A ‘new’ must-stop shop?

October 1, 2010

So the first thing  I took note of was the super cute pair of mirrors  in Arren Williams’s luxe washroom. He told me they were from Walmart and let’s just say my jaw dropped. Yes,  Walmart.

Then about a month ago, I went to a press preview of the newly relaunched  George clothing line from Walmart. It’s not super fashion-forward, and doesn’t compare to my fave cheap & chic line Joe Fresh, but if you pick and choose you can find some gems in there–like their slim-fitting LBD, a handful of the accessories, and some practical basics (like their thin cotton long-sleeved Ts, perfect for layering)–for mixing and matching with your designer labels.

And then during TIFF, I checked out the Hard Candy lounge. Back in the day, I so coveted their polishes with the cute plastic rings, but my student budget didn’t allow for splurging on the then-upscale nail polish. Here’s the good news: the beauty line is now exclusive to the big-box giant and just launched in Canada’s Walmart locations, and–wait for it–not a single item is priced over $10.

Love the easy on the wallet pricing…but, yes, there’s a “but”. I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m big on pretty packaging, and some of the Hard Candy packaging does veer a little too Ed Hardy-esque for my taste (flames and other garishness). And at a quick glance, there is a whole lotta glitter going on in this collection. But I do quite love the shadows–Powder Keg Loose Shadow in Groupie (a nice champagne shade) in particular–and I’ve still got a slew of other products still to test out (it’s a hard job, but someone’s gotta do it :).

Suffice to say, next time I’m in the ‘burbs, I’ll be hitting up the Walmart.

Filed under: Beauty Swellness,Random Swellness

Tags: Arren Williams, cosmetic, Ed Hardy, eye shadow, George, Hard Candy, Joe Fresh, makeup, nail polish, Walmart