Fantastic Finds

Two wonderful things happened today: I found an amazing primer with SPF, and my Louise Young Foundation Taklon (that's what they call it, but it's really just a brush) arrived.

14 days ago I ordered the foundation brush because I was wholly unimpressed with my previous one (synthetic and the bristles poked my face). My order arrived in a hurry and in perfect condition. The brush is amazing, soft, beautiful and makes my face feel pampered instead of punished. I highly recommend it. I bought mine directly from the Louise Young website and since everything went so well, I'm going to buy the rest of the ones I'm missing from there. The reason I bought Louise Young to begin with is because the Pixiwoo sisters are always raving about it. So if any of you out there are wondering, yes, Youtube makeup video advertising totally works. I got to see the product in action and even though I couldn't test it before buying, their word was enough for me to make a blind buy - and I'm sooooo happy I did!



Now on to the primer. I had heard about Avon's MagiX skin perfector, but hadn't tried it, or even given it much thought. That was stupid and snoby. But mostly stupid. I tried it today and fell in love with it. Naturally, I bought it and am happy to say that it feels like heaven on my face. It's a perfect silicone feel primer that makes my makeup look better and glide on like nobody's business. An added benefit is that it's SPF 20, how cool is that? In the winter I'll probably have to use a moisturizer first, then MagiX, then makeup. But in the summer, I can use MagiX on its own and treat my face to all the cool benefits this product has to offer. Hurray for Avon! This is now a permanent addition to my makeup/face product essentials.

I Love, Love, Love!

Mad Bearded Men

Last night I was watching the SAG Awards Red Carpet on E! - I had missed it, and there's nothing I love better than two hours of frivolity, shallow oohing and aahing over one dress or another, mercilessly passing judgement on the ones I think missed it completely, drooling over the jewelry the women get to wear, wishing I owned most of the shoes, and generally wasting precious time being ridiculous. Good times.

Did anyone happen to catch the shows? Well, among other things, one of the things that impressed me was the fact that everyone loves Kevin Bacon so much. What is up with that? He can't casually step into a lame plotted TV only movie without stumbling out magically dragging 15 different awards. I don't know if I'm the only one that's bothered with the fact that he generally plays twisted pervy roles - and plays them way too well for his own good. I look at him and I see the sum of all his parts - and it isn't good. Perhaps he should try playing some good guys, some comedy guys, some light-hearted, feel-good, sugar-water roles to kind of cleanse our palates of his intense, deeply disturbed, ultra skinny, druggy, mostly perverted and definetly yuck bum pirate characters he seems to gravitate towards.


On a completely unrelated note, have you noticed the cast of Mad Men lately? It seems that every time there's a picture of the men when they're not filming, they look like lumber jacks and vagrants. Firstly, I suspect they made a beard pact after filming this last season because they all have beards (as evidenced in the images displayed all over this post). Secondly, what is up with Pete's (Vincent something-or-other) hair? Could it look any worse? I think not. John Hamm, just because you can grow a Messiah beard and look like all the apostles combined, doesn't mean you should. What about a trim? This is basic grooming 101. I'm thinking these guys are so tired of being perfect every moment of the day while on set (and having to shave twice a day for some), that as soon as they're free of it, they literally let it all hang out; send their barbers to the Devil, pull out their sweats, beer guts, stained T-shirts, holey socks and just relax gillette free for as long as they possibly can.

Freckles: Can't live with them, can't scrub them off with acid and brillo

I've been pondering the whole freckle bit a lot lately. It has a lot to do with the fact that I've been walking every day on the beach and I feel like my freckles are multiplying - and not in a good loafs and fishes, or wine kind of way. I feel like a freckle freak. There are many people that say freckles are cute and not at all a desease or skin condition. Well, I would lay odds that the people who say that do not have freckles. Maybe freckles aren't that bad. Maybe I'm exaggerating. (I've just been told that I am exaggerating and that I'm a weirdo for hating my freckles - this memo came to me from HRH. What does he know?) What I need to do is find a way to make my freckles look summer fresh and happy-go-lucky, and not try to cover them up. Covering them up in this heat is skin suicide. A heavy foundation look in this weather is yucky, not to mention silly.

This is the point where I google the first celebs I can think of whose freckles are not gross, and dare I say it, cute even. I noticed a few things during my research:

1. You have to be insanely gorgeous in order to pull off cute freckles - or maybe that's just because all the celebs I pulled up are insanely gorgeous...
   
2. It helps if you have light eyes - green and hazle are especially popular with freckles.
3. Eyebrows should be perfect or they'll make your face look sloppy - there's already tons of stuff going on (freckles, and only Heaven knows what else).
4. Skin should be perfect. No flaws, icky breakouts, stains, dry patches and dullness, etc. Take care of your skin! It needs to glow! GLOW!
5. It makes you look more laid back and relaxed, like you're on vacation, and that's cool, so go with it. Go with the flow. Chillax.
6. Bronzers are a good idea - they enhance the relaxed vacation look and feel.
7. Freckles make you look cute, so adjust your makeup to match. Fresh, clean, pretty. No sultry, heavy looks here.
8. This is an understated sexy look, not an in-your-face sexy, so yeah, do what you want with that bit of info...I have no idea what I'll do with it. Probably nothing.
   

Here are my fave freckled freaks and comments:

Probably the best example of cute freckles working in her favor. They give her that easygoing vibe and that makes her look sexy, the vacation vibe I talked about earlier. Her makeup here is ultra natural, but there's still stuff there. Sheer lips, subtle cheeks, glowy healthy looking skin, and groomed brows. Her beachy hair helps too.

A polished evening look that doesn't try to cover up the freckles. This was prolly a summer look. Dewy skin, perfect brows and sheer makeup. The skin is supposed to shine through, so sheer foundation, transluscent powder, sheer lipstick and most likey cream blush, or very subtle powder blush with bronzer for that fresh face look. It's all about the perfect skin here. Again.


Here is a very polished, yet light look. Megan had a little fun here by adding some color to the eyes. The skin is perfect and there is sheer foundation and powder, a good amount so that it doesn't shine where it's not supposed to. Lips are glossy and beautiful, brows are defined and perfect, cheeks are accentuated with a subtle sweep of color.

Golden Globes Beauty Summarized

I was going to do a Golden Globes post, but I've been swamped and a bit poopy lately (that's the excuse I'm going with for not posting lately). Instead of posting myself, I'll instead refer you to a blog that has all the deets on what was used on whom and who used it.

Go to Spoiled Pretty and see for yourself. Daneen did a great job of collecting notes from different makeup artists and posting great pics. My fave beauty looks are: Kate Winslet (love the navy blue eyeliner tip), Christina Aguilera, Julianna Margulies, and Julia Roberts.

As far as dresses go, Marion Cotillard had my favorite. It was a stunning Dior that did her justice (the slit with the lace kills me). I also loved Julia Roberts' look, vintage YSL with that stunning necklace. She looked chic and comfortable - a winning combo. I hated Tina Fey's dress and thought her makeup was meh - love her, though. Loathed January Jones' dress, indifferent about the makeup. Kate Winslet was very lovely and so was Kristen Bell (although there is no 411 on her makeup). Her dress was really cute. Jennifer Garner looked great and so did Jennifer Aniston (even though I think she's a bore), Nicole Kidman's makeup and hair - whatevs. Loved Courtney Cox and wanted her earrings. Rose Byrne's dress was my runner up favorite of the night. Super, super gorgeous, although I thought Rose's makeup looked muddy - maybe it's just me. Cameron Diaz looked stupid, she usually does. BTW, what is it with Penelope Cruz and her two-toned hair? So weird. And she looks jaundice.

Well, there you have it, my super quick notes. Do go to the blog and scroll down. When you get to a look you like, you can see all the products that were used to create it. Very nicely done!

Tata for now!

Makeup Books

If you follow this blog you know how much I love Sam and Nic and their Youtube channel, Pixiwoo. Well, she just did something awesome. If you go to her website, Fashionface.tv, there is a link to a list she created with all the makeup books she recommends. This is candy, candy, candy! I want candy! I recommend that you take note of the books there and perhaps put them on your Amazon.com wish list so you can start buying them one by one. They make perfect gifts as well (for me!). It's not easy to decide what books to buy and where to start, but she simplified the process. Check it out. Go. What are you waiting for?

Tata for now!

Ô My Rose - Lancome's new Spring '10 collection

While I melt in the unbearable heat and try to spirit myself to a cooler climate there are few things that lift my spirit. Ice water with a little lime, iced tea, cold showers, the list goes on, but as you can see, it all has to do with ice or cold in some way. I dream of the day when I can chase spring around the world - or autumn, for that matter. I wouldn't have a summer house like the world's nobility seem to think is the way to go. No, I would have spring and autumn homes around the world and it would be awesome. In the meantime I search for joy in other ways and while doing so I stumbled upon the most joyous news of the year so far: Lancome's new spring collection, Ô My Rose. This collection was created by genius makeup artist and artistic director for Lancome, Aaron De Mey.

My heart soared as I clicked through the images of the new collection. It seems that Europe is getting more goodies than the US market, but the most important items are going to be available to everyone. By most important items I mean the Pop 'N Cheeks mosaic in Coral Flirt and the new Ink Artliner and brush - this time in teal! The color fever glosses are all to die for! Aaron really is a genius! The colors are all so delicate, feminine and modern, somehow. Spectacular!

Take some time to look through the collection carefully here, and here for details on each one of the items from someone who had a sneak peak and got to try them out (lucky, lucky girl). There is a really interesting little product called Baby Kiss that will not be available outside Europe (man, those are going to sell for loads on ebay), but it's still interesting to look it up and see what it does. Another European blogger who went to the sneak-peak event took lots of photos and stuff so check it out here. I especially like when she says: "...our bag of yummy Lancôme treats, which we proudly paraded on our trip home, much to the annoyance of our fellow train travellers: cue “Oh, sorry, did we just knock you with our huge Lancôme bag?” and “Excuse us while we just explore our goodies in front of your envious eyes” and such. We apologise." - I thought that was funny 'cause I would've done the same thing.

Tata for now!

I Walk

One of my new year's resolutions was to start walking. Actually, to be more specific, it was to want to walk. Yeah, that hasn't happened yet, but I'm on my way. Today I woke up early and went walking with HRH at the beach. He likes to jog but was feeling under the weather so he walked with me. It was nice, pleasant even, and I think it's wise to take advantage of what we have - beaches, heat, coconut water, yada yada. I keep thinking one day I'll move to a seriously cold place and look back fondly at our furnace of a city and toaster-like beaches. - Fingers crossed. I would love to wake up one day and be excited about vacationing in the heat. When you live in a vacation spot like where we live, you end up dreaming of vacationing in the mountains and snow. This place would be perfect:

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Canada
or better yet, same place, in the winter:

First thing I did was wash my face - my moisturizer is awesome, by the way. I'm using Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference and when I wake up and wash my face feels like a baby's bottom. Very cool. Back to my morning, then I added a generous quantity of sunblock on my face, a different one for my arms and neck, and yet another one on my lips. Wow. I know that seems excessive, but my face is sensitive to sunblock - my eyes especially - so I have to use 3 different kinds, not to mention I was wearing a hat, so I skipped on hair sunblock. The sun sucks. The reason why I went through all this hullabaloo is because I want to avoid looking like my Aunt (I remember when I was young thinking she looked like my Mother's purse - and I was really young, like 5yrs), or even worse, like this:

Donatella Versace - yikes

What Are You Up These Days?

Lately I've been...

Reading lots of books since all my shows have taken a break during the holidays. Nothing special, but very entertaining. At them moment I'm reading a historical novel - if it proves to be all that, I'll blog about it. So far it's full of intrigue, politics, betrayal and adventure. It's about the Highlands right after the Jacobite Rising.

I've seen some very good movies lately. The most blogworthy I believe is Avatar. It's the first movie I watched in 3D and I'll tell you right now, it blew my mind! For almost 3 hours I lived in Pandora and experienced the adventure. What a ride! I have never been so impressed with a movie. I'm going this week to see it again before it leaves theaters.

I've been cooking and cleaning like a scullery maid. My nails look like I was raised in the 1800's and have no idea nail care products exist. I am an embarrassment to those I love and have brought shame to my friends and family. Now that all of this is over, I will give myself the most intensive mani-pedi this side of the equator. When I look down at my hands they will be a thing of beauty, a source of pride, not a reminder of my slavery over the holidays without any help, from anyone, at all, ever. I'm not bitter. Much.

The other thing I've been up to is listening to Adam Lambert's album. My friend James gave it to me for Christmas and it was totally unexpected, and totally awesome.

Last, but not least, I have been wearing my Benefit Badgal Lash Mascara for a month now and love it. I have also learned to show a little love to my Diorshow Iconic Waterproof Mascara, which proved to be a life saver over these super hot days when I went trecking off to the hippie fair in Ipanema with my friends and other exiting and life threatening expeditions. It was the hottest day ever and we chose to go outside and walk around the fair. Probably not the wisest choice, but we had fun, bought semi-precious stone necklaces and earrings, irregular pearl necklaces (I bought one and it's lovely), mother of pearl jewelry, pottery and hand made whatnots. We also almost died of dehydration and sunstroke, but I'll focus on the positive.

My sister sent me the sweetest lipstick from Bobbi Brown, Creamy Lip Color in Nectar. It's a soft peach shimmer that is lovely and has the most magical glossy sparkle around. Perfection! I've been using it everywhere and it has made me very happy.

Tata for now!