The Luxe List: QVC Beauty Christmas Advent Calendar

So my discovery of probably the most fun holiday beauty gift this year began when I got my Goddaughters advent calenders. My thought was that selfishly they would have to think of me once a day for 25 days- I like to be on their minds, since they live out of state;) Then I saw Benefit's Countdown to Love Calender & thought why not get their mom an advent treat, too! Unfortunately it was sold out everywhere I checked.

So imagine my delight when I spotted QVC's very own Beauty Christmas Advent Calender online. Yes, it's a bit pricey at regularly $96. However, it's at an event price now of $78.96 & this sucker is huge! It's substantial in size & makes a great impression straight out of the box.

It honestly took a lot of strength not to keep it for myself. It was so tempting to sneak a peek into the numbered doors, but I quickly wrapped it. I think it's just a fun way of transfering that holiday childhood delight to us adults. My Bestie promised she would text me a pic of her beauty treat everyday so I can live vicariously through her (hint hint Santa.)

I actually think this offering is even better than Benefit's in terms of gift giving, because it features so many different brands: Bliss, Fresh, Ole Henriksen, Philosphy, Dr. Perricone, Dr. Denise, Nick Chavez, Stila, Tarte, Mally, Julep- the list goes on & on! Great for sisters, besties, daughters- I wanted to give you as much time as possible in case you wanted to grab one for gifting & send it on its way. Can you believe December is going to be here in a few days!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss.

Sugar Skull Halloween Make-up

Happy Halloween Beauties! As a professional make-up artist, I must admit Halloween is second only to Christmas in my heart. Sometimes it's even better since it's without as much stress;)

I know Sugarskull make-up has been popular to do this year- I decided to join the band wagon, as I've always loved the look. Since my skin is acne prone & rather sensitive, I stuck with make-up products I already had on hand versus theatrical make-up. It's really helpful to outline your plan of action with eyeliners. I did a white circle around my face with Prestige's white eyeliner, then went with Mally's Peacock Feathers liner to outline my eyes. I painted a thicker application of with my normal foundation, just 2 shades lighter in tone within the lines with a brush. I set it with a shimmery white eyeshadow. I then filled in the eye area with Tarte's Aqualillies Amazonian Clay Waterproof liner in Splash (limited edition summer 2013.)

With Make-Up For Ever's AquaEyes pencil liner in Matte Black I drew the spiderweb + cross on my forehead & drew in my nose.

I also drew the scars on my cheeks, then went in with Bobbie Brown's black gel liner for thinner slits across the mouth. I figured it would have more staying power as I would be having cocktails!

The final steps involved drawing my chin in with the Mally liner & then applying crystals. I curled my hair with the amazing Conair Infinity Rotating iron I posted about a while back & jammed some roses in my do. Voila! Happy Halloween Beauties! xxoo

Tarte Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation

Thanks to Maureen Kelly, creator of Tarte Beauty,  I now have some more free time in the morning! There are a group of products that I call Lazy Day Beauty Essentials. This term is reserved for products in my mind that require minimal effort to use, but deliver a lot of results. They are great for when you're running late in the morning (which is every morning for me) or lazy Sundays when you still want to look pulled together.  

The fact that Tarte's Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation is one, also makes it a perfect summer beauty pick with it being so simple. This powder is a win win. Because let's face the fact that every one of us usually has something they want to hide, in terms of imperfections that frustrate us with our complexions. I know I initially doubted the ability for a powder foundation to offer true full coverage- but this one does.

Even as a skincare expert, there are still things that I'd love to improve with my skin- hyperpigmentation being my main issue. More & more female clients of mine struggle with this same frustration- got to love those hormones!

 Because I'm self conscious of it, I like a fuller coverage foundation around my upper cheeks- but want completely natural looking coverage. I don't even need to use a separate concealer with this product. Buff it on, build the coverage to where you want it & off you go. The Amazonian Clay helps regulate oil production as we head into muggy summer weather. The added Tourmaline & Camilla Leaf Extract boost a surge of moisture for the skin. Just a dollop of pearl powder prevents the powder from looking chalky. This is definitely a Must Have Make-Up Monday product for me!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss.
*Gifted for review

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

Oscars Beauty Breakdown: Jenna Dewan-Tatum

 So I'm sure being married to Channing Tatum would make anyone's eyes sparkle, but Oscar night mama to be Jenna Dewan-Tatum looked absolutely radiant. To play up her pregnancy glow, make-up artist Kayleen McAdams used the following Tarte products:

She started by prepping Jenna's skin with Tarte's BB Tinted Treatment 12 Hour Primer, then followed with their Amazonian clay 12- hour full coverage foundation in Tan. Tarte's Maracuja Creaseless Concealer in Tan was applied underneath her eyes & the Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush in Peaceful was applied to the apples of her cheeks. To play up her gorgeous peepers, Kayleen mixed Amazonian Clay Waterproof Cream Eyeshadows in Slate & Plum Smoke both on her lids and along the lower lash line.  For a subtle lift Kayleen applied Skinny SmolderEYES Clay Waterproof Liner in Onyx to the outer upper & lower edges of her eyes. She finished by applying multiple coats of Lights, Cameras, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara. 

 Her lovely Oscar's look was completed with 2 coats of Tarte's LipSurgence Lip Tint (love these!) in Moody.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss.

New Beauty, New You QVC Event

If you're anything like me during awards season you inhale the beauty & fashion that surrounds us. I like to watch the red carpet & just absorb everything before the actual awards show even begins. Even as a professional make-up artist & esthetician I love watching other experts in my field.  When you're passionate about something, you always want to learn more.  So a new countdown begins, starting at 11:00 PM this evening I will be in my comfy pjs, with a glass of vino in hand watching QVC's New Beauty, New You 25 hour beauty event.  Yes, I'm telling myself I will show some restraint! However, I already have my eye on this Vitality Lip Flush Lipstick Butter Trio from IT Cosmetics, because my poor pucker could use some serious hydration this time of year. I love cosmetics that also offer skincare benefits.

Speaking of hydration, now that I'm adding color into the equation of blow drying & flat ironing- my hair has been looking a little thirsty as of late. Wen's Trio of Treatment Oils for hair & skin has my name written all over it!  

Keep a look out for my much adored Mally of Mally Beauty to be making an appearance featuring some new sets, too- like this Gorgois In a Minute Color Crayon Collection. Lately I've been all about chubby make-up pencils, I call them my lazy beauty essentials they're so easy to use. Perfect for Sundays, when you're lacking motivation to get pretty;) This cute collection has your whole face covered in one kit! Take a look here at all the loot QVC is offering for the event, tell me what's on your lust list?

Peace. Love. Lipgloss.

Golden Globes: Get The Look

Ahhh that magical time of the year has begun Beauties- awards season! I heart all things Golden Globes, because celebs look like they're actually having fun! I'm sure the free flowing cocktails help.  My favorite funny girls, who I've dubbed Hollywood's new it couple- Amy Poehler & Tina Fey rocked it out. I wish they had had more air time.  When it comes to glamour, it's so hard to narrow down my favorite picks for hair & make-up.  One of my picks? The New Girl's Zooey Deschanel, who looked looked retro glam & flawless, as always. Here's how she got glam. Celebrity make-up artist Jorjee Douglas used the following Tarte products:

Face:

• She prepped Zooey's skin the night before with tarte's pure maracuja oil to keep her skin soft and glowy.
• To even out her complexion and ensure her foundation lasted she applied BB tinted treatment primer in fair.
• Next, she blended tarte’s maracuja miracle 12-hr foundation to add extra radiance to her complexion. To conceal any uneven skin she used tarte’s maracuja creaseless concealer underneath her eyes. 
• She added a pop of color with tarte's Amazonian clay 12-hour blush in frisky to the apples of her cheeks.
• For a touch of shimmer, she applied maracuja blush & glow brightening lumiziner and cheek tint in candlelight to the tops of her cheekbones and set her t-zone with a light dusting of Amazonian clay finishing powder.

Eyes:

• For a strong and defined brow, she used a mixture of tarte's Amazonian clay waterproof brow pencil in taupe and medium brown.
• To make Zooey’s blue eyes pop, she started by blending the bronze shadows from tarte's beauty & the box Amazonian clay eyeshadow quad in “in the buff” all over her lids.
• To create a cat-eye shape, she drew tarte's multiplEYE lash enhancing liquid liner over her top lashline, with a dip at the outer corner.
• Inspired by Twiggy's lashes, she painted on tiny lashes underneath her bottom lashes with the precise tip of multiplEYE lash enhancing liquid liner. 
• She finished by applying two coats of lights, camera, lashes! 4-in-1 mascara to add major volume and drama to her lashes.
  
  Lips:
• Jorjee patted tarte's glamazon pure performance 12-hour lipstick in bold over Zooey’s lips with her fingers to create a light stain and then went over it with LipSurgence lip luster in delighted to add extra shine.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss.

Must Have Make-Up Monday:Tarte Holiday

The holiday make-up collections release such a lovely giddiness in me, it almost squelches the panic that then follows due to the fact that the holidays are indeed under 8 weeks away. Cue the Cathy comics, 'Ahhhh!!!" After a particularly crazy work week last week, coming home to some Tarte treats had a more stress relieving effect than a large glass of vino! 

I've been using Tarte's LipSurgence Stick in Exposed almost every morning this past year. It is the perfect lazy woman's beauty tool for those of us time crunched in the a.m. It's a gorgeous matte nude that's a great building block for any lip look.  A lip pencil, lip stick, lip stain & hydrator is shoved into one jumbo pencil!

  So imagine my delight at Tarte's holiday collection Statement Lips ($34) boasting 5 shades! There are 2 lip tints, 2 lip lusters & my beloved Exposed matte lip tint included. One for every mood & day of the work week to help us cope! 

Tarte's other fabulous lip kit- Girl Meets Gloss ($34.50 exclusively at QVC) has 5 delicious coordinating Maracuja Divine Shine Lipglosses. 

 To die for packaging aside, the easy push button applicator dispenses that nourishing maracuja goodness in such pretty shades.

  My trick for easy & affordable gift giving for all those great gals in your life? Buy both kits & break them up. Pair the coordinating gloss & LipSurgence together with cute ribbon + a candy cane. Voila! You have 5 fabulous gifts (ones that your girlfriends actually want) coming in at under $15 a piece- that is, if you can part with any!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss.

Tarte's Puttin on the Glitz

I had looked longingly at Tarte's Puttin' on the Glitz holiday collection for a while at Ulta. The rich shadows & clever configuration were calling my name!

Each of the 3 palettes in the collection easily snaps into a super cute silver purse.

Looks can be deceiving- I actually can shove my Iphone in it! Your ID, some moolah, phone & the included lipgloss- you're good to go. It's stylish enough to take with you for New Years!

Speaking of New Years, the Girls Night Out Palette is right up your alley if you're looking for an amazing shadow collection to get your smokey eye on! Rich pewters, shimmery grays & matte black have you covered in that department.

Walk in the Park Palette (also spotted in this compact is Tarte's Park Avenue Princess Bronzer- which has a cult following!)

Here I used the Walk in the Park palette for a soft bronzed eye, I even used the hunter green shadow in the compact as my eyeliner!

Nine to Five Palette

The soft shimmers from the Nine to Five Palette along with my signature winged liner. This might be my favorite palette out of the bunch, with super versatile, soft shimmery colors. All in all you get 18 shadows, 3 Amazonian Clay Face Powders & the Maracuja infused lipgloss that can nestle neatly into the sleek clutch. It's a steal of a deal at $48! My suggestion (especially if Santa brought you some gift cards this holiday season) is to grab this limited edition kit while you can!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M
*This kit was gifted for review

Tarte's Starlet

Cue the Angels singing. As I mentioned, I get giddy with all the holiday collection launches. It's a great time to experience lines you might be unfamiliar with, because they're offering great values & samplers. However with some kits, you realize after you get them home & play with them that there are more duds than winners. Not with the Starlet collection from Tarte. This is how it should be done! There's not a dud in sight with this collection. Plus you'll actually use the box to house trinkets(love the lucite knobs!), it's so classic it will adapt to any home decor.

The collection offers pretty much all the eyeshadows you'll ever need- day, night, metallic & matte are included. A total of 24 eyeshadows housed in 2 of the drawers are broken down into 6 color quads for easy color wardrobing. But think outside of the box- the sky's the limit. I've used 2 shades from the middle drawer (far right Leading Lady on top & Diva on bottom) as a bronzer & blusher. I also have often used the taupe shade Idol from the top right quad to fill in my brows. Also included are samples of Tarte's Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara & multipEYE lash primer.

The Tarte cult favorite bronzer, Park Avenue Princess is included in the bottom tray meant for cheeks. Also included are 2 Amazonian Clay 12 Hour blushes in Glory & Starlet. Rounding out the group is Amazonian Clay Shimmer Powder in Rose.

Using the soft bronze shadows Popular & Timeless from the middle tray for an easy day look.

Gilded silver shadows Celebrity & Superstar brighten the lid in this shot. Again the Idol shadow was used to fill in my brows in both shots. At a reasonable $52, you get a lot of bang for your buck with the Starlet. I would think any make-up lover would rejoice at finding this under the tree. Dare I say it's one of my top 2 beauty best buys for the holidays? I just did.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Fabulous Finds Friday

This beauty addict loves a great steal & deal. I especially love when they're friends & family events on lines that I love. Now until August 15th, you can save 30% off Tarte products using coupon code FFAUG {excluding their super fun TrueBlood collection} + if you spend $40- there's a free gift plus free shipping! Can I get an Amen?

Here's a little make-up artist trick: lining your waterline(the inner lower lash line) with a peachy nude color instantly makes the whites of your eyes whiter, while it also makes you look more refreshed. Also because it's nude, as it wears off there's no mess like there would be if you were using black liner.

I love Tarte's LipSurgence Matte Lip Tint in Exposed- in the morning I swipe on this very soft & neutral shade. I'm a very 'nude' lip girl, if you are too, than this is the shade for you. It looks exactly like your own lip color, but with a little bit more oomph. So shop away girleens!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Yes I'm a Smooth Operator!

I equate a great bronzer the same as I do a great pair of black pants- they both hide a multitude of sins! Any make-up artist will tell you, a great bronzer will wake up the face, give a healthy vibrancy to the skin- all the while concealing imperfections like uneven skintone or a pimple.

When Tarte launched their Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder- I knew I wanted to get my hands on it, especially because Sade's Smooth Operator is my theme song!{ha ha} As a skin care professional, I love that Tarte's products are free of parabens, mineral oil, phthalates & synthetic fragrance- it's a big help in eliminating possible irritants that could cause my finicky skin to breakout!

The sifter on Smooth Operator has only one hole in it which I haven't seen before- but it's genius! What a welcome relief, since dealing with & especially traveling with loose powders is always such a hot mess! I often tell clients to leave the seal over most sifters on loose powders & poke thru only a hole or two with an earring post- why didn't I invent this?!?

Thanks to the Amazonian clay, Smooth Operator minimizes the appearance of my pores while having a blotting powder like effect in mattifying my skin. Hooray for a radiant glow that will stay put during hot & humid summers in Baltimore!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

*Product gifted for review

Lately, I am surprised to say I have been rather unimpressed with gifts with purchase. {Check out the window for pigs flying!} Yes Clinique & Lancome & all the big brands have theirs down, but I'm often uninspired. Though this make up case is not really my style, I'm sure my 7 year old niece will swoon over it!{Bonus points for favorite Aunt will also accrue.} But it's always inside that counts- yes? This latest offer from Beauty.com is jammed packed with deluxe sized samples, just how mama likes them! Stila, Tarte, Urban Decay & It Cosmetics just to name a few of the brands! If you know you need to stock up on your essentials- now's the time to do it as this gift is yours with any $100 purchase.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Tarte Moisturizing Lip Tints

I really need to figure out if I can block beauty shopping channels on my tv girleens...I can't resist! As you'll see over the next couple of weeks, I got sucked into some serious make-up purchases when I stumbled upon a QVC beauty hour. I was intrigued by Tarte's Moisturizing Lip Tints Holiday Trio so I scooped them up. Shown left to right: Enchantment, Hope & Pouty.
I've always been more of a lipgloss girl (hence the name of this blog) but I was attracted to this product's ease of application & sheerness. They feel light & fresh on the lips. However, don't be fooled by how sheer they swatched on my hand. These shades pack a vibrant pop of color.

Here is Enchantment on my pucker. It's a fresh "just had a cherry popsicle" color. Though I liked the concept of this product, I must say the shades weren't for me. they were a little loud. I thought I favored the Hope shade & then when I got in the car I scared myself. Pouty pulled an obnoxious bubble gum pink on me as well *sigh* As most of you know I tend to vamp up my eye make-up on a daily basis, so I go with mostly nude glossy lips. These would be great stocking stuffers for gals who aren't afraid of color. I would definitely pick this product up in a shade that was more me.

Speaking of beauty girleens, I'd like to introduce you to one. Meet my new niece Georgia Grace, born on November 5th. Mama & baby are just perfect.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss.