FASHION Magazine

By Malwina Gudowska

While most childhood memories are composed of bosom friends and pivotal events, my youthful days can be mapped out in a connect-the-dots trajectory—literally. I rarely spent serious time in the sun, but I have plenty of little dark marks on my skin, including the four moles on one side of my face that I’ve had since birth.

At seven, when I dressed up as Madonna circa 1984 for Halloween, my mother drew a small mark above my lip with her brown eyeliner to mimic Madge’s signature mole. A couple of years later, as if I’d willed it to happen, a mark appeared above my lip, just a centimetre down from where the Material Girl’s spot had been. I was no longer a fake; I was part of the Marilyn (Monroe), Cindy (Crawford) and Madonna club. Plus, my mole quintet was complete! But what I thought was a blessing—who wouldn’t like the comparison to Cindy Crawford?—became a curse when a cruel classmate took notice and used it as a source of inspiration for his playground intimidation tactics. Upset and teary-eyed, I sought refuge near the balance beams, and a teacher came up to ask what had happened. “David says that if you connect all the moles on my face, they make an upside-down house,” I said.

“Those aren’t moles, my dear,” the teacher replied. “Those are beauty marks.”

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See our skincare picks »

Twist and pout for Vancouver beauty brand Ilia (iliabeauty.com). Silky smooth with a touch of sheen, its tinted lip conditioners contain ultra-moisturizing jojoba oil, cocoa butter and vitamin E, and clock in at 85 per cent organic. I love Bang Bang, an on-trend red shade named after the classic Cher tune. It’s perfect for adding a high-powered punch to your office look ($24, at BeautyMark, 1268 Pacific Blvd., 604-642-2294, beautymark.ca).

Yaletown beauty institution Beautymark is celebrating a decade in business with a move—100 steps away. The new bi-level location (1268 Pacific Blvd., 604-642-2294, beautymark.ca) next to the Roundhouse community centre now offers more beauty treatments, including mini Dermalogica facials and the always-popular brow shaping appointments by resident expert Alisha Noon. Of course, there’s still plenty of beauty loot to spritz, test and dab.

Yeah, I know it costs more than I would spend on a dry-cleaning in a month, but let me explain. Juara’s pretty and lightly scented Hope Soy Candle ($44, beautymark.ca) burns for a ridiculously long time, emits smoke-free signals (thanks to being made from soy) and, here’s the best part, donates 10% of its proceeds […]

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I’m not always the most original hostess gift-giver (a nice bottle of ice wine or champagne is almost always my fallback), but this season, I’m going to have these gift sets from Beautymark (beautymark.ca) ready to go instead. The Fresh Hesperides Collection set of body lotion and soap ($40) looks classy and appears more expensive […]

The post Go beyond a bottle of wine with these sweet-smelling hostess gifts appeared first on FASHION Magazine.