Make-Up Shake Up!

It’s a scene familiar to women all over the world: it’s Saturday night and you’re off for a rip-roaring night on the town. You’ve got your fab new outfit , your hair looks great but your make-up, well, that’s another story. Try as you might it just isn’t working; copying those looks in the mags leaves you looking like a drag queen.

Well, that’s where the fantastic website Temptalia might be able to help. As well as being a fabulous blog with all the latest news and info on the best beauty products, this website has a great tutorial section (http://www.temptalia.com/category/tutorials/) where readers can learn how to recreate professional make-up looks. From smokey eyes to flouro colour, there’s a step-by-step guide for everyone. Complete with easy instructions and pictures of how each stage should look, these instructions are completely dummy proof. Most of the make-up used is from the MAC collection, but there’s nothing to stop you using similar colours from different brands, so go get clicking and let spider-eyes and blotchy concealer become a thing of the past!

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Timeless Seduction

This spring at Toronto Fashion Week, L'Oréal introduced its colour palette for fall in a stunning new collection:

The Looks of Timeless Seduction

For each look of the collection – Miss Provocative, Miss Rebellious, and Miss Demure – L'Oréal revealed an Artistic Vision based on haute couture runway looks, as well as an Urban Vision showing how the dramatic styles can be adapted to a woman's day-to-day needs.

The aim is to explore the various concepts associated with the timeless art of seduction: Miss Provocative is a woman who knows her own power – and is not afraid to use it; Miss Rebellious lives life – and her love life! – on her own terms. Even Miss Demure, (pictured here) is not afraid to explore her sensual side: she is a shy golden girl who entices with her natural beauty.

Get the look with L'Oréal's Bare Naturale Gentle Mineral Make-up – the perfect way to achieve flawless skin without that heavy, cakey feel; gold eye-colour from the Golden Khaki Seduction Wear Infinité Eye Shadow Quad; dark brown Telescopic Mascara; a hint of pink – try True Match blush in Baby Blossom – applied to the cheeks; and lips adorned with a subtle hue such as Colour Juice lip gloss in Touch of Nude. Finally, style your locks with a large, round brush to give them bounce; flip the ends; and add a blast of Studio Line Finishing Spray as a final touch.

The collection uses gold, copper and silver shades inspired by hues found in our changing landscape throughout the year; lips are nude, or berry-stained and luminous; hair is a warm blond, a cool copper, or a deep midnight black, enriched by the tone-on-tone colour process that is all the rage for fall.

To find out more about this and other trends, drop by your local L'Oréal Paris cosmetics counter.

Fabulous Metallics

Glimmer is in high demand, and metallics are everywhere. It seems that today's make-up companies want every girl out there to be the prettiest and the brightest!

For a while, L'Oreal (www.lorealparis.ca) has been dazzling and bedazzling us with the highly-kissable Glam Shine Crystals lip gloss and the stunning Glam Bronze bronzing powder. At Revlon, (www.revlon.com,) eyes took a seductive turn with Bedroom Eyes Powder Liner; star-studded Diamond Lust Sheer Shadow; and the luminous Molten Metal Liquid Shadow.

Maybelline (www.maybelline.com) hypnotizes with its sexy-but-innocent Shine Seduction line; Rimmel (www.rimmellondon.com) gets flirty with Metallic Cream shadow; Chanel (www.chanel.com) makes us see fireworks with its sequined Lumieres d'Artifices; and Benefit gives us a supermodel glow with its perfect "10" bronzing and highlight powder (www.benefitcosmetics.com.)

The Body Shop, (www.thebodyshop.ca,) however, brings us the best of all possible worlds with its Shimmer Squares – part of the new Special Edition Fabulous Metallics Make-up collection. The simply modern, simply elegant, and highly affordable compacts – available in Velvet Browns or Cashmere Pinks – feature four interlocking shades that can be used on the eyes and on the cheeks, to revive the complexion, and dazzle and shine all day…

… And at night, the shimmering colours can be used to create an element of mystery and drama that will not go unnoticed.

So what are you waiting for? Get noticed now!