The MAC Look in a Box: Girl Next Door kit, one of three Look in a Box kits from the MAC Packed to Go travel exclusives for spring 2011.
Cute, yah?
MAC Packed to Go: Girl Next Door Look in a Box
Chanel Le Fleurs D’Ete de Chanel Summer 2011 Makeup Collection: A Friday First Look
Can I just say my coral-lurvin’ heart nearly burst into a million tiny pieces when I laid eyes on this promo pic for the upcoming Le Fleurs D’ete De Chanel Makeup Collection for Summer 2011?
That’s how easy I am when it comes to Chanel… I can even feel my loins wallet throbbing.
Coco and company say they drew inspiration from fresh flowers and summer gardens — picture shimmery pink lips, bronzed skin, and eyes and nails the colors of verdant green gardens and the bright summer sun.
We can expect…
- Face — Do you recall the Soleil Tan de Chanel Bronzing Powder from Cote D’Azur? Well, the Bronze Corail compact, the beauty with the four stripes of color in the middle of the pic, is the same idea with different shades. All four of the stripes are designed to be mixed together before being applied. For Le Fleurs D’ete De Chanel, Coco plans to release two limited edition Soleil Tan de Chanel Bronzer compacts ($50 each). Light-skinned lovelies can look forward to the one called Bronze Rose, and darker-toned babes to Bronze Corail (the one shown here).
- Lips — Lips will glow in two new Glossimers shades, one a coral and the other a rosy pink ($28.50 each; I don’t have the names yet).
- Nails — Last, but not least, our fingers and toes will sap up the bright summer sun in a shimmery yellow Le Vernis Nail Polish for $25.
Urban Decay UD The Fun Palette, and One Valuable Lesson Learned from My Cat
It’s useless to try to out-pose an international kitty supermodel, especially one with as much experience as Tabs.
But that didn’t stop me from trying today with the new Urban Decay The Fun Palette ($34).
First, me…
Now, Tabs…
See! I tried to “sell” the colors I’m wearing from the palette, one of three new ones from Urban Decay for spring, but I’m just not kitty supermodel material.
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Dolce & Gabbana Perfect Finish Concealer Draws Dark Circles Away
Dolce & Gabbana Perfect Finish Concealer in shades 3 (the lighter shade) and 4 (the darker shade)
I’ve been looking forward to trying the new Dolce & Gabbana Perfect Finish Concealer ($35) since last fall, when I heard makeup artist Pat McGrath gush about how well it handles dark circles.
Available in four shades, the new line of liquid concealers features a twist-up pen kinda like the one from YSL’s Touche Eclat. Billed as three products in one, Perfect Finish is supposed to conceal imperfections on the skin while brightening and conditioning the skin with vitamin E.
So how does it do?
Not too shabby, tabby. I mainly use concealer to cover my purplish dark circles (damn you, insomnia!). In Perfect Finish, I’ve been using shade 3, applying the product with the attached brush under my eyes and blending out the edges with a finger.
It behaves like my go-to concealer of the moment, MAC Pro Longwear. Like Pro Longwear, it’s highly pigmented, offers full coverage and has a satin finish that doesn’t appear heavy on cakey on the skin, even applied in multiple layers. I also like the subtle brightening effect.
Urban Decay UD The Feminine Palette and Pre-Friday Fun
Tonight is all about the ladies, y’all, at Club Urban Decay (aka MBB Headquarters), and girls and gatos get in free — that’s cruelty-free — with the new Urban Decay UD The Feminine Palette ($34). 🙂
From the stylish clothes it wears, to the shimmery shades it bears (browns, pinks, purples and teal), this palette’s guaranteed to turn heads and put all eyes on you. The colors feel so lighthearted, girlie and fun that I believe it’s my favorite of the latest batch of spring palettes from Urban Decay.
As you might be able to tell from these snapshots, I was feelin’ mighty Feminine today. For my eye look, I started with a thin layer of Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden applied with my fingers from my lash line to the brow bone, which I followed up by sweeping Midnight Cowboy Eyeshadow directly on top with a flat eyeshadow brush. Since Midnight Cowboy has gargantuan gobs o’ glitter, I used a makeup wipe to clean the fallout.
Then, with the very same eyeshadow brush, I patted Dark Horse Eyeshadow on my inner lid, and Ecstacy Eyeshadow on the outer, to give the eyes extra depth and color. After that, I blended the edges of both shades with a domed blending brush, drawing both slightly into the crease.
Next, to draw even MORE attention to my eyes, I lined my waterlines using the 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero that comes with the set, following up with Aquarius Eyeshadow, applied with an angled eye brush, for a light dash of color along my lower lash line.
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Dolce & Gabbana Perfect Finish Concealer
The new Dolce Gabbana Perfect Finish Concealer in 3 (lighter shade) and 4 (darker), $35 each. Available in four shades at select Saks Fifth Avenue stores and online.
Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Flush
Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Flush, $25.
Do you like?
The Jillian Michaels Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism Workout DVD Hurts So Good!
Blast you, Jillian Michaels, and your calorie-killing tough love! The first time I pushed play on your Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism DVD ($10), I came this close to a full-on bakery breakdown. I’m serious, I was one mountain climber away from driving to the nearest bakery to stuff myself with donuts (have I mentioned I’m a stress eater?).
But, as if you could somehow tell when I was ready to quit, you looked me in the eye, cranked up the motivation dial and firmly told me “not to phone it in” (which is Jillian Michaels for “never give up, never surrender!”).
Needless to say, this workout’s no joke, and it hurts SO GOOD.
How good exactly?
Good like the first time you got your ‘stash waxed, or the first time you kissed that hot, scruffy bad boy (you know, the unemployed one with the muscles and the motorcycle — the one your parents despised).
Made to heighten heart rates and torch calories, Jillian’s 45-minute workout begins with a warm up, which is then followed by seven 5-minute circuits and a cool down. Each of the circuits is comprised of a series of 30-second exercises, and the workout doesn’t require any equipment to do; just a small space on the floor to move around, and maybe a yoga mat, if you have one.
For what it’s worth, I am not an athlete — not by a long shot — but I’ve exercised off and on for most of my adult life. I think I have reasonably strong legs from running and dancing, and decent upper body strength, but I’ve been neglecting my core for years (I HATE sit-ups and crunches).
Now, this wasn’t my first time at the rodeo with Jillian. I’d been using her 30 Day Shred DVD for a while, so I thought I knew what to expect from this one.
Boy, was I wrong! With Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism, Jillian takes workouts to the next level — one where I want to curl up into a ball and cry, LOL!
Jillian uses plyometric exercises with big, explosive jumps, and likes working several muscle groups simultaneously (back when I belonged to Gold’s Gym, I’d watch personal trainers perform similar exercises with real athletes). I remember some of the moves from Shred, like skaters, burpies and mountain climbers…but the whole DVD makes Shred look like musical chairs at a kid’s birthday party.
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