MAC just launched these new Superslick liquid eyeliners with their Fall collection, and I have to say they’re pretty amazing. First, the felt tip applicator makes it beyond easy to apply. Second, the liner is shiny like patent leather, which I enjoy. Third, it is incredibly longwearing-I wore it for fifteen hours and it did not budge. The only negative thing I have to say is, once it was completely dry it looked slightly wrinkly. I have “on the hunt”which is black, and altogether there are 9 new shades to choose from.

Wallet friendly beauty is always a good thing. Over the past few weeks these drug store brands caught our eye:

Joe Fresh Eyeshadow has 6 new colours for fall. For the price you really can’t beat these, they blend pretty well and the pay off is good too.

I’m really into L’oreal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black. For thick super black lashes this is the way to go. It claims to have twice the intensity of L’oreal’s classic black shade, it is as black as tar and makes your lashes look amazing. However, if you’re not into overly dramatic and slightly clumpy then this is not the mascara for you. Personally I’m a fan.

Got2b recently launched a couple of new hair products and sent some our way to review. Fat-tastic Instant Collagen Infusion Mega-Lift Root Boosting Spray is designed to plump up flat hair, give lift and body without feeling crunchy. Lisa tried it first on damp hair and it worked pretty good considering it didn’t feel too crunchy or product heavy. The next time she used it she sprayed her roots on hair that hadn’t been washed for a day. Normally she washes her hair everyday because it looks so flat on the second day, but thought she’d test out the product to see if it could get some volume. She then sprayed her roots with the product and then blow dried. She got quite a bit of volume and it was so much faster than rewashing and blow drying her hair.

On my hair, after spritzing the roots I used my hands to push my hair up, skipped the blow dry, and used a curling iron to create waves. I did get some volume at the roots that lasted quite well. Prior to using the curling iron I applied the Smoothing Lotion as it works as a heat protector as well as smoothing fly aways which it does nicely. The best thing about this product though, is the smell!

I just tried these new lipsticks from Make Up Forever. They really are quite nice. They come in 3 different textures-matte, pearly, and satin. I enjoyed the matte and the satin, I’m never a huge fan of overly frosty textures. All 3 textures are packed with pigment, apparently 50% more than traditional lipstick. The pay off is excellent, and they wear very well. What is most exciting is the fact that there are 50 new colours to choose from! A make up kit overhaul is in my near future, and these new lipsticks will be great new additions to my lip palette.

Available at Sephora

The Chanel Fall make up collection is the perfect antidote to Summer’s neons and pastels. Though not available in Canada for another couple of weeks, I was able to test the samples that were on display at The Bay. The shadows in the Enigma palette all have a cool grey undertone. At least 3 of them will be perfect for creating the ever so important smoky eye of the season. There are also two single eyeshadows launching with this collection one of which is called Vert Khaki-a dark khaki green with a frost texture, it is gorgeous. Another notable addition to the line is the Intense Eye pencil in clair, a pale nude beige colour that will work as a brightener in the water line. Of course Chanel never disappoints in the nail polish department. Paradoxal nail polish is a dark grey, purple with a slight iridescence. I put my name on the already long waiting list for this one, I’m not holding my breath though.

Peter Philips is the master mind behind the Chanel make up collections as well as the make up direction for their runway shows inParis. The Fall show was all about these really messy undone looking eyes, that looked like a a child had got hold of her mother’s liquid eyeliner and dotted it all over her lids. The eyes were complemented with flawless skin and bare lips. Take this look from runway to real way for Fall, by being not totally precise with your eye make up but keeping up your skin perfect and lips nude.

Images from style.com & chanel.com

Lipstick is going to be essential for Fall, especially red lipstick. I’ve been wearing Ellis Faas Creamy Lips in L101, it’s totally perfect for the upcoming season. For a long wearing lipstick (I had it on for about 6 hours, drank a bottle of water and it held up) I did not expect the texture to be as smooth, and comfortable to wear as it is. You twist the top of the very chic shiny packaging, and the colour pops out in tiny droplets onto the sponge. It glides on the lips with a sponge tip applicator that’s slanted like a lipstick.

Milky Lips is more liquid like and less opaque than Creamy Lips, but still wears well. This one has a brush applicator which gives even coverage. I tried L203 which is kind of a rosy pink brown.

Lisa has been wearing Glazed Lips in L306. It goes on really smooth not at all sticky and delivers nice glossy shine. She liked the brush applicator because you can control how much you want to wear. A sheer application gives more of a stained look, and when applied heavier the colour is considerably more vibrant than the image appears.

The website shows all the lip colours on 3 different skin tones, making online shopping a little easier http://www.ellisfaas.com/

*Ellis Faas Lips were provided to Smudge Style

As a make up artist I’m completely obsessed with my brushes. Brushes can make or break my make up application, more so than the products I’m using. Advanced Beauty Tools are unlike any brushes I’ve seen or used before. The brushes are designed as an “art object as well as to function as a professional make up brush”. All of the brushes are made with 100% man made fibre called NuFibre. This of course makes them completely animal free. Not just ethically conscious but an excellent alternative for anyone who suffers from allergies or has sensitive skin. I have to admit I’ve added them to my personal brush collection and have been using them on myself daily!

Chrome Collection

I have to admit it took me a minute to get used to the shape of the handle on the Chrome Collection. What I absolutely love about the brushes is the texture of the hairs. The texture feels incredibly soft unlike any synthetic make up brush I’ve come across before. Having said that, I still found that the brushes both pick up and deposit product onto the skin really well. Blending is fast and easy. I especially like the large buffer brush, the foundation brush, and the eye contour brush.

Precision Brushes

These brushes have brilliant packaging. A true retractable case that pulls apart to expose the brush tip, and closes and covers when pushed together. Perfect for your make up bag. I love these for detailed work like sharp red lips, carving out a brow, or for more defined eye make up.

Foaming Brush Cleanser

The foaming brush cleanser sanitizes and cleans the brush fibres. After using black cream liner, 2 pumps on the micro fibre cloth quickly brought the brush back to new. The cleanser dries quickly too so you can switch colours, and keep going with your make up in minutes.

*Advanced Beauty Tools were provided to Smudge Style

The Burberry Beauty collection is as chic and sophisticated as it’s clothing line. Starting with the beautiful packaging with signature Burberry check, to the lipstick cases that close magnetically. After trying the majority of the line, I found the foundation, powder, eyeshadow, and gloss to be quite sheer. Everything feels very smooth and silky thanks to the silicones, and glides on for effortless application. Makeup Artist Wendy Rowe, responsible for the make up direction at Burberry’s runway makeup for the past nine years, says the line is “effortless and relaxed, but sophisticated.”

I purchased the gloss in nude beige No.9. It is sheer and very smooth, not at all sticky. Oils and ceramides that leave the lips hydrated, supple and naturally plumped. The shadows come in a variety of neutrals as well as some blues and purples inspired by England’s stormy weather. I picked up the eyeshadow in gold trench No.4 the colour is a pretty golden beige and it looks great on my lids or as a highlight colour.

The lipsticks come in a nice range of easy to wear colours from nude tones to darker reds. It’s very light on the lips and quite moisturizing while leaving just the right amount of pigment on the lips. Lisa got the No.3 cameo pink which is a light-medium warm pink colour.

Update: (From Lisa) After wearing this for a while I decided that I don’t love the smell of the lipstick and foundation. I find that a lot of the products smell like perfume — maybe even baby powder which is a bit off putting. But if you’re okay with the smell then its a pretty nice lipstick. Leah has been using the lipgloss and it has no smell.

The new Pure Colour Gloss by Tom Pecheux have arrived at Lauder. There are 30 different shades and 3 textures- mirror which is a cream shine, luminous which is shimmery and dimensional which has sparkle. Apparently, the main difference between these colours and the other glosses is the True Vision™ technology. The idea is that the colours are truer and more vibrant. As far as glosses go these aren’t that sticky in texture. They feel quite moisturizing on the lips as they contain ingredients that condition the lips.

Usually I wouldn’t pay much attention to Estee Lauder, but now that Tom Pecheux is the creative director I think we’ll be seeing some innovative and exciting products.

Legendary make up artist Pat McGrath has collaborated with LeSportsac on two limited edition make up bags. The bags, named“The Pat” and “The Page” are $28 and $62 respectively. Besides designing mind blowing looks for editorials and runways around the world, McGrath is also the Global Creative Design Director for Cover Girl. The cool black bags with canary yellow zippers, were inspired by the packaging of Cover Girl Lash Blast Length mascara. Each bag comes with a free tube of Lash Blast Length, and a little booklet with eye makeup tips by Pat.

Shu Uemura just launched 3 new skin care products specifically for oily skin-that means me! The line is inspired by water lilies, and is designed to combat both external and internal stresses that cause excess oil on the skin. Primarily I’ve been using the Intense Pore Perfecting Solution. It’s a lightweight lotion that feels cool when it goes on, and shrinks my pore size noticeably. I also found I had to blot less throughout the day. However, you can also use the solution over the top of make up to touch up.

Today I picked up the rest of the line (I like it when things all go together) The way it works is to use the Clarifying Refreshing Lotion (In the Shu world lotion means toner) after cleansing. Then the Pore Perfector then the Clarifying Balancing Moisturizer. Gel-like in texture this helps keep skin shine free by absorbing excess oil, but still looking radiant. Here’s to a slick free complexion!

Last weekend I was quite excited to try on Tom Ford’s newly launched Private Blend Lip Color — his take on 12 classic lip colours. He took the most universally flattering colors that a woman can wear, and then reimagined them in a modern and authoritative way. The first thing I noticed was the luxurious and ultra-creamy texture which is formulated with rare and exotic ingredients including soja seed extract, Brazilian murumuru butter and chamomilla flower oil. The closest lipstick that this resembles is YSL’s Rouge Volupte. But unlike the Rouge Volupte the Private Blend Lip Color doesn’t cake on so thick which makes it more wearable. These lipsticks are great if you’re looking for a creamy lipstick with tons of pigment but be warned — the product comes with a heavy price tag: $45.

As soon as I went into Top Shop last week I headed straight to the make up. I was quite impressed by the variety of product and the colour selection. Developed with Make Up Artist Hannah Murray , there is a core collection as well as trend based products that will change seasonally.  I settled on Desert Lipstick, and In the Red Nail Polish from the main collection, and Sun Shower Crayon which from the SS10 line.

The lipstick is smooth and creamy in texture without any frost, and a sheer coverage. Obviously I chose the peachy beige because I’m a major fan of nude lips. It smells a little bit sweet, and wears quite well by itself or with gloss.

In The Red Nail Polish is a super bright orange based red. It applies to the nails very easily without streaking, and has a very high shine finish. The colour range for nails is massive, more than any other product in the line.

Sun Shower Crayon is my favourite of the three. Packaged in a twist up gold case, this eye crayon is very creamy and glides on the eyes effortlessly. Then it sets and doesn’t budge. The gold is intense high shimmer-love it!

Personally, I am not a huge fan of sparkle. So it was quite ironic that I ended up purchasing Girlactik’s lip gloss — a small beauty brand out of LA made famous for making “sparkle makeup that actually stayed put.” I ended up purchasing the High Tinted Lip Gloss in Orange Twist (top left) which has a sheer apricot colour. It’s one of the few non-shimmery colours and it’s one of my favorites right now. The gloss goes on smooth without being too tacky, lasts for a long time and has a nice strawberry scent to it. Sometimes I amp up the colour by wearing it on top of an orange lipstick (try YSL Rouge Pur in Indian Orange) with gives me a real intense peach colour.

During the summer I always find I need to switch my foundation and concealer to a darker shade, and this year I had a little head start with a week in Hawaii. On my hunt for a new concealer I stumbled across Make Up Forever’s HD Invisible Cover Concealer. I find it so frustrating when I find a nice concealer but there is no shade that matches my skin tone. The HD Invisible Cover Concealer comes in 14 shades so I was able to get a really good match to my skin tone. For a light weight concealer it has good coverage and covered up my under eye circles and blemishes really well. It comes with a soft silicone applicator tip that is supposed to be great for precise application but I find the tip quite makes the product quite lumpy. For a smooth finish I recommend applying the concealer with a brush.

Update: (From Lisa) I was so surprised when I ran out of the concealer so quickly! Then I looked at the bottle and discovered that it is only 0.05 ounce. So although this is a nice product its NOT good value for money.

The latest edition of Budget Beauty Buys features 5 products that all under $20 each!

There were quite a few good buys at Rimmel but these two were my favourites: Stay Glossy Lipgloss in Fuschia Fever is super vibrant. This ultra glossy, non sparkly version I think is the best of the thirteen colour options. The 3-in-1 Shimmering Bronzer has three different bronze tones, and is available in two shades.  You can mix all three colours together with your brush, or use individually as bronzer or eyeshadow, making this a great multi purpose product.

Rouge Cream Lipstick is the latest addition to the Sephora brand. The formula is creamy and the colours are intense. As with most of Sephora’s own brand, there are tons of colour options with this lipstick. If you still haven’t purchased your statement lip colour I recommend “It Girl”.

Seems like Cover Girl puts out a new mascara every week. Lash Blast Length is the newest one in Canada, but in the US they just launched Lash Blast Fusion. Lash Blast Length claims to give 80% longer looking lashes. The brush is silicone and very long and skinny, which they claim is the key to longer looker lashes.

You can’t go wrong with Joe Fresh beauty. The clean design, good colour range, and the incredibly low price point ($4) are reason enough to pick up the new nail polish.

Armani is best known for their amazing foundations so I was not surprised how nice the new Giorgio Armani Face Fabric Radiance is. It’s a light fluid pigment that seamlessly applies like a sheer second skin for a luminescent glow. When you apply it to your skin it almost looks like its made up of finely crushed pearls but unlike other shimmer products the shimmer is very fine so overall it has a brightening effect. This is the perfect product for highlighting and adding dimension to the face and looks gorgeous in photos. What I love most is the texture — it’s super silky smooth and very blendable so you don’t need a lot of product. Face Fabric comes in 3 shades: Fair, Fair-Medium and Medium Dark.

In preparation for Summer temperatures I’ve recently purchased  Guerlain Terracotta Tinted Moisturizer . It’s available in two colours-blonde which is the light, and brunette which is dark. I got the darker of the two, and it matches very well with my natural skintone. So if you are very fair skinned even the lighter shade will be quite dark. (makes a great liquid bronzer)

The texture is very smooth, and is described as a gel cream so it blends very easily with your fingers. Even though it is sheer coverage it is buildable and evens out the complexion well. A unique feature is the tan booster complex that helps retain your natural tan.

The only thing I’m not a fan of is the scent. It smells like perfume when you first apply it but it doesn’t last. Overall I like the way it perfects the skin without looking like make up, and I enjoy the packaging. It reminds me of a tropical resort-very appropriate for a Summer product.

On one of my frequent trips to the local drugstore this beautiful lemon yellow Sally Hansen nail polish caught my attention. I must admit it’s been a while since I have bought any Sally Hansen products as I usually stick to OPI and Essie, but I noticed they’ve really modernized the packaging. And with the $10 (CDN) price point I thought it would be worth a try.

The colour is quite lovely but it needs 3 good coats for coverage. It’s supposed to be all 5 steps in 1 bottle: base coat, strengthener, growth treatment, color, top coat but I think you could get away with addding another top coat. The thing I love most about this product is the new tapered brush — it’s much easier to apply nail polish with precision and it’s perfect for a DIY manicure.

This past Saturday I purchased the MAC Pro Longwear Lipstain Marker. I wore it for 3 days to give it a good test drive and here are my thoughts:

The packaging is great. It looks like a felt tip pen. That felt tip gives excellent precision when apply along the lip line, no need for lip pencil. The actual stain is a liquid consistency that goes on sheer and can be built up. The initial application I applied it directly to my bare lips, and put a little bit of lip balm on top for comfort. (The stain by itself is a little dry feeling) The second time I wore it I put lip balm on first then the stain. This caused big problems. Once the lip balm got on the tip of the stain, the tip dried up and I couldn’t get the product to flow out evenly.

As far as it being long wearing, it did stay on for about 4 hours but it wears off the lips unevenly. Touching up is easy, you just go right over whatever is left on the lips.

I have Stylesetter-bright pink which fits the bright lip trend without being too bright.

This product has been around for awhile, but it is new to me. To be honest, I don’t know if I would have tried it except that I received it as a free bonus and I instantly fell in love. Biotherm Baume Corps is an intensely moisturizing body lotion that works wonders on dry skin. It’s made with apricot oil which gives it a nice smell and has a really light smooth texture that is not greasy. I put this on after a shower and my legs are moisturized all day — no dry patches. I’m definitely going back for more but I think I need to get myself a larger bottle.