Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Flush, $25.
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Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Flush
Archives for February 2011
The Jillian Michaels Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism Workout DVD Hurts So Good!
Blast you, Jillian Michaels, and your calorie-killing tough love! The first time I pushed play on your Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism DVD ($10), I came this close to a full-on bakery breakdown. I’m serious, I was one mountain climber away from driving to the nearest bakery to stuff myself with donuts (have I mentioned I’m a stress eater?).
But, as if you could somehow tell when I was ready to quit, you looked me in the eye, cranked up the motivation dial and firmly told me “not to phone it in” (which is Jillian Michaels for “never give up, never surrender!”).
Needless to say, this workout’s no joke, and it hurts SO GOOD.
How good exactly?
Good like the first time you got your ‘stash waxed, or the first time you kissed that hot, scruffy bad boy (you know, the unemployed one with the muscles and the motorcycle — the one your parents despised).
Made to heighten heart rates and torch calories, Jillian’s 45-minute workout begins with a warm up, which is then followed by seven 5-minute circuits and a cool down. Each of the circuits is comprised of a series of 30-second exercises, and the workout doesn’t require any equipment to do; just a small space on the floor to move around, and maybe a yoga mat, if you have one.
For what it’s worth, I am not an athlete — not by a long shot — but I’ve exercised off and on for most of my adult life. I think I have reasonably strong legs from running and dancing, and decent upper body strength, but I’ve been neglecting my core for years (I HATE sit-ups and crunches).
Now, this wasn’t my first time at the rodeo with Jillian. I’d been using her 30 Day Shred DVD for a while, so I thought I knew what to expect from this one.
Boy, was I wrong! With Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism, Jillian takes workouts to the next level — one where I want to curl up into a ball and cry, LOL!
Jillian uses plyometric exercises with big, explosive jumps, and likes working several muscle groups simultaneously (back when I belonged to Gold’s Gym, I’d watch personal trainers perform similar exercises with real athletes). I remember some of the moves from Shred, like skaters, burpies and mountain climbers…but the whole DVD makes Shred look like musical chairs at a kid’s birthday party.
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The L’Oreal Paris Studio Secrets Professional Eye Shadow Palettes: One Sweep to Rule Them All?
Now here’s something I can honestly say I’ve never seen before: kidney bean-based beauty. Each of the eight new L’Oreal Paris Studio Secrets Professional The One Sweep Eye Shadow Palettes (say that five times fast!) comes with a kidney bean-shaped brush designed to grab its three coordinating shadows in one fell swoop.
Team L’Oreal says that a single swipe of the contoured brush picks up the perfect amount of each color for your lid, crease and brow bone. Just slide the loaded brush horizontally across the area from the inner to the outer lid to distribute all three shades evenly, one atop the other, from lash line to brow bone.
Natural for All Eyes Palette on the left; Playful For Blue Eyes Palette on the right
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Urban Decay Feminine, Dangerous and Fun Eyeshadow Palettes: Swatches and Pictures
What up, buttercup? Here are swatches and photos of the three new Urban Decay Feminine, Dangerous and Fun Eyeshadow Palettes ($34 each). I’ll have face and eye shots in a few, but for now, check out the colors and holla at me in the comments if you see anything you like. 🙂
Clockwise from the lower left: The Dangerous, The Feminine and The Fun Palettes
The Feminine Palette
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Smashbox Photo Set Finishing Powder with SPF 15 Promises to Blur the Lines
Doesn’t it seem like more and more makeup brands are getting onto the airbrushed bandwagon? — the one filled with colorless loose powders designed to deliver an “airbrushed” look?
There’s MAC Prep+Prime, Make Up Forever HD Powder and Tarte Amazonian Clay Smooth Operator, to name but a few, and despite their different names and packaging, they promise a lot of the same things.
“[PRODUCT NAME] absorbs oil to create a matte finish, sets foundation and concealer, blurs fine lines and reduces the appearance of pores for a soft focus (read: airbrushed) look.”
The latest airbrushing beauty bit to cross my path calls itself Smashbox Photo Set Finishing Powder with SPF 15 ($28), and it airbrushes with the power of — wait for it — zinc oxide!
Zinc oxide?
Rather than being absorbed into the skin, zinc oxide, an inorganic white powder, acts as a physical sunblock, sitting atop the skin where it reflects rays of UVA and UVB light. Generally considered noncomedogenic (meaning it doesn’t block pores), zinc oxide is also a mild antimicrobial believed to accelerate wound healing. Unfortunately, products containing enough of it can look chalky on darker skin tones.
After wearing Photo Set a few times over the past week, there are some things about the product I think Smashbox really did well. First, the packaging — LOVE the wide jar, which accommodates my big powder brush without making a mess.
Second, it handles oil pretty well. With it on, even after a full day, my forehead, chin and nose (the oiliest parts of my face) are only just beginning to shine.
As for the whole soft focus effect thing, well, I don’t know. It’s hard to say. I haven’t noticed anything when I’ve been out and about, but I think I do detect slightly smoother skin in pictures. The effect isn’t as dramatic as it is with MAC Prep+Prime (which, by the way, is frickin’ fantastic), but I think it’s still there.
Urban Decay The Fun Palette
Urban Decay UD The Fun Palette, $34.
Urban Decay The Dangerous Palette
Urban Decay UD The Dangerous Palette, $34.
Which of the 4 New Buxom Stay-There Eye Shadow Shades Will Be Leader of the Pack?
It appears that man’s best friend at Buxom has been seeing a makeup-loving woman on the side! Good morning and happy hump day, cutie. 🙂 Let’s get Wednesday off to a good start with a peek at the four new Buxom Stay-There Eye Shadow colors for spring 2011 ($17 each), which, like Buxom’s 10 previous Stay-There shades, are named after different breeds of dog (woof!).
What’s a Buxom Stay-There Eye Shadow?
With a plush, lightweight texture, these faithful beauty companions come in 14 waterproof shades. Non-greasy and long-wearing, the Buxom Stay-There shadows are always there when you need ’em, looking out for your pretty peepers with a mineral-infused, paraben-free formula enriched with Aloe and Vitamin E.
Tabs said he likes the idea, but he hopes Buxom considers adding a few feline colors to the line (and would like to offer his kitty modeling services if they do). While they mull that over, I’d like to submit a color suggestion if I may — Mystery Mutt, a shimmery golden brown, named after Shauna, my family’s beloved pooch.
Shauna the Wonderdog!
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