Happy Thanksgiving with Stella McCartney Care

Well, Thanksgiving is upon today and it is officially one of my least favorite holidays. I don’t eat meat, so automatically the day sucks for me in that I can only eat about half of the meal that my mother makes. I really enjoy the slaughter of 3 million innocent birds so that Americans can celebrate a tradition. Oh yeah, and after the first Thanksgiving meal, the pilgrims gave their diseases to the Native Americans and then moved in to take all of their land over. I just love this holiday so much…

In honor of this tradition, I decided to look at some skincare and perfume from my favorite designer, Stella McCartney, daughter of the famed Beatle and a 100% vegan.

Her skincare line is called Stella McCartney Care, a unique high quality line that is 100% vegan. It is formulated with 100% organic ingredients and contains no petrochemicals or silicones. With this line, you can be an activist and look good at the same time, a major goal of mine.

Here are the products in the line…

- 5 Benefits Moisturizing Cream - Improves the skin’s moisture, nourishes , helps to protect the skin from exposure to the environment, and leaves skin firm, fresh, and radiant.

- Radiance + Youth Elixir - With a complex of red, pink, and green tea, this elixir stimulates, energizes, and protects against free radicals with polyphenols and Vitamin C.

- Nourishing Night and Day Cream - This rich and luxurious cream for night and day offers high protection against environmental conditions and micro-organisms, formulated with a blend of vegetable extracts to provide a natural protective layer and to repair damaged skin. Cupuacu butter and blackcurrant buds, rich in trace elements and vitamins, nourish and soothe the skin while Brazil Nut oil assists in anti-aging.

- 5 Benefits Moisturizing Fluid - Provides ultimate hydration, protection, nutrition, radiance, and firmness as it protects the skin from exposure to the environment, leaving it firm, fresh, and radiant.

- Gentle Cleansing Milk - Organic lemon balm and apricot, rich in carbohydrates and Vitamins E and A, protect and revitalize the skin. Sesame seed oil, which is rich in essential fatty acids helps rebuild the skin’s protective barrier.

- Toning Floral Water - Antioxidant green tea and linden blossom extract tones, soothes, and enhances the action of the 5 Benefits products, as active ingredients from cornflower help to revitalize the skin.

- Calming + Soothing Elixir - A complex of chamomile, arnica, and licorice, rich in polyphenols and compound lipids, gently soothe and cushion the skin.

- Nourishing Elixir - a complex of soybean, nigella sativa, and musk rose, rich in phytosterols, Omega 3, and essential fatty acids, work to firm and revitalize the skin.

- Discovery Set - contains 5 Benefits Moisturizing Cream, Calming + Soothing Elixir, Radiance + Youth Elixir, and Nourishing Elixir.

A look at any Stella McCartney facial care products would not be complete if I didn’t then check out what is new with perfume line. Stella is my favorite perfume ever and that is a huge accomplishment for this fragrance because I have many bottles of perfume and have tried almost every fragrance that is on the shelves at Sephora and even after 3 entire years, this one is still a head and shoulders above the rest. A couple day ago while in Sephora with a friend, I had her smell the perfume and she commented that is what I smell like all the time. Complete truth. But there is nothing new available for this scent at this time, next spring hopefully she will release more of the lighter versions of it so I can wear it all year round.

photo courtesy of Sephora

O.P.I. Holiday 2008 Collection

I have been talking about holiday makeup for the last few weeks here and now I need to break from it and cover something else that is holiday inspired. After seeing an ad for the new O.P.I. holiday nail polish colors, I knew that I had a new topic to write about. For nail polishes, I mostly use Lippmann Collection and Chanel. I also have a couple of old bottles of Essie, O.P.I., and Nicole but I haven’t really used them in ages and I may have thrown most of them away last time I cleaned out my traincase. So this collection is all new to me and I am ready to investigate some new colors from this company. This collection is called Holiday in Toyland and it is 12 new nail shades with 3 coordinating shades for lips.

Here are the colors…

- Girls Just Want to Play - A playfully pretty coral-red

- Red Hot Gift - A merry, must-have bright red

- Little Red Wagon - A classic holiday red

- Rosy Mistletoes-sies - A cozy magenta shimmer

- A Ruby for Rudolph - A glimmering jewel red to light up the night

- Don’t Toy With Me! - A burgundy day that’s seriously gorgeous

- “Sheer” Your Toys - But keep this pale gray for yourself!

- You’re a Doll! - You’re tutu sweet in this delicate hint of pink!

- Glamour Game - Play it in style with this champagne gold

- Brand New Skates - A dark silver that’s cutting edge

- Baby, It’s “Coal” Outside - Warm up with this rich, charcoal shimmer

- Play Til’ Midnight - In this elegant midnight blue

The matching lip shades that are available are Little Red Wagon, Rosy Mistletoes-sies, and Don’t Toy With Me. From this collection, I can already find some new colors that give me a reason to get back into shopping for O.P.I. I definitely want “Sheer” Your Toys, You’re a Doll, and Play Til’ Midnight. I also want to check out A Ruby for Rudolph and see how it compares to other reds that I have. I really want to see Baby, It’s “Coal” Outside and see if I can pull this color off in real life.

photo courtesy of O.P.I.

Givenchy Holiday 2008 Collection

I haven’t owned many products from Givenchy but since I really did love many of the products from their Fall 2008 Collection, I was quite excited to look at what they were coming out with for this Holiday. I was not disappointed by this collection. I am beginning to think that going forward, I will begin to regard Givenchy up there with NARS and Urban Decay in my personal favorite brands. The official description as found on the Sephora website is as follows, “Designed for women who like a little “sparkle” for a sophisticated evening look. Givenchy’s newest holiday collection offers a stunning complexion sculpted by touches of glowing light, shades of pink and purple shimmer on the lips, and bewitching deep shades for the eyes.” I love this collection! I am so excited to see pinks and purples instead of the traditional blacks and reds that are offered every single holiday. According to the Sephora website, this entire collection is exclusive to Sephora (however, I have heard that many times before and it often is not totally accurate).

The latest collection…

Prisme Again! Blush Quartet - Glowing Rose

Prismissime Eyes 9-Colors Eye Shadow - Tempting Chocolate

Phenomen’Eyes Mascara - Phenomen’Black

Rouge Interdit Shine Lipstick
- 02 Nude Shine - shimmering beige pink
- 07 Rose Shine - shimmering raspberry

Pop Gloss Crystal
- Rose by Night - sheer light pink with micro glitter
- Plum by Night - berry plum with micro glitter

Vernis Please! Nail Lacquer - Purple by Night - deep violet

I am in love right now. I actually haven’t been this excited about a Holiday collection since I looked at NARS (that is saying something HUGE)! I want the 07 Rose Shine lip gloss and I will not be resting until I get this color. I am wondering how close this color is to the always out of stock MAC Dazzleglasses. I will admit that I have never used a lip gloss from Givenchy so I can’t comment on the texture and wear of the Givenchy gloss. This color is all the motivation that I need to try this line out. I also really love the new blush shades in this collection but I would need to see this product in real life to decided whether or not to purchase it because I can’t quite tell from the pictures exactly how shimmery this color is and I am not a fan of really shimmery blushes. I love the idea of pinks and violets for this Holiday and I can’t wait to head out to Sephora to see this shades.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Urban Decay Holiday Collection 2008 - Three Piece

Each season instead of creating a whole brand new limited edition collection, Urban Decay creates a couple new colors and products (usually adding them to their permanent line) and creates looks with these colors and products. But these looks aren’t just brand new colors, the company combines some of the older and better selling colors into the looks also. So instead of having to purchase a whole brand new set of makeup to match some of these looks, you might be able to get away with using the colors that you already have and buying only a couple new items. For myself who has a huge collection of Urban Decay, I do only have to buy one or two items in order to create each look but to be fair, someone who does not own a train case full of Urban Decay would most likely have to buy the whole look.

My favorite of the holiday looks is called Three Piece. However in this look, the makeup artists used blue and green eyeliners so I already know that I would have to try this same look with bronze and gold shades. The basis of this look is that it is a strong eye makeup based look, using 6 different eyeliners. Yes, you read that correct, 6 different eyeliners. The base liners are the 24/7 liners and liners on top are the Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliners. It appears that in the inner part of the eye, the liners form a greenish blue color, then in the middle, they appear bright blue, then the corner of the eye has a purplish hue on top. Then under the eye, Zero (with nothing on top of it) is used to finish up the look. With the use of the multiple liners, each hue is sparkly and iridescent and would most likely change colors with the lighting. I love this for evening.

What they used…

24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil
- Dime (very metallic silver)
- Covet (peacock green)
- Lust (plush purple)
- Zero (zealous black)

Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner
- Glam Rock (silver)
- Stage Dive (not sold on its own, looks like an aqua color)
- Metalhead (bright purple)

Afterglow Blush
- Score (peachy gold with shimmer)

XXX Shine Lip Gloss
- Ozone (pure, clear shine)

Big Fatty Mascara

As stated above, these colors are not for me, but I really want to try this look. I am hoping that this look is not totally out of my skill range but I think the hardest part will be the Heavy Metal liners because I don’t have much experience with glitter or liquid liner. However, I think this look would be worth practicing.

photo courtesy of Urban Decay

Chanel Holiday 2008 Collection

Now it is time for the revered House of Chanel’s latest offering for the holiday. I didn’t love their last collection for fall but I am still enamored with their Blue Satin nail polish from last spring so that keeps my love alive. As everyone must know by now, Chanel was my first beauty love back in the seventh grade and I will always have a place in my heart for this company. I would never hesitate to drop any amount of money for a Chanel product that I fall in love with. Those Cs are like my crack…

So here is the latest collection from my beloved Chanel…

- Gold Highlighting Powder with Brush - Sheer and sublime, gold highlighting powder gives a delicate golden glow to the face. LE.

- Highlighter Face Pen - reduces the appearance of fine lines and lightens dark undereye circles
- Beige Rose - new shade for those with pink undertones in their skin

- Quadra Eye Shadow - the perfect combination of four shades that contrast and complement.
- Beiges de Chanel - cream, taupe, gold and brown shades

- Fluid Iridescent Eye Shadow - from subtle to intense, Fluid Iridescent Eye Shadow gives a long lasting veil of shimmering color to the eye
- Source - pink gold
- Rivera - pale gold

- Precision Eye Definer - Precision Eye Definer offers demure to dramatic effects
- Noir Scintillant - rich black with a gold sparkle

- Professional Eye Liner Duo - offering the effect of liquid liner and kohl pencil, Professional Eye Liner Duo is the ultimate mistake proof, multi tasking eye liner
- Brun-Lame - dark brown and soft brown sparkle

- Luminous Satin Lip Colour- lustrous color and ultra-wearability define the iconic Luminous Lip Colour.
- Audace - true red
- Exaltation - coral red
- Ardent - rosewood
- Nude - soft buff

- Brush On Crème Lip Colour - a perfect hybrid of gloss and lipstick, Brush On Lip Crème offers lustrous colour and intense shade.
- Praline - pink bronze
- Canele -brilliant bronze
- Glossimer - Glossimer offers the must-have high shine of the Holiday season.
- Gold Shine - gleaming gold
- Red Shine - vivacious red

- Nail Color - Nail color defines the season’s palette in chic shades.
- Perle Rosee - beige pink
- Dazzling - deep red
- Haute Chocolat - rich brown with a hint of gold pearl

I am in love with the new shade of the Highlighter Face Pen, most shades aren’t pink enough for my skin tone and usually end up looking fake. This will be a must get. I also really want the two newest shades of Fluid Iridescent Eye Shadow, I love both the gold shades and I can’t wait to pick those up.

photo courtesy of Chanel

Cargo Texas Lash

Before I start my purchasing and reviewing of the newest mascaras that came out this season, I was determined to use up the Cargo Texas Lash that I found in my collection at the end of the summer. I bought this mascara right when it came out last winter and somehow managed to forget about it for about 6 months, I’m not really sure how or why that happened but somehow it did. I originally bought this mascara because I hoped that it would give me Texas sized lashes; thick, huge, and unstoppable.

I began my foray into all thing huge later than I thought that I would. It was now time for me to venture into the world of the Dallas Cowboys, ranches, Ten gallon hats, and Tammy Faye Baker.
This mascara has an innovative elastic polymer formulation that forms small tubes around the lashes creating a smudge proof barrier that is removable with warm or makeup remover and gentle pressure. It should not flake, smudge, or run. So how well does it live up to these claims?

First of all, it does provide Texas sized lashes. I think this mascara got my lashes to be thicker and lusher than any one that I have tried before (a bit more than BadGal Lash). However, this mascara (unlike BadGal Lash) did clump during application of the second coat almost every time that I used it. I think it is thicker formula than many that I have tried because I have never had so many problems with clumping and have never had to use a lash comb every time I put on mascara. I didn’t have many problems with flaking, just couple flakes here and there, which I think is just normal wear for a mascara. No problems at all with running. The removal required eye makeup remover, water and gentle pressure do nothing to get this formula off at the end of the day.

What I didn’t love; the tube is basic black and boring. To some people this might not be a huge deal but I utterly love the Diorshow tube and found this one to be dull in comparison. If I were shopping for a new mascara and had no clue what to look for, I would not pick this one because there is no way that I would be drawn to this packaging. Also, this mascara has some kind of scent, while not offensive is still stronger than any other kind that I have tried. I looked through the reviews on Makeup Alley and many reviewers commented on the scent so at least I knew that I didn’t get a bad tube.

My final thoughts - this mascara is neck in neck with BadGal Lash. Volume was amazing, clumping and scent were not. Could this mascara help me attract Tony Romo? ::ponders buying a lifetime supply::

Some lyrics from the band Little Texas sum my thoughts up better than anything I could have ever expressed:

'Cause God blessed Texas

With His own hand.

Brought down angels

From the promised land.

He gave them a place

Where they could dance.

If you wanna see heaven,

brother,Here's your chance.

'Cause I've been sent

To spread the message:

God blessed Texas.

photo courtesy of Sephora
Lyrics courtesy of www.sing365.com

Clinique Holiday 2008 Collection

Clinique’s newest holiday offerings are focused on the color of blackberries and shimmer. This company seems to repackage the same few colors for every single collection and something in every collection always reminds me of the Almost Lipstick in Black Honey. This product is their best selling lip product ever and has been in the collection for as long as a I can remember reading fashion magazines (summer before middle school). So I understand that they want to go with something that they know will sell but I do wish that they would mix it up a little bit!

The new collection for holiday is called Blackberry Bloom. This the official description from the Nordstrom website (I am really enjoying this site, I don’t know why I didn’t look here before!): “Clinique’s deep shimmering holiday look. Let the festivities begin. Mysterious, shimmering and Oh! so wearable. Blackberry Bloom inspires this elegant collection.” First thought, the collection is pretty but compared to NARS or MAC, these colors venture nowhere near what I think up when I read the words “deep” or “mysterious”. On the plus side, anyone can carry this look off so I can see these colors really selling well.

The collection…

- Allover Color - Blackberry Bloom - mauve, berry colored blush (the focal point of the collection)

- Full Potential Plump and Shine - Sugar Full

- Color Surge Eye Shadow Super Shimmer
- Black Amethyst
- Black Coffee
- Black Smoke

- Kohl Shaper for Eyes
- Black Amethyst
- Black Denim
- Black Kohl
- Blackened Taupe
- Black Coffee
- Black Honey
- Blackened Pewter

-High Impact Mascara
- Black
- Black/Brown
- Black Honey

Nice collection but on the average side. I could take or leave this whole collection, nothing is life changing or earth shattering. I like the Black Coffee eye shadow but I’m sure that the company already has something similar or I can find something better from NARS.

photo courtesy of Nordstrom