Nars Pure Matte Lipstick

Nars Pure Matte Lipsticks will be hitting the counters at Saks Fifth Avenue on 1 September.  The new lippie will be exclusive to Saks, for now. 

The range of mattes will include shades in Volga (a deep aubergine), Bangkok (a soft rose), Tonkin (a plum), Tere De Feue (a blackish cherry), Tashkent (a nude beige) and Vesuvio (a bold red) — the unscented, unflavored line conditions lips with hydrating vitamin E, wild mango butter and acai oil.  All essential ingredients for smooth and plump lips.

Francois Nars is a makeup genius! Here are some of Nars’ tips for wearing lipstick:

• For a modern matte look, choose a lip color close to your natural skin tone, or pair a darker lip color with simple face makeup
• For full, hard-to-miss lips, go with an audacious color spruced up with a dab of gloss or shimmer applied in the middle
• Use lip liner to fill the shape of your lips, but make sure you blend out any obvious edges
• Avoid over-applying your lipstick; the more you wearing, the heavier it looks (and, interestingly, the quicker it wears off)

Laura Mercier Creme Smooth Foundation

Exclusive (for now) to Neiman Marcus, Laura Mercier has added a new foundation to her makeup portfolio.  The Creme Smooth Foundation ($50) is formulated for normal-to-dry skins and is a buildable light-weight foundation that smooths the skin evenly without settling into fine lines and wrinkles.  This is a great option in the Laura Mercier line because the Creme Smooth Foundation comes in 12 shades to cover every skin tone.

Laura Mercier Creme Smooth Foundation

Fall 2010 Makeup: Bobbi Brown Black Velvet

 

 

Known for her brown-based makeup and yellow-toned foundations, Bobbi Brown pushes the envelope this season with the upcoming Black Velvet collection for Fall 2010.  A beautiful mix of deep metallics, shimmers, mattes, and creams, Black Velvet features shades that will look especially natural on darker skin and dramatic, but sheer on lighter complexions.

Bobbi Brown Black Velvet

Metallic Eye Shadow: Black Berry, Black Cocoa and Black Charcoal

Sparkle Eye Shadows: Black and Black Velvet

Matte Eye Shadows: Black Charcoal and Black Chocolate

Lip Color: Black Maple and Black Raspberry

Creamy Lip Color: Black Mahogany and Black Cherry

On counter: September 2010

Deborah Lippmann: Across The Universe

Seen on the Lela Rose Fall 2010 runway, the sparkly blue/green chunky glitter nail polish, “Across The Universe” by Deborah Lippmann has finally hit retail outlets.  On the heels of the successful "Happy Birthday” nail polish, “Above The Universe” is sure to be another hit for the manicure maven.  This polish will look great against the minimalistic fashions that we will be seeing for fall!

Fall 2010: Beauty Looks at Rachel Roy

    

With an Egyptian goddess theme running through the fashions at Rachel Roy for Fall 2010, makeup artist Bobbi Brown “channeled” Egyptian goddesses with bold dark peacock rimmed eyes and a beige-y mouth. 

To get the look, prep skin with Hydrating Face and Eye Cream. Create a smooth and even complexion with Foundation Stick, Creamy Concealer and Corrector where necessary. Apply Blackberry Metallic Eye Shadow (Available Fall 2010) over entire lid, blending up into the brows, and Rinse Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow (Available Fall 2010) in arch. Achieve that glimmer of brightness in the inner corners of eyes with Long-Wear Cream Eye Shadow in Aqua (Available Fall 2010). Line lids with Black Kohl Eye Pencil (Available Fall 2010) and coat lashes with No Smudge Mascara. Contour cheeks with Pink Rose Blush (Available Fall 2010) and complete look with Beige Lip Color. All makeup by Bobbi Brown Cosmetics.

Voila!

Facial Oils

When you mention the word “oil” to most people in terms of skin care, they shriek with horror.  The very word will send people into convulsions.  I, frankly, don’t know where and why oil got such a bad rap for so long, but oil can be your best friend.  It just depends on which kind you use and for what purpose.

For dry skin, oil can be a “god send,” especially in cooler months when skin can become very tight producing little to no oil.  Great oils for dry skin include Almond, carrot seed, cedarwood, clary, jasmine, geranium, lavender, orange, Palma rose, neroli, castor, extra virgin, wheat germ, sandalwood, rosewood, rose, Vetiver, and Ylang-ylang.

Those with oilier skin really tend to stir clear of any and all oil, but cleansing or moisturizing with oil can have some amazing effects on oily skin and can help clear up any breakouts that is characteristic of oily skin.  It sounds weird, but oil can breakdown oil.  Staying away from mineral oils, some of the better options for oilier skins are cedarwood, geranium, Clary, lavender, Ylang-ylang, lemon, peppermint, Niaouli, Cajeput, cypress, frankincense, patchouli, Roman & German chamos, sandalwood, juniper, Melisa, coriander, lime (distilled), grapefruit,rose, rosemary, eucalyptus, red mandarine, myrtle, and/or neroli.

For combination or sensitive skin, combination skin can use geranium, rosewood, Ylang-ylang, rose geranium hydrosol, neroli hydrosol and “ever so” sensitive skin can use oils like Roman & German chamomile, rose, Palma Rosa, Helichrysum, neroli, rosewood, carrot, angelica, jasmine, Neroli, Chamomile or Yarrow Hydrosols.

For those lucky enough to have normal skin can use Atlas cedarwood, geranium, jasmine, lavender, soy, neroli, evening primrose, almond, orange, geranium, palmarosa, roman chamo, rose, rosewood, Ylang-ylang, and/or tea tree.

Some good facial oil products for combination/oily skin, try Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil.  This product will purify and rebalance skin.  This contains essential oils of rosewood, geranium and lotus extract.

Suitable for all skin types, Artistry Moisture Plus contains Safflower Seed Oil, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Shea Butter Oil, and Macadamia Olive Fruit Oil . This is a lightweight oil that is gives your skin a boost of oil where it's needed the most.

Rodin Olio Lusso uses eleven essential oils (Jasmine, Sweet Almond, Apricot, Jojoba, Evening of Primrose, Rose Hip Seed, Arnica, Calendula, Neroli, Sunflower, and Argan) to make skin smooth and supple and very soft. Also, comes in a body oil.

Josie Maran 100% Organic Argan Oil is a good daily moisturizer. Argan Oil is the “gold of Morocco” because it has a high concentration of vitamin E and essential fatty acids.  Argan Oil is very versatile and can be used for a lot of skin conditions, too.

Lastly, for those with very dry skin, Bobbi Brown’s EXTRA Facial Oil provides intense hydration. EXTRA Facial Oil contains Sesame, Sweet Almond, Olive and Jojoba oil and contains essential oils of Neroli, Patchouli, Lavender and Sandalwood. 

Fall 2010 Makeup Looks At Pamella Roland

Laura Mercier is one of my favorite makeup artists and makeup lines.  I was a freelancer for the line for years.  I love how Laura makes a woman feel feminine and powerful.  I was so excited to see Laura at the tents for NYFW.

The makeup looks at Pamella Roland did not disappoint. Laura’s team of makeup artist created very wearable looks for the “Venetian-inspired” fashions created by Pamella Roland.

Here what Laura Mercier products were used:

The lips were the standout feature.  The lips were treated to Very Cherry Lip Liner & Bing Cherry Lipstick (Laura's current favorite shade and available online only). Bing Cherry is a perfect shade for fall, as it's not overly bright or red. Plum Noir Lip Glaze was blended with the Bing Cherry to create a deeper, blood shade.

For the eyes, a blue-gray and a sea green shade was applied and finished with Black Caviar Eye Liner up to the lash line for a soft, sheer, clouded look. For the cheeks, Wild Bouquet was used to create, a very neutral blush to complete the entire look.

Fall 2010 Makeup: YSL Rouge Volupté Perle

With lipstick making a very strong comeback, YSL, Chanel and a host of other lines introduced a host of lipsticks that promised to be drenched with loads of color and staying power.  Hence, YSL’s Rouge Volupté, Chanel’s Rouge Coco and the like  For women who can’t give up their beloved lip gloss for the full-on color of a lipstick, YSL will introduce Rouge Volupté Perle for fall.  Rouge Volupté Perle is the sheer shimmery confection that will consist of six sheer creamy colors to include Coral Sun (#102), Sparkling Pink (#103), and Mesmerizing Purple (#106).