MAC Tropical Taboo Collection

The latest collection from MAC captures the passion of the Latin beat with a shimmering colour collection that pulsates with sensuality!

Mineralize Eye Shadow - $25
Dare To Bare - light cream with gold pearl (frost)
Caribbean - rose with pink and read pearl (frost)
Tropica - silver blue with purple (frost)
Time To Tango - lavender with silver pearl (frost)
Cha-Cha-Cha - deep blue green with green pearl (frost)
Bossa Blue - royal blue with brown pearl (frost)

Mineralize Blush - $29.50
Sweet Samba - dark pink with tan pearl (frost)
Exotic Ember - orange with bronze pearl (frost)
Simmer - burnt rose with peach/gold pearl (frost)

Mineralize Rich Lipstick - $26
Luxe Naturale - light beige cream
Divine Choice - mid-tone cool pink cream
Lady At Play - mid-tone cool tangerine
Glamour Era - mid-tone warm brown frost
Midnight Mambo - intense violet

Cremesheen Glass - $23
Calypso Beat - pale neutral peach
Fever Isle - bright red coral
Japanese Spring - pale dirty pink
Narcissus - dirty eggplant

Lip Pencil - $18
Hip 'n' Happy - dirty blue pink
Have To Have It - soft warm beige
Ablaze - bright apricot
Heroine - bright purple

Zoom Lash - $19 - rich black

Kohl Power Eye Pencil - $19
Feline - rich balck
Orpheus - intense black with gold pearl

287 Duo Fibre Eye Shadow Brush - $38.50
159 Duo Fibre Blush Brush - $42

Mineralize Skinfinish - $35
Soft and Gentle - gilded peach bronze
Adored - coral with light beige pearl
Lust - pale pink with cranberry pearl
Rio - bronze with bright pink pearl
Gold Deposit - soft reflective golden bronze

187 Duo Fibre Face Brush - $50.50

Available now at all MAC locations and online at www.maccosmetics.com.

- Lisamarie -

This week I'm obsessed with... Montagne Jeunesse Clay Spa Masks!

If you like masks in theory but find them to be a messy endeavour, then you'll be as happy as I am to see cloth masks making a comeback!

Montagne Jeunesse Clay Spa Masks - $2.49 - in 3 types:

Glacial Clay Spa - with anti-oxidant rich Red Grape and Arctic Cloudberry juices from the glacial heights of Scandinavia to help protect the skin's natural barrier; and Glacial Clay from Canada's Northwest Coast to cool and rehydrate while cleaning pores deep down and removing impurities.

Dead Sea Clay Spa - with nutrient rich Seaweed and Kelp right from the source to nourish and moisturize the skin as well as healing and therapeutic Dead Sea Minerals to draw out impurities and open blocked pores.

And my particular favourite: Red Earth Clay Spa - offers a fresh and fruity deep cleansing experience with Mediterranean Clay to detox skin penetrating deep down into pores and drawing out impurities and excess oils as well as spicy Cinnamon for its natural anti-bacterial properties and anti-oxidant rich Pomegranate for healing.

Not only does it make my skin feel smooth, soft and fresh, the cinnamon smells great!

My only complaint with cloth masks is that they are "one size fits all" and I must have a really small face because they require a lot of adjusting to make them fit properly - but you really can't beat how mess-free they are compared to a traditional mask cream! I also recommend using cloth masks while lying down, I don't find them super-sticky so lying down is the easiest way to ensure they fully adhere!

Available at Walmart and London Drugs as well as select Pharmasave, Jean Coutu, Uniprix, Familprix, Guardian, IDA and Lawtons.

- Lisamarie -

NARS Fall 2013 Colour Collection

The NARS fall collection is filled with rich colours that focus on the eye and plays with matte textures getting you ready for a sultry fall!

Bavaria Single Eyeshadow - $28 - deep sea blue

Kamchatka Single Eyeshadow - $28 - navy smoke

Yamal Single Eyeshadow - $28 - Limited Edition - maple sugar

Namibia Single Eyeshadow - $28 - grey moon

Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner - $28 - Las Ramblas - yellow gold (Limited Edition) and Via De' Martelli - chocolate

Pure Matte Lipstick - $32 - La Paz - orchid (Limited Edition) and Peloponnese - ginger pink

Velvet Matte Lip Pencil - $30 - Mysterious Red - crimson red (Limited Edition) and Paimpol - pink chiffon

Nail Polish - $21 - Limited Edition -  Fury - regal purple and Galathee - dove grey

Available August 1st at Holt Renfew, Murale, Sephora and The Bay.

- Lisamarie -

Lise Watier Portfolio Professional Corrector turns 15!

Canada's #1 corrector - Lise Watier Portfolio Professional Corrector - $31 - celebrates its 15th anniversary and it wants to have a party on your face! With 5 different shades of concealer, it's designed to correct and perfect your skin including: hiding under-eye circles, imperfections, signs of fatigue and redness; sculpting and redefining; and brightening the complexion.

It all sounds easy but if you don't know what each colour is meant to do it's just a pretty wheel of colours so here's the cheat sheet on what each shade does clockwise starting top right:

Yellow Beige - hides blue veins and under-eye circles.
Lilac - gives a radiant effect.
Brown - sculpts.
Ivory - hides under eye circles.
Green - camouflages redness.

The shades can be mixed and matched to customize your look and apply using your fingertips or brush - they work best when warmed up so dab the colour on the back of your hand before applying .

Available at drugstores and online at www.lisewatier.com.

- Lisamarie -

Nicole by OPI Gumdrop Nail Lacquers - with swatches!

Nicole by OPI Gumdrops is a limited edition collection of candy coloured polishes with a sugar like finish that lightly shimmers with fine glitter particles and dries to a textured matte finish.

In order to achieve the matte finish you have to wear them without a top coat - and you can find lots of swatches of them that way on other sites so I decided to do mine with a top coat which really brings out the glitter and also makes the polish last a lot longer!

My Cherry Amour - magenta

Candy is Dandy - sweet pink

Cinna-Man of my Dreams - warm spice pink

A-Nise Treat - shimmery licorice

I Lilac Gumdrops - sugar frosted lavender

Blue-Berry Sweet On You - berry blue

Lemon Lolly - lemony yellow (Shoppers Drug Mart exclusive)

That's What I Mint - teal blue (Shoppers Drug Mart exclusive)

Available at Shoppers Drug Mart and Walmart in July and Loblaws, London Drugs and Jean Coutu in August for $10.99 each.

- Lisamarie -

Mascara Monday - Avon Mega Effects Mascara

Avon Mega Effects Mascara - $12 - in Black or Black Brown - has the first ever wonderbrush that transforms lashes from corner to corner for panoramic volume and lashes that look darker, denser and more dramatic for up to 24 hours. With a formula that is clump and sweat proof and won't flake or smudge.

If you've been looking to bring some excitement into your life via your mascara wand, then this is the one...

Prepare to have to learn how to use a mascara wand all over again - rather then coming in at the side like you do with a traditional wand, this one you use straight on!

And while the long, curved surface can be a time saver because you get all the lashes at one time, the depth of it makes it impossible to get the little lashes at the inner corner and difficult to get the underneath lashes without hitting skin.

What's great about it and is that the applicator bends making it easy to use at an angle comfortable to you, whatever that might be. I found it easiest to use at a 45 degree angle so I didn't have to bend my wrist too much which gave me more control.

Just be prepared that you're going to have to practice with it a bit to get the hang of it!

Available August from your Avon rep - 1-800-265-AVON or online at www.avon.ca.

- Lisamarie -

Easy facial hair removal in 1, 2 or 3 steps - from Bliss, Nair and Veet!

Bliss 'Fuzz' Off Super-Fast Fresh-Scented Facial Hair Removal Cream - $29 - eliminates fuzz in three minutes or less with a unique two-sided, dual-textured applicator tip for mess-free application and removal, all with a fresh, clean scent.

Contains: aloe – a botanical extract which hydrates, calms and helps heal skin; willoherb – acts as an anti-inflammatory to soothe skin; vitamin E – an antioxidant that enhances moisture levels and improves skin smoothness and texture; and a botanical complex of lemon, rosemary and pine – to moisturize and revitalize.

Available at Sephora, sephora.ca and blissworld.com.

Veet Precision Wax & Care - $16.99 - includes: 1 x 10 ml Precision Wax; 1 x 5 ml Aftercare Cream; 1 Precision Spatula; and 20 Reusable fabric strips - the product was specially developed to easily and effectively remove facial hair and leave skin feeling silky smooth for up to 28 days. With an easy-to-use tube and a slanted applicator that allows you to apply a precise amount of wax exactly where it's needed – especially on the eyebrows where accuracy is critical to achieving an attractive arch, in addition to upper lip, chin and cheeks. The Aftercare Cream, enriched with Aloe Vera, will leave skin soothed and softened.

Available now at retailers across Canada.

Nair Brazilian Spa Clay Facial Hair Removal Trio - $19.99 - works on all hair types and specially designed for upper lip, chin, neck and hairline areas with pre and post-treatments to create a beautifying at home experience in 3 simple steps:
Step 1: PREPARE – Gentle balm conditions and prepares the skin (1.4g)
Step 2: REMOVE – Sensitive formula depilatory cream effectively removes unwanted hair in minutes (23g)
Step 3: MOISTURIZE – Moisturizer rebalances and replenishes skin (14g)

Offers up to 16 uses and 4 months of visibly hair-free skin if used once weekly.

Available now at retailers across Canada.

- Lisamarie -

Our readers test Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration - they came for the free samples and stayed for the scent!

We recently sent out samples of the Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Sunscreen Lotion and After Sun Moisturizer to 25 of our fabulous readers so they could test drive and see what they thought of them.

Silk Hydration Sunscreen Lotion - all except 2 of them loved the tropical coconut scent and everyone was in agreement that the lotion was light, absorbed easily and didn't feel greasy when applied.

Silk Hydration After Sun Moisturizer - all by one loved the scent and several even said they would use it as a regular moisturizer and everyone was in agreement that the product had a wonderful cooling effect on the skin which was great after a day in the sun.

Thanks to everyone who sent in their review - you were all entered into a draw to win a $50 Visa gift card and the winner is... Anne T. from Victoria, BC! You'll be able to buy yourself a nice supply of Hawaiian Tropic (or whatever else you want) with that! Congratulations and enjoy!

- Lisamarie -