Murale Wants To Spoil You!

Gratuitous Estee Lauder Paulina ad image, around 1980

Yes, you! That's right, the amazing & generous folks over at Murale want to spoil you with a stunning gift basket of goodies! What's inside, you may ask? You may want to have a seat, dear readers, before continuing...

The Murale Contest Gift Basket contains:

Michael Kors EdT Spray

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair - all skintypes

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye - all skintypes

Estee Lauder Pure Color Shimmer Gloss 

Deborah Lippmann Nail Lacquer - Forget You

Smashbox Be Discovered Cream Cheek Trio

Smashbox Be Discovered Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner & Brush

Smashbox Shades of Fame Eye Palette & Brush

Total Value: $378

Note that these are full sized products! So click this LINK RIGHT HERE and enter- STAT!



This contest is open to Canadian residents only.

Beautiful Natural Lips by Clarins Lip Balm with Essential Rose Wax

I am continually on the hunt for the perfect lip balm. I am fairly lucky, in that my lips have good color so when they are bare, they are not invisible. In the 80s, when light pink frosty lips were de riguer, I used to put foundation on my lips to tone down the colour before applying my mauve-y grey frosted lipstick- Annabelle I think? Can’t recall the colour but I’m pretty sure it matched my nailpolish. Yikes. My mother always said my lips were such a pretty color and could never understand why I would cover them up. As usual, mother was right and now I am happy for their high colour.

Back to balm. I’ve used it all. From $9 Aquaphor- which, is fantastic, although has zero pretty purse appeal in it’s institutional white plastic tube- to $45 La Mer lip balm. La Mer is slightly better packaging wise, but I have never been keen on pot lip balm and having to dip my finger in to apply. Not hygienic and not easy peasy to apply. And it was thin, barely noticeable on my lips at all. La Mer saw me coming a mile away with that one. I’ve owned all the flavours of  the cult favourite Smith’s Rosebud Salve. Seriously? It’s basically Vaseline with a few drops of rosewater & a loud synthetic rose scent. Awful stuff and lasts seconds on the lips before it disappears. Clinique Repairwear balm was OK but I went through it so quickly and again, it just did not last on my lips. And by last I mean that my lips will still feel moist. For example, when I apply Aquaphor at night, I can still feel it on my lips in the morning. A lifesaver on those cold winter nights when the drying heat is on full blast. But I won't dwell on the products that did NOT live up to my exacting expetations.

My friend Tara and I were chatting about lip balms last month, as I was ready to go out and try yet another $45 one (Dior I think…) and she said she swears by a Clarins one with rosewax. Doesn’t rosewax sound like a lovely thing to put on your lips? I thought so. The next time I passed a Clarins counter I got it. Bingo! It is fantastic. It’s in a tube with a slanted top making it easy to apply and hygienic. It has a barely there subtle and soft rose scent and if there is a taste, I haven’t noticed it. The consistency is thick without being gloppy. It is smooth and glides beautifully across the lips. It slowly sinks in and becomes barely noticeable. There is not a lot of shine, and no frost or reflecting agents, yet it really compliments the lip nicely and makes them feel plump and moist. The most amazing thing for me is how long it lasts. I haven’t timed it but I only have to apply a few times a day. I even notice a slight reduction in the minor (very minor!) vertical lines above the lip while I wear the Clarins balm.

The Clarins balm contains hyaluronic acid, which is a natural skin component capable of retaining  moisture and helps to give a plump moist look to skin and lips. Rose wax, for which it is named, is a product collected from the surface of rose petals, and which forms a silky, soothing protective and moisturizing barrier on the lips. Wow!

I have been using this in lieu of my perrenial faves, Lip Fusion & Smashbox O-Plump, as I am lately craving a less shiny lip. A few drops of the fantastic Benetint rubbed into my lips and the Clarins Balm on top is a perfect every-day lip.

It’s not an inexpensive product at $28 but from what I can see so far, a little goes a long way.

Available at Clarins counters, online at their site, and from Sephora.

Disclaimer:  this review is for a product I purchased

Beautiful Top Five In My Purse (this week....)

1.      MAC Blot Powder: If you have oily skin, or if your skin tends to get shiny throughout the day you MUST HAVE THIS. It does come in different colours but you will be hard pressed (lol) to see an actual colour on your skin. It absorbs oils and somehow manages to hide redness. I don’t use foundation, just a little concealer and this patted on lasts for hours. Even if I don’t touch up for several hours I just get a bit “glowy” not super shiny. It is so fine milled that it does not settle into lines or get cakey, nor does it turn orange. Using an old fashioned powder puff (that comes with, and you can buy replacements from MAC) it’s easy to just dab on when no one is looking, and VOILA perfect pore less skin.

2.    Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Cream: Dry skin is a pet peeve of mine and I need to be able to moisturize anytime, anywhere. Although for all over moisturizing my holy grail is Kiehl’s Crème de Corps I have not been able to find a small tube of this to carry. The Palmers is fantastic. I touch a lot of doors during my day so I wash my hands a lot, and the Palmers keeps my hands and cuticles soft. I use the excess on elbows, and, if I’m feeling a bit dehydrated I may even gently dab some on under my eyes and on my décolletage. In the summer with bare legs I keep my knees soft and my skin supple- all before getting out of my car for an appointment.

3.      Mini atomizers for perfume: You know the little sample sprayers you get with perfume- some come pre-made or at Sephora they will make custom sprayers of whatever scent you would like to sample. I keep my favourite perfumes in these little babies in my cosmetic bag so I can refresh throughout the day. Or even more fun- if a friend tells me I smell so good and wants to know what I am wearing, I can just give her a sample. Anyone who knows me will confirm I feel naked without my perfume so this is a must have. I buy them in bulk, around $25 for 50 2.5ml atomizers. Perfect for travel as well. 

4.       Smashbox O Plump: This gloss is simply genius. A small tube of gloss that packs a beauty 1-2 punch. This is one of those intuitive glosses that change color according to the wearer. The color ranges from a nice bitten pink to a slightly more coral look depending on who I’ve seen it on. On me, it is a “my lips but better” pink with a  soft gloss on top. The shiny gloss doesn’t last long, but the color is almost a stain effect and lasts long enough to make me happy. I am NOT a lipstick person and have learned not to expect long lasting miracles for color. O Plump adds a soft plumping/moisturizing effect without discomfort, stinging or that weird cinnamon hot pepper plumping that can be quite uncomfortable for some. Adding: this is not to be confused with the O Glow, which gave me pink popsicle lips. Not what I was going for…..

5.  Sephora Sephora Wide Tooth Comb: I have long thick and wavy hair that tends to get messy (maybe driving my car with an open sunroof/window might have something to do with that…..) and I have found the best way to prevent frizz and to maintain my waves is to gently run a wide tooth comb through my hair. Ladies, if you have thick wavy hair and you are using a brush…unless you have straightened it or have a Brazilian Blow Dry, you are only making matters worse! Trust me, I have road tested every possible method for keeping frizz, stringiness and matting at bay. Using a wide tooth comb is the only way to keep those foxy curls.

What is your Top 5? Are there any items you cannot live without in your purse?