theNotice

Get a Peach Glow with Natio

February 7, 2011

14 Comments

Back when we did our end-of-the-year survey, I was asked specifically to review exclusive-to-Australia products. Of course, my reaction to this was pretty much just “I’m sorry, what?!” because, well… if it’s exclusive to Australia, how was I supposed to get my hands on it in Canada?!

Anyhow. Whoever wrote that comment – this review is for you. Enjoy!

What it is: Natio Peach Glow Blush. Thanks to Suzie for sending it to me (ages and ages ago)!

About the product: Natio is an Australia-only line with a natural focus, though this blusher in particular isn’t all-natural (parabens and mineral oil, lovelies!) Peach Glow is a light peach with a frosty finish, but the shimmer is quite finely milled – in other words, think “hilighter” rather than “disco ball.” It has more red undertones than yellow ones (hence, peach rather than apricot) and is decently pigmented; nothing that wows me but it certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Looks like: I had a strange sense of deja vu while swatching this blusher, so I pulled out two products I thought might be similar. They’re not perfect dupes, but they’re close!

Clarins Blush Prodige in Sunset Coral (review here) is my favourite of the three, with a bit more brown/red than peach, the least shimmer, and the longest wear time. Natio Peach Glow is the cheapest (at $12.68AUD), but it’s also the most sheer, and wears off the most easily. Finally, MAC Fresco Cream Color Base is a very pigmented cream finish, and has just a touch more red than the other two. It sheers out well, but can be layered for almost complete opacity.

Clarins Blush Prodige in Sunset Coral / Natio Blush in Peach Glow / MAC Cream Color Base in Fresco

The ingredients: Talc, Zinc Stearate, Mineral Oil, Polybutene, Methylparaben, Propylparaben. Plus a bunch of “may contain” colorants (all listed on their site).

The verdict? I’m not hugely in love with Peach Glow, but it’s cute – and I do like it enough that I’d love to try more Natio! For Australians, it’ll be a ton cheaper than the Clarins or MAC alternatives, but just keep in mind that it’s less pigmented, and the finish is quite different. On light skintones, it’s a nice choice for a peach blusher; on darker ones, I bet it would make a fab hilighter.

Peach Glow in slightly different lighting

P.S. Want more Autralian product reviews? Let me know in the comments!

Tags: /Cheeks, Clarins, Dupes, MAC, Product Photos, Product Review, Product Swatches

14 Comments

Posts you may have missed

February 6, 2011

Rae Chen

3 Comments

Hey there, lovelies! Happy Sunday :) I’m going to be cramming for midterms all day, so instead of a “real” post, here are a number of others you may have missed recently on theNotice…

In the eye department: reviews and swatches of Rimmel Glam’Eyes and Urban Decay Sin Primer Potion, and swatches of my favourite violet eyeshadows.

In the cheek department: reviews and swatches of Hard Candy Hide & Glow Cheek and Clarins Blush Prodige.

In the lip department: reviews and swatches of seven Marcelle Rouge Xpression lipsticks and my current lip love – Clarins Rouge Hydra Nude lipsticks.

In the skin department: reviews of German Nivea (my winter HG moisturizer for dry skin), Subversive Apothecary Anti-Ageing Serum, and Hard Candy Glamoflauge. Oh! And an addition to our silicone-free lists – creme foundations.

Some odds and ends: a chocolate brown look with Ellis Faas and Dianna Agron (erm… it’ll make sense if you check out the post) and some chatter about the new Miss Dior Cherie ads with Natalie Portman. Plus, we’re doing a giveaway and got on Twitter! Big week, lol.

Have fun reading what you missed! Even if it isn’t all that entertaining, you’ll probably still be having a more enjoyable Sunday than me :P Anyone watching that, um, sports thing?

Tags: /Uncategorized

3 Comments

Steals and Deals + New 05/02/11

February 5, 2011

Rae Chen

2 Comments

New $10-and-under finds… (doesn’t that Rimmel trio look awesome? I believe they’re doing quads, too – and if they’re anything like the singles, then they’re fab!)

New over-$10 finds…

And some Steals and Deals!

Sign up for Stila’s newsletter and get 20% off!
Get up to 65% off Valentine’s Gift Set Specialsoff at StrawberryNET ’till the 14th…
…or go for an extra 10% off all fragsuntil the 11th.

Tags: /New This Week (& etc), Steals and Deals

2 Comments

Chocolate eyes and pink lips: a Dianna Agron-inspired look

February 4, 2011

Rae Chen

15 Comments

Agron, my most recent girlcrush (she always looks so flawless!) tried out a bolder-than-usual look at the 2011 SAG awards with celeb makeup artist Kate Lee. While I know a lot of people (really) didn’t like it, I absolutely ate it up. Yes, it’s a much more mature look than the one she usually wears, but it was lovely nonetheless!

I couldn’t dupe this look spot-on, simply because we look so different, so this is more of an “inspired by” than it is a “get this look.” I kept the rich chocolate brown eye, paired it with lips of a similar tone (though I opted for a darker shade, which I thought would balance the look better on me), and added similarly glowy, warm, contoured cheeks. All in all? The look used very few products and took a mere fifteen minutes to do, so I’m a happy camper ;) Read on to find out what I used and how you can get this look!

Tags: /4. Makeup looks, Annabelle, Canadian beauty, Celebrities, Ellis Faas, Eyes, Indie brands, MAC, Makeup looks: neutral, Marcelle, Rimmel

15 Comments

Ride off into the Sunset (Coral) with Clarins

February 3, 2011

Rae Chen

13 Comments

What it is: Clarins Blush Prodige in 03 Miami Pink and 04 Sunset Coral

The Blush Prodige line: These blushers have an interesting pan design – two small strips of matte colour, paired with two (much larger) portions of a similar, softly shimmery shade. As I’m sure you all know by now, I am not a huge fan of shimmer… but these manage to stay in my “good books”! Instead of being chunky and obvious, the shimmer is really, really finely milled, so all you get is smooth colour. I’ve never tried an airbrush blush (though it’s on my to-do list), but I’m 98% percent sure this is exactly the effect you’d get.

Ridiculously. Flawless.

The packaging: While I loved the luxe feel of Clarins’ heavy Holiday face palette, I really do appreciate the lightweight packaging of these! It’s still solidly made, and looks fantastic, but it’s not going to weigh down your cosmetics bag. Of course, I don’t like how easily they fingerprint, but a sacrifice must be made for the shiny, shiny surface!

The shades: Miami Pink is my usual blush colour: a medium yellow-based pink with a very natural feel. It can definitely be layered for intensity (the matte strips in particular pack a lot of punch!) but it’s gorgeous applied sheerly, too. I can see this one working on super-fair skintones right through to the medium ones, but I hesitate to recommend it to darker skintones (unless you’re looking for a super-subtle, glowing hilight).

Miami Pink: shimmery / matte / blended

Sunset Coral, on the other hand, is a little farther out of my comfort zone. I’m incredibly glad that I tried it, though – I thought it might be a little ruddy when I looked at it in the pan, but I absolutely adore it once applied. It’s a great balance between apricot and red, and would be an an awesome choice if you’re looking for a versatile, demure coral. Most corals aren’t cocktail-party appropriate, but this could take you right from the beach to the ballroom!

Sunset Coral: shimmery / matte / blended

The verdict? I’m totally hooked on my two Blush Prodige blushers, but I recommend them with some reserves! They’re not great if you’re looking to use the shades separately (the matte portions are just too small for this), and some of the shades may not work as well on darker skintones – but aside from that? Yeah, they’re pretty fab.

Availability: All six shades of the Blush Prodige line run for $28US/$32CAD. (Unless you’re at Bloomingdale’s, where apparently they’re $1.50 more?!) They’re new this February, but are not limited edition to my knowledge!

Tags: /Cheeks, Clarins, Product Photos, Product Review, Product Swatches, Spring/Summer 2011

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GIVEAWAY: Five February Favourites!

February 2, 2011

Rae Chen

135 Comments

I realized that we haven’t had a giveaway in ages, so I wanted to put together something special for you lovely ladies. The result? A “favourites” giveaway, of course!

One lucky winner will get to try out a bunch of my faves – my favourite drugstore eyeshadows (Annabelle), one of my favourite drugstore lipstick lines (Marcelle Rouge Xpression), my favourite lid shade for light-to-medium skintones (Halo, and I should probably also note that the opened one in the photograph was my own; the winner will get a sealed one), my favourite deo (technically, I prefer the liquid, but Canada Post says I shouldn’t be shipping that…) and, finally, my favourite off-greige polish (Steel Gray).

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 two easy ways to enter this giveaway, and you’re more than welcome to do both ;)

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

This giveaway will run for two weeks (until the 16th of Feb, 2011) and is open internationally following your country’s entrant laws. (Which I think is legal age or over 13 with parental consent?)

Good luck! xoxo

Tags: /Annabelle, Canadian beauty, Giveaway, Marcelle, Rimmel, The Body Shop, Uncategorized

135 Comments

Clinique Chubby Stick dupes

February 2, 2011

Rae Chen

2 Comments

Alright, so these aren’t really dupes – they’re just other pencils that are wider than normal. Because I happen to think they’re cute. Now, I’ll admit that most of them aren’t quite as cute as the Clinique version, but just in case you were looking for something a little different (maybe a little cheaper, or maybe a little more pigmented?), here’s a bunch.

For a little less $$:

For a little more $$:

Tags: /Clinique, Dupes, Lips, New This Week (& etc)

2 Comments

Spring collections round-up: part three

February 1, 2011

Rae Chen

It’s already February; can you believe it?! (Hint: I cannot.) Anyhow, with this realization, it hit me that I should probably get crackin’ on our Spring series, so today we have Smashbox, Lancome, and Laura Mercier (whose collection I am completely enamoured with, albeit only through photos). 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!)

Lancôme, Lancôme, Lancôme, Lancôme, Lancôme

Laura Mercier, Laura Mercier, Laura Mercier

The rest of the round-up…

Part one: Dior, Estee Lauder, and Guerlain
Part two: Urban Decay, Benefit, and LORAC

Tags: /Lancome, New This Week (& etc), Smashbox, Spring/Summer 2011

Hard Candy Hide & Glow Cheek: product review and swatches

January 31, 2011

Rae Chen

12 Comments

What it is: Hard Candy Hide & Glow Cheek duo cheek tint in Hot Date (317)

The formula: Hide & Glow Cheek features a solid gel formula, like Tarte’s cheek stains. However, I find these to be a lot (and I mean a lot) less sticky! It’s sort of like… applying a slightly tacky foundation, rather than slatering on a bit ‘o glue stick.

The formula glides on easily and blends well, allowing for a lot of time to move the product. Plus, the finish does a great job “waking up” my face – my cheeks are left looking well-hydrated but not shiny or oily, which works perfectly with my combination very dry/slightly oily skin. I do think it’s this finish that leads to the wear time – because it’s slightly moist-looking, it doesn’t last as long as a liquid stain or a powder blusher. (Like with most lipsticks, I get about four hours out of this before I start craving a touch-up; five hours before I actually need one.)

The shades: okay, so this product gets some major brownie points for the two shades. The darker end is your typical “berry cheek stain” colour, complimenting a wide variety of skintones summer through winter, but the brighter end has stolen my heart. It’s a bright, fresh coral – but unlike most coral blushers, it’s sheer enough to look perfectly natural. I’m waiting eagerly for summer to start, because while it’s awesome at brightening up my winter pallor, it’s going to look amazing in the summer.

The ingredients:

Caprylic/capric tryglyceride, trimethylopropane trisosterate, hydroxystearic acid, isostearyl isostearate, disostearyl malate, polybutene, isononyl isonanoate, ozokerite, 1,2-hezanediol, capryl gycol, castor seed oil.

May Contain: titanium dioxide, mica, iron oxides, carmine, silica

What we’d change: I’m not a huge fan of the bulky packaging – there’s only about 3cm of product in total, and yet the stick is 11cm long! I guess I understand where they were going with the tube (it does make it really easy to hold and apply), but I just hate how bulky it is. Perhaps if Hard Candy tried packaging similar to e.l.f.’s or Bobbi’s, and split the shades up?

The verdict? I do have one major problem with this blusher (which is that I’d like to reapply during the day, but can’t justify lugging the clunky packaging around to do so), but aside from that, I do quite like it. The finish is just right, and the shades are lovely! Plus, you can’t beat the

Tags: /Cheeks, Hard Candy, Paraben-free, Product Photos, Product Review, Product Swatches, Silicone-free

12 Comments

Dior Spring 2011 – runway beauty

January 30, 2011

Rae Chen

3 Comments

I thought I’d share some more photos of the Dior Spring 2011 show – after all, the makeup was just as stunning as the collection itself!

P.S. That gorgeous lipstick? It’s a Rouge Dior, in No. 999 Ara Red ;)

shade name + photos via style.com

Tags: /Dior

3 Comments