theNotice: a beauty blog

This year’s Sephora + Pantone Universe Color of the Year collection has been out for a few months (since March), but I haven’t really been “feeling it” — until now, that is.

With the weather finally warming up & the sun coming out from behind the clouds, 2013′s vibrant collection of Emerald products is (finally!) in-season and on-trend. Perfect for creating a summer smokey eye, or adding just a touch of bright green, now is the perfect time to pick  up a couple bold green products to add to your summer makeup kit.

Blogger’s note: so, this post ended up at around a thousand words. Click here or scroll past all the pretty pictures for a two-sentence rundown of each product.

The product: SEPHORA + PANTONE UNIVERSE Color of the Year 2013, Emerald (assorted products)

Color Watt Highlighting Mascara

Sephora + Pantone Universe Color Watt Highlighting Mascara ($22 CAD)

Funnily enough, I thought this was the best and worst-performing product in this year’s Color of the Year collection. Dry, matte, and intensely pigmented, the Color Watt mascara really does show up green on the lashes — even short, dark, sparse lashes like my own.

There’s a lash photo of this at the end of the post, but in a nutshell: yes, it absolutely does show up, but the gorgeous green pigment is its downfall, too. It sits in tiny, dry clumps on the lashes, adding neither length nor noticeable volume, and stains for days if it touches the skin.

The stain can be avoided if you carefully remove your mascara with an oil-based or micellar remover on a cotton pad, rubbing down the lash against a halved cotton pad covering your undereye area, but it’s a hell of a hassle for a single effective-but-kitschy product.

Lightspeed Glitter Dust

Sephora + Pantone Universe Lightspeed Glitter Dust ($17 CAD)

On the polar opposite end of the spectrum is the Lightspeed Glitter Dust, which is dry, loose, and milled just large enough to stay on this side of shimmery. The green base is very sheer, and the plentiful sky blue shimmer really predominates, giving it an almost turquoise tone overall.

Like any glitter dust, this really needs a base to stick to, so be sure to have one on hand! On completely dry skin, it comes right off, but on primed or even just freshly-moisturized skin, it adheres like a charm.

L-R: Color Watt Highlighting Mascara, Lightspeed Glitter Dust, Color Cube Lid Liner Stain (x2), Color Code Prismatic Shadow, Graphic Sculpt Waterproof Jumbo Liner

Lightspeed Glitter Dust

Sephora + Pantone Universe Color Cube Lid Liner Stain ($19 CAD)

May I please introduce you to the Sephora + Pantone Universe 2013 cream of the crop? The Lid Liner Stain (which, despite its name, absolutely does not stain) is gorgeous – a well-pigmented shimmery-or-metallic emerald, it makes me think of all the best parts of the Emerald City.

The smooth, light texture of this Color Cube “stain” blends out easily as a wash of green with finely-milled shimmer, but works as a seriously stunning metallic emerald liner, too. Basically, it’s everything the Color Code Prismatic Shadow (below) hopes to someday be.

Color Cube Lid Liner Stain

(more…)

Set to conquer in three… two… nope

I have zero inherent talent for anything design-related (or even design-adjacent, really), so product spreads are always a little tricky for me. If, by “a little tricky,” you mean “a time suck and a constant source of frustration,” that is.

Despite the sweat and tears and hours and hours and hours that go into these posts, though, I still quite enjoy putting them together — the challenge, when I can come out on top, is incredibly rewarding.

I hope you enjoy this week’s picks (even though I didn’t quite manage to conquer the image).

Skincare sweethearts

This week’s picks started off with the Sweet Leaf Bath Adzuki Bean & Rice Bran Face Polish, which caught my eye as a low-end Canadian alternative to the Tatcha Polished Rice Enzyme Powder ($65 USD). While Sweet Leaf’s version doesn’t have the same wow! factor or enzymatic powers, it’s still a very cool powder-format face polish for those of us who recognize budgets as, you know. Non-fictional.

Also in the skincare department is the eos 24-Hour Ultra Moisturizing Shave Cream, which is a great silicone-free, scent-free shaving cream for those of us who want to keep our showers simple.

Keep reading! »

The product: Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres Glossy Stain in No. 27 Pêche Cerra-Colla

The shade: I have to admit, Pêche Cerra-Colla isn’t exactly my usual shade. A slightly pinked peach, it has a blissfully shimmer-free finish, and fades to a soft, super-sheer tangerine.

A solid “medium” in both opacity and depth, this peach Glossy Stain is darker than my bare lips, but creates a very natural effect — far from bold or brash, it delivers good colour while still maintaining a wonderful visual translucence. Though the touch of pink makes this wearable on my cool, pale complexion, I can see it creating a beautiful “my lips but peachier” shade for warmer skintones, too.

The application: Like many bright, translucent stains, Pêche Cerra-Colla applies with a milky finish that soon disappears (think Benefit Posietint, but better). The applicator is a thin, slanted doe-foot, and it distributes the perfect amount of product for an even, glossy lip.

It’s not your typical applicator, but that only makes me like it more. The thin profile keeps you from picking up too much product, and the shape makes it easy to both apply product quickly & get right into the corners and edges of the lip.

Swatched L-R: YSL (1) Volupté Sheer Candy in No. 12 Tasty Raspberry, (2) Glossy Stain in No. 27 Pêche Cerra-Colla, (3) Glossy Stain, sheered out

The wear: The internet is a crazy place, but they get some things right… one of them being that YSL’s Glossy Stains are awesome.

Lightweight and relatively non-sticky, even a sheer shade like Pêche Cerra-Colla wears for ages: I can get a solid five hours with a glossy finish (if I don’t eat or drink anything), and a few more with just a light stain. While not hydrating, it’s reasonably comfortable for a solid 5-6 hours, even on my dry lips – as long as there’s still a tacky finish, the Glossy Stain formula is incredibly easy to wear.

L-R: YSL Framboise Craquante, Pêche Cerra-Colla heavily/sheerly

YSL Pêche Cerra-Colla Glossy Stain – stains

The verdict?

Like almost everyone else who has tried out a YSL Glossy Stain, I’m pretty smitten with them. While I could do without the added fragrance, the Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres Glossy Stains (what a mouthful!) pair fantastic wear time with ease-of-use, comfort, and a fantastic shade range. They’re as easy to apply and wear as a gloss, but you get the extra-long wear time of a stain, too.

Availability:$34 USD/$36 CAD. Pêche Cerra-Colla was new this January with YSL’s Arty Stone Spring 2013 collection, but is now part of the permanent line.

Recommendations, dupes, lip swatches & more »

The product: Yves Saint Laurent La Laque Couture Tie & Dye Pearly Coloured Top Coat (Top Coat Coloré Nacré)

   ↳ in 01 Cool Coat, 02 Pop Coat, 03 Hip Coat, and 04 Ice Coat

The hardest part about writing this review wasn’t that the product was phenomenally good, or horrifyingly bad, or even incredibly surprising. Nope: the hardest part of writing this review was definitely, absolutely, hands-down the fact that I took almost two hundred photos of these, and all of them were stunning.

Not because of the lighting, or the camera, or the staging, of course. It’s just that the Tie & Dye topcoats are really, really cool — a four year old with a point & shoot could make these look absolutely riveting! 

YSL Tie & Dye Pearly Coloured Top Coats

YSL Tie & Dye Top Coats (partially mixed)

A brief overview of the effects

-01 Cool Coat reads as breathtaking blue-violet duochrome over a dark polish – perhaps because I swatched it over brown? On its own, however, Cool Coat is a dense white shimmer with pink reflects. 

-02 Pop Coat creates sheer veil of warmth (red), with a small amount of pink and gold shimmer. This one made my bare nails look a bit as if they’d been dipped in beet juice, but I can see it being a good “nothing” sheen on warmer, darker skintones!

YSL La Laque Couture Tie & Dye Top Coat swatched on bare nails

L-R: 01 Cool Coat, 02 Pop Coat, 03 Hip Coat, 04 Ice Coat

-03 Hip Coat translates into a cool pink sheen on the nails; more brightening and densely shimmery than Pop Coat. (I found this to be the most brightening “natural” shade for my hands’ colouring.)

-04 Ice Coat, finally, is a super-sheer blue jelly with strong blue shimmer. It’s a through-and-through shimmer (not a duochrome, like Cool Coat), and I think it would be the only one I wouldn’t wear on bare nails.

YSL Tie & Dye Top Coats 01-04 swatched overtop YSL La Laque Couture in 37 Taupe Mauresque ($25 USD), a shimmer-free brown from the Summer 2013 collection. [ flash ]

A bit more about the topcoats / I’d recommend… »

The product: OB for shu uemura UV Under Base

   ↳ Brightening Mousse SPF 30 PA ++ in Pink Purple

   ↳ POREraser Mousse SPF 35 PA +++ in Beige

I’ve been trying to put together a review of the YSL Tie and Dye topcoats all week, but — no dice. (I think I took way too many photos; seriously.) In the meantime, here’s a review for something that really blew me away this month!

(how cute are these?!)

The POREraser UV Under Base Mousse in Beige

To start off with: shu’s Beige Under Base (SPF 35 PA +++) is made to even out skin tone and texture, reduce redness, and minimize the appearance of pores.

It’s kind of like — you know how makeup primers tend to be a clear layer of silicones, while paint primers are there for adhesion and tint? The POREraser is more like the latter, not only filling pores but creating a more even tone, too. I’d say its pore-filling prowess is less than a heavy “filler” (think Benefit The POREfessional), but it’s worth it for the lighter feel and silicone content.

Try this if: You’re looking for something to even skin tone without “flattening” the face. Use before your foundation —  or instead of, if you’re around a NW20-30!

shu uemura UV under base – POREraser/beige (L) and brightening/pink purple (R)

The UV Under Base Brightening Mousse in Pink Purple

Here’s the one that really steals the show for me. Like the POREraser Under Base, the Brightening Mousse was created to be a weightless way to even out skin tone and texture — but with a brightening benefit, too, both in immediate effect and long-term reduction of imperfections.

With SPF 30 PA ++, this primer is phenomenal at brightening up a fair to medium skintone (perhaps a deep skintone, too, if used sparingly), and works particularly well with yellow undertones. You definitely need to spread this one out (the shu website recommends applying a walnut-sized amount with their pentagon sponge) and make sure to cover all exposed skin, but it is absolutely, definitely worth it.

Try this if: You already have a sheer-to-medium foundation that you love, but want something to help “pick up” your complexion without relying on shimmer or sheen.

shu uemura UV under base swatches – beige (L) and pink purple (R)

The verdict?

shu uemura’s POREraser Under Base is great, but the Brightening Mousse – wow. From the spot-on Pink Purple shade (which really does have pink-purple undertones) to the wonderfully unique mousse format, it absolutely blew me away. 

I don’t feel like these are absolute must-haves (perhaps because I personally don’t wear an all-over base), but at $46 CAD, the shu bases are a very novel, wonderfully packaged product.

Availability: At Holt Renfrew & select Sephora boutiques (Canada); shuuemura.co.uk (United Kingdom). The bases are permanent, but the packaging featured here is limited edition!

See the brightening mousse: featured in this OB for shu uemura teaser post & used as a base for this blue eyeliner look.

Ingredients & more »