Beauty Squared Round-Up - May 4, 2014

Hello and Happy May, lovelies. 

Here are the beauty-related links we've gathered for you this week. Enjoy!

• Retro curls can be worn with classic retro makeup or you can can pair yours with some of these modern makeup looks.
  
• What does your makeup say about you?
  
• Marlena of MakeupGeek.com shows you how to shop at and what to shop for at Sephora.
  
• Do you know what your skin's undertone is?
  
• Actor Gabourey Sidibe spoke at the annual Gloria Awards/Gloria Steinem's 80th birthday celebration last week about body image, confidence and pop culture. One of the first things people ask her is "Why are you so confident?" As if she has reasonsThink Rihanna gets asked that?
  
• Chantelle Brown-Young is a model, but click through to see what about her appearance sets her apart from other models.
  
• Have any young females in your life? They're probably being told all the time that they're pretty but perhaps that's doing more damage than good.

Beauty Squared Round-Up - November 25, 2012

Hello lovelies, here's our Beauty Squared Round-Up for the week!

Have you seen the new James Bond movie, Skyfall? If you have, how freaking incredible does Dame Judi Dench look? No, I don't mean how incredible does she look for her age, how incredible does she look, full stop. The Globe and Mail takes a look at the vanishing face of the older woman. 

NY Magazine test drives MAC's Grey Friday lipstick and OCC's Triptych Lip Tar on some willing New Yorkers. 

We know about the Andrej Pejic, the female model who is actually a man. Now here's Casey Ledger, a woman who works as a male model. 

Some of today's biggest pop stars are rocking more curvalicious bodies, as performances from Christina Aguilera, Nicki Minaj, Kelly Clarkson and Ke$ha at the recent American Music Awards can attest. With Lady Gaga looking more curvy than usual and of course, the beautiful Adele proudly not cowing to narrow beauty standards, this is good news.

An interview with Eugene Souleiman, one of the world's most inventive hair stylists.

Podiatrist Dr. Nathan Lucas, claims that he's seeing more and more women who want foot surgery (including wanting to cut off their pinky toes) to allow them to wear high heels more comfortably. 

Might the iconic Chanel No. 5 perfume be banned? 

The life of a full-time pin-up girl. I want to be her. 

Lipgloss lovers - here's an Indiegogo you'll want to check out. 

BlogTO's list of the best beauty shops and salons in Toronto. 

IMATS 2011 and Haul

NARS Kudoki Kabuki Lip Set

The 2011 IMATs (International Makeup Artist Trade Show) was held on November 12 and 13, 2011 at the Toronto Congress Centre. Brands like Make Up For Ever, MAC Pro, OCC, NYX Cosmetics, NARS, Cinema Secrets, FACE Atelier, Zuca and Yaby Cosmetics were there as well as a number of beauty product retailers.

Highlights for me included getting to swatch OCC Lip Tars, learning about Yaby palettes and Velour lashes, seeing the student competition in progress, people-watching (there was some crazy hair and makeup walking around) and the gorgeous and expensive squirrel and goat hair Hakuhodo brushes.

Here are some photos:

Lashes, lashes and more lashes. These were 7 for $10

Even more lashes!

Crowds

Hakuhodo USA brushes. The softest brushes EVER.

NYX Professional. This is just a fraction of the products they had available.

NARS lipsticks

Zuca Inc. - RAWR

Here's my haul:

Brushes, Lip Tars and Lashes, oh my!

Not a bad haul and I didn't spend too much money either! 

I'm in love with the OCC Lip Tars I bought a few months ago and so I was eager to see them all at IMATS. Of course, I couldn't resist picking up two more.

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars

OCC Lip Tars in Divine and Anime

Divine is described as a bright pink flamingo and Anime is an intense, no-holds-barred neon pink. I love Divine and did a FOTD with it. 

Velour Lashes

Velour Lashes is a brand new Toronto-based company. Their lashes are made from mink fur and come in nine varieties of upper lashes and two lower lashes. Check out the lovely packaging!

I chose You Complete Me and Doll Me Up lashes.  

Velour Lashes in You Complete Me and Doll Me Up

Adorable packaging!

Velour Lashes. Top: You Complete Me. Bottom: Doll Me Up.

Bedellium brushes are high quality, antibacterial, well-made and very inexpensive. The most expensive brush I bought was the all-purpose blusher brush for $7. The least expensive brush was the flat top Kabuki brush for $1.  

Bdellium Tools Brushes

Bdellium Tools Brushes

Bdellium Tools Flat Top Kabuki brush

Bdellium Tools Flat Top Kabuki brush

I was also tempted by the Yaby Cosmetics palettes (see some palette photos and swatches here) and a Make Up For Ever Aqualiner in Diamond Burgundy (it's the second swatch in the photo here). 

This is certainly a show for makeup artists and it'd be easy to drop a lot of money here. Make Up For Ever had 40% off and there were deals in buying things in bulk. If you're a makeup artist just starting out, it's a great place to go to build a kit. 

Here's my friend Lucky, head makeup artist at MTV Canada, being silly in the IMATS book booth. The talented and charming Ricky Boudreau was also with us. Follow them both on Twitter!

https://twitter.com/#!/rickyboudreau

https://twitter.com/#!/luckymakeup

C.

eBeauty.ca

A Canadian version of Sephora? How did I not know about this?


Canuck beauty lovers, rejoice! You can now get hard to track down beauty lines like Butter London, Paul and Joe and Kevyn Aucoin without having to figure out the Canadian pricing and paying customs charges. ebeauty.ca carries makeup, skincare, haircare, tools, fragrances and men's products. They've got Canadian lines like Cargo, Cake Beauty and PUR Minerals as well as beauty favourites Clarisonic, Frederic Fekkai, Kinerase, T3, Calvin Klein and Stila. 


Shipping is free on orders over $75 and it's $7.95 otherwise. You can sign up for their newsletter and create wish lists so you can remember what you want. 


Here's what I've already got my eye on:

Becca Cosmetics Eye Tint in Baroque
$26.40

Clark's Botanicals Ultra Rich Lip Tint
$20.90

Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow Radiance Cream
$33

Lipstick Queen (everything!)
$18-$24

Butter London (everything!)
$17

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer
$49.50

I wonder how long I can wait to place an order? What are you eying/ordering? Tell us!

C.

MAC Launches MAC Shop Together

M·A·C SHOP TOGETHER

Want a new way to shop with your friends? 

M∙A∙C Cosmetics is proud to announce the launch of a new and dynamic way to browse through our cult makeup must-haves, all without leaving your home.  M·A·C Shop Together, launching officially Friday, April 22, enables customers to shop the brand's website with a friend without ever leaving their home.

M∙A∙C Shop Together is a revolutionary technology that allows customers to share real-time, synchronized shopping sessions with friends all through the use of instant messaging.  After simply creating a screen name, users have the power to chat with up to five friends, see the same products and shades all within the M∙A∙C e-commerce site,www.maccosmetics.com.

This exciting and innovative technology is the first of its kind for a large beauty brand in the online atmosphere.  

Uhoh, this could be dangerous...

C.

LUSTING No More: NARS Cruising Lipstick vs MAC Mellow Mood

Around this time last year, I was lusting after the lipstick in NARS' spring collection, inspired by Catherine Deneuve in La Chamade. I'd tried it on and swatched it a few times but I'd never bought it. I'm very, very good at deciding I don't need to buy things. To a fault. Cruising always beckoned to me for some reason even though it was very natural on me, almost the exact shade of my lips. But there I was at Sephora a few days ago, swatching it once again. I had it in my head that it was time to own the darn thing when it occurred to me that I might already own a nearly identical shade.


Before Christmas, I bought one of the MAC A Tartan Tale lip bags - Vain and Glorious - and the lipstick it came with, Mellow Mood, was a very natural pink, almost the same colour as my lips. I wore it quite a bit and had it in my bag, so I swatched it next to Cruising. Lo and behold they were nearly the same colour, with Mellow Mood being slightly more pigmented. 


And with that, my lusting over Cruising came to an end. Problem solved!

I still should see La Chamade though.

C.

MAC Love Lace - In Stores Now!

MAC's latest collection is in stores now - get it while you can!

"Couture's fascination with lace is a long love affair. Intensely intimate, our newest collection captures lace's notoriety and allure."

Check back for swatches & reviews. I for one, am lusting after Hypnotizing eyeshadow. What are you lusting after?

C.

The Steal: BECCA and Beaute Cosmetics 50% Off!

BECCA and Beaute Cosmetics are 50% off at Holt Renfrew right now.  The very high end luxury brand By Terry is also 25% off. I recommend Beaute lipglosses and brushes...happy shopping!

J.

Playtime - MAC Custom Palette Tool

A very cool new brand new tool is up on the American MAC website! Why it's not available on the Canadian version of the website is unknown and annoying to me. It's so much fun though.

You all know you can create your own palettes using pans and empty 4 eyeshadow, 15 eyeshadow or 6 blush palettes. Well, MAC is making it easier to order these online by creating a drag-and-drop tool so you can pick and choose your colours and then see what they look like together in a palette. You can drag, drop, shuffle, re-shuffle and see which colours go together and even name your palette whatever you'd like.

For fun I did a 15 palette one to see how it looked. I chose some of my favourites - Satin Taupe, Vex, Sketch, Contrast - and some I want to own - Silver Knight, Swiss Chocolate, Twinks, Electra.


Play around and see what combinations you can come up with! It's fun.

C.