Lazy-Girl Glam: The 3 Lip Products That Make You Look Alive (Even If You’re Not) from Nivea, e.l.f. and Maybelline!

Even when I’m just bumming around the house with zero intention of seeing another human being, I always do something with my lips - just a little swipe of something hydrating and pretty. It’s the easiest way to look slightly more alive, with approximately the same amount of effort it takes to make a piece of toast. The good news? Perfectly lined lips and precision lipsticks are out - easy, swipe-and-go lip products are very in. 

 

Here are three that are permanently living in my pocket, purse, car cup holder and probably the dryer...

 

Nivea 24h Moisture Tinted Lip Balm in Strawberry Shine - 2 x 4.8g - $6.99 - meet your “no mirror required” BFF. This is lip care disguised as a cute pop of colour - think juicy, just-bitten lips that also happen to be protected from wind, cold and dry air. It smells like fresh strawberries, adds a subtle glossy shine and keeps your lips soft for 24 hours. Plus, it’s vegan, made with ethically sourced shea butter, and comes in a recyclable stick - so you can look good and feel smugly eco-friendly. It also comes in Watermelon Shine or Pearly Shine if you just want a bit of shimmer and no colour.

 

Available at drug and mass retailers across Canada. 

e.l.f. Glow Reviver Lip Oil - 7.6ml - $10.99 - if a lip gloss and a serum had a very chic baby, this would be it. The giant plush applicator makes you feel like a glamorous 1950s movie star every time you swipe it on and the minty scent is fresh without being toothpaste-y. It’s non-sticky (praise be), super hydrating and gives just the right amount of sheer colour. Wear it solo for a “my lips but dewier” look or layer it over lipstick when you’re feeling extra - it comes in 16 shades - I'm partial to Princess Cut (shown) - a nude-y, rosy shade with a glimmer finish.

 

Available at Shoppers Drug Mart stores across Canada and online at beauty.shoppersdrugmart.ca. 

Maybelline Superstay Teddy Tint - 5ml - $20.99 - it's your lips but in soft-focus and slightly flirtier. It offers a blurred matte finish that somehow lasts through snacks, coffee and mild emotional crises (12 hours of wear, no transfer, no smudge). The formula is light and comfortable - not that cakey, dry matte situation we’ve all regretted - and comes in 10 buildable shades you can wear as a whispery stain or full-on bold moment. Bonus: you can dab it on your cheeks for a quick “I woke up like this” flush - shade 55 Kneehigh (shown) is absolutely perfect for doing double duty!

 

The morale of the story is: even if you’re rocking pajamas and a three-day-old messy bun, a quick swipe of any of these will convince the world you’ve got your life together - or at least your lips do!

 

- Lisamarie - 

Rainbow Ready with Glam that Gives Back from Quo Beauty, Peace Out and HAUS LABS!

If there’s anything better than bold, beautiful Pride products, it’s bold, beautiful Pride products that give back. This month, look good, feel good and do good with these three fabulous ways to shop with purpose and celebrate the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

 

Quo Beauty is turning up the joy this Pride with a limited-edition collection that’s as vibrant as a dance floor at 2 a.m. Think high-voltage colour, sparkle that won’t quit and serious self-expression vibes. 

Here's what I’m especially loving from the collection:

 

Quo Beauty Rainbow Maker - $10 - instant rainbow realness. A swipe of this and you’re basically a walking parade float (in the best possible way). 

 

Quo Beauty Gemstone Festival Headband - $20 - sparkly, colourful, and extra in the best way. It’s giving main character energy. (I may or may not be wearing mine to do laundry right now.)

 

Quo Beauty Lip Oil - $10 - nourish those lips with four juicy flavours: Mango, Tutti Frutti, Island Punch and Strawberry. Tastes like a tropical vacation. Looks like high-gloss heaven.

 

Quo Beauty Flash Dry Nail Colour - $12.49 - in 8 shades of mood-lifting magic: Sizzlin’, Afterglow, Mimosa, Banana Split, Mojito, Electric, Taro and Standout - two coats, fast dry, zero drama.

 

Even better? Shoppers Drug Mart is donating 10% of Quo Beauty Pride Collection sales (up to $30,000) to Pflag Canada, supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ folks and their families through peer support and advocacy.

 

Available at Shoppers Drug Mart stores across Canada and online at beauty.shoppersdrugmart.ca. 

Peace Out Pride Limited Edition Salicylic Acid Acne Healing Dots - 16 healing dots - $26 - it’s your favourite pimple patch -but now in colour! These limited-edition healing dots are decked out in Progress Pride flag colours and packed with skin-saving goodness like salicylic acid, retinol, and aloe vera. Combined with patented clean hydrocolloid polymer technology, impurities are extracted and a barrier is created to help guard against external elements. Get clearer-looking skin overnight. Bye blemishes, hello radiant skin. 

 

And it’s not just skin-deep: Peace Out, an LGBTQ-founded and run brand, is donating $25,000 to The Trevor Project, supporting LGBTQ+ youth with life-saving crisis intervention and suicide prevention services.

 

Available at Sephora stores across Canada and online at sephora.ca. 

HAUS LABS BY LADY GAGA Color Fuse Longwear Hydrating Glassy Lip + Cheek Blush Balm Stick - $47 - Mother Monster delivers once again! In 12 shades with a high shine finish: Glassy Ginger - dusty pink, Glassy Cayenne - deep rose, Glassy Cinnamon - beige pink, Glassy Cove - brownish red, Glassy Hibiscus - deep mauve, Glassy Rosette - rose, Glassy Pomelo - peach pink, Glassy Pitaya - cool pink (my fave), Glassy Lilac - lavender, Glassy Watermelon - ruby, Glassy Tangelo - orange, Glassy Acai - black cherry - your new best friend for juicy, dewy, glassy colour that lasts all day. Packed with skincare superheroes like fermented arnica, goji berry complex, and fermented shiunko, it plumps, soothes, and brings that born-this-way glow. 

 

For every HAUS LABS item sold during Pride, Sephora is donating $1 to the Born This Way Foundation, supporting mental health and wellness initiatives for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth.  

 

Available at Sephora stores across Canada and online at sephora.ca.

 

However you show up this month (and every month), these brands are making it easy to do it with style, heart and rainbow energy to spare. 

🏳️‍🌈 Happy Pride!

 

- Lisamarie - 

3 must-have facial oils from Caudalie, Indeed and Darphin!

Caudalie Make-Up Removing Cleansing Oil - 100ml - $34 - deeply cleanses as it melts away all traces of makeup, including waterproof and eliminates impurities with a mineral oil free formula containing organic sunflower and castor oil that infuses vitamins and nourishment into skin without  clogging pores or leaving behind any residue to reveal incredibly clean, hydrated and clear skin.

Best of all the formula is dermatologist and ophthalmologist tested, vegan, non-toxic, non-irritating, cruelty-free, hypoallergenic, safe for sensitive skin and free of all synthetic chemicals, gluten, GMOs and fillers.

Available at Sephora and sephora.ca.

Want the benefits of an oil but dislike the weight and greasy feeling of typical oils? Then you'll love:

Indeed Squalane Lightweight Facial Oil - 30ml - $17.99 - contains 100% highly stable and renewable sugarcane derived squalane to instantly hydrate, lock in essential moisture, reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and improve skin’s moisture balance. With a lightweight, fast absorbing, non-comedogenic, non-irritating, paraben, colourant and fragrance-free formula suitable for all skin types that slows water loss, provides intense hydration, retains moisture from the environment and increases cell turnover,  leaving skin feeling instantly hydrated, plump, soft and smooth.

Available at Shoppers Drug Mart stores across Canada.

Darphin Petal Infusion Lip Oil = $25 - contains real flower petals including nourishing rose, rejuvenating calendula, and smoothing blue cornflower infused in nutrient-rich apricot and grape seed oils - to create a high-shine gloss and define the look of lips while barrier-protecting vitamin E comforts and prevents dryness and conditioning omegas 6 and 9 plump, condition and protect lips from dryness.

Available at sephora.ca.

- Lisamarie -

Joe Fresh Essential Lip Oil

Joe Fresh Essential Lip Oil - $8 - in 3 shades: Coconut, Rose and Pomegranate - a soothing and deeply moisturizing oil that nourishes lips and delivers a transparent, high shine coat. Even the darkest colour adds very little in the way of colour so for shiny colour of your choice, add a lip stain underneath!

Available now at Shoppers Drug Mart stores across Canada.

- Lisamarie -

Elizabeth Arden Tropical Escape 2017 Summer Colour Collection

Get the look of sexy, sun-kissed skin with the new Elizabeth Arden Tropical Escape Colour Collection! Inspired by the vibrant and lustrous hues of the tropics, the collection offers radiance and a kiss of colour that helps you escape the city without ever leaving your house!

FourEver Bronze Bronzing Powder in Medium 01 - $45 - a four-in-one compact that features an ultra-refined highlighter - to brighten and enhance features, blush - to create a perfect flush, contour - to sculpt and create dimension and bronzer - to achieve a natural golden glow - along with a plush half-moon brush - use the shades alone or blended together to achieve your ideal shade of warmth.

The formula includes skin balancing ingredients: hyaluronic acid, lecithin and vitamins C & E - to soften and moisturize dry skin and dry flow starch - to absorb excess oil for a silky, matte finish - along with silica, mica and sericite - soft focus microfine particles that scatter and diffuse light to blur fine lines and wrinkles.

Sheer Kiss Lip Oil - $25 - in 6 shades: Coral Caress, Rejuvenating Red, Pampering Pink, Heavenly Rose, Purple Serenity, Nude Oasis - a lightweight lipcolour that is packed with five precious oils: coconut, avocado, tsubaki, meadowfoam and splianthes acmella - to deliver hydration, antioxidants, and anti-aging effects for soft supple plumped up lips - to deliver all the hydrating benefits of an oil with the pigment of a gloss, bridging the gap between colour and care, to rejuvenate lips with a non-greasy feel.

These are my new favourite thing - all the shininess of a gloss without the stickiness combined with all the care of a balm without the boredom of no colour!

Dare To Bare Bronzing Oil - 50ml - $45 - a luxurious, hydrating oil that illuminates skin from head to toe with a veil of golden shimmer and the delicious summer scent of vanilla and coconut.

The lightweight formula contains contains a multitude of oils including sunflower seek, jojoba, macadamia, meadowfoam seed and pomegranate seed oils along with vitamin E - to protect and mica - to help blur fine lines and wrinkles for a warm youthful glow.

Available now at Hudson's Bay, London Drugs and Shoppers Drug Mart stores across Canada.

- Lisamarie -

Mary Kay Light, Reinvented Spring 2017 Collection

Mary Kay wants to transform your look for spring with bright and vivid colours from their Light, Reinvented Collection!

Light Reinvented Eye Color Palette - $26 - in Sunlight and Glistening Horizon - let your eyes do the talking with these radiant shadows that glide on flawlessly and can be worn alone or together for an ombré effect.

Nail Lacquer - $10 - in Brilliant Violet, Luminous Mauve, Vivid Sunburst and New Blue - nails make the best accessory this season thanks to these springlike hues.

Glossy Lip Oil - $19 - in Brilliant Violet, Magenta Ray and Sheer Pink - with finishes that range from subtle to sheer and provide a comfortable, non-sticky application while achieving a rich and luminous shine. The formula contains grape seed, avocado and jojoba oils to hydrate, smooth and colourize making lips appear fuller with a light-reflecting shine.


Available exclusively through your independent Mary Kay beauty consultant - check out www.marykay.ca or call 1-866-455-5454 to locate one of your very own.

- Lisamarie -

Crave-worthy oils from Hard Candy, Kerastase and Neutrogena!

Hard Candy Blooming Lip Oil - $7.48 - in 2 shades that go on clear and react with your pH to create a unique hue: Zen Strawberry - pink tint and Blooming Peach - coral tint - a hydrating oil-gel lip treatment that instantly melts to quench dry, chapped lips for up to 8 hours with an ultra-shiny formula packed with 10+ essential oils, that penetrate beneath surface to repair and heal. 

I love the wet shine gloss finish - it's a little colour and a lot of moisture and shine!

Available exclusively at Walmart stores across Canada.

Kerastase Elixir Ultime Voluptuous Beautifying Oil Mist - 100ml - $56 - a lightweight, bi-phase oil for hair in need of shine and volume but don't want to weigh down hair with typical oils. Its Oléo-Complex offers regenerative and antioxidant properties for hair that appears strenghthened, reinforced and volumized with enhanced shine. Hair is nourished and protected with a lightweight finish and a soft touch thanks to this combination of active oils while frizz is also tamed. 

My fine hair loves this oil - it's so light that it doesn't take away what sad bit of volume I have and adds fabulous shine!

Available now in Kérastase salons across Canada and online at kerastase.ca.

Neutrogena Sesame Body Oil - 250ml - $11.99 - a lightweight, fast absorbing oil with a delicately light sesame formula that glides on easily to moisturize skin. It's so sheer it vanishes into shower damp skin with no residue to seal in moisture and leave skin soft and silky with a radiant, healthy-looking glow. 

I like to add a few drops to my bathwater to soften my skin while I bathe - just keep in mind that if you are adding bubbles too, not all brands react well with oil and might refuse to bubble!

Available at drug, grocery and mass retailers across Canada.

- Lisamarie -

Quo Summer 2016 Cosmetic Collection

Ahoy maties! Quo presents a 2016 Summer Collection that will have landlubbers heeding the call for "All Aboard" to your closest Shoppers to get your barnacles on these beauties - with sea-worthy shades and the most adorable nautical packaging - you'll covet one of everything!


Bronzer - $22 - in Sunny Days

Eyeshadow Palette - $18 - in Lost at Sea

Sea Sun Sand

High Tide

Precision Liquid Eye Liner - $12 - in In the Navy

Lip Oil - $12 - in Set Sail and 40 Knots

Nautical Double-Ended Brush Set - $50 - contains 4 double-ended cosmetic brushes in an anchor-print case and include: Bronzing Powder, Foundation, Concealer, All-Over Eyeshadow, Angled Liner/Brow, Multi-Purpose and Ultra-Fine Liner Brush.

Available now for a limited time exclusively at Shoppers Drug Mart.

- Lisamarie -