where there's smoke...: MAC smoking eyes

It's been simmering for a couple of seasons, and the sultry, smoki-fied eye trend is now red-hot. But lovelies, if you're a bit mystified as to how to create this smouldering look, then you must check out MAC's Smoking Eyes: Eyeshadow palette. It's a collection of four warm, anyone-can-wear-them shades, from shimmering black to iridescent champagne. I've been wearing the medium-toned purpley-brown tone from the lashline up to the crease and then the shimmering black as a liner over top of black kohl liner. I'll then softly line the bottom lashline with a bit of the medium-tone shade to further smoke it up. And trust me, I've gotten compliments! These are just totally wearable shades that are perfect for the smokey eye or even just for your everyday eye makeup. What's more, they don't leave a trail of ashy soot all over your cheek.

fixation: Zensation Healing and Soothing Mask

Summer smog has not been kind to my skin. I'm naturally oily (some call this a blessing), so when the temperature and humidity soars, my complexion takes on the unflattering appearance of an oilslick. But lovelies, my new skincare savior, Zensation Healing and Soothing Mask, has most certainly helped in my revitalization efforts. It's packed with all kinds of essential oils and plant extracts that work wonders to purify and sap out the bad stuff. It's got a creamy texture that looks like a moisturizer, but is in fact intensely clarifying. Unlike some masks, Zensation's doesn't dry out and crack, taking every last bit of moisture along with it. It just leaves your skin deeply cleansed, yet hydrated. After twenty minutes, my skin looks plumped and feels blissfully refreshed. Make no mistake, this stuff doesn't come cheap. But if you're looking for a little luxury in your life, Zensation is it!

look of the week: Maggie Q

It's time again for look of the week lovelies! And you may be asking yourselves: just who is this Maggie Q you speak of? Well, this exotic beauty has been on SugarShock's radar for some time now for her ever-so-chic and stylish, yet not-overdone red carpet appearances. She was born Maggie Quigley, to a Polish-Irish American father and a Vietnamese mother, who blessed Miss Q with such stunning features. She started out as a model and moved on to films, becoming a huge star in Asia, and later changed her last name to "Q" so Chinese fans could more easily pronounce her name. Since then, she's cropped up in Hollywood pics such as Mission: Impossible III and most recently, Balls of Fury, where she made this red-carpet appearance.
If you ask me, this lovely lady has the makings of the next Bond Girl: the whole Eurasian vibe would be just perfect to go toe-to-toe with Daniel Craig. Here, she's flawless yet again: love the subdued, yet on-trend cat's-eye liner. Instead of breaking out the heavy black liner, (it is still summer, after all) Maggie has used a soft brown to subtly play up her peepers. It just goes to show that you can interpret beauty trends to suit your own look, as well as the season. Paired with a whisper of peachy-pink lipstick, the look is fresh and fun.

the big score

Lovelies, I'm a little dismayed that I haven't yet received my subscription copy of the September issue of Vogue in the mail. It makes me wonder: did they run out of copies of the big-fat fashion bible? But while I wait in vain for my beloved to arrive, I have something else to fixate my Vogue fetish: ShopVogue.tv. Call me crazy, but one of the things I love about these mammoth September issues is poring over the hundreds of pages gorgeous fashion and beauty ads. With ShopVogue, I can peruse the ads by brand, trend or price and actually buy the lovely items, such as these buttery-leather handbags by Furla, should I so desire. (Not likely, since I don't make a six-figure salary, but a girl can hope, right?) There's even behind-the-scenes videos of the shoots for ads featuring Gisele, Shalom and Christy. It's just a little bit of fashion bliss.

TrendShock: give it to me straight

This may upset us curly-haired girls, but after a few seasons of soft, cascading waves on the runways, sleek, pin-straight hair is back. I have to say I'm loving this look - it's chic, clean and a refreshing antidote to the ubiquitous, tousled Victoria's Secret-girl tresses. But fear not, my kinky-haired lovelies, with the right tools, you too can have long, smooth locks like this model's from Michael Kors's Fall 2007 runway. To get a smooth result, start with a relaxing product such as Phyto Phtyodefrisant on wet hair before blow-drying. Once your hair is dry, it's all about the iron. My fave is the T3 Bespoke Labs Tourmaline Wet-to-Dry Flat Iron. It may be pricier than most, but the negative ions in this ceramic uber-tool seal in your hair's moisture, giving you sleek and shiny locks.
Source; Photo by Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse

look of the week: pretty penelope cruz

Many of my previous picks for look of the week have been celebs workin' it on the red carpet. But lovelies, due to the dearth of worthy candidates lately, and the killer ad campaigns that have been cropping up for fall, this week I'm going with Penelope Cruz for Mango. You have to agree, she looks smashing. There's something cinematic (perhaps Fellini-ish?) about these ads, perhaps because they were directed by Cruz herself. Love the brashly bold, black-rimmed eyes here, paired with a mostly unmade-up face, evoking the bella donnas of Fellini films. And her hair is glorious too: makes you wonder if Miss Penelope just wakes up in the morning looking like this vision of beauty, non?
Source

genie in a bottle: farmaesthetics lavender milk

Aside from using sunscreen this summer, I've been sort of skipping my body moisturizing, to the point that my skin is gasping from thirst. Tisk, tisk, I know lovelies! But when it's hot and steamy, I don't really feel like slathering on thick balms, which is why I'm loving this Nourishing Lavender Milk by Farmaesthetics. The lotion is light yet truly skin-quenching and my skin now feel like silk. And I love the soft and pretty scent too. I never really thought I'd want the smell of lavender in a body lotion (for fear of smelling all Granny-like), but this one is just lovely. It seems to calm the senses while revitalizing at the same time. So this stuff beautifully moisturizes while nipping stress in the bud. Perhaps best of all? It's all-natural and the company uses only recyclable, minimal packaging. That gets the ultimate SugarShock stamp of approval!

So lovelies, tell me, are you interested in seeing more coverage on SugarShock of natural and/or environmentally-friendly beauty products? Let me know in the comments.
xo Kristen
aka SugarShock

fixation: Stila Fall Fantasy palette

Lovelies, I'm not really big on palettes for the most part, since I often like to pick and choose my own individual colors. But this beautifully packaged, watercolor-paint-box-inspired eye and cheek palette caught my eye instantly. (It's so pretty, with it's faux-suede green box, wrapped in a lovely purple agate stone necklace, that I struggled whether to slot it under "Pretty Things" or "Fixation"...). And the Moss Palette colors don't dissappoint either: three neutral eyeshadow shades from champagne to khaki, bronzy-green to dark browny-green, and a peachy-pink blush. I'm already using them pre-fall in my regular makeup routine. For day, I'll swipe the mid-tone khaki shade all over the lid to the crease, and then dab a little of the champagne shade along the bottom lid for a bit of highlight. The dark khaki shade is great to use as eyeliner for evening, applied with a dampened brush. And the blush is oh-so pretty: it gives a fresh-from-the-gym flush.

look of the week: ashley olsen

My apologies for my lateness in posting this week (it seems I'm having trouble shaking the vacation zone vibe more than anticipated.) Now, before you go scoffing: "An Olsen twin!?! Puhleeze!", you have to fess up that this one-time pint-sized little tot, who, with her twin Mary-Kate, once yelped, "You got it, dude!" (cue laugh-track) on Full House is sure getting her style on lately. She went from oddly cute child to uber-chic, gorgeous young woman in what seems like the blink of an eye. And these pics of Ashley from Marie Claire's big-fat September issue are no exception.


Ashley's certainly got a tamer style sensibility compared to her sister, but I have to give them both props for outgrowing their tween personas and graduating to style icons. Love the soft makeup on Ashley here – her big blue eyes just pop with the help of thick black mascara on top and bottom lashes and a hint of white shimmer in the inner corners of the eyes. The rest of her makeup is kept soft, but for a swipe of shimmery peach lipstick and natural, peachy blush. She's also sporting some lovely, full yet groomed eyebrows, which is a big trend right now. And don't you just love the Russian-Grandma-scarf styling and beer-can curlers in these shots?

model moment: might as well face it...

Lovelies, I'm writing to you while fighting the fog of jetlag grogginess after getting back from SF, but I just had to post this lovely little instance of pop culture-meets-fashion. While on vacation in gorgeous California wine country, I spent some time perusing my favorite fashion and beauty glossies (for research, of course...) and came across the Fall '07 Valentino ad campaign featuring the gloriously painted Hilary Rhoda and Gemma Ward. I had a moment of clear nostalgia when seeing this ad, because it brought me right back to the late 80s videos of Robert Palmer and my overwhelming desire to be one of his beautifully made-up, personality-less backup dancers.
They didn't have much expression, and they weren't especially good dancers (or guitar players, I might add), but they sure looked good in shiny red lipstick and heavy eyeliner. While Hilary and Gemma look a little more fierce than Palmer's babes, they're totally channelling that 80s supervixen look, which is actually on-trend for right now, what with starlet glamour and the return of the uber-made-up face. Enjoy!

vacation makeup bag must-haves

Lovelies, in the last little while, I've been writing about taking a mini-vacation when you just can't get away by celebrating the little indulgences, and now, I get to actually get away! I'm escaping the heatbox that is Toronto for the more moderate climes of San Francisco, California for one glorious week. So what beauty booty will be travelling with me on vacay? I'd really love to tote my entire collection of paints and pots along with me, but I dread the notion of added baggage. And who wants to bring a filing cabinet's worth o' product with them? (Seriously, I have a filing cabinet at home filled with cosmetics. It's almost absurd.) So, I'm downsizing my stash to a handful of makeup favorites and must-haves. Many of these are products I've mentioned before, but they're so great, they deserve a second mention!

1) DuWop Revolotion Face Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 in Caitlin (palest beige). Has sun protection, evens out skin tone and makes your face glow without looking at all overdone. What more could you ask for?

2) La Bella Donna Vision of Mineral Lights in Naturale. This stuff is just beautiful. Irridescent but not too shimmery and comes in four different shades, from champagne to bronze you can use as eyeshadow or highlighter.


3) tarte mascara Lights, Camera, Lashes! in Black. A trusty lengthening and volumizing mascara with the chic, handbag-inspired faux python packaging.

4) Lancome Maquicomplet Complete Coverage Concealer in Light Buff. A great complexion perfector for blemishes and other unsightly flaws.


5) DuWop Blushbooster in Apple. A super-flattering sheer pink blush that brings life to any complexion.


6) La Bella Donna Lip Sheer in Pink Diamond. A sheer lick of illuminating, natural-looking pink gloss. Gorgeous!

7) Bourjois Docteur Glamour 8-hour Moisturizing Lipstick in Praline Soigne. It's always good to have more than one lipcolor option, and this is like a lipbalm and lipstick in one. I love its hydrating power and browny-pink lustrous finish.

Alas, being on vacation means I won't be posting as frequently (if at all) next week. So bear with me lovelies, I'll be back in a little more than a week with more beauty musings. So sit tight till then!

xoxo Kristen
aka SugarShock