Bond no. 9’s newest creation, Lexington Avenue is the third perfume in their Andy Warhol collection, and is inspired by Warhol’s shoe illustrations that he was commisioned to do in the 1950s.  With this scent, the company is aiming to capture the luxury and seductiveness of shoes, and who doesn’t love that?

Bond no. 9 describes the perfume as a floral, woody, chypre with highly coveted contemporary gourmand notes. I would describe it as a warm, woody, rich scent, reminding me of a late summer, early autumn evening barbecue on the beach.  Basically its the perfect perfume for this time of year when the leaves are just starting to change and the sweaters start coming out.

Bond no. 9’s Lexington Avenue is available for about $175USD or $200CAD online or if you’re in Canada, Holt Renfrew.  Yes its pricey, and most 20 something girls probably can’t afford to go out and buy this on their own, so why not put it on your Christmas list?  Or like me, your birthday list.

Recently my mum passed on to me her unused Benefit realness of concealness pallete to try.   This little kit includes sample sizes of lemon-aid to correct discoloration on eyelids; boi-ing to hide even the darkest under eye circles; ooh la lift to brighten, lighten and tighten the eye area; lip plump to prime, smooth, and plump lips; and high beam to give your skin an ethereal glow.

Lemon-aid was less than useful.  The texture is too thick and sticky to put on your eyelids.  Benefit makes another eyelid primer that works way better.

Boi-ing is an absolutely amazing concealer.  Its highly pigmented and really does hide even the darkest circles.  Its become my new go to product.

Ooh la lift doesn’t seem to do a whole lot to be honest.  I still don’t even get what its for.

The lip plumper is a great little product that I’ll gladly use again.  It smooths, plumps and preps lips perfectly.

High Beam is one of my favourite products, and a sample size just isn’t enough.  I go though a normal sized bottle of this stuff monthly.

Final thoughts? Meh, I’d skip this one.  The concealer and High Beam are awesome, but the sample sizes won’t last you very long.  You might as well just spring for the big ones.  In terms of the other samples, they’re pretty weak and I don’t really see myself using them.

realness of concealness is available on Benefit’s website for $32USD

Today I was browsing my favourite local beauty spot, the Beauty Bar on 4th ave, and sampled theBalm’s plumping lip gloss in Squeeze My Lemons a nice clear shade.  After one use I’ve become totally obsessed with it.  It looks natural, sexy, and still gives you some visible plumping.  Also, I appreciate the Zeppelin reference with the name.

You can pick it up at Sephora for a mere $14USD or if you’re a Vancouver girl, stop by Beauty Bar at 2142 w. 12 ave.

On Wednesday I’m taking a break from… taking a break and spending a few days with my parents in Tofino, which isn’t really a makeupy kind of town.  I’ll be spending my days on the beach, but I don’t want to look like a slug if I head over to one of the resorts for a nice dinner.  So what do I bring with me?  I have decided to dive into my Benefit arsenal and have decided to bring:

Dr. Feelgood invisible matte balm.  The beach is no place for liquid foundation, or any foundation for that matter, but its still nice to have a little coverage.  This primer smooths my sun burned skin and gives it a soft matte finish.

Eyecon eye cream.   This soft, light cream hides dark circles without muss or fuss.

Get Bent Lash Mascara.  If the only makeup you’re going to be wearing is mascara it better be a good one.  Benefit’s Get Bent Lash gives you big, fun, dramatic lashes with no smudging or flaking.

If you’re nervous about applying liquid eyeliner, try applying it over top of pencil eyeliner.

First apply the pencil liner and smudge it a bit to thicken it up as well as soften it.  Then apply a thin line of liquid liner over top very close to the lash line.  The softer pencil liner will hide any visible unevenness and shakiness in the liquid and also provide a cool and very flattering soft gradient effect around your eye.

Of the many treats that my mom picked up for me during her visit to Montreal was the BeautyBlender Sponge, you know that little pink foamy egg thing that’s been showing up everywhere.  I would never spent $20 on a makeup sponge personally, but my mum was feeling very generous, and who am I to turn down gifts, especially makeup related ones?

Pros:

It’s cute as hell and looks great in your makeup case
It gives great, even coverage

The wide end is great for foundation and the tip is perfect for putting on concealer

Cons:

You can probably get about 15 drugstore makeup applicators for the same price, but instead you get sucked into the hype and end up spending 20 dollars on a piece of sponge.

Bottom Line: 

If you’re willing to spend double digits on a single sponge, go for it.  Yeah it works great, but so do most drugstore brand sponges.