Take the Philosophy purity challenge and discover your new favourite cleanser!

I recently had the chance to hang out at the Philosophy counter at The Bay with Philosophy Know-It-All (she has a more boring corporate title but I think this one is better), Robin White who has forgotten more about Philosophy then I ever knew to begin with! We had a nice long chat about brighteners, old-lady products, how much we love the bath & body scents and of course cleansers.

I absolutely love the Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser - the texture is great, the smell is light and fresh and of course the best part is how it takes everything off - dirt, makeup, oil - without making your skin feels like it's been stripped or feel all tight. Of course not everyone likes the same style of cleanser so lucky for you, there have been a whole bunch more types added to the Purity Made Simple line including a Mineral Oil-Free Cleaning Oil, Foaming Facial Gel & Eye Makeup Remover and for the terminally lazy (me), One-Step Facial Cleansing Cloths!

Take a trip to the Philosophy counter near you and check out the Purity Made Simple cleansers for yourself - one of the knowledgeable Philosophy consultants will be happy to take you through the cleansers to find the perfect one for you and of course anything else in the line that interests you - and be sure to ask to try out The Microexfoliating Treatment - it's a-ma-zing!

Available at The Bay, Sephora and selected Shoppers Drug Mart stores.

- Lisamarie -

Fragrant Friday - Vera Wang Lovestruck Floral Rush

Vera Wang Lovestruck Floral Rush - 30ml EDP - $52, 50ml EDP - $79, 100ml EDP - $105 - with a sparkling floral bouquet, it's a prequel to the original Lovestruck - with top notes of sparkling champagne accord, pink pepper and apricot blossom; heart notes of pink passion flower, marigold and white freesia; and base notes of cashmere woods, sheer musk and white amber.

The bottle is inspired by Leighton's couture gown (which I love!) from the ad campaign, with a purple bouquet cap tied with a ribbon designed by Vera.

Available now at The Bay, Sears, Shoppers Drug Mart, Pharmaprix, Murale, London Drugs, Jean Coutu and Sephora - except for the 30ml which is a Sephora exclusive.

- Lisamarie -

Take a walk on the light side with La Roche-Posay and Mela-D Pigment Control! Contest!

Would it surprise you to know that 1 in 2 Canadian women experience pigmentation disorder and it would it also surprise you that looking older isn't just about lines and wrinkles - what can really age you is uneven skin tone! Not to worry, there's help to be had with:

La Roche-Posay Mela-D Pigment Control - 30ml - $55 - a lightweight, intensive treatment serum that is fragrance, paraben and hydroquinone free - with high concentrations of kojic acid - to visibly reduce the look of dark spots, glycolic acid + LHA - helps shed dark cells from skin's surface and significantly boosts skin radiance and thermal dermobiotic - helps counteract potential irritation by soothing the skin.

Just use it every evening under your night cream and start seeing results in as little as 2 weeks - dark spots will start to fade and skin will look more even and radiant! And of course, don't forget to wear your sunscreen during the day!

Don't believe me - then try it for yourself - La Roche-Posay has been kind enough to offer up 5 bottle of it for our Beauty Crazed readers - read on as this contest will work a little differently than usual...

Got a pigmentation issue - La Roche-Posay wants to hear about it and see it! Take a snap and send that and a brief description to larocheposay@highroad.com for a chance to win! For an extra entry tweet your #pigmentationcontrol tip to @larocheposayca be sure to include @Beautycrazedcan so they'll know who you are entering through as well as #MelaD!

Please leave a comment letting us know you enter as well as a link to your tweet so we can help them keep track of you!

The contest is open to our Canadian readers and you have until September 4th to enter - good luck!

- Lisamarie -

Decléor Aroma Purete gets your combination to oily skin breathing again!

My combination skin is such a struggle to deal with - I hate the shininess, the visible pores, the blemishes that like to appear when your pores are obstructed and the dull complexion - what's a girl to do?!

Decléor has a solution - oxygenate the skin - too much sebum, too many dead cells - it needs its balance to be restored so it can breathe properly again! And the new product line does with with an active ingredient Madagascan Water Lily Extract - because aquatic flowers are known for their capacity to purify and oxygenate themselves in a hostile natural environment, namely stagnant water - not that anyone is saying your face is like a stagnant pond, but damned if some days mine doesn't... Aquatic Flowers have a strong purifying and cleansing effect that help to limit the development of undesirable flora - that is, prevent the formation of skin blemishes and reduce discomfort - sound good? Here's what's in the line:

Aromessence Ylang Ylang Purifying Serum - 50ml - $75 - with a refined selection of plant oils it has a dry feel and gentle scent - it's applied before your moisturizer it whatever areas you are oily and has been proven to reduce sebum by 20%!

Shine Control Oxygenating Fluid - 50ml - $41 - purifies, mattifies and oxygenates combination and oily skins with chrono-purity zinc spheres - that target oily areas and keep them matt all day long, P-refiner technology - refines the pores and smoothes the texture of the kin as well as help to stabilize keratinisation and reduce excess sebum and pure oxygenating complex - supplies air to the cells so the complexion is radiant and the skin is able to breathe.

Purifying & Oxygenating Mask - 50ml - $32 - combines the benefits of a mask with the effectiveness of a scrub - with a creamy texture combined with the presence of sugars to exfoliate. Basically you put it on like a mask and leave it for 10 minutes then dampen and massage to enjoy the exfoliating effects!

Aroma Night Ylang Ylang Purifying Night Balm - 30ml - $85 - with ylang ylang, clary sage and rosemary essential oils to help cleanse, purify and reduce excess sebum while you sleep so you can wake up to skin that is soft and clear.

What has become a constant purse companion: Imperfections Roll'On - $28 - whether I have a pimple that I'm trying to shake or feel one coming on, this genius little roller can be used over and under makeup as many times a day as my obsessive compulsive self deems fit! Includes a blend of 100% pure and natural essential oils - ylang ylang, clary sage, rosemary, lemon and lavender.

Get your Aroma Purete fix at The Bay and in spas.

- Lisamarie -

Fave lips and tips from Lancôme Midnight Roses Fall collection - with swatches!

As far as I'm concerned, Lancôme has one of the best fall collections out there! The Lancôme Midnight Roses collection is a wonderland of purple and sure to appeal to those who love colour!

Vernis In Love 453 Infusion de Prune

L'Absolu Rouge Mat Lipstick 160 Rouge Hypnôse

L'Absolu Creme de Mat Lip Gloss 300 Magie Pourpre

Even though both of the lip colours are called "mat" they don't look or feel the least bit mat-ish to me - they look beautiful and feel very comfortable!

- Lisamarie -

Eye Love Wednesday - Kiehl's Rosa Arctica Eye Youth Regenerating Eye Balm

Kiehl's Rosa Arctica Eye Youth Regenerating Eye Balm - 14ml - $48 - the newest addition to the Rosa Arctica line has a rich balm texture infused with the same rare "Resurrection Flower," an ingredient named for its unique ability to survive in nature for over two years without water, jolting back to life within hours of proper hydration - an ingredient that helps to revitalize the appearance of skin in the delicate eye area for visibly younger-looking eyes.

With a blend of ingredients to visibly improve the appearance of the eye area which we all know is the first and most pronounced place to show the signs of aging. I like that it brings instant luminosity to the under-eye with the help of mineral-derived skin brighteners Mica and Titanium Dioxide and provide an immediate smoothed appearance and a more revitalized looking eye area. As well "Resurrection Flower," White Birch Extract and Squalane work to regenerate the eye area and diminish the appearance of lines and wrinkles while visibly helping to lift the skin and a blend of Shea Butter, Carnauba, Cocoa Butter and Shea Butter lipids provide additional fortifying benefits to the skin while preventing against moisture loss to help skin look younger.

The only thing that worried me was the word "balm" which always makes me think of something super thick and gloopy and not something I want around my eyes as I tend to get little white bumps when I use products that are too thick there - but this is the melting kind of balm, not the thick kind so I didn't have any issues with it at all. And it really does give your eye an instant pick-me-up!

Available now in-store and online at www.kiehls.ca

- Lisamarie -

For A Good Time, Call... advanced screening tickets!

Alliance Films has a new flick coming out September 7th - For A Good Time, Call... and I don't know whether to label this a "chick flick" or not - once you throw phone sex into the mix I'm at a bit of a loss... Here's the official scoop:

The reserved Lauren and the irrepressible Katie are polar opposites… and past enemies. But when both come up short on the funds needed to afford their dream New York City apartment a mutual friend re-introduces them and they reluctantly agree to room together. These apartment-mates have nothing in common – until Lauren discovers that Katie is working as a phone-sex operator, and recognizes a good business opportunity. But as their business partnership takes off, their new found friendship finds unexpected challenges that may leave them both, as they say, hanging on the telephone.

Of course when movies about phone sex are afoot, Beauty Crazed is every theater's first stop for advance screening passes because they know what our readers like!

If you're available the evening of Wednesday, August 29th and live in Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg or Halifax and want to take a friend For A Good Time, Call (no e-mail) Beauty Crazed at info@beautycrazed.ca - please put" For A Good Time tickets" along with your city in the subject line - please also leave a post letting us know that you've sent your e-mail request so we can be looking for it! We only have 10 pairs of tickets available for each city so get on it!

All show times are 7:00 PM and here are the theatres:

Scotiabank Theatre
259 Richmond Street West
Toronto, ON M5V 3M6

SilverCity Gloucester
2385 City Park Drive
Ottawa, ON K1J 1E1

SilverCity Polo Park
817 ST. James Street
Winnipeg, MB R3G 3L3

Empire Bayers Lake
190 Chain Lake Drive
Halifax, NS B3S 1C5

And while your waiting for the movie to start, enjoy the preview!

- Lisamarie -

This week I'm obsessed with... Bomb la Bon Bon Bath Donuts!

If I've ever met a donut I didn't love I can't recall when that would have been and I've got nothing but love for:

Bomb la Bon Bon Bath Donuts - $5 - melt into your bath to turn it into a yummy smelling bakery that will leave your skin soft and moisturized - they may cost a little more then the ones I'm used to picking up at Tim Hortons but these ones won't leave anything but good smells on my hips so I really should reach for them instead more often!

Handmade with high quality ingredients right here in Ontario, not only are they a sweet and delicious treat but they are free of all of the nasty stuff that you don't want joining you in your bath including Parabens, Phtalates, Propyl Alcohol, Mineral Oil, Sulfates or Artificial Preservatives.

Check out their other products while you are at it, I also really enjoy the Whipped Body Soap that comes in delicious scents like Sweet Watermelon, Birthday Cake and Chocolate Covered Cherry!

You can find these and even more goodies at: http://icraft.ca/bomb-la-bon-bon

- Lisamarie -