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Archives for May 2011

My MAC Thursday Surf Baby Face of the Day

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mac surf baby

If you’d asked me 15 years ago (back when I was deep into my brown/pink eyeshadow phase) if I’d wear a yellow shadow like Sun Blonde, I probably would have said, “OH, HELL NAW!”

I was pretty conservative with my makeup back then and almost never ventured out of my comfort zone. That slowly changed over time. Now, when it comes to wearing bold eye makeup, I’m still not a Rainbow Brite girl, but I am more adventurous than I was.

When I find a color I really like, I’ll try to figure out ways to wear it that I know I’ll feel comfortable in — sometimes it’s a bright pop on the lids, a subtle wash in the crease or a sweep along my lower lash lines.

I also like to balance my brights with neutrals, and for my makeup today I played with the yellow and teal shades from MAC Surf Baby, pairing them with browns and beige.


MAC Surf Baby products used for this look, clockwise from the lipgloss in the lower left: Lipglass in Krazy Kahuna, Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Blue Noon, Studio Careblend Pressed in Gold-Go-Lightly, Eyeshadow in Short Shorts, Eyeshadow in Surf USA and Eyeshadow in Sun Blonde

Hibiscus, one of the Surf Baby makeup looks on the MAC website, gave me the overall idea, and using a mix of limited edition Surf Baby products and MAC permanent collection sweets, I ended up with a look featuring teal, yellow, brown, coral and beige.


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Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue, I Hope the New Bliss Poetic Waxing Strips Body Kit Also Works Well for You

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Bliss Poetic Waxing Wax Strips Body Review

Three weeks. Probably TMI (so what else is new?), but that’s how long I went without shaving my legs to test the new Bliss Poetic Waxing Wax Strips Body kit ($36). 🙂

I’ve used similar kits from other brands like Sally Hansen before, but the strips included with this one are made of a loosely-woven cotton fabric called muslin, instead of cardboard or plastic. You get 36 pre-waxed strips and the tiniest, Grinch-who-stole-Christmas-sized bottle of soothing azulene oil to condition your skin and remove any remaining wax when you’re done. In addition to the muslin strips, which I find easier to grip than the smooth plastic ones that come with some other kits, the wax Bliss uses also feels slightly thicker than most.

Bliss Poetic Waxing Wax Strips Body Review
So small!

Having tried so many waxing kits before on so many different parts of my bod, I expected the usual trubs — the strips missing a lot of hair, the wax being too sticky and hard to remove, or the kit not coming with enough strips. Basically, from kits like this one, I came to expect half-@ssed results.

Bliss Poetic Waxing Wax Strips Body Review instructions
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Elizabeth Arden Went on a ScentTrek to Find Green Tea Camellia Eau de Toilette

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Like intrepid Indiana Jones types, the perfumers who brought Elizabeth Arden’s new Green Tea Camellia Eau de Toilette ($29 for a 1.7-oz. bottle) into the light went all the way to Sri Lanka to find it.

Their goal was to capture the scent of the camellia sasanqua plant in its natural habitat. Using a doo-dad called ScentTrek, which they attached to the plant, they left with a sample of the plant’s actual scent molecules, which then went toward developing one of the scent’s middle notes.

Neat, yeah?

Typically, perfumers distill the oils from a harvested plant to acquire its scent, but, with ScentTrek, they’re able to grab the true essence of a living plant or flower in its natural habitat no matter where it takes them in the world. The technology not only allows perfumers to keep the ecological balance intact, but it also gives them the opportunity to obtain a more complete scent profile that takes into account the atmosphere surrounding the plant.
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Guys and Gals Get Clean with Dirty, Lush’s Latest Launch

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lush dirty all closed

Never have I been so excited to get dirty! 🙂

Wait — did that sound pervy? I’m actually talking about a new line of unisex hair and body products from Lush.

Available now at Lush stores and also online, the four-piece Dirty collection features stuff to cleanse, smooth and style both you and your boo.

The collection includes…

  • Dirty Springwash Shower Gel
  • Dirty Shaving Cream
  • Dirty Hair Styling Cream
  • Dirty Body Spray

lush dirty all open

Lush had fun with these fragrances, creating for each product a unique scent that not only stands on its own, but also complements the others in the release. Since all four of the products are designed for guys AND gals, I roped El Hub into trying two of them (you’re such a good sport, sweetie!).

Dirty Springwash Shower Gel

El Hub and I both like this salty spearmint-scented gel so much that we’re fighting over who gets the rest! El Hub says it’s one of the best shower gels he’s used in years because it removes oils from his skin and hair but doesn’t strip them bare. It also builds into a nice lather yet remains easy to rinse. I like how it doesn’t leave a film behind, and I adore the fresh, crisp scent. If you’re planning frequent sleepovers at your honey’s house, this might be nice to have in the shower. $9.95 for a 3.3-oz. bottle, $17.95 for 8.4 oz., $26.95 for 16.9 oz.. MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A+

lush dirty shower gel

lush dirty shower gel ingredients

Dirty Shaving Cream

El Hub tried it on his face; I tried it on my ‘pits. Neither of us like it much, despite the soothing oat, lavender and sandalwood scent. The fact that it doesn’t build into a lather or foam means you have to use a lot. El says his shaves with it kinda hurt, which he thought could be due to the absence of aloe or menthol, which many other shave creams contain. Both of us also dislike the thick, greasy residue it leaves behind, but we do like the scent. $12.95 for a 3.5-oz tub. MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B-

lush dirty shaving cream
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Something Borrowed, Something Blue. Do I Like the Essie Wedding Collection? Yes, I Do

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Another wedding season approaches, bringing with it a bevy of bachelorette parties, bridal showers, bridesmaid dresses — which they always say you can wear again (yeah, right!) — and, of course, rampaging bridezillas!

Honestly, I can’t blame brides for going cuckoo for Coco Puffs when there are so many details involed in getting hitched (especially when you’re doing the planning yourself). It’s hard to imagine just how frustrating a seating chart can be, how something so supposedly simple can make a gal simultaneously cry and foam at the mouth like a rabid chihuahua.

But some details don’t have to be hard. Why not make two of them, like what polish to wear on your fingers and toes, a little easier with Essie’s The Wedding Collection Nail Polish cube ($17)?

The limited edition set comes with four Essie nail polish minis in matrimonial shades. There’s Made to Honor (a warm, sheer pinkish beige), Better Together (a sheer candy pink), First Dance (a classic creamy red) and Borrowed & Blue (a creamy sky blue).

essie wedding collection
From left to right: Better Together, Made to Honor, First Dance and Borrowed & Blue

At first I thought Borrowed & Blue would run away with this bride, but then First Dance intervened. It’s funny — with all of the crazy nail colors out there now, red polishes can seem almost tame. First Dance, however, deserves extra affection. It’s neither too orange nor blue. Rather, it’s more like a neutral, and I bet it would look lovely on an array of skin tones. And while the rest of the collection requires two coats for full coverage, First Dance only needs one.

Borrowed & Blue still looks like a blast, though, and might be the better choice for edgier brides.

The two sheer pinks embody classic Essie style. Both apply smooth, without any streaks, and should look great in wedding pictures, too.

Peep the following swatches, and let me know if anything here makes you want to say “I do.”

essie wedding collection swatches in box
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Lancôme’s L’Absolu Nu Lipstick Really Shines for a Split Second

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Whatever you do, keep flaky lips far, far away from the Lancôme L’Absolu Nu lipsticks ($29).

Lancôme’s new lippies come in 16 shiny, translucent shades that look and feel like they were influenced by the delectable $28 Dior Addicts, with a similarly slick, ultra-thin texture.

When I applied a layer of shimmery Coral Sand (the one with silver micro-glitter shown at the top) yesterday morning, I didn’t realize how dry my pucker was at the time, and Coral Sand was not forgiving at all. It latched on to every little flake, emphasizing the facts that 1) I really needed to exfoliate, and 2) I was probably more than a little dehydrated.

But after I scrubbed my lips with Lush Lip Scrub and had a glass of water, L’Absolu looked much better. No more flakes, and my kisser shined like freshly polished jewelry with a slight coral tint.

The strong lip-sticky fragrance, a cross between baby powder and roses, mellows out after about 15 minutes, which is great because that’s right around the time I think it would have gotten annoying, LOL!


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