SugarShock

end notes

2008-08-15T20:33:00Z

Hi lovelies, As mentioned earlier this week, today marks my last SugarShock post. I'm moving on to greener pastures at Elle Canada and have to say goodbye to all of you. Parting is such sweet sorrow and I thank all of you who have dutifully read and enjoyed this site. For you Canadian gals, you can keep getting my take on beauty in the pages of Elle Canada . So, what'll you do without SugarShock to help lead you through the beauty amazon? Well, I leave you with some beautiful tour guides...(read more)

brown sugar: lancome crayon kajal amber night

2008-08-14T17:40:00Z

Seeing the beauty trends descend on us from the runways for the last few seasons, I've been feeling an overall sense of deja vu, a la Bill Murray in Groundhog Day . There's just some trends that seem to be here to stay, at least for fall anyway – the bold lip, the smokey eye and the statement brow, to name a few. Another to add to the list is the bronzed eye, which never seems to go out of style and has really become a new classic. And I for one, couldn't be happier about it. But rather...(read more)

gimme mor: marshmallow body butter

2008-08-13T18:36:00Z

It's no secret that foodie-themed beauty products are beloved around here at SugarShock. But sometimes those dessert-y flavors and concoctions can verge into tween territory and seem too sickeningly sweet, even for a sweet fiend like me. For the sophisticated gourmand, there's Marshmallow Body Butter by one of my new fave indie brands from Australia, Mor. Don't let the name deceive you - we're not talking StayPuft-Marshmallow-Man corn-syrupy sweetness here, dears. No, Mor Marshmallow...(read more)

fragrance notes: strange invisible perfumes musc botanique

2008-08-12T17:43:00Z

I think Strange Invisible Perfumes is quite possibly the best name ever for a fragrance house. It pretty much sums up for me the idea that fragrances are sometimes beyond description and that scent is hard to capture in words (unless you're Chandler Burr, of course). In short, it's just the kind of cool, niche fragrance line that's right up my alley, so I knew I just had to try this mysteriously cryptic line of organic, botanical fragrances. The first one I tried is the new Musc Botanique...(read more)

styleshock: leighton meester at piaget event

2008-08-11T15:55:00Z

Seen here at the launch of Piaget's newest collection last week, Leighton Meester proves that minimalism is sometimes your best beauty weapon. With simple, almost barely-there neutral makeup, Leighton lets her natural beauty shine through. This look is all about Leighton's glowing skin: revved up with a hint of bronzer and a whisper of peachy-pink blush, it almost looks like she's wearing no makeup at all. But we know better. A touch of brown shadow on the eyes and a swipe of browny-pink...(read more)

onwards and upwards

2008-08-11T14:15:00Z

My dear loyal readers, I have exciting news to share with you! I've recently been offered a job as associate beauty editor at Elle Canada . I don't have to tell you what a dream job this is. What does this mean for you? Well unfortunately, I'll have to put SugarShock to bed, because it just gets too darn confusing when you're going to a myriad of events and launches while representing two different media. I'm sad that I'll have to say goodbye to my baby which has been a labor...(read more)

having female trouble? try nars...

2008-08-08T18:01:00Z

I had to chuckle when I saw the name of this new lipgloss, from Nars's fall collection. Not only does "Female Trouble" conjure a prim and proper, 50s-esque time when feminine issues were completely unspoken, but it's also the name of a particularly vulgar and disturbing John Waters "comedy" of the same name, starring tranny trainwreck Divine (quotable moments: "Nice girls don't wear cha-cha heels" and "The world of the heterosexual is a sick and boring...(read more)

skin fix: jan marini antioxidant daily face protectant

2008-08-07T14:20:00Z

Keen beauty girl that I am, I've always been pretty diligent about wearing a face moisturizer with an SPF of at least 15. But lately, I've been hearing that 15 just doesn't really cut it anymore to block out those blazing, global-warming-given rays and that 30 is the way to go. And while I've tried a bunch of lotions in my quest to find my perfect 30, I've found that some of them can make my face a goopy oilslick. Not so with Jan Marini's Antioxidant Daily Face Protectant...(read more)

speedy beauty: anastasia eye lights shimmer

2008-08-06T14:46:00Z

Ever since I started watching Carmindy on What Not to Wear wielding her magic wand – a pink pencil that, swiped in the inner corners, instantly brightens eyes – I've become obsessed with these little miracle-workers. Most come in a soft-pink matte finish, but I just discovered this one from Anastasia , which has a hint of shimmer, and it's become my morning-rush savior. You can swipe it on eyelids instead of eyeshadow in mere seconds, and it goes on smoothly and completely crease-free. It...(read more)

beauty duty 8/5/08

2008-08-05T13:21:00Z

A Touch of Blusher talks about Paul & Joe's lilac eyeshadow . Come see why Teri of Beautiful Makeup Search is already a fan of The Model Brow when she hasn't even tried it yet. Makeup Moxie reviews the new Revlon Beyond Natural Skin Matching Makeup ....(read more)

he did the mash, the strawberry smash

2008-08-05T11:25:00Z

Looking like a fruity, Jell-O parfait, I was really tempted to eat this deliciously swirly, strawberry concoction, called the Strawberry Smash , by Farmhouse Fresh Goods. And while it comes packaged, strawberry-preserves-style, in an old-fashioned Mason Jar, it's not really edible, but is, in fact, like a cool drink of water for your skin. It contains so-called "live strawberry cells" suspended inside a skin-nourishing body gel, all swirled around with a sweet cream body whip, that...(read more)

styleshock: blake lively at sisterhood of the travelling pants 2 premiere

2008-08-04T15:09:00Z

Gossip Girl's Blake Lively channelled her inner goddess at the premiere of the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2 in New York this week. Looking absolutely glowy, with a subtle tan and flushed cheeks, Blake looked like she just got back from summering in the Mediterranean, which was so fitting for the Greek-themed movie. With rosy cheeks (I'm pretty sure copious amounts of Nars Orgasm were used to get that gorgeous flush), and lips to match, along with champagne-shimmery eyes and lots of...(read more)

neon nights with three custom color light brights

2008-08-01T14:07:00Z

It's August 1st, and you know what that means: we've reached summer's official halfway mark(!). I'm thinking now's the time to pull out all the stops with my makeup, and what better way than with a take-no-prisoners, '80s day-glo pop of color on the lips. My choice: Three Custom Color's Light Brights in the cherry-pop color of Palladium. With its retro-ish name, I can't help but reminisce about my beloved childhood Lite Brite – the magical shining plastic light set...(read more)

thin models: I'll have what she's having

2008-07-31T17:09:00Z

There's been a lot of talk lately about banning stick-thin models from the international runways, but don't expect it to happen in magazines any time soon. As it turns out, a new study confirms that those thin models pictured in ad campaigns do indeed make us feel bad about ourselves (shocker!), but we're more likely to buy a product a thin woman is shilling than from regular-sized ladies. What's more, women in the study were more likely to turn down a helping of Oreos after viewing...(read more)

mistral soap: for the granny in you

2008-07-31T14:25:00Z

I fondly remember visits to my grandmother's house as a child, and especially exploring her bathroom, with all its pretty, pastel-coloured, rose-scented guest soaps. Of course, they'd never be used (they were too pretty for that), and would just sit in their shell-shaped dish, collecting dust (my Nana didn't like dusting). There was just something so ladylike about those soaps, and it ingrained in me the desire to line my own powder room with gorgeously scented rose perfumes and lavender...(read more)