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?

Or, Ingredients Matter.

I had my first serious reaction to eye makeup about a week ago. The thing is, it was ultimately my fault.
I have in my possession some mineral shadows that contain dyes. While these aren’t strictly “mineral” shadows, the range of color offered from these dyes gives me some of the variety I crave. I am aware that many D&C dyes and other synthetic colors can be a problem, particularly in the eye area, but I decided to use the product anyway.
This isn’t a new concept for me. Writing here and researching certain common ingredients has led to an increased awareness on my part about the possible hazards of cosmetics. Knowing this I make my choices accordingly. I know the hubbub about parabens, and I understand it, but I will still purchase products with parabens. However, I have issues with ingredients like bismuth and dimethicone, and try to avoid them as much as possible. I have a responsibility to myself and the other women in my life to weigh risks and benefits and decide what is most important. These are personal decisions, and I won’t ever fault anyone for purchasing strictly organic products OR for not giving a damn and purchasing whatever they feel like. If you have the information you need then, well, you’re a grown up and you are entitled to do whatever you please. (more…)

We have a local Ben Franklin store in our small town that’s a treasure trove of random finds and knick knacks. I love to wander the beauty section and see what sort of obscure things they’ve managed to dig up recently. I was checking out an end cap when I stumbled across these sets of 5 shadows from LA Colors. The setup and color selections were reminiscent of this set that Jami (Bionic Beauty) found at Hot Topic a while back, and she seemed relatively pleased with them so I decided to pick up one or two and give them a shot.  Given that LA Colors is a manufacturer and wholesaler, the odds are probably pretty good that this product and the Hot Topic version are the same thing with different lids on the cases.

I was pretty shocked when I opened this at home and swatched it with my fingertips. The formula is surprisingly smooth and velvety, and the pigment is fairly dense, so you get a nice bit of color with every swipe.  Lighter colors seem to be a bit chalky, especially apparent when first applied with a brush, but once they warmed to my skin and settled a bit the metallic finish really shined through. The darkest color in the Wildflower palette, a sort of berry/wine color, was heavily pigmented, and I learned the hard way that just a dab will do ya. I used these shadows over my favorite primer, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, and I just don’t think they’d stay as well without it, since the swatches on my arm rubbed off easily. In the end they actually stayed rather well, with a noticeable wash of color after 17 hours of wear, including a nap. These aren’t going to be your colors for a special event or your big close up, but they’re a fun way to add some variety to your color collection. Oh, and did I forget to mention the very best thing? These puppies only set me back…*drumroll*…$1.59 plus tax. Yes, for about 2 dollars I got 5  decent eye shadows. I’m going to call that a MAJOR score.

If you’re not lucky enough to find LA Colors at your local five and dime, you can pick them up for just a bit more online at Cherry Culture, where they’re currently marked at $3. What a fun and frugal way to try out some great colors to welcome spring!

Okay, we all know about cotton swabs and their many magical cosmetics uses. Wet, dry, straight, angled…there are about a million ways you can use those little babies. I love that such a simple, inexpensive item you have hanging around your house can be so useful and versatile, so I thought I would share with you my second favorite household beauty tool, a plain old 3×5 card. (more…)

Do you ever have those moments when you just have to go buy something new? I have those moments every now and then, especially when it comes to my cosmetics collection. However, I’m also fairly frugal, so I generally try to fill this craving by hitting up my local Walgreens or Target rather than heading to someplace more expensive. This has a few benefits in addition to the reduced stress on my pocketbook. For one you aren’t getting pressure from a commissioned salesperson and, second, you can often find products that are similar to what you’d find at the bigger cosmetics counters. Plus, if you buy something and hate it, you haven’t spend and arm and a leg on it just to toss it in your drawer.

My latest beauty department foray had me searching for a new lip color, something to pep up the dreary rainy days we’ve been having around here lately. In recent months I’ve been  collecting pink/peachy colors, so I was in the mood for something with a little more depth. I found almost exactly what I was looking for on an endcap with the word “NEW” splashed all over it. (more…)

One of my favorite blogging friends Erin (The Cheap Chick) just asked for a list of our favorite beauty must-haves for Fall.  Mo’s post about current fall trends for eyes was awesome, as usual.  Here is my split second attempt at favorite fall beauty items:

For the dark lip look:

DuWop Private Red – a fabulous, deep red lipstick!

The smoky eye:

Smoke Out Eye Pencils from Urban Decay (on sale right now for $9)

Fun way to go smoky, and love, love, love Urban Decay’s eyeliners!

Thick, beautiful brows:

Anastasia’s All About Brows Kit

At a spa last week, the esthetician went wack-o threading my thick brows, and I am so sad! Thank goodness for this amazing brow kit – the tweezers really rock too.

Please feel free to chime in your favorite fall beauty items too!

Sephora recently announced new fall trends for ‘09, one of them being “The Cat Eye.”

My beauty fall forecast?

Although this retro-drama style eye is gorgeous, many will attempt and few will succeed at pulling of this feline-orbital look.  But don’t let me discourage you completely – experimentation with trends are adventurous and gals like Mo and DecoDiva will rock it!

You didn’t ask, but I am saying it anyway: (more…)

When I saw benefit’s smokin’ eye kit for the first time, my gut impulse was to smile.

Five of you are going to win one of these sweet kits!

Everyone wants sexy, smoky, cover-model eyes & perfectly groomed brows… here you go! Our all-in-one kit has everything you need to create your own smokin’ eyes… 3 shadows, a black eyeliner pencil, a brightener, 2 brushes, mini tweezers & a complete lesson. Whether you’re a Mad Ave gal or an SUV mom, everyone wants to look smokin’!

The smokin’ eye kit contains:

• eye bright 0.90 g Net wt. 0.03 oz
• pink highlight shadow 1.10 g Net wt. 0.04 oz
• pewter base shadow 1.10 g Net wt. 0.04 oz
• deep charcoal shadow 0.90 g Net wt. 0.03 oz
• smokin’ liner 0.39 g Net wt. 0.01 oz
• brow zings wax (shade: light) 1.00 g Net wt. 0.04 oz
• fluff shadow/hard angle brush
• complete beauty lesson

The smokin’ eye kit sells on the benefit cosmetics website for $36.

To Enter:

Type in your name and email address in the contest machine box!   One entry per person and the deadline is Sunday June 7th, 2009. Five winners will be announced on at the Mythbuster Beauty site, PRIZEY.Fetch, and contacted via email.  MBB will not share your email address with anyone, and only uses your email address to contact you if you are a winner.  This giveaway is open to residents of the USA and Canada only.  Five winners will receive one benefit cosmetics smokin’ eye kit that has the total retail value of $36.

I’ve been playing around with some of my newer stuff lately and tried something on a whim that I ended up really loving.
My friend Tracy is a recent convert/addict to Aromaleigh and their vast selection of colors, and she always snags a sample or two for me when she orders(I know, everyone should be so lucky). My lastest goodies were some of the glam glitters from the rocks!Sonic collection. These are super fine sparkly glitters that you must see to appreciate. I highly reccomend buying a sample or two at least. I wanted to wear some of my ultra glam glitters but I wanted to make sure they stayed all day no matter what I did. So I whipped out my Urban Decay cream shadows.

First I applied my usual primer (TooFaced Shadow Insurance, best stuff ever) and let it set a little, then I smoothed a little of my UD cream shadow in “Rehab”, a creamy taupe, over my lower lid. I let it dry for just a moment, then, while it was still a little tacky, I dipped a fluffy brush into my “rebelrebel” bronze glitter and patted it over the shadow. The glitter helps to set the cream shadow and the cream shadow really holds the glitter right where you want it all day long. I followed with a light highlighter color under my brow and in my crease to calm it down for daytime, and I love how it gives just a flash of sparkle peeking from my lids. It’s a fun way to play with glitter without looking like a club kid. Here’s a tip, the Beauty Blender sponge is amazing at grabbing and wiping away glitter or mineral shadow fallout under your eyes after application.

As an added incentive to try something fantastic and new, Aromaleigh’s rocks! mineral shadows and glam glitters are 25% off right now! This offer runs through 10 am EST on May 20th and you should definitely take advantage of this deal and the other goodies available in their coupons+deals section.

It’s how you know I’m all grown up and stuff.

So if you use this basic layout and just swap colors around you can run through your entire shadow collection without getting bored OR having to think too hard. And colors that you wouldn’t normally put together can be quite fetching once you start toying with them. For instance, this is green and pink and I have some blue right at the lash line.  A couple key points for something like this are: (more…)