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!

I’ve completely flipped over the newest cosmetic shades that were released this summer.  Urban Decay’s 24/7 Eye Pencil in Flipside (Bright Teal) $16 and Liquid Liner in Ecstasy (Bright Purple) $18 are beyond gorgeous for playing up your eyes!

The NARS Summer 2009 Makeup Collection includes the deepest, multi-dimensional teal eyeshadow, Tropic Single Eyeshadow ($22).  In combination with a stroke of a golden bronzer around your face, can you imagine a more amazing color duo than teal or electric purple to wear this summer?

To see Flipside in action follow this link to DecoDiva’s site where she shares her amazing makeup art skills:  Kiddie Pool, Uzi, Flipside, Electric & Sylvie FOTD.

Please discuss.

I know that everyone and their mom covered Spring collections already, but I just HAD to give my two cents. I don’t think it’s physically possible for me to keep my opinion to myself, especially when everyone is going gaga for things I’m not really impressed by. Time to give my thoughts instead of press kit snippets!

The Dior Lady Dior collection is beige, taupe, pink, brown. Excuse me, New Look beige, Elegant taupe, Couture pink, and Actress chestnut. But look, they added shimmer to a couple of them! Same old, same old, this isn’t really collection material. Yawn.

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Raging Rouge recently wrote a post about many beautiful purples being featured in cosmetics as a trend this season.   The six spectacular nail shades shown at her post are worth your time alone, and I have to add my blessing to the purple trend! 

Here’s a fact, I love purple.  My birthstone, amethyst.  My favorite flower, lilac.  Favorite Tootsie Roll Pop flavor, grape.  My passion for things purple could go on and on, and Urban Decay must have sensed this because they created the most decadent purple shades this season.

Urban Decay’s Matte Eyeshadow in Heist ($16):  a dusty purple that adds a subtle gorgeous matte purple to your lids.  And if you wanted a more bold purple color, you could always opt for Purple Haze or Eggplant.

Urban Decay’s Lipstick in Vinyl ($22):  How on earth did I miss hearing about this shade?   An incredibly multi-dimensional dark purply-plum lipstick.  This is on my must get list. (more…)

With the popularity of the “Twilight” series by Stephenie Meyer, it is no surprise that the Dark Lip Trend is here. Blood red burgundies are showing up all over in fall releases of many cosmetic lines. These are some of the products being featured in the 2008 fall catalog of Sephora. Deep liners, glosses and lipsticks from Urban Decay, Bare Escentuals, Benefit, Clinique, MAC, and Smashbox.

Sephora writes, “This fall, take a turn to the dark side,” followed by the statistic that 78% of those polled at the Sephora blog site love these moody hues.

These dark wine shades were popular in the mid-90’s.  I remember my cousin wearing this shade of lipstick for her wedding ceremony. Not completely horrible, but noticeably very dramatic and easily dated, and I can still remember that she wore it. My opinion is that these shades will look incredible on some, particularly those who pull off any dramatic look (Mo, DecoDiva) and for the rest of us, yikes! It is what it is, a trend.

I’d like to ask you, what do you think of the Dark Lip Look? Va-va-vooom or Vampiress?

And, if you are a”Twilight” series fan, Edward or Jacob?

Why should Mo have all the fun?!

This morning instead of using my boring brown eyeliner, I grabbed Urban Decay’s dark, sexy purple ROCKSTAR 24/7 Glide-on pencil and did my best to create the glam swoosh-liner look. Mo emailed me about a 30% off friends and family code through April 30th at Urban Decay. Simply enter code “FFA30″ at checkout!  I also applied on my lips my newly found favorite Glossy Lip Tint in Cherrybomb by BECCA., proceeded to grab my electric guitar and voila! I am a ROCK STAR MOM!

Watch out Madonna, move over Fergie, Jen at Mythbuster Beauty has arrived!

My daughter Amanda did an incredible job taking and editing some rockin’ shots of her madre today. Thanks for the inspiration Mo!

The Mother’s Day Edition of the Sephora catalog just arrived. I think fashionable shots of the supermodel mother-to-be, or posing “glammed-up” next to her toddler is a very sweet gesture. As a real life momma, I can only *chuckle* thinking about the dirty looks I would get from the women behind the counter at Sephora if I allowed my toddler to unload a stack of beauty products on the floor!

What I would have given to look half as good as the pregnant rock star mom on page 12!

You don’t have to be a mom to love Sephora, and this late spring catalog characterizes women in four cosmetic style types.

“Glam” - Where flashbulbs go, she follows. If it’s not fab, forget it, dah-ling.

“The Rock Star” – Edgy, push-the-envelope treats are right up her electric avenue. (Mo, I thinked they have you pegged)! Someone in this group would love to get the…

Urban Decay Wallpaper Shadow Box – 9 pigment rich shades including “shot gun,” “shattered,” and “asphyxia.” ($34), or

Winning the Urban Decay Showers to Flowers contest - deadline 4.30.08

“The Sophisticate” – She wears many hats, never a hair out of place. Her trick? Products that work as hard as she does.

“Earth Mother” - Saving the world one biodegradable lipstick tube at a time, her must-haves are as earth-friendly as she is.  She would go ga-ga to over…

tarte’s natural beauty cheek stain and double dose T5 gloss - yes, these two gems are what we gave away last month for the tarte march madness giveaway at MBB! Sharon absolutely loves her new tarte lip glosses, and reports she is “hooked.”

I am placing myself in the “Earth Mother” category. Mainly because of my thick and crazy naturally curly hair, and the fact that I honestly believe women are most beautiful with very little makeup on.  Just sit me under a shady tree with my hair flowing in the warm breeze, wearing my homemade tie-dyed t and faded jeans while listening to Simon and Garfunkel. I can picture my kids frolicking in the sunshine, and chasing after butterflies. I would be in hippie heaven.

But secretly, in my heart I am a rock star mom wanna be!

Which cosmetic style would best describe you?

A package arrived earlier this week in an ordinary brown box.  My 14 year old daughter Amanda asked if she could open it up for me while I was upstairs getting dressed.   As I was coming down the stairs she met me half way with an inquisitive look.  “What is this?” she said while holding up a strange white plastic cosmetic container.  It was unlabeled with a small pink clump of something unrecognizable in it.  Was this a joke?  Was this terrorist activity?   You might also be asking, “What the heck is Amanda wearing in this picture?”

That’s when I checked the packaging label on the box and remembered that Lancôme had offered me a sample of their newest spring lipstick shade Pixel Pink.  Ahh-ha!  That is what it was, a sample blob of Pixel Pink!

Thank Goodness we figured that out!   But what about Amanda’s fashion statement?  That is and will always be a mystery I’m afraid.

So, here is a picture of me wearing Lancôme’s newest shade launched for this spring, “Pixel Pink.”  My feelings?  This shade would look spectacular on someone with a tan or a darker shade.  The formula is very sheer and moisturizing.   It could also be a great shade for everyday, subtle and and very natural looking. 

I personally would opt for one of Lancôme’s newest Christopher Kane World Tour Juicy Tubes in “Red Hot New York !“

Oh. My. Goodness.

Has anyone seen Sephora’s Spring Beauty 2008 catalog?  Uh-may-zing.  It’s everything that is wonderful about color. I was turning the pages and exclaiming out loud at all the gorgeous products they have highlighted.  This is one special made for people like me, slaves to bold, new, and colorful.  Make Up Forever has some wonderfully brilliant cream colors.  Vincent Longo has released some limited edition mascaras in several colors and white(!).  Gold is everywhere and it is fabulous! Also big this season is purple, which I am so excited about.

Products that have me jumping for joy with my tax refund check in hand:

• Tarte cheek stain in “Full Blossom.”  How gorgeous is that?  I can only imagine how awesome it would look, and I give Tarte’s cheek stains two hearty thumbs up so let me know if you get your hands on one.
• Stila Cherry Crush lip and cheek stain.  Beautiful color and the pen style container would be perfect to toss in your purse for touch ups. Only at Sephora.
• Laura Mercier liquid eyeliner in “Bordeaux.”  Beautiful color, great for a minimal daytime look and for a night out. Limited Edition AND a Sephora exclusive so get it while you can.
• Also only at Sephora, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on eye pencil in “Rockstar.”  Jen and I have both waxed poetic on these pencils before. They go on so smooth and have a true, long lasting color that simply can’t go wrong.
• Too Faced Mood Swing emotionally activated lip gloss. You read that right.  It claims to turn “from clear to your perfect shade of pink.”  Very cool. 
• ON10 lip balms in vintage style packaging and great flavors like Hershey’s milk chocolate and Dr Pepper berries and cream.  Sign me up for one of each!
• Urban Decay loose pigments.  New.  I just got my hands on some and I love it!  Loose pigments are great, but until now have been a little hard to handle.  Tap some out onto a tissue and use a brush from there, not really easy to take in your bag for touch ups, etc. And heaven help you if one of your kids gets that thing open…Mess-O-Rama! Urban Decay solved that problem by making a brush part of the container.  Think nail polish with a firmer brush. You still need to remember to tap off any excess but it is loads easier and cleaner than traditional pigment.  I even put it on in my car (not while driving of course, safety first).  The brush is the perfect shape for all over application when using the wide side, and for a liner when using the thinner edge.  It stays beautifully and I’m hooked! 

There are 5 makeup kits featured, including the Cargo Blu-Ray collection that everybody’s buzzing about.  Some of the kits include a DVD or how-to as well, a great place to start at a decent price.

Sephora’s new eye shadow and blush duos show promise.  I’ve been very happy with Sephora brands products in the past so I can’t wait to get into a store and actually see a few hands on.  I also want to see Cover FX’s Skinprep FX treatment and priming serum up close to get a feel for it.  It sure sounds divine.

The best thing about this catalog?  It’s a two in one.  Flip it over and you have your skincare booklet.  Divided into sections for things like natural products, acne relief, age solutions, moisture and others, you’re sure to find something that will pique your interest.  Jen, if you haven’t seen this yet then I’m sure you’ll love it!

Didn’t sign up for the catalog?  Haven’t received it yet?  Dying to know what I’m talking about?  Pop on over to the online version and take a peek.  You’re welcome!

Press Release:  SPRING’S CHICEST LIPSTICK: pixel pink by thakoon

The fourth and final lipstick in the Pout-à-Porter designer lipstick series makes its hotly anticipated debut TODAY on lancome-usa.com. Lancôme Color Fever Shine Lipstick in Pixel Pink is a beautiful sheer raspberry shade created by celebrated emerging designer Thakoon and celebrity makeup artist Gucci Westman for Thakoon’s Spring 2008 show. All the models – Catherine, Hye, Jessica, Coco, Irina and the others – wore Pixel Pink as they walked down the runway. On Monday at Thakoon’s Fall 2008 show, sponsored by Lancôme, the models were the first VIPs to receive the lipstick.

Thakoon and Gucci have worked together for several seasons so this collaboration process was an easy one. “Gucci almost can read my mind when it comes to makeup,” says Thakoon, who began his design career in 2004. The color came together at the hair and makeup test only days before the Spring show. Thakoon wanted something simple yet pretty that would complement the lush greens, pinks and blues in his collection, as well as the unique prints. One particular print, a pixilated floral that almost appears to have been faxed through a machine, was a key influence on the lipstick.

Thakoon had a very specific muse in mind for this collection. He envisioned a young, modern Japanese woman who leaves her life behind and escapes to Hawaii. Once there, she loses herself in the surf and sun. “Her makeup is very minimalist,” says Gucci. “I could see her dabbing this color on her lips to go with the tan and flushed cheeks she has from surfing all day.”

Beginning today, February 8, 2008, Pixel Pink will be available in limited quantities on lancome-usa.com and on March 1^st it will debut exclusively at Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Lancôme’s five U.S. boutiques with a suggested retail price of $25.

Pout-à-Porter is a celebration of Lancôme’s support of emerging designers. The previous three lipsticks were created for Behnaz Sarafpour (Fall 2006), Proenza Schouler (Spring 2007) and Peter Som (Fall 2007). 

My feelings about it: 

I have yet to put my lips on Pixel Pink, but a sheer raspberry shade lipstick cannot be ignored.  One of my favorite new lipsticks has been Lancôme’s Color Fever Shine Lipstick in Provocative.  I love its feel, a sheer rich plum with bits of pearly sparkle to give it dimension.  If you are a fan of Clinique’s Almost Lipstick; you will love Lancôme’s Fever Shine Lipstick.

Honestly, I will not sleep well until I get my hands on some Pixel Pink.

If you purchase Pixel Pink, please let us know about your experience and if it really deserves the title, “Spring’s Chicest Lipstick.”

A picture of moi, wet hair and all, wearing Lancôme’s Color Fever Shine Lipstick “Provocative.”  I am also wearing Laura Mercier’s Black Plum eye shadow (which you cannot tell because my lids are too deep set),