sunscreen picks

Lovelies, I'd be lying if I said I don't love that summer sunshine bronzed glow. With a tan, I just look and feel healthier. But no matter what anyone tells you, no amount of tanning is safe. I don't think I need to reiterate this, but it's true: Baking in the sun fast-tracks the aging process (think wrinkles and sunspots: ick!) and puts you at risk for skin cancer. So as we gear up for long weekends both in Canada (happy Canada Day!) and in the US (happy 4th of July!), I'd like to arm you with some safer-sun options to help you enjoy the glorious outdoors.
When it comes to sun exposure, UVB rays used to be the main bad guys. But UVA rays are proving to be potentially more dangerous, because unlike UVB rays, they're an invisible threat: they don't make you burn. UVA rays also penetrate deeper into the skin and may be the main contributor to skin aging. Yikes!

So what that means for you, lovelies, is that you should be looking for broad-spectrum protection in your sunscreen. That is, one that offers protection against both UVB and UVA rays. Most sunscreens already offer UVB protection (that's what the SPF indicates), but for UVA protection, check that your sunscreen also includes one or more of these ingredients: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, avobenzone (also known as Parsol 1789) and Meroxyl SX or Meroxyl XL.
Here are a couple of my UVB/UVA-filtering picks: I've been loving Rodan and Fields Essentials Protect with Avobenzone SPF 30. It's lightweight and oil-free, so it doesn't feel at all greasy. And you can wear it alone or under makeup. I also really like Ombrelle's new Face SPF 60 Cream, which packs all of those anti-UVA ray ingredients I mentioned above. Plus, it's made for sensitive skin and goes on really light, even though, with all those filters, it's kinda like the mother of all sunscreens. (This one's only available in Canada.)
And lovelies, if you really want that bronzed look, there are sooo many great self-tanners on the market, so no excuses girls!

fixation: Bourjois Petit Guide de Style

These days, I'm all about using eyeshadow as liner, so these little mini shadow booklets are just the thing I've been looking for. Bourjois Paris's Petit Guide de Style has two coordinating shades of shadow – one light and one dark – plus a mirror, dual-sided applicator and cute little instructions on how to define, shade and contour, just in case you need a little help on the way to achieving Parisian chic. Lovelies, it's a little bit of Paris in your pocket! I'm loving the Coquette Rose, which has a dark violet plum shade and sheer, shimmery pink, and the Fleur Bleue, an iridescent navy and sky blue shimmer. Swipe them on for a sheer veil of color, or apply them with a wet brush for a more intense look.
Aren't these the cutest thing ever? Sign me up for French lessons!

TrendShock: white nail polish

Lovelies, I'm introducing a new feature on SugarShock called TrendShock, where I'll dish about a beauty trend of the moment and how I like to wear it. Now, I hope you all have stashed away your dark, goth nail polish (yes, it was chic, but it's time to move on and lighten up...) A lovely counterpoint to the dark nail trend is clean, crisp white. It really looks fresh and new for summer. And none other than my beloved ScarJo has been seen rocking this look. She's been sporting an opaque white, and I can't help but recall my high school days when we used to lacquer our nails with Wite-Out. Fetching, no? Most opaque white polishes have a gloss to them, so they definitely don't look as flat-matte as that good ol' Liquid Paper. For a good full-on cream white shade, try China Glaze White On White, and be sure to use a top coat first to avoid streaking.
I really love a white with a bit of shimmery iridescence to give some depth and one shade I'm loving is China Glaze White Kwik Silvr from their Surf collection. It goes on a bit sheer at first, but with a couple of coats, it becomes a lovely shade of silvery white-pearl. as with most nail colors, I like to wear it with a short, groomed nail. So pretty and light for summer.

look of the week: more love for jennifer lopez

How does she do it, lovelies? For the second time this month, Miss JLo is my pick for look of the week, and she's not even promoting anything right now (except, perhaps herself...But since she's killin' it every time, I have no qualms with that!) Here she is at the Lorraine Schwartz Diamond Monkey (?!?) Collection launch party in New York City this week.

I love how she always manages to change up her look - whether it's a slightly different hairstyle or a new play on her signature neutral-toned makeup. She's workin' it Old Hollywood-style here with her hair in cascading, soft waves and a deep side part. She's also sporting her trademark nude lip and a slightly stronger eye makeup look than her previous red carpet appearance this month. It's a study in neutrals again, but she's added a sweep of black liner on the eyelids which really channels the essence of the glam starlet. Steal her look with Vincent Longo Perfect Shine Lipgloss in Nectar and Kiss Me Eyeliner in Black.
Source: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage.com

a shockingly good idea!

Lovelies, how cool is this: there's a lip gelée from MAC's new C Shock collection called Sugar Shock! So now I have a namesake lipgloss. It's a sheer red-berry cream and the shade is gorgeous – it's totally my kind of color. The rest of the line is a real treat, too: vibrant, technicolor lipsticks and eyeshadows that go on like a dream. And because they're fairly sheer, they're actually very wearable, too, but definitely not for wallflowers! So who better than rapper and MAC spokesperson Eve to show off the line? Her personal makeup artist specifically requested the bold shades for Miss Eve's latest video, "Tambourine."

fragrance notes: the art of scent

Ever since I read the novel Perfume by Patrick Suskind, I've been fascinated by the art of fragrance-making. Creating a perfume is really an art form, though sometimes you wouldn't know it by the influx of one-note celebrity fragrances out there today. (Lovelies, perhaps with the exception of SJP's Lovely, I have yet to find one celebrity fragrance that is the least bit interesting.) But some perfumers have bucked the trend to layer everything with vanilla (a la Thierry Mugler's Angel) and returned perfume to its artisan roots.
Consider Ineke Ruhland, for example. A perfumer based in San Francisco, Ineke creates perfume stories, each with a time of day or mood in mind. After my Own Heart (my personal fave) is a romantic concoction of bergamot and florals, capturing "the scent of fresh lilacs on the early evening breeze). Balmy Days and Sundays, meanwhile, captures the scent of that first warm day of spring, when you want to loll about with a book, with notes of fresh-cut grass, honeysuckle and freesia. It's a lovely, clean scent, that doesn't seem at all contrived.


Frederic Malle Editions de Parfums, meanwhile, is a line of fragrances by some of the best "noses" in the business, including Maurice Roucel and Dominique Ropion. This is true perfume-lovers' perfume, and not for the faint of heart. Carnal Flower, for example, is an unabashedly floral scent, featuring a heady mix of sensual tuberose, jasmine and bergamot, with a trace of musk. Perfumer Ropion crafted the fragrance in such a way as to easily comingles with the wearers' own scent. And if you want to get your sexy time on, Roucel's Musc Ravageur is a good place to start. Roucel is known for his streamlined aproach to fragrances, keeping only what is essential, and this one is a bold and spicy Oriental skin scent, with notes of tangerine and cinnamon against a backdrop of musk, amber and vanilla. It's a fragrance of contradictions, with Roucel wanting to communicate a scent that is at once sensual yet generous. Succumb to the warm, spicy embrace of this ravishing fragrance - resistance is futile!

look of the week: très jolie, Miss Jolie

Breathtaking, isn't she lovelies? Here is the incomparable Angelina Jolie at the premiere of her new film, A Mighty Heart, and her effortless beauty makes her my pick for look of the week. She's another beauty that seems to become more beautiful with each passing orphan she takes under her wing. Here, she's workin' the lovely cat's-eye winged liner that's become her trademark look. And this is a trend that'll continue to be huge, straight into the fall season, so whip out your black liners, lovelies! Try a sweep of Shiseido The Makeup Fine Eyeliner in black to get the look. The rest of her makeup is quite spare, which lets her gorgeous gray-green eyes really shine. But of course, who could her ignore her pillowy lips? They're softly highlighted with a soft-pink gloss that's sexy yet understated. NARS Lip Gloss in Giza (Nectar) will give you a similar look. And loving the hair! Could anyone else pull off this slightly messy, tousled updo? I think not. While I love her long and luscious hair, I think Angie is loveliest with her hair pulled away from her face. Simply gorj!
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caviar dreams: alterna caviar

It's rare that I'm amazed by a shampoo and conditioner. I've usually relied on drugstore brands because I couldn't really see a big difference versus the higher-end ones. That is, until I discovered the food of the gods for hair: Alterna Caviar Volume Shampoo with Seasilk. And yes, like delectable caviar, this stuff is true indulgence. Why caviar in a hair product, you ask? Caviar Extract is a rich source of nutrients like Omega-3s and antioxidants. It's basically like nutrition for your hair. And my tresses have never felt or looked better, lovelies. It feels softer and smoother and looks shinier. While the Volume formula didn't give me amped-up volume, my hair did look bouncier and less flat than usual. Overall, my locks feel super-manageable and I love that this stuff protects against environmental stresses and sun damage - it's like skincare for my hair! The scent wowed me too - it's a lovely citrusy bergamot fragrance gives me that extra perk-me-up in the morning to go along with my bergamot-fragranced Earl Grey tea. But just like caviar, this stuff doesn't come cheap - it's priced at $30 a bottle. So while it might suit the lifestyles of the rich and famous, I might only use this for special occasions only. But it's been mighty hard not to reach for it every time, let me tell you!

Lovelies, what are your thoughts when it comes to shampoo/conditioner? Do you prefer high or low?

model moment: gisele bunchen in W

Leave it to W magazine to pull off one of the best supermodel covers we've seen in years. Gisele's still got it, lovelies, even with a career more than seven years running (positively ancient in the supermodel world). And while I'm loving the new girls on the scene, like fresh-faced Hilary Rhoda, I have to say that Gisele still reigns supreme.
I mean, did you see her spread in Harper's last month? Simply stunning. Her cheekbones could cut glass, I swear. And whether she's a home-wrecker or not (we won't get into the whole Tom Brady/Bridget Moynahan/Gisele love triangle here) she's still sashaying with the best of them. And don't you just love her Dynasty-inspired look? She could go toe-to-toe with Alexis Carrington any day and win, hands-down.
So in honor of Top Model Wednesday (R.I.P. ANTM Cycle 8) I thought I'd post these delicious pics of fallen angel Gisele Bundchen, shot by Michael Thompson. Enjoy!

fixation: Pangea Organics

Lovelies, not only am I a fan of all things beauty, but I'm also a fan of all things green. And this is no passing fancy: my fondness for the environment inspired me to create an initiative at my office called the Green Team, where a few of us banded together to do our bit to conserve paper, recycle and green-ify the office environment. (We also climbed the stairs of one of the world's tallest buildings, the CN Tower, to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund).
So, I'm always looking for ways to help the environment in whatever way I can (even something as small as using reusable cloth shopping bags instead of landfill-clogging plastic). This also comes down to the products I choose and when I find a winning beauty product, all the better! My most recent green beauty product find is Pangea Organics' glorious Shower Gel. My fave is the Italian White Sage with Geranium and Yarrow (yes, it's a mouthful!). It's got an invigorating fresh scent that's not overpowering but helps wake me right up in the fog of morning. And it's 100% plant-based – no chemicals were used in this stuff – it's all high quality herbs and essential oils. But if you think organic means no lather, think again! This shower gel lathers into a nice froth and gets me feeling squeaky clean without drying me out. I'm also loving the Bar Soap in the super-stimulating scent Malagasy Cinnamon Cassia with Cloves. Pangea packaging is also sleek and pretty. And best of all? You can plant the bar soap packaging! Its infused with seeds, so you just plant it and watch it grow. How cool is that?

look of the week: hello heidi klum

What a week lovelies! So much action on the red carpet – from the MTV Movie Awards to the CFDA Awards – and so many fabulous looks to choose from, it almost sent Miss SugarShock into a tailspin. Cameron Diaz wowed yet again at the MTV Awards with her leggy, devil-may-care glam, as did Little Miss Sunshine, Rihanna - I'm just loving her new blunt bangs! But it was the CFDA Awards where things really heated up. There was Uman, Iman and Petra, all looking stunning, but alas, there can only be one look of the week, and for me, it was former model and Project Runway host Heidi Klum, hands-down.

Is it just me, or does she just keep looking better with each passing baby? She's all about the glowy skin here, with expertly placed bronzer on the forehead, nose and cheeks (try swiping on Hard Candy's So Cal Glow to get the look). Heidi is also sporting the metallic eye look I raved about in my previous post, goldeneye. Here though, it's a yellowy-gold metallic shadow swiped underneath the eyes, which really makes them pop. Try using the yellowy shade in L'Oreal's High Intensity Pigment Bright Shadow Duo in Flare for a similar effect.
Loving the dress too. And she's workin' this lovely, and somewhat unexpected, glimmery chocolate-brown Michael Kors dress. My only gripe? The somewhat darker lipliner surrounding her nude lips. I suspect this is done to make her lips stand out in front of the red-carpet cameras, but it's really not a good look. tisk tisk!
What do you think lovelies? Leave a comment and let me know!
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happy day!

Lovelies, today is an exciting day for a number of reasons: Not only is it a glorious Saturday, but today marks SugarShock's three-month anniversary! It's hard to believe it's already been three months of dishing on beauty, celebrities, models and all things primping! I hope this site has been as much fun for you as it has been for me.
I want to take a moment to thank all of you lovely ladies who have stopped by for a sweet spell at SugarShock. I also want to give a shout-out to the wonderful lassies in the beauty and style blog community who have given me advice as well as helped get the word out on Sugar. Guin at Girlpaint and Stephanie at Adventures in the Stiletto Jungle have been especially kind, so thank you ladies!

In the meantime, enjoy these fabulous pics of 1950s model and actress Suzy Parker, who was considered one of the world's first supermodels. She became a signature face of Chanel and also posed for Revlon cosmetics ads. Her glam appearance, and particularly cosmetics ads from the 1950s, really inspired the look and feel of SugarShock.
Happy primping and here's to plenty more days of beauty dish to come!

trendshock: gold eyeshadow

The metallic eye trend that was hot for spring continues unabated for summer, and lovelies, I'm all over it. I'm especially loving the coppery-bronze and gold eyeshadow shades that are coming out – swept all over the lid, it's a look that Penelope Cruz and Jessica Alba have been rocking to glam effect. So, herewith, some of my picks for getting that high-beam sheen.


If you're looking for the liquid metal effect, you'll want to check out tarte lock & roll Eyeshadow Duo. It's a set of two ingenius little double-sided wands (one a gunmetal green and one a bronze) with liquid shadow on one side and a powder shadow roller on the other. I love layering on the bronze one for a real shock of metallic color. And this stuff is budgeproof and crease-free - perfect for blazin-hot summertime!
For a more subdued glimpse of gleam that's suitable for daywear, try Alima Cosmetics' Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Tigereye. It's a lovely, bronzy-brown mineral shadow that you can wear very sheer, or layer for a more pronounced gleam. Use it wet or dry as a liner or shadow – the effect still looks natural and I think this shade would be flattering on many skin tones. I'm also loving NYX's 3 Color Eyeshadow in Guru. You get three coppery-bronze shades that you can mix together or wear on their own for a lovely neutral glow. It's not too shimmery, so it's great if you're not entirely digging the irridescent look.

fixation: Seikisho cool cleansing gel

So lovelies, we're not even officially in the summer season yet, but the recent hot weather and smog up here has not only made me feel like I'm melting a la the wicked witch of the West, but has also made my face feel like one big Exxon oilslick (ick!). Such is the joy of being blessed with oily skin. So to brace myself for more smogginess to come, I'm on operation cleansing watch. My most recent beloved remedy? Seikisho Cool Cleansing Gel. This little wonder from Japanese line Kose is a gel-to-oil concoction (yes, I said oil!), which I was a bit scared of at first. But it doesn't feel at all oily - in fact, it left my skin feeling baby soft, clean and refreshed, courtesy of all kinds of plant and herb extracts. It's got a kind of cooling, menthol-like effect that feels like it's decongesting my skin and letting it breathe a sigh of relief. Perhaps best of all, this gel deeply cleanses and tightens pores without stripping your skin of its dignity. Plus, it's great for all skin types!

look of the week: lovely Lopez

She never ceases to amaze me lovelies. That's why Miss Jennifer Lopez is my pick for look of the week. Here's Jenny at the Children's Fund Gala in New York City this week, looking effortless and glam as usual. She's really perfected the: "What, this old thing?" look that makes it seem as though she got out of bed looking this way. (But we know better!)


Let's take a look at her makeup for a moment, shall we? It's a symphony of neutrals and bronzes that makes her look really fresh. Her eyes are lined top and bottom with the bronzey-brown shade, which gives an almost smokey-eye look. And she's wearing a nude lip, but it's got a bit of orange/coral to it (try Prescriptives Rain Gloss in Apricot Drizzle), which perfectly complements her olive skin tone and brightens up her face. Her hair is pulled back in a simple, sleek ponytail – a trademark look for Miss J.Lo – which shows off those gorgeous, attention-getting earrings. I was a little unsure about the two-tone dress at first, but I'm really loving it now. The browny-grey color is so fetching on her and makes her look chic without screaming, "Look at me!"
Be sure to check back here next week, when I'm sure I'll have a lovely pick from the MTV Movie Awards. Will it be Cam Diaz, who's been looking ever so stunning lately? Hmmm....

model moment: irina lazareanu for chanel

Now that America's Next Top Model has ended, are you going through model withdrawal? (Up here in Canada, we're still getting our fix with Canada's Next Top Model, hosted by none other than Mister Jay Manuel himself.) So to fill the void left by the finale of ANTM, and since I know you all love to dish about models as much as I do, I'm introducing a new feature on SugarShock called model moment. Every couple of weeks, I'll feature a model who is making waves in the beauty and fashion world at the moment. So to start things off, I've chosen Irina Lazareanu, featured here in a recent campaign for Chanel. To me, she's the perfect choice for Chanel - she's got a hipster/boho vibe, coupled with an ethereal elegance that's reminiscent of the great Coco Chanel. Lazareanu reminds me a bit of Penelope Tree, a model who was big during the mod wave of the 60s.

This Romanian-born Canadian with the blunt, mod-style bangs and doe eyes was nudged into the modelling spotlight by none other than supermodel Kate Moss. Lazareanu was formerly the drummer for Pete Doherty's band, Babyshambles, where she met Moss. The supermodel hand-picked this uber-cool beauty to appear in a high-profile editorial spread, and Lazareanu's career skyrocketed. And not only is the girl busy with modelling gigs (including the campaign for Kate Moss's collection for Topshop, she's also working on an album with Sean Lennon.
So lovelies, she's got the hipster style and rockstar friends, and now a Chanel campaign. Could Irina be the next Kate Moss?