Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup

A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

Have You Tried Artdeco Makeup?

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They’re a cruelty-free brand from Germany that my friend Marina over at MakeUp4All introduced me to recently.

These items are some colors from their spring/summer 2012 collection.

Aren’t the lil’ pans super cute? I love how you can customize your own palette.

Artdeco’s a little hard to find in stores in the US, but you can get them online over at tenderlovingskincare.co.uk. Shipping to the US is a flat rate of £5.50 (about $8.73…not bad!).

Oh, I’ve also got my eye on a few of the colors from the new Dita Von Teese Classics Collection that recently launched. The lipsticks looks DOPE!

Have you used anything from Artdeco before? What do you think of the line?

No Brush? No Problem! Introducing the Long-Lasting LORAC PRO Cream Eyeliner + Brush

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lorac pro cream eyeliner brush

The culmination of a new LORAC/NASA collaboration, the brush attached to the cap of LORAC’s new Pro Cream Eyeliner + Brush will be sending Earth’s next unmanned spacecraft to Mars!

Just kidding. NASA had nothing to do with this product…but I still think the brush is pretty dope. 🙂

Unscrewing the end of the cap reveals the tiny brush tucked away inside. Hello, convenience.

I usually reach for gels or pencils to line my eyes, but I’ve been enjoying these long-wearing cream liners lately, which come in Dark Brown, Plum, Navy and Black ($19 each). Pretty great for softly lined eye looks and/or smudgy eyes.

lorac pro cream eyeliner brush product shot

lorac pro cream eyeliner brush product shot

lorac pro cream eyeliner brush
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Judging by These New Rouge Bunny Rouge Glassy Gloss Shades, Some Bunny Loves Smokey Eyes

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rouge bunny rouge sweet excesses glassy gloss 078 Rhubarb Custard
Rouge Bunny Rouge Sweet Excesses Glassy Gloss in 078 Rhubarb Custard

You know what always cheers me up?

Hugs. And dessert. 🙂

And makeup. Most of the time. Right now, though, I’d really like a hug…

Can Tabs and I get a hug?

Thank you, and thank you for your nice words in the comments earlier today. You’re the Blanche, Rose and Dorothy to my Sophia (Golden Girls 4 life!).

Okay, lock it down, K. No more tears today…

So, I mentioned dessert (and my mouth is watering, of course) — you know what would really hit the spot right now? Something sweet, like these new sweet treat-themed Rouge Glassy Glosses from Rouge Bunny Rouge.

rouge bunny rouge sweet excesses glassy gloss
From the left: 078 Rhubarb Custard, 079 Rahat Lokum, 080 Raspberry Meringue, 081 Cherry Clafoutis and 082 Mousse Fandango

The five sheer, new shades are part of RBR’s Summer 2012 Mistral Collection. If you like super sheer (almost transparent), non-sticky, lightly tinted glosses with a mirror-like shine, you might get a kick out of these.

While technically part of a summer release, they’re destined to be worn with a pair of smokey eyes this fall.

Looking at them and seeing their names, I keep craving pink hard candies…but maybe that’s just me.

The new Rouge Bunny Rouge Glassy Gloss shades

  • 078 Rhubarb Custard: a semi-sheer, milky nude rosewood
  • 079 Rahat Lokum: a pale, shimmery, milky pink with a moderately pearly finish
  • 080 Raspberry Meringue: a pale pink with soft mother of pearl micro-shimmer (Rouge Bunny Rouge says this shade doesn’t have a strong color but makes lips look naturally pretty)
  • 81 Cherry Clafoutis: a sheer, blue-based, cool pink with warm golden opalescence
  • 082 Mousse Fandango: a dark, milky pink with a whisper of grayish mauve, and a touch of silver micro pearl

rouge bunny rouge sweet excesses glassy gloss 2

rouge bunny rouge sweet excesses glassy gloss swatches
From the left: 078 Rhubarb Custard, 079 Rahat Lokum, 080 Raspberry Meringue, 081 Cherry Clafoutis and 082 Mousse Fandango
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The New LORAC Pro Powder Cheek Stains and Wednesday Greetings

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LORAC PRO Powder Cheek Stain closed
The new LORAC Pro Blushes, $20 each; available now at Sephora

I sat down this morning intending to dish about the new LORAC Pro Powder Cheek Stains (5-second overview: fan-frickin’-tastic! Super pigmented, and yet easy to blend and surprisingly natural looking for something with an 8-hour wear time), but I just haven’t been able to concentrate…

LORAC PRO Powder Cheek Stain open
All five of the new LORAC Pro Powder Cheek Stains clockwise from the lower left: Coral Crush, Petal Pink, Plum Passion, Rosy Glow and Ruby Rouge

LORAC PRO Powder Cheek Stain swatches
Coral Crush, Petal Pink, Plum Passion, Rosy Glow and Ruby Rouge

My mind keeps wandering thousands of miles away…to my mom. She and my dad are visiting family in the Philippines right now, and I haven’t seen them in more than two months.

I’ve always lived within driving distance of them, so it’s weird being this far away for so long.


Me and my mom on Mother’s Day last May

Late last night Mom emailed to tell me that her mom, my grandmother, passed away over the weekend…

I posted a picture of her earlier this year. She was one of my glam grannies, the one who went to fashion school.

I didn’t know her very well because I was still a baby when my parents and I left the Philippines.

There were some letters and cards over the years, but my only clear memory of her was from the one time we met as adults. It was on a trip that my mom and I took to the Philippines in 2000.

Wow…I can’t believe that was 12 years ago.

I remember us driving out to the countryside, or “the province,” as my mom would say, and spending the afternoon with her family.

They prepared a huge lunch for us, and while we ate and chatted as best we could, with me not understanding the dialect spoken by my mom’s side of the family very well, my grandmother told us stories about my mom as a kid.

My granny was a tiny woman, small but tough, with a smile that lit up the room. When I met her, even though her face was lined with wrinkles, she was such a beauty.


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Laura Mercier’s Lightly Luminous Crème Smooth Lip Colours Will Last Through Lunch

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laura mercier spiced rose
Laura Mercier Crème Smooth Lip Colour in Spiced Rose

Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away…

Laura Mercier Crème Smooth Lip ColourOkay, so it wasn’t that long ago. More like last year. But nevertheless, last year at this place I’m talking about there lived a lipstick lover who, despite her best efforts, couldn’t find a long-wearing, moisturizing lipstick to save her life.

Every time she came close, she would fall into despair, with the contender leaving her parched pout just as dry and cracked as before.

Not one to give up easily, our lipstick lover looked and looked for the elusive creature, only to come up empty handed. Disappointed, she began to doubt that such a creature existed at all, and then one fall (this fall, actually), a field of moisturizing lip products sprouted up on shelves!

She saw Make Up For Ever’s glossy new Aqua Rouge Liquid Lip Colors and the Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipsticks from Hourglass, which covered her matte bases, but she still needed something in between…

Her heart longed for a shiny, long-wearing lipstick — but not too shiny — packed with pigment and comfortable to wear.

Just then, something caught her eye over at the Laura Mercier counter…

laura mercier creme smooth lip colour
From the left: Crème Coral (a tawny peach), Rosewood (a warm dusty rose) and Spiced Rose (a rose beige)

It was Laura’s new $26 Crème Smooth Lip Colours, available in 18 shades.

I’ve been getting to know a few of them this week — tawny peach Crème Coral, warm Rosewood and rosy beige Spiced Rose — and they make a pretty good first impression.

Effortlessly lightweight, natural-looking and oh-so-moisturizing, they also have a semi-luminous finish with a light shine.

One rich layer of the unscented, unflavored formula, which Laura loaded with olive oil and vitamin E, completely covers my lips with color and eradicates any flakes.

laura mercier creme smooth lip colour swatches
From the left: Crème Coral (a tawny peach), Rosewood (a warm dusty rose) and Spiced Rose (a rosy beige)

laura mercier coral crush
Crème Coral
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