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    L’Artisan Parfumeur Drôle de Rose

    Alright, so I know I said I didn’t have time for a “real post” until later this week – and that’s true. I definitely don’t.

    But I’m doing it anyways; biology lab report or none!

    &xx

    After mentioning this lovely L’Artisan Parfumeur scent earlier today in our Valentine’s post, I thought I’d share a brief review with you. Enjoy!

    Drôle de Rose is a light, mature scent, described as being “endlessly, unashamedly feminine.” And yet… if this is what femininity smells like, I may want to think about being a little more masculine. I find the scent to be much too docile and fleeting for my tastes – the opening is quite fresh, but the drydown smells sterile on my skin.

    The notes are… (rose, and the following)

    Top: violet and iris

    Heart: aniseed, almond, and honey

    Base: (a very soft, subtle) leather

    While I rarely attach scents to age (most of my favourites are considered to be “old lady scents” by today’s market), I can definitely see this suiting my grandmother. I don’t mean this in a bad way, because it does smell lovely, and my grandmother wears perfume incredibly well when she sprays some on – but Drôle is very clean, very “pretty.”

    For those of us who like to experiment with our scents, this may not be the best choice, but if you’re a rose lover, do give this a try. While mature, this rose is particularly timeless, and would make an amazing signature fragrance if it does suit you.

    Drôle de Rose was crafted by Olivia Giacobetti in 1996.

    Try this if…

    • You’re looking for an über-sophisticated, classy, mature scent
    • You like your fragrances to be light and airy
    • Florals generally wear well on your skin
    • You like “safe,” clean scents
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    The V word (Valentine, that is)

    Again, not a lot of chatter (explanation), but I put together a few widgets of Valentine’s-y coloured products & thought I’d share them with you lovely ladies today! Perhaps a midday rose-coloured pick-me-up for all of us who will be spending this one alone :P

    Eyes and nails (loving the hue of that Deborah Lipmann lacquer!)



    Lips and Cheeks



    Fragrances in lovely roses and violets…

    Also – here are a few Valentine’s sets & steals that have landed in my inbox over the past month. Perhaps one of them will suit you even better than the above? :)

    • 20x the points at Murale with purchases $50 and up. (Anyone else find it endlessly amusing that they call their sales associates “Beauty Masters”?)
    • Deluxe beauty samples with beauty purchases at {QVC.com}
    • Get a full-sized Rush Hour free with all purchases over $65 at Benefit! The code is RUSHHOUR at {Benefit.com}
    • Philosohy has a number of new products this month – the Amazing Grace set would work well with our pink theme! Use weheartyou for free US ground shipping until tomorrow night. {philosophy}
    • & finally, free shipping and free samples at {Dermstore}.
    • Spend $30 and get 2 mark. hook up lip glosses and a hook up connector + free shipping with the code VDAY11 at {mark}

    xoxo,

    Rae

    P.S. I love you, even if no one else does. Alright so that was supposed to come off as a cheeky joke, but it actually looks a little sinister to me… perhaps I’ll go with “I promise I’m not staking you” or “please don’t get a restraining order” instead.

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    Steals and Deals + New 13/02/11

    I’ve got a midterm and a major assessment this week, so I’m afraid we won’t have a review up until Wednesday or Thursday. Still, though, there should be some legible interesting content, so I hope you’re all alright with that ;) I’d very much like to pass my courses this term, if that works for you.

    A few lovely new products – I know the base product all probably contain silicones (actually, it’s much less a “probably” and much more a “they do”), but they look so tempting! The shade range for the Sephora foundation is quite impressive (especially for a house line), and the reviews so far sound great. Plus, $22 for just over an ounce? This is a train I could get on. Theoretically. If Mr. Cone wasn’t already on said train, keeping me off of it. [I’m sorry, please excuse the crazy.]

    Don’t even get me started on Teint Miracle. Bottle = gorgeous. That’s really all that needs to be said.



    And some Steals & Deals…



    Hope you had a lovely weekend! Mine was mind-blowingly uneventful (and yes I do mean that in the most boring way possible), so do share your stories if you have any ;)

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    Found it: a Benefit Posietint dupe by Etude House

    While organizing my blushers this past weekend, I found quite a good dupe for Benefit PosieTint, and I thought I’d share it with you ladies this morning. The stain in question is Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint, in 02 Pink.

    The similarities:

    Packaging. Both stains feature similar packaging (PosieTint is smaller in the photos because it’s a mini), with opaque pink bases and lids that screw off. However,  the Etude House product has a doe-foot applicator, while the Benefit has a brush-tip.

    Colour. They are a bit different when swatched (it’s more obvious when you look at the stains, below), but they’re pretty similar. Though the Benefit is a bit more vivid and blue-based, the difference when the product is actually used is negligible.

    The differences:

    Scent. This one’s my big hang-up, because while PosieTint is blissfully scent-free, Etude’s version has this awful, synthetic cherry scent. It’s sort of medicinal and bitter, and smells very much like something that I wouldn’t feed my family dog (that is, if my family had a dog, which we do not.)

    Price. The Benefit is $28USD (yes, it’s $28… even more in Canada!) while the Etude House ranges from about $ to about $15. Have fun doing that math.

    Freshly applied: Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint, Pink (l) / Benefit PosieTint (r)

    My choice? Posietint is expensive, for sure, but it’s still the one I’d recommend. I prefer the blue undertones (despite the fact that the two really aren’t that different), but it’s the scent that gets me – I can’t stand the “cherry” odour of the Etude House version. However, if you’re on a budget & you don’t mind the scent, then the Etude House is the way to go, hands down.

    Just the stains: Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint, Pink (l) / Benefit PosieTint (r)

    P.S. Here are a few shops you can find the Etude House tint at. I’m not affiliated with any of these & don’t make a penny if you purchase at them, but I thought I’d do the searching for you ;) Just for reference, these are about 6, 000 won in Korea – about $5 USD.

    {$14USD at Makeup Flair} {$13.90SGD at Korea Beauty House} {$8.88 at Miss Hong} {$5-$10 on ebay}

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    Get the look: MAC & Milk for Vena Cava

    The makeup look at this year’s Vena Cava show really caught my eye – grungy, chunky, messy glitter. It’s not something you’d usually see on a runway (or anywhere), so I thought I’d point it out to you lovely ladies! All images are via Modelina.

    Christian McCulloch created this look using a mixture of MAC Glitter in 3D Silver, Silver, and Purple Reflects on and around the eyes, and hilighted cheekbones with Strobe Liquid. The skin was kept relatively clean, and the lips were finished with a pink-ish, very natural shade. (Breakdown via BellaSugar.)

    Tips on creating this look at home:

    • If you’re going the whole nine yards, take heed! The large glitter chunks aren’t approved as eye-safe, and can scratch your cornea if it gets in your eye. Make sure you’re using an appropriate base (I hear lash glue works surprisingly well, though I usually just go with a sticky primer) and clean off with care.
    • Try toning down the look and use glittery eyeshadow instead of actual glitter.
    • To add depth to the look, try mixing up your textures – create a smudgy gunmetal smokey eye with a cream shadow, then add a pop of a sheer powder shadow with chunky glitter (Urban Decay Uzi comes to mind) in the middle of your lid.
    • Don’t be afraid of glitter eyeliners. Annabelle’s Glitterama liner in Dark Angel would be an amazing addition to a look like this, and it can be had for (quite a bit) under $10!



    Love it? Hate it? Let me know in the comments! (Personally, I’d never wear it, but I still like that they went ahead and did it. After all, runway doesn’t have to be appropriate for real life!)

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    Giveaway reminder: Five February Favourites

    You still have just under a week to enter our Feb Faves giveaway, so get on that if you haven’t yet! ;)

    The prize

    • Annabelle Eyeshadow Trio in Rosewood,
    • Marcelle Rouge Xpression lipstick in Curious,
    • Marcelle Minerals Eyeshadow in Halo,
    • The Body Shop DeoDry stick in Fresh & Floral, and
    • Rimmel Lasting Finish PRO in Steel Gray.

    How to enter

    There are now three ways to enter the giveaway! (And it’s retroactive; if you’ve already followed + tweeted on Twitter, that automatically just turned into two entries for ya.)

    1. For one entry, follow @theNotice on Twitter.
    2. For another, follow @theNotice on Twitter and then re-tweet the following: Follow @thenotice and RT to win FIVE of Rae’s favourite products! http://bit.ly/dJWhEJ
    3. Finally, for one entry, follow theNotice through Google Friend Connect (over in our right-hand column) and leave a comment about anything at all on the original post.

    Good luck!

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    Find Mr. Bright with Benefit’s cheeky new complexion set

    What it is: Benefit Finding Mr. Bright, a cute boxed set that includes minis of four fab complexion products. Check out our first post on it here.

    Girl Meets Pearl

    Once upon a time in Sephora, a sales associate was insistant that, like the similarly packaged “That Gal,” Girl Meets Pearl was meant to be used as an all-over luminizer.

    Nice girl, but I’m calling her bluff. The rose-gold sheen (more on the gold than the rose) of Girl Meets Pearl is gorgeous, subtle, and deliciously demure, but it’s definitely a full-fledged highlighter (and not just a primer with a glow). The base shade is quite sheer and the shimmer particles quite small, so I honestly can’t come up with a single skintone that this wouldn’t flatter!

    Best for: all skintones

    The effect: a sheer, subtle gold sheen appropriate for a day at the beach or a night out with the girls.

    PosieTint

    One of the problems I had with BeneTint was that it’s really, really liquidy. While I have no issues with this in theory, it does make the product hard to blend out before it’s set! PosieTint is sort of like BeneTint’s creamier, pinker sister, and I find it a great deal easier to work with.

    As you can see in the swatches, PosieTint comes out looking like a (slightly garish) hot pink, but blends out and sets to a much softer, more translucent rose. It’s fairly sheer but layers really, really well, and is a “true” stain – none of this sticky-finish business (ahem, Tarte.) I should note, though, that like other liquid stains, it’ll catch on dry bits if you’re not careful (and should be topped with gloss of balm)!

    Best for: light to medium skintones

    The effect: a really natural-looking cool-toned pink stain (but wearable on warmer skintones as well).

    high beam (l) vs girl meets pearl (r)

    HighBeam

    This one was Benefit’s original liquid highlighter, and it’s definitely worth the raves. It’s a great deal more noticeable than Girl Meets Pearl, with a dewy off-white base (it leans a cold pink) and tons of shimmer, but I do know people of all skintones (super fair to super dark) who wear this.

    Best for: medium to dark skintones

    The effect: this is subtle on light skintones, but offers a lot of pop! for medium and dark tones.

    Erase Paste

    Because this was in Medium, I couldn’t try it out for wear time, etc. However, I did test it out on my darker-toned mother, and I gotta say – it’s good stuff! It’s creamy and well-pigmented, and has just enough salmon tones to counteract the violet/red of dark circles (but not so much that it’s an undereye-only product.)

    Best for: dark undereye circles, occasional blemish concealing. Watch out for creasing if you have fine lines and/or oily skin, though!

    The ingredients:

    The verdict? The box is a bit too clunky to carry around with you, but it would be perfect to keep in your desk drawer or on your vanity – it’s everything you’d need to touch up (& amp up) your complexion on your way out to dinner ;) It’ll start hitting shelves in March, so if you’re a Medium in Erase Paste, keep an eye out for it!

    Pass on it if… you’re not a medium-toned beauty. At $35US/$40CAD, it’s not worth it unless you (or a friend) will be able to use the entire set. Read more

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    Spring collections round-up: part four

    Today we have Armani, Clarins (coverage of the collection here and here), and NARS. Enjoy!

    How the widgets work: just click – it’s that simple. These should be set up so that when you click on a specific product, it’ll take you to that product’s page. (If it doesn’t seem to be working, well, let me know!)

    Giorgio Armani, La Femme, Giorgio Armani, Giorgio Armani

    Clarins, Clarins, Clarins, Clarins, Clarins

    NARS, NARS, NARS, NARS, NARS

    The rest of the round-up…

    • Part one: Dior, Estee Lauder, and Guerlain
    • Part two: Urban Decay, Benefit, and LORAC
    • Part three: Smashbox, Lancome, and Laura Mercier
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