I love using a pre-foundation primer, but for some reason the silicone in many of them congest my skin. The very smart cosmetic company tarte recently released a silicone-free primer ReCreate, which contains skin nurturing Jojoba and Sunflower Oil as well as Vitamin E. This primer is a great way to prep your skin and add some additional moisture without the worry of breakouts.

Want to win one?

Wende Zomnir, co- founder of Urban Decay, allows her 7-year-old son Crash to apply false eye lashes to her lids to demonstrate a point.

If Crash can do it, so can you. Oh really? I am always nervous about wearing false eyelashes, mainly because my timid self is afraid of them looking “false.” I also imagine a co-worker being polite, but doesn’t want to point out that one of my eyelashes is flapping half way off every time I blink while having a conversation with them.

Urban Decay offers several varieties of false lashes that look very chic (tease seems way cool – it might be worth the risk!) Any of you use false eyelashes? And if you do, any tricks or tips you could share?

Do you know what yesterday was? If you said “Thursday” then you get partial credit and a warning that nobody likes a smart aleck What “it”was in my neck of the woods was the counter launch for MAC’s To The Beach collection.

I went in about a week ago asking about the collection, since Karla at TNBTTGSY swatched them and made me want them SO BAD. Seriously, she swatches like nobody’s business. Anyhow, I was just dying for some of the collection and I hopped in to see if it was out yet. It wasn’t on the counter but my gal Jessica let me sift through the spanking new testers and pre-order what I wanted. You can bet your buns I went straight down after work yesterday to pick up my new babies. Good thing too, 3 of the 5 items I picked were already gone and the store had only been open for 3 hours! This is a really fun , not too bright(imho) collection and I will get tons of use out of my purchases.

For a full selection of swatches visit Karlas posts here and here. And click through at the end for my pictures as well

I nabbed Sweet & Punchy and Humid($14.50), two gorgeous shadows and Float on By($14.50), which is a beautiful dark green/turquoise eye pencil. Since no purchase is complete without lip color I also grabbed Lipglass in Splashing($14), a pretty pink, and a lipstick in Funbathing($14), a bronzed plum color. Funbathing is almost exactly a more sheer version of my favorite lipstick ever, MAC’s O. It’s a perfect way to wear my favorite color through summer and I’m so tickled that I just might have to go buy another one before it sells out. I highly suggest you run to your nearest MAC counter ASAP and give this collection a whirl, I love it. And hurry, some of these products are already sold out online! (more…)

Who took advantage of the Urban Decay Friends and Family deal this time around? *raises hand* Ooh, ooh, I did! There were some new spring goodies available and of course I added a couple of them to my basket as well.

The two things I just had to add were the new makeup setting sprays by Skindinavia. There are 3 formulas available, but I just grabbed two to try out, the De Slick spray and the All Nighter formula. With my active job and the stuffy air in our work space, makeup has a tendency to slide right off of my oily/combination skin. I’m always on the lookout for anything to help keep my face in place, especially if it means I don’t have to touch up my makeup every hour or two and pile on powder. (more…)

I was, sorry to say, defeated in my quest to own the Stacked1 set of pigments from MAC ($32.50 if you manage to find some). I did manage to hit the counter right after they recieved a second shipment of the stacked2 sets. While Stacked1 was a set of beautiful purples, Stacked2 is earthy tones of gold and light copper with an olive green thrown in for good measure.

Holy shimmery shine Batman, these pigments are super shiny metallics with just a tiny touch of glitter to really make them glow. Like most MAC pigments they’re super multi-use, and can be mixed with just about any product you have. I prefer mine foiled with a shadow sealant as an eye color, but I’ve used them above my cheekbone for some highlighting as well. I’m not a huge fan of the crumbly texture rather just a smooth powder (Temptalia has some great pics of the texture in the jar), but it blends and applies well without feeling chalky or chunky. The shiny color stays in place well with a sealant, and be sure not to get any on your clothes or you’ll look like a glitter bomb all day. One thing about these stacks that is both good and bad, there is a ton of product in each jar! If you’re like me and rarely repeat colors often then this will last forever.  I don’t think I’ll ever get to the end of these jars unless I start finding some serious extra uses for it. Since we’re still in the last dying clutches of winter here, I can’t think of a better way to coax the sun from its hiding place than by wearing something to give it a little inspiration, like these shiny reflective pigments!

My favorite foundation?

And my genuine knee-jerk response would be, “NO Foundation at All!”

Yeah, I would prefer the look and feel of 100% natural skin as opposed to makeup any day.  I never routinely wore foundations until my mid-30’s and started noticing some uneveness of my skin.  And although becoming a lot wiser with the passing years, my skin has continued to be blotchy in places around my cheeks, chin, and forehead. Finding a foundation that can provide natural light to medium coverage, without looking cakey, too matte, or shiny, blends perfectly with my skin tone, and most importantly, does not make me break out is a very difficult one! (more…)

Each one of us has our own version of expensive, a sort of conscious or unconscious stopping point we won’t pass when purchasing a particular product. Sometimes I will walk into the cosmetics department with a set budget and mix my product choices from there until I meet my limit. Most often I simply walk in craving something new and play with everything in sight until I discover what I’m in “need” of. And I had a definite list of needs when I walked into the mini Sephora inside JCPenney: EVERYTHING. (more…)

I love this holiday. Not for the food (okay, not JUST for the food), but because it’s one of those days each year that people pause for a moment and really assess the number of things they have in their lives that are wonderful. I have a fantastic family and wonderful friends, and just here in the beauty blogging community I’ve met so many amazing people who I  feel lucky to converse with daily. Often we forget about all these fantastic things in our lives, and I think that any moments we get to remember that are a blessing. Try not to wait a whole year before you sit down to be thankful again, okay? Beauty comes from within and happiness and peace are wonderful beauty tools!

I will be working at the crack of dawn and I usually skip Black Friday shopping anyways, but there are plenty of online deals to be had if you plan on staying home(hooray for the internets!). I am particularly fond of Zoya’s Green Friday event, which is a great deal and sounds like a ton of fun. Since Black Friday is SO last year, Zoya will reward  your $20 purchase from them with 6, count ‘em SIX, of their favorite green polishes for FREE. That’s a $42 value! Just make your purchase from now through 5 pm EST Friday afternoon and enter the code: GREENFRIDAY at checkout. Simple, no? And if you’re looking for something other than polish for stocking stuffers this year, might I reccomend picking up a few of their new Hot Lips Glossy Lip Balms? I grabbed Marachino, Meow, and Luck during the free gloss promo a few weeks ago and I have to say that I pretty much love them. They are a perfectly pigmented gloss with a hint of fruit punchy flavor. They aren’t the least bit sticky and they really leave my lips feeling soft and moisturized. Meow is a little lighter than I personally care for, but it is exactly as advertised and I adore the two others I recieved.  So look at it this way: You can buy 4 glosses, keeping two for yourself of course, and still have goodies to gift to 8 of your girlfriends for next to nothing!

Also out there right now is Lancome’s Friends and Family deal. Through November 30th you can save 20% on purchases from lancome-usa.com with the code: HOLIDAYJOY2 at checkout. Of course there are some exclusions (not valid on eGift certificates, Gift Sets or Beauty Box purchases), but if you wanted to stock up on your cleanser or try something new (like the La Laque Fever lipshine, which I love) this is the time to treat yourself.

So get off the computer and enjoy some time with those you love. Don’t worry, we’ll still be here when you get back!

Tis that time of year when our favorite cosmetic companies start dangling “Friends & Family” promos in front of our makeup-lusting eyes!

And just in, Urban Decay announced their 30% off Friends & Family sale, good now until November 20th. From their 24/7 Eyeliners to their newest Surreal Skin Cream To Powder Foundation, 30% off is too good to pass up!  Just use the code “FNFW1″ at checkout and hit REDEEM COUPON on the Urban Decay site.

Let our latest reviews of Urban Decay be your guide:

Fall Trends a la Jen

Trends for fall, or, Welcome back COLOR!

Shop responsibly and be gorgeous!

Just wanted to pass on a fabulous offer directly from Alison Raffaele!

We are having a 60% off sale on our glosses and shadows at RetailHappyHour.com…feel free to tell your friends and family, too!

Here’s the link:
http://www.retailhappyhour.com/landing-cat.php?cid=36

xox
Alison

I haven’t tried her glosses and shadows before, but if they are any bit as wonderful as her primers, foundations, and concealers, you will not be disappointed.  They put this clever countdown clock at the top of this page too, let me know what the number is when you on are on this site!  Right now it is at:  142 hours, 54 minutes, and 57,56, 55 seconds…