MAC Suite Array

The first new collection that MAC has released is fully for eyes. It is called Suite Array and the eye shadows are sold in “suites”. The description of this collection from MAC is as follows; “Check in to the double delight luxury of our new Eye Shadow Suite. Eight shadow duos in unexpectedly fresh and frivolous colours paired with one of our new Pearlglide Eye Liners will provide you with all the accoutrements of day and night bedroom eyes…” My first thought when viewing the collection is that each duo has one intense color and the other is more muted (for blending, I guess).

Here are the colors…

Eye Shadow Suites
- Rose Suites - Intense blue pink/Light yellow pink with silver pearl
- Team Violets - Dark burgundy with burgundy pearl/Mid-tone violet with gold
pearl
- Sweet Liaison - Deep brown with gold pearl/Pale yellow with gold pearl
- Shallow v. Deep - Bluish green with gold pearl/Mint with silver pearl
- Counterparts - Deep forest green with gold pearl/Mid-tone orange with gold
pearl
- Smoke & Ash - Black with silver pearl/Mid-tone grey with silver pearl
- Ocean 2 - Deep grey/Green with silver pearl/Light ice blue with silver pearl
- Blue Zone - Mid-tone blue with silver pearl/Light blue with silver pearl

Pearl Glide Eyeliner
- Bankroll - Rich green with bright green sparkle
- Molasses - Dirty brown with mid-tone brown glitter
- Spare Change - Mid-tone brown with copper glitter
- Miss Fortune - Eggplant with light pink glitter
- Black Russian - Black with navy blue glitter
- Fly-by-Blu - Light blue with blue glitter
- Rave - Deep purple with purple glitter
- Wolf - Deep grey with gold glitter

The Pearl Glide Eyeliners are a limited edition product from MAC that so far has gotten tons of rave reviews from the ladies on Makeup Alley. The MAC site gives the following as the official product description; “A creamy kohl-like eyeliner with a sparkly, reflective finish. Highly pigmented, stands out for its rich, luxurious colours and pearl-metal look. Provides eye-catching , highly stylized contrast for any look. Smooth. Glides on. Feels comfortable. Long wearing.” These colors are absolutely amazing and I regret that I didn’t swab them the last time that I visited MAC. I love my Urban Decay eyeliner and I have always refused to believe that any other product could even come close to their colors and textures. I believe that my UD liner may have finally met its match, I will have to go back to MAC and get Molasses, Spare Change, and Rave before they are all sold out.

photo courtesy of MAC

Philosophy The Coffee House

I will freely admit that I am a complete caffeine addict. Every morning, I must imbibe some kind of coffee and I can’t stick to the doctor recommended 8 oz. or less. To tell the truth, we are talking 20 oz or more everyday, if not twice a day. I have even gotten Starbucks to make me a iced coffee with 8 shots of espresso in it. Suffice is to say, Starbucks is my god and I can never stop going there or drinking coffee.

Coffee-freak that I am, I am automatically attracted to anything that smells like coffee or contains caffeine as an active ingredient. So imagine my happiness when upon entering my local Sephora, I saw the new Philosophy scents. They brought back their traditional fall scents (pumpkin pie = gag me), but with them, I noticed this little gem of a set.

The little gem that I am referring to is a set of 3 mini 3 in 1, called “The Coffee House” and it contains three coffee based scents that would appeal to coffee addict like myself. The scents are as follows: Eggnog Latte, Café au Lait, and Caramel Mocha Latte. The Caramel Mocha Latte gets me the most excited, I love Caramel Lattes from Starbucks and I drink them either iced or hot all year round.

Could these products wean me from my coffee addiction? Doubtful. I think that they will add to even more by making me crave lattes in my morning shower. But is this bad thing? I think not.

photo courtesy of Philosophy

Most Wanted Best of Beauty

In honor of the Best of Beauty Edition of Allure and the fact that it always makes me want even more products than any other article of the year, I have decided to do two Most Wanted lists this months, my normal one for the month and one that all the products come from the Best of Beauty. In other words, the second list is products that are test driven and have come out on top but I have either never tried them or (I am embarrassed to admit) I have never heard of some of them. So here are the Top Ten Best of Beauty Products that I want…

- Chanel Rouge Hydrabase Crème Lipstick in Vamp
- Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pure Shine Sheer Lipstick SPF 15 in Natural Pink
- Dior Vernis Nail Lacquer in Poison Blue
- Essie Nail Polish in Limo-scene
- Stila Eye Shadow in Kitten
- Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation
- Malin + Goetz Detox Face Mask
- Redken Satinwear 02 Ultimate Blow-Dry Lotion
- CK Calvin Klein Beauty Electric Edge Liquid Eyeliner Pen
- Chanel Multi-Use Makeup Palette in Lumiere Tropicale

Time to test-drive some of the best products in the beauty…

October 2008 Issue of Allure

A couple of weeks ago, the coveted Allure Best of Beauty issue landed in my mailbox. This is the issue that I wait all year for and generally consider this to the Bible of beauty products. This year didn’t disappoint. The list created some new products for me to lust after, nominations that I agree with wholeheartly, and nominations that I utterly disagreed with.

The Agreements…
- Brow Products - Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel
- Concealer for Blemishes - Murad Acne Concealer
- Primer - Smashbox Photo Finish Light Foundation Primer
- Powder Blush - NARS
- Tinted Moisturizer - Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20
- Dry Shampoo - Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo powder
- New Fragrance - Chloe
- Citrus Fragrance - Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue
- Eyelash Curler - Shu Uemura

The Disagreements…
- Lip Stain - They picked Lauren Hutton First Kiss Lip & Cheek Stain + Balm in Larry, I feel that the best product is in this category is Benefit’s Benetint
- Lip Gloss - They picked Clinique Long Last Glosswear SPF 15, I feel that the best product is NARS lip gloss, hands down (followed closely by MAC Lip Glass).
- Nail Polish, Darks - They picked Dior Vernis Nail Lacquer in Poison Blue, I feel that the best dark shade ever is Chanel’s Blue Satin Nail Polish.
- Nail Polish Remover - They picked Cutex Nail Polish Remover Pads Non-Acetone, I feel that the best product in this category is Lippmann Collection The Stripper.
- Mascara for Evening - They picked Max Factor Volume Couture High Volume & Definition Mascara, I feel that the best product in this category is either Benefit’s Bad Gal Lash, Awake Optic Force Mascara, or Cargo Texas Lash (c’mon I can’t pick just one mascara!)
- Concealer for Undereye Circles - They picked Cinema Secrets Ultimate Foundation Palette, I feel that the best product in this category is Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer.
- Cleanser, Sensitive Skin - They picked Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash, I feel that the best product in this category is Caudalie Instant Foaming Cleanser.
- Facial Moisturizer, Dry - They picked Patricia Wexler M.D. Skin Brightening Daily Moisturizer SPF 30, I feel that the best product in this category is Awake Hydro-Force Cream
- Scrub, Face- They picked St. Ives Elements Microdermabrasion, I feel they the best pick in this category is Peter Thomas Roth Buffing Beads.
- Body Wash - They picked St. Ives Collagen Elastin Moisturizing Body Wash, I feel that the best pick in this category is Philosophy 3 in 1 in Senorita Margarita.
- Straightener, Hair - They picked Nexxus Sleek Memory Straightening Spray, I feel that the best pick in this category is Phyto Phytodefrisant Baum.
- Mask, Hair - They picked Pantene Pro V Restorative Replenishing Mask, I feel that the best pick in this category is Phyto PhytoCitrus Hair Mask.

I am not saying that any of the above products that I disagreed with are bad products, I am just saying that I have found a product in those category that I find to be superior to those nominated or to any others that I have personally tested. Feel free to agree or disagree.

Most Wanted October 2008

These are the ten items that are my most wanted for the month of October…

- Philosophy Caramel Apple 3-in-1

- Cle de Peau Beaute Concealer

- Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Carnal Flower

- Clinique Superfit Foundation

- Chantecaille Le Stylo Liquid Eyeliner

- Chanel Fantastic Nail Polish

- Jo Malone Red Roses Bath Oil

- Dior Diorshow Iconic Mascara

- Coconut Hut Vanilla Frosting Body Butter

- The Organic Pharmacy Double Rose Rejuvenating Face Cream

Some thoughts…Clinique Gift with Purchase starts this month at Macys, I am way too into the scent of roses (is this goods or bad, I wonder?), and I want liquid eyeliner for perhaps the first time in ages. This is going to be a very beautiful month…

October 2008 Issue of Lucky

The October 2008 issue of Lucky sat in my pile of magazines for awhile until I finally had the time to really go through out (so did several other magazines, including the revered Best of Beauty issue of Allure - oh the fun of being in school and working full time) but when I finally had the time to read it, I was glad that I decided to take my time through it.

Jessica Simpson is on the cover, which didn’t really surprise me since her new fragrance had just been released several weeks earlier. She is a celeb that I have a love-hate relationship with. I love her look, her boyfriend (Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo) and some of her music all while hating her persona (at least on Newlyweds), hating the majority of her previous two beauty product lines, and hating that I can never have the same hair color that she pulls off. And believe me, I have tried. My hairstylist is sick of me pulling out a picture of Jessica every time we go to discuss updating my hair color. So this cover kinda made me both squeal and groan at the same time. Though I must admit, this cover produced more of a reaction from me than any other in the past few months. Perhaps this is what Lucky was going for in their choice of a cover model. Now for the contents of the magazine itself…

The first page of the beauty section talks about black eyeliner and the choices that are available to women this fall. Whether women decide to use pencil or go all out and choose liquid liner, it is obvious that black liner is a staple for the next few months and everyone needs to have at least one product in their arsenal to create this look.

Things I have to have from this issue…

- Philosophy Hope in a Jar High Performance SPF 20 - “People obsess over its impressive antiaging effects (from lactic acid and antioxidants)- now they’ve added five different types of super-shielding SPF and extra hydrators”

- Clinique Superdefense SPF 25 Age Defense Moisturizer - “This classic moisturizer is souped-up with ultra-long lasting UVA protection and red micro-algae extract for brightening”

- Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Bomblicious Hair Mist - “Jasmine and freesia make this delicate, ultra feminine , and a little spicy”

- Dermalogica Solar Defense Booster SPF 30 - “Great as a full-spectrum sun block alone or mixed with equal parts moisturizer or foundation; this is milky and extra light.”

- The Organic Pharmacy Double Rose Rejuvenating Face Cream - “Rose hip oil blended with equally nourishing ginger and marigold extracts for super-intense (and organic) dose of hydration”

- Weleda Wild Rose Moisture Cream - “Weleda makes some of the best all-natural lotions and creams out there. This one makes your skin feel and look amazing as soon as you put it on”

- Shu Uemura 100% Natural Origin Fragrance Fleur de Source - “Gorgeous, all-natural oils create a clean, cool combination of fresh basil and papyrus”

- Van Cleef and Arpels Ferie - “The elaborate cap (a fairy perched on a branch) is as appealingly playful as the scent: crisp violet with vetiver”

- Bulgari Jasmin Noir - “Against a backdrop of almonds, this merges the many scents of jasmine (which change significantly throughout the day), making something wonderfully complex”

- Lancome Magnifique - “If the color red had a scent, this would be it: Bulgarian Rose and sandalwood are strong and sophisticated"

- Creed Love in Black - Night-blooming wildflowers from Greece mingle with cedar and Italian iris” (How many times can I say how MUCH I want this fragrance!!)

- Tocca Bridgette - “Named for Bridgette Bardot, this mimics a spice market in Marseille, with rose petals and ginger”

- Beckham Signature for Her - So pretty and incredibly wearable; with orchids and a touch of licorice, it feels really new”

Ok so WOWOWOWOWOW!!! I have found a ton of new perfumes that I want to get this fall. I love floral fragrances and I wear them all during the spring and summer and I don’t stop the florals during the colder months, I just wearing stronger, more oriental florals.

With everything else that I loved in this issue, I didn’t think that it would be possible for Jean Godrey June’s column to raise my excitement level even further. But somehow, it did just that. She wrote about the new Gwen Stefani fragrances and the adorable bottles that they come it. Her favorite of the group is the Baby scent, but I really want to try them all. She also writes about her overuse of the word “fantastic” and how it is now a new nail polish color from Chanel. It is wine-berry red that is equally “fantastic” for manicures or pedicures and gets me really excited to run to local Chanel counter for this shade.

This whole issues can be summed up in one word…FANTASTIC.

Summer to Fall Beauty

So I have been absent from this blog for over two weeks now and I do apologize to the readers that were checking in daily, hoping for updates. I work a full time job and I go to college at night and last week I had a huge test in my night class which studying for consumed any and all free time that I had. But my test is over and I am back for now.

Sometime between working and schoolwork, I woke up to realize that summer is really over and fall had begun. It began with tightness in my cheeks and ended with my test driving deep red lipstick the other day. I mourned the putting away of my Island Michael Kors but got really excited to get my favorite perfume ever (Stella) out and begin using it.

I may finally be time to use all the new products that I bought for this fall, but the companies are beginning to release the collections for Holiday and I have to keep thinking ahead to snow, shimmery eye makeup, and what my Christmas list is going to look like. I feel that I waited for fall to begin to for so long and it is already starting to pass me by in this time of busyness.