Makeup

I always forget just how very much I love Chanel until I get my hands on their new products and then I fall in love all over again.  And that’s exactly how I feel about the items I tried from their new summer collection – in love.  (more…)

Don’t let the compact packaging of Lancome’s new limited edition Star Bronzer Aquastick fool you- it’s a classic example of great things coming in small packages.  In fact, the super portable nature of the packaging is just one of the reasons why this product is so genius.  Here are some others:

- The sheer color makes accidentally over bronzing virtually impossible
- The silky gel formulation is super blendable and naturally radiant- no more of that flat, matte powder bronze
- Controlled and clean application with the gel stick, no loose powders all over your clothes
- No tools needed to apply
- And what I love most about this product: the ‘aqua’ in ‘Aquastick’ is for real. Applying this product feels like a burst of cool water on your face and is incredibly refreshing for a hot summer day

It’s easy to see why this is my favorite new bronzer of the season- and perhaps of all time.  Obsessed indeed!  To find out more, check out Lancome’s official website.

Given this mushy, grey New York spring we’re having, I couldn’t be more ready for a bronzed, hot summer.  Lately I’ve been reaching for the NARS summer collection where I’m really loving the warm earth tones and shimmers as well as the complementary color purple, which has turned out to be one of the biggest makeup trends this season.

My favorites from the collection are the Ramatuelle Trio Eyeshadow (silver, icy peach, warm apricot), The Calabria Soft Touch Shadow Pencil (shimmering plum), Buenos Aires Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil (nude beige pink) and the Trouville Nail Polish (seashell pink). As you can tell from my picks from the collection, I am really loving a nude face with a flash of purple on the lids.  (more…)

Can you believe it’s already time for summer makeup?  I know it’s May and in theory, I should be not at all surprised that all the summer collections are everywhere, but I still am.  I feel like spring just flew by, plus I’m in NJ at the moment for a wedding and it’s chilly and raining, so summer doesn’t seem to be here at all.  Luckily, I got my hands on two of the new Smashbox summer releases to warm me up and get me excited for the coming season.

The Shades of Fame Reflection High Shine Lip Gloss Set is a collection of five new lipglosses just begging to be worn with a bathing suit.  They definitely live up to the shiny name, which I enjoy in a gloss, and they come in a nice range of colors – everything from hot pink to a bronze to a lighter pink perfect for the daytime.  I really like the hot pink shade.  My two favorite colors this summer are shaping up to be orange/coral and hot pink, so that one will slide nicely into the rotation.

The Shades of Fame Eye Palette & Brush is also new for summer and looks a lot like the Softbox Eye Palette from earlier this year, but with different shades of shadow.  The Softbox palette had more neutral shades in it though – this one has some neutrals in it as well, but it also has a few brighter shades that are fun to play around with and use as accent colors.  (I’m especially digging the olive green and teal shades).  You can create a ton of different looks with the colors included, so it’s nice to take along on a trip.  I also really like the two shades of cream liner that come inside and the Mini Photo Finish Lid Primer that’s included too.  They’re all welcome additions that make it easy to tote around and get a complete eye look with.  Just add mascara and you’re all set to go!

Stila’s palettes are some of my favorites around because they always have a ton of great shades in them and they’re never outrageously priced.  You know how sometimes you see a makeup product on the shelves and get all excited and then see how much it’s going to cost and realize that it’s not coming home with you?  That almost never happens to me with Stila and it makes me like them even more.  I’ve been playing around with their In The Garden Palette for awhile now and I’m loving it as much as the similar In The Light Palette that I bought months ago and have used a ton.  It’s the same style palette, just with different shades, and while the In The Light Palette leaned towards neutral shades, In The Garden has a few neutrals accented with bold shades that give you a bright pop of color when you use them.

Juniper is probably my favorite shade in the palette.  It’s a deep, shimmery forest green and it’s just super pretty.  It’s perfect for a twist on the classic smoky eye using green instead of black or grey.  I also really like the other green shade, Moss, because it’s a lighter olive green with shimmer so it’s more work appropriate.  There’s also a very pretty deep violet-blue called Freesia that I really like because it makes my green eyes pop when I use it.  The great thing about the palette is that you can use the lighter neutral shades to accent the brighter ones or to tone them down if you’d like, so it’s really a great palette to travel with since it gives you so many options.  (I actually have both In The Garden and In The Light with me on a trip at the moment.  I just couldn’t leave them behind!)  Both palettes retail for only $39, which is a great price for ten different shades.  Pick one (or both!) of them up for yourself – you won’t regret it!

It’s crazy to me that we’re already seeing a lot of summer collections in stores because I haven’t even begun to play around with all the fabulous spring collections that I have.  It’s not summer yet, people!

Bobbi Brown’s Brightening Nudes collection is new for spring and it’s one you’re not going to want to zoom past on your way to the hot and lazy days of summer.  First of all, the Sparkle Eye Shadows.  Oh, the Sparkle Eye Shadows!  As someone who loves playing around with sparkle in my makeup, I adore these.  They’re available in four shades – Ballet, a light pink glitter, Mica, a heather grey sparkle, Silver Moon, a light silver glitter and Sunlight, a golden glitter.  (more…)

I’ve been obsessed with Butter London’s polishes since I first started using them (I’ve gone through THREE bottles of All Hail the Queen!) so I was beyond excited when I heard that they were branching out into lipgloss, especially once I found out that they were going to be in the same shades as some of their most popular polishes.  They’re starting off with five shades and I finally got my hands on three of them (I might’ve shrieked like a little girl when I opened the package).

I tested out Teddy Girl, a pale retro bubblegum pink, Trout Pout, a creamy peach-cantaloupe color and Primrose Hill Picnic, a tropical fuchsia pink.  All three of them were nicely pigmented and they’re moisturizing without being too sticky.  There is nothing I hate more than a sticky gloss that makes my hair weld to it in the wind.  That drives me insane and luckily, these past the breeze test.  I really like that the glosses aren’t see thru – for $17, I want my gloss to come with color and these definitely do that.  They do have a strong scent to them – I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is, but make sure you like it before you buy one because it lingers on your lips for awhile.  I really love how close Butter London was able to make the colors to their polish counterparts – when they’re next to each other, they’re virtually identical, which is good news because their shade selection has always been fabulous.  Now they just really, really need to make an All Hail the Queen gloss for me.  Pretty please?

Dolce & Gabbana’s Spring 2012 makeup collection features all the bright and joyful colors that make up a spring bouquet. My first impression was that the makeup collection pays homage to all the signature vibrant floral prints that the designers are known for. The colors are inspired by the colors of a pretty Italian summer and the brand’s spokesperson/model Felicity Jones adds a very classic, 50s feel to the campaign. (more…)

If “long wear” leaves you thinking about tough makeup with a dry finish, you’re in for a real treat with Bobbi Brown’s newest Long-Wear Eye Collection.  The collection, which features 6 eye liners, 5 new cream shadows, and an amazing new mascara delivers long lasting color with a silky texture that’s extremely comfortable to wear. (more…)

Just got a tip from green celebrity nail stylist Jenna Hipp that she used HIPPxRGB Nail Foundation F2 topped with Nail Tint T1 on the lovely Scarlett Johansson at The Avengers premiere this week. (See “More” for a photo of Scarlett’s nails.) The result? A perfectly matched nude polish.

If you’re as deeply in love with nude nail polish as I am, this is amazing because it’s often really hard to find a nude polish that matches your skin tone. This is also why I’m obsessed with the HIPPxRGB collection. It’s the first line of skin-tone specific, full coverage, all nude nail color, conceived with the idea that nude polish should match your nails—kind of like foundation or tinted moisturizer matches your face. (more…)