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    Oh gosh, just kidding. One more thing:

    Have you guys seen this new Stila palette yet?

    Because… it creeps me out. 
    I’m not totally sure why, but I think it might be because — no, actually, I’m pretty sure that it’s just the weird design. It just looks cheap to me, you know? Like… Smashbox managed to put out a massive palette last Christmas, but theirs didn’t creep me out. Urban Decay does the Box of Shadows on a pretty regular basis, but I think they’re awesome. Even from the low end: NYX and elf have both released really big palettes recently, but I think it’s a great thing that they’re making colour so accessible.

    However. This one just icks me out. (Can I even say that? “Icks me out”?)

    (Whatever, I say lots of things that don’t actually make sense. It’s too late now to start writing like a sane, educated, highly literate person!)

    Are you equally icked? Or is there cuteness here that I’m missing? I guess if I tip my head to the left really far — nope, still icking.

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    The Body Shop Friends and Family – 20% off!

    Today and tomorrow, get 20% off all (US?) online purchases at The Body Shop with the code FF10.

    Here’s what we recommend…
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    theBalm continues to impress with Stainiac

    What it is: TheBalm Stainiac tinted gel blush/lip stain in Prom Queen

    The wear: Like many stains, this has a liquid-gel texture — meaning that it’s definitely not moisturizing, but also that it isn’t really drying. It wears for about the same amount of time as any other stain does on me, and as the colour fades, it doesn’t give that telltale ring of colour around your lip line. (However, like all stains, it might catch on dry bits, so don’t forget to exfoliate first!)
    The colour: Prom Queen’s packaging is pretty deceiving — the description (“sheer rosy pink”) is spot-on, but the orangey text on the tube had me worried about the colour inside. It’s not too warm-toned, though, as you can see in the swatches!
    indirect sunlight / flash
    The catch: Also because of the liquid-gel texture, this takes a little getting used if you’re going to be using it on your cheeks. For instance, if you use an oil-based moisturizer (or just straight oil,) it won’t go onto your cheeks well at all — make sure to skip the oils and silicones, or “cheat” on your skincare for a day, skipping the oils and ‘cones on your cheeks altogether. It takes some time to apply, but the gorgeous stain lasts all day!

    bare / stained. click to enlarge.

    Don’t forget: never try to apply a stain to your lips if you’ve just put on lip balm! Like oil on your face, things like petroleum and beeswax will create a barrier between your lips and the stain, preventing it from absorbing properly for that all-day wear. Instead, put on your lip balm or gloss after staining!

    topped with clear gloss.



    The verdict? I’ve tried a lot of lip and cheek stains, but I can safely say that this is one of my favourites. It’s most similar to my Etude House stain, but I like the smell/taste of this one a lot more (read: there isn’t one of either,) and the packaging is so much easier to deal with. Plus, Prom Queen is a great colour — very wearable, and sheer enough to give almost all skintones a lovely, subtle tint.

    AvailabilitySephora, Apothica, Beauty.com

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    New product alert: Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle UV Damage Corrector


    Clinique’s rolling out a snazzy new Repairwear product this month, and they’re hauling the train ‘o science along with it. I don’t know how I feel about all these lab claims… sometimes it turns out that the science is solid and the product works wonders, but sometimes it’s just as much of a flop as it would be without all those crazy terms!

    I guess it’s just more bells and whistles from marketing — at the end of the day, science-y claims don’t affect what I try. But then again, that’s mainly because I’m a beauty blogger, so (unlike consumers,) I buy products based on what my fellow beauty junkies are saying, NOT based on what the boxes are telling me!

    Anyhow, the new Repairwear contains:

    • Micrococcus luteus (ultrasomes V,) photolyase fermentate (photosomes V,) and OGG-1 Fermentate (roxisomes) to help fight UV damage,
    • Whey protein, retinyl palmitate (vitamin A,) and acetyl hexapeptide-8 to fight wrinkles, and
    • Vitamin C and E (aminopropyl ascorbyl phosphate and tocopheryl acetate,) ergothioneine, and pomegranate juice extract to battle those darned free radicals. 

    But here’s what we’ve randomly decided:

    • It can’t be that bad; Clinique skincare is pretty solid!
    • We won’t be able to use it, because of the ‘cones, 
    • $53 for 30ml is out of our budget, but not totally unreasonable for a targeted product, and (most importantly,)
    • The bottle is pretty.

    So… what’s going through your head about this one right now?

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    The Hana Elite really wows me, but… have you *seen* that price tag?

    What it is: Hana Elite flat iron, sold through Misikko.

    The really good news: remember what a mess of a review the Professional iron produced? Well, fret not — this one is (fairly) clean and simple! The iron itself looks more sleek and is weighted just wonderfully, and doesn’t feature that same problem… you know, that one where it wasn’t working the way it should. (Plus, I really prefer this mate black over the not-quite-hot but not-quite-pastel pink!) The light, this time, is constant when the iron turns on and flickers as soon as it’s reached the desired temperature.

    I had my cousin, Kylie, try out this iron as well, because we thought she’d be a much better test for it than I. I’ll be using it to curl my hair, mainly, but Ky’s hair is gorgeously thick (no, seriously, it is thick,) not 100% straight, and quite coarse. 

    Comes with a tin, a case (pictured,) a heat-resistant (black) mat and a storage pouch.



    This Hana heated up incredibly quickly (hurrah!) taking practically no time at all to reach the highest setting (450 degrees.) She only had to go over two sections of hair before being wowed, and I have to admit, it was the same for me, too!


    What she liked about it: Aside from the already mentioned super-fast heating up time

    • it hadn’t the slightest trouble with her ends (she described this by mentioning that most flat irons get most of the hair shaft just fine, but have trouble getting the dry ends as straight and shiny.)
    • the iron left her hair feeling incredible — which I could see, too. Talk about super-straight and silky! I mean, I’ve seen her hair flatironed before, but it looked nothing like this. (Sorry my dear! Your hair does look wonderful, but you know exactly what I mean. It looked awesome.)
    • the flat-ironed effect lasted all day (no mid-day frizzing up!)

    What I liked about it:

    • It was also a dream for curling hair, sliding over the sections flawlessly and finishing the job super-fast. 
    • The curl says really well, too, holding up through an entire night out without any hairspray, and leaving enough curl and body in my hair that there’s no need for me to style it the day after, either.

    The downside: This does pack a $230 price tag — ouch! Ky couldn’t compare it to other high-end flat irons (as hers have all been mid-range so far,) but to be honest… I like this iron more than any of the other irons I’ve worked with, from low-end Conairs and high-end CHIs. And for what it’s worth, after using this iron, she started asking about what kind of high-end iron I’d recommend!

    A sidenote: I ended up giving her the Hana Professional, which (as I’m sure you remember) didn’t work out so well for me. However, I found that it was pretty intermittent at the beginning, working really well some days but working terribly other days. So, after some oh-so-technical shaking and hitting, it seems to be working fine — and she’s really happy with it!

    The verdict? I can’t give you a verdict on this one, because the choice will be so different for each and every one of you. Do I think it’s an amazing piece of technology? Certainly. Would I, personally, spend $230 on it? No way in heck — I wouldn’t use it nearly enough to justify it.

    However, if you’re going to flatiron your hair every day and want a high-quality iron, this definitely has it’s pros and cons. The “con” is the price, but everything else is a “pro.” It heats up quickly, works like a dream, has a gorgeous matte black finish and a swiveling cord (it’s a minor feature, but one that makes a major difference for me,) and its plates are both tourmaline-infused and 100% ceramic. Plus, there’s a two-year warranty, meaning if you straighten or curl your hair six out of the seven days of the week, you’d get at least 624 uses out of it…

    The decision is yours!

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    Hard Candy creates a baked shadow right out of my Daydream

    What it is: Hard Candy Kaleyedescope (okay, “Kal-eye-descope”) Baked Eyeshadow Duo in Daydream

    Why we love it:
    • The shadow is just stiff enough — you don’t have to scrape-scrape-scrape to get product off, but it doesn’t crumble everywhere, either.
    • I’m sorry, have you seen how cute this is?
    • One duo is $6, which is just… whoa. I mean, when’s the last time you bought a baked shadow
    • It wasn’t tested on animals, hurrah!

    Why we don’t:

    • The pigmentation leaves a little something to be desired — I mean, the shades are great, but they’re a little hard to build up. It’s not too bad, though, and for a drugstore product (that’s actually at a drugstore price,) the amount of colour you can foil on is definitely still decent..
    swatched dry, top halves over primer.



    The ingredients:

    Mica, talc, mineral oil, dimethicone, magnesium aluminum silicate, phenoxyethanol, methylparaben.
    May contain: titanium dioxide, iron oxides, chromium hydroxide green, manganese violet, ultramarines, red 7, yellow 5.

    The verdict? For $6, I think these duos are a pretty good buy. They’re a little on the sheer side, but for an easy, soft look, and for that price, I’m not complaining!

    Check out Daydream in this FOTD!

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    Marcelle Fall 2010 – eyeshadow quads

    What it is: Marcelle Wet and Dry eyeshadow quads in Royalty and Teal Chic, the shadow offerings from Marcelle’s Fall/Winter 2010 collection, Brighten Your Eyes.

    Royalty

    A bit about Marcelle quads: The cool thing about Marcelle’s Wet and Dry quads is that they’re made to use wet and dry — which means that if you use them to foil, they dry right back to “normal.” No hard layer or discolouration! In total, you get 6g of shadow (0.05oz per shade) and they’ll run you $14.25 regular price.


    Ingredients:

    TALC, SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE, ZINC STEARATE, ALUMINA, ETHYLHEXYL PALMITATE, DIMETHICONE PEG-7 ISOSTEARATE , BORON NITRIDE, CALCIUM SODIUM BOROSILICATE, METHICONE, SILICA, POLYMETHYL METHACRYLATE, IMIDAZOLIDINYL UREA, METHYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN, TIN OXIDE, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE,

    May contain: MICA, IRON OXIDES, TITANIUM DIOXIDE , ULTRAMARINES, CHROMIUM OXIDE GREENS, ALUMINUM POWDER, BRONZE POWDER, FERRIC AMMONIUM FERROCYANIDE, FERRIC FERROCYANIDE, BISMUTH OXYCHLORIDE, MANGANESE VIOLET, CHROMIUM HYDROXIDE GREEN, CARMINE, BLUE 1 LAKE

    Teal Chic

    Read on for swatches, product photos, and individual reviews!

    Royalty

    See that bottom right hand shade, the indigo-violet one? Well, it’s the violet I’ve spent months looking for — the perfect, not-to-blue, no-red kind of violet. I absolutely adore it. A ridiculous amount. I would literally buy the entire quad just for that one shade.

    swatched dry; top halves with primer. natural sunlight.

    Aside from that, all the shadows are nice… but none of the other three stun my socks off the way that the violet does! I also quite liked the lighter violet (just enough plum and red to create a great cranberry-violet,) and hilight shade wasn’t too chunky or fallout-y. However, the burnt orange shade really isn’t my thing, probably definitely because I hate orange. What it does do, though, is make the palette more wearable for both cool- and warm-toned ladies!

    swatched dry; top halves with primer. flash.

    The verdict? It’s a keeper! These quads aren’t perm, so make sure to pick up Royalty before the end of winter. I promise, it’s worth it! Check out the FOTD here.

    Teal Chic

    Okay: I did not like this for the reasons I thought I would. I was super, super excited about that gorgeous teal shade — but it turned out to be a total flop. It goes on patchy and barely exists if you use it dry, and then it has the nerve to stain your skin! It was so icky-looking (like children’s watercolours!) when I tried to use it in a FOTD that I had to layer on another blue-green instead.

    And then there’s that forest green, what I thought would be my second-favourite shade. Well, it’s more of a greenish black, as I’m sure you can see from the swatches. Disappointment! But at least it blends well, and it can really smoke up a look. (Though, it can also really dirty up a look…)

    swatched dry; top halves with primer. natural sunlight.

    Anyhow, the wheat shade has one main disadvantage — lots of fallout. However, if you can deal with that, what you get is gorgeous: a slightly ashy and completely beautiful mid-toned hilight. I think it’s fantastic, and I’ve been reaching for it all the time! I also love the bottom right shade, which is a beautiful smokey pewter, brown enough to work with warm looks but violet enough to work with cool ones.



    swatched dry; top halves with primer. flash.

    The verdict? I’d pass on this one — the “main attractions” really let me down, and I find the shadows to be a little harder than I’d like. However, the two “boring” shades really have me wowed, so if you must get this anyways, it wouldn’t be a half-bad decision ;) Check out the FOTD here, but keep in mind that the blue in the photos was actually Blue Hue (because this one was such a flop!)
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    EOTD: Starry Eyed

    So basically, I found a little star in my drawer, decided (for some strange reason) that clearly, it belonged on my face, and… we went from there.

    I was actually really happy with the results. I think the eye’s pretty cute!
    How-to:

    For a really fast, simple look with a bit of a “pop,” start by priming your eyes (don’t forget the area under the lower lashline!) and concealing your lids. Then, simply line the upper and lower waterlines with a deep black eyeliner, pushing the colour into the upper lashline as you do so. Use the same liner to make a small wing from the bottom waterline and the upper lashline, connecting the two and creating a single small swoop.

    For a bit of colour, line the lower lashline with a vibrant eyeshadow (foil it for even more impact,) taking the colour right up to the end of the wing. Then just brush a white cream eyeshadow (or foil a white powder eyeshadow) along the top of the wing, add a coat of mascara, and you’re done!

    Optionally, of course, you can add a piece of glitter, a rhinestone, anything you want for that extra little oomph. Just sanitize, dot some lash glue on the back, and adhere.

    Products used, more photos, and some photos without the star (though really, why the heck would you not want the star?) behind the cut! Oh, plus a super-Photoshopped image, just for kicks…

    Without the star:

    And here’s that super-‘shopped image. I wanted you ladies to see what it *could* look like with false lashes, but I was too lazy to put some on…


    Products used:

    Fresh Supernova mascara
    NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk
    Boots No. 7 Radiant Glow in II

    Annabelle Mineral Pigment Dust in Violet Vibe
    MAC eyeshadow in Blanc Type
    La Bella Donna eyeliner in Black

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