Real Techniques Brushes now in Canada!

It's no secret, Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman are among the most loved makeup brushes out there. Super affordable, they are 100% cruelty free, made of synthetic taklon and have a fun color system. Orange for flawless finish, purple for enhanced eyes and pink for perfect finish.

They have just arrived at Walmart and apparently some Jean-Coutu also have them. Here below are pictures of the kits I saw yesterday. Each sells for $18.97CAD which is excellent since they all go for $18.00USD on the Real Techniques website. For once, we're not paying that much more.

Just last week Christa of Perilously Pale wrote an entry about them but I was sceptical. The cosmetics department of my local Walmart is pretty pathetic as far as getting new merchandise. Some shelves are practically empty and so I was quite surprised to see these.

Top right, Your Eyes Enhanced Starter Set
Bottom left, Core Collection
Bottom right, Travel Essentials

The only set that I found tempting was the Core Collection but I have no need for a foundation brush. I only needed a concealer brush which I got for a few dollars from another brand. It's great that we can finally have access to them but I hope eventually we'll be able to purchase them individually. That would be even better!

I'm on a no buy at the moment and resisted the temptation, I didn't buy any! *pats self on the back* :D

Maybeline Color Sensational Vivids in Shocking Coral 870 / Review & Swatch

Wow now that's what I call a flashy color!

I've mentioned recently that I was more and more attracted to coral shades. I find them joyous, uplifting and this Spring there's a lot of it. This is likely in part due to the Panetone color of the year, emerald green. You can wear pretty much anything with it as long as it's properly accessorized. Still, I find that coral goes pretty well with emerald green.

A few days ago I brought you a review of L'Oréal Color Riche Balm in Caring Coral which barely showed on my lips. This Maybeline Color Sensational Vivids in Shocking Coral is quite the opposite!!! Of course it's not quite fair to compare the two since the first is a balm and the second a lipstick. Still, I couldn't resist since they are both corals.

I'm sorry about the fact that my swatch is a little blurry. My camera is not made for close ups so I did the best I could. This is with sunlight (which we've had so little of lately). In reality it's a little brighter.

More pink than orange, which is usually what a coral is, a mix of these two colors. It is vivid, very much so. When I put it on and looked in the mirror I had a shock! I haven't worn bright colors in ages and this is so different than the neutrals I'm used to.

To tone it down a notch I blotted it a little and aplied a thin layer of the first neutral lipstick I could put my hands on, Clinique Different Lipstick in Tenderheart. It worked! It made Shocking Coral more wearable for me so it's not a waste. Still coral but not as bright.

The formula goes on effortlessly and it has good color payoff. For a $10.00 lipstick I'm quite impressed. I don't think I've ever purchased a Maybeline lipstick before and will likely look into their other options in the future.

I can't comment about it's performance at this point since I haven't started to wear brighter colored clothes yet since it's still early Spring in Montreal and I can't say that we've been spoiled as far as the weather goes. Even when I do start to start to lighten up my wardrobe, the fact that I'll use another lipstick over it will change it's performance. Now that doesn't bother me much. The formula is pleasant to wear and with Tenderheart over it was quite moisturizing. I'm not saying that I'll be wearing it everyday but it will be a good go to if I don't find another more appropriate coral shade...

I am, after all, on a no buy at the moment!

NARS Summer 2013 Color Collection Summer Shock

The Summer Shock collection with it's all new stunning colors, is escribed as "A cool non-conforming palette of new wave sophistication", I must admit, it does, in a way, take us back to the 80s.

First row, top to bottom:

Tolède Satin Lipstick, $30.00
Pear (Correcting Shade) Stick Concealer, $28.00
Puerto Vallarta The Multiple, $46.00

Second row:

Euphrate Shimmer Eyeshadow, $28.00                                  
Fashion Rebel Duo Eyeshadow, $39.00                                  
                                                                                             
Third row:

Barrow Street Larger Than Life Long Wear, $28.00
Tender Night Velvet Matte Lip Pencil, $30.00
Madness Opaque Nail Polish, $21.00



The Fashion Rebel eyeshadow duo with its bright yellow and purple, the gorgeous Paris Follies Lip Gloss and the orange nail polish are all colors that where quite popular back then. The brighter the better!

Stella Tennant photographed by François Nars

Here the look is soften up and appears to be between Punk Rock and New Wave, for me anyway. The vision, the look is clearly not for everyone but they are colors easy to work with.

In this collection, the one item that's calling me is, Paris Follies...

Paris Follies Larger Than Life Lip Gloss

$30.00

This collection is now available now through narscosmetics.ca and will be in stores on May 10th.

O.P.I Hands Off My Kielbasa, My NOTW / Review

Here I go with nails!

A word of warning, this is not my forte! 

I unfortunately do not have a picture of my nails due to the fact that the weather was cold and cloudy last week when I wore it and nothing decent was possible. For swatches, google has plenty of this color which you can see here.

Hands Off My Kielbasa is part of O.P.I  Euro Centrale Collection for Spring Summer 2013. I purchased this color a few weeks back and made it part of one of my recent purchases post. It's light and peachy with a bit of bronzy shimmer. Too light and too peachy for me but even if this was not my kind of shade I must say the formula applied like a dream and 2 coats made it streakless. I may try it again this summer but with all the beautiful cream shades out there I doubt it. I just can't get used to shimmer, for now anyway.

How did it perform?

Excellent! I have nothing negative to say about the formula. Like stated above, two coats made it streakless and smooth looking. On top I applied one coat of Seche Vite™ for extra shine and protection. The result, a good six days of perfect looking nails. No chips, I did have a bit of tip wear, to be expected but since this is a medium shade, I could hardly notice.

OPI Euro Centrale Collection

Nail polish drawing made for Icaria's by City Lights Painted Girls who I will properly introduce soon.

Some Empties...

Here are some of the products I've used in the past year, the ones I will not repurchase.

Nuxe Micellar Foam Cleanser, Nuxe Micellar Cleansing Water, Nuxe Micellar Cleansing Water with Rose Petals, Avène Ysthéal Crème, Caudalie Cleansing Water and RoC Enydrial Hand Creme.

In the case of the first two Nuxe products, they where favorites of mine but where unfortunately discontinued. I was able to repurchase while they where in clearance but now they are definitely gone. 

The Nuxe Micellar Cleansing Water with Rose Petals, was good but a bit of a disappointment. I found it slightly irritating, especially compared to the previous option. I really don't understand the reformulation.

Avène Ysthéal which haven't reviewed yet, is an excellent anti-aging moisturizer but for some reason I prefer Eluage to it, also from Avène. I will try to post about them soon. They are worth looking into since they contain a high  % of retinaldehyde and are available over the counter. They are more effective than creams containing retinol (again, non prescription options) and are less irritating. Great for those with sensitive skin.

Caudalie Cleansing Water, another good product from the brand but the price is a downer. Although I was planning to repurchase, $28.00 a little excessive.

RoC Enydrial Hand Creme is really nothing special. I've mentioned it previously in one of my first posts for this blog. It's an ok basic moisturizer that tends to leave a greasy feel. The only plus, for those who appreciate it, is that it's unscented. I didn't use this one during the day since it's took a while to fully penetrate. Best keep it for before bed time.

David Bowie & Illamasqua!

OMGosh!!!

How I wish I were a Londoner this week! Why? Two words: David Bowie.

First, the Victoria and Albert museum is currently holding the first international retrospective of the career of this outstanding artist: David Bowie is

Then, to make matters worst, Selfridges is collaborating with the museum and presenting it's own homage with David Bowie is All Yours and they've asked Illamasqua's creative director Alex Box to come up with Bowie inspired makeup looks. This event will take place from April 18th to the 25th.

Illamasqua is a brand I would love to have the opportunity to play with! The colors, the looks, are just amazing! Unfortunately they are not in stores in Canada. At Sephora, we only have the nail polishes, lame! I tweeted Illamasqua a while back, asking if they had any intentions of introducing their makeup line in a Canadian brick and mortar store and the answer was, no! I never buy online. Reason, I have to see, try, swatch first. Argh!!!

So, no Illamasqua at Selfridges, no Victoria and Albert and no David Bowie!

On both the Illamasqua and Selfridges websites you can see makeup sketches inspired by the look of David Bowie.

Here are two different looks of the musical icon, theatrical and classic elegance...

As The World Falls Down, 

Labyrinth from 1986, starring Jennifer Connelly as a teenage girl in search of her half brother 

and David Bowie as the Goblin King.

David Bowie, Modern Love

From the album Let's Dance, released in 1983.

Oh how I wish I could see the exibit at the V & A!  :(


To learn more about the artist and the events:

David Bowie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie

Victoria and Albert Museum
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/david-bowie-is/

Selfridges & Co
http://style.selfridges.com/whats-on/illamasqua%E2%80%99s-alex-box-make-show

Illamasqua
http://www.illamasqua.com/socialise/david-bowie-is-all-yours-at-selfridges-london/

Labyrinth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labyrinth_(film)

Last Purchases, Now Going On A No Buy!

These are the last beauty purchases I've allowed myself until I confirm a new job.

From The Body Shop: Coconut Shower Cream, Pink Grapefruit Body Butter, Pink Grapefruit Eau de Toilette. From Sephora: Benefit They're Real Mascara, Laura Mercier Mineral Finishing Powder and a sample of bareMineals Pretty Amazing Lip Color in Panache. From Murale: Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse. From a nail place: O.P.I  Casino Royale and Stay The Night, Essie Recessionista. 

Finally, a new scarf!

Except for the Pink Grapeftuit items and the nail polishes, these are all replacements. Yes, even the scarf! With the weather finally starting to warm up, it would seem that my daughter and I will finally be able to wear our new Spring coats and a new scarf to go with mine was a must!

Samples of Nina Ricci, Nina L'Eau, Khiel's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado and Clarins Double Serum (this I will not review since 2 application is way to little to form any kind of opinion for a skin care item).

So now, I'm on a no buy! Hopefully it won't last too long...

L'Oréal Color Riche Balm in Caring Coral 418 / Review

These have been out for a while now and for no particular reason, I wasn't drawn to them but I figured that I had to try at least one. I chose Caring Coral 418.

I'm feeling a coral period coming... I used to wear a lot of it years ago, got tired of it but this Spring I'm feeling myself drawn to it, again!

So, back to L'Oréal and this Color Riche Balm. What do I think about it? To be honest, there isn't much to think about. It's super sheer so you have to lay it on thick to have any hint of color showing. I've had to go over my lips at least six times and it still didn't show much. It ends up feeling almost like a gloss. The taste? Chemical and unpleasant. The only good thing it's got going is the SPF15.

Do I recommend L'Oréal Color Riche Balm in Caring Coral? No.

From what I've read, they are all pretty sheer so if you have pigmented lips to begin with, these will be a disapointment. On naturally light colored lips they may fair better but for me, the sheerness and especially the chemical taste make of Caring Coral a no go. After about 30 minutes of having it on, I've had to completely wipe it off because the taste was really getting to me. I will definitely not try any of the other shades.  :(

Biotherm Biosource Micellar Water / Review

Micellar water is probably one of the best cosmetic innovation of recent years. I just love these fast and effective cleansers and since I don't wear a lot of makeup, they are just perfect for little old lazy me. If you want to learn more about what they are and see others I've previously reviewed like Bioderma, Nuxe, Caudalie, click here.

Of the different brands I've tried so far, Biotherm's Biosource Micellar Water is a front runner!

Biotherm is a brand I've stopped using a while back. The reason? They used to be quite affordable but for some reason, at one point their prices skyrocketed and so I lost interest. The only product that I've repurchased over the years has been their Anti-drying Body Milk, a long time favorite of mine.

When I saw this new Micellar Water I was expecting it to be in the high $20.00 but to my surprise it's only $19.00.

How did it perform?

Mild, effective, non irritating and fast. It has a mild fragrance that doesn't linger and it does a great job in the eye area. I would even say it's more effective than Caudalie which I thought was becoming a favorite.

Would I recommend Biotherm Biosource Micellar Water? Yes!

Fairly priced and good for all skin types, it's definitely worth a try. If you have issues with fragrance, try to get a sample first or make sure you can return it in case of irritation.


Reviews:

Beauté-test: 3.5 / 5 stars for 7 reviews
Makeup Alley:  There are no reviews of this product yet.

Ingredients (from UniversPara):
Aqua/water, PEG-7 caprylic/capric glycerides, poloxamer 124, poloxamer 184, PEG-6 caprylic/capric glycerides, polysorbate 80, magnesium PCA, potassium PCA, zinc PCA, sodium PCA, copper PCA, manganese gluconate, vitreoscilla ferment, sodium hydroxide, disodium EDTA, tetrasodium EDTA, sodium benzoate, polyaminopropyl biguanide, parfum/fragrance, benzyl salicylate, linalool, butylphenyl methylpropional, alpha-isomethyl ionone, hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde, citronellol, geraniol, hydroxycitronellal, (F.I.L. B12910/1).

Makeup Empties, What Has To Go!

Spring cleaning comes with the realisation that some stuff just has to go! I do believe I have the soul of a hoarder and that has to stop! I rarely throw away stuff, I still have some old Dior eyeshadow quads, lots of old Estée Lauder, some Lancôme and who knows what else. I guess I'll have to do some sort of "retro" entry eventually to show you.

For now let's see what I've discarded. These items where still in my every day makeup bag or should I say on the table where I do my makeup in the morning, mixed in with what I really use. All except two, have been reviewed already.

Clinique Blended Face Powder in Transparency 2

As you can see, this one is old! I've had it for years and can't even remember when I purchased it. A good everyday powder, these days it sells for $27.00. The reason I'm not replacing it is simply because of this blog. I need to try new ones in order to bring you reviews. For some reason I've reviewed Clinique's Stay-Matte Sheer Pressed Powder but not this loose version. Nothing fancy, it gives a nice light sheer finish that is quite natural and yes, I would recommend it.

Rimmel Natural Bronzer in 021 Sunlight

At under $10.00 this product is surprisingly excellent! I will probably repurchase to keep in an emergency bag for the office, once I have one to go to. :) 

LUSH Eyes Right Mascara

An excellent formula that I was quite impressed with, I simply got tired of the small wand. The presentation is cute but clearly must be revisited by LUSH.

Estée Lauder Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara

For the past 2 years or so, a favorite. I'm not saying I will not repurchase but again, I need to try new ones for this here blog. At $25.00, it's an excellent buy. Just keep in mind that the brush is a bit big, something not for everyone.

M.A.C. Select Cover Concealer

This I will not repurchase. Although the color was perfect, NW15 Light, it performed poorly. Too sheer, too thin, it was a disappointment.

Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Concealer

This concealer ended up looking cakey and dried up my under eye area. Not what I was going for. 

M.A.C. Fluidline Eyeliner Gel in Dipdown

Performed poorly on me and dried up in no time.

M.A.C. Eyeshadow in Putty

This I will keep with the hope that it will come back, one day... *Sniff*

Cargo 3 Triple Action Mascara

This I got in a kit at Winners for less than the price of the mascara which usually goes for $20.00. It did ok by keeping the curl for a little over 5 hours but was not what I would consider an outstanding product. I will not repurchase. 

Personnelle Magic Potion

This could have been a nice inexpensive option as a activator. It's made to transform any powder eyeshadow into a stay put eyeliner. The problems, the little tiny wand with the rough tiny sponge applicator at the end and the opening is too small to insert any type of brush. I was able to work with it by shaking the container to get a drop of it. I mixed it with my The Body Shop cake eyeliner and it did make the color darker than with plain water but it did not make it last much longer. Even if this product sells for less than $5.00, it was not worth it. For those who don't know Personnelle (yes the spelling is right), it's a drugstore brand of inexpensive products. The only other product I've purchased is a lip gloss (for less than $4.00) that wasn't all that so I don't think I will try any of their other offerings. 

I will likely have more... I'm not done with Spring cleaning!