Fabulous Finds Friday

Urban Decay's Naked I & II palettes have quite the cult following. They're often imitated in the prestige market. That means most I've seen come in at well over $30- with the original from Urban Decay coming in at $50.

10 eyeshadows, 5 matte & 5 shimmer are nestled into this homage to Urban Decay. Though the pigments aren't prestige in terms payoff intensity- it's still a great selection of neutrals.

While my original Naked Palette does boost 2 more eyeshadows than this steal & deal version- my Fabulous Find Friday comes in at a tenth of the cost! That's right- $5 will get you this pretty palette at your local Five & Below store.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss.

Anastasia's She Wears It Well Palette

 

Anastasia of Beverly Hills (brow guru to Kim Kardashian) has unveiled this new limited edition She Wears It Well shadow palette.  You get a generous amount of product & a nice brush for $34.

This palette has such a classic shade selection. Sometimes there's a shade that you never touch in a palette, this has all wearable neutrals. It's like a box of yummy chocolates perfect for summer bronze looks, that will then transition perfectly into fall.

Trophy is on my lid, Foxy in the crease & Frosting is on the brow bone. I even used the Toffee shade to fill in my brows & the Onyx shade wet for my liner. What really makes me happy are the shimmer shadows. Anastasia's shimmer shadows feature her Youthful Synergy Complex which is clinically proven 'to firm, hydrate and reduce the appearance of fine lines & wrinkles.'

  Here are the delicious shimmers from left: Trophy, Latte, Glow, Foxy, Sunset & Frosting. As you all know I am "allergic" to aging & the delicate eye area tends to be the first place a lady shows some wear & tear.  We have no sebaceous (oil) glands around the eye area- so it lacks any natural moisturizing factor. I'm adamant about preventative care, but few make-up companies incorporate anti-aging benefits into their eye products like Anastasia. It easy to see why with this collection, any one can wear it well!

Peace. Love Lipgloss.

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

Jouer Cosmetics

Henri Bendel's has a crack like effect on me. Major addiction. I seriously cannot go into the flagship store in NYC without making something mine.  This go around I decided to try Jouer, a cosmetics company known for the ability to connect their individual compacts into customizable palettes.

I picked up the limited edition Blushing Beauty Palette, which consists of the Whisper Tint/ Feather Highlighter duo, Chocolate/Peach Eyeshadow duo, Sheer Matte Touch Powder & Bronzer duo + Cherish Lipgloss. In this picture all of the pieces are actually connected. Worth mentioning- I think I got a lot of prestige product for the price of $58.

Here I am sporting the shadows, powder/bronzer duo & gloss. The colors are neutral classics.  I could see a lot of brides sporting this collection for the summer wedding season now upon us. Though it's listed currently as out of stock on Jouer's website, I would call Bendel's & see if they can ship it to you. It's pure loveliness!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Fabulous Finds Friday: Nyx

NYX is a cosmetics line that is slowly, but surely gaining a spot in my heart.  In my neck of the woods, I can only find it in Ulta & they don't even carry the entire line.  However, what I've been able to get my hands on has been prestige quality pigment at a mass price point.

So I did a little happy dance when Movie Girl got me this Nyx collection for my birthday.  The Nude on Nude collection boasts 20 neutral shadows that easily give Urban Decay's Naked Palettes a run for their money. 10 shades of lip cremes round out this extensive collection for $25. Yes, half the cost of the Naked Palettes.

This collection houses an entire wardrobe of color at your fingertips.  One end of the spectrum is covered with neutrals & the other end offers intense smokey options.  The lip cremes are great soft colors to match whatever eye look you come up with. This collection is a fabulous basic to have if you're just starting out building your kit, but it has the power to make a seasoned artist like myself swoon.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Must Have Make-Up Monday: GloMineral's Alloy Shadow Collection

I often buy shadow kits or compacts because they're such a great value. Sometimes however, you favor a few shades & the rest remain untouched. GloMinerals' Alloy Shadow Compact ($44) has nary a dud in sight, rather it's full of your classic go to shades for the perfect smokey eye. I love that the compact isn't huge either- it's roughly the size of my iPhone. Does anyone else think men must design some of the compacts out there? Because there is no way a woman would make a huge compact- we want to be able to throw it in our purse or take it with us when we travel, without it being super bulky!

For a quick smokey eye, I took the 2 shades in the upper right hand corner- Enigma & Tuxedo and patted them on the natural contours of my eyelid. Then I smudged what was left on the brush along my lower lash line. I used the bottom right shade, Jet, to line my lashes & lower waterline- then topped with mascara. This compact has simple neutrals for day & the intense versions for night- it's a win win. In fact, I'll probably have this compact on hand when I teach my Smokey Eye Class next week at La Papillon- there are only 3 spots left, so if you live in the Baltimore area grab one of the last remaining seats!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M
*Compact gifted for review

Pixi Beauty Fairy Face Kit

There's nothing like a sinus infection to make you feel less than pretty. So last week when I was constantly reaching for Claritin D, I also reached for my new PixiGlow Fairy Face Palette. Pixi Glow is Pixi Beauty's new collaboration with Disney- all in the name of Tinkerbell & beauty!

The shadows in this palette are creamy gorgeousness. Incredibly wearable for a daytime look, with the lightest & darkest shades easily enabling you to kick it up a notch for night.

This pretty pink blush trio could give any Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick a run for its money, especially since the entire PixiGlow palette is only $34! One swipe gave me a rosy glow that fooled any one from thinking I was under the weather.

All of the eyeshadows in the collection, except for the pink shade, are featured on my eye for a soft chocolaty bronze look. The baked pigment in the blush gives the most lovely flush. The lip creams, which looked a little intense for this nude loving lipgloss girl, are actually more like lip balms when applied. No one was more surprised than I, that I'm sporting the second deepest shade in this image. The Tinkerbell association with this palette takes me back to when I was a little girl playing with my mom's make-up, but I can assure you this collection is all grown up- yet still super girly & fun.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M
*Palette gifted for review

PIXI Ultimate Beauty Kit

Can you feel it in the air? The sheer terror at the fact that Christmas is a mere 2 days away? I'm having flashbacks to college when I would cram all night for exams- only this time I'm staying up until 1:00am wrapping presents. When I'm frazzled, there are few things that cheer me up as quickly as make-up does. Especially considering the calories that are in wine & ice cream, yes make-up it is. Even as a child when I heard visions of sugar plums & all that for Christmas- I dreamt of fairies sprinkling pixi dust & sparkle on my cheeks.

So with child like wonder I opened Pixi's Ultimate Beauty Kit at work- a delightfully portable & eco friendly kit packing a wallop of beauty essentials: 32 eyeshadows, 16 lip glosses & 8 cheek glows! All of a sudden during my oohhhing & ahhhing, 2 people joined in chorus peeking over my shoulder! This palette is a crowd pleaser & one meant for those who love color.

The pigments are vibrant & true. I can't tell you how many times when I've purchased a big holiday palette & there's been little payoff on the skin. This collection is a steal of a deal at $40- in fact my target is sold out of it! But if you need that perfect last gift for a gal on your list- this is it. This is my other Beauty Best Buy for the holidays!

Plus the gals at PIXI are so awesome they want one of my readers to be starting off the New Year right! They've given me a trio of my beloved Endless Silky Eye Pens{see why I heart their creamy goodness here.}

As well as their limited edition Pretty Eye Perfection 12 shadow sampler so your peepers will be looking their most gorgeous in 2012! To enter just leave a comment, follow me on Twitter: @PeaceLoveGloss, tweet about the giveaway, or like Peace Love Lipgloss on Facebook. Each step counts as one entry- let me know your total tally in the comments section. I'll pick the winner on New Year's Eve! Good luck Beauties!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Confessions of a Beauty Junkie

Now I'm in trouble! I was trying so hard to be good, really I was! Then I found out Neiman Marcus is also having a beauty event as we speak and all bets are off! Cuter bag(sorry Saks, they win this go around-I will be getting the darker denim version!)? Check. Gift with Chloe perfume purchase? Check.

What's on my wishlist? Trish McEvoy's Little Black Card in Champagne Truffle looks like a great collection, chock full of wearable colors I will actually use. Not one dud in the offering!

Neiman Marcus also carries the hard to find Armani Beauty line(always an Allure Magazine favorite for their foundations) This shadow palette looks to die for and is appropriately named "Eyes to Kill." With a palette like this, you wouldn't need any others(I shudder at the thought!)

This gorgeous Guerlain palette. I wouldn't want to even use it! I think I need to start displaying products like these around my home! This is beautiful enough to be in anyone's art collection! Since snow is headed our way again *sigh* it definitely looks like I'll be seeking comfort in a little online retail therapy!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss.