and I’m keeping it in rotation, but once it’s done I’m not hunting down another bottle until I am, and then maybe I’ll photograph it and show it to you but only once I’m sure you’ve forgotten about this.
Posted in Perfumes
Tagged Amber Perfume, Fragrance Review, Jean Claude Ellena, L'Artisan Parfumeur, Perfume Review
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Diptyque Philosykos
Pepper with no bite, green but no leaves, wet without the rain.
The last of this winter’s figs and Diptyque Philosykos EDP, which is still my favourite fig perfume. I love that it’s easy to wear and I’m always a fan of the gorgeous Diptyque packaging. Although most of my perfumes get rotated and pulled out for wear, this one basically stays out because I reach for it so often.
L’Artisan Parfumeur Iris de Gris Review
And some green perfumes you should seek out and try.
Posted in Perfumes
Tagged Fragrance, Geoffrey Beene, Iris, L'Artisan Parfumeur, Miskeo, Perfume, Review
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Empties: Pixi Retinol Tonic, Alterna, Neutrogena Sunscreen, Dior Lip Glow, Tarte Mascara
I caught the sun this morning, so here are some empties. I took a break last weekend because there wasn’t anything but today there is.
Alterna Caviar Restructuring Bond Repair mask. I love this line because it makes my hair so smooth and I do a weekly conditioning treatment with this mask. Love it.
Neutrogena Ultra-Sheer Moisturizing Face Serum Sunscreen. SPF 50+. This is a light easy-to-wear sunscreen. Broad Spectrum and a high enough SPF that you’ll be protected for a while. Love it. I would love a larger bottle of it so that it would last me longer.
Pixi Skintreats Retinol Tonic. I like this ok… smelled like Dettol… I used it as a toner in the morning. Again it was fine, but I don’t know if it was doing much. I just used it to wipe on my skin first thing in the morning in place of a cleanse and it was great.
Tarte the Tartelette Tubing Mascara. I loved this mascara and I will for sure repurchase it. It’s a dark intense black and the real tubing formula just lasts and lasts.
Dior moisturizing lipstick in a clear shimmer colour. Love it… better than a balm, I would say, but I don’t know if I’d buy it.
Posted in More Than Beauty
Tagged Alterna, Dior, empties, Empties Reviews, neutrogena, Pixi, Sunscreen. Retinol, Tarte, tubing mascara
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Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Glow Glide Face Architect Highlighter
This is a beautiful highlighter that has skincare ingredients like hyaluronic acid and squalene in it. The colours are versatile enough to work on many skin tones. Less is more with a highlighter because it does tend to accentuate skin texture. This highlighter comes in 7 shades including some warmer options which I would like to try.
Here is Moonlit Glow.
There is of course a Pillow Talk Glow which is a light pink that is really easy to wear.
Have you tried these? Tell me what you think.
My favourite gloss: Fenty Gloss Bomb
I’ve always been a gloss girl and one of my favourites is Fenty’s Gloss Bomb. When it first launched it came in just one colour. A shimmery rosy beige that looks good on everyone. The formula is luscious and moisturizing, so much so that I don’t mind wearing it to bed because when I do, I wake up to softer and less dry lips. 
I used it until it was done and then I bought Hot Chocolate which was a bit of a deeper brown but still shimmery and very flattering.
Then they launched the Cream version, and I got Mauve Wive$, again, just the most flattering colour that went with almost every lip look.
And this winter, there’s the Glossy Posse, which is a trio featuring a Gloss Bomb Heat which has a tingly finish that makes lips a little plumper, a cream gloss in Cupcakin’ which is a pretty pink, and Fuchsia Flex which is a shimmery bright pink. They’re all wearable but surprisingly, even I, who usually love colour, prefer the Fenty Glow because it’s the perfect neutral.
J’Adore Le Touche de Parfum
I like how Dior does something new with J’Adore every holiday season – this year it was the perfume water but a few years ago it was the perfume dabber. This is a throwback to vintage perfume splash bottles but it’s better because you never have to tip the bottle upside down to get the perfume out. It’s kind of a cool concept.
It’s the classic Dior J’Adore jasmine, but in an oil formula. It has a good dose of musk in it, and it’s even slightly animalic. Check out the applicator – it’s meant to be dabbed on to pulse points instead of sprayed, but also you could use it to layer with other versions of J’Adore. The result is a richer, more sensual, J’Adore experience.
Posted in Perfumes
Tagged Dior, Dior Beauty, Fragrance, J'Adore, Perfume Blog, Perfume Review
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New to Me Skincare: Topicals, Nature Mary, Veriphy
I thought I’d talk about some new skincare because it’s been a minute.
Starting with a glob of Faded by Topicals. I like it so far, and the reviews are mixed. Some people say that it worked on scarring, but not really on stronger pigmentation. The texture is fine. It looks like a thick cream but it’s a melty kind of serum which absorbs and is a bit moisturizing. I don’t use it at night, but I’m trying it in the morning so I will report back. The thing is that it smells awful. I used to use an Obagi HQ cream, and it smelled terrible and that’s what this serum smells like too. Gross. Hopefully, that means that it works. Look how they included so many active ingredients in the serum, I really like that because right now I am rotating between niacinamide, vitamin C, etc.
On to something that smells amazing.
Nature Mary Revive & Repair oil, which I mentioned in my stories last week. I love how it smells like a big rose bouquet, super fresh, but also kind of strong and I can smell it for a while. Look at the rich colour of the oil. It’s made with terpenes from cloves and rosehip oil which is vibrantly coloured. I’ve only used it for about a week, and I can’t always use it with other products in my routine, but it’s in the rotation. I like it.
Finally, some Veriphy Skincare from Canada. I had used this brand years ago, but I found it very strongly scented. I’m not finding that right now, and notably, the cleanser has no scent at all. The face mist is a toner, the Power trip serum has lactic acid in it, and the cleanser is a gentle cream. I love the cleanser because it melts all my makeup.
If you’d like to try Veriphy skincare, use the code CanadianBeautyDotCom on their website for 20% off (this is an affiliate code).