NARS Fall 2011: Finely Balancing Bright Colors with Nudes

Have you seen the new NARS Fall 2011 collection? It just became available on NARS Cosmetics and I don't even know where to start. The look is modern, fresh and graphic without being so over the top that it can't be translated to real life. And by real life I mean those of us that don't live in SoHo going to art gallery openings. People like me. While I'm not sure that the super bold blue is the color I'd go for (green might work better for me), I love how everything else is neutral but still just... pretty and not remotely boring.

Read on for a closer look.

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation

I bought this foundation months, and months and months ago. Like, the day the display appeared at my local big box store. I keep trying it out, trying to figure out if I like it or not. I truthfully haven't decided yet.

Finding the exact right shade is not quite as easy as it seems. Phyrra found #110 too pink for her fair complexion while Pammy thought the #115 was a bit too orange, #110 was better for her. My complexion is usually closer to Pammy's, though I'm tone-wise a bit closer to Phyrra. I tried out #115, which was a good fit for my overall paleness, but definitely too pink for me. Us super pale girls, we're not just a dime a dozen. Oh no, we come in many different shades of pale, and it appears that finding just the right shade, even in a product line with many pale shades, is difficult. I wish the shades were neutral, yellow based tones or were labelled warm/cool, similar to Maybelline's sister L'Oreal does for their True Match line.

I fully admit that most tinted moisturizers aren't quite moisturizing enough for my dry cheeks, nor do they usually contain the sunscreen I want. I don't want to put tinted moisturizer everywhere, only certain areas. So, I tend to cheat and use it over a sunscreen lotion usually. Sometimes this makes things a bit too hydrating and hard to blend in correctly since I'm basically applying moisturizer over moisturizer.

Fit Me is definitely a light coverage foundation, with a somewhat dewy finish. I found it to be close to a tinted moisturizer in terms of coverage, so for me this is a tinted moisturizer alternative. I apply it over my sunscreen lotion, allowing plenty of time for the lotion to sink in. Fit Me seems to be somewhat picky about blending, as any lotion residue really prevents it from blending easily. I also found that any foundation brushes should stay far away as they just encourage streaking, instead use your fingers and a makeup sponge. The foundation can be layered for slightly more coverage, but I couldn't get close to a medium coverage no matter what I did.

I found that the foundation lasts on me for about 6-8 hours, if I've applied extra for increased coverage I'll have areas of caking as well. I do like that the coverage is light, so it's great for the summer, but not an all day foundation for me.


Fit Me Foundation has SPF 18.



Maybelline

Barielle Joytini

I love that this orange is a tad softer than most other oranges, making it work even on my cool toned skin. 3 coats to opaque, and like other Barielle colors this one wore like crazy, no chips in site for 5 days.

Barielle

Fall 2011: Bobbi Brown's Tortoise Collection

I'm finally not melting every time I step outside and the end of summer sales have started. Which means I'm finally in the mood to talk about Fall's new makeup! Bobbi Brown is the master of neutral and just "pretty" in my opinion, and her fall Tortoise collection is my favorite so far. The collection was inspired by Bobbi's pair of tortoise shell frames.


As usual, for me the stars of the show are definitely the eye shadow palettes. They are limited edition and a bit pricy at $60 a pop, but with the amazing neutrals found in each, I'm choosing to focus on the price per shadow. Which is $8.50. Rationalization? Yes, but it works!

Bronze Tortoise Shell Eye Palette
The Bronze palette is a collection of warm neutral makeup for medium to darker skin tones.

The shadows (from Left to Right, Top to Bottom):
• Banana: Buttery Cream
• Olive Sparkle: Golden Green
• Gold Nugget Sparkle: Yellow Gold
• Bronze: True Bronze
• Tiger's Eye Metallic: Golden Copper
• Copper Cocoa Shimmer Wash: Light Chocolate Brown
• Espresso: Dark Chocolate Brown
• Amber Shimmer Wash: Pink Bronze

Sand Tortoise Shell Eye Palette
Warm neutrals for those of us with lighter skin tones. I'm a pretty cool toned girl, but this palette looks like it would still work for me.

The shadows (from Left to Right, Top to Bottom):
• Ivory: Creamy White
• Terracotta: Warm Golden Nude
• Hot Stone: Medium Brown
• Desert Sand Metallic: Golden Beige
• Antique Rose: Warm Pink Nude
• Sandy Rose Metallic: Brown Bronze
• Black Chocolate: Black Brown
• Gold Bar Sparkle: Pale Gold


Bobbi Brown Cosmetics

Emjoi: Pedicures Made Easy

What is that crazy looking tool? It's the latest pedicure tool, think of it as the new Ped Egg, sans cheese grater.

Basically, it is a sander for your foot. Really. Turn it on and the blue part, which is a rough sand paper, will rotate very quickly (about 30x a second). Use it on your dry feet to help smooth away rough spots. It is really fast, and I loved that I could use it on much more sensitive areas of my foot than I can with my Ped Egg. The results are also smoother, since I tend to skimp on the time with the "finisher" step of my Ped Egg.

The Emjoi is just hitting the States. It has been available in the EU for a while. It is definitely worth checking out if you hate using foot files, like I do. You can buy it ($40) from the Emjoi website now, but in September it will be at Sally's, ULTA and other stores.

Emjoi

Duri Fall 2011 Nail Polish Collection: Wine Tasting

Duri has just shared their upcoming fall collection, and I thought it was really beautiful. I know they aren't exactly "new", but every fall I get a craving for dark nails, especially reds and plums. Bingo. I'm also a sucker for purple and sparkles.

Which of these shades catches your eye?

Duri Cosmetics

A Few Things to Check Out...

Moody Bee is an amazing beeswax lip balm that I am in serious love with! They're running a great promo over on the Moody Bee Website. Until July 31st all orders will be doubled!

Phyrra is delighted with the 15-Year Anniversary Eye Shadow Collection from Urban Decay.

Degree is holding a fun promo for their MotionSense Deodorant. You can read the details, but basically they have a new online game called motionMILES Dash! By playing, users can earn motionMILES, a virtual currency used to redeem great prizes such as a trip to Hawaii, designer shoes, or cool gadgets!

Beauty Ticket is starting a Lumenesse Hair sale today.

Pinterest Challenge! Sockbun Curls and Aspiring to be Sherry

I've briefly mentioned my Pinterest addiction in the past (here's my Pinterest Boards in case you're curious). I discovered Pinterest through one of my favorite blogs, Young House Love. (My obsession with YHL has reached the point that when I have a new idea for our house my hubby first asks "is this from that blog again? That one you're trying to become?")

Well, recently over on YHL they announced that they were challenging themselves with a Pinterest Challenge. Rather than collecting pins, they would actually do one of the things they had pinned. I know. The interwebs are awesome.

I've decided that I'm going to participate as well! I went into my beauty board and found this pic that I had pinned.

It was originally pinned by Amy from Life on Twentieth. Unlike most pins it doesn't link to the original source, but it looks like her hair, so I really think it must be her.

Read on for more about this hair do trial

Clarins FEED 15 Pouch

I'm so excited to share this collaboration with you! Clarins and FEED have partnered to feed 1 million children in 2 years. Yes. FEED is the amazing program started by Lauren Bush (GW's niece) to help reduce hunger around the world. They have some great support in the beauty and fashion community, and the FEED products are definitely a chic way to help the cause. Since its creation,FEED Projects has raised over $6 million and distributed over 60 million meals to hungry children across the globe.

This Clarins pouch is perfect for carrying your daily essentials with you everywhere. Inside you'll find Hand and Nail Treatment Cream, Moisture-Rich Body Lotion and Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector. It's a steal at $30 (the products are worth $48), and you'll feed 15 kids when you buy it!

The pouch is available at Nordie's now. Check it out when you head in for the anniversary sale!

Clarins FEED 15 Pouch

L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche le Gloss: Seriously Amazing Lip Gloss

Have you seen the new L'Oreal lip glosses yet? Love. Serious love. Amazing. I picked up one at CVS the other day, and the display was so pretty I had to really stop myself from buying a few more. Or six. In the end I only bought one (#164, Nude Illusion, pictured above, which is for some reason called Nude Touch on the L'Oreal website), but I think it is a universally flattering shade and if you're in the mood for a new lip gloss, this is the gloss and color to get.

The gloss comes in a tube, though this one is a bit longer and thinner than most lip glosses, giving it a fresh and elegant feel. The gloss isn't sticky, tastes like vanilla and feels like lip balm going on. Seriously, this is not a joke. The formula includes Omega 3s, Vitamin E and Argan Oil, so the gloss is very hydrating. It doesn't last through meals, but it does stick around for my daily cup of coffee.

I think I'll be picking up a red or plum for fall next. This is holy grail worthy gloss.

L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche le Gloss

Affiliate Shopping Sites: Yup, I'm Gonna Do It

I've been asked a huge number of times to join the affiliate programs of my favorite brands/sites. I've always said no, but for some reason when asked by the Gilt Groupe last week I finally decided to say yes. It may have been a moment of reduced ad revenue hysteria. The company that runs my ads changed their pay scale, I no longer make enough to cover a trip to Sephora each month. I make half that. So, while I'm obviously never going to support myself with this website (I went to med school for a reason people), I would like to have a little less guilt associated with heading to one of my favorite stores each month.

So, I've added affiliates. The links will be sitting off to the right, I'll maybe post something about special deals/sales once a week or so. The post will be clearly labelled with affiliate links. In product reviews I'll still link to the regular site, though I'll likely tell you if I have an associated affiliate link. It's up to you which link you push. Clearly this won't make or break me, so I'm going to try to not make it a big deal. It will just make me feel less guilty about buying a extra lipgloss or two. (Ok, three.)

I'm only going to be joining programs from brands and stores that I have had personal (and great) experience with in the past. So, if the link is there, know that it's something I approve of. Likewise, if a link disappears, I probably had something happen like a bad product or customer service experience that is making me no longer recommend them. So, I'm not going to be joining every program known to man.

Let me know what you think.

MAC Semi-Precious Blushes

The Semi-Precious collection has 3 blushes and they really are beautiful. They're more matte than most mineralized skin products (maybe it's just me, but I seem to think of them as having shimmer in everything). The MAC website states that these have subtle shimmer, but to my eyes I only pick that up in bright sunlight. The colors are well pigmented, but easy to use with a light hand and build to more coverage.


Warmth of Coral: Coral, Peach
Pressed Amber: Nude, Beige, Brown

Mineralize Blushes, from MAC

MAC Cine-Matics: Nordie's Exclusive Shadow Duos

I promised these pics about a week ago, but as usual I got side tracked by "real" life and photo editing was pushed aside (I may have also discovered Pinterest. Obsessed.) Anywho.... MAC Cine-Matics is a collection of 8 different shadow duos. They come in these amazing black cases which I'm in serious lust with. They have magnetic lids, so they close with this super satisfying click and can stack with each other without falling all over the place.

While I'm not typically a bright shadow girl, I found the more vibrant hues to be my favorites while the more typical neutrals seemed a bit... blah to me. I have 6 of the 8 duos and they aren't all what they appear to be on the Nordie's website.

The duos are currently only at Nordie's for their sale, but I believe are going into wider release in August. Karla Sugar has more info on what is being released where and when. Her swatches are very vibrant and uniform, I could not get the shadows to do this no matter how hard I tried using dry shadow (wet shadow, yes, but not with dry). I typically swatch using q-tips onto my arm (I used to use brushes or a fingertip, but I found colors were getting too muddled), and I rub them across my arm 4-5 times to apply the color. Rarely do I apply more color, I try to stop about when I reach the amount I think someone would apply typically. So, Karla's pics are really pretty and might give a better look at some of the colors, but mine likely will give you a better idea of how pigmented some of the shades are when used.

Read on to see swatch pics (tip: click each pic below to enlarge for a closer look).

Hopscotch Kids' Nail Polish Say, Say Oh Playmate

Nail polish and kids is always a somewhat controversial topic. Do you let them wear it? At what age? What if they're still really oral and they eat it off? Is it better to peel off or not? Then, what about colors? Should they be allowed to wear any color they want or only "pretty" colors like light pink?

Truthfully, I'm not sure where I am on the whole nail polish stance. I do think it is cute. I think fun and crazy colors are cuter than the pale pink colors. I don't think it is appropriate for little ones that can't keep their fingers out of their mouths. I prefer less exposure to chemicals, even though the doctor in me knows that nails don't absorb things, I still don't want them in my kid's polish.

Hopscotch Kids is free of pretty much every chemical they can put in nail polish ( toluene, dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde, nitrocellulose, butyl and ethyl acetates, acetone, FD&C, coal tar and lake colors), to the point that I wonder if there's anything left to put in it. In fact, this is a water based nail polish, so there's one ingredient at least. (FYI, the site that sent me this also has organic nail polish as another option if you want fewer chemicals.)

I was sent a really pretty pink/purple shade to test. In the bottle there is silver sparkle, though it always appears that the silver has settled out. No matter how much I shook the bottle**, rolled the bottle.... yeah, always looked like that. Finally I decided to ignore that situation and apply anyways.

The polish is more watery than other polishes as well as somewhat sheer. Don't put too much polish on your brush or there will be big time pooling issues near the cuticles. 3 thin coats to opaque. The silver shimmer is subtle in person and very pretty. During application the shimmer appeared very streaky, but it seemed to sort itself out by the time the polish was dry. It did take about 8-10 minutes to be somewhat dry, and then a full hour to be totally dry. I'm not sure that this dry time is optimal for most kids, maybe a dedicated 5 year old could do it, or if there was a distraction a younger kiddo would be ok.

While Hopscotch isn't billed as a peelable nail polish, it was for me. I took this swatch picture the day after application, and you can see a few small issues with the finish. Rather than a traditional chip, the polish folds back on itself, which I liked. Rather than having polish chip off all over it stays put in one piece. I did think that the polish was a bit fragile, accumulating these folds rather easily. After 3 days I had to remove the polish. I was able to easily peel each nail of polish off in 1 piece, no remover required.

Hopscotch Kids comes in a pretty big variety of colors. Other kids polishes that I've seen are simply globs of shimmer in a polish that chips when you look at it funny and lasts at most a day. I really loved this purple shade and will be wearing it again.

Hopscotch Kids' Nail Polish


**Yes, I know not to shake polish before application as it causes bubbles.

Mark Min-A-Real Foundation

As part of my on-going life goal of being able to fit everything I need into a 3-1-1 bag and travel with carry on luggage only, I gave the new Mark Creme foundation a whirl.

The product is a cream to powder foundation that promises medium coverage and easy application. I tried out Nude, slightly dark for me, though the formula was somewhat forgiving since it didn't look like it was a shade too dark once bended out.

The compact has a decent sized mirror filling the top, underneath is a round cosmetic sponge for application. I love that the area underneath is actually rather large, you could replace that sponge with your own if you wanted to without worrying about fit.

The foundation is a thick cream and applies easily with the sponge. I found that if I used the sponge I would have very full coverage, I preferred to use my fingertips and then blend in with the sponge, this gives me medium coverage. The coverage is enough that it isn't really flawless invisible coverage (no one looks that good in real life), but it looks great. Lasts most of the day (~10 hours) without caking or fading issues.

Overall I definitely liked this foundation, I'll be purchasing it in the correct shade and you can be sure it will be my go-to travel foundation.

Mark Min-A-Real Foundation

A Few Sales to Check Out...

Over at Total Beauty you can check out a great deal to save $15 off Juice Beauty



Beautisol has a great promotion going on now! It's a buy one get one free on Beautisol's Fab Sunless Tanner. To purchase, they say to enter both items of their choice (either Summer Glow or All Seasons Glow) into their carts then apply the coupon code B1G1F68. Go stock up on one of my favorite sunless tanners now!

Beauty Ticket is starting a Pharmagel sale today.

What Does That Thing Do? Double Barreled Curling Irons Explained

Have you seen the double barreled curling irons in stores? Apparently it is perfect for creating beachy waves and Veronica Lake waves. But, I've always been confused by it when I see it in stores, so I've quickly bypassed it. Recently RSession tools sent me a few images that explain how it works.

Read on for the easy explanation.

MAC Semi-Precious Eye Shadows: Too Pretty to Use

Have you seen the Semi-Precious mineralized eye shadows from MAC? Seriously pretty. Like, I want to just stare at them and their sparkly colors. I felt bad swatching them and marring them.

Read on to see what they look like when used. (All images in this post will enlarge if you click on them, by the way.)

Beauty Ticket & Tini Beauty: A Contest!

Beauty Ticket is holding a Tini Beauty Cocktail contest, and to celebrate they're offering 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic readers a great prize!

1 Tini Beauty Paradise Pink Cocktail
1 Tini Beauty Lip Sugar Shot Set
1 Tini Beauty Double shot Double Ended Mascara and Eyeliner in “Shooting Star”
1 Tini Beauty Mini Bar Champagne Spritzer Set
1 Tini Beauty Mulberry Matador Cocktail


To win, complete the form below. Let me know what your favorite summer beauty tip is! Do you have a great waterproof mascara for the beach or a sure fire way to fake a sun kissed look? Let me know!

The contest is open to those in the United States. Note that the info below goes only to me, and after the contest is over and prizes have been sent out I throw it away. In the past I've had to spend a few weeks trying to get contest winners to email me their shipping info, frequently I never hear back. So, for the first time I'm asking for name and address in case you win. This is purely for my benefit, I'm tired of trying to hunt people down.

Longer Lasting Eyeliner? NARS Larger than Life Eyeliner

I haven't tried this yet (obviously, I just got the info from NARS about... 1 day ago?), but NARS is coming out with a new eye liner that I had to share!

The formula is creamy, NARS describes it as "long-wearing" and even better yet, it comes in a mechanical pencil form with a built in sharpener. YES. For those of us that hate to sharpen. Like me.

Read on to see the colors.

Aveeno Baby: A Physical Sunscreen for Everyone

A few days ago, I promised to share a great physical sunscreen that I've been using. Yes, it's a baby sunscreen, but I swear it is amazing. Why use a physical sunscreen over a chemical one? Physical sunscreens are typically not absorbed into the skin (I say this with the caveat that newer, micronized physical sunscreens can be absorbed), so they are better for those with skin conditions and are the only sunscreens recommended for use in kids from 6-24 months by the AAP.

My biggest problems with physical sunscreens are really just due to the weight of them. I feel like they are heavier on my skin, make me feel sticky and often leave behind a white cast to the skin. Aveeno seems to have gotten around most of those issues with this product. There really is no scent and the thick white cream doesn't take much rubbing to completely disappear into skin. Once applied I can't feel it on my skin, so this is a dramatic improvement over other physical sunscreens.

I tried out the sunscreen stick as well. It is a creamy white stick that has a slightly waxy feeling. It does leave a bit of a white tint behind in addition to a slightly tacky feeling on my skin. However, since this isn't something that you apply to your whole body, I think this is fine for my ears, cheeks and nose.





Aveeno

A Dozen Roses: Which Flower Are You?

A new trio of fragrances is launching this summer, and there is sure to be a match for you. A Dozen Roses is a trio of fragrances: a white floral, a woodsy/oriental floral and a fresh, fruity floral. During the initial development of the scents, three female perfumers created three distinct scents for three different woman—although one woman can embody all three scents at different times. Each scent is built around a middle note of the line's signature Rose Absolute. Since each scent was so different and distinct, I took my trio of little samples to work to see what my friends thought.

Read on to find out more about each scent.

Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale: My Top 9 Beauty Exclusives Picks!

It's that time again! Every year during their summer Anniversary Sale, Nordstrom's has amazing exclusive beauty deals. Some items are specially packaged sets, some are made just for this sale by your favorite companies, and some are just giant, stock up versions of your favorite products that you can't get anywhere else. There are also some amazing gift with purchase (GWP) items available this year from Lancome, Clinique and Clarins, just to name a few.

I can't feature the entire sale here, but I have a few of my favorite picks featured here. MAC has released a great collection of eye color duos, I have 6 of those that I'll be featuring later this weekend as well.

Over at Ain't No Mom Jeans they've featured their best Mom-drobe picks. I'm looking at the boots, I wore my Coach riding boots to the ground while pregnant, and I fear they are now beyond the resuscitation abilities of even the best cobbler.

Read on for my beauty picks and happy shopping!