Preserve your youth and power your glow with the Ole Henriksen Empower Collection!

Ole Henriksen Empower Collection is a daily skin care routine that tackles every issue that comes with the first signs of aging including dullness, dehydration, fatigue, uneven skin tone and loss of radiance while fortifying the skin's barrier and protecting it from damaging free radicals.

The line contains antioxidant-rich arctic cloudberry to protect for the onslaught of damaging free radicals; omega-6 powerhouse Nordic cotton extract for weightless hydration; and gentle willow bark extract to smooth skin.

Available in the collection are:

Empower Foaming Milk Cleanser - 198ml - $26 - a nourishing, lightweight milk that transforms into a creamy foam lather to effortlessly and gently dissolve all traces of dirt, impurities and makeup while helping preserve moisture levels to leave skin soft, supple and revitalized.

Empower Featherweight Moisturizer - 50ml - $36 - with a weightless formula that quenches skin's thirst and boosts its youthful vitality and glow while making a great foundation for makeup application.

Empower Hydrating Hand Cream - 60ml - $20 - melts deep into the dermal layer to condition skin while providing long-lasting comfort without feeling heavy and greasy.

Available now at Sephora and sephora.ca.

- Lisamarie -

Mascara Monday - Maybelline The Falsies Push Up Drama Mascara

Maybelline The Falsies Push Up Drama Mascara - $12.99 - offers pushed up lashes with dramatic volume and lift.

It features a unique wand with cup-shaped bristles that scoop and lifts lashes into a 45 degree angle designed to give lashes the same lifted shape and over-the-top volume as false lashes.

While the creamy plumping formula delivers instant volume and holds lift in place.

The secret to getting best results is in the application method - sweep lashes from root to tip and repeat until the desired amount of lift and volume are achieved - just don't let the mascara dry between coats for smoother application. Start at the base of the lashes and sweep upward with a lifting action to push and stretch the lashes, twist the brush as needed during application to fully access the formula - use the tip of the brush to reach outer and inner corner lashes.

As you can see, the mascara gives a really dramatic result - the formula is wet and a bit messy as you can see from the lid smudges so be prepared to go in with a q-tip afterwards to clean up!

Available now at drug and mass retailers across Canada.

- Lisamarie -

Cheeks get the perfect flush with Sephora, L'Oréal and Dior!

Sephora Colorful Cheek Ink Gel - $18 - in 6 shades: 01 Peony - light pink, 02 Plumeria - soft peach, 03 Orchid - warm pink, 04 Lotus - sheer red, 05 Water Lily - bright pink, 06 Dahila - warm berry - with a translucent, non-sticky, long-wearing and buildable gel stain formula infused with hibiscus extract that gives skin a natural flushed look and leaves it looking fresh for hours.

Available at Sephora and sephora.ca.

L'Oréal Visible Lift Blur Blush - $15.99 - in 3 shades: Soft Pink, Soft Peach and Soft Berry - creates an instantly just kissed glow with a cushiony soft texture that glides over skin to blur away dullness for instantly radiant looking skin.

Available at drug and mass retailers across Canada.

Dior Cheek & Lip Glow - $43 -  with a fresh and ultra-light gel formula that blends seamlessly with the skin to create a fresh-faced, rosy look. It's infused with Fresh Color Reveal technology, which instantly reacts to the moisture in the skin and lips to give them a luminous custom pink glow for skin that looks healthy and luminous

Available at Dior counters across Canada.

- Lisamarie -

Mask all your hair's issues with Rene Furterer, Kérastase and TRESemmé!

Rene Furterer Absolue Keratine Ultimate Renewal Mask - 200ml - $65 - a rich and intensely nourishing mask that soaks into brittle and dull hair that has been severely damaged by heat styling, colouring and chemical treatments to create soft, sleek locks that are healthy and manageable.

Contains plant-based keratin - an amino acid that mimics your hairs natural protein structure to fill in cracks and weak spots in the hair that can lead to split ends and frizz; camelina and sesame oils to boost the hair's hydration to protect and retexturize hair to bring dry hair back to its original health; and biocymentine to  bind the cuticles and reinforces the fibers in each strand of hair to smooth and soften hair. And just to make it extra amazing is the scent - bergamot, peony, violet and cashmere wood! For hair that smells great and is deeply conditioned and restored for visibly brilliant hair that shines with health.

Available at salons across Canada - check out www.renefurterer.com to find one near you.

Kérastase Cristalliste Luminous Perfecting Masque - 200ml - $59 - a nourishing shine complex for dry and sensitized long hair which brings lightness and deep nourishment to long hair. With Ceramides to reinforce the hair and replenish the cuticle for a free flowing result along with dry oil to bring nourishment and natural movement to the hair.

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

TRESemmé Nourishing Rituals Rejuvenating Mud Masque - 227g - $8.99 - restores moisture to dry, damaged hair for hair that is up to 10x stronger after just one with a bright, healthy-looking glow. The  formulation contains minerals from the Dead Sea and essence of wildflower honey, to nourish and help replenish hair for a strong, healthy look.

Available at drug and mass retailers across Canada.

- Lisamarie -

Fragrant Friday - The Body Shop Italian Summer Fig

The Body Shop Italian Summer Fig - 50ml EDT - $28, 100ml Fragrance Mist - $15, 250ml Shower Gel - $13, 250ml Body Lotion - $15, 200ml Body Cream - $25 - inspired by sweet, juicy fig decorated with floral and green notes, the fragrance opens with sparkling, refreshing shades of green notes and vine leaves combined with honey fruit figs; heart notes of  rose spiced with saffron; and a warm, woody base of oak and amber. 

Part of the revamped Voyage Collection which also includes: Japanese Cherry Blossom - a delicate fruity floral; Indian Night Jasmine - an opulent warm floral; Atlas Mountain Rose - a dewy spicy floral; and Fijian Water Lotus -a sparkling floral marine.

Available now at The Body Shop and online at www.thebodyshop.ca.

- Lisamarie -  

Celebrate Global Handwashing Day today - no really, it's a thing!

Today is Global Handwashing Day and no, that doesn't mean you should spend the day washing your hands (although you can if you really want to), but rather it's a day dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding about the importance of hand washing with soap as an easy, effective and affordable way to help prevent the spread of diseases.

Seems like a no brainer right? Go hang out in a public washroom for a couple of hours and count how many people don't actually wash their hands after using the facilities and you'll see that they should probably actually have a Global Handwashing Week!

Don't believe that people even notice if you wash or not afterwards? You'd be wrong - let me use the example of a lady I used to work with - lovely person, never washed her hands which all the women in the office knew as we had all been in the ladies room with her at one time or another. Sadly, this lapse in hygiene made her a bit of a social  pariah. If you went in her office you knew not to touch anything - the upside to this was nobody ever stole her stapler! At office potlucks nobody ate her food and when she ended up leaving the company there wasn't the usual mad scramble to claim items left behind -  they even ended up throwing out her keyboard! Morale of the story - what seems like such a small thing as washing your hands - can have big consequences when it comes to how people perceive you.

Of course going into the cold months all that washing has the downside of drying hands out so I like to use something that will add moisture at the same time as cleaning like:

Dial Omega Moisture with Sea Berries Foaming Hand Wash - 221ml - $3.99 - boasts a moisture-rich, clean rinsing formula enriched with sea berries - which contain 190 nutrients and high levels of omega lipids to help nourish and strengthen the skin's barrier for healthy looking skin - and an advanced moisture-attracting formula which provides lasting, light-weight hydration.

Available now at retailers across Canada including Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart and Loblaws.

- Lisamarie -

Rimmel Oh My Gloss! High Shine Lip Gloss - with swatches!

Rimmel Oh My Gloss! High Shine Lip Gloss - $8.99 - in 14 glossy shades: Glossip Girl, Glossaholic, Keep A Secret, Stay My Rose, My Eternity, Captivate Me, Cosmic, Ooh La La, Go Gloss Or Go Home, Non Stop Glamour, Prrr...Glossy Cat, Crystal Clear, Snog, Love Bug - that offer up to 6 hours of non-sticky, lightweight colour, shine and moisture for your lips featuring ‘Gloss Lock’ technology, which delivers an elevated, long-lasting 3-dimensional shine along with Argan Oil and Vitamin E making it comfortable to wear.

Snog

My Eternity

Available now at drug and mass retailers across Canada.

- Lisamarie -

Eye Love Wednesday - fabulous full brows from Winks Eyelash Boutique, Sephora and Estée Lauder

Well designed brows not only balances facial features, they beautifully frame your eyes and face resulting in an overall polished appearance. Of course the question then becomes - what the hell do you do if you plucked the hell out of your brows in the 90's and now they are a skinny little raggedy mess...

Winks Eyebrow Sculpting Gel Service - $75 - a semi-permanent treatment option that  lasts up to 4 weeks. This innovative gel is applied directly to the skin to either mimic hair strokes or brushed on for a make up effect. So not only will it add colour to blah brows, but it will also make them appear fuller and more polished.

Before - thanks to liberal applications of RapidBrow, my brows aren't terrible anymore but there are areas of them that refuse to fill in so they do still look a little sparse...

After -the sculpting gel doesn't do anything crazy, just adds a bit of colour and some fullness and most importantly, saves me having to mess around with a brow pencil every morning!

Winks is located at 70 Yorkville Avenue, 2nd Floor in Toronto - 416-777-9465 - www.winksboutique.com - and here's a tip - the Winks Eyebrow Sculpting Gel is one of the services being offered with Beautylicious this year for $50! Check out the Beautylicious website for all the details: http://www.bloor-yorkville.com/Beautylicious/

If you aren't in the Toronto area or can't deal with the idea of long term brow commitment, there are temporary fixes for sparse brows as well:

Sephora Brow Thickener - $15 - in Blonde, Medium Brown and Brunette - structures, intensifies and thickens even the thinnest, sparsest brows with a foam applicator and its ultra-sheer powder formula that blends with your natural hair. The applicator can be used for a thin line to draw subtle brows or for a thicker line to fill out brows and provide volume.

Available at Sephora and sephora.ca.

Estée Lauder Brow Now Volumizing Brow Tint - $28 - in 3 shades: Blonde, Light Brunette and Brunette - with a unique blend of fibers that fill in patchy, uneven spots and builds easily for fuller, natural-looking brows in a few quick and simple steps. The specially designed, micro tapered brush builds and shapes with precision and combs through to blend effortlessly, while the water resistant, smudge and transfer proof formula keeps brows in place all day.

Available at Estée Lauder counters across Canada.

- Lisamarie -