theNotice

Review: Graydon Intimacy Oil vegan body oil

February 1, 2021

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The product: Graydon Intimacy Oil

The first thing that you need to know about Graydon Intimacy Oil is that this isn’t a Province Apothecary-type deal. That is: Intimacy isn’t a personal lubricant. It also isn’t an intimate massage oil, or an intimate moisturizer.

Instead, the Graydon Skincare Intimacy Oil is a dry oil for the body. It’s kept lightweight by its MCT oil (caprylic/capric triglyceride) base and made richer with hemp seed oil. Blue tansy oil provides the beautiful colour within the bottle, and the formula is softly scented with all-natural extracts and oils.

My first experience with Graydon’s Intimacy Oil

My first experience with Intimacy Oil was… well, it was underwhelming. The oil wasn’t hydrating enough for Edmonton’s dry climate, and it didn’t soak in quickly enough for my erratic schedule. I was left worrying if it would stain my sheets (nothing is harder than getting body oil stains out of white cotton bedsheets), which isn’t a great look when you pair it with itchy calves and flaking skin.

However, I was determined to make this oil work for me. I love Graydon Skincare, after all, and I love a good body oil.

Online skincare consultations for the pandemic age

It wasn’t until my session with Ingrid, Graydon’s new Holistic Skin Coach, that I gave Intimacy Oil another try. The session was seamless: it’s a simple video chat from the safe distance of your home, and Ingrid keeps each one running smoothly. The sessions are offered as complimentary 15-minute consults or 40-minute deluxe consultations ($40, redeemable in product), and they’re designed to help you choose the right products for you. As Ingrid shared, they’re also a great way to find out how to better use the products you already have.

Ingrid recommended that I try layering my Intimacy Oil, which immediately made a difference for me. Instead of putting my oil directly on my shower-damp skin, I first misted my entire body with Face Food and massaged it in. Then, I spritzed Intimacy Oil into my hands (the mister top really just squirts out a light stream) and added it to the mix.

Finally, I lightly patted my entire body with a towel and added a bit of extra moisturizer to my problem spots. (For me, that’s anything below the knees: shins, ankles, and feet.)

Trying Graydon Intimacy Oil again

When I tried the classic Graydon Skincare method of creating a “smoothie” or a superfood meal with their products, Intimacy Oil worked like a charm. My stubborn shins stayed hydrated for the entire day instead of starting to itch at nighttime, and using Face Food made it easier to get them re-hydrated when I needed to.

Would I buy it again? Well, no — I make a point of not paying for the privilege of doing extra work with anything in my daily routine. But I love that the brand has a pandemic-safe knowledge base that you can access from home, and I love that I’m now going to be able to finish and enjoy both my Face Food and Intimacy Oil without wasting anything!

(I also loved the skincare smoothie that Ingrid suggested with Berry Rich, and will be trying it as soon as I can: a thick layer of Berry Rich mixed with the brand’s Superfood Serum, left on for 30 minutes before being gently steamed off.)

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Disclaimer: The products mentioned in this post were submitted for editorial consideration only. My Holistic Skin Coach consult was also complimentary, but so are all 15-minute sessions!

Tags: /Canadian beauty, Graydon Skincare, Indie brands, Moisturizers, Product Photos, Product Review, Silicone-free, Skincare

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Review: Lelo Sila air pulse vibrator

January 18, 2021

Rae Chen

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Review: Lelo Sila Sonic Clitoral Massager

What makes the Lelo Sila so unique?

Honestly? For me, what makes the Lelo Sila so unique is half aesthetics and half design.

When you by a luxury sex toy (and I fully recommend that you should, if you can afford it), you enter a new class of products. There’s a huge jump in quality between $40-ish toys and $80+ toys. In cheaper vibrators, you’ll typically see buzzier vibrations, lower-quality materials, and a separate battery cost. In more expensive ones, you can expect waterproof bodies covered in velvety silicone, deeper vibrations, and USB rechargeable batteries.

I’ll talk more about other air pulse toys in the next section of this Lelo Sila review, but what you really need to know is that, on the whole, these products are all largely the same. There isn’t as much variation in air pulse toys as their is in vibration-based ones—at least, so far.

What initially drew me to the Lelo Sila is its wide, flat “mouth.” I like the stimulation in most air pulse toys, but my one complaint is always that their opening is too pointed. It can make this type of toy more difficult to use, creating an intense sensation that’s easily broken by tipping your hand a little bit too much. My hope for the Lelo Sila was that its wide mouth would make it easier to balance the toy during use… And its supremely gorgeous design was just the cherry on top. My reluctance to feature Lelo on theNotice was overtaken by my hope that the Sila would be easier to use for disabled bodies; ones with things like nerve pain and joint damage.

(Ones like mine.)

Lelo Sila review: What’s in the box?

What you get from the Lelo Sila

While I still have my misgivings about Lelo, it’s been four years since my original post. Since then, Lelo has changed their branding to include more queer folx, more models of colour (especially BIPOC), and more bodies of different sizes.

Perhaps this is all just in the wake of Black Lives Matter (and the dates on their Instagram timeline do seem to suggest this), but I’m glad that sex & wellness brands are finally making an effort. So, before I continue, I’d like to say that yes: they could be doing more, and I hope that they will do more. In this post, however, I’d like to focus on a toy that is marketed as being unique in its category, and therefore one that hopefully helps reach more bodies in the world.

The Lelo Sila is small and velvety, with a silicone body and plastic gold plating. Its controls are hard to locate during use, but are beautiful and easy to press. It’s also easy to charge, with a waterproof plug (I think it’s a male coaxial power connector to USB) that won’t pop off in your drawer.

(It’s so, so beautiful.)

Lelo created the Sila around the idea of soft, gentle clitoral stimulation that would spread through a person’s entire erogenous area, and I think they hit the nail on the head. The Sila’s wide mouth gives it a gentleness that other air pulse vibrators do not have, and it seems to somehow pair air pulsations with vibrations, spreading the sensation gently across a wider zone. Its two hour charge time lasts for up to two hours, with eight vibration patterns an a 60 Hz rotation frequency.

Comparision: The Lelo Sila vs the Womanizer Premium and We-Vibe Melt

The Lelo Sila is a beautiful toy. I’m happy to report that its wide mouth and restrained motor really do help spread sensations deeper into your body, but I found that they were just a little bit too restrained for me — it was tough to get where I was headed. The Sila was easier to balance and gentler to manage (thank goodness) than the We-Vibe Melt; however, its round shape kind of makes it feel like you’re having a sex with a nautilus shell.

I get the appeal of a pretty, circular sex toy, but to put it frankly, using the Sila during front-to-front partnered play is impossible. Trying to discern its controls without looking at them is even worse.

I can see the Sila being good for others who struggle to balance clitoral air pulse toys, and it seems like an interesting way to bridge the gap between the small and large heads offered on toys like the Womanizer Premium. Its pairing of air pulsations + vibrations means that breaking the seal around your erogenous zone isn’t as big of a deal as it is in other toys, so it could definitely be a help for people with tremors and muscle weakness. (Huzzah!)

I enjoyed the Lelo Sila, but its bonkers price tag ($269 USD SRP; $169 USD/$225 CAD at SheVibe) means that you’re paying for a premium toy and not necessarily getting the most premium experience. When compared with other air pulse toys, I preferred the Womanizer Premium to the Sila. The Womanizer Premium is more convenient for partnered play, has a wider range of sensations on both ends, and is much, much quieter.

The verdict of this Lelo Sila review

I had hoped that the Lelo Sila would bring something altogether new to my life: an ergonomically-designed air pulse toy with a wide mouth, a flat base, and a fresh, fibro-friendly experience. It fell short of this dream, but it’s a decent toy nonetheless.

Look! At! That! Mainstream! Inclusive! Language!!!

Writing a Lilo Sila review also gave me the opportunity to touch base with a brand I haven’t been on speaking terms with in years, and I’m happy to be able to say that even Lelo is making changes to the way that they market their brand. While they still have a long way to go when it comes to highlighting a better variety of voices and bodies, this toy (marketed for clitoral use, with no mentions in the copy of “women,” “her pleasure,” etc) has come a long way from the Pinot (marketed “exclusively for bankers” — gag.)

The winner of this review is not the Sila, though it’s a very decent air pulse toy. Instead, it’s the pleasure industry on the whole. When even the most problematic companies are making an effort to create a better, safer, more inclusive space for their consumers, we all win.

Availability: Available with discreet shipping for $269 USD at Lelo, who sent this product sample in for review; $219 CAD at PinkCherry.ca (on sale for $175 CAD at time of publication); $169 USD/$225 CAD at SheVibe. Permanent. Available in three colours.

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Disclaimer: All products mentioned in this post were submitted for editorial consideration only, as well as affiliate links that help keep theNotice running. My opinions, salty as they are, are my own!

Tags: /Product Photos, Product Review, Sex

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FIBRO LIFE: My best energy-saving lifehacks of 2020

December 30, 2020

Rae Chen

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This has been a tough year for all of us. I think it’s been pretty clear on theNotice that I’m no exception: from bummed-out quarantine selfies to a bi-monthly posting schedule (can you believe that I used to put up 40 posts a month? Bonkers!), it’s been a big shift. So, it feels appropriate do something different for my last post of the year this year. Instead of a wrap-up of my favourite products and posts, here are some of my favourite energy-saving hacks of 2020.

Whether you’re a fellow spoonie or not, it’s always nice to have a little bit more time and energy. The focus of my favourite tips this year is time. What’s the easiest, fastest way that I can get things done without causing greater impact to my joints? These methods aren’t the most organic or eco-friendly ways to live, but that’s something I’ve been working on shedding — yes, shedding, not building.

The mere act goes completely against my Chinese heritage, but these “wasteful” lifestyle changes have had a great effect on how much energy I have to actually do something with my day. And, as just 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions, I’m kind of over the idea that it’s our ~personal responsibility~ to make our lives harder in order to save the world. I do what I can, and for me, that’s enough.

Energy-saving lifehacks in the kitchen

I have a lot of feelings about two things: pre-cut parchment paper and pre-washed vegetables. Both were things that were absolutely not allowed in my household when I was growing up, but both make cooking way easier.

Pre-cut parchment paper is a godsend for someone (me; it’s me) who truly sucks at tearing paper. I buy mine from Canadian Tire or Superstore, where the Wilton sheets are $2-4 for rolls of 12-24. Just slam one of those babies on a baking tray or cookie sheet and you’re good to go! The pans come out lightly greasy instead of caked in food, so they wash up perfectly in the dishwasher.

Unsplash @louishansel

Pre-cut and pre-washed veggies have a similar effect on my life. They’re ready to go but more expensive, but as someone in their 20s with multiple disabilities, they’re awesome. Having all of the prep done ahead of time takes a good 10 minutes out of my cooking time, and makes it possible for me to get a full meal in the oven or on the stove in under 15 minutes. Plus, they cook from dry, so you often get a crispier result.

Pre-washed spinach is pretty standard, but I also love pre-washed broccolini and cauliflower florets. Pre-washed broccoli is riskier: for some reason, ours always tastes like corn??? It’s super weird.

Finally, bake everything. Just go for it. Baking is so much easier than frying. There’s less cleanup and less stirring, and everything just tastes better. It’s also easier to get a soft result that still tastes delicious, so it’s great for people with TMD, too.

When in doubt, bake everything at 420 for 20 minutes and adjust from there. Blaze it, baby.

My favourite quick, arthritis- and TMD-friendly snacks

Should I have planned this post out in advance and taken some great food photographs for it? Yes. Did I? No. Are you going to get some crappy iPhone snaps instead? Yup.

Here are my favourite TMD-friendly snacks of the moment: slow-baked sliced apples (on parchment paper for 30 minutes at 200 degrees, or left in a warm oven for an hour after you’ve baked something else), vermicelli noodles fried in oil (cook on medium for just a few seconds, then add salt and pepper), and pan-fried, salted mantou slices or naan bread, à la gold and silver mantou.

(Can you see my salty carb pattern yet?)

I’m also really loving canned wine right now, thanks to Georgia Hardstark of My Favourite Murder. It’s not any more or less TMD-friendly than regular Prosecco or champagne, but it is a lot easier to open and carry! The simple effort of popping a cork makes these cans an energy-saving lifehack for me.

Tags: /7. Other, Food, Ramblings

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Review: Graydon Holiday Gift Set 2020

December 17, 2020

Rae Chen

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The product: Graydon Holiday Gift Set (2020) — includes Berry Rich Face + Eye Cream (full-size), Face Food Mineral Mist (full-size), and Fullmoon Serum (trial size)

It’s rare that I fall in love with a skincare set. There are just so many factors involved, and, well: I’m pretty picky. This year’s Graydon Holiday Gift Set ($75 CAD), however, flaunted my expectations — as much of the brand has.

Usually, when I’m looking at a skincare gift set, there are one or two products that I love. They’re paired with one or two (or more) that I’m not interested in, or that I can’t use for some reason or another. As a result, while I love the premise of a skincare kit, it’s usually cheaper for me to buy each product separately.

But this set? This set is perfect. It contains a full-sized version of one of my favourite skincare products, a full-sized version of something that I can always use (a non-sticky face mist), and a trial size of a product that I’ve been meaning to try for ages. Each product is vegan and silicone-free. Each product comes in perfect, beautiful packaging. And most importantly of all, each of these skincare products is something that I’ve used routinely since I opened the set. There are no weak links here!

Berry Rich loses its potency (and colour) with time. The vibrant blue (top) is from this bottle, while the lighter green (bottom) is from a bottle I purchased during the summer.

Graydon Berry Rich Moisturizer review: The love story continues

This is my third (fourth? Fifth?) tube of Graydon Berry Rich Face + Eye Cream. I love sticking with a product once I know that it works, and Berry Rich works! Not only is it perfect for my dry, dehydrated skin, but it’s done some pretty spectacular things for my partner’s dehydrated, ageing skin, too.

Berry Rich is creamy and, well, rich. It features blue-green algae (which give the moisturizer its distinctive colour) and a probiotic blend, and there’s just… something about it. I’ve tried dozens of moisturizers during my tenure as a beauty blogger—if not close to the hundreds—and this is one of the only moisturizers that’s ever stuck out to me as perfect. It goes on creamy but sinks in to the skin grease-free, making it a beautiful base for foundation and colour products. Plus, it’s crazy hydrating: Berry Rich alone has done more for my skin than any other moisturizer plus face oil plus hyaluronic acid combination ever has.

I don’t know what it is that makes Graydon Berry Rich Face + Eye Cream so magical, but I like to think it’s its concentrated formula. The first ingredient is Blue Majik algae extract, and there’s lots of cocoa seed butter and blueberry seed oil in there, too.

Graydon Face Food Mineral Mist review

As any skincare lover knows, the thing that really makes a mist is its packaging. You don’t just want a nice formula when it comes to face mists; you need a dense, soft mist that comes out consistently. That’s what will make me re-buy time and time again.

Graydon has a hit with Face Food, and they know it: you can buy 240ml refills for this bottle on their website, which is awesome for both financial and ecological reasons. The Graydon Face Food Mineral Mist formula features silver, magnesium, copper, zinc, and malachite to do everything from help reduce redness to mattify your complexion. The mist has a beautiful vanilla scent from real vanilla extract, with a barely-noticeable touch of peppermint extract as well.

I’ve been using this mist on my face, but it’s really flexible. I think it really shines as a post-waxing mist, where it serves to immediately soothe the skin without making your pores feel stifled. Graydon advises that you’re not supposed to use products containing silver and/or silver salts on broken or abraded skin, so I’ve been using two drops of Fullmoon Serum after shaving or waxing to soothe and prevent clogged pores, then switching to the super-soothing Face Food the following day!

Graydon Fullmoon Serum review

Graydon’s Fullmoon Serum is an unexpected product. I’ve heard amazing things about it (and, of course, I’m enamoured with its jewel-like colour), but I’ve held back on trying it for ages. My skin is so happy with Graydon Berry Rich as it is, and the brand’s Fullmoon Serum is unexpectedly pricy.

This serum looks like a basic hyaluronic, water-based product, but it isn’t — so the pricing looks steep at first glance. However, when you start to look at its ingredients, it begins to make more sense. Instead of just adding basic hydration and soothing, the Graydon Fullmoon Serum also contains botanically-derived retinol and blue tansy extract, both of which are pricy (and super trendy) ingredients.

Fullmoon is, I think, an anti-ageing serum first and foremost, but the Graydon Holiday Gift Set was designed to be flexible. The brand recommends all three of these products for all skintypes; it just recommends using them in different proportions. For dry skin, for instance, it recommends two pumps of Berry Rich, two pumps of Face Food Mineral Mist, and two drops of Fullmoon Serum. For ageing skin, it recommends one pump of Berry Rich, two pumps of Face Food Mineral Mist, and four drops of the anti-ageing Fullmoon Serum.

Just like this gift set on the whole, the Graydon Fullmoon Serum defies my expectations. Rather than being a sticky hyaluronic acid serum that you use by the dropper, it’s a super-lightweight retinol that you use just a few drops of at a time: a bit of the magic that we desperately need this season.

The Graydon Holiday Gift Set verdict?

I love Graydon Skincare, and I love their Holiday Gift Set. Its natural ingredients and customizable combinations (almost like a dining menu) make it a great gift idea for almost all skin types. The set takes the guesswork out of skincare gifting, and each of these three products is incredibly beautiful in their own right.

At $75 CAD, Graydon’s Holiday Gift set is a luxury steal. It makes a great, last-minute gift idea, and it’s an excellent way to stock up on some Graydon for yourself in 2021!

Availability: $75 CAD ($134 CAD value if sold separately) at Graydon Skincare. Graydon’s shipping times vary from 1-4 days within Canada, so order now if you need a last-minute gift this year!

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Disclaimer: The Graydon Holiday Gift Set was sent to me for editorial consideration upon request, but I truly do believe in it. My last few Berry Rich purchases (one of which was the mega-sized pump bottle; no regrets) were made on my own, and I am sure to re-purchase again in the future!

Tags: /Canadian beauty, Extremely dry skin, Graydon Skincare, Holiday 2020, Holy Grail, Indie brands, Moisturizers, Product Photos, Product Review, Silicone-free, Silicone-free moisturizers and serums, Skincare

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Review: Invisibobble Sprunchie, Waver, and Original

December 14, 2020

Rae Chen

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The products: Invisibobble Sprunchie (scrunchie), Waver (bobby pins), and Original (hair tie)

There are lot of things that are terrible in 2020, but the Invisibobble Sprunchie isn’t one of them. No: instead, it’s the hair tie that I’ve waited my entire life for. Soft, velvety, and kink-free, the Sprunchie is the Invisibobble upgrade that I didn’t know I needed.

I’ll be the first to admit that this year has been really, really hard. There’s been the normal pandemic stuff, but on top of that, I’ve been trying to shift my attention even more toward my body (over my work). While even being able to do so is an immense privilege, the act of seeing it happen is like a constant gnawing. I am so, so proud of my friends as they advance their careers; get married, have children, tuck publication after publication under their belt. But, still, it feels like self-disembowelment to let theNotice slowly die off. With each of their achievements, I feel like I can feel my own body of work crumbling.

(Isn’t that quite the thing: the way that many disabled people have to choose either their body or their body of work to waste away.)

Why choose Invisibobble?

I was a late adopter to the Invisibobble game. Hair ties tend to give me headaches, so I never sought a better version the way that many did.

When I tried my first Invisibobble, I liked it—but I could go without. Yes, it’s nice that they don’t leave a solid line crimped into your hair. And yes, it’s kind of magical that they shrink back to their original size when you warm them up. But did I really need another hair accessory? I braid my hair as often as I wear it in a ponytail, after all, and I liked the flexibility of having a super-tiny black elastic that would stay on my fine hair no matter how I used it.

I don’t think I really needed an Invisibobble in my life, and I don’t feel like the “original” works any better than the hundreds of knockoffs that you can find. But the fact that every single brand seems to make an Invisibobble-type product now (I even found one in my Sephora Advent Calendar this year) suggests that I’m an outlier. I didn’t need a new hair accessory, in my lazy state—but many others did.

(Me when I know I’m going to have to blow-dry my hair — using the Invisibobble “True Black” Sprunchie and Waver for some nice, loose waves)

The Invisibobble Sprunchie review you didn’t know you needed

A new hair tie is something I can always do without, but a new scrunchie is another story entirely. I love scrunchies. They’re a staple in my daily routine: I wear them when I wash my face; when I clean the house; when I’m a greasy mess and I just can’t bring myself to shower.

You lose some of the benefits of the brand’s original hair ties with the Sprunchie, but you gain even more. It’s covered in fabric, making it absorbent and a little less hygienic. But the fabric… well, that’s the part that makes me love it.

I’m the Marge Simpson of scrunchies: I just think they’re neat. And this one is even neater than the rest.

The Invisibobble Sprunchie has just the right elasticity to hold firmly without pinching, and I love that it won’t stretch out quickly (the way that cheap scrunchies can). Pair that with the fact that they come in two of my favourite colours/prints (black and leopard) and you have a winner. True Black is super sleek and simple, while the leopard Purrfection is a little bit flirty.

I used the Sprunchie with the Invisibobble Waver hair clips to give my hair some shape and volume for these photos, then finished the look with a few flat iron passes. The Waver isn’t really “for” me, in general; it’s a great concept, but my hair is just too thin for the clips to grip. But the Sprunchie did great. I’m making a bit of a face because I hate blow-drying my hair, but I do love how easy this low-heat styling solution was—perfect for a Christmas morning styling session.

The verdict of this Invisibobble review?

I love the Invisibobble line, but especially the Invisibobble Sprunchie in Purrfection. Each of the products makes a great holiday present, for yourself or someone else.

You can find Invisibobble online, but one of the things that I truly love about them is that they’re honestly everywhere — so it’s easy to snag a few at a curbside pickup or by local delivery if you need a low-contact gift in a pinch.

Availability: Around $10 each at Sephora, Shopper’s Drug Mart, and other drugstores. All permanent.

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Disclaimer: This post contains product samples.

Tags: /Hair, Holiday 2020, Product Photos, Product Review

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2020’s hellish holiday makeup look

December 9, 2020

Rae Chen

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Folks, it has been a year. We’re finally getting some real restrictions (like a mandatory mask mandate and no parties/gatherings allowed) here in Alberta, but they’re long overdue. With close to a thousand new cases per day in Edmonton alone—a city of less than a million people!—tensions are pretty high. (My tensions are pretty damn high). So, I figured: let’s do something a little different for this year’s holiday makeup look.

You know, because this year has been extremely hellish, and we all desperately need a good face mask and a little makeup therapy.

Love the holo effect on the Sephora Collection Holographic Sheet Mask ($7 CAD)!

Following a bountiful Sephora delivery and a few new Invisibobble faves from FarleyCo, I thought we’d focus on an easy makeup look with a traditional holiday red lip this year. My reasoning was simple: without in-person gatherings, I think a lot of us are likely to go through more than one Zoom holiday party this year. So, rather than going all-out on one big makeup look, I love the concept of a big eyeshadow palette that’ll let you throw together a number of different looks throughout the season.

The Sephora Collection Wild Holiday 2020 collection is perfect for it. Each product in the line is affordable and fun, and what the eyeshadows lack in pigmentation and endurance, they make up for in shade range and price.

Sephora Collection Wild Eyes Eyeshadow palette review, swatches

The Sephora Collection Wild Eyes Eyeshadow Palette (on sale for $17 CAD) is far from perfect, but I loved it for this makeup concept. It contains 16 different matte, shimmer, and glitter eyeshadows in a thin, lightweight cardboard palette—my favourite format. I know that many people are partial to a super luxurious eyeshadow experience, but I love portable palettes that are easy to swap in and out of your luggage.

(Oh, travelling! Do you remember travelling?)

Sephora Collection Wild Eyes swatches (Holiday 2020) in indirect sunlight; primed skin

Right side swatches from the Wild Eyes palette

Tags: Holiday 2020/4. Makeup looks, Eyes, Grouped reviews, Makeup looks: neutral, Product Photos, Product Review, Product Swatches, Sephora

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Review: Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist 2020 Lipsticks with swatches and ingredients

November 16, 2020

Rae Chen

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The product: Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Lipstick in 152 Sharp Nude, 156 Classy Lace, and 158 Fiery Sienna

It’s been a long time since my last lipstick review. It has also (by no coincidence) been a long time since I liked a lipstick as much as I like the Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist ($23 USD/$31 CAD) formula. This buttery-smooth matte formula feels as amazing as it looks, and the light scent is just perfect.

The Rouge Artist formula: Comfort and wear

I’ve tried formulas in the Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist line before, and so far, I’ve liked all of them. Their Artist Acrylip is glossy and highly pigmented, with a unique liquid texture and format. The original Rouge Artist Mat lipsticks (being discontinued) are intense and creamy, with perfectly compact packaging and impressive opacity. And, of course, the popular Artist Liquid Matte has a great range of nude shades, with a longevity that’s perfect for wearing under a mask.

Make Up For Ever 152 Sharp Nude, 156 Classy Lace, and 158 Fiery Sienna

This newest Rouge Artist formula has (in my opinion) the best formula of the bunch, but the worst packaging. It’s fantastically comfortable, with a blurry matte finish that feels lightly hydrating. While it falls very short of its 24 hour wear time claims, it lasts for a standard four hours before I need to reapply, and is just as comfortable to wear as a cream lipstick — a huge achievement for a matte.

I mean, really. You want us to believe that these lipsticks are going to provide “all-day” colour and “24 hours of hydration”? I’ll admit that they have a great formula. I’ll admit that they’re one of my favourites of the year. Heck, I’ll even admit that they’re exactly what I want right now, when I’m stuck at home all day and just want to enjoy a comfy lipstick with a great scent! (Light, powdery, and bright, like a fancy dry shampoo.)

But all day? 24 hours? We’ve been lied to enough this year, thanks.

Why are the MUFE Rouge Artist Lipsticks packaged like that?

Okay: here’s the only bad thing about the new Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Lipsticks. Their packaging is designed so that it “mimics the precision of a lip brush,” which makes no sense to me. Lip brushes are all about having a small tip and a controlled amount of product on your brush. Making an extra-chunky, extra-long tube that looks like a lip brush when you click the pieces together does nothing for precision, but means that these lipsticks are too large to fit in a small purse.

I could easily fit two of MUFE’s old Rouge Artist Mat lipsticks in the space that one of these new ones takes up, or three (three!) of their Artist Acrylip Lip Paints. It speaks volumes to this wonderful new formula that I—and the rest of the internet—seem to just be totally chill with their comically large packaging.

(But, for the record, their precise, flat lipstick tip does actually mimic the shape of a lip brush. It’s wonderful.)

Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Lipstick review: 152 Sharp Nude swatches

Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist swatches: My favourite shades

I’ve been battling self confidence swings since quarantine started, so I picked out three Rouge Artist shades I thought I’d like for this review. Normally, I make myself try colours that will help me best review an entire product line: for instance, one nude, one pink, and one vampy shade. But this time around, I just wanted to try some shades that I could enjoy.

The plan worked like a charm. All three of these cool-toned nudes work well against my skintone, and Make Up For Ever offers plenty of colour options for different skintones. The “cool nudes” in the Rouge Artist line run from 150-172, with warmer options from 100-122.

Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Lipstick review: 156 Classy Lace swatches

I like these all well enough that I can’t pick a favourite. 152 Sharp Nude is really beautiful and subdued, and looks like an early 2000’s nude lip on me, but softened for the modern day. It has an almost purply undertone (hell yeah, cool-toned nudes) that looks exactly like my lips in the morning — you know, before I start talking a mile a minute.

Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Lipstick in 156 Classy Lace is also great. It’s a lot warmer, with reddish undertones that read orangey-pink on my skin. I like it a lot, but I’m guessing that it’ll look much more mauve on most people. Finally, 158 Fiery Sienna is just a beauty. Fiery Sienna is just a hair darker than Classy Lace, but with more brown and less red/pink in it. It’s wonderful, and looks very smooth and natural against my complexion.

Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Lipstick review: 158 Fiery Sienna swatches

The Rouge Artist verdict?

I loved all three of these Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Lipsticks, despite their chunky packaging. Their formula is comfortable and easy to wear, especially for a matte. While they don’t last for a full day (of course), their four hours feel great.

If you were a fan of the original Rouge Artist Mat lipsticks, here’s a quick word of caution. The new Rouge Artist is amazing, but it’s a very different formula. They have a softer finish and less opacity than the original, but they also feel a lot lighter — just completely different in every way. I think they’re wonderful in their own way, but they’re not just a repackaging of the same old lipsticks!

Availability: $23 USD/$31 CAD. Permanent.

Tags: /Lips, Make Up For Ever / MUFE, Product Photos, Product Review, Product Swatches, Spring/Summer 2020

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Affordable sex toys: 2020 Single’s Day sales

November 11, 2020

Rae Chen

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A long time ago, I wrote a post talking about affordability in makeup. The next, day, I created this one: a post featuring some of my favourite sex toys, made affordable by a great sale at one of my favourite sex toy shops. This post originally went up in 2017, but I wanted today (in 2020) to give it a little update.

Affordability is one of things that is most important to me when I’m writing a product review—perhaps now even more so than in 2017. While I love a luxury product and am delighted to get to photograph luxury items for theNotice, I’ve always wanted this to be a space for everyone. Part of that means showcasing lust-worthy products, but part of that also means including options that are more easily accessible to all.

On the whole, features like a rechargeable battery, a great motor, and a waterproof design come at a cost, and those costs are usually passed on to the consumer. That’s why site-wide sales like today’s SheVibe Single’s Day Sale are so exciting. They help make sex toys accessible to everyone, and I’ll sometimes wait all year for a sale like this before buying something that I’ve had my eye on.

Get affordable sex toys at SheVibe’s Single’s Day sale

This post has changed many times as it gets updated with the latest sex toy sales. Today’s big sale is a site-wide 10% off at SheVibe with code SINGLES. SheVibe (as I’m sure you know!) is one of my all-time favourite sex toy shops, with discreet shipping and an amazing in-house artist.

This family-owned boutique is online-only and based in the US. They have a comprehensive selection of all of my favourite toys, and (in my opinion) the best product pages in the industry. Each one is extremely detailed, with everything you need to know about each toy.

Tags: featured/Canadian beauty, Company Review, Sex, Steals and Deals

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Sutil Review: Luxe, Rich, and Love Potions | Sutil by Hathor

October 26, 2020

Rae Chen

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*This Sutil review is sponsored by Hathor.

Every brand has a shape to it. Sometimes, that shape is easy to find; other times, it’s a little more amorphous. It’s not something that I think always needs to be mentioned, but as soon as I started writing this Sutil review, I knew that I wanted to mention it.

The Hathor/Sutil shape is so defined that it’s hard for me to look at the brand without seeing it. It’s so clear; so vivid. It’s so easy to see that this brand is led by passion, and created by someone who understands the importance of connection in all of its forms.

I had the chance to speak with Sutil’s founder, Mellta Swift, before writing this Sutil review. Her own shape is that of a character who has fallen directly out of a reality just a step out of sync with ours, and who has brought some magical, sensual products with her. Like a true visionary of the 80’s, it’s clear from the start that what she cares about is changing lives with a truly great product — not changing her own life by making bank off of something that’s cheap to produce. Mellta began as a massage therapist, and then an aromatherapist, and began this family-run company with her daughter in 1989.

Hathor products aren’t clinical, but they’re not kitschy, either. They’re not something that you’d buy off of the shelf at a sticky-floored sex shop on the side of a highway, or that you’d find in a gift basket next to phallic balloons and high-fructose chocolate body paint. No: like Mellta herself, Hathor products exist as part of a whole, full-being experience.

Which part of the brand is Hathor, and which is Sutil?

Like many other reviewers I know, the line between Hathor and Sutil has always been fuzzy to me — but no longer! Hathor (as in the Egyptian goddess Hathor) is the parent brand, which began as a company that made natural spa products enriched with plant aphrodisiacs. Founded in 1989, Mellta created massage oils, lotions, and creams for a decade under the Hathor name before producing their first lube, Hathor Aphrodesia, in 2000.

Sutil is the new generation of Hathor products, with a modernized, hyaluronic acid formula. However, just like the original Hathor lineup, each product is influenced directly by Mellta’s background in aromatherapy and herbology. (Hey-o, horny goat weed!)

Hathor is also shaped by Nathanda Swift, Mellta’s daughter, who started working with her back in 1993. She co-owns and co-runs the company, and to hear Mellta describe her, she must be a formidable force: as steady and grounding a rock. When Nathanda first started mixing batches of spa products with her mom in the kitchen, she was just 16, and it remains a family-owned and operated company to this day! (Mellta’s son Jonny also joined their team in 2017.)

Left: Sutil Luxe Body Glide / Right: Sutil Rich Body Glide

Sutil Review: Game-Changing Lube, Then and Now

With an updated formula and brand new packaging to speak to the modern sex positive crowd, Sutil is a dream. It is, by far, the single best personal lubricant I’ve ever used. Just like Hathor Aphrodesia was leagues ahead of the rest of the market in 2000, Sutil Luxe and Rich are leagues ahead today. They have wonderful textures and longevity, and (my favourite part) they come in packaging that’s very easy to open and close.

I’ve used a lot of lube in my time, but none have been as enjoyable as these two from Sutil. The thinner Sutil Luxe feels realistic and non-sticky, but Rich is a level up. Sutil Rich is thick and glossy, with a wonderfully plush texture. It stretches between your fingers the way natural vaginal lubrication does, and lasts just as long.

Sutil Rich is a product that defies logic; that feels simultaneously sensuous and space-age. It feels like something that should have come from a Star Trek episode: formulated by a culture that our intrepid explorers first think is bacchanalian and uncivilized, but soon realize is advanced far beyond our imaginations. Sutil Luxe feels like a very, very good lube that’s easy to dispense and long-lasting, but the plushness of Sutil Rich is just beyond. Go for Luxe if you want a thinner, long-lasting lube with no residue, or spend the extra dollar on the Rich if you want a plush formula.

Sutil Review: Sensuous Love Potion Massage Oils

Beyond is a good descriptor for a lot of these products. Most lubricants and massage oils help you manage what you were going to do originally — like an assist. But these ones instigate; engage; inspire.

Massaging a little bit of Sutil Rich between my fingers is enough to get my engine going, with its realistic feel and texture. Similarly, even just the scent of Sutil’s Love Potion Massage Oils makes me reconsider my evening plans. Sutil Love Potion #23 is a massage oil with ylang ylang, lime, pink grapefruit, and the perfect amount of jasmine to create a sexy, heady scent that lingers for hours. Sutil Love Potion #17, on the other hand, highlights ylang ylang with geranium, cedarwood, tangerine, and ginger for a brighter, earthier fragrance that fades to a “clean” finish. (Both are based in almond oil).

Sutil’s massage oils smell so wonderful that I find myself drawn to the act of massaging. I opened up Love Potion #23 on a Friday to rub my partner’s thighs after a long day, and subsequently lost my entire weekend to fantasizing about rubbing down a soft, supple body when I should have been working on this Sutil review. I was practically drooling at my desk, people. It was not a flattering look.

And the worst part is that they weren’t even sexual fantasies. I was just so eager to pour out a little bit more massage oil; to feel its velvety texture and enjoy its heady scent. These smell so fantastic that it’s almost easy to overlook their packaging, which (while lightweight, recyclable, and reusable) is a bit of a nightmare to deal with when your hands are slippery.

The verdict on this Sutil review?

I rarely include a verdict in my sponsored posts. In fact, I’m not sure that I’ve ever done it before! But in this case, for a brand that I loved long before they approached me for a post, I’ve decided to make an exception. Sutil Rich Body Glide is my new favourite lube of all time, and Luxe is the best of the best for something silicone-free with zero residue.

These Sutil lubes and massage oils are divine. Each one is phenomenal in its own way, and better than the last. My ONLY warning is that the Sutil Luxe Body Glide and Rich Body Glide formulas taste bitter. I took a bottle of Sutil Mint Body Glide to Mexico last year, however, and can happily report that flavour was very much not an issue!

(And may I just say: wow, do these ever last for a long time in a humid climate. They’re very long-lasting in our dry Alberta air—my partner thought Sutil Rich was actually an oil-based formula for weeks—but like everything else, they’re even more enjoyable off of the prairies.)

At $29.95 CAD for the massage oils and $23.95-$25.50 for the lube sizes photographed here, these Sutil by Hathor products are on the more luxury end of the sex toy & accessories market. With their long-lasting formulas that rarely need to be re-applied, they’re easy to use and are great value for your money.

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Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Hathor. I’ve loved their lube since Suz introduced me to the brand in 2018, and couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with them now!

Tags: sponsored/Paraben-free, Product Photos, Product Review, Sex, Small Business Saturdays

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Where to buy sex toys online in Canada: A beginner’s guide!

October 12, 2020

Rae Chen

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The process of online purchasing can be nerve-wracking — but it doesn’t have to be. A good friend and reader recently asked me what sites I would recommend to buy sex toys online, and I realized that, in all my time as a writer and sex toy reviewer, I had never directly answered the question.

Here are some of my favourite Canadian and American sites to shop from.

What to look for in a sex toy retailer

Real quick, before we get started: here’s what you want to look for in an online sex toy retailer.

Discreet shipping: Almost everyone ships discreetly nowadays, so you can prevent your Cara Delevigne x Ashley Benson sex bench moment (#iconic) from happening.

Body-safe selection: Not all toys are made equal, and “toxic toys” or non-body-safe toys can cause allergic reactions or irritation. Good retailers, in my opinion, have a wide selection of toys for you to make an informed choice from, but great ones only sell body-safe toys. If you’re not sure about something you see on a retailer’s website, reading a review or two should help sort you out.

Ethical: Everyone makes different choices when it comes to their sex toys, and there’s no “right” thing to prioritize. At theNotice, I only review body-safe sex toys. However, I prioritize pricing, because I think that pleasure should be accessible to everyone, no matter their economic situation. Other bloggers or consumers might prioritize retailers that list their toys by use (e.g. clitoral toys or penis toys) rather than the cis gender binary, or retailers that are co-owned by all of their workers.

Where I like to buy sex toys online

When I purchase toys for myself, I’m often stocking up on lube, re-buying an old toy that has died (I’m about to buy my third Mimi Soft), or choosing a gift for a friend.

Here are three stores that I like to shop at and have had great experiences with outside of work.

My favourite shops to buy sex toys online in Canada

Come As You Are is a Toronto-based sex shop. They’re a wonderful company that’s run as a co-operative, and their email newsletters are always full of interesting articles and workshop recommendations. Come As You Are carries a smaller selection than other retailers I’ve worked with, but they more than make up for it with their frequent sales and gender-free product categories. Their site also only sells body-safe toys, making it a great place to buy your first sex toy at.

Pink Cherry is another retailer that I shop at a lot. They have a huge product catalogue, but not all their toys are body safe, so make sure you do your research elsewhere. (Also—let’s be honest—their site feels and looks skeevy.) What sets them apart for me is that they frequently have the best Canadian prices on products, and despite their site’s outdated design, I’ve had excellent experiences with their customer service. I shopped with them as a customer long before I started working with them, and I’ve continued to do so even now that I write about sex toys professionally.

Places where you can buy sex toys online, with a little more variety

There are a ton of great places to buy sex toys online, and many options that are better for American readers.

My favourite shop in the US is SheVibe. They have an incredible team, and a long history of creating amazing relationships with bloggers and customers. What really sets them apart (aside from an enormous product catalogue and great prices) is their in-house artist: all of their sales, newsletters, and blogger features are accompanied by an original, superhero-style comic.

SheVibe is the most popular sex toy retailer that I work with. My posts featuring products they sell get the most clicks, and my friends mention shopping with them more often than anyone else in the US. Their product selection is incredible, and they carry body-safe toys at all price points. They also have the best product pages on the market, which I’ll often reference for my reviews: they make it easy to find details like size, waterproofing, and material.

International sex toy retailers of note — add ’em in the comments!

Internationally, many of theNotice’s readers like Lovehoney. I see the appeal—they’re a monolith, which helps make your purchase feel more secure. Their site is easy to purchase from and their shipping is quick and discreet.

While I really like Lovehoney’s use of plus-size models and generous lingerie selection, a lot of their product catalogue is just… crap. Their house-made toys are weak and buzzy, and a lot of their lingerie comes in just one size. For a retailer this large, I recommend shopping through reviews first: Find what you want to buy, then go to the Lovehoney site to purchase it. You’ll have a much easier time narrowing down your options and choosing something you’ll love.

Where NOT to buy your sex toys online

If there’s just one place that I could tell you not to shop, it would be Amazon. While Amazon is often cheap, easy, and accessible, it’s difficult to make sure that what you’re purchasing from their site is the real thing. (I’ve even bought drugstore false lashes—Kiss PRO Little Black Dress Lashes—on Amazon that were fakes.)

Amazon makes its fast shipping times achievable by storing products from different retailers all in one bin. If your product ships from Amazon (which is easily identifiable if it “ships free from Amazon over $35” or “ships with Prime,”) that means it comes out of a bin. Even if the retailer you’re purchasing from is the brand itself, there’s a chance that the product that get shipped to you from your nearest Amazon warehouse will be fake.

For some products, that isn’t a big deal. Lint rollers, for instance, are kinda just lint rollers. But for sex toys, that can mean that the “pure, platinum silicone” toy you’re putting in your body is actually made from PVC and phthalates. (Here’s a great guide from Spectrum on how to care for different types of toy materials.)

So, here’s my advice: buy from a recommended retailer, even if the product will be a little more expensive. It feels great to buy local, and even better to know that what you’re getting truly is body-safe and backed up by a great team.

Disclaimer

Note: This post contains a number of affiliate links for retailers who I love and shop with. The affiliate commissions that I make from theNotice help me keep doing this as my full-time job, and I’d really appreciate it if you could use my links when possible!

Tags: /Sex

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