A Feast For Your Eyes! Stila Festival Collection Review, Photos, Swatches

May 23, 2013 | 19 Responses

I’m going to get down to business here and just say it straight up: the Stila Festival Collection for Summer 2013 (available in Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Boutiques, Murale and Sephora) is one of my favourites by far for summer. It brings such unique and vibrant pieces that any makeup lover would die to add to their collections. I received a selection of products so I just wanna show you ALL THE THINGS.

Stila Festival Collection
Some items from Stila Festival Collection

First up, Stila has created a limited edition shade for Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner ($26) and Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner ($26), both in Turquoise. Both products deliver opaque pigments in one pass. Isn’t this such a unique and stunning shade? In the side-by-side comparison, the Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner is closer to a true turquoise. The Stay All Day Waterproof Eyeliner leans more mint. Both products are really waterproof and puts up a mean fight against a micellar-water soaked cotton pad.

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid and Smudge Stick Turquoise

Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Turquoise / Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Turquoise /
Stila After Glow Lip Color in Electric Pink and Festive Fuchsia

Lipstick lovers rejoice! The new Stila After Glow Lip Color ($24) is bright and so hard to mess up! The fat crayon format is friendly for newbies, and this has medium pigmentation that builds well. The lips look wonderfully plump (but not Real Housewives plump); just plain kissable lips. I wore Electric Pink today (see below) and it lasted a good 5-6 hours before fading and leaving an even stain. My favourite of these two is Electric Pink, but Festive Fuchsia is also a winner and probably my #1 pick against a late summer tan. These are cherry-scented, but it is very faint that honestly I had to think hard about the scent.

Stila After Glow Lip Colour Electric Pink and Festive Fuchsia

Wearing Electric Pink
Wearing Stila After Glow in Electric Pink (no filters used / from my Instagram!)

Oh, and apparently the pigments fluoresce under black light! ERMAHGERD /geeks out!

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You Big Flirt! Ralph Lauren The Big Pony Fragrance Collection For Women essie Sensual Set #2 Review, Photos, Swatches

May 15, 2013 | 15 Responses

This spring, Ralph Lauren and essie are getting on board the matchy-matchy train! The two big brands have created four limited edition fragrance and nail sets available now in Canada. The sets come in two formats:

30 ml fragrance, 50g body mist & essie nail polish ($47 exclusively at Jean Coutu in Quebec) — the one I’m showing here!
50 ml fragrance & essie nail polish ($67 available at The Bay and Sears)

I received set #2 for the Sensual Woman. She’s pink, flirty and 100% fabulous.

Appealing to the sensuality in every woman, #2 carries a sensual fragrance that could only be bottled in pink. Accessorize the feminine hue with a few criss-cross lines, reminiscent of laced ribbons.

Big Pony Fragrance Collection Essie Set 2

essie Polish in #2 Pink is a fuchsia creme. I found this to be on the thick side. One coat gives great coverage, but I decided to go with two to cover some uneven spots. Inspired by the nail art created by nail art Rita Remark created for the collection (more on that later!), I tried my hand at nail art myself: polka dots!

Big Pony Fragrance Collection Essie Set 2 Wearing Nail Polish
My lipstick

I paired Pink #2 with a red, essie Polish in A-List. Cute, no? I think it perfectly suits the sensual woman this set represents.

Big Pony Fragrance Collection Essie Set 2 Nail Polish Swatch

When one is a beauty blogger and not specifically a nail blogger, she must improvise on how to show off the nails in a non-macro setting. Watch and learn. Clockwise from top left: “The runway model”, “The fake laugh”, “The come hither, not to be confused with the finger”, “The oops I did it again!”

Unleash your inner geek, girls! Life’s too short to be cool. Just have fun with it.

Ralph Lauren Essie 2 outtakes

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The Quest for a Holy Grail Semi-Matte Lipstick Stops Here: Givenchy Le Rouge Reviews, Photos, Swatches

May 8, 2013 | 28 Responses

Brace yourselves, ladies and gentlemen. Here come today’s pretties!

Givenchy Le Rouge 102 and 301
Givenchy Le Rouge 102 Beige Plume and 301 Magnolia Organza

Givenchy Le Rouge (CDN $38 / US $36, exclusively at Sephora) is a modern semi-matte lipstick. It is silky, lightweight and reflects light to bring dimension to the lips. Both shades I tried are packed with pigment so they cover the lips in one swipe. This is the best semi-matte formula I’ve ever tried. Its velvety texture is something I would liken to Giorgio Armani’s Maestro Foundation. It doesn’t migrate out of my lip lines after I apply; it just sets to a beautiful silky, almost powder-like finish. This lipstick is longer lasting than most of my lipsticks. It may or may not have outlasted a McDonald’s combo of quarter pounder with cheese and french fries. Ahem.

Givenchy Le Rouge Packaging
Givenchy Le Rouge — Packaging

Givenchy did not only make a great makeup product here, but they also cased the bullets in hefty, soft leather and chrome covers. Meow! So sexy. If the packaging was fugly I probably would still want to buy all the lipsticks! anyway.

Givenchy Le Rouge 102 Beige Plume
Givenchy Le Rouge 102 Beige Plume