Top 5 Pencil Eyeliners

I don't know about you, but after a couple of hours most eyeliners make me look like a hot mess. Some are cool like that and have rock star fantasies, others may want a less smudged look.  So I have compiled my top five pencil eyeliners that don't give me raccoon eyes.

Bourjois Contour Clubbing- straight up pencil eyeliner, requires a sharpener. Smooth and lasts all day. Limited amount of colours. Waterproof.
Found: Shoppers Drug Mart $17 Cdn

L'Oreal Infallible- glides on smoothly and allows time to smudge and blend. Then stays put. It is a twist pencil, so no sharpener required. Limited colour selection.
Found: Most drug stores. Price varies

MAC Powerpoint - smooth application and great blending ability. Great colour selection. Expensive.
Found: MAC store $18 Cdn

Gosh Let's Twist- less smooth, but blends well. The urban myth is that Gosh eyeliners were tested on synchronized swimmers. All I know is this baby doesn't budge. Loads of colours. Great price.
Found: Shoppers Drug Mart and Murale $13 Cdn

Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes- gorgeous texture, no pulling. Blends beautifully and a plethora of colours. The most expensive.

Found: Sephora $20 Cdn

Let me know about other eyeliners that are mobile challenged. Thanks for reading.

xo Megs

Winter Skin

The snow and the temperatures are starting to fall and inevitably our skin will take the hit. Winter skin, you know that tight, dehydrated feeling where our skin feels like it is going to crack, isn't pretty. The first thing we want is to slather the richest and most emollient product on our chapped skin. We also want to prevent it from getting to that point. It is confusing out there as some ingredients are good, whilst others impede the skin . For example, any product with phenol, petroleum, and lanolin prevent the lip from naturally producing oils. Additionally, there is a line with exfoliating- too little, you will have patches of dry skin, too much and your skin will over produce oil and skin will be irritated. Furthermore, lips need exfoliation, but no need to use overpriced products, just gently use a soft toothbrush or a wash cloth with warm water.

Here are some recommendations:

Moisturisers/Treatments

• Avene Skin Recovery- soothes and protects, comes in rich and original- Most Pharmacies
• Avene Soothing Hydrating Serum-Most Pharmacies
• Avene Soothing Hydrating Mask- Most Pharmacies
• Vichy Nutrilogie 1 and Nutrilogie 2- for dry and very dry skin- Most Pharmacies
• La Roche Posay Toleriane- comes in Rich for dry skin and original for normal skin, soothes and protects- Most Pharmacies
• La Roche Posay Lipikar - Baume AP, Surgras, Syndet, Body Milk- the entire range is fabulous for dry skin- Most Pharmacies
• RoC Enydrial lip balm- Most Pharmacies
• Korres Yogurt cream- for dehydrated oily skin- Sephora
• Clarins Hydrating Serum - The Bay, Murale, Shoppers Drug Mart, Sephora

Cleansers  Avoid foaming cleansers and sodium laureth sulfate (detergent). Water can also dry out our skin.

• Bioderma Sensibio (Crealine) Micellaire cleanser-  Rexal, Shoppers Drug Mart,
• Korres 3-in-1 Milk- Sephora, Shoppers Drug Mart
• Avene Gentle Cleansing Milk- Most Pharmacies

 

Not only does winter dictate our cleansing and moisturising routine, but it also effects the kind of makeup we wear. Our skin has a tendency to lack radiance, so wearing a foundation with that added gleam will wake it up. Furthermore, a rosy bloom or that scary bright pink will add life to your pallor. Honestly, I am not one who likes powder as it accentuates any dryness, so using cream blushes are fabulous.

Foundations:

• Lancome Teint Miracle- Holt Renfrew, Shoppers Drug Mart, Murale, The Bay, Sephora
• Clarins Super Restorative- The Bay, Shoppers Drug Mart, Murale
• Bourjois Healthy Mix- Shoppers Drug Mart
• Chanel Vitalumiere- Murale, The Bay, Holt Renfrew
• L'Oreal Magic Lumi- Most Pharmacies, Walmart



Blushes:

• MAC - Pink Swoon (powder)- MAC counters
• Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge - Pale Pink, Pink Truffle, Chocolate Cherry- Murale, Holt Renfrew
• Stila Convertible Colour- Rose, Fuchsia- Murale, Sephora, Shoppers Drug Mart
• Shiseido - PK304 (powder) - The Bay, Shoppers Drug Mart, Murale
• Revlon- Berry- Most Pharmacies, Walmart
• Nars- Cactus Flower - The Bay, Murale

If you have any other suggestions, please leave a comment below. Hopefully, this winter our skin won't feel the -20 ....brrrrrr

Take care,
xo Megs

Loving Now: Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum foundation

Gotta say, this little foundation is worth the hype. I love the coverage - sheer to medium and the finish - semi-matte. It is my skin, only better. I found the perfect colour in Vanilla 52, however others might not be so lucky. It is limited in its shade selection and this is an issue with many mass companies. If you are any higher, then say, NC 35 forget it.  At $27, it is a little pricey for a drugstore foundation, but many mass companies are upping their prices to the point where there isn't much of a price difference between the "high-end" and drugstore brands.

The down and dirty:

• finish: semi-matte
• price $27 cdn found only at Shoppers Drug Mart
• coverage: sheer to medium
• colours: 5 from very fair 51 Vanille Clair to medium 56 Hale Clair

The Who's Who of Beauty

As someone who uses and "collects" makeup, I have a habit of being a tad biased when it comes to some companies. I have always noticed, whether it was the packaging, texture or ingredients, obvious similarities between high-end and low-end cosmetics. This can be explained by who owns them. Now, most people know L'Oreal owns Lancome, Maybelline, Vichy and La Roche Posay and Estee Lauder owns Clinique and MAC, but there were some other brands that many do not know about. There are four major players on the beauty scene and these include Estee Lauder, L'Oreal, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) and Shiseido.

I have compiled lists of some of the companies and their brands:

Estee Lauder

• Aramis
• Clinique
• Smashbox
• MAC
• Prescriptives
• Bobbi Brown
• Origins
• Tommy Hilfiger
• La Mer
• Aveda
• Jo Malone
• Bumble and Bumble
• Michael Kors
• Darphin
• Tom Ford
• Coach
• Ojon

L'Oreal

• L'Oreal Paris
• Garnier
• Maybelline New York
• Essie
• Giorgio Armani
• Keratase
• Redken
• Matrix
• Shu Uemura
• Ralph Lauren
• Lancome
• Helena Rubinstein
• Biotherm
• Cacharel
• Viktor and Rolf
• Diesel
• The Body Shop
• YSL Beaute
• Vichey
• La Roche Posay
• Kiehl's
• Roger & Gallet
• Skinceuticals
• Stella McCartney

LVMH

• Benefit
• Acqua di Parma
• Guerlain
• Givenchy
• Marc Jacobs
• Christian Dior
• Kenzo
• Fresh
• Make Up For Ever
• Sephora's namesake line
• Fendi

Shiseido

• Ayura
• Cle de Peau
• Decleor
• Iso Hair
• Joico
• NARS Cosmetics
• Jean Paul Gaultier
• Issey Miyake
• Narciso Rodriguez
• John Varvatos

Bourjois/Wertheimer

• Bourjois
• Chanel

Clarins

• Kibio
• Thierry Mugler
• Azzaro
• Stock holder in L'Occitane

Revlon

• Revlon
• Almay

Coty

• Rimmel London
• Lancaster

Elizabeth Arden

• Prevage
• Fragrances such as Britany Spears

Surprising eh? So when we look at a Lancome mascara, just know that the L'Oreal mascaras have the same research/technology and ingredients behind it. Or when we look at the baked blushes at Bourjois and compare them to Chanel, they are going to be relatively similar, at a fraction of the cost.

Cheers,
xo Megs

Makeup Products/Companies that Deserve More Lovin'

When reading blogs and looking on YouTube, there are some products that are reviewed and hyped up over and over again. Yes, I am talking to you Naked Palette, Revlon Lip Butters, and Maybelline Tattoo cream shadows..... and yes, I succumbed to some of the much deserved hype. But what about the other little products that just want to be liked?

I decided to look to my own ridiculous amount of makeup and pump up some underrated products:

Clarins



Clarins Rouge Prodige

First of all, Clarins is more known for their skin care. However, their makeup line is beautiful. I have had the pleasure of using many of their products and they have some of the best foundations out there. However, I want to talk about their lipstick -the Rouge Prodige lipsticks to be exact. They are hydrating, well pigmented and on trend. Worth looking into.


Shiseido




Shiseido blush

Shiseido.... Again, known more their skin line then anything else, but this Japanese company does know how to work it. Dick Page, has done an amazing job with their makeup range. I particularly love their Luminizing Satin Face Colour blushes.Awesome lasting power, blending ability and pigmentation.


Lancome



Lancome Colour Design

This is a brand known for its rose and luxury skin care. While, I have underwhelming opinions regarding some of their products, I adore their Colour Design eyeshadow. There are some amazing, unique colours and finishes - matte, lustre, shimmer, metallic, and intense.  The pigmentation, blend-ability, and lasting power are incredible.


Fairy Drops Scandal Queen Mascara





Fairy Drops Scandal Queen

Now this might not be for everyone as its formulation is wetter than most and pricier than some. However, this little gem of a mascara made my already-lengthy eyelashes long, thick, dark and curled. I never had raccoon eyes by the end of the day nor was it hard to remove. Love the brush.



SkinCeuticals



SkinCeuticals SPF 50

Their Physical Fusion UV defense SPF 50 sunscreen is amazing. It is a physical sunscreen that has a slight tint to it. It doesn't make your skin oily and you don't get that grey-zombie looking face. Bonus!

Bourjois

Bourjois 3D Effects Lip Gloss

We all know about their blushes and their baked eye shadows, but their 3D effects lip gloss is just as good if not better than the other two products. There are great neutral shades, without the stick factor. They hydrate and make my lips look incredibly shiny.  Plus they smell like Swedish berries.








More to come :)

xo Megs