Hot or Not Beauty

There is nothing worse than having the carefully applied eye makeup you spent 10 minutes perfecting run the minute you open the door and a blast of hot summer air and/or humidity hits you in the face. Well I think I’ve pretty much found the solution with the gorgeous Aqua Eyes two-in-one eye shadow and liner pencil.
This water proof makeup has real staying power, with the eye shadow and liner including a formulation that ensures this stays put. There are 20 different shades to choose from and the range has classic browns and grays through to vibrant turquoises and hot pinks. The Aqua Eyes is suitable for use in even the most extreme conditions, remaining resistant to water, and hence resistant to rubbing or fading.
Whether you are looking for a stay fast option for a teary occasion, or the perfect solution to summer humidity and the beach, I urge you to give this one a try.

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.

For the utmost dazzle, glitter has been (ab)used since God knows when, it’s extremely reflective particles allow for spectacular light effects, however wearing glitter around your eye area could prove hazardous to your eye health, so allow me to give you another option with endless possibilities.

Make Up For Ever fused glitter and their ever so addictive Star Powders to create Diamond Powder, a intense reflective and multi-purpose powder that brings your wildest dreams into fruition.

You can mix Diamond Powder with lip balm, lipstick, lip gloss, cream eyeshadow, foundation, body cream, eyeliner medium to create incredible effects on any part of your body.

If you want to funk it up this Halloween, give Diamond Powder a try. Available at Sephora.

MAC released recently a new line of eyeshadows, so matte, they’re Matte².

Most people shiver at the thought of blending a matte eyeshadow, but quite honestly it has to be my favorite finish (as I’ve probably said this in the past) since it is incredibly versatile and adds always a touch of class or subdued beauty.

If you don’t have matte eyeshadows in your palettes, I would strongly advise getting two or three neutral shades depending on your skin tone, this way you’ll always be prepared for a more demanding job interview which will allow you to look incredibly polished but not over-the-hill “LOOK AT MY HIGH FROST WHITE EYESHADOW”, that with a nice satin or matte lipstick paired with a soft matte neutral (or a complimentary) blusher can make all the difference and make you stand out.

My favorites in this collection are “Poison Pen”, “Pen ‘N’ Pink”, “Handwritten”, “Fig. 1″, “Copperplate”, “Brown Script”, “Signed, Sealed”, “Graphology”, “Tete-A-Tint” and “Typographic”. Yes, that’s a lot but I love matte and most likely will buy them all, these shades also can create this season’s glamorous smoky look and the convenience of a matte eyeshadow is that if you want to sizzle it up, you can resort to a funky MAC Pigment for that extra shazam or Make Up For Ever’s beautiful Star Powders to completely transform your look.

Along with the eyeshadows you have a nice toned-down collection of Liquid Last Liners, but quite honestly I never liked this liquid liner formula and it’s always quite “meh” on my book.

It seems to me that Bobbi Brown is starting to become like MAC, in a sense that constantly blurts out new palettes and new looks, instead of making a solid season release to generate even more hype, in the end is just same-old with a bit of a twist.

Metallics was created to add a little “something something” special on what can be a completely casual look for that extra special sexy allure… my answer? “Meh”…

The trouble with highly metallic eyeshadow is that it is EXTREMELY unflattering in more cases than one. Anyone with less than even eyelids, whether because of age or just because they’re crepe-ish, the metallic shine enhances every single crease and fold on your eyelid turning glamorous into frightening with a sweep of a brush.

Although the Velvet Plum palette (per example) is quite pretty, most of them are just too dazzling for my taste, I like super shine when I want to create artificial light effects on the brow bone, the center of the lid or the inner corners and I’ll usually resort to Make Up For Ever’s Star Powder or Diamond Powder or Diamond Eye Shadow for OUTSTANDING shine, so I wouldn’t resort to these colors.

It seems that I am disliking all of Bobbi Brown’s latest releases, but it’s a mere coincidence, it’s just not appealing that much to me.

Shiseido decided to create its cream eyeliner in two rich colors (black and brown), in a small pot with a small portable angled brush allowing swift eyeliner application with a formula that is sweat and water resistant that can create intense graphic look or smudge it for the sexy smoky eye that is so popular this fall!

After Bobbi Brown’s gel liner, all the makeup companies are coming out with gel/cream formulas for their eyeliners, which for me is a plus since I adore this type of eyeliner formular and definitely prefer upper eyelids lined with it, hopefully in future collections Shiseido will come out with more colors.

They also created two gorgeous quads, one featuring black and three pale shimmering colors, white, pinkish and gold (Lunar Phases) inspired in the moon and the starlit sky and a neutral quad for warmer more rich tones (Desert Winds), I personally love these quads and find them timeless.

Along with the new eyeliners comes a new type of Automatic Lip Crayon that can be used as an all-over color, lip liner with a glossy finish giving your lips a moist look that is durable and comfortable. Lipwise, this Fall brings three new neutral lip glosses of which I am so getting Peach Melba when I’m out in my gloss hunts.

This collection presents itself in a sixties mod kind of a look but (coincidently), all the products can be applied in order to create the Fall’s dominant dark smoky eyes and neutral lips look, which makes it very versatile and those lip products are definitely mine.

Although the main look for the suggests suggests flushed rosy cheeks with Accentuating Color Stick, you definitely notice that the second evokes a sculpted contouring with neutral colors creating depth and luminosity. So, if at first glance they seem to be running away from the smoky trend, if you look more carefully, no they’re not.

After evening out and perfecting your complexion, you have created the canvas for the next stages of makeup application.

Before applying your eyeshadow, apply a primer (like Urban Decay’s Primer Potion) and after it’s completely dry, use a large brush and apply a neutral eyeshadow the color of your skin tone to ensure that whatever colors you use afterwards will not stain.

Favorite eyeshadows:

MAC - Eyeshadow
Chanel - Le Quatre Ombres de Chanel
Shu Uemura

There are no rules regarding whatever eye-makeup should be for these types of occasions. You should consider the time of day and what kind of outfit you will be wearing and leave the more heavy and dramatic looks for evening rather than daytime. However there are no set rules, if you want to wear smoky black and deep red lips by all means do so.

Prefer a more holding eyeliner like a gel eyeliner rather than pencil (if you prefer pencil, then opt for a waterproof one) to assure that it will hold throughout the day.

Bobbi Brown’s Gel Liner
MAC’s Fluidline
MAC’s Powerpoint
Guerlain’s Loose Eye Kohl
Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Cream Liner
Make Up For Ever’s Cake Liner

I prefer waterproof mascara for these occasions, even if you’re not emotional you never know when an unexpected tear might appear, so be ready and bullet-proof.

I recommend one of Helena Rubinstein’s mascaras, they’re my personal favorites and allow all type of desired effects, my Holy Grail is Lash Queen. For a mascara primer, use the Shiseido one without a doubt. If you’re more daring then opt for false lashes.

Do your eyebrows with a dark pigmented matte powder, using brow brush that has hard bristles making sure that you don’t overdue the application to avoid the eyebrows ending up too dark and artificial.

Only consider contouring if it’s an afternoon/evening wedding, contouring in the daytime looks extremely artificial and you’ll be drawing attention to areas that you would prefer to keep minimized. You can add a touch of bronzer to the areas where the sun naturally hits your face, but avoid orange pigmented ones or those with too much glitter.

Unless your skin is dry/normal (allowing the use of a cream blush), opt for pressed or loose powder blush, applying it with a light hand to ensure a careful and controlled application (invest in a good blush brush as well) and while a bit of shimmer is perfectly acceptable avoid colors with too much glittery look to them, a softer, more formal look is quite often preferred and photographs a lot better.

Where blushes are concerned, my preferences go to MAC, Chanel and NARS.

There are no definite rules where lips are concerned, try to keep lip-lining as natural as possible and fill in your lips with your liner so you won’t end up with lined lips and nothing else underneath, keep your liner as closest to your lipstick color as possible and usually a creamier lip liner is easier to apply and blend. To avoid harsh lines, blend the liner with your lip brush.

My favorites are Chanel’s Le Crayon Levres and MAC’s Cremestick liner.

Add a touch of gloss for a pouty lip or lay it on for a more lacquered vinyl-ish look with:

Lancome’s Juicy Tubes
MAC’s Tinted Lipglass
Chanel’s Glossimer
Yves Saint-Laurent’s Le Touche de Brilliance
Dior’s Gloss Show
NARS‘ Lip Lacquer

After looking your most gorgeous, the next article will focus on what to bring in your purse to always look your freshest.

MAC’s Smoke Signals is now in stores, yet another collection focusing on smoky eyes, sultry look, nude lips, washed out blush, yada yada bidi bam, bidi boom.

Like in my latest reviews concerning smoky eyes centered collections, it sort of gets hard to generate hype concerning the same look as interpreted by a different cosmetics brand.

First we have two different quads, one towards gray, blue and solid matte black (Gentle Fume Eyes), while the other swirls towards the smoky warm neutrals (Smoke Signals). Where taste is concerned, my eye is immediately caught by the warm/neutral quad, but it’s a matter of personal taste as I find these to be two quads that I definitely would buy (I’ll get least Smoke Signals at least).

Lips are nude and bare, moist (most in Lustre finishes) in creamy seductive beiges just waiting to be complimented by a touch of Tinted Lipglass.

The New MAC Kohls are introduced as Kohl Power Eye Pencils, this new type of pencil was created to provide a deeper color hold and still allowing blending or smudging for that gorgeous smoked effect. Both Orpheus and Raven IMMEDIATELY seduced me (as I’m an eyeliner junkie) and I’ll be getting them to add to my collection (this will promise a review on this liner later on)

The new blushes are (consistent with the overall trend) quite subdued and neutral resulting in a sculpted face that grants an even more alluring aura to the face. Definitely the cotton candy pink blush is on hiatus and the femme fatalle sharpens her claws. Emote is by far my favorite, as I tend to prefer matte blushes for smoky looks.

Smoke signals repromotes also two gorgeous pigments and the creamy nocturnelle nail lacquer, so if you want to get your hands on Dark Soul pigment, now is your chance.

Indeed, the smoke gets in your eyes.

Being still in August, one thinks that it’s still time to look shimmery, bronzed and glistening with sun, the Fall look is looming in fashion magazines everywhere, so, here go a few tips for this years overall Fall options.

Superb polished skin finished with powder, matte is in.

Defined eyeliner application, preferably liquid eyeliner.

Bold, well defined lips as well as full and bold brows.

Highlighters continue highly popular, applied along the nose bridge, over cheekbones and everywhere you would like to enhance areas of your face.

Softer cheek colors in shades that slightly evoke a healthy flush, pinks, peaches and light tones for a hint of healthy glow, but never emulating a Summer complexion or exaggeration.

Smoky eyes and bewitching gazes are also a part of the season (considering by my recent reviews, well duh) and one of MAC’s Fall lineups will include the ever so classic contrast dark eyes/soft lips or vice versa.

Frankly, I am more of a Fall/Winter person than a Summer one, I like the look of polished skin, well groomed lips and most choices that are in this season’s look. One thing is for sure, sweet and girly as well as “just-woke-up-with-makeup-on-from-last-night” are definite no-nos, this season calls for being polished and picture perfect, no matter how casual you are.

Enjoy the Fall, I know I will.

Bold eyes and bold brows are in for this season like I have commented in earlier postings as well as bolder eyeliner with a definite wing to it.

Loved it or hated it, no one stayed indifferent to McQueen’s Egyptian themed collection inspired by Elizabeth Taylor’s “Cleopatra” and done with MAC products, one thing led to another and MAC and McQueen are collaborating to launch MAC’s Fall extravaganza.

Although the runway makeup theme was done with MAC Pro like paint sticks for those intense colors in shades of teal, soft blue, and lime green and now feature three limited edition eyeshadows (Haunting, Nile and Pagan) all with Veluxe Pearl finish and three matching paint pots (Otherworldly, Electro Sky and Pharaoh), contrasting with the bold eye color choices, the lipsticks and lip glosses are neutral and subdued, matching a nearly blush free face and a matte foundation finish.

The biggest novelty in this collection are the new Kohl Power, rich eyeliners with pearly finishes of gold and green were designed to enhance what was already an industry staple (I love MAC Eye Kohl pencils) and prolong wear and color intensity.

For me, it’s a collection that I wait for anxiously for i love McQueen’s bold dramatic style and am quite fond of daring eyeliner design. Also, I really enjoy kohl products so I’m wondering if MAC will present us with a cheaper alternative to Guerlain’s, even without the added glamor of the small amulet like vial.

This collection will be presented in retro style black packaging featuring the MAC logo and Alexander McQueen’s signature in gold.

YES! It seems that the non-smoky eye wearers will have more than one option for this fall’s collection with Armani Beauty.

Inspired by Armani leather accessories and clothes rich in feel and texture, this collection once again is synonymous with luxury.

Eyeshadows tend to go for pink, violet and ashwood tones for lid, crease and browbone with a beige shimmery highlighter that if applied to the inner corner of your eyes adds a pop that makes you look awake (for lack of a better expression).

Armani also released an eyeliner in calligraphy pen format, resembling YSL’s eyeliner pen, whose brush allows you to dot line your lash area for subtle enhancement or a very dramatic and bolder eyeliner in this water based formula (which ensures a less aggressive makeup removal).

Lips are also bold and dramatically, highly defined with lipliner with strong, darker colors and with a pinch of gloss for the usual sexy pout.

Honestly, I love this look. It’s sexy without resorting to smoky eyes (again) and adds a sense of luxury and almost decadence to the overall look. I also love pink eyeshadow and the hues selected for this eye mania palette and the fact that it has a faux snakeskin finish makes it even more glamorous.

There isn’t a big emphasis on blush and cheek definition whereas a paler softer canvas is preferred to emphasize eyes and lips.

True, I have been doing a LOT of Fall Collections for the past weeks, but ’tis the season when they’re being released and I would like to present as many options before you make your choice.

When most of them are going crazy for smoky eyes, Laura Mercier decided to go into the opposite direction towards a more natural and subtle type of beauty, evoking a rather relaxed look that she (appropriately) named Indian Summer.

Indian Summer describes the warm days that late October/November bring to us, as if it was a magical period where Summer comes back just to visit for a few days before turning into Autumn again.

OK, granted that it isn’t a collection with 20 or so different items to purchase, but what I find refreshing is that you can easily purchase this one without going bankrupt.

With three matte eyeshadows (Black Plum, Khaki and Nutmeg) and two shimmer ones (Patina and Gold Dust you can create soft, natural looks and easily transition them from day wear to evening wear.

The real novelty are the promised Lip Stains, for a natural non-defined lip shape with a less intense sheen than a gloss and the durability of a stain with a see-through color that keeps your lips colored but still natural and soft.

So embrace pure relaxation and the comfort feel of Autumn with Laura Mercier if you need an alternative from the smoky eye bandwagon that so many other brands are releasing this Fall.

Smashbox has put up its Fall collection online and presents what seems to be the consensual trend for the coming season, smoky eyes.

It’s kind of hard to sound extremely excited about yet another makeup line that pumps the smoky eyes look after reviewing it a few times now and (although I’m one of it’s fervent enthusiasts) it’s very hard to remain excited as if it was fresh and new.

However, there are a few differences in the Smashbox line and I’d rather emphasize those to give you some other options before you decide what shall be your look for the upcoming Fall.

Complexion wise, all bets are on extremely polished complexions with an obvious foundation feel to them. That’s right girls, Summer is over and falls brings out glamor and sophistication to a highly polished, contoured complexion. Smashbox opts on the other hand for a glamorous bronzy look with a new shade of blush that can be used to warm up your complexion, contour or make your cheeks pop in “Ecstasy” (Limited edition), they also opted for less full eyebrows like most makeup lines.

My personal favorite is the lipstick, the limited edition Decadence Photo Finish Lip Luxe offers a tube of nude lipstick on one side and scrumptious nude gloss on the other for the most exquisite sexy lips. If you don’t like nude lippies, opt for their new Decadence Lip Enhancing Gloss in “Vixen” in a deep berry shade. However, this set brings nothing extraordinary if you think of Yves Saint-Laurent’s beautiful lip twins that offers a multitude of satin lipstick/gloss choices.

Eyeshadow wise, there’s nothing new, the trios offer a graphite/slate or copper/brown choice to smoke up your gaze complementing it with Smashbox’s gel liner.

Last, but certainly not least is a set of seven brushes that offers two limited edition brushes (one buffer brush for perfectly blended face powders, foundations, bronzers and mineral products and an angled blush brush for an expert contouring and face definition) which is slightly pricey, but a wonderful way to start your brush collection, including eyeliner, foundation, brow and two eyeshadow brushes that will start you on the best way for exquisite makeup.

So, if you’re still not picturing a smoky decadent you, Smashbox decides to join in the peer pressure.

Every now and then MAC completely revolutionizes one of their product lineups to introduce a new formulation to the market.

For years, MAC’s Paint tubes were a cult favourite, viewed as one of the best bases to apply eyeshadow on to ensure a more vibrant color and long lasting makeup without creasing or excess weight on the eyelid. MAC’s Paints popularity is only surpassed by Urban Decay’s Primer Potion.

One of the many complaints was that although the tube was quite portable, it would become damaged quite easily leading to the product drying out and becoming unusable.

Using the same type of packaging as their Fluidline eyeliner, the new paints now not only have become re-formulated but visually revamped.

Quite honestly, I prefer the new pot package, for me it’s a lot more convenient to store and a lot less prone to accidents. The whole paint collection includes a considerable amount of colors in both matte and frost finishes.

Paints are fairly easy to apply and since they it has a high pigment content, not only can you apply it with your fingertips, you don’t need a lot of product for great results.

Along with the new colors, MAC has created a new pair of feathered lashes for the most extravagant look possible.