Caudalie: Beauty With A Conscience

Caudalie, one of my favourite skincare brands is taking on an exciting new initiative. A brand that has been ecologically and environmentally conscious since its inception, Caudalie has decided to partner with 1% for the Planet to further their impact in environmental endeavours.

Excerpt from press release:

Caudalie is already 100% cruelty, paraben and sulphate free. This is a natural and admirable progression for them as a brand that gives consumers a piece of mind when using their products. 

Urban Decay Refines Their Eyeshadow Range

Urban Decay incited a bit of Twitter mayhem yesterday by cryptically suggesting they had an announcement that would shake us down to our beauty loving toes. This morning the enticing secret was finally revealed...They have reformulated and repackaged their single eyeshadows.

There are 68 shades-some new colours and some old colours in the new formula-that come in 5 different finishes: duotone, matte, satin, shimmer and sparkle. All the shadows can be purchased individually but are also instantly depotted to fit in to the customizable palettes. This will be a relief for many eyeshadow organizing fanatics like myself who have broken countless shadows trying to depot them using the old straightening iron trick.

I have not seen the palettes in person but I am anticipating one hiccup: each palette comes with an eyeshadow brush and Walk of Shame eyeshadow. If you only purchase one palette this won't be an issue, BUT for those who purchase more than one before the price increase (currently on $18 for the pre-launch), you will be left with multiples of the same eyeshadow. 

Already love the shadows in your recent Urban Decay and Naked2 palettes? Well that is because you already have the new formula! Unbeknownst to us, Urban Decay snuck their new formula into their latest palette releases which may attest to why so many people commented on the texture variations between Naked and Naked2.

To see examples of possible colour combinations and high quality swatches, check out Karen at the Makeup and Beauty Blog's post.

Christine from Temptalia gives a FANTASTIC comprehensive breakdown of the palette and whether or not it is worth the investment:

I like that I can cutomize my own palette, but Christine makes a good point: it would cost $126 for six shades when the regular palettes with 10+ shadows only cost $50. I have 5 single Urban Decay shadows that I want to depot so I may buy one empty palette for $18. I need to see it in person to decide first. What do you think about this new release? Worth the suspense and hype?

Beauty Blog Link Love 24/03/12

Inspired by spring and St. Patty's Day, Miss Beauty Nerd showcases her favourite green-hued products this season!

Phyrra's Independent Spotlight for March is with Maria of Cult Nails! Learn all about Maria and how she made her dreams come true!

Love colour? This week Madame B Fatale shows you her almost neon makeup tutorial!

This Spring at theNotice is all about Clarins. (Yeah, you read that right.) Check out the one limited-edition liquid blush Rae thinks you HAVE to have this season.

The fifth and final episode to the series Eyeshadow Tutorial for Asian Eyes. This time, we discuss the Horizontal Gradient Method!

Why settle for just one blush when you can have three in one palette?! Beauty's Bad Habit reviews Sleek 'Pumpkin' Blush by Three.

With Spring offically here, Beauty In The Mirror reviews Benefit Cha Cha Tint - perfect for a spring glow on the cheeks!

Think fancy, structured updo's are too hard? Gouldylox found one that is really easy and perfect for spring weather!

It's almost summertime, which means Shannon at Lipstick Musings is on the hunt for a great warm-weather red lipstick. She's found one with NARS Sheer Lipstick in Manhunt!

This gold, taupe, and blue smoky eye on My Funny Valentine adds a little tribal to your weekend.

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed discovers that not all frightening things are found in horror movies - some of them are actually as close as her face! Take a trip with her to the Vichy Skin Health Centre for a scary good time!

Check out Jenn at Spicedbeauty backstage coverage of Maybelline Beauty for Toronto Fashion Week.

Fleurissante shares her impressions on Ambre Oud, the most recent by Kilian fragrance.

Will the Hunger Games movies influence future makeup trends? Come join the discussion at Beauty Reflections!

Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Capri: Illuminating Powder Gelée Swatch and Look

My sister Rebekah is gorgeous on any given day, but when I saw the look she created with the new Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Capri collection, I dove for my camera and made her pose for me. Because of her rich golden skin tone, Rebekah can pull of certain looks that would make me look like a member of the Oompa Loompa revival show. This collection is perfect for her, specifically the Illuminating Powder Gelée in Topaz Chameleon. 

Presently at The Bay, when you buy a piece of this collection you receive a gift with purchase: a makeup bag filled with an assortment of eye and lip products. The products inside of the bag are not really consistent with the quality of products in the permanent range, but the colours are very complimentary to this collection and have pretty good pay-off and lasting power. 

**All swatches below were taken in my arm, so pay off will differ for you golden and olive toned beauties. Close-ups of Rebekah's makeup look at the end. **

Illuminating Powder Gelée in Topaz Chameleon

Gift With Purchase

Mirror Compact

Dual End Lip Shimmer 

(Crystal Shimmer Lipstick in Tiramisu and Shimmer Gloss in Pink Kiss)

Pure Colour Lipstick Shimmer in Tiger Eye 

Stay-In-Place Lip Pencil

Eye Shadow Quad

Direct Light No Flash

Indirect Light With Flash

The Look

Dupes For My Beloved Laura Mercier Rose Rendezvous Illuminator?

If I had known how beloved my Laura Mercier Rose Redezvous Illuminator would become so irreplaceable I would have picked up two, but hindsight is 20/20. Now I am left with a little dilemma: my sister won't stop stealing it! I need to find dupe that I can buy for her (ok ok and for me too) so that I can preserve this limited supply of highlighting goodness. 

For the past two months we have searched high and low for the Guerlain Cruel Gardenia Meteorites but after having a sales associate laugh outright in our faces, we gave up. We have found some treasures along the way in all different formulas (reviews to come) but nothing that replicates the rose gold luminosity of this product. 

So my fellow beauty addicts, I beseech you! HELP US! I need to find a dupe before I resort to putting a padlock on my highlighter drawer and installing motion detector lasers. 

Dior Diva VIP Gift

Oh Dior, how you pamper me so! One of the perks of being a Dior Diva VIP at The Bay is the generous gifts with purchase. When I picked up my beloved Dior Addict Extremes I was given the choice of cosmetic bags to take home with me (black patent leather please!) but I didn't expect it to be filled with sample goodies. I have never tried the Dior skincare line so I am excited to test these samples. 

If you love the Dior counter as much as I do, ask your loyal sales associate if you qualify for the Dior VIP program and make sure you keep all of your receipts!

Maybelline Baby Lips Smells Like It Is Meant For a Baby

My lips are victim to Vancouver's dreary winter weather and have been chapped, cracked and peeling for weeks. Having run out of my beloved Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream, I needed a quick cheap fix ASAP. I snatched one of the Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balms at the drugstore checkout after remembering some positive buzz surrounding the release. 

The packaging feels quite cheap and flimsy but appropriate for the price point. I think that the lettering should have been written directly on the applicator instead of the cap just for marketing aesthetic purposes. 

The colour payoff is very sheer (the swatch below is after multiple layers) which is to be expected with a lip balm. The colour adds just a light flush to the lips with a slight berry hue which is flattering but I doubt that it would be visible on pigmented lips. The product wears for approximately 2 hours and does leave lips feeling moisturized and soft for an hour afterwards. I love that it has SPF 20 protections since we often overlook sun protection for the fragile skin on our lips. 

Now for the part that I just can't get past: the smell. All of the reviews I have seen about this product have called it "subtly scented" but I beg to differ. It has a nauseating, artificial, sickly sweet grape scent that permeates the air. The smell is so strong that it lingers in the room for more than 5 minutes after application. Others could smell it on me up to 15 minutes after application and likened it to cough syrup. Not attractive. I rarely encounter a product that I can not use because of the scent, but this is one of them. 

There are so many great tinted lip balms on the market right now, such as Burts Bees, that really outshine this product. 

Grade: C-

Pretty in Pink with Clarins Joli Rouge Brillant #12 Litchi

Clarins has never been a brand I particularly gravitated towards and have always perceived as more of a skincare line than a makeup line. In a recent video, celebrity makeup artist Lisa Eldridge used a Claris Joli Rouge Brillant lipstick and it translated so well on camera that I knew I had to check them out in person.

This classic, creamy lipstick delivers stunning colour and silky-smooth shine. Formulated with the innovative extreme shine Maxi Lip Complex to help plump and hydrate for full, soft and supple lips. Deeply moisturizing and long-wearing with a fruity, floral scent, this lipstick feels amazing from the minute you apply it. ($27.00 CAD)    -Clarins

I love how the bullet of this lipstick perfectly conforms to the shape of my lip and how the tip is precise enough to effortlessly outline my cupid's bow. There is a lot of slip to this product that leaves my lips feeling moisturized throughout the wear time (approximately 3-4 hours). There is no patchiness or bleeding because the texture feels almost like a gel (similar to Dior Addict). 

All of the lip colours in this range give a beautiful crystallized shine to the lips because of the high sparkle content. The effect is fuller and suppler looking lips. One of the downfalls is that when you rub your lips together, beneath the smooth creaminess of the lipstick, you can feel a bit of grittiness from the sparkle particles. It is barely perceptible, but does affect the consistency overall. 

 Direct Light (no flash)

Direct Light (with flash)

Once the lipstick wears off it leaves behind a lot of the sparkle, which is not completely unflattering but can make lips look aged if you have dry lips like mine. 

After 4 hours of wear

What have been your experiences with the Clarins makeup range?

Grade: B+


**Product acquired through Shoppers Drug Mart Optimum Points Program**