He’s preparing for a vigorous session of posing on the bed!
According to Tabs, it takes years to perfect the art of looking simultaneously sultry and disinterested.
I Can Assure You Tabs Is Not Doing Sit-ups
In the Bronzer Olympics, the NYX Matte Bronzers Get the Gold
Wearing NYX Bronzer in Medium
To the uninitiated, spotting the differences between the new NYX Matte Bronzers and the many other compact bronzing powders currently on counters is like trying to tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi blindfolded without tasting either one.
In other words, it’s tough.
After all, like most of the bronzers vying for our attention this summer, these new ones from NYX promise to do the same things — deliver a natural-looking, honey-like glow for your skin.
But if MAC is trying to rule the department store market with their Pro Longwear Bronzing Powders, NYX is going after drugstore divas and budget-minded babes with their five new Matte Bronzers.
At $9 each, the prodigious 0.33-ounce pans shout “BARGAIN!” from their perches in drugstore makeup aisles. For the price of one MAC Pro Longwear Powder, you could get two of these from NYX and still have enough change left over for a drugstore ice cream cone (do you like mint chocolate chip?). 🙂
I’ve been wearing three of the five shades this week, and impressed doesn’t come close to describing how I feel. Blown away is more like it.
Clockwise from the lower left: Medium, Deep and Light
None of that “BS” Oompa-Loompa orange business here. No way. The golden russet glow these bestow upon skin is worthy of beach barbeques and pool parties.
Very long beach barbeques and pool parties.
How long?
Well, starting with that first buttery cob of sweet corn, they last past the late-night singalongs and woozy revelations (like “S’mores are so genius!” and “Whoever invented nude wedges deserves a medal!”), and all the way until you’ve said your goodbyes before packing up the cooler to head home.
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Bonjour, Mon Amour: With Tocca Violette Eau de Parfum, It’s Chic to Be Shy
It’s her smile you notice first.
You’re strolling across the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris on a crisp, clear spring day when you see her standing by the railing, a shy smile on her lips, her hair swept in a chic chignon. A scarf is draped effortlessly around her neck, and she’s holding a bouquet of violets by her side.
She pauses to take in the City of Light and the River Seine below, leaning against the railing with her hands tucked beneath her chin and staring off into the distance, her eyes faraway and dreamy.
Ah, you know that look…the look of first 
love, when the mere thought of your beloved awakens every cell in your body with a tingling that begins at your toes and works its way up through your spine.
A breeze turns toward you, bringing with it an intoxicating aroma of vanilla, rose, musk, black currant berries and violet.
The girl breaks from her reverie, caught by your gaze, and smiles warmly. You return the feeling, knowingly, as you pass her along the bridge, recalling another time, so many years ago, when you, too, stood in almost the same spot, basking all-too-briefly in the same glow with your American writer, so tall and beautiful, with his brown hair and hazel eyes.
Whatever happened to him? you wonder. Does he still think of you, like you think of him?
Almost across the bridge now, you close your eyes once again and breath deeply, drawing in as much of the scent as you can, letting it sweep you up in its loving embrace.
Another happy girl on the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris, 2005
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The NYX Illuminating Bronzers: Has NYX Invented a $9 Time Machine? Inquiring Minds Want to Know
Wearing NYX Illuminating Bronzer in Chaotic on my cheeks
Shimmery bronzing powders in almost blush-like shades of luscious peach and pink aren’t exactly uncharted territory. Chanel, for example, has been there, done that, a few times before.
But NYX weaved quite a tapestry together with their three new Illuminating Face and Body Bronzers. By combining eminently flattering shades with a pearly finish and a soft, comfy texture, and then keeping the price well below department store, they created something greater than the sum of its parts.
All it took was a few swipes of Narcissistic (a beige), Chaotic (a golden peach) and Magnetic (a peachy pink) to get me hooked on all three.
The marketing material doesn’t say, but I wonder if NYX co-created them with Cher, because they are, after all, designed to “turn back time.” 🙂
How so?
By bestowing a natural radiant glow to the skin that also diffuses incoming light, helping skin appear softer and, or so I hope, younger.
Yeah…I can’t even begin to tell you how appealing that sounds now that 37 is officially less than two weeks away!
But seeing as how I can’t really stop this train I’m on, I’ve been doing my best to slow it down embrace the inevitable with positivity and panache.
Now, when people call me “ma’am,” I try to own that sh*t! — but that does not mean refusing a little makeup help along the way.
Like Fox Mulder with his aliens, I really want to believe, LOL!
What do you think? Do I look 10 years younger wearing Chaotic, my favorite of the three shades, up there at the top?
Okay, how about 5? 🙂
The NYX Illuminating Bronzers, clockwise from the lower left: Narcissistic, Chaotic and Magnetic
Swatches from the left for comparison: NYX Illuminating Bronzer in Narcissistic, Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Luminous Bronzing Powder in Sable Beige, NYX Illuminating Bronzer in Magnetic, NARS Blush in Luster, NYX Illuminating Bronzer in Chaotic and Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Luminous Bronzing Powder in Sable Rose
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NYX Illuminating Bronzer
NYX Illuminating Bronzers, $9 each.
Pretty, yah?
Everything Is Better…
…when I’m standing next to water. Even if it’s just a fountain in Yountville.
I love the colors in this pic. The peaches, blues and greens. So soothing!
A Safari of Shimmer Awaits Cheeks, Lips and Eyes Wearing the LORAC Wild for TANtalizer Collection
Good news, you gorgeous golden jungle cat. You won’t have to prowl much further for a meow-worthy makeup collection (or a purse, for that matter) to go with that post-Memorial Day tan.
Part-time shimmery seductress, full-time toasty temptress, LORAC’s Wild for TANtalizer Collection ($39) roars on to cheeks, lips and eyes with shimmery eyeshadows, bronzer and lipstick in warm shades of bronze, beige, brown, gold and peach.
And after a successful hunt, the pieces in this pride of LORAC lionesses retreat to the safety of their very own canvas-like carrying case. The purse comes with the collection and holds everything a big cat needs — makeup, iPhone, perfume, hand/paw lotion. Ya know, the usual. 🙂
In case you’re wondering, the striped pattern on the pan of Wild for TANtalizer Bronzing Powder is an overspray…
Question: When Is a Liquid Also a Solid? Answer: When It’s the LUSH Godiva Shampoo Bar
For me, in the realm of suspicious things, a solid shampoo ranked right up there with men who wear thumb rings, and gray-hued, overcooked veggies (have you ever seen grey broccoli?).
So yeah…I eyed Lush’s Godiva Shampoo Bar ($10.95) with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Designed to clean and condition dry, processed hair, it suds up into a lather like a regular soap bar but also contains a whole slew of moisturizing oils, as well as shea butter and other botanicals like hibiscus, jasmine and gardenia.
As you can probably imagine, the directions make it sound pretty easy to use. Just wet your mane, run the bar across it a few times to get a good lather going, shampoo as usual, and rinse.
Sounds easy enough, right? But so do many 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner products, even the ones that leave my already dry, wavy, highlighted hair a tangled mess of crispy fried noodles…
That’s where the testing comes in. 🙂
The first time I brought the bar into the shower with me I said, “WOW!” Talk about serious bubbles. And the scent? Trademark Lush. A big, bold tour de force of jasmine flowers, one of my favorite floral scents.
It might be too heady for super sensitive noses, but even my picky schnoz thinks it’s tops.
Ingredients
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Cetearyl Alcohol and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Glycerl Stearate; Peg – 100 Stearate, Propylene Glycol, Perfume, Hibiscus Extract (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), Stearic Acid, Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii), Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetrimide, Camella Oil (Camella japonita), Organic Cold Pressed Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis), Organic Macadamia Nut Oil (Macadamia ternifolia), Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera), Jasmine Absolute (Jasminum officinale), Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Cypress Oil (Cupressus sempervirens), Palmarossa Oil (Cymbopogan martini), Jasmine Flowers (Jasminum officinale), Cupuacu Butter (Theobroma Grandiflorum), Cocamide DEA, Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Benzyl Alcohol, Geraniol, Limonene , Linalool
I dunno why, but I was really surprised that a solid shampoo would whip into such a frothy foam. Looking at this one, I just get a different vibe from it, almost like a loofah or a bath salt.
Then I checked the ingredient list, and wouldn’t ya know it? Right there at the top of the list, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (or SLS).
A few interesting (at least to me) things about SLS, should you ever find yourself on Final Jeopardy! First, what is it?
Good question. 🙂 SLS is an FDA-approved ingredient commonly found in personal care products like shampoos and even toothpaste.
It’s usually used as a surfactant — in a nutshell, it loosens bonds.
If you’ve ever used a bath/shower product that builds up into a sudsy lather, there’s a good chance it contained SLS.
Added to shampoo, SLS makes hair easier to clean by loosening the bonds that hold dirt and oil to your hair.
The ingredient came under some scrutiny in the late ’90s when an anonymous email circulated online claimed a link between a related compound, SLES, and cancer. SLES, or Sodium Laureth Sulfate, is like SLS’s more expensive, slightly unscrupulous cousin. Both compounds essentially do the same thing, but SLES is now much less commonly used (source: SNOPES).
Shortly after the email incident, several hair brands started rolling out SLS-free products, leading some to suggest that the whole thing was a marketing ploy designed to sell more shampoo (source: LEDA).
I guess the most important question is, “Should you avoid hair products containing SLS?” Well, that depends on whom you believe. Over the years, several reputable sources (including the American Cancer Society and the International Agency for Research on Cancer) have said that SLS is noncarcinogenic, meaning that it doesn’t cause cancer. At most, they say, it could cause some skin irritation, but only under certain circumstances for a small number of users (source: How Stuff Works).
As a product junkie, I like to try a little bit of everything, which in this case includes the LUSH Godiva Shampoo Bar.
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