This is Skincare’s Latest Must-Have? Then I’ve been well ahead of the curve!
This is the latest beauty buzz (although it’s been around for centuries). The photo is from a brochure picked up on my latest Sephora outing and it was also bravely splashed all across the store window. We’ve talked about this before but all of a sudden OILS are Everywhere! Truth is, there’s an oil for you – of course there is! Let’s find out ten timely truths about face oils:
1) All fears aside….there’s almost nothing an oil can’t do. The question is, what do you want it to do?
2) Oils deliver moisture and radiance without residue to lackluster complexions.
3) Applying oil to already oily skin can help manage pore clogging sebum.
4) Oils smoothly deliver antioxidants and other powerful antiaging ingredients to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
5) Soften and moisturize with a blend that’s suitable for sensitive skinincluding Rosacea .
6) Press oils onto your face, don’t rub.
7) You can mix oil with your foundation for additional moisture (especially in winter) and skincare benefits. Even shampoo or conditioner for silkier strands.
8) Apply your skincare in order of thickness, with the thinner formulas first. This usually means oil goes on after serum but before moisturizer. You can use them Day or Night.
9) Use oil on dry hair to tame flyaways.
10) Massage oil over a dry clay mask to help remove iteasily.
Here is my recommendation for a luxurious oil featuring 19 key ingredients. Get “SpOILed” Now available at:
Want to recreate the sunkissed radiance of summer? Do it it with the peachy-pink shimmer of the iconic Orgasm blush combined with the sheer light brown shimmer of the Laguna bronzer which help to create a natural sultry glow. I have bought both individually in the past but this limited edition palette with its sleek thin packaging is great for weekends away or just to keep in your purse. Available at Sephora.
What it is: Racy as always, NARS’ Orgasm/Laguna blush and bronzer have been called the “holy grail” of face powders. Both go on with a little bit of shimmer and are extremely pigmented, so you don’t need to use much.
Recommendation: NARS face products are hands down absolutely the best money can buy. They go on smoothly, they’re long lasting and easy to blend. If you buy just one blush or bronzer in your life, I would make it either of these two. But the palette is a good deal while they last. **They also make some of the very best lipsticks and eye liners.
I’m excited to share with you these new product offerings from “Get SpOILed” which are STARTING TO FLY:
The package
Introducing 1st CLASS NATURAL SKINCARE –a 100% natural and effective skincare set that will meet all your necessary skin requirements for travel or home.
1st CLASS NATURAL SKINCARE – an ‘all-inclusive’ Flight Package containing 4 product offerings that will work non-stop to keep your skin in-check & baggage to a minimum. Each hydrating skin product comes in a 50 ml (1.7 oz) bottle or jar (contained in plastic toiletrie bags) & packaged in a cute Chinese take-out lunch box. PERFECT for traveling (or just when your skin needs that extra boost of hydration). Easy for carrying on board (you can always separate them) in your purse or packed away in a suitcase.
You will receive:
“Ready for Take-Off” – a gentle eye + face makeup-remover. One swipe of this blend of Apricot Kernel, Coconut and Avocado oils will completely remove all traces of makeup while helping to condition your skin at the same time.
“Flying HIgh” – hydrating facial mist. This refreshing spray incorporates exoticfloral waters of rose and orange blossom with lavender, geranium, eucalyptus and frankincense essential oils. Use as part of your morning and/or evening skincare ritual, just before applying your moisturizer or oil. Can double as a toner. Use it after “Ready for Take-Off.”
“Luxe Lounge” – Facial Oil (same ingredients as in getspOILed – see below). If you haven’t jumped on the facial oil bandwagon yet, now’s the time — not only does it give your regular moisturizer a boost, but it helps your makeup to go on smoother—and the dewy effects of this infused potion of 19 key ingredients makes for the perfect winter beauty routine.
Delight in an exotic blend of essential lavender, geranium, rose, evening primrose, maracuja (from Brazil), jasmine, boabob (from the African tree), argan (Moroccan), chamomile, sweet basil, juniper, clary sage, olive, camellia (green tea seed), coconut, avocado, sweet almond, jojoba and vitamin E oils. A real treat!
“It’s a Balmy Day” – advanced care for eyes/lips/cuticles. This special 3 in 1 balm (which is full size) contains jojoba, rosehip seed, carrot seed, kukui nut & apricot kernel oils with rose water and beeswax – rich in moisture and vitamins to help soften the skin on your eyes, lips and cuticles. It really works!
Plus, we have a frequent buyer program – your 10th order is FREE!
Price for kit: $95.00
DEAL – For the remainder of January 2014, all shipping & handling will be included in the price.
TOUCHE ÉCLAT – Radiant Touch – by Yves Saint Laurent
A luminizing pen that brings light and radiance to the skin, immediately erases any signs of fatigue, and brightens the complexion.
This is what they have to say:
What it does:
Loved by models, makeup artists, celebrities, and women everywhere, the award-winning Yves Saint Laurent TOUCHE ÉCLAT Radiant Touch is like eight hours of sleep and an instant pick-me-up in a magic wand. With a few strategically placed strokes of TOUCHE ÉCLAT, the complexion immediately looks rested, rejuvenated, and radiant.
What else you need to know:
TOUCHE ÉCLAT banishes shadows and tired-looking eyes by adding light and creating an instant lift to the eye area. TOUCHE ÉCLAT widens eyes when used between the eyebrows and along the sides of the nose, and creates fuller looking lips when used in the hollow of the chin and around the contour of the lips. It’s formulated for all skin types and for anyone who wants instant radiance, luminosity, and lift.
It’s dangerous at the best of times walking into any Sephora.
Sometimes I manage to bypass many of the temptations & go for only exactly what I came in to buy. This is done with great difficulty because it means not looking at all the shelves that pull you in with such appealing product displays. You have to remain strong & focused.
This time of year we get an extra discount for being a ‘VIP insider’ (which I’m sure most of us that shop there become on the very first visit) and can save $15 on a minimum purchase of $50 (not a difficulty). So we walk in with our VIP cards that give us that little extra bonus to choose a small gift whenever we spend a minimum of $100 (not a difficulty). If you spend $500 (not a difficulty) even better – more choices. Since we always need something from there, any extra savings is a bonus.
I’m sure I needed something – just can’t remember what. Maybe extra bronzer & a nice blush. For sure I needed the inexpensive nail polish remover that you dip your fingers into & almost instantly dissolves all polish. Done! Then in the lineup for the till I spotted an Yves Saint Laurent lipstick in a most beautiful color (#12) in one of the discount bins – although I found out that it was put there by mistake so it was really regular price. I believe it found me so into my bag it goes. Then on my way home I realized the discount coupon was still in my purse – can’t believe it. So back I go thinking I’ll just get a rebate for the difference….until I noticed the YSL touché éclat (magic wand that every makeup artist swears by) in the bin for exactly the price of $50 – Done!
What a great deal because it really only cost me $35. I’m such a smart shopper!
How do you shop at Sephora?
Stuff I needed: Sephora instant nail polish remover. Other stuff I wanted needed: Guerlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder, Nars (the multiple stick) in Orgasm, YSL Rouge–Volupté – silky sensual radiant lipstick (SPF 15), YSL Touche–Éclat pen, Nars blush/bronzer duo (in Orgasm & Laguna) for purse & travel convenience.
Something I liked but didn’t buy:
The most beautiful eye pigments in the Kat Von D eye palette.
Eyebrows frame the face and can even alter how your face shape looks in some cases. Eyebrows that are too short can make your face look fuller, and eyebrows that are too severe or angled can make your face look stronger and sort of angry! Too high and you always have that ‘surprised’ look.
The key when filling in and shaping your brows is to not overdo it. I’ve seen too many women layering on the dark pencil to create a full brow look, but it just looks fake and severe. Stick to a color as close to your natural brow color as possible. If your brows are lighter than your hair color, go ahead and add some depth to your brows to complement your hair color.
Insta-Brows – the tinted, water-resistant gel in Benefit’s Gimme Brow contains tiny fibers that adhere to hairs and help bulk up skimpy brows on the spot. The Medium/Deep shade matches brunet and black strands, while the Light/Medium is meant to deepen blonde hairs. Here’s to darker, fuller, natural-looking eye frames!
An expert opinion: it has a slight staining effect on your skin so make sure to wipe up any excess with a damp Q-tip. Sweeping the mascara type brush up through strands doesn’t take as much precision (or time) as dabbing on a powder, and the results look more realistic than pencil strokes. However the combination of filling in sparseness with a powder first and then using the brush works best. Benefit makes a good powder as does Bobbi Brown.
BROW-WOW: Benefit Gimme Browin Light/Medium or Medium/Deep, $22.00; benefitcosmetics.com or Sephora locations.
Keeping up with the Customers! Nordstrom Inc. is giving its beauty departments a fresher, more contemporary look designed to give customers more individualized ways to shop.
photo: Stefanie Keenan
This is good news because what I don’t like about buying cosmetics at most department stores is 1) the hard sale 2) feeling that the sales girl (who works on commission) from the line that you just wasted an hour of her time talking about is watching you go from one counter to the next to check out the competitors. 3) too many other distractions in a department store – stuff like shoes, clothing & accessories. Usually I tend to gravitate towards the smaller independent boutiques for most things in general. But this might make me change my mind for a time or two.
Unveiled at stores in the California shopping centers (The Americana at Brand in Glendale and The Sh20ops at Mission Viejo) and expanding to a total of nine stores by January, the most dramatic modifications are to color cosmetics areas, where customers are encouraged to shop how they want, whether it is on their own by opening drawers brimming with makeup or with guidance from staff dedicated to specific brands. Nordstrom is also simplifying beauty shopping by breaking down its vast selection by trend and key product no matter what brand, and offering shoppers access to beauty concierges, trial sizes and applications, consultations and other services so they can more fully experience the products.
lengthen, volumize, curl + define. I want ALL 3 in 1! photo: Stefanie Keenan
The refreshed approach recognizes that the traditional behind-the-counter model of selling beauty products doesn’t work for everyone. Acknowledging Sephora and e-commerce have impacted shopping for beauty products, Pete Nordstrom, president of merchandising for Nordstrom, said, “The best ingredient to success is to be reflective of what the customers are interested in. Customers evolve and change over time, not only in regards to the product, but how they like to be served. In the beauty segment, there is an opportunity to serve the customer in a different and a better way. We have to allow our stores to be able to evolve to be able to appeal to customers, not just to legacy customers, but to our new customers.”
There are several constants this time of year—the desire to be wrapped in cashmere 24/7, stay in bed just a little longer every morning and find the perfect makeup palette.
M.A.C Cosmetics Stroke of Midnight Face Palette in Cool, $49.50
When was the last time you actually used every eye, lip or cheek shade included in a makeup kit? If you’re like me, the answer is never. Usually something is left out or some of the colors don’t suit you. You use it a few times and then it’s never to be seen again. Now, according to Harper’s Bazaar M.A.C has come out with a real beauty must-have:
An all-in-one makeup palette that you’ll use every last bit of.
Product Review: The new edition by M.A.C Cosmetics, seen here in cool, sultry tones (there’s a version with warmer, pink-based shades, too), is a one-stop-shop for fixing your face at home or on-the-go. Because, really, why must you choose between lugging your entire arsenal of products and compromising the integrity of touchups before jetting to dinner? Use the light iridescent pressed powder to revive dull skin; create a natural or highly pigmented mouth with a combo of the mauve and plum lipsticks; give eyes subtle—or intense—definition with the blue-grey and deep plum shadows as well as a hefty dose of the true kohl black pencil.
Okay, like I mentioned you can never find a palette that includes ‘everything’ but you will make use of whatever is in this one (minus the blush) as the shades are universally flattering to all skin tones. Bonus: it’s easy to fit into your purse.
Literally….with Tarte’s LipSurgence™ collection. What is it? A hybrid between a stain, a gloss and a rich balm, these non drying lip tints deliver sheer color while keeping lips hydrated and refreshed. Best thing – the award-winning tint is goofproof. That’s because they go on like a lip gloss, stay on like a stain and hydrate like a dreamy balm. Added bonus: no pencil sharpener required. What’s not to love?
With Bite Lip Lab it’s pretty easy to find your perfect lipstick match.
Facing up: Lipstick is a pretty important (possibly ‘the’ most important) part to perfecting our makeup look. Otherwise we wouldn’t be Eating on average 4-7 Pounds of Lipstick in our Lifetimes – would we?
It can’t be all too healthy but we do it anyway – because we’re rather lipstick obsessed.
How many times have you come across that ‘perfect’ color and then the next time you go to buy it the company has decided to suddenly discontinued it. And you have to wonder – were you the only person buying it? This can be very upsetting – as many colors as there are it’s not that easy trying to find a great shade to suit us. So don’t throw away your last tube just yet.
You can take in an old or discontinued lipstick toBite Lip Lap & have them re-create it for you. They can make a custom made lipstick using a magic lipstick machine in just 7 minutes – which involves melting down the different bullets of lipstick (they look like chocolate truffles!), adding a scent (like cherry, violet, peppermint, or superfruit), pouring the mix into lipstick molds and allowing the formula to harden on a cold plate. It’s as simple at that! Then all you have to do is buy two. Looking for the perfect red for a night out? How incredible is that?
Bite Beauty Lip Lab, 174 Prince Street, at Thompson Street (646-484-6111)
You can always stop by in between visits to museums & art galleries but to some, this alone might be worth the visit to New York.
IN THE RED:
A 2012 study found that waitresses who wore lipstick got higher tips from men, and scientific research from 2010 found that women wearing red lipstick received the “most prolonged gazes” from men. And yet we’ve know plenty of guys who say they simply hate the stuff. We can’t please everyone.
Designer Bill Blass once said : “When in Doubt Wear Red.” What exactly did he mean?
‘Red lipstick is a source of strength,’ says Poppy King, creator of Lipstick Queen. ‘You put it on and suddenly you feel more capable than you did without it.’
Consider Jean Harlow’s pointed red pout in the 1930s, Veronika Lake’s in the 1940s and Marilyn Monroe’s in the 1950s. None of these actresses was known for playing the girlish ingénue. They were women with overtly feminine power. They were knowing.
The lure of looking feminine but remaining powerful was such a glorious notion, it’s little wonder women started to use red lipstick as a tool to communicate their own self-possession.
The thing about red lipstick – it’s a beautiful case of chicken and egg. It may require confidence to wear, but confidence can actually be a result of putting on red lipstick – and no one needs to know which comes first.
Get “SpOILed” Now available at:
Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION. 
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