A closeup of the detailing on the side of MAC’s Year of the Snake Cockney Lipstick ($15), a yellowish red available now at MAC counters, stores and maccosmetics.com.
MAC’s Year of the Snake Cockney Lipstick
Archives for 2013
Guerlain’s Météorites Perles du Paradis
Guerlain Météorites Perles du Paradis ($70), available now at Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Sephora, Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom and online at nordstrom.com.
Gorgeous, isn’t she? 🙂
What a Bold Statement! Milani’s Affordably Bold Color Statement Lipsticks
Milani’s making one heck of a statement with their new Bold Color Statement Lipsticks, and that statement reads, “Get a great deal on pigment!”
Wow, this much pigment for $5.49? Quite a deal, but I’ll kindly pass on the cloying bubblegum scent…
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MAC Welcomes the New Nicki Minaj Nicki 2 Lipstick and Lipglass to the Viva Glam Fam
Truth be told, I’m totally over this blonde Betty wig because I feel completely insane when I have it on. Plus, when the UPS guy came to my door last week, he said I looked like Lil’ Kim. Um, thanks?
But I felt like swatching the new MAC Viva Glam Nicki 2 Lipstick and Lipglass today, so I threw it on for just one Barbz pic because it seemed like the right thing to do.
As members of the MAC Viva Glam family, 100 percent of the proceeds from the sales of Nicki 2 Lipstick and Lipglass go to support the MAC AIDS Fund, which helps women, children and men living with HIV/AIDS.
Once again, MAC teamed up with Nicki Minaj, and this year, they’re serving up a pale pastel lavender pink.
It’s a very distinct type of lip look with lots of drama.
Friday Skin Care Chitchat: Kate Somerville, Caudalie, GLAMGLOW, AMOREPACIFIC and Ole Henriksen
Wow, it’s been a while since we chatted about skin care. Heck, I think the last time might’ve been last summer? After that trip to the Bliss Spa in SF, when those helpful aestheticians gave me those great product recs.
Anywho, last weekend I noticed I was running low on a couple of things I’ve come to adore, so on Saturday night I stopped by Sephora to restock, and I figured that while I was there, I could use one of my Christmas gift certificates to find something new. 🙂
Two of the products I picked up, Kate Somerville’s Anti Bac Clearing Lotion ($39) and Caudalie’s Vinosource Quenching Sorbet-Crème ($39), I’ve loved for a while.
Absolute gold!
Kate Somerville’s Anti Bac Clearing Lotion
I’ve been breaking out, off and on, around my chin and mouth (hormonal acne…UGH!) this past year, and Kate Somerville’s Anti Bac Clearing Lotion, when I use it consistently, has helped clear up my skin.
An acne treatment lotion with 5% benzoyl peroxide, it layers well beneath makeup and doesn’t have that funky, tell-tale benzoyl peroxide scent found in so many other BP products.
Now, I get a tight, panicky feeling in my chest when I think about running out and not having a spare bottle around…
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A+
Caudalie’s Vinosource Quenching Sorbet-Crème
Second item: Caudalie’s Vinosource Quenching Sorbet-Crème. I love it so much, I’m now on my third bottle.
The lightweight, mousse-like lotion absorbs instantly into my skin, and it’s moisturizing enough to handle the driest patches on my face. And WOO HOO! — it doesn’t seem to make my breakouts worse.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A+
GLAMGLOW, AMOREPACIFIC and Ole Henriksen
After I re-stocked on the must-have skin care supplies, my basket still felt a little light, so with that gift certificate burning in my pocked, I also picked up…
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Aerin Beauty’s Garden Bloom Face Palette
Aerin Beauty’s new spring 2013 Garden Bloom Face Palette ($70). Available now at Bergdorf Goodman and bergdorfgoodman.com.
Dior Diorshow Mono Eyeshadow in Nude
The New Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders Light the Way to a Flawless Face, Casting Their Spell on Complexions This Spring
I tell El Hub all the time that if we ever win the lottery, I’m hiring Heidi Klum’s Project Runway lighting crew to follow me around wherever I go (ever notice how they light her compared to how they light the other judges and contestants?).
He thinks I’m kidding, but I’m COMPLETELY SERIOUS.
I don’t know, though. Maybe it doesn’t matter anymore, now that I’ve found these Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders. 🙂
You know how skin looks so warm and buttery and beautiful at sunset? Or the way it looks by candlelight? You’re having dinner at a nice restaurant, they’ve got the lights turned down low, and you reach into your purse for your compact, check your gloss and think, “Wow! Where did my smile lines go?”
The right lighting makes a big difference. This, Hourglass knows, which is why they designed their six $45 Ambient Lighting Powders to make skin appear as if it’s bathed in flattering light.
No need for a film crew or an expensive studio setup. Just pick your powder by its illuminating effect — Diffused Light, Ethereal Light, Radiant Light, Mood Light, Dim Light or Luminous Light.
The secret, Hourglass says, isn’t lumens or wattage. It’s the transparent, color-correcting particles in the powders that filter and manipulate light.
Never mind that I’m thinking that same answer would probably also apply to other products from other brands. I’m more concerned about one thing: how well does it work?
Here in my own little photo studio, also known as the hallway outside of my office, I’ve been testing three of the six — Dim Light, Luminous Light and Radiant Light — I have to say, I’m impressed. What Hourglass does by varying the finishes, shimmer, sheen and pigment does seem to emulate different kinds of light.
No, I doubt Heidi Klum is going to give up her zillion-dollar studio setup for one or two of these, but still — pretty neat!
I love all three. Both for their fancy finishes, and for the way the almost imperceptible grains of powder disappear on my skin.
Dim light
I’d swear that Dim Light, hands down my favorite of the three, takes 10 years off my face. A neutral, peachy beige, it has a soft sheen and a lovely satin finish. With it on, I feel like my pores and fine lines look a little less obvious, and my skin has this certain quiet radiance to it that I remember being there when I was in my 20s and teens (lately, not so much, LOL!). “Siri, remind me to stockpile this before the zombie apocalypse.”
Luminous Light
With Luminous Light, the champagne pearl, Hourglass turned up the shimmer to re-create a soft, candlelit glow. Think angel halos…or a MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder with a softer, finer pearl sheen. This is the one I’d wear when I want to draw attention to my skin. I’d apply it just over the center of my face to highlight and lift my look.
Radiant Light
Radiant Light, a super sheer, semi-matte golden beige/bronze with flecks of golden glitter, is probably the flashiest of these three. Where this one lives, it’s always summer in Las Vegas. Picture the desert sun falling on the faces of Las Vegas Ladies Who Lunch.
