CoverGirl

COVERGIRL: Embrace Your Face

March 29, 2016 By Lena

Welcome to Spring! It’s my favourite season of the year – and I’m not just saying that because my birthday is coming up in two weeks!

Spring is about renewal. It’s about shrugging off the heavy layers (both physically and metaphorically) that we endured all winter, and looking forward to longer, brighter days. It’s also a great time to lighten up: our diets, clothing, hair colour, and even our makeup routine.

This Spring, embrace your face with COVERGIRL! In just 30 seconds, you can get matched to your perfect foundation based on the coverage you need, your skin type and skin tone, and the preferred makeup finish you are looking for. Personally, I love buildable coverage for my dry skin, with a natural look for my medium complexion. According to the #EmbraceYourFace Makeup Finder, I was matched with TruBLEND Liquid Makeup!
IMG_1765c TruBLEND Liquid Makeup is available in 14 shades and features a new shade matching system. To find your perfect blend, first determine your shade family. Second, choose your number. Coordinate complementary truBLEND products based on your number for a seamlessly flawless nude look that blends in and virtually disappears.

I’m wearing truBLEND foundation in Golden Beige M-3, with a light dusting of TRUblend Pressed Powder in Translucent Honey 3. I wore a strapless top to illustrate how closely the liquid makeup matches my natural skin tone; as you can see, it is a touch more rosy than my yellow-based skin, but overall, I’m quite happy with the shade and ease of application. …

On Winged Eyeliner, Rocker Chick Vibes and Grocery Clerks

October 27, 2015 By Lena

Spoiler Alert: I’m not spontaneous with my beauty routine. AT ALL.

I mean, why should I be? Why should I care? I work from home, my wardrobe consists of tee shirts and track pants, and I’ve been known to extend the washing of my hair by a day (or three).

That’s my life 90% of the time. The other 10% – the part you see on social media – is my glamorous life; the media events and photo shoots, the fashion advertising and beauty blogger selfies. And, if you can only envision one Lena, I want you to think of that version. Because I totes woke up like that. Totes.

Yesterday, feeling like a bored suburban housewife on a Monday morning, I decided to spice up my life. Dipping into a stash of COVERGIRL cosmetics, I created a rocker chick look, complete with winged eyeliner, tousled hair and pouty lips.
I couldn’t let this awesome look go to waste, so I visited Loblaws and picked fresh produce. The end.

(There’s probably a reason I’m not spontaneous with my beauty routine – I don’t have the necessary lifestyle to enjoy it! Nevertheless, a grocery store clerk did check me out. Or, he was side-eyeing me because I was messing up his tower of green peppers.) …

Counting Down to Date Night with COVERGIRL

September 21, 2015 By Lena

Note: The following giveaway is open to Canadians only.

Ah, date night. Those elusive few hours, every few months, that I spend the equivalent of a few days scheduling… and after a few cancellations, normally takes place a few days later than originally intended.

But when it happens… magic.

What is it about spending time – alone – with your significant other that is just so good for the soul? Before I had children, I took the little things for granted: eating without interruption, ordering a second glass of wine, sitting at a restaurant table without crayons strewn everywhere. Fact: it takes a little practice and a whole lot of patience to master the art of dining out with kids. Hence, when we do date night, we do it right.

Of course, there’s one pre-children luxury I’ve had to give up: the primping session two hours before our night out. Today, the makeup I apply in the morning has to last all day long, because I know I won’t have another chance to get ready in peace. Translation: if it doesn’t get done before the boys wake up, it doesn’t get done. And since date nights are few are far between, I like to look my best.
DSC_1334a Wondering how I keep my glow from dawn ’til dusk? I trust COVERGIRL for my lasting look, so I can focus on tackling my to-do list rather than touch-ups. Straight from their beauty experts, here’s how to ensure your make-up will outlast your day:

Step 1: Use COVERGIRL Outlast All-Day Primer to prep your skin. Its formulation not only extends the wear of any foundation it also hides pores and reduces imperfections, providing a smooth canvas.

Step 2: Apply COVERGIRL Outlast Stay Luminous Foundation for fresh, glowing skin. Its innovative new formulation with unique light reflecting particles and over 40% skin conditioning agents hydrates the skin to help keep it looking healthy and lit from within. It’s lightweight feel and medium coverage leaves skin with a natural luminosity that lasts all day long. …

Put Your Best Eyebrows Forward

July 9, 2014 By Lena

I have an eyebrow obsession. Some people have good hair days… I have good eyebrow days.

I tend to be vain about them, too. That’s why I couldn’t resist taking this photo last night – chillin’ in bed with the kiddos, I realized that my eyebrows were quite awesome. So of course I Instagrammed the picture and tagged it #goodeyebrowday.

Eyebrow Obsession I know, I’m very strange.

Now you may be asking yourself, What’s the secret to perfect eyebrows? Well, there really isn’t a secret at all. You just need to remember three things:

1. Your eyebrow shape has been pre-designed to perfectly frame your eyes and provide expression to your face. Balance and proportion are what the human eye perceives as beautiful, so always work with your natural shape vs. trying to tweeze them into an unnatural arch.

2. If you have gone overboard and tweezed your brows into thin lines (or the dreaded “comma” shape), grow them back. Many women will claim that after over-tweezing, their eyebrows won’t grow back. However, unless you’ve been tweezing for 30+ years, it’s hard to permanently damage the hair follicle.

You just need to be super patient (re-growth can take up to 6 months) and put up with unpolished brows for a season or two. This past winter, I successfully grew back 30% of my brows by leaving them alone.

3. Regardless of your eyebrow state, use a brow pencil or brow powder to define the shape and fill in sparse areas. You’ll need a steady hand, and a lot of practice. (Hint: if you look like Groucho Marx, wipe if off and start again.) You can even purchase handy eyebrow stencils (yes, stencils!) from Sephora, but I don’t prefer them as they force you to create a new shape vs. defining your own.

Here are my tools of the trade:

Tweezerman Tweezer. Positively the finest general use tweezer in the world – top eyebrow artists always recommend the original Slant tweezer for expert brow shaping. The perfectly aligned, hand-filed tips grab every hair, every time with true precision.

CoverGirl Brow & Eyemakers Pencil. Create beautiful brows with this incredibly versatile pencil. It has a soft hue and powdery finish, and offers the perfect amount of coverage when applied with a light, feathery stroke. Best of all, the two-pack of pencils retails for about $5.00!

My very best tip when using an eyebrow pencil is to ensure your brows are darker than your hair colour. The biggest mistake I see is when women use a light or medium brown eyebrow pencil/powder when they have dark brown or blonde hair. Even natural blondes have dark brown brows, people! Stick to midnight brown and you’ll be good to go, regardless of your hair colour.

Do you have questions about shaping or filling eyebrows? I’m here to help! After years of obsessing over my own, I consider myself quite the expert on the subject.

Oh So Pretty in P!NK…

March 20, 2013 By Lena

Attention Canadians: Spring Has Sprung! (Well, technically. We all know that the weather outside is frightful.)

Nevertheless, it’s the perfect time to dust off those pretty pink polishes that are synonymous with the (soon-to-be) warmer weather. And who better to inspire thoughts of rose, blush and fuchsia than… P!NK!

The gorgeous CoverGirl combines pretty and punk for the most spectacular pinkage ever. Her edgy glamour and rock star confidence are ever present in her music, fashion and beauty. From cotton candy-tipped hair to romantic rose lips, P!NK embodies the spirit of the hue.

I’d like to think that it was P!NK who inspired the gorgeous girly shades in CoverGirl’s Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Gloss. The high-shine, punchy full-coverage nail enamel combines a base coat, high gloss colour and a chip-resistant top coat in one simple step. Beauty junkies worldwide are raving about its long-wearing ability – up to seven (7) days! – with continued strength and shine….

Beauty and the Marketing Beast

November 9, 2012 By Lena

Yesterday, I had the distinct pleasure of attending the #PGMom Influencer Event at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto. Although I missed most of the day due to scheduling conflicts, I was able to breeze in for the last two sessions. And since both centered around beauty (makeup/hair) I was in seventh heaven.

(Disclaimer: I have joined the #PGMom program as a beauty blogger; hence, I will mostly be covering their beauty brands – CoverGirl, Olay, Pantene, Clairol, Herbal Essences, Secret and Head and Shoulders.)

The first session was a trip through the P&G Product Mall, where I had a most wonderful makeup chat with Diana Nguyen, the Communications – Brand PR representative for Proctor & Gamble. We talked about everything from the latest products to how every teenage girl’s first compact is a CoverGirl Clean Pressed Powder compact (I used the blue one – oil control – from grades 10 through 12). I even pulled the CoverGirl Brow & Eyemakers Duo out of my purse – yes, I travel with an eyebrow pencil!

Next, a sit-down session to “Meet the P&G Beauty Experts”. Well, I was more than a little excited to meet Greg Wencel – CoverGirl pro and celebrity makeup artist. Hello! He’s worked with Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Lisa Ray and Katy Perry, to name a few. I secured a seat in the front row, excited to pick up the best tips and tricks.

It wasn’t what I expected.

Of course, he did have wonderful advice to share. After all, he’s a bloody genius! Much respect to him. However, I was slightly turned off by the undertone of his messaging –

We know Moms are busy….
Don’t always have time to put best face forward…
Looking for tips to incorporate into quick makeup routine…

Well, he is correct in a certain respect – Moms ARE busy. And many Moms don’t have the time or desire to apply makeup every day – and frankly, some aren’t even interested in doing so. Fair enough.

But there’s also a large portion of us who MAKE THE TIME. I arrived at the event with a full face of makeup – artfully sculpted brows, winged eyeliner with smoky eyes, a sweep of bronzer highlighting my cheekbones and dewy, shiny lips. Yes, I am busy – and I am short on time. But I will find the time to complete my beauty ritual; it’s just a part of who I am and who I’ll always be. I don’t need quick tips. I don’t have a quick makeup routine….