The Sunday Post, Vol. 31...

It's back to school time...

Fall sadly, is definitely at the door with the weather slightly cooling and kids of all ages getting ready to hit classrooms everywhere. Catherine got her class schedule on Friday and she was pretty happy about the fact that she got the science class she wanted. A few notebooks and a new backpack were all she needed... feww!!! Erm... Of course there are other essentials that will have to be purchased but nothing too crazy.

My posting schedule may become even more erratic due to the fact that something real unpleasant happened today to me personally, it's not work related. Just as I was catching up on blogs and was about to take the time to respond to all your comments of the past two weeks I find myself having to deal with a huge task. Just as I was starting to think things couldn't get any worse they did. Call it remnants of André's passing (for those who don't know read the about me tab). I don't know how I'm going to get through that one but I guess I have no choice in the matter, again.

This week's makeup love...

Well, it's been Laura Mercier Caviar stick in Amethyst all week!!! Love the color which reminds me a little of Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Fatal but with no glitter. It is on the shimmery side and if applied dark can appear metallic but swatching it on your hand is definitely not the same as wearing it. A year ago I wouldn't have looked at it twice but now I'm really glad I took the plunge. I've been wearing it with Bobbi Brown Caviar Ink gel liner and I've even used a little gold from my Illamasqua palette for extra glam... Imagine that, me going metal crazy!

Since I've been doing more of a dark smokey eye look I've been keeping the rest of my face pretty neutral with my faithful Guerlain Terracotta and NARS Dolce Vita for lips.

Fingernails have been happy this week with Dior Glow and I think they will continue to enjoy it for a while since now both my index fingernails are in pretty bad shape. That's the price to pay for wearing colors non stop for two years! :(

What I have my eyes on...

While on the subject of nails, I'm still considering Chanel Le Vernis in Atmosphère for a lite shimmer since I can't really do dark at the moment and I have to admit none of the new nail polish collections are really calling my name. Dior and Chanel are on the boring side for me (except for the one mentioned) and so is YSL. I haven't seen Guerlain and in fact, being a little out of the loop at the moment I don't even know if they have new nail colors for fall. Last year they had the smashing Madame Batifole which I enjoyed a lot with an amazing formula. My guess is once the Back to School craziness is behind me it'll be all about eye shadow palettes and a few lipsticks.

For your viewing enjoyment...

Want the perfect pout? Have a look at this simple NARS tutorial for how to get that perfect red lip or any color for that matter. Using a lip crayon as a base not only gives more depth but also helps with long wear. After Rouge Dior, NARS lipsticks are my favorites (Tolède and Dolce Vita are HG of mine) and they've just launched a new range of fabulous colors called Audacious. I have my eyes on Brigitte and Juliette. They should be available at counters on September 1st and you can see them on NARS' website, here.

Now here's a bit of music for you... I've seen if first on Color Me Loud when Sara reviewed the new Guerlain Kiss Kiss lipsticks and this morning on Kiss & Make-up where Melissa created a beautiful Black & Gold eye look. Never heard of it before and it's been out since 2008, got a Grammy in 2009! After seeing it twice this week it's now stuck in my head! Oh and the dude is Australian. No clue as to why I'd never heard this song before! Read Sara's post, here and Melissa's, here.

Have a great week everyone! Hélène xoxo

The Sunday Post, Vol. 30...

The return of my makeup mojo...

I think it's coming back! I really do!!!

Super boring makeup summer that's what it was for me! I think this was mainly due to the bad day job schedule I had combined with my waking up in the middle of the night at least two to three times a week. I chose the easy makeup route most mornings which was fine but hey, boring!

Work schedule is finally easier to live with so I'll keep my fingers crossed for the insomnia. Since I'll be home most nights by 6 pm, I should be able to do some blogging in the evening once I get used to the new hours... I hope. I feel like I've been out of it for a while with not much social media presence but I'll sure try to catch up.

I'll also be able to keep up with your comments, thank you so much for hanging in there you have no idea how much your feedback is appreciated.

This week's makeup love are all blurred up with my new additions...

I played with my new Illamasqua palette (see below), wore a new purplish/pinkish lipstick and went to work with no eyeliner on Thursday! By mid day I felt like I looked like death! I guess that's what happens when going from black to nothing! On Friday I brought out my beloved L'Oréal Infaillible liner in Slate and felt oh so much better! By the way, sorry about how weird the picture above looks but I had no time to redo it and noticed too late my hand showing in the mirror of the NARS duo.

New additions...

Illamasqua is leaving the North American market! Almost one year to the day the brand was introduced at The Bay (Canadian retail stores) it's calling it quits! Sad but in a way I'm not surprised since there weren't that many special events or promotions. In Montréal it was located in a nice looking boutique but in a corner, in front of Armani next to YSL. A quiet spot, a little out of the way which for a brand that isn't that well known is kind of a recipe for doom. Last week everything went down price wise, 25% off! I just had to take advantage of the markdown and so got a palette, lipstick, a mono eye shadow and went back the next day for a nail polish.

I finally got the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Amethyst I'd been coveting for so long. Hey at $34.00 a pop it did take some thinking about it. It's love! It's the perfect little boost for my green eyes. Combined with my beloved Diorshow mono in Velvet and Slate eyeliner it produces a great polished daytime look.

Yesterday I went shopping with Catherine and of course I just had to stop by Sephora, again... and as I was planning on getting a Dior Glow lip balm I was side tracked by the new Nail Glow...

Guys, you have to get one! Stat!

These past two weeks I've been getting a little lazy with my mani and there's also my left index that seems to have a hard time to get back to its normal strong self which means that I'd been using an illuminating base coat from Nicole by O.P.I. It was ok but the finish, being a base coat wasn't that shiny. Dior Nail Glow is Da Bomb! One coat, high illuminating shine... It's the perfect every day finish for when you don't feel like color, really it is!

What I have my eyes on... 

I'm still undecided about Dior Rosy Glow Healthy Glow Awakening Blush... I swatched it... again... I'm not seeing it! Am I missing something, will I regret not getting it?

I'm not a blush person, I find them pretty but honestly I've always gotten away with a few colors. Coral, pink and wine have done good by me for everyday but for some reason that Dior Rosy Glow is calling my name but every time I swatch it I'm like, really? It's soooo lite and almost feels powdery. I almost purchased it yesterday, almost!

So tell me, should I, really???


For your viewing enjoyment...

Dior does it again! Talk about timeless beauty, that lady Robert Pattinson dances with is a Babe! I can only hope to look that happy at that age, hey I can only hope to get to that age! Getting older isn't fun but we have to make the best of it! I don't own a car which means I walk a lot and I know it keeps me in reasonable shape and I sure am not planning on not curling my lashes anytime soon! Not having André to tell me I'm beautiful and loved everyday for the past year and a half has been hard, real hard but in a way I've always taken pride in my appearance for me, to feel good about myself.

Aches and pains are starting to be more of a regular occurrence, neck is starting to fall and don't get me started about my eyelids... Still, I don't intend on looking like I'm letting myself go nor do I plan on starting to try to look like a 20 yrs old. Taking public transportation I see women of every ages and so many look drab and sad that it makes me want to get up and give them a makeover on the spot while others look fantastic!

The way I see it, it's not a money thing, it's a willing thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV0ONCkyV5s

And speaking about timeless beauty, go have a look at The Beauty +, the new baby of Jane / British Beauty Blogger celebrating the "getting older" thing. Yes it is a thing and whether you consider it good or bad, well, that depends entirely on you. Since we have no say in the matter, might as well make the best of it.


Have a great week everyone! Hélène xoxo

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)

Brand Availability Frustration!

I know that we are relatively lucky here to have access to so many outstanding brands. You would think with department stores, drugstores, Sephora, beauty salons and other beauty supply stores that we would be pretty much covered. In a way we are but we are still missing out on a lot of great brands and some of the ones we have access to aren't complete.

Illamasqua Nail Polishes at Sephora

Last Saturday while at Sephora I had a closer look at the Sephora by O.P.I. gelshine™ At-Home Gel Colour System  Sadly the colors swatches where all scratched out and so I couldn't really see them. I didn't do any better with the bottles because their black labels don't really give a good idea of the shades. Add to this the horrible lighting and, well, let's just say it didn't encourrage me to consider purchasing the kit.

While at "The Nail Bar" I had a look at several different collections of nail polishes as well as nail art items. In a little nook, almost tucked away, what did I see?

Illamasqua's Christmas 2012

I must admit that I was stunned when I saw this image on British Beauty Blogger this morning and can understand the reactions.

The black and white idea is very interesting and in all honesty stunning but I believe, had they simply chosen a different color lipstick for the "Black" model the reaction just might have been quite different. The light lip shade is what I think makes the reference more obvious. There's the idea of color "on skin" not "of skin" but like it was written on British Beauty Blogger, they could have gone with any other color for this campaign.

Had they chosen the same beautiful red lip color for both models, the link and the contrast would have been even more obvious in my opinion, without being so reminiscent of images many would rather want to forget.

If some are offended I totally understand why. Like I said, I was stunned when I first saw the image. Still, the more I look at this Illamasqua ad and the more I appreciate and admire the artistry behind the makeup. After all it is, just a makeup.

Here is what Illamasqua had to say on their facebook page:

Our statement on the recent #ImDreamingOf campaign. Illamasqua is an independent British colour cosmetics brand founded on the principles of fairness, self-expression and delivering customers professional quality make-up. We embrace the div

ersity of humanity and feature people of all colours, ages and genders in our campaigns.

Today, illamasqua has received some negative attention on our Australian Facebook page in regard to one particular image from our Christmas 2012 campaign launched earlier this month. It features a model theatrically painted white juxtaposed to the same model painted black. The model painted black has been interpreted by some as "black face". This was certainly not our intention nor inspiration.

Given that our objective with this imagery was to be playful, striking and fresh with the creation of mirror images in white and black, using colour ON the skin it is very saddening that those making negative comments are focusing on colour OF the skin. The colour of the skin didn't come into it at the time we created the imagery so we are shocked by the cynicism behind some of the comments.

The Huffington Post wrote about our campaign yesterday and a lot of the comments were very positive...

"Super dark girls look great... As such if a woman who knows this wants to achieve that sort of look, it's cool ... She can wear darkening make-up... It's her body (as the feminists love to say) ... I say, go for it!"

"Oh come on, this isn't racist. I'm a black woman saying this. It's obvious this is art. There's more than enough real racism in this country to deal with without attacking legitimate art"

We have already issued the following statement on our Australian Facebook page:

"We thank and acknowledge your comments regarding the Christmas imagery. Obviously it was never our intention to cause offence; Illamasqua has always celebrated the right to self-expression and we continually push creative and artistic boundaries, priding ourselves on working with models of many ethnic backgrounds to reinforce this point. We emphasise that this campaign is about colour ON the skin not colour OF the skin, depicting polarity between the two images (both images are the same model) not race."