Well this is a first. I’m going to try to review a product I haven’t actually tried. While I have a list of products to blog about possibly longer than both my arms, upon discovering this product today, I just had to say something.

Lip Venom is a really fun lip gloss. Using spices and other such irritants, it can make your lips swell and, for a period of time, appear larger. It also tastes like cinnamon (win!). I’ve been a fan of this product for many years, enjoying the gold and silver flecked versions of them for more playful occasions. Also the container is wee, so very easy to transport around.

Yes, Lip Venom is all kinds of good. But what’s happening here… this cross promotion with Twilight, well I don’t know about this. The Twilight books are not good. The first movie is not good. I rationally know this, but am drawn to them like a moth to a flame. I feel the same way about them as I do about eating a bowl of cookie dough. Way back in my reptilian brain, I’m enjoying myself, but every other fiber of my being is disgusted. I’ve made my peace with this contradiction by reading the books/seeing the films, all the while calling the entire situation out. There’s a delicate balance going on here.

But this demento world of cross-promotion throws everything out of whack. A harsh, white, exposing light of truth has been cast. It’s like I’m eating that bowl of cookie dough and 5 really fit and skinny blondes walk in and start laughing at me.  Twilight LIP VENOM? And did you read the copy on that page? Some poor, poor marketing person had to write that:

Be transformed. Let the alchemy transcend.

Twilight Venom is not your typical DuWop venom. Instead of a gloss, Twilight Venom is a shimmering crimson lip stain suspended in a venom-laced liquid lip conditioner with a super potent bite (watch out!), and contains argan, avocado, olive oils and vitamin E.

This product should be shaken before use to represent the blending of the human and vampire worlds and applied repeatedly until lips are plumped, revitalized and the desired intensity of color has been reached.

Oh gawd. It makes me feel dirty for loving make up, being a professional marketer and having Twilight as a guilty pleasure. “Let the alchemy transcend?” Oh fuck off. It’s like the overwrought prose of Stephenie Meyer has gone viral and is infecting all these parts of my life (don’t even get me started on the Muse connection, sigh).

I can’t tell you whether or not this is a great lip gloss or not. Rationally, I suspect it will be pretty decent. Much like a glomier version of Benefit’s BeneTint. But I can’t bring myself to test it, unless it means testing how well it holds up while eating a bowl of cookie dough.

HRH

There’s been a lot of change going in my life in the last three months. Change that reminds me that even things that are good, aren’t always easy. When I sit back an tally how I’m doing, the math says I’m doing very well. Setting goals, completing tasks, thinking big thoughts, making sure that the cats get fed and that the bills get paid (unfortunately I overachieved at that last one and paid some of last month’s bills twice. Bravo Chelsea, bravo.), it’s all happening. It’s so much good that it boggles my mind. But I’d be a big, fat lair if I didn’t confess that I’m somewhat discombobulated.

One significant way this disorientation is manifesting is with my personal appearance. After six years in a business casual, mostly female workplace, shifting to mostly male, uber-casual workplace has put my personal style on its ear. I’ve gone from feeling like someone who pulled off the sensible, yet stylish, look pretty consistently to feeling like someone who is a few steps away from an appearance on “What Not To Wear.”

A recent viewing of “The Devil Wears Prada” didn’t help the growing doubts either. It hit me about half way through the movie that I was way more like the frumpy Anne Hathaway from the beginning of the film than the fashionista she was in the middle of it. Right down to the untamed hair and flat shoes. Ideally, I’d like to end up with the happy medium she achieved at the end, but even that appears lofty in recent months.

I’m having a personal style identity crisis. I’ve always believed that while who you are as a person is the most important part of your character, the choices you make in wrapping up the package that is your awesome self are a reflection of how much you value who you are. I’m not suggesting that there’s but one way to be wrapped and we should all be swept up in high-fashion narcissism, but simply that you should be happy with what you’re putting out there, be it your favourite T-shirt or a Marc Jacobs bag.

So I guess the bottom line is that I’m not loving what I’m putting out there. Last month, I considered it a triumph of style if I actually blow dried my hair. There have been days without eyeliner. Glimpses caught in mirrors that are fraught with frumpy. More often than not seeing my reflection and feeling “that isn’t me.” It seems that I haven’t worked out how to dress when there’s not a need to dress up. And, I don’t think for a second that where I work needs to change, I’m just reconciling myself within that.

I’m also experiencing a huge amount of trouble with jeans. I mean, yay, they’re comfy, but could I get a pair that will stay up, keep their shape and look right? I’m willing to pay money for such a thing if there’s a solution to this problem.

Anyway, this style conundrum is an opportunity. Few people have the luxury of expressing their style the way they truly want to day to day. Learning to set my own boundaries seems to stick with the current state of affairs. A good, but not easy thing and something I suspect I’ll become very accustomed to when this inertia wears off.

HRH

So is the way with these things, Maybelline would like to know your thoughts on Pulse Perfection and the gang review I posted a few weeks back:

“Matchstick is looking for feedback from anyone who may have seen The Royal Word posting about Maybelline’s new Pulse Perfection mascara. If you click on the link below and complete the survey, you will be helping them by donating $2.00 to the Redwood Women’s Shelter, please Click Here to take their short feedback survey.

For every survey that is completed, Matchstick will make a $2 donation to the Redwood Women’s Shelter (theredwood.com).

Your time and feedback is greatly appreciated”

Mascara was invented about 96 years ago. For the first 57 years of its existence, innovations were slow. The first cake mascara was created in 1915 by Thomas Williams (the founder of Maybelline) and it took until 1971 for the company to develop its iconic Great Lash Mascara. To this day, it remains the best basic go to mascara on the market.

Being human we are never satisfied with what we have. We are always looking for the next great thing and in the world of beauty, the application of technology that makeup that yields incredible results with maximum ease and minimal pain.  With this as our state of mind, it’s no shock that we are being marketed to with guarantees of perfection and beauty never before attained.

This is our introduction to Maybelline Pulse Perfection mascara. Maybelline asked me to test this product and generously supplied me with seven samples to share with my nearest and dearest makeup minions. So not only will you have my perspective on the product, but that of seven other women, each with their own unique and wonderful approach to beauty.

Before we get into that, what is this Pulse Perfection mascara all about. To put it simply, it’s the refined Maybelline mascara formula that you apply with a vibrating brush. Yep, the handle comes with its own wee motor that dies about three months after you use it for the first time. Oh, and look at that! Three months is the about the time you should be replacing your mascara anyway. Pretty clever.

So why a vibrating brush? For many moons, makeup fans and artists alike have known that applying mascara in a zig-zag motion up the lash results in some pretty gorgeous volume and length. Humans being humans we decided to take a technique and mechanize it.  We’re efficient and insane creatures. I mean, why wouldn’t you want a vibrating brush covered in goop right beside your eye.

But (according to Maybelline) Pulse Perfection is much, much more than a vibrating brush. It’s five years of mechanical development, seven patents (including the vibrating brush, waved brush, motor that pulses 100 times per second), a turbo equalizer wiping system (I’m not kidding, that’s what it’s called – it sounds more like something I’d find in my car’s engine which does not make me want to put it near my eye) which modifies the formula deposit for even coverage and high-gloss, ultra-smooth coating formula with lengthening polymers for unprecedented elongation. All this technology comes together to help you achieve the “Seven must-haves for stunningly perfect lashes – Thickness, Length, Separation, Colour, Curve, Luster, Zero Clumps.”

I have to say that when I was going through all the collateral that came with the testing kit, I really wanted to go for a drive in my car and not test mascara. I digress.

I used Pulse Perfection exclusively for one week. I tried several variables including applying with and without the vibrating motor running and applying using the aforementioned zig-zag technique while using the motor.  The first time I used the motor, it felt really strange. It made my whole eye vibrate, especially when I was at the base of my lashes. I eventually got over how strange it felt and have to say that as mascaras go, this one is pretty good. I don’t know if I would buy it as I have an unhealthy addiction to premium makeup brands, but I would consider buying its premium cousin made by Lancome.

Here’s what it Pulse Perfection does really well. Because of the design of the brush and the vibration, the lash separation was fantastic. It was great on length and was quite clump-free. When I used the vibration and the zig-zag technique I was able to get the kind of volume I wanted and I was able to get the results I wanted with two coats at most, which felt really pleasant and light.

My only complaint with it (and I don’t even really know if it qualifies as one) is that it does not take well to water at all. In all my life, I’ve never encountered that “you cry a little and you look like a raccoon” thing with mascara (maybe the stuff I’ve used has always been industrial strength), but with this stuff, a little bit of water or mist or rain and BLAM, I might as well have been living in the park basking the the glory of the garbage strike.

That’s my take on it. Here’s what the other ladies had to say about it:

Dawn
I love American packaging.  Especially the “Caution: Never apply this product in a moving vehicle” warning.  But seriously…

Pluses:  It certainly gave my lashes definition and nice colour.  It stayed on well and didn’t irritate my eyes, which is saying a lot given it’s allergy season for me.

Minuses:  The pulsing brush is an interesting gimmick, and coats the lashes well, but I need more control for getting at the base of my lashes, so I wouldn’t use the pulsing for that.  And there just wasn’t enough volume in the product for me, so I wouldn’t buy it for myself.

Amy
I had a lot of trouble getting nice results.  It could be my relative n00b status when it comes to makeup application, but I found my technique didn’t work while trying to hold onto the vibrate button at the same time (call me uncoordinated ).  Maybe it’ll just take more practice, but I found I got better results when I didn’t make it vibrate!  Mind you, when I noticed that the picture on the back looked like she was applying from the top of her lash instead of below, like I’m used to, it worked a little better for me.  I also found it slightly scary to bring a vibrating stick toward my eye .

It’s kind of funny – the packaging has “7 Must-Haves of Lash Perfection” on the front, and I used it as a checklist: Luscious thickness?  Nope!  Luxurious length?  Maybe if I did it right .  Smooth separation?  5 spiked eyelash daggers!  Intense colour?  Yes!  Shapely curve?  Nope.  Healthy luster?  Nothing healthy about what they looked like when I was done!  Zero clumps?  Uh, clearly no .  My results were definitely better when I didn’t use the vibrate option.

So yes, my verdict is that I think if I was more a pro at the makeup application, it might have worked better for me.  It’s an interesting idea, but I didn’t get much from it.

Laura
I found that the mascara coated my eyelashes evenly from top to bottom while providing maximum extension and eyelash separation. I found that with the pulse, the base of my eyelashes received a great amount of coverage, which made my eyelashes appear to be fuller. Now this all sounds fantastic but there is a downside. The actual pulse of the mascara vibrated my eye and the surrounding area. It was quite an uncomfortable sensation (vibrating eyeball). Also, by the end of the day my eyelashes were stiff and a bit flaky, which irritated my eyes slightly. I believe I would use this product every now and then and in circumstances where I could remove it after a few hours but for day-to-day wear, I will stick to my regular non-pulsating mascara.

Natasha
So the mascara is, in a word, interesting. I think it does a pretty good job of lengthening and separating with minimal clumps – when the vibration thing is on. I tried it once without the “pulsing” and my lashes were a mess all stuck together and icky. I don’t know that I find it particularly thickening or volumizing.

The pulsing is definitely a bit disconcerting as I can feel it all thought my eye area, but if the payoff was better it wouldn’t be something that would totally turn me off.

Bottom line – okay mascara but doesn’t stand out from my other “everyday” mascaras that don’t buzz near my eye, so probably not going to spend more on it over them.

Lindsey
I really liked the brush, it seemed to really grab hold of the lashes and push them that little bit further. Perhaps this is a metaphor for how you feel when you have long lashes, ha!

I am not sure if the vibration motion helped. I did feel when I used it, it did get a little clumpy in parts and was not as even as I would have hoped for. It did add a little drama and height, but not sure if that was the vibration or the brush.

One thing I did not like about this mascara was the flaking. I did see some light dusting under my eye and it did run if it came in contact with water.

I would not replace my regular everyday mascara with this, but if I wanted to add a little lift or if I was feeling a little theatrical, I may opt for this mascara. I mean if I wanted to reenact a Hollywood scene, I wouldn’t mind so much if the mascara ran.

Darlene
The pros: As someone who has a bit of phobia about things being near my eye, I was initially scared that i wouldn’t be able to use it but strangely enough the vibration didn’t bother me at all which was nice. I found it did a really good job of lengthening my eyelashes and I really liked that aspect of it but I have fairly thin eyelashes and I didn’t find that it gave them much volume beyond the lengthening which I could live with because it was nice to have such long lashes. but I think it wise to only do one solid coat. which brings me to the cons,

The cons: It was awesome with one coat in terms of lengthening and lasting but three coats was a disaster, clumpy sticky mess in that it caused my lashes to stick together. I think I was even pushing it with two coats in that by the end of the day, my lashes started sticking together.

Lori
I had limited hopes for the mascara because I find most don’t have a great combo of what makes a great mascara – Great brush and great formulation in the actual makeup. I have long thick lashes that most mascaras can’t get through and if I decide to put on a few coats, I end up looking like I have spiders fringing my eyes.

That being said, when the buzz hit about this new vibrating mascara – I was game to try it. Surprisingly, it lengthened and separated quite nicely without the spider effect. The only problem was that by the time it dried, it felt like I had used glue on my lashes rather than a mascara. They were VERY dry, VERY sharp (which should never used to describe one’s lashes), and took me a long time to get it off (combo of double face washing and several makeup remover wipes when I generally just need a quick wash and one swipe of the wipe).

I would probably use it again for special occasions but definitely not part of my everyday routine. I’ll stick to my L’Oreal Voluminous and keep trying to find one that will beat it.

So there you go. A bunch of different experiences with Pulse Perfection. Want to try it for yourself? Maybelline has been kind enough to pass on some coupons, so just click through to www.livethepulse.ca and try it out for yourself.

HRH

Let the silence be broken. No more innuendo about change.  Hopefully, no more insomnia. I can now share my exciting news. I have been hired by the Mozilla Foundation as their new engagement and fundraising manager. To say that I’m excited is an understatement.

I will be joining the Foundation team, led by Mark Surman, in early July. At the same time, I will start filling up a new blog with plans for getting people engaged with the Foundation and, of course, promoting the open web.

Beyond the opportunity to bring my ideas to something so innovative and the chance to work with some crazy-smart people, I’m looking forward to being in an environment where I’m encouraged to be open about how I develop ideas and implement projects. I could spend days talking about the amazing things I’ve learned and experienced at SickKids, but one thing that was always been a challenge for me was not being able to share it here.

I’ve given notice at SickKids Foundation, where I was the Digital Communications Manager. It’s been an eventful six years at SickKids without a doubt. I’ve met some tremendous people, learned so much  and, hopefully, made a difference.  I know I was never saving lives, but, in my own way, I know I was helping. While I was with SickKids Foundation specifically for just over a year, my colleagues there have been some of the most amazing people I’ve had the honour to work with.

I have two weeks left and then a bit of time off before I start at MoFo.  I’ve got this mix of crazy “I cannot wait to get started” anticipation, occasional waves of “OMG, this is big” anxiety and growing “I have to let this go” acceptance with the change. It all seems to balance out to a very happy me in the end.

Today’s sing-a-long song: “Gimme Sympathy” by Metric

HRH

Bargain hunting beauty junkies rejoice! Joe Fresh (the style saviour for those on a budget) has release a cosmetics line. It’s called Joe Fresh Beauty and for the price point, it’s really pretty good. And by pretty good, when I can get an eyeliner, brow gel and a lip stain for less than $20, it’s a good day for impulse beauty buys.

I’m still working my way through the collection. I started my sampling a spongetip eyeliner (Scroll down to find it) in brown, the clear lash and brow mascara (Guess what? Scroll down!) and the lip stain (again with the scrolling down) in apple.

Starting with the eyeliner, I have to say that the packaging is rather clever. The sharpener is built seamlessly into the end of the applicator. The liner goes on easily enough, but I did find the intensity of the pigment to be lacking. That’s my general complaint with cosmetics at a lower price point, you have to use a lot to get it to actually appear. If you decide to get this for the ease of use, the darker the colour the better.

The clear mascara/brow gel is quite good for the price. It keeps things in place, but it does take a little while to dry to try not to dishevel your brows to much until it sets.

Lastly, the lip stain is really cute, easy to use and the colours are flattering. I didn’t find it to last six hours, but it did make it about two, which on me is an impressive feat as I am the killer and eater of lip products.

Fellow beauty junkies have reported that the eye shadows are good. Covering all the basics quite respectably. I’m considering testing out the face products next, but will be shocked right out of my socks if the product looks decent on.  Foundation is just something that shouldn’t be scrimped on and needs to be perfectly matched to your skin to look truly awesome. Still, at prince points between $4 and $8, I’m willing to experiment and be proven wrong.

Will report soon. Until then, pick some up next time your getting some groceries. At the very least, the prospect of having some beauty toys to play with can make a weekly task less mundane.

HRH

Over the years, I’ve come to learn something about myself. I work very well with goals. The steps. The milestones. I love ‘em. I need ‘em and I can do pretty awesome things when I’m given them.

I’ve mentioned before that I’ve taken on 15 little friends around my middle in the last few months. 15 little friends that have to get up and off out, post haste. I’m well on my way to getting back into my regular form. Eating well, snacking smart and back to my regular routine of exercising (which means about between 6 and 8 hours a week at the gym). Life kind of knocked me on my ass for a little while there and I lost control. If there’s anything I love doing in life, it’s getting control of things. It’s so on and that’s awesome.

These developments are all promising, but (being me) I’ve decided to up the ante, which brings us to my “Freakum Dress.” Thanks to a little inspiration from Beyonce, I got thinking about this dress that I bought last summer at Calvin Klein. A bright blue, rather short, one-shoulder number that I looked (to be honest) freaking awesome in, but never wore out (I had neither the lifestyle or the occasion to wear it, but I bought it none the less, because you never know when you might need to look awesome in a hot little dress). I decided today, listening to that inspiring Beyonce song during a walk,  that I am going to get back to a physical place where I wear this dress this summer and look awesome in it again.

I need a goal to motivate me to do this again. Wearing this dress out in public  (and getting evidence for this blog) and not looking like an ass will be my reward. I only have a few years left where I can even plausibly get away with wearing a short skirt, so I can’t waste them swathed in blubber.

Heck, if things are going well, I may even break the no heels rule and get myself a new pair of heels to go with it.

HRH

A month or so back, the kindly folks at Clairol asked me to demo their new line of shampoos and conditioners in their Herbal Essences line: Hydralicous.

Perhaps you’ve seen the somewhat silly ads (though compared to most Herbal Essences ads, this one’s pretty tame as no one is achieving climax by washing their hair) or noticed the fun swirly bottles at your local drug store? Well, I was sent all six products in the Hydralicous line and being the kind (read: strapped for time) soul that I am, I share some of the reviewing duties with some fine young ladies that I work with.

The Featherweight Shampoo and Featherweight Conditioner went to Stacia who has short, fine hair. The Self-Targeting Shampoo and Self-Targeting Conditioner went to Leah, who has shoulder length fine hair. As neither of them were keen to add a whole lot of weight to their hair and I have some rather intensive conditioning needs, I used the Reconditioning Shampoo and
Reconditioning Conditioner.

Stacia said:

I liked it but I didn’t love it. I liked the packaging, what the product looked and smelled like, and the fact that for my hair, I needed very little to do the job. The one thing that will prevent me from buying this product is that it made my scalp itchy. It didn’t matter how much or how little I used, it always happened. It dried my head out – not necessarily my hair, but my scalp. It did make my hair very clean, though, so it allowed me to wash it less than I normally would – short hair needs to be washed a lot. I normally wash every other day, and I found I could go longer. In short – it worked well, but at a price.

Leah said:

It was okay but I wouldn’t keep using it. I found it dried my hair out quite a bit and the smell was a little over powering. I do think they’ve packaged it well but those commercials are horrific.Out of 10 I’d only give it a 6.

I said:

Once I forced myself to get over the absurdity of a Reconditioning Conditioner (WTF?) I did find myself amused by the swirly purple product. It smelled lovely and the shampoo did a good job of washing my hair without drying it out . The Reconditioning Conditioner (WTF?) however, was a epic fail for me. When you have long, thick hair, excellent detangling is a must. This is why I do not skimp on conditioner, EVER. Trying to comb out my hair after the wash was excruciating. I’ve developed a pretty strong scalp over the years, but the conditioning was so poor that I almost had tears in my eyes from the pain.

Not to be deterred and wanting to give the product a genuine chance, I tried different variables of conditioning (or reconditioning (WTF?) as it were).  I tried leaving it on for more than five minutes, I tried rinsing it out fairly promptly and I tried slathering it on as though it were going out of style.  There was no difference in the post-washing comb out. Agony.

So not overwhelming awesome reviews. It seems that Hydralicous is more dehydrating than one would expect.  Which is too bad, as it’s really well marketed. The product looks fun, it smells really lovely and the packaging and copy totally works for young women. It’s just a pity that the product fails to live up to its looks.

HRH

This is getting sad. All these failed attempts to get back into regular blogging. I’m done with fresh starts and promises. Fact is, you’re going to get content from me when you get it. Sorry. It’s just the way it’s going to be now. Twitter has forever changed the way I blog, so I say a lot less a lot more often.

Anyway, here we are now. Some updates. Rock4TheKids was an ass-kicking awesome success. We raised $11,500 for SickKids Foundation, more than doubling our goal. Also, people had a freaking awesome time. Evidence of that can be seen here:

Flickr
YouTube

Here’s a clip of the winning band The Final Five who were seriously awesome:

It was such a success and so much fun that we’ll be doing it again in the fall, so stay tuned for info on that. Also, I have to do a shout out to M, Beltzner, Dawn, Tash, Chris, Timmi, Madhava, Kate, Graeme, Eric, Andrew and all the other volunteers for making everything run super smooth.

And just for fun, here’s a photo of John (the co-creator and generally awesome co-force behind Rock4TheKids) and I (taken by the wonderful M who graciously took photos at the event for me) after all was said and done:

You can even see the 15 pounds that I got as a prize for putting the event together. No worries, though. It will come off soon enough.

Other than that goodness and the news that I am dieting again (that’s ride everyone, hide in your homes, close your shutters, cause a h-angry girl is rolling into town), not much to report on the personal front. Should anything remarkable happen, I’ll be sure to write about it. Eventually.

HRH

I’m just about to head out for Pay It Backwards Day, here in Toronto, where the organziers are trying to break the world record for paying backwards by trying to get 500 people to buy coffee for the person behind them. A super-nice idea, but even more awesome because Second Cup (at Queen and John where this is all going down) is donating %100 percent of the proceeds to SickKids Foundation.

There will be street performers, dancers, media, local band The Apollo Effect with ‘celebrity’ servers Erica Ehm (TV personality and Much VJ), Michael Landsberg (Off The Record), Bruce Turner (Style By Jury), Talia Russo (Actress) and $50 iTunes gift cards to every hundredth person as they make their way through the line!

It starts at 1 p.m. so I hope to see a lot of you in just over two hours. We can make it a warm-up party for Rock4TheKids on Tuesday.

HRH