theNotice: a beauty blog

The product: shu uemura rouge unlimited supreme shine in orange dream 

The shade: Orange Dream is on the sheer side, but still manages to deliver reasonable impact. It gives a lovely, barely-pinked orange veil of colour to the lips in spite of its sheerness, and has an appealing “plumping” effect as a result of its shine, translucence, and shimmer.

Oranges (and other warm colours) don’t always work on me, but this one absolutely does. The sheer colour is noticeable even on my pigmented lips, but enough of my own lip colour shines through its glossy sheen to look — well, maybe not natural, but still at-home.

Shimmery shades don’t generally work on me either, to be honest, but again: this one does! Its gold microshimmer is so finely milled that it just adds to the illusion of fullness created by the glossy finish of shu’s Supreme Shines, and meshes well with the base colour at any angle.

The formula: The Rouge Unlimited Supreme Shine lipstick formula is one that I find myself rather fond of, despite the fact that I’m not crazy about a super-glossy lip. Its shiny, slippery formula feels like a dream on my super-dry lips, and always looks very “fresh” — I think it’s perfect for the summer.

The slippery texture of the Supreme Shines doesn’t settle into lip lines (hmm, I wonder if that’s due to shu’s “revolutionary film keeping capsule”), but it does wear a little on the shorter side. At $36 CAD, I’d really have liked it to last), but I can’t say I really mind reapplying — the sheer formula is easy to touch up, and they do feel lovely going on.

The verdict?

This limited-edition orange beauty is nice to have around (particularly if you’re an orange-lover who prefers a softer, glossier lip), but it’s not a must-have. If you really love a glossy lip and you’re looking to splurge a little, then these are worth a look — but at $36 CAD, I’d really like to have seen a slightly richer, longer-wearing formula.

The adorably-packaged Orange Blossom is already sold out online & will be off shelves soon, but give or520 (a shimmering apricot-peach) a try if you’re searching for something similar in the permanent Rouge Unlimited Supreme Shine range.

Availability: $36 CAD, from the ob for shu uemura Summer 2013 collection. Find it at Holt Renfrew and select Sephora boutiques from April 2013 onwards. Limited edition.

Ingredients, swatches, & more »

The product: Disney Jasmine Collection by Sephora Magic Carpet Ride Eyeshadow Palette

The new Sephora x Disney Ariel collection is still just that side of available (well, other than the Storylook Eyeshadow Palette, $55 USD/$66 CAD), but for those of us who can’t wait, Sephora already has a gorgeous Disney collection out & ready for the hauling.

Today’s review is of a beautiful, Aladin-inspired eyeshadow palette, on shelves now.

The overall aesthetic

There are four shades in the Magic Carpet Ride Eyeshadow Palette, all of which are named with overwhelming confusion. Sephora’s descriptions of these shades doesn’t quite seem to match up with their placement in the palette, so instead: there’s a taupey lilac, a dark plum, a shimmering peach, and a bright blue.

The palette is rather summery overall, and the shades serve easily as an all-over wash, crease shade, highlighter, and “pop of colour,” respectively. I can’t see myself wearing all four of the shades at once (I’m not quite that bold, I’m afraid), but you can definitely put together a handful of different eye looks with just this palette!

The textures & shades

The taupey lilac looks more silver in the pan, but swatches as more of a purple taupe on my skin — I bet it would look more silvered on someone warmer. A true frost, it applies uniformly with finely-milled shimmer throughout; beautiful and subtle whilst still adding colour and lightness to the eye area.

Next to it, the dark plum stands alone from the other shades. Much drier in texture, it’s more of a matte plum with blue and fuchsia micro-shimmer shot through it for depth: gorgeous and not unlike a starry night on LSD.

Sephora x Disney Magic Carpet Ride swatches in warm, indirect sunlight

On the bottom, a light peach provides shimmering, slightly-chunky texture. It’s sure to make a standout inner corner highlighter on any skintone, but this buttery eyeshadow has a much more “aggressive” shimmer to it than the lilac — closer to the glitter end of the spectrum.

Finally, the bright blue. It’s not as smooth as the peach, but not as hard the lilac. Think of it as the shimmer to the lilac’s frost and the peach’s glitter; this medium-sheer shimmer feels vibrant, beachy, and surprisingly on-trend.

Swatched on primed skin; indirect sunlight

The fallout

I’m not entirely sure which eyeshadow is at fault (if I had to guess, I’d say the plum), but an eye look with this palette always involves glittery fallout during placement and blending. Whether it’s over a primer or foiled, even a stiff tap doesn’t get all of the glitter chunks off. Be prepared to use a shadow shield… or suffer the consequences of fairydust cheeks throughout the day (or night).

The verdict?

At $36 CAD, I don’t think this palette is a must-have — but it’s still a good palette, and is nice to have if you love the shades inside. The amount of shimmer fallout means that these eyeshadows fall (ha!) short of great, but it’s not an uncommon sight: even well-loved brands like Urban Decay and Stila are often guilty of their over-shimmery eyeshadows dropping down.

Overall, Magic Carpet Ride is a pretty, well-packaged palette that houses four beautiful eyeshadows. It has its flaws, but makes up for them with a cohesive, summery aesthetic that I think many beauty addicts will love.

Availability: Limited edition this Spring/Summer at Sephora, $30 USD/$36 CAD.

P.S. If you wanted to pick anything up from the Cinderella collection, make sure to do it now (before Ariel launches)! Once Ariel is up, I have a feeling that Cinderella will be coming off shelves for good.

Additional photos & more »

The product: Lise Watier Sweet Lips Yummy Lip Balm in Pistachio

Launching alongside the new Lise Watier Something Sweet perfume, Pistachio is one of three limited-edition Sweet Lips Yummy Lip Balms made to satisfy even the sweetest of sweet tooths. (I would love to say “sweet teeth,” but I think that would just be weird. And, yes, the “yummy” is right there in the sugary-sweet name!)

Enriched with Vitamin E & shea butter, the macaron-inspired Sweet Lips balms apply as slightly-shimmery, surprisingly lightweight clear lip balms. I haven’t tried Sweet Berry or Chocolate, but I think Pistachio would be my favourite of the bunch even if I had: there’s something very novel about applying such a tasty-smelling blue lip balm, even if it’s practically clear!

The verdict?

While Something Sweet was, well, too sweet for me, Lise Watier’s Pistachio Sweet Lips Yummy Lip Balm hits the nail right on the head. The light, delicious fragrance dissipates quickly, but smells mouthwatering and edible in the super-cute tin. It may be more sugar than substance, but I’d take a wonderful gourmand lip balm over a pot of opaque blue any day!

Availability: $12.50 CAD for 9 g, exclusively at Shopper’s Drug Mart (Pharmaprix in Québec). Limited edition, but available in Sweet Berry, Pistachio, and Chocolate until they sell out.

PS: This little macaron closes very securely, and once you finish the balm (which, if you have a sweet tooth like me, you totally will), I bet this purse-friendly pot would make for awesome, macaron-inspired storage, too.

The product: Lise Watier Something Sweet Eau de Toilette

Like the name suggests, Lise Watier’s latest fragrance offering is a bright, lively gourmand with plenty of sugary notes to satisfy any sweet tooth. As someone who prefers (by a long shot) dry, masculine scents, the company’s description of this one had me on the edge of my seat in terror — but, unlike last week’s bright pink confection, I’m not quite running away in fear.

Something Sweet is, to me, the angel food cake of this season’s perfume launches. With top notes of champagne bubbles & rainbow sorbet (no, I’m not pulling your leg), middle notes of melon fizz & red fruit, and base notes of juicy raspberry and chocolate mousse, it sounds like something that could give you a cavity in two seconds flat… and it is.

Beneath that too-sweet exterior, though, lies a surprisingly palette-cleansing heart. It presents in a surprisingly layered manner – almost as if you’ve just rinsed off a tropical body wash, and followed up right afterwards with a spritz of metaphorical cotton candy.

The Lise Watier camp refers to the bright heart of this fragrance as “zest,” and it really is — instead of a single-note, nauseatingly overdone saccharine disaster, Something Sweet is the perfect perfume for someone who loves gourmands but doesn’t want to smell like a late-90′s Disney teenybopper. It’s still super-sweet, but it has a little something else going on, too;  something bright and playful and vibrant.

The verdict?

While I could never see myself wearing Something Sweet, I think Lise Watier has brought something worthwhile to the already-overflowing table of gourmands on the market today. I wish the fresh notes of this Eau de Toilette stuck around a little longer, but this lively, fresh gourmand might be just what you’re looking for if you love gourmands (but you’re tired of smelling the same thing over and over again).

Availability, details, & more »

Out this spring from Ralph Lauren is a bit of an interesting collaboration: for each of their four Big Pony Women’s fragrances, Ralph Lauren has teamed up with Essie Weingarten herself to create a matching Essie nail varnish.

On top of that–if, perhaps, you’re looking for a little nail inspiration!–Essie Canada had Rita Remark, lead national nail artist, to create a custom nail look for each fragrance.

The product: Ralph Lauren x essie SENSUAL (Ralph Lauren Big Pony Woman & essie in Pink #2)

Big Pony Woman Pink #2 isn’t exactly my kind of fragrance. With notes of of cranberry and tonka mousse (and only those two), this fruity floriental is just one in a vast number of sticky-sweet perfumes today.

Maybe I’m being a bit harsh–okay, I’m definitely being a bit harsh–but for someone who wears men’s colognes almost exclusively… great marketing and cute collaboration aside, this post should have been a pass for me.

The Big Pony sets’ saving grace, however, are the bright, vibrant Essie nail varnishes. I’m not always swayed by their polishes (I find the dense narrow brush difficult to work with), but #2 Pink is one of the few Essies I’ve easily managed to get smooth, glossy nails out of in just two coats.

I’m not nearly nail-savvy enough to manage Rita Remark’s criss-cross nail art, I’m afraid, but I loved the specific hue of this creamy blue-pink nonetheless. It may not be the most unique shade, but it’s a great pick for a pink untouched by this season’s fluorescent polish trend!

Try it if…

There’s a Ralph Lauren Big Pony scent that you already know you love, but otherwise, pass. These sets would make great gifts, however — while I wasn’t a fan of the saccharine #2, it wouldn’t be a stretch for me to imagine an Aquolina-Pink-Sugar-loving teenage girl adoring this cotton-wrapped confection.

Also in the range are #1 Blue (grapefruit & blue lotus), #3 Yellow (pear & mimosa), and #4 Purple (wild cherry & purple amber).

Keep reading! »