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Ten Things I’m Loving Right Now

April 23, 2010
I can’t believe it’s nearly the end of the month, where did the time go? This is April’s Edition of what I’m loving right now. As always, I’ve love to hear what you are loving right now too!

1. MAC Goldenaire Pigment – From MAC Lingerie 2006, a lovely pink with pearly shimmers. Goes well with almost everything for a neutral all-over wash.

2. Bobbi Brown Bronze Gel Liner – A nice soft but defined bronze shimmer. One of the few gel liners I’ve actually used up.

3. Diorshow Mascara – A mini one, but this is one of my holy grails. Love that the minis are just as good as the full sized ones. Can’t say that it really holds the curl, but it does give full lush lashes without clumping, smudging or flaking.

4. Dior Iridescent Leather Quint – Limited from Fall 2008. A gorgeous palette of neutrals and warm beigey taupes. The closest alternative is Earth Reflection which is cooler-toned. I read from Rouge Deluxe that this was re-released in Asia. If they brought this back in the US, I wouldn’t have to use this so sparingly.

5. Bobbi Brown Maui Illuminating Bronzer – A lovely natural pink glow. You can see it here compared to Antigua. Maui is the darker version with a bit more pigment.

6. Dolce & Gabbana Desert Bronzer – Lovely soft warm bronze with subtle shimmer. Those who find NARS Casino/Laguna too shimmery, this one is a nice option that is softer but not completely matte.

7. Chanel Pink Crystal Glossimer – Came out Holiday 2007, not the most unique pink shimmer. Chanel has released quite a few similar shades including the new Spring Futile. But I love this one over other lipsticks.

8. Chanel Bondi Beach Aqualumiere Gloss – New for Summer 2010. A soft peachy gold shimmer. I love the way this looks on the lips even though it’s medium-sheer. You can see an additional swatch here.

9. Chanel Stresa Aqualumiere – I’m not sure if they still make this shade, but it’s a sheer hot strawberry iridescent cool pink. I love this with Chanel’s Nude Lipliner and Bon-Bon Aqualumiere gloss on top for a healthy pink lip. Bright as it looks in the tube, on the lips it’s very wearable. See a makeover breakdown I had with it here.

10. NARS Mojave – I’ve been a longtime fan of NARS Viva Las Vegas. Mojave is it’s darker more pigmented sister which is like what I wanted MAC Plastique to be (still lovely, but too frosty for my taste without gloss on top).


Check back soon for my list of what I’m loving right now – the non-beauty edition!

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My Current Skincare Routine

April 1, 2010
Another request I received from my February survey was to write an article on what I use in my current skincare routine. This is a tough issue for me to write about because my skin is so finicky that I often change up products as soon as I finish using something up. Also, I haven’t found many holy grails which means I rarely repurchase a skincare item. Quite a few of my favorites have been discontinued (such as the Chanel Age Delay line, Shiseido’s original Pureness line before it was revamped and reformulated and Prescriptives Super Line Smoothing Cleanser).


Also, I know this is a no-no, but I don’t really take good care of my skin. Yes, I wash every morning and evening and tone afterwards. But I don’t always scrub, moisturize, mask or use sunscreen. So do please note, I am probably not the best resource for your skincare questions or advice. But at least 4 of you asked for skincare posts, so here it is!

My skin-type is overall normal, but super sensitive. I get breakouts occasionally, maybe once every other month and it typically takes a week for my skin to clear up. Considering that I’m pretty low maintenance with my skincare routine, I suppose I have decent skin. It’s by no means perfect – but this is something due to my own neglect.

I’ve used a variety of brands from Johnson & Johnson, Neutrogena, Clinique, La Mer, La Prairie, Shiseido, Awake, NARS, Chanel, Estee Lauder, Paul & Joe, MAC, Prescriptives, Laura Mercier etc. So the range is from the drugstore product to the luxury lines. Skincare always intrigues me, but I am the biggest skeptic when it comes to those product descriptions and marketing campaigns claiming “best product.” I’m not am expert with ingredients, so if something claims to have some protein complex from an exotic plant that comes from the rain forest, I really have no idea how to process that information much less interpret how it will benefit me as a consumer.

This is what I’m using right now:

Cleanser – I typically like gel cleansers but my current ones are foaming/creamy:

  • Clinique Rinse Off Foaming Cleanser ($18.50 for 5 fl oz)- Foaming cream-mousse cleanser which is effective in cleansing but not too strong. My husband loves this stuff too.
  • NARS Balancing Foam Cleanser ($35.00 for 4.4 oz/125 ml) – Another foaming cleanser which is nice, I wouldn’t recommend it for dry skin, it’s not too strong for me, but it does strip away quite a bit in the cleansing process, I use this in the evenings. One thing I love about this is a little goes a long way. You only need a pea-sized amount.
Toner – I like that fresh clean feeling, so I tend to stay away from Shiseido toners or ones that have a gel-like texture or ones that are too strong which sting the skin:

  • La Mer The Tonic ($60.00 for 6.7 fl oz) – This is pricey, but I’ve repurchased this at least 6 times. It’s soothing and leaves your skin feeling refreshed and clean.
  • Paul & Joe Refreshing Skin Toner ($33.00 for 200 ml) – I’ve written about this before, but I tried this from a mini sized sample I received in a GWP. I took it with me on a trip to DC and fell in love. I think this is a good one for normal to dry skin. It’s not too rich, but just rich enough to help rebalance your skin. Whenever I get that over-washed tight feeling in my skin, this helps make your face feel more normal. I hope they never discontinue or reformulate this. I am on my second full sized bottle right now.
Scrub – I don’t scrub a lot. I actually like to use a washcloth to scrub my face with soap and water because I feel like it’s less harsh feeling on my skin. I have purchased a few from Laura Mercier, Clinique, Shiseido in the past, but right now I’m not using any. I’ve contemplated getting a Clarisonic but again, the ultimate skin-care skeptic that I am, I don’t know that I believe all the rave reviews are from actual consumers like you and me. If anyone has a recommendation, I’m all ears!

Mask – Again, I don’t use face masks very often. As you will read below, I don’t really use these masks for their intended purpose.

  • NARS Mud Mask ($45.00 for 3.6 oz/100 ml) – I’ve gone through 2 of these since NARS first released his skincare line. I have to admit I like this the most for the fun-factor. Yes, I’m weird, but there’s something I find fun about slathering your face with this thick black greyish mud. I can’t tell the visible difference it makes for my skin, but it does leave my face feeling clean and refined after 10-15 minutes. Scares the bejesus out of my dogs when I put it on though.
  • MAC Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask ($20 for 100 ml/3.4 fl oz) – This is my favorite mask ever and one I can definitely see results with. It’s so great I have to hide it from my husband who loves the fact that it heats up. Dear MAC, if you read this at all – please release this again in the exact same formula!
  • Paul & Joe Treatment Peel-Off Mask ($45 for 120 ml) – This tightens and firms the skin by clarifying. Similar to the NARS Mud Mask, I like this for the peel-off factor which I find fun. I had an obsession with peeling off dried glue from my fingers when I was in art class during grade school. Clearly I was not the brightest crayon in the box when it came to school. I would say this product is definitely not for dry skin.
Miscellaneous – I don’t have a current moisturizer favorite. I’m actually testing out a few sample minis but have yet to find one that doesn’t cause an allergic reaction and one that’s not too heavy. I’ve used La Mer’s Lotion, Shiseido White Lucent, Estee Lauder’s Ultimate Youth Cream, Dior Capture Totale, Px, Armani Crema Nera to name a few. Right now I’m trying to find one that doesn’t break the bank. I just cannot justify spending over $100 on a face lotion! My eye cream and sunscreen picks:

  • NARS Nourishing Eye Cream ($76 for .5 oz/15 ml) – Yes this is super pricey for the amount you get but a little seriously goes a REALLY long way. It’s a lightweight gel that I like to use on my lids which actually helps my shadow stay on longer throughout the day if I use this as a base. I don’t have eye wrinkles, so I can’t say whether or not it helps with fine lines or not.
  • Chanel UV Essential ($52 for 1 oz) – Again pricey, but this goes a long way too. It has a very fluid texture which helps it apply really easily. I’ve been using this over my moisturizer samples and it seems to help make the foundation apply better on the skin and last longer. Bonus is that it has SPF 50 which is something I definitely should start using. I’ve used this for about a month daily and no irritations, breakouts or problems. I definitely see myself repurchasing this in the future.
If any of you would like to share your holy grails for skincare, I’d love to hear your recommendations! I’ve been told (by the brand reps of course) that the 2-week skincare systems from Shiseido and Chanel are amazing and will give me perfect glowing skin, but I don’t want to spend the $200+ and wait 2+ weeks to see if there are any results.
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Color Focus: Dove Grey Eyeshadows

March 30, 2010
I find it incredible how many different variations of grey there are. One particular color I don’t come across very often is dove-grey for eyeshadows, but perhaps this is because I don’t look for it very often. I personally define dove-grey as a blueish grey, but even the ones I pull out are probably subject to interpretation. I didn’t think I had many dove-grey shadows, but I managed to pull out a number of barely used dove-grey shadows from my stash. I need to use these more often. Even for something I would define as “dove-grey” there are quite a few variations. Some of them look more blue than grey. And I was surprised how neutral/warm Apres Ski looks on my skin compared to what I see in the container.

Armani Cream #2 (LE from Spring 2005), NARS Notorious (discontinued), Jouer Truffle, MAC Scene, Becca Chinchilla, Laura Mercier Stone Suede Satinee, Stila Shore, Laura Mercier Sable, Laura Mercier Twilight Grey, MAC Copperplate, MAC Apres Ski




Some of these you might even describe as taupe. I don’t use these a lot, but I think pairing these with a soft pearl shimmer would be pretty.

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Color Focus: Soft Peach & Peachy-Gold Eyeshadows

March 27, 2010
You can’t go wrong with a soft peachy-gold eyeshadow for an all-over easy & quick eye look. For girls with medium skintone, there are tons of your-lids-but-better options out there for a no-fail shimmery peach. My all time favorite is Chanel Abricot which I hear has now been discontinued. Luckily you can probably still find it at one of your local counters. Some of the peachy shades look pale on my skin even though they look peachy in the container.

Dior Beige Select, Chanel Abricot, Trish McEvoy Golden Apricot, Bobbi Brown Golden Peach, Laura Mercier Guava (old formula)

MAC Rubenesque & Shu Uemura Cream P Beige

MAC Hush, Motif, Jest, Arena (in pro-palette form)

Urban Decay Blaze, MAC Evening Aura, MAC Say Yeah

Paul & Joe #22, Paul & Joe #003, Armani Maestro #19

MAC Jardin Aires Pigment, MAC Melon Pigment, Laura Mercier Gemstone Mineral Eye Color, Laura Mercier Peach Luster Mineral Eye Color

All the shades grouped together (note, I apologize for the error below, but the color labeled Dazzleray is actually Jardin Aires):



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A Few MAC Too Fabulous Lip + Cheek Combinations

March 12, 2010

I’ve been playing around with my new MAC Too Fabulous Mineralize Blushes and Cremesheen Glass lipglosses all week and tried a few combinations for each product. Eye makeup was very low-key this week, only using a neutral cream eyeshadow + gel liner + mascara.


The new mineralize blushes are really pretty! Those with darker skins will really like the colors. I agree with the consensus among other reviews that these tend to be on the more shimmery side. They aren’t overly frosty when applied with a lighter hand. Those who get oily/shiny fast or have larger pores, I’d say these will probably be a nay for you.

The cremesheen glasses are among my favorite gloss formula from MAC. I like that they repromoted some colors and mixed in some new shades. This gives me ideas on how to use the colors I already have with some new blush colors.

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Look #1: MAC Rhapsody in Two Mineralize Blush + Paul & Joe Creamy Cheek #02 + Partial to Pink/Boy Bait Cremesheen Glasses mixed

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Look #2: MAC Bi-Tone Mineralize Blush + MAC Love, Henri Lipstick + Moth to Flame Dazzleglass

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Look #3: MAC Buddy Up Mineralize Blush + Trish McEvoy Baby Pink Essential Pencil + Just Superb Cremesheen Glass

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Look #4: MAC Sun & Moon Mineralize Blush + NARS Cafe Con Leche + MAC Ever Hip Lipstick + Richer, Lusher Cremesheen Glass

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Look #5: MAC Deelight Cremesheen Glass + Laura Mercier Chestnut Lipliner + NARS Tutti Fruitti Lipstick + MAC Afterdusk Blush/Stark Naked Blush mixed together

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One last view of the my picks from Too Fabulous:

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Color Focus: Light Pink Shimmer Highlighters & Blushes

March 11, 2010

I feel like I haven’t done a Color Focus feature in a while! The release of Rhapsody in Two from MAC’s Too Fabulous collection gave me a good reason to write a Color Focus post on my favorite light pink shimmery blushes and highlighters.

If you like lighter pinks for lips, check out my Color Focus: Milky Pink Lipglosses & feature on light pink lipsticks here at MAC Dsquared² Nude Rose Lipstick.

There’s something so pretty and girly about a light pink shimmer powder. Unfortunately, many times, the light pink ones go on white on my skin even though they look pink in the container. These are the ones that are shimmery and that do show up pinkish on my skin (light-medium, Chanel Shell, equivalent to MAC NC30).


Note, MAC Cute (discontinued) is only photographed for a frame of reference.




Paul & Joe has a number of great lighter shimmery pinks too that aren’t too frosty/shimmery like MAC can sometimes be. Compared to MAC Porcelain Pink as a base-line. The products from Paul & Joe are called Face Colors and come in a mirrored compact.


Le Metier de Beaute has a beautiful shimmer powder called Whisper. Chantecaille also had a blush product called Whisper, but it’s now discontinued (the lid is pinkish because I dropped nail polish on it). Both compared to MAC Porcelain Pink.


Swatching was difficult today, so I only did my MAC Blushes, MSFs and Beauty Powders + Becca Sylph. Swatched over MAC Prep & Prime.


What are your favorite light shimmery pinks for cheeks?

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Chantecaille Les Dauphins Palette + Bourbon Rose Lip Chic

March 4, 2010

Chantecaille’s Les Dauphins Palette & Bourbon Rose Lip Chic are more beautiful than words can describe. I’ve been thinking of how I can give a review that does justice to the Les Dauphins Palette – and all I can say is I think it’s a must-have for those who love soft spring-like neutrals and especially those who love taupey shadows. Bourbon Rose is the softer color out of the 2 spring lip chics. It’s a natural rosey pink – similar to Tea Rose, but slightly lighter and has golden shimmer.

Another view with flash:

Without flash:


I haven’t had time to do swatches of this palette, but Karlasugar has already done an amazing feature on all the items – so I highly recommend you check out her post if you haven’t already.

I played around with the palette at Neimans and the color on the dolphins is an overspray. The shadows and blush all have a lovely subtle shimmer. I’m typically not a huge fan of split-pan shadows or blushes, but all the colors in this palette are so pretty, I don’t mind.

This is the planned look of the day with the Chantecaille Dauphins Palette & Bourbon Rose Lip Chic.

Cheeks:
Giorgio Armani Blush 1
Chantecaille Dauphins Palette

Eyes:
Chantecaille Dauphins Palette
Giorgio Armani Eyeliner #12

Lips:
MAC Naked Rose Lipliner
Chantecaille Bourbon Rose Lip Chic
MAC Full For You Plushglass


Outfit:
Jcrew Button Top
Banana Republic Beige Pencil Skirt
Jimmy Choo Black Pumps
Gucci Princy Tote

One last view of the palette:

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