Stila Cosmetics is releasing a new limited edition travel palette designed exclusively for Vancouver Stila girls! The West Coast inspired “Vibrant in Vancouver” palette features five eye shadow shades, a lip & cheek Convertible Colour, mirror and how-to face chart. Stila’s newest palette will give BC beauties a gorgeous beach glow all summer long.

The “Vibrant in Vancouver” limited edition travel palette ($21 CAD) will be available at Vancouver Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Boutiques and Murale locations beginning June 1, 2012.

Of the four Quo Lipgloss shades, which one would you like to try?

I tried a new mascara today from Quo, the in-house beauty brand from Shoppers Drug Mart.  It’s not so much the formula of the product that I found innovative, but the wand, which bends to a 90 degree angle.

From reading other beauty blogs, I’ve seen professional make-up artists bend disposable mascara wands because the angle gives their hand a steadier hold.   If you try it yourself, you’ll find that the flexibility in the angle of the mascara wand allows a more thorough reach of all your eyelashes.  You get a better hold on the brush and can angle your brush to reach the base of your eyelashes, resulting in thicker, fully coated lashes.

The Quo 90° Mascara retails for $15 at Shoppers Drug Mart.  For other eye-opening mascara picks, check out four other suggestions by Modern Mix by clicking here.

Introducing Luxe Box, a Canadian beauty subscription service which postal mails “deluxe” samples to you each month.  Each month’s Luxe Box contains 4 – 5 miniature replicas of well-known brands, including Essie, Pur Minerals, Demalogica, Benefit, Stila, and more! Elegantly wrapped in a sturdy black box, this is no P&G BrandSampler, it feels more like a luxurious, hand-wrapped gift from a dear friend.

My November 2011 Luxe Box included:

• Lise Watier – Eye Glitter Liner - Loved this.  I put it on over my regular liquid eyeliner and it gave my eyelids a refreshing sparkle.
• Mereadesso – Lip Treats – German brand of skincare and beauty products.  This product is supposed to be a primer for your lipstick, but I use it on its own.
• Paco Rabanne – Black XS and Black XS For Her – wasn’t a fan of these.  Thought the keychains were too big, clunky and looked cheap.  Didn’t like the goth look of the packaging either.
• Benefit Cosmetics – B. Right! Total Moisture Facial Cream – I already use the eye make-up remover from this Benefit line, so it was nice to be able to try a complimentary product.  The deluxe sample came in a small glass jar, a miniature replica of what the product looks like in its full size.
• Teaopia – Cactus Fig Tea Kit – 50 grams of this wonderfully fragrant loose leaf green tea is already worth $7 on the Teaopia website.  It came in a cute, squarish, orange tin and has a unique flavour of fig, aloe vera, sandalwood and orange flowers.

Subscription starts at $12/month (includes shipping and handling). I would definitely recommend Luxe Box to anyone who likes to play around with beauty and make up, and is open to experimenting with different brands of products.  This would also be a great subscription service for a beauty blogger who is just starting out, and wanted to practise reviewing multiple products, without paying for a full-price product.

For those of you who loved playing with your mother’s makeup when you were little, last Tuesday’s Revlon and Almay 2012 Beauty Preview event was a dream come true.

Held at the swanky Sugar Studios this one night event was a major treat for beauty junkies. The night began with a cooking demonstration by Food Network’s Anthony Sedlak who gave a packed room of mostly women and enthusiastic demonstration of how to perfect scalloped wrapped bacon.

Food Network Chef Anthony Sedlak Gives a Food Demonstration

Thankfully the event was also generously catered with equally mouthwatering dishes including rack of lamb and beef carpaccio. In the room next door was a beautifully decorated white space showing off next seasons latest and greatest from the London Drugs Revlon and Almay line. Tables of product from nail polish to blush, eyeshadow and lipstick filled each tabletop. Each station was lead by a knowledgeable beauty expert who helped us get a first hand taste of what Revlon and Almay have in store for spring 2012.

From the long list of new products you can expect to find in stores at London Drugs from December 2011 onwards, here are a few of my favorites:

• Revlon Colorstay Longwear Nail Enamel: 5+ trendy colors including classic greys, bright greens and orange-y reds.
• Revlon Photoready: 4+ different pallets each including a blush, highlighter & contour for the prefect blend.
• Revlon Colorstay Eyeshadow and Crème Eyeliner – this eyeliner has a creamy texture and also includes a brush which makes for a fool proof application of thick lines or the perfect finishing touch for a smoky eye. I particularly appreciated this added feature as someone who usually struggles to get those clean lines without the smudge.

Revlon Colorstay Eyeshadow and Crème Eyeliner

Last but not least was my personal favourite, the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter. Feeling rather brave, I decided to go for a bold red but was shocked to find that even that color in this lipstick was sheer enough that I didn’t look like a clown. I absolutely love this lipstick; at such an affordable price it not only nourishes your lips with that lip-balmy feel but adds the perfect pop of color to make you feel a little dressed up. For someone who is usually pretty casual when it comes to lip color it’s the perfect match between a lip balm and a lipstick that really stains.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter (Spring 2012)

And of course, what is makeup with a good makeup remover? At some point in the night (or day) it just feels good to take it all off, or start fresh before a night out. The London Drugs Almay line of oil free makeup removers cover everything you would need from eye makeup remover patches (another personal favorite that I have been using for years), to their newest product which keeps small amount of makeup remover in tiny q-tip form to help with those mid-day raccoon eyes I know I absolutely hate.

Needles to say there is much to look forward to over the next few months. Most products should be arriving at London Drugs store locations from December onwards, right in time for those holiday parties and of course, the biggest part of all – New Years. Whatever your looking for, Revlon and Almay will have you covered at extremely affordable prices. The hardest part will be which colours to choose from!

MMV Writers Carolyn and Vanessa at the Revlon & Almay Event

]]> http://modernmixvancouver.com/index.php/2011/11/29/revlon-almay-2012-beauty-preview/feed/ 0 http://modernmixvancouver.com/index.php/2011/10/03/philosophy-miracle-worker/ http://modernmixvancouver.com/index.php/2011/10/03/philosophy-miracle-worker/#comments Tue, 04 Oct 2011 05:58:35 +0000 vanessa http://modernmixvancouver.com/?p=4964

My skincare concerns aren’t about anti-aging yet so when I received Philosophy Miracle Worker to test and review, I passed it on to my mom who was able to give me a relevant opinion on the product.  With miracle worker, the product set comes in two parts – a 60ml vial of liquid “elixir” and a jar of 60 circular anti-aging retinoid pads.  You pour the solution into the jar of pads and use one each day to wipe over your face.  To begin with, my mom already has amazing skin (Asian genes) so she didn’t really have any major or unnatural skincare concerns.  She was eager but skeptical of the “miracle” at first, but diligently used miracle worker for the recommended minimum seven days to see results.  Within a week, she felt like her skin was more radiant – like brighter and more pure. The radiance could be a result of a smoothing out of fine lines that you can’t usually see from far away.  Within a month, she noticed continual results that could only be attributed to the new Miracle Worker product in her skincare routine.  Her only complaint was that the cotton pads were a bit rough and scratchy on the skin.

My mom is currently four weeks into Miracle Worker.  I’ll post an update here when she’s done the full 60-day routine.

Miracle Worker retails for $98 and is available exclusively at Sephora.

The character in the image above is named Mozzarella.  He leads the Moofia, a gang assembled to extort milk from the lunchboxes of schoolyard bullies. Mozzarella and the Moofia are loving and kind to good kids, but ruthless and feared by those who harass the innocent.  There are five eyeshadow palettes and keychain characters to collect and they retail for $25 each at Sephora.

Can’t decide which NARS multiple shade suits you the best?  Try three of their most popular shades (Orgasm, Luxor and Malibu) in miniature versions with the NARS Mini Multiple Set. This is a convenient, multi-use product which works for cheeks, lips, and even as a highlighter anywhere on your face.  Its unique, creamy formula blends effortlessly to provide sheer color for creating shimmering accents, contours or dynamic highlights on all skin tones.  These make great stocking stuffers for Christmas. Retails for $49 at Murale at Oakridge Centre.

When Wish.List Boutique opened at Broadway and Mcdonald a year and a half ago, I remember spending lots of time carefully examining every pretty item available in the store.  From candles to cosmetics to fragrances and jewellry, each item is carefully chosen by boutique owner Alisa Westfolk.  I wouldn’t be surprised to find some rare gems in the pretty product mix … such as the cosmetic line by celebrity makeup artist Julie Hewett (Los Angeles).
After reviewing multi-purpose products like Stila’s Yumberry Crush (cheek and lip stain), I’ve been quite open to trying other multi-purpose cosmetics to compare.  Cheekie is a sheer hue “cheek and lip shine”.  I tried it in “Natural” which is a “twiggy pinkish beige” and “looks beautiful with smokey eye makeup”.  Seems like a fairly versatile shade – the description I received in the mail claims it’s great on blonds, but I thought it looked fine on me (Asian skin tone, black hair) also.  The texture is creamy and reminds me of lipstick, but melted into a pot and doesn’t seem to dry out my lips.

One thing I didn’t prefer about the product was the pot it came in – it’s a little bit deep and hard to get enough of the pigment onto your finger.  Consequently, I would recommend using a make-up brush with this product – but that takes away from the convenience factor.

Cheekie is available at Wish.List Boutique and retails for approximately $25.