Bare Escentuals - Big Lips, Big Lashes

Here is another BE set that just hit stores....Big Lips, Big Lashes for $28.

Big Lips, Big Lashes is all about chocolate shades and features Big Tease mascara in a rich chocolate brown and also sees the return of Buxom Lip Polish in Kitty a sheer milk chocolate shade.

While I am a devoted fan of the Buxom Lip Polishes, Kitty is not the shade for me. Big Tease mascara has a brush with long bristles on one side to build length and shorter bristles on the other for separation and volume. I have a tough time with the brush and always seem to get mascara on my lid but the formula is a winner.....so I persevere!

Laura Mercier - L'Heure Magique Collection

Laura Mercier hardly ever disappoints me and this new collection is no exception! L'Heure Magique features 3 eyeshadow trios, 3 liners, 2 blush colors, a fragrance, and 5 lipsticks! As I said in a previous post I will try to narrow my raving to one or two picks that are beyond fabulous to try and help wade through all the new makeup rolling in!

The eyeshadow trios are a must for me. The palettes have a highlight, mid-tone, and definer shade and the color combos are spot on for fall eyes which are looking smokey without using black or gray to achieve the look.

My other pick are the lipstick shades that are all unbeatable nude shades that range from a flesh tone to a pinker version. Any of these creamy lipsticks are a great pairing for the sultry eye and are lovely effortless colors on their own. Laura Mercier recently reformulated her lipstick and gloss and the effort was worth it. The texture of the lipstick is vastly improved and the yucky fragrance is gone.

Look for the eye trio in Midnight Sun a bronzy gold trio and Dusk lipstick a pinky nude....those are my must purchase items!

Dior Dandy Fall Collection

I can not believe the number of fall makeup collections that are already making an appearance! Is it just me or does the release of new collections just seem to get bumped up earlier these days?

Dior Dandy is truly lovely and in the interests of not boring everyone to death with all my fall collection writing I have tried to pick my absolute favorite from a collection because honestly there are just so dang many of them. I don't want you to think I am complaining, far from it! More makeup in the world is just fine by me.

So my lust object from this collection is far and away the Impression Cuir Leather Couture Eyeshadow compact for $55. The compact is stamped with a croc impression and has 3 bronze brown shadows that are creamy and gorgeous. The middle color is amazing with enough shimmer to really highlight the mid-tone bronze color.

My only possible issue with this compact is I have a tough time defacing the croc pattern! I know I can't be the only one that hesitates. There are many fine and lovely things in Dior's Dandy collection but this is the item that would send me scurrying to the counter.

MAC Overload!

Okay I love MAC....in reality I worship at the altar of makeup that is MAC. But lately MAC has been giving my credit cards a workout that is leaving me poor! I mean the collections have been coming fast and furious and every single one has had at least one thing I just couldn't live without! I love them but my bank account does not. So no more whining and on with the makeup fun!

Above is Electro Flash! Holy Cow....is there any other word for it. For those who love the Mineralize eyeshadow your ship has come in. The new duos have a mix of 3 shades on one side with a solid shade on the other. The 4 new lip shades and 4 Tinted Lipglass shades have me in a tizzy! I mean of the 8 I want 4 and if you saw my current lip wardrobe that exceeds 200 shades you would agree that I have got to put the brakes on or learn to edit in a serious way!



















Next up is New View. The compact has a natural matte finish and the other a soft shimmer and comes in 5 shades and is the next generation Mineralize powder. I can tell you that the shimmer side is indeed soft and not disco ball and these light weight powders are perfect for the warm months when you don't want liquid makeup running down your face.




Last but certainly not least is Sonic Chic! Again these are Mineralize blushes in 9 shades that all have a degree of shimmer and apply more sheer than they appear. Again the colors are ridiculously beautiful and I just don't know how many blushes one girl can justify! The 181 buffer brush is a smaller version of the 182 and has the shape of a kabuki but is so much softer than any kabuki I have ever felt. The 181 is the perfect size to buff on cheek colors or luminizers along the cheek bone and is worth every penny!

So all this MAC fun hits counters July 10th (online now) and I will be spending the time in between carefully considering my picks and perfecting my justifying skills.

My Hat Is My BFF

Now I know what you are thinking......this is a beauty blog so why I am I writing about a hat?

My answer.....this is a beauty blog and a good hat for outdoor summer fun will help keep you beautiful for a long time to come.

I searched and hunted for a wide brim hat that did not make me look like a senior citizen or mini-van driving soccer mom. If you are either one, I mean no harm, the look just isn't for me. I wanted style and to look chic, like some yacht owning Countess out for a cruise. A tall order I realize but I was prepared to hunt.

When strolling through Nordstrom this beauty caught my eye! Oh....she is pretty, I thought. Plus she met all my criteria. This hat is under $100 bucks, has a wide brim to protect both face and neck, can be packed, and provides a SPF 50 with sturdy cotton canvas. The elegant tie around the brim surprised me by looking chic and not matronly.

SOLD!

Well today I went on my daughter's school field trip to the park. The kids had a great time and ran around like wild animals with the mom's wearing all manner of just the sort of hat I had avoided. I am proud and not a little pleased to say that no fewer than 6 asked where I got my hat because I looked like a movie star!

You don't have to say it.....my hat was tight from all those compliments!

This hat is by Helen Kaminski and the style is Melody. It comes in a variety of colors and can be found in Nordstrom stores or at lots of online hat e-tailors.

The advice from this makeup junkie is to protect your face and look good doing it!

Bare Escentuals - The Bare & The Beautiful

The Bare and The Beautiful kit was not love at first sight. I had to test these colors to really fall in love. It's like a friend turning into more....it might take a bit longer but it's the ending that counts!

The kit consists of two eyeshadows, Kindness which is an icy blue with violet shimmer and Praise a metallic navy with amethyst shimmer. Praise is a gorgeous liner.

A Hint Of Truth is the third pot in this set and is a pinky apricot shade that BE describes as vintage rose. While our descriptions of the color may vary, it is a lovely natural blush color.

The real pay dirt for me is the double ended brush. I honestly feel that BE does double ended brushes as well as or better than anyone else and while they are not always practical for storage (which end do you smoosh to stand them up) purposes, you do get a lot of brush for the money. This one has a tapered blush and paddle eyeshadow on either end and is fantabulous!

The Bare and The Beautiful can be had for $44 at BE stores or online.

Solar Oil

The mercury is rising in most of the country and for me that means paying extra attention to my hands and feet. I have various tools to deal with callouses but for nail and cuticle dryness Solar Oil is my weapon of choice!

Solar Oil is jojoba, rice bran and sweet almond oil along with Vitamin E and it really whips my nails into shape.

I apply this liberally on my cuticles at night and massage it into the skin and nails. Any white marks from dryness vanish and my cuticles look smooth and lovely. If you are diligent about using it, Solar Oil will banish raggedy looking paws for good.

A bottle will run between $8-10 depending on where you pick it up. I find it all over.....my nail salon, Ulta and Amazon has is it as well. You don't need much so a bottle will last a few months and be worth every penny!

Camp Rock As Fragrance

I may get hate mail for this but a blog is the writer's opinion after all.....no more, no less.

As anyone with a child in the house knows, Camp Rock, the latest made for tv Disney movie made it's debut. My daughter who is nearly 7 loves all things Disney and the singing and dancing extravaganza that is Camp Rock and High School Musical are no exceptions.

She has innocent little girl crushes on Joe Jonas and Zac Efron and knows every single song from the movies by heart as both myself and our neighbors can attest. These movies are very G-Rated and when I say the singing and dancing are the draw for her I mean it! If you were to come over to our house it would take only a bit of coaxing to get her to sing and show you her dance moves!

So what on earth does Disney and bubblegum pop music have to do with a beauty blog? Well it occurred to me while watching her dance up a storm watching Camp Rock for the 12th time (we Tivo'ed it) that her favorite perfume happens to be Juicy Couture which in my opinion is a bit like the bubblegum fun of these movies.

Juicy Couture is all about fruity goodness and with notes like watermelon, mandarin, pink passion fruit, and green apple you can see why. There's even caramel creme brulee and vanilla thrown in for good measure. This perfume is not as sickly sweet as the notes description would have you believe but it is fun and young and like Camp Rock fluffy, but still has you singing along.

Nars - Miami Sun Set

Hubba hubba! Now that is some color!

Nars new Miami Sun Set for $65 is pure Miami hotness. This is a limited edition you can find at Sephora online only...at least so far!

The Sundance eye duo has warm golden and terracotta shades. Capucine Lip Lacquer is pure tangerine glossiness!

The nail color is a real lust object for me....just look at that tomato red! Dovima nail polish, I heart you!

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Fun Part Deux

Couldn't help it...there were more items that begged to be seen! MAC Richmetal Cream Highlighter.

















Chanel lip quad with the perfect pinks!













Dior's Gaucho palette with 4 eyeshadows and 2 lip colors.

So if you want to get your paws on any of the makeup porn get thee to Nordstrom stores or online and pre-order my friends. I guarantee you will be sorry you don't if you fall in love with an item....women have become wise to the pre-order and the super hot items are nearly sold out before the dang sale even begins on July 18th!