theNotice

Annabelle Lipsies review, swatches, photos (Holiday 2014)

November 24, 2014

10 Comments

The product: Annabelle Lipsies Lip Balm (Holiday 2014 edition)

↳in Roasted Marshmallow, Yummy Gingerbread, Flirty Candy cane, Grandma’s Peppermint, Cinnamon Candy, and Hot Chocolate

So, you guys know how much I love jumbo lip pencils, right? (Right). Well — Annabelle Cosmetics has come out with a limited-edition range of six for the holiday season, and they smell amazing.

The formula and wear: I get 2-3 hours of comfortable, moisturizing wear out of these (more moisturizing than a Chubby Stick; less moisturizing than an eos sphere), with clear to medium coverage depending on the shade. They have a soft-shiny finish, and all five shades are quite understated.

The packaging (retractable!) and overall aesthetic makes them a lot less, uh, luxe than most jumbo pencils, but I think they’d make amazing stocking stuffers — especially for a pre-teen or teenager just getting into makeup. (Or a makeup addict who doesn’t take her stash too seriously!)

Each Lipsies balm comes adorned with a cartoon drawing of their scent!

The shades and scents

Roasted Marshmallow is clear with a bit of super-fine, glossy-looking sparkle and a fruity scent — weird, considering its name, but delicious. Yummy Gingerbread is an almost-clear peach shade, and it smells like sugared cereal in milk (or an Urban Decay Rocket Lipgloss; those things were equally gross.)

Flirty Candy Cane is a sheer milky pink with a white frost finish–which makes it look more pigmented in this swatch than it really is–and again, it smells quite fruity. It’s a more standard fruit scent than Roasted Marshmallow, and a tiny bit sweeter, but both are mouthwatering. Grandma’s Peppermint is a pretty, universal sheer pink that smells like peppermint tea rather than your standard minty lip balm, and is the glossiest of the bunch.

Cinnamon Candy is by far the highlight of the group, and smells exactly like cinnamon hearts — but without the burn. It’s a new-to-me lip product scent, with a warm-red tint that sinks in to look like a stain after 15 minutes. Finally, Hot Chocolate smells like your typical chocolate-scented drugstore product, and both it and Cinnamon Candy have good pigmentation — more than Fresh or Clinique tinted balms, and I’d recommend using a mirror to apply.

Annabelle Lipsies swatches: Roasted Marshmallow, Yummy Gingerbread, Flirty Candy Cane, Grandma’s Peppermint, Cinnamon Candy, Hot Chocolate

The verdict?

These ones aren’t available online, but if you can pick them up in-store, do it!! They’re a lot of fun, and at $4.95 CAD, they’re a really good price — for yourself or as a gift.

Must-have: Cinnamon Candy, especially if you look best in warmer reds! And Grandma’s Peppermint, if you love peppermint tea — this scent is spot-on. (The shade’s really pretty, too.)

Nice-to-have: Roasted Marshmallow and Flirty Candy Cane — the shimmer in both is very fine, and both are inoffensively fruity. If colour is of no consequence to you, I say go for the marshmallow.

Skip: Yummy Gingerbread and Hot Chocolate. They’re pretty gross-smelling, to be honest.

Available at drugstores and mass retail stores across Canada while quantities last.

Tags: /Annabelle, Grouped reviews, Holiday 2014, Lips, Product Photos, Product Review, Product Swatches, The Gift Guide

10 Comments

L’Occitane Divine Youth Oil review, photos | The kind of oil that… isn’t

November 20, 2014

Rae Chen

14 Comments

The product: L’Occitane Divine Youth Oil (from the Immortelle range)

L’Occitane’s Divine Youth Oil reminds me a lot of the Argentum Apothicary moisturizer that I reviewed last month — but with a few important differences. First, the similarities: it’s a high-end anti-ageing moisturizer that smells amazing, with plenty of natural ingredients and a beautiful, velvety finish.

But now, the differences: at less than half the price, L’Occitane’s oil is twice as moisturizing, far more comfortable to use, and may smell even better.

Don’t cut my content

My biggest pet peeve with high-end oils and serums is when companies dilute their product with fillers to cut down on production costs — things like mineral oil, ‘cones, and plain old water. When you buy an oil (and this one’s $100/30 ml), there’s an unspoken agreement that what you’re getting is more concentrated, and that you’re paying for a product that hasn’t been stretched out already.

But though this oil is very obviously cut with caprylic/capric triglyceride… I find it hard to care. Caprylic/capric triglycerides (which you may know as liquid coconut oil) are one of my favourite skincare ingredients out there, and in the case of this oil — I think they do wonders for the formula.

What makes this one special

Unlike other oils that you may have tried, the triglyceride content of this one means that it both feels dry to the touch and sinks in instantly. A blend of seven oils–including borage, evening primrose, sea buckthorn, and rosehip–with Corsican immortelle essential oil and caprylic/capric triglycerides, this oil is incredibly lightweight and leaves my skin with the most gorgeous velvety finish, even when I mix it with my super-heavy, super-oily German Nivea.

It smells amazing; mouthwatering and fruity (a scent that I’m told is unique to the L’Occitane Divine Immortelle range), and a little goes a long way: for my terrifyingly-dry skin, I use 5-7 drops, but for normal to oily skin, a single drop will do.

The verdict?

While I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone with dehydrated or extremely dry skin, for anyone else: you neeeeed this. This oil not only feels and smells amazing, but it leaves my skin looking velvety and clear (without any fancy primers or powders). It’s kind of like an oil that isn’t, which I think will appeal to both facial oil users and ~~heathens~~ everyone else.

Availability: $96 USD/$100 CAD at L’Occitane boutiques & online. Buy it!!

Keep reading! »

Tags: /Fall/Winter 2014, L'Occitane, Moisturizers, Paraben-free, Product Photos, Product Review, Silicone-free, Skincare

14 Comments

Marcelle Trio+ Eyeshadow Quads: reviews, swatches, & photos of the entire range!

November 18, 2014

Rae Chen

10 Comments

The product: Marcelle Cosmetics Eye Shadow Trio+

↳ in Smoky Chestnut, Chocolat Vanille, Starry Night, Emerald Isle, Plum Envy, and Glacial.

Today, I have something very, very exciting to share with you: the entire range of the new Marcelle Trio+ quads (I mean, I’m calling ’em quads. If there are four colours, they’re quads. But I do respect the Trio+ name, because that fourth shade is tiny!). As a blogger, it’s rare that I see the entirety of any given line, so this is as much a treat for me as I hope it will be for you!

This one is super-long, so: swatches & shades / TL;DR

Marcelle Trio+ in Smoky Chestnut

The formula: With their new trio/quads, Marcelle promises intense colour payoff; a creamy, velvety texture; long-lasting colour; and an ultra-glitter accent shade (that’s the “+”!)

Unfortunately, while I think these look amazing in terms of layout and colour pairings, I don’t agree with a lot of these points. The colour payoff was okay (not super-intense) and the ultra-glitter accent shade was a big hit, but the formula was a little dry — I wouldn’t call it creamy, and it had a tendency to create fall-out.

Overall, I think I’d have liked to see a little more butteriness and adhesion out of all four shades, and at least one satin/frost in each palette (preferably the large pan) instead of four shimmers — I think for Marcelle’s consumer, this amount of sparkle is kind of overkill.

Marcelle Trio + in Emerald Isle

Marcelle Trio+ in Chocolat Vanille

The wear: Marcelle’s eyeshadows have always been a little dry and sheer, but the shimmer in these ones just didn’t “work” for me. It was too omnipresent and uniform in size, and it felt a little messy in combination with the wear time of these shadows — they creased on me within four hours overtop the best primer I own (and within two hours when worn alone).

In addition, when I wear-tested Chocolat Vanille, I ended up with glitter everywhere by dinnertime. There was a noticeable amount of fallout all the way down past the apples of my cheeks, and that’s just — that’s crazy, dude.

Marcelle Trio+ in Starry Night

Marcelle Trio+ in Plum Envy

The shades…

Marcelle Trio+ Eyeshadow swatches: Chocolat Vanille, Smoky Chestnut

Chocolat Vanille features a super-shimmery white (small triangle), a warm brown, a cool charcoal, and a sheer base shade (large triangle) that’s packed with gold shimmer. Smoky Chestnut features a less-intense peachy small triangle, a medium-sheer rust orange (upper), a well-pigmented taupey brown (lower), and a more-intense shimmery white large triangle.

Marcelle Trio+ Eyeshadow swatches: Starry Night, Emerald Isle

Starry Night may be the best quad out of all of these, and features a super-shimmery white (the yellow tones are negligible) alongside a well-pigmented yellow-olive and a soft black overlaid with olive shimmer. Its large triangle is a pretty light yellow with, again, plenty of shimmer. [Aside: my packaging on this one doesn’t snap closed.]

Emerald Isle features a dirty green with an entire universe of multi-coloured sparkle (small triangle), a crappy black with green sparkle (lower trapezoid), and a see-through large triangle of sparse white shimmer. Its upper trapezoid, however, is a dream: an intense, skin-staining jewel green with more gorgeous emerald green shimmer than should even be legal.

Keep reading! »

Tags: /Canadian beauty, Eyes, Marcelle, Paraben-free, Product Photos, Product Review, Product Swatches

10 Comments

Shu Uemura Shupette Pampearl-Me Face Powder swatches, review; Furry Fantasy False Eyelash photos | Cats! Cats! Cats!

November 14, 2014

Rae Chen

17 Comments

Shupette Furry Fantasy Premium False Eyelash case

The products: Shupette by Karl Lagerfeld for shu uemura (holiday 2014)

↳ pampearl-me face powder in pearl; furry fantasy premium false eyelash

This post is a continuation of the Shupette reviews you saw on Wednesday. If you missed that post, make sure to check it out!

Availability: Online at shuuemura.ca and in-stores at Holt Renfrew (as well as select Sephora and Hudson’s Bay locations) this November.

Furry Fantasy Premium False Eyelashes ($100 CAD)

I’m not a big fan of outlandish false eyelashes (or outlandish anything, really), so I’ll leave you just with a photo of these ones! The Furry Fantasy Premium False Eyelashes are one of two false eyelashes included in this collection, and are featured in the promo images if you’re interested in seeing what they look like on.

The second, non-premium set ($35 CAD) are shown here.

Choupette from the HORROR MOVIE EYES angle

Pampearl-Me Face Powder ($50 CAD)

The Pampearl-Me Face Powder was the second product in this collection that really wowed me — and as such, I think it, too, would be another great “what one product should I get from this collection” pick. It’s well-priced at $50 and features both Karl’s drawing of Choupette (on the lid) and those adorable little kitty-prints (on the powder puff), and the powder itself is a very fine, delicate shimmer mixed with face powder for a subtle glow.

Shu Uemura Pampearl-Me Face Powder, swatched heavily twice.

Keep reading! »

Tags: /Base, Eyes, Grouped reviews, Holiday 2014, Product Photos, Product Review, Product snapshots, Product Swatches, shu uemura

17 Comments

Shu Uemura Shupette Eye Need Shu Trio, My Precious Glitter Set swatches, reviews, photos | This holiday season, let there be cats.

November 12, 2014

Rae Chen

15 Comments

The products: Shupette by Karl Lagerfeld for shu uemura (holiday 2014)

↳ eye-need-shu trio 01 Parisienne Chic and 02 Tokyo Kawaii; my precious glitter set

I always take forever to get reviews up, but for once, I put a rush order on this one — because what’s more exciting than a holiday collection adorned with cats? (Look at all those little itty-bitty footprints!!)

So, here are swatches, photos, and “mini reviews” featuring shu’s long-awaited, Choupette-inspired holiday collection. If you’re interested in seeing a particular item from the collection worn, or hearing about its wear time, please let me know in the comments & I’ll put a look together with the most popular products!

Availability: Online at shuuemura.ca and in-stores at Holt Renfrew (as well as select Sephora and Hudson’s Bay locations) this November. Or, enter to win the entire collection at shuuemura.ca.

» This post has been split up into two parts. Part two will go up on Friday!

Eye-Need-Shu Eyeshadow Trios ($45 CAD each)

If there is one product in this collection that I think most will love, it is these. Smooth and pigmented, they’re the most “reliable” of the products that I tried, and easily create day-appropriate looks… unlike those fluffy pink eyelashes!

Shupette by Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura swatches: Parisienne Chic (L) and Tokyo Kawaii (R) Eye-Need-Shu Eyeshadow Trios

I wish there had been a neutrals trio (brown/taupe/highlight, or even taupe/gold/ivory), but these are still a great way to work a little Choupette into your makeup collection without spending too much. The cool-toned Parisienne Chic contains a navy blue (blue shimmer on a very dark base), sky blue, and white, while the warmer Tokyo Kawaii contains a rich, rust-toned red alongside a baby pink and a light yellow.

The middle shade of each of these trios was a little more see-through than the rest, but over all, I think Tokyo Kawaii is a little bit better in terms of quality.

My Precious Glitter Set ($58 CAD for the trio)

The My Precious Glitter Set was the product (were the products?) that I was most excited for from the Shupette collection, but unfortunately, it was also the biggest letdown. They’re very tiny, a mere 0.035 oz each, and feature chunky shimmer — which, while pretty, isn’t glitter. None of the three can create opaque colour, even with primer underneath, and they’re best worn layered carefully over other eyeshadows for a lucent, uplifted look.

That said, each little pot has kitty footprints tracked around the outside, and it is pretty cute.

Shupette My Precious Glitter Set swatches: Platinum, Gold, Pink (over primer)

See the rest of the collection! »

Tags: /Eyes, Grouped reviews, Holiday 2014, Product Photos, Product snapshots, Product Swatches, shu uemura

15 Comments

Illamasqua Infinity Precision Gel Liner swatches, review, photos

November 10, 2014

Rae Chen

14 Comments

The product: Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner in Infinity

Today, I ask you this: what makes a gel liner? Because in my mind, gel liners have a gel texture; they’re smooth, and slick, and lock down like a waterproof liquid liner once set. What they’re not, however, is creams.

But therein lies the problem. See, I liked this liner (a lot), but it read 100% “cream eyeliner” to me — not at all a gel.

Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner in Infinity

The texture & application: Illamasqua’s Precision Gel Liner applies like a dream — better than any liner I have ever tried before. It’s easy to sneak in through the lashline; easy to line your upper and lower lashes with; easy to create a tiny, tiny wing with. It’s very smooth, and goes where you want it, and pairs beautifully with a thin, angled liner brush (my weapon of choice).

The thing is, it also applies… like a cream. It picks up on my brush with more soft-creaminess than gel-like slickness, smudges around like nobody’s business, and leaves a trace of colour wherever you smudge it off of (if, say, you’re using a q-tip to tweak a just-applied line). Yes, perhaps it’ll seem more gel-like in a few months when it begins to dry out, but right now: it’s acting very, very cream-like for a gel liner.

Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner in Infinity swatched thickly/thinly

The shade: Infinity is a simple, cream-finish matte black. It goes on very opaque, but isn’t quite as black as many of my other liners — especially as it smudges throughout the day, it appears quite charcoal-black rather than super-intense-black.

That said, Illamasqua makes no promises that this will be the blackest black liner to ever black, so I don’t have any issues for this shade. It definitely does give a “smooth, rich black line,” (no chalkiness here!) but if having the blackest black is important to you, then skip this one.

The wear: And here! Here’s the rest of the issue. See, Illamasqua’s Precision Gel Liner applies precisely (though with softer lines than the Annabelle Smudge Paints I loved so much), but it smudges — a lot. In some cases, that’s a great thing, because it gives an instant, super sexy smokiness to my eye area, but for a “precision” liner, it’s a bit of a problem.

If I wear this with eyeshadow overtop and an eye primer beneath, I can only manage to get about three hours’ wear from this formula before it tracks on my upper lid — something I’ve never even seen from a drugstore gel liner. This is the other reason why it feels more like a cream liner than a gel one, to me; it just doesn’t have the wear time you’d expect from a gel liner.

The verdict?

We could have had it all, Illamasqua. I loved this product as a smokey cream liner, but as a “precision gel,” it seriously under-preformed. Its edges were just a little too soft to be properly precise, and its wear time before smudging (2-3 hours, without fail) was a huge letdown.

If you want a gel liner that won’t budge, then this is not the droid you are looking for. (Am I allowed to make movie references about a movie I’ve never seen?) But if you want sexy, smudgy liner that creates itself, then this one is PERFECT. I’ve been wearing it pretty much every single day for the past week and a half straight, and it looks amazing. I mean, it’s a complete mess, but it’s a really attractive complete mess.

Availability: £18.50/$30 USD at Illamasqua and ASOS

Keep reading! »

Tags: /Eyes, Illamasqua, Product Photos, Product Review, Product Swatches

14 Comments

eos Sweet Mint, Summer Fruit, and Blueberry Acai lip balm reviews, photos | The best lip balm under $5

November 6, 2014

Rae Chen

23 Comments

The product: eos Smooth Sphere Lip Balm in Sweet Mint, Summer Fruit, and Blueberry Açai

I don’t typically re-review products, but in the case of eos’ Smooth Sphere Lip Balms, I think I have to change my tune.

When I reviewed these the first time around, I focused on Honeydew Melon — which, as it turns out, is kind of the runt of the litter, scent-wise. But I’ve been leaning on these since my Beautycounter review in June, and they’ve really stepped up to the plate: the 95% organic, 100% natural formula doesn’t make me feel so bad about how much lip balm I probably ingest, and they do their job when it comes to keeping my lips hydrated from day to day.

I have a whole friggin’ bunch of these, but here: these are my three favourites of the moment.

eos smooth sphere lip balm in sweet mint

Sweet Mint

What really started off my current Smooth Sphere obsession is the line’s Sweet Mint variation. No less hydrating than its fruity counterparts, Sweet Mint is, well, both extremely minty and (like all eos lip balms!) sweetened with all-natural stevia. It’s thinner and more slippery than a Burt’s Bees lip balm, with a different peppermint scent — it’s sweeter, and smells less like peppermint patties.

The thing about Sweet Mint, however, is that it goes bad really fast. I’ve gone through two of these so far, and I find that they can only make it through one summer before starting to smell “off” — despite the fact that I’ve had other eos balms for twice as long (or longer). At this price, I’ll keep re-buying anyways, but it’s worth noting.

(Also available in stick form!)

eos Sweet Mint lip balm ingredients: view

Olive Oil, Beeswax, Coconut Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Peppermint Oil, Shea Butter, Stevia Rebaudiana Leaf/Stem Extract, Tocopherol, Limonene, Linalool.

eos smooth sphere lip balm in summer fruit

Summer Fruit

As much as I love Sweet Mint, I have to admit: it’s not an ideal choice for irritated lips. So, on days when my lips are really raw, or when I’m just hankering for something sweet, I’ve been turning to Summer Fruit. Its scent is hard to describe (it’s a blend), but “summer fruit” is a pretty good way to put it.

This lip balm smells bright and fruity, in a delicious way that never strays from juicy into saccharine-synthetic. And, uh, have I mentioned that it smells super, super tasty?

eos Summer Fruit lip balm ingredients: view

Olive Oil, Beeswax, Coconut Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Natural Flavor, Shea Butter, Stevia Rebaudiana Leaf/Stem Extract, Tocopherol, Sunflower Seed Oil, Blueberry Fruit Extract, Strawberry Fruit Extract, Peach Fruit Extract, Linalool.

eos smooth sphere lip balm in blueberry açai

Blueberry Açai

Blueberry Açai isn’t the fruitiest Smooth Sphere, but to me, it’s the most believable. Unlike Honeysuckle Honeydew or Summer Fruit, it’s identifiably blueberryish and sweet-smelling, like a blueberry pie or compote. For those who love berries but not that zing! pop! of most fruity scents (which, admittedly, I totally adore), this one is one to own.

eos Blueberry Acai lip balm ingredients: view

Olive Oil, Beeswax, Coconut Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Natural Flavor, Shea Butter, Stevia Rebaudiana Leaf/Stem Extract, Sunflower Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Blueberry Fruit Extract, Acai Fruit Extract, Limonene, Linalool.

The verdict?

While I still think these fall short of a superhero lip balm, I’m loving them a lot more than I used to. With regular, generous application, they’re doing a pretty good job of keeping my lips in shape, and the domed shape make them easy to use.

At the same price as a crappy Chapstick, these are the best affordable, all-natural lip balm out there — and they’re a great buy even if all-natural isn’t important to you. They’re not going to fix super-chapped lips, but for day-to-day maintenance care, these are hands-down my top lip balm recommendation.

Availability: $3.99 at most drugstores in Canada & the US or online at drugstore.com and Beauty Bridge.

In other news, I have got to get my hands on the SPF 15 Lemon Drop version of this lip balm! Lemon, you guys. Sun protection and also lemon.

Tags: /eos, Grouped reviews, Lips, Other, Product Photos, Product Review, Skincare

23 Comments

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Sugar Fix, Top Coat review, swatches | A look at lampless gel polishes

November 3, 2014

Rae Chen

32 Comments

The product: Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Polish in Sugar Fix and Top Coat

The promise: This summer, Sally Hansen announced that they had solved the Big Question — of the nail world, that is. How do you get the wear time and look of gel nails, but without a trip to the salon?

The new Miracle Gel system promises to be the answer, delivering up to 14 days of wear and a gel that cures using natural light (there’s a photoinitiator in the top coat), no lamp necessary. It’s a two-step polish-and-top-coat process, but the polishes are available in a whopping 45 shades, and the system promises soak-free removal with acetone-based or even acetone-free nail polish remover.

So now the question is… does it work?

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Polish – Sugar Fix review

The polish: I tested Sugar Fix for this review, a milky, vibrant light blue. It’s a cream finish shade (and unfortunately I haven’t tried any metallics or shimmers from the line), but even considering this, it was pretty underwhelming. The formula is extremely thin, needing four coats to even come close to opacity, and even then I find that it goes a bit streaky unless you’re careful.

The top coat: Despite this, though, I actually really enjoyed using the Miracle Gel Top Coat! It applies smoothly and quite thickly, immediately giving a very “gel” look to the nail. I find that it goes on without disturbing the polish at all, but like any good top coat, it also makes your colour look instantly smoother — which is perfect for someone who gives as shoddy a manicure as I do.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Polish in Sugar Fix swatch (four coats)

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polish in Sugar Fix: 1, 2, 3, and 4 coats (L-R)

The wear: I actually tested these twice: first, I had a friend try out the system for me, and then I repeated it on my own. She saw barely 24 hours of wear before her polish began to form little cracks throughout, but I’m told that this could be because she used a base coat — so, if you give this system a try, NO BASE COAT! None!

When I used this set, however, I saw about 2 1/2 weeks of wear on my pedicure with no chipping, wearing, or cracking… in either the Miracle Gel polish or my control group nails. Once they did wear, I noticed the following things:

(1) There was no difference in wear between Sally Hansen’s Miracle Gel polish and their Complete Salon Manicure polish,

(2) The Miracle Gel Top Coat presented no chipping over three weeks (dude) but did develop tip wear near the end,

(3) The Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Top Coat nails lasted the longer than the Miracle Gel Top Coat nails by a day, but then showed major chipping.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat review

The verdict?

This is the most rigorously I have ever tested a product (what? I really wanted it to work), so it is with reasonable confidence that I can say: don’t buy into marketing hype. The Miracle Gel system is, in my opinion, not worth investing in at $20/duo… but that includes the polishes.

The Miracle Gel Top Coat, however, is a different story. It delivered on its promise of durability and a gel-like look, and though I did see tip wear, it came with zero chipping and super easy removal. If you do like the look of gel nails and want a top coat that will wear well (caveat: but not as well as a true gel manicure), I’d say get the Miracle Gel Top Coat, but skip the polishes.

Availability: $8.95 USD/$10.95 CAD each, for both the polishes and top coat.

Keep reading! »

Tags: /Nails, Product Photos, Product Review, Product Swatches, Sally Hansen

32 Comments

NSPA Hot Cloth Polish, Melting Cleansing Gel review + giveaway! | New & noteworthy at the drugstore

October 29, 2014

Rae Chen

39 Comments

The products: NSPA Hot Cloth Polish & Melting Cleansing Gel

I’m sorry I’ve been AWOL this week, dear readers! But I plan on making it up to you today with a double-review of two rather unique new products and a giveaway, so… please don’t be mad.

» I already know I want these. Cut to the chase; take me to the giveaway! «

NSPA Hot Cloth Polish ($15.97 CAD/150 ml)

NSPA Hot Cloth Polish

This Hot Cloth Polish was the thing that made NSPA, a cruelty-free British brand that’s new to Canada, stand out to me. I’ve wanted to try one of these since the Liz Earle hype blew up, and I gotta say: NSPA makes it worth the wait.

Past the perfect scent (this is exactly what my brain thinks the archetypal cold cream would smell like), it’s a really interesting experience: a finely-woven muslin cloth (included), a very thick, white cleansing butter, and an exfoliation experience that removes your makeup without totally stripping your skin.

I wasn’t expecting the product to be as hard as it was (think very frozen ice cream, not summer soft serve), but it did spread nicely, and the thickness helps turn the Hot Cloth Polish into a spa-like, luxurious experience. The muslin cloth feels a little cheap, but the cloth-polish duo is $15 and full of good stuff like cocoa butter, sweet almond oil, and avocado oil — I think I can handle a flimsy seam for all of that.

Compared to the iconic Liz Earle at $36.75/100 ml, which I will admittedly likely now never try, NSPA’s Hot Cloth Polish is a steal at $15.75/100 ml. And hey, you won’t even need to pay import fees on it.

The NSPA Hot Cloth Polish ingredients: show ’em to me

Aqua, Cocoa Seed Butter, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Cetyl Esters, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Stearate, Propylene Glycol, Beeswax, Sweet Almond Oil, Parfum, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Apricot Kernel Oil, Avocado Oil, Neroli Oil, Vitamin E, Pro-Vitamin B5, Sodium Benzoate, 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3-Diol, Potassium Sorbate, Potassium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Linalool, Limonene.

NSPA Melting Cleansing Gel ($15.97 CAD/125 ml)

I also tried out NSPA’s Melting Cleansing Gel, because I’d never used a melting gel before and I like new stuff. (What? Who doesn’t like new textures and technologies?) And, to my surprise… I liked this one even more than the Hot Cloth Polish.

Keep reading! »

Tags: /Cleansing, Giveaway, Grouped reviews, Paraben-free, Product Photos, Product Review, Silicone-free, Skincare

39 Comments

Wantable Beauty Box review (AKA the ONE beauty box you should be subscribed to)

October 23, 2014

Rae Chen

27 Comments

The product: Wantable Makeup Collection Beauty Box

A long time ago, a reader told me that what they loved about theNotice was that it always features something different — a product that no one else is talking about, or a brand that they’d never heard of before.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to get back into that “something different” mentality, and I’m going to keep at it over the coming months. So, today, while everyone else is reviewing Memeboxes and Julep Maven subscriptions…. here’s the one beauty box that you haven’t heard of, but totally need to buy.

The process

This Wantable box is from about a year ago (oops), which was both intentional and not: for a beauty box, I think part of what you pay for is the surprise. (But seriously, sorry that it took me SO LONG to finish this review). So, when you order yours, the selection of products will be different — but hopefully no less great.

Parts of the Wantable customization process

Wantable boxes are a little more expensive than others, but they’re curated with 4-5 full-sized products for you. When you sign up, you complete a questionnaire about what products and shades you do and don’t like, and the box that you receive will contain plenty of what you tell them you want, and none of what you tell them you don’t.

This, if you ask me, is the big difference between Wantable and other beauty boxes: the value of the box is actually relevant to you, and isn’t just a large price tag attached to a bunch of crap that you don’t care about.

Susan Posnick Color Eye Define in Bronze/Copper (bronze liner end shown)

The box

My box came with five full-sized products and one sample (that, honestly, I didn’t care for). But the full-sized products were all products I never would have bought but loved anyways, including an angled liner that is altogether unique in my collection, a lipgloss in one of my favourite formulas, and a beautiful, vintage-y lipstick that I have lusted after for years.

The box also introduced me to two new brands, Mia Bellezza and Susan Posnick, with a ~~lip pencil~~ EDIT: JUST KIDDING THAT IS AN EYESHADOW; OOPS; EMBARASSING and a gorgeous brown angled liner. (Edited again: HOLY CRAP, that’s not a liner, that’s a liner-and-shadow and I feel like such a fool right now.)

Lise Watier Haute Couleur High Coverage Lip Colour in Rouge Catwalk, Echo Vie All Natural Lip Balm free sample

The contents of this particular box:

Echo Vie All Natural Lip Balm ($16 USD; sample shown, not swatched)
Susan Posnick Colour Eye Define in Bronze/Copper ($26 USD) – beautiful bronze-browns with gold shimmer. Only the liner (Bronze) end is swatched here, because I was an idiot and didn’t even realize there was a pigment (Copper) on the other end until after I took these photos! (The pigment is, if possible, even more gorgeous than the liner, and much more densely pigmented.)
Cailyn Shimmer Powder Eyeshadow in Charming ($12 loose) – beautiful periwinkle with pink shimmer; sub-par formula. (This swatch was layered five or six times with a damp brush!)

Susan Posnick Bronze/Copper Eye Define – eyeshadow end (aka my “holy crap” moment)

Swatched L-R: Susan Posnick Copper/Bronze (Bronze liner end only) x 2 , Cailyn Charming, MiA BelleZZa Argento, Lise Watier Rouge Catwalk, Besamé Noir Red

MiA BelleZZa Color Stick Eyes in Argento (?) – non-greasy cream-to-powder formula. Pinky-peach with a beautiful golden sheen à la NARS Orgasm or MAC Nymphette.
Lise Watier Haute Couleur High Coverage Lip Colour in Rouge Catwalk ($23 CAD) – perfect. Perfect. Fruity scent and just a gorgeous, juicy red shade with subtle shimmer.
Besamé Classic Color Lipstick in Noir Red ($22 USD) – enough said. Vanilla-scented, bullet-shaped, and incredibly dense with pigment. An exquisitely executed semi-matte deep plum.

Besamé Classic Color Lipstick in Noir Red

*quiet whimpers*

The verdict?

If you’re looking for more than just a cheap thrill, then yes: I would absolutely, 100% recommend Wantable. It’s a great way to discover new brands and actually get your money’s worth out of a beauty box with value that’s actually relevant to you (not just a dollar sign), and I definitely want another one! My box contained about $90 worth of makeup, and three of them were products that I already wanted but would never have let myself indulge in on my own.

Also worth noting is that, for $36/month, you get 4-5 full-sized products of about a $20 value each — which I think is better than spending $15 on five deluxe samples or minis. It’s comparable to buying a set of beauty crackers for the holidays, except it’s not going to cost you $120 for six products, and none of them will be another !)@#%#^ sample-sized mascara.

Availability: $40 USD for one box, or $36 per month if you’re subscribed. Boxes ship for free to the US or for $6-10 to Canada, the UK, and Australia, and customs fees are charged at checkout if applicable, not at your door. Get it now at Wantable.com.

Tags: /Company Review, Eyes, Grouped reviews, Lips, Product Photos, Product Review

27 Comments