Category Archives: Annabelle

Best of Beauty: My Favourite Products of 2011.

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Out of the many products that I tried this year, here are the 9 that have stolen my heart forever (in no particular order).  Links lead to the products’ corresponding reviews.

Diorskin Nude Healthy Glow Powder in Aurora is the first Dior makeup I ever bought, and is still my favourite bronzer to this day. Let’s hope they come out with another great one next summer. (Limited Edition for Summer 2011)

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush gets a lot of rave reviews and for good reason. I recently added Exposed to my stash and my friends agree that it is a universally flattering blush.

MAC Prep + Prime Highlighter in Bright Forecast is my first line of defence against under eye circles every. single. day. It is life changing.

Annabelle Le Big Show Mascara is my favourite mascara of the year. I recommend it to everyone.

Lise Watier Wet & Dry Eyeshadow Quad in Équinoxe + Métamorfix Liquid Transformer was the best makeup palette/set I tried this year. The colours and performance are unparalleled. (Limited Edition for Fall 2011)

Giorgio Armani Rouge d’Armani in Rouge 406 is a beautiful red lipstick and the formula is divine. I try a lot of lipsticks and think that the Rouge d’Armani is one of the best. I must try more colours next year. (Limited Edition for Fall 2011)

NUXE Huile Prodigieuse Multi-Usage Dry Oil is one product I can’t stop raving about. What can I say; I just love it so much!  This one isn’t new; it’s a classic that I got to finally try this year.

Velour Lashes in You Complete Me gives me Bambi eyes. That is all.

THANN Jasmine Blossom Set is a staple in my bathroom. I just can’t get enough.

What are your favourite beauty products of 2011?

Annabelle and Marcelle Beauty Premiere Party Rocks Toronto!

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Last week, I went to the much anticipated Beauty Premiere party being hosted by two of my favourite Canadian brands: Annabelle and Marcelle.  The party was held at the uber swanky Thompson Hotel Rooftop.  Check out the view!

The view from the Thompson Hotel rooftop

The venue was packed!  Of course, almost everyone from the Toronto Beauty Bloggers community came out to mingle. :)  I got a little carried away chatting that I didn’t get to snap too many photos, but I have enough to share with you.

Beauty Premiere introduced several exciting new products from the brands.  They had booths set up and a member of their team talked to us about the innovations and benefits of each product.  The makeup and skincare products below will be available by Spring 2012.

Marcelle Renforcils Waterproof Eye Make-up Remover

Marcelle Renforcils Waterproof Eye Make-up Remover is a gel make-up remover with micellar water.  Think about it like this: it’s our beloved Marcelle Essentials Purity Soothing Cleansing Water in gel form.  Not only will it pack the same make-up removing power, but it also contains ingredients that fortify your eyelashes to prevent fallout.  Great idea, no?

Marcelle Xtension Plus Mascara

Marcelle is coming out with a new mascara called Xtension Plus.  It promises to provide extra length and curl.  Apparently it’ll be as good — if not better — than the Power Volume mascara in terms of curling power, so I am very excited about this one!  I received it in my swag bag so I’ll definitely review it after I’ve played with it for a while.

Marcelle BB Cream

Pardon the awful picture quality — the lighting conditions were clearly not something my Canon G11 can handle.  Anyway, what’s big and cool in Asia is now slowly coming to Canada.  What am I talking about?  The super popular BB Cream is supposed to provide a lot of good-for-your-skin ingredients while offering a little bit of coverage to even out your skintone.  Available in two shades: Light-to-Medium and Medium-to-Dark.

Marcelle Gene Youth Skincare

A trio of day cream, night cream and eye cream, they are also coming out with Marcelle Gene Youth Skincare. Unfortunately I don’t have anything to say about these guys because it got too loud in the party and I couldn’t hear anything! Sorry. :S

Annabelle Smudge Paints

The Annabelle Smudge Paints aren’t new, but because they are awesome, they deserve to be shown off in the party.  These are gel liners or cream eyeshadow bases, and they have great staying power.

Annabelle Glitterama Liquid Eyeliner

Eight new colours of Annabelle Glitterama Liquid Eyeliners are coming out as well.

I had a great chat with the lady at the Glitterama booth, but I didn’t get her name!  I was telling her the fact that I try both high- and low-end brands for my blog, and many times I’ve been impressed with how well Annabelle and Marcelle products stack up against the expensive brands.  She told me that they know that, and their marketing team knows that.  I wish more people knew, though.  Every time I recommend the brands to someone who’s not into beauty, they said they haven’t even tried anything from these brands.  But slowly but surely, I think we beauty bloggers are getting that word out! :)

Annabelle Big Show Lipglosses

The Annabelle Big Show Lipglosses are sheer, high-shine, unscented, non-sticky lipglosses.  They feel really nice and moisturizing on the lips.  Oh and, we even had the opportunity to create our own shade. :) !!!

Annabelle Big Show Lipgloss Mixing Station

Annabelle Big Show Lipgloss Mixing Station — with gorgeous Robyn of Fashionista 514!

My favourite guy that night — Mr. Lipgloss Scientist Dude, who by the way, gave me some photography tips as well.

O hai.  This is my lipgloss.  I don’t know what to call it yet, but for some reason “Seduction” keeps popping up.  Haha.

Makeup platter

There were servers who were walking around with hors d’oeuvres, and others who were walking around with platters of makeup.  Yes, eyeshadows, eyeliners, and other makeup free for all!  I’m pretty sure I saw this scene before in my sweet sweet dreams.

Keep reading to see more pictures!

Click to see more pictures!

Annabelle Le Big Show Mascara Gives Makes My Lashes Look Like Falsies. Need I Say More?

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When I got my Fembotika lash extensions taken out, I suffered from major lash withdrawal. I was back to bad ol’ lashes. They looked shorter and more sparse than I remembered. I knew it was all in my head though, and mascara became my best friend to — quite literally — fill the void.

Annabelle Le Big Show Mascara

In the past month, I’ve been wearing Annabelle Le Big Show mascara ($9.95), which promises a full volumized lash fringe in one coat.

For a volumizing mascara, I honestly think the Annabelle Le Big Show mascara can’t be beat. It does a great job separating the lashes and coating each hair with the right amount of product.  The formula is between dry and medium-wet, so it gives you time to work the product through your lashes without getting a clumpy mess.  The bristles on the wand really makes a difference, too.  The wand is the same as that in Marcelle Power Volume mascara, except Le Big Show’s is tapered at the tip.  This lets me get the smallest lashes at the corners of my eyes.

Annabelle Le Big Show Mascara

After one coat, it delivered nice volume and separation. I noticed a slight relaxation of the curl in my lashes, but it was barely noticeable. It made my lashes very black as it should. :)

No mascara / One coat / Two coats of Annabelle Le Big Show (click to enlarge)

In the past, my experience with “one-coat wonders” weren’t very good.  While pretty after one coat, they were very difficult to build up, and this is where Annabelle Le Big Show separates itself from the pack.  This mascara builds very well, creating a false lash look without crossing over to spider lash territory (which is on trend this Fall, but I’m not totally sold on it).  It wears fantastically, too; no smudging or flaking for a full day.

No mascara / One coat / Two coats of Annabelle Le Big Show (click to enlarge)

So do I recommend Annabelle Le Big show?  Yes, yes, and yes, I do!  Step aside, L’Oreal Voluminous.  As long as Le Big Show is available, I will no longer require your service.  Holy freakin’ grail.

Disclosure: Product was sent by the manufacturer for consideration only.  The excitement and butterflies in my stomach are all mine.