Winter Skincare Saviours!

I wanted to through out a quick post dedicated to all of my favourite skin care products during the weary winter weather. So... let's talk skin care!

Cleansing the skin is a key factor in overall skin health and some of my favourite dirt and oil busters include Fresh's Soy Face Cleanser, Korres' new Wild Rose Brightening and Refining Buff Cleanser, Ole Henriksen On The Go Cleanser, and Caudalie's Instant Foaming Cleanser! All of these face washes are great for all skin types (including sensitive) and gently break down dirt, oil, and makeup on the face and eyes! They're non irritating and non drying! The Korres cleanser has tiny beads that lightly exfoliate the skin... avoid contact with eyes.

Exfoliating the skin means brighter, smoother, softer skin that will allow all of your other products to penetrate deeper, and sit nicer on the skin. So remember to include this step in your routine 2-3 times a week to rid any dull and flaky surface texture! I love Fresh's Sugar Face Polish, and Ole Henriksen's Walnut Complexion Scrub. The bonus with Sugar Face Polish is that it doubles as a hydrating mask!

Prepping the skin is an essential part of all skincare routines and some of my favourite toner comes from Clarins! The Clarins Toning Lotion is alcohol free, soothing and moisturizing and has an incredible gel like texture. I also love the calming, hydrating, and refreshing feel of the Caudalie Grape Water Spray who's only ingredient is pure grape fruit water!

For treating the skin, it really depends on individual skincare concerns. One staple I think everyone can benefit from is the Dior One Essential Serum which actively eliminates toxins in the skin to boost your other skincare items efficacy. Think luminous, smoother, healthier skin! For those pesky breakouts that pop up I love the Kate Somerville EradiKate Acne Treatment which uses Sulpher, Salicylic, and Magnesium, and to pack a punch in hydration I always reach for the Origins Drink Up Hydrating Mask!

Keeping the skin hydrated, protected, and balanced is a vital step in every skincare routine, and some of my favourite moisturizers include Fresh's Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream, Clarin's Multi-Active Day Cream, Korres Wild Rose Sleeping Facial, Origins High Potency Nightamins, and Tarte's Maracuja Oil. All of these moisturizers are packed full of antioxidants that thoroughly hydrate the skin and protect it from environmental damage and aging. For those of us in our 20's and early 30's, these babies are right up our ally! All skin types can use these products, though oily skins should be weary of the night creams.

My favourite eye creams are Benefit It's Potent! for age prevention and brightening, and Algenist's Eye Contour Balm for anti aging and an amazingly smooth texture that's a dream to use under makeup!

All of the products I mentioned are products that I've used and loved and are general options that work for most skin types and concerns. Please take them in with a grain of salt and properly assess what your skincare needs are are go from there!

Hope you're all staying hydrated and protected this winter!

xo candice

Makeup Tips for Glasses Wearers

I've been wearing my glasses a lot lately for one reason or another and thought that many people would really benefit from a fun post dedicated strictly to us visually impared!

Determining what style of eyeshadow you should wear really depends on your type of glasses.

If you are farsighted and your glasses tend to magnify your eyes, opt for darker, smokier looks which will make your eyes appear smaller. Experiment with matte shadows in deeper tones that will define your eyes and not amplify them. Feel free to play with colour in jewel tones like emeralds, navy's, and plums, and keep the colour close to the lash line. Tight line inside the eyes with dark kohl pencils. 

If you are nearsighted and your glasses tend to hide your eyes and make them look smaller, choose light, bright shadows that will make your eyes appear larger. Experiment with eyeliner to define the eyes so that they don't get lost behind your lenses, and a light shimmery shadow on the inner corners of the eyes to open them up. Enjoy light iridescent colours like lavender, bone, and pale blues and greens. Use flesh toned pencils on the inside of the eye for a wide eyed effect.

No matter what your style of glasses, always remember to use a brightening concealer under the eyes in case of any shadows your frames may cast on the face. Always add definition to your lashes, and always have well groomed, well defined brows! Your eye brows frame your frames and are really important for glasses wearers.

Know that these are just guidelines, and that people that wear glasses can wear any eyeshadow look they want! Always have fun with your makeup and your glasses and play up those beautiful eyes!

xo candice

www.candicegroen.com

Cute Doll Halloween Makeup

Say hello to another Halloween look inspired by a cute dolly!

1 Start by applying foundation all over, concealer in areas of concern, and setting with a translucent powder.
2 Apply a light blue shadow all over the lid and into the crease. Make sure to bring the colour up high enough to be seen when the eye is open. Bring this blue shadow tight against the outer corners of the lower lash lines.
3 Densely press a blue glitter all over the lid from the lash line to the crease. Soften the edge by blending through the crease with whatever blue shadow is left on our brush.
4 Apply a white eyeliner to the inner corners of the eye and press an iridescent duo chrome white/blue shadow on top.
5 Line the top lash line with a black liquid liner and apply a light coat of mascara.
6 Rim the inside of the eye with a light, flesh toned pencil for a wide eyed appearance.
7 Apply long wispy lashes to the upper lash line and shorter wispy half lashes to the outer corners of the lower lash line.
8 Create a 3D blush effect by applying a hot pink shadow in a round shape to the apples of the cheek and then a light frosty pink shadow around the edges. This will give a natural and soft gradation.
9 Use a brown eyeliner pencil to dot freckles of varying sizes onto the cheeks.
10 Finish with a bubble gum pink lip colour!

Products Used:
Nars Sheer Glow Foundation
Stila Perfecting Concealer
Tarte Amazonian Clay Translucent Powder
BH Cosmetics 120 Palette (for the cheeks)
Korres Kohl Pencil "Brown"
Urban Decay Eyeshadow "Kiddie Pool"
Michaels glitter (Blue)
Lit Cosmetics Clearly Liquid Glitter Base
Physicians Formula Eye Booster Liquid Liner (Ultra Black)
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil "Milk"
Naked Cosmetics Pigment Stack "Ivory" (Blue)
Givenchy Noir Couture Mascara
Ardelle Lashes
Revlon Lip Butter "Cupcake"

xo candice
www.candicegroen.com

Monster Face Paint

Here's a Halloween face paint I did on myself last week! It's inspired by monsters and dinosaurs!

1 Using a white eyeliner plot your basic shape.

2 Sponge a yellow face paint onto the high points of the face (forehead, nose, and cheekbones) and a green face paint around the edges, sides of the nose, and around the eyes. Use a white face paint to fill in the talons/horns.

3 To even out the colour and add shading and depth, go over the face paint with matte eyeshadows in complimentary shades of green and yellow. I used a black shadow and a blending brush to further define around the horns, contours, and eye area, including bags under the eyes.

4 Use a black face paint to loosely outline the design. Use quick and fluid brush strokes to achieve clean lines. Define the brow bone, line the eyes, add gnarly nostrils, and add detail and interest with lines and dots.

5 Highlight and add further detail with a white paint.

6 If you choose to, you may now add a light foundation to the exposed skin.

7 Press an irridescent glitter on the tops of the cheekbones and on all of the horns. Be strategic with your glitter placement to compliment the makeup, not overwhelm it!

8 I finished with a yummy smelling lip balm to keep my lips looking hydrated and fresh!

Products Used:

Nars White Kohl Pencil

Kryolan Aquacolor Paint

BH Cosmetics 120 Palette

Wolfe Face Paint "White"

Wolfe Face Paint "Black"

Make Up For Ever Glitter #03

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation

Clean Start Smart Mouth Lip Shine

xo candice

www.candicegroen.com

Get Artsy Competition

Last month I entered a Make Up For Ever face chart contest and ended up in the top 10 with my look featured on the Make Up For Ever Canada Facebook page! (Which you can see here).

It was a fun look to create and I had the pleasure of recreating it on my beautiful friend Chicara. Hope you guys like it!

xo candice

www.candicegroen.com

Zombie Skull Mask

Here's a quick look at a zombie inspired Halloween mask I wore last week! Hope you guys like it!

1 Apply foundation all over and set with powder. Having a clean and flawless base really aids this makeup so that it doesn't end up looking muddy.
2 Start by using a white eyeliner to plot out your shape.
3 Lightly block out the brows using a glue stick or prosaid and brush a concealer over the top.
4 Using a filbert style brush and a grey eye shadow, place your brush down on the skin to create a rounded shape, and flick away to create a natural fade. Do this all the way around the edges in varying sizes and spacings creating a deconstructed scalloped edge.
5 Use the same grey shadow to shade around the eye area. Coming up high on the outer most corner of the brow, and low under the eye to create a hollowed look.
6 Use a black face paint to draw small flicks through the scallop shapes around the edges of the mask. Define the top of the eye shape you've created to exaggerate an angry brow, and roughly line the top of the eyes with a small flick.
7 Further define the round shapes of your mask by using a black shadow in the same way... placing the colour down and flicking outward. By using the black shadow after the face paint, it softens the lines but allows them to still peak through for added definition and detail. Use the black shadow to shade the eyelid as well.
8 Line the upper and lower waterlines with a black kohl pencil and hap-hazzardly coat the upper and lower lashes with mascara.
9 For a finishing touch, add some dark/dried blood under the eyes and on the bridge of the nose. Don't be excessive with blood as it is only meant to aid the makeup, not overwhelm it!
10 When I wore this out I added a vampy red lip for lots of sex appeal!

Products Used:
Nars Sheer Glow Foundation
Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder
BH Cosmetics 120 Palette
Benefit BadGal Liner "Black"
Givenchy Noir Couture Mascara
Wolfe Face Paint "Black"
Fleet Street Blood FX
Kat Von D Lipstick "Rosary" (not pictured)

xo candice
www.candicegroen.com

Nars Warhol Holiday 2012

"Andy Warhol realized art could take any form. Putting on your makeup is a kind of self-portrait." - Francoi Nars

The newest collection from Nars featuring limited edition Andy Warhol glosses, shadows, polishes and more has this Factory Girl dancing in her boots! It's so exciting to have two of my favourite people come together and make some of my favourite things.

Exclusively at Sephora until November, this collection features three gorgeous eyeshadow palettes inspired by Warhol's "Flowers" screen prints. All of the palettes in this collection have Andy Warhol's signature in silver inscribed on the outer packaging, and a famous Warhol quote on the mirror inside. I dont know if I'll ever bring myself to use it... but I couldn't resist picking up Flowers 3... a gorgeous combination of taupes and bronzes for all skin tones and eye colours!

"I aways say, one's company, two's a crowd, and three's a party." - Andy Warhol

The exclusive collection also houses the Larger Than Life Lip Gloss Coffret, taking inspiration from the famous Warhol "Soup Can"! I had to pick up this one because of the incredible value and the keep sake canister! It comes with 5 perfect and brand new lip gloss shades, including the cult favourite "Chelsea Girls", the popular nude lip lacquer.

"I've never met a person I couldn't call a beauty." - Andy Warhol

Also available in this collection are 5 new Nail Lacquers, 5 new Larger Than Life Lipglosses, 4 new Soft Touch Shadow Pencils, a limited edition Larger Than Life Eyepencil, a soft peach highlighting blush, the Debby Harry Eye and Cheek Palette, and two gift sets. 

I'm a little dissapointed that the Warhol signature isn't on the lip gloss caps, or polishes or shadow pencils. It makes the products look as though they are just part of the regular line and not as special as they really are! I also find the Debby Harry Eye and Cheek Palette way too sparkly. To the point that even throughout the day it continues to fall all over your cheeks. For as excited as I was about this collection I definitely expected some things to be different. Either way... there are some key pieces definitely worth the splurge!

And keep your eyes pealed for the Holt Renfrew exclusive shadow palettes hitting stores in November with really unique prints from Warhol's "Self Portrait". 

"I believe in low lights, and trick mirrors." - Andy Warhol

I'll definitely be having a look at this amazing set called "Factory Girl" with a new pure matte lipstick (these are so long lasting!), a black liquid liner,  Deep Throat/Amour blush duo, and Edie shadow! All in a super cute keepsake film reel! This one's a no brainer!

"All is pretty." - Andy Warhol

xo candice

www.candicegroen.com