Best of Beauty: My Favourite Products of 2011.

December 23, 2011 | 13 Responses

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

September 16, 2011 | 32 Responses

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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.

Does Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Mascara Turn My Eyes into Lethal Weapons?

March 7, 2011 | 12 Responses

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I like a lot of mascaras, but there are very few that I love enough to marry. Most of my mascaras come from the drugstore, but I have had good experience with mascaras in the $15+ range. I think MAC Studio Fix Lash, MAKE UP FOR EVER Smoky Lash and Clinique Lash Power are all fantastic.

Today’s mascara, however, takes us waaay beyond the $15 line. We are talking past the outfield, across the ocean, all the way to China. Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill ($33, available at Holt Renfrew) mascara promises long, plush and separated lashes. It promises a lot and for that price, it better deliver.

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Mascara

Housed in a heavy metal casing, Eyes To Kill does not mess around with first impressions. The heaviness of the metal really makes it feel like a weapon. Very badass! The brush, which I consider to be a very important component in a mascara, is superb. One side of the brush has shorter widely gapped bristles, which are supposed to create volume at the base of the lashes. The other side has tightly packed long bristles for to separate and lengthen.

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Mascara – Short Bristles

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Mascara – Long Bristles

So, does it work well?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: The brush and mascara’s formula create beautiful separated, long lashes. When I started using this, I didn’t really notice the mixed bristles, so I just applied it as I would any other normal mascara. You know the kind, right? The wiggle, zig zag, and comb through? Yeah, that one. What I can tell is that my lashes look thicker, and more evidently, they are longer. How do I know? My lashes are so long that they touch my glasses. They don’t do that with any other mascara.

As for the volume, the mascara achieves this not by glooping up each lash with a lot of product, but by separating and coating each lash with an even coat. So, it makes you look like you have a lot of lashes. The effect is like wearing a set of natural volume fake lashes.

I gotta hand it to Giorgio Armani for creating such a weightless mascara formula. This holds my shu uemura lash curl incredibly well. We’re talking almost no curl loss from my normally stick straight Asian lashes. The formula doesn’t make my lashes crunchy either, which I always appreciate.

Now I know you want to see a before and after, right?

No mascara

Read on to see more eye photos!

Click to see eye photos!