A Few Canadian Beauty Product Must-Haves
By Rae Chen, Canada, Global Expert
Rae, the easily-distracted Canadian blogger behind theNotice: a beauty blog, is neither the brains nor the beauty of the operation. (The subjective existence of either has yet to be determined – we’ll get back to you on that one.)
She is, however, a rather relentless makeup junkie with a camera, a lack of a filter, and a writing style that’s rather more snark than sycophant.
A Few Canadian Beauty Product Must-Haves
When I think “Canadian products,” my mind goes promptly to Annabelle and Marcelle, gets stuck in a rut, and refuses to move on. It’s probably the result of some sort of secret frontal lobe damage, but I’m just going to pretend it’s because they really are stellar lines. (Which they are – but I’m long overdue to check out more Canadian products! This is clearly ample justification for a trip to Shopper’s.)
Must-haves for… Lips
If you’re a gloss girl, you have to check out Annabelle’s. They do three different formulas (Le Gloss, Le Gloss Star, and Volumelip), and honestly, all three are worth checking out. Basically: they’re scent- and flavour-free, ridiculously shiny, less than $9 apiece, and non-sticky. I’d love them even if they weren’t Canadian drugstore products!
My other lip love at the moment are Marcelle’s cream-finish Rouge Vitality lipsticks, which pack a ridiculous amount of pigment, a buttery, moisturizing finish, and scent-free, paraben-free formula. Most of the shades wear best on neutral-warm skintones, but the brights would make a gorgeous statement lip on just about anyone! (They’re really lovely on the cheeks, too – I tend to use mine as 3-in-1 lipsticks, lipstains, and cream blushers.)
Must-haves for… Eyes
Marcelle’s Waterproof Eyeliners are often compared to Urban Decay’s 24/7 Eyeliners, and while I can see the similarities… for me, these ones come out on top, every time. The formula’s more solid, so it’s easier to create a sharp line – and, unlike with the Urban Decay pencils, I can get all-day wear with absolutely no transfer or smudging. (They don’t apply well to the waterline, but that’s a price I’m willing to pay!)
I’m head over heels for Marcelle’s Lux Liquid Eyeliners, too, in both the Diamond and Metallic formulas. I adore the Diamond ones, but they really are just your traditional glitter liner – the silver one’s an exact dupe of Annabelle Plutonium (a Glitterama liner), but in better packaging 😉 The Lux Metallic liners, however, are something I’ve never seen before. Instead of chunks of glitter, they deliver a gorgeous, liquid-metal sheen – not quite opaque on their own (not in one pass, at least), but absolutely stunning when layered.
The Quick List
Lips: Annabelle Le Gloss Lip Shine ($8.95 CDN) Annabelle Le Gloss Star Lip Shine ($8.95 CDN), Annabelle Volumelip Plumping Gloss ($8.50 CDN), and Marcelle Rouge Xpression Lipsticks ($11.95 CDN).
All four formulas are scent-free, but the Volumelip and Rouge Xpression lines are paraben-free, as well. I’m particularly fond of Annabelle’s Flash Dance (a shimmery medium-rose Le Gloss Star) and Cherryoké (a bright, sheer cherry red Volumelip), and find myself reaching for Amour, Cleopatra, and Paris Rose a lot (the three Rouge Xpressions in these photographs – a semi-matte true red, a bold violet-fuchsia, and an intense pinked-coral, respectively.)
Eyes: Marcelle Waterproof Eyeliners ($10.50 CDN), Marcelle Lux Diamond Liquid Eyeliners ($11.95 CDN), and Marcelle Lux Metallic Liquid Eyeliners ($11.95 CDN).
These ones are all paraben-free, too, and they’re quite gentle on the eyes. My favourite Waterproof Eyeliner shade is probably Indigo (a rich, shimmery navy blue), and I get a lot of wear out of the Pure Gold Lux Diamond eyeliner. (They look amazing together, actually – I’ll do a small kitten flick with former, then outline it with the latter). Jade is probably my favourite Lux Metallic shade, but honestly, they’re all knockouts!
See more photos & swatches!
Annabelle Glosses in Bitten, Flash Dance, Coralicious
Marcelle Eyeliners in Metal Green + Jade, Metal Green, Indigo + Pure Gold, Indigo; Pure Gold, Jade
Marcelle Rouge Xpression in Amour, Cleopatra, Paris Rose
Marcelle Rouge Xpression (Stains) in Amour, Cleopatra, Paris Rose
Those liquid liners are STUNNING!!! <3
They really are! I absolutely LOVE them ;o)
I love Rae’s blog and I love Annabelle! I haven’t tried Marcelle yet, but I mean to. Definitely keeping this recommendations in mind. Thanks!
Aww, thanks honey! Definitely give Marcelle a go sometime; they’re well worth trying 😉
Where’s Joe Fresh Beauty!? Amazing lipsticks, shadows and cream blushes for cheap.
Missing in action, unfortunately! I’ve been meaning to try them for aaages, but I just haven’t gotten around to it. Do you have any favourite shades that you could recommend? 🙂
Absolutely! Cream blushes in Bloom and Melon are great. And I love the cream lipsticks in Nude and Strawberry.
Brilliant – thanks for the recommendations, Alex! I’ll definitely check those out 😉
For sure! Their lip stain pens are great and so are their lip crayons, and their blushes and nail colours. Seriously! so awesome!
You should also definitely check out Lise Watier her pigments are TDF
Also- check out gosh. Their liquid liners have superb wear
Ha! I feel like I’m the only person that *doesn’t* get good wear out of those – three or four hours, tops, and then it starts migrating! 😛
Those eyeliners are GORGEOUS!
I think so, too ;o) They do such a gorgeous job of catching the light!
I’m so glad to see you posting here Rae! I love your blog, and everyone should go check it out 🙂
and those Lux Metallic liners are gorgeous, wow.
Haha, thank you!!! ;o) <3
I would kill (or just maim) for acccess to Annabelle makeup. I have the eyeshadow trio in Creme Caramel and I really want to try more. 🙂
LOL! I can totally understand the sentiment – Creme Caramel was my first Annabelle trio, too, and it was a very slippery slope from there.
Your wallet’s probably going to hate me for saying this, but you can phone in Annabelle orders if you’re in the US! The contact info & details are here 😉
WoW! Beautiful. I live in the U.S. Where can I get some of both brands?
You can order Annabelle by phone (details here), and Marcelle just launched their US-and-Canada online shop! 😉
The layered liners are so pretty! =)
Hello, lovely! 🙂 They are, aren’t they? Well worth the extra effort!
Very well written article, but I hate these brands.. the annabelle stuff used to be ok but seens to bw lacking of late. Quo makes alright brushes that are exclusive to canada but i think thats it.. All the other products ob this site are available here and id rather get those than buy a sub par roduct jst because its “canadian”. Ill check thosr liners out though for sure :-).
Glad you liked the article, Amanda! I’m really surprised that you aren’t enjoying Annabelle – I think they’re a great line! I was a little disappointed in their 4Show eye quads, but I can’t really think of any other Annabelle products that let me down.
And, on the flip side, I’ve definitely encountered Quo brushes that I haven’t loved! (Their All-Over Eye Brush is a staple of mine, though – it’s pretty fab.) Perhaps both lines are rather hit-or-miss, and we’ve just tried the wrong parts of each line? 😛
i LOVE the annabelle cream e/s with the gold.. i think its called Inca.. its still the sole cream eye product i use.. and their blush brush was the first decent brush i had.. aw, *sniff*.. the all over eye brush from quo is GREAT!! i totally agree.. i also agree that a few others are.. well… like u said =]
i was super disappointed with the annabelle magnetic fill your own quad things.. they were such a cute concept but FAILED me terribly. wah.
Amanda, how did they fail you?
I find myself picking them up and putting them back on the shelf every time Shoppers has a sale on them. I would have purchased them by now if they were free-style. Should I bother considering them for my round shadows?
You have given me reason to want to visit my in-laws in Vancouver!
Lol!! Spoken like a true beauty junkie. Makeup: the ultimate reason to travel! 😀
I love Rae’s blog and she has fabulous taste. I have been fortunate enough to be able to swap for some Canadian goodies and I love what I have tried from both of these brands! Everything here looks gorgeous!
Aww, thanks honey! I could say the same of you and Bloomin’ Beauty… and your 165 blushers 😛
Good choices Rae 😀 and as always, fabulous pictures!
Thanks, lovely! x
YAY!! It’s RAE!! 🙂
Love all your picks as usual!
Haha, thank you my dear! 😛 <3
I think I’ll need to buy that Jade liner. Marcelle is always really good quality. The waterproof liners are as good as any brand and they have some really nice colours. Their loose powder has been a staple of mine for more than 20 years!
Nice to see some CanCon:)
Wow! I haven’t even been wearing makeup for that long, lol 😛
Their loose powder really is great, isn’t it? I tried my first jar a year or two ago, and haven’t gone back since. It’s an absolutely gorgeous formula, especially considering the size and price of a jar!
Oh my! great product choices!!! I love the Marcelle Rouge Xpression Lipsticks, I own Paris Rose and Jezebel (a creamy dirty mauve) and both are absolutely gorgeous!! Thank you Rae for the color suggestions, I got to try Rouge & Amour, immediately! <3
Ooh! Yes, Jezebel is a great one. I find it a little harder to pull off on my skintone, but it’s a lovely shade in its own right 😉
Hope you like Cleopatra (I think that’s what you meant?) and Amour! The latter is just such a classic red – a definite must for the holidays ;o)
Oooh, Jezebel sounds like a color I have to try!
I Loved it!!! I’m going to Canada in december! I’ll buy them for sure!!
Yay, Rae! 😀 I would like Canadian brands, thanks 😛 Although it’s probably best that I pretend I have zero, zero access to them. For my wallet’s sake.
LOL! Oh, Larie 😛 That’s the way to do it, isn’t it? Deny, deny, deny. 😀
I’m drooling over the Marcelle site, but it’s hard to tell how accurate the swatches are. Have you seen/tried the lipsticks in Mauve Avant-Garde or Couture?
Hi, Alix! I have all of the Marcelle Rouge Xpression lipsticks swatched here and here 🙂 Hope that helps!
It does, thanks so much! Jezebel MUST be mine!! 🙂
My HG loose powder has been Marcelle’s for years. One jar lasts really long, long time (70g). Even if we can’t find Marcelle here in Thailand easily (we have to rely on sites that sale cosmetics from Canada), I’d love to try those lipsticks, they look pretty! esp. Paris Rose
It’s one of my HGs too, Jane! 😉 Such a fabulous product – and that jar! I feel like I’m never going to run out.
Paris Rose is such a gorgeous shade – I hope you have the chance to try it sometime! Makes a great cream blush, too ;o)
It’s funny because I just went out to buy 5 of the Marcelle waterproof liners (taupe, fairytale pink, mulberry, blue lagoon and effervescent) today. I fell in love at the first swatch! I’ve never tried them before this.
Then I come home, look on Temptalia to see this! Coincidence, but I’m definitely going back for the darker colours! They’re on sale at Shoppers 😉
Thanks for the heads-up about the sale, Kira! I haven’t tried any of the new shades yet (Caribbean and Electric Blue are about here… somewhere), but they do look gorgeous from the promo shots I’ve seen so far! My favourites of the ones I’ve tried are definitely Indigo and Metal Green, the two shades in this post – give ’em a swatch if you have the chance 😉
I just got Indigo 😡 That being said, IT’S GORGEOUS!!
And it’s not advertised or anything, or maybe it’s just the Shoppers by my house, but the newer colours are for 8.95 and the older ones (versions?) are for 7.99. A little sale is better than no sale 😉
Definitely not the face I was looking for… it was supposed to be a zipped up mouth…
LOL! Well, I’ll pretend that it was 😛 Enjoy Indigo, Kira! I’m absolutely crazy for the shade.
I’m on a bit of a liner ban at the moment (I already have, um, all of the pre-Nov 2011 permanent shades >.<) but I'll keep the new ones in mind for the future!
Annabelle was the brand I used when I first wore makeup. I still really like their eye shadows, and bought two of their volume lip glosses a while ago: the darker purple and a beige-y/champaign one. But the tube for the latter bottle is so hard to squeeze! I love the colours though, and they feel great, but don’t volumize (whcih I don’t mind, since I bought them for the colours, not the claims). I’m so-so with Marcelle personally. Isn’t Lise Watier also Canadian? That is another so-so brand, I love how everything looks but the few things I tried were just meh. And Quo’s new Orly collab is pretty awesome! That’s definitely something people should check out, although it’s a bit pricey. But the top coat, amazing.
You must have gotten an old tube, Asheley! Sorry to hear that – they were re-packaged not long after their initial launch, with softer tubes (like the dark purple one you have, probably). I have a couple of the original tubes, and damn, they are HARD to squeeze!
Yep, Lise Watier and Quo (Vasanti, Fusion Beauty, Cake Beauty, and Cargo come to mind, too) are Canadian as well 😉 I haven’t tried enough of their lines to have a really good grip on them, though! It’s something I hope to get around to eventually, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day =P I’ll definitely put the Quo + Orly collection on my list of things to try, though – thanks for the heads up!
Rae, do you have any tricks for applying the Marcelle eyeliner pencils? (I’m going to have to go to SDM tomorrow and check these out!) I looked these up on MakeupAlley and some people complain that they tend to smudge. Do you find you need to let these set before blinking your eyes too much? I’d really like to make these work for me! Go Canada!
Hmm. I find that as long as I wear them as a sharp (rather than smudgy) line, I don’t have any problems with creasing or smudging – which is pretty crazy, with my lids 😛 They set pretty quickly, too, so I wouldn’t worry too much about looking down while they dry. (If anything, give them maybe thirty seconds?)
Oh! & the regular “rules” apply, of course – make sure your undereye cream or concealer is set with enough powder, and feel free to dust your lids with translucent powder if you’re not wearing eyeshadow but are worried about smudging!
Thanks, Rae!
Do you you have any recommendations for good setting powders? Are you a fan of translucent or coloured ones?
Though I am a frequent reader of beauty blogs, I am still new to incorporating makeup into my daily routine (apart from doing my brows). I wear concealer on occasion, but haven’t been setting it with powder. yet. 🙂
Absolutely! I like plain silica for really oily skin, and Marcelle’s Loose Face Powder is my HG for all other skintypes. (Their pressed version is really good, too, actually.)
I suppose if you were looking for more coverage, a powder foundation or non-translucen powder would be a good choice, but I tend to go for the translucent ones – just to set. It makes shade selection a heck of a lot easier! 😛
Thanks, Rae. Marcelle, huh? I should have known as you are a definite Marcelle girl 🙂 I’ll check out your recommendations this weekend. Cheers!
Yay, Rae is here! I already know what your must haves are because I love reading your blog. Its nice to see some connection between Beauty Bloggers <3
Thank you so much for featuring these Canadian brands. It’s pure love! Some of Marcelle’s l/e blushes are truly amazing – pigmentation, lasting power, colour, texture. Anabelle’s single eyeshadow pans are great. I’m heading over to the nearest Shoppers for those liners, though. It’s such a great idea of layering them. I really appreciate your take on beauty!
I bought the Bitten gloss at their warehouse sale and I love it!!
Love the Canadian post! Love from the True North Strong and Free!
The annabelle volume lip tubes are REALLY cheap, the applicator seperates from the tube and makes a huge mess pretty easily-that’s the one thing that prevents me from buying them because they’re inexpensive and pretty