Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are,
Up above the world so high,
Like some Stila in the sky!
Like the brightest stars 
on a crystal clear night, the shadows in the new Stila Backstage Eye Palette twinkle just a little brighter than every other fall product that crossed my path at Sephora yesterday.
Affordable ($28), and filled with fun colors, Backstage looks lovely in its pretty purple packaging.
Do you suppose Francois Nars was bumping vintage Ace of Base when he named his new fall lip and cheek palette “Beautiful Life”?
It’s a beautiful life…oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
I secretly hope so, because even though the song’s hella cheesy, I also think it’s kinda awesome. 🙂
The new NARS Beautiful Life Lip and Cheek ($55) and Only You Eye and Cheek ($65) palettes for fall, available now on the NARS website, are equally spectacular (but in a totally non-cheesy way).
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I got a nice surprise when I stopped by Sephora after work today. Sometimes the store near my house takes a while to put new stuff out on their shelves (they also had holiday items out until MARCH), so I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted fall makeup from Stila, Too Faced and TheBalm (YES!).
Were they just a mirage? I wondered. I pulled out my camera to capture the photographic evidence. 🙂
Dolce & Gabbana’s Sicilian Lace collection for fall 2010 doesn’t officially hit counters for a couple more weeks, but if you can’t/don’t want to wait that long, don’t. 🙂 Feed your need for instant makeup gratification with the Smooth Eyeshadow Quad in Nude ($59).
The entire Dolce & Gabbana Sicilian Lace collection
Available now, the quad’s one of two permanent collection products being repromoted in Dolce & Gabbana’s upcoming six-piece fall release (the other being Shine Lipstick in Perfection).
Can I just say how much I 
this quad? We’re practically inseparable, all because of Nude’s four easy-to-wear eyeshadow shades.
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Wonder Twin powers, activate!
Tarte and Sephora recently did just that — activating their Wonder Twin makeup powers to form the new Beauty in a Box Bronze Smokey Eye Kit ($45).
The six-piece limited edition kit comes with products in bronze, nude and purple, with four full-size items (the Lock & Roll Creasless Cream Shadow and Loose Powder in Burnt Bronze, EmphasEYES Waterproof Clay Shadow/Liner in Plum, Rise & Shine Lip Gloss and Stain in Nude, and the Clean Slate Natural Face Primer) and two deluxe minis (Park Ave Princess Mineral Powder Bronzer; and Lights, Camera, Splashes Waterproof Mascara).
The only things missing? Brushes and your imagination. 🙂
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These Wet n Wild Mega Last Lip Color lipsticks sure take me back…
The year: 1991. I’m a sophomore in high school. Kids are wearing tacky acid-washed overalls, and Color Me Badd reigns supreme.
Oh, no you di’int!
My good friend Jen and I shared a lab table in biology class, and we’d start and end every class the same way, by applying our favorite Wet n Wild lippies.
Those first generation WNW lipsticks weren’t the greatest (my tummy churns just thinking about that faux rose scent and plastic flavor), but they were hella cheap, which was why we always had at least one tube stuffed into our Liz Claiborne bags.
That was a long time ago… A lot’s changed since then, but some things remain the same. Jen and I still wax philosophic about makeup and beauty (although now we do it by blog, e-mail or text), and Wet n Wild is still a viable drugstore makeup option for ladies looking to save a few bucks.
Another thing that’s changed? Wet n Wild. The brand recently reinvented itself, ramping up the quality of their products by several notches, and the improvements are obvious in their long-wearing Mega Last Lip Color lipstick line.
Available in 20 shades, ranging from subtle nudes to electrifying hot pinks and reds, these matte, long-wearing lippies are still affordable, costing just $3 each, but the formula now contains moisturizing and smoothing ingredients like Coenzyme Q10, a vitamin-like substance used to boost skin’s natural ability to repair and regenerate cells.
Based on the colors I’ve tried — Think Pink (a baby pink), Rose Bud (a medium rose) and Mauve Outta Here (a cool blueish mauve) — Wet n Wild’s come a long way, baby. 🙂
They’re highly pigmented, unflavored, unscented and last a solid three to four hours on the lips.
Wet n Wild Mega Last Lip Color lipsticks from left: Think Pink, Rose Bud, Mauve Outta Here
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I’m chalking up my spur-of-the-moment decision to get $40 YSL Touche Eclat to temporary insanity.
I know a lot of women swear by the stuff — a versatile liquid face product (available in four shades) designed to work as a concealer, highlighter, eyeshadow base and even a lip primer — but when I tried it for the first time years ago, I wasn’t wowed.
“I’m older and wiser now,” I thought. “Maybe I should give it another try.”
Like Mulder from the X-Files, I REALLY wanted to believe. The product’s so popular that the company says they sell one every 20 seconds worldwide!
YSL Touche Elcat in shade 3
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They say you learn something new every day (learning is fundamental, yo!). Among my Monday epiphanies…
Before my PMS-fueled junk food fest/impromptu photo session with Tabs earlier today, I tried on both of the aforementioned tidbits from Boots.
One of six Eye Colour duos in the Boots Botanics makeup line, Velvet Pansy’s shimmery purple and pink shades caress my skin with color, but they don’t feel quite as fine as the Boots Stay Perfect Shadow single I recently tried in Khaki. Not a problem, though, as both of the shadows in the duo blend together like they were cut from the same cloth.
Lip Glace in Marshmallow, a sheer and shimmery pink gloss, gets gold stars from me for its thin, non-sticky texture, even though it only lasts about two hours (which isn’t entirely unusual for a thin gloss), but its strong fruit punch flavor and scent might be a turnoff for some.
Boots Botanics Eye Colour Duo in Velvet Pansy
Boots No7 Lip Glace in Marshmallow
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