Wouldn’t it be fun to be ridiculously rich and be able to produce a big budget movie and have total control over everything, like what the story is about, who the actors are, the director, and even the songs for the soundtrack (or to be able to hire an orchestra to make an original score)? Oh, the possibilities… I wonder what kind of movie I’d want to make first. Maybe a book, but somebody already took The Hunger Games, so it’s too late for that.
Wow…that was pretty random, wasn’t it? LOL! As you can probably tell, I’m having a tough time focusing this morning. 🙂 I’m still waking up.
What are your plans for today? Doing anything fun for the Memorial Day weekend? Right now I’m just listening to Pandora while I surf the web. I’m shuffling through stations for Drake, Common, Kid Cudi, Wale, Katy Perry, U2, Lauryn Hill and John Legend.
Dang, I love Pandora…
Anywho. Tell me about your makeup and beauty adventures this week. Did you try anything new? Any new products or techniques? I was surprised by L’Occitane and Lush. Both of them really impressed me this week.
The Weekly Roundup: Posts You Might Have Missed
L’OCCITANE’S PETAL EYE QUARTET PAINTS A PASTEL
PICTURE OF A COOL-TONED, WATERCOLOR WORLD
I must admit, I giggled a little when I read the inspiration behind the new L’Occitane Pivoine Flora collection. They call it “a graceful peony which dances like a ballerina in the Mediterranean breeze.” Okay, I’m a card-carrying queen of cheese, and I live for Hallmark movies, but that might even be too much queso for me.
Well, that’s what I thought…until I set my eyes on the limited edition release. The delicate pastels, watercolor imagery and nubby texture on the compacts all paint a picture in my mind that lines up fairly well with the one L’Occitane describes. It’s a dainty (albeit cheesy) world filled with floating flowers and other things that are soft, sweet and feminine — very Paul & Joe meets old-school Stila — and it’s a gaw-geous visual feast for any packaging lover’s eyes. Read more…
LANCOME’S L’ABSOLU NU
LIPSTICK REALLY SHINES FOR A SPLIT SECOND
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. Read more…
WITH THE NEW BECCA AUTOMATIC EYE PENCILS
THE EXTRAS MAKE THE WORLD GOA ROUND
Not gonna lie, after feasting my eyes on the delicious nail polishes and blushes from the Becca Halcyon Days collection, I didn’t have much of an appetite left for the Automatic Eye Pencils in Goa and Majorca ($23 each). The two twist-up makeup tools were way down at the bottom of my “I’m so excited, and I just can’t hide it!” list.
But then I noticed the value-added extras Becca thought to include, like the sponge-tip applicator, hidden pencil sharpener (sweet!), and effortless texture — so smooth that it would give any silk worm a complex. In this case, it was the extras that made me stop and take notice, and I figured, heck, with summer right around the corner, I can always use a couple of new long-wearing, waterproof eyeliner staples.
Becca kept both of these colors conservative, opting for basics to complement the coral, peach and pink shades from Halcyon Days. Goa, a shimmery golden brown, reminds me of a mellower MAC Teddy, and it sits in stark contrast to starless Majorca, a pitch black devoid of green or blue undertones. Read more…
IF PRESSED TO ANSWER, I’D SAY YES!
I CARE DEEPLY FOR THE MAC SURF BABY CAREBLEND PRESSED POWDERS
With MAC Surf Baby riding onto counters soon and already hanging ten online, I thought this might be a good time to wax our surfboards philosophic about two superstars from the limited edition collection, the Studio Careblend Pressed Powders in Lush-Light Bronze and Gold-Go-Lightly ($28 each).
I love the Careblends. Like really, really love them. MAC added the line of sheer-to-medium coverage face powders, arguably some of the company’s best face products to date, to their permanent line earlier this year.
Where some tinted face powders can look chalky and/or develop cracks and creases, the Careblends, with a finish just shy of a matte, look like flawless, real skin to me. Lightweight and smooth, they’re also a joy to blend, never irritating the combination dry/oily/acne-prone skin on my face. Read more…
ROSES ARE RED, VIOLETS ARE BLUE
I HOPE THE NEW BLISS POETIC WAXING STRIPS BODY KIT ALSO WORKS WELL FOR YOU
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.
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. Read more…
SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLUE
DO I LIKE THE ESSIE WEDDING COLLECTION? YES, I DO
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)? Read more…
L’OCCITANE PIVOINE FLORA COLLECTION
LIPSTICK IN FUSCHIA IS PERFECT FOR CASUAL FRIDAYS
Of the products I’ve played with so far from the new limited edition L’Occitane Pivoine Flora collection, my favorite has to be the Lipstick in Fuschia ($15, one of four shades; yes, here Fuschia is spelled with an ‘s’ before the ‘chia’).
It gets the pigment just right, walking that fine line between mediocre pigmentation and high-maintenance, with a finish that still looks natural even with its subtle shine. Perfect for days when I want a casual lip look without the blinding bling of a gloss.
Wear time clocks in at around two and a half hours — pretty good considering how thin and slippery it feels. The rose scent and flavor are nice touches, too, although I do detect a hint of wax. Luckily, it dissipates within a few minutes. Read more…
MY MAC THURSDAY
SURF BABY FACE OF THE DAY
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. Read more…
GUYS AND GALS GET CLEAN WITH DIRTY
LUSH’S LATEST LAUNCH
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.
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!). Read more…
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
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