Canadian makeup brands

First off, MAC. We all know MAC started out in Canada, but since then, it has grown so much to become an international brand. I don’t think I need to say anything about MAC, but for the purpose of this post, MAC has to be here to start the show.

Thanks to the popularity of Shoppers and Sephora, you all probably knew and heard about CoverFX already. One of its best products is the Total Coverage Cream Foundation SPF30 which provides good coverage while not being heavy or oily on the skin. My favorite product from CoverFX, however, is the Lip Treatment & Tinted Lustre SPF15 (in the picture) which unfortunately has been discontinued. It comes in a silver dual-ended tube, the lip treament is to moisturize and prime the lips, and the lip tint will add a sheer hint of colour on top. I like the idea of them being separated, as when I want a bit more colour, I could just add it on top of the lip treatment and skip the tint. And as a bonus, it smells good too. I have one in the office, for touch up during the day and it works wonder.

I grabbed most of the shades I liked last time the product was cleared out at Shoppers. I’m so glad I did. It is now replaced by MintGlazeFX, a fortifying lip primer SPF15.

Price-wise, CoverFX is a higher end brand – e.g. the Lip Treatment & Tint was CAD24. I was lucky to win a ClearPrep FX on twitter from CoverFX. It’s a matte foundation primer plus the anti-acne treatment. Just like the Lip Treatment above, it serves 2 purpose in 1 tube. Review to come, depending on how fast I am finishing the current primer.

Another proud Canadian brand is Cargo with catchy motto “Be-you-tiful” and the well known eco-friendly Plant Love line . The packaging is so cute, the shades are paired with celebrities or places with ecology beauty. And part of the sales is to support good cause, which I thought was so cool.

Cargo released its latest Blu-ray collection a while back. I quite like the lip gloss palette and the blushes/ highlighters. The colours are very fun to play with. However, they have been quiet lately, I haven’t heard any new product announcement from them. Cargo products is in the mid-range of cost as well.

There is only one place here that I can come and see Cargo goodies in person – Mills. But I am always kinda intimidated walking in stores like that, so I haven’t been back for a while, lol.

Annabelle is a re-discovered brand to me, as I see its products at Shoppers all the time but never picked up anything. The shelf was boring, nothing new, and I never heard anybody mentioning them. Until recently with their youtube competition and the launch of the custom quads with mono shadows, I am more interested in checking them out. I have purchased a few quads, as you have seen on this blog, and am quite happy with them.

The news on youtube is that Annabelle is going to release the new Studio collection in August 16, with 6 bright pigments at CAD8.50. I’m so there to check them out!

Marcelle is a sister brand of Annabelle, used to be known more for its skincare products than makeup. Recently, they came out with a few makeup collections that caught my attention. The Aquatik collection was very interesting, plus the added effect of the Horizon Bronzing Pressed Powder (in the picture), and the Colour Cube Powders – Multi-Blush. These products are of good size and the price is quite reasonable. The bronzer is CAD16, and it’s huge (18gr) – probably the biggest bronzer I have seen around. Just for comparison purpose, MAC’s MSFs are CAD32.50 for 10gr of product.

I have to say they have done a decent job to gain back some popularity in the community. I always feel happy walking in a drugstore and see new product displays, as they prove that the brands are doing their job to entertain the makeup crowd. The isle needs to look sparkly new and interesting!

Quo is the makeup home brand of Shoppers and is not available outside the stores. It currently shares the website with Shoppers which is not necessary a good thing. New products haven’t been promoted, even a few regular products aren’t on the site either. For this reason, I have to browse the isle to be in the known if Quo has new products or promotions.

Quo makeup is of decent quality and nice/ simple packaging. Their brushes are probably their best sellers as they have received good reviews from users. I do hope the brand gets more publicity, at least has its own website and proper media image promotion, as it deserves it.

The last brand is Inglot, a Polish makeup brand, but has established a network of stores in Canada way before coming to the US, so I thought I should include it. I have a hard time looking for information about this brand, as the Inglot Canada website only listed 5 stores in Quebec with no product information, and the Inglot Australia site is under construction. But… I found a great youtube video from JustMakeUpYourMind that shows you all about Inglot, for your viewing pleasure.

Don’t you want to go shopping after seeing the pictures? As Inglot made its way to the US with its very first store opened about a month ago in NY, the feedbacks from bloggers has been very positive. Prices are comparable to MAC as well: their shadows are $13 and lipsticks $12. I will definitely come to a store if I’m travelling anywhere near one.

That’s it guys. If I do forget anything, let me know. Love!

Photo credit: coverfx.com, cargocosmetics.com, annabellecosmetics.com, marcelle.com, shopperdrugmarts.ca