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    Ellis Faas E104 is chocolate for the soul

    November 19, 2010
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    I wasn’t sure what to post today (still gross and cold in Edmonton), so I decided to share some photos of a really lovely Ellis Faas Creamy Eyes shadow. I haven’t worn it around enough to give a definite decision on its wear, but from the couple of times I have worn it, I haven’t had any problems at all with fading, and very little problems with creasing. (It was over Too Faced Shadow Insurance once, and Benefit Stay Don’t Stray the other — it creased a bit with the TFSI but not at all with the Benefit product.)

    I had intended to do an “Ellis Red” series (on the different ways to wear a red lip), but I didn’t end up having time this summer — and now with winter sunlight hours, I’m not so sure it’s going to happen. I absolutely had to share this swatch, though: I am just so crazy about this shade! The swatch on the Ellis site is cute, sure, but it doesn’t do this shade justice (and to be frank, neither do my photos).

    E104 is a gorgeously rich chocolate brown. The shadow is so pigmented, and I want to eat it up! (But not really, because that’s quite gross, actually.) The base colour is interspersed with subtle gold shimmer, and I find it to be neutral enough to be worn on an skintone — I can sheer it out for a more natural look on my winter NW15 skin, or layer more onto my mother’s summer NC30. I just really, really love it!

    Now, I have to warn you — the next photo was taken with flash, and it’s pretty terrible. So trust the above swatch for shade, but see the below for shimmer!  (And just fyi, the left-hand side is the unblended swatch and the right is blended a bit.)

    Note: the “truest” rendition of this shade is probably actually the pen tip itself — very molten-chocolate. Plus gold shimmer, which would probably not taste good in the context of actual chocolate, but is wonderful alongside chocolate in the colour-related sense of the word.

    Oh god I need to sleep.

    At €26/$36 for 2.5ml, Ellis shadows are certainly a splurge… but hell, this would be a fabulous Christmas gift for a makeup addict. Or even just a great Christmas splurge for yourself!

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    Tags: /Ellis Faas, Eyes, Indie brands, Product Photos, Product Review, Product Swatches
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    Clinique Strawberry Fudge FOTD

    November 18, 2010
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    6 Comments

    Not much to say around these images — this week has been really gray and cold (hence the flash; ugh) so I’m not exactly thrilled to be doing… um, anything.

    Anyhow; here are a couple of photos! I’ll try to go more in-depth on the quad in a day or four, but for now you can check out some swatches of it here, or read the Lip Smoothie review here.

    Oh! And we can’t forget the eye, though the damn lighting conditions basically took out ALL the soft, prettiness of the shadows anyways…

    Products used: just timeBalm concealer, Beauty Tubes mascara, and items from this collection! (Specifically, the compact and gloss).

    Availability: compact, gloss. Plus, any Clinique counter if you’re looking to buy in-person!

    How have your weeks been? Just as grey and gross, or have they been going alright?

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    Tags: /Uncategorized
    6 Comments

    Fall tones: Rimmel True Vintage

    November 17, 2010
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    What it is: Rimmel Lasting Finish Intense Wear Lipstick in True Vintage

    I had this entire post done and ready to go up this morning at 6:00, and I stayed up until a ridiculous hour (okay, 1AM) to get it done… but for some reason or another, WordPress deleted the entire !@)#* thing and left me with nothing but the first four words.

    Excuse me, but (cover the children’s eyes!) what. the. hell.

    Anyhow.

    The wear: This mishap was actually a great way to start off the post, though it wasn’t the best way to start off my morning. Why is this, you ask? Well, like the post, this “eight hour” lipstick mysteriously disappears when you turn your back — I can get 2-3 hours of wear out of it before I need to reapply, though the stain does last for about 4-5. And, like WordPress, it leaves you high and dry… less on the high and more on the dry, though.

    Psst: this ends up opaque after a layer or two, but it can go on a little blotchy at first. Make sure to double-check your finished lip when you reapply!

    The shade: I’ve always been a “have lemons? Make lemon lemon cupcakes with lemon icing!” kind of girl, so I guess that’s what I’ll be doing with this review. (You should taste my lemon lemon cupcakes with lemon icing; they’re amazing.) Anyhow, I wanted this to be the perfect fall lipstick shade, and it’s exactly that, in the tube — a muted berry with no shine, shimmer, or sparkle. It doesn’t read the same way on the lips, being more vivid than it is in the tube, but I think that makes it a bit more wearable for the average woman. I like a muted, mauvey lip, but it can be more ageing.

    The packaging: Here’s the lemon icing on top! The Lasting Finish packaging won’t win any innovation prizes anytime soon, but I like it nonetheless. The slanted top lets the cap sit at a cute, jaunty angle, and it clicks back onto the lipstick firmly. I like the colour and finish of the material used, and while it’s light (like pretty much all drugstore packaging), that does make it great for throwing in your bag!

    The verdict? I don’t like how this lip colour feels (ugh, drying!) or how long it lasts (seeing as it pretty much doesn’t), but the price is quite nice and both the packaging and colour are gorgeous. I refuse to reach a final verdict on this one, so make your own!

    Availability: try Well.ca online, any drugstore, or even some supermarkets!

    P.S. This does have a light scent to it, if by “scent” we mean “cheaply fragranced odour.” However, it does fade within the first 15 minutes or so, making it a-okay with me.

    P.P.S. Here’s what the stain looks like, if you BLOT it off (the colour’s much more even if it wears off on its own). Gorgeous, right?

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    Tags: /Fall/Winter 2010, Lips, Product Photos, Product Review, Product Swatches, Rimmel, Uncategorized
    17 Comments

    YOU: Private-label beauty lines

    November 16, 2010
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    6 Comments

    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!

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    Tags: /Eyes, Other, YOU
    6 Comments

    A new home + a giveaway!

    November 15, 2010
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    189 Comments

    In case you havent noticed… we finally have a home to call our own! That’s right, ladies and gents, theNotice has now moved to https://thenotice.net. We’ve had a bit of a design revamp as well, but the archives and comments have hopefully transferred over correctly. If not, feel free to give me a shout at rae@thenotice.net.

    Update: unfortunately, the comments didn’t transfer over :( We have all of the comments from Sept ’07 to Oct ’09, but nothing from the past year. And (lucky us), no way to fix it. Sorry, my lovelies!

    Please update your bookmarks to https://thenotice.net, and make sure to re-click the “join this site” button! (I couldn’t get the Friend Connect widget to transfer over either, unfortunately.)

    But anyhow! Onto the giveaway, which we’ve timed to celebrate our exciting (re-)launch. Salon Hive, a little online shop that stocks everything from hair shears (they’re apparently pretty excited about about their kamisori shears) to flat irons has offered to supply one of the latter for a giveaway.

    For the chance to win a Karmin G3 iron…

    Leave a comment letting me know what colour (images above) you’d like to receive!

    Seriously: it’s that easy, so get entering! This giveaway ends in two weeks (that’s Nov 29th at 11:59PM GMT-8:00 for those of us who are calendar-challenged). To enter, you have to be (a) over the age of majority in your country of residence, or (b) over 13 with parental consent.

    If you’d like an extra entry a bunch of extra entries, you can do any or all of these…

    1. Follow theNotice through Friend Connect (1 extra entry),
    2. Link to this post on your blog, twitter, facebook etc (1 extra entry; please leave the link in the comments), or
    3. Comment on this post about anything (anything at all!) each day until the contest ends. (A maximum of thirteen extra entries!)

    I know that good hot tools can be a huge drain on one’s budget, so I’m thrilled to be bringing you this giveaway :) May the best luckiest lady win!

    xoxo

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    Tags: /About theNotice, Giveaway, Hair
    189 Comments

    A candle worth stocking up: Voluspa French Bourbon Vanille

    November 10, 2010
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    2 Comments

    Every now and again, you come across a scent that truly “gets” you — something you’d be okay with smelling, well, pretty much all the time. Something that’s delicious, complex, and full, but never stifling; never overwhelming.

    For me, this scent is a candle.
    A discontinued candle.
    WHY DO THESE THINGS HAPPEN TO ME.
    Anyhow… I have a bottle of the room spray in the mail, and a glass jar candle in the meantime. (Which, might I add, I am afraid of burning. I’ll wait for the spray to arrive safely first, pleaseandthanks!) French Bourbon Vanille is perfection: sexy and smokey; a smooth, moody vanilla. It’s sweet, but that sweetness is cut down perfectly by a wonderful depth — smoke and booze and just… general deliciousness.
    If everything smelled like this, I would be set for life.
    Unfortunately, it does not.
    In the meantime, I have been wearing this candle as a solid fragrance — Voluspa candles are notoriously soft and many do use them for this purpose, but as expected, the scent fades quickly (2 hours, tops). I shudder at the price when I think of it as a candle, but it isn’t… not really. It’s a ridiculously well-blended scent, and seeing as I enjoy every damn minute of it and wear it as a fragrance, $ doesn’t seem too steep at all.
    It took a little bit of tracking down, but I did manage to find this line at Apothica! Order quickly, though; they’ll soon be gone for good :(
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    Tags: /Fragrance, Holy Grail, Product Photos, Product Review
    2 Comments

    Clinique’s Strawberry Bliss: one pretty Smoothie I’d skip

    November 9, 2010
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    3 Comments

    What it is: Clinique Vitamin C Lip Smoothie in Strawberry Bliss, a new shade featured in this winter’s Strawberry Fudge collection.

    The packaging: I quite like the look of the Lip Smoothie line — the tubes are cute, and while no click-pen applicator is 100% precise, I find these to be a lot more predictable than other pens that I’ve tried. I have only one (okay, two) complaints, because I’m a whiny child: I wish that (1) the brush tip was larger, and (2) the tube contained more product! The brush tip is a little too thin for my liking (though I suppose it’s better to have it a bit too small than too large, for the thinner-lipped), and the tube contains a measly 0.05oz.

    (For comparison’s sake: e.l.f.’s Hypershine click-pen glosses contain the same amount for $16.50 less, and Clinique’s non-click-pen Long Last Glosswear line contains four times the amout per $14 tube.)

    The texture: Clinique’s Smoothies are thick, plush, and a little sticky. Not as bad as, say, Stila glosses, but this is still stickier than I’m used to! Thankfully, the shimmer is incredibly finely milled — I can’t feel a single bit of graininess, even when the rest of the gloss has worn off. (If these were both sticky and gritty, this review would be on a giant, fiery tailspin taking a totally different direction.)

    The shade: Strawberry Bliss is a lovely neutral pink interspersed with the aforementioned shimmer — which, by the way, is a seriously gorgeous gold. It’s quite glossy, but also quite sheer: sheer enough to turn me off it a bit. I like a little more bang out of my dollop of gloss, especially when the cost-per-ounce is this high!

    The wear: Here’s where this review goes downhill. I can only get 2-3 hours of wear out of these, and that’s pushing it a little. This gloss needs seemingly constant reapplication, and leaves my lips feeling dry, despite a very moisturized appearance. (Heck, they even feel as if they’d be moisturizing, upon application — but after a few hours, my lips are parched.)

    I should also mention that these are totally scent-free, which (of course), I absolutely LOVE!

    The verdict? To be totally honest, I wouldn’t shell out for one of these Smoothies — they’re nice, but they could definitely be better. True, they’re easier to apply than Clinique’s regular gloss line (doe-foot vs pen-tip), but for the formula and the cost, and are much less sticky, but… I just don’t feel they’re worth it.

    That shade, though? I’m usually not into sheer, or into gold glitter, but I kinda love it!

    Availability: Clinique, Nordstrom, etc etc etc!

    Oh, and one more random image off the Clinique site, just because I thought it was cute:

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    Tags: /Clinique, Fall/Winter 2010, Lips, Product Photos, Product Review, Product Swatches
    3 Comments

    Annabelle insomnia Multi-Dome Eyeshadows: review

    November 8, 2010
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    My thoughts on the Multi-Dome Eyeshadow quads vary greatly from shade to shade, making it difficult to try and come up with an overall “verdict.” So, I’ll be breaking this down into parts…

    The runt of the litter: Midnight
    Seeing as Midnight was the quad used in the gorgeous promo image, I had the highest expectations for this one. I swatched it first, and I have to say: it really did not live up to my hopes.

    The shades were desperately sheer swatched dry, and the lightest two (the bottom ones) remained unpigmented and frighteningly chunky (I may even say “flakey,” in accordance to the glitter) when swatched wet and over a base. The dark blue shade, while lovely, goes on patchily and the colour blends away quickly — a huge letdown, seeing as I’ve loved Annabelle blues so much in the past. I did really like the glittery black, but… one out of four? Not looking great so far.

    The better choice: Insomnia
    Funnily enough, I ended up swatching these in order of worst to best! (Insomnia was swatched second.) The shimmer in this quad really was that — shimmer, rather than glitter flakes. While still quite unpigmented swatched dry, these really perked up when used wet.

    The top two shades (the yellow and green) were the hilights of this quad, going on smoothly, while the supersupersheer light violet was the biggest letdown. I’m still undecided about the darker violet; it’s stunning in real life and swatches as an almost-perfect purple, but like the dark blue in Midnight, it too goes on patchy.

    The cream of the crop: Disturbia

    Ta-da! Now, Disturbia is where it’s at, ladies and gents. If you buy just one item from insomnia, let it be this one! The shades are buttery and blendable, and the pigmentation (used wet, mind you) is just fabulous.

    When foiled, these are every bit as impressive as regular Annabelle shadows. My favourite shade is the chocolate brown: it’s nice in the pan, but it’s downright delicious on my lids! The red is gorgeous as well — imagine the cranberries on top of the chocolate cake, fi you will.

    Huh. I think I might be hungry already…

    Packaging and cost
    Like most of the Annabelle lineup, these are packaged in a very drugstore-appropriate manner. The plastic quads are light and simple, holding up to normal wear but definitely not conveying feelings of luxury or opulence! However, at $13.95 apiece (that’s $3.49 per shade,) I have no complaints with the packaging.

    Though I’ve heard some hemming and hawing over the price, I personally think it’s pretty decent. Most drugstore eyeshadows [worth their salt] in Canada run $4-8, so $3.49 per shade is sounding pretty nice to me!

    Overall, I think these shadows are worth a look — but they’re not fabulous. I’m a huge sucker for a domed eyeshadow, and of the mid-range and high-end ones that I’ve tried so far, these definitely come out above the others in terms of quality and wear. If you’re looking to spend under $15 on a baked shadow, these are your best bet!

    However, compared to the rest of the Annabelle line, I found these pretty disappointing. While they’re not as pretty in the pan, the Mono and Trio Eyeshadows really take the cake in terms of quality. It’s not these are all terrible, it’s just that they’re… average. For drugstore shadows, I mean. Y’know?

    More insomnia…

    Reviews of other products mentioned in this post:

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    Tags: /Annabelle, Canadian beauty, Fall/Winter 2010
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