theNotice: a beauty blog

The product: Korres Quercetin & Oak Antiageing Primer

While writing up a review for the Korres Goddess collection (which will go up here in a few hours), I realized I had far too many thoughts about this one to fit into a grouped review. It was probably the 1000+ word count that tipped me off.

So, instead, here’s a quick little mini-review!

I like this primer, but I don’t see an enormous difference with it — I can tell when I’m applying it that I’ve got it on, but the difference isn’t so substantial that I’d use it every day.

That said, the Quercetin & Oak primer does leave my skin smooth and velvety, and I prefer it slightly over its Korres Face Primer counterpart: both are good at minimizing the appearance of fine lines (shh, I have ridiculously dry skin; I’m allowed to have opinions on this), but I feel like this one does just a tiny bit better.

I have absolutely no SCIENCE!! to back up this statement, though. It  may well just be in the marketing.

The ingredients: 

Water, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Dicaprylyl Ether, Cetearyl Alcohol, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Glyceryl Stearate, Propanediol, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Alcohol, Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Grapefruit Peel Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Limonene, Ethylhexylglycerin, Xanthan Gum, Cellulose Gum, Wheat Flour Lipids, Hordeum Vulgare Extract, Tocopherol, Spilanthes Acmella Flower Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Phytate, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Glyceryl Oleate, Quercetin Caprylate, Quercus Robur Bark Extract, Citral, Linalool.

The verdict?

I don’t like giving out “verdicts” for products like these, so I just… won’t, exactly. This is worth checking out if you need a silicone-free primer, but I honestly think a good moisturizer & skincare regimen will do just as well. The right skincare routine is hard to find, though, and this will do more than adequately in the meantime.

I would recommend this most for: fine lines & normal-to-dry skin that needs a bit of an extra boost. (PS: Korres do a mattifying pomegranate primer as well, if hydration & a satin finish aren’t all that you’re after!)

The product: Lise Watier Beauty in a Flash Kit

As those of you on a silicone-free skincare regimen (aka the ‘cone-free diet, as I like to refer to it in my head) will already know, finding a beauty kit that’s entirely silicone-free is a hard feat — a kit that’s largely skincare-based, even moreso.

These sets are few & far between, with the exception of a few natural beauty lines, but Lise Watier has put out a very cool Advent-calendar-inspired exception to the rule this Holiday season.

In the kit ($42 CAD), you’ll find… 

Seven Flash Lift Radiance Vials

On the periphery of the kit are seven re-closable plastic Flash Lift Radiance vials, regularly $27.00 for 7. They’re described as an all-ages “magic potion,” designed to lift, firm, smooth the appearance of wrinkles, erase signs of fatigue, and give instant radiance to all complexions.

I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that instant fixes never produce the same results as long-term skincare (or, I guess, an actual facelift,) but who couldn’t use a bit of a pick-me-up at this time of year? Between December deadlines, holiday shopping, and a constant lack of quality sunlight (at least in Alberta), I think we’re all a little more lackluster than we’d like.

The Flash Lift Radiance ingredients

Three pairs of Bio Lift Eye Patches 

To go along with the Flash Lift vials, our fairy godmothers at Lise Watier have slipped in three pairs of their Bio Lift Eye Patch (regularly $34 for 6 pairs). These ones are a little less instantaneous, needing 15 to 20 minutes overtop moisturized skin for full efficacy, but promise similar results: smoothing, softer lines, and an overall less-tired eye area.

The Bio Lift ingredients

Keep reading! »

Instead of the usual “New…” widget, I thought I’d do something a bit different this Sunday – a glance at a few new products in French Sephora stores, with a bit of babble about the site (and beauty market) enjoyed by our beauty-addict counterparts over there.

I have a soft spot for the Sephora.fr online shop, even more so now than I did a few months ago. Once the newness of the Sephora.com revamp wore off, I found that I… don’t really like it, to be honest. I’m quite fond of the aesthetic, but I’m a lot less crazy about the actual functionality. (That said, though; the Canada/US site has ingredients listed for more of the products, and I wouldn’t give that up for the world.)

The brands

As could be expected, Sephora shops in France carry a different product range than those in North America — more skincare, more fragrance; less makeup. They carry different brands, at times, too: they get Chanel, Serge Lutens, and La Prairie, for instance, (those lucky dogs), but miss out on Korres, Fresh, and a number of our newer brands, like Ellis Faas or Edward Bess.

Strangely enough, I spied a few North American drugstore brands on the French site; Sally Hansen and Hawaiian Tropic intermingled amongst the expensive skincare and impressive fragrance ranges.

The addiction

The last time I went through the Sephora.fr site this thoroughly (I think it was about a year ago), I noticed that they had a bit of an obsession with travelling beauty products. It wasn’t just a passing fancy, though, apparently, because there’s still a small-but-highly-visible section on airplane-appropriate products!

(I don’t know why, but I find that absolutely hilarious. I’m aware that, objectively, it isn’t funny at all. It doesn’t really seem to be making any difference in my reaction, though.)

The bestsellers

Of course, you can’t have a post about a foreign beauty site without going over the country’s bestsellers list. In France, 12 of the top 20 bestsellers are skincare, 3 are makeup, and 5 are fragrance; in Canada, only 8 are skincare, with 9 being makeup, and 3 being fragrance.

If you look at the products themselves, things get even more interesting. French women tend to focus their makeup purchases on mascara, while Canadians buy more base products. (Hey, maybe that focus on skincare is paying off, after all!) The Urban Decay Naked 2 palette is the only bestselling product the two sites have in common.

In skincare, the Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector is the only product to grace both bestseller lists. The Sephora.fr list is dominated by Clarins (which, as we all know, I have a soft spot a mile wide for), but the brand doesn’t appear in Canada’s top 20 at all. We’re apparently just running around buying tinted moisturizers and BB creams like crazy at the moment, apparently, which–I cannot tell a lie–actually sounds pretty accurate.

Different, too, are our tastes in fragrance – I’d say the French have more refined olfactory palettes, but that wouldn’t explain how (or why, or what?!) a Hello Kitty EdT made it onto their bestseller list and Balenciaga Paris didn’t. Again, there was only one product in common between the lists: the ever-classic Dior J’Adore. (Don’t you just love it when patterns keep up being all pattern-y?)

And, finally, the reason why I was nosing around Sephora.fr to begin with:

They’re just so cute! {1} {2} {3}

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.)

So, this happened. And it was exciting!

In the interest of Rae not spontaneously exploding out of sheer awkwardness, I’m going to leave you with a few pictures (but not a lot more words). Instead: just a quick merci!! to the lovely ladies and gents at Marcelle (Isabel, I’m looking at you) for this fantastic opportunity – I am always happy to work with a great Canadian brand like Marcelle, but the BB Cream in particular has been getting some serious l o v e in the Chen household as of late.

So, thank you for the opportunity to show my support for a great product! :)

I’ve never been a fan of the “celebrity endorsement” type of advertising, but I feel it’s quite different when it’s bloggers and companies they routinely work with, rather than a stranger with a contract. It’s just– it’s a very different level of trust, you know? I’ll trust a (good) blogger’s word for something because I know that they really have tried and loved the product, vs. the word of a stranger that just happens to be famous.

Anyhow. It happened! There was lots of flailing involved! And you should try the BB Cream, because I can’t use it (‘cones) but I really like it. :D

(My mum, who has never in her life owned a foundation, makes me prep her skin for a night out with the BB. Wears really well, works great with her combination oily-dry skin, and fills in large pores like a dream! So, yeah, I’d say it’s a hit.)

More Marcelle B.B. Cream coverage…

• Coming up: Excited for… Marcelle BB Cream
• Review: Worth the wait (and the hype) | Marcelle BB Cream review, photos, swatches
• Arm swatches: Marcelle BB Cream comparisons, swatches
• Face swatches/before and afters: The BB Breakdown | Marcelle vs. Garnier BB Cream Comparison

Keep reading! »