Ravishing REDS!

Hey Beauties!

Have you tried wearing red lipstick? I can be intimidating for some people, particularly for our fairer haired friends. There are so many shades of red out there: deep dark burgundy to paler coral red. I truly believe that there is a red for everyone, but I acknowledge that it can be very difficult to find that perfect red. Some people still have a mind block about red...they have the perception that it is trampy or trashy. I think that is only true if the person wearing it is going for that image. Red is CLASSIC! In the 40's red was the standard! Ok, enough of the soapbox...

I have used Mary Kay lipstick in "Red" for years. It is definitely in that darker wine-red category, but for my pale skin, the blueness of the red works perfectly, if only for a more dramatic look. This lipstick has good staying power, stains well and doesn't have too much slip.

I recently purchased two reds in a couple of new lines, so here is what I found...

I tried the L'Oreal Color Riche (with lip serum in the middle of the lipstick) "Real Red" first. It is a very vibrant blue-red (as opposed to an orange-red) that will definitely get you noticed! The lipstick went on so creamy and smooth, it was like heaven, but after a few minutes, my lips started to sort of tingle. I toughed that out, owing it to the serum that you can see right in the middle of the stick. In my work, I talk to professional clients both on the phone and in person. I really don't want to worry about my lipstick, so good staying power that doesn't dry out my lips ranks as tops in my book, which was why I tried this particular product with the serum inside. I checked my lipstick after about an hour because it felt like it was wearing off and sure enough, it was. As the formula warmed up on my lips, it became very slippery and it began to wander outside my lip line...right over the lip liner...and it just disappeared (yeah, I know, it was on my water cup and I'm sure I swallowed a bunch). Even though it was a good color, it just had too much slip and virtually no staining power. I give this stuff an F, which is sad, because I have several of the original Color Riche line and I love them.

The second one was the Maybelline Colorsensational "Red Revival." This is also a blue-red, but in a slightly darker shade. By darker, I mean just not as bright. It is still a basic red, but I wouldn't say it was bright. This lipstick went on smoothly, a bit thicker and lots less slippery than the L'Oreal. Again, I was at work (which I consider to be the ultimate test for lip products!) but I did not feel it wearing off. In fact, I was stunned to see that it was still perfect after a couple of hours!! This had all the makings of a brand new HG!! After lunch I reapplied and did not have to touch up until I had a snack later in the afternoon. Then I touched it up and it lasted the rest of the day. This stuff is AWESOME!! A+ I plan to get a couple more colors!

A note about application: I always use a lip liner pencil with red or any color far away from my natural lip color. For red I love MAC "Brick" or "Cherry" Lip Pencils, and for bright pinks (MAC "Lickable" is my fav) I love "Cranapple" Creamstick Pearl Liner also from MAC. I don't always use a lip liner with nude shades but I like Maybelline's "Toast" color. I start by making sure my lips are smooth and exfoliated. Then I apply a tiny swipe of Burt's Bees Lip Balm. I use the pencil to outline then fill in my lips. Then I blot with one ply of a two ply tissue, the cheap kind, not Puffs or anything too soft or you'll get lint all over your lips. Then I apply the lipstick carefully to my lips, ideally with a brush, but more typically from the tube at a stoplight in the car. I press my lips together, blot, check the outline and use either a reverse lip liner like DuWop or concealer (I love my Smashbox Camera Ready Concealer for this because it is in a slim tube that fits well in my makeup case) around the outside of the lip line to correct or contain the color. Then one more light coat and Voila! Perfection!

My first attempt at swatches...not a fabulous pic, but let's just go with it...

L to R: Mary Kay Red, L'Oreal Color Riche True Red, Maybelline Red Revival, MAC Brick Lip Liner.

I hope you'll consider trying one of this fall's most popular trends, although I would say that red really never goes out of style. Go somewhere to try different colors, like Sephora or other makeup counter, until you find the one that you like. You can also go to Maybelline's Color Advisor at http://www.maybelline.com/mca/index.aspx to locate your best shade!

Until next time, Stay Beautiful!!

Suz

P.S. Stay tuned for a video blog test...I want to see what my web cam can do...

FOTD: A Few of My Favorite Things!!

Hey Beauties!

I hope everyone had a restful holiday weekend!

I was rummaging through my makeup drawer and decided to do a blog about my favorite products. These aren't current favorites (those can change daily!!), they are more like all time favs. They aren't in any particular order, so let's take a look!

Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion - This stuff is worth it's weight in gold! A swipe on each eyelid, spread around with a fingertip, apply your shadow and it won't budge for the whole day (and night if you don't wash it off!). It comes in two versions, the original, sort of a transparent off white that pretty much disappears on your lid, and the newest version, Sin, a shimmery pale gold-beige (same as eyeshadow with same name) to use as a base color. The cute little genie bottle has been accused of making it difficult to get the stuff out after a while...here's a hint: when it seems like it is almost gone, take out the swiping stopper thingy. There is A LOT more in there!! Wouldn't do my eyes without this stuff! The price is right for making eye makeup stay on...$17 at Sephora.

Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm - Best lip balm I've ever used. Period. It goes on smoother than ChapStick and smells like peppermint. In the winter, when my lips get so dried out, this is the only thing that will heal them. I wear it to bed every night and use it under lip gloss, lipstick, etc. and on its own. I love that it has coconut oil, peppermint oil and vitamin E and costs about $3 at drugstores and discount stores.

MAC Eye Shadows - Yes, all of them. They are very highly pigmented resulting in excellent color payoff. The range of colors and finishes is just amazing for $14.50 at MAC stores and counters or maccosmetics.com. I have more MAC shadows than all the others put together...probably because they were the first ones I started to collect!

Bobbi Brown Corrector and Concealer - I have the darkest most permanent circles under and around my eyes, due only to heredity...mom, dad and sis all have them too. I feel like I have tried every concealer out there (not true, but I have a drawerful that might appear so), so when I took the plunge and tried the BB Corrector, recommended for really dark circles, with the Concealer, I found my Holy Grail concealers. Granted they are expensive by my standards at $22 for each one at bobbibrowncosmetics.com, but I tried others when my first containers ran out, and probably spent 3 times that on concealers that didn't even come close. So I caved and got the best. Never. Going. Back.

Bare Escentuals Brow Color - My eyebrows aren't that bad...maybe a little sparse, but I've spent the last couple of years getting them to the shape I want. I use different brow products here and there, but my every day go-to product is this brow powder. It is fast, fills in and still manages to look natural. AND, it is very reasonably priced at $11 at Sephora.

NARS Blush - It sounds like such a cliche, but really, this is the best blush!! It isn't all flyaway powdery, and it goes on like silk. It lasts forever, and has such awesome colors, like the iconic Orgasm. My personal fave is Deep Throat. Time to empty the piggy bank to shell out the $25 for it at Sephora!!

Smashbox Artificial Light Luminizing Lotion - My skin used to be all peaches and cream when I was growing up (yeah, I was one of those). But after 40, it started looking dull and kinda dead. That's where this luminizing lotion makes a difference. Sometimes I like to mix it with my primer and put the foundation on top, but I've also mixed it into my liquid foundation for nighttime looks. I've found it works to put it on before mineral powder foundations too. So if you are in that 40-something or older group and your skin is looking tired...try this stuff: $24 at Sephora.

These are really the only things I could come up with that I hadn't changed in a long time! I love trying new products, so if you have any suggestions, add your comments below!

Until next time, Stay Beautiful!!

Suz

MAC Fall 2009 Collection

I had the opportunity this weekend to have my makeup done by a makeup artist at our local MAC counter using the new Fall '09 collection, MAC Makeup Art Cosmetics (maccosmetics.com). It was such fun! I really like all of the makeup artists at our counter. We had fun rocking to the Black Eyed Peas while Jen did my face.

This is one of the more versatile collections I've seen in a while. The collection is in three parts, each with it's own artwork by a separate artist (check out the website above to view the videos of each artist and how they interpreted their part of the collection).

The first artist (and my personal fav!) is Richard Phillips. Here are the products in his group:

Notoriety: Skintone 1-Light White Pink, Skintone 2-Dirty gold, Notoriety-Dirty Brown with Gold Pearl, Rich and Earthy-Rich Coral Bronze (bought this one!) Notoriety looks almost matte in this picture, but it is definitely not...it has a nice gold pearl in it. This whole quad is pretty sparkly. I probably won't wear them all together, but mixed in with some matte textures. The Rich and Earthy color goes really well with Beauty Burst from the MAC Loves Barbie collection a few years ago.
Photo Realism: Photo Realism-Gold Shimmer with Gold Pearl, Fresh Approach-Cool Mint Green, Image Maker-Dirty Grey Green, Grey Range-Deep Blue Green (bought this one too!) I totally love this quad. I don't even wear much green, but these colors are so soothing and beautiful together that I just had to try them. This is the quad used in my makeover. Stunning.

My eyes done with this quad:

In the Gallery: Lightfall-Pale Pink, Look at the Eyes-Light Violet, In the Gallery-Dirty Blue Pink, Private Viewing-Deep Brown Plum. These colors are very pretty and I love purples because they make my eyes look really green, but I didn't buy it because the cool palette I got from last Christmas's collection is all pinks and purples too and I thought I had enough of those!(for now)

Lipglass: Young Thing, New Spirit, On Display, Personal Taste. Didn't buy any of these, but they are all simply gorgeous and have that yummy vanilla scent!

Lipsticks: Front Lit, Full Body, High Strung (bought this too!) , Hold the Pose, Lovin It. I don't usually go for light, frosty lipsticks, but when I use High Strung with a pale pink lip liner underneath, it is wonderful and goes so well with the smokey green eyes from the makeover!

Powder Blush: The Perfect Cheek (It is! Of course I bought it too!), Notable. MAC blushes are just luscious. This one, The Perfect Cheek, is a matte and goes on like silk. And it creates the perfect cheek!

Mascara: Plush Lash

The second artist is Maira Kalman. I didn't try any of these because I wasn't in the market for the bright colors...but the yellow (Crest the Wave) eyeshadow did catch my eye! The products this group are bright clear colors:

Eye Shadows: Crest the Wave, Maira's Mood, Violet Trance, Purple Shower, Off the Page, Haunting. These colors are so pretty! Of course you wouldn't wear them all at the same time (geez I hope not!) but they would be very nice as an accent color or a sheer wash of color. I have the Haunting color from the Alexander McQueen collection from last year.

Technakohl Liners: Artistic License, Graphblack, Full of Fuchsia, Obviously Orange, Colour Matters. I love Technakohl liners, but I've never really gotten into bright colored liners (maybe I should try it!). I think these would create some fun faces for Halloween maybe?

The third artist is Marilyn Minter. I do like pigments and have several, including the Cocomotion in this group. You know how I feel about glitter! 'Nuff said! The pigments and glitters in this group are:

Pigments: Brash & Bold, Push the Edge, Cocomotion, Heritage Rouge

Glitters: Gold, Reflects Copper, Reflects Rust, Fuchsia

Clear Gloss: I think the artist used this with the glitters in this group, but this stuff is great by itself!

My new picture is me with the Photo Realism quad, The Perfect Cheek blush, Blacktrack Fluidline, Very Black Cover Girl Lash Blast mascara (that's a review for another day) and a mauve lip liner with High Strung on top, all of it done by me. When my mom saw me after I had my makeup done, she said, "They didn't do it any better than you do!" Thanks Mom!!

Coming up next week: Arbonne cosmetics! I love their products but have never tried the makeup. I'm going to try their powder mineral makeup!