Top 10: Fall Edition

Yesterday afternoon, Montreal was hit with torrential downpours. This morning, the city woke up to a beautiful crisp fall morning. Hubby and I will walk downtown to breathe in the change of season... and I’ll be stocking up on a few beauty essentials. You’ve read my “Top 10” beauty posts, but here is September’s updated version:

 

1. FOUNDATION: Cover FX, pressed mineral powder foundation with SPF 10 / 2. LIPSTICK: Orange Flip by Revlon. I often layer mine with Artdeco’s pale pink Lip Brillance #64 / 3. BROW PENCIL: Lancôme's all-in-one essential for natural-looking brows: Le Crayon Poudre / 4. CONCEALER: The miraculous Boi-ing by Benefit / 5. PRIMER: It’s smooth sailing with Make Up For Ever HD Microperfecting Primer / 6. EYELINER: I can’t live without eyeliner and Stila’s has proven the test of time / 7. MASCARA: Artdeco All-in-one Mascara. I have it in black and blue, layering both shades / 8. NAIL POLISH: Geranium by Essie is a great “in between seasons” shade / 9. EYE CREAM: Kiehl's creamy eye treatment with avocado... now that I’m 30, I’m realizing that eye cream is not a luxury purchase. Pout. / 10. DRY SHAMPOO: The best of the best is Oscar Blandi's dry shampoo.

 

Top 10 – Spring Edition

Am I the only girl who likes to change up her beauty routine from season to season? For example, Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion is perfect for the peak of summer, but not hard-core enough for winter. Same goes for makeup: I have my winter blush colours (any shade of pink) and my summer ones (golden corals). If you’ve been following this blog religiously (you have, right?), you’ve seen my Top 10 post from January. These products are still my go-to, but this current post features more skin-care products. Obviously, every skin is different, so please share with us your beauty routine!

With no further ado, here are my spring must-haves:

1. Bio-Oil; my oh my, I love this. It doesn’t work as well for me in the winter, but this month it’s doing miracles for my skin. If you also suffer from sensitive skin or rosacea, this is for you! I put it on after I wash my face at night. I’d wear it night and day if I could, but I find that my makeup doesn’t adhere well to the oil. / 2. Tangerine Tango: colour of the year! You’ve read THIS post, right? Well, I’m loving Smashbox’s Melondrama lipstick. (Melondrama... hee, hee, cute name.) I like to put Art Deco’s sheer gloss over it for some extra shine. / 3. Kiehl’s Panthenol Protein Moisturizing Face Cream. Love the richness. I tried to get Hubs to use Kiehl’s men’s line, but he wasn’t feeling it. He sticks to Cetaphil / 4. NARS Orgasm blush. I get that the name it trying to be titillating and it’s a great marketing ploy, but I’m not digging it. “Oh, look at my Orgasm blush, te-he-he.” Oh well, it is what it is and I happen to LOVE it! Great spring colour – beautiful on every skin tone! / 5. My friend MC converted me to Stila’s waterproof eyeliner. I go between this one and Lancôme’s, but Stila is a good choice if you need a very precise line. / 6. Avène Cleaning and Make-up Removing Micellar lotion: I’ve been using it for years, I refuse to change. / 7. Benefit’s Boi-ing concealer. You don’t own this? GET IT. No ifs and buts. GET IT. / 8. Urban Decay’s Naked Palette 2. I feel a little bad about this one since I abandoned all my other eye shadows when I purchased this palette. It’s got everything you need. Even the brush is lovely! / 9. MAC’s Hyperion nail polish is a beautiful grey-blue / 10. Hypnôse Doll Lashes by Lancôme... not a poufy brush, not a hard brush, but a magical cone brush. I have teeny tiny eyelashes and this helps them out.

Spring Brights

I was all gung ho about spring fast approaching, after all, March sounds quite spring-y. But no. Instead, this morning, Montreal was hit by a giant storm. I lost electricity and was late for work. Pout. Do not worry; the day did not go downhill. In fact, I received the surprise visit of Keren Blankrot, the chief designer at Upstage Montreal. Yay for unexpected coffee breaks!  So in celebration of spring, and of all those moments that make life fun, I am sending out a sunny and bright post to the universe.  COME TO ME SPRING – my wardrobe is ready for you!

1. H&M mint sneakers / 2. Kate Spade sailor stripe yellow scarf / 3. Isabelle May Coral Sunset bracelet / 4. Betsey Johnson yellow floral earrings / 5. Kissing crocodile belt by Kate Spade/ 6. Isabelle May Coralie bracelet / 7. Charles Albert pink jasper ring / 8. Treasure chest necklace by Kate Spade / 9. Balenciaga Green Bag / 10. J Brand bright pink jeans

In the meantime, I repeat the following mantra:  

Lippy

It’s so infuriating when you spend good money on beauty products that don’t give you the results you had envisioned. Last month, I gave you my Top 10 beauty products, but Hubby is my witness that I have so much (much) more. Eek. Next time you are shopping for a lip gloss, keep the following suggestions in mind. I encourage you to let me know about your must-have beauty products in the comments below.  Cheers, E.

(1) At a recent birthday party, someone (you know who you are!) told me that my Top 10 was on the pricey side. Clearly, this selection is not helping my case… but Revlon’s lip gloss in Pink Pop is a fantastic and inexpensive choice is you want a nice pop of colour. Revlon also came out with a wonderful lilac coloured gloss… Lo-ve-ly! / (2) Ah. I love this one: Hydra Sparkling Magic Lip Balm in Rosy Glow by Givenchy. I wore this on my wedding day… so I have an extra soft spot for this gloss. Its formula contains pigments which are guaranteed to work with your skin tone. The colour is rich and surprisingly long-lasting. (3) Rouge Allure Velvet in Cambon. Between a red and a fuchsia, this lipstick is a must have. (4) Lancôme Juicy Tubes – Ultra Shiny Gloss in Berry Bold. The name says it all: juicy. If that’s not your thing, stay away. (5) Bobbi Brown Pretty Face Palette. OK, this one isn’t fair because it has eye shadows, blush and lip glosses. Not the most practical in my opinion, but Brown scores points for quality and creating such wearable colours. (6) Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Baroque by Nars. Love. This. Product. Super practical, easy to apply, great finish. Enough said: you need it. (7) Yves Saint Laurent’s Rouge Pur Couture in Rose Vinyl. Gloss and stain – YSL is a mind reader. This product lasts all day. But like any lip stain, I feel that it’s a little too drying to be my number 1.

Top 10

Is that a new lip gloss? Did you try that mascara? Oh yes. I’m that girl. The girl who asks the important questions. Everyone has their go-to products, here are mine: 

1. Cover FX, pressed mineral powder foundation with SPF 10 / 2. My new favourite: Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Fétiche (did you hear that Johnny Depp & Vanessa are rumored to be breaking up, gasp!) / 3. Chanel, Illusion d’ombre in Mirifique / 4. Lancôme, Hypnôse Doll Lashes (creepy ads, great results!) / 5. Mac blush (they are all great!) / 6. Lancôme, Black Eyeliner / 7. Mac, Grain eye shadow, a perfect base colour / 8. OPI for Sephora, Only Gold for Me nail polish / 9. Artdeco Lip Gloss / 10. Butter London, The Full Mounty (gold is the new pink!)