theNotice: a beauty blog

I’ve been promising some hair tutorials for ages, and… guess what? I finally got around to it! Here’s just-over-five-minutes of insanity — hopefully you’ll learn something, even if that something is nothing more than “take your meds on a regular basis.”

I do intend to do more videos in the future, so feel free to make requests for videos! We haven’t really done much since the contouring tutorials, and it feels like that was ages ago. Chances are, if you’ve made requests in the past, I’ve already long forgotten about them. (Memory of a five year old with ADD? Check!) Just to let you ladies know, the adorable pink iron in the vid is the Hana Professional, courtesy Misikko.

Hope your Mondays are going well :)

A friend of mine is having a dress made (by her loving mother, not by a tiny sweatshop worker) out of this gorgeous burgundy-red raw silk, and she wanted some tips on what to do in terms of makeup.

Here’s a quick “hit list” for the fabric, taking into consideration (a) the fact that she’s not seeing a makeup artist to have her face done, nor is she one, and (b) the fact that we don’t want to spend her out of house and home for products she would never wear again.

Perhaps I should reword that, then — here is a “hit list” for the fabric… with her in mind!

• Red lips are out of the question. Could this dress look amazing with red lips? Absolutely — but they would have to be perfect, and finding just the right shade would be a major PITA. I’d try a “my lips but better” mauve, with a bit of a gloss but no glitter.
• Try a subtle smokey eye — I’d use chocolate browns and rich, satiny creams. (Nothing too shimmery or textured: you want the dress to have all the texture to itself!) Take a wash of the cream shadow over the whole lid, then deepen the crease with a fluffy brush and the dark shadow. Finally, take a smaller brush and smudge the darker shadow along the upper lashline.
• Black mascara. None of this “brown mascara” nonsense!
• Pink or plum blush, matte or semi-matte.

Some products I’d check out, taking into consideration budget and availability in our city:

• One shadow duo with a satiny cream and chocolate shade. Perhaps Lancome Ivory Opulence, Too Faced Sexpresso & Peach Fuzz, or even just two lovely shadows!
• A Le Gloss Stick. Maybe Pink Tease or Nude Mood?
• A MAC 217 for that crease, plus a 219 for the liner. (Budget option: Annabelle, Quo, or Ecotools brushes are your best under-$20 bets!)

And a couple tips I always give when I know there’ll be a ton of photos:

• Blotting tissue!
• Ample setting powder, preferably pure silica spheres.
• WEAR PRIMER. At least two kinds! (One face primer and one eye primer, plus the optional lip primer… no, I don’t mean two kinds of the same type.)
• Make a pact with a friend: I’ll tell you if your makeup’s off if you tell me when mine is!
• Low-shimmer cheeks. A sheen is as shimmery as is allowed!
• No SPF or talc in the foundation or cheek products.
• Always flash-test first!

What would you ladies wear on your faces for this fabric?

Prom’s coming up for my good friend Tess, so she had a makeup-related question for me. I’m just going to cut and paste the wall post below!

Hello my dear! I have a make up question for you. Prom is coming and I want a type of foundation, mascara, eyeshadow, liner that will last the night… do you have any brand suggestions?

Damn straight I have suggestions! I’m going to pretend I didn’t read the word “brand,” though, and I’ll grace over cheek products as well ;)

As you all know from yesterday’s review, I’m completely in love with Make Up For Ever Face and Body. However, I know she wouldn’t splurge on something like that — for starters, there’s no Sephora in her city, and her skin’s gorgeous enough that she doesn’t usually need wear-like-metal foundation! So, I’d go with something light- to medium-coverage.


Recommendations: I’d look for the best shade match for your skin, and give it at least two days’ trial run before an event. Some drugstore foundations to check out would be Maybelline SuperStay, perhaps, or Revlon Photo Ready (a MUFE HD “drugstore dupe.”) Optimally, though, I’d have Tess pick up samples of the correct shades in MUFE Face and Body and HD! They’d look lovely for the night, but not empty out her wallet or leave her with excess product.

Tips: Make sure to bring blotting tissue, and to powder! If I need something to wear for an insanely long time, I’ll actually powder twice — after my foundation has set, I’ll powder very lightly, spritz with a facial spray (or just water+glycerine in a 10:1 ratio in a spray bottle, which can be picked up at almost any dollar store,) then re-powder and re-spritz once that’s dried. Additionally, avoid foundations with SPF, and do a flash test of your foundation match as well as looking at it in different lighting!

I love, love, love tubing mascaras. They won’t smudge, flake, or run on you, even if you get a little teary-eyed! We tried Fiberwig on Tess last summer, and it held up through hours of crying. (Though her liner did end up running anyways. There goes a bright white napkin!)

Recommendations: I’d look at Imju Fiberwig and L’Oreal Beauty Tubes for mascara, and GOSH Extreme Art Liners are the only option for your liner! (Seriously, that stuff is crazy.) Another option is something like Benefit’s She-Laq, which “seals in” liner and mascara in case of tears! (I haven’t tried this specific product, but a friend of mine uses it while [synchronized] swimming and says it’s wonderful.)

Tips: for an in-your-face fringe, layer your tubing mascara over something volumizing! Make sure to keep a lash comb at hand while applying, and try out the combination beforehand to see how it works. Also, keep q-tips in your clutch in case your liner does run, so you can clean it up without having to take everything off.

One word: primer. I’d definitely go with something like Urban Decay Primer Potion or Too Faced Shadow Insurance, but if neither are accesable, a cream concealer or a layer of foundation plus a sweep of powder with do an okay job, too. (Just make sure they don’t leave a “slippery” finish, like some silicone-based liquids can!) As for shadow, stay away from creams if you’re not sure if they crease on you or not, and use what you already have.


Recommendations: I know Tess is set for shadows, but if all you have are powdery pans of chalkiness, you’ll want to pick up some new shadows! It’s hard to go wrong with a MAC quad or Dior quint, but I’d also recommend Annabelle trios for an awesome drugstore choice. If you don’t want to really invest in some good neutrals, trios, quads, and quints are a great way to get a little more bang for your buck!

Tips: stick with neutrals or subtle colours — this is not the time to go crazy with trend makeup! While it’s good to have fun with your shadows, remember that you’ll probably still have these photos fifty years down the road when all the styles have changed… and you have grandkids.

I’d stick with matte or semimatte blush and contour, layer a powder over a cream (or use powder alone,) and be sure to flash-test your cheeks before leaving! Tess will probably be taking a lot of photos, so it would also be a great time for her to contour her cheeks… but if you do this, make sure it’s flawlessly blended and you’re comfortable with it.


Recommendations: none here; there are too many great cheek products out there! I do love MAC Harmony to contour, though, and I know that I’d for sure wear Rose Fresque.


Tips: while a subtle luminizer on the tops of your cheekbones will be gorgeous, a superfrosty cheek will look dated and unnatural in 95% of your photographs. Avoid, avoid, avoid!






That’s all for today — have fun at prom, love! Do you have any tips to share? Hit us up in the comments! Here’s a photo of the lovely Tess so you ladies can have an idea of what skintype, face shape, etc you’re recommending things for!

Congratulations, burgeoning fragrance junkies! We’ve made it to the third day. As promised, I have just a bit more information for you…

Once you know the names of a couple fragrances you’re into, the internet becomes your best friend! Both Sephora and Nordstrom have handy frag finders that sort out scents by their families and subfamilies, leading you towards other things you might like. (Sephora also has an in-store version of a fragrance finder on cool, touch-screen monitors.)

Formulations, and concentrations
Fragrances can be found in a ton of forms, from the traditional sprays, to solids, to silicone-y gels, to candles, to lotions, to body washes and bars of luxurious soap… at the end of the day, though, the one thing you need to remember is to smell the form you’ll be buying! Most fragrances will smell quite similar in spray form vs. lotion (for instance,) but some fragrances are less precise.

When it comes to traditional perfume, though, you still have to keep an eye out for EdT, EdP, and parfum concentrations! Not only do they include different percentages of pure parfum, they can sometimes vary in the absolute used, as well! Two of the best examples that come to mind for this are Chanel’s Coco and Dior’s Miss Dior Cherie. Coco is spicier in its EdT formulation, and a sharper floral in its EdP formulation; Miss Dior Cherie is gorgeous in its EdP formulation but watered down and more synthetic in its EdT formulation. (I thorougly dislike its EdT — but that’s a story for another day.)

Perfume extract/Extrait/Parfum: 15-40%
Eau de Parfum/Parfum de Toilette/ Eau de Perfume: 10-20%
Eau de Toilette: 5-15%
Eau de Cologne/Cologne: Chypre citrus type perfumes with 3-8%
Splash and After shave: 1-3% aromatic compoundsvia Wikipedia and previous knowledge… how unglamorous!

Helpful reads
Now Smell This is definitely my favourite ‘fume blog, and there’s a handy perfume-for-beginners article here! This is a stellar example of a blogger who does her “job” much better than I. Even just googling for reviews can be handy too, though — the only place I’d avoid would be something like Sephora.com. (Have you noticed how 99% of the fragrance reviews are “I love this! It’s perfect! So sexy!” for every bloody fragrance?! It annoys the crap out of me.)

I’d also recommend reading Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez’ Perfumes: the A – Z Guide. While I don’t treat their word as the bible by any means, their reviews are often insightful (and hilarious!), and the book’s (albeit much too short!) introduction provides a brilliant background on the world that is the perfume industry. Here is an excerpt from my favourite chapter! There are a number of fragrance books in existance, but this was an easy read, and it was easy to find — the public library isn’t too focused on perfume, apparently!

I don’t want to write too much of an introduction for this, but simply put: here’s a few lists of fragrances that I think are worth checking out! Are there more worth mentioning? Certainly — but I wanted to keep this list fairly short, so most of the “harder to wear” (and harder to find!) scents have been left out. Fragrance doesn’t have to be exclusive to be good, and you shouldn’t have to pay a ton in order to figure out what you like! One of these days, I’m sure you’ll all see your first niche price tag, but for now? I’ll try to prevent that heart attack.


(Just kidding. I’m lusting after Guerlain’s Spiritueuse Double Vanille right now, and it boasts a $225 price tag.)

Aquolina: Pink Sugar. Sweet and syrupy. A teenage gourmand on steroids — and yet, it can really suit some people! (In a good way, I assure you.)
Balenciaga: Balenciaga Paris. Demure and understated; I can’t get enough of this fruity floral.
Chanel: Cristalle. Light, fresh, and very… Chanel.
Coty: Vanilla Fields. A basic-but-beautiful entrance vanilla (or so I’ve been told! I still haven’t tried this one.)
D&G: Light Blue. Fresh, juicy, clean. A no-perfume perfume that has become overwhelmingly popular. It now bores me half to death, but this was my first fragrance love!

Dior: J’adore. A delicious ultrafeminine floral with sillage aplenty.
DKNY: Be Delicous. This is about as clean as fruity scents go — hey there, green apple! Though this is overwhelmingly popular, I can’t bring myself to love it… there’s just something there that’s too synthetic for me.
Hanae Mori: Hanae Mori Butterfly. Woody and oriental; a sweet, warm vanilla.
Kenzo: FlowerbyKenzo. Finally, a floral that smells simply of an interesting flower! Soft and not too crisp.
Kiehl’s: Musk. Another that I haven’t tried yet, but it’s said to be a very pure incarnation of musk — which makes it a great think to smell if you’re starting out!
Lolita Lempicka: Lolita Lempicka. I’ve never loved this, but I do love the gorgeous bottle! Crisp, warm, and sweet.

Narciso Rodriguez: Narciso Rodriguez For Her EdT. Musky and woodsy, though it can be overwhelming. Interesting.
Marc Jacobs: Daisy. One word: supergreenfloral.

Prada: Prada. A good leather is hard to find (no, really — the good leathers are a pain in the butt to track down,) but some people get a bit of a leathery note from this sexy, woody perfume. Again, not for the faint of heart!
Prada: L’Eau Ambree. A fragrance that quite honestly changed the way I viewed fragrance. 

Robert Piguet: Fracas. You know when people say “big white floral”? Yah.
Serge Lutens: Ambre Sultan. Incense, minus the strange tree-hugging populus. (I have no qualms with tree-huggers. Even I’ve hugged trees on occasion. But I do not like most incense sticks!)
Thierry Mugler: Angel. I don’t even know what to say. Loud. Love-it-or-hate-it. Wear sparingly.
Victor & Rolf: Flowerbomb. Another love-it-or-hate-it that has become immensely popular over the past year or so. Unabashedly loud and floral. 

Iconic fragrances

Chanel: No. 5 EdP or parfum. Classic aldyhidic floral. Heck, it even has its own Wikipedia page!
Chanel: Coco EdT and EdP (they’re very different) and Coco Mademoiselle. It’s rare that a flanker becomes more popular than the original fragrance, but Mademoiselle added a sweet edge to the distinguished “floriental” Coco and turned into an instant (and ongoing) hit.
Dior: Poison. I guarentee you’ve smelled this on someone else at least once in your life — so head to the counter and try a spritz of this bold creation, even if it’s just for an afternoon. 
Estée Lauder: Youth Dew. The first fragrance ever marketed specifically for women to buy for themselves… it had to be included!
Guerlain: Shalimar. Warm, oriental, and very bold. This may not be for the faint of heart, but it’s worth a smell anyway!
YSL: Opium. A true oriental; loud, brash, and stunningly spicy.

This is by no means a complete list (there’s no such thing, frankly,) so: fellow fragrance junkies, what would you add to this list? (And why?) Let us know in the comments, but make sure that it’s accessible!