The BEAUTY blog

[5.30.08]

CANNES-DO EYES! All eyes were on the Cannes Film Festival last week and Natalie Portman was a red carpet regular, serving as a judge this year. Natalie always has gorgeous skin, beautiful eyes and warm rosy cheeks. I love her pink cheeks paired with pink lips and a shimmery purple-gray eye. It looks soft, sexy and anyone can pull it off. To get her look, try using beautiful, feminine colours. Try Stila Convertible Colour in Lillium for lips and cheeks and Chanel Quadra Eyeshadow in Vanite.

Kayleen McAdams

[5.28.08]

DESIGNER FOR A DAY Diesel invites you to get creative and design your very own bottle of Diesel Fuel for Life fragrance. Visit Fuelforlifefactory.com and choose from a myriad of designs for both the bottle and the signature pouch that it comes in. They are then hand-crafted in a Parisian workshop and shipped to Canada. We can’t wait for our scent to arrive in its glitzy gold case with a hot pink leather zipper, but there are plenty of other options to choose from—even ones for macho (yet stylish) boyfriends.

Diesel special edition customized fragrance for men and women, 75 mL, $129.

[5.26.08]

GETTING TO KNOW BOO Noodle and Boo (we know, who?) have created Believe Honey Bar ($12), a scrumptiously scented soap that helps to rebalance your skin’s natural pH to ensure your skin is neither dry and tight nor oily. This nifty little bar is also packed full of shea butter, honey and oodles of vitamins to give you delectably soft skin. And don’t even get us started on the adorable, gift-giving packaging! But here’s the stroke of genius: profits from sales of the soap go to the Raise Your Hand Campaign, helping children across the world receive clean water. www.noodleandboo.com

[5.21.08]

OOH-LA-LA EYES! The hottest look in makeup last week? Colourful eyes. Kate Bosworth’s makeup at the New York MET’s Costume Institute Gala was a bold choice, featuring bright blue shadow all over the lid (and it just so happens that Lancôme’s gorgeous summer makeup collection landed on our desk today with that perfect blue eyeshadow in it). Sarah Jessica Parker also went for a bright spring look at the Sex and the City premiere in London with a soft green. The easiest way to do this look yourself is to pick a colourful eyeliner. Try blue, green or purple and use it along your bottom lash line then add lots of mascara.

Lancôme Divine Summer Make-Up Collection hits counters June 15.

Kayleen McAdams

[5.17.08]

FACE BASE Don’t ask how this one slipped by us. Every once in a blue moon the megatude of product pile-up on our desks gets so high that a little gem gets filed away in the dark recesses of our beauty closet until—eureka!—it’s later discovered. That’s what happened with Smashbox Photo Finish Light Foundation Primer ($44). First of all, did you know the original formula is the brand’s number one bestseller? That’s a testimony to how many people love the way it fills in pores and acne scars while reducing shine—giving you the smoothest base beneath your makeup. But…for those with oily skin, it could be just a tad thick. So that’s why, the new light version is practically heaven sent. Our Smashbox junkie friends have been swearing by it since last fall.

[5.15.08]

POPPY STARS In the last year, lipstick has made a huge comeback and no one knows lipstick better than Poppy King—creator of the line Lipstick Queen. This line is foolproof as every single colour is wearable. Each lipstick shade has an easy-to-understand name such as pink, red, wine or natural. Plus, every shade comes in two consistencies: saint (sheer) and sinner (opaque). Keep your eyes peeled in May for their new high shine glosses!

Poppy King is available at Holt Renfrew.

Kayleen McAdams

[5.14.08]

VANITY PROJECT Iconic fashion designer Thierry Mugler is back! Well, sort of. The man who put the power in shoulder pads in the 80s is now launching a collection of makeup called Metamorphosis. What’s most notable? Each shade has a blue—Mugler’s favourite colour—undertone. But the signature touch isn’t all in vain. Luminescent blue pigment cancels out redness and minimizes imperfections by reflecting light. There are a few sci-fi star products. Plexi-Gloss Blue Effect has a crazy purple-y luminescent lip effect while Vinyl Gloss for Eyes is like paint for your eyelashes. But any girl will be truly impressed with the suede-to-silk texture of the wearable eyeshadow palettes.

Available at the Bay.

[5.13.08]

WOW! WOW! MASCARA Jeepers Creepers—“Where d’ya get those peepers?”—was the question on everyone’s lips after we tried the new Caryl Baker Lash Extender, $37.50. Unsurprisingly, yet another mascara has hit our shelves claiming to lengthen eyelashes, but lets face it gals, they don’t all blow us away. This product (which you put on after your regular mascara) contains rayon fibers that stick to your lashes, giving you dramatically longer, thicker and more fluttery lashes right away. You may even find some tiny fibers on your cheeks after you apply it, which you can easily brush away. Who needs false eyelashes when you can get the effect with the sweep of a wand? But hurry girls, Lash Extender hit counters May 8th and our sources say they’re already selling out!

Get your magic wand at www.carylbakervisage.com

[5.12.08]

BEAUTY SCORE! This just landed in our inbox and we thought we’d share. If you forgot about mum on Mother’s Day, now is your chance to make it up. When you book a blowout for yourself, bring your mom (or that important woman in your life) and she’ll receive a complimentary blowout. It's that simple. Call (416) 789-1212 for an appointment and be sure to mention Promo Code MD-241.

to print this offer and remember to bring it on the day of your appointment. Offer valid until the end of May 2008. Cannot be combined with any other offers or promotions.

Don’t forget to tell your friends!

Marc Anthony Salon
38 Avenue Road
1 Block North of Bloor
Toronto, Ontario

Click here for map

[5.10.08]

HAPPY NOTTA MAMA DAY! Try as we might (and we’ve tried just about everything) our bodies aren’t getting any younger. We’re even willing to try a line of body care developed for yummy mummies (Rachel Weisz, Christy Turlington and Milla Jovovich are supposedly fans) even though we’ve never given birth to anything (except for oodles of stories). Mama Mio, developed by three London-based mums with experience in the beauty biz, is designed to answer the specific needs of moms. You know, stretch marks, sagging breasts and hip bulges. Their best seller, Boob Tube, is a moisturizer with CoQ10 (an antioxidant that helps to prevent collagen breakdown). It’s meant to give you a bust-lift sans surgery. Well, it doesn’t take a mama to have those issues.

Mama Mio Boob Tube, 100ml, $40. Available just in time for Mother’s Day, exclusively at The Bay.

[5.9.08]

JACOBS-IN-A-BOX Fragrance accessories aren’t always all that. But we found a collection to love. Daisy Marc Jacobs for Sephora offers six products, from a soap set to a beauty case that are super cute. Our favourite is the Luxe Vanity Case, $102, with a white exterior decorated in perforated daisies and muted gold accents. Perfect for décor-conscious beauty junkies with a whole lot of product to hide and very little cupboard space.

Marc Jacobs collectors on a budget, go for the Pretty Pouch Trio Set, $45. You get three daisy gilded gold pouches in various sizes.

Available exclusively at Sephora stores across Canada.

[5.8.08]

SCENTED DELIVERY The Kennedy estate in Cape Cod recently received a special delivery—ten Creed fragrances in all. Jackie O. started the love affair, of course, with Fleurissimo, which boasts Bergamot, Tuberose and Bulgarian Rose. To receive your own parcel of first-class joy, Bergdorfgoodman.com and Neimanmarcus.com now ship to Canada (yay!), bringing that many more hard-to-find fragrances closer to home. We’re still huge fans of theperfumeshoppe.com, based in Vancouver.

[5.6.08]

THE PEOPLE’S COUTURE Sleeping beauty design house Nina Ricci burst back onto the scene last year when hot up-and-coming designer Olivier Theyskens took over the reins (of course, it helped that Oscar nom Reese Witherspoon got divorce revenge in several jaw dropping Nina Ricci numbers on the red carpet.) Good news fellow regular folk! You, too, can wear the best of the best with Nina Ricci L’Air du Temps 60th anniversary limited edition eau de toilette, 50 ml, $69. The iconic scent remains, but the bottle has been made over in some serious haute attire. Inspired by an airy yellow and green couture dress designed by Theyskens, the bottle is adorned with feathers and intertwining doves. It’s the perfect diva gift-to-self for any jilted young miss.

[5.5.08]

FRAGRANCE WEEK KICK OFF Guess what flare.com readers? It’s Fragrance Week in Canada! Granted, you may not have heard of it, because it’s the first one. Starting on May 5th until Mother’s Day on May 11th, The Bay, Sears, Shoppers Drug Mart and Sephora will be doing exciting promos in store (look out for winning scents from the recent Canadian Fragrance Awards.) In honour of Fragrance Week, we’ll be posting one fragrance story every day this week!

Fragrance Trivia: Which fragrance is still the #1 selling in Canada after 87 years? Answer: Chanel No. 5.

[5.4.08]

FLOWER POWER Ever heard of a silent rave? Hundreds—sometimes thousands—gather to groove to their favourite tunes from their headphones (thereby avoiding getting shut down by police). New York just had one in Union Square, organized by 18-year old British exchange student Jonnie Wasson. As former ravers in FLARE’s beauty dept. (yes, there’s more than one) we had to give it a moment’s thought. What would we wear to a silent rave today?

Glow sticks, mesh pants and furry vests come to mind (and quickly get tossed out again). Now that we’ve matured, we’re thinking a white tank top and a cool new scent that screams (quietly) peace, love, happiness! Voilà, Vintage Edition by Kenzo. Mandarin, tonka bean and cedar wood blend with heliotrope flower—an ode to 70s hippie days when the house of Kenzo started. It’s meant to be unisex, but with predominant floral notes he’s better off sticking to patchouli.

Vintage Edition by Kenzo eau de toilette, $85, goes on sale this month at The Bay.

[5.2.08]

NEW BLOGGER ALERT! The beauty dept. is thrilled to introduce Hollywood makeup artist Kayleen McAdams! Kayleen is a former FLARE intern who now spends her days working on movie sets like Married Life, currently in theatres. Stay tuned for her weekly blog on the products she’s loving now, expert makeup tips and random celebrity scoop. And now, over to Kayleen...(Cue enthusiastic claps and whistles)...

It’s the time of year we all look forward to—spring! And that means… new makeup! As I’m preparing to join the Flare.com beauty team I’m doing a major spring cleaning in my kit. I promise over the next few months I’ll suggest products, tips and tricks to revitalize your makeup routine. So let’s get started with shelf-life basics:

Mascara: 3 to 4 months (make sure not to pump the wand or it will dry out faster)
Foundation: 2 years
Lip gloss and lipstick: 2 to 3 years
Eye and lip pencils: 3 to 4 years
Eye shadow and blush: 1 to 2 years

Now that you have room for new goodies, check back next week to find out the latest hot lipstick developing a cult following in Los Angeles!

—Kayleen McAdams

[5.1.08]

MAY DAY May 1st may be no biggie here in Canada, but in France it’s a national holiday. Formally, it’s their labour day, but it’s also the introduction of spring, symbolized by a most charming tradition. Street vendors sell fragrant Lily of the Valley (called muguet de bois) for people to give to friends, family and lovers (or for their own enjoyment at home). Imagine a subway ride that day, with such a sweet smell all around you! French perfume house Annick Goutal’s Le Muguet Eau de Toilette captures the essence of this custom perfectly. One spritz in the beauty dept. had fellow staffers smiling and recounting stories of bell-shaped Lily of the Valley from childhood gardens. In honour of our soeurs across the pond, this May 1st we can be found watching Amelie, drinking Bordeaux and wearing Le Muguet.

[5.1.08]

FACT: 91% of women aged 50-64 think it’s time to change the way society looks at aging. Dove’s first-ever stage production, Body & Soul, aims to do just that—with 12 real Canadian women between the ages of 45 and 78 taking the stage at the Yonge Centre for the performing arts. For tickets, visit www.youngcentre.ca or call (416) 866-8666.

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April 2008
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