Beauty Squared Round-Up - November 16, 2014

Good morning, happy Sunday and hello!

Hoping you are all well, warm and happy on this November morning. We missed the Round-Up last weekend - apologies. But that means there's lots to get through today! It's a supersized Round-Up!

• If you're in the northern hemisphere, it's probably getting colder where you are, and your skin is changing accordingly. Dryness? Flakiness? Tightness? Irritation? Here are 6 ingredients to look for in your skincare products to help combat these issues.
  
• Do you have fine lines around your eyes? Here's an eye primer from Amazing Cosmetics you'll want to know about.
  
• Ariane AKA The Glitter Geek, has an awesome (and simple) nail art tutorial inspired by strappy shoes.
  
• Don't you love lists like this? 17 beauty editors pick their favourite beauty products.
  
• Almost equally as lovable - lists of overrated products. Here's one from Fee at MakeupSavvy.co.uk, featuring Philosophy's Hope In A Jar and L'Oreal's Magic Nude Foundation, among others.
  
• Michelle of BeautyEditor.com talks skincare and Joe Fresh's brand new skincare line.
  
• Pixie cuts were very trendy, thanks to Jennifer Lawrence and Miley Cyrus. Did you rush to the salon to get one only to regret it later? Read this - Pixie Remorse and Remedies.
  
• Here's a smouldering, grungy-cool burgundy smoky eye look to try.
  
• Did you know that people used to believe that beauty marks (they weren't called that back then) were sent by the gods to mar the faces of people who were too attractive? Read more about the history of beauty marks.
  
• Beginner beauty tricks and tips.
  
• Lea T is one of the hottest models in the fashion and beauty worlds right now and she just snagged a contract with Redken to promote their Chromatics line. She also happens to be a transgender woman.
  
• Women in India will finally be allowed to work as makeup artists, after India's Supreme Court struck down a 60-year-old clause that denied women the right to work as makeup artists because it would deny men work.
  
• Here's a terrifying story: a Brazilian woman contracted HIV after sharing nail tools with a cousin when she was 12-years-old.
  
• And finally, in case you haven't seen this video yet, it's worth a watch. Adults and children were asked a single question - If you chould change one thing about your body, what would it be? - and the responses are pretty telling. 

JoeFresh Five Minute Face Palette Review and Swatches

One of the new fall products in the JoeFresh make-up line is a Five Minute Face Palette - a set containing blush, bronzer, lipstick, lipgloss and eyeshadows. For approximately $20 that's quite a bit of prettiness in one sleek, skinny palette!

Back of the palette with ingredient listings.

Inside the palette.

Face chart.

Products with handy clear "lid" with labels.

The palette contains four eyeshadows. a lipstick, a lipgloss, a blush and a bronzer. The eyeshadows are . To me, it seems that the top row is meant for a pretty, daytime look, while the bottom shades can be used for a more dramatic, evening look, or layered on top of the top row shades for more drama. The shades are mmostly pretty light so this palette is best for light or medium-toned skin. The bronzer, however is on the dark side, so best avoided by very fair skin.

Here's a rundown of the shades included:

Eyeshadows

Pale Pink: a light, near-fleshtone (on me) soft pink with shimmer. Good as an all-over eyeshadow or as a browbone highlighter.

Bronze: a medium, shimmery, slightly metallic brown (photos and review of it here)

Espresso: a chocolatey matte brown

Midnight: dark sparkly grey (photos and review of it here)

Lipgloss

Mauve: a sheer, light pink-purple with sparkle

Lipstick

Plum: a light red with some brown and purple to it. Creamy, on the sheer side

Blush

Pink: a bright pink with icy shimmer

Bronzer

Tan: JoeFresh's darkest bronzer, a warm medium orangey brown

I don't normally buy palettes that mix cream textures (lipstick, glosses, cream eyeshadows) with powders (blush, eyeshadows, highlighters) because inevitably powder will always travel into the creams. This palette attempts to avoid messiness by including a clear plastic sheet that is attached at the top and has the names of the products on it. The two cream products - the lipgloss and the lipstick - have an additional removable (and reusable) cover on top of them.

The face chart doesn't give instruction beyond where on your face to place two of the eyeshadows, the lipstick and the blush but it does give you a sense in terms of colour of where which eyeshadow goes on your eyes (pale pink on the brown bone, Midnight on the eyelid). For a palette that claims to give you a five minute face you'd think they'd give you specific instruction about how to acheive it, especially considering the variety of product included. What do you do with the other two eyeshadows? The lipgloss? The bronzer? Can you wear everything all at once?

This is an easy-to-carry palette you could take on vacation or to work with you.

Swatches (on NW20 skin)!

L-R: Eyeshadows - Pale Pink, Bronze, Espresso, Midnight
Lipgloss - Mauve
Lipstick - Plum
Blush - Pink
Bronzer - Tan

L-R: Eyeshadows - Pale Pink, Bronze, Espresso, Midnight

Note: Bronze and Espresso look quite similar swatched on my arm, but Bronze has quite a bit of shimmer to it and Espresso is matte, perfect for using smudged along your lashline.

L-R: Lipgloss - Mauve, Lipstick - Plum

L-R: Blush - Pink, Bronzer - Tan

Here's the look I did using the palette. My base is my usual Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil and foundation and MAC concealer. Side note: I actually have the JoeFresh Pink blush and the Bronze eyeshadow separately - both very pretty, easy to wear colours.

My Five Minute Face

I used the Pale Pink eyeshadow all over my eye, from my lash line to my brow, then smudged Bronze eyshadow across my eyelids, concentrating in the outer corners. To intensify the look more, I smudged Espresso along my lashline.

I used Pink blush on my cheek and Plum lipstick on my lips, topped with a bit of the Mauve lipgloss. My mascara is Maybelline Great Lash in Black.

I look quite shiny in these photos, I believe it was a very humid day.

Close-up of my eye

Close-up of my closed eye

The colours go on fairly sheer and require a heavier application if you want to get any intensity out of them. Of course, my flash reduced the intensity of the look a bit, so in actuality these colours aren't as muted as they appear in these photos.

I'm definitely going to try to match the face on the palette and do this look using Midnight instead of Bronze and Espresso on my eyes.

C.

JoeFresh Powder Blush in Rose

My love affair with JoeFresh continues! This little blush is perfect for spring/summer and very, very inexpensive - only $6. 

It's sheer and buildable with some sheen so it's a good blush to wear on its own or on top of a cream blush or another powder blush for a touch of a glow.

On NW20 skintone taken with flash.

On NW20 skintone taken without flash in natural light.

Note how much deeper the above photo is from the colour of the blush in its container. I swatched heavily to show how the colour can be intensified and a sense of its true shade.

C.

JoeFresh Nail Polish

Oh happy day, JoeFresh has nail polish now and it's what you might expect - inexpensive! $4 CDN each or 3 for $10 CDN inexpensive. Of course, the selection will vary at JoeFresh stores, Real Canadian Superstores and Loblaws since everything JoeFresh is a bit of a cult item and things tend to disappear within hours of being made available. When I stopped in to finally check out the nailpolish, the selection wasn't great, but I managed to pick up three bottles of polish. Compared to the colours they offer, this is a bit dismal.

Fig, Berry and Prune

Judging by the names of the colours I chose, I might have been hungry. I snatched up Fig and Berry immediately but had a bottle of the shimmery blue-green Peacock in my hand but put it down for Prune, not realizing until I got home that I'd selected all matte shades. I might go back for Peacock though...and I was also tempted by Gunmetal.

A photo that gives a better sense of the colours, particularly Prune.

One of the things I like about these polishes is their size. I have never gotten to the bottom of a bottle of nailpolish so I like that these are small. I might actually finish one before it gets old and crusty. Another thing I love is the selection. These are trendy, chic shades ranging from matte pastels (see Butter, Mint and Ballet Slipper) to the shimmery, glossy Ink, Sun Kissed, Gunmetal and Grape. Any nail colour preference has been hit with this release; those who love dark and vampy have a selection as do the traditional pretty pink and basic red lovers and the nude-ophiles. There are matte shades as well as the traditional shimmery shades and there are edgier colours as well as classic colours. There's something for everyone.

The brushes are wide and a good length making application very simple. I've tried all three so far and I got good coverage with two coats of each. The polish itself isn't thick or thin and is easy to apply overall. The quality isn't the same as a higher-end polish like Chanel but for the price and colour selection, these are DEFINITELY worth checking out.

Unfortunately, JoeFresh is only available in Canada at the moment and it's not available online. Check http://www.joe.ca/ for locations.

Have any of you tried the new JoeFresh polishes yet? What do you think of them?

C.

Steal: JoeFresh Mascara

Mascara is an essential tool, even if you don't wear much make-up at all. I'm not loyal to one type of mascara or even one brand. I'm of the theory that all mascaras are basically the same formula and that it's the brush that makes the main difference. Everyone's lashes are different so one brush and formula won't necessarily get the same effect on two different sets of lashes.

I featured a number of JoeFresh Beauty products a few posts ago (Part One here and Part Two here) but just recently picked up one of their black mascaras on a recent shopping trip.

JoeFresh, like many drugstore/inexpensive brands, does not offer testers for most of their products. Their lip products have testers but none of the foundations, powders, eyeshadows, pencils or mascaras. When will these companies figure out that people will be more likely to buy if you've got a good product AND you're able to test it before buying? People are just going to open the product for sale if you have no testers and it's messy and unappealing to look at a display with curled plastic and broken product. And there's my rant.

The JoeFresh mascaras come in brown and black and costs $6 CDN a tube, which makes it one of the most (if not the most) inexpensive mascaras available in Canada. This is a STEAL!

It's also got a great, thick brush that holds lots of product, which is a thicker, drier formula. The downside to this is that it needs to be blotted quite a bit on a tissue before you can apply it to remove the clumps. But if you do this, it goes on quite well. It's a good formula, not too wet (too wet mascara can destroy the curl of your lashes) and the brush is the type that you can really get into your lashes without getting it all over your eyelids.

Here is my before and after. My lashes have been curled and combed prior to putting on the mascara, and I applied it to both top and bottom lashes. This is approximately how much mascara I'd wear on an average workday. I am wearing only base and concealer otherwise.

It's inexpensive but it nicely lengthen and thickens my lashes; it isn't overly messy (if you blot the brush well before applying); the formula isn't overly dry or wet; it doesn't flake. I don't think I've been this impressed by a mascara for a long, long time. Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash is a recent favourite of mine, but considering it's about three times more expensive than the JoeFresh mascara...well, that's a no brainer.

JoeFresh Beauty products are available at Loblaws stores, Canadian Superstores and JoeFresh locations. For a list of locations, click here.

C

JoeFresh Beauty Reviewed Part Two

Welcome to Part Two of my JoeFresh Beauty review. In this post I will review a JoeFresh Beauty Lip Stain, Lipgloss and Matte Lipstick. (Part One in which I reviewed a JoeFresh Beauty Cheek Tint and two eyeshadows can be found here.) All swatches done on NW20 skin tone.

First up is the Lip Stain. I bought it in Candy, which is also the name of the JoeFresh Lipgloss I happened to pick up on a separate shopping trip but as you'll see they're not really the same colour at all. OK, so lack of inspiration on JoeFresh's creative department on selecting unique names. With that being said, I do think the name Candy fits both products!

I quite like the packaging of the Lip Stains. They're chubby little felt-tip pens that feel solid in your hand. The felt tip distributes the stain well, although I do have issues with how the product flows.

Lip Stain in Candy (overcast day natural light)
Swatch (overcast day natural light)

Swatch (unnatural light with flash)

The downside to the Lip Stains is the application process. I have not run out of mine yet, but it does take some time for the product to seep out of the felt tip almost as if you're at the end of the tube. It's good that it doesn't pour out because that would be a MESS but they could certainly find a happy medium between the two extremes. I find I really have to press and massage the felt tip in order to get a good amount of product on my lips.

That being said, I quite like the colour of Candy. It's a bright pinky-purple that enhances the natural shade of my lips. I like to wear it topped with lip balm or under a lip gloss.

*I did the lip stain swatch, then rubbed off as much as I could before swatching the lipstick and the gloss. Look for the lip stain swatch next to the lipstick and gloss swatches in the below photos - this stuff STAYS on!

And here's the Lip Gloss called Candy. See, they're quite different shades! Candy lipgloss is an opaque, very shiny bright pink gloss. Despite the intensity of the shade and how opaque it is, it goes on quite sheer if you want it to.

Lipgloss in Candy (overcast day natural light)

Swatch (overcast day natural light)
*note the lip stain swatch still visible after being scrubbed at with a wet wipe
Swatch (unnatural light with flash)
*note the lip stain swatch still visible after being scrubbed at with a wet wipe

Candy the lipgloss is packaged in very thick, clear plastic tube. I don't know why I like the thickness of it so much, but there's something satisfying about not worrying if it'll slip out of your hands or snapping in two. It feels like it might withstand a hurricane - that's how solid and sturdy it is. The applicator is a brush, which isn't my favourite way of applying lipgloss especially since more inexpensive brands tend to use longer bristled brushes. It's harder to get an accurate application with these brushes, especially when the gloss is opaque and needs to be applied with as much accuracy as a lipstick. Often I find that the bristles can get bent in different directions making it even more difficult to apply with accuracy.

There's a mildly sweet scent, something like cotton candy, to the gloss, nothing remarkable but not unpleasant. Texture-wise it's smooth, sticky, glossy and basically everything you want a gloss to be. I like the brightness of the colour and the shine. It lasts a good length of time on my lips, nothing overly remarkable. Overall this isn't the best gloss I've ever tried but it's not bad and certainly not bad for the price. I'm more fond of the colour than anything else about it.

And finally we come to the Matte Lipstick in Bordeaux (apropos because of the wine-aux I'm becoming lately!). Housed in a thick, white tube, this is one great-looking lipstick.

Lipstick in Bordeaux (overcast day natural light)

Swatch (overcast day natural light)
*note the lip stain swatch still visible after being scrubbed at with a wet wipe

Swatch (unnatural light with flash)
*note the lip stain swatch still visible after being scrubbed at with a wet wipe

As you can see, the lipstick swatches lighter than it looks in the tube and it's a lovely, rich deep pink - brighter than a real Bordeaux (more like a Rose) but it's definitely not misnamed either.

Since this is a matte lipstick, it starts out mildly creamy in texture and then mellows to a drier matte finish. It's great to use for a stained look - simply apply with your fingers or dab gently on moisturized lips and then blot and blot some more until you're left with a stained effect. It can be difficult to wear matte lipsticks if you're a lip goop junkie like me who can't go long without something slick coating my lips for long.

Just like with Candy the lipgloss, it's the colour over the quality that makes me like this lipstick. It's a bold, lovely shade, perfect for fall and I can't wait to wear it on Saturday to my friend's Mad Men inspired anniversary/re-wedding party! (You can see it being worn here.)

Summary: Overall I like the JoeFresh Beauty products I've tried. I'm a sucker for their clothes and while the make-up doesn't quite match up, it's certainly no slouch in the inexpensive beauty product category. Check it out at a Loblaws, JoeFresh or Canadian Superstore near you!

C.