So many creams, so many promises. But that certainly would not stop Quebec cosmetics doyenne Lise Watier from adding two new products to the anti-aging arsenal. "None like this," Watier said at a breakfast conference to introduce Lift & Firm. A crowd of black-suited media and Watier employees, mainly women, turned out at the St. Paul Hotel to learn about, and get samples of, the line's Instant Lifting Serum and Ultra Firming Rejuvenating Creme. "Our mission is to bring out something better than what is on the market,'' said Watier, blond, smooth-skinned and clad in a white Chanel jacket and black pants. Her remarkable blue eyes were enhanced with an excellent makeup application." All the elements of research and development - all the high technology around the world - we have access to everything that is possible." Watier, who will be 63 this year, if press reports are to be believed, is known for her determination. She started her cosmetics line in 1972 - "at age 8,'' she quipped - and has built it into a multimillion-dollar business, with more than 300 products sold in 450 retail outlets. She will not reveal sales figures, and scoffs at published reports. But it's not enough for her. She is still hoping to expand beyond Canada, and especially into the United States. Watier has enlisted Sophie Desmarais, socialite, philanthropist and daughter of Power Corp.'s Paul Desmarais Sr., as the spokesperson for the line. "I'm not doing it for the money. I am doing it because I believe in it,'' Desmarais said. That's part of the pitch: a wealthy woman, well known to the Quebec crowd, choosing a homegrown product. Women think the more you pay, the better the cream, Watier said. "Wrong! "When you have a dream and you pay $200 or $300, you have to realize a great percentage of the amount is directed into advertising.'' Watier said she keeps her promotion costs down and quality up. "Otherwise, I wouldn't put it on the market. Because I would be dead by now. And I don't want to die. I want to live. And grow.'' Asked what she thinks of plastic surgery and injectables, she responded that they're fine if they make a woman feel better. Lift & Firm, in fact, is one of many products that try to mimic the actions of Botox and injectable fillers. Most don't work, I tell her. "I would like you to try my Instant Lift,'' she said. "Then you can give me a call.'' I ask if she uses the product. "What do you think?" is her retort. " If it's not good enough for me, it's not good enough for anyone.'' Lise Watier Lift & Firm cream is $55; the serum costs $48. On sale at The Bay, Sears and Pharmaprix.- By E. Fried
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Eve World FINDING THE BEST CREAM BEST MAKEUP SECRETS
Had a good look inside your makeup bag lately? It's probably pretty scary in there. Products past their best-before date. Mascaras seething with bacteria. Lipsticks gone bad and powdered blushes turning rancid. It's enough to make going bare-faced seem like a viable option. But if you prefer to meet the world enhanced by a bit of blush and eye shadow, then consider the makeup bag makeover. The biggest mistake women make with makeup is hanging on to it for too long, she says. "Anything you have over six months -- it's garbage ...We think we're going to use it one day, but in reality we don't." I brought Shams my makeup bag, which was stuffed with 25 items - plus a grocery bag full of old cosmetics I had hanging around a bathroom drawer. Shams threw out the old, the tainted and the never-used. The result:
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- 15 items (old mascara, old lipstick, old liner, goopy concealer) in my makeup bag tossed in the garbage. - Three items (a lipstick, an eye shadow to use as liner, and a bronzer) added from my drawer. - Two new items - Stila's Convertible Eye Color, a shadow/liner, and Convertible Color dual lip and cheek cream - to replace a pencil liner and a darker-coloured blush/lip duo. Shams let me add those to my drawer stash. - Final tally: a vastly more compact 15 items in my makeup bag. About two-thirds of my original drawer contents were tossed, including makeup I had been hanging on to for sentimental reasons (goodbye, Prescriptives blush bought 20 years ago) and others kept just because they had been expensive. Some products, like the pressed powder with the damp bacterial sheen and the mouldy lip liner, were particularly embarrassing. The result is a makeup bag that doesn't weigh down my tote and contains products I actually use, plus a couple of extra lipsticks for special events. Here are Shams's tips for downsizing and managing anyone's stash: Throw away anything past its expiry date, no matter what its sentimental value or how expensive it was. "Makeup does expire because of the oils in it," says Shams. Old makeup can irritate your skin. Toss out anything that has changed its colour, scent or consistency, has something growing on it, or if the container is leaking or deteriorating. Throw away anything that's drying out. This isn't always obvious. One way to tell is to apply the makeup to your hand; the colour should be rich and apparent from a single stroke. Replace mascara every three months. "Every time you pull it out and use it and then put it back in (its container), you're growing bacteria," says Shams. Fresh cosmetics will apply smoothly. When they crumble, clump, drag, stick or go goopy, it's time to go. "If you're not going to wear it, get rid of it. It's just going to take up space," says Shams. Don't keep lipsticks more than a year. Lipstick should smell warm, not sweet or like alcohol. Trash any lipstick that can't last more than an hour on your mouth. Avoid quick-drying nail polishes, which could yellow your nails. OPI and Chanel make good polish and basecoats, says Shams. Replace liquid eye liners ("even experts have a hard time getting them right") with soft pencil or pen liners. Invest in quality natural-bristle makeup brushes that are soft (Stila's feel like fur) and shaped for their purpose. "You could have really bad makeup and you can still use it properly with a good brush," says Shams. Clean them with a quality brush cleaner; Shams recommends Lise Watier's ($12.99 at Shoppers Drug Mart). Use foundations, under-eye concealers and tinted moisturizers with 15 SPF or more for sun protection. Substitute tinted SPF moisturizer if you have clear skin. Buy eye shadow with quality pigments. Eye-shadow pigments start to decay after six months. Fresh pigments are richly coloured on the first application and should last at least six hours. When the top layer begins to decay (the colour won't be as bright), scrape it off and use what's underneath. Invest in products that do double duty, for example, Stila's Convertible Cheek and Eye blush/lipstick combo. A shimmery powder can be a finishing powder in the evening and substitute for foundation during the day. A pale eye shadow can double as a brow highlighter. Choose makeup in colours that will work with most of your clothes and for any daytime occasion. Ask a beauty expert for advice about products you don't know how to use.- By Wendy Whenburton.
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