Stila Lip Glaze

Stila Lip Glaze has been around forever - I think that it was one of the very first cult beauty products that I became aware of and obsessed with. This was back when the Stila brand could only be found at one department store in Canada, and even then it wasn’t very often that I got to go there. Of all my friends, nobody knew of the Stila brand and the only place that I saw it was in magazines.

In any case, ubiquitious though it is now, it’s still one of those products that I pull out of my purse and invariably someone says “ooooh, what is that?!” Kind of a nice reaction to a lip gloss.

I have had the Stila Lip Glaze in many colours and always used them all up so quickly - I just love the texture, feel, and colours! What I especially love is that you can get colours without any shimmer in them, which I think is hard to find. I’ve gone through a Grapefruit, Mocha, and now Raisin. All fantastic colours that added just the right amount of colour to my lips.

If you haven’t tried these, pick one up and wow your own friends.

Drugstore vs. Department Store Eyeliner

Back in July, I told you about CoverGirl's new liquid liner, LineExact, that was super easy to use. The design was thought up by Pat McGrath, the celebrity makeup artist and creative design director for P&G. I loved (and still love!) the design. It makes putting liner on very easy, and I frequently recommend this to beginners who insist on using real liquid liners (as opposed to gels or creams).

Stila has liked the design so much that they've released something identical. I've seen and tried their version, and as far as I can tell, it's the same as CoverGirl's. Everything from the size, to the screw-on cap, to the nib is identical.

So if you want to try a new liquid liner, although I heart Stila as a brand, in this case I am obviously going to recommend the drugstore one. I think the fact that a high-end brand would want to copy it is a testament for how great the design really is.

Stila Cherry Crush Lip and Cheek Stain

Today I am wearing Stila Cherry Crush Cheek and Lip Stain. I like it. I think this is the best stain formula that I have ever encountered. It's thick and doesn't run, and it contains enough pigment to seriously stain! A tiny dab was enough for my cheeks and the brush made it so easy for me to smooth this over my lips just like a gloss. Once the stain was dry, it was difficult enough to take off also!

I hope that they expand the colours that this stain is available in. Right now you can only get it in a bright pinky-red colour, but I'm thinking that a dusky rose or a plummy pink would be nice as well. If you haven't liked a stain before, you should try this. I love it.

Stila Winter Sale - 50% Off

Stila is having another sale. The products listed are 50% off, and I would suggest that you get one of their palettes if you've never had one. Their Kitten shadow is a cult favourite, and if you've always wanted to try it, get a Perfectly Kitten set for $25.60 (American) and it's a steal. Click on the flier to see the offerings. And yes, they only ship to America.

Stila High Shine Lip Color

Wondering what the goodie is that you get using the Sephora Bounce Back card from Muzik?

Take your card to Sephora and they will give you a Stila High Shine Lip Color. It's a creamy formula that's more like a gloss than your regular lipstick. The lipstick retails for $23 Canadian, so the fact that you get it for free is a pretty great deal.

Stila Beauty Lounge at Muzik

Last Saturday night, I attended the launch of the Stila Beauty Lounge at Muzik. Muzik is a large club but walk through it and all the way at the back is a swank room where a chandelier hangs from the ceiling, white drapes line the wall, and hair and makeup stations line the perimeter. I recognized the iconic Stila illustrations instantly and it turns out that they've been done specially for Muzik.

My first thought was that it reminded me of backstage at fashion week, I told Zlatko, the owner. "That's exactly what we wanted!" he says.

The Stila Beauty Lounge is one-of-a-kind and was the brainchild of Zlatko and Stila Cosmetics. The line of makeup is upscale and so far has only been sold at Holt Renfrew and Sephora stores. Now, you can have your makeup done by Stila trained artists and then purchase the products if you're happy with them by going into a store.

That's not all. Upon leaving Muzik, every girl gets a goody bag that has a bounce-back card in it for Sephora where she can get a free Stila gift. She then gets a Muzik bounce-back card! Everyone wins.

So I got my makeup done first. The girl doing it asked me what I wanted and went according to my directions. I then wandered over to the other side and had my hair done too. Why not, I figured, since I was already there. All I had to decide was whether to get an updo or not, and the hair person there went to work. Did I mention that the whole process is completely free and will be offered every Saturday night?

The Stila Beauty Lounge at Muzik is a cool concept but I don't know how many girls would rather go to the club without any makeup on and just have it done there. It does, however, add another layer of fun to going out with the girls and that, coupled with the awesome goody bag, might make it worth choosing Muzik as your clubbing destination for a Saturday night.

Stila Warehouse Sale!

Um, best sale ever!

Link fixed, try now.

Stila Holiday

This time of year is fun - not only is it time to wear your fall makeup and change your look, but counters are slowly releasing their holiday collections! And you know that Stila always has the most fun products and of course, they are going to introduce a few new palettes! This year, they introduce a palette called Noire and Blanc.

The Noire palette comes in a beautiful black box and and the colours included therein are cooler and perhaps more. I'm not sure who will be able to wear the blue eyeshadow, but it's paired with the cream, it may be a nice change. The Blanc palette is warmer and has more natural colours. Same pretty packaging and good quality products, of course. Most exciting is always the fact that Stila comes out with lipglaze sets! I love the lipglazes because they're not at all sticky, the colours are sheer, and when you wear them, your lips look so pretty. The lipglaze set is always a great buy because though the glazes are smaller in size, you get more product for your money. Holiday marketers - bring it on!

Stila Fall Fantasy - More Palettes

Finally, pictures of Stila palettes are available so I can talk about them. From left to right, the colour stories are Madagascar, Laguna, and Moss. Yes, these are on shelves now and like I said, every year Stila does a variation on their palettes. This year's palette is made of faux suede. I'd like to point out that the palette in the middle actually features a lovely shade of blue that's verging on the turquoise side and that's quite nice. The bronze palette has a lovely bronzy cheek colour and you'll notice that all the cheek colours are quite pale - I'm guess this is so that the eye shadow is at the centre of attention.

All in all? I like the Look-Books better. I liked the shade selections and I loved the cheek colours that they offered. I also prefer a round area to swirl my blush brush around in, and those pans had that. In any case, these are cheaper and because you're getting less product, they will finish more quickly so that's something to consider when you're making your decision, but remember that the Look Books are actually a better deal because you're getting a lip gloss with them as well.

Palettes of Yore

I wrote a while ago that I already have a Stila palette, and I found an image of the exact one that I have. It's called Perfectly Plum and Stila has similar items every year. The blush in this palette was a winner - a bright reddish pink with gold shimmer. The white was too pale for me to ever wear but it worked as a highlighter. The texture of each product was silky smooth which made the shadows easy to work with wet or dry. Instead of the tweed case of my palette (tweed was so in at the time) this year's palettes feature a suede finish.

Stila Palettes

Click on the images to enlarge.The Stila Manderin Mist collection is now on counters, and the collection includes a new scent. I'd tell you what it smells like but the one spritz I put on wore off before I got home, so that's that. It seems that everyone loves the Warm and Cool baked eyeshadow trios that are pictured above - the shadows are very very shimmery and not powdery as most Stila shadows are, so if that's your thing then go have a look. But there's more....

Stila Look Books - numbered in the image above for your convenience. Any resolve of not buying more makeup nearly crumbled when I saw these books (which come with a matching lip gloss). But forget about the lip gloss, because really, it's a bonus to an already fantastic product. This collection is a steal. You're getting 3 eye shadows, a blush, and a lip gloss for less than half the price that it would cost you if you were to buy these things on your own. Stila palettes are amazing - I bought one two years ago and the blushes and eye shadows it contained went together so beautifully that they're now finished. The Look Books are the same - the colours are very well matched and the products are very high quality. They are highly pigmented and long-wearing.

My advice? Forget about the lip gloss colour and the eyeshadow colour - pick your look by which blush suits you best. I'm going for #4 because it has the blush Heat which is a beautiful reddish pink for darker skin tones or Look no. 3 which has a more natural pink-brown blush called Fade. Very light skins should definitely go for no. 2, while those with medium complexions could go for either Look No. 1 or 3.

Whichever palette you choose, I'm pretty sure that you'll find yourself using the colours a lot and will be happy with your purchase. Stila has done it yet again! And now, because I'm so smitten, here are closeups of the palettes. Aren't they pretty?


You can find the palettes at Sephora or Holt Renfrew, but the last time I was at the latter, I could only find Look No. 1 and 3. I'm not really bothered, however, because all the colours are from the existing collection so you can still check out the blush and eye shadows and just order the palette you want online if it's not in the store.

Know what else? This isn't even the fall collection and there are going to be more palettes coming out in a few weeks - these will also contain 3 eye shadows and a blush and will be long palettes. The thought of this is making me a little short of breath from excitement, so I'm going to go now.

Canadian Beauty News: May 4, 2007

Thankfully, the weather is definitely warming up and with that come tons of new products out on shelves! Here are some highlights of what's new on shelves!

Shoppers Drug Mart News:

There's a brand new Shoppers Drug Mart Boutique that just opened in Toronto and I'm sure that there will be others opening around the country soon. This new one also carries a brand that's been missing - Estee Lauder. This is exciting because if you wanted to collect Shopper's points or spend points or what have you, now you can.

Also, in honour of their 1000th store opening, Shoppers is selling a kit, if you will, of Lancome mascara with their BiFacile makeup remover and an eyeshadow duo. You can either choose from Hypnose mascara or L'Extreme. I've tried the Hypnose before and I liked it - it's a full-volume mascara that really doesn't clump so you can put as many coats as you need. The price of the kit is $29 which is amazing considering that's usually the price of the mascara alone! If you're going to be needing a new mascara soon anyways, then be sure to get one of these packages.

New Eyeshadows!

On to the more exciting world of all the new eyeshadow sets that have popped up in stores this week!

First: the Stila Summer Eyeshadow Trio is now in stores. Of the three palettes offered, my favourites were the Mazatlan and the Vallarta. The Mazatlan (in picture) adds to the plethora of gold palettes that are already out there, but the bronze shade in it has a tinge of green in it which makes it different.

New Cargo palettes are also in shop - the ones I looked at were Paradise Island and Ibiza. Ibiza has your standard range of golds and bronzes, but Paradise Island is a nice range of neutrals that I'm sure would suit a variety of eye-colours and skin-tones. The palette is on the right and I love the middle colour which is a taupy-lavender shade. The crease shade is also nice because it's not too dark or obvious looking.

Laura Mercier Mineral Foundation Review

Laura Mercier is the first of the department store brands to come out with her own line of mineral foundation - it's available in five colours plus a bronzing shade, and there are no colours for darker shades. I was matched to the second darkest shade (I'm a medium tone anyways) which still wasn't a perfect match for my skin tone.

The foundation still gave me medium coverage and felt like nothing on. It wasn't shiny but wasn't completely matte either because of the pearl pigments in the powder. What was amazing is that the foundation stayed on all day, and even absorbed some oil! At the end of my day, my face had a glow to it but I didn't think that it was so much that I needed to touch up my makeup. I thought that was pretty amazing.

The downside is definitely that there are nowhere enough colours offered but I have to commend Laura Mercier - if she can't make the colour great, she won't make it at all. Why make darker shades if they're only going to be ashy or too pink? You may as well stick to making the foundation in the colours that show up well and will match people's skins. The foundation I tried was a little too pink and not warm enough for my skin but I'm sure it would match someone with pink undertones.

I say that if you can find a good match in this foundation, then pick it up. It's a great choice for mineral makeup.

Great Beauty Reads:

Toya tries Carmindy's (from What Not to Wear) 5 Minute Face.

eBeautyDaily tells us how to fix a common hair-colouring problem.

All Lacquered Up shows us candy coloured nail polishes from Zoya.

Finally,

Elke interviewed me for her blog, so if you've wanted to know more about me and Canadian Beauty, read the interview!

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! Remember to wear sunscreen when playing in the sun!

Canadian Beauty News: April 6, 2007

Stila Event and Giveaway!

Have you been dying to try the Stila Plumping Lip Glaze? Want a free sample? Click here to get a coupon redeemable for a free sample of lip glaze from Holt Renfrew. Mind, the sample is a teeny tiny one (I've gotten more generous samples from Sephora) but it will definitely give you about 5 uses, so head on over and pick one up.

Love Stila? Well then listen up: once a year Stila has a major event at Holt Renfrew's. A celebrity makeup artist comes in from NYC and has a team conduct makeovers. You have an expert choose products for you and tell you what looks good. The catch is that you have to buy 4 products, though they don't have to be the ones that they used on you. But! You also get a gift bag full of Stila goodies and they're full-sized products! If you're a Stila fan - they do make wonderful foundations and lip products - this is an event that you should not miss out on. The event is in the first two weeks of May so call your nearest Holt Renfrew location and to find out the dates in your area. Book an appointment and secure your place before they fill up!

Good Deal

If you're a fan of The Body Shop's body butters and scrubs, you might want to head in there and stock up. They're having a sale: 2 products for $30 (Canadian) and at the end of April, the prices of the body butter is going up! Run in before soon and grab what you like because these are products that you can go through fairly quickly anyways.

India Hicks

Crabtree and Evelyn stores have been carrying India Hicks products for a little while now. The line has a sweet scent and promotes calm island living. Now, Holt Renfrew carries the line too, so if you had wanted to purchase an item from the collection, you have your choice of retailers.

Reader Question

I got this email from a reader in Canada:

I am desperately seeking Nars Orgasm blush in Canada.

I don't live in a big centre so I need it shipped to me.

Any advice?

HELP!

i NEED it.

-s

PS, i know I can order straight from Sephora but ABHOR the 40 dollar total after shipping costs.

Now, I get several emails of this kind. People know that the product is available in Canada, but often can't make it to the area that has the blush. If it was another product, I would suggest a drugstore alternative, but I really haven't been able to find anything that looks just like Nars Orgasm.

I would refer you to Bombshell Bargains but they're not selling the Nars Blush in Orgasm.

There are two ways that you might be able to find the blush for a cheaper price, but neither has the security of a real store. The first option is to check out Ebay. The key to Ebay shopping is to make sure you check what the shipping price is before you bid on an item. You may find that someone has used the blush just once and didn't like it and so they're giving it away and will settle for selling it at less than the price they paid for it.

The second option is to check out the swap boards at Makeup Alley. Again, you may find that people have bought something or have been gifting something that they don't like and are willing to either sell it to you or trade you something for it. For example, for the Nars blush, you might have a lipstick and an eyeshadow that's gently used and you can do without that the other person want.

Of course, since these aren't secure stores, buyer beware! There are no guarantees when dealing with someone who is hidden under a false name, so be careful. Good luck!

Canadian Beauty News: March 23, 2007

Yes, after a week's absence due to L'Oreal Fashion Week here in Toronto, Canadian Beauty News is back!

Product News

There's a new celebrity lipstick colour out at MAC but it hasn't been as heavily promoted as some of the other lines - it's a colour by Paulina Rubio. The colour itself isn't available at stores here in Canada, but you could have ordered it from the MAC website (Canadian or American), but it is now sold out. The shade is called Rubia and it seems to be a shade that would work well for women who have warm undertones to their skin.

Colour aside, the launch of this lipstick sheds some light on the nature of celebrity-endorsed/inspired colours, at least for MAC.

About the new colour, Rubio says:

"I was thrilled when M.A.C approached me to create a new shade of lipstick and I instantly thought it should be a bold, vibrant matte lipstick that will look sexy on all women."

It's interesting because the colour is anything but bold and on the MAC site, it's described as being: "Midtone brown peach with gold pearl (Lustre)" Certainly not bold by any stretch. Perhaps Rubio wanted a bold colour and MAC decided to do a colour that would look good on Rubio and the majority of Latin women (who presumably would want the lipstick because of its namesake). I've long suspected that celebs have almost no say in the shades inspired by them, and this seems to indicate just that.

In other product launch news, Stila's Spring Collection is now out! Personally, I don't think that it's anything exciting - there are three eyeshadow palettes. Each one focuses on one colour and has three eyeshadows in varying intensities of that colour. There's a palette of pink eyeshadows, green eyeshadows, and blue eyeshadows. They all have coordinating Kajal Eyeliner, so there's a shimmery rose , a shimmery green, and a shimmery blue colour. If I wanted to add a punch of colour to my look, I'd pick up one of the pencils and use that, but to each his own - let me know if you like the collection and how you plan to incorporate it into your look. As always, the new collection is available at Holt Renfrew stores across Canada.


Reader Question

This week, I had a reader ask a question through the comments:

Hey Henna!I was wondering if you've ever heard of/used Imju Fiberwig
mascara? Do you know when it can be bought in Canada? (Called Sephora, they said no)Thanks!

After doing some research, it seems that the mascara is a Sephora exclusive here in North America. What that means is that chances are that you can't find any other store carrying it. If you're desperate to have it, I suggest just ordering it from the Sephora website. I've heard good things about this mascara, but I've heard good things about every mascara. This one makes your lashes look like falsies but so does adding too much regular mascara, so take that with a grain of salt. Really, your eyelashes can only look so much better without falsies, so if it's the false eyelash look you're after, you might just have to wear the false lashes.

Great Beauty Reads

Check out the following great beauty posts:

Beauty Hatchery tells us about a great product for banishing excessive sweating.

The Spa Blah Blah blog tells us about a great kit to help combat dry airplane conditions.

All Lacquered Up tells us about the latest nail polish collection from Orly.

That's it for this week's Canadian Beauty News. Have a great weekend, everybody!

Stila Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15

What's great about the Stila Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer is that it comes in 10 colours so if you've had a hard time finding a match for your skin colour, this is a brand to go to. Stila is already known for its great neutral foundation colours and the tinted moisturizer certainly does not disappoint in this category.

Though this one went on sheer like the MD Skincare and Clinique Tints that came before, but it packed more of a punch when it came to moisturization. Just a tip: when you first spread it on, it looks a little white. Wait a minute and then rub it into your skin. You'll notice that the whiteness fades and the colour starts to come through.

This moisturizer gives more of a glow to your skin rather than a matte finish and is also long lasting. Like all the other tinted moisturizers I've reviewed, this one also has an SPF which means that it's great for those of us who would like to multitask.

Final Verdict: Stila is the counter to go to when you're looking for good matches for darker skin. Not only do they even offer a great range of colours, but those colours are neutral and match the skin perfectly. If you want a tinted moisturizer that's sheer but still moisturizing, the Stila Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer may be for you.

Canadian Beauty News: February 9, 2007

Followups:

Last week I mentioned that many perfume companies just weren't giving out samples the way that they used to. While that's true for the most part (and especially when it comes to higher end scents) when a company really wants to promote its scents, then samples are to be had. Case in point: Banana Republic. They launched a new line of perfumes in Fall 2006, and now with every (and any) purchase, you get samples of the perfume line! I'm sure that if one really wanted a sample, one could walk into the store and just ask, so if that's your thing, check out Banana Republic.

I also said that Sephora stores would probably be getting the Carol's Daughter products in soon. Well, it turns out that some salons across Canada will be getting the line before Sephora does! Right now, Ellenoire in Dundas, Ontario carries some of the line, and soon Curl Ambassadors from downtown Toronto will too! Keep an eye out for Carol's Daughter because there are other places that will be bringing in this line over the next month or so.

New Collections!

Get thee to your nearest Sephora. Why? Because as of now, the Stila collection has come in and has been set up! Exclusive to Sephora stores, the new collection features two eyeshadow trios, and plumping lipglazes, all of which come in beautiful (springy) colours! The eyeshadow trios are definitely the highlight of this collection. As is expected with Stila, the eyeshadows are highly pigmented and well-coordinated. The Ravishing Rose trio has a beautiful lavender colour that's super wearable and just purple enough. The eyeshadows also come in a pretty satin box that has a mirror inside. I doubt that anyone would store their palettein it, but the box would make a lovely jewelry case so it's worth having nonetheless. Check out the collection - you won't be disappointed.

Everyone has been raving about the newest Lancome collection but we Canadians have had to wait for it. Well, wait no more - as of now, most department stores do have the full collection in. The only problem is that some of them haven't received testers yet and so have not actually displayed the full line. If you know that you want something from the Spring '07 line (like the collectible eyeshadow palette) I suggest that you just ask for it and buy it before it sells out. My personal favourite from the collection is actually their Sweet Caprice Hydrating Lipbalm. The colour is sheer and the gloss feels wonderfully cushiony on the lips.


Reader Questions

Nothing delights me more than receiving questions from Canadian Beauty readers!

This week I received this email from T:

Enjoying your blog. Makeup Alley is raving about a lotion, cream
and cleanser from a line called "CeraVe". It is in drugstores
everywhere in the States. It is kind of replacing the cetaphil
craze.

I have gone on the CeraVe website to ask where they may sell
the products in Canada - no answers to my e-mails.

Thought maybe you might have come across it in your shopping
journey...???...

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find CeraVe anywhere either. After searching far and wide, my recommendation would be to just buy it from eBay if you feel that you really have to have it. Of course, as when buying anything from eBay, be careful who you buy from! Good luck!

The next question comes from A:

I was wondering if you have come across any wicked eye liner pens that are not only water proof but have their tip realllllllllllly thin...I usually come across thick ones and I haven't been able to find an extremely thin one.

A: You might want to try Lancome's Artliner, which isn't waterproof, but does have amazing and unparalleled staying power. It also has the thin tip you're looking for! You could also try the Make Up For Ever Waterproof Eyeliner that also feature's a thin tip. It really depends on whether you prefer a pen or a paintbrush, but both are excellent choices. Good luck!