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    Marchesa // Spring 2011

    I usually love Marchesa. Wholeheartedly. But while there were plenty of gorgeous pieces in this upcoming Spring’s collection, there were a lot of “what the hell were they thinking?!” moments as well.

    Like this one:

    Or this one:

    Or THIS one:

    But we’ll excuse these mistakes, at least for now. Why, you ask? Well, here’s why:

    Oh, and a few more detail shots via Vogue.com —

    Sidenote: as much as I feel loyal to Style.com, I’ll definitely be leaving it for Vogue.com if they don’t step up their game, stat! I love their easy-to-navigate, incredibly complete coverage… but the photography usually just doesn’t cut it. Do they do a good job of it? Yes. But the problem isn’t if they do a good job or not; it’s if other sites are doing a better job of it. And yes, yes they are indeed.



    images credit style.com and vogue.com

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    Vera Wang // Spring 2011

    Though I’m not usually a huge Vera Wang fan, the atmosphere of her Spring collection really wowed me. I feel like the line has finally settled into a comfortable place, with elegance and edginess balanced in a way it wasn’t last spring. (Perhaps it was just me, but I found the scale tipped too far toward edginess this year past, adding an uncomfortable expectancy to the show.)

    The muted, dark hues with just a few bits of colour were a wonderful contrast to the usual pastels and beiges of spring, and the soft hair and makeup were executed perfectly: enough deconstruction to add to the feel of the show, but no so much that you wanted to grab a hairbrush and makeup wipes. 
    And thus, without further ado…

    images credit style.com
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    Bobbi Brown hits Sephora

    What is this maddness?! you ask? No, we’re not kidding — after years of makeup lovers pleas, Sephora’s finally going to start stocking Bobbi Brown!

    The products won’t be hitting all stores, and the ones that they will be appearing in might not have the line until the end of the year… but in the meantime, I say we hound the heck out of the online site, yes?
    A few products I would possibly die without:
    • Lip Balm SPF 15 (review.) It’s a bit more expensive than a tube of ChapStick, but you get a ton of product and it works like a dream! When my lips are strapped for moisture, this is quite literally the only balm that’ll cut it. (As an added bonus, it works amazingly as a lip base.) Aww, I guess not :( It doesn’t look like they’ll be stocking this one *sigh*
    • Heather Buff lipcolour (review.) An almost-perfect muted-but-darker MLBB shade for my lips!
    • Rose lip pencil, another Bobbi shade I reach for all the time. I love using lip liners as lip colours, because (as long as I use them with my Bobbi lip balm,) they deliver just the most gorgeous, super-pigmented, long-wearing hues. And as an added bonus, they’re both deliciously matte and shimmer-free!
    Plus, a few products that I’d love to try: (click on the images to get to their product pages!)

    Bobbi Brown, Bobbi Brown, Bobbi Brown, Bobbi Brown

    ShopStyle

    Anyone else totally excited for this? I know I am ;) Let us know what you’re lemming in the comments!
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    Coral Crush, from summer to fall

    What it is: Maybelline ColorSensational lipstick in Coral Crush

    What we love: As we’ve mentioned before, the CS line can be really finicky — some shades have formulas that are just perfect, but some are too hard. This one is on the hard side, but due to the vivid hue, this is actually an advantage: it makes it really easy to get the colour just where you want it! Plus, the formula is a “true” creme, that is, it’s shimmer-free. And as you all know, we love us a good creme lipstick!
    Coral Crush is also wonderfully pigmented, and we love the shade itself, too. Corals can be hard(er) to wear, but Coral Crush is more fuchsia and less orange, which makes teeth look whiter, and cools down the shade enough that it’ll work with a ton of skintones. I tend to wear a pretty sheer layer of vivid colours like this one; they really brighten up my complexion, but the transparency of the colour keeps things more low-key and subtle.
    Don’t forget: The CS line is paraben-free and scented very lightly (especially compared to most drugstore lipsticks!) But, if possible, swatch this or try it on in-store first — I think it’s a great way to wear some major colour, but for those of us who are used to MLBB and nude shades, it might be a shock to your system at first!
    The verdict? Well, you already know that we love the CS formulas (this one in particular,) and the colour gets a huge thumbs-up as well! If you’re looking to try out an awesome, on-trend coral shade, definitely check this one out. And okay, so it’s more summery — but I’ll be holding onto it through autumn (and maybe even winter.) It’s like bronzer: you just don’t want to admit that summer’s over, so everyone just keeps on wearing it!

    Availability: Well.ca, Drugstore.com 

    One last thing: my sister fell in love with Coral Crush too, but we both wear it very sheerly… and she’s way too lazy to blot. I ended up sheering out a portion of the lipstick for her in a different tube, so I’ll try to have the tutorial up soon!
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    Hope For Women

    What it is: Hope For Women, an organization that is both “green” and is fair-trade. Hope For Women aims to improve the lives of the (female) artisans it employs, with wages 5-7 times higher than the government-established minimum wage. Read more about the company on their site!

    (Erm, not that they’re intentionally decreasing the standard of life for male artisans. It’s just that they haven’t hired any.)

    The samples we were sent speak volumes for themselves, so we won’t say too much more. The cards run for $5.50 apiece and the bracelets, $17.99 — not bad at all, seeing as the company’s both socially and ecologically responsible!  The quality of the products is fabulous as well; we’ve definitely seen more shoddily-made items (for even higher prices,) and in many instances, those higher costs are not going to the workers.
    Senorita (we love the delicate, feminine pressed flowers on this one — particularly in person, it just looks so intricate!)
    Rosa (aka “the most beautiful card we’ve ever seen”)
    The Tagua bracelet, in a goes-with-everything black and white pattern:
    Some really awesome facts about the company: 
    • Hope For Women was started by Evan and David Goldsmith — a father/son duo. Betcha didn’t see that one coming!
    • Their fun, chunky bracelets are all made from Tagua nuts, which are gathered after they have fallen from the trees (so as to not harm them.)
    • The paper is “tree free,” and is instead made out of recycled cotton rags! I thought the cards were just made from hand-pressed recycled paper, but this is definitely cooler. The result? A thick, smooth card — “eco-luxe,” if you will.
    • On the Hope For Women site, you can actually find short biographies for each of their employees, detailing the difference the company has made on their lives
    My question, therefore, is this: if Hope For Women can run a business while paying their employees decent wages and without charging the consumers an arm and a leg, what the heck is everyone else up to?! 
    Anyhow, I know we won’t change the world overnight, but the next time you’re picking up a card, or a bracelet, or something for your home, please don’t forget about Hope For Women. Not only do they produce beautiful products, I think the company’s vision is beautiful as well — so I say we show our support for fair trade in one of the only ways we, as consumers, can: with our pocket change!
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    Bobbi Brown Heather Buff: a surprising MLBB shade

    What it is: Bobbi Brown Creamy Lip Colour in Heather Buff

    Why we love the shade: Heather Buff is a surprising MLBB, for my skintone — it sat in my to-try box for months, unloved, because it looks so very “blah” in the tube! However, this sheer brown reads like a muted mauve on my lips, delivering an almost perfect my-lips-but-better shade that’s just a bit darker than my own lip colour.
    What we still long for: while allllmost perfect, Heather Buff’s still a little more brown than my ideal MLBB colour would be. I’m hoping to get to a Bobbi counter soon, though, to try on Heather Mauve! Their site describes Heather Buff as a “medium brown neutral” and Heather Mauve as a “medium mauve brown,” so it sounds… perfect, basically.
    all swatches are bare / one layer, and can be clicked for enlargement.

    The formula: just one more thing we adore. It’s not terribly moisturizing (I’d place it right above Revlon Super Lustrous lipsticks,) but it definitely won’t strip your lips of moisture. Anyone without super-dry lips should be fine with just a swipe of Bobbi’s Creamy Lip Colour, no extra lip balm needed. And, of course, it’s scent-free and very creamy! The texture is smooth and thick; more like a good lip balm than like a stick gloss.

    The verdict? I love, love, love this lip colour! Both the formula and the colour are fabulous, and it’s quickly becoming one of my go-to lipstick shades — it’s just so easy to wear, whether I have on a full face of makeup or barely anything else. And, okay, so maybe the cute tube doesn’t exactly hurt the cause!
    Try it if…
    • You’re looking for a muted MLBB shade, and lipsticks tend to pull too orange on you.
    • Smooth, shimmer-free, creamy lipsticks are your thing. True cream formulas (none of this shimmer or shine nonsense!) are getting harder and harder to find, but this is a great one.
    Skip it if…
    • You like your lip colours bright and bold! (Well, skip this shade, at least.)
    • $22 sounds like too much for a lipstick. I know, it hurts me too.


    Availability: Bobbi Brown, Nordstrom, Saks.

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    Marcelle Cleansing Water is the be-and-end-all

    What it is: Marcelle Essentials Purity Soothing Cleansing Water

    Marcelle Essentials Soothing Cleansing Water review

    The truth: I haven’t a clue what a “cleansing water” is supposed to be – they’ve always confused me. I mean, I suppose I get the concept, but I just don’t understand how they could possibly work, much less work well! They’re liquids that look and feel like water, or occasionally like tinted water, but they cleanse, tone, and remove makeup.

    About this one: I guess what I mean to say is… whatever. I don’t really care what this should be, but what I can tell you is that it is amazing. Like, so amazing that I can’t even begin to understand why Marcelle is still selling… um… anything else, as far as cleansing, toning, or makeup removal goes, really.

    a few other cleansing waters

    What it does:

    • Removes eye makeup, even if you’re wearing primer under your shadow and liner on your waterline.
    • So, obviously, it also removes all other face makeup!
    • Cleanses the skin without the need for water.
    • Leaves the skin feeling, yes, toned and soft.
    • (Very soft!)
    What it doesn’t do:
    • Strip the skin of moisture (my skin feels tight and clean after using this, but no differently than it feels after I use any other gentle toner.)
    • Impart moisture, like a cleansing milk may.
    • Cost an arm and a leg – it’s just $14.25CAD for 200mL
    • Smell funny (it actually smells pretty nice; light and fresh!)
    • Make me angry by containing parabens, silicones, or SLS.
    • Take out the garbage.

    The only drawback: This stings a little around my eye area, if I use it to remove liner. However, I wouldn’t let this dissuade you in the least! I’ve never tried a makeup remover that hasn’t stung my eye area at least a bit, and I do find this one more gentle than The Body Shop’s eye makeup remover (often said to be the most gentle one out there.)

    The verdict?

    Oh, don’t be daft. You absolutely, absolutely need this! It’s incredible – to be honest, I’m surprised someone hasn’t written some sort of sonnet about it yet.

    Because yeah, it really is that good.

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    Back to school: dowantmakeup

    Just as I expected: many of you expressed interest in submitting FOTD or EOTDs (some going so far as to email me questions,) but only one of you actually did! So, many thanks to Angela over at dowantmakeup for sharing her lovely school-and-work-appropriate FOTD ;)

    She used…

    Neutrogena Intensified Day Moisture SPF 15
    GOSH X-Ceptional Wear foundation in Sand
    Rimmel Recover concealer in Soft Beige
    Marcelle Face Powder in Translucent (R: I adore this, too!)

    Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips bronzer in Waikiki Strip
    Sally Hansen inspired by Carmindy blush in Cherub
    Korres Lip Butter in Pomegranate

    Wet n Wild Arch Envy brow pencil (wax side)

    Rimmel Lycra Lash mascara (R: another one of our faves — we have an old review here)
    Urban Decay eyeshadows in Stash and Underground

    Thanks again for sending in your FOTD, Angela!

    Don’t forget: theNotice is always open for guest posting or FOTD submissions!
    Just send us an email at ethicnote (at) gmail (dot) com.
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