The Multipurpose Product Every Girl Should Own

Jojoba oil (pronounce ho-Ho-bah) is a common ingredient in cosmetics, especially hair care and skin care. It is often used as a moisturizer. Technically it is a liquid wax and one of the closest things to human sebum which is the skins natural oil. It is a oderless and colourless oil which is mild on the skin and abosorbs easily to soften it without being greasy or tacky.

Here are some of its many uses:

1. Dry skin on your feet? Slough off dead skin with a pumice stone and some jojoba oil. Or try mixing it with sugar and rubbing on hands so they so they will be nice and smooth.

2. Want to increase the quality of your hair and the health of your scalp? Is your hair brittle and dry? Jojoba oil is an excellent remedy for a dry scalp or those who experience slight hair loss. Many scalp problems are caused my build-up of product on the scalp. If you do not remove this build-up, it can block the hair follicles ability to function properly which can lead to loss of the hair and an itchy, dry scalp. Jojoba oil disolves build-up leaving hair clean, moisturized and helps bring out the natural brilliance of your hair. Take some jojoba oil and massage it into your hair. Leave it on for a few minutes before rinsing off with warm water. Repeat once a week for stronger shinier hair. Also, try adding a drop of jojoba oil to your favourite styling product to create glossy, touchable hair instead of silicon-based products which can weigh hair down and also be quite expensive.

3. Looking for a non-greasy makeup remover that is also moisturizing? I use Lancome's Bi-Facil Eye-Makeup Remover for heavy duty makeup removal but this leaves my eyes feeling oily so I have to wash my face about three times after using it. Hence, I do not like to use it everyday. Jojoba oil will remove all remnants of makeup on your skin without pulling or tugging at your delicate undereye skin. This is also an excellent way to remove long lasting eyeliner such as MAC Liquidlast which can last for days on the skin if you let it. Jojoba oil is able to remove heavy-duty makeup such as sunscreen or waterproof foundation. It is a good makeup remover for those with sensitive eyes. Lancome's Bi-Facil can sting my eyes and Jojoba oil is natural and much cheaper.

4. Do you have oily skin? Jojoba oil is also used by women to greatly improve the quality of their skin due to its moisturizing properties. Take a cotton ball soaked with the oil. Cleanse the face and let the oil sink in to benefit from its moisturizing properties. It does not irritate acne-skin and helps breakdown blackheads.

Jojoba oil also works for dry skin. Dab a thin layer onto your undereye skin. The oil will make your skin feel, well, oily so I mainly use it at night. Try adding a few drops of jojoba oil to your normal moistuizer and massage it into the skin at night and you will have beautiful skin in the morning. More women with oily skin report breakouts then ones with dry skin but not all women with oily skin will break out. I am just adding this to caution some people. I would still recommend it for those with oily skin but it may or may not work for you (but for all the other uses it is still a great multi-use product).

5. Chapped lips? Massage some onto your lips to add moisture so they will be soft and supple. Do you want plumped lips? Try mixing jojoba oil and white sugar and scrubbing the paste onto your lips to slough off dead skin and add volume.

6. Prevent ingrown hairs on your bikini line by using jojoba oil or after waxing to help sooth and soften the skin.

7. Use as cuticle oil by rubbing a small amount onto your cuticles everyday to keep them soft and prevent hangnails.

You can purchase Jojoba oil at most local Health Food stores. Prices vary from but it costs about $18 for 16 oz/ 473 ml., $10.10 for 14 ounces/ 414 ml to or $8 for 4 oz/ 118ml.

Here's where you can find Jojoba oil for $10.10 for 14 ounces (doesn't include shipping).

Splurge Vs. Steal: Fix those brows

Ok, so your brows have a great shape but in pictures they look a little non-existent. You probably need a product to fill in your brows without overdoing it as you wouldn't want to wind up with the brows of Mr. Groucho Marx or Mr. Leonid Brezhnev.


A great product to fill in brows is powder as it usualy looks more natural than pencil (people usualy use a heavy hand with pencil resulting in dark and obviously-drawn on brows) . A few light strokes in a brow powder with a soft angled brush is all you need. To hold them in place, a little wax is all you need although you can also use brow gel or sometimes clear mascara wand to brush my brows up and out towards the temples.

For this addition of Splurge vs. Steal, I show two great products which contain both wax for sculpting the brows and brow powder for filling them in.

Smashbox: This product is easy to work with and gives brows a natural filled-in look. Apply with an angled brush or a brow brush of your choice. I like MAC's 263 for the brows or for applying cream eyeliners or for applying eyeshadow as eyeliner. It comes in these six shades: Auburn, Blonde, Gray, Taupe, Soft Brown and Brunette. With such a great variety, you are more than likely to find one that matches you. It lasts a long time so there are minimal touch-ups required.

Cons: High Price and I would rather have a flip-top lid.

Price: US$ 24. While pricey, you need to remember that a little goes a long way. The variety of shades is much better than NYC's.

My rating: 9/10

New York Color (N.Y.C.): Here is a great drugstore product which is comparable to its' highend counterpart. The kit comes with a stiff brush and some tweezers. The little tweezers are not bad in a pinch but I would recommend more professional brows when tweezing at home. I keep tweezers in my purse and in my car for emergencies. The brush is not bad. It is a little thick but some people prefer this to a thin angled brush so it is all up to personal preference.

Cons: This only comes in two colours: brunette and blonde so if you have red/auburn hair etc. this might not work for you. I have read reviews that the brunette and blonde are able to match a variety of shades.

Price: $US 3.99. Remember, this is for wax, brow powder, tweezers and a brush so it is a pretty good deal!

My rating: 8/10 (one point off for cheesy packaging and one point off for lack of shades to choose from).

Rushmetal Swatches

Rushmetal is now up on Mac's website here: The official release date is July 19/07 but they have already been seen in many stores.

If you are pigment crazy, like I am, then you are going to want to check out Jude Rivera's zenfolio site where she has made some useful swatches . Go check them out. The pigments look very pretty, I'm interested in Mauvement, Cocomotion and possibly Cooperized depending on what it looks like in person.

But remember, these are Limited Edition and can go quite quickly.

Each pigment retails for US$19.50 / CDN$ 22.00

Here is a list of the eight shades and their descriptions:

Rushmetal: Rich copper sparkle (frost)
Reved-Up: Icy Rose with Reflects (frost)
Gold Mode:Tan gold (frost)
Mauvement: Cool taupe with gold pearl (frost) -- similar to LE Coco and LE Sunnydaze
Off the Radar: Warm orange with gold sparkle (frost)
Copperized: Olive green with gold pearl (frost)
Quick Frost:Creamy white with soft green pearl (frost)
Cocomotion: Dirty gold with olive undertones and gold sparkle (frost)

Tel-Aviv Fashion Weekend July 12-14

Summer in Tel-Aviv. Since I moved here from Canada, I always welcome the hot and humid Tel-Aviv summers. Summer here means great weather, less clothing, beautiful beaches, drinking ice cafe at your favourite coffee house, plenty of parties, and of course lots of events pulsating throughout the city. With always something to do and see, no wonder Tel Aviv is known as one of the cities that never sleep.

Tel-Avivians are very found of their coffee houses. Just when you think there couldn't possibly be room for another one, another one springs up. Where I used to live in the trendy Basel Street neighborhood, there were about 13+ coffee houses crowded around a small piazza. Each one would be full on any given Friday morning when Tel-Avivians like to sit outside with friends, talk on their cellphones, people watch and display the latest fashions all while sipping a cappucino/ice cafe/beverage of choice behind their large sunglasses (small or large dog optional). I am planning on doing a brief city guide on Tel -Aviv in the future but for now, I want to write a short critique on the Tel-Aviv Fashion Weekend of July 12-14 held on at the Tel-Aviv exhibition grounds.





















Over 100 designers were there selling their creations. There was a large turnout and it was overwhelming with everyone on top of one another making it difficult to browse. The first few designers that my sister and I saw were obviously very talented and among the higher end of the bunch. As we moved through the exhibition, it became clear to me that there is still room for my sister, an aspiring fashion designer, to enter the Israeli fashion market.

Israeli fashion designers tend to cater towards the religious community (read: conservative pieces with long wrap skirts and jumbo pockets and silly cartoonish flower detailing), the young and trendy (clothes which are too skimpy and not work appropriate) or your average woman who tends to dress casually.

I prefer to look overdressed at work as opposed to underdressed. And no Miss Coworker, a Neon Yellow backless halter top is not appropriate work attire for a receptionist at a Law Office (true story)! I wanted to see better dresses in a variety of fabrics, nicer pants and more European styled design overall. I was disappointed that there weren't any designers who presented a strong collection of office attire that is comfortable, functional and beautiful. There weren't really any designers with a strong focus on dresses for more formal functions such as weddings, cocktail parties or that perfect dress for a business function.

The fashion fair this weekend confirmed that a lot of new Israeli designers prefer to work with jersey knit material. This is fine but I prefer a little variety. How about giving some love to silk, linen or cotton! Jersey knit is great but you also need to remember that you see every little lump and bump because it hugs so close. In the picture above, you can see two women trying on some Jersy knit dresses. Trust me, they looked much nicer in person and you were able to wear them in more than one way. This was a trend (incorporating ties and wraps etc.) displayed throughout the fair which gives you more bang for your buck.

The fair introduced me to a lot of designers who I hadn't heard of before. Belts were popular as accessories as were long multi-layered necklaces
.

Pictured above was the work of a great local designer who actually had quite reasonable prices, great quality/range of fabrics and beautifully contructed clothes. The colour palette was non-existent (grey, white and black are only shades) but she really gave some great wardrobe staples. I definitely have to check her out in the future but I have to find her name in my brochures first and then I'll update. Sharon (insert last name here)...
Some of the jewelry designers were a little overpriced. I have found some great Israeli jewelry designers throughout the city with much more unique pieces. I did however, like this beautiful bracelette dipped in 24k gold (retails for US$72) but it was too rich for my blood. I secretly want to become a jewelry designer but I don't know how to get started (my designs would be Greek/Roman/Ancient Near East inspired).

Madina Milano was the only cosmetic company represented. I generally like their products but I'll do a more in-depth review of their line in the future.

Conclusion: The fashion fair was an insightful glimpse of the Israeli fasion market (I can't wait until my sister starts designing and then I'll just shop there). I purchased a dark grey wrap jersey dress (when in Rome, right?). The fair showcased many new designers and old favourites. I hope to see improvements in the future such as sleek dresses for work, pencil skirts with a twist, elegant tops and sexy cocktail dresses, but overall a good show.

Chanel Couture Fall 2007

Karl Lagerfeld delivered his Fall Couture 2007 line last week in Paris. Unlike Christian Dior's collection which was quite colourful, Chanel's collection focused on your more traditional fall colours of black, burgundy, plum, dark red, brown and some cream as an accent. We find lots of tailored jackets, leather, and the use of hats and caps. I thought there were going to be more women in pants so I was happily surprised when most of the looks were of women in skirt suits and dresses pairing the look with sheer black hosiery or thigh-high scrunched leather boots in burgundy or black.


The Hair/Accessories:

The models are seen sporting sleek pulled-back hair in bonnets, caps, feathers and/or clips. Feathers are popular in the hair, used in clips or used in scarves wrapped around their necks or to accentuate the cuff of the sleeve. Actually, there were quite a lot of bonnets but I think I will leave this look to the models.

The Makeup:

Let's break down the look:

We see flawless matt skin, nude matt lips with a hint of colour, lightly contoured soft-pink cheeks and light soft eye makeup which varies from being just a wash of colour to a light and soft smokey eye in grey and purple. Whimsical lashes are placed on the outer corners of each of the models eyes which created the most dramatic element in the look. I find this makeup to be very well done and easy to replicate at home (minus the false lashes, although they would be fun for a party).

I would have liked to see more colour on the lips such as a sheer pink (like MAC'S Tinted Lip Conditioner in Petting Pink) so that is probably how I will interpret the look in the Fall. The makeup isn't as dramatic and colourful as Christian Dior's Couture Fall 2007 collection, Christian Dior's but it is soft and feminine. Overall, Chanel's makeup delivers an appropriate, subdued and highly wearable look for Fall.

Christian Dior Fall 2007 Couture line

Couture fashion has always been known for it's extravagence. Christian Dior's Fall 2007 Couture collection is full of romance, delicacy and the unexpected. The clothes are breathtakingly beautiful, even if they aren't wearable. Before I show closeups of the makeup, here are some pictures of the clothes:


Ok, so I threw in a picture of some shoes there with the makeup pictures but only because I think they are killer shoes. I included the more dramatic pictures of makeup in this section. Not all the models were made-up like this. Again, the skin is flawless but we see the cheeks are still young and dewy with the use of highlighter or cream blush. Some of the models are sporting false beauty marks . The colours range from powder blue, forest green to screaming red and blue. The lips are mostly nude so at least that is consistent. Althought I wouldn't wear any makeup like this, it is still fun to look at and you can still get inspired by the looks. Makeup is supposed to be fun and Couture fashion shows are known for being entertaining and fantastical. Although the looks are "out there", I quite enjoy looking at the pictures because they are quite creative and beautiful in their own way.

Short history lesson: Quite a few of the models were seen wearing false beauty marks reminniscent of the 18th century when they were held in such high regard that it became commonplace to create false beauty marks on ones face in various shapes, sizes and materials (mainly silk, tafetta and leather). This was done to highten the brilliancy of ones complexion and the fabric of the beauty mark was often dyed in brilliant colours. Beauty marks were also used to cover pimples and scars. Eighteenth century England was overwhelemd by smallpox which left survivors with deep scars and pock-marks on their face. Smallpox was a main factor in makeups increasing popularity as women wanted to hide their scars. Beauty marks were also used by politically minded dames as party symbols: the Whigs patching on the right, and the Tories on the left side of their faces, while those who were neutral, decorated both cheeks. By 1754 the use of beauty marks and patches on the face was not only still in existence, but threatening to overwhelm the female face altogether. The trend slowly fell out of popularity starting with the Aristocracy and trickling down to the lower classes in the early 19th century.

With The Tips Of My Fingers

Here is an excellent tip I learned from a makeup artist for applying any cream blush, stain, gel or highlighter.


Step 1: Make sure your hands are clean first.

Step 2: Rub your middle and index finger across the multiple/twist blush with your left hand.

Step 3: Then, take your middle finger and index fingers of your right hand and rub fingers together. You should now have product on 4 fingers (2 on each hand). Effectively, this will give you the exact same amount of product on each cheek. This also warms the product in your fingers allowing for smoother application.

Step 4: With a fast but light tapping motion, deposit product onto cheeks or desired area. This deposits color without upsetting any foundation product underneath it.

My first Splurge vs. Steal

Every cosmetic line has its hits and misses. You can find some real gems in drugstore brands. Obviously, highend cosmetic companies such as Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, or Chanel invest in more expensive ingredients (which accounts for part of the higher cost) and have prettier packaging but, for those on a budget, there is no reason why you can't find a great duplicate in the drugstore savings yourself a lot of money. My stash is a mix of highend cosmetics and low end cosmetics. For instance, I haven't been too impressed with Chanel so far so I am mainly paying for the "name" and their advertising campaigns when I purchase one of their items. However, I have had great success with Christian Dior.

Some of the problems with drugstore makeup are that you can rarely test the product, any testers you do find have been horrible mauled by customers making them unhygenic and you barely want to even test them on your hand. The florescent lighting distorts the colour on the back of your hand and many drugstores return policy do not allow you to return a product so once you go home and find out that the pretty mauve lipstick on the back of your hand is really dark violet with red sparkles, you're stuck.

All is not lost, however, and if you know what products you want, you can find great cheap thrills.

So here it is, my first Splurge vs. Steal review:

NARS "Multiples" by makeup artist Francois Nars.

It comes in 13 colours ranging from mauve to bronze. This is a cream-to-powder, multi-purpose makeup stick. You can use it on the cheeks as a blush, other colours are used as a highlighter on the temples or the cheek bone, they are also used on the browbone for a very pretty illuminating look. Some people also use them on the lips, nose, chin, and as eyeshadow but I don't. They look very natural when blended properly and one tube lasts forever. I love the convenience and the healthy glow/shimmer this adds to my skin. Great for a glamourous evening on the town.
The colour I chose is Copocabana described as a glistening pearl. The next colour I would try is the much raved about St. Barts described as a taupe shimmer or South Beach (shimmering apricot).
Price: Retails for US$36.50 at beauty.com.

Wet 'n' Wild "Twist Up Blush Stick": The duplicate for NARS Copacabana is called "Flirt #724 ". The packaging isn't attractive but I don't really apply this in public so it doesn't matter to me. The colour is a warm-toned silver base almost identicle to Copacabana. The Wet n' Wild is a little on the harder side while NARs' formula is a little creamier. It is not dry or cakey. Overall, it is an excellent gem found in the drugstore cosmetics aisle.
Price: Retails for about US$3.00.

Total saving: $33.50. Excellent savings! I think I can afford lunch now.

Shiseido's Little Sister

Majolica Majorica is Shiseido's drugstore brand mainly found in Japan and Taiwan. You can find it on ebay or sites such as adam beauty, sasa or gooddealer. Alternatively swap for it on makeupsites or find a Japanese friend. The quality is great and the products are inexpensive (about US$5 for an eyeshadow single). Eyeshadows come in 1 gram boxes and in a variety of formulas such as metallic or opalescent. The packaging is very girly. The clear rectangular box allows you to view the colour without having to open the package. It has a little gold handle which slides out like a drawer to reveal the product. For US$5, these are a steal. Majolica Majorica is my first introduction with Japanese makeup and I am very impressed and can't wait to try more things from Majolica Majorica and other brands. I've had the following colours for over a year now so can comment on their usability in my stash.

Here are the colours I have reviewed from left to right:

Blush
RD255: I love the packaging (clear case with drawer) and the quality is great. This is highly pigmented so you just need a little bit, and don't worry, your won't look like a disco ball wearing it. This is a pink/peach gold product with lots of shimmer. It gives you a healthy glow and is great for the summer. It is very affordable at US$9. Use this alone or blush highlighter on top.
This is a very good duplicate for the very popular NARS Orgasm blush or highly sought-after Milani Luminous blush. I've hit pan on it so will be repurchasing when it completly runs out.

Wearability on scale of 1-10: 10. Looks great on most skintones, excellent quality and it is very pigmented so you only need a little bit.

Eyeshadow
BR710: Dark metallic taupe with silver shimmer. When I first bought this I used it a lot but now it is not used as much. I probably won't repurchase when I run out because I don't reach for it enough as it is and I want to try SV821 which is a very similar metallic silvery taupe (with purple undertones; this has brown undertones) but very similar to Shu ME945. The shimmer particles tend to fall below my eyes when I apply so it makes it a bit messy but you can easily clean that up. But I also notice that throughout the day I will find silver particles on my face. If you don't already have a similar colour in your stash then its a great addition. I'm just into a bronze-brown-green kick right now. Maybe I will use this more in the fall/winter.
Wearability on scale of 1-10: 7. On people with darker eyes I am sure this will look gorgeous on. On my blue eyes it is a little lost.

GR129: Metallic baby blue/spring green which faintly flashes gold shimmer. Great colour for spring or summer. The colour reflects light and opens the eye area making me look more rested so I use it to line the lower waterline and as a wash on the lid on other days to pair with turquoise/blue shadows.

Wearability on scale of 1-10: 7. I don't use this everyday but its still nice to have in my stash. I use it more in the spring/summer. I tend to like brighter colours but for those who are scared of colour or prefer a more minimalist look this would be great to apply base to crease and then a light neutral colour to the brow bone (like MAC's Naked pigment). Line the eye with a deep blue colour such as Stila's smudgepot in Cobalt or apply a thin line of MAC's fluidline in Blitz & Glitz (any dark liner will do, just giving suggestions).

BE286: This is my favourite shade of the ones that I own. It is a peachy-gold. Beautiful shimmer and the shade that I wear all year round. This can be used as a wash from base to brow bone or concentrated as the main lid colour or used in the crease for dimension.

Wearability on scale of 1-10: 10. This is a shade I can wear all year round. It blends like a dream and can be paired with a variety of colours. I also have used this as a highlighter on the apples of my cheeks and think this would make an excellent blush/highlighter colour. Great addition to my stash and will definetly repurchase. I also have a Christian Dior shadow which is very similar to this shade but BE286 is unique enough that I need both.

Try pairing BE286 with BR710 or BR710 with GR129.

Top 5 Products Under $7.01

Strapped for cash? Want some beauty products without breaking the budget? I did the reseach and here are my top 5 drugstore finds for under $7.01

1. 1. Milani Glimmerstrips (shown top left)
   What does it do? Gives you glowy pigmented cheeks. This can be used as a highlighter, a blush or as individual eyeshadows.
   Highend counterpart? This is the drugstore version of Bobbi Brown's shimmerbricks which cost approximately $35. I have this in Honey Glimmer, Cocoa Glimmer, Bronze Glimmer and Berry Glimmer. These are less shimmery then Bobbi Brown (a common complaint). The effect it gives you is also close to MAC's Mineralskinfinish (MSF) which are raved about. I find that on my face, Honey Glimmer is also a close duplicate of MAC's Trace Gold shimmertone blush. Gotta love that!!!
   
   Pictured below (left to right)Honey Glimmer, Berry Glimmer; Cocoa Glimmer, Bronze Glimmer.
   
   Price: $7 which is excellent value considering the price of its highend counterpart.
   My rating: 5/5
   
2. L'Oreal HIP eyeshadow Duo in Showy (shown bottom right).
   Ok, I admit it, I am always attracted to blue/teal eyeshadows. I used to hate L'oreal's eyeshadows as I found them chalky and poorly pigmented. However, L'oreal has introduced HIP to its line which are actually good quality.
   Highend counterpart? Showy contains a close duplicate to the highly-sought-after MAC Parrot eyeshadow which was limited edition years ago and now discontinued.
   Price: $7
   My rating: 4/5
   
3. Wet n'Wild liquid eyeliner in Turquoise.
   What does it do? Looking for a great liquid eyeliner. This metalic peacock-coloured eyeliner will make your eyes pop! Great texture and lasting power.
   Price: $2.99
   My rating: 5/5
   
4. Maybelline Wet Shine Diamonds Liquid Lip Gloss in Sparkling Champagne (shown bottom left)
   What does it do? I do not normally wear lipstick because it dries out my lips. I do not like to wear gloss as my hair sticks to it when the wind blows. I recently bought a YSL golden gloss (which I LOVE) but use it s-p-a-r-i-n-g-l-y as it was expensive. I find this Wet Shine Diamonds gloss has great quality. The sparkles/shimmer isn't gritty and I can use it and reapply guilt-free. There is no scent or fragrance. This is one of my signature glosses. It gives a beautiful pale golden look which will look great with bronze-golden cheeks and teal eyeshadow and liner.
   Price: $6.50
   My rating: 5/5
   
5. Flirt Feather Dust-Her brush a.k.a. Skunk Brush
   Highend counterpart? MAC 187 which is an expensive brush. This is an excellent duplicate if you do not want to shell out a lot of money. Useful for foundation, or your new Milani Glimmerstrips. Some people complain of hairs shedding from the brush but for $6 you can't go wrong.
   Price: $6.00
   My rating: 4/5