theNotice: a beauty blog

Set to conquer in three… two… nope

I have zero inherent talent for anything design-related (or even design-adjacent, really), so product spreads are always a little tricky for me. If, by “a little tricky,” you mean “a time suck and a constant source of frustration,” that is.

Despite the sweat and tears and hours and hours and hours that go into these posts, though, I still quite enjoy putting them together — the challenge, when I can come out on top, is incredibly rewarding.

I hope you enjoy this week’s picks (even though I didn’t quite manage to conquer the image).

Skincare sweethearts

This week’s picks started off with the Sweet Leaf Bath Adzuki Bean & Rice Bran Face Polish, which caught my eye as a low-end Canadian alternative to the Tatcha Polished Rice Enzyme Powder ($65 USD). While Sweet Leaf’s version doesn’t have the same wow! factor or enzymatic powers, it’s still a very cool powder-format face polish for those of us who recognize budgets as, you know. Non-fictional.

Also in the skincare department is the eos 24-Hour Ultra Moisturizing Shave Cream, which is a great silicone-free, scent-free shaving cream for those of us who want to keep our showers simple.

Keep reading! »

Okay, so: I know I haven’t been the best about posting recently, but I’m trying to be better, I swear. I think I still need a couple weeks to really get back into the swing of things, but I may as well start now!

Here’s a quick, springy look to start off the week. Created by Hannah Murray for Topshop AW13 at the last last London Fashion Week, the look is “a bit Brit pop, a bit Eighties, a bit New Wave with an urban edge,” according to Murray. Backstage artists paired fresh skin with almond-shaped pastel blue eyes, and — I don’t know. It’s a bit of a “look,” isn’t it? Super-easy, but still not something I could ever see myself really loving.

Read Vogue’s backstage report for the show here, and catch a full tutorial here.

Topshop recommends using their Eye Crayon in Kingfisher to get this look, but it’s not actually what was used backstage. Rather, Murray put down a green eyeshadow base (I’m guessing a cream eyeshadow), then topped it off with a pale blue eyeshadow.

I went with a more direct approach, layering a white primer with a matte blue eyeshadow, but I would have liked to have used something with more intensity — the soft “glow” was lovely in real life, but I think the way it photographed left a little something to be desired.

You win some, you lose some, I guess!

Start with a blank canvas

& add a little colour. (Pre-blush & mascara)

The cool thing about this look, though, is that you could honestly sub in whatever shade you wanted to. I love the look of a matte finish for an eye like this, but I’m not crazy about bright blues — I think I’d have loved to do a lilac or a cobalt instead (both of which happen to be part of Sephora’s current ColorVision forecast, handily enough!)

Here are a couple springy shades that caught my eye:

Shiseido | Sephora | MAC | Stila

Keep reading! »

The product: Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres Glossy Stain in No. 27 Pêche Cerra-Colla

The shade: I have to admit, Pêche Cerra-Colla isn’t exactly my usual shade. A slightly pinked peach, it has a blissfully shimmer-free finish, and fades to a soft, super-sheer tangerine.

A solid “medium” in both opacity and depth, this peach Glossy Stain is darker than my bare lips, but creates a very natural effect — far from bold or brash, it delivers good colour while still maintaining a wonderful visual translucence. Though the touch of pink makes this wearable on my cool, pale complexion, I can see it creating a beautiful “my lips but peachier” shade for warmer skintones, too.

The application: Like many bright, translucent stains, Pêche Cerra-Colla applies with a milky finish that soon disappears (think Benefit Posietint, but better). The applicator is a thin, slanted doe-foot, and it distributes the perfect amount of product for an even, glossy lip.

It’s not your typical applicator, but that only makes me like it more. The thin profile keeps you from picking up too much product, and the shape makes it easy to both apply product quickly & get right into the corners and edges of the lip.

Swatched L-R: YSL (1) Volupté Sheer Candy in No. 12 Tasty Raspberry, (2) Glossy Stain in No. 27 Pêche Cerra-Colla, (3) Glossy Stain, sheered out

The wear: The internet is a crazy place, but they get some things right… one of them being that YSL’s Glossy Stains are awesome.

Lightweight and relatively non-sticky, even a sheer shade like Pêche Cerra-Colla wears for ages: I can get a solid five hours with a glossy finish (if I don’t eat or drink anything), and a few more with just a light stain. While not hydrating, it’s reasonably comfortable for a solid 5-6 hours, even on my dry lips – as long as there’s still a tacky finish, the Glossy Stain formula is incredibly easy to wear.

L-R: YSL Framboise Craquante, Pêche Cerra-Colla heavily/sheerly

YSL Pêche Cerra-Colla Glossy Stain – stains

The verdict?

Like almost everyone else who has tried out a YSL Glossy Stain, I’m pretty smitten with them. While I could do without the added fragrance, the Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres Glossy Stains (what a mouthful!) pair fantastic wear time with ease-of-use, comfort, and a fantastic shade range. They’re as easy to apply and wear as a gloss, but you get the extra-long wear time of a stain, too.

Availability:$34 USD/$36 CAD. Pêche Cerra-Colla was new this January with YSL’s Arty Stone Spring 2013 collection, but is now part of the permanent line.

Recommendations, dupes, lip swatches & more »

The products: Benefit They’re Real! Mascara and Watt’s Up! Luminizer

↳  as seen in Real Birthday Turn-Ons!, Sephora’s 2013 Beauty Insider birthday gift

It’s not my birthday, but this year’s Sephora BI birthday gift almost makes it feel like it is. I’ve been playing around with the highlighter and mascara duo, and (while I don’t love it quite as much as last year’s Fresh lip balm duo) it’s pretty great.

Honestly, though: the freebie consists of two best-selling Benefit products, shrunk down into miniature form, with puns in tow. How could it not be?

Benefit They’re Real! Mascara, $23 USD/#29 CAD

Described as “a jet-black mascara that lengthens, curls, volumizes, lifts, and separates lashes,” They’re Real! has a very cool applicator. Made out of a flexible plastic, it has staggered short-and-long bristles that go all the way around the tip of the wand – perfect for adding length and separation right down to the roots & the hard-to-get outer corners of the eye.

I haven’t tried the much-loved Benefit BADgal Lash, but according to this cool chart on Benefit’s site, They’re Real! is glossy and lengthening (both of which I can hands-down confirm) while BADgal is matte and volumizing.

The pitfalls: I really wish They’re Real! wore for longer on my eyes. Like with most mascaras, I start seeing some smudging after 4-5 hours, which (at $29 CAD for the full sized version) is pretty disappointing. My lashes could use a little more volume, too, but that’s easily excusable for a mascara made to focus on lengthening!

The high points: The applicator! You wouldn’t think having bristles on the tip would make much of a difference, but it makes getting picture-perfect outer corners a cinch. It does a great job at providing length, too (particularly on the lower lashes), and I really love the soft, glossy finish. 

Benefit They’re Real! ingredients:

Water (Aqua), Paraffin, Polybutene, Styrene/Acrylates/Ammonium Methacrylate Copolymer, Beeswax (Cera Alba), Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, C18-36 Acid Triglyceride, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Vp/Eicosene Copolymer, Acacia Senegal Gum, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Phenoxyethanol, Tetrasodium Edta, Butylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Laureth-12 Sulfate, Glycerin, Potassium Sorbate, Sericin, Calcium Chloride, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tilia Tomentosa Bud Extract, Citric Acid, Bht, Sorbic Acid. [+/-: Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499), Ultramarines (Ci 77007), Chromium Oxide Greens (Ci 77288), Chromium Hydroxide Green (Ci 77289), Titanium Dioxide

L-R: Benefit They’re Real!, Benefit Watt’s Up! (straight from tube), Benefit Watt’s Up! (blended)

Benefit Watt’s Up! Soft Focus Highlighter, $30 USD/$36 CAD

Watt’s Up! is a cream-to-powder “luminous champagne” highlighter for the cheeks and browbones, which (in the full-size form) comes with a little “soft glow blender” to smooth out the luminizer into an even, diffuse sheen.

Honestly, my favourite part about Watt’s Up! is its adorable pun & packaging, but the product itself definitely has its merits, too!

The finish of Watt’s Up! is a tiny bit too shimmery for my tastes (I prefer a super-finely-milled sheen), but it does still create a gorgeous, noticeable glow. Unlike highlighters that depend on a mix of base pigment & shimmer to lift the complexion, this one is mainly based on peachy-champagne shimmer, which means that it’ll work well on a really wide range of complexions, right from NW15 through to NC42. 

It’s not too warm (orange-gold) or too cool (silvery-pink), either — I can wear this tone without a hitch, but my warmer, darker mother (around a NC35 in the winter) can pull it off no problem, too.

Keep reading! »

The product: Yves Saint Laurent La Laque Couture Tie & Dye Pearly Coloured Top Coat (Top Coat Coloré Nacré)

   ↳ in 01 Cool Coat, 02 Pop Coat, 03 Hip Coat, and 04 Ice Coat

The hardest part about writing this review wasn’t that the product was phenomenally good, or horrifyingly bad, or even incredibly surprising. Nope: the hardest part of writing this review was definitely, absolutely, hands-down the fact that I took almost two hundred photos of these, and all of them were stunning.

Not because of the lighting, or the camera, or the staging, of course. It’s just that the Tie & Dye topcoats are really, really cool — a four year old with a point & shoot could make these look absolutely riveting! 

YSL Tie & Dye Pearly Coloured Top Coats

YSL Tie & Dye Top Coats (partially mixed)

A brief overview of the effects

-01 Cool Coat reads as breathtaking blue-violet duochrome over a dark polish – perhaps because I swatched it over brown? On its own, however, Cool Coat is a dense white shimmer with pink reflects. 

-02 Pop Coat creates sheer veil of warmth (red), with a small amount of pink and gold shimmer. This one made my bare nails look a bit as if they’d been dipped in beet juice, but I can see it being a good “nothing” sheen on warmer, darker skintones!

YSL La Laque Couture Tie & Dye Top Coat swatched on bare nails

L-R: 01 Cool Coat, 02 Pop Coat, 03 Hip Coat, 04 Ice Coat

-03 Hip Coat translates into a cool pink sheen on the nails; more brightening and densely shimmery than Pop Coat. (I found this to be the most brightening “natural” shade for my hands’ colouring.)

-04 Ice Coat, finally, is a super-sheer blue jelly with strong blue shimmer. It’s a through-and-through shimmer (not a duochrome, like Cool Coat), and I think it would be the only one I wouldn’t wear on bare nails.

YSL Tie & Dye Top Coats 01-04 swatched overtop YSL La Laque Couture in 37 Taupe Mauresque ($25 USD), a shimmer-free brown from the Summer 2013 collection. [ flash ]

A bit more about the topcoats / I’d recommend… »