Woops Du Jour 3.23.10

Okay, so I said I would stop buying so much makeup, I knew that wouldnt happen. I do not know why I lie to myself.

I have wanted Penny Lane by NARS forever and I kept thinking about all the reasons I needed it, so that was what started this. Secondly, I was in Bloomingdale's last weekend with Steph and we tried the blue Estee Lauder liquid eyeshadow are were gaga over it. I couldn't think where I would wear blue eyeshadow and I still don't know, but I do know that I needed it. Even if I could only wear it around my apartment. While I was ordering the blue one, why not add the others? The formula was remarkable, it lasted on my hand for 2 days, with scrubbing!! Lastly, I blame Tali, AGAIN for the Dior diamond shimmer powder.

Dior 'Diorskin' Shimmer Star Pressed Powder Size: One Size Color: Amber Diamond 002 Style: 216596

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Estée Lauder 'Bronze Goddess' Liquid Eyeshadow Size: One Size Color: Aqua Flash Style: 295254

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Estée Lauder 'Bronze Goddess' Liquid Eyeshadow Size: One Size Color: Molten Bronze Style: 295254

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Estée Lauder 'Bronze Goddess' Liquid Eyeshadow Size: One Size Color: Sand Shimmer Style: 295254

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NARS Cream Blush Size: One Size Color: Penny Lane Style: 35310

What is on your summer beauty wish list?

Obsession Du Jour: Nudge 3.23.10

I have been overloaded with Pastel nail polishes and to be honest I am already a bit over them. As is life... Anyway, the lovely as ever Alex from Illamasqua and the voice behind their blog sent me a bottle of their new Pastel Nail Varnishes in the color Nudge.

Anyway, she sent this about a month or so ago and I had been staring at it for quite a while and never really tempted to put it on. Last week, I was urged by the gods above to paint my nails with it. I am SO happy i did. This is my absolute favorite nail polish color I think maybe ever. I know I know, that is a bold statement and possibly a bit of a hyperbole but I really am obsessed with it. It is a pastel but a bright pastel, it is a cross between aqua and mint, leaning toward aqua more. On the Illamasqua website they describe this as a "creamy mint ice cream". I do not find this to be accurate as I have tried China Glaze "Re-fresh Mint" and that is a true mint green, this definitely has a dash of aqua in it. The mint green color looks sickly and yellow next to this.

The formula is a very creamy opaque color, no shimmer or glitter and easy to apply. This might be one of my favorites to apply. I put it on with 2 thin coats and it is completely opaque. Something about this color is flattering on my beginning to tan skin.

The color is VERY hard to exactly capture. I took a few pictures in different lighting to give you an accurate idea.

Here it is on the Illamasqua website, it is the third from the left.


Here is a bottle on my messy counter with night lighting.


And lastly, here it is 1 week after application in the cab this morning... practically chip free, which for me is a huge achievement because I am rough on my hands and I love to pick at nail polish!


Thoughts? Will you be trying out Illamasqua Pastels?

Welcome Du Jour 3.22.10

I wanted to quickly welcome all my new readers! I am so glad you found my little piece of the interwebs that I call my own. I would love to hear what you all would like me to review, write about and generally babble on about.

Anyway, Welcome!

x

Trending Du Jour 3.18.10

Bonjour ladies, now that spring is officially here (it is 70 degree's in NYC today), I wanted to do a bit of trending for you all. Below are the big hits of the season and things to look out for in spring summer 2010! I am sure being the beauty mavens you all are, you know about 95% of this information. Heck, we start the trends here!


#1 The Ocean Rules.


Everyone from Lancome to La Mer to Laura Mercier is using sea derived extracts to up up thier beauty products. Examples of this are sea water in Laura Mercier's face cream, sea weed extract in Lancome's Face Bronzer and algae in Catwalk's mousse. Dive in!

#2 Blossoming Gardens.



I found this trend to span from fashion to beauty. First, Liberty floral prints made its way across the pond to Target and MAC. H&M is putting out a garden collection. In beauty news, Tweezerman is putting out a garden edition with dragonfly's and lady bugs. Super Cute! Dior is taking it a step further by using flower extracts from jasmine and roses in skin care. It even jumps into fragrance, Jo Malone is re-releasing their exclusive Rose Collection.

#3 Jewel of the Winter, Chinese Apple, Apple of Grenada... Pomegranate.


We all know the health benefits and the delicious factor of a pomegranate. Now beauty titans are calling on the ancient fruit for its restorative and protective quality's in skin care and fragrance. Marc Jacobs has a new splash perfume called pomegranate (I will be picking this up for sure!) Origins has a brightening peel pad using the acids from pomegranates. This even is trickling down to drugstore brands such as Aveno and Dove in the forms of body washes and body mists. I am in the mood for a Pomegranate now!

#4 On the Go.



It is all about women on the go, who have a fast pased, mulitasking lifestyle. The modern day Olympiad. Natura Bisse has the "Cure Sheer Cream", its tinted, deflected AVA, has water binding ingredients to hold moisture in and a silicone to smooth. Multipurpose at its best. Slap it on and you are out of the door. Bobbi Brown has a Brightening Face Base which is a lightening complex, and sun block (UVA and UVB). The drugstores have some great products in this category, Garnier has a brush delivering system that combines cell renewal with cleanser. Very cool! Neutrogena has a new face wipe cleanser, love them, that combines salicylic acids with menthol to cool you down and clear at the same time with a great new packaging.

#5 Get your Glow on.


Glowing Glowing Glowing. However, This is now the trend but I consider this a rule! Everyone from NARS, with his new Orgasm Illuminator to the new Tarina Tarantino Pearl Glow Primer to Sisley's Radiant Glow Mask. Everyone wants to look bright and glowing for the season. I am on board. I am interesting in trying out Avon's new Anew illuminating eye system, which is supposed to have short term and long term effects. I will be using my NARS multiple in Luxor and MAC MSF By Candlelight to get my glow on!

#6 Sugar Lips.


Its all about the Lips, but as if we didn't know that already. Lancome is out with thier L'Absolu Creme de Brilliance, Givenchy has a new lip stain, Chanel released their Coco Lip Color, Tarte's has a new Gel Lip Stains. We already have Illamasqua's super bright pigmented lipsticks and MAC staples. Pucker up, its all about bright color!

#7 Sweet Clementine.
Orange. EVERYWHERE. Where it be in the form of a coral or a peach nail polish. All shades, tones, derivative of orange colors are everywhere for this season. Lips, Nails, Shoes and Accessories. I am particularly fond of the cult classic Hermes Orange and my Illamasqua Over lipstick.

#8 Naked Nudity.

Neutrals! While orange is everywhere it is just an accent upon Neutrals. This again is spanning through bueaty to fashion. MAC's neutral centric collection called "Pret-a-Papier" to every designers palette of cement, cream, blush, nude, ivory, taupes and dove greys. I have been on the bandwagon for quite some time as have many of you with Nude Lipsticks and nude eyes.

What are you seeing as trends?
x

Inglotting Du Jour 3.17.10

You all are so interested in Inglot! Here is the rest of the Inglot purchases (minus what I have already showed you).


I really am loving this brand. I love the affordability, the range and the quality. I think this brand has a great opportunity to grow and expand in the US. I would liken it to a MAC sensibility. It has the same range of colors and finishes, however, I have not delved into the skin products and I highly doubt I will (I vowed to not test new foundation products to give my skin a well needed break after months of testing new products and wreaking havoc on my skin).

Lets start with the Lip products. I wanted to test out a range of products so I got the Sleek lip gloss, lipsticks, a holographic lip gloss and lip paints.


The three lip paints are on the left hand side and the two lipsticks are on the right. With one, lonesome, liquid eyeliner on the bottom (So pretty!). The lip paints are packaged similar to NARS lip lacquers but these blow NARS out of the water. Number 1 the smell is tolerable, even nice and pleasant, sort of a sweet something. I haven't quite put my finger on it. I am uber sensitive to bad smells. The pigmentation on these are out of the world, they are actually unbelievable. They also have a huge array of colors. I just picked up three.. FOR NOW!

Next up, lipsticks. The packaging is nice, nothing otherworldly, just plain black casing. The color array makes up for that. The colors and finishes are huge! I picked up two pinks, a medium cool toned pink and a very light baby pink. They have finishes that range from creams, sheers, to mattes and shimmers. The pigmentation is great, and the lasting power is fabulous. However, I do not find them very moisturizing. This is solved with a layer of a light lip balm underneath. My favorite for layering under lipsticks is Rosebud Salve. It absorbs really quickly.

Lastly, the holographic lip gloss. This needs its own post to accurately show the gorgeous-ness of this product. It is like a rainbow in a tube, my best friend and I were oooh-ing and aah-ing over it. I don't need more lip gloss but I needed this one because it was SO pretty. Its a pink color, and gives a sheer 3d effect, almost a plumping effect. This does not last a long time on your lips.

I will show you more of the lip products later on.


The hugest standout product is the eyeshadow. Wow, buttery smooth and soft, like silk. The pigmentation is UNREAL. The color array is VAST, dare I even say rivals MAC? They also have an amazing "freedom system" you can build your own palettes basically however you like, circle pans, square pans, 3 pan palettes, 5 pan palettes and of course singles. Look at the payoff from one swipe! On top of that, the price of a 5 pan FILLED palette is $22. You can not beat that. The brush is $8 extra, and I was initially like "Eh" as brushes in palettes are usually junky, but this one is great for touch ups on the go and the inner corners of your eyes.




PS- I finally found my perfect Gucci Purple!
Major Score!

What are your thoughts on Inlgot?
x

Style Du Jour 3.17.10

Christine Centerea, can you get any cooler?
This is my kind of outfit! Way to glam up a pair of sweatpants.

credit: stylescrapbook.com

x

Inglot Du Jour 3.16.10

Let me show, actually, tell you how dedicated also known as, obsessed with makeup I am. I will go to the tops of the mountain ranges and the bottom of the ocean's to try out and buy new makeup, not really, but you get the point!

Let me set the stage, Sunday afternoon, grey skies and pouring rain. After reading Tali's blog and Yinka's, which by the way if you don't read their blogs you are missing out, two of my absolute favorites. Between their biting wit, honest opinions, gorgeous faces and in depth reviews you will be hooked like I am. You can find Tali here and Yinka here. Anyway, after reading about them going on about Inglot I needed to go. I begged my best friend to come with me in the pouring rain, what a good best friend she is, as she agreed to come (later to purchase her own Inglot goodies). Thanks Stephy, your barbie pink lipstick looks wonderful on you, even after our Tracy Anderson butt kicking, I mean, workout.

Inglot is a new brand to hit the US beauty scene, there is only one store in the US so far and it is in Times Square. Ingot hails from Poland but has been in Europe for quite some time. Every time I travel to London for work I try to get over there and I never do. Such is life...

We dragged it up to Times Square, which by the way, if you are a native new yorker, you try to stay very, very far away from. The Inglot store is very brightly lit with TONS of colors and options. I could not even control myself I wound up staying only 20 minutes, but within that 20 minutes I whirled around wanted and buying everything in my way. You could call me a Tasmanian devil of sorts.

The prices are very reasonable, the colors are gorgeous and the formula's rival MAC. I haven't tried all the products yet but I will show you the two that I have been wearing and am loving right now.

Inglot's version of a Slim shine, its a glossy lipstick formula. It is a gorgeous, dare I say perfect baby pink but with the perfect amount of brightness. I am very pleased with this color and lasting power, for reference this is #56. The formula is soft, glossy and moisturizing, however it does take a few swipes to get a lot of pigment. Once you get the color onto your lips it is perfect though. This is good for the brighter colors that people may not want to be so pigmented.

The lip gloss is standout product, called their Sleek lip glosses. I went for the cream formulation. This is a gorgeous medium bright pink. very pigmented and long lasting. How genius is the packaging? I love it. You can compare this to Illamasqua's intense glosses. It doesnt have the color on the tube, which is a negative because once I throw out the box I wont know what color it is. Annoying!




I was trying to capture a truer representation of the actual color. Although, the picture quality isn't the best, this most accurately represents the color.

On my lips, I don't know what happened to this picture. Little bugger...

Literally, the only negative thing I have to say is the sales associates were not up to par as lets say a MAC SA. They were not particularly knowledgeable or willing to help. They kind of stood around. I like sales associates not to be up in my face but when i actually ask for help just to buy something and they are still dozing off that is a bad sign!

All in all this is a fabulous brand, I cant wait to share more products with you that I got, such as the eye shadows, the freedom palettes, the lipsticks, the lip paints and more glosses!

Have any of you tried this out yet? Thoughts?

x

Skincare du Jour 3.16.10

Gisele is gracing us with her gorgeous face and body on the cover of Vogue this month and her fabulous post- baby body. It is confirmed...she is an alien!

Gisele, whom just launched her beauty line called Sejaa Pure Skincare. Sejaa consists of three products, a day cream, a night cream and a mud mask. Gisele tells Vogue that her production and manufacturers "were ready to kill me. I wanted the cream to be organic — they explained that if it's organic, it's alive, and that means it can't survive for a long time." What this means is that when a beauty product is organic it can not have preservatives, therefor it goes bad really quickly. Her line is now called natural and eco- friendly, instead of organic. Semantics! Gisele also promises "Thoughtful packaging and recycled paper", I like the sound of this. The slogan on her site "Love Life, Love your skin". Let see about that...

An initial look through the site it seems pretty pricey at $70 for day cream and night cream. However, the site says one jar will last 2 months. That is $35 per month, reasonable! Another, thing I see initially that she has integrated videos onto her site! I wonder if she will update this with uses and results or what. Could be interesting!

To find out more about Gisele's skincare line check out http://www.sejaa.com/ I know I will be. I would pay an arm and a leg to look like Gisele, for some reason I believe that unless I was born in Brazil I will have no chance of that!

Will you guys try this? What are your thoughts on celebrity created products?

x

Heaven Du Jour 3.15.10

While out shopping with my best friend yesterday, in the rain, (Not a smart idea but definitely garnered A LOT of laughs) we wandered into Bloomingdales. I had been meaning to try out Creme De Pistache Souffle by Laura Mercier forever. I am a huge fan of her bath and body line along with her fragrances.

Anyway, one whiff of that and I was sold. It is a hard smell to describe but I will do my best. This is one of those fragrances that stops you your tracks upon first sniff. It smells like a more luxurious, unctuous, version of Body Shop's Nut Butter (which I am a fan of. ) The name pistachio is a is however a bit misleading as it is more of a vanilla/ almond smell. Have you ever smelled Marzipan desert? It is very similar to that. This Vanilla Almond is laced with a smell of hazelnut and praline. I also smell a touch of marshmallow or custard. I know this sounds super sweet but it is actually cut with an underlying floral of some sorts. I find this smell to be very unique as this is a distinctively different vanilla due to the nutty scent.

The lasting power on this baby is out of this world, this will last you many hours or through the night. I put it on last night and woke up smelling it this morning. I personally like that, someone that likes a more subtle scent might disagree. I would not recommend layering a perfume with this because it would compete with the cream's scent. The texture is heavy but light at the same time, souffle is a very appropriate name. I like how soft this is without being greasy. It absorbs quickly but leaves you feeling moisturized and satisfied.

The downside? The price, $55 is a lot for a cream. However, this is a true luxury and meant for special occasions kind of cream. I absolutely adore this. I think if Heaven is a place, I am sure that this is what it smells like!

Have you tried out Laura Mercier's Body Souffles? What did you think?

Hair Du Jour 3.13.10

A woman's hair is their crowning glory correct?

I get a TON of questions about my hair, from my blog, to at work to on the the street. Let me tell you something, I have VERY difficult hair. It has taken me a long time, probably around 10 years to learn how to properly and efficiently deal with it. I have always been envious of girls with that shiny glassy poker straight hair. Alas, mine in course, frizz, wavy/ curly and VERY thick. Every time I go to the salon at least one person says "Wow, you have a lot of hair", thanks Captain Obvious!

Anyway, I am going to share some tips and tricks to the way I have learnt to deal with my hair. I wish someone told me these things when I was young dealing with wavy/ curly hair!

First, Let me show you some pictures of my hair. Remember, This is after I learnt how to deal with the bane of my existence... frizz! Oh the horror! However, I chose a variety of pictures so that you can get a clear idea of my texture and amount of hair and the different personalities it can take on.










Now I feel you have an accurate understanding of my hair, it is very voluminous and wild. However, I have learnt to love and embrace it. This is how.

#1 Blow dryers are NOT your friend, when I was younger I spent hours trying to blow dry my hair straight. What a waste of time, It never got that pink straight look I was going for.

#2 Over Use of Flat Irons will kill your hair, I know from experience, after the years of wasted blow drying I jumped on the Flat Iron bandwagon. I ironed my hair to death, it became damage. Have damaged hair is not appealing no matter if you have straight hair. Finally, I learnt to put the flat iron down! I think I needed to join Flat Iron Anonymous. I am serious.

#3 Hot Rollers are your BEST FRIEND (large barrel curlers work too). For me, Hot rollers work magic on my hair, save me hours of time and give me a glamorous yet controlled curls or waves depending on my goal for the day.

#4 Condition Condition Condition. My favorite conditioner currently comes from Bumble and Bumble and it is from the "Mending Line". Kerastase is an old stand by, very spendy but very worth it. I love how it treats my hair. A drug store line that I like is Aussie 3 Minute Miracle. I always have a bottle or 2 of this around.

#5 Give your hair a break. Let is air dry and hang out whenever you can! I always let my hair air dry. Then I go an use my curlers.

#6 When you really feel the need to straighten it, be CAREFUL. Still let it air dry if possible, use a heat protectant and dont spend hours going over and over and over the strands. Poor guys!

#7 And this is the most important, Learn to love what you wear born with. Yes, very cliche, but true. As I said when I was younger I think I might have given an arm to have that poker straight hair. You know what Im talking about, that blonde cornsilk hair that no one besides Midwestern girls have. Well now I wouldn't give up my hair for anything, I love the waves, the volume, the bed head and the overall look of it now.


Let me know how you deal with your hair!

Hope this helped some of you curly haired ladies out there. I wish someone told me all this when I was younger. If anyone has specific questions, please ask!

x

Beauty Secrets Du Jour 3.11.10

I was talking to a co-worker and today and we were discussing beauty secrets. I figured this would be a great post for you all. They are not all specifically makeup tips but beauty in general.

Below is my beauty secret countdown.

10. Kosher Salt. Odd, I know, I use this mixed with Vaseline as a great lip exfoliant. I also mix with olive oil for a facial scrub. This might be harsh for some but I love it, makes my skin like a baby's bottom. This is a great, cheap substitute for my favorite Lush Ocean Salt scrub. Try it out.

9. Laughing. I know this sounds SO cheesy, and if you knew me in person you would know I am anti-cheese. I hate cheese besides the edible kind, that I love. Anyway, there is nothing better than sitting with your best friend and having a gut-busting, knee slapping crazy laughing fit over nothing. Number one, this literally gives you a facial and ab workout (There have been times where I sit with my best friend tears rolling down my face and my cheeks hurting from laughing so hard!), second of all, laughing relieves stress therefor will ultimately decrease signs of aging! In my book this is a WEAPON!

8. Orange toned concealer. This is pretty well known but honestly I would probably never face the world without it. It banishes the blue outta my under-eye circles. I am particularly fond of Makeup Forever's #15. You can also dab an orange based lipstick on under your eyes. I know it sounds bizarre but it works, I know, I have tried it!

7. Coconut Oil. I will sum it up quickly. Cuticle Oil. Hair Mask. Leg Sheen. Moisturizer for your body. Lip Balm. Split end treatment. I always keep a tub in my fridge. Organic Virgin Coconut Oil.

6. Coral Lipstick, nothing wakes up your entire complexion like a pop of a universally flattering coral. This could be an orange coral or a pink coral based on your undertones, but there is one out there for you. The most universally flattering one I have found in my search has been Lancome's Chris and Tell. This is a winner!

5. White Eyeliner, not used conventionally of course. We all know the white on the water line trick but that is not what I am talking about here ladies. This is a good one that I learnt a long time ago and have never forgotten it. I use NYX eye pencil in milk for this. I dot it along my under eyes after concealer and then blend with a concealer brush. This is the most effective way that I have learnt to illuminate the under eye circles that seem to never go away on me!

4. Water- Cleansing, purifying, moisturizing. I find when I am feeling sluggish and dull looking, downing tons of water fixes that in a pinch.

3. Vaseline! This is a wonder product. This is great at removing the most stubborn eye makeup. I use it to moisturize my knees, elbows and lips. Lastly, thanks to Laura of Lollipop26's blog I have used this to make my perfume last longer. One more great use for the long living Vaseline.

2. Not to follow trends. What I mean by this is, you must and really have to know what looks good and you and stick with it. I live by this, I embrace and love trends however, I know that purple does not work on my lips, no matter how much I love it!

1. GREEN TEA. I know semi weird but green tea is the elixir to my life. I have a few uses, number one I drink a glass every morning to wake me up and get my metabolism (can also be used as a natural laxative, gross I know.) moving. In the winter I drink it hot and in the summer I brew it and put it in a big plastic thing and turn it into iced tea, it is AMAZING with peaches in it or lemon. Green tea has powerful antioxidants and is fat free, it also is the only tea that has been proven to have weight loss effects, always a plus. The second way I use it is in the morning two wet tea bags on my eyes, de-puffs in an instant from the caffeine, the natural way. Now, I am VERY picky about my green tea, it must be a certain brand, AUTHENTIC green tea, no celestial seasons crap! My most trusted brand is YAMAMOTOYAMA. It is the PURE green tea, this is a murky opaque green, its the good ish! Google it, buy it! You can find it HERE. I actually buy it in bulk, 90 bags for $14.50

I would love to hear your comments and your own suggestions.
I hope you have found this useful!

x

Obsession Du Jour Creamsheens 3.11.10

I have been trying to stay away from MAC, unsuccessfully of course!

Anyway, I was so excited to hear my favorite lipgloss was being re-promoted. Creamsheens! In general I am not a lipgloss lover, too messy and sticky! However,I love this forumlation, it is creamy, smooth and not sticky. It does not last that long on your lips but that is okay because I like re-applying it, the smell is yummy! It is the classic vanilla but not saccharine sweet, more like a warmed muted vanilla. very pleasing and not overpowering.

My favorite color is Fashion Scoop, which I have already, it reminds me of EZ BABY tendertone which is my favorite product on earth that I never use because I am afraid of running out.
Anyway, I picked up Just Superb and Richer luster.

Just Superb on Top and Fashion Scoop on Left. I forgot Richer Luster at home! Will swatch later for you guys!

I am going to get another Fashion Scoop and Richer Luster, they are just so amazing.

Fashion Scoop: Baby Pink
Just Superb: Medium Pink, looks my lips but better
Richer Luster: Soft creamy coral, LOVE!

I also picked up In Synch Lip liner, its a baby pink lip liner. Pretty.

Did anyone get anything recently from MAC?

x

Top 10 Favorite Products Du Jour 3.10.10

What are my favorite 10 of all time go to products?
That is tough because I have a bathroom filled to the brim of beauty products but here it goes.

- Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer
- Lancome Bi-Facil makeup remover
- YSL Faux Cils Mascara
- Shu Uemura Lipstick in BG907
- Shu Uemura Eyeshadow (I don't know the color it wore off, it is a very light taupe)
- MAC Creamsheen lipgloss in Fashion Scoop
- MAC lipstick in HUE
- YSL Rouge Volupte #2 Sensual Silk
- NARS Laguna Bronzer
- Lancome Artliner in Black
- MAC Slimshine in Missy ( Discontinued- MAC, sometimes I hate you!)
- MUFE Aqua Eyes eyeliner crayon
- MAC Otherworldy Blush- which is discontinued and I hate that more than anything.

That was 13! Whoops! I can not narrow it down, if I had to move to an island and only have the above I would be very happy. maybe I should throw everything away but the above? No way!

What are your favorite, cant live without products?

x

Skin Routine Update and Secrets 3.9.10

I have been getting quite a few emails regarding my skin routine and makeup on an everyday basis. It has changed a little bit but not much since I now know it which makeup and skin products were wreaking havoc on my skin.

I will first start with my skincare morning, makeup and then night.

I know some of you will gasp but I only was my face once a day, and that is at night. When I wake up I splash cold water on my face and use Cetaphil Moisturizer and thats it. I have very dry skin so washing two times a day dries my skin out. Next comes the make up!

Foundation (Only one of the below, depending on the day):

• Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer (NOT the Oil Free one)
• Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer- In the warmer months usually with a slight tan.
• Chanel VitaLumiere- For night time, fancier occasions or a bad skin day when I want coverage. NOTE: this is for drier skin types. People will Oily Skin will HATE this.
• MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Medium or Medium Plus when I don't need or want makeup on.
• Make Up Forever Concealer
• NARS Laguna Bronzer

That's it for makeup on the skin. Next, Removal, Cleansing, Exfoliating and Moisturizing.

To take off my makeup, I use a makeup removing wipe( Neutrogena, I personally hate the MAC ones. I think they are greasy and gross) and I use Vaseline or Lancome Bi-Facil on my eye makeup. Vaseline is a skin secret I learned from a woman in her 50's with the best skin I have ever seen. It is my sisters friends mother and she said she never uses anything drying around her eyes, only Vaseline to remove makeup. It works like a dream. It will break down ANY makeup.

To cleanse I use Bliss Clog Dissolving Milk, I love this, gentle, effective and smells amazing. I use Cetaphil Cleanser when I am not wearing a lot of makeup, sometimes I feel that this can not break everything down if I am wearing a heavier foundation like Chanel.

To exfoliate I love Lush Ocean Salt. This is something I have bought over and over, this is an exfoliator that is a bit harsher. I personally love harsh exfoliators but again that will depend on your personal preference and skin type. This scrub makes my skin baby soft and smooth.

Lastly, I put on Cetaphil moisturizer again let it soak in. When I get into bed I use Dr. Haschuka's Rose Cream as a night time cream and Lancome's eye cream. I use Terry's Baume De Rose on my lips- LOVE this! very expensive but SO worth it!

For me, this is the perfect routine, I have been using this for over 2 months with zero breakouts or any problems. I do not see myself changing in the future.

I would love to hear about all of your routines! Please share!

x

Review: The Socializer by Elizabeth Grant 3.8.10

Elizabeth Grant's PR contacted me and offered to send me a prodcut for review and I obliged.
I researched the company and found out it was a skin company, I was hesitant because everyones skin is different so how would she know what to send me? She did not ask me any questions about my skin type.

I forgot about it and about 2 weeks later i got a package with "The Socializer" inside.



The packaging was very cute, however that is where it ends beacuse as soon as I opened it one of the tubes was damaged and broken. Right off the back that is a huge signal to me, POOR QUALITY packaging! That is a big turn off to me. It almost made me want to throw it right out, I hate having broken things laying around.


I decided to give it a go, however as soon as I clicked the button to get the product out it oozed out of the cracked packaing.




Gross.

Anyway, I used it for 3 nights with no difference in under eye circles or puffiness. For me, this product was a big fail and I would not be interested in looking further into it. I know this is quite harsh but there are tons of products out there, they have to be quality for me to like it.

However, if you are interested in this product below is the information from the website.

"The Socializer™ Bright Lights (AM)

Late night last night? No problem. With The Socializer™ Bright Lights you can go straight from owning the bar to owning the boardroom. It’s all the hydrating, cooling, soothing, de-puffing, dark-circle-erasing, illuminating action we could fit into one tiny tube.
How to use: AM: Apply 1-2 clicks to the under eye area after cleansing and gently massage in.

The Socializer™ Late Nights (PM)

From flashing lights to goodnight, The Socializer™ Late Nights is your key to looking like it never happened. It’s your too-much-fun-too-little-sleep remedy; apply before you crash and wake up looking like you slept like a baby.
How to use: PM: Apply 1-2 clicks to the under eye area after cleansing and gently massage in.

Technology: Ulva Lactuca– a unique algae that helps improve the skin's elasticity and support fibers Matrixyl– increases collagen synthesis, reduces the appearance of wrinkles, regenerates skin Allantoin- relieves irritated skin, healing Chamomile- soothes and calms the skin"


Has anyone tried anything from Elizabeth Grant they like?

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and I am back! 3.7.10

Hello Ladies, apologies for my absense. Between fashion week and market and the snow storms I had come down with Pneumonia! I am all better now and back....

Anyway, I just wanted to point out one trend that I will NOT be partaking in...pastel hair!
Pastel nails? yes. Pastel Lips? Yes. Pastel Hair? Hell to the No!


What about you?

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