Beauty News: Makeup Junkie Gets The 411 On Spring Beauty Trends For 2008!



Now that fashionweek in Toronto has ended, it's time to come down from the fashion high and get back to reality. As I had mentioned in a previous post, I had the pleasure of interviewing L'Oreal fashionweek's head makeup artist, Eddie Maleterre, and head hair artist Eric Del Monaco! Check out my interviews on the hottest beauty trends for spring on ChickAdvisor.com! Enjoy! The fashion fun is not over yet! Stay tuned for more from L'Oreal Fashionweek!

Beauty News: Beauty For A Good Cause!


The remarkable Billy B. and "The American Beauty Tour" is in its final stretch in the U.S. which only means he'll be making his way to Canada soon! To end his tour, Billy and The Powder Group will be participating in a very special benefit event in New Orleans November 4! This event is a benefit for Hairdressers Unlocking Hope. This is a Vidal Sassoon and BehindTheChair.com initiative that will be raising funds for Habitat for Humanity outreach in the Gulf Coast/New Orleans area. This will help go towards the wonderful efforts in creating new homes for those misplaced in the tragic Hurricane Katrina disaster. The Powder Group is the amazing makeup team behind all of the graphic makeup hand designs on all of the stylists and salon owners in the campaign.



Joining Billy B. for an amazing three hour hair and makeup seminar is the hairstyling icon Ruth Roche of RARE Academy in NYC! Following the seminar will be a cocktail reception in the beautiful courtyard of the W French Quarter! Each event is $145 or you can be apart of both events for $290. The icing on the cake - 100 % of the event fee goes towards the benefit!! Like I've said before, I love beauty that gives to a good cause and this event is a must if you are in the area! Even if you can't go, you can still make a donation by visiting www.thepowdergroup.com/theamericanbeautytour_neworleans.html
Happy giving!



*For those of you in the Toronto area Billy B. will be making his special appearance at Industry Cosmetics November 25th! Don't forget to sign up before it's too late!

Beauty News: L'Oreal Toronto Fashion Week Day 1


Ali from Chick Advisor, left, and me in front of the tent

I love the buzz of fashion week in the air. It's something about the love of fashion that sends every fashionista in a frenzy. As I neared the tent in the heart of the city, Nathan Phillips Square, I have to admit that my nerves got the best of me. It was my first time attending fashion week as media and I had no idea what to expect. I was running a little late and wasn't in the mood to wait in line. Thank god for media status because I didn't have to! Everyone was so nice and ushered me right in. I was happy to see some familiar faces like Ali from Chick Advisor, Ellen from Lipstick, Powder 'n Paint, and Henna from Canadian Beauty (it was my first time meeting both Ellen and Henna!).


The show to be at Monday night was definitely the Project Runway Canada show. Details or pictures from the show cannot be given until the season finale in December. All I can say is that Iman is absolutely stunning. It's just unbelievable that she's over 50! Everyone was hyped and I was excited to be apart of something so big. Stay tuned for pictures and my interviews with Eddie Malettere, L'Oreal Fashionweek's Head Makeup Artist, and Eric Del Monaco, Head Hair Artist, on Chick Advisor!

I've Been MIA!!

I apologize for being MIA (Missing In Action), but it's just been a crazy busy week especially with the L'oreal Toronto Fashion Week starting tomorrow! I have some exciting things coming up in the next month so stay tuned! I'll be attending the Project Runway Canada fashion show tomorrow but unfortunately I cannot post pics or devulge any of the show's content until the season finale in December! I'm hoping to bump into Iman! Tuesday, I will be attending the Nada show and interviewing head makeup artist and hair artist Eddie Maleterre and Eric DelMonaco for ChickAdvisor.com! Next month don't miss more interviews with top beauty experts in the biz! The Queen Street Shop Crawl Part Deux hosted by Ali from Chick Advisor is also coming up so stay tuned for that as well! I have a slew of products to review which I haven't been able to get to yet but will!! Thanks for checking out my site and come back again for some new stuff!

Beauty Review: Into The Night With Estee Lauder


Estee Lauder's 2007 Holiday collection, Into The Night, is for the social butterfly who is running around the city with shopping bags in hand and by night is mingling in her most fab cocktail dress marking her martini glass with her crystal ruby red lips. Sound like you? Well, if you love rich metallic hues of gold, copper, bronze, and red then indulge in this collection! The collection consists of two limited edition shimmer powders, Signature Shimmer Powder in Gold Pearl and Rose Pearl, and Platinum Illuminator Loose Shimmer Powder. Both can be brushed onto the face and body to give your skin a beautiful sheen. For eyes that sparkle apply the Double Wear Stay-in-Place Shadowstick in either Gold Pearl or Golden Peach alone or as a base. Add some intensity by applying Signature Silky Eye Shadow Duo in striking pearl Citrine (warm amber gold/olive) or semi-matte Ginger (nude rose/plum-brown). Glam up those lips with Pure Color Lipstick in any of the following gorgeous shades: Gold Ruby, Platinum Blush, Tiger Eye, and Platinum Amber (stunning gold amber). Give those lips a festive glimmer and shine with Pure Color Crystal Gloss in Gold Berry (my personal fave!) or Light Copper. Don't forget to give your nails some love! Make them dazzle in Pure Color Nail Lacquer in Copper Rose or Satin Gold!


I really love the duo shadow Citrine because the hues are perfect together! The metallic colours are really wearable because the texture is sheer and silky. They lasted a whole day of furniture and baby shopping! The colours were subtle enough for day and the shimmer wasn't overkill. For the evening, I added a deep forest green in a matte texture to the outer lash line and all across the bottom lash line. Fabulous! And my favourite part of all is the Pure Color Crystal Gloss in Gold Berry! It's a rich warm berry-red with gold flecks and would look gorgeous on any skin tone. The gloss is a full colour but is still luminous and shimmery. I used the Pure Color Lipstick in Platinum Amber over top in the center of my lips to give the illusion of a fuller lip. The colour and shine lasted through a few cups of coffee and didn't crust or cake on the inner part of the lip like some glosses do. Gold Berry is my fave new lip colour for the holidays! If red is too bold a statement for you, Gold Berry is the perfect alternative.

Into The Night is available on-counter now and the best part is that it will be around for four months! So, glam up the season in one of the hottest collections this holiday! Happy shopping!

Beauty News: Chick Advisor Queen St. W Shop Crawl Part Deux!


Back by popular demand (yes, I was one of probably many that demanded Ali do another shop crawl!), Ali from ChickAdvisor.com, has organized another fabulous shop crawl for it's members and friends/family on November 2, 2008 6-9 pm which will be followed by an after party at Milestones! I missed out on the first one but I made sure to keep my calendar open for part deux! It'll be a fantastic night of free swag, great shopping, wonderful company and fabulous prizes! I'm looking forward to meeting my fellow Chick Advisor members!


The head chickie, Ali, has been getting a lot of well deserved media exposure for her site and podcast show 'Where'd You Get That?'. One of Canada's top television networks CBC will be tagging along on the shop crawl to feature the event for a new show called Fortune Hunters (I have the pleasure of doing Ali's makeup for the show)! The episode will air some time in January! So, hurry now and get your ticket(s) and have some fun shopping! Members get tickets at a discounted price. If you're not a member sign up now to take advantage of the discounted price! Invite your friends and family but hurry because there's only 50 tickets available! See you there!


For more info on how to buy tickets and sponsors and participating stores click here.

Beauty News: L'oreal Toronto Fashion Week October 22-27


Alright all you fashionistas it's that time of year again when Toronto's fashionable come out to be seen and of course see the latest fashion trends for spring/summer 2008 from some of Canada's top designers! Toronto Fashion Week takes place October 22-27 at new location Nathan Phillip's Square. We'll have a huge tent much like NY's tent in Bryant Park. Exciting! I'll be reporting for ChickAdvisor.com to give you backstage access to the Spring makeup trends from L'oreal Paris' lead makeup artist Eddie Maleterre and lead hair artist Eric Del Monaco! Shows I'm looking forward to are Pink Tartan, Bustle, Andy The-Anh, David Dixon, Zoran Dobric, Joeffer Caoc, Rudsak. So, stay tuned to see Toronto's take on the Spring beauty trends for 2008!
For more information or to purchase tickets visit www.lorealfashionweek.ca
Photo courtesy of L'oreal Fashion Week

Beauty News: Think Pink For October


I've mentioned before that I love makeup products that are created for a great cause. If you're going to dish out money for makeup why not buy something that supports breast cancer awareness this month. Many cosmetics lines this October are coming out with beauty products specifically to raise money and awareness of breast cancer. The Canadian cosmetic company, Pink Beauty, has joined with Rethink Breast Cancer and will be donating 50% of all net proceeds from the sale of Sweet Pea Glamour Glaze Gloss in October available at 10 Holt Renfrew locations all across Canada. Sweet Pea is a beautiful baby pink shade and retails for $21. If you haven't heard of Pink Beauty then you're definitely missing out. The line is "modern-day sophistication meets 1940's Hollywood glamour". It's a real girly-girl brand and was created to bring out your "inner pink glow". Love it! So, go out there and show your support for the many sisters, mothers, wives, daughters, and friends who have lost the fight or are fighting breast cancer! Swipe on your gloss or lipstick and wear it proudly! Happy shopping!


For more information on Pink Beauty Cosmetics visit http://www.pinkbeautycosmetics.com/

For more information on Rethink Breast Cancer visit http://www.rethinkbreastcancer.com/

Makeup 101: 1940's Glam My Way

I had the pleasure of doing makeup for the beautiful bride Christine over the summer and I was soo excited when she decided to do the 1940's glam look which is so big for Fall right now. I've done a few how-to's on this Fall beauty trend but this time I wanted to share the products and techniques I used to achieve this look. She was such an inspiration because she truly reflected the glam woman of the 1940's from hair, to makeup, to dress (which was absolutely stunning on her), to shoes, to accessories. Alright, let's get started and get you glammed up!

1. Base: I started with a primer to create a smooth base for her foundation. I let it set for 5 minutes before applying her foundation. I used a silicone-based foundation and evened out her skin tone where needed with a foundation brush. I didn't want the foundation to look too heavy because I wanted her to appear fresh and radiant. I applied a creamy concealer around the nose and under the eyes with a concealer brush. I set the foundation with a dusting of blotting powder, making sure that her lids were well-powdered.

Products: M.A.C. Prep+Prime Face Protect SPF 50, Face Atelier Ultra Foundation, M.A.C. Foundation brush #190, Lise Watier Professional Correctors, YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch (courtesy of the bride which I'm dying to get!), M.A.C. Concealer brush #194, M.A.C. Blot Powder/Pressed

2. Eyes: I like to fill the brows in first because it frames the eye and helps me determine the look I want to achieve that will compliment the eye shape. I used a matte eyeshadow with a brow brush to fill in her brows and chose a reddish-brown colour to match her beautiful auburn hair. I blended the colour with a mascara brush to make it more natural and used a clear brow gel to set it.

Before applying any shadow I used a base to prime the lids so that the shadows would blend nicely and last longer. I highlighted the brow bone, lower lash line and inner corner of the eyes with a shimmery champagne shadow with a dense blending shadow brush. I shaded the lid with a matte vanilla shadow with a flat brush and defined the crease with a matte stone and dark brown shadow mixed together blending back and forth until there were no harsh lines. To make the eyes pop a bit, I applied the shimmery champagne shadow to the center of the lids. I used a water-resistant liquid liner in black lining the inner to outer lash line with a flat synthetic liner brush and skipped winging it out because her lid drooped downwards. I curled the lashes and applied a coat of water-proof mascara. To make those lashes flutter I added a pair of false lashes.

Products: M.A.C. Eye Shadow Folie (brows), M.A.C. Small Angled Brow Brush #208, M.A.C. Lash Brush #204, M.A.C. Clear Brow Set, M.A.C. Eye Paint Untitled (primer), M.A.C. Eye Shadow Shroom (highlighter), M.A.C. Blending Brush #217, M.A.C. Eye Shadow Vanilla (lid), M.A.C. Eye Shading Brush #239, M.A.C. Eye Shadow Charcoal Brown (crease), M.A.C. Eye Shadow Brun (crease), M.A.C. LiquidLast Liner Point Black, M.A.C. Flat Definer Brush #212, Shu Uemura Eye Lash Curler, L'oreal Voluminous Water-proof Mascara in Black, Quo Cosmetics Lashes #801

Cheeks: I contoured her cheeks with a matte bronzer and a neutral blush using a contour blush brush. I gave her cheeks a beautiful glow using a soft pink blush and added a highlighter to the cheekbones.

Products: Benefit Hoola Bronzer, M.A.C. Powder Blush Harmony, M.A.C. Small Contour Brush #109, Benefit Dandelion , M.A.C. Limited Edition Mineralize Skinfinish Shimpagne (highlighter)

Lips: Red lips perfectly applied can be a bit tricky. I applied a lip balm first because the last thing you want is chapped lips. To prevent the colour from bleeding or feathering I applied a primer to the lips and let it set in for a few minutes. I lined and filled in the lips with a creamy lip pencil. I applied a semi-matte lipstick in a true blue red and added a opalescent gloss to the center of the lips. To fix mistakes, I dipped my concealer brush in concealer and cleaned up the edges. Also, when applying gloss to red lips only apply to the center of the bottom lip staying away from the outer part to prevent bleeding.

Products: Murad Soothing Lip Therapy, Benefit Lip Plump (primer), M.A.C. Cremestick Liner Red Enriched, M.A.C. Lipstick M.A.C. Red, M.A.C. Lustreglass Luminary

This look can work on everyone and can be done many ways using different products. This is just my take on the '40's glam look. There is a fabulous red lipstick for every woman so keep searching until you find the right one. Happy shopping!