theNotice: a beauty blog

I don’t think we’ve covered Easter beauty on theNotice in the past, but there are a few sets and products out this year that are just too perfect to pass up. So, without further adieu: let’s get eggy!

(I can say that, right? It’s not, like, weird or sexual or offensive in any way?)

The eos Easter Basket

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about the eos smooth spheres, but I promise it’s not because I love them any less now than I did then. I just get distracted; you know how it is. (Plus, my sister appropriated my Honeysuckle Honeydew balm a while back, and I’ve yet to pick up another.)

I have to be honest, here: when the eos Easter image popped up in my inbox, I couldn’t not post about it. I mean, how cute is that? When a great, 100% natural, petrolatum- and paraben-free product turns out to be the perfect beauty-addict version of an easter egg, you just have to share the joy.

And if that little piece of joy just so happens to be $3.99 CAD and USDA-certified organic, well.

A bit of LUSH…

Reusable bubble bars, eggs with tiny birds inside of them, and random donkeys, oh my!

I don’t think there’s any beauty company that does the holidays (by which I mean all holidays) as thoroughly or weirdly as LUSH, and you have to give them points for effort awesomeness. And, just as a testament to that awesomeness: an excerpt from Donkey Oaty.

“We’ll be honest. We don’t really know why we’ve got a donkey for Easter. It’s very odd. We originally had the idea of creating a Bath Bomb piñata that you hung over the bath and then smashed, so we made a big donkey bomb. Although we liked the idea, we couldn’t work out what should be inside the donkey (eggs? A little donkey?!) – so we made him a bit smaller.”

LUSH is about as weird as it gets, and the fact that they’re pulling off both strange and mainstream? Obviously, they’re doing something very, very right!

And, finally, some Ellis Faas.

Ellis’ Spring Gift Set isn’t actually out for Easter, specifically, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s out just in time for the holiday! (Also, Easter colours and Spring colours are pretty much the same, aren’t they?)

The set, at a cringe-worthy $85.00, contains a lavender-taupe (Creamy Eyes E106), a shimmery lilac (Light E304), and a nude pink lip colour (Milky Lips L207). I’m rather at odds with the Ellis packaging, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: no one does cream eyeshadows like Ellis Faas. They can be a bit difficult to work with, but they last all day – quite a feat, with lids as difficult as mine.

Have a lovely Easter weekend!! xx

5. L’Occitane Cherry Blossom

New this February to mark the fifth anniversary of their Cherry Blossom range, L’Occitane has released a limited-edition Cherry Princesscollection. The super-cute fruity-floral collection is available in a number of separates (here), but they have a few sets on for a great deal as well – their five-piece Cherry Princess Romantic Escape kit looks particularly lovely, despite its cheesy name.

4. Ellis Faas

My relationship with Ellis is rather hot-and-cold, which I think could be said for many beauty bloggers (not just me). Their products are always absolutely breathtaking, both in formula and shade, but the packaging is a thorn in my side. Skip their eyeliners and anything with a showerhead applicator (these clog more easily), but do try their other products – anything with a brush tip, and keep a sample jar on-hand in case of overflow.

Ellis is running a surprise at the moment for all lip products, so if you’ve been thinking about ordering, now’s your chance.

Love is in the air and Saint Valentine is on his way. So until Valentine’s Day, we have a lovely deal: for each Ellis Lips you buy from our webshop, you will get a surprise that will double the pleasure of your Ellis Lips order! Why? Because you have two lips? Not really – we simply believe in “the lippier the better”.

So start browsing now: Creamy Lips, Milky Lips and Glazed Lips, order and get yourself our Valentine’s present(s).

Check out Ellis Faas’ lip products here.

3. LUSH

It wouldn’t be Valentine’s without some cheeky products from LUSH, now, would it? ;) There’s the little blue Ex-Factor bath bomb, the tongue-in-cheek Leap Frog (described as an–and I quote–”amorous amphibian for the tub”), and (for the lip balm junkies out there) the scarlet A Million Kisses lip tint.

2. Pink, pink, pink

It’s Valentine’s Day. Enough said.

(Translation, from a beauty junkie’s mind to the real world: an excuse to buy pink products! And you may as well get something you’ve had your eye on for a while, right? After all, this only happens once a year, and a pink lipstick is so very much better for you than an entire pint of ice cream. Or an entire bottle of wine.)

1. The Classic

I’m kind of crazy about fragrance minis at the moment, whether they’re adorable samples, petite sizes, or travel sprays. While not released specifically for Valentine’s, the Love, Chloé purse spray is just too cute to miss.

Canadians should be able to find this set (one container with three 10ml refills) at Holt Renfew and select Bay stores, while Americans will see this on shelves at Saks (this month) and Sephora (in March).

Alright, so it’s a few days late, but here are a handful of Tokyo Future comparison swatches. I’ve been running about attending far more courses than is generally advisable in order to sort out my schedule, so I apologize for the artificial lighting – by the time I get home, the sun’s already set. (Incidentally, it is likely that this will continue for the remainder of the season. My pre-emptive apologies; looks like photo-taking is going to be reserved for the weekends!)

From my stash, I found that Digital Dragon (the shade I unexpectedly fell a bit in love with) had the most dupes out of this bunch – nothing perfect, and nothing quite as densely molten-metal, but the Ellis Faas 303 Light would give the same effect. Something like Illamasqua Liquid Metal in Solstice might be close, too; if not in shade than at least pigment density and finish.

Secret Samurai reminded me a bit of ULTA Mystique and MAC Satin Taupe, but it’s a bit darker than the former and lighter than the latter. It also has quite a bit more red in the base – I thought it leaned just slightly red, but when compared to other taupes, the difference is more obvious. If you find taupes tend to lean too yellow on you, don’t miss this one.

I didn’t even bother looking for Lost in Nishitama dupes (maybe, like, MAC Spicy Smoke?), and the closest I had to the semi-matte Shallow Depth was Annabelle Lagoon – limited edition a while back, though, and not as much of an intense, straight-up blue. Shallow Depth is the low-budget NARS Outremer, in my head, though I do think the FaceFront pigment is more muted; darker. Perhaps more similar to something like Inglot #388?

Products featured in this post

• Annabelle Smoothie Eyeshadow Pencil in Mokamirage
• Ellis Faas Lights in E303
• FaceFront Tokyo Future Artistic Pigments (4) - also seen in this smokey violet and blue look.
• Annabelle Mono Eyeshadow in Lagoon – LE; also seen in this bright blue and green EOTD, as well as this violet and blue “get graphic” eye (a favourite of mine).
• Fyrinnae Polar Bear - also seen in this geometric burgundy and gold look, this green and gold look, and this soft burgundy and gold EOTD.
• MAC Eye Shadow in Satin Taupe
• Ulta Eye Shadow in Mystique

(Click on the brand name to link to reviews/swatches on theNotice!)

More photos behind the cut »

Just a quick new-product-mention for Ellis Faas’ new Ellis Clips. For those of you who liked the idea of the Ellis Holder, but weren’t thrilled about the prospect of toting around a heavy metal cylinder - these are the answer to your prayers!

The clips are sold individually ($2 / €2 / £2 apiece) and interlock, meaning you can roll up as many or as few Ellis pens as you’d like. Then, to use, you just have to slide out the pen(s) – no need to disassemble the chain of clips. I think it’s a bit brill, to be honest! But then, when did my opinion start counting for anything? :P

More photos »

Okay, so I’ll own up to it: it’s already the end of summer, and I’m just now getting around to sharing my favourite products of the season with you.

But despair not! Like with our skincare summary, I’ve only included permanent-line items, so you can find them all year ’round ;)

For the cheeks, I’m loving Etude House Fresh Cherry Blusher Duo (specifically, the right hand side) and Hard Candy Blush Crush in Honeymoon.The Etude House is a product that I have quite a few problems with (like that icky, synthetic cherry scent), but I love cream products, and I really love the shade – it’s the perfect coral; just enough peach and just enough pink.

And, of course, I rave about Honeymoon all the time – as a matter of fact, a lot of you mentioned as a “like” or a “love” in our recent poll! It’s a gorgeous highlighter (I wear it along the top of my cheekbone, and then “swoop” it along my orbital bone and under my brow), and gives a really easy fresh, dewy glow.

Swatched L-R: Etude House Fresh Cherry Duo, Hard Candy Honeymoon, Clinique Super Strawberry, Marcelle Rio Rose.

My lip favourites tend to stay the same throughout the year, but I do tend a bit more toward sheer, bright colours in the summer. This year, I’m all over Clinique Chubby Sticks (mine is in Super Strawberry, which is just ridiculously perfect) and Marcelle Vita-Lip Glosses (last year, I was really into Angelica; this year, I’ve found an affinity for Rio Rose).

Swatched L-R: Clinique Super Strawberry, Marcelle Rio Rose, Ellis Faas Light 303, Boots No. 7 Radiant Glow (shade II).

For my two “eye” choices, I’ll admit I cheated a little – one of them could, technically, be a base product. But whatever; a favourite’s a favourite! :P

I’m still really loving Ellis Faas Light E303, that bronzy beaut from Ellis’ Summer Set, and Boots No. 7 Radiant Glow – which I’ve had for ages, and still absolutely adore. I call it my real-life dodge brush, because when I layer it overtop either my timeBalm or Glamoflauge, it creates the perfect undereye area. It’s one of the few base products I have with silicones, but the results are sometimes worth the risk of a breakout!

Why I still have dark circles in the summer (especially when I’m neither taking classes nor working), I have no idea. We’ll blame genetics and general bad luck, yeah?

Swatched L-R, direct sunlight: Etude House Fresh Cherry Duo, Hard Candy Honeymoon, Clinique Super Strawberry, Marcelle Rio Rose, Ellis Faas 303, Boots No. 7 Radiant Glow (shade II).

P.S. Two favourites this post is missing are Clinique’s Lid Smoothies and Clarins’ Graphites quad, but it’s only because I’m easily distracted and lazy. These photos were taken at the beginning of summer, before either were launched or on my desk ;) I’m still loving them, though!

Close-up photos and swatches »