From hot new fragrances, to gorgeous eyeshadow palettes, to must-have nail polishes, we rely on Dave Lackie, Cityline beauty expert and editor of BEAUTY the guide, to keep us in-the-know when it comes to the latest and greatest products on the market.
Each month Cityline.ca brings you Dave’s Faves, where Dave will share his insider beauty finds — and one lucky viewer will WIN them! Be sure you’re following both @CitylineCA and @davelackie to be the first to know about this monthly contest!
Dave’s Faves for March
There are two months when beauty companies save their biggest, most exciting launches: September and March. Here are six beauty finds that are particularly interesting this month.
NARS Matte Multiple, $46 each
This is the most important launch for NARS for spring and it is the best product for time-crunched mothers looking for fast makeup solutions. In 1996, Harper’s Bazaar magazine invited the most elite makeup artists to create a beauty look that represented their vision as an artist. Francois Nars wanted to create a look that would highlight beautiful, translucent skin using a single lipstick. He dabbed and blended the cool, plum brown Tangier lipstick onto model Carolyn Murphy’s eyes, lips and cheeks – simple, seductive and sun-kissed.
When customers started buying the Tangier lipstick to use it in a similar fashion, Francois was inspired to create The Multiple, a colour stick that could be applied to eyes, cheeks and lips to create a fresh, glowing effect. He pioneered multi-use cosmetics.
This month, NARS introduces Matte Multiple, a creamy, lightweight formula that delivers buildable, long-lasting, hydrating colour for lips and cheeks. It can be applied dry for soft, yet vibrant matte effect or wet for rich finish that melts into skin. Available in seven shades.
Nina Tentation, $68
This is a sneak peek for Cityline.ca viewers as this fragrance doesn’t arrive in stores until the end of the month. But I wanted to show you it because the scent is inspired by fine French pastries. If you like sweet gourmand fragrances with notes of caramel, vanilla and chocolate, you’ll love this sweet version of Nina. It has notes of lemon essence, raspberry, macaroon accord, and bourbon vanilla. And I wanted to show you the press gift for this launch: a scented candle.
Shiseido Color Enhancing Trios, $40 each
Shiseido’s Creative Director for Makeup Dick Page is very innovative. He doesn’t follow trends at all. He’s more concerned with making products that are easy to use and deliver beautiful results. This month, he introduces this new take on blush. It’s three stripes of colour that are to be used add colour, dimension and harmonize. The top shade blushes, the middle sculpts and the base colour harmonizes. The blushing colour adds a warm rosiness to cheeks.
The sculpting colour acts as a highlighting or shading effect. It creates a natural looking contrast to the complexion. And the harmonzing colour blends the blush colour and sculpting colour to match your own skin tone perfectly. Available in 4 shades.
Clarins Extra Comfort Cleanser, $44
I’ve talked on Cityline before that pollution is one of the biggest stressors on skin today. Airborne particles can add to skin dehydration, skin sensitivity, and a dull complexion. Sulfur dioxide in particular reduces the hydro-lipidic film on the skin’s surface. And pollutant particles can accumulate on the skin’s surface making skin look dull.
French beauty brand Clarins has been a pioneer in anti-pollution skincare. And this month, the company launches Extra-Comfort Cleansing Cream. This formula removes makeup thoroughly and erases pollutant particles. What I like about it is it is perfect for anyone with very sensitive skin. It helps calm irritated skin and brings the skin moisture levels back into balance.
Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Limon Verde, $68
One of the most common questions I get from Cityline viewers is how do I find a fresh, light scent that isn’t too sweet? Guerlain offers a beautiful new fragrance called Limon Verde that takes inspiration from limes but adds a tropical green note. It has notes of lemon, orange, lime, green tropical accord and tonka bean. Kind of like a gin and tonic with lime!
John Varvatos Artisan Acqua, $125
One of my favourite men’s wear designers is John Varvatos. You may know him from Fashion Star with Nicole Ritchie and Jessica Simpson. He used to design for Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein before launching his own line. This month, he offers a really great spring scent for men called Artisan Acqua. It’s a green fougere – very masculine and fresh. It has citrus notes, a herbal spicy accord and a woody base. Great scent for work or evening out.
For a chance to win Dave’s Faves for March, valued at $819, you have two ways to enter: 1) Follow @CitylineCA and @davelackie and RT @CitylineCA‘s contest tweet on Twitter. 2) Leave a comment below telling us which of these products excites you most and why. If you do both, you will be entered twice!
The latest issue of BEAUTY the guide is now available — click here to check it out!