makeup Archives - Listen to Lena

A short time ago in a theme park far, far away…

Okay, so it’s not *that* far away. (Only a 5-hour direct flight!) I had looked forward to this event for months, and when the time finally came, I was ready to morph into one of the greatest, most sassy droids known to mankind. This past Monday, at Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland, I dressed up as the iconic R2-D2. (Click here for more details on my costume.)

My husband went as himself.
Okay, okay, he didn’t actually go as himself. He dressed up as the ultimate nerd! High-waisted pants and a matching bow tie to boot. (He even has that mouth/ jaw thing going on… it’s quite precious.)

To offset the whole Star Wars-geek thing, I opted for sultry, come-hither makeup using ARTDECO Cosmetics. Identified by its on-trend and fashion-forward designs, ARTDECO has been a cult favourite in Europe for years, and is now available in Canada at select Shoppers Drug Mart stores! Here’s how you can emulate the look, whether you’re trick-or-treating or enjoying date night. …

There are so many buzzwords in social media today: trending, clickability, engagement, advertainment… I could go on. And on.

But the single most overused buzzword? Viral. As in, “My Facebook post went viral! It was liked and shared a gazillion times.”

Amazing! And having a “viral” post or picture is certainly a measurement of success – one that should be both applauded and respected. (Unless you’re spamming people with voting requests, “earn $100/hour” ads or funny animal pictures. Then you’re not a viral success; you’re a douche.)

Unfortunately, I’ve never experienced the high of having a viral post or image, but I have received amazing feedback and engagement from a few posts in particular. It’s a nice feeling! Of course, when I published the following picture last Thursday, clearly I had no idea it would be received so well…

It’s just a photo of me and the Director of Menu Management at McDonald’s Canada, Anne Parks – from the post They Came. They Tasted. They Savoured the Flavour. I didn’t think much about it until over the course of the next few days, my inbox was filled with questions about my hair, beauty routine, makeup and wardrobe. Er… I’m flattered, friends!

And while I would normally just respond to e-mails individually, I thought this was a great way to share the “secrets” of my beauty routine. (Prepare to be underwhelmed. Seriously – I’m pretty much no-frills and no-fuss.) Below is a collection of questions I received stemming from the photo I posted on Thursday – except the first, which I received a few weeks ago and just had to include!

Hi Gorgeous – Do you do botox?!? Your skin is flawless. Secret safe with me if its a yes – please tell me where you go! xo – R

LOL! I wish I was interesting enough to have a reason to botox, but alas, the kindergarten carpool in sweatpants does not necessitate a smooth and wrinkle-free forehead. I am, however, blessed with good genes – and I do use a “miracle” cream called Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Serum. It is seriously the best thing you can ever put on a problem area; just a few dabs on fine lines and they disappear like magic.

Since I only use it from time to time (usually for big events), I’ve had the same bottle for almost three years! A little goes a looong way.

Love your orange dress! Where did you get it? – A

It’s my “little orange dress” from the Old Navy Fall/Winter 2013 collection. A steal at under $30; it originally came paired with a black belt, but I swapped it for a pink belt to add a punch of fun colour!…

Face of the Day, Galactic-Style

The Not-So-Viral Picture You Loved