cleansing oil

The shu uemura 2010 Christmas Collection is a collaboration with Japanese artist Aya Takano and she has done a great job of giving the collection the funky, urban feel that I love about shu!  Luckily she picked cute animals for the girls to kiss in the artwork, otherwise I might find it all a bit disturbing...
Reindeer Kiss xxxx Eye and Cheek Palette - $85 - inspired by the colours of a frosty winter land covered in crystalline snow that sparkles in the light.
Bowwow! Magic Queen Eye and Cheek Palette - $85 - a warm-toned palette for a peaceful holiday season.
Blush Tint - Miracle Cherry - $30 - a lightweight gel blush to instantly add a natural glow to your cheeks.
Lip Duo Tint & Gloss - Love Apricot - coral beige tint and apricot gloss with gold and silver glitter or Harmony Pink - girly pink tint and vibrant fuchsia gloss - $45 - enjoy the matte finish of the tint alone, or add gloss to amp up a shine!

Paint Crayon - Sparkly Purple  - dark purple with sparkly gold glitters - $30 - waterproof, long-lasting and creamy mechanical pencil allows you to draw a defined line that can be blended easily right after application.

High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil Advanced Formula - $37 - shu uemura's signature cleansing oil.  A gentle formula for moisturized, balanced, petal-soft skin.  Cleanses gently and maintains the skin's moisture balance with Advanced HPO system, Asian botanical oils such as Camellia Oil and Ginger Root Oil.  Leaves skin feeling comfortably balanced and petal soft with a fresh and sensuous aroma.

Peace & Harmony Mini Brush Set - $85 - they're cute and pink, what more can I say?!
Magical Windfalls - $36 - easy-to-wear partial lashes in black with some pieces pre-decorated with glittery and shiny magical hear and star symbols for cute accent.
Premium False Eyelashes - $75 - a dreamy pair of cutomizable eyelashes!  With a variety of abracadabra symbol stickers enclosed, create your very own pair of lases for the festive season.

Nip + Fab is the new skincare line created by Maria Hatzistefanis - the founder of Rodial, and I'm pleased to tell you, Nib + Fab is a lot more affordable then Rodial is!

It's a clinically tested range for the face and body that delivers 11 targeted treatments and are crammed with breakthrough natural and technologically advanced skin smoothing, boosting and firming ingredients.  Here's what's in the lineup:


Clean Fix Facial Cleansing Oil - 120ml - $11.95 - a multi-purpose 2-in-1 cleanser and make-up remover that gently removes daily dirt, grime and all traces of make-up, even stubborn mascara.  Enriched with skin caring essential oils including neroli oil to soften and rejuvenate the skin and calming mandarin for it's purifying, decongesting properties - it cleanses without disrupting the skin's natural balance.
Scrub Fix Facial Polish - 50ml - $13.95 - a triple action facial micro-exfoliant that exfoliates, stimulates and gives your skin a natural glow.  Contains bamboo micro-particles to refine, polish and maintain moisture levels, salicylic acid to resurface and brighten the complexion and plant-based polysaccharides to renew and decongest.
Moisture Fix Facial Daily Moisturiser - 50ml - $19.95 - specially formulated with hyaluronic acid filling spheres which bind up to 1000 times their weight in water to visibly fill and plump the skin, noticeably smoothing fine lines and wrinkles.  Contains grape seed oil for its mild astringent qualities to help tighten, tone and improve the sin's elasticity, meadowfoam seed oil to help fight the signs of aging and protect against everyday environmental stresses as well as jojoba seed oil, evening primrose oil, rose hip oil, glycerin, lanolin and mica.
Lip + Nip Fix Healing Multi-Purpose Balm - 15ml - $9.95 - a rich, soothing, healing balm that is perfect for use on the lips, nipples and any other dry damaged area of your skin.  Contains pure lanolin, renowned for its ability to prevent moisture loss, repair the skin's natural barrier, protect against environmental aggressors, soothe irritation and it has hypoallergenic/bacteriostatic properties.
Eye Fix Brightening Concealer - 2ml - $11.95 - 2-in-1 eye cream and concealer in a twist pen form that is enriched with hydrating, plumping hyaluronic acid, softening glycerin and cucumber extract to reduce the appearance of puffiness.  Also contains light reflecting particles to hide imperfections and dark circles.
Shower Fix Cleansing Shower Oil - 200ml - $15.95 - enriched with gentle oils which cleanse, nourish and protect the skin's natural moisture balance and toning as well as mandarin renowned for its ability to activate circulation and refine fine lines.
Multi-Fix Oil Skin Healing Oil - 100ml - $14.95 - contains bio lipids to target scars and stretch marks, borage oil to nourish and moisturise, safflower oil to replenish and soften and blackcurrant seed oil renowned for its brightening and lightening properties.
Cellulite Fix Body Sculpting Gel - 150ml - $19.95 - contains CellActive - SHAPE - a complex enriched with a powerful combination of Indian forskolin, natural caffeine and the Essential Cell Boost-Factor to activate fat breakdown, promote the removal of waste substances and improve tissue firmness.
Bust Fix Plumping Treatment - 100ml - $17.95 - a high performance bust serum to visibly plump, smooth and firm the skin around the bust and decollete - perfect for skin which has lost its elasticity.  Contains CellActive - FORM - a plant-based complex of active ingredients which support the natural process of lipid deposition, lending fullness to the bust, it will reshape the contours of the cleavage area to optimally accentuate.
Dry Leg Fix Instant Leg Smoother - 100ml - $12.95 - an intensive balm to immediately smooth dry, flaky skin and nourish with a moisturising and restructuring hydra concept called Aquaxyl - which boasts scientifically substantiated benefits to improve the water reserves in the skin, limit water loss and visually improve the surface of the skin.
Tummy Fix Daily Ab Toner - 100ml - $19.95 - to help tone, smooth, tighten and slim the tummy area. Created with a revolutionary formula AmaraShape - a highly effective combination of fat burning actives to refine body contours such as waist, thighs, buttocks and hips.  With active substances of caffeine and synephrine - which both activate the breakdown of lipids in fat cells of the body fat tissue.

Check out your local Shoppers Drug Mart to get your Nip + Fab fix!

shu uemura pure:nu 2-in-1 gentle cleansing oil-in-gel - 100ml - $28 - a revolutionary eco-inspired facial cleanser designed to purify skin without stripping valuable moisture.  Incorporating breakthrough 2-in-1 oil cleansing technology with 50% moisturizing agents in a gentle get rich 97% biodegradable oil-in-gel, pure:nu gently removes made-up and impurities for skin that is clarified, soft and supple.  Newly blended phyto-ingredients, including Bamboo Leaf Extract, combine with new wet-hand technology that allows usage with dry and wet hands for visibly renewed and refreshed skin that is smooth and radiant.

The first cleansing oil that I ever tried was a shu one, and I have been in love with their cleansers ever since!  I really appreciate the wet or dry face option with this one, being able to put it on a dry face makes it a super convenient cleanser to use with my Clarisonic - it eliminates the "water dripping into your eyes so you can't see what you're doing" problem!  And just like their original cleansing oil, this oil-in-gel cleanser does an excellent job of removing makeup and cleansing all in one step and despite some gels I have used, I don't have the "too clean" tight feeling after using that I get when a gel has stripped away every bit of moisture that was in my skin, including the natural oils I wanted to keep! This is good stuff, I'm a fan!

Available at Holt Renfrew and www.shuuemura.com



Thann Facial Cleansing Milk - 150ml - $47 - soothes and softens skin while removing makeup and impurities without casing irritation. Contains: Nano Shiso extract which soothes and softens sensitive skin; rice bran oil and organic jojoba seed oil which are rich in Vitamin E and fatty acid, protecting the skin from free radical damage, and slowing down the aging process; and Moringa seed extract which is highly efficient in maintaining moisture, as well as minimizing roughness and wrinkles.

I am more accustomed to using a cleansing milk but I do find that they often don't do a great job of removing all of the makeup.  With the addition of oils though it is so much more effective! The texture of this milk is super light, smells fresh, rinses away cleanly without striping my skin and I really love that it comes in a pump!

Available online at www.thann.ca in select stores and spas across Canada and at Thann concept stores in Ottawa.

How do you feel about cleansers with oil in them - love them, hate them or haven't tried them?

Oil seems to be a dirty word in some beauty circles but when the right type is used in the right place and at the right time, it can be the most wonderful thing ever!

Moroccanoil Light Oil Treatment for fine and light-colored hair - 100ml - $37.50  - It's alcohol free and absorbs very quickly while it adds shine and long term conditioning benefits without a sticky residue.  Apply a small amount through damp hair and style as usual.  I have been wanting to try Moroccanoil for ages but knew that the original formula would be too heavy for my fine hair - was I ever happy to hear that they had been listening and created a light version to combat this very issue!

It's sold in salons and you can check out the website to find the location closest to you - www.moroccanoil.com


shu uemura cleansing beauty oil premium A/O advanced formula - 150ml - $40 - suitable for all skin types including sensitive skin - if you have ever had trouble with your usual cleanser at getting all of your foundation, lipstick or eye makeup off, you will want to try this! The natural oils contained were specially selected to solubilize stubborn waxes and oils in waterproof mascara, foundation and lip colour as well as oxidized sebum, which accelerated the aging process.  As well, it contains green tea - an anti-oxidant and ginko leaf - to stimulate micro-circulation - extracts.  The only tricky part for me was learning how to use it correctly.  I am used to wetting my face and then rubbing in a cleanser but with this you smooth over a dry face and then wet your face to emulsify the oil.  Available at select Holt Renfrew stores.
Body Blitz Argan Oil Face Serum - 30ml - $65 - From Canada's first authentic water spa for women comes a line of products to give you the Blitz experience at home. All of the Body Blitz products are made with 100% essential oils and are free of parabens, artificial colours and detergents to reflect the company's on-going commitment to a healthy body and a healthy environment you would expect the product to feel less luxe and more granola - not so!  The serum is my favourite of the line and is made from 75% organic argan oil, organic olive oil, organic aloe vera, rose damask and organic lavender, not only does it feel good, it smells good too!

Not to worry if you aren't in Toronto and can't go to the spa to buy your products - Canada and US spa-ers can now buy the Body Blitz products online! Check it out at www.bodyblitzspa.com - if you are in the area and want to swing by you can find them at 471 Adelaide Street West - 416-364-0400 - and while you are at it, book yourself a treatment!

Argan Magic Nourishing Bath Oil - 236ml - $25 - naturally fragranced with orange blossoms and white rose petals which would make you think it would smell floral but there is also pomegranate, which gives it a wonderful fruity smell.  If you love to soak in a tub as much as I do you will love the way it soaks into every little bit of dry skin and makes it silky smooth!  If you want bubbles you can add a bit of bubble bath with it, I didn't find it changed how well it worked at all!  Available from The Shopping Channel - www.theshoppingchannel.com
Neutrogena Body Oil - 250ml - $12.99 - if you're more of a shower girl, your thirsty skin will appreciate this light sesame seed oil.  I find it works best if I apply it while my skin is still a little wet and I also love applying it before I go to bed to wake up to super soft skin!

What about you guys - are there any oils that you use that you can't live without?!