Mini products with maxi results from Benefit, Philosophy, Tweezerman, mark., Avon and Betsey Johnson!

Benefit Full Glam Ahead! - $12 - 3 bestsellers go mini including: High Beam, Stay Don’t Stray and BADgal Lash.

Available at Sephora and sephora.ca.

Philosophy The Microdelivery Mini Peel Pads - 60 pads - $35 - provide all the excellent moisturizing and emollient properties to leave the skin feeling smooth and looking radiant in a mini pad. As with the full size, it's designed to protect the complexion against free-radical attack, create a radiant glow, and minimize redness, while also delivering anti-inflammatory benefits.

Available at Sephora and sephora.ca.

Tweezerman Hot Pink Mini Brow Rescue Kit - $25 - everything you need to keep your brows in check while on-the-go with these pint-sized tools including: a Mini Slant Tweezer, Mini Browmousse, Mini Eyenhance Highlighter Pencil and a Mini Brow Shaping Brush.

Available at Sephora and sephora.ca.

mark. Go With The Pro Mini Brush Kit - $20 - a portable zippered kit with 5 mini professional quality brushes that includes: powder, eye shadow, eyeliner, concealer and lip brushes.

Available from your Avon rep - 1-800-265-AVON or online at www.avon.ca.
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Avon Pocket Mini Palette - $9.99 - a sleek, go-anywhere palette with 5 lipglosses, 5 eyeshadows, a dual-ended brush and a built in mirror. Available in a choice of warm or cool shades - all boxed up and ready to give!

Available from your Avon rep - 1-800-265-AVON or online at www.avon.ca.

Sephora by OPI Betsey Johnson Mini Nail Colour Set - $24.50 - A set of 6 tiny nail lacquers in flirty hues designed by Betsey Johnson including: XOX Betsey, Alley Cat, Too Too Turq, Yellow My Name is Betsey, Son of a Gun and Pushing Your Luck.

Available at Sephora and sephora.ca.

- Lisamarie -

Peel and reveal brighter skin with Philosophy, Murad and Lierac!

One of the best things you can do for your skin is a weekly peel - not only do they make your skin look and feel smoother and brighter, everything else you put on your skin after will absorb and work better!

You'll love the results so much you will be tempted to want to peel more often but don't, especially if your skin is at all sensitive - I can tell you from experience that using a weekly peel more often can turn your skin red, flaky and itchy!

Here are two weekly and one daily peel I like:

Philosophy The Micro Exfoliating Triple-Acid Brightening Peel - 12 pads - $88 - features 12 individually-wrapped, pre-saturated chemical peel pads designed for weekly use to deliver advanced skin-brightening and anti-aging benefits. With a formula that contains mandelic, phytic and azelaic acids that dissolve and sweep away dead skin cells to help improve skin tone, reduce the appearance of fine lines and enhance skin clarity as well as skin-brightening technology that visibly reduces the appearance of dark spots and discolouration.

Available at Sephora and select The Bay and Shoppers Drug Mart stores across Canada.

Murad Intensive Resurfacing Peel - 4 x 5ml - $49 - combines the benefits of a peel with gentle microdermabrasion to smooth away fine lines and wrinkles. With dried plum extract and vitamin C - to brighten skin for a youthful glow, durian cell reform - to enhance the penetration of active ingredients while loosening the bonds holding debris and dead cells to skin's surface, and bamboo beads - to provide mechanical micro-exfoliation to buff away build up further reducing the appearance of wrinkles.

There are four single use vials in the pack but unless you have a giant James Van Der Beek pumpkin head, you'll only need half the vial for each application which makes this peel a much better buy as it will last you 8 weeks instead of four!

Available at www.muradcanada.com

I understand that you'll love the results so much that you'll want to peel every day so here's one for daily use:

Lierac Paris High Peel Renewing Concentrate Intensive Peel - 30ml - $62 - helps boost cell renewal, improves skin texture and diminishes photo-aging with 10% of new-generation hydroxy-acids - 1% salicylic acid for exfoliation of the upper skin layers and 9% glycolic acid to help stimulate cell renewal as well as 5% urea to reinforce moisturization and tolerance. After the first application skin appears renewed - ideally moisturzed, smooth and soft and over time the appearance of wrinkles are diminished, the skin's texture is refined, the complexion looks evened out, the skin is moisturized and the face glows with youthful radiance.

Available at Rexall or go here to find locations to purchase nearest you.

- Lisamarie -

Garnier Skin Renew Dark Spot Overnight Peel - to reveal brighter skin!

Discolouration, dark spots and hyperpigmentation - so ugly and aging - can be a thing of the past thanks to something new:

Garnier Skin Renew Dark Spot Overnight Peel - 50ml - $19.99 - a lightweight, silky treatment that contains a glycolic acid - (to accelerate cellular turnover and improve skin texture) and vitamin C - (targets dark spot intensity, reduces hyperpigmentation and brightens) complex that gently exfoliates overnight to smooth away dullness and discolourations, accelerating the rise of brighter skin cells to the surface.

It's simple to use, just apply a thin layer of the peel at night before you go to bed - avoiding the eye area - and it absorbs without leaving a film or residue on the skin. In the morning just wash your face as usual and don't forget your sunscreen - otherwise you're doing all of this for nothing!

Expect to see brighter skin after the first night thanks to the exfoliating action, a reduction in dark spots after 1 week and reduction in uneven skin tone after 2 weeks. What I really love is how smooth my skin feels in the morning - it's like I really did get some beauty sleep!

And if you really want to kick your dark spot's ass, use Garnier's Dark Spot Corrector during the day and you'll see fading results twice as fast.

Available in drugstores and mass retailers across Canada this month.

- Lisamarie -

Look like you're getting some even when you're getting none - thanks to NeoStrata's new Invigorating duo!

Want to look like you've just had a really good shag (or good night's sleep if you prefer) then check out the new Invigorating duo from my dirty friends at NeoStrata!

NeoStrata Invigorating Solution - 30 pre-soaked pads - $37.75 - contains 6% Glycolic acid to get rid of dead skin, Cucumber extract as a cooling and tightening agent, Japanese green tea as an antioxidant with antibacterial properties that reduce inflammation, Eucalyptus for its aromatherapy benefits to stimulate and awaken skin and Peppermint oil to rejuvenate and stimulate tired skin.  Not only do they wake skin up, they smell great while giving you a mini peel!

NeoStrata Instant Invigorating Eye Masks - 3 pairs - $26.75 - contains Hyaluronic acid to instantly replenish skin's moisture as well provide long-lasting hydrating benefits, Chitosan which forms a protective, moisturizing, elastic film on the surface of the skin to maintain the skin's moisture, Aloe to decrease inflammation and stimulate repair, Vitamins C & E to brighten skin and reduce roughness and Co-Q10 to boost skin's repair and regeneration. They waken up the eye area and because they are so moisturizing, they instantly make small lines disappear like magic! 

After using the duo and then a NeoStrata Intense Moisture Rescue Sheet Mask a lovely friend of mine was accused of spending the afternoon in her hotel room doing something other than beauty treatments - if that's not a testament to it's amazing abilities, I don't know what is!

Available at major drugstores across Canada.

- Lisamarie -

Jurlique Fruit Enzyme Exfoliator Review

You know what big fans of natural products we are here at Beauty Crazed and Christelle so loves her Jurlique Purifying Mask that I thought it was high time that I tried some Jurlique myself!  I decided to give Jurlique Fruit Enzyme Exfoliator - 50ml - $49.50 a go because I love fruit and I love exfoliators so it seemed impossible that this stuff wouldn't be great!  First off, the smell is amazing, very citrus, which I love!  The name might be a bit misleading if you are used to your exfoliators being the scrub type - this exfoliator is a peel, so no roughness to it at all!  It's very easy to use, you clean your face, apply a thin layer of the exfoliator to your face and neck, avoiding the eye area, leave it on for up to five minutes and then just rinse it off with water.  Now I've heard some people mention that they felt nothing at all when it was on their face but I actually felt a very small tingle - which  I like because then I feel like something is happening!  It came off easily with water and my skin felt very soft afterwards.  You can use it 2-3 times a week and be sure to wear your sunscreen as products that contain AHAs can really increase your skin's sensitivity to the sun.  I also found after using it that my moisturizer seemed to work better and soak in easier so that was a nice bonus!

Jurlique is an Australian line and this product is chock full of natural enzymes and extracts native to Australia such as: Quandong, also known as desert peach, which grows from a tree native to Australia that's related to the Sandalwood tree.  Quandong Extract is high in Vitamin C and essential fatty acids to help improve the complexion and assist with gentle exfoliation, Desert Lime, which is rich in antioxidant Vitamin C - the fruit works to promote youthful looking skin and helps gently exfoliate, Acacia (Wattle), Australia's national flower is also a gentle exfoliant.  Other key ingredients include Pumpkin Enzyme to exfoliate and Sugar Cane, Lemon, Orange and Apple to improve dull complexions for more even skin tone and brighter, clearer complexion.  Natural Alpha Hydroxy Acids, Lactic, Malic and Citric Acids promote cell turnover and radiant skin, while Willow Bark Extract improves tone, texture and appearance with natural Beta Hydroxy Acids.  Prickly Pear Stem and Green Tea leaf invigorate the skin with antioxidants and humectants to make the skin feel healthier and hydrated while helping to promote firmer skin.  Prickly Pear Flower helps soften fine lines and wrinkles through gentle exfoliation.

If you've ever felt that manual exfoliation (with a scrub) is too harsh for your skin or you are just looking for a new way to softer skin then the Jurlique Fruit Enzyme Exfoliator is definitely worth a try!  You can score your own Jurlique products at Sephora and Holt Renfrew.

- Lisamarie -

New and notable at Shoppers Drug Mart! Vasanti Cosmetics, NeoStrata, Revlon & L'Oreal

After a wonderful day at Murale on Saturday what better way to follow it up on Sunday than spending some quality time at Shoppers Drug Mart?!  I was pleased to see that there were lots of new and interesting things and of course you guys are always the first ones I want to tell about them - well I did try to tell my husband, but he got this blank look on his face after the first 5 minutes which is about his limit for cosmetic excitement.  I know you all will appreciate it though!

Vasanti Cosmetics - this is a new line at my Shoppers and I was very excited to see that it is a Canadian owned and operated company and all the products are made in Canada!  How often do you see that anymore?!  I will have to do a follow up post on Vasanti, as lots of things caught my eye but I liked this in particular (you know how I feel about a palette) - Go Canada! Colour Palette $40 - celebrate your Canadian Olympic spirit on your face (without the maple leaf face tattoo from that moronic commercial I hate)!  Gold, silver and bronze eye shadows, white powder highlighter and a sheer red lipstick make up this super cute palette!  I swiped the shadows really quick to see what the pigmentation was like and was impressed, the powder is also really soft, which I like!

NeoStrata Skin Renewal Peel Solution and Skin Resurfacing Duo Bonus - $72.50 - you probably know by now how much Christelle and I love these two products and to get them together in the same package for the price of one is heavenly!  You can see our reviews here and here if you need some further convincing!  Run, don't walk to snag one of these, they will go fast!

Revlon PhotoReady Makeup & Powder $19.99 - It appears that I've had my head under a rock and totally missed all the buzz on these or I would have taken more time to test them out.  I am hearing them compared to Make Up For Ever High Definition so I will be picking one up this week to test that theory out.  I do like Revlon foundations if only for the colour range, they are one of the few drugstore lines that make a light enough colour for me.  If you are also light you will be happy to know that one of the two lightest colours should suit you, one has a pink tone, the other yellow.  If they can live up to MUFE HD or not, remains to be seen.

L'Oreal Roll'on True Match Foundation $19.99 and Double Extend Lash boosting mascara with lash boosting serum $16.49 or Lash boosting serum $16.49 - I gave the foundation a roll just to see what this new applicator is all about.  It really was like using a tiny paint roller.  I can't see this being practical, you would roller the stuff on but still have to use your brush/fingers/sponge to get into small, non-flat areas.  A cute gimmick but otherwise useless.  I am interested in trying the lash boosting serum either in the mascara or on it's own.  I'll get back to you with a review on that.

- Lisamarie -

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I Can't Stop Touching Myself...Because of You, NeoStrata!

"No, No, No, I can't stop touching myself, now!". This is not a new Britney's song -although it would make  fabulous lyrics for her- no, this is me looking in the mirror after using the NeoStrata - Skin Renewal Peel Solution (all skin types), in disbelief.

After Lisamarie's glowing review of the NeoStrata resurfacing duo, I decided to try the Skin Renewal Solution. I was tired and not in a particularly good mood that night (I know! It almost never happens, right?). I opened the box and noticed the bottle had a dropper and thought NeoStrata was using a gimmick to make their packaging interesting. I rolled my eyes...until I realized it was actually really smart: with the dropper you have the ability to apply the few drops required to moisten the very thin cotton pads included in the box, so you don't make a mess as the dosage is very precise. But then, I thought: "well, it's only a few drops, what difference can it make to my skin?". And don't expect the pleasant smell that some of their other products have, you will be disappointed. So, using a cotton pad, I put it on my face (I didn't even bother with massaging my face as recommended), then left it on for 10 minutes. It didn't tingle, I didn't feel a thing, so then I told myself: "Ugh, if I don't feel anything, it's probably not doing much". Still cranky, I rinsed my face.

Holy crap. My face now feels smooth. Really smooth. My skin even looks smoother after one use. This is insane. I have used it once! I can't stop touching my face. Stop it Christelle. It even tightened the large pores on my nose (aren't you glad to get to know me that intimately?). Basically, the glycolic acid really helps eliminate dead cells responsible for dull and uneven skin. I'm not cranky anymore, I'm too busy touching myself. After using this solution for a few days, I'm glad to report that my face hasn't melted, and is still soft like a baby's bottom!

This product does not come cheap at $73, but is totally worth the price tag. I have a combination/oily skin so  getting rid of the shine can be a challenge and this solution totally did it. Problem is: I know I'm already addicted. I would totally fight you in an arena full of lions and snakes to get to the last bottle from the drugstore. And you know it would be a vicious fight. Thankfully, there is still enough Skin Renewal Peel Solution for everybody to keep the peace on the streets of Canada. Phew.

-Christelle-