April/May Favorites

April flew by, I didn't post a favorites list because I was still using most of my favorites from March. Towards the end of April and now into May I have some new items I am loving

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua
I originally only bought this product because of all the hype, I started using it and really like it, thankfully. It's a little thicker than I thought it would be and gives more coverage. But it's still light enough that it replaced my favorite LMDB foundation for summer. It's okay LMDB, I still love you.

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Liquid Daily Sunblock
Everyone knows you can't leave the house without SPF, this is my favorite of all time. It's ultra sheer and wears perfectly under makeup. Plus- it's SPF 55.

NARS Illuminator Copacabana
I had the Copacabana Multiple at one time but tossed it, I really hated the color and look it gave me. I mean, I hated the multiple with a passion. However the Illuminator is bomb dot com. I love this product and use it all the time, I'm so glad I tried it. It gives the perfect glow and is easy to use.

Cover FX Skinprep FX Nourishing Foundation Primer & Anti-Aging Serum
I have been meaning to review this product for awhile. I have been using it for about 2 months. I love this primer and will be posting a proper review on this product soon.

Lanolips LE Lemonade Lip Aid
My favorite lip ointment. I carry it with me all the time.

Giorgio Armani Sheer Blush in #6
It's funny how amazing a simple blush can be. This blush is a muted pink/rose color with a brownish undertone. It's simple yet looks great with any look.

Le Metier De Beaute Eye Shadow in Jojo
This color looks great by itself or blended with a darker color. LMDB shadows are amazing. I need more of them.

Paul & Joe Pearl Powder in #01 Secret of Gold
In the jar the color is pretty, but this loose shadow looks better over a colorful base. I pack mine over MUFE Aqua Cream in Coral or Peach and over MAC Paint Pot Rubenesque.

Giorgio Armani Micro-Fil Loose Powder
This powder has been a favorite of mine since I bought it. I love how finely milled the powder is, it gives a sheer coverage, no cakey-ness here.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Biarritz
Biarritz is a pretty golden peach color with shimmer. I have been wearing this color a lot during the day.

I'm loving liners that are not black, colorful eyeliners are fun and can turn any neutral look into something fun. I have been using these eyeliners the most.

MAC Eye Kohl in Float On By and Rosemary & Thyme
Dolce & Gabbana Crayon Intense Eyeliner in #8 Blue, and #2 Coffee
Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long Lasting Eyeliner in No.83 Cassie

Fresh Milk Body Lotion
I have been a strict Kiehls girl when it comes to body lotion but I bought this a while ago during the Sephora F&F sale. I love the way this smells and feels, I have pushed my Kiehls to the back of my dresser. Sorry Kiehls, you're great but Fresh smells better.

What products are you love this month?

The Lipstick League - week of 5.23.11

Question of the Week:

• What’s a brand that you absolutely love but can’t afford?

I really love Sisley-Paris products. I see the brand every time I'm in Neiman Marcus and sometimes on other blogs but my wallet really can't afford me loving such a high-end brand. I'd love to try their foundation, Kohl Star Eyeliner, Phyto-Lip Shine, and other products. One day they will be mine, one day they will be mine!

Here are this weeks links:

Phyrra - shows you the Science Collection, a.k.a. Portal! 30 thoroughly tested colors that are a Triumph!

we heart this - The Frédéric Fekkai Essential Shea Collection made our hair feel like a big stick of butter (that's a good thing)!

Beauty Junkies Unite - Amber shares a few shades of perfectly neutral polish from the new Jessica Cosmetics Carte Blanche Collection. Which one is your favorite?

EauMG - EauMG reviews a savory, Bohemian perfume by DSH Perfumes that would fit right in at the Moulin Rouge.

Nouveau Cheap - There’s something for everyone in the Milani HD Advance Lip Color range. Oh the pretty colors!

Orange to LA - is feeling blue, but in a good way thanks to Paul & Joe Summer 2011 L’Horizon Bleu Collection, check out pictures and swatches of her favorite pieces!

Pink Sith - Suffers from Lonely Cart Syndrome (LCS). Read about the gem she discovered in Lipstick Queen’s Butterfly Ball Lipstick during one of her recent outbreaks.

Ladies, is there a brand out there that you love but can't afford?

Giorgio Armani Blushing Fabric #4 Sienna

Giorgio Armani 'Blushing Fabric' Second Skin Blush #4 Sienna - $38.00

When Giorgio Armani's Summer Collection was released I knew I wanted to try the 2 new Blushing Fabrics. Giorgio Armani had released Blushing Fabrics before (2010) but I never had a chance to try them. I didn't purchase them when they originally were out and eventually GA pulled them off of the counters and websites. The Giorgio Armani sales associates kept telling me that they were going to be re-released again with new colors. The Giorgio Armani Summer Collection released 2 Blushing fabrics #4 Sienna and #5 Raspberry.

I purchased #4 Sienna, I tested Raspberry out but thought it was a little bright and bold for my liking. When you first squeeze Sienna out of the tube the color is like a burnt brick color more on the brown side than red. I squeezed a small amount onto the back of my hand like suggested. Once blended and smeared the color turns into a neutral brownish color with the slightest reddish undertone. After reading the lengthy directions on the Giorgio Armani website on how to apply the blushing fabrics I started to apply the color to my cheeks using my fingertips. I realized right away I was not going to need any brushes, my fingers would suffice. Once on my cheeks I noticed my face warm up. Sienna on the cheeks is a beautiful warm bronze-like color, it really gave my cheeks a sun-kissed look. The reddish undertone was almost not noticeable at all on me, but beware if you apply too much or are paler than say NC25 the red may be seen.

I like the texture which is creamy, light, and silicone based. The blush blends out to be a little sheer, like any blush I always say less is more. Start by applying a small amount and if you need more add more. You can always pack more color on, it is harder to try and blend out a color if you have applied too much. Also a great selling point is that this blush lasts all day on me, and doesn't feel thick of cakey on my skin. Once applied I don't really feel anything on my cheeks. Now that I have been using Sienna I think even though #5 Raspberry looked a bit bold I could probably pull it off.

On the left you can see #4 Sienna blended out, the blush can be blended even more into the skin to get rid of that red undertone. On the right is Sienna right out of the tube. My arms are very pale, of course the darker your skin the less bold this color will look.

Paul & Joe Summer 2011 L'Horizon Bleu

Paul & Joe's new summer collection L'Horizon Bleu is out. I started seeing promo pictures popping up across the web awhile ago and started making a list of items I wanted to get. After going back and forth in my mind over what I wanted I finally placed my order.

Limited Edition Eye Color B - $22.00

• 001 Le Medi - moss green, beige, vanilla
• 002 Adrift - purple, pink, gray
• 003 Tranquility - yellow, gold, brown, beige

001 Le Medi

002 Adrift

These eye shadows are interesting, they have swirls of color in each pan. I knew right away I wanted the eye shadows even though the colors didn't really look like colors I would wear on an everyday basis. These eye shadows come in the standard Paul & Joe single eye shadow packaging, except instead of light pink they are in light blue. I thought with the swirl pattern and the intermixed colors that the texture of the shadows might be a little grainy. But true to P&J standards, the eye shadows are still smooth, soft, and easy to blend. The shadows have a hint of shimmer. The colors are a little different than what I'm use to when it comes to Paul & Joe. Once the swirls are mixed together the shades turn a little muted, they are not bright and playful like I thought they would be coming from a summer collection. After all this collection is supposed to "take you to a tropical and romantic place where the sea meets the sky". I love the descriptions that companies give their collections.

Limited Edition "Twin Fish" Bronzer B - $40.00

I was the most excited about this bronzer and blush duo. The surface of the bronzer is embossed with 2 twin fish. I love fish, I have 4 tanks in my house- I'll have to talk about them in a future post. At first I didn't want to touch the bronzer, I took pictures and thought how can I swatch this without messing up the pattern. I realized I couldn't and unless I planned on never actually using this product I might as well just get it over with. The white fish and Paul & Joe logo are just an overspray, the fish are embossed slightly into the bronzer itself but will disappear after a few uses. Once I started swatching and testing the bronzer I realized how silky smooth the texture is. The smoothness is far superior to any bronzer I have tried in the past. The bronzer color is rather light, I'm NC25 during the summer and it looks perfect against my skin tone, I don't think it will show up very much on anyone darker than NC30-NC35. The blush color isn't exactly what I would call a great blush color. It's pretty light and neutral with shimmer, if anything, in my opinion it would be a great paired over a matte blush, or even over a matte bronzer. I don't really see myself wearing the "blush" part on it's own.

Makeup Bag

Did you grab any Paul & Joe Summer items?

All products purchased at http://www.beautyhabit.com/

The Boy Factor - Does your boyfriend/husband take care of his skin?

My husband really annoys me sometimes.

I'm sure I'm not the only woman out there whose husband or boyfriend just gets under their skin. Did my significant other forget to take the trash out? Did he not fill the car with gas? Did he forget to pay the AMEX bill? No. He did something worst. He said:

"a bar of soap."

What?

Wait.. did I miss something? Well, you did, you missed the question.

My husband and I have separate bathrooms, I do the shopping and buy the shampoo and conditioner, soap, his shaving gel, and things like that. I hand them to him and never see them again because I don't use his bathroom and he doesn't use mine. (He got sick of knocking down all the little bottles in the shower).

My husband was showing me a rough patch he had on his leg, I told him next time he was in the shower he should exfoliate. He looked at me as if I said "next time you are in the shower bake a cake". So I asked him:

"um.. babe what do you use in the shower?"

"a bar of soap."

Annoyance was bound to happen. Especially since he goes overboard on taking care of his hair. What about your skin man!? I have a million skincare products, soaps, scrubs, creams, exfoliating gloves, luffas, and every other type of device known to man. I always offer products to my husband but he is too "manly" to take any girly advice. My husband said most men don't use that stuff, and I thought - the hell they don't. Then he said the only smart thing he could say in response.

"why don't you ask your readers on your blog."

You know what Mr.Orange2LA that is exactly what I am going to do.

Ladies I am reaching out to you and asking- what does your husband/boyfriend use to take care of his skin?

Does he have a skincare routine? What does he use in the shower- gel, a bar of soap? Wash cloth, luffa, exfoliating gloves, anything at all?

Have you influenced your significant other to change their shower routine?

Let's discuss the crazy men in our lives, leave your comments in the comment section below.

The Lipstick League - week of 5.16.11

Question of the Week:

• Which products would you confiscate from your 16 year old self’s makeup bag?!

Brown lip liner. Yes, that's right I said it brown lip liner. I went through that bad girl phase when I was 16, I loved my pale skin and dark lips. I thought it was marvelous. Hey what do you want from me? I was going through that teenage angst period of my life. Of course my mother HATED it with a passion and I always had to make sure I had a clean face by the time she got home. Wow, thinking back to those days make me cringe, can't believe I actually would go to school like that. The funniest part was having friends who did the same thing. We thought we were a brillant bunch.

Enough with the scary flash back here are this weeks links:

Pink Sith - Knows the end is coming when she professes her love for a 2nd Clinique product, Pore Refining Solutions Correcting Serum!

Phyrra - My Independent Spotlight for May is Geek Chic Cosmetics! Learn all about the people behind the company in this unique interview.

Vampy Varnish - Get your glow on with Pixi Lumi Lux Radiance Powder.

we heart this - MAC's Surf, Baby! has a riding a beautiful wave, especially the Surf the Ocean Crushed Metallic pigments.

Beauty Junkies Unite - shows you that the new Hello Kitty for Sephora "Memoirs of a Kitty" Collection isn't for kids! The eyeshadow & blush palette is to die for.

EauMG - This niche Hollywood perfume house will have you smelling like a 1950’s poolside pin-up with their Kitten. Meow!

Nouveau Cheap - gives you an up-close look at the last of the three limited edition Summer 2011 collections from Wet n Wild: Inked (inspired by urban art culture).

Orange to LA - is on her 4th container of LUSH Oatifix Fresh Face Mask. Find out why she’s smitten!

Ladies, is there any products you would confiscate from your 16 year old self’s makeup bag?

Urban Decay Rollergirl Palette

Urban Decay Rollergirl Palette - $32.00
For the girl who works and plays hard - easy daytime neutrals, one vivid bright and a portable lip gloss ready for the office or an impromptu happy hour.

You might be suprised to know that I don't own very many Urban Decay products. The only Urban Decay products in my collection are:

• Naked Palette - which I love.
• Book Of Shadows Vol III (New York) - untouched and never opened, don't ask.

I'm not quite sure why I don't "love" Urban Decay, they never did anything bad to me I just seem to get confused by their products and packaging. I think for me Urban Decay is like Benefit, their items are a little too kitchy for me. However, the Naked Palette changed my mind about UD and I decided to give them a closer look. Which brings us full circle back to the Rollergirl Palette.

Something about the colors really caught my eye. I love neutral eye colors and bright lips so I thought this palette would be a great little combo I could carry around. Urban Decay Rollergirl Palette contains:

• Mini Lip Junkie Lipgloss in Crush - hot pink
• 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil - Whiskey

4 Eye Shadows:

• Woodstock - super hot pink with shimmer
• Verve - pale beige/oyster taupe with shimmer
• Suspect - sheer bronze/gold
• Darkhorse - dark chocolate brown/bronze with slight shimmer

I know some of these colors appear in other Urban Decay palettes but I'm new to Urban Decay.  I like that I have them all together in this compact little palette. The Rollergirl Palette is packaged like all the other UD palettes, in a hard cardboard-like box with a magnetic lid to keep all the contents safe. The shadows are super smooth, glide on the lid easily and blend well together. I'm glad the shadows are shimmery and not filled with glitter. I still need to figure out a proper way to get that super bright pink color into my look.

New Paul & Joe Lipstick Additions

I haven't purchased any Paul & Joe products in so long! I love Paul & Joe products but for some reason nothing has jumped out at me, I have not bought anything since their 2010 Autumn Collection. I was on the look out for new lipsticks, I purchased a few of the new Chanel lipsticks (to me shown in a later post), but I really missed the beautiful packaging of my favorite P&J lipsticks. So I picked up two from the Spring 2011 Parasol Collection.

Paul & Joe oh how I love your beautiful paper tubes.

070 Chantilly, 071 Afternoon Delight

Too cute right? Once again P&J picked great patterns for these lipsticks.

Most Paul & Joe limited edition lipsticks are a little sheer and these are no different. 070 Chantilly is a coral peach color, I seem to always end up purchasing coral peachy colors. 071 Afternoon Delight is a wearable bright pink color, online it looked almost fuchsia but in person it is lighter, I love this color and have been wearing a lot of pink lipsticks lately. Both lipsticks are glossy and have a shiny finish, I love that since I'm not crazy about matte lips during summer.

070 Chantilly

071 Afternoon Delight

Only swiped once

Let's be honest, these two colors are not original or different. I'm sure we can all find a coral peach and bright pink lipstick in our collection. But, I'm a huge P&J fan, what can I say I have issues. I love the quality and how they feel on my lips. I'm glad I bought these and can't wait till my Paul & Joe Summer 2011 items arrive on my doorstep.

Until next time!

LUSH Oatifix Fresh Face Mask

Hello everyone!
It's been a few weeks since my last post so I figured this should be about something I really love...

LUSH Oatifix Fresh Face Mask - $5.95 2.1 oz.
Soothing oat and banana mask for dry skin.

Few things are more soothing than a big bowl or banana porridge, all sweet and squishy. Now, did you know the same is true for your skin? sensitive, dry or irritated faces love Oatifix for its calming oat infusion, softening freshly mashed banana and ground almonds to slough away flaky skin.

I have been using this mask for quite some time now. This is my 4th container and I love it as much as I did the first time I tried it. I have dry skin and I am always on the look out for any product that is moisturizing, and won't dry out my skin. I use this mask at least 3 times a week, the product itself only has a shelf life of 3-4 weeks since the ingredients contain bananas and oats. When you open the container the mask looks a little iffy- it's thick and chunky, basically it looks like porridge or oatmeal. To me the mask smells like a mixture of bananas with a slight hint of Play-Doh, yes- I said Play-Doh. Maybe it's just my nose. The texture is thick yet applies easily. I wear this mask for 10 minutes, LUSH recommends wearing the masks for 5-10 minutes. If you leave this mask on for longer than the recommended time it hardens and you really have to work at washing it off. I really hate when I get it in my hair.

The oats gently exfoliate your skin and leave your face super soft, and moisturized. I definitely think this mask is an inexpensive little treat for the skin and afterwards I feel like I have had a mini facial. This mask was a major staple in my collection during the winters when my skin was extra dry and flaky. For the last few weeks due to stress I have gotten lazy and stopped caring for my skin the correct way. My skin right now is dull and dry, I bought this mask again and expect my skin to be back to normal very soon. I love how simple this mask is yet for me delivers a great effect on my skin. All of the LUSH Fresh Face Masks need to be stored in the fridge so let everyone in your home know that these are not edible.

How to use:

• Cleanse skin
• Massage Serum bar onto your face (I use the Full Of Grace bar)
• Smooth fresh face mask over your skin
• Don't let it completely dry out, wash off before it gets too hard. (Keep out of hair!)
• Tone and moisturize like normal. (I use Eau Roma Water afterwards)

This method is the way LUSH recommends when applying a fresh face mask. I have tried using the mask both with the LUSH method and just by itself. I have to admit the LUSH method is the best and I only use this method now. For some reason that little serum bar makes such a big difference. After I wash off the mask I spray my face with a little Eau Roma Water, it leaves my skin feeling so wonderful and perfect I wold never do it differently. All Fresh Face Masks must be purchased at a LUSH store they are not available online.

Are you a fan of any LUSH Fresh Face Masks?