Beauty Squared Round-Up - February 16, 2015

Good morning!

In today's Beauty Squared links:

• A new beauty brand called Stowaway Cosmetics is set to change the way we think about makeup. They do "mini makeup" - travel-friendly sizes that will beat that "I'll never finish all of this" feeling.
  
• Hey, green eyes! Eye makeup looks just for you.
  
• Have you seen the pretty, shimmering MAC x Cinderella collection yet? Promo photos here and Temptalia's reviews/swatches here.
  
• Ready for spring? The new Essie + Rebecca Minkoff collection will help you get in the mood.
  
• Speaking of spring nails, The Polishaholic has a review and swatches of the new Essie Resort 2015 collection.
  
• Sephora's got an interesting new eyelash comb design. Temptalia's got her impression of it here.
  
• How often do you wash your hair? Here's how often you should (hint: they're probably not the same thing).
  
• Do you have rosacea? Or perhaps you've just got a lot of redness? Here's a makeup tutorial by Lisa Eldridge that offers tips for this kind of skin. Also, rather than just a natural look, Lisa does a more glam look using a red lipstick (something those with a lot of red to their skin tend to avoid).
  
• Benefit Cosmetics has got another brand new mascara. This one is called Benefit Roller Lash and here is what Pixiwoo thought of it.
  
• An interview with MUA Mark Coulier, who was behind the makeup look that so successfully aged Tilda Swinton in the Oscar-nominated Wes Anderson movie The Grant Budapest Hotel.
  
• Some of the best makeup looks from last weekend's Grammy awards. Which were your favourites?
  
• Pixiwoo takes a look at nine of their favourite Lipstick Queen lipsticks. GORGEOUS.
  
• And finally, Max Factor: first beauty vlogger? Nah, but check out this fantastic video showing the beauty icon at work, creating a Claudette Colbert look on an actress. 

Beauty Squared Round-Up for August 24, 2014

Hello lovelies!

Happy Sunday. 

• Kandee Johnson reviews the new Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 palette. 
• Do you have curly hair? This post is for you. 
• A step-by-step guide for applying false eyelashes. 
• I love this elegant ruby twist on the French manicure done by Rita Remark for Essie Canada.  
• Anna Sui has revamped her line of lipsticks. You've never seen a lipstick like this before. 
• Makeup bag essentials for beginner, intermediate and professional makeup wearers. 
• An absolutely stunning lavender smokey eye look by Lisa Eldridge done on Sophie Dahl. (Look for an upcoming Beauty Squared post where Catherine recreates this!)
• Laverne Levinson writes about why she uses Photoshop on photos of her face. It's perhaps food for thought.
• Related: here's XOVain's Alle with tips on becoming more photogenic (it's a learned skill!).
• Is a younger face more of a blank canvas than an older face? The Guardian's Invisible Woman talks about her experience with makeup now that she's nearing 60. 

Beauty Squared Round-Up - January 19, 2013

Hello there lovelies! It's been a busy weekend so this Round-Up is getting posted later than usual, but we appreciate your patience mightily. But no more delay, let's show you our links.

• First up, this gorgeous bronzy look from Sam Chapman and Real Techniques. 
• A step-by-step GIF tutorial on how to cover up undereye circles. 
• A very simple DIY anti-aging eye cream using coconut oil, Vitamin E and rose oil. 
• This tutorial makes me wish I had long hair - the soft and romantic Double Gibson.
• Look at this incredible makeup (and outfit) on the stunning Lupita Nyong'o on the cover of Dazed Magazine.
• Elle Canada's never fail eyeliner picks. 
• Karen of the Makeup and Beauty Blog takes a look at Essie's Resort 2014 collection.
• Are you a Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat fan? Have you never heard of it? Read on. 
• Beauty editor picks for their favourite products via Elle Canada.
• The beauty industry and the conflicting social, psychological and economic rewards and penalties of appearance obsessions are examined in a new photo book called Love Me by Zed Nelson. 

Essie Matte About You Matte Finisher Review and Swatches

Nail polish and shiny go together hand-in-hand. Who knew there was anything other than shiny nail polish? Who knew that anything other than shiny nail polish would look good?

But along came the matte nail polish trend. You can buy matte nail polish colours or matte top coats to mattify any nail polish colour.

I picked up Essie's Matte About You matte finisher to try out the trend.

You simply apply Matte About You as you would a top coat. Within a few seconds it clouds over, mattifying your colour. It's a lot of fun to watch!

Here is Butter London's Wallis on my nails, pre-Matte About You.

And here is my manicure after applying Matte About You. Cool, right? I love how antique a colour Wallis becomes with the matte topcoat. 

More photos. 

I'm completely smitten with the effect of Matte About You. Matte nails look a little cooler, a little edgier and they definitely set you apart.


Check out some of the cool effects you can do with a matte top coat here. 


However, as a top coat, Matte About You fails for me. It doesn't really prolong the wear of my polish at all. 


Who else loves matte top coats? What creative manicures have you created with it?


C.

October Luxe Box

It's Luxe Box time again! And there's new packaging! How sleek and sophisticated is it? To see what the old Luxe Box packaging looks like click here, here, here and here. the new packaging is a square black box with the Loose Button logo on top. The inside of the box slides out from the wrap-around top.

Inside are the tissue-wrapped goodies but before you get there, there's the Luxe Box note, with all the information about what's inside and a little note from Loose Button. Also new with this month's Luxe Box is the announcement that Loose Button has paired with Dealuxe.ca and there's a $75 off discount card inside!

A personalized sticker seals the tissue paper - made just for me!

And what's inside: goodies!

Let's dig in! 

A deluxe Chloé perfume sample. I love Chloé. And look it's a mini bottle of Chloé!

A full-sized bottle of Essie nailpolish in Too Too Hot - red with orange undertones. Hmmm, the other Essie polish I've gotten in a Luxe Box was Silken Cord and it's almost the same shade. 

A sample of Kérastase Elixir Ultimate, a hair treatment for smoothing, shine and health.

A sample of Lise Watier's brand new Flash Lift Radiance Vial, a "magic potion for instant life and radiance". Apparently, Luxe Box customers are one of the first to try a sample of this new product.

And finally, a sample of Olay ProX Eye Restoration Complex!

There's my Luxe Box for October. What did you get in yours?

To sign up for Luxe Box, check out the Loose Button website.

C.

July Luxe Box

My July Luxe Box! I signed up for Luxe Box a few months ago and this is the second one I've received. You can read about and see the first here. If you want to sign up for Luxe Box, check out their website http://www.loosebutton.com/!

I admit, there is something about a lovely wrapped gift arriving, even if I bought it for myself. And not knowing what's inside is even better. Here's what was inside my July Luxe Box.



L-R: Stella in Two fragrance sample, Essie nailpolish in Silken Cord, Proclaim Hair Oil Treatment
and Trucco Eyeliner in Ivy (bottom)

Stella in Two is my favourite fragrance, hand's down. For some reason I thought it was Limited Edition so when I spotted a bottle at Winners I snapped it up. It's not available with the other Stella fragrances at Sephora, so it's not exactly readily-available. Regardless, I was thrilled to get a little sample I can carry in my purse!


Essie nailpolish in Silken Cord

Essie is becoming my go-to brand of polish so I'm always happy to have a new shade. This is a creamy tomatoey-red shade that is great for summer pedicures. 

Proclaim Hair Oil Treatment

Proclaim is an argan oil-based hair oil that promises to reduce frizz and add lots of shine. Argan oil is fantastic.

Trucco Eyeliner in Ivy

Ivy is a dark forest green eyeliner that goes on easily and blends nicely. This is a great shade too.

Can't wait to see what's in my August Luxe Box!

What was in your Luxe Box?

C.

Essie Nailpolish Over the Edge Review and Swatches

Well, it's new to me! I picked this up on the weekend and I'm wearing it right now. I love it! It's a black with silver frost, so it's like a gunmetal shade. Black without being black!

I applied three coats of it to get this finish. It will likely take three coats to apply though some of you who are better at applying nailpolish might have better luck and get it with two.

That's it, short and sweet. I love this shade!

C.

Quick Post: Essie Nailpolishes Trophy Wife and Aruba Blue

Essie nail lacquer in Trophy Wife and Aruba Blue

Essie Trophy Wife

Essie Aruba Blue

C.

Essie First Base Base Coat and To Dry For Top Coat

I picked these up at Shoppers Drug Mart recently. I've been painting my fingernails quite regularly lately and was in desperate need of both base coat and top coat since I'd been using a thickening, gloopy top coat as both for too long. I thought I'd treat myself and splurge a bit. I paid $11 (CDN$) each for these.

First Base Base Coat: 

Base coats are like the primer when you're painting a wall, a car, a door, a ceiling, a house, etc. It goes on first and acts as a smoothing agent, prepping the surface for paint and protecting the surface. In the case of dark polish colours, nails can yellow from the pigmentation. A base coat will protect your nails from this.

I love the names of both of these products and the packaging is adorable. I love that First Base matches its packaging.

Both base and top coat go on thinly and smoothly and dry quickly. 

To Dry For Polish Drying Top Coat:

The top coat goes on smoothly and does what it says - it dried my polish very quickly. But, is top coat not meant to maintain your polish - keep it from chipping? It just didn't protect the nail colour and I had chipping after a day or so. I will be using this again, perhaps applying more than one coat of top coat but I was shocked how quickly my nail colour began to chip - it was if I hadn't used a top coat at all!

So, a thumb's up for First Base base coat but thumb's down for To Dry For top coat.

C.