First Blog Sale Coming Soon (UPDATE)

Photo credit: Laura Mercier Fall 2009 (Fresco)

I dislike clutter, so it is time for some heavy editing. I must first gather all the items together for photos, but sometime next week, I'll be putting up my first (and probably only) blog sale. I've accumulated far too many products, most of which I've barely touched and some of which are completely unused.

Among the brands slated for departure are: Becca, Benefit, Bobbi Brown, Edward Bess, Chanel, Chantecaille, Dior, Ellis Faas, Guerlain, Jane Iredale, Lancome, MAC, Make Up For Ever, Trish McEvoy, Laura Mercier, Le Metier de Beaute, Paul & Joe, Rock & Republic, Rouge Bunny Rouge, Smashbox, Stila, Three Custom Colors, Urban Decay, and Vincent Longo.

I shall let go without a backward glance. No remorse, no regrets. So stay tuned and help save me from myself.

---

UPDATE:

Given my spectacularly bad planning (what was I thinking slipping in a blog sale on a major US holiday weekend), I will put the blog sale up on Tuesday. That seems most fair.

Sonnet on a Teak Rose

Photo credit drugstore.com

Despite my appreciation for wearing higher-end nail polishes on my tootsies, I thought it high time that I bow down to the humble little Revlon Teak Rose 161 Nail Enamel ($4.79).

I've been wearing this color (a mid toned berry with faint brown undertones) since the mid 90s, and I have repurchased it at least a half dozen times in the ensuing years. Every time I wear it, I get compliments. You know that one color that just complements your skin tone so well? That's what Teak Rose does for me.

So I thought I'd write a little love poem to honor it (borrowing heavily from the bard with the beard).

Sonnet on a Teak Rose

Shall I compare thee to a pink-tongued cat?
Thou art more shiny and more delicate.
Wet sands do chip my glossy rose-toned tips,
And top coat's layer hath all too short a stay.
Sometimes too fast the product line may change,
And often is my pink complexion trounced;
And every product from brand sometimes may range,
By chance ... or Marketing's changing research bounced;
But thy eternal beauty shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that gloss thou ow'st;
Nor shall break the perfect ten thou hath made;
When in eternal days to wait thou grow'st:
So long as women breathe and nails do click,

So long lives this and this gives joy to me.

Revlon applies smoothly and lasts as long as my favorite high-end brands. I get 2-4 weeks of wear if I am not spending an inordinate time walking barefoot in the sand.

I love rosy nails. butter LONDON's nail polish in Dahling (reviewed here) is nipping at Teak Rose's heels for also being a gorgeous rose shade, but only just barely. Teak Rose never fails to flatter.

What is your ONE favorite nail polish color?

The Nude Makeup Invasion

Part 2 of the "I Don't Get It" series.

Photo credit: Three Custom Colors

I bet this post either generates my first hate comments or porn spammers. That's OK because I. Just. Don't. Get. It.

Photo credit: Three Custom Colors

Really? A must have? One lipstick for ALL skin tones? Um ... I'll pass, m'kay thanks, buh-bye.

To be sure, the models in Three Custom Colors' ad are beautiful--in fact, I think the model in the center is the makeup artist, Lauren Napier, who designed the Nude Attitude lipstick. And even though I appear to be picking on 3CC, I assure you I am not--they make gorgeous, skin-flattering makeup for a wide variety of skin tones, and they did an outstanding job duplicating a beloved discontinued lipstick for me. I applaud what they do, but I slam on the brakes when I am told that any season's must have is a faceful of silly putty.

If you're over 40 you know what this is

Why do so many beautiful women want to wash out all their features and wear, essentially, concealer as lipstick? Especially matte nude lipstick. I don't get it.

I'm actually a big fan of the "no-makeup" makeup look and I wear a great deal of natural-looking makeup that extends colors found naturally in my skin, hair, eyes, lips, teeth, freckles, veins, blood, bruises, and so on. It's one reason I like Ellis Faas, Laura Mercier, Bobbi Brown, and other brands that provide "naturalists" with plenty of options. As far as truly natural goes, how many of us have truly no pigmentation in our lips? Who of us wants to have our lips match our chin, and why do some of us so ardently erase all traces of natural lip pigmentation with a primer or concealer, just so we can wear a lipstick that is lighter than our lips?

Flame me with comments if you like, but I am going to go out on a limb and say I think nude lips make most women look like corpses, or at the very least, really really exhausted. If you want to wear dramatic eyeshadow and play down your lips, what about just wearing clear gloss or balm on naked lips? Or what about wearing a lip color with more pigment and then blotting it down to a stain?

Let's look at a well-known actor whose nude lips are internationally celebrated and imitated:

Really?? Aside from the distracting eyelashes from outer space and teal eyeshadow, her lips look like two slabs of fish. Compare the washed-out photo to the next one of her wearing eyeshadow with a bit of contrast to her copper-colored eyes and, yes, RED lipstick:

Photo credit: L'Oreal Infallible 2011 ad

Hello, gorgeous. Yes, yes, I realize her face has been Photochopped for the L'Oreal ad, while the first picture was probably not enhanced one bit, but still. The contrast between lips and skin in the second image makes her look alive, not undead. She looks like someone I'd want to know, whereas if I saw her walking down the street in that first picture, I doubt I'd even look twice because everything about her blends together into one big bucket of blah.

I believe that the women who can get away with a nude look look (and notice I said "get away with," not "rock") are those with extremely low contrast between their skin, lips/eyes, and (ideally) their natural hair color: Heather Locklear, Naomi Watts, Beyonce, Reese Witherspoon, Halle Berry, Kate Hudson, Nicole Richie, Renee Zellweger, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rhianna, Taylor Swift, etc.

Jennifer Lopez is not low contrast. Her eyes and hair are dark, and her skin tone is medium.

J-Lo looks beautiful in both of the following pictures, but when she wears nude lipstick, the bottom half of her face disappears into her neck. On the other hand, the red lipstick—while dramatic and too high in chroma—brightens her face. Whether it's the lipstick, the lighting, the face-softening curl, or the photographer's skills, Jennifer looks happier in the red, more confident, more approachable. The image on the left is demurely "ice princess" and aloof, not as approachable.

Photo credit people.com

As for the low contrast women I mentioned above, I don't think nude lipstick is a good look on Gweneth Paltrow, either. I was not a fan of the purply-goth look she sported a few years back, either, but can't she find a happy medium? A touch more pigment in a shiny peached-rose lipstick would do wonders for her clear complexion.

Photo credit Harper's Bazaar

I am biased toward reds and roses, so it should come as no surprise that I find each of the following women to appear needlessly beige. They don't have to wear a Hollywood red, and the lipstick need not be much darker than what they're wearing below. As an example, I'd apply a sheer coral on Carrie (who has more contrast than the other two women), clear, warm rose on Taylor, and a blushed peach on Gwyneth. All three could easily wear a clear red, but it would have to be sheer so as not to overpower their natural lightness. 

Photo credit: stylelist.com

Let's take a look at another celebrity who is celebrated for her nude lips: Angelina Jolie. I realize it can be hard to find fault with anything about her face, so let's just pick on the nude lips.

Tired:

Photo credit dirt.com

Vibrant: I would skip the gloss, which makes the red too high in chroma for her soft coloring, but she wears the pigment well, especially because her other makeup (brown eyeshadow and eyeliner) is so understated.

Which look do you prefer?

Photo credit beautysnob.com

Angelina's hair is darker on the left, so perhaps if she wore the red in that image and wore the nude in the photo on the right, where her hair is lighter, her chosen makeup colors would harmonize more with her face. The red is also too warm (orange) for her cool-neutral coloring.

Although this article has been a decry against nude lipstick, I want to be clear that, even though I love red lips and truly believe there is a red for everyone—whether it's brick or strawberry or tomato or watermelon or coral or raspberry—it is important to consider the temperature of our skin's undertone (hue), chroma (level of saturation) and value (whether we are light, dark, or somewhere in between) to find our best red ... or nude.

If you are a great admirer of Angelina's softer look, she is purportedly a huge fan of Chantecaille’s Brilliant Lip Gloss in Charm (almost always out of stock) and Love. Charm is a nude-peach shade with a hint of shimmer. Love contains a hint more pink.

I'd love to know your thoughts about the whole nude invasion, so speak freely.

All photos taken by me when I was hangin' out with my girls on the red carpet. Not.

Beauty Spotlight 06.26.2011

Welcome to the Beauty Spotlight. Every other week our beauty blog team shines a spotlight on our favorite posts. We'll bring you the latest and greatest, the tried-and-true, and the most fun-to-find beauty products worldwide.

This week our lovely team of bloggers helps you conceal, bronze, get ready in a flash, and even throw your hat in the ring to win some great beauty loot.

• Beauty Crazed wants you to win the prettiest blush in the whole wide world from Lancôme - as a matter of fact, they think they are so nice they are giving away 5 of them so enter to snag one of your own!

• Dan Read eyeshadows and liners are among Lisa's favorite makeup products on Beauty Info Zone. 

• Modesty Brown talks about the make-up she reaches for in those crisis moments with only five minutes to get out of the door. She invites you to share your ready-in-a-flash favourites too. Should we mention the handbag toast?

• Zuzu's Petals at Everyday Beauty found her perfect blush AND bronzer with Rouge Bunny Rouge Blush in Delicata and Gracilis. 

• Over at Lipstick Musings, Shannon gets a serious shock when she lives on the edge and tries Rouge Dior lipstick in #786, Mysterious Mauve. 

• London Makeup Girl is holding a giveaway competition for a 6 week supply of Help: Clear Skin Supplements here: Help: Clear Skin giveaway . The giveaway closes on 01 July. 

• Got a lemming for some insanely gorgeous (not to mention delicious) summer lip colors? Jeanie over at Makeup Merriment may have just what you need- Le Metier de Beaute's newest limited edition creation: Ecumes D'Or Lip Kaleidoscope.

• Have you heard of Birchbox? It is a monthly sample-subscription gift box of fabulous deluxe sized samples. See what Pammy Blogs Beauty got in her June Birchbox!

• Hop on over to Perilously Pale for your chance to win some Rouge Bunny Rouge products! 

• Styrch swatches a gazillion lip colors of a product totally new to the Pretty in Dayton area. Hint: Christna Aguilera's uses it!

• At Prime Beauty Cindy has been channeling her former Hippie Chick with the BECCA Halcyon Palette. She'll give a hint ... she thinks it's groovy! Don't forget to enter her giveaway (Skindinavia Makeup Finishing Spray), too

• On her seemingly endless search for the perfect under eye concealer, Visionary Beauty puts Diorskin Nude Skin Perfecting Hydrating Concealer to the test.

Rouge Bunny Rouge When Birds Are Singing Long-lasting Eyeshadow in Delicate Hummingbird

Rouge Bunny Rouge Long-lasting Eyeshadow in Delicate Hummingbird (£22.00/2.4 grams) is described as a cool, dusky sugar-frosted plum, iridescent with pink shimmer. I definitely see that and I hope you do, too in the photos that follow.

There is nothing boring about this color in the pan. I'd heard it bordered on taupe, but maybe I dreamed that because Delicate Hummingbird does not seem particularly taupe to my eye, where I see taupe as grey + brown. Instead this color is a pigmented, mid-toned violet with pink and blue duochrome shimmers nestled in subtle brown undertones. Make no mistake: This is a purple shade but one that does not shout its purply presence.

My skin tone is cool, and I don't look good in warm shades, even if they mirror the colors in my eyes (which are blue with grey rims and amber flecks). Browns have always been problematic, and although I can wear some taupes (a nebulous shade that has developed a cult following and which seems to elude us as much as the Dodo bird), I have always preferred wearing greys, smoky plums, dusty lavenders, and greyed mauves. Delicate Hummingbird is the Monarch of Purple, so seductive with its subtle gleam and plummy goodness. I'd place it a full octave above Solstice Halcyon (reviewed here) in depth and pigmentation.

Following are some images of Delicate Hummingbird, in the pan, in different lighting. You can click the images to enlarge them.

Full sun

Indirect sun

Indoors by window

Indoors, natural light, no flash

Here are some skin swatches. I hope you can see how the color changes in different lighting. If I press-roll my fingertips over the finished result, I can make the pearlized particles lie flat, which then capture light and increase the luminosity. Once applied, the color dances to life as it warms up on the skin.

Full sun

Indirect sun -- looks almost taupe, doesn't it?

Indoors near window

Indoors, natural light, no flash

Here is Delicate Hummingbird compared to Rouge Bunny Rouge Solstice Halcyon and MAC Shale. In the pan, Delicate Hummingbird comes closest to Shale. These pictures represent the color tone well enough, but because of the cloud cover, the images do not fully capture the eyeshadows' beauty, especially Shale, which looks flat (it isn't!).

Windowsill, cloudy morning

On table beneath skylight (overcast skies)

The following image shows all three eyeshadows on the back of my hand. RBR Solstice Halcyon and Delicate Hummingbird are nothing alike. Solstice Halcyon appears almost taupe, whereas Delicate Hummingbird is closest in color to MAC Shale (which is more plum compared to Delicate Hummingbirds violet tones).

Under skylight, overcast skies

The texture of Delicate Hummingbird (and all RBR eyeshadows) is incredibly lightweight, and it is so superfatted it applies like a cream. No powder fallout, and I mean zero. After it has been on for a while and has intermingled with the skin's natural warmth and oils, it becomes luminous, all the while maintaining its second-skin effect. In that respect, it reminds me of Chantecaille Shine eyeshadows, only RBR is much more pigmented. When Birds Are Singing Long-lasting Eyeshadows are also skin treatment. They contain orange-derived flavonoids to fight free radicals and improve blood microcirculation.

Bottom line: Purple perfection. A must have for any cool-toned eyeshadow lover.

See Modesty Brown's post, where she compares Delicate Hummingbird to other eyeshadow colors. See also Marcia's post at Beauty Info Zone.


Rouge Bunny Rouge products are available internationally through the Zuneta.com web site.

All photos mine

MAC Blogger's Obsession Collection

Photo credit: maccosmetics.com

I will always remember my first experience with MAC. I was living up in Bar Harbor one cold winter in the early 90s, just me, the cats, the snow, the fireplace, and a stack of fashion magazines. I think it was in Allure where I read about this new, must-have, Editor's-choice universal lip pencil in the color Spice, by a company I'd never heard of before: M.A.C.

Photo credit: maccosmetics.com

I'm not even sure MAC had retail counters in the US in 1993, and they sure didn't near Acadia National Park. I had to call Canada and ask the woman on the other end of the line to help me choose. Based on what I told her about my coloring, she selected Wedge eyeshadow and Prism blush, and of course I added Spice lip pencil. I still have Wedge and Prism in my makeup jungle (obviously not the ones from 1993), even though they are both  bit too warm for me, but I no longer care for Spice, which seems more orange now than it did then. (I remember a deep rosy beige.)

Anyway, I digress. Over the last few years, I have drifted away from MAC, not because I don't like it--there are many items that I will never be without. I just found keeping up with the collections exhausting, so I stopped trying and usually just replenish the basics.

But I really perked up when this promotional e-mail hit my in box. Now that I am a blogger, I simply had to show my support for the recent collection, which was designed by people who started writing about beauty products just like the rest of us. In appreciation for these beauty bloggers' honest feedback, MAC gave these bloggers access to MAC's lab where they had the opportunity to create their own eyeshadow or or Lipglass.

Photo from MAC promotional e-mail

Photo credit: allure.com

I must be on the slow loop because I received my mail blast from MAC at 11:23 AM and went promptly to the web site. I was quite surprised that Temptalia's Jealous Wake was already sold out. I wasn't distraught because "seething emerald green" isn't a color I could ever get away with, but I quickly snapped up the two grey eyeshadows, Parisian Skies, a muted grey-blue and Hocus Pocus, a dark sooty grey with silver pearl. I'll post pictures and swatches as soon as they come in.

Photo Credit: Makeupandbeautyblog.com

Is anyone else going to partake?

See also Older Girl Beauty's post.

The Blogger's Obsession Collection is sold exclusively online and ships to North America only.

All photos from MAC

Chantecaille Lip Chic in Zinnia

I thought I had purchased all of the Chantecaille Lip Chic ($30) colors that would flatter my skin tone, but then I read the excellent review by Modesty Brown and knew I had to have Zinnia.

But first I should profess my love for the Lip Chic line itself. I have Tea Rose, Heirloom, Damask and Dahlia, and I wear them all regularly. The colors are sheer, classic, and beautiful.

The metallic round case appeals to my minimalist leanings--sleek gunmetal pewter grey that clicks closed with a satisfying snap. The tip of the product is sliced off at an angle, versus the traditional, phallic bullet shape. The texture is a smooth, lightweight, comfortable, and cushiony, but during initial application (until it warms up on the lips) it can drag and feel a little stiff, which sometimes takes 3 passes. If I make one pass, it usually does feel stiff unless it's a really hot day or I've been carrying it around in my pocket.

With Lip Chics, it's clear that a lipstick and a lip gloss had a torrid affair and produced a bouncing baby, as the unusual gel-like texture almost feels bouncy on the lips, as though the formulation contained tiny microbubbles of moisture. The result is a high shine with the plumping effects of a gloss and the saturated, even coverage of a lipstick

Lip Chic is one of the only lipsticks I have ever purchased more than once, and I will continue to do so until they stop making it. They are in my top 3.

The only caution I have is the color can migrate outside my lip line if I apply too much of it (which is easy to do when a texture feels that good). So I just blot before I reapply. No big deal.

Zinnia is a sheer, mid-toned watermelon-meets-coral, with a base of orange laced with pink. Upon application, I love that elusive whiff of creme brulee, which quickly dissipates.

Sadly, the brightness of this color did not translate, no matter how many pictures I took. Suffice it to say that this is a beautiful, face-brightening color that is so comfortable to wear. Despite the blah of the following photo, Zinnia does add a punch of color.

Bottom line: Pretty, everyday color and a fantastic lipstick/lip gloss hybrid.

All photos mine.

Le Metier de Beaute True Eye Colour in Mulberry

Part 1 of the "I Don't Get It" series.

This post departs from the norm in that it's less a review than a huh?

I'll state up front that I like all of my Le Metier de Beaute True Color Eyeshadows ($30) and will review them individually in upcoming posts. For now, however, I want to talk about the weirdness that is Mulberry, which I have seen described as "mauvish taupe" and "too cool for most people."

Such descriptions were an irresistible lure for me, but I'm not seeing what you're seeing, people. I see brown, a warm golden dirty brown, one that makes me look like one of the Great Unwashed or someone who should race to a women's shelter. No grey to cool it down, no mauve, no taupe, no joy.

I purchased Mulberry for the first time last year and declared it a dud on me, but after I started reading blog reviews afterward, I began to wonder if my compact had been mislabeled. So a few weeks ago, I bought a new one.

I was so excited to open the box when it finally arrived, so convinced that I would finally see the marvelous mauvishness that was Mulberry and say, "Ah, yes, mauvish taupe," but I did not. I twisted and turned the new compact in all kinds of light, and at first (in natural indoor lighting without flash only), I was able to approximate the color I had hoped Mulberry would be.

You might look at these images and say, "I see it! I see it!" I see it, too, but it is utter camera foolery! A trick of the light.

Here's where we get down with the brown. I compared the new compact (left) with the one I purchased last June (right). The one on the right does look a little warmer and darker, but that could be due to age and use. What I did not see was an obvious difference, one that made me think, "Aha! They did mislabel the one from last year."

Even swatched on my skin, there is very little difference between the two, so I am sadly forced to conclude that Mulberry does very weird things on my skin, and it isn't pretty.I'd even go so far as to say that last year's texture looks nicer on my skin (smoother, less choppy).

As for a mulberry, Wikipedia says: "the fruits are red when they are ripening, turning dark purple to black" I wasn't expecting a red-purple-black (we'll save that look for the lipsticks), but I wasn't expecting warm golden brown, either. I wanted cool brown.

Photo credit Duke University

Bottom line: I don't get it. Mulberry mayhem. My skin is a cool pink porcelain, so why would a color everyone says is mauve brown and very cool turn golden brown on me? I give up. And I feel doubly foolish for having spent $30 on an eyeshadow I won't get much use out of not once but twice.

All photos mine except for the one from Duke University.

UPDATED: Rouge Bunny Rouge Highlighting Powder (Love Lights) in Sweet to Touch

See paragraph below "Bottom line" at the end of this post for the update.

Anyone who's been reading this blog knows I've been on a Rouge Bunny Rouge bender, and my lust has been fueled by the many excellent blog reviews I've stumbled upon in searches. After reading Visionary Beauty's review, I knew I needed Rouge Bunny Rouge Love Lights Highlighting Powder in Sweet to Touch. The current exchange rate puts this at around $66.32. Ouch.

Never you mind. I was instantly won over by the adorable little hat box the compact came in (so sayeth the shameless packaging hoor). Since the interior of the box is foam padded, I could use it to carry jewelry on trips.

Squee!

As with other RBR products, the compact is sleek, sturdy plastic. This one closes so tightly, it's a bit tricky to open. I fear I might chip my nail polish one hurried morning, but it's a fine trade-off for tote-bag security (no powder crumblies).

When I swirled my Bobbi Brown powder brush into the pan, there was zero powdery flyaway. The texture is featherweight and creamy at the same time, and the finish imparts the most subtle pearled-velvet luminosity. Drier skins will appreciate the radiance, but the subtlety might be lost on oilier, younger skins who, quite frankly, already come by this kind of glow naturally. This product contains spherical micro-particles with ginseng extract.

Natural indoor light

Rouge Bunny Rouge calls Sweet to Touch light baby pink with the finest Aurora golden glow effect. I see peach more than gold, but to be fair, the weather has been rotten, and continual cloud cover will wash out even the dazzling colors of the birds at my feeders and mute all the flowers in my gardens.

Indirect light

The spots you see in the below picture are water droplets on the window reflected into the pan. We had one day of sun in the past month and I had to make quick work of it.

Sunlight

This powder is meant to be used on cheeks, chest, arms, legs or any place you want to achieve a radiant glow. I find that Love Lights looks best as a finishing powder, as the microparticles are not concentrated enough to act as a highlighter when applied just to the bony points (cheekbones, shoulders, clavicles, etc.) I slightly prefer Chantecaille Les Pétales Lumière de Rose Highlight (reviewed here). In fact, when I used my typical highlighting (skunk) brush along those high planes, I didn't really see anything, no matter how hard I looked.

In the below swatch, I had to apply about five layers to get it to show up, but you need far less than that on the face--just a gentle sweep once across the pan and then once across the face.

Bottom line: A very nice powder, but I am not convinced it is worth the price. If you want an allover glow, this is worth a try, but if you want to highlight the high points of your face, there are other (cheaper) alternatives from similar luxury brands that do as good or better a job, such as those by Chantecaille and Becca.

UPDATED 6/20/11: I wrote the original review (which still stands) after testing the product every day for three days. I assumed that was adequate. However, I had based my opinion solely on what I saw in the mirror immediately after I applied the powder to my skin. I have since come to realize that for this powder to work its magic, I have to let it settle into my skin for an hour or so. It even helps to give myself a spritz of one of the hydration sprays on the market and then press/roll the moisture into my skin. As this powder settles in, it becomes a second skin with a beautiful luminosity. Worth every penny!

All photos mine; purchased from zuneta.com