Hot or Not Beauty

I love, love, love this oh so cute new Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Shadow. Feeling quite summery I decided that this was just what I needed after seeing the new pictures of Clinique’s summer look (oh, the power of advertising - slave that I am unto thee!)
Well if the whole lovely pictures weren’t enough to draw me in the news that this makeup was suitable with contact lenses had me leaping to get my own. I generally probably do all the wrong things in the name of beauty, but I can now rest easy knowing my new summer eye shadow has been ophthalmologist tested and given the ok.

The Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Shadow comes in 9 shades, so that get’s my stamp of approval for having a range of options. The Clinique pictures have the model in Rock Violet, but my favorite is the Starlight Pink, a very cool, mauve-pink shade.
To get the look right, the expert tip from Clinique is to layer the application, building up the color. In this way you can achieve a sheer coverage through to a solid color for a more dramatic look, using either the applicator wand or blending with your finger tip. The creamy eye shadow is long lasting, designed to stay put for up to 10 hours and this one is sure to be a summer favorite.

A couple of products that have somewhat captured my imagination recently are from the Clinique eye makeup range. The first is the Touch Base for Eyes and the other is the Eyes Duos. I also bought the Clinique contour brush when I got my duo, and I think I’ve hit on just the tools for day-to-day eye makeup.

The ‘Touch Base for Eyes’ is an easy to use product that is simply applied as the first layer, providing the subsequent eye makeup to have a base that helps it stay on the skin for a longer length of time. To use this product you simply lightly apply using the ring finger, and covering well. Depending on your preference there are shades in nudes, tawny and pinks. I personally opted for the Clinique ‘Canvas’, the lightest nude color that is perfectly suited to my pale complexion, but if you have a deeper skin tone or you are after a more dramatic look then there are deeper tones and a wider range of colors on offer. This versatile product can be worn on its own also, so if you are more moderate on your beauty purchases than I am – then you may want to opt to start with just this product.

The Clinique ‘Pair of Shades Eye Shadow Duos’ is a cute little eye shadow pair that is ideal for daily use. I love the little silver slide box, a great way to keep everything together and I actually find this easier to get to grips with – literally! The design makes this the ideal choice for holding onto your eye shadow in a convenient way whilst applying it. For this reason I pick this as a great product for the woman on the go, the two color combination being a simple day to night option, or simply a great choice for touch ups during the day.
The Clinique duos come in violets, grays, tawny colors, and pink. My personal preference is for the tawny ‘No Show Taupes’ and the ‘Spring Wedding’ gray options for the daytime, and the others can be great for evenings out. If you are looking at just one choice for day to night, then I suggest opt for a color that you can wear throughout the day and deepen for an evening look.

The other thing I loved was the Clinique Eye Contour Brush. I have always been strong on makeup brushes over the eye shadow applicators. When you are using the duos, the brush is the ideal option. To really make the most of your eyes then you can follow a few simple universal guidelines on contouring. Firstly, be aware that light shades will ‘highlight’ or bring forward a feature. It therefore stands to reason that dark shades can make particular features appear less prominent. These basic principles when applied to your eye make up application can be used to help you shape and enhance your eyes. As a rule of thumb, use the contour brush to apply the darker shade in the eye crease. You want to make your eyes stand out so remember to blend! This is the ultimate key to having sexy and stay fast eye makeup.

Lastly feel free to experiment when you are applying new products. Take the time to look at what works and what doesn’t. When you really think about what works and how you achieved that result then you become proficient at it, and that means that you can save time and achieve great results quickly and easily. The only thing I suggest you look out for here is don’t try this 5 minutes before you leave for work! The time to experiment with your makeup is always just before you remove it, and you will save yourself a lot of hassle if you always keep that in mind.

Continuing our eyeliner discussion for this season in all it’s shape and sizes.

Pencil eyeshadow is one of those iconic makeup items that we see everywhere.

Compared to eyeshadow, pencils have a broad more intense line, have bigger staying powder are more pigmented and exist in various choices in their own formulations.

Personally I prefer softer eyeliner pencils, you can draw bolder striking lines and keeping them sharp or smudge them with a brush for a less defined and smokier look.

My personal favorites are Kohl liners, I like the creamy texture and also I’m a sucker for putting eyeliner on the waterline and they’re formulated and tested for waterline use. The only disadvantage concerning Kohl (also known as Kaja) liners is that most of them tend to migrate if you have oily eyelids and some of them give you the infamous panda or raccoon eyes (basically when sexy smudge becomes messy smudge and you have liner everywhere it’s not supposed to be) and if that happens, stick to a different type of formula and do yourself a big favor.

Here’s my view on my some of the pencils that are part of my regular use:

MAC Eye Kohl - Creamy, very pigmented and safe for waterline use, I have these in multiple colors.

MAC Technakohl - It sort of reminds me of Clinique’s Quickliner for Eyes, it’s less softer than the pencil formula but has bigger staying power and is safe for waterline use.

MAC Powerpoint - This pencil is waterproof, but I think it’s incredibly coarse and harsh on my lids, also although many people put it on their waterline, I’d rather not.

Chanel’s Le Crayon Kohl - Creamy (sometimes a bit too creamy), but it’s the blackest black eye pencil I have, also safe for Waterline use.

Clinique’s Quickliner for Eyes - It’s a staple and what I love about it is the built in smudger on the other side, the only disadvantage is that you can’t take it out too much because it doesn’t retract and you can’t sharpen it. Otherwise there’s always a Real Black one in my pouch.

Jean Paul Gaultier’s - I love the fact that it looks like a regular pen and that it comes with a a stick concealer, however the concealer shade isn’t universal, and I wish the black was more black and less blue.

Pencil eyeliners are great to carry around, a darker shade in your pouch can change your daytime look to night time in a second.

For a blast from the past, check some eyeliner ramblings here.

The overall image of beautiful lashes is those glamorous thick voluminous lashes that evoke an overall image of glamor and seduction, celebrities like Gwen Stefani are never seen without it. That however doesn’t mean automatically that bigger is better all the time, there are those who already have a set of gorgeous lush lashes and don’t need to coat them in a volume creating product and only would like a slight hint of color and a bit of shine so that you’ll look far more groomed without any added drama.

I have light brown hair and although I have a generous amount of long lashes but they are quite light and therefore rather invisible so I decided to shop around for something that would just add color.

I was a consumer in the past of Jean Paul Gaultier’s Tout Beau Tinted Brow and Lash Groomer but it became clumpy quite quickly and I wasn’t happy with the overall shade selection.

While the results with Chanel seemed too artificial and Helena Rubinstein’s most subdued mascara proved to be beyond dramatic, I was happy to hang the gloves when I decided to browse the Clinique counter. That’s when I saw “Naturally Glossy” and decided to give it a go and I must say it immediately achieved Holy Grail status.

I consider this rather just a tinted lash groomer, it gives your lashes a nice curl, doesn’t clump and they remain perfectly natural and if by any chance a couple of lashes stick together give hit a whisk of a lash brush to separate them.

This mascara also gives a slightly glossy finish (available in Jet Brown or Jet Black) to your lashes making them look groomed and lustrous, remaining soft throughout the day without flaking or drying. This is a makeup item that will be remaining in my makeup bag for the next months.

For the completely opposite effect, check out my review on Helena Rubinstein’s Lash Queen Mascara.

Clinique and I have a love-hate relationship. Somethings I really love, some I really hate (yes, Turnaround cream, I hate you), however I like to give credit where credit is due and here’s one of my favorite products that was revamped.

A few years ago when my poor lips were so dry due to medication, I constantly had to change lip balms because they would stop working after a month and I came across Clinique’s Super Lip Balm and loved it, a few months later I bought the tinted version in Mango and loved it even more.

My only gripe was that the color selection was not satisfying enough. Raspberry was too Pink and Grape was too purple for my lips, have no fear fellow gloss addicts because Superbalm got revamped in a new selection of colors (I’m in love with “Grapefruit”) and in a longer tube. The formula also seems less thick and more comfortable to wear on your lips. So “Grapefruit” is already inside my makeup bag and quite possible it will have new friends in the future. For the upcoming Winter, try Superbalm to keep your lips soft, glossy and gorgeous.

Although sometimes I fear these revamps, Superbalm was a change for the best.

First, let me apologize for my lack of posting, unfortunately my modem decided to die on me and I was unable to post for most of last week. Hopefully everything will be taken care of this week.

And now back to beauty!

This Saturday I attended a small intimate wedding and although I enjoyed the food, my clinical eye didn’t have a moment’s rest while I analyzed everyone’s makeup.

With mental notes enough to last me for the rest of the month, I’ll use this experience to give some tips on how to prepare for a wedding and how to shine your most while enjoying it.

Skincare:

If you want to do a more aggressive facial to make sure your skin looks its best, be sure to do it at least 2 weeks prior to the Cerimony. Some facial treatments will make skin purify itself from inside out and you might experience some skin irregularities.

Make sure you drink a lot of water to allow your body to get rid of toxins, it would be nice if you didn’t smoke but at least drink at least 2 liters of water per day, that will help your skin to look its best.

Before applying makeup:

Treat yourself to a booster (not to be confused with a primer), a booster will infuse your skin with a yummy cocktail of skin nutrients and make it look more radiant. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Chanel’s Instant d’Eclat - Conveniently packed in individual packs, not only boosts your radiance, it helps make skin firmer, transforming dull skin into an “awake state”, use it after your daily cleanse/tone/moisturize routine.

Clinique’s Moisture Surge Facial Sheet Mask - Apply this the night before to fully treat your skin to pure moisture (if you have combination/oily skin) or in the morning (if you have dry/normal skin), to pamper and cushion your skin.

Estee Lauder’s Perfectionist Power Correcting Patch for Deeper Eye Lines/Wrinkles - To give your eye area that extra lift that will make all the difference.

Before going to bed, also coat your lips in vaseline, this super moisturizing balm will heal your lips and help to plump them. The morning before, generously coat your lips in vaseline, let it sit for a couple of minutes and then use a soft toothbrush to exfoliate and remove dry and dead skin cells to ensure maximum lipstick hold.

This concludes the first part of wedding makeup, always remember that beautiful makeup starts with beautiful skin.

Yet another fall collection that hops on the smoky eye bandwagon, although it’s an incredible popular eye makeup technique that never truly goes out of style since it’s worshiped by many followers, Clinique left its squeaky clean look for a sultry, sexier, apparently sexy will be this Thanksgiving look.

Although Clinique suggest a slightly dramatic change of overall look there isn’t a dramatically different (pardon the pun) change to its makeup product lineup.

They have however launched the color surge trios, a three-colored eyeshadow palette of coordinating colors to create the looks suggested with this season overall look and two of them are limited edition.

While glancing at the look in question I wasn’t too thrilled. There’s something about the eye makeup that doesn’t thrill me at all, maybe it’s all that contrast or the colors or finish, or maybe I’m just being picky, but I don’t like it all that much.

The skin appears luminous with a matte finish, with a sophisticated medium coverage foundation with definite emphasis on contouring and cheek definition. The lips are layered with creamy lipstick and topped off with luscious gloss. Also, notice on how the brows are defined but full and intense.

This year is a splurge fest for all of us addicted to smoky eyes and intense colors and while they may take the Sun’s happy rays for the upcoming season it’s as if we are changed from daytime to evening wear as the seasons shift.

I know that this topic has been addressed more often than not, however after what I have seen quite recently, I felt that this particular topic is not addressed often enough. Although magazines, television and doctors keep warning us of the damages caused by sun exposure, many of us think that’s overrated or just plain exaggeration. After what I saw this weekend, I was reminded that it isn’t.

This past weekend, while I was doing makeup for a client I realized that her skin was completely damaged from continuous sun exposure added with the non-existent daily facial regimen of cleansing and moisturizing turned this 35 year old woman’s skin into the skin of late 50s woman. Some of the damage is irreversible and it saddened me that there wasn’t much I could do. I applied makeup and improved a lot but to mask her skin’s bad texture she couldn’t wear dewy sheer foundation like she preferred and we had to resort to a full-coverage foundation.

She works at a school and spends most of her time outdoors with absolutely no protection whatsoever, so in 4 years, she aged 5 times due to not caring about her skin.

Daily protection from the damage of the sun’s rays is not optional, it’s a must to preserve your skin against the harmful action of UVB and UVA, the former directly responsible for causing sunburns and the latter responsible for more long-term damage to the skin.

Sunscreens should be applied all year round and not only when it’s sunny, even through a cloudy sky the sun manages to work its damage on our faces and skin and there are multiple options on what type of formulation to use.

I prefer physical sunscreens (titanium dioxide per example) to chemical sunscreens (oxybenzone) because I have very sensitive skin and usually have allergic reactions to products with oxybenzone. The problem with titanium dioxide is that it reflects light so when it’s present on foundations it will reflect flash light and people will appear washed out on pictures, but this shouldn’t be a problem in our daily lives unless we’re photographed for a living.

Sunscreens are present in makeup primers, moisturizers, foundations and powders so you can enjoy the added protection without having to worry to add YET another product to your beauty routine, so there is no excuse for not wearing adequate sun protection. Usually moisturizers go up to SPF10 and Foundations go up to SPF25.

I prefer daily moisturizers without SPF and will have the protection in either my tinted moisturizer or put on Clinique’s Super City Block SPF25 (oil-free) and reapply every two hours if I’m under continued sun exposure, although it’s recommend to reapply every two hours to insure continued protection.

So, don’t forget sunscreen, you’ll thank yourself in the future.

I have to confess that sometimes I’m a sucker for punishment.

For years now I have tried all sorts of Clinique moisturizers and always give up on them. For some reason they just don’t work and end up breaking me out, so I’ve stayed away from them for quite a while until I was dreadfully tempted by a sample.

Hopping on the anti-oxidant bandwagon, Clinique released its “Continuous Rescue Antioxidant Moisturizer” that not only moisturizes but has time-released anti-oxidants to fight free radical actions and act on fines lines and signs of aging.

Having less than gracious experiences with Clinique moisturizers, although I was curious, I managed to keep myself at bay. When given a sample, I thought to myself “Why not?” if it works it would be a lot cheaper than the line I’m currently using.

The result? The next morning my poor forehead was an abuse victim of my experimentation and I ended up covering up the damage and returning to my regular skincare routine.
At least I gave myself a pat in the back for not buying it.

Sorry Clinique, I guess I’ll keep eating fruits and veggies.