Toronto: This Earth Day Weekend, Be Good to the Earth and Go Shopping at Pure + simple!

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If you love to shop at Pure + simple as much as I do, then you don’t want to miss their Earth Day weekend specials on April 20 – 22 in all spa locations!

Ditch Your Car and Receive 15% Discount

Get your pretty self to the store by walking, taking public transit, or bicycling and get 15% off on your entire purchase. You must show your transit pass, TTC transfers, bike helmets to get the discount. And if you took your walking shoes out for the day, the discount will be based on an honour system. Don’t even try to explain that those five-inch heels are your “walking shoes.” ;)

Double Your Credits with the Bottle Reuse Program

Do you have a bunch of Pure + simple bottle empties lying around? Instead of getting $1 credit, each glass bottle and Martina Gebhardt porcelain jar returned gets you $2 towards your next Pure + simple brand product.  If you’re like me and have built your own mini Pure + simple store on your vanity (holla at your girl!), then you might even get your next purchase for free!


My empties = $10 off!  YES!!!

Combine the Specials, Save More!

Sounds awesome, right?  What’s even more amazing is that these specials can be combined, which means you can save more $$$ while being an angel to Mother Earth. :)

I really appreciate what Kristen Ma, co-founder of Pure + simple is doing for the good of the environment: “As a small, local company, we believe that every little bit counts and this is the message we are trying to convey.”  Not only because of their incredibly effective, all-natural products, I am proud to support the brand for its eco-friendliness.

Are you going to shop on Earth Day weekend, April 20 – 22?  I am planning to bike and take my empties for a new big bottle of my favourite day moisturizer, Pure + Simple Skin Drink.

YSL Summer Collection 2012: Mascara Volume Effets Faux Cils, Golden Gloss, La Laque Couture Reviews, Photos, Swatches

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Mascara Volume Effets Faux Cils Waterproof in Nº 4 Majorelle Blue and La Laque Couture in Nº 4 Corail Colisée

From the bronzes of the Terre Saharienne and Pure Chromatics, we move on to the bright pops of colour from this collection.  I LOVE COLOUR. /fangirl moment


Mascara Volume Effets Faux Cils Waterproof in Nº 4 Majorelle Blue

I dedicate Mascara Volume Effets Faux Cils Waterproof in Nº 4 Majorelle Blue ($36) to 18-year-old Tracy of Beauty Reflections, who wore blue mascara all the time. :)  This is for you, Tracy!  The waterproof formula and brush keep my lashes separated and curled all day long, without smudging or flaking.  The pop of bright blue is just so. much. fun.  I’m a fan!


Golden Glosses in Nº 51 Golden Shell (bottom), Nº 54 Golden Sand (top)
(yes, that’s my cat in the background) 


Golden Glosses in Nº 51 Golden Shell (top), Nº 54 Golden Sand (bottom)

The Golden Glosses ($34) from this collection range from shimmery bronze to pale beige.  They have the same fragrance as the Rouge Volupte line — artificial mango? — which I am not really a big fan of.  But I do like the formula itself; they are light, non-goopy and non-sticky. The coloured base is semi-sheer, so that makes them excellent lipstick toppers, but at the same time, they work well on their own. I like that they are packaged with a brush applicator.  I always find lip brushes feel more luxurious than the usual doe foot applicators.

Nº 51 Golden Shell is a rosy bronze with a serious amount of pink and gold sparkles.  Nº 54 Golden Sand is pale shimmery beige.


La Laque Couture in Nº 4 Corail Colisée

I’m all about coral this spring, and the new La Laque Couture in Nº 4 Corail Colisée ($27) is perfect.  I’m going to keep this review short and sweet: this has the best brush and formula. Ever. Two coats using the wide brush give me streak-free nails with high shine.  You need it.  The rest of the La Laque Couture line are coming out in June.


Wearing Nº 4 Majorelle Blue Mascara, La Laque Couture Nº 4 Corail Colisée, Golden Gloss Nº 54 Golden Sand

I don’t think my modelling career is going to take off any time soon… :)  Any products catch your eye?

YSL Summer Collection 2012: Terre Saharienne in Nº 2 Sunkissed and Pure Chromatics in Nº 8 Reviews, Photos, Swatches

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Terre Saharienne in Nº 2 Sunkissed and Pure Chromatics in Nº 9

When I laid my eyes on these two beauties from YSL’s summer collection (product information and photos are here), I knew I had to review them first! Read on to see what I think about Terre Saharienne in Nº 2 Sunkissed and Pure Chromatics in Nº 9.


Terre Saharienne in Nº 2 Sunkissed — indirect natural light


Terre Saharienne in Nº 2 Sunkissed — under direct sunlight

Terre Saharienne in Nº 2 Sunkissed ($60) is described as a “satiny light, rosy apricot”, and that is how it translates on my skin. It consists of rose, brown and apricot powders embossed in a python print in a beautiful brown compact. The finish is not shimmery, but instead the skin looks lit up and alive. This is a light bronzer that will wear beautifully on fair to medium skin, especially for very fair skin who have problems with bronzers looking dirty on their skin. I love the big surface area for the apricot shade, which is such a universally flattering blush shade.


Terre Saharienne in Nº 2 Sunkissed — separate / swirled together

My only annoyance with this bronzer: as soon as I apply it on my face, I could smell the product on my brush! The product has a makeup-y fragrance, but it quickly dissipates in less than a minute. I wish it wasn’t scented at all.

The shades of YSL Nº 2 Sunkissed remind me of my (still) holy grail bronzer from last summer, Dior Aurora, so I wanted to post comparison swatches of the two. It turns out, they are not similar at all. Sunkissed is lighter and pinker, but they do have that same beautiful finish.


Terre Saharienne in Nº 2 Sunkissed (finger swatch, brush swatch) vs. Dior Aurora


Pure Chromatics in Nº 8 — indirect natural light



Pure Chromatics in Nº 8 — under direct sunlight

JLo in “Waiting For Tonight.” That is what I think of when I see this palette. Pure Chromatics in Nº 8 ($74) is a shimmery palette of champagne, medium beige, coppery brown and olive green. This palette is unapologetically shimmery. I’ve never seen so much shimmer packed into one eyeshadow quad before. The medium to dark shades have a more visible shimmer, while the champagne shade highlights my brow bone perfectly.

I found a few issues with this palette. First, the lack of variety with eyeshadow textures turned me off. It is very hard to wear on its own. It’s just a lot of shimmer, shimmer, SHIMMER! The beige or olive shade would make beautiful matte/satin eyeshadows, and would make this a more wearable palette. Next, the eyeshadows are very soft to the point that they ended up falling down to my cheeks. It’s nice, but these problems and the non-unique colours make this easily dupe-able , so I don’t think it’s a must-have.

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