Category: Makeup Most Wanted

Mika for Shu Uemura Review

MikaShuArrive
Photographer Mika Ninagawa’s collection for Shu Uemura is one of the few that pretty much has everything going for it. The packaging alone makes it one of the most gorgeous collections I’ve ever seen and it could probably just sit on my bathroom counter for me to look at, let alone use it. The fact that the products are just as great makes it so much better.

I’ve been using the Porefinist Anti-Shine Fresh Cleansing Oil as my cleanser. It balances the oily spots, doesn’t dry out the dry spots and at 450ml, I’m going to be using it forever since you just use a tiny bit.

MikaShuUemuraFinal
The Mika Eyeshadow Spiro Duos don’t offer a whole lot in colour selection but the Beige/Brown duo is the perfect shimmery neutral for daytime.

What the eyeshadow may lack in shades, the Tint In Gelato lip and cheek colour more than make up for. CR 01 (Blood Orange) is my personal favourite. It’s a orangey coral that’ll take me from spring into summer. The formula might be the creamiest lip anything I’ve ever used and it has a ton of pigmentation.

If you want your nails to go with the line’s whimsical feel, the Mika nail stickers are the way to go.

Whether you want the whole line, just a little piece of it or an empty box to just look at. Mika’s line for Shu Uemura is one we won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

Lush: Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do With Your Products

Lush products seem pretty straightforward. Bath Bombs, soap, skin care. But there’s so much more you can do with your products that might not be quite as obvious. We recently had the chance to take a tour of Lush Markville in Markham, ON and while the fantastic Winnie and Kathryn were doing some treatments on us, we were reminded of the other things we could do with our Lush Stash.

lush bath bomb cocktail beauty

1. Bath Cocktail
Why use just a Bath Bomb when you can add a Bath Melt and a Bubble Bar for the most extravagant bath ever? You can pick similar scents or randomly mix them up for a new smell.

2. Hand Scrub
I once had a Lush employee tell me that once I tried this hand treatment it would change my life and it did. Mix Lemony Flutter with Ocean Salt and use as a scrub on your hands, feet or anywhere on your body. Rinse off and be amazed at how soft your skin is (and how great it smells).

3. Shaving Cream
The great thing about Lush products is that as a whole they’re generally really moisturizing. I’ve heard of people using Lush Soap, Solid Shampoo, Shower Gels and conditioners as their shaving cream. I use Ro’s Argan after shaving to keep my skin super smooth.

4. Shampoo
The Lush Solid Shampoo is great for travel but if you really want to cut down on the amount of products you take with you, any of the shower gels can double as a shampoo. The Olive Branch will make your hair smell fantastic

5. Air Freshener
Want to make your room smell good fast? Take a bath bomb and put it in a knot wrap for a long lasting room fragrance.

There are so many other ideas that I haven’t tried yet, using a bath bomb to scent my laundry for example. What are your favourite things to do with your Lush faves?

Makeup Most Wanted April 2014: Alyssa’s Picks

I’m the kind of person that sticks to a product until it runs out if I love it but I also change colours and textures with the seasons. These are my Most Wanted products this month.

AlyssaMostWantedApril2014

1. Fresh Peony Brightening UV Shield SPF 50+
This goes on so smoothly and just completely brightens up my face. There’s a tiny little bit of colour to it which makes it seem almost like a CC cream, but luckily it isn’t too dark for my fair skin tone. The high SPF is just a total bonus.

2. Nails Inc. Warwick Way nail polish
This is just the perfect bright turquoise colour for spring. I love the way Nails Inc. nail polishes go on and they last a really long time without chipping.

3. Lise Watier Eden Tropical Palette
More gorgeous spring colours that aren’t too bright or pastel. The pigmentation is fantastic and there are so many combinations you can get out of these 6 shades.

4. Julep Pore-Minimizing Blush in Peach Bellini
I recently got this in my Julep Maven bag and it’s so new it still says coming soon on the Julep site. The second I tried it I fell in love with it. The colour is perfect for my skin and gives me a lot of colour while still looking natural. It’s so pigmented you really only need to use a tiny bit. The jury’s still out on the pore minimizing part though.

5. Soap And Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Crayon in Nudist
This has been with me everywhere I go since the day I got it. I’ve already reviewed these crayons here but this is the standout shade for me. It’s great for when you don’t want to wear a bright lip colour or if your lipstick wears off and you need a quick fix. It’s so moisturizing that I’ve used it as a lip balm.

6. MAC Amplified Lipstick in Red Balloon
This is part of the new MAC Playland collection and even though it’s called Red Balloon, on me it looks more like a reddish pink. Just bright enough but not quite neon. It also lasts forever. This is going to be my go to lipstick for spring and probably summer.

Sister Sin’s Liv Jagrell Shares Her Most Wanted Makeup

SisterSinBand We’ve already been telling you what our Most Wanted products are but now we’re going to let others tell you. First up is Liv Jagrell, lead singer from Stockholm band Sister Sin. Liv tells us what her Most Wanted products to take out on tour are.

neutrogenamakeupremoverwipes 1: Make up wipes: Since I wear a lot of make up onstage and nights on tour can be very late and exhausting, I always have make up wipes with me to easily take off the make up. I would not survive without them. Whatever kind I can find – usually ends up being Neutrogena!

lumene-bbcream
2: BB cream or CC cream: Because you have limited amount of time and space on tour, this is a really good product. Both daycream and foundation in one. My fave right now is Lumene BB Bright Now.

ProffsDryShampoo
3: Dry shampoo: You never know when you will have a shower and time to wash your hair, this is a real saver. I use cheap ones like Proffs Dry Schampoo, it’s one of the best if you ask me!

KikoUltraTechMascara
4: Waterproof Mascara: [This is] to use on stage… And why?? Well if you headbang as much as me it’s kind of a cardio workout every time I’m on stage, and I don’t want to look like a panda or Alice Cooper after the show haha. I recommend an Italian brand called Kiko which have very good products for a good price.

5: Small travel kits with body lotions, I can’t live without body lotion, I really hate when my skin is dry! I prefer organic of all kind, today there a lot to chose from, which is good.\

Stockholm’s SISTER SIN are currently hard at work, writing material for their upcoming 5th Victory Records album. Catch them on the road and stay up to date with the latest from Liv and SISTER SIN with the links below!

https://www.facebook.com/SisterSin
https://twitter.com/SISTERSIN
https://twitter.com/livsin

BB Cream Most Wanted: Steph’s Picks

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When BB Creams first hit the market, I never thought I would replace my foundation. BB creams were being compared to tinted moisturizers and that just wouldn’t do. I didn’t even give it a fair shot the first few times that I used my first bb cream. Slowly, but surely, bb creams won me over. Nowadays I have an unhealthy number of bb creams.

My favourite part about these bb creams is that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get something great. Yes, you can splurge on a luxury designer, but you can also get a great affordable version at the drug store. Here are my most wanted bb creams now, stay tuned as I expand my ever growing collection:

Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream – It’s amazing when I makeup can do so much, but feel like so little. The Smashbox bb cream feels like our natural skin, only better! Unlike many other bb creams, this little bottle lasts all day long. This is the one I save for special occasions.

Clinique Perfecting BB Cream – I love this bb cream, mostly because I forget it’s a bb cream. I think of it like a foundation. I wear it like a foundation. I love it like a foundation!

Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector – This was the very first bb cream I ever tried and it’s still in my top five. I love it because for under $15 you can get great looking skin. Garnier’s BB Cream is like a thin tinted moisturizer. It’s my go to for warm summer days when I don’t want to feel like I am wearing any makeup.

Vichy Proeven BB Cream – Vichy stole my heart with this bb cream because it feels clean on my skin. Everyone knows Vichy for their attention of skincare, so you shouldn’t be surprised that their bb cream is gentle on your face. It doesn’t clog my pores. It’s light enough to be a moisturizer, with the quality of a foundation.

Marcelle BB Cream – Marcelle was my first true bb cream love. This Canadian company made the bb cream that converted me from foundation to bb cream. I will always love this product that is just the right mix of makeup and moisture.

Primers Most Wanted: Alyssa’s Picks

I don’t wear foundation very often but when I do I need a primer under it so my skin doesn’t dry out and flake. Luckily there are so many amazing ones to choose from and it seems like they all do different things. These are my most wanted primers.

Smashbox Iconic Photo Finish
SmashboxPhotoFinishPrimer

This one might seem obvious. It’s a cult favourite and probably the most well known primer out there but there’s a reason for that. It works. It goes on smoothly and helps keep your makeup in place. It’s the first primer I’d ever used and I still keep some around at all times.

Clinique Superprimer Colour Corrects Dullness
CliniqueSuperprimerColorCorrectsDullness
This one is pretty new to me and I don’t know how I lived without it. It feels amazing going on and your skin feels soft all day. It looks pink out of the tube but doesn’t really leave a colour on your skin. Instead it brightens up your complexion and leaves you glowing, even under makeup. This is my absolute favourite on the list.

Rimmel Stay Matte
RimmelStayMattePrimer
I use this one alone on days that I’m a little shiny. It does exactly what the name says, it stays matte all day. It’s not heavy and you’ll forget you have anything on your face but the shine is gone.

Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer
PixiFlawlessBeautyPrimer
I use this one two different ways. The first is under foundation as a primer that adds a little glow. The second is as a spot highlighter. It does both really well. Use it sparingly though, it highlights a lot.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
TooFacedShadowInsurance
This is the best primer I’ve tried for eyeshadow. Once you put your shadow on over it, it’s there until you take it off. And in a few cases that’s been the next day. There really isn’t enough I can say about this primer. If you have problems with eyeshadow fading or creasing give it a try.

There are so many more primers I haven’t tried yet and more that I have but these are my most wanted picks.

Bath & Body Works Most Wanted: Steph’s Picks

I live fairly close to a Bath & Body Works outlet, which is a dangerous combination. Around Christmas you can usually find me waiting in a line that wraps all around the store with a basket overflowing and deciding which things I should give away and what to keep. I understand how all of the scents spilling out around Bath & Body Works can make a person’s olfactory senses get overwhelmed, so here are my most wanted from Bath & Body Works:

warm vanilla bath and body works

Warm Vanilla Sugar Body Lotion – I didn’t like vanilla scented body lotions, until I smelled this. This rich vanilla cream warmed me up from the outside in. I finally understood why girls love this scent so much. Of course, their lotion works wonders on any skin type. It’s perfect for when you first get out of the shower for a lingering small on your skin.

sweet pea sanitizer

Sweet Pea PocketBac Sanitizing Hand Gel – When I had pink eye last year, I carried a bottle of this around with me everywhere I went. If you ask women, you will probably be surprised by how many of them carry one of these in their purse.

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Coconut Lime Breeze Shower Gel – When I relax in the shower, I love being surrounded by tropical scents that make me feel like I am actually away at some destination. While I love the smell of coconut, I prefer this coconut and lime mixture because it’s different and original.

cotton spray

Cotton Room Spray – My house has had almost every scent of these room sprays at one point or another. They work great to fill a whole room with a quick burst. They tend to be really intense, so now we pick more subtle scents like Cotton so we don’t overwhelm our senses.

Most Wanted: Hand Creams

My skin is pretty dry but winter in Toronto this year has pretty much killed it. Luckily I’ve found a few hand creams that have saved my skin.

L’Occitane Dry Skin Hand Cream
LoccitaneDrySkinCream
This is my go to hand cream. I must have 5 different scents lying around but the original Dry Skin Hand Cream is my favourite. It’s non greasy, absorbs super fast and lasts for a really long time.

Lush Charity Pot
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I keep a small tub of this on my desk. I love the scent, it’s absorbs relatively quickly and I love that the proceeds of every sale go to different charities.

Soap And Glory Hand Food
soapandgloryhandfoodThis is what I keep in my purse. It goes on really smoothly and it has a pretty girly fragrance that I love.

There are definitely other hand creams I use but these are my most wanted

Lush Cosmetics Most Wanted: Alyssa’s Picks

I’ve been using Lush products since I was in high school, so over 10 years later I’ve pretty much tried everything they make. These are my absolute favourite, can’t live without products from Lush.

Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner
RosArgan
I was have really dry skin so I was skeptical of using an in shower body lotion but once you rinse this off in the shower you really don’t need any other kind of moisturizer. This has seriously saved my skin during the winter. The rose scent is kind of amazing as well.

Rock Star Soap
RockStarSoap
It smells like vanilla candy and it’s really creamy and moisturizing for hand soap. I’ve been using this for so many years I’ve lost count.

Celestial Moisturizer
CelestialMoisturizer

My face is pretty much a crazy combination of oily and dry depending on the day. This is the first moisturizer I’ve found that balances it out and clears up the dry patches without leaving me greasy.

Happy Happy Joy Joy
HappyHappyJoyJoy

I have fine, wavy, frizzy hair and this conditioner balances it out without leaving it too weighed down. You only need a little, so the smallest bottle lasts a long time. And it makes you want to smell your hair constantly.

Sea Spray
SeaSpray

I love most sea salt hair products but this one is my favourite. Only a couple spritzes and it calms your hair into really nice waves and doesn’t leave them crunchy.

I love most sea salt hair products but this one is my favourite. Only a couple spritzes and it calms your hair into really nice waves and doesn’t leave them crunchy.