mark.

La Senza - Hello Sugar! - 50ml EDP - $18.50 - I loves me a sweet fragrance and this one is yummy!  Top notes of sugary berries and vanilla, mid notes of bergamot, raspberry, strawberry, cotton candy, black licorice and liquid caramel and base notes of vanilla, sandalwood and musk.  Available in store or online at www.lasenza.com.
LUSH Tuca Tuca Solid Perfume - $8.95 - if you're feeling a little girlier, how about some violet with spicy sandalwood, smoky vetivert and vanilla.  Tuca Tuca is the pre-release from a new compilation of eight different scents set to launch this month.  It is also available as a 30ml spray for $29.95 and a 9ml pen spray for $10.95.
mark. Celebrate - 20ml EDT - $25 - or you can celebrate with notes of citrus petals, mirabelle plum, star jasmine and spring muguet.  Or if you prefer it comes in shimmer powder form in a brush to add a golden glow to anywhere you please! 2.5g - $15.
Hervé Léger Femme - 50ml EDP - $34 - or be elegant with a woody floral with Chinese magnolia flower, Sicilian pink grapefruit, Moroccan orange flower, honeywood, benzoin tears, cypress wood and vanilla.  While you're at it, make the boy smell good with Hervé Léger Homme - 75ml EDT - $30 - a spicy woody fragrance with Indian ginger, Japanese yuzu, woody and ambery notes.  These and the one above available from your Avon rep - 1-800-265-AVON or online at www.avon.ca.

By now you know how much I love a palette - there is something about having a whole bunch of colours together that just makes me happy!  mark. likes to see me happy so they have introduced 3 new palettes for my (and your) pleasure!  And the best part, they are so reasonably priced their is no reason we can't have them all (and they would make great Christmas gifts)!  Check them out:

mark. touch & glow shimmer cream cubes all-over face palette - 13.68g - $18 - a cream to powder formula that you can use all together to add instant radiance to the skin or individually to shimmer and shine.  Includes shimmery shades of pink, gold and bronze.  You can use with a brush or your fingers but if you're going to use a brush, I found that a synthetic one worked better over a natural hair bristled brush because of the texture.
mark. on the dot eye color compact - 6.75g - $18 - 9 high impact colours with a metallic finish - from neutral to electric! The two palettes above are available September - December.

mark. seeing stripes eye color trio - 2.26g - $7 - available in four limited edition shade trios: cocoa puff, baby blues, so jaded and violet riot - each shadow square includes three complementary shades and all four trios fit in a mezzo size snap to it custom color palette.  Available November - December.

You can get them online at www.avon.ca or through your Avon rep - call 1-800-265-AVON to find one.

I have been noticing a lot of cat eye liners with a bright lip lately which is a look that I think is so pretty!  Only problem, I am terrible with liquid liner!  I was told that I might find it easier with a felt type liner rather then a brush so I've been testing them like crazy and here are a few that are working well for me:

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner - $26 - available in Carbon Black, Brown and Indigo - waterproof, fade-proof felt tip marker that won't smudge, run, move or crease once it's on there!

I didn't actually realize it was waterproof the first time I tried it and couldn't understand why I couldn't get it off with regular remover!  I can see this being a staple in my summer makeup bag - once the weather gets warm I normally have a terrible time keeping my liner on so it will be nice to have something that's not going anywhere!

Available at selected Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Boutiques and Sephora.





mark. what a line felt tip eye liner - $10 - in four colours: brownie points, denim, twilight and wee hours - all day lasting colour with a felt tip that can be used to create a thick or fine line.

The felt tip on this one is a little bit shorter than the others that I tried so I found it the easiest to control - it's going to take more practice before I am going to be able to do thick lines that don't look all choppy but I'm working on it!

Available from your Avon rep 1-800-265-AVON or online at www.avon.ca
Lise Watier Feline HD Eyeliner - $17 - this one only comes in black but I am hopeful they will come out with more colours because this baby is fool-proof - meaning even an idiot like me can achieve a perfect line with it with very little effort - LOVE!  If you share my lack of liquid liner skills, this is the one I recommend you try first!

And as always, I am open to product and application suggestions!

I love a challenge so when a friend of mine was lamenting the fact that she had been invited to a Fragrance Shower (what a great idea!) and had to bring a fragrance gift that was $20 minimum not to exceed $25 - I was sure that I would be able to knock this one out easy!  It wasn't as easy as I would have thought as I gave myself some strict rules - keeping in the spirit of the guidelines it couldn't be from the $19.99 fragrance shelf at Shoppers, the regular price had to be under $25 and it couldn't be bath products, it had to be a fragrance!  What did I learn? Well, that there are a LOT of cheap, stinky fragrances out there but also that there are some real winners at very affordable prices!  Here are my favourites:

mark. White Vetiver Fragrance Mist - 50ml - $25 - with top notes of black plum and sparkling mandarin; heart notes of tuberose noir and white jasmine; and base notes of Haitian vetiver and patchouli - for the girl who loves to embrace what's different and daring.
 Available from your Avon rep 1-800-265-AVON or online at www.avon.ca

Playboy Fragrances - 30ml - $25 - for the girl who is a little saucy, adventurous and naughty...

Play It Lovely is a fresh, fruity floral with top notes of zesty citrus, ripe blackberry and juicy pear; a heart of cherry baby orchid, belle de nuit and tuberose; and a warm, sensual base of amber, patchouli and tonka bean.

Play It Sexy is a sexy oriental with top notes pink grapefruit, mandarin and a spicy hint of pink pepper; a heart of jasmine teas, osmanthus and liquorish; and a rich seductive base of vanilla, patchouli, sandalwood and tonka bean.

Play It Spicy is a sparkling floriental with top notes of pomegranate, bellini cocktail and pink berries; a heart of elegant tiger lily, passionflower and heliotrope; and a rich mellow base of amber, sandalwood and vanilla essence.

The Body Shop Midnight Bakula - 50ml - $25 - a white floral with notes of juicy nectarine, delicate rose and patchouli and contains Community Trade alcohol made from organically-grown sugarcane from Ecuador.
For the girl who is a little mysterious, exotic and loves adventure.
Adidas Free Emotion - 50ml - $21.99 - a floral oriental with top notes of lemon, Canadian apples (what makes a Canadian apple different from other apples? just wondering...), black currant and raspberry;  heart notes of freesia, delicate rose petals and subtle aromas of fresh lily, hibiscus, banana and African green melon; and base notes of cedar, cotton and musk. For the girl who is sporty, fun and energetic.

Who am I missing - can anyone suggest any other great fragrances for under $25?

We all know that you can spend a mint on eyeshadow should you have the mind (and the bank account) to - but it's not absolutely necessary to spend a lot to get something good!  It's just hard to know what will work for you without trying them and a lot of the time, drugstores just don't offer testers so you can end up wasting your money on shadows that suck! 

We can't give you every eyeshadow out there but we  would like to give you a great big bunch for your testing pleasure!  And keep in mind, even if you don't win, every single one of these shadows on their own are under (mostly way under) $20 - which makes them incredibly affordable for everyone!  Combined you are looking at over $150 worth of shadowy goodness - so what do you say?  Ready to start swatching these babies?!  Here's what you could win:

L'Oréal Studio Secrets Color Smokes Eye Shadow in Forest Smokes for green eyes, Cobalt Smokes for blue eyes, Lavender Smokes for brown eyes and Blackened Smokes for all eyes.
Maybelline EyeStudio Quad in Pink Persuasion and Duo in Khaki Craze
Marcelle Graphic Eyeshadow Quad in Dimensional Blues
Annabelle Eyeshadow Trio in Grafix
mark. Celestial Eyes Shimmery Cream Shadow in Grey Storm
Avon 12-in-1 Eye Palette
Barry M Trio Eyeshadow 040 Greys
Sephora  Eyeshadow Single in Preppy Look No 41
Hard Candy Duo in Blind Date
Rimmel Glam'Eyes Mono Eye Shadow in 120 Urban Green

Sound good? Like something you might want? Read on then...This contest is open to everyone everywhere and it's very easy to enter, just leave a comment letting us know that you follow (if you aren't a follower you can sign up through Google or Facebook - signups are in the right sidebar)

1 entry for following and leaving a comment answering the question - what is your favourite inexpensive eyeshadow?

And for extra entries you can do one or both of the following:
1 entry for tweeting the contest
3 entries if you post this contest as a post or on the sidebar of your blog

If you prefer not to leave your info on a public post, please leave a post saying you want to enter and then e-mail your info to info@beautycrazed.ca, please put "Eyeshadow Contest" in the subject line.  Winner to be decided by random drawing and you have until April 8th to enter.   

This is the week I dread - work gift exchanges, secret santas and last minute gifts for people that I wasn't expecting to get a gift from - you know what I mean - buying last minute gifts for people I just don't know that well!  Of course that makes it hard to get them something thoughtful and while I am tempted to just hand out boxes of chocolates and call it a day, I have come up with a few ideas that anyone on your list should be happy to get!


mark. comfy cozy home fragrance diffuser oil - 15ml x 2 - $16 - help them sweeten up their cubicle with the warm scent of vanilla.  Available from your Avon rep 1-800-265-AVON or online at www.avon.ca

Olay Gift Set - $12.99 -  containing a Foaming Face Wash - 200ml, Refreshing Toner - 212ml and a face cloth - if you are lucky you can still find the set - if not you can pick up the products separately to slip in a stocking.  I think they're a great gift idea because they are suitable for all skin types and everyone knows and likes the Olay name - my mom hates it when I buy her "fancy" brands that she's never heard of before!

Nicole by OPI One Less Lonely Girl Collection - $10.99 - If you know anyone with Beiber Fever, these are the perfect gift (you would be surprised at how many 40 year old women like him so don't think just the tweens will appreciate them!)These weren't supposed to be in store until February but Shoppers Drug Mart is getting them early - shown are:
Give Me the First Dance - sexy silver
Me + Blue - metallic deep blue
Step 2 the Beat of My Heart - heart filled hue
One Less Lonely Glitter - pale purple
OMB! - metallic red
Surprisingly, nail polish is an easy gift to give, especially in funky colours - it's easy to tell if someone likes to wear polish or not!  Remember you will only find these at Shoppers now and everywhere else in February.
While you are at Shoppers, swing by the travel size section - you can fill up a small clear plastic makeup bag to give to people you know travel or go to the gym.  I like this gift idea because it's good for the guys too and you can spend as much or as little as you want and still get a decent amount of items.  I like these TRESemmé Moisture Rich Shampoo & Conditioner - 89ml - $1.59 each, oh and little deodorants are great too, unless it's someone in the office known to be smelly, then it just comes off kind of passive aggressive...
LUSH Secret Santa - $10.95 - this aptly named set contains a sweet orange-smelling Satsumo Santa bath bomb and an uplifting citrus-scented Snowcake Soap already wrapped up for you!

Handmade Lavender Eye Pillows - $20 - Toronto blogger and artist Alanna Banks hand crafts these eye pillows (among many other crafty items) from her home in her free time. Made with 100 per cent cotton fabrics in an assortment of colours and patterns, each eye pillow has a removable slip cover that is machine washable. Heat them up for added comfort or lay them over your eyes as is for a quick escape from the hectic holiday season. These would also be a great New Year's gift to help out with the hangover! Available exclusively from etsy, or by contacting Alanna at www.fridaysoff.ca.

Is there anything worse then reaching into your purse to grab your lipstick for a touch up and discover that the cap has come off and you now have lipstick all over everything? Yuck!


Giorgio Armani Rouge d'Armani - $38 - available in 36 regular and seasonal colours. Not only is this case practical for it's magnetic staying closed properties, but it looks sleek and gorgeous too!  I amused myself for far longer then is likely normal taking the cap off and putting it back on again - you'll have to try it yourself to see how strangely compelling it is... Available at Holt Renfrew.







Bourjois Paris Sweet Kiss Lipstick - $18 - available in 14 shades.  I must admit that the first one I had my hands on one of these I couldn't figure out how to open it - which is good if you want your lipstick to stay closed but not so good if you are an idiot like me!  Once I got the hang of it though I thoroughly appreciated how impossible it would be for this cap to accidentally come off someplace that I didn't want it to! Available at select Shoppers Drug Mart and Murale stores across Canada.
mark. lipclick full color lipstick - $10 - available in 8 shades with a magnetic case that clicks closed.  It's also nicely compact if you are more prone to carrying your lipstick in your front pocket or a very small clutch! Available for your Avon rep - 1-800-265-AVON or online at www.avon.ca

Slothfulness and skillful makeup are not such a great combination - what it means in my life is that I am generally running out the door to work at the last minute with a minimal amount of makeup on my face!  I usually go with a wash of one light colour for eyeshadow but lately have been trying out various marbleized shadows to see if I can get more eyeshadow bang in the same limited amount of time...

mark. Celestial Eyes Shimmery Cream Shadow - $8 - a metallic finish cream formula shadow that is very buildable - avialble in four shades: Copper Dusk, Mint Sky, Purple Halo and Grey Storm (shown) which is my favourite - it gives just a little bit of silver metallic sheen without being too over the top!  I was actually surprised to discover how much I liked a cream shadow, I've always had this mental block about them thinking they would crease like crazy within seconds but with a primer underneath, this lasted all day, and the really nice thing about cream shadows, they easily go on with your fingers, even better then a brush I find, which is super quick!

They are limited edition so don't wait to order from your Avon rep - 1800-265-AVON or online at www.avon.ca


Rimmel Stir It Up - $11.99 - for some reason when I bought this I thought it was powder so I wasn't expecting it to be a cream shadow but I am really liking the marbleized design as a cream since the colours end up getting all mixed together the way they are meant to!  Available in four shades: 400 out of the blue - blue/purple/green (shown), 500 as if - purple/blue/silver, 700 wassup? - peach/brown/pink and 800 no way! - silver/black/white
If you prefer a powder shadow, here are a couple of good choices:

Maybelline EyeStudio Color Pearls Marbleized Eyeshadow - $10.99 - I like that these shadows give you the best of both worlds, one side is plain, the other marbled which makes it easy to do lots of different looks including using the marbleized side as a wash! Available in ten shades: Carbon Frost, Navy Narcissist, Mocha Mirage, Bronze Blowout, Sinfull Sinnamon, Lawless Lavender, Khaki Craze, Tantalizing Teal, Ivy Icon and Silver Starlet
Physicians Formula Eyebrightener - $17.99 - multi-coloured eyelighter available in two shades: natural eyelight or hint of topaz - I read a few reviews of this one before getting and I have a feeling that many people are confused about what this is and are treating it more as a highlighter then a brightener - which in my mind are two different things.  A highlighter is something I would use on my cheek bones, brow bones or inner corners of my eyes, a brightener is something I would use all over my eyelid in place of an eyeshadow to give me a more awake look.  I can see why people were complaining that it wasn't a good highlighter, I would agree with that, it isn't - but as an eyebrightener, it does an excellent job!  I will agree with the people who said that the brush is useless and it's way over packaged!

Are there any I am missing out on?

Can you believe that Christmas is exactly one month away - crazy!  We may not have finished all of our shopping for our other families but our blog family is super important so your present is picked and packed, all you need to do now is win it!  It was quite a task deciding what to get you so we just picked all of our favourite products from the last year - we hope they are or will become your favourites too!  With over $500 worth of makeup - it's going to be a happy holiday for one lucky person!  Here's what we got you:

In February we fell in love with a new lipstick from Chanel so you get a Chanel Rouge Coco in 05 Mademoiselle!

In September the YSL Rock & Baroque collection captured our hearts so you get the Touche Eclat & Manicure Couture - duo vernis couleur - No 4 Duo-Y-Cone!

Just last month shu uemura presented an Abracadabra Fantasy  - you get the lip duo tint & gloss in love apricot!

March gave us Lancome Juicy Tubes 100% Nautral Origin so you get two in Sheerfully Sweet & Blushing Beauty!

September gave us Benefit - Girl Meets Pearl and we want you to meet her too!

In October Pür Minerals brought up two wonderful sets - Earthly Treasures and Heavenly Delights and you get them both!

June was when Lise Watier Feline Waterproof Mascara HD & Feline Eyeliner HD  take them, they're yours!

In November we were introduced to Bourjois Sweet Kiss Lipstick so you get one in 44 Praline Distingue & an Effet 3D Lipgloss in 15 Rose Arctic!

August brought us the OPI Swiss Collection Nail Lacquer so you get Color So Hot It Berns & From A To Z-urich!

In November we gave you an alternative to lipstick with Vasanti Tinted Lipbalm and we want you to try Columbia!

September introduced us to the Mary Kay Metro Chic Collection -  we want you to have aVinyl Lip Shine in Attitude & Be Radiant Baked Powder in Dusk!

September gave us and we want you to have the mark. on the dot Eye Color Compact & lip to be square Lip Tint in sheer rose!

August brought us Avon Anew Youth Awakening Eyeshadow & Primer Kit so you get two in shimmering dusk & spring green!

In June we met LuMESH Lipgloss so you get Magaly!

We don't even need to ask if it's worth winning so here's how it works:

This contest is open to everyone everywhere and it's very easy to enter, just leave a comment letting us know that you follow (if you aren't a follower you can sign up through Google or Facebook - signups are in the right sidebar)

1 entry for following and leaving a comment answering the question - what prize product would you be the most excited to win? Please also leave your e-mail so we can find you if you win!

And for extra entries you can do one or all of the following:
1 entry for tweeting the contest
3 entries if you post this contest as a post or on the sidebar of your blog
10 entries if you take out a full page ad in any major publication stating "Beauty Crazed is awesome and Lisamarie is obviously far nicer than Christelle!"

If you prefer not to leave your info on a public post, please leave a post saying you want to enter and then e-mail your info to info@beautycrazed.ca, please put "Happy Holiday Contest" in the subject line.  Winner to be decided by random drawing and you have until December 31st to enter.

Kiehl's has a long-standing tradition of supporting children’s causes which they are continuing this year by collaborating with one of the foremost internationally recognized contemporary artists, Jeff Koons. With the shared vision of creating safer, more sustainable environments for children, the Kiehl’s and KOONS partnership will raise awareness and funds though the sale of the Limited Edition Creme de Corps Holiday Collection.

100% of Kiehl’s net profits from the sale of each product will benefit
The Koons Family Institute, an initiative of the International Centre
for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC). Both networks together, work to combat child exploitation in all its forms, including child trafficking, child pornography, and child abduction. Each product in the collection - available in Kiehl’s stores worldwide this holiday season - features the artwork of TULIPS (1995-98 Oil on Canvas) from the iconic Celebration Series on its label.

Jeff Koons Limited Edition Creme de Corps Soy Milk and Honey Whipped Body Butter - 226ml - $45

Jeff Koons Limited Edition Creme de Corps - 250ml - $37.50 or 500ml with pump - $62
LUSH Charity Pot  - Luscious Hand and Body Lotion - $20.95 - every penny goes to support grassroots charities around the world - even the ingredients help you give back, it's made with skin-softening Fair Trade cocoa butter and almond oil!
mark. clean up time conditioning bath soaps - set of 3 - $15 - made with Fair Trade Certified cocoa butter, shea butter and white tea extract - leaves skin soft and clean with a great scent of lemongrass, mandarin and ginger!

mark. great energy multi-wear scent booster - 12ml - $10 - made with Fair Trade Certified ingredients oilive oil and peppermint to condition the skin and stimulate the senses - can be used on pulse points, wrists and behind ears

Each purchase for the mark. body care collection with Fair Trade Certified ingredients helps promote a different kind of farming, where fair labour conditions are mandated and farmers are not only empowered but are also given the support to help lift themselves out of poverty.

All of these products are such an easy way to look great, feel great or give great gifts!

Crazy as it may sound, I understand that there are some people out there that don't like to wear lipstick or lipgloss - something about not liking the heavy feel?  I can't claim to understand it but I am always ready to help out the cosmetic-needy and have made it my mission in life to find such people a viable alternative so you can still have moisture and colour without the heavy lipstick/gloss feeling!  Here are my finds:

mark. lip to be square lip tint - $8 - in three sheer shades to add colour and shine: red, rose and peach - they come in the cutest little cube with a mirror inside.  The tint contains moisturizing rose and honey extracts as well as Vitamin E.  Available until December from your Avon rep - 1-800-265-AVON or online at www.avon.ca.






Vasanti Tinted Lipbalm - $15 - in seven colours: Conquer (clear), Cancun, St Lucia, Tahiti, Bahamas, Columbia and Grenada.

GOSH Soft 'n Shine Lip Balm - $18 - in twelve colours: Barbie, Passion Pink, Angel, Scarlet, Perfect Plum, Antique Gold, Mocha, Soft Touch, Aubergine, Sweetheart, Irony and Kiss

Lise Watier Sheer & Shine - $19 - in ten colours: Raspberry, Sweet Rose, Cassonade, Amaretto, Curacao, Tutti Frutti, Cantaloup, Or Rose, Daiquiri and Golden Apricot