More Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure cuteness! From the left: Coral Fever, Eel Skin and Delphinium, $6.99 each.
Like anything you see?
Yummy!
NYC New York Color City Mono Eye Shadows
NYC New York Color City Mono Eye Shadows ($3 each), available at drugstores in June. Clockwise from the pink on the lower left: Buzz List, High Street and 5th Avenue.
Which one’s your fave?
MAC Surf Baby Cheek Powder in My Paradise: A Diva in Disguise
Don’t let the cute hibiscus fool you. Limited edition MAC Surf Baby Cheek Powder in My Paradise, the one and only blush in the upcoming Surf Baby collection, is a total diva in disguise.
The pretty packaging fooled me at first. It lulled me into expecting a run-of-the-mill peachy gold blush, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. My Paradise roars with pigment. It reminds me of NARS Orgasm, except three times as intense, with a lot more reddish orange inside. Yup, you better bring a fan brush to this makeup dance.
$65 Thierry Mugler Make Up Face Shadows & Lights Blush Is Killing Me Softly
Thierry Mugler Make Up Face Shadows & Lights Blush works in a very interesting way. The two-step process starts with intense sticker shock! — as the product costs a whopping $65. The resulting loss of blood flow to the face bleaches the color from cheeks; then, and this is the best part, the powder contouring and highlighting duos restore a lifelike appearance. 🙂
But seriously, at least now I know who makes a very expensive, but totally natural-looking, powder blush. The price is like a whole new level of splurge beyond Chanel, but if flawless, airbrushed cheeks are your thing, then it might be worth a shot.
Like a pair of Christian Louboutin basic black pumps without any bells or whistles, the two available shades — Brown & White (a medium warm brown blush with a soft white highlighter) and Pink & White (a light cool pink with a soft white highlighter) — appear restrained and elegant. The duos contain a blend of silky polymers, powders and atomized pigments for a high precision finish with a subtle effect.
What does that mean? It means some of the finest milled powders I’ve ever tried or seen.
I barely see the grains on my skin, and I bet one could apply as many as six layers without producing a heavy, mask-like effect. The quiet sheen they deliver gives off a lovely, soft glow — something like a MAC Beauty Powder turned down a notch or two.
Pink & White (left) and Brown & White (right)
Totally Crushing…
…on these Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure shades!
From the left: Casting Call, Barracuda and First Kiss ($6.99 each). Available now at drugstores.
Foiled, Again! The Bare Minerals High Shine Eyecolors
Holy wow! These Bare Minerals High Shine Eyecolors have so much reflective shine that you could probably use them to flash Morse code messages to a comrade across town.
-.– — ..- / .- .-. . / -… . .- ..- – .. ..-. ..- .-..
Not even newly minted coins can outshine the shimmery, foiled effect they create on lids, and passersby couldn’t miss them if they tried.
And that’s not all. The six rich, pigmented colors are tough, too, lasting all day long with barely a crease.
I’m not enamored with the packaging, but on that front at least Bare Minerals tried something different. The product comes in a tube that makes it look kinda like a lipgloss, but in place of a doe-foot applicator, it has an eyeshadow sponge. Before using it to apply, the company recommends swiping the sponge against the rim of the tube to remove any excess product, and then lightly guiding the sponge across the eyelid.
From left to right: Meteorite, Flash, Gold Metal and Vapor
“Free of preservatives and chemical irritants, the velvety-smooth, long-wearing formula glides on effortlessly for an extra creamy, opaque finish full of glistening, foiled effects.”
MAC Unsung Heroes: Humid Eyeshadow
“If you’re going to San Francisco,” the song goes, “be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.” Flowers like the ones that bloom 365 days a year inside the gigantic 19th century greenhouse that is the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. It’s the oldest municipal wooden conservatory remaining in the United States and one of my favorite places in the city to visit with a camera.
From the steamy, lush jungles of the Lowland Tropics Room to the giant Victoria amazonica water lilies of the Aquatic Room, the structure must contain every conceivable shade of green (they practically drip from the walls!). Not only is it a very peaceful, beautiful place filled with exotic plants, but by virtue of it basically being a gargantuan greenhouse, it also reminds me of one of my favorite MAC shadows, the appropriately named Humid ($14.50).
A MAC artist introduced me to Humid a few years ago. I told her I was looking for one green to rule them all! “This is the only green you’ll ever need,” she said, as she handed me the pan.
Homegirl was NOT kidding. You know the whole “desert island” scenario? Where you can only bring one thing? Well, assuming of course the island had air conditioning, running water, a Trader Joe’s (gotta get my Mango & Cream Bars, yo!) and Channing Tatum, I’d bring Humid Eyeshadow. 🙂
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MAC Surf Baby Lipglass and Lipstick Swatches (Today Is a Swatchathon!)
Thought you might also like to see the MAC Surf Baby Lipsticks ($15.50 each) and Lipglasses ($15.50 each) in action, boo. 🙂
You know the deal by now — the collection surfs onto MAC counters and stores May 26 in North America (internationally, some time in May).
Lipstick in Naturally Eccentric
Lipstick in Mocha
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