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 on a tighter budget.

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! »

If you pick up just one new lipstick this season, make it a vamp. And not just because this month’s Lipstick Bandit collaboration features them–though I’m sure some of the products are going to be absolutely gorgeous–but because they’re the perfect mix of red and not-red: just as high-impact, but without all the newfound hipster-trendiness. 

I’ve been looking for the perfect vampy lipstick all season (admittedly not very hard), but I’ve settled for this one until I find the perfect product.

The lip: Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Sultry Sable (646)

When in doubt, go for one of the old guard. Revlon is always a great choice when you’re breaking into a new colour family, with the Super Lustrous, ColourBurst, and Matte lines covering pretty much all of your bases. I’m not thrilled with the Canadian markup ($12 for a Revlon lipstick? Really?), but unlike mid-range/high-end brands, at least these do go on sale pretty frequently.

Sultry Sable wasn’t actually my pick at all, to be honest — my sister bought it sometime last year, passed it on to mum when she found it too hard to wear, and it eventually ended up in my drawer. We can pull off a number of the same shades, but browns are often the exception — the shades that sit well on my sister’s light olive complexion end up looking too orange against my skintone, and shades that read more reddy-mauve (case in point, this one) on me can end up washing her out.

On the eyes, I have on the super-glittery white shade from the Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura Smoky Velvets Eye and Cheek Palette, which you’ll see on the blog later this week. I can’t say enough about this one — it’s so packed with multi-dimensional shimmer and glitter; you’re going to love it. Mainly translucent in tone, but with a ton of differently sized rainbow reflects, it’s hell to remove at the end of the day… but completely mesmerizing on the lids.

(And on the lashes, Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Mascara, out of the L’Oreal Luxe Advent Calendar. It is entirely possible that Armani is going to ruin me for all other mascaras, I kid you not.)

And that little something extra…

While I like the Revlon on its own, the vampy lip I’ve actually been wearing around layers Annabelle Le Gloss in Bitten overtop. The shade is long discontinued, though, and the entire line has fallen by the wayside more recently, so I thought I’d better feature the lip both with and without it.

Keep reading! »

There’s something missing here…

And it’s a crazy Parisian artist-moustache, with Annabelle Licoriche!

Get involved with your very own #AnnabelleMovember ‘stache 

This month for Movember, Annabelle will be donating $1 for every #AnnabelleMovember Pinterest pin. To have your mo’ added to the board:

1. Take a photo of yourself with a moustache drawn on with Annabelle product(s),
2. Pin it to Pinterest,
3. Tag it with #AnnabelleMovember,
4. And be sure to name the Annabelle product you used to create your ‘stache!

Check out the #AnnabelleMovember Mo Sistas 2012 board here.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m awful at planning things in advance, as you might have noticed. (Full disclosure; I managed to schedule tomorrow’s review for this morning. It was up for a little over three hours, so if any of you are wondering where it went — well, went to go hide behind Nov. 1st for the meantime.)

So, here’s one for all of you who want a cool, wearable Halloween look that requires almost no planning. Because, let’s be honest, sometimes planning is just one of those things that should (but totally never manages to) happen.

For a full tutorial, don’t miss this post on She Said Beauty! 

Not just easy to co-ordinate, this look is pretty easy to assemble, too. Start out with a basic face; medium-coverage foundation; plenty of powder and contouring. The lip and cheek colours are up to you (I love a good reddish lip in the fall), as is the brow shape — just make sure to fill them; with a focal point away from your eyes, you’ll want to make sure they’re still adequately framed.

If you’re adding illuminator to your cheekbones, try to pick a powder product to get better wear out of the stars.

Start your eyes with a basic, matte smokey eye, then add a little bit of interest for Halloween’s sake. I went with a metallic gold, lining my upper lashline with LUSH Fantasy & taking Fyrinnae Polar Bear through the inner corners. Then, after mascara, I took Fantasy along a few of the tips of my upper lashes, too. (You can see it more in the flash photo, later in this post.)

Another option that’s just as easy is to sparkle with pointed intent — pick a loose pigment with a larger particle size of shimmer, then pat it onto the middle of your lids and/or the inner corners. Don’t blend it too well, leaving it instead to juxtapose with the matte lid shades, and choose something with coloured reflects (eg. red at an angle or with flash, but unnoticeable straight-on) for extra impact.

From there, grab some lash glue & craft store confetti to take the look from pretty to Halloween-levels-of-awesome. I kind of cheated on both, to be honest; instead of lash glue, I used an Annabelle Glitterama Liquid Eyeliner (glitter liners are my stash secret for when I’m out of proper fixatives) & picked the gold and silver stars out of a rainbow mix of loose stars.

What? It’s not poor planning; it’s totally innovation.

Keep reading! »