Aqualillies for Tarte

The first time I saw Tarte's limited edition beauty collection created by the bathing beauties of the synchronized swimming group the Aqualillies- I do believe I might have drooled a bit. I mean the packaging alone is swoon worthy! What's perfect as we head into summer (insert sweating) is that these products are budgeproof- jump in the water & you'll be fine!

Amazonian Clay waterproof liners come with their own liner brush & are available in Splash (left) & Black (right.) They go on creamy & smooth- plus even after giving several facials with steam in my face, these liners stayed put. I always say give cream or cakes liners a try, you'll be surprised at how easy they are over pencils.

 Don't be afraid to live it up a little with the Splash option! As long as you're not wearing an entire teal ensemble, this vibrant color pops the whites of your eyes & makes you look instantly awake.

 Of course you can't go wrong with classic black either.

The Amazonian Clay Eye & Cheek compact in the collection is on my lust list- about the size of a CD, it offers a neutral palette with that pop of teal to spice things up a bit & the powders are all waterproof. I mean not all of us are actually swimming in fully applied make-up, but this palette will be perfect for my summer brides! There are super cute additional treats like a shower cap & beachbag as gifts with purchase on Tarte's website.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss.
*Liners gifted for review

Ultraflesh Black Magic

I feel naked without my black cat eye liner. It's like the feeling you get when you've left your cell phone at home. I just don't feel like myself, when I'm not sporting my signature look. I love all liners, but tend to favor cake liner versus pencils. I've read about Ultraflesh & have wanted to try it for a while. Spotting that this Black Magic Palette was on sale at Sephora was all the incentive I needed. The compact is large, imagine the size of a wii remote- so it's not ideal for travel. It is filled with every possible black liner a girl could dream for! Matte cakeliner, shimmer cakeliner, cream liner, a shimmer pencil liner & classic black pencil liner round out the mix. The formulas are a nice quality. The one thing I would mention is that the layout of the compact is a little awkward to operate. Though it's cool how it fans out, I end up often digging my nails into the cake liners. Not a great thing when you're dealing with black pigment. All in all- you get a lot of product for it's sale price of $20!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Theatre of the Nameless

You girls know I feel naked without my cat eye. Ever forget your watch or your cell phone at home & you feel lost without it? That's sort of the feeling. I turn to my little black cake liner from Illamasqua every morning to finish my peepers. I've read articles about the line that say it's for 'after hours' wear- for those a little more on the wild side. I say bring it. Theater of the Nameless is their latest collection.

The collection includes their Intense Lipgloss in Facade(top) & Belladonna(bottom). The lipglosses remind me a bit of the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics' Lip Tars in their opaqueness- they are incredibly intense pigment wise, but feel light as air & super silky on the lips. Belladonna is a gorgeous pink that would brighten any complexion. Facade I could see intimidating most. A trick I use flesh colored glosses for is to tone down other lip shades. Professional Make-Up Artists often use concealer to soften shades or in steps to create the perfect nude lip, Facade would be perfect for this.

Theatre of the Nameless also includes their New Masquara in Raven & Precision Ink in Havoc. I'm quite picky about my mascaras{I know- shocker!} The brush on the New Masquara is fluffy & fabulous catching all of your lashes- lifting them up, as well as opening the eye.

The Precision Ink glides on quite effortlessly & boosts some serious staying power. Sorry for the lazy eye shot, but I had to take one for team because it shows the rich mahogany shade with a hint of plum. Auburns & redheads run, do not walk to get this liner. It was made for you! I'm smitten with line in general- it makes me feel a little naughty. I often hop over to their website just to get my creative juices flowing. Whenever I'm working with a client who says I can't do make-up well or I'm not good at it, I always remind them that make-up should be fun. It's a means of self expression. Besides they're very few mistakes in life that can be rectified with a simple swipe of cleanser! I say be bold.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

*Items gifted for review

Must Have Make-Up Monday

I'm the queen of eyeliner- I literally feel naked without it. Hourglass Cosmetic's new Script Liquid Liner has such a fine micro tip, you can get as precise as you want with it!

From tiny lines to more elaborate wings, the ultra soft & flexable tip can wiggle in right between lashes for as precise a fine line as you want!

Here it is in a rather classic application on my peepers- I must say it didn't budge!

Even on the shot above with my hand, the liner stayed put through several hand washings!

The tip is so comfortable & pen like with use, you can actually write with it- it's super quick drying! Besides here on my hand, I actually used it in a pinch when I was in the car at the bank- I'm anything if not resourceful!

Peace. Love. Liner. M

*Hourglass Cosmetics gifted this liner for review

Make-up Must Have Monday

It would have been wrong of me not to use a $20 coupon from Sephora- right? I keep saying I'm going to try & cut back on my make-up purchases in 2010...I seriously don't need another eyeliner for probably a decade, but oh how I love them so!

I had already purchased Illamasqua's cake liner in Mislead (jet black-bottom), and loved it so much I went back for Danger, a deep grey navy(top). I so wish they would hurry up, add more shades of the cake liner & get the entire line in our Sephora so I could play with everything!

As I've mentioned before Clinique's All About Eyes is pretty amazing, they just need to add some more shades. I picked up 02 & that one's a smidge light, and the other one(04) I have is too dark- such a Goldilocks I am! I have to blend them, but it's worth it since it offers full coverage, without being cakey. One little tube lasts forever. I also picked up Benefit's Some Kind of Gorgeous since I had been wanting a more full coverage foundation than my beingTrue minerals for when I went with a strong smokey eye. Unfortunately, the product smelled intensely of melted crayons ( I have a ridiculous sense of smell) & made me hesitant to apply to my acne prone skin- so back it went! So the search continues for a foundation that won't look mask like or break me out, but I'm thrilled with the cake liner & concealer!

Peace. Love Lipgloss. M

Don't forget the Clinique contest winner will be picked Wednesday