We've hit 200!!!!!!!!

Ladies, are you serious??? Have we really hit 200??? Uuuuum, I kind of love you guys =). Time for a giveaway.......but I am SO beyond tired right now that I will post prizes and the EASY way to enter tomorrow. Night.....zzzzzzzzzzzzz.........

Beauty Review: My Zuca Bag Is Complete!

The Zuca Bag had been on my covet list for a long time.  After months of shopping and comparing (and bugging the hubby), I finally got my hands on one. You can read my post here. Despite purchasing the slightly smaller Sport version and not purchasing the utility pouches, my Zuca is still by far my favourite beauty essential of all time. I'm happy to report that my bag is now complete with 5 large Utility Pouches! Happy dance!

The Zuca Utility Pouches ($17 USD) are made out of nylon and fully lined, with durable easy-to-clean clear vinyl. These pouches are truly multi-purpose and can hold anything from your beauty products, to art supplies, to pretty much anything that needs storing.

I heart these pouches! Whether you are a makeup artist or makeup junkie these bags will hold all your favourite beauty must-haves. One pouch fits all my essentials for creating a flawless complexion. I have my foundations, powders, primers, moisturizer, concealers, and setting sprays all in the bag above. Each pouch also comes with labels so you can easily identify your products.

What I'm especially happy about is that all 5 pouches plus my brush belt all fit perfectly into the Sport version. Another reason to love these pouches is that they slide in and out like shelves and stack neatly in the bag. The only con? With all the extra room, I ended up adding more makeup to each pouch!

I highly recommend the Zuca bag and utility pouches. Transporting my makeup is no longer a scary ride since I know my products are safely secured! 

Products were sent for editorial consideration. Thank you! Visit LeCosmetique.com for all your makeup artistry essentials. 

Do you own the Zuca? Love it? Hate it? Want it?

www.zuca.com

www.lecosmetique.com

Makeup 101: Brigette Bardot Inspired Look Using CARGO Cosmetics

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of doing makeup with the CARGO Cosmetics team for the Toronto French Lingerie Fashion Show that took place at the artsy and chic Wychwood Barns. It was a unique show full of beautiful scantily clad models and dancers in luxurious lingerie pieces, spectacular dance routines, and of course stunning makeup! 

The inspiration for the look was the original blond bombshell, Brigette Bardot. Think sultry, sexy, bedroom eyes and hair. I received quite a few emails and comments asking what products we used and how to achieve the look so I figured why not blog about it!

The CARGO spread

Get the Look: 

 The look on one of my models who is a professional dancer. Could be a model right?

Step 1: Prep your face with CARGO's blu_ray High Definition Mattifier. Backstage it was a sweaty, sticky mess due to having no a/c. This primer was probably one of the main reasons the makeup did not slide off!

Makeup still in tact on the runway!

Step 2: Even out your skin tone with CARGO's Foundation - Oil Free. It was my first time working with the product and the results were beautiful. It gave awesome coverage yet did not look heavy on the skin. I also used this to cover under the eyes. Tip: Prep your eyes first but save applying foundation all over for last when doing a smokey eye. This will save time (and product) re-doing foundation from shadow fall-off.

Step 3: Set your makeup with CARGO's blu_ray Pressed Powder. It contains photochromatic pigments that help makeup stay consistent in all types of lighting plus the micronized mineral pigments diffuse light to camouflage imperfections and fill-in fine lines. 

Step 4: Line the top and bottom with CARGO's High Pigment Pencils in Black. Don't worry if the line is not straight. Dip a smudging brush into the darkest shadow in CARGO's Essential Eye Palette and smudge over top of the liner to diffuse the colour for a smokey definition. Repeat on the bottom and line the inner water line with the pencil.

Step 5: Apply the darkest shade from The Essential Eye Palette all over the lid and into the crease. To really make it sultry, concentrate most of the colour close to the lash line and outer crease. I like to apply the shadow with a flat shadow brush then blend with a firm but fluffy brush. Highlight the brow bone and inner corner with the lightest shade. The look would not be complete without black mascara and some flirty fake lashes (not shown)! These palettes are perfect for the woman that loves an easy, polished look or for makeup beginners. Each shadow is named according to the placement on your eyes.

Step 6: Balance the strong eye with a nude rose blush like CARGO's Tonga. I also contoured the cheeks with CARGO's Matte Bronzer (not shown).

Step 7: To really give the lips a nude finish, I filled the lips in with CARGO's Reverse Lip Liner in Light (not shown). I then topped off the lips with a nude gloss from CARGO's Lip Quad in Casablanca.

What do you think of the look? Would you wear this?

You can now purchase some of these products online by visiting CARGO's Facebook page! 

www.cargocosmetics.com

Katy Perry Tutorial Request

For her 25th birthday party Katy Perry had a Willie Wonka themed party. Here is the makeup look, aaaaand nail design, that she donned for the occasion. LoVe the coral cheeks and understated lips!!!!! You don't see that often from this chica =).

Coming Soon

Just like it says, here are some things that are coming soon!!!

UPDATE: M.A.C. Rodarte Collection Controversy

Eerie campaign shot for Rodarte's M.A.C. Collection
Photo courtesy of Stylelist.com

UPDATE: M.A.C. will be donating $100 000 to a non-profit organization in Juarez and will be changing the product names. It's clear the beauty blogging community has a voice. We love beauty but we will never stand for exploitation or discrimination all in the name to be edgy or to make a fast buck.

Has M.A.C. done enough? If the Rodarte collection was made to bring awareness of Juarez and to donate proceeds to Juarez charities from the get-go there would be no controversy. The apologies and efforts seem too after-the-fact. As someone commented on this post, the upside is that we are all aware of the help that Juarez needs. Has Rodarte done enough? I don't think so. Why aren't they offering to give a portion of their clothing sales to a Juarez charity?

What I do commend M.A.C. for is that they are not too big of a company to listen to their consumers. If you do plan to buy from the Rodarte collection, at least you'll know part of the proceeds are going to help the women of Juarez. Another reader left a comment saying she'd rather donate her money directly to a charity. I agree. If you're looking to donate visit this site for a list of charities in Juarez:
http://www.charity-charities.org/Mexico-charities/Juarez.html

Original Post: 

There has been much buzz over the controversy of M.A.C.'s  Rodarte collection and the designer's questionable inspiration of a little town in Mexico called Juarez. The history of Juarez was news to me and  I was unfamiliar with the background of the town until I read it on Vex in The City. I had heard about the collaboration between M.A.C. and the Rodarte sister designers, Laura and Kate Mullevy, launching this Fall but didn't clue into the controversy that surrounds it. 

Juarez, known as a factory town in Mexico, is notorious for the disappearance of hundreds of women between the ages of 12 and 22 who have been raped and murdered on their way to work, with little help from the police leaving most cases unsolved. It's disturbing and horrific, leaving me more sad than inspired. 

It's difficult to look at this campaign shot of a ghostly model who is rail thin, and with eyes that stare back at you with nothing but emptiness. I can't look at her without getting goose bumps and not in the good way. Seeing this picture does not make me want to run out and buy the collection. And after reading some of the names of the products, all I could think was "Really??". No, I will not be swiping on my shadow called "Sleepwalker" only to be reminded of the women and children who were raped and murdered for this "inspiration".

Either M.A.C. and the Rodarte designers are absolutely insensitive or this is all apart of a brilliant marketing plan to make M.A.C. look like heroes, making this a sell-out collection. Style List almost seems to sugar coat the situation praising M.A.C. for issuing a statement saying a portion of the proceeds from the collection will go to those in need in Juarez. Fabulous, now that sh*t has hit the fan. Was the real purpose of the collection to recognize the hardships of these women and to be inspire us M.A.C. addicts to help? Really. I think these women have been exploited enough. Sometimes bad publicity is just bad publicity.

For all you die-hard M.A.C. fans, how do you feel about the Rodarte collection? Will the Juarez controversy deter you from buying this collection? Or do you love M.A.C. so much you've just got to have it? To read Vex in The City's insightful post click here. To read more from Style List click here.

My Fragrance For Summer

I am in LoVe with this scent for Summer time. It is from Lacoste and is called Touch of Spring. I usually wear Victoria's Secret, Angel for winter then go right into PINK or Love Spell for summer months. Then THIS bad boy took over in the "most used" category some time ago. I have always been more into light, airy on the border of being a bit citrusy but NO musty smells for me!!! Having said that however, I always seem to be behind someone in line or at church that is a fan of the musty.....blah. What's your scent this season? Musty fans, don't shy away. Let us know what you like too!!! =)