BeautyEditor Picks: November

You’ve no doubt noticed that BeautyEditor.ca has gone through more than a few design changes since hanging out its shingle in the blogosphere earlier this year. While I can’t promise we’ve seen the end of those—we’re still figuring out whether the all-white, minimalist colour scheme is our most flattering look—I CAN tell you about some new regular content. Starting with a monthly Editor’s Picks post. And oh! Isn’t it great this one just snuck through the door on the last day of November?

Here’s the lowdown. I used to give every product I fell in love with its very own post. The problem is, I fall in love often—and run out of room (and time) rather quickly. (Plus, who really wants to assign themselves the task of keeping up with those workaholic sites that churn out something like five, six, seven posts daily? Not you, I hope.) So I’m doing this for us both, dear readers. From now on, expect a juicy post every month telling you all about what’s on frequent rotation in my makeup bag and medicine cabinet.

Here we go! This month, I fell in love with two vastly different—but equally lovely—eyeshadows, a toner that really DOES live up to its hype, and a strange little pot of perfecting makeup.

M. Asam Magic Fini, $49: One of my weird travel habits is visiting the pharmacies in any country I happen to be in—yes, even in the U.S.—to scope out what cool stuff they have that we don’t have in Canada. This funky little pot resembles products I swear I’ve seen in Thailand. But Thai it’s not—M. Asam is a luxury European brand that’s been in business since the early 1960s. And now it’s available in Canada. This product, called Magic Fini, really IS magic. Trust. Even though it’s scarily dark in the pot, it suits all skin tones and instantly melts into your skin, concealing uneven tone, wrinkles, enlarged pores and other imperfections. Seriously—I was more than pleasantly surprised by how it created a natural-looking matte finish on top of my end-of-day makeup. My only gripe? I wish it came in a tube instead of a pot. Available at The Bay and Sears stores across Canada.

Thierry Mugler Ombre Stellaire Mono Eye Shadow in Mercury, $49: You may have heard me raving about this on Twitter the other day. Who knew I could fall in love with a silver eyeshadow? But YES. It happened. Thierry Mugler is a genius, I tell you. Most silver shadows are a tad scary because of all that pigment—messy, glittery, drag queen-y. This one? Silky, sheer, easily blendable and buildable to the intensity you want. I feel sorry for all my other shadows now because I want to wear this one—only this one—day AND night. If you never thought there was a difference between $9 eyeshadow and $49 eyeshadow, try this and then we’ll talk. Available exclusively at The Bay stores across Canada.

Pür Minerals Pür Intensity Gel Eyeliner in Plum Quartz, $19: Not sure why, but I never jumped on the gel eyeliner train—I’ve always been more of a liquid liner girl. But sometimes we have to revisit things, and after reader Allie commented on her preference for gel liners a few weeks ago, I was determined to give this product a go. Armed with an angled brush, I’ve been sweeping it along my upper lash line, and because it’s waterproof, it stays put! (I have Chanel Iman-style eyes, i.e. no eyelid creases, so non-waterproof liners tend to end up somewhere near my brows.) What also helps: the pretty plum colour is fairly sheer (although buildable), so mistakes are easily corrected. Available at Shoppers Drug Mart stores across Canada.

Biologique Recherche Paris Lotion P50, US$83: I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve actually purchased a beauty product in the past few years (I know… feel free to hate me), but I was so intrigued by the hype for this toning lotion that I forked out some big bucks to import it from the U.S. last month. A couple years ago, I covered it in a story in ELLE Canada on cult beauty products, and since then I’ve read some mighty impressive testimonials on Makeup Alley and on the blogs of Vanity Fair and Style.com. My take? It’s definitely the best toner I’ve ever used—pore-tightening, non-drying, dead-skin-cell-eliminating and imperfection-lightening—and like everyone who’s tried it warns, I may have just developed a rather expensive habit. Available at Beautyhabit.com.