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Archives for January 2011

The New NARS Velvet Gloss Pencils Look Sharp but Don’t Always Feel That Way

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NARS Frivolous Velvet Gloss Pencil
NARS Velvet Gloss Pencil in Frivolous

Wait up, guys! I gotta sharpen my gloss first…?

This spring NARS draws the lip gloss out of its shell by putting it into a chubby pencil/crayon.

The six new glosses in the soon-to-be-released Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil ($24) line contain vitamins E and A to moisturize and protect lips while imparting a subtle shine. The six shades launch February 1, but here’s a brief look at one of them.

Frivolous, a rosy, peachy pink with golden pearl, goes on smooth and non-sticky. Neither scented nor flavored, it feels refreshingly light on my lips, but consequently when used alone it only manages to last a couple of hours per application. Francois recommends lining the lips first, and then filling them in.

NARS Frivolous Velvet Gloss Pencil
NARS Velvet Gloss Pencil in Frivolous

NARS Frivolous Velvet Gloss Pencil
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How to Get the Most from Your Expensive New Fragrance

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Sam

Written by Sam

Today freelance makeup artist and blogger Sam sniffs out some great tips to help you keep that wondrous new scent smelling like a winner.

Get the most from your fragrance

Perhaps you met by chance and sniffed it on a friend, in the pages of a magazine, or wafting through the air at Nordstrom. Or maybe you designed it yourself after researching fragrance notes, perfume houses, and bottle designs. No matter how you found it, you finally took the plunge and purchased yourself a pricey new scent. Now you have an expensive bottle of fluid on your vanity, and it’ll be worth less than the box it came in if you don’t handle it with the care.

1. Storage

High heat and sunlight have it in for your fancy new fragrance. They breaks apart the bonds between fragrance molecules, weakening the potency and overall shelf life of your perfume, and eventually leading to a watery, lusterless liquid with little to no staying power. Even more destructive, though, are frequent fluctuations in temperature that can spoil a fragrance fast.

So, what’s the best way to store fragrances to preserve their gentle power? While it’s not always practical, one way is to stick them straight in your fridge. Temps at the higher end of the spectrum tend to degrade fragrances, but lower temps can actually protect them. And because many scents contain a veritable amount of alcohol to accelerate drying time after application, you need never worry about them accidentally freezing and expanding. Should your refrigerator be stuffed to the seams (especially in this post-holiday month), never fear. Simply keep your scents out of your bathroom (where the steam from your shower could prove harmful) and out of direct sunlight (UV rays are another common instigator of scent spoilage). When in doubt, ask yourself this: “Would I store an expensive vintage wine here?” If “no” even crosses your mind, cross this spot out as a potential display area for your cologne collection.

2. Application

One frequent misstep many people make is in applying fragrances to incorrect areas. However hard it is to believe, scents really do mix with your body’s chemistry. It’s why some fragrances smell wonderful on the tester strips but just kind of “eh” when you get them home. By applying your perfume to certain points on your body, you can get it to play perfectly with your pH and body heat to create a lasting and balanced aromatic experience.

The points are known as pulse points, and they’re exactly what they sound like they should be: places where it’s easy to read your pulse. Now, I would never recommend applying your scent to each and every one of them (unless, of course, you’re trying to knock someone unconscious), but here they are from the ground up: behind the knees, the inner thighs, about an inch below the belly button, the inner wrists, the crease of the inner elbow, the frontward facing area of the underarm, the base of the neck, behind each ear, and the temples. Which ones you choose to use are up to you, but I recommend choosing one place to spritz for a Perfume Extract, two for an Eau de Parfum, and three for an Eau de Toilette (in these cases, a “paired point”—such as the wrists—counts as one if you only spritz once and distribute it between both areas, or twice if you use one spritz on each). Of course, this is just a general guideline, and how many spritzes you use will vary greatly depending on the product. For example, my Dior Fahrenheit, an Eau de Toilette, really only needs one spritz to last me throughout the day.
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Warming Up to the NARS Spring 2011 Collection

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NARS spring 2011
Lip Gloss in Nana atop Pure Matte Lipstick in Madère

I got so fired up playing with NARS’ new Lip Gloss in Nana, Pure Matte Lipstick in Madère and Soft Touch Eye Pencil in Celebrate that I momentarily forgot just how cold it is outside.

The three are from the NARS Spring 2011 collection we looked at the other day, and right now they’re keeping me warmer than toe socks, turtlenecks and argyle blankets do.

A few bangin’ brights bring the shy neutrals in the new NARS Spring 2011 collection out of hibernation. The 11-piece release for eyes, lips and nails features earth tones with shimmery metallic finishes, cool purples and pinks, and a couple of unexpected blues and greens. Find it now on NARS counters and narscomestics.com.

Lip Gloss in Nana, $24

No, this wasn’t named after grammy. 🙂 It’s a French slang for “chick” or “girl,” and it’s the only new lip gloss color in the collection (the other two shades, Angelika and Super Orgasm, are repromotes). The deep creamy purple is much more pigmented than I thought, and a little goes a long way. I feel like it might be a little too dark for me, so I’ll probably layer it on top of lipsticks more often than I use it by itself.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+

Pure Matte Lipstick in Madère

WOW! This matte pinkish beige couldn’t be much lighter. I have a hard time wearing it by itself because the pale, cool tones look ashy on my warm NC35 skin (hello, zombie girl ). It might work better on girls who wear cooler pinks well. Oh, I think it’s also a bit more drying than the other Pure Mattes I’ve tried.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B

Soft Touch Shadow Pencil in Celebrate, $24

Celebrate makes me want to bust out the Kool & The Gang, yo. This creamy matte neon green appears to borrow its color from Kermit the Frog, but that’s a huge plus in my book. When I wear it worn alone on my lids without a primer, however, it migrates like crazy, homing in on my fine lines. I LOVE the color, but the way it wears? Not so much.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B-

nars spring 2011 lip gloss in nana lipstick in madere
Lip Gloss in Nana on top and Pure Matte Lipstick in Madère on bottom

NARS spring 2011 madere-nana-closeup
Pure Matte Lipstick in Madère on left and Lip Gloss in Nana on right

nars spring 2011 celebrate soft touch eye pencil
Soft Touch Shadow Pencil in Celebrate

NARS spring 2011 Celebrate Soft Touch Shadow Pencil-closeup

NARS spring 2011 Celebrate Madera Nana swatch arm
Swatches from the left with a flash: Celebrate, Madère and Nana
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The MAC Wonder Woman Collection: A Quick Look at Some of What We’ve Seen Before

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mac wonder woman

The official promo pics and product list are busting down our doors, my fellow wonder women. The limited edition MAC Wonder Woman Collection is still en route (ETA February 10, 2011 in North American; internationally in March), but we just received an emergency makeup cable from the super-heroine’s invisible jet. It reads, “Start the mission without me, ladies! I’ll be there as soon as I fend off the forces of anti-fabulousness that are attacking my jet!”

Since some of the upcoming products in the collection are repromoted items (like Lipstick in Russian Red, Glitter in Reflects Pearl and Penultimate Eye Liner in Rapidblack), I thought we could take an early look at a few of them today.

4 mac wonder woman beauty

MAC Wonder Woman: More Than Makeup

The 33-piece themed collection for eyes, face and nails comes with colorful limited edition comic book packaging. In addition to makeup, it contains seriously snazzy accessories like makeup bags, brush bags and even a MAC Wonder Woman T.

2 mac wonder woman ambient

Now, because time (and Wonder Woman) waits for no gal, let’s get on with the show. 🙂


From the left: Penultimate Eye Liner in Rapidblack, Glitter in Reflects Pearl and Lipstick in Russian Red

When we see these in the collection, they’ll be all decked out in limited edition red, yellow and blue packaging, but I expect the colors themselves to be the same.

MAC Russian Red Lipstick

One of my favorite old schoolers, this matte bluish red has a vintage ’40s pinup feel that looks hotter than hot partnered with black cat eye liner. I’ve been more than a little obsessed with this color ever since I found out that my other favorite wonder woman, Madonna, wore it on her Blonde Ambition Tour.

I used to wear this color a LOT (I’m a big Madge fan), and have figured out a few ways to get the most out of this impressive matte.

Because matte lipsticks tend to be so thick, they can pinpoint imperfections on the lips, clinging to dry flakes and settling into cracks — it’s something my oh-so-eloquent eighth grade self would have called, “hella gross.”

That’s why I do a lot of prep work whenever I plan to wear Russian Red (or any matte lipstick). The night before, I’ll exfoliating my lips with an old toothbrush to remove any flakes. I like this homemade sugar scrub and Lush Sugar Plum Fairy ($5).

Then, right before bed, I’ll apply a thick layer of moisturizing lip balm and leave it on overnight. I really like Philosophy’s $10 Kiss Me Gloss.

The next morning, after washing my face, I’ll apply another layer of lip balm and let it soak in while I do my eye, cheek and face makeup, saving the lips for last.

Immediately before applying my lipstick, I’ll blot any excess balm away with a tissue or by kissing the back of my hand (LOL!), and then with a precise lip brush like the MAC 316 ($19.50), I’ll do the deed.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A+

MAC Penultimate Eye Liner in Rapidblack

I REALLY wish I could get MAC Penultimate Eye Liner in Rapidblack to work for me because it’s one of the longest wearing liners I’ve ever tried. I swear, when I apply this rich, black liquid liner early in the morning, I can sweat like a pig all day long in the summer while I rub at my eyes like a fiend, and it’s still hanging tough at dinner. Amazing.

But (there’s always a but), the stiff pen doesn’t like my butterfingers. I have a hard time scooting the firm, almost rigid tip along my lash lines and find liners with flexible felt tips, like LORAC’s Front of the Line Pro ($22), easier to control.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B-
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NARS Spring 2011: Lip Gloss in Nana and Pure Matte Lipstick in Madère

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A couple of limited edition lip items from the NARS Spring 2011 collection. That’s Pure Matte Lipstick in Madère on the left and Lip Gloss in Nana on the right. Swatches coming soon!

nars spring 2011 lip gloss in nana lipstick in madere

For more collection details see When NARS Springs for 2011, He Won’t Be Blushing and NARS Spring 2011: Super Orgasm and Angelika Lip Glosses Usher in the Season Early.

Urban Decay Spring 2011: Uzi or Gunmetal? You Be the Judge

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If you’ve been waiting patiently for Urban Decay’s recently released spring 2011 collection to appear online here (urbandecay.com) and here (sephora.com), your wait is over.

If you haven’t yet perused UD’s latest wares, well, what are ya waitin’ for, boo? The collection’s a doozy, and it introduces a handful of new products to the line — products like the Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tints ($24 each; LOVE THESE!), Greed Eyeshadow Primer ($18), the 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencils ($20) and the 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil 15-Year Anniversary Set ($92).

That reminds me — Jess had a question about Uzi, one of the shimmery liners in the Anniversary Set.

“I was lusting over the swatches you showed of the Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary Set and was wondering if there was any significant difference between, say, Uzi and Gunmetal?

I already have several of the colors in the set and am trying to figure out if the new colors are really different or not.”
— Jess M

Funny you should ask, Jess, because I happen to have both shimmery grays close at hand. I’ve been going through a may-jah gray liner phase lately.

Uzi looks a little like Gunmetal to me, but I wouldn’t say it’s a perfect match. I think it’s darker and more taupe, whereas Gunmetal’s more of a classic silver.


Uzi (left) and Gunmetal (right) with the flash
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MAC Wonder Woman: Saving the World One Lipglass at a Time

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Image via Twilight Whisper

Any woman who can fight crime in a bustier, booty shorts and knee-high red boots totally deserves to be honored with a makeup collection.

Yes, I’m talking about the new MAC Wonder Woman collection! 🙂 Buzz has been building for a while…and it’s only getting louder every minute.

The following pics, even if they turn out to be authentic, are fairly low res. The color of everything from the packaging to the products themselves will probably differ significantly from what we’re seeing here, but still — it’s food for thought until we actually see more.


Image via UrCosme

By the look of these promo pics, fearless reader, it looks like MAC is taking a vintage comic book approach to the packaging design, and I’m really feeling the red, gold and blue (no indestructible bracelets, though, boo!).

Some are calling it tacky, and I guess that depends on your outlook. I get bored easily, and I find MAC’s willingness to try things like this refreshingly interesting.


Image via UrCosme

It brings back memories…

I used to watch WW work her Amazonian wiles every day in the Super Friends cartoon, and when the neighborhood kids would gather after school, all the girls would lobby to play Wonder Woman in our pretend version of The Justice League, LOL!

Whoever won got to wear a chunky, faux gold bracelet that one of the girls “borrowed” from her mom. I think there was a time when we had a rope, too (our Lasso of Truth), until one of the dads found out and took it away (killjoy). And we also tried unsuccessfully to secure a tiara and hot pants.

We didn’t only like how WW accessorized. We also loved how she always kicked @ss. Smart, strong and dressed to thrill.


Image via Superherostuff

I plan to relive my childhood comic book dreams with this release. Who’s with me? There’s plenty of room in my invisible jet. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. To see A LOT more on the collection, check out Are You a MAC Wonder Woman?

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