Rimmel Apocalips Now at Shoppers Drug Mart

I've been scouring the shelves for this product for weeks since my return from the UK and I've finally spotted them at Shoppers. The Canadian branding retains the UK name of "Apocalips," rather than the confusing American re-titling of Show-Offs -- which made no sense given that they kept the space-themed color names like Big Bang and Celestial.

From what I could tell, Shoppers has the full, watermelon candy-scented range in stock at the Commercial Drive location in Vancouver, British Columbia. They even appear to have a few colors I didn't see in Boots.

I already had Big Bang, Celestial and Galaxy, so I picked up Apocaliptic and Aurora this time around.

Happy hunting, Canadians.

What is the Best Foundation for Ultra Pale Skin?

I wouldn't say that I have the palest skin. It's light for sure, and lighter than nearly any company's lightest foundation color, but I'm not the pure pure Irish white I've seen on other people. Regardless, buying foundation for my skin tone is a pain and even the brands mentioned by gurus like Lisa Eldridge as being particularly inclusive of the "trickier" skin tones (including Bourjois's otherwise amazing Healthy Mix foundation) aren't quite pale enough for me.

Recently I spent a frustrating two hours scouring the shelves of Sephora for any foundation I could wear without looking visibly orange. Surely I just hadn't looked hard enough in the past and now, under the warming glow of Sephora's lights, I would find my HG foundation at last.

I tried Armani, Nars, YSL, Clinique, Tarte, Benefit, Stila, Kat Von D, Bare Minerals, Make Up For Ever, Urban Decay, Laura Mercier, Guerlain, Dior, Givenchy, Smashbox and Lancome. And after all of that swatching, only one actually worked.

Bobbi Brown's 00 (yes, double zero) shade Alabaster is the first foundation I have ever found that is my actual, honest-to-God, creamy-white color. And -- even more fun -- it comes in a stick form which means that it doubles as a perfectly-matching concealer.

I LOVE this foundation. The formula is nice and thick, so I usually dot it over my skin and then buff it in with a beauty blender. Then I go back over the spots that need a little more coverage (under my eyes, around my nose and on top of any small spots I might have). And that's it. No need for an extra concealer and it leaves my skin natural enough that it needs neither patting down nor further illuminating.

It's not cheap, but given the tiny amount that you need for each application, I imagine I'll be using this for a year at least. Compared with the three-to-four months that the average liquid foundation lasts a regular user, that's not bad value.

Rating: A+

London Haul: The Preview

 

 I said nothing about it on this blog, sadly, but I was in London for two weeks last month and, needless to say, I may have raided an entire Boots.

Reviews to follow.

TMI Recommendations: Deodorant for Girls Who Can't Use Anti-Perspirants

If you can't handle antiperspirants and the gross, itchy, flaky, chalky mess that comes with them, put down your weird hippie crystals and rejoice: Nivea makes deodorants for women. 

No more will you have to grudgingly use something that smells like Old Spice wrapped in seaweed or a hunk of painful salt rock that promises to let your "natural smell" come through. Nay -- this is all of the artificial flowery smell you want with (nearly) the lasting wear of an antiperspirant.

Please do mark that "nearly." I have two -- I keep one at home for the initial application and another in my desk for a mid-day check-up. If you can't afford two (but probably you can -- they're reasonably-priced), then just keep it in your bag.

But you also won't have to deal with painful, chapped under-arms (thanks, Jason in "Apricot") or sweaters that need to be burned after one wear because your beautiful natural woman stink managed to permeate them in some unholy way.

Anyway. Nivea Sheer Comfort: a lifesaver for delicate ladypits.