NYX HD Grinding Blush in Menage a Trois, $16.50.
NYX HD Grinding Blush in Menage a Trois
NYX HD Grinding Blush in English Rose
NYX HD Grinding Blush in English Rose, $16.50.
I’d Circumnavigate the Globe for the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams
Forget “champagne wishes and caviar dreams.” I prefer “makeup wishes and Soft Lip Creams.” 🙂
In my wildest beauty nerd dreams, I’d visit each of the 11 cities featured in the new NYX Soft Lip Creams line ($6 each) just to be able to wear each color in the city it belongs. First London, then Amsterdam, Antwerp, Stockholm, Monte Carlo and Milan. From there it’s across the Adriatic to Istanbul, down to Abu Dhabi, further down to Addis Ababa, way, way east to Tokyo, and then all the way across the Pacific to end in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Of course, to complete the fantasy, I’d fly business class, and Ben McKenzie 
would accompany me on the journey (sorry, El Hub!). On planes, in trains and automobiles, we’d talk for hours about The Hunger Games, and then, somewhere over the Mediterranean, he’d reveal his secret fetish for crazy cat ladies.
But seriously, here’s what really happened…
Today I wore Addis Ababa (a matte hot pink), Antwerp (a matte coral), Milan (a matte peach) and Amsterdam (a matte red) — not at the same time, of course — as I tooled around the sleepy Northern California town of Novato, dodging cookie-pushing Girl Scouts (OMG! THIN MINTS!), and walking a chubby cat named Tabs.
Okay, so that wasn’t terribly exciting, but these Soft Matte Lip Creams are. 🙂 NYX, a budget-minded, cruelty-free brand, just released the new line of creamy, long-wearing matte lipsticks for spring.
NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams from left: Addis Ababa, Amsterdam, Antwerp and Milan
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Did Smashbox Put Their Limitless Liquid Liner Pen on a High-Sodium Diet?
What’s the secret to the Smashbox Waterproof Limitless Liquid Liner Pen’s ($22) water repelling powers? Could it be the seasoning perhaps?
Unless I missed the makeup challenge on Top Chef this season, the inclusion of sea salt in the formula must have been a Smashbox idea. Does it help the product work? I’m not sure, but I do see that the company’s Limitless Eye Liner and their bestselling Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner are 100% sea salt-free.
Even if the spice is purely cosmetic (weird!), this bad boy repels water and sweat like a champ. The other day I drew the Black shade along my upper lash line before hopping on the treadmill, and roughly one bucket of perspiration later, it still looked good with nary a smudge.
I’ve Taken a Shine to These New NARS Illuminators
Truth: sometimes I view fruit solely as a vehicle for the delivery of Nutella — a Nutella delivery system, if you will, with the final destination being my belly.
And, in a way, the new multi-purpose NARS Illuminators in Super Orgasm, Copacabana and Laguna ($29 each) are just like that. The liquid (like fruit) serves as the vehicle to deliver the glitter/pearl (the Nutella) to the skin.
Okay, I could have used a better analogy…but I think you know where I’m going with this. The stuff is basically shimmer suspended in a very sheer tinted liquid.
The newly released shades follow up on last year’s shimmery, multi-purpose Orgasm Illuminator, and, like Orgasm, they’re also designed to work as blushes, bronzers and/or highlighters.
NARS Illuminators from the left: Laguna, Super Orgasm and Copacabana
If the colors sound familiar, congrats! — you’re an official beauty nerd. 🙂 Yep, NARS drew from their permanent line for inspiration here, basing the new products on some of their most iconic shades. I’ve really been looking forward to giving these a try because, like Michael Corleone, I keep my friends close, and my NARS (Blushes, Bronzers and Multiples) closer.
The first thing I realized using these was just how much shimmer they contain. It’s A LOT. Even a wee dot, like around the diameter of a pea, is enough to noticeably illuminate my cheeks, the bridge of my nose, my temples, chin AND my shoulders and decollete. And the fluid is really easy to blend into the skin, too, taking mere seconds to apply.
Illuminating tips from NARS National Artist Janice Daoud…
How do you use the Illuminators as a blush?
With your fingertips, pat a small amount of Super Orgasm onto the cheek bones, and bring it downward for a radiant, healthy glow.
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What’s your favorite way to wear them?
I like to mix Laguna Illuminator with my foundation. It adds instant warmth. I follow with Copacabana along the cheek bones and the center of the face for a refreshed look.In addition to my face, where else can I apply them?
Don’t forget your shoulders, neck and decollate for a sexy, chic look. All of these [colors] look amazing, and they’re universally flattering on all skin shades.
I Pumice to Use Redken Nature’s Rescue Refining Sea Polish More Often
No, that’s not hot mustard up there, but it’s something no less exhilarating. I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like it before (this was the last thing that prompted me to say that). It’s an exfoliator…FOR HAIR!
I really expected the new Redken Nature’s Rescue Refining Sea Polish ($19 for a 3.4-oz. tube) to be a gimmick, but it turned out to be kind of brilliant instead. I mean, we already exfoliate our face, bod and our gnarly @ss feet (gurl, don’t make me bust out my heel buffer/parmesan cheese grater on you, and don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about 🙂 ), so why stop with our hair?
To use, just apply the non-foaming Sea Polish paste after shampooing but before conditioning, massaging it gently into your hair section by section. The product contains exfoliating grains of pumice which, when massaged into the hair, scrub away any built-up hair products, grit and grime your shampoo may have missed, while also refining and polishing.
I the scent too. This is weird, but it reminds me of lemon rinds spritzed with Bobbi Brown’s Beach perfume.
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NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams
NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams from left to right: Addis Ababa, Antwerp, Milan and Amsterdam ($6 each).
Covergirl Lip Perfection Lipstick
Covergirl Lip Perfection Lipstick in Darling (left) and Soulmate (right), $6.50 each.