If you live in the GTA, it's very likely that you have heard of or been to Luminato.  Luminato is a Festival of Arts and Creativity that happens every year in June for 10 days in Toronto, Ontario.  This year is their 6th anniversary and it is happening right now (June 8 to June 18)

Maybelline Pop Up Tent at Luminato

This year, Maybelline has set up a tent offering touch ups, an instant photo booth, and a free lipstick for everyone who stopped by!

Waiting lounge

Pretty editorial!

Another one!  Look! It's Doraemon =D

A free lipstick and a coupon for everyone who stopped by

The beauty blogger in me told me I should swatch all the colours!

Kiss N Tell Wall

Maybelline MUA in action!

That's the kind of vanity I want lol

I headed down there on Thursday after work to catch the Maybelline Summer Trend workshop by the one and only Grace Lee!  Grace is the Maybelline Lead Makeup Artist in Canada.  She did two demos on two beautiful girls form ROI relations.  First, Grace created, as one of the beauty editors there like to call it, the mermaid look...

Last Wednesday (June 13, 2012), I attended the MARCELLE and ANNABELLE Beauty Unveiling Event at Andrew Richard Designs in Toronto.  I had an awesome time chatting up my fellow Toronto Beauty Bloggers (#TOBB).  As well as checking out some of the new products from the two companies.



First, let's talk about MARCELLE.

MARCELLE BB Family

You all probably know I love the MARCELLE BB Cream, so when I know they're coming out with two other BB Cream, you can imagine how excited I got!  One thing that many bloggers wished that the original MARCELLE BB Cream has is SPF.  I think they actually heard us and their new Anti-Aging BB Cream comes with SPF 20! According to the lady who I was talking to, what makes this one different than the original one is that it has got a Liftessence Nature Complex.  This innovative ingredient provides an instant lift to the skin, hence the anti-aging BB Cream!

MARCELLE 10-in-1 Anti-Aging BB Cream

MARCELLE 10-in-1 Anti-Aging BB Cream

MARCELLE Original 8-in-1 BB Cream

MARCELLE 8-in-1 BB Cream-to-Powder

Another new addition to the MARCELLE BB Line is the BB Cream-to-Powder.  I must admit, I am most excited about this product because of the cream-to-powder formulation, of which I am a huge fan.  I have tested the texture, it's much more smooth and silky than the original or the anti-aging one!

MARCELLE 8-in-1 BB Cream-to-Powder - packaging

MARCELLE 8-in-1 BB Cream-to-Powder

MARCELLE 8-in-1 BB Cream-to-Powder

Like the Anti-Aging BB Cream, it came with two shades: Light-to-Medium and Medium-to-Dark.  I asked the lady about the difference between this and the original one.  She said it's basically the texture and finish, other than that the benefits are the same.  However, she thinks that the original one will provide slightly better coverage.  She also recommended that one can try using both together to get a fuller coverage.

Image source: http://www.sarahpotempa.com/

It's in our human nature that we want more than we need.  This is certainly the case with my current want for the Sarah Potempa BEACHWAVER Rotating Curling Iron.

What makes it different than the other curling irons on the market is that the curling iron actually does all the work for you.  You'll just have the put the ends on the clamp and press GO, then this curling iron will rotate and curl your hair for you!  It's a convenient hair gadget.  Before you press GO, you'll still have to choose L or R, which basically curl your hair outside from your left or from your right.  So if you wanna create different types of curl on the same side, you can still do it! =)


I'm quite lazy when it comes to hair, so I'm all about convenience and this is spelling convenience for me =P.  But I'll admit, I do have curling irons of the same width, so I don't actually need it.  I don't know... if it comes out with different width, maybe I'll get it.  For now, it stays on my wishlist until I can justify buying it.

What's currently on your wishlist right now?  Let me know!

x Rica

As mentioned in my past Travel Chic post, my trip to Asia has begun.  I spent my first three nights in Hong Kong, catching up with some friends and family during all those day.  Last Monday (or some say the one before... I get confused with these things), I flew to Taipei with my family because according to my brother I should "make the most out of my first transpacific trip in years".  I guess he's right.

Ok... maybe it's not grammatically correct in old English, but I think you get my point from the title.

Ever since Jill from jillojello and Joyce from Sparkly Playground reviewed the George's Cream, I have been wanting to try out this local brand.  I went to the Shoppers Drug Marts near my place and my office to find them, but no luck (or maybe I've been looking at the wrong section!?).  So when the lovely people from George's Cream asked me if I would like to try out their products, I know I have to say yes.

L to R: George's Special Dry Skin Cream, George's Light Special Moisturizing Lotion

First of all, let's talk about my skin.  I have pretty dry skin on my body (ironically, I have very oily skin on my face = =).  So I need complete moisture in order to feel comfortable throughout the day.  My boyfriend has really dry skin too, and he needs even more moisture than I do.  Both of us tried out the George's Special Dry Skin Cream and the George's Light Special Moisturizing Lotion.  We tested them out throughout the month of April and the first half of May, so I think I have a pretty good idea on how well they work.

George's Special Dry Skin Cream

Ingredients: Deionised Water, White Petrolatum, Cetyl Alcohol, Polysorbate-20, Polysorbate-80, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Phenoxy Ethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Sorbic Acid.

This intense moisturizer is meant for combatting severe dry skin.  It looks like a white paste when you first squeeze it out.  It actually put me off a little bit when I saw the paste because it's not really how I pictured it to be.  It seems like it's more whipped than other body creams that I have tried.