Hmm… The new Pixi Nail Colour Trio seems like a pretty sweet deal at $12.
It’s available now at Target stores, target.com and pixibeauty.com.
The Pixi Nail Colour Trio
Just Wondering
Am I the only one out there seriously contemplating a bunny-themed Christmas tree this year? I think it would be really cool.
Bunny ornaments by Anthropologie. I love the sequins in their ears, the accessories (LEG WARMERS!) and how they all look a little grumpy.
The New Bobbi Brown Caviar & Oyster Collection Lip Glosses: Designed to Lure Makeup Loving Pirates and Beauty Buccaneers
If I were a pirate…my makeup collection would be my pirate’s booty, yargh!
And like most swashbuckling sailors of the seven seas (at least the ones in Hollywood movies), I’d wear a lot of looks featuring dark black eyeliner (hello, have you seen Jack Sparrow’s water line?? FIERCE!).
I’d also want a steady supply of sheer glosses to balance out those heavy eyeliner looks.
Ahoy, matey! Bobbi Brown has yer solution, and it’s not just for buccaneers and marauders. If you have a soft spot for sheer gloss, you just might like the five new $23 Lip Glosses from the Caviar & Oyster Collection.
Like a hunk of driftwood or a bottle with a message inside (“Please send gravy!”), the eight-piece release recently washed up on Bobbi Brown counters, delighting makeup treasure hunters with a palette, a nail polish, a dual-ended mascara and the five new glosses in predominantly cool-toned neutral shades.
The hook? — no, not the one replacing Blackbeard’s hand. With the collection, Bobbi aimed to offer her fans the option of going strong and smokey or soft and pretty.
But here’s the thing about the glosses: even the darker shades, like Moonlight Pearl and Black Pearl, seem pretty tame to me, so you might want to blank them out first with a layer of concealer.
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Sonia Kashuk’s Hosting a Formal Affair in a Posh, New Holiday Palette
Wait — are you kidding me?! You two haven’t met yet? Well, we need to fix that immediately.
Babe, this is Sonia Kashuk’s new Formal Affair Palette; Formal Affair, this is one of my beauty besties.
I think you two will hit it off. Formal Affair here is quite a bargain at $19.99. She may spend her days in drugstores, but at heart, she’s 100% department store-caliber makeup.
It’s as if Sonia said, “I’m going to make the perfect powder palette, and it’s going to contain two blushes, one bronzer and four eyeshadows for girls who want to look like they’re wearing NARS, Bobbi Brown and Urban Decay but don’t want to spend that much.”
Is that the NARS Orgasm/Laguna duo??
Don’t the golden brown powder bronzer and shimmery, golden peachy pink blush on Formal Affair’s far right look inspired by the NARS Orgasm/Laguna duo? Except that Sonia’s bronzer is sheerer than NARS Laguna, with slightlier grittier grains of golden glitter, and the golden pearl within the blush looks less pronounced to me than NARS Orgasm (maybe they’re just kissing cousins).
Look who’s getting Naked2
Okay, although I feel kinda lame getting excited about a brown eyeshadow (with so many great flashy colors out there and all!), Formal Affair’s brown is just so chocolaty…so shimmery…and so Mmmm! — buttery smooth.
It reminds me of Snakebite from the Urban Decay Naked2 palette.
It’s just so blendable, and I love how easy it is to wear sheer or build up in layers.
Sparkle like Bobbi Brown’ Sparkle Eyeshadows
The tan and black glittery shadows in Formal Affair would fit right in with Bobbi Brown’s Sparkle Eyeshadows. Like those shadows from Bobbi, they’re loaded with gobs of medium-sized glitter, but Sonia takes things a step further by using an intensely pigmented base. Patting either shade on the brown shade from Formal Affair is a quick way to dress up a look. I do have to be mindful, though, of the fallout, which is slight, but still. At least it’s easy enough to clean up, especially if I do my eyes first.
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Like We Did This Morning, Laura Mercier’s Easy-to-Use Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Bronze Rises and Shines
What if my eyelids naturally shimmered, and all I had to do was be awake? I’d probably stumble out of bed as usual, with my crazy-@ss hair and (sometimes) crusty drool around the corners of my mouth, and shamble to the bathroom.
But then! — then I’d gaze upon my reflection in the mirror and be almost blinded by my shimmery eyes. Wham, glam, thank you, ma’am!
Of course, that’s just a fantasy… Real people don’t have eyelids that naturally shimmer (le sigh), but I think I may have found the next best thing, Laura Mercier’s $24 Illuminating Eye Colour in Gilded Bronze, one of four shades in the new Art Deco Muse collection.
These eyeshadows have a luminous, pearlescent finish and a soft, almost bouncy texture similar to the MAC Extra Dimensions (which I love!), and they shower eyelids with shimmer and pigment.
Gilded Bronze, an easy-to-use neutral bronze with taupe tendencies, is my favorite of the bunch. I have a feeling it’ll get along swimmingly with skin tones on both ends of the color temperature spectrum.
For the kind of shine I can comfortably wear to daytime events, I just pat a miniscule amount directly on my lids (I think you can get away with using less on darker skin) with a firm, flat eyeshadow brush like Laura’s All Over Eye Colour Brush, and buff out the edges with a tapered blending brush like Laura’s Pony Tail.
Then, I curl my lashes, treat them to Chanel Le Volume Mascara, swipe a smidgen of Laura’s stunning Lip Lacquer in Laque Rouge gloss on my lips, and “Why, yes, I am ready for my closeup, Mr. Deville.” 🙂
Alternately, for a bolder, high-shine metallic shimmer, I’ll simply add a second layer.
More to adore about Glided Bronze…
- When the medium-sized flecks of shimmer catch the light, they demand attention! This is definitely not a shadow for shimmer shy wallflowers.
- The buttery smooth formula blends easily into other shadows.
- I don’t detect any fallout at all.
- When I layer it on top of my NARS primer, it resists fading and settling into those annoying little lines on my lids…
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This Pixi’s an Early Bird
Did I tell ya that I’m trying this new thing where I wake up at 4:30 in the morning?! I’m going to see if I can turn myself into an early bird. I’m definitely NOT a morning person, but I love the idea of getting lots of stuff done before sunrise. We’ll see how long it lasts…
Maybe I should wear the new Pixi Early Bird Kit ($34) to commemorate this new experiment. 🙂
You can find the Early Bird Kit at Target, target.com and pixibeauty.com.
The Legend of Zella and the Quest for the Gathered Tote
Gather ’round the campfire, girls, and lend me your ears. The tale you’re about to hear is no meager yarn or fable, no children’s fairytale. No, it’s one of the greatest adventure stories of the modern era and antiquity. Why? Because it’s true! — as true as the North Star!
Sit close, steel your nerves, and open your mind. Behold! Now begins the Legend of Zella and the Quest for the Gathered Tote…
CHAPTER ONE
Once upon a time (around 2007), in a place far, far away, there lived a pint-sized beauty lover named Karen.
Despite her best intentions, every time Karen left the house, she brought along everything but the kitchen sink.
Along with her regular cat lady accoutrements — her wallet, phone, keys, snacks, cat treats, 12 tubes of gloss, a pair of backup shoes, a spare bra (because you never know…) and extra socks — she also brought her cameras, lenses and laptop with her a lot of the time.
The villagers in her small town didn’t understand. “Dude,” they’d whisper to one another and point as she passed, “what’s that chick’s deal? Why does she need three bags? Who carries that much stuff?”
“I don’t know,” another would say. “I heard that she keeps a cat in one of them and a fully cooked turkey in the other!”
Then, one day, everything changed. Karen discovered the $68 Zella Gathered Tote at a local merchant’s shoppe, also known as Nordstrom (it’s also online at nordstrom.com).
Right away, Karen saw its potential. “Hmm…” she wondered. “Although technically a gym bag, this thing will serve me well. It’s slim-fitting and deep, yet still lightweight. It’s also big enough for a laptop, two cameras, a medium-sized travel makeup bag and my gym clothes. Or, I could just use it as a casual tote, or maybe even a diaper bag someday.
“I don’t think El Hub would mind carrying it, either, because it’s black and not too girly at all.”
Karen slung the main strap across her body and happily skipped all the way home; she also delighted in the knowledge that she could have carried it by the padded, comfy double handles as well.
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What’s the Matte-er With Public Nudity? According to Urban Decay, Absolutely Nothing, Thanks to the Mattes in the New Naked Basics Palette
NOVATO (MBB) — Makeup mavens predict a dramatic rise in public nakedness over the holidays this year as legions of Urban Decay fans don the all-matte shades in the new $27 Naked Basics Palette.
Many plan to go to work naked, spend time naked in their living rooms, at clubs, and even at local eateries and shopping centers.
“Yesterday I got naked at Trader Joe’s,” said Karen, editor and co-founder of Makeup and Beauty Blog, “and with these six neutral shades, none of which are too cool nor warm, just about anyone can get naked anywhere they please.”
Honk if you love mattes! I think it’s always a great idea to have some mattes around for adding contrast, depth and dimension to eye makeup looks, and Naked Basics comes complete with six useful shades — four beiges, one medium brown and a dark brownish black.
Urban Decay, the brand that sparked a neutral eyeshadow resurgence/revolution with their Naked and Naked2 palettes, imagined that the mattes in Naked Basics could work as companion colors to the company’s other neutral shades.
Stay tuned, because Naked Basics bares all on Sephora and Ulta counters, and in select Macy’s stores soon, and online at urbandecay.com November 29.
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