nail polish

The holiday collection season really starts for me when MAC puts theirs out and I am loving everything this year!  I will definitely be running to my MAC counter tomorrow at lunch to check it all out in person - until then, admire the pretty pictures!

Lipstick - $16.50
Cut a Caper - mid-tone peachy pink (lustre)
The Faerie Glen - pale neutral pink (lustre)
Deepest Wish - deep creamy reddish brown (amplified)
Full Fuchsia - bright blue fuchsia (amplified)
Courting Lilac - sheer lilac mauve with soft gold pearl (glaze)

Dazzleglass Creme - $21.50
Radiant Jewels - dark sparkly magenta
Soft Dazzle - mid-tone peach pink with gold pearl
Passing Fancy - bright orange coral with soft pearl
Lightly Prancing - light peach with gold pearl
Gone Romancin' - mid-tone lavender with multi-dimensional pearl











Eye Shadow - $23.50
Golden Crown - light gold with bronze tartan striping
A Wish Come True - dirty mauve with bubblegum pink tartan striping
Follow Your Fantasy - mid-tone peach with chocolate tartan striping
Enviably Fun - grass green with dark green tartan striping
Semi-Precious - aubergine with chocolate tartan striping
Glamora Castle - dark grey with teal tartan striping

Pigment - $23.50
Later - black with transforming purple pearl (frost)
Moonlight Night - blackened teal with teal pearl (frost)
A Family Crest - blackened bronze with bronze pearl (frost)

Pearlglide Intense Eye Liner - $17.50
Petrol Blue - deep navy with pearl
Black Line - black with gold pearl
Undercurrent - teal with pearl
Black Swan - black with pearl
Lord It Up - bronze with pearl

Zoom Fast Black Lash - $16.50 - deepest black

Powder Blush - $22
Her Blooming Cheek - very bright iridescent blue pink (satin)
My Highland Honey - bright coral with soft gold pearl (satin)

Nail Lacquer - $15.50
Sly as a Fox - creamy mid-tone russet/burnt red (cream)
Style Clan - dark taupe with red pearl (frost)

Nicole by OPI knows that the holidays are no time to be demure with your nails - turn your holiday nails up a notch (or two) with these festive hues!

Kiss Me at Midnight - dark red
Bring on the Tinsel - glitzy silver
Stuck in the Chimney- unforgettable red
Spark My Mistletoe - sparkles of red

Keep an eye out for my swatches next week!

Can't commit to just one or looking for a perfect stocking stuffer? Tinsel Tips has the three reds in mini sizes as well as jewel nail decals - all for only $10!

You can find the Holiday Magic collection starting in November at select Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart, Loblaws, Jean Coutu, Uniprix, Katz Group and London Drug stores across Canada.

If you haven't been hanging out in the cosmetic aisle at Walmart, you might not be aware that Hard Candy is back in Canada with a vengeance!  Our American friends have had it for awhile and I've tried hard not to be jealous - but it's so hard when they get things that we don't!  Whining time is over, shopping time has begun!

Best part, every single item is under $10!

Check out your local Wally's, if it's not there yet, it should be soon!

And if you've already been shopping, let us know about your faves!

I'm happy to see that my beloved nail polish is back, complete with rings!

Anything from Hard Candy that you've been missing?

I discovered something interesting the other day when I went into a local Shoppers to pick up something from MUFE - turns out they don't carry Make Up For Ever anymore and have replaced it with Anna Sui - which is very exciting!  Bad that it won't be as handy to pick up MUFE but neat to get a line that I'm pretty unfamiliar with in playing distance!  So I thought this was a good time to post about the fall collection - I am just starting my Anna Sui education, but I just know that a line with such cute packaging has got to be good!

Eye Color Duo - $38 - one polarized pearl shade made with volatile oil, keeping the powder from dispersing and one vibrant deep shade providing a magical gradation in which the colour changes intricately and that contains more oil to make it fit closely to the skin.  In 3 shades:  05 lavender/dark red which combine into a feminine purple shade, 06 sky blue/deep purple which combine into a mysterious blue, 07 lemon yellow/deep black which combines into a spicy green.

Eye Color - $25 - a special formula that combines different oil pastes to provide a lasting finish.  Available in 22 amazing colours.





Eye Brightener - $25 - 01 bright beige - contains a high level of white pigment and combines three different pearls providing a perfectly three dimensional finish.  Has a water base for easy application and creates a natural, silky, satiny luster that can be used not only on the eyelids, but also on other areas that need to be brightened.
Spot Concealer - $25 - 01 light tone, 02 medium tone, 03 dark tone - a smooth cream base used to cover anything from tiny blemishes to wider areas.  Soft Focus Powder and two kinds of Titanium Oxidize are combines to create a thick but natural finish.
Mini Rouge - Limited Edition - $21 - In three colours: vivid red, vivid pink and vivid purple.  How cute is this little thing?!  An accessory and gloss all in one!
Nail Color - Limited Edition - $15 - In four colours: glassy pearl clear, glassy pearl purple, glassy pearl pink and glassy pearl brown.
And coming in November - Hand & Nail Cream - $19 - rich moisture provided by shea butter and jojoba oil.

Any recommendations for a Anna Sui newbie?

Still trying out the colours from the OPI fall Swiss collection, this time it's: Lucerne-tainly Look Marvellous and Glitzerland - Love them! What is really nice about them is that 1 coat gives you a polished metallic look that is perfect if you are running out the door and need to do something fast, while 2 coats gives you a rich metallic colour - I can see these getting a lot of use by me for the holidays!
Now I'm not normally a glittery nail polish kind of girl - mostly because I hate the way chunky glitter feels - I like a smooth nail so I was pleased to discover that the two new holiday colours from the Lippmann Collection: Today Was a Fairytale and Boom Boom Pow (with real 24K gold dust inside) add beautiful shimmer without lumps! Fairytale looks blue in the bottle but the glitter is silver and I loved the effect with the OPI silver!  You can find Lippmann polished at Donato Salons in Toronto as well as Murale.

Finally a cosmetic line to warm Christelle's cold, black heart!  Celebrate your own dark side with a little something from Venomous Villains - just remember that your villain pick says a lot about you...
Cruella de Vil
Eye Shadow - $18.50
Sweet Joy - frosted creamy pale gold (frost)
De-Vil - rich copper (veluxe pearl)

Lipstick - $18.50
Innocence. Beware! - light yellow pink (cremesheen)
Heartless - cherry red (amplified)

Lipglass - $18.50
Wicked Ways - deep fuchsia with pink pearl
Devilishly Stylish - light nude with gold pearl

Powder Blush - $23.50
Darkly My Dear - dirty brown plum (matte)


Beauty Powder - $30
Her Own Devices - cool nude

Penultimate Eye Liner - $20
Rapidblack - true black

Evil Queen (don't you think it's weird that she doesn't have a name?!)
Eye Shadow - $18.50
Her Alter Image - light violet (veluxe pearl)
Vainglorious - bronze burgundy (frost)
Vile Violet - deep dirty blue purple (matte)

Lipstick - $18.50
Toxic Tale - bright coral (satin)

Sinister - soft brown plum (lustre)

Lipglass - $18.50
Strange Potion - soft coral pink
Hot House - deep raspberry with pink pearl

Powder Blush - $23.50
Bite of an Apple - soft coral pink (matte)

Beauty Powder - $30
Oh So Fair - clean pink with gold pearl

Penultimate Brow Marker - $20

Maleficent
Mineralize Eye Shadow (duo) - $25
My Dark Magic - deep pink with pink pearl/deep plum with purple pearl
She Who Dares - deep navy with blue pearl/deep forest green with lime green pearl

Lipstick - $18.50
Violetta - bright clean violet purple (amplified)
Dark Deed - burgundy plum (amplified)

Lipglass - $18.50
Revenge Is Sweet - light yellow purple
Wrong Spell - deep plum with pink purple

Beauty Powder - $30
Briar Rose - soft violet pink with pearl

Nail Lacquer - $15.50
Bad Fairy - red with red multi-changing pearl
Formidable! - teal green with pink multi-changing pearl
Mean & Green - purple with teal multi-changing pearl

Dr. Facilier ( I don't know how a guy got on here instead of Ursulla!)
MAC Magically Cool Liquid Powder - $35.50
Truth & Light - sheer shimmer that reflects silver and pink
Cajun - sheer bronze shimmer that reflects gold

Lipgelee - $18.50
Resort Life - off white with pink pearl

Greasepaint Stick - $21
Slick Black - true carbon black
French Quarter - dirty black green with multi-colour pearl

Pigment - $23.50
Melon - soft bright golden peach (frost)
Brash & Bold - bright magenta (frost)
Push the Edge - deep bright purple with pearl (frost)

Zoom Fast Black Lash - $16.50 - deepest black

MAC I'm So Vain Mirror - $14.50

Hitting your MAC counter next week on Thursday, September 30th - what is your inner villain compelling you to buy?

Chanel Le Vernis  - 247 Khaki Vert, 257 Khaki Rose or 267 Khaki Brun - $26 - To wear alone or combined are three new urban chic polishes from Chanel - khaki is usually for camouflage but I think these colours will really make your nails stand out!  Don't wait to pick these up - they go on sale October 4 and will be a little tricky for many Canadians to get their hands on them as only Holt Renfrew and Chanel Boutique on Bloor Street in Toronto and the Chanel beauty counters in Vancouver will have limited quantities of them.

Did I hear someone say road trip?!

NeoStrata All-in-One Night Serum - 30ml - $84 - For the 50+ crowd, NeoStrata has new addition to their Intense line for mature women with multiple advanced aging concerns, including wrinkles, crepiness, pore size and elasticity.  It contains the proven pentapeptide Matrixyl - which fights the appearance of wrinkles, helping to reverse the signs of aging, age-defying retinol - a form of vitamin A naturally found in the body that fights the appearance of wrinkles and skin crepiness, enhances skin tone and decreases pore size - in the highest concentration available at retail and Longevicell - obtained from myrtle, it's a cell regenerator and guardian of tissue longevity that inhibits a process called glycation.  Glycation occurs when ingested sugars trigger a chain reaction and bid collagen fibres together, which causes tissues to stiffen, leading to the formation of wrinkles.  Even better,until the end of Friday you can also get a free gift of a Moisture Infusion Cream (worth $27) with purchase of the serum at Shoppers.

I'm not in the appropriate age group to really test this serum out but I did try it to get an idea of the feel.  I like the texture of the serum, it really would be fine for any skin type although I suspect dry skin would probably want to add a little moisturizer on top of it.  I also found it a bit stingy, which I'm told is normal and you might need to start off using it every other night to build up your tolerance as it does contain very potent ingredients.  So while I can't tell you about personal results, I did find you a pic of the test results, which are quite impressive!


Quo Skin Care - already love Quo cosmetics?  Seems that Quo wants more of your love and have just launched a line of skin care products - here's what they have:
Gentle Gel  Cleanser - 95ml - $15 - gently cleanses skin, without irritation and can be used both morning and night.
Facial Polish - 175ml - $15 - cleans pores with mild exfoliating beads leaving your skin feeling both polished and fresh.
Brightening Serum - 50ml - $20 - evens and brightens skin's overall complexion.
Daily Moisturizing Lotion - 95ml - $20 - easily absorbs, leaving skin moisturized all day long without signs of dryness.
Intense Eye Cream - 14.5ml - $18 - soothes and moisturizes the eye area while decreasing puffiness and signs of redness.
Hydrating Night Cream - 50ml - $20 - light formula replenishes skin's moisture without clogging pores.
Refreshing Facial Mist - 145ml - $15 - soothes and refreshing skin, best used after cleansing.

I haven't actually tried anything yet, just played with the testers - I really like the texture of the daily moisturizing lotion and I like all the pump bottles.  The shiny silver is pretty but it's not very practical since it will get covered in lotion and fingerprints - they were smart though and put a clear strip on the side of each bottle so you could see how much product is left!  Would love to hear opinions on the line when someone tries it!
Peace Love & Juicy Couture - 50ml EDP - $76, 100ml EDP - $99, Body Lotion - 250ml - $56, Body Creme - 200ml - $64 - The notes include Meyer lemon blossom, wild hyacinth, sweet apple, black currant, sambac jasmine, star magnolia, Malibu poppy, honeysuckle, linden blossom, orris, patchouli and musk.  I actually don't mind the scent, if find it a lot greener then the usual JC offering - and the bottle is so fun!

Nicole by OPI matte - $10.99 - No Limits - navy, Positive Energy - silver, Razzle Dazzler - black, Stolen Kisses - pinkish red, Virtuous Violet - purple, Respect the World - blue, Yellow, It's Me - yellow - If they didn't say matte on them I wouldn't have believed they were - they all look so sparkly in the bottles!

Avon Matte Nail Enamel - 12ml - $5.99 - available in 4 shades:  Black as Night, Grey Cement, Violetta and Red Velvet.  Matte polishes have been big for a while now but I have never actually used one before.  I read up on it first so I knew that I shouldn't use a base coat, definitely couldn't use a top coat and that I should avoid hand lotions or anything else that might be hard on the colour (I also took this to mean I shouldn't do any housework - I'm in!)
I quickly learnt that the application process is a lot less forgiving with matte polishes because you can't even it out later with a top coat - but this grey was my favourite of the colours, I think it has a cool edgy look!
The purple isn't showing as matte as it really was because there is a little bit of sparkle to the colour that is being reflected off the flash.

I'm still on the fence about matte polishes, I am going to have to use them some more to get my application technique down!  Any tricks or hints would be much appreciated!

I introduced you to the GOSH Fall 2010 collection last week and I don't know about you, but I really love the nail polishes in the collection!  And for $6 you really can't go wrong!  The one thing I found with the GOSH polish, is that it is a little thicker then some that I have used so I need to be more mindful about putting on thin coats and letting them dry a bit more in between because I have a little bubbling

The fall collection from GOSH is not what you would usually expect - no fall colours, just a lot of pastels and pinks which of course makes me happy!  You'll be happy to pull out this collection in the dead of winter when you forget what colours look like!
Quattro Eye Shadow - $19 - Limited Edition - Vanity Pastels and Modest Liberty - the compact has a built-in mirror and light so it's great for clubs and the other dark places that Christelle like to hang out in.

Effect Powder - $13 - No 19 - Doll or No 20 - Lime - loose and highly metallic it can be used alone, with another shadow as a highlighter or used wet as an eyeliner for a very bright and intense colour effect. FYI Twilight fans, their white effect powder is amazing used all over the face if you want the sparkly vampire look...for Halloween of course!

Soft'n Shine Lip Balm with SPF 15 - $15 - No 30 - Barbie or No 33 - Scarlet - a hint of colour, a hint of vanilla flavour and a lot moisture and shine.

Cinderella Body Shimmer - $20 - Pink - metallic and shimmery powder which can be applied on arms, neck, eyes, cheek bones and cleavage for shine and sparkle.  It's pink for heaven's sake, what's not to like?!

Natural Blush - $16 - No 39 - Electric Pink - contains mica and ultra-fine bonds of powder particles for a smooth, flawless and silky application and a beautiful, natural finish.

Nail Lacquer - $6 - Limited Edition - No 589 - Sweet Rose, No 591 Silky Mint and No 590 - Yellow Doll  - stay tuned, I'm going to swatch the mint and yellow next week.

You can get your GOSH fall fix at Shoppers Drug Mart!