theNotice: a beauty blog

Oh my god.

Oh my GOD.

#SO MANY FEELINGS #everything you never knew you wanted #for the love of everything that is good and holy can someone please make this happen

And also, I suppose, #ALWAYS is a good time to embed someone else’s fanmade fake-trailer

And some late-night head!canon:

• Rowena and Salazar were ridiculously, impossibly in love
• And neither could come to terms with it because he thought she was naive and rash and she thought he was close-minded and stuck in his ways
• And both of them were probably right
• They hid it from the other two founders because they, themselves, didn’t know how to deal with it
• And it killed them, because they both fought so hard for what they believed in and what they believed in was so, so different.
• There was a duel, and Rowena begged Salazar to stop because he was about to destroy everything they had worked so hard to create
• And he couldn’t, he just couldn’t, and he had to sacrifice the thing he loved the most and that was her and she couldn’t let him-
• So she killed herself before he could.
• No one found out; no one went after him; he wasn’t persecuted and he wasn’t punished and as the years drew on he went mad.
• And that’s when he hid the Chamber of Secrets in Hogwarts’ dungeons.
• He disappeared, eventually, and the magical world assumed he had hidden himself away somewhere but really-
• Salazar went to the unmarked grave where he buried Rowena and he lay down beside it
• And he let the elements take him back.

Okay, I promise to stop geeking out for the night. I’ll try to find something super beauty-related for Monday’s post because now I feel guilty for drowning theNotice in my Harry Potter and houseware ramblings.

(But not that guilty.)

The lesson of the day is not to blog about Harry Potter while listening to les Gnossiennes.

Normal offices have in boxes, out boxes, plain ol’ boxes… but product junkies and beauty bloggers? We have to get - shall we say – inventive. I mean, you try putting lipsticks into a filing cabinet and keeping everything orderly. It just doesn’t work!

I was recently gifted an absolutely gorgeous bowl (thanks, mom!) and I’ve been giving it a go as a “beauty inbox” – that is, a place where I can put the products I’ve yet to test out & review*. Once I’ve photographed a product, it goes into a drawer to be swatched; once that’s happened, it moves to either the “future box”, the giveaway drawer, or… this!

(Actually, that’s a bit of a lie – sometimes they end up  next to my laptop, too. If I’m trying to pressure myself into reviewing something ASAP, it’s easier if it’s constantly in my line of sight!)

*Which is necessary for the sole reason of “I’m prone to being distracted by other pretty, shiny things and forgetting about them.” See also: magpies and attention deficit disorder

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It has occurred to me that I’ve basically just babbled for 160 characters so that I’d have an excuse to post photos of a bowl.

There is something either very, very wrong with this or something very, very right.

Need to give your lips some TLC? Amy Antoinette shares her favourite lip balms.

Check out what makeup Lauren has been sporting recently over at Lovelaughlauren.

Find out why Lush’s Fresh Face Mask Ayesha has Kajal Couture singin’ to 90s pop music!

K from Beautifully Addicted To show you her E.L.F Blushers.

Summer teals and greens have been a gorgeous combination for FabDiva20! Check out her FOTD: Summer Teals and Greens.

Jo shares an eye of the day, swatches and first impressions on the new MUA Professional palettes.

Jenn from Spiced Beauty reviews Cover Fx Natural fx foundation, a great product for the summer!

Madame B Fatale continues on with her Illamasqua Brand Overview with Part 3.

You only just need three brushes for eye make-up – see which ones make the cut for Shivani at Adorable on your Vanity!

Hellcandy has had a huge revamp of her UK beauty blog! Visit her all new site for the latest on beauty complete with nail gallery!

Miss Beauty Nerd meets Maggie, daughter of Benefit Cosmetics’ co-founder, Jean Ford. Maggie shows off her new Eye Wanna eyeshadow palette for Fall.

Makeup Morsels finds one self tanner to love. Find out which one it is here!

Cindy over at Prime Beauty is singing the song ‘I Feel Like a Woo-Man’ after finding the Canadian Brand Barefoot Venus.

If you like having a nosey at other bloggers collections take a peek at thehighlighter overview at Eyelining Obsessions.

Krasey Beauty heats things up, with a summer-inspired face and outfit of the day!

Essence launched a great retro collection called 50′s GIRLS Reloaded! Check out some swatches over at Vesna’s blog!

Do you need a new coral blush that won’t break the bank? If so, check out Anita’s review of Accessorize Bronzing Block Shade 3 which might just be the prettiest coral blush you’ll see this summer!

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Christina the Glitterholic hosts an awesome Spellbound By Jynx Giveaway. Be sure to enter!!

This past week, I discovered a rather unfortunate new opponent: hand cream packaging. I think I fought pretty valiantly, and I was able to get it open, but at the end of the day – I have to admit my defeat.

As much as I love the rustic look of the L’Occitane Lavande tube, it takes me three or four tries to get this open when my joints are particularly inflamed – and alright, so maybe, maybe I will admit that I resorted to dental intervention. (It’s like divine intervention, but… toothier.)

I know it’s not a big deal for someone with healthy joints – I used to use L’Occitane’s similarly-packaged shea formula with zero issues – but I find myself wishing there was another option. Perhaps a snap lid for the travel size, or a larger twist lid, or even just a big ‘ol pump bottle for the kitchen countertop!

Anyhow, while I’m not in love with the packaging, I definitely don’t hate the product. It’s less “sour” than a lot of the other lavender products I’ve tried, and the super-hydrating L’Occitane hand cream formula doesn’t disappoint.

There are a number of Lavender-based L’Occitane products already, this one included, and they’re adding three more to the range this August – an eau de cologne, a body & massage gel, and a roll-on. More on that below! (Sorry, sorry, this post length is getting epic.)

See the new products, the hand cream ingredients, & more »

I had planned to do our Lid Smoothie coverage in three parts over a week or three - a “coming up” post, a swatch post, and a review. (Oh, and then some EOTD features on the side). The only problem in this plan?

I am extremely, extremely impatient in the short term.

Anyhow, because they’re already available online (I’ve spied them at both Lord & Taylor and Dillard’s), I figured that I may as well post the swatches – after all, they’ll be on counters next month! Which is soon, in case you hadn’t noticed. Too soon :P

Availability: August 2011, $19.50 US / $24 CAD

Shades: Bit O’Honey, Cashew Later, Sassy-fras, Ginger-ly, Cute-cumber, Pinkgo Bilboa, Seventh Heather, Born Freesia, Imprompt-blue, Currant Affair, Lick-orice, Salt and Pepper (italics denote shades that are featured in this post.)

Shade descriptions

• Currant Affair: red-brown with plummy undertones and red shimmer.
• Born Freesia: sheer lilac with a fine lilac frost and slightly-rose microshimmer. Sheers out to an intriguing almost-no-makeup eye with delicate violet reflects.
• Cute-Cumber: an adorably named medium-dark green with gold shimmer; fairly muted.
• Pinkgo Bilboa: salmon pink with… I think that’s champagne shimmer?
• Bit O’Honey: extremely shimmery champagne – great for a no-makeup look or a wash of luminescence.

Okay – before I leave you to these photos, I want to point out that these have all been swatched heavily. When I do EOTD shots, I’ll be sure to show off their sheerness and opacity (they both layer and blend out quite well), so please just give me time!

Clinique Lid Smoothie swatches L-R: Currant Affair, Born Freesia, Cute-Cumber, Pinkgo Bilboa, Bit O’Honey

Reminds me of…

• Currant Affair: Le Metier de Beaute Alexandrite (more berry), Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream 17, MAC Heritage Rouge (more burgundy, more pigmented)
• Born Freesia: Bare Escentuals Flash (more sheer; whiter reflects), MAC Hint of Sapphire
• Cute-Cumber: Inglot 419 (more intense), perhaps MAC Sumptuous Olive (more gold, less green), MAC Spread the Wealth (lighter)
• Pinkgo Bilboa: MAC Expensive Pink (less salmon), MAC Mineral Mode (more white-pink)
• Bit O’Honey: Um, all sheer washes of champagne? Think Stila Kitten, MAC Retrospeck, MAC Femme-Fi. Check out these wash/hilighter swatches if you’re bored.

(More photos and swatches…)