Make Me Brighter

Mac DSquared

cleegiants — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:00:00 -0700

It's been a while since I've highlighted any new collections, so most of you probably know that this is out already. DSquared by MAC is a small-ish collection that came out Monday, September 28th. It includes a couple of Sculpt & Shape powders that are usually only at pro-stores, so if you're looking for something different, check it out. Grease sticks, lipsticks, lip balms, and an eyeliner round out the collection.

From MAC:
Every season the fashion crowd is up and on the run, crazy for the fierce and sexy fun we’ve come to expect from designers Dan and Dean Caten, the Canadian twins who know how to pack a punch and throw a party! With their haute hi-jinx and body-beautiful clothes for boys and girls, a collaboration with MAC simply could NOT be avoided! “DSquared2 and MAC are on the same trip!” says Dan. This collection brings us to the Ziegfield Follies by way of Grey Gardens, a bit disheveled, a little Girl Interrupted, both dramatically hip and dangerously sexy.

It starts with a strong, sooty, blackest-ever wild-child eye…a new Greasepaint Stick also in blue and violet versions, and Pro Gloss to create it. Neutral and perfected skin will get more drama with highlighting and low lighting from Sculpt and Shape Powders and the 165 Tapered Cheek/Highlight Brush all the better to achieve it. And finally, the totally nude Pro Lip Erase does its stuff, followed by a light Lipstick and Lip Conditioner to put the lilt and lift back in…. But the cynosure of this season’s scintillating collaboration is the daring, dramatic slightly demented DSquared2 eye. Have fun with it!

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Nars Orgasm Collection

cleegiants — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Yesterday I highlighted the Stila Kitten products; today it's time for Nars and the Orgasm collection. Honestly, I don't understand the names of Nars; very errr...sensual. I think part of its allure may be its name, but whatever the reason, Orgasm blush is a best seller and usually tops beauty editors' lists of flattering shades.

I'd describe Orgasm as a light peachy pink. I don't think it's the most flattering blush shade for me personally, but I've used it on some other friends with different coloring from me and it really does highlight the cheekbones in a beautiful way. I make Orgasm work with my skintone by using it with the Laguna bronzer that it's often paired with. With the success of Orgasm, Nars capitalized on its popularity to release a slew of other products in with the same name. Other products include a nail polish, lipgloss, and what they call the "multiple", a creamy stick that can be used on the eyes, cheeks, lips, and the body.

The Multiple in Orgasm
Lip Gloss (not in Orgasm)

Orgasm/Laguna Blush Bronzer Duo plus Orgasm Nail Polish Set

Super Orgasm Blush - similar to Orgasm, but with even more gold glitter.

As a whole, I think the Orgasm works best on fair to medium skin tones. I did try the lipgloss at Sephora a little while ago and while it was okay, I find that there are more flattering colors that suit me. As for the original blush, like I said it's not my best color, I personally prefer Sin, which is the color on the left in the picture.

Stila Kitten Collection

cleegiants — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Over the years, beauty junkies like me have seen some products reach what I would describe as mass saturation. Beauty editors plug this product for a period of time, so much so that the company decides to branch out and offer another version. Today I'm going to highlight the first of two such products: Stila Kitten and Nars Orgasm. Um okay the names are not my idea and I realize that this pairing could be construed in a number of different ways. So it's best to just move on. Today, as you guessed from the title, is about Stila Kitten

A bit of background: Stila Kitten first debuted as an eyeshadow.back in 1997. A ton of people fell in love with it's neutral, beige color with a touch of pink and shimmer. It's on the frostier/shimmery side as far as shadows go, so it may be a little much for an all over lid application, but works great as a highlighter on the brow bone. Personally, i have used it all over since I have small eyes, and I generally use other colors as well.

So that's what it looks like on the website: And here it is on my hand; the frostiness really comes through here.

And now, here is how it looks on my eye - just the left side here, so you can see the difference it makes.

Normally I wouldn't wear Kitten alone, but now you have an idea of how neutral it is. Since it is such a flattering color, Stila has released 4 other products under the Kitten name. I have to admit, without trying them, the lip products might be too pale for me., I am unsure about how it will work with my skintone.I think it might be a good layering option to lighten up a dark lipstick or to add some shimmer to a neutral, but I probably wouldn't wear it alone.

Kitten Lip Shimmer Gloss
Kitten Lip Glaze
Kitten Silk Eye Shadow Wash

So that's the Kitten collection from Stila. I think the other natural fit would be a nail polish, but otherwise, this is a neutral collection that most people should find pretty wearable. All the products should be available wherever Stila products are sold.

Win Lancome's Fall Lineup

cleegiants — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Who doesn't like winning? Head over to Allure.com to enter for your chance to win Lancome's Fall Makeup collection. I have a few items from the collection which I adore (and hopefully will be reviewing soon). The only thing that's not part of this collection that should be is the cobalt blue brush set, but that was a Nordstrom Anniversary exclusive. The eyeshadow and eyeliners are superb in any event. The whole collection has a value of $513. So what are you waiting for? Enter now!

Prescriptives: The End

cleegiants — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:00:00 -0700

A bit of sad news: Prescriptives, which is owned by Estee Lauder, is being shut down at the end of the year. I have a number of products from prescriptives including their custom foundation. I know that many people love the custom service, as you're able to work with an artist to develop your perfect shade. I got matched a couple years ago and the shade is currently a little too light for me, but it was a perfect match at the time. They also have a good selection of eyeshadows and lipsticks to choose from. So if you want anything from Prescriptives, I'd head over to your local counter or online to pick up stuff before it goes away.

Right now, you can pick up some free goodies too with a foundation or skincare purchase of $32.50 or more. While you can't get the custom foundation online, the All Skins Mineral Makeup is a good mineral foundation.

My bad

cleegiants — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Why hello there! Remember me? I wouldn't blame you if you didn't; it's been a couple months since I've posted! Whoopsies. I don't really have a good excuse because yes, I'm still one of the millions unemployed, so it's not like I didn't have time. I feel like life is trying to keep me down but I keep kicking to stay afloat. Is anybody else tired of this recession? I am! So while I may not be getting paid to do anything productive, my beauty routines and purchases have not gone ignored. I haven't been able to indulge as much as I would like, but I do have things to share with you, so hopefully you'll forgive my absence as we move forward.

So what am I looking forward to most in the coming weeks? MAC Style Black. Admittedly, it's a collection of pretty dark...black...makeup products, so it might not be for everyone, but it's the skincare items that have me drooling. I missed out on the Volcanic Ash Exfoliator the first time it came out (a year ago?) so I am not going to be denied this time. Or so I hope. I heard rave reviews about it, so I'm a little worried that it won't be all that, so I'm trying to temper my excitement a little. There's also a mask that I'm so going to check out as well because I love masks. Every week or so, I can be found with a mask or two on, as I treat myself to a mini-facial. So get thee over to your local Mac counter on Thursday, September 24th to check out Style Black.

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MAC Love That Look

cleegiants — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Update: Love That Look is available now! The four repromoted shades are Smoke&Diamonds, Glamour Check, Grand Entrance, and Dreammaker. Interesting because I think I have all four of those. Heh...guess I chose the popular colors then. I saw them at my local Nordstrom's and I thought most of the colors were gorgeous. Here's my thoughts are a couple of colors.
Rated R is the only color I would hesitate to buy simply because it's a very yello/green shade that is hard to pull off. If you own Sharp or Bitter, they're very similar.
Strike a Pose is this gorgeous sea blue. It's similar to Plumage (permanent), but it's more shimmery.
Ego is described as a yellow pink, but I think it's just a nice baby pink. A versatile color that will be great at highlighting.
One Off is this pure green - not too blue, not too yellow.

Coming in August July to MAC is Love That Look, a collection of 12 eyeshadows and 4 pearlglide eyeliners. If you missed out on Smoke&Diamondseyeshadow last year, it's being repromoted! Holla! Sorry, that's cheesy, I'll stop now. I think most of the shades are limited edition, but I don't have the exact information available yet.

Here is the preliminary information i do have:

Eyeshadows:
Grand Entrance: Cool apricot beige
Smoke & Diamonds: Dirty dark grey
Glamour Check:Reddish brown
Strike a Pose: Dirty deep sea blue
Ego: Light yellow pink
Fashion Groupie: Light, blue violet
Unbasic White: Snow white
One-Off: Medium green with silver pearl
Rated R: Light, yellow green
Style Snob: Dirty pink brown with gold pearl
Fashion: Light gray-green with gold pearl

The four pearlglide eyeliners are Fly by Blu, Black Russian, Molasses, Rave

Grand Entrance
Strike a Pose
One-Off
Fashion
Rated R
Smoke & Diamonds
Unbasic White
Glamour Check
Fashion Groupie
Dreammaker
Style Snob
Ego

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Round 2 of Weddings: the Maid of Honor

cleegiants — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:30:00 -0700

I showed you the pictures from the wedding I did 2 weeks ago earlier, so here are the pictures from the wedding I did just a week ago. I have a few more pictures for you and I actually have more specific product names and colors. It was interesting to see how the makeup held up since the weather was H-O-T in the Bay Area this weekend. The church where the ceremony was held was air conditioned, but standing outside in the heat for any length of time would certainly cause the makeup to melt off!

First up is the Maid of Honor, the bride's sister Denise.

Before

I start the application process.

Applying false lashes

The eyelashes really made Denise's eyes pop.

Bah. I realize now that I didn't take a direct "after" picture of Denise's makeup. This was taken at the end of the evening though, so you can see that her makeup held up well!

Here's what I used:
Eyes: Urban Decay Primer Potion, MAC Eyeshadow in Shrrom: For the grays, I used this 4 pan Stila compact's light gray color (I don't have a name for it) and the dark gray is the dark gray in Lancome's 4Romance palette. Liner is Estee Lauder DoubleWear in Graphite
Face: Prepped face with Exuviance Matte Perfection, Exuviance Skin Caring Foundation, Make Up For Ever HD Powder, Nars Blush/Bronzer in Orgasm/Laguna
Lips: Oops...forgot this one. I think it's a Bobbi Brown lipstick I got for free somewhere.

Denise and her makeup artist.

Chanel's Fall 2009: Venice Beckons

cleegiants — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:00:00 -0700

I think that if I had a choice, Italy would be the first European country I'd choose to visit. There are other places I want to see for sure, but there's something about Italy that is calling my name. Okay it's probably more the food than anything (pasta is my friend!), but Chanel has decided that their Fall 2009 makeup would be inspired by the city of Venice. I have images of lovely gondolas and canals in my head; someone who's been there can tell me if these colors are reminiscent of Venice. I have previously stated that as much as I love Chanel stuff; the price point is pretty high. It's a sad thing too, because I'm quite intrigued by a couple of items in this collection. But the job market is still "in transition". Bah! My one thought would be that this is cheaper than actually going to Venice.

Eye Gloss: Lumnious Cream Quadra Eyeshadow. If I had $65 for one product, this would be it. The consistency of these shadows is just so unique! It's very much like lip gloss, but it's for the eyes. It's a good thing these colors are not pink or red, otherwise I'm fairly certain a lot of people would use it on the lips. But seriously, I'd be interested in seeing how this wears on everyday people. I've seen some other blogs and it appears to be a good layering tool, which I can see being true.

This is the other item I covet: Tweed Sienna blush. At $45 for a blush though, it's not something I would be purchasing though, so I'll just look at the pretty effect it creates. I think the blush would be great for a lot of people; it looks like you'll get a nice pink and some bronzer.

Two nail polishes. Pretty, but meh. Intermezzo is more interesting since it's a pearly white and I can honestly say I don't have a white nail polish.

Have you heard of ILLAMSQUA?

cleegiants — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:30:00 -0700

Until about 3 months ago, I had never heard of this brand. Illamsqua. I first heard the name on All Lacquered Up and certainly thought the colors were pretty. Since it was heralded as a brand for those in the U.K., I didn't pay it much thought. Then about a month ago, I saw some rumors that it might be coming to the United States via Sephora. Other beauty bloggers talked about it with great excitement. Illamsqua's motto is "makeup for your alter ego". I love it! I like to think my alter ego is much more daring and fabulous than I actually am and I love that their makeup looks are full of color and drama.
Here are some of the images that are on Sephora's website to introduce the brand:

Interesting! Illamsqua is definitely not a Bobbi Brown type company that goes for a natural, every day look. The prices are at a premium; nail polish is $14.each; eyeshadows $20.each; lipsticks $20.each; false lashes are $16.each. It's not as much as say, Chanel or Nars even, but not just a drugstore brand. I haven't tried anything from the brand, but when it comes to stores in the U.S. later this summer (August or early fall), I'll check it out and let you know if anything is worth it. For now, check them out on Sephora's website and see if there's something you'd like.