LUSTING: NARS Mexican Rose

The beauty bloggers are all abuzz about this watermelon candy-coloured glossy lip pencil called Mexican Rose. It was released this spring.


Check out with some of the beauty bloggers are saying about Mexican Rose:

• Temptalia's review of NARS Mexican Rose Glossy Lip Pencil.
• Messy Wands' review.
• The Make Up and Beauty Blog's review.

I'm a sucker for a bright lip and I like the sounds of this glossy but lightweight gloss. I find myself drawing away from gloss more and more lately, I find it too shiny and sticky. I much prefer the rich colour and slight sheen that a lipstick gives. I'm intrigued about what I've seen of Mexican Rose though!


Stay tuned to see if this ends up in my make-up kit.


Lusting!


C.

LUSTING: Benefit's Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow!

Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! is Benefit's newest foundation and there's been a lot of buzz about it. What's different about it is that it's the first liquid foundation from Benefit, who are known for their complexion enhancers. It's also meant to look natural and fresh while providing full coverage. 

Here is some more info from Benefit:

Hello…it’s flawless time! Our new oil-free brightening liquid foundation builds from light to medium coverage for a natural complexion you can believe in. It’s you…just more luminous & healthy looking. 

• broad-spectrum SPF 25 PA+++ protection**
• oil-free formula
• natural finish
• hydrating benefits
• light-diffusing properties
• available in 9 shades

**What does PA+++ mean? SPF stands for the protection grade of the UVB filter. PA stands for the protection grade of the UVA filter. The highest standard of sun protection rating is the three-star PA rating. Our foundation has three stars, which translates to the highest protection.

I'm excited about this foundation because it's from Benefit, who make some truly fantastic products. What I've read about it intrigues me as well. It appears to do as it claims and people seem to really love it. SPF protection, a light and natural finish, hydrating, brightening and reasonably priced - these are all things to make me excited!

I can't wait to check it out now that it's in stores. I'll do a review post on it if I do purchase it.

C.

LUSTING: butter LONDON Spring/Summer 2012

butter LONDON's spring/summer 2012 collection is available to buy online! Do these colours look summery or what? 

Pops of neon colour, sherbert pastels and cool neutrals is butter LONDON's spring/summer collection, adding five shades to their impressive regular collection. 

I love the looks of Knackered and Slapper. 

L-R
Disco Biscut: Tropical hot pink with an undercurrent of tiny iridescent glitter particles
Bossy Boots: Light, opaque pistachio green. A beautiful take on neutral for the summer.
Knackered: A sheer, twinkling oyster shade flecked with micro glitter particles.

L-R
Trout Pout: An opaque shade of cantaloupe, pale and retro.
Slapper: A truly teal lacquer, bold and very bright.

And you've gotta love the names. butter LONDON polishes have the best names.


If you need a dictionary for these, check out the definitions of Disco Biscut, Bossy Boots, Knackered, Trout Pout and Slapper. 


Lusting!


C.

LUSTING: Urban Decay Roller Girl Palette

Ooooh, I don't think I'll be able to resist this Urban Decay palette. Check out the swatches Temptalia's done - hot pink lip gloss, gorgeous shimmery neutrals and one of UD's killer eye pencils. Yeah, this is going to be mine. I have no idea how I'll wear the hot pink Woodstock but that's ok. Everything else is right up my alley.

Urban Decay Roller Girl Eyeshadow Palette:

Eyeshadows: Woodstock, Verve, Suspect and Darkhorse

Eye Pencil: Whiskey

Lipgloss: Crush

Temptalia's done some great looks with this palette too. Click here and here.

LUSTING!

C.

LUSTING: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils 15 Year Anniversary Collection

I loooooooooove Urban Decay eye pencils and they've come out with a 15 year anniversary collection. 15 gorgeous, shimmery eye pencils and a wide range of wearable to wild colours.


Includes: Stray Dog (shimmering taupe brown), Corrupt (dark metallic brown with silver glitter), Bourbon (medium brown with sparkle), Midnight Cowboy (beige sparkle), Baked (bronze), Stash (mossy gold-green), Mildew (deep mossy green), Perversion (blackest carbon black), Electric (bright blue), Binge (deep metallic blue), Ransom (bright purple), Asphyxia (pinky iridescent purple), Rockstar (deep reddish purple), Zero (black), Uzi (sparkling gunmetal gray)

Looking at these swatches by Karla Sugar, I'm tempted to rush out to Sephora right now! Look at those shimmery lovely swatches! How can you not want to wear them on your eyes? And they go on like a dream (I have Ransom, used here) and add all kinds of oomph to any look.

The price is right too, these are full-size eye pencils, and they come with a sharpener. For this 15 Year Anniversary set, the cost is $92. For each pencil on its own, the cost is $17. You don't need a calculator to tell you this set is a deal.

WANT!

C.

LUSTING No More: NARS Cruising Lipstick vs MAC Mellow Mood

Around this time last year, I was lusting after the lipstick in NARS' spring collection, inspired by Catherine Deneuve in La Chamade. I'd tried it on and swatched it a few times but I'd never bought it. I'm very, very good at deciding I don't need to buy things. To a fault. Cruising always beckoned to me for some reason even though it was very natural on me, almost the exact shade of my lips. But there I was at Sephora a few days ago, swatching it once again. I had it in my head that it was time to own the darn thing when it occurred to me that I might already own a nearly identical shade.


Before Christmas, I bought one of the MAC A Tartan Tale lip bags - Vain and Glorious - and the lipstick it came with, Mellow Mood, was a very natural pink, almost the same colour as my lips. I wore it quite a bit and had it in my bag, so I swatched it next to Cruising. Lo and behold they were nearly the same colour, with Mellow Mood being slightly more pigmented. 


And with that, my lusting over Cruising came to an end. Problem solved!

I still should see La Chamade though.

C.

LUSTING: Seychelles Password Print Pumps

My friend Donna spotted these online and immediately thought of me. She was right, I love them. They're very me. A little bit retro, a little bit shiny and in an unexpected colour that doesn't scream at you.

More photos:

WANT!

C.

LUSTING: Benefit Prrrowl

Oh Benefit, you crazy, wonderful company! What have you come up with this time?

 

Prrrowl, MEow!

Prrrowl is a dual-ended wand with a peacock blue iridescent mascara topcoat on one end and a pearly peachy pink lip gloss on the other. 

Benefit has a tonne of must-have products and while I'm not sure this will be added to the list, it's certainly the ideal type of product to toss in your purse to take you from day to night or to bring with you when you travel. 

The mascara is sheer, so it's ideally used on top of mascara for a bit of glitz and the peacock blue colour will subtly enhance the colour of blue, brown and green eyes. It can also be worn on bare lashes. The peachy pink gloss looks like it's sheer and subtle enough to work on most skin tones and can be worn alone or on top of lipstick.

I want! Do you? Check out the Benefit website for more info!

C.

LUSTING: UNII Palette

I came across this fantastic product on www.luckypennydaily.com (a good source for lots of fantastic things - check it out!). It's a magnetic palette that you can use to store palettes of all sizes and shapes together. You can use it everyday, for a night out or a weekend away or when you travel. Mix and match your own customized palettes or just use the Unii palette to store your make-up.

This is such a clever idea and one that solves a long-standing problem. How many eyeshadows, blushes and powders do you have in your make-up collection? You DO NOT want to see my make-up case. Luckily I know where everything is (most of the time), but imagine the space you could save with this in your suitcase or purse or overnight bag.

The palette fits almost every brand and multiple-combinations of products.

Learn more here: http://www.uniicosmetics.com/

Unii Palette

C.

LUSTING: Benefit The POREfessional

Just in time! I'm at the end of three primers right now and I was trying to decide if I'd just buy a new one of one of them or try something different. Along came Benefit with a brand new primer!


I'm a big fan of Benefit and their can't-live-without base products. Their Benetint and Posietint lip & cheek tints, Highbeam highlighter, Dear John moisturizer, Eyebright pencil and Bad Gal mascara are some of my must-haves.


The POREfessional primer is oil-free, lightweight and designed to minimize the appearance of pores. It's meant to be applied after your moisturizer and before any foundation/concealer/powder wherever you have pores you want to minimize. Where you have large pores tends to be where you have oily skin and the POREfessional is meant to mattify as well as minimize pores and make your skin look silky smooth.


The POREfessional costs about $28 US and I haven't seen it in any Shoppers Drug Marts or Sephoras in Toronto yet. I have a feeling that it will soon be mine though!


C.

LUSTING: Kimiko Super Fine Eyebrow Pencil Automatique

You've heard it before, I'm sure, how your eyebrows frame your face? Having well-groomed eyebrows is key to having a polished but natural look. For most of us eyebrow upkeep is basic: a wax strip here, a few hairs tweezed there, a fill-in here, a trim there and for daily grooming, many of us just need to comb through the brows, shape them slightly and add a touch of brow gel to keep them in place. 

This delightful little wand/pencil from Kimiko has a super-fine pencil top and a brush tip for blending and shaping. It's superfine tip apparently creates lines so fine they're like your own brow hairs and who doesn't need NOT to have to correct too-thick eyebrow pencil or powder brow hairs when you're rushing to get through your make-up application and get out the door in the morning?

I know I do. LUSTING!

C.

LUSTING: Cake Beauty Milk Made Mani-Cured On the Go

I love Cake Beauty products. LOVE. Their Milk Made Velveteen Hand Creme is one of my very favourite hand creams although I can't quite justify the price. It smells so delicious but not artificial in the slightest and the hand cream itself absorbs very quickly and makes my skin silky, silky, silky smooth!


Cake Beauty has come out with a kit of hand and nail essentials that you can take with you so your hands will stay smooth and moisturized even when you're away from home.


Here are the details from the Cake Beauty website. Have I mentioned that Cake Beauty is a Canadian company?

WHAT IT IS:

get moving with your milk made essentials kit that includes 5 single servings of smoothing hand & cuticle buffer, a handy-dandy ‘cake’ keychain nail file and a full size serving of our best selling velveteen hand creme

WHAT IT DOES:

use all three portable products to shape, smooth, exfoliate and nourish your hands and nails to get the ultimate mani-CURED spa-like result in seconds

WHAT PRODUCTS KEEP HANDS MANI-CURED?:

velveteen hand creme :   a non greasy, velveteen hand creme blended with whole milk, soothing marshmallow extract, shea butter and mango butter.

smoothing hand & cuticle buffer (5 single serve packs):    hard working granule sugars that will buff the rough away while the unique blend of grapeseed, coconut, avocado and sweet almond oils nourish and moisturize

key chain nail file:   use this small but mighty tool to shape and smooth your nails to perfection,any time, anywhere.

MILK MADE SCENT:

warm vanilla with just a hint of fresh raspberry

carry-on luggage approved!

LUSTING!

C.

LUSTING: 100,000 Years of Beauty by Elizabeth Azoulay

I love big, heavy, near-impossible-to-ever-fully-finish books so I'm lusting after this one!

Commissioned by L'Oreal for it's 100th anniversary, 100,000 Years of Beauty is an exploration of beauty through the ages and across culture - from prehistoric times to the opulence of the French court during Marie Antoinette's time. Did you know that our prehistoric ancestors were just as obsessed by beauty as we are today?

It's more than just pretty pictures though, this is a historical, comprehensive, intellectual journey through the cultural, anthropological and social history of beauty through different cultures through the ages. Here's an interesting article about the book from the London Times: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/beauty/article6918479.ece

It's definitely not cheap, but this isn't your average beauty book...

LUSTING!

C.

LUSTING: Marc Jacobs Lola Perfume Cocktail Ring

A few months ago I lusted after Marc Jacobs' new fragrance, Lola and particularly after the bottle! No more lusting for me as now I can get a Lola cocktail ring with that same gorgeous bold, sculptural and ribbony blossom from the top of the perfume bottle.

Lusting!

C.

LUSTING: HerCut: Haircare For Your Haircut

Wow, a hair product that suits your cut, not just your hair type? I love it!

These styling products are designed for certain hair styles - the pixie, the blunt, the bob and the shag - and will emphasize the specific attributes of each. It also promises to be the only styling product you will need to make your hair look its best.

My hair is fine and very straight and currently it's cut in an angled bob with slightly asymmetrical bangs. So really, I could probably use both the products under The Blunt although I obviously want to try The Bob. But you could just go with the products that offer what you want in a styling product.

The line offers shampoos and conditioners as well, though these are tailoured to your hair's type, not its cut or style. The styling products go for $28 US for 100 mL and the shampoos and conditioners are $22 US for 300 mL.

Available at http://www.hercut.com/ and at Sephora.

C.

LUSTING: NARS Cruising Lipstick (and the rest of the Spring 2010 Collection)

A friend sent me this link from The Frisky featuring a lip colour from NARS Spring 2010 Collection. She was lusting over the lipstick (Cruising) that Amber Valetta is wearing in the promo photo. I admit, it looks completely lustworthy but nude lip colours are a tricky beast and you MUST MUST MUST try them before you buy them. So I'm not completely in lust over it just yet. I will definitely be trying it out once it's at my local Sephora!

Let me wax poetic over the looks of the entire Spring Collection, however. The photos and colour collection are inspired by the legendary Catherine Deneuve in the 1968 film La Chamade and I am a sucker for ANYTHING 60s-inspired. Now, I'm not sure I could pull off the yellow eyeshadow but I love the otherwise softly emphasized 60s-style eye and nude lip. Not to mention the amazing mane of hair that only exists for me in my dreams...

More photos of the colour collection:

  

 Top Left: NARS D. Gorgeous Single Eyeshadow $23

Bottom L to R: Camargue Duo Cream Eyeshadow $32, Kuala Lumpur Duo Eyeshadow $32 and

Glitter Pencil $24

  

 L to R: Cruising Lipstick $24, Easy Lover and Ophelia Lip Glosses $24 and Purple Rain Nail Polish $16

Oh dear, I'm lusting after that GORGEOUS nail polish too! AND the glosses! AND the Kuala Lumpur Duo!

Lusting, lusting, lusting...and fanning myself.

C.

LUSTING: Benefit Cosmetics Sugarbomb Face Powder

I'm a huge fan of Benefit Cosmetics - their Eye Bright pencil, High Beam highlighter, Dr Feelgood complexion balm, BeneTint cheek & lip stain, Posietint cheek stain, Bad Gal mascara, Dear John face cream and their little shimmering boxed powders are all favourite products of mine.

They've just released a brand new box o' powder - Sugarbomb! It's similar to their 10 powder which combines a bronzer and a highlighter, but Sugarbomb has four (FOUR!) shades of flattering soft rose, plum, peach and pink to add a soft glow to anyone's cheeks.

LUSTING!

C.

LUSTING: American Apparel Nail Polish

I have a love-hate relationship with American Apparel. I hate their hipster-than-thou-pervy-ironic clothing but on the other hand they make some good quality clothing, have an excellent colour palette and, well, a little perviness doesn't hurt anyone. Imagine my surprise and curiousity when in an American Apparel store recently I spotted a rack of nail polishes!

Top Row L-R: Poppy, Factory Grey

Second Row L-R: Passport Blue, Hunter

Third Row L-R: Dynasty, Palm Springs,
Bottom Row L-R: Berries, Pinto

Yup, American Apparel is now making nail polish, but just like their clothes and their advertising, they're paving their own route in the beauty department. ALL of their 18 colours are cremes, which means there's no sparkle, iridescence or glitter, just glossy shine and colour. All have the typical AA 80s/self-conscious inspiration - Dynasty, Pinto, Memo, Cotton, Hassid

I have not picked any of these up just yet, but I definitely will be. Likely on my nails will be Hunter (deep green) and either Factory Grey (cool grey) or Mouse (warm grey). These polishes are made without formaldehyde by a polish-making, family-run business in NYC and retail for $7.50 CDN/$6 US.

I will do a review once I own some of these. Stay tuned!

C.

LUSTING: Bobbi Brown Limited Edition Chrome Palette

Really, just look at it. Bobbi Brown's Limited Edition Chrome Palette - ten eyeshadows and four lip glosses in gorgeous shades of silvery shimmer and rosy sheen. My Gunmetal and Roses FOTD? This is your palette.

Bobbi Brown is a world-renowned make-up artist whose product quality is impeccable, so you know that you're going to wear these shades over and over again. It's not a question of loving this palette, it's a question of what are you waiting for?

Also, I have to love a palette that splits the creams from the powders. I loathe palettes where a lipstick is next to an eyeshadow and the lipstick, of course, ends up getting all gritty. Stop it, beauty companies, stop it now!

It isn't cheap ($75 US) but it is gorgeous and you do get ten shadows and four glosses as well as Bobbi Brown's impeccable quality of product. Yup, I'm lusting.

LUST LUST LUST

C.

LUSTING: B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful Eyeshadows

Photo courtesy of Jill (jilly71 on Flickr)

What are these delightful little things? Bonbons? Petit Fours?

No, these lovely little containers hold eyeshadows and they're part of the make-up collection associated with Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics. Called B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful (yes, that's a mouthful), this fragrance and cosmetics line is available in the UK, Japan and Austria and began six years ago on London's Carnaby Street. However, the stores are now closing at the end of 2009 and the company will be absorbed by Lush, so ALL their products are now Limited Edition. If you like what you see (and I do) snap them up!

My picks are

B Boy

0B1

 Burnish

Broadway

Belize

If you own any B Never products or go ahead and buy them before they're all gone, let us know what you got and what you think of them!

C.