Guerlain Rouge G de Guerlain Jewel Lipstick Compact contains a ruby-powder formula that interacts with the light and creates a jaw-dropping pout of perfection. At first glaze, lips will be left defined, smoothed, plumped, and hydrated.

Tucked in a compact that marries beauty with high design, with one click, you will have a luminous lipstick and mirror at your fingertips. Designed by Lorenz Bäumer, the most talented jeweler from the Place Vendôme in Paris, it is the ultimate accessory of mystery and seduction.

This is a new limited edition highlighting/bronzing powder that is also oil free, just in time for summer!

Not only am I a beauty junkie, I am also a big online shopper. I have shopped from most of the popular online beauty stores in Canada and since I used to operate Joseibi as an online store, I know what to expect and what to look for. Here are the Canadian beauty sites I frequently shopped from and how they rank:

Coming soon: this is a preview of summer colors by the Body Shop. This limited edition collection will be available in Japan starting May 15, 2009.

In the US, you can get a new makeup palette with summer colors (although not specified on the website, the colors look like summer colors) which has everything you need for US$30.00 (a $55.00 value):

Developed by the famous Bliss spa, this is one of the few at-home treatment products that really makes a visible difference right after you use it. I can’t say I have the pleasure of using too many facial masks that not only feel good but makes your skin look good, and all it takes is 5 minutes!

I have always felt that Shiseido’s Japanese or Asian releases are far better than the international lines, and this just reinforces that idea, at least for me. I bought this at the warehouse sale for half the price (suggested retail is CAD$62.00 for 150ml). The bottle is a heavy glass bottle that is quite beautiful, but that’s about it…after using up a whole bottle, I did not notice any difference, although like most Japanese toners, this has a very rich but non greasy feel to it. It does feel very hydrating though.

When it comes to professional grade cosmetics, Make Up For Ever never disappoints. It always has just the right tools and products to get the job done!

The Eye Seal is probably one of the best inventions. It waterproofs any eyeliners or powder makeup without alcohol. Just when I wanted to give up on some of the dark eyeshadow shades that come with the eyeshadow palettes I bought, I discovered this incredible product that can transform any eyeshadow into a waterproof, smear resistant eyeliner.

I am crazy about palettes!!! Not only are they convenient for travel, they also save lots of space on my vanity table. I love how organized they look and how neat they are.

Usually, I buy makeup palettes at the duty free shops at the airport whenever I travel. They just aren’t available elsewhere (except at select online retailers of course) and they save a lot of suitcase space. At Christmas time, brands like RMK would come out with an all in one makeup palette that I practically drool over.

Whenever I go to the US, I never hesitate to stock up on Japanese brands at Neiman Marcus. It’s unfortunate that we don’t get Kose Awake, SKII or AmorePacific in Canada.

I was looking for a hydrating loose powder and the sales rep at Neiman Marcus recommended this one at the Awake counter. Previously, I had used the Stardom lipsticks when Sephora used to sell Awake and loved them – those were among the best lipsticks I had used. And because I love Kose, I didn’t think twice about buying this.

I have to admit: I am a real sucker for these things. Everytime I see a gift with purchase, even if it’s a brand I don’t normally use, I will impulse-buy something I don’t need just to get the generous 6 or 7 piece bonus that comes with the purchase.

Shiseido’s Integrate started out with Angelina Jolie as its spokesperson, with a fine line of quality point makeup you would expect from Shiseido. It stresses ‘ideal beauty’ with the famous ‘golden ratio’ at the time of the launch and it has remained popular ever since.

I haven’t had a chance to try Integrate until just a month ago, when I bought the eyebrow pencil in a light blonde shade to try my hand at doing the lighter eyebrows as taught in VoCE magazine. I also bought one in a similar shade from Kose’s Visee by the way. There isn’t much difference between the two – both are very long wearing, and the color and consistency are both very good. Both are almost the same price as well.

Sekkisei has been upgraded so many times, from the one product Sekkisei cosmetic lotion to emulsion, creams, serums and then enhanced as Excellent over the past many years. Now, it has branched off to a whole new line: Sekkisei Supreme.

If you read Japanese beauty magazines, you will notice that they place high importance on having the perfect eyebrows. Almost every other issue of Biteki or VoCE comes with a 4 page spread of eyebrow makeup lesson on how to create the perfect brown brows. As a rule of thumb, you always use a shade or two lighter than your hair color on your eyebrows – if you have black hair, for example, you may want to try a brown color for your eyebrows. Otherwise, to use black eyebrow pencil would make you look harsh.

I have been using Kose Visee eye makeup for a long time and have always loved it. But I am a bit disappointed with this one. It is not easy to find glittering eyeliner that does not flake off or irritate my eyes – while this one does not flake off or irritate my eyes, the liquid goes on a bit too thin for my taste.

For awhile, I was looking for a hydrating primer because my skin is so dry, I have some dehydration lines on my forehead. Most of the primers out there are for oily skin (mattifying oil control), and the DHC Velvet Skin Coat didn’t pan out for me. Just when I gave up, I came across the Olay Regenerist Daily Regenerating Serum at my local drug store and it was on sale. I have heard good things about this, so I gave it a try. It was CAD$26.00 for 50ml which is cheap in my opinion, even though it is drug store cosmetics.

Platinum is the latest anti-age craze in Japan. It was not long ago that DHC and HABA both launched skin care products containing platinum (nano colloid) that quickly become bestsellers in Asia. But with many products being tested against heavy metal contamination, are precious metals safe to use on your skin?

I honestly don’t know what I would do without Shiseido!!! I just need something that evens out my skin tone without any coverage or color, and this is exactly what I need, and more. At first I thought this was a makeup base, but it turns out to be even better – it is a colorless finish foundation that smooths out lines and evens out skin tone, and packed with Thiotaurine (antioxidant) and Multi-Nutrient Factor for good-for-your-skin properties.

While we may be tempted to buy a bottle of Dior serum we can ill afford due to an endorsement by the gorgeous Monica Bellucci, I wonder how many of us use or would use a celebrity brand? As if there aren’t enough established cosmetics and skin care brands available already, many celebrities also entered the tough cosmetics market with their own brands.

Take Cindy Crawford, for example. She remains one of my all time favorite supermodels and she still looks stunning at her age (not that she’s old). Since Revlon ended her contract in 2000, she had been successful in her various business ventures, most notably in her own line of furniture and Meaningful Beauty skin care products, a collaboration with the famous Dr. Sebagh. A 30-day kit of the whole Meaningful beauty regimen sells for US$29.95 a month.

The Whitening Mask is one of the products that I tried. It smells kind of like grape bubblegum (it does have grape extract) and it goes on very thick. It did not irritate my sensitive skin (it doesn’t contain any AHA). After I remove it, my skin does look whiter, although I think that is attributed to the titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, which left a slight white cast on my skin.

SKII was the pioneer in cloth essence masks and the Facial Treatment Mask remains the very best cloth essence sheet mask I have ever used (and I have tried plenty). I remember the very first time I used this mask, there was so much essence left in the package, I ended up using another pill mask to use up the leftover essence – a habit which I was not able to drop even now!

There are few products that work short term and long term and provide visible results, and this is it. I used this on and off for years now, and whenever I am off it, my skin goes back to its dehydrated self. Why I strayed is more than just economical – this stuff isn’t cheap for one thing, and I am also very aware of the existence of counterfeit SKII goods some unscrupulous dealers sell online at real SKII prices (or in some cases, sellers were duped into buying fakes and unknowingly sell fakes to customers).

Aside from Saks Fifth Avenue’s online store which is an authorized distributor of SKII products, it is hard to find SKII products that you can trust (lots of counterfeits out there, beware, ladies!), and Saks is not cheap, when it comes to shipping to Canada.

I am glad that finally, the SKII official website in the US will be selling online soon!

Not sure whether it will ship to Canada yet, but at least it’s a good start. I hope that they will have more products that are available in Asia that aren’t released in North America yet!

According to the SKII US website, the online store will be open some time in mid-April. I am crossing my fingers that it will ship to Canada! (and not via couriers but via USPS)

I have very sensitive eyes, most brands are either hit or miss for me, but ever since I started using Jane Iredale 3 years ago, I am hooked. Unlike Bare Escentuals and many other mineral makeup, Jane Iredale does not use any FD&C dyes or artificial colorants in most of her products, and I find the pressed eyeshadows much easier to apply than the loose powder eyeshadows.

I have the Daytime Eye Shadow Kit (US$46.00) which has 5 shades including Oyster, my most essential shade (a light ivory shade with a golden shimmer). Because minerals naturally inhibit bacteria growth, you don’t have to worry about having to throw this out after a few months, which is a real bonus. I had been using this for a year now and it still hasn’t been used up yet, so you can get the idea how long this lasts!

Constantly searching for the perfect rosewater scented products, I came across REN, a bioactive, clean, additives-free skin care brand from the U.K. REN products do not contain even PEGs, sulfates, parabens, petrochemicals, artificial-anything, so it’s very promising.

Benefit’s Lemon Aid is an eyelid primer/concealer that corrects discoloration around the eyes. I don’t have dark circles or bags, but I find that under my lower rims, that area gets a little dull from being so dry (I have allergies and sensitive eyes). This yellow-based concealer really brightens the eye areas. Sometimes when I pluck my eyebrows and leave some redness under my brow bone, I use this to neutralize the redness. And one little pot lasts me a long time!