theNotice: a beauty blog

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not much of a brow girl. I mean, it’s not that I don’t like them, and I do think that brows are vital to completing a look… but honestly? I just can’t be bothered to do them on a daily basis. I like my morning routine to be as short as humanly possible, and they’ve never really been a priority for me. Perhaps if mine were more sparse, but as it is, they’re left mainly unattended to.

I have, however, noticed that there are a lot of options when it comes to brows, and it kinda got me thinking. What do you reach for in the mornings? Do you do your brows every day? I know you’re all busy busy bees, but if you have a moment, I’d love to hear your thoughts on brows in the comments :)

Personally, I tend to prefer matte, fairly sheer brow powders, when I do use them. (I’ve actually been using a matte grey eyeshadow recently, but shh, don’t tell!) Pencils are definitely easier to travel with and touch up on the go, though, so I suppose that’s worth taking into consideration.

The only brow products I can’t see myself using? Tinted gels and liquids – the former because I’d rather fill in sparse bits than “plump up” each hair, and the latter because… well, actually, I  haven’t really a good answer for that one. It’s mainly just that I don’t like any harsh lines in my brow area, and it’s a little harder to shade with a felt tip than it is with a powder or pencil!

The product: Marcelle Accent Eyebrow Crayons

The texture: These are quite different from the products I tend to reach for, which is why I started thinking about all of this in the first place. They’re surprisingly soft, softer even than some of the eyeliners I’ve tried, and really creamy upon application, though they do set after some time. (I have to remember to be light-handed with these; they’re definitely more intense than the powders I’m used to!)

With a bit of tweaking to my technique, though, these make the jump from a solid B- to an A. It’s easy to smudge them down into a whisper of colour, and the wear is quite impressive – I still have faint lines on my arm from yesterday’s swatching, despite plenty of makeup remover and scrubbing!

TIP: When working with soft or very pigmented brow products, I find it helpful to use super-light strokes to fill in the brow area. Then, smudge with a q-tip right after application (before the product sets), and finally, pull a spoolie through your brows to groom each hair into position.

The shades: The Accent pencils come in four shades, and I think Marcelle have done quite a good blending them. I use the grey, as I do with most brow products, and I’ve been really happy with how natural it looks. (Erm, random additional tip, I guess: if you have almost-black or black-hair and a cool complexion, give the grey a try!)

Swatches, L-R: Granite, Luscious Black, Brun Tendre, Blondine

The verdict?

Whether or not I’d recommend these depends entirely on your preference. Personally, I prefer a harder pencil (twist-up, if possible) or a powder product, so I’d pass on these. If you do like creamy brow pencils, though? Then these are awesome. They’re deliciously creamy, intensely pigmented, well-priced ($9.95 for 1.05g), and silicone- and paraben-free (because, dude, brow breakouts? Not attractive.)

Anyhow. Hit me up in the comments with your brow ramblings – I’ve rambled on far too long already!

(More photos…)

Obviously, this isn’t everything we have planned for the next few months, but it’s some of it! I’m afraid I won’t have time to run another review until Thursday or Friday (though I do hope to have time to post a giveaway!) but hopefully this’ll tide ou over for now.

Do you see anything that you’d like us to cover first?

I have a few more photos to post, but to be honest, these fried even my beauty-addled brain, so I’ll post the rest tonight or early tomorrow ;)

The question has been asked recently on Temptalia and beaut.ie, and I just have to ask: how do you feel about private label lines?

For those of you  who haven’t heard about them before, private label beauty brands sell cosmetics to companies, groups, or individuals who want their own name on products. These companies then go on to resell the products as their own, with their own “private label” printed on the packaging. People have problems with this because (and this is just one point of view,) the company is marking up items and re-selling them without actually putting anything into the line, creatively.

[image removed upon request from the company]

Some examples of brands notorious for reselling private label items are Coastal Scents and Stars Makeup Haven, but they’re not the only ones doing it — here’s a list (via Mythbuster Beauty) of companies all selling the same “indelible gel eyeliner,” though sometimes it’s under a different name:

Spa Private Label – $7.70
Mad Minerals – $8.99
JW Cosmetics – $8.99
Headcovers unlimited – $9.99
Catwalk Cosmetics – $12.50
Aromaleigh – $14.75 (these go on sale rather often for $11.06)
Studio Direct – $14.99
Urban Apothecary – $15.00
Loose Lips NY – $20.00

A few pages from the Grafton Cosmetics price listing. Let’s keep our eyes open for those terms!

My thoughts…

Personally, I think it’s completely underhanded when a company selling private label items misleads the consumer into believing that it is their own product that they’ve “formulated with love” or “tested with care,” — but if the consumer is aware of what they’re getting, then it’s a-okay in my books.

I wouldn’t particularly care to buy from a line that was simply reselling private label items, but I think it’s actually a good idea in some scenarios: for instance, what if a beauty-oriented PR firm wanted to hand out lipglosses with their name stamped on them at an event, the way dentists’ offices give out toothbrushes? Or, if you really love the quality you get from a certain private-label brand and don’t care about having a certain name (ahem, MAC) stamped on your packaging, this can be a great way to fill your kit with cost-effective products. And (this would be so cool), what if you were part of a team of makeup artists (or just makeup enthusiasts), and you all wanted traincases with your company name stamped on them?

Anyhow, that’s just my two cents. And hey, as long as we were upfront about it — it could be pretty awesome to have a “theNotice” eyeshadow ;) (It would totally be violet, of course.)

So, what do you think? Let us know in the comments!

Private label or not, that is a ton of eyeshadows to choose from…

Full disclosure: Okay, so I had to list “theNotice” as a business to sign up to view the price listings — but it wasn’t an outright lie. It may not happen anytime soon, but I’m actually interested in the aforementioned single-product idea and would love to start testing out brands now! I know it’s crazy, so shhh, let’s keep it a secret between you and I. But, maybe someday when my meds are working and I’m in good enough shape to work as a makeup artist…

Oh, so yah; if you’re a representative of either of these companies and would like for us to take the price listings down, please just shoot us an email or a comment. (We’d really rather you do that than, um, shoot us. With a gun. Even just a pellet gun.) I personally find this kind of information fascinating and would love to share it with everyone, but I understand if your company policy disagrees with me!

(They’re ninjas because they’re things you’ve had all along, but they’re hiding! Har har har… too early in the morning for bad puns? Yah. Sorry, I promise I’m done.)

(Just kidding no I’m not!)

Sleep. 

I thought “beauty sleep” was some huge myth — until I pretty much stopped getting it. Now, my sleep schedule’s never been the greatest, but these last few months have been particularly brutal. So, take it from me: when you’re getting one or two sleepless nights a week, you get dark circles. Bags. Breakouts.

Everything bad that could happen, does happen. It’s okay at first, but once you reach that tipping point… yikes. 

So stop partying; stop worrying yourself awake at night; stop whatever it is that could keep you away from a good night’s rest! They’re incredibly important for keepin’ ya pretty. And happy, which is even more important ;)

Umbrellas.
Think about it for a second. Not only can you use your umbrella to attack shifty passerbys, it keeps your hair and makeup in decent form — no matter what your hairstyle is. Straight, wavy, curled, it doesn’t matter. Unless you were born with model!hair (in which case, I hate you) and want to walk around in waterproof makeup 24/7, an umbrella is always a good idea when you’ll be walking around outside and it’s drizzling.

Mascara spoolies.
Aka mascara wands, etc. The point is, these do a lot — you can use them to apply mascara or comb through mascara if they’re clean, taking out clumps and redirecting your lashes. They’re also perfect for combing through your brows, whether you’re setting them in the morning or trimming them at night, and a mascara spoolie whisked through a gel or cream product can create some seriously cool makeup effects.

VASELINE!
Y’all know I’m crazy about the stuff. It’s great for doing pretty much anything in a pinch: hilighting cheekbones, adding gloss to your lips or lids, moisturizing pretty much anything, sheering out lip products and giving them some shine, making perfume last longer, protecting your hairline for at-home hair colouring, soothing chapped skin, adding gloss and texture to short hairstyles, giving you photo-ready legs and arms…

Enough said. Unscented petroleum jelly is the bomb dot com. (I can’t believe I just typed that. But at the same time: how have I not typed it before?!)

Water.

I kid you not; water is good for so much more than drinking.

No, seriously. It does even more than my beloved Vaseline!

A spritz of water helps freshen up any caking base products, intensifies colour as you put it on (foiling), tames and hits “refresh” on unruly hair… heck, you can even use it to re-moisten (some) products that are drying up! And, of course, without water, we wouldn’t be able to get clean half as well, and that just leads to a whole slew of other issues.

Water’s totally underrated, and that’s the truth. Oh, and being dehydrated? Never a good idea. Just one more thing that good ‘ol H20 is good for!

Do you have any “secret beauty weapons” that a bunch of serve functions they totally weren’t meant for? Let us know in the comments — I’m dying to hear them!