Author Archive

As we head into spring (at least it feels like spring here in Los Angeles today…), it’s time again to embrace softer shades of makeup and a more natural look.  (At least some of the time!)  Smashbox‘s new spring collection, Be Discovered, is all about that trend and I tried out two of the pieces that’ll really help you pull off a romantic look.

The Be Discovered Eye Shadow Palette has eight shades in it, all pastels and a few light bronze/brown shades.  The colors definitely can’t be used for a dramatic or bold look, but they’re perfect for the daytime or a weekend party.  I especially love the Lilac shade – it’s a fantastic light purple color that I love with my green eyes.  I have SO many dark shades of shadow in my stash that I’m really loving this palette, especially for a spring weekend away.  (The Mist shade, a shimmery light silver, is another favorite for my green eyes).  The shadows are smooth and blend easily and all eight different shades are easy to pair together.

The other new release that I tried is the Be Discovered Cream Cheek Trio.  The three different shades give off the same soft, romantic vibe when blended on cheeks and I like that there are two shades that I can use as blush and one that acts more as a highlighter.  (In fact, I’ve played around with using it under my brows as a highlighter on my eyes and it looks good there too).  When I’m wearing these, I feel like I should put on a long dress and curl my hair and attend a garden party.  Is that weird?

You guys, I just love Bobbi Brown.  Love!  Her collections never disappoint me and most of the time, when I see them, I have a moment of, “Ooooh, that’s how I should wear those colors!”  Her Spring 2012 collection, Neons & Nudes, falls exactly into that category.  I just adore the way she has the pops of color on the lips, while everything else is soft and muted.  I tend to find myself falling into the same pattern of always emphasizing my eyes and doing a nude lip, so this is a perfect way to get me out of my rut and shake up my look.  (more…)

I’ve been really obsessed with juicing and cleanses lately, especially around the holidays when the fattening food was all over the place.  Since I was heading back to NJ for the holidays, I decided to do a cleanse for my first three days there, hoping to get at least a little detoxified while I was away from Los Angeles.  Since so many people had raved about the BluePrintCleanse, I decided this time I would try it out and hopefully reset my body a little.  (more…)

Sephora has a new collection of eye shadows out called Prisma Chrome shadows that caught my eye right when I walked in the other day.  I love when the packaging of products is appealing as well and these certainly fit the bill for that.

The shadows come in individual compacts with a half-raised sort of wave pattern.  So pretty!  The shadows themselves are billed as bringing together the best features of baked, powder and cream shadows.  To me, they seem more like powder shadows, but I have to admit, when I first started playing with them, I just thought they were going to be cream shadows, for some reason.  I was totally surprised when I felt their texture and it was more powdery.

The shadows are available in ten different shades ranging from an opalescent pink beige to a dark plum and I really like the color selection.  There wasn’t one that I wouldn’t have been happy taking home with me.  I tried out three different shades – Shimmery Sand 10 (a light golden sand), Gold Reflection 20 (a bright yellow gold) and Sapphire Shine 30 (a royal blue).  I really like the finish on these – they’re very shiny and pigmented and they reflect light fabulously.  I especially like the bolder shades; I don’t have any colors in my (far too) vast collection that are the same as Gold Reflection and Sapphire Shine has very few dupes as well.

They’re bright and fun and would totally work for a dramatic colorful look for a night out.  And at only $15 each, it’s an easily justifiable purchase.  In fact, I have to return something at the mall tonight and I’m thinking of stopping in Sephora and picking up the Burgundy Gem shade.  I deserve it!

There’s nothing more important than having your skin look as flawless as possible.  After all, if your skin doesn’t look good, no one will be able to get past that to check out your fabulous eye makeup!  One of the best ways to achieve the look of perfection is with MAKE UP FOR EVER’s new HD Complexion Starter Kit.  The Sephora exclusive contains a .17 ounce HD Microfinish Powder, a HD Kabuki Brush, a .5 ounce HD Microperfecting Primer, and a 1.01 ounce HD Invisible Cover Foundation.  I’ve used all these products and they’re all great individually, but together, they’re like Photoshop for your face.  I love how perfect the set makes my skin look and how well it photographs while I’m wearing them, especially since it’s not a lengthy process – I can do it in the morning in less than five minutes, so it’s super easy.

To celebrate the launch, MAKE UP FOR EVER is hosting its first ever open casting call to find the next model for their Unretouched ad campaign.  Women can create their own makeup look and then submit it for consideration here.  All of the finalists will get their photos posted on Facebook and the winner will be flown to NYC for a professional photo shoot in late February.

In addition, they’re also launching an interactive shade finder tool that’s made to help women find their perfect foundation match online.  Such a great idea since that’s always dicey without help, especially when a company offers as many different shades as MAKE UP FOR EVER.  Just go here to try it out for yourself.  Your skin will thank you!

I haven’t gotten a chance to see the new Muppets movie yet, which I’m really disappointed about because everyone I know who has seen it has raved about it.  But the only time I’ve gone to the movies lately, it was a choice between the Muppets and “The Descendants” and I’m sorry, Muppets, but Clooney wins in that scenario.  I’ll see it soon, but until then, I’ve been passing the time playing around with their new collection from OPI.  “The Muppets” is a set of 12 different polishes that were all inspired by the new movie and are out for the holiday season.  I love the collection because it’s filled with sparkly glitter shades and tons of color – not many neutrals here!  I love glitter polishes pretty much any time of the year, but I especially covet them this month when you can wear them to all of your fabulous holiday parties.  Also, OPI has the best names for shades.  They make me laugh out loud every time I read about new collections and this one is especially fun.  Here’s what you’ll find in the collection: (more…)

When it’s cold, I’m rigid about using body lotion as much as possible to keep my skin hydrated.  My current favorites all come from Pacifica’s Magic Carpet Ride set.

For $28, you get three full-sized Body Butters, so you’re saving almost half of what it would cost if you bought them separately.  And the scents are amazing.  The three included are Indian Coconut Nectar, Tuscan Blood Orange, and a new scent called Island Vanilla.  Seriously, you guys, they’re fabulous.  I sometimes catch myself just opening the cap and sniffing the lotion even if I’m not putting it on – they’re that good.  (I make sure to do it when no one’s around, so I don’t look like a crazy person!)  The body butters themselves are delightfully moisturizing without being greasy or oily, and since I love to layer my scents, I really enjoy that there’s matching body washes to go with them.  I love finding favorite new products!

Urban Decay never fails to wow me, especially around the holidays when their already impressive lineup always expands to include lots of fun sparkly makeup and tons of holiday gift sets.  This year is no exception.  There’s so many fun things to play around with, I almost didn’t know where to start when I picked them up.  (more…)

Shiny Happy Holiday is the heading on the press release for the new Essie luxeffects collection and it’s so perfectly apropos that I had to use it myself.  Luxeffects is a new collection of multi-dimensional top coats that Essie’s releasing for the holiday season.  They’re meant to be worn a number of different ways – you can wear them by themselves for a sheerer look or layer them over each other or shades you already own to create your own unique look.  It’s a relatively small collection with only five shades, but the colors are so pretty and feminine that you won’t feel like you’re missing anything.  Here’s what you’ll find in the collection:  (more…)

I never really thought that I liked matte lips, although admittedly I hadn’t tried on a matte lipstick in a very long time.  But recently, I got the chance to try some of Chanel’s new Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte Lip Colours and now I’m all over the matte trend.

One of the main reasons that I’d avoided matte shades is because I thought they’d be drying, but these aren’t at all.  They have as much moisture in them as all my “regular” lipsticks, so that fear was put to rest immediately.  There are eight shades total, ranging from a few bright colors to other, more subdued neutrals, which were my favorite of the bunch.  (Although shade 41 L’Exquise, a deep red wine shade, is probably my first pick out of the ones I tried.  It’s just so rich and sophisticated).  I like that all the shades are highly-pigmented – these aren’t lipsticks you’ll have to put three layers on to see any color, which is my pet peeve in a lot of lipsticks.  They’re vibrant and colorful right from the first touch.  I also like that although the finish is definitely matte and not glossy, it’s not a formula that settles into the lines on your mouth.  There are no Grandma lips here!  All in all, any of these would make a great addition to your lipstick wardrobe.  Plus, the case is so chic and I love the way you push on the bottom to get the lipstick out.  It means there’s no way that any of the shades will wind up all over the inside of your purse and since that just happened to me with another lipstick and ruined a bunch of things inside, I’m very happy about it.  I heart Chanel!