It is certainly no secret that when I find a good bargain, I tend to go…….well…overboard. Surprise! This is no exception. So when I was taking a gander around my favorite neighborhood pharmacy, I became completely excited by these tantalizing goodies by Jordana, called Lip Shine Shimmer Glaze. Now I don’t how they do it but these guys are really amazing. First of all they cost $3.00 for two so ya know I had to get all five colors (Pina Colada, Candy, Strawberry, Sugar Cookie, and vanilla bean) and an extra for my friend Rachel. I mean why make a decision if you don’t have to? Anyway, I decided to put on the Sugar Cookie color which smelled like actual cookies……mmm cookies my second obsession….. but I digress. The color is kind of caramelly/beige with a ton of shimmer in it which is very fab if you’re going for the bronzed out look this summer. In fact, it made me feel so great that I decided to park myself in the middle of Starbucks for a vanilla latte just so people could see the fabulosity of my lips! The only draw back was that I had to reapply it after drinking my coffee so I can’t say it stays on as long as some other glosses. But ya know what? For 3 bucks who cares? And being that it is my tendency to go overboard when the price is right, I just couldn’t stop myself from going back to buy five more for my makeup kit. I can definitely say I heart these glosses. Try them out and let me know what you think!

Way way back when I was but a little speck of a girl, I used to be obsessed with two things, Candy and Cartoons. While some things have not changed (I’m still a compulsive candy fiend), others are all but forgotten. At least that’s what I thought until I saw this amazing gloss from The Too Faced’ Smurf Collection called Mood Swing Emotionally Activated Lip gloss. Seeing Smurfette on my favorite type of product (makeup), stirred up all kinds of nostalgic emotions and I immediately applied a thick, rich coat to my lips.

The wonderful thing about this gloss is that it actually changes colors according to your your mood. Since I was in an upbeat state of mind, it left my lips a beautiful soft pink and lasted for a while. The bonus is the Smurfberry taste which was light and refreshing.

Being a total cosmetic compulsive I felt compelled to buy three, one for me, one for my bag and one for my mom’s Christmas stocking. Guess some things never change.

Too Faced Limited Edition collection is available exclusively at Sephora and Sephora.com.

Glossettes! Did you tune in and watch the Victoria Secret Fashion show???? If not, don’t worry I don’t watch it for the underwear. I watch it for the what??? The makeup of course. It was nothing less than spectacularrrrr darlings. I was just mesmerized.

This year one of my all time favorite makeup guru’s Charlotte Tilbury (think makeup for Louis Vuitton amongst other campaigns) sent the Victoria Secret Angels down the runway swathed in shimmer, shimmer, and more shimmer. She put shimmer on cheeks, all over lids, on the temples, and on the bridge of the nose. To keep the angels from looking like disco balls she paired them down with bronze sun kissed skin and pale nude or peach glossed lips. My favorite part of this look was the cheek color skillfully applied to the apples of the cheeks in a gorgeous peachy/brown tone. So simple and chic. I loved the fact that she kept things very mono-toned on the eyes using one color of either light lemony gold or creme colored ultra shimmer shadow. The effect was so fresh.

Here is a list of must haves if you want to rock this look:

White or creme shimmer loose pigment:

Wet ‘n’ wild White Icing Confetti Pigment Shadow.

Peach Blush:

Victoria Secret Mosaic Blush in Love Life.

Bronzer:

Rimmel Natural Bronzer

Peach lip gloss:

Stila Peach Lip Glaze

Now go dazzle them with this hot look!

Lucia Peroni’s Makeup For Missoni “The Ice Queen”

Hey glossettes! I cannot believe I’m saying this but, the holidays are rapidly approaching. As you all know amongst the list of things to do for the holidays including gifts to buy, and exams to study for, the most important decision you will make (well in my world anyway)  is putting together your holiday look. I have studied all the fabulous makeup trends for fall and really come up with the best trend for Christmas, that is “the Ice Queen”. One of the all time best makeup artist on the planet, Lucia Pieroni created the Ice Queen look for Missoni and I thought it was brilliant!

Here is my recipe for achieving this fantabulous look:

1. Start with your basic face makeup (skip any bronzer or self tanner as this look is pale and frosty).
2. Fill in eye brows with a color that exactly matches your brow hair. Brows should be perfectly filled in and neat.
3. With a shadow brush, apply a matte vanilla colored eyeshadow to the entire  lid from underneath the brow to the upper-lash line.
4. With a crease brush apply a matte gray shadow in the crease of the eye.
5. With a smaller shadow brush apply a shimmering white eye shadow to the bottom half of the lid and the area just right underneath the eyebrow (this give a truly shimmering effect)
6. Take the same small shadow brush and brush a line of shimmering white shadow just underneath the bottom lash line. Make sure this line is neat and clean.
7. With a light brown eye lining pencil, line the inner rim of the bottom lid. this will make your eyes pop!
8. Apply jet black mascara to the upper lashes and brown mascara to the lower lashes.
9. with a small blush brush apply very soft and light brownish pink blush from under the cheekbone all the way to just under the apples of the cheeks. Blend in with a soft face puff to make sure you see just an essence of color.
10. With a flesh colored lip lining pencil, line and fill in the entire lip.
11. Apply soft frosted beigey/pink lipstick to the lips (no gloss here).
12. Apply a white shimmery (not glittery) luminizer just underneath the eyes. Tap this into skin with your forefinger right on-top of your under-eye concealer all the way up to your temples. Do not powder over it.

*Note do not over-use the luminizer on the rest of the face. For this look there should be just a halo of frost around the eyes.

Suggested products

Vanilla eyeshadow:

Clinique Colour Surge eye shadow in stay Matte French Vanilla

Matte Gray eyeshadow:

Urban Decay Matte Eyeshadow in Revolver

Pink/brown blush:

MAC Cosmetics Blush in Strada

White Luminizer:

Benefit Cosmetics in Miss Popularity

Soft beigey/pink Frost Lipstick:

Wet ‘N’ Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in #510A

Now that the clock has been moved back an hour and we are forced to wave an official goodbye to the warm weather, we must pay special attention to taking care of our skin. Most of us (myself included) concentrate on our face. But neglect not the skin on your body! Remember your ole aunt Buella’s turkey neck that you made so much fun off as a child? Or the ripply legs of grandma Sadie? Prevention can do a world of good when it comes to the biggest organ on the human body (yes that’s the skin). Now you probably think just using a great moisturizer is enough. No, no my little chickadees, it is not. Understand that there are dead skin cells which linger upon the top layer of your skin. These suckers must be removed so that when you do apply that fabu moisturizer, it can really do it’s job. “How”, you ask? You have to slough it off! My absolute favorite way to do this is to use C.O. Bigelow Lemon Sugar Body Scrub. This wonderful grainy concoction “exfoliates and moisturizes skin with a blend of pure white and brown sugars, skin-brightening lemon extracts and finely crushed, natural lotus flower and fruit seeds, leaving the skin looking radiant, smooth and renewed”. After I rub this sweet smelling (and you know I love me some sweet stuff) goop all over -paying special attention to my driest spots the legs and arms- I rinse it off with warm water. Then when i’m done bathing, I apply my body moisturizer and self tanner. This three minute process is so worth it as I’m left with silky smooth skin all winter long!

Now you’ll really be prepared to wear your cheer-leading uniform with pride!

Mineralize Blush

 Oooooh baby do I lerv this product. I have a real problem with blush. Because I am super duper pale, the stuff is either too strong and makes me look like someone took a paint brush to my cheeks or it comes right off within ten minutes. So what’s a girl to do? Hmm turns out there is an amazing cheek color that our friends at Mac Cosmetics have created called Mineralize Blush in Merrily.

At first glance, this gilded rust color looks really intimidating and dark. I actually grabbed it thinking it would be the perfect blush for my friend Shareeka (she has a darker complexion) and as luck would have it, it did look stunning on her skin. However, it also happened to look phenomenal on yours truly. I know, miracles do happen. You can apply it just once and get an essence of color on your cheeks but layer this sucker and boom! You control it’s depth easily and flawlessly. The bonus is the sheer veil of gold shimmer it leaves on the skin. So gorgeous.

My favorite  way to wear Merrily is to pair it with a sheer, nude lip-gloss and just a touch of jet black mascara.The look is so chic and fresh for fall!

Greetings my lovely glossers! If you are like me (and shouldn’t everyone be?) you are probably overwhelmed by everything that’s going on in the political arena today. Elections can be both exciting and boring. If you are in a political jumble fear not, I come baring makeup!

I have compiled a list of the most fabulous and totally necessary makeup “must- haves” for fall 2008.

Here they are (in order of my absolute favies):

1. Nude gloss: This is such a must have for the season and the wonderful cosmetic companies have not disappointed me offering up amazing variations of nude to suit every complexion.

My Favorites are:

Stila Lip Polish in Gleam

Maybelline Shine Seduction Glossy LipColor in Nude Glow

2. White/Off White Shadow: Whit shadows are wonderful to give you the”ice princess look” which was all over the runways for fall ‘08. Use a white shimmer all around the eyes, then pair it with amazing cranberry lips, and a touch of red blush on the apples of the cheeks. So chic!

Wet ‘n’Wild MegaSparkle Confetti in white Icing

CoverGirl  CG Eyeslicks Gel in Cream Soda

3. Cranberry Lipstick:Usually I hate any harsh color on the lips but a cranberry stained pout just looked so incredibly fresh on dewy skin with shimmering eyes. I just couldn’t resist.

JK Jemma Kidd Classic Couture Lip Color - Siren

Sonia Kashuk Sheer Lip Color in Paradise

4.  Bright Colored Eyeshadow (I love Green or purple for a splash of color): So many artist sent models down the runway with huge splashes of color on their lids. Shocking and delicious in hues of grape and turquoise. But beware, you run the risk of looking like a Ringling Brothers outcast so keep the rest of the face fresh and virtually color free with soft natural lips.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Flash

L’oreal HIP Pure Pigment shadow Stick in Exhilarating

5. Gilded lids: Bronze and gold lids ruled this season. Pat McGrath started this by coated lids with a rich gold that looked like molten metals. So ultra glam and looks great on everyone. This look is perfect for a school dance or hot date.

Tarte Lock & Roll Creaseless Eyeshadow Duo

CG Eye Enhancers 1 kit Eyeshadow in Gold Sizzle

Now you are armed and ready for fall!

Oooh glossers. Many of you know I dig the sweet stuff almost as much as the makeup! In fact, I often indulge in a bit of the sugary yum yums after a great day of shopping for cosmetics. Clearly I allow my hedonism to lead the way after-all we only live once. Rarely do I find a product which marries my two obsessions with such fabulousness as Dylan’s Candy Bar Butter Cream in Chocolate Cupcake. I found this groovy stuff at Sephora (where else) the other day. I don’t often venture into the body lotion area of the store because being a sufferer of ADD I usually get sidetracked enough with the makeup. However, my friend Azar was looking for a body lotion so she forced my attention elsewhere and thank god she did. Since I was famished anyway from the hardships of shopping, my eyes quickly focused on the words “chocolate cupcake”. This sounded like it would really hit the spot so I slathered it on my arms. Oh boy oh boy was this lotion sinful! I was in heaven. It really smelled like a homemade cupcake and it nourished my skin deliciously. I literally became a smelling animal grabbing each product in the line and sniffing it’s contents. Poor Azar was finally forced to tear me away kicking and screaming. I did manage to grab onto the body butter for dear life and purchased the little treat! Now I cannot stop smelling myself and feeling all yummy.

Love it when life turns out this sweet.

Beyonce “If I were a Boy”

Glossers! I have been getting massive amounts of phone calls from, well just about everyone asking for this amazing Beyonce look. If you happen to live under a rock and have not seen Miss B’s hot new video for “If I Were A Boy”, you are missing some amazing makeup!

I believe makeup artist extraordinaire Francesca Tolot (could not get confirmation on this fact though) did the honors. Ms. Tolot brilliantly made Beyonce look both natural and smokey hot, all at the same time (can you say genius????).

So for all you Beyonce fans, I have put together a great little recipe duplicating her look in this hot video! Of course you’ll need to insert your own fierceness to really make it work. Good Luck ladies!

1.  Apply makeup primer to clean and moisturized face.
2. Apply minimal amount of foundation to face by placing a dot of foundation on forehead,apples of the cheeks, and chin. Then blend into skin using a slightly damp latex makeup sponge.
3. Apply concealer as needed paying special attention to the under eye area, around the sides of the nose, and any blemished area. Blend well into skin.
4. With a large powder brush apply loose powder to t zone of the face.
5. With a brow pencil, draw a line on the top of the brow only, following the shape of the brow, then blend with a q-tip so it’s not severe. After, brush the brow hairs upward using a brow brush.
6. With your finger tips apply a golden luminizer to middle of your forehead, bridge of the nose, temples, tops of the cheekbones, and middle of the chin. Blend well you don’t want to look like a disco ball.
7. Line top and bottom of the eyes with a medium matte brown eyeliner.
8. With a skinny shadow brush apply a matte brown eye shadow over that liner and smudge (this line should be fairly thick on the bottom and a bit darker on the inner have of the eye).
9. Apply two coats of black mascara to the top lashes and then to bottom outside corner only. Let it dry.
10. With the small shadow brush, apply the gold luminizer to the eyelids. Make sure it dries before you start to blink your eye so it doesn’t smudge the liner.
11. Apply nude color lip liner to the outside of the lips, then color in the inside of the lips using this lip liner as well.
12. Apply nude lipstick.

There’s your hot new Beyonce look. Good luck fighting off the guys with a stick!

Suggested products:

Foundation: Beyond Natural Skin Matching Makeup.

Luminizer: JK Jemma Kidd Spotlight Intense Highlight Creme in After Show.

Lipstick: Cover Girl Continuous Lipstick in In The Nude.

  STEELE

Hello glossers. It’s been way too long and I’ve missed you ever so much. If you’re wondering what in the world happened to me, well it’s way too long and boring to go into. I will sum it up by saying I was working way too many crazy hours and on-top of that, writing a book for you guys which should be out soon. I’ll let you know when that is.

But enough of that boring stuff. You wanna see some makeup and I am not one to disappoint.

Last week my bestie Ron promised to take me out to buy me a great mop. Yes, I said a mop. I have been complaining for months about the lack of good quality mops and as Ron told me quite frankly, he was “sick of hearing about it”. So while we went around to various home stores, we stopped into the big Sephora on 34th street. Whilst there, Ron spy-ed the most fabulous polish (don’t ask me how I missed it) called Calvin Klein Unstoppable Nail Enamel in Steele which he then proceeded to purchase for me as a gift . Let me tell you, when he handed it over, it was love at first sight.

This steele color is a dark gray metallic that comes out rich and shiny on the first coat. It was like a brand new car! Of course, once I used the steele color, I hightailed it back to Sephora to check out the other lil gems in this polish collection. Not surprisingly, all the colors (five in entirety) were just as gorgeous. While my favorite is still Steele, a close second is Barefoot. It’s this outlandishly shimmering, beige color. Perfect on those toes when you’re wearing some painful but oh so cute high heeled sandals. Honestly, I am going to have a heck of a time deciding which polish to wear! Hmm I may have to just resign myself to getting more mani/ pedi’s. Life sure is hard.