Spring 2011

Gucci takes you on a new journey for Spring 2011 with this ad campaign - along with models Raquel Zimmermann and Nikola Jovanovic - and it's still by the pool! As designer Alex Perry would say: it looks retouched expensive and impossibly glamorous.

As promised yesterday, here is more runway footage from Paris Fashion Week: this time it's 24 minutes of Chanel! This show was huge: a live orchestra with 80 musicians (seriously!), a garden with fountains, hundreds of people in the audience including Rachel Bilson, Keira Knightley, Vanessa Paradis (Johnny Depp's lady love and one of Lagerfeld's muses). We even got the youngest runway model ever: a cute 2 year-old all dressed in Chanel!

I'm not sure who Leigh Lezark is but this outfit reaches new levels of awesome...when Japanese tourists look at you as if you were from planet Romulus and when even Parisian pigeons snob you, you should know your outfit is truly scary. In all fairness, Leigh was on her way to Viktor & Rolf's spring runway, and a collection fit for Pierrot the clown, was awaiting her:


You see, Lisamarie has been bugging me for a while: she does not approve of my free love lifestyle and would like to see me getting married - any guy would do, really - as long as she can wear a bridesmaid dress... and I believe I've just found the perfect bridal gown and the perfect bridesmaid outfit for her. So perfect, in fact, I'm already crying - yes, laughing hysterically will do that to you! -

This is possibly the most ridiculous bridal dress ever made.

How many collars do you need? As many as your sleeves!

I'd buy anything that doesn't need to be ironed or unfold - or so I thought - until I reviewed Martin Margiela's spring runway. I know it's supposed to be avant-garde and stuff... but seriously, who would want to wear this? Apart from Lady Gaga? Yeah... exactly my thoughts: no-one!

Why would you want to unfold this, anyway? Leave this at the store!

pictures: imaxtree

Winter is upon us...but I've decided to pretend it doesn't exist. I'm only looking at summer clothes and accessories. Because I can! Rebecca Minkoff released this spring 2011 look book and her handbags look pretty fabulous. From Blake Lively, to Halle Berry or Reese Witherspoon, Hollywood seem to have embraced Rebecca Minkoff's casual luxury approach to accessories.
Find out where you can buy these leather bags here.



Spring Presentation at NYFW

I'm a fan of all things cute so I could like this collection a lot!  Not quite sure how wearable it will be, I'll have to see it in person to determine that!
Mineralize Blush - $27.50
Miss Behave - light beige with pearly mint green heart
Giggly - light pink with pearly plum heart
Sakura - lavender with pearly magenta heart


Nail Lacquer - $17
Little Girl Ty;e - creamy pale lavender
Ice Cream Cake - creamy blue pink
Mischievous Mint - creamy pale blue mint

Lash  - #7 Lash - $17

Lipstick - $17.50
Playing Koi - creamy white peach pink (satin)
Quite Cute - creamy bright whitened lavender (cremesheen)
Saint Germain - clean pastel pink (amplified)
Candy Yum-yum - matte neon ink (matte)
Play Time - creamy intense violet (cremesheen)

Plushglass - $22
Bubble Tea - creamy pink nude
Fashion Fanatic - creamy pale pink
Girl <3 Boy - bright light blue pink
I <3 U - creamy mid-tone purple

Lip Pencil - $15.50
Naked Liner - light neutral
In Synch - bright yellow pink
Boldly Bare - dirty red brown

Penultimate Eye Liner - $21
Rapidblack - true black

Loud Lash Mascara - $17
Noisy Black - black

Zoom Lash Mascara - $17
Zoom Black - rich black

Cutie Eye Shadow X4 - $43
Goody Goody Gum Drop - light white pink (satin)
Boycrazy - pale lavender with silver pearl (lustre)
Moshi Moshi! - pale white green gold (frost)
Azuki Bean - mid-tone dirty violet (frost)

Available at your MAC counter today - Do your lunchtime plans involve checking this out? I'm thinking the polishes and the eyeshadow quad could be calling my name...I also like the look of the blushes, just not sure about the colour combos!

I have been waiting for this collection to show up and it finally appeared at my Shoppers this past weekend!  So pretty and colourful, it was worth the wait!
Face Powder - $12.49 - love this!  Especially love that there are plastic dividers between the colour so that they won't all crumble together as you use it up.  The pink is pretty bright though, I don't think I would use this all over my face being fair, but I did try it on my cheeks and it gave me a subtle rosy glow that was very flattering!
Custom Quad Compact - $6.99 - to fill up with your - Mono Eyeshadow - $5.49 - Dollywood - pink, Airhead - violet, Reverie - bright blue, Dayglow - yellow/lime
Smudge Liner - $10.49 - Chichi Girl - pink - I don't think pink eyeliner is the colour for me - I have visions of looking like an albino bunny, but ladies with more colour in their skin will be able to get away with this!
Glitterama - $9.99 - Pom Pom - purple, Majorette - turquoise
Le Gloss - $9.49 - Babydoll - pink, Missy Miss - peach - I am a fan of this gloss, shiny without being sticky -I especially love the peach colour!

What products have you already scored or are planning on getting from the line?

Introducing a limited edition collection of Dior Vernis shades not to be missed!
704 Nirvana - deep turquoise
887 Purple Mix - sultry purple
804 Perfecto - cool slate grey
997 Blue Label - edgy navy
824 Underground - rich brown-taupe

wear alone or mix and match shades with:

Rock Coat - provides a smoky finishing top coat.

Available this month for a limited time at The Bay for $24 each for the polishes and $22 for the Rock Top Coat.

Look for my Nirvana and Rock Coat swatch next week!

The new Dior Addict Lipsticks are here and I was excited to try them and compare them to the ones I already have! I have to say that I find them moister feeling and they have a lot of shine for regular lipsticks.  I wouldn't say they were highly pigmented though, even seemingly bright colours like the ones above did not show up as strongly on my lips as I would have expected but since I like a sheer lipstick anyhow (less work to put on)  I'm very happy with them!

864 Couture looks bright in the tube and is a beautiful berry pink on me
652 Tango looks pinky coral in the tube but more pink on me - this has quickly become a favourite everyday colour for me!

Have you checked out the line yet?  What other colours do you think I need?

I was haunting Sephora as I am wont to do and realized that the NARS spring collection was out already, and judging from stock levels, out for awhile and that I had somehow totally zoned out while this happened!  I'm still posting, even though you have likely already seen and bought  ages ago because I like to have a record for myself and maybe there are others out there living in la-la land too who will be discovering it for the first time too! 

This collection is all about modern minimalism with pops of colour - stay tuned for swatches next week!
Calanque Trio Eyeshadow - Limited Edition - $55 - gold-infused platinum with silver flecks, light matte caramel and rich antique bronze steeped with gold.
Bateau Ivre Duo Eyeshadow - Limited Edition - $38 - rich sky blue and deep denim blue
Nouveau Monde Duo Eyeshadow - $38 - metallic silver lilac and rich olive gold
Celebrate - parrot green and Hollywoodland Soft Touch Shadow Pencil - $28 - pale gold
Nana Lip Gloss - Limited Edition - $28 - deep black grape 
Super Orgasm - peachy-pink laced with gold glitter and Angelika Lip Gloss - $28 - bright cotton candy pink infused with gold and silver sparkle
Tzigane Lipstick - Limited Edition - $30 - sheer pink brandy  
Madere Pure Matte Lipstick - $30 - nude-pink
Desperado Nail Polish - Limited Edition - $21 - antique brass-hue

So what does everyone already have from this line and what do I need?!

The new Dior Addict Lipstick collection is made up of 56 mouth-watering shades that have an ultra-hydrating formula not to mention amazing colour and shine!

The key ingredient, Mirror Jelly brings shine, volume and hydration to the lips and is made up of two components: polymers that provide a long-lasting, second-skin effect with exceptional hydrating and softening properties and silicone oil, which creates a light, smooth texture. In addition, a significantly lower level of wax (25% less than a standard lipstick) creates a light-reflecting, voluminous effect. 

Collection Shades: Tulle #214, Beige Casual #222, Basic #253, Rose Déshabillé #260, *Lingerie #322, Nude #333, Miss Dior #343, Blush #353, Créateur #445, Parisian Chic #454, Singulière #465, Vintage #525, Bobo #530, Tailleur Bar #535, Baby Rose #561, Diorkiss #578, *Must-Have #579, L.A. #586, Spotlight #612, Granville #621, *Androgyne #626, Miami #635, Millie #680, *Icône #681, Gibraltar #682, *Beige Dandy #712, New York #714, New Look #745, Rock’n Roll #750, *Fashion #753, Paris #762, Reflet #763, *Rouge Podium #773, *Londres #783, Stiletto #797, Smoky #811, Couture #864, Collection #865, *Arty #872, Fashion Week #881, Red Carpet #963, Fourreau #971, Rose Shocking #972, Perfecto #991
*not at Sephora
Sephora Exclusives: Urban #178, Diorissime #249, Garçonne #330, Pink Chérie #368, Tokyo #422, It Pink #554, Model #564, Taffetas #566, Backstage #583, Show #778

Holt Renfrew Exclusive: Insoumise #983

All I know is that I spent a lot of time, money and energy building up my Dior Addict collection and it looks like I have a lot more work to do!  It's tough to be a beauty hoarder!

You can snag one of these babies for $31 at Dior counters everywhere. Stay tuned for swatches!

Stila Lip & Cheek Stain in Coconut Crush is from the Light Up The World 2011 Spring collection and The Body Shop Tailored Cheek Tint in 01 Hot Pink is from their Brush With Fashion 2011 Spring collection both are stains in a brush applicator format but that's pretty much were the similarity ends.
Please keep in mind that with all blush swatches - they don't photograph well unless you really pile the product on so this is not a normal representation of how I walk around everyday!  Stila is on the left, TBS on the right.
The Stila stain gives me a really natural looking pinky-bronze flush (especially when blended properly) - the only issue with it, as with all cheek stains, you have to blend it quickly before it sets or you end up with a telltale line! This is also what I am wearing on my lips and it looks a lot pinker there!
The Body Shop tint is very cool, it comes out clear and then adjusts itself according to your skin tone or body heat or whatever fancy way it decides to change colour.  It's also buildable, this is two coats here but normally I would just wear one, it gave me a healthy looking flush - this is a little too Tammy Faye Baker for my usual repertoire!

What I really like about a liquid blush is how light it feels on the skin and how transparent they are which is really nice for the natural look that is trending this spring.  I'm not sure how much I like built in brushes as they do tend to get a little gunky as the leftover product dries on them - best way to avoid this is to wipe the brush off as much as possible after each use.

More to come next week!  Fill us in on any great ones that you have tried lately!

A million apologizes for getting this posted so late - for some reason I thought I had already posted it and then when I was looking back for a pic of the eyeshadow, I realized it was still in the draft box - Bad Me!  It would be a shame to miss out on it too - this is a super cute collection that Elizabeth Arden has put out for spring - sit back and enjoy - unless you've bought everything already in which case, tell me all about it!
Color Intrigue Eyeshadow Quad - $30 - Limited Edition - Blue Breeze - coordinated hues of blue.
Color Intrigue Eyeshadow Quad - $30 - Limited Edition - Golden Lilac - with shades ranging from the softest lavender to midnight grey.
Smoky Eyes Powder Pencil - $16 - in Black Violet or Blue Sky - long wearing cream pencil with a soft, powder finish

Pure Finish Mineral Cheekcolor - $28 - in Sun-kissed Rose or Sun-kissed Coral - a microlight mineral cheek colour to give your cheeks a healthy, natural looking glow.  Comes with its own mini angles kabuki brush for perfect application.  Better yet, it's oil, talc and fragrance free!
High Shine Lip Gloss  - $15 - Tropicoral - for a brilliant shine!

Also available is:
Pure Finish Mineral Bronzing Powder - $38 - in Medium - includes a mini folding kabuki brush that fits into compact.
Ceramide Lash Extending Tretment Mascara - $20 - in black or brown
Face Powder Brush with Folding Mini Face Brush - $28

Available at The Bay, Sears, Shoppers Drug Mart, Pharma Plus, London Drugs and Jean Coutu

Have you checked out the collection and what do you think?

Here are three of the polishes from the OPI Femme De Cirque collection - it's a very demure batch of colours which almost remind me of wedding type shades!

In The Spot-Light Pink

Step Right Up!

I Juggle...Men over In The Spot-Light Pink - the glitter is super subtle and barely shows in these pictures, so if you like very discrete glitter, you will like this one - I didn't bother swatching it by itself as it really didn't show up on its own in the picture -  I rather like how it gave just a tiny bit of sparkle and a lot of shine!

I Juggle...Men over Step Right Up!