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Cover Girl

Easy Breezy Beautiful… and Radiant!

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Weeks ago, I shared with y’all a nail polish roundup featuring Pantone’s Colour of the Year – Radiant Orchid. Originally, I had mixed feelings about its promotion from humble lavender to glorified purple, but after re-examining the shade with curiosity and an open mind, I’ve since come to love it. And I suppose Pantone says it best:

“Radiant Orchid blooms with confidence and magical warmth that intrigues the eye and sparks the imagination. It is an expressive, creative and embracing purple—one that draws you in with its beguiling charm. A captivating harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid emanates great joy, love and health.”

Cruising the Cover Girl site today, I found a wealth of radiant orchid-inspired hues that are too pretty not to share. From eye-enhancing eye shadows to lip-perfecting gloss balms, Cover Girl cosmetics are an easy (breezy beautiful) and affordable way to rock a trend.


1. Lipslicks Smoochies Lip Balm in C U L8R; 2. Outlast Lipstain in Scarlet Pucker; 3. Lipslicks Smoochies Sizzle Gloss in Violet Flare; 4. Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Gloss in Grapevine; 5. LipPerfection Lipcolour in Divine; 6. LipPerfection Jumbo Gloss Balm in Plum Twist; 7. SmokyShadowBlast in Purple Plume; 8. Flamed Out Shadow Pot in Blazing Purple; 9. Eye Enhancers 1-Kit Shadows in Silver Lilac; 10. Eye Enhancers 4-Kit Shadows in Ice Princess; 11. Eye Enhancers 4-Kit Shadows in Blossoms. Click here to visit Cover Girl.

DiorShow: I Love this Freakin’ Mascara

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It’s been almost two years since I conducted The Battle of the Mascaras, in which I declared DiorShow my clear favourite. (Click to enlarge photo.)

Since then, I’ve lapsed back to drugstore mascaras (Cover Girl LashExact, L’Oreal Double Extend, L’Oreal Telescopic) because frankly, I can’t afford to drop $30+ on something I use so sparingly.

Then, this past April, the lovely Lotus gifted me a tube of the iconic mascara for my birthday (yes, she does rock!) and I coveted it for months before I opened it, doling it out like a stingy lunchlady doles out pasta to make it last.

And it’s still my favourite.

Why do I love it so? It lengthens, thickens, and, ahem, has staying power. Here’s a great example:

This past weekend was the Canadian Thanksgiving. Anticipating an eventful day, I applied my makeup, including DiorShow mascara, early in the morning (about 6:30am). Then, between rushing around, spending time with family and eating WAY too much food, my eyelids were drooping before the sun set. Couple that with a baby who’s going through a growth spurt, and I pretty much fell asleep at 8:30pm. I was knocked out.

I woke up around 4:00am, realizing that I still had my jeans on (thanks for waking me up, Mike) and most of the remnants of my makeup caked to the pillow. I roused myself and went to the bathroom, half heartedly dragging my feet as I changed into PJs. And that’s when I saw my reflection – tousled hair, red, blotchy skin, and PERFECT FREAKIN’ EYES. I love this mascara.

Don’t believe me? Ahem, here’s my 4:00am mugshot…

With almost 24 hours staying power, I can see why it’s worth every penny.