NARS new lip gloss gives long wearing shine, colour, and plumps the lips. All 9 colours are creamy in texture without any sparkle! The only down side in my opinion is the brush. It’s very short and has barely any bristles. Apparently this is supposed to enable precision with the application, but I find it takes too long to apply the product.

As is always the case for most of the year my hands are very dry, and my cuticles are even worse. I recently came across Yu-Be moisturizer, even though it’s been around for about fifty years! It contains lots of ingredients that take care of dry and irritated skin anywhere on the body. I’ve been using it on my hands and rubbing it into my cuticles–total life saver during the winter months.

Shu Uemura’s BB mousse is poised to be as popular if not more so, than their original UV Under Base. BB products are saturating the market as of late, and  Shu Uemura’s unique mousse version definitely stands apart from the rest. Like the original under base  the mousse formula still manages to be  lightweight but gives a more opaque finish, making it a great option for those who have a little more to cover up. It works best on lighter skin tones, and for those with a darker skin it can look too ashy if over applied. A darker or warmer shade option is much needed.

For anyone who wished for a lipgloss that stayed on YSL just launched this hybrid product–Glossy Stain, and like the name suggests it’s a gloss that wears like a lip stain. The texture feels, and looks much like a gloss but the formula lasts like a lip stain would much longer than your average lip gloss. It comes in 19 shades, and as of now is available only at Selfridges.

Every Boxing Day MAC brings out a new colour collection. The idea is to give their customers something new while most other lines are selling marked down gift sets. Not a bad idea really. The collaboration with artist and couture collector Guinness, is comprised of cool mauves, plums, and greys. Hyperion nail lacquer is a stand out for me, I love a blue/grey cream texture polish.

Available now in store and online at www.maccosmetics.com

Leah’s Picks: Because I am in London right now, I am beyond excited for the end of season sales this year! Here almost everything gets marked down even beauty and fragrance products. Of course 2 of the 3 things I’m interested in will more than likely not go on sale. I am desperately in need of a new day time perfume as I just came to the end of my Marc Jacobs Pear splash. I love Le Labo’s Neroli 36 which will be perfect for day or night.

I am always trying new foundation formulas so I’ll probably pick up Dolce & Gabbana’s Creamy Foundation.

Every time I’m in Selfridges I look at this Sophie Hulme leather tote bag. The structure is lovely, and the colour is beautiful especially for SS 12, and the size is generous enough to use daily. Besides I’m going to need something to carry home the rest of my purchases!

Lisa’s Picks: Right now I’m totally in love with Deborah Lippmann’s glitter polishes — especially Boom Boom Pow which contains 24 karat gold powder. The mix of glitter and shimmer makes for good coverage on the nails and is great way to accessorize with sparkle.

I also love picking up holiday gift sets because they’re such a great deal. The Nars Tainted Love gift set is the perfect shade of hot pink that will work now and into the Spring season.

And lastly I am looking for some new booties. These Louboutin’s are calling my name — they are called the “Lisse” booties after all! I doubt they’ll have them in Vancouver but I’ll be in Paris soon enough.

There are gift sets galore this December so we have put together seven of our favourites based on uniqueness and value. The top 2 for me are the NARS brush set because it’s beautifully packaged, and the brushes really are amazing. The Shu Uemura palette is for eyes and lips but what I like best about is the packaging. The lid is a hologram so the eye opens and closes when you move it!

1. Shu Uemura WKW Burning in Water Palette 2. Make Up Forever  Wild & Chic Aqua Eyes 3. Bobbi Brown 20th Anniversary Lip Palette 4. Illamasqua Midnight Decadence Lash Duo 5. Dior Holiday Deluxe Face Palette  6. Deborah Lippmann Nail Lacquer set 7. Nars Nagauta Kabuki Brush Set

Armani’s latest edition to their foundation line is the Designer Lift Smoothing Firming Foundation SPF 20. Perfect for anyone who wants their skin to look tighter and firmer. Especially formulated complex of emollients and velvet filters contribute to a smoother looking complexion.What I also like about this product is the blue pearl pigment that gives a gorgeous luminosity to the skin.

The foundation is available in 10 shades online and in-store.

There are tons of budget beauty buys over here in the UK, and these are a few of the ones I like right now.

The new Rimmel mascara does give loads of drama which I like, but unless you have big eyes, I find the brush too large, and the product gets everywhere. The brow pencil however is quite good. The lead isn’t too soft which can be the case with cheap pencils. My brows stayed on quite well throughout the day. The brush on the end is very convenient too.

Envy Wraps are perfect for people like myself who’s manicure chips after one day! They come in a variety of styles very similar to Sally Hansen ones we have in North America.

American Apparel broadens their beauty range with new lip gloss. I like the retro font on the tube, and the creamy texture is really smooth without a hint of sparkle.

Topshop’s Bronzer and blush 2-in-1 is great for creating a golden glow all over. A bit of peach blush on the cheeks will complete the look nicely.

1. Rimmel Professional EyeBrow Pencil 2. Elegant Touch Envy Wraps  3. TopShop Burning Embers Bronzer & Blush  4. Rimmel Scandel Eyes Mascara 5. American Apparel Lipgloss

We are always fans of nail polish and nail art here at Smudge. So the Nails Inc. Magnetic Polish caught my eye a couple of weeks ago and I finally checked them out on Friday. So this is how they work, the polish contains metallic particles and the lid of the polish has a magnet on the top. After the second coat is applied, and before it dries, you hold the magnetic lid to the nail and the particles gravitate towards the magnet causing the polish to form a pattern. Depending on how you hold the magnet you’ll get a different design each time. The silver and purple polish will give the most dramatic look and the gold is more subtle.

All in all a pretty cool way to create nail art at home.

Jo Malone’s 4 new fragrances–Pomelo, green orange and coriander, orange tulle, and gardenia, are everything you’d expect from the brand. A combination of fresh florals and interesting fruits and herbs all inspired by Malone’s memories and emotions, hence the name Jo Loves. The bottle also comes in a very chic red box with a black ribbon making it even harder to resist.

joloves.com

Theatrical Brit designer Gareth Pugh, has collaborated with MAC Cosmetics on a limited edition collection. One of the best things about special edition collections is the packaging, and this one is particularly good! The shiny black cases with X’s, especially on the pigment pots looks very strong and dramatic.

The colour palette theme seems to be eggplant, navy, and champagne. I’m quite interested in the iridescent nail lacquers because those might be quite good for layering on top of opaque colours. The lashes are insane and look fabulous in the image. I’m currently shopping for a new makeup bag and this one might just do the trick.

The collection is available in North America November 23  and internationally in December.

The latest addition to the Chanel lipstick category is Rouge Allure Velvet. The texture is a very lightweight matte that feels smooth and not dry on the lips. I have to say that even myself a self professed gloss girl, have converted to a less reflective pout as of late. My only complaint is the colour range is quite limited with only 8 shades to choose from. As the trend for a strong mouth with minimal shine continues to show up on the runway, this velvet texture will have you recreating the look to a tee.

Last Wednesday in London, I went to the Eylure lash and Elegant Touch nail event. I have been a fan of the Eylure lashes from years ago when I picked up a pair on a whim while on vacation. The new collection has lots of styles to choose from very natural day wear to more extreme styles for night. They are always easy to apply, the glue that comes with them is actually very good and adheres well. The band isn’t too thick either which makes application simpler,  and they feel more lightweight to wear. One of the latest additions is the upper and lower lash in one box. I haven’t worn lower lashes for ages, these are not quite as simple to apply as top lashes, but once they’re on they look pretty fab. Perfect for enhancing the eyes and making them look bigger.

*Eylure lashes were provided to Smudge Style

The YSL Holiday collection is made up of rich jewel tone colours for the nails, and eyes. The entire collection is highly pigmented and the mascara, cream liner and liquid eyeliner are waterproof for exceptionally long wear. The new shocking volume mascara comes in 6 deep shades from black to a black cherry. The show stopper of the collection has to be the new mascara. As with most innovations in mascara it’s not just the formula, but the brush that makes all the difference. The amplified helix brush is cut specifically to give major volume to your lashes. The formula itself is really thick and creamy so you get that pop when you pull the brush from the tube. The result is thick, dark lashes completely on trend for the season.

Last week I finally got to check out the Tom Ford Beauty line while at Harvey Nichols. Of course it is just as luxurious as I expected it to be–lovely packaging, nice textures, and a high price point. The range includes lipsticks (which were launched prior) lip gloss, blush, eye pencils, foundation, concealer, nail polish, the usual suspects. However what I really fell in love with was the Brow Sculptor and the Shade and Illuminator. The Brow pencil retracts up and down and the lead is wide and on an angle so you’ll always get a defined brow that looks natural. The shade and illuminator comes in a compact and is available in 2 different intensities. What is great about this though is the fact that it is a cream, which makes it so easy to blend when contouring the face.

The brow pencil was sold out, but I am on the wait list and eagerly anticipating the call.

My first cosmetic purchase since arriving in London was a tube of the Kate Moss lipstick from Rimmel. To celebrate Kate’s long standing partnership with the company, she has designed a collection of 7 lipsticks that launched last week in the UK. Of course I picked up colour 3 – nude! It’s a pinky beige, semi matte texture and it lasts for quite awhile without touch ups.

As a huge fan of nail art, I’m super excited to finally see a better selection of the nail art products hitting the drugstores. One product I found that really caught my attention are these Nail Jazz pens. So far, these are the best nail art pens I have seen on the market. Instead of the typical fine tipped brush, the polish squeezes out of a very fine metal tip allowing you to create the most detailed designs. On each pen, the top of the cap has a fine metal tip, while under the cap there’s a regular brush for painting on a base coat. I got the Aura Atmosphere Set of 8 colours plus a bonus french manicure set. The french manicure set comes with tip stickers and there are some interesting shapes including a chevron shape which I look forward to using. If I have one complaint it would be that they need more colours. Especially non-shimmery ones.

I had purchased my set at the PNE, but iff you’re looking to purchase the set, they are available on the Nail Jazz website.

When I first heard about the OPI Muppets collection I was a bit skeptical. But I must admit the colours are quite glittery and lovely. As a tie-in to the forthcoming movie The Muppets, OPI is launching 12 limited-edition lacquers in November. The collection includes six shimmery reds and neutrals, plus six glittery shades. The colour I am looking forward to trying the most is the multi-coloured glitter aptly name The Rainbow Connection.

Dolce and Gabbana are adding two new products to their luxury beauty line. Perfect Finish Creamy Foundation, and Passion Duo Gloss Fusion Lipstick both look and sound fabulous. The foundation is described as being a cream texture with a buildable coverage for flawless looking skin, and will be available in 15 shades. The new lipstick is also a cream texture with a gloss centre, and will launch with 4 different shade categories. I am already a fan of the current lipstick so I eagerly anticipate Sept 1 when the new products will arrive in store.

Dolce and Gabbana makeup is available at select saks locations and online at dolceandgabbanamakeup.com