Beauty Squared Round-Up for August 23, 2015

Good morning! I hope it's a beautiful day wherever you are.

Here's the Beauty Squared Round-Up for this past week!

• Combination skin - that's your skin type, right? Well, we all have combination skin, so really, that means there is no such thing and we're all being taken in by marketing. Read the argument here.
  
• Do you wash your face in the morning and at night? Here's why you should maybe not wash your face when you wake up.
  
• The external reveals what's internal, so drink these teas for better skin.
   
• Three skin care tips you may not have heard before - exfoliating in the morning, skip moisturizer on your nose, and tint your windows.
  
• Ways petroleum jelly (Vaseline) can help with your beauty and skincare routines.
  
• 14 vegan beauty products, some of which you might already be using/aware of.
  
• Retinol is a form of vitamin A and a powerful antioxidant that can help prevent fine lines and wrinkles, reduce discolouration and help manage eczema and acne. It can be expensive, but there are drugstore versions of retinol that aren't - some of the best.
  
•  Did you know your makeup primer can be used on your lips, in your hair and as a makeup corrector?
  
• Want to see what makeup colours will be in style next spring and summer? The British Beauty Blogger has photos and swatches of MAC's Trend Forecast Palettes for Spring/Summer 2016.
  
• MUA Andrew Sotomeyer shows how to use eyeliner to enhance a variety of different eye shapes - hooded, almond, round, downturned and monolid.
  
• Seemingly inspired by the OCC Lip Tars and the Too Faced Melted lip colours, MAC has its Vamplify collection coming out this week. The British Beauty Blogger has some swatches here, and Temptalia has the preview photos here.
  
• In defense of "tacky" makeup: glitter, bright colours, temporary tattoos.
  
• Transforming the makeup looks you wore when you were younger so that you can wear them now (and not look like you're trying to be a teenager).
  
• Does your skin have yellow undertones? That means you've got cool-toned skin. Here are some makeup colours/products that will suit you.
  
• Permanent makeup: would you ever? Here's what you should know before considering it.
  
• Are you afraid of wearing lip gloss? (I am).
  
• Hangnails: what are they, how do you get them and how do you get rid of them?
  
• Deep side-parts, and I mean DEEP side-parts. They're not for the faint of heart.
  
• And finally, this great article in the NY Times Magazine looks at Kevyn Aucoin's second book, Making Faces, that was, for many (including me) a revelatory inspiration and continues to be to this day. 

NARS Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil Review and Swatches

NARS has a great line of lip pencils that come in three finishes: Satin (soft sheen), Velvet Matte (velvet finish) and Velvet Gloss (glossy shine). They're fantastic products and you feel like you're colouring using them. It's fun. 

Here's a review I did of NARS Dragon Girl, one of the Velvet Matte lip pencils, from ages ago. 

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose

In this post we look at the NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose, which is a colour I've been eyeing for a while. Mexican Rose is a bright pink, perfect for spring and summer. 

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose

The pencil packaging means that they're easy to use and very portable. Just toss into your handbag and go! There's no need for brushes with this (if you keep the pencil sharpened). 

Speaking of sharpening, you'll need a jumbo pencil sharpener for this. The pencil is coated but inside it's some sort of wood or wood-like product so it's easy to sharpen. Since the gloss itself is so soft though, you're not looking for a lead pencil tip. Something like how it is in the photo below is what you want to aim for. 

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose

Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss is interesting in that it can start fairly sheer but it seems to itensify on its own after a little while. Of course, you can layer it to get a punch of colour, but even when you apply it very lightly, it goes on one way and itensifies.

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose - swatched (NW15 skintone)

The texture of Mexican Rose is smooth and light-weight but slightly sticky. Once it's on, you feel confident that it's not going to move. And move it does not. This is a long-lasting lip gloss. Its finish makes your lips look almost wet. Eventually the sheen wears off, but the colour is left behind in a stain meaning there's no immediate need to reapply. 

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose - swatched (NW15 skintone)

Colour-wise, it's a beautiful, bright, blue-toned pink. Oh, and NARS Velvet Glosses are moisturizing, so it's not going to feel drying like many glosses can after wearing them for awhile.

Here it is on my face! I'm not sure what blush I'm wearing in this photo, but it goes really nicely with Mexican Gloss, no? I'll have to figure out which one it is!

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose

I love wearing Mexican Rose. It's such an easy colour and product to just keep in my handbag and apply on a whim. Especially suited for warmer months of the year, it's also great for adding a pop of colour to the face in the colder months.

I highly recommend checking out Mexican Rose or any of the other Velvet Glosses if you're looking for an easy-to-apply, long-lasting, moisturizing, pigmented gloss. 

$26 US

In Canada, NARS is readily available at Sephora stores, The Bay stores and Murale stores.

Grade: A

Beauty Squared Round-Up for May 3, 2015

Hello lovelies!

It's time for the Beauty Squared Round-Up and here we go!

• Apple cider vinegar as a beauty product. Here are four ways to use it.
  
• How about the rather genius idea of pre-packaged cotton swabs that have been dipped in olive oil to do on-the-go makeup clean-ups?
  
• Gel moisturizers can soothe, cool and hydrate your skin. Here are three that you should know about.
  
• Crying happens to all of us. Sometimes it happens when it's really inconvenient. Here's how to freshen up quickly afterwards.
  
• Summer is coming, whether we like it or not. With summer, sweat happens. Here are 18 sweatproof beauty products to help you through it.
  
• If you line your waterline, you should read this.
  
• Lip gloss can be annoyingly high maintenance. Here are some of the most annoying things that can happen with wearing lip gloss, and how to fix them.
  
• Mario Dedivanovic talks (and demonstrates) how to contour your face.
  
• How to go grey naturally.
  
• When a hairstylist needs to stock their kit at the closest drugstore, what might they buy? Find out here.
  
• If you have bangs, you know what a pain it is to keep them looking perfect. They grow so quickly! Here's how to do them yourself, at home.
  
• It's an old post, but one that I'd never seen before this week. The definitive Hedwig and the Angry Inch makeup tutorial.
  
• And finally, 21 Beauty Trends That Need To Die. 

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Stained Glosses in Meta and Jealous: Review, Photos and Swatches

A friend picked me up two of the brand new OCC Stained Glosses in New York last week. I had asked her to get me Meta and Jealous and she did. Little did I know how identical they'd look, in the tubes at least! I'm glad they're labelled. 

The Stained Glosses are a gloss version of OCC's Lip Tars. From the OCC website:

OCC's Lip Tar: Stained Gloss™ is our newest texture option from the Lip Tar™ range, combining the hyper-opacity of Lip Tar™ with a casual glossy finish that's ready-to-wear from its first slick application to the high impact stain it leaves behind. Lip Tar: Stained Gloss™ can be worn alone or layered over your favorite existing shades for added depth, dimension and a glossy finish that lasts!

"OCC Fans have been asking to see a new take on Lip Tar™ that remains true to our pigment-potency heritage, while providing a more see-through, glossy look," says David Klasfeld, CEO and Creative Director, "We took our inspiration from stained glass windows and lighting gels. Transparent yet concentrated colour that no one would dare call sheer."

The Stained Glosses come in the same packaging as the Lip Tars - small plastic resealable  bags with an information card and a small brush for application. Very smart considering the the tricky application of both the Lip Tars and the Stained Glosses and it makes it easy to carry them around with you in your purse or even your pocket. 

Like the Lip Tars, the Stained Glosses have a liquid, highly pigmented texture and a mint scent. Unlike the Lip Tars, however, the Stained Glosses are sheer, translucent. 

Top: Anime Lip Tar
Bottom L to R: Jealous and Meta Stained Glosses

First up, let's look at Meta. 

Information card explaining how to apply the Stained Gloss.

Meta Stained Gloss is described by OCC as red orange shellac. It definitely reads more pink once on, though (photos below). 

Here is Meta on me. I'd say it reads more watermelony than red-orange. 

And here's Jealous. OCC describes it as popsicle pink/red. It's definitely more pink than Meta, a cooler pink. 

I even tried applying Meta to my top lip and Jealous to my bottom lip but I still couldn't discern any real difference between the two. That's how close they are in colour. 

The bright colours of both of these shades is fantastic. If you like bright colours, these are a fantastic. I can't get over the look of these. They almost glow. 

The Stained Glosses are a bit challenging to apply. You definitely need a mirror and a lip brush and some time. Unlike other glosses, which often you can just swipe on without a mirror, these take some time and attention due to the pigment. 

I like the consistency and definitely the appearance - the delicate glossy sheen of these is in contrast with the intense pigmentation. These are slightly easier to wear than the Lip Tars, as they are lighter in both appearance and in feel. 

You only need a tiny amount of product, but you need a little more than the Lip Tars. I found that with the Stained Glosses, the pigmentation easily got patchy when I blended it across my lips, so I needed to add more to make it even. 

I really like these, though I wish they were easier to apply and wear. These wear OK, though they do come off more easily than the Lip Tars, being slicker in consistency. The pigment leaves a residue behind once the glossiness wears off, so it's not like eating off your lipstick. 

Grade: B+

Jacob Flirty Bikini Lip Duo Review, Photos and Swatches

Jacob is a Canadian clothing company that launched its first fragrance a few years ago. This year, they're expanding their beauty line with nail polishes and lipsticks. You can see their beauty collection here. As an aside, I LOOOOOOVE the use of the gorgeous Karine Vanasse who recently starred in the TV series PanAm in their current ad campaign.

Karine Vanasse

I picked up one of their Lip Duos, in Flirty Bikini, to see what it was like. Their lip duos are a lipstick and a lip gloss in one. 

I photographed the wand in my hand to give you a sense of size.

And also, here it is next to a MAC lipstick and lip glass to show the size. It's about as thick as a lipstick tube and the length of a longish lipgloss tube. 

The size of the lipstick and the pot of lipgloss is less than you'd get buying them individually. But these lip duos cost $10 which is very reasonably priced for two separate lip products. 

Flirty Bikini lipstick end

Flirty Bikini lip gloss end

Here is Flirty Bikini swatched on the inside of my arm. The lipstick has a nice creamy texture and coverage. It's not a matte shade, but it's got no frost to it either. It's somewhere in between and has a nice shine to it. I was very impressed by the texture and the colour. The gloss is quite sheer and doesn't have much impact apart from shine on my lips as a result. It's thin and non-sticky, but the gold sheen as seen in the above photo doesn't really come through. The swatch on my arm is three layers of gloss. Shade-wise it reminds me of MAC's Full of You lip glass. It's a nice, easy-to-wear gloss and presumably it's designed to top the lipstick. On my lips the colour is the same as my natural lip colour.

Flirty Bikini lipstick and lip gloss swatches

Flirty Bikini lipstick and lip gloss swatches

 Below are the two swatches with the gloss on top of the lipstick.

Flirty Bikini lipstick and lip gloss swatches

 Here is Flirty Bikini lipstick on me. 

Flirty Bikini lipstick

Looking at Flirty Bikini lipstick I thought it looked similar to a lipstick I already own. And sure enough, you guys, I've found a dupe for MAC's Hibiscus which came out with last summer's Surf, Baby! collection. 

L to R: Jacob Flirty Bikini and MAC Hibiscus

Flirty Bikini is slightly more orange than Hibiscus, which is more red-pink than Flirty Bikini, but they're pretty close. Texture-wise, Flirty Bikini is more opaque.

L to R: Jacob Flirty Bikini and MAC Hibiscus

So there you have it! Jacob's foray into lip products has impressed me. I love this lipstick and will wear it quite a bit this summer. The combination wand is great to carry with you in your purse for three different lip looks. And at $10, it's a steal. Well done, Jacob!

C.

MAC Fashion Sets Lipglass Review, Swatches and Photos

The last two years have been a renaissance of sorts for me in regards to lip products. I went for a long time rarely buying any glosses or lipsticks instead focusing on eye shadow, highlighters and blushes. But how times have changed - and I'm in big with MAC Fashion Sets.

From this collection I mainly purchased lip glosses because all the lipsticks save a few were permanent products. All the featured lip glosses in this post are limited edition ($17.50 CA/14.50 US) and are all available online. All photos in natural light on NC 35-40 skin.

Myth, Peachstock Snob, Saint Germain, Angel, Please Me, 

Pink Nouveau, Spice, Razzledazzler, Ravishing, Morange,

 Impassioned, Girl About Town and Rebel

Myth - looks like a tube of concealer. On the lips it's milky beige with strong yellow undertones and mostly opaque coverage. A great nude lip gloss for those who have naturally red lips (like myself), the strong yellow undertones helps neutralize the redness without looking ashy.

Peachstock - in the tube and on the lips it's very close to Myth. It's a milky beige with a slight hint of peach. Again, it has strong yellow undertones and mostly opaque coverage .

Snob - a light, milky blue based pink with a white base. Mostly opaque coverage.

Saint Germain - a slightly lighter, milky blue based pink. Very similar to Snob on the lips but a touch lighter due to the very strong white base. Mostly opaque coverage.

Angel - a medium light yellow based pink. Simple and not particularly original but pretty. Mostly opaque coverage.

Please Me - a medium yellow based pink with a touch of peachiness. Very pretty. Mostly opaque coverage.

Pink Nouveau - a medium cool pink. It definitely has a blue base but should be wearable by all skintones. Mostly opaque coverage.

Spice - a rosy brown-beige. A great colour that would enhance all lip tones into "my-lips-but-better" territory. Subtle but effective. Mostly opaque coverage.

Razzledazzler - a light-medium peachy pink. Very pretty. Mostly opaque coverage.

Ravishing - a soft, bright coral. Mostly opaque coverage.

Morange - an insanely pigmented fluorescent orange with full opaque coverage and a very strong white base. The strength of the white base ensures this lipglass dosen't loose anything in the translation from the tube to the lips.

Impassioned - in the tube it looks like a bright pinky red, but on the lips it turns into a soft pinky red coral. Semi opaque coverage.

Girl About Town - a bright fuschia with tiny silver sparkles. Cool toned with mostly opaque coverage.

Rebel - a deep wine which is semi opaque.

I really like this collection. The two main reasons are that it offers a good range of shades which should appeal to many and that 99% of the glosses are cream finishes which I prefer over shimmer or glitter finishes. In essence this collection is very wearable...is it reinventing lip gloss? No, but I think it accomplishes what it sets out to do which is to offer a little something for everyone.

My picks are: Myth, Peachstock, Razzledazzler, Please Me, Ravishing, Spice and Impassioned. The biggest surprise for me was Impassioned - generally I dislike pinky reds, but since this one leaned a bit coral it makes for a great way to (softly) jump on the bright lips bandwagon. I really like Myth and Peachstock because for people with naturally red lips (such as myself) it offers  a great pale nude lip without any ashiness or weird white undertones. 

J

LUSTING: NARS Mexican Rose

The beauty bloggers are all abuzz about this watermelon candy-coloured glossy lip pencil called Mexican Rose. It was released this spring.


Check out with some of the beauty bloggers are saying about Mexican Rose:

• Temptalia's review of NARS Mexican Rose Glossy Lip Pencil.
• Messy Wands' review.
• The Make Up and Beauty Blog's review.

I'm a sucker for a bright lip and I like the sounds of this glossy but lightweight gloss. I find myself drawing away from gloss more and more lately, I find it too shiny and sticky. I much prefer the rich colour and slight sheen that a lipstick gives. I'm intrigued about what I've seen of Mexican Rose though!


Stay tuned to see if this ends up in my make-up kit.


Lusting!


C.

December Glymm Box

My December Glymm Box arrived last week - a Christmas gift for me! This is the second in my year-long Glymm subscription (click here to see my first). 

Bright pink box, ribbon writing, check!

Inside, a ribbon wrapped bundle.

A list of the items inside my Glymm Box.

$10 off the Glymm shop

The goodies inside...

A sample of Caudalie Vinoperfect Enzymatic Peel Mask.

This innovative formula is enriched with revitalizing grape acid and antioxidant-rich grape seed oils which work together to gently dissolve dead skin cells and reveal a perfectly nourished, balanced and luminous skin complexion. 

Sula Natural Lip Gloss.

Playful, yet sophisticated, this trendy line is designed to compliment not define! Sula Lip Gloss is formulated with natural ingredients that will smooth, soften and moisturize your pretty lips. Go ahead and break the rules, set trends and always be pretty!

Ahava Mineral Hand Cream.

Ahava lightweight lotion goes to work the minute you apply it, with a powerful blend of ingredients to treat hand dryness and dermatitis. It's rich, nourishing Dead Sea minerals hydrate and restore moisture to even the most rough and scaly skin. The hazel extracts soothe and soften dry skin, without making it feel greasy.

YSL Parisienne perfume

Once upon a time there was Parisienne, who lived and loved in the moment - the portrait of a woman incredibly free. Parisienne is a floral, feminine yet sensual fragrance which will leave a trace of mystery everywhere you go. This luxurious scent wraps up a woman's body and stays with her all day long. Scandalous, some say?

And of course, a little glass jar of jelly beans!

I have tried and loved all of the products I got in my December Glymm box. The Sula gloss isn't something I'd buy though. It's very light and doesn't last very long. Pretty, but for a product junkie like me, I have plenty of light, glossy lip products and don't need another!

Did you get a Glymm Box this month? What was in yours?

C.