Clio Twisturn Waterproof Turnliner, Clio Gelpresso Pencil Gel Liner, & Clio Fresh Lip & Eye Remover swatches and review

I've been whining for ever for a green liquid liner. I don't know why no one seems to make a decent green liquid liner!! And before anyone mentions the Make Up For Ever Aqua Liners, I actually own two of those but the formula seems to burn the skin around my eyes T.T Whyyyyy MUFE??!! Whyyy must I be allergic to everything you make??!!
But good things always happen to those who whine!! Yumeko happened upon an advert for Clio's Twisturn Waterproof Turnliner, I begged her shamelessly for a CP and in no time the liners were making their way to me! Fanks Capy for braving epileptic fit inducing Gmarket for us! *insert confetti pedobear*

Korean popstar Lee Hyori is the brand's ambassador. Here is hilarious and long advert for the Twisturn liner.

I don't know if they were a GWP (Gift-With-Purchase) or just free samples from the seller, but each Twisturn liner came with a mini Clio Gelpresso Pencil Gel Liner and a mini Clio Fresh Lip &Eye Remover. I think we paid around $11 for the liner on Gmarket and they are $16 on Ebay.
The Twisturn liners come in 8 different shades, Urban Black (black), Club Black (grey/black with silver sparkles), Night Purple (purple), Stage Navey (navy), Urban Khaki (green), Star Silver (silver), Star Gold (gold), and Brown Earth (brown). I ended up getting Urban Khaki, Stage Navey and Night Purple.
Swatches!

Stage Navey:

Night Purple:

Urban Khaki:

Pros: 

• Cheap compared to the MUFE Aqua Liners;
• Brush tip is easy to use;
• Shimmery metallic finish;
• Longlasting, waterproof with no smudging or peeling;
• Does not irritate my eyes like the MUFE liners do; and
• It comes in green (yes that is a pro in my books);

Cons:

• Colour difference not really noticeable on the eye;
• Clicking mechanism quite shoddy - either nothing comes out or a whole blob of product comes out;
• Not opaque in one swipe; and
• A bit hard to find for those outside of Asia.

Gelpresso Pencil Gel Liner in 01 Beige Shine:

I quite like this Gelpresso pencil!!! It is perfect for the water-line and for highlighting inner corners. The fact that it is self-sharpening is also a huge plus in my books as it means I won't need to lug a sharpener with me.

Clio Fresh Lip & Eye Remover:

This is a bi-phase makeup remover much like Lancome's Bi-Facil. It removed my eye makeup quite effortlessly and did not leave the eye area overly greasy or dried out. I personally found I did not have to rinse after using this remover. Will definitely hoard these for use during trips!

Clinique Chubby Stick Intense Review & Clinique Service As You Like It

When Clinique invited me check out their newly renovated counter at The Bay, downtown Vancouver, I spied with my little eye, the new Chubby Stick Intense!
I cackled gleefully when I discovered that they had generously included 4 of them in my goody bag!

If you were disappointed with the original Chubby Stick due to its lack of pigmentation then the new Intense line is perfect for you! Featuring 8 new shades, the new Intense line combines the original moisturising formula with an extra pop of colour.
I found these to be much longer wearing than the original Chubby Sticks, on average 4-5 hours, with the darker colours lasting even longer and fading gradually to a stain.
I much prefer the formula of Chubby Sticks over Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balms. These feel creamier, smoother and more moisturising, and all without Revlon awful peppermint scent and taste!
The new Chubby Stick Intense are CAN$19 each and available now at Clinique counters.
Onto swatches!

Curviest Caramel:

Heftiest Hibiscus:

Mightiest Maraschino:

Broadest Berry:

Yeah, I have no idea what is up with those names either.

Oh and if you do happen to be at the Clinique counter in downtown Vancouver, make sure to check out their new Clinique Service As You Like It!
Developed with the customer in mind, simply pop on one of Clinique's complementary bracelets in the corresponding colour and you'll get the exact type of service you want. Whether you wish to browse alone at your own leisure (pink bracelet), you are pressed for time and need express service (white bracelet) or you have all the time in the world for a full consultation (green bracelet), what you want is what you'll get. I'm personally all about the pink bracelet as I am quite an anti-social shopper haha!
While I was at the counter, I noticed how self-service friendly the new layout is, testers are laid out and easily accessible, products are clearly labelled with their function and price and they even have these iPad where you can get a nifty printed list of recommended products for your skin woes. Quite often shoppers feel too intimidated to ask to see or test out a product, so being able to take a product off the shelf yourself without a pushy assistant breathing down your neck is definitely an improvement!

Mèreadesso skincare review

I was very kindly sent a set of Mèreadesso skincare a while back by their lovely PR, and after using their products for the last 3 months I am ready to write my review!

Mèreadesso is higher end Canadian brand developed by former cosmetics executive Linda Stephenson. Linda has worked at top cosmetics brands such as Estee Lauder, MAC, and Mary Kay for over 2 decades.
A jet setting career and a busy family life meant that Linda no longer had the time to put 16 different products on her face so she put her Chemistry and Botany degrees to use and set out to develop a one step program which would address all our skin's needs.
For the past 3 months I have put their Face + Neck Cleanser and All-In-One Moisturiser through vigorous testing in hot and dry Kona, and cold and humid Vancouver, and the products have really endeared themselves to me.

 Mèreadesso Face + Neck Cleanser
"A non-foaming all-in-one makeup remover, mask, scrub and toner that will even conquer waterproof mascara.
The globally sourced ingredient blend includes botanical extracts and vitamins. Effective as a deep cleanser but gentle enough for use around the eye area. After rinsing, your face will be free of residue and perfectly prepped for our All-In-One Moisturizer. Comes with a specially designed cleansing cloth (to be used with cleanser every time) in a reusable plastic pouch that’s great for holding everything from the cleanser to makeup brushes."
Damage: $45 for 120ml
Nunu sez: This is a non-foaming, cleansing milk type cleanser. I found it to be very gentle on my skin and left my face feeling very soft and smooth instead of dry and stripped of all moisture. During Winter, my face usually feels quite tight after cleansing but this product left my skin slightly moisturised which is quite unheard of for a cleanser.
I like that the product is house in a handy air tight pump bottle, it disperses easily and there's no more fumbling with flip caps!
I really like the micro-fibre cloth included with the cleanser! It exfoliates and removes any residual makeup that the cleanser doesn't remove. Looky how it performed against lipstick, waterproof eyeliner, waterproof mascara and foundation!

Mèreadesso All-In-One Moisturiser
"A single-step solution for your face and neck full of incentive to toss every other moisturizer, toner, serum, primer, day cream, night cream and eye cream you own. Talk about minimizing packaging.
This lightweight gel-lotion’s globally sourced ingredients include 16 botanical extracts, 8 minerals and enzymes and over 20 antioxidants. Easy to apply, quick to absorb and impossible to give up because the longer you use it, the less you’ll need it."
Damage: $120 for 50ml
Nunu sez:  This was only moisturiser I took with me to Hawaii. Yep, no toners, no eyecream, no specialised serums, just this one moisturiser because I really wanted put its claims of being an "all-in-one" to the test.
Well whaddaya know. My skin is brighter, redness has been reduced, and I swear my pores are tighter. I don't really have any wrinkles to speak of so I can't really attest to whether or not it does anything for wrinkles.
The formula is light, non-greasy, and fast absorbing with a runny gel-like texture. Unfortunately there is SPF so you will need to layer it with a sunscreen. Like the cleanser, it also comes in a vacuum pump.
Whilst this moisturiser alone was enough for the Summer months, now that Winter has come and indoor heating is on full blast I need something richer for the evenings, however, I've continued to use this as my day moisturiser as it really saves me time in the mornings when I am always in a rush.
There's only two cons of this moisturiser is the smell and the price. To me the smell came off as being very "green" and "earthy". It's not the most pleasant smelling moisturiser out there but I got used to the scent over time. The price is a bit harder to get over but the 50ml bottle has lasted me well over 3 months with continuous daily use and the time saved and the results are quite worth it.

At the moment Mèreadesso is only available for purchase online at Mèreadesso.com. Also available is the Beautiful Body Balm ($54 for 200ml) and the Lip Treats which come in clear and tinted ($28 for 2 sticks of 1.2g each.

FUN at Lush's Fun Factory

A few weeks back I got to attend a party at Lush that was Fun with a capital "F"!
So what is Fun then? Basically it's mouldable soap! You can play with it like Play-Doh but it can also be used as a shampoo, a body soap and a bubble bar.
I must admit that all my creations resemble some sort of Barbara Hepworth sculpture and I tend to just squish it gleefully under the tap xD.
There are 5 different colours, each with its own scent;
Pink - Tonka Bean,
Yellow - Vanilla,
Green - Lemon & Lime,
Red - Mandarin, and
Blue - Lavender & Chamomile.
Each bar of Fun comes rolled up in biodegradable cellophane, to use, simply break off a piece and re-wrap the rest. Each 250g bar costs CAN$6.95 and is now available both online and in stores.

Fun is really popular with the kiddos as you can see.

Left: Fun being made. Right: Fun being played.

In case you were wondering about the Japanese on the packaging of the Fun products, this is because 2.5% of the sales from every bar of Fun goes into the Lush FunD. The Lush FunD goes on to sponsor charities and community initiatives in Japan which aim to bring fun back into the lives of children who were affected by the 2011 Fukushima Earthquake/Tsunami disaster.

 Omg yes this event happened before Halloween hence the Halloween collection on display *shame face*.

Left: Mr. Punch soap, a boozy concoction of gin, juniper and blackcurrant. Right: Snow Fairy is back! Below: Bubblebeard bubble bar.

I am digging those retro lunch tins xD

Kiehl's shop-in-shop at The Bay Pacific Centre

The Bay at Pacific Centre was the landing spot for Kiehl's first ever Canadian shop-in-shop. Shelly Rosenwald, Senior Vice President of The Bay's cosmetics department, Kristin Armstrong, Kiehl's Canada's Vice President General Manager, Donna Paty, Kiehl's National Education Manager, and local designer, Jason Matlo, joined shoppers and media to celebrate the special opening event.

 The shop-in-shop was designed to emulate the atmosphere of their New York flagship store, and will bring the full Kiehl's experience to shoppers.

 I took the opportunity to sniff their new Aromatic Blends collection!! If you are a fan of fruity sweet scents you should definitely check it out!

 Kiehl's teamed up with local designer Jason Matlo to create a special edition T-shirt featuring a fantastically blinged out Mr. Bones. All proceeds from the sale of the T-shirt will go to Camp Goodtimes, a charity which organises Summer camp for children with cancer.

 Jason and his team spent over 50 hours bedazzling Mr. Bones with over 30,000 Swarovski crystals. This dapper Mr. Bones will be a permanent feature at the shop-in-shop.

 The artist with his work. Funny story, I later found out that Jason and I have mutual friends. Talk about 6 degrees of separation.

There is a plan to introduce the shop-in-shop concept to Bay stores across Canada, but in the meantime you visit them the next time you are in downtown Vancouver. Ask one of their awesome technicians for a skin analysis and pick up some great skincare!

p.s what would a post on Kiehl's be without the famous Kiehl's dog? Fresh from a bath with Kiehl's Cuddly Coat <3>

Lise Watier Winter 2012 Glamour Rose collection swatches & review

Winter is coming.
Actually, Winter is already here for those who live north of the wall border. Vancouver was uncharacteristically warm and sunny for the first week of October, but Thanksgiving brought around the grey skies and incessant rain which will probably let up sometime around June of next year.
Ah well, at least Winter heralds the beginning of the Holiday season and with it, all the Holiday and Winter releases from the various beauty houses.
Lise Watier teased me relentlessly with their Winter 2012 Glamourose catalogue, the promo imagery is tres Madonna circa La Isla Bonita no? Anyway, I finally got around to swatching and reviewing the samples I received.

"The Rose, the queen of flowers, is blossoming into a collection of refined shades and products. This flower is the inspiration behind this new Lise Watier collection, a symbol of beauty, love and femininity."

Palette Glamour Rose in Vert Minuit
Price: $45
Lise Watier sez: "A trio of eyeshadows, half cream half powder, that comes with an embossed rose shaped blush and a matching blush brush."
Nunu sez: The Vert Minuit palette consists of 3 pearl finish eyeshadows in white, khaki and black, and a matte pink blush. The eyeshadows are all soft and finely milled, however, the pigmentation and texture is not on par with their awesome Aquarella quads. Of the 3, the khaki was the most pigmented and applied the smoothest, the black was slightly chalky but still pigmented and the white swatched the poorest. I didn't really feel the "half cream" part of the formula, in fact, the shadows kick up quite a bit of dust when used. I suggest wearing these with a primer or a base, as their intensity fades rather significantly without one. The blusher is cool toned and has decent pigmentation, however, it applies a bit too powdery for my liking.
The cover art on the palette is beautifully ornate and I wonder why they went with a cardboard packaging which cheapens the whole effect.

Illuminating Face & Body Powder
Price: $35
Lise Watier sez: "This versatile powder is ideal for illuminating the neckline with a soft pearly shade, or for adding a touch of glimmer on the eyelids and cheeks"
Nunu sez: The beautiful embossing on this powder reminded me so much of the beauty powders from MAC'S A Rose Romance. I didn't notice any colour being imparted by this powder, top swatch is heavily done with a sponge applicator and bottom swatch was done with a domed powder brush. Imparts a lovely glow without being overly frosty. Thumbs up for this one.

Luxurious Satin Finish Eyeshadow in Gold
Price: $24
Lise Watier sez: "New formula combines exceptional brightness and silky texture that can be worn alone or over another eyeshadow for a more intense and brilliant look."
Nunu sez: I got quite tanned during my time in Hawai'i and as a result have taken to wearing warmer shades of makeup, much to the consternation of the Other Tine. The formula is much nicer than that of the shadows in the Glamour Rose palette, it is smooth, and pigmented and doesn't kick up any dust. This is a really pretty light gold and I look forward to pairing it with a cranberry shade for the Holiday season.

Eye Shine eyeliner pencil in Black Gold
Price: $18
Lise Watier sez: "Two new shades featuring micro-glitter have been added to the line of eyeliners renown for their soft texture and metallic lustre. "
Nunu sez: This is my favourite product from this collection! I ended up using it before I took photos for this review. Bad blogger! But it is so gorgeous and I just couldn't resist xD.
Don't let the words "micro-glitter" deter you, this pencil applies silky smooth, is extremely pigmented and lasts all day. The glitter shows up as a uniform metallic gleam and the result is sultry glamour instead of Ke$ha. The colour reminds me a lot of L'Oreal's Infallible Eyeshadow in Cosmic Black, it's got that same bronzey-golden sheen in a black base and I love using it on my lower lash line. Ugh, SO MUCH LOVE!!

Rouge Plumpissimo Lipstick in Glamour Rose
Price: $21
Lise Watier sez: "Perfect for an irresistibly plumped look with a highly pigmented rich pink colour"
Nunu sez: I have reviewed their Rouge Plumpissimo lipsticks before here and I am happy to report that they no longer have that odd licorice smell!! In fact, they now appear to have the same yummy cake smell as their Rouge Gourmand lipsticks. The formula is not exactly moisturising, but it's not really drying either, it wears comfortably on my lips on its own but I would recommend lipbalm underneath. It's a lovely bright cerise shade which fades to a lovely stain and I was able to get a good 5 hours wear from it.

The collection, which includes a few more pieces, will be available from November 2012 to January 2013. If you are Canadian, London Drugs and Shoppers Drug Mart carry the line, or you can order online from lisewatier.com.
Ok, now I am going to crawl back into my cocoon of blankets. Revive when necessary with copious amounts of heavily spiked egg nog.

Rowenta Beauty Curl Active review

The PR for Rowenta Beauty contacted me a while back to do a review of their Curl Active curling iron, I procrastinated until now because I was waiting for my hair to grow. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 Curler comes with a built in stand! You won't have to set it on a protective mat or worry about it burning your counters!

Damage:
$179.99 from Rowenta Beauty
Rowenta Beauty sez: 
" The Curl Active offers glamorous, salon quality curls in an effortless gesture. Equipped with a high tech curling system, this revolutionary tool automatically rotates hair around a motorized barrel. Optimal rotation speed ensures hair is perfectly coiled, and the tool’s varying temperatures support all hair types. Full bodied curls are seamlessly achieved, even at the back of the head, and results are long lasting.

• Motorized curling system
• 2 rotation switches for various hair styles
• Variable temperature: 2 heat positions of 180°C and 210°C
• Heating element within iron for a perfect thermic conduction
• Fast heat up (1.5 minutes)
• Ceramic coating to protect hair and increase shine
• Ideal curl diameter (23 mm)
• Exclusive trigger to grip and hold hair in place"

Nunu sez:
My hair is naturally thick and coarse which means it takes quite a lot of effort to curl. Effort I am way too lazy to exert. The Rowenta Curl Active curler takes away all that extra effort; all I really  have to do is clip a section of my hair to the curler and press a button and the barrel automatically rolls up. No more having to wind the curling iron up to my head! It even rolls backwards a bit when it gets to the end of the section so that klutzes like me don't end up burning their scalp.
I use the higher heat setting and hold the curler in place for 10 seconds, on release I get lovely soft curls. Heat up time was fast, I was able to use the curler within 30 seconds of turning it on.
The curler does take a little getting used to, the first few times I used it I would press the wrong direction or the release trigger instead. I also found it slightly awkward to use on the back of my head and on shorter hair in general as the clip is rather short, of course if you have longer hair this isn't really a problem.
Allow me to illustrate the process:

Attach the clip to the bottom of a section of hair:

 Press the direction button and watch the barrel roll up the section of hair. Hold for 10seconds.

Tada!

Continue to do rest of hair, remember to go in alternate directions or your hair will end up in 1 giant curl.

Look forlornly into the distance:

In both directions:

Back view:

Ahjumma gangnam style!

I was originally going to make a video until I realised that I looked like this:

Used on my friend who has long hair: