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Valentine’s for One: Gifts to get yourself (or, okay, your underperforming partner)

February 13, 2020

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“Gee, Rae,” you must be asking yourself right now. “Who are you calling out?” Well, dear reader, here is a question in response: have you ever met any 20-something cis man ever? There’s your answer. This is all about gifts you can get yourself while you celebrate Valentine’s for one: one chocolate tart; one bouquet of roses; one entire bottle of bubbly. And, of course, a few gifts for them (for you).

A girl once brought me chocolates on the first date because it was close to Valentine’s Day and I was like damn, what a power move

And then I handed her the box of chocolates that I had in my purse for her and she screamed. https://t.co/kipOeYUk6Q

— Rae Chen (@theNotice) December 2, 2018

I lucked out with my current partner. He’s rarely around during the week, but shows up for every special occasion and family dinner. Our first year together, long before we were even dating, he bought me a tube of orchids for Valentine’s Day. I don’t know what the industry term should have been, but they were orchids, and they were lovely, and for some reason, they were in a large, plastic tube.

For years before that, however, I was plagued with Valentine’s Day after Valentine’s Day full of excuses and sub-par partners. (Sub-partners?) Every year was a battle ground, shared with some guy who a) refused to celebrate Valentine’s Day, and b) completely lost his mind at the suggestion that I might therefore have a nice day without him.

This Valentine’s Day gift guide is for all of you, and all of me. Here’s what (else) to buy yourself in your chocolate-induced solo haze, plus a few bonus finds to help you get your man in ship-shape.

Super-luxurious skincare

I first tried Bella Aura Skincare back in 2016, at the brand’s launch. Even then, their products were something else: extremely fluid, with the fanciest fancy-lady scent you’ve ever smelled. My review was waylaid by the fact that my skin kept reacting to their moisturizer and antioxidant booster, but I’m ever so pleased to be back in the game. Their eye cream and cleanser are two of my favourite products ever (seriously, they smell so good), and the brand’s new packaging is just as exquisite as their original design.

The brand is back with a few new products: a Rapid Repair Clarifying Elixir ($99 CAD) to cleanse acne-prone skin, and a Hydra Revive Treatment ($135 CAD) to hydrate and sooth dry skin. I have the Hydra Revive to try alongside a new bottle of the brand’s Instant Lifting Eye Contour ($130 CAD), and I’m so excited to start testing now that my skin is in great shape again.

The fragrance-free Hydra Revive Treatment features Icelandic moss, peat moss, and polypody fern extracts. They’re said to retain and store water, which is perfect for my always-dry skin. I’m excited to re-test the Eye Contour as well, which is supposed to firm, rejuvenate, and replenish the skin with ingredients like prickly pear and cumin seed oil. The Eye Contour cream smells just as exquisite as its original launch, but the scent is much, much more subtle than the original. (I could be wrong about this, but I doubt it). The updates make them the perfect splurge products to treat yourself with if you have a little extra cash left over.

You know, from not going to dinner with people you don’t want to be dating.

Valentine’s for one? Not a problem with the We-Vibe Wand

If you didn’t indulge in the Womanizer Premium I just reviewed, here’s a little reward for sticking it out: the brand new We-Vibe Wand. This will get its own review in due course, but I couldn’t help but share early!

The We-Vibe Wand ($170 USD/international) is everything you’d want from We-Vibe. It features a smooth, single-piece body covered in silky silicone, and it delivers bedframe-rattling vibrations despite being conveniently rechargeable. The purple design reminds me a lot of the Sola Wand, but while I hated the Sola’s buzzy vibrations and finicky controls, the We-Vibe Wand is exquisite.

You can find Womanizer’s Smart Silence technology in this We-Vibe toy (We-Vibe bought Womanizer at the end of 2018), plus a joystick-style design to slowly take “from 0 to 100.” The Wand has a flexible head and comes with two attachments to suit most bodies (one for the clitoris & one for the penis), and lasts for about 2 hours on a 90 minute magnetic charge.

Smooth sailing in rose gold (AKA the jewelry section without kitschy hearts)

These products can be rose gold, but they don’t have to be. My Kristin Ess Gloss is in Smokey Topaz. I can’t wait to try it (I’m often left toning my hair on my own mere weeks after leaving the salon), but the brand does a very cool Rose Gold Tint as well. Both products are so affordable — think $14 toning at home instead of $60 toning at the salon. Read more

Tags: sponsored/The Edit, The Gift Guide

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Womanizer Premium review

February 3, 2020

Rae Chen

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The product: Womanizer Premium in Blueberry

Okay… so a Womanizer Premium review isn’t super helpful during a Womanizer sale that doesn’t include the Premium. But you guys, will you look at that beautiful dark blue finish?! I’ve never reviewed the Premium on theNotice, even though it’s my favourite Womanizer toy — you can watch my video review for LuxuryVibrators here, or flick back to my Womanizer Pro 40 review here.

I still love the Womanizer Pro 40, but this one is definitely a step up. Womanizer is the only company on the market who I truly consider to have figured out a) silent toys and b) patterns, so keep reading to find out why!

What makes the Womanizer Premium great

The Womanizer Premium has everything that I loved from the Pro 40. It offers precise stimulation, a very wide intensity range, and a battery life that’ll blow your mind if you’ve only ever used vibrating toys. The bodies of each are waterproof, with interchangeable silicone heads that come in two sizes. Womanizer’s buttons are easy to press and easy to understand, and charging is done by a magnetic attachment.

4 hours of battery life with 3 LED charging level indicators
Charges in 2 hours
Waterproof silicone body
12 intensity levels (1 silent)
Comes with PleasureAir technology (AKA the original air pulse), Smart Silence, and Silent Technology
Comes with a charging cable, 2 sizes of silicone heads, and a travel bag
Currently available in five colours: red & gold, black & gold, white & chrome, blueberry & chrome, and raspberry & chrome

But the Womanizer Premium also has a bunch of things that the Pro 40 didn’t: namely, Smart Silence technology and Autopilot mode.

Smart Silence toys only turn on when your toy is touching or almost touching your skin. This minimizes the overall sound of the Womanizer, as (like any other air pulse toy) it’s significantly louder when not on your body. It also makes for the ultimate level of discretion — the second you pull away from your skin, all sounds stop.

You’ll also notice that the Premium claims to use Silent Technology… Which it does. It doesn’t apply to the whole toy, but rather just the first intensity setting. Even through just a thin sheet, the Womanizer Premium is completely silent when in use on the first setting.

Does Womanizer’s Autopilot mode actually work?

Somehow… YES. You know I hate toys with patterns. As far as I’m concerned, patterns are just a marketing gimmick that we all have to click past as one of life’s trials. They’re a waste of a perfectly good button.

But these patterns? Damn.

Okay: so I hate patterns on a vibrational toy because they’re so inconsistent. Most clitoral toys buzz at a high frequency, with patterns that exist to mimic rumbliness. However, they do so in an exaggerated fashion, leaving you with a toy that feels like it spends more time off than on. Air pulse toys, on the other hand, function on a mechanism that suctions your skin in a quick, rhythmic manner (AKA exactly what the theory behind every vibrational toy is.)

As a result, Womanizer’s Autopilot is less of a cycling of patterns and more of a cycling of intensities. The puh-puh-puh of the air pulse never stops; it just varies in strength. So while vibrational patterns piss me off, Air Pulse Autopilot gets me there. And, because Air Pulse Technology can’t numb your nerve endings like vibrations can, each orgasm is intense—for me, almost painfully so.

Weirdly, the experience is kind of like having partnered sex with a sex toy. You’re never quite sure where you’re going to be taken next, but it’s nice to go along for the ride.

Womanizer toys on sale

The Womanizer Premium really is one of the best toys I’ve ever tried, but it comes at a steep cost — around $199 USD/$210 CAD. So, while I wish I could recommend it left and right, I’m well aware that it’s not something that’ll fit all budgets.

So, I’m seizing this moment to talk about Womanizer’s own Valentine’s Day sale. One of the things that I love about the Womanizer line is that the Air Pulse technology is pretty similar in every toy, at every price point. They vary in features, not in tech.

In other words, the more expensive toys are a more luxurious ride, but every toy (except the tiny Starlet) feels great. The cheaper models simply have less features (Autopilot and Smart Silence aren’t in every model) and a smaller intensity range.

My beloved Womanizer Pro 40 is being offered at a startling $79 USD/$89 CAD until February 20th, 2020, so feel free to stop reading this post here. That’s all you need. That’s all you’ll ever need! The Pro 40 is affordable as hell for a luxury toy, and it works so well that I thought it was the peak of luxury until the Premium came along.

The Womanizer Premium review verdict?

Oh god, you guys. I don’t always use the Womanizer Premium (its orgasms often feel too intense for me), but when I do, I absolutely love it. The toy itself is so sexy, with smooth curves and the softest silicone you’ll ever touch, and it just works so well. I love that the battery life lasts for ages (I feel like I never charge mine, and yet it’s always charged when I want it to be), and I love that it’s so easy to clean.

If you’ve managed to stick with me for all of these 1000 words, consider the next paragraph your reward. These are the best deals on the Womanizer Premium that I could find — I know it’s a pricey one, so every little bit counts. For me, it couldn’t be more worth it!

Availability: The Womanizer Premium in Blueberry was lovingly sent to me by the brand, and is available on the Womanizer site for $210 CAD. It is also available at PinkCherry CA and PinkCherry US.

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Disclaimer: This product was gifted to me by the brand, who were enormously accommodating considering that I already own this toy in another colour! This post includes affiliate links, which help support theNotice.

Tags: /Product Photos, Product Review, Sex, Womanizer

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Catrice x EMAN review: Eyeshadow Palette and Generation Plump & Shine Lip Gloss swatches

January 13, 2020

Rae Chen

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The stock market is at an all-time high. This is fine, until of course you consider that there are hundreds of thousands of people in the world who can’t afford their medication, or can’t put dinner on the table, or don’t have the ability to take the day off from work because they have the flu. I live in a province where disability aid is being cut off because the government wanted a 30 million dollar anti-environment propaganda slush fund (already fraught with scandal less than a month in), and the thing I keep thinking while playing with the Catrice x EMAN eyeshadow palette is: didn’t our parents tell us to share?

Didn’t these peoples’ parents tell them that you should give back to your community; that we can’t prosper unless we all prosper; that not sharing should make you feel a deep sense of shame.

Growing up, my sister and I were almost dysfunctionally fixated on the very Chinese idea that, when sharing an object, it was extremely rude to take the bigger half. You had to show everyone else that you were doing well, and that you wanted good fortune for them as you had already been blessed. For most of my life, my sense of pride has come not from what I have, but (as in many, many Asian cultures) what I can share. One of us would slice a piece of dessert in half, and the other one would choose their piece first — and it was always so stressful to cut because you knew that if the halves were uneven, your sister would give you the bigger one (and then you’d have to feel a little bit ashamed the whole time while eating it, because you knew she wouldn’t take your last bite to make things fair again.)

I don’t understand, especially in a world with so many scholarly studies showing us that wealth disparity is bad for both the poor and the rich, why anyone would ever want to make policy changes to enrich only themselves.

The Catrice x EMAN Bronzed AF Eyeshadow Palette

But back onto beauty. The Catrice x EMAN Bronzed AF Eyeshadow Palette ($14.99 CAD) is one of those lovely combinations that makes me feel like I live in a land of plenty (which I do.) Its rich gold tones are luscious and blendable, and most importantly, they’re affordable. I love reviewing high-end makeup, and I swear I get a little wet every time I look at a Shu palette, but I feel ever so slightly unjust when I do cover them.

Catrice, on the other hand, is affordable. Their palettes are priced for the drugstore, and they’re packaged in durable cardboard with a lightweight mirror. Each eyeshadow is pigmented and smooth, and it’s easy to get a smokey eye with this palette — although they do crease a tiny bit more than most of my collection.

Catrice x EMAN Bronzed AF Eyeshadow Palette swatches (indirect sunlight, primed skin)

I’ve dropped these palettes a dozen times between the both of them, and though I don’t like the warm tones in the matching blush palette (also $14.99), I have to respect their sturdiness. Eman isn’t someone I follow, but these palettes really do reflect her look: super sexy, bronzed eyes, messy black liner, and (of course) those characteristically too-warm cheeks.

If you’re wondering if you’d enjoy the Catrice x EMAN Bronzed AF palette, ask yourself this: do I like nice things? Because that’s all you’re going to need to know. This palette is deliciously rich and warm enough to keep you toasty during the winter.

My standout shades in this one are Malibu and Laguna, a super-pigmented, super-smooth, bronzed-brown and a lighter wisp of sparkling sunset copper.

Catrice Generation Plump & Shine Lip Glosses

This, of course, is the other half of the equation: the guilt. The shame. Catrice shouldn’t feel bad for making these (they’re really not terrible), but god, I feel bad when I wear them. The formula of these lipglosses is so waxy; so sticky; so enduring. They take “longlasting” [sic] so seriously that we ought to be afraid, but they shine like the spirit of J Lo herself is looking out for you.

(Seriously. These are THE shiniest lip glosses I’ve ever owned.)

The Catrice Generation Plump & Shine Lip Glosses ($7.99 CAD) are not part of the Catrice x EMAN collection, but they were sent to me at the same time. The brand is onto something here — they really do compliment the look. But I am fickle, and I love mixing things up. A lipgloss that, when swatched, needs cleanser, soap, and then an additional two rounds of cleansing oil to be removed is not for me. Not only will this lipgloss feel tacky when you kiss your honey, but I’d be genuinely surprised if you ever managed to get your lips un-stuck from each others’.

(The ultimate way to keep your girl, perhaps?)

I’ve kind of lost the train of thought that I started this post with. Things, I think we can all agree, are terrible — but it’s nice to settle in with something trivial and fun, like the Catrice x EMAN collection. It’s easy, and more than anything, I’m happy that it provides for us all a much-deserved break from the news.

In my quest for a more equitable future, I hope to see more products like these ones from Catrice.

Availability: $7.99-$14.99 CAD. Limited edition. Available at Catrice, Ulta, and Shopper’s Drug Mart. Cruelty-free and vegan.

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Disclaimer: These products were submitted by Catrice for editorial consideration only. Honestly… I’m not cool enough for someone to pay me to trash-talk their long-wearing products. (They wear for so long! I hate it! But I get that that’s the whole point!)

Tags: /4. Makeup looks, Eyes, Fall/Winter 2019, Lips, Makeup looks: neutral, Product Photos, Product Review, Product Swatches

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Keep the holidays going: My raddest finds of 2019

December 30, 2019

Rae Chen

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God, can you believe that it’s almost the end of the decade? I… can’t. I’m so unprepared to step into a new year, and it seems crazy to me that theNotice is still going (albeit as a hobby project as I focus on freelancing and not getting sicker).

This will be the third decade that I’m publishing in, which blows my mind. theNotice started in 2007, and by 2010, it was running over 500 posts a year. We peaked, I think, from 2013 to 2015 (and including 2014), with bright white photos and more than a few delicious makeup looks. It wasn’t until 2015 (I think?) that I started covering sex toys, but I’m not done yet — I already have my next review in its planning stages.

For this year’s holiday post, I’ve combined my Christmas-loving soul with a yearly roundup. Here are the things that I love right now.

Things to Drink

My biggest find this year was the Earth’s Own Oat Milk line. Like most Chinese people, I’m a little lactose intolerant — but I love milk, so I drink it regardless. The Earth’s Own Oat Milks are so delicious that they disappear from the fridge before my eyes. I was sent some of their 1.75L cartons to test, and my sister had almost finished the Fair Trade Chocolate one before I even got to it.

These fresh, delicious oat milks are vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free. They come in plant-made cartons and mix well in other drinks. Unlike soy milks, oat milk has a very mild flavour. However, it maintains the rich texture that you find in soy milk (but not in almond or rice milk), and it’s produced using 7x less water than almond or cow milk.

I like keeping a carton of Earth’s Own Unsweetened Original Oat Milk in the fridge at all times, but their chocolate one is excellent, too. It’s just the right amount of chocolatey, and isn’t too sweet. Photographed here is their Earth’s Own Barista Edition Oat Milk, which is designed to be a little blander, richer, and more frothy than the original. It’s really fatty (7g of fat per cup, rather than 2.5g), and tastes thick and creamy in a way that feels distinctly like drinking cream. You can get a fine froth on it quite easily as well — I actually find that it’s easier to froth than milk, especially by hand.

Things to Eat

I’ve also been incredibly smitten with All About the Crust, a local Edmonton bakery that sells out of the Sherwood Park and Ottewell farmers’ markets. Tamara, their owner and baker, makes the most divine treats at a very affordable price point. She’s so sweet, just like her pecan pie, and makes a loaf of chewy sourdough that’ll knock your socks off!

On my sourdough, my partner and I have switched to grass-fed butter — which is a little pricier than the regular stuff, but is just so lovely. It’s firm and delicious (unfortunately, this means that it has a tendency to tear apart soft bread), and takes buttered pasta from “yes, this pasta is indeed buttered” to “oh my god, I’m going to eat this until I literally start exploding at the seams and you can’t stop me!!!”

If you’re looking to make the switch to grass-fed butter in Canada, make sure you keep an eye on the price point. The stuff we buy is $6-7 at most markets, but I’ve seen it as high as $12-14. (We use Thornloe for our coffee, pasta, and toast. It’s 75% grass fed, but still great!)

Things to Use

Okay: back into the beauty swing of things. I have a number of favourites right now; some new, some old.

The old ones are products that you’ve seen on theNotice before: the Living Proof Perfect Hair Day (PhD) Serum, IV Skincare Infusion Serum, and Purito Centella Green Level Sunscreen. If you have dry or damaged hair, I can’t recommend the PhD Serum enough — it’s super lightweight and smells amazing (like green tea), but soaks in and smooths out all of my split ends. My hair is super thin, so I’m always worried that serums will weigh it down, but it’s not an issue at all with Living Proof.

On my face, I’ve been relying heavily on IV Skincare’s black-and-gold-bottled serum, which hydrates deeply and smells amazing. The scent is fully derived from blueberry, strawberry, and cherry seed oils, and I’m happy to be able to say that even my sister loves the way it smells. She’s typically quite sensitive to perfumes, essential oils, and other fragrances (they give her migraines), so it’s a huge plus in my books that this one slides under her radar.

Finally, all twenty of my nails are done up right now in the Nail HQ Ridge Filler. It’s a light pink nail polish base that’s designed to smooth out and protect the nail, and it’s fantastic. The formula is easy to apply evenly, and it just makes my nails look so smooth and healthy. It’s everything that I wish Essie Ballet Slippers could have been.

Things to Smell

I’ve talked at length on theNotice about a) how dumb Poo-Pourri is, and b) how much I love Poo-Pourri. Conceptually, I think it’s obscene that humans should ever be expected to pretend like they don’t smell; functionally, I’m so tired of smelling my cat’s poop that I’d be happiest never having to smell any other poop ever again in my entire life.

The brand’s Spiced Apple spritz has been my festive saviour this season, and it takes trips to, around, and nearby the bathroom from essential to enjoyable. It’s the kind of bright, festive harvest scent that I wish I could smell all the time — less “bathroom deodorizer” and more “fancy diffuser.”

Things to Love

This shot is a mess, but… she’s a baby and I love making her look dumb on the internet. Fernie looks how I feel right now: exhausted by the holidays and ready to flop face-down onto a rug.

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Disclaimer: The products mentioned in this post were all gifted by PR (aside from the candle, butter, and Poo-Pourri), although I’ve re-purchased many of them already! You can apply to adopt the kitty through WHARF.

Tags: /Food, Fragrance, Hair, Holy Grail, Indie brands, Nails, Other, Product Photos, Silicone-free, Skincare

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Scentuals Sleep Well + Scentuals coupon code: Settling into the winter

December 10, 2019

Rae Chen

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Okay: I’m not an aromatherapy person. I don’t believe in scents or colours influencing your mood, or your appetite, or your intelligence. There isn’t enough scientific data to back up most of these claims, and the evidence that does exist is often sorely lacking. (It turns out a change to any colour will uplift your mood, for instance — and anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar!) I do, however, very much appreciate a nice scent, and the Scentuals Sleep Well Gift Set ($45.50 CAD) is no exception.

Make sure to use code RAE25OFF for 25% off your Scentuals order!

This winter has been a tough one, from sticking to a posting schedule (it’s hard when you’re completing freelance work, picking away at your degree, and in what feels like a near-constant pain flare-up) to cleaning up around the house. Most recently, I discovered that the ever-present garbage smell that no one else could ever seem to notice was, in fact, a tiny layer of compacted crumbs in between the ridges of my garbage can lid.

(G’bless us every one, but especially Method, who makes the most wonderful, biodegradable household cleaners.)

Sleeping well with Scentuals Sleep Well

“Sleeping well” is a misnomer for this one: I almost always sleep well. (It’s one of the only perks to having fibromyalgia!) But feeling well isn’t a guarantee, and no amount of aromatherapy is going to fix that.

Despite not buying into this whole oils-as-medicine thing, I do feel like a great smell can pick up your mood. But it isn’t about opening chakras or tricking your neurochemistry. Instead, I think it’s something much simpler: nice smells make me happy. That’s it.

When I first tried the Scentuals Sleep Well Pillow & Room Mist, I was crushed. The scent was nowhere near as nice as the simple packaging, and it clung to my sheets like lavender-vanilla candy. (I hate lavender.) Each Sleep Well product sits a little differently, though, and so, the day was saved.

The Sleep Well Roll-On is based in a lovely rice bran oil, and my skin likes to highlight its ylang ylang, jasmine, and sandalwood notes. (It turns out only my Brooklinen sheets were determined to make the lavender and vanilla oils explode in a riotous cacophony.) Likewise, the Sleep Well Lotion ($22.50 CAD) settled into a creamy ylang ylang-vanilla blend — with a softer vanilla, which I can only assume was because my super-dry skin sucked up the rest.

How the Scentuals Sleep Well Collection compares

Surprisingly, it really holds its own! I found, for once, that these products were almost too scented for me. My super-sensitive nose doesn’t like a lot of a distractions while I’m trying to sleep, or eat, or work. As a result, I’ve found that my magic blend is to just use the Sleep Well Hand & Body Lotion on my hands throughout the day. The scent is comforting and soothing in a way that’s perfect for the winter. Plus, the aloe juice/rice brand oil base is totally non-greasy and nourishing. Most importantly, however, it’s a hand cream that sinks in quickly: a necessity for someone who washes their hands with almost inadvisable frequency.

My favourite Scentuals product is still their Vanilla Tangerine Hand & Body Lotion ($14.95 CAD), which smells like a Terry’s Chocolate Orange but doesn’t leave your teeth nearly as fuzzy. Both are excellent choices for the holidays, and would be such an excellent way to round out a gift box!

Availability: You can find Scentuals at their website, through Well.ca, or (strangely) at G&E Pharmacy (AKA the human, horse, and pet store pharmacy) in Edmonton. Their products are 100% natural, Canadian, and cruelty-free. For 25% off your entire order at Scentuals, use the code RAE25OFF!

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Disclaimer: These products and code were gifted to me by the brand’s PR company.

Tags: /Canadian beauty, Indie brands, Moisturizers, Product Photos, Product Review, Silicone-free, Silicone-free moisturizers and serums, Skincare

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An eco-friendly green gift guide for your hair, skin, and sadness

November 25, 2019

Rae Chen

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Decembers—especially Decembers at the end of the decade—are weird. They’re the flat climax of a holiday season that began in July, and a disheartened effort to turn each holiday gift guide into a five-minute charitable donation instead. (The magic, of course, of the internet). In this case, Decembers are weird because they’re a mix of highs and lows: a green gift guide and an emptied-out living room with enough space to hold a tree.

This is a different kind of love; an awful, calculated longing. A twist of the body in the way that it exists in the world: not that you and I are both here and took a stumble together, but that you wanted X, and I needed Y, so we compromised a little and carved out the space within our bodies. Not so much to grow into, but just enough to leave the other feeling like there was a battle that they had lost.

So now, things are just—well, they’re different, aren’t they? We argue constantly about who’s keeping track (but we’re obviously both keeping track) and pretend like maintaining a working balance isn’t terribly onerous. You joke about which one of us is telling lies (me, you, the cat) but it’s all of us, screaming in the kitchen for dinner.

In you, I keep carving: until my lips are rough and bare, and the space in you is wide enough for me to crawl inside.

Lavido Thera-Intensive: The height of a green gift guide

The first time you review a brand is always special. If you’re lucky (as I have been), you often get to submerse yourself in it. The packaging, the designs, the ingredients; everything down to the feeling itself is new, and half a dozen odd items make you feel as if you’re being casually tossed directly into the bitter lap of luxury.

I’ve been posting so infrequently this year that each review is like a little snapshot of my month. So, delving back into a brand that I fell in love with in the spring is… odd. When I cracked open my first jar of Lavido, everything felt new. My body craved the fresh feeling of the moussey daily moisturizer, and the crisp blue lettering on each jar. Every product fizzed into being along fresh-picked lilacs, brimming terrifyingly with life.

This time, in the middle of a week swathed in constant cloud cover, I needed something different. Something less bright, and more soothing, as needed for a green gift guide in the most stressful season of the year. Lavido provided. Their heavy jar of Thera-Intensive Body Cream ($60.75 CAD) coddles your skin like a baby; like you need it; like you deserve to be held. Each cold-pressed oil blends into its shea butter base (with lots of caprilyc/capric triglyceride—my favourite) to create a texture like grass-fed butter: soft but elastic.

The Body Cream pairs gorgeously with their Thera Intensive Skin Balm (equally lovely). Rich and fine-grained, it’s easy to take a smooth, non-greasy scoop of this fatty balm with your fingertip. Both products are blended with tea tree, lavender, and black cumin seed oil to nourish and balance the skin, and they feel expensive and heavy in their glass packaging.

A little Lavido extra

I’m forever looking for new eye creams, and Lavido generously included one of their best in my package. Their Alert Eye Cream ($66.15 CAD) is lightweight but hydrating: the perfect eye cream, honestly. Even more importantly, it packs just over an ounce of product into its precise container—so it’s clean and easy to use in any amount, but also (also!!!!) large enough that you aren’t constantly rationing out your eye cream. Though it’s just for your delicate eye area, it’s the size (and honestly, price) of a standard foundation.

It’s always a struggle to make space where there isn’t any, so give your loved ones something we all want at this time of year. Replace the bath balms and woolen socks of your green gift guide and, instead, ply them with vegan creams to settle down their puffy, red-rimmed eyes in this ironically trying time.

More mouthwatering than mulled wine: IV Skin

When there isn’t any space left for you in your life, don’t do what I do. Set down that overflowing glass of dark red wine, and instead, opt for a facial oil that smells so impossibly good that you’ll leave your own wife for it.

I think that using scented face oils is pure insanity, but I’m here (masochistically) for it anyways. When they’re well-formulated, I find that a natural scent just enriches the experience; an intentionally perfumed oil often ends in disaster, but a delicately-balanced blend of natural oils can perk up your mood for the entire rest of the day.

(It occurs to me now that there’s something just slightly off about creating an entire green gift guide that aims to simply make your recipients slightly less absolutely miserable.)

Longstanding misery or not, I cannot get enough of the IV Skincare Infusion Serum ($65 CAD). I love the combination of black and gold; the nourishing oil that disappears into the skin; the matte black finish of the bottle. And above all else, I love the way that the fragrant oils make me feel—hopeful, and wanted, and a little less jaded than I am.

(To add to your green gift guide: one DeLorean.)

In this Infusion Serum, you’ll find camellia seed oil (at a fraction of the cost of a bottle of Tatcha), and the lively scents of blueberry seed, strawberry seed, and ~~cheery~~ cherry seed oils. The blend is packed full of antioxidants, and sits so comfortably on my sensitive skin.

The holiday hair guide

I haven’t owned a travel hairbrush since I was young: an awful, purple, plastic thing from Claire’s that would accompany my sister and I to and from Sunday swimming lessons. This one from Raincry is a clear step up; a fancy tortoiseshell body with flexible bristles and capped off ends.

The stylist who did my balayage constantly berates me for the fact that I use a wide paddle brush—not a detangling wet brush—on my damp hair, and it’s incredibly fair of her to say so. So, even though I’m usually at home, I’ve been using Raincry’s Travel Detangling Paddle Brush ($55 USD) when I get out of a my searingly hot showers. Its soft latex base and flexible metal bristles comb through wet hair a little more gently, and the spread-out tips massage my scalp upon contact.

(I am not as hard on my scalp as I am on myself, but trust me: we’d both benefit from the extra love.)

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that you should only feature hairbrushes that were hand painted in France (the RAINCRY paddle brushes) and Italy (their volume brushes) in your green gift guide, because let’s be real: this lacquer brush and latex base aren’t as green as, say, a comb made from recycled bamboo. But I do so much appreciate the fact that these brushes are expensive and intentionally designed to last, and I appreciate that part of RAINCRY’s mission involves compensating their artisans fairly in a way that reflects their decades of experience.

That glittery purple brush from my childhood swimming lessons lasted barely two years, if even that. So, in honour of the fact that I never once drowned to death on a Sunday, let’s introduce a little less into our futures.

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Disclaimer: These products were gifted to me for editorial consideration only, and I picked them as my favourites on my own.

Tags: /Grouped reviews, Hair, Holiday 2019, Moisturizers, Product Photos, Silicone-free, Skincare, Small Business Saturdays, The Edit

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Godai Soap Bar review | Low-waste, travel-friendly vegan shampoo!

November 13, 2019

Rae Chen

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The product: Godai Soap Bar Complete Gift Set

↳ Water (moisturizing), Earth (cleansing), Fire (rejuvenating), Wind (nourishing), and Sky/Void (calming)

Do you ever have months where everything just feels like a struggle? That’s this month, for me. (And, honestly, last month, too.) I’ve been meaning to get this Godai soap review up for months (you may have already seen the bars in a flatlay here or there on theNotice), but I’m just not getting it right.

I honestly just like soap

Soap bars are pretty basic, but I love using the “natural” ones. I always find them to be a little less stripping than basic bars of Dove or Olay, and while I do like both Dove and Olay soap bars, it makes me happy to be able to support a small company instead. I go through bar soap so slowly that it doesn’t even come close to impacting my budget: sure, 6 bars of vegan soap may cost $40 instead of $10, but when you’re only going through two bars a year… it’s a difference of literally less than a dollar a month.

It’s a small, frivolous way to justify getting to use eco-friendly soap, but I’m comfortable with it.

Especially if it lets me element-type

As an air type (Godai’s Wind), I can be incredibly flighty. Commitment can be tough for me. I tend to live in fear of the knowledge that I’m unlikely to un-commit from things once I’ve wholeheartedly committed.

But bar soap is easy. These ones are cruelty-free and vegan; certified organic in the US. My one apprehension comes from the fact that they’re designed around the Japanese element types, but the brand is based in Salt Lake City. I’m about as enthusiastic about elemental typing (read: very!) as I am about making sure we don’t culturally appropriate things, so… Tread carefully. If you want to pay your respects to Japanese culture, there are quite literally hundreds of Japanese brands that will help you do so!

Godai Bar Soap & Shampoo for travelling

Worry aside, I was drawn to these soap bars for one big reason: they’re dual-marketed as shampoo bars. I’ve only used them as shampoo bars a few times (I just keep forgetting!), but they have a beautiful lather. Like the shampoo bars I’ve tried from companies like Lush, it’s dense with a tightly-packed foam. I use the direct wash method that the brand describes on their site, and I’ve honestly never struggled with it or been left waiting on an adjustment time.

I prefer the saponified oils of Godai’s soap and shampoo bars over the Lush ones because of their convenience. They leave my hair and scalp in about the same condition (tight; squeaky-clean), but are easier to work with. Soap bars are always a joy to slice, and I think it would make them perfect for travelling: separately pack one small slice per location and you’ll never have to deal with soap goop or liquid storage.

Unlike compressed shampoo bars (again, see: Lush), Godai’s soap bars are actually designed to function as body soap. They’re smoother and richer, and they don’t scrape against your legs as you desperately try to remove your week-old stubble in a tepid Airbnb bath. I’ve kept the nourishing Wind bar at my sink side for a consistent half year, and it performs on par with other organic bar soap: a little stripping, leaving your hands clean and smooth.

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Disclaimer: These soap bars were gifted for editorial consideration… many, many moons ago. I have yet to travel with them, as I didn’t figure out that I could until much too late in the season!

Tags: /Cleansing, Hair, Indie brands, Product Photos, Product Review, Silicone-free, Skincare

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The best camera for blogging: 2019 update

October 28, 2019

Rae Chen

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I’ve been tackling more reader requests than usual this year, and the most recent one to come up is all about images. It’s hard to figure out your camera setup when you’re starting blogging—I mean, I still struggle with mine every day. Here’s what I currently consider to be the best camera for blogging (plus assorted other tips). My caveat? These recommendations are for bloggers like myself: ones who don’t have a big budget and don’t know all of the super-technical camera things.

There are tons of other options that are better, bigger, or more expensive, so don’t consider this post to be the be-and-end-all. It doesn’t contain any shortcuts, and there’s no magic bullet when it comes to photography: you really do just have to get in there and figure out what light setup works for your space; what lens is best for your style; what angles are the most flattering for your body. These are simply the things that are working for me right now, with tiny hands and a uni budget!

⇒ Just starting out? Make sure to check out my other posts on beauty blogging, too.

The best camera for blogging: Sony a6000

My main camera is the Sony a6000. I love this little guy for its small size, solid build, and tiny price tag. It’s extremely sturdy, and because of its mirrorless build, its significantly smaller than most entry-level DSLRs (lookin’ at you, Canon and Nikon.)

It can be a little tougher getting into Sony photography if you’re looking to second-hand most of your lenses, but their market share has been rocketing upwards in the past few years. The a6000 (24MP) is great for most blogging, including simple video work. Alternative models are also great: the a6100 is a little more updated, and the a5100 has a flip-up selfie screen.

Why I chose to go with Sony over Canon or Nikon: The camera body is smaller and lighter, and the dials and buttons are easier to spin and press. More of the camera seems to be customizable through the menu, and Sony’s wireless capabilities were slightly ahead of the curve when I purchased my first a6000 body in 2014. (Holy crap, 2014 and this is still everyone’s go-to entry-level model.)

It’s easy to transfer shots to your phone through WiFi, or to use your phone as a remote screen and trigger. Additionally, Sony’s autofocus speed is out of this world—especially compared to Canon, which is still slow as balls despite more than halving their autofocus speed in the last five years.

I also really like that Sony cameras charge via micro USB, which helps to reduce the cost and streamline your work kit.

Full frame Sony a7 alternatives

I recently purchased a secondhand Sony a7s to step up the video quality of my freelance work. Mine needs some rehabbing (it was an awesome price, but the body and LCD are in rough condition), which I started last weekend by patching over some of the scrapes with black varnish. (It’s Burberry, bitches.)

Sony’s a7 line is their full frame mirrorless option, so the sensors are larger than those used on the a5100 or a6000. You’ll find that you get higher quality images, a body without a built-in flash, and a wider field of view due to the larger sensor. I honestly think that an a7 is overkill for a small blog: the APS-C cameras (a##00) are more than high enough quality, and I wouldn’t have purchased one at retail price.

B&H has a really simple graphic (above) to help you choose between a7 bodies, if that’s something that interests you. Essentially, the a7 iterations (24MP) are the best all-around cameras; the a7Rs (36MP) are the best for professional photo work that needs to be extremely high-res; and the a7S (12MP, and no, that’s not a typo) somehow shoots in 4K with a max ISO of a truly insane 409,600.

Normal, for the record, is 25 000 or lower. I most frequently shoot on manual at 1/125(ish), f2.8, and ISO 400.

The best camera lenses for blogging: My current favourites

» Note: All Sony E-mount lenses will fit on all Sony E-mount cameras (so, the entire a/alpha lineup). However, lenses designed for APS-C sensors will carry over the cropped frame. In other words, lenses made for the a6000 are cropped even on the a7 body, while the inverse is both a) not true, and b) irrelevant, because the a6000 sensor is too small to catch all of the data anyways.

I most frequently use the Sony SEL-20F28 E-Mount 20mm F2.8 Prime Lens (for wide-angle) and the Sigma 60mm F2.8 DN Art Lens (for portraits and product photos). The quality of the portrait lens is way better, as wide angle lenses distort the image so much, but it’s nothing to write home about. For walking around and taking photos on the go, the 2.8/20mm is awesome — it’s a pancake lens, so it’s very small and easy to carry in a purse.

If you’re on a really tight budget, another great alternative is to use an adaptor with old film lenses. My go-to is a 1.7/50mm Contax lens with beautiful Zeiss glass — search for the Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1.7/50 F1.7 50 mm F/1.7 Contax Lens and a C-Y E-Mount adaptor if you want something similar, and make sure to opt for the higher-quality Japanese version. It’s still my favourite lens (so smooth! So creamy!), but because it’s a manual focus lens, it’s a pain to use if there’s a chance that anyone else is going to take a photo of me.

Lighting, staging, and editing

Okay, so here’s the thing: when I bought a MacBook Air, I didn’t realize for years that its screen looked like utter shit. I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why all of my blog photos looked so bad all of a sudden, and I couldn’t have been bothered to figure it out.

My partner bought me a new monitor last year, and it totally blew my mind. My image quality went up overnight, and I went right back to that happy place where I used to exist when I had a MacBook Pro. (The monitor is the Asus Designo, and it’s great, but I do still desperately miss having a glossy screen.)

I stage most of my images nowadays on re-used tile pieces, shot in indirect sunlight with a single white bounce board. Some video content is filmed with studio lights. Each image is processed first in Adobe Lightroom with presets that I’ve made myself, and then tweaked in Adobe Photoshop (both cracked) using a very, very old Wacom Bamboo tablet.

(I’ve tried to replace the tablet many times over the years, and it’s really not worthwhile. Wacom’s new entry-level models are incredibly laggy, forcing consumers to drop at least a grand on a decent tablet. I’m not here for it.)

Make sure to buy a microfibre cloth and some Windex (I prefer Method Glass & Surface, which is biodegradable) if you’ll be shooting in mirrors. Microfibre has a high environmental cost, but it does the best job of getting glass super clean!

What I could do better

I need to watch way more video tutorials on YouTube. There’s definitely huge things that I’m missing, especially when it comes to using the Adobe suite—I mean, I just found the clarity slider like two months ago. I’ve been doing this for thirteen years.

I also really find that I struggle with staging products, as I started blogging in a time where a bright, white background was the peak of all things respectable. It doesn’t fly in today’s Instagram age, and as a result, my grid game is pretty weak. To compensate, I’ve been working on warming up my portraits, but I’d love to try shooting in that rustic, wedding-hipster style that’s so popular right now.

Going forward, I’d love to figure out some cool lighting tricks (a light ring is forever on my wishlist), or finally invest in a macro lens to play with. I also want to figure out how to achieve depth in my blacks, à la Crystal Candy Makeup!

What are your photo goals for the year?

Tags: /Beauty blogging

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YSL Libre review: Come on; let’s get a little androgynous

October 14, 2019

Rae Chen

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The product: YSL Libre Eau de Parfum

I’m notoriously slow when it comes to producing reviews, which is perhaps why this one is so surprising. As soon as I got my hands on this new fragrance, I knew that I had to start working on a YSL Libre review. It isn’t the scent itself that inspired me to get tap-a-lackin’ at my keyboard, however: it was the beautiful bottle, and the beautiful marketing.

(I know; I’m a sucker!)

Let’s talk about (gender) freedom

A lot of fragrances talk about being androgynous, and I feel like this one semi-commits. (Yes, even though it’s still gendered by line to exist in the modern boutique).

[Wait! Before we move on, I just want to say: if you’re looking for androgynous fragrances, Serge Lutens has your back. One of the big reasons why they’re a brand that I adore is that they don’t bother with unnecessarily gendering their products. Their collections are simply their collections, and if you like them, you “can” wear them.]

Yves Saint Laurent introduced the tuxedo as androgynous-femme evening wear in the 60s, and doubled down on that aesthetic more recently during their Saint Laurent days under Hedi Slimane. The brand is known for its miniskirt: weaponized femininity that’s designed “not to tease, but to make you move forward freely.” YSL is positioned very well as a brand that empowers based on a performative agender, and it’s often also iconic to trans folx and enbys like myself.

There are critiques of the brand that I won’t delve too deeply into here, like idea that commercializing gender doesn’t serve the cause, or that provocative androgyny is perhaps nothing more than a marketing ploy. Personally, however, I disagree. I love the fundamentals of the YSL brand: I love it so much that I’ve even gotten behind Saint Laurent, and am somehow enthusiastic about that boring new typeface. I love their beautiful suiting, their indulgent use of patent and sequins; their beautiful Sac du Jour silhouette.

(I LOVE the Opyum heel design, even though I’d never be able to afford them.)

Why YSL Libre is the new femme in a suit

I’m not even going to bother with text here. My point can be made in the photo above, and with this one word: unf.

And if you’re not sure what I mean, I’ll give you one more: goddamn.

The YSL Libre perfume review that you actually want

You know I’d be down with this fragrance just for the bottle,but I mean, you hit a certain level of queer and it’s just like, oh, she’s in a suit? I guess I have to buy that thing/wear that shirt/watch that movie/ship that beautiful femme con artist couple. I’m obligated. This incident is no different, and while the perfume itself didn’t grip me, I’m still enjoying it.

YSL Libre is a mix of Moroccan orange blossom, French lavender, and a good dose of florals and musks. It’s very inoffensive: if you’re imagining any generic orange-floriental in your head, you can probably smell it already. I’m not a fan, but it’s very pleasant, and has a unique little twist with the orange blossom.

The YSL Libre review verdict?

Most mainstream fragrances smell largely the same to me nowadays, but I enjoy that this one is just a little bit lighter and cleaner that most florientals. It’s not as iconic as Opium, or as delicate as Parisienne (do you remember how everyone was wearing that for a good five years after it launched?), but it’s very pleasant.

I can see YSL Libre making a great transition fragrance—a way to ease your image from a Burberry Blush aesthetic to a Musc Ravageur one. It’s time.

Availability: $78 USD/$125 CAD. Permanent at YSL, Sephora, Nordstrom, and most major department stores.

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Disclaimer: This sample product was received compliments of YSL Beauty for editorial consideration only.

Tags: /Fall/Winter 2019, Fragrance, Product Photos, Product Review, Yves Saint Laurent / YSL

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The perfect fall wedding guest dress: Can you thrift that?

October 7, 2019

Rae Chen

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One of the biggest issues that I have with blogging is that, with a review-based publication, you produce a lot of waste. Even if you’re only reviewing eco-friendly goods, or asking to be sent items on request rather than every season, you still end up rinsing through exponentially more product than your average person. Though I donate the lion’s share of the products that I receive (they go to a local shelter 1-2 years after being featured), with each one comes a new box, packing material, and shipping fuel. So the question in the reduce section of the classic 3 Rs becomes: Can You Thrift That? Or, more specifically, can you thrift a fall wedding guest dress?

(You can. I know it’s a spoiler that I haven’t disclaimed in any way, but you totally can. If you can think of it, chances are you can probably thrift it. Cast iron? Thrift it. Cat carrier? Thrift it. Awesome dress? Thrift it! You get the gist.)

I’m not thrifting enough to support a blog fully on talking about reducing your purchasing waste—it would kind of defeat the point—but I’m oddly passionate about the entire ordeal. Hope you enjoy one of my favourite recent forays into the world of secondhand!

The perfect fall wedding guest dress

What makes for the perfect fall wedding guest dress? The answer seems to be a lot of polka dots, and a lot of subdued colours. (Burgundy and mustard yellow stand out.) And I know, I know; you’re not supposed to wear black to a wedding because it’s the colour of funerals…

But what if it’s covered in polka dots? There’s no way that this dress is funeral-appropriate. Not unless everyone gets real cool about a bunch of stuff really quickly.

Gold sheaf of wheat pin! (Also borrowed/second-hand).

Funnily enough, this is a dress that I remember trying on at Dynamite a few years back. I think it might have been in a different print, and it was definitely in a different size—I thrifted the size small, which gapes so broadly in the front that I borrowed a wheat pin from my mother to keep it shut. (This is apparently the kind of stuff that you have in your dresser if you grew up in Regina.)

It’s the Dynamite Wrap Maxi Dress, with a split flutter sleeve. It retails for $59.95 CAD, but I bought this one from Goodwill for $8.50. At the risk of divulging all of my thrifting secrets, the Goodwill in Edmonton on Gateway Boulevard is awesome—I find the best stuff there. Think vintage Pyrex, 70s holographic sequin dresses, and the CUTEST miniature yellow school chair that I left behind.

So, how’d it do?

Well, I felt fluttery and stunning all night, so it can’t have been that bad of a fall wedding guest dress. Most importantly, I totally blended into the crowd—which is just about the best way to be at someone else’s wedding. (Don’t even get me started on people who wear bridal-style ivory and champagne dresses to someone else’s wedding. Showing up like that is somewhere behind “you’re trapped in a dystopian mall” and “ARMY OF SPIDERS” in my nightmares.)

That being said, I was a little (needlessly) self-conscious about showing up in black all the same. But I was far from the only one in black, so perhaps the trend is over; dying with the baby boomers alongside our hopes of affordable home ownership. Or there’s always option two, which I prefer:

Option two is that the bride’s extended family simply contains too many feminist witches to abide by a no-black-dresses rule. Sometimes you just gotta wear black to a wedding, rage against the current conservative government cuts, and fuck this “let’s buy a new dress for every special occasion” bullshit.

This dress is just a little bratty, despite the sensible heels. ;)

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Disclaimer: Nothing to disclaim here! Except for the fact that I spent less than $10 on a fall wedding guest dress, which is a crime in some southern states. Oh, and I don’t think my mom is ever getting this cool pin back, but that seems fair considering that she hasn’t worn it even once in the two-verging-on-three decades since I was born.

Additional teaser: This gorgeous chair is second hand, too! It’s getting its own post soon.

Tags: /Can you thrift that?, Fashion

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