The Fuchsia the Better

Back row L-R: Rebel, Lickable, Girl About Town, Total Wow, Lustering

In Front: Immodest (resting on top), Scan-Delicious, Just Add Color and Chromeglass

I am completely in love with bright pink lips. Maybe my new fascination with all things fuchsia was brought about by the end of winter, maybe it was getting heavy bangs, but whatever the reason, I just can't get enough! I've got quite a few pink lippies, and am always on the lookout for new shades. Here are the ones I'm reaching for the most lately!

Rebel: Where do I start? This is completely unique and the most stunning lip colour I've ever encountered. It's a deep fuchsia with a hint of berry and purple undertones. It can be layered and fades evenly for perfect berry lips.

Lickable: Similar to Girl About Town (see below), but not quite as intense and about half a shade lighter. I can get away with wearing this one to work!

Girl About Town: True bright fuchsia lipstick that really is for the girl about town! This is perfect for that dramatic pop of colour for a grey day or a night out.

Total Wow: I may have to do a review just of this lipstick, I love it that much! It's a deep fuchsia/berry colour in the tube, but because it's a glaze finish, it goes on sheer with a hint of sheen and fades to a beautiful stain. My all-time favourite daytime lip colour.

Lustering: This one is a lighter, almost coral-tinged fuchsia. I like it because it's much less garish and can therefore be worn much more easily. I've heard it described in a blog review as "the shy younger sister of Girl About Town." Spot on, I'd say.

Immodest: Mattene lipstick. Not quite as drying as matte lipsticks, but has a similar finish. It's a brighter, lighter shade of pink than most of the others and is extremely intense due to the formula. It will last for ages, much longer than regular lipstick and show up more strongly. I really wish they had not discontinued these - they're beautiful!

Scan-Delicious: This was part of the Peacocky collection that came out at the end of 2010 and is one of the Kissable glosses. I love this because it's very intensely pigmented, super silky and doesn't leave a sticky feeling like the Lipglasses do.

Just Add Color: A Lipglass, this isn't my favourite pink because I'm not a huge fan of the stickiness of the Lipglass formula. If it weren't for that, I would love it. The colour is amazing - which is why it made my list despite the Lipglass formula. It is a true bright pink that will definitely make you stand out in a crowd!

Already Fab!: This one is a Chromeglass, so it's got a nearly metallic finish to it. The applicator sucks, bit I've found that dotting it along my lips and working it in with my finger works wonderfully.





Got any favourite bright pink lippies? Do tell!

Cruelty-Free? Yes - M.A.C. appears on PETA's Cruelty-Free list.

Juice Beauty - Mineral Lip Moisturizer Trio

It's the time of year to stock up on everything SPF in preparation for what we hope will be a long, hot summer. It was with that in mind that I purchased this package of three SPF 8 lip moisturizers from one of my favourite brands, Juice Beauty. Like all the Juice Beauty products, they're organic and don't contain any harmful preservatives or other chemicals. At $16.50 for the lot, it's a pretty good deal.

It contains one natural and two coloured - Joyful is a pale pink and Playful is a warm berry. The only thing I'm not crazy about is that rather than being a glaze-type tinted lip balm, they have a coloured shimmer. I'm not so crazy about that - I don't tend to like anything sparkly or shimmery. I'm sure I'll still use them, though, as they're not highly pigmented and smell great.

Don't forget - for the next two days you can get 25% off and free shipping at Juice Beauty's online store by using coupon code FF2011. Happy shopping!

Ratings:
Packaging: 5/5
Product quality: 5/5
Worth the price? As long as you like shimmery lip colour, then yep!
Would I purchase again? No. Perhaps the clear one individually.
Cruelty-Free? Yes - and appears on PETA's Cruelty-Free list.
Where to find it: Juice Beauty online, Ebeauty online. 

MAC - Lipstick in Total Wow

I discovered this recently from an online store, though I believe it's discontinued, and am completely in love! It's a glaze, which means that it's not highly pigmented, but rather a sheer wash of colour. It's a dark pink in the fuchsia family but with a hint of purplish undertones. Hard to describe, but beautiful!

I tend to have trouble with most lipsticks as my lips dry out and chap easily, even with a primer. I tend to like formulas like the Slimshines that add a more subtle wash of colour and are more moisturizing. This definitely fit the bill! It's what I look for in a gloss but without the stickiness, and I love that as it fades it still leaves a hint of an even stain.

I also like that it's a bit more subtle and I can wear it easily during the day. That said, it probably wouldn't work as well for darker skin tones - I'm very pale so even more subtle shades show up well on me!
Overall this has become my go-to lip product and I've bought a backup since I'm sure I'll love it for a long time to come!

Come to think of it, I wonder if they still have it in stock so I can get an extra back up..... ;)


Ratings:
Packaging: 5/5
Product quality: 5/5
Worth the price? Definitely!
Would I purchase again? I have, and might get another backup while I still can since it's discontinued!
Cruelty-Free? Yes - and appears on PETA's Cruelty-Free list.
Where to find it: All Cosmetics Wholesale online.

MAC - Surf Baby Eyeshadows

Check out the new summer collection from MAC! Gorgeous, right? Unfortunately there are a LOT of shades in here that I simply can't pull off, but I think they'll be stunning on tanned or less pink-toned skin! The entire collection is inspired by summer beach colours - coral, turquoise, warm bronzer and pale shimmer. If you concentrate really hard you can almost hear the waves hitting the beach, right?

From this collection I only picked up two of the eyeshadows: Short Shorts (frost), which is a pale, shimmery highlight colour (it reminds me a little of Clair de Lune, only more spreadable) and Swell Baby which is a cool-toned grey - again easily blendable.Surf USA is on my "maybe" list - it's an absolutely gorgeous frosted turquoise that's surprisingly pigmented and easy to work with, I'm just not sure I'd use it enough to justify buying it! Sun Blonde is a very bright yellow-gold and Saffron is a bright coral - they both seemed a little chalky to me when I swatched them and I don't think they'd work well with my colouring.

The stacked pigments are gorgeous as well - also on my "maybe" list! A little glitter in some of them, but other than that they're as beautiful as you expect from MAC pigments and just as easy to work with as any of their others!

Ratings:
Packaging: 4.5/5
Product quality: 5/5
Worth the price? Yep.
Would I purchase again? Possibly, though I don't tend to use greys that much and the highlighter honestly isn't much different from their other similar shades - so I doubt I'll finish them very quickly!
Cruelty-Free? Yes - and appears on PETA's Cruelty-Free list.
Where to find it: MAC store or online.

Juice Beauty - Sale Coupon!!

I normally don't go overboard telling people to buy stuff, but I actually really like this company and their products, so I thought I'd share some info and a sale coupon code for anyone who might be interested. If you don't like hearing about products, feel free to skip this post!

I came across Juice Beauty by fluke when I got a free sample of their Oil-Free Moisturizer with a Sephora purchase. I immediately loved how it smelled and liked what I read on the label, but as I've got sensitive skin and have spent years finding products that work for me, I didn't try it right away. Eventually the yummy scent won me over and I gave it a try. And immediately fell in love with it.

Since then I've learned a bit about the company. They use 100% certified organic juice as the base for their products, making them 98% organic. And they don't contain parabens, petroleum, propylene or butylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfates, pesticides, phthalates, artificial dyes or synthetic fragrances. Since skin is the largest organ in the human body and whatever we put on it gets absorbed quickly into the body, this is a huge plus!

As if all that wasn't enough, they are also listed on the PETA website as a cruelty-free company, meaning that they do not test their products on animals. This issue has been close to my heart since I was in my early teens, and I always make an effort to support companies that do not harm animals just to make us look pretty.

Of course anything this good comes at a price - one that often makes them much harder on the budget than they are on the skin! Which is why I was super excited to discover their friends and family sale which will give you 25% off and free shipping (even to Canada!) until May 31st. Just enter coupon code FF2011 upon checkout.

If you're not familiar with the brand, here are some of my favourites to get you started:

 Oil-Free Moisturizer 

This was the first thing I ever tried and an excellent introduction to the brand. It has a lovely citrus scent with just a hint of sweetness that I find gorgeous. It spreads easily and a little goes a very long way - but it absorbs quickly and doesn't leave any oily residue - great for those of us who don't like the feel of heavy cream or makeup on our skin!

 

Green Apple SPF 20 Antioxidant Body Moisturizer

 With summer fast approaching, it's time to start thinking about how to protect ourselves from harmful UV rays without forgoing everything that makes summer fun. This is the answer. It has SPF 20, making it good for everyday protection from casual sun exposure, and your new summer favourite! It does double duty as a moisturizer so it will keep your skin super soft at the same time. And it doesn't leave any white residue or have an obnoxious sunscreen smell. If you get just one product in the sale, this should be it!

 

SPF 8 Lip Moisturizer

Don't forget those lovely lips when you're heading out into the sun! These lip moisturizers have a great smell and taste, go on without leaving any residue and come in clear as well as two subtle tints for when you want a little more colour! Sold in a package of three and individually.

  And I’ve heard really good things about these:

 Green Apple Peel Sensitive

I haven't tried this one yet, but it's sitting in my bathroom, so I will soon! It is formulated with anti-oxidants and will gently exfoliate while smoothing out fine lines and reducing breakouts. Apparently. Also comes in full strength for those with more hardy skin types.

 

SPF 30 Mineral Sheer Moisturizer 

More than any other body part, your face is exposed to even the most diffused sunlight every single minute that you're outdoors. In the summer, this is likely to be a lot of minutes. From what I've ready this is light enough to wear instead of daytime moisturizer but will give you SPF 30 protection so you don't have to slather heavy sunblock on your face. Sounds like a good idea to me!

Go and check them out while they've got they're sale on - also check out their "kits" if you want to try smaller sizes of a variety of products before committing to anything full sized!