theNotice: a beauty blog

The product: Marcelle Revival Firming + Brightening Cream Serum

I’m not usually one for the brightening serums, but I’ll make an exception for Marcelle for a lot of things. (And, from micellar waters to cleaning milks, they haven’t let me down yet.)

The Revival Firming + Brightening Cream Serum is aimed at menopausal and post-menopausal women, but I honestly think it’s a great find for any age group. Sure, I don’t really need the wrinkle-reducing properties, but it scores top points for evening out tone without whitening it! 

The product: The Firming + Brightening Cream Serum is a cream-serum hybrid, formulated to deliver the results of a serum with the comfort of a cream. You will still need to follow up with moisturizer, but it’s a great “disappearing act” all around: not only does it work to fade uneven pigmentation, but the product itself seems to disappear from the skin, too.

The cream-serum is easy to control coming out of the packaging, applies smoothly, and sinks in quickly. It doesn’t leave my skin any more oily or dry than it would be without, doesn’t have a long-lasting scent (or any artificial fragrances at all), and won’t make foundation catch or ball up.

The results: The Revival serum is made to firm, lift, protect against the formation of new wrinkles, reduce the appearance of brown spots, even tone, clarify the complexion, and improve the skin’s elasticity. (Quite a mouthful!)

I’ve just been using it to help fade scars left behind by blemishes, but it’s been going really well. Scars will stick around on my skin for a good 8-10 months, but the difference I’ve seen with this serum has just been enormous. The patch I’ve been targeting hasn’t faded completely, of course, but I’d peg it at 3-4 months of fading (visually), rather than the 2-3 weeks I’ve actually been using it for.

The verdict?

As the title says: you need this!! $35.95 is a price I know many will flinch at in the drugstore, but when you put it into perspective, it’s nothing at all — it works out to just $21.27 CAD per oz, while most dark spot correctors sit around $60-$90/oz.

I don’t want to promise miracles with the Revival Firming + Brightening Cream Serum, because I know all skins will respond differently to different products, but I honestly think Marcelle hit gold with this formula. It’s not going to give you laser-resurfacing results, but it’ll give any department store brightening serum a run for its money! My skin is particularly sensitive, and so far I’ve had no breakouts, irritation, or stickiness.

All in all, I am very, very pleased with this one. It’s rare that I try out a product that I can’t find a flaw in, but this is one of the few.

Keep reading! »

The cool thing about October being a beauty blogger is that you’re totally allowed to throw whatever on your face, whenever you want to. Not so much with the wherever, but two out of three’s not bad. And then, to top it all off, (because everyone else can technically the whatever-whenever thing,) you get to label it as “work” instead of “whimsy and a lack of impulse-control.”

Anyhow. Here’s a step-by-step photo tutorial to on gothic statement lips, aka ”we already did blue and violet ages ago so let’s use red and black and maybe throw some purple in there.” Because everything is better with burgundy and violet. Everything.

Read the full tutorial (albeit with less photos and much less nonsensical rambling personality) here on She Said Beauty. 

Start the look with bare lips and contoured, just-flushed cheeks…

Then give yourself an unsightly pinched mouth with lipliner (and, okay, eyeliner).

Don’t lie; you know you’re dying to keep reading »

The product: Marcelle Rouge Xpression lipstick in Cleopatra

Last year, I was all about Marcelle Paris Rose, but… I think this year’s colour is going to be Cleopatra. I’m kind of crazy about this bright, blue-based fuchsia, so I thought I’d update the blog’s swatch photos of it — the old ones make me want to hang my head in shame, and I figured it was the least I could do for such a gorgeous product.

Marcelle Rouge Xpression lip swatch in Cleopatra

One of the things I love about the Rouge Xpression formula (aside from the fact that it comes in some seriously gorgeous creme-finish shades) is that it’s paraben-free, silicone-free, and scent-free. Basically, that translates into a comfortable lipstick that isn’t going to give you scent-headaches or make you break out if you wear it as a blush (something that Cleopatra is particularly brilliant for), which is just a little bit north of awesome.

The ingredients

Read a review of the Rouge Xpression formula { here }, and see Cleopatra in a colour-blocked lip look (along with Paris Rose) { here }.

More of the same, perhaps, but it’s the good kind of same — the kind that involves lines we already love & some great new shade additions to both of them.

This month, we’re seeing new shades in Marcelle’s BB Cream and Clinique’s Chubby Sticks (two of my favourite products), as well as Vasanti’s Wonders of the World, a concealer duo that I’ve heard some really good things about.

Marcelle BB Cream

Despite having (very, very) fair skin, I always get excited when I see darker shades being launched. I know how hard it can be to find “niche” base products (hello, silicone sensitivities), so it’s always great to see brands attending to a broader shade range. Not all humans are Crayola Peach, after all! The new Marcelle BB Cream shade will be sold just online, but it’s great to see brands catering to their consumer base – even if drugstores aren’t seeing the demand.

(This is only vaguely relevant, but there was a well-done article the other day on The Cut about Iman–the brand, not the woman, but I guess the woman too–on ethnic segregation and neglect at the drugstore. Well wroth a read!)

Clinique Chubby Sticks

My makeup staples change on a pretty regular basis, but Clinique’s Chubby Sticks are one product that have been in my handbag non-stop for… ages. They (re-)launched at the end of 2010, and while Super Strawberry is still my favourite, I kind of adore all of the ones I have – they’re comfortable, just-sheer-enough, and totally effortless.

The eight new Chubby Stick shades are (from left to right in the photo above) Bountiful Blush, Curvy Candy, Heaping Hazelnut, Mighty Mimosa, Oversized Orange, Pudgy Peony, Two Ton Tomato, and Voluptuous Violet.

Vasanti Wonders of the World 

The last launch I wanted to talk about is another base product, but it’s one that I haven’t tried. Vasanti’s Wonders of the World duo concealer (one side for the undereye area; the other for blemishes and lid priming) has launched in A2, for fair to medium-fair skintones. (It’s not widening the shade range to darker skintones, but they do already make a fairly dark shade – and it’s always nice to have more options in the light range, too!)

A2 joins Y2 (for fair to medium skintones) and O2 (for medium to deep skintones), but it’s not the only Spring launch by Vasanti. The Silky Eyeshadow Duos, Vitamin E Lipsthines, and Ultra Luxe Lipsticks are seeing new shades as well – Saint Basil’s (a matte peach + a pearl shimmer) for the eyeshadow, Kara Sea (a soft pink with gold shimmer) for the gloss, and Belarus (a bright, punchy coral pink) for the lipstick.

I’m not super-excited about any of the new launches, but I always feel rather obligated to tell you guys about Canadian stuff. Our home-grown brands never get enough press, if you ask me! ;) (Plus, I have a feeling a lot of people are going to love Belarus.)

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t really wear bright lips, so I suppose “Summer Brights” are rather incongruous with my personality. Don’t get me wrong; I love a bright lipstick, but they’re not really something I associate with myself in reality, you know? They’re more of… something I find, love, and secret away like a small animal with shiny things.

That said: I’m trying to get better, but it’s slow going.

This round of Lipstick Bandits posts focuses on bold, bright Summer lip picks, but I couldn’t choose only one – Marcelle Paris Rose and Cleopatra have  been sitting in my drawer all winter, just waiting to be picked up again, and they’re both such great shades.

[Interjection: Marcelle Rouge Xpression Lipstick formula review here; swatches here and here.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.]

Anyhow, I figured: what’s a better time of year to try colour blocked lips than the Summer?

On the top lip, I’m wearing Paris Rose, a light, peachy-pink coral. As I’m sure you all know by now, I’m a huge fan of the shade – it’s such a great, soft shade compared to most other corals, and it manages to keep its brightness and intensity without straying into the Realm of Orangedom.

(Let it be known that I hate the Realm of Orangedom, and I think it looks weird on my face.)

On the bottom, I’m wearing Cleopatra, a bold, punchy fuchsia. It’s probably one of the most intense lip colours that I own, which is saying something – even though these are both cream-finish lipsticks from the drugstore, they can hold their own against Bite mattes and MAC lip pencils. Not to mention, they’re a heck of a lot more comfortable!

Duo-toned, colour-blocked lips are definitely not something I’m about to start wearing out of the house, but it’s a fun look if you can pull it off. (I can’t, but honestly, I don’t think my naked cacti much care what I look like.)

I’ve been thinking about a colour-blocked lip on and off since Callula Lillibelle Spring 2012, but I think I might like this version even more – the Rouge Xpressions are really comfortable, and it’s so much easier to prep with concealer & swipe from the bullet than it would be to layer on MUFE Flash Colours and Stila Long Wears.

What bright lip look do you want to try this Summer?

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