Posts Tagged ‘lipstick’

My New “This Makes Me Feel Sexy” Lipstick: Illamasqua Lipstick in Box

Let’s face it, me being close to 5 months pregnant, very little can make me feel sexy these days. But, somehow the  Illamasqua Lipstick in Box ($24) broke the “My face is so full I can’t look in the mirror” spell. When I’m wearing it I feel inspired to keep checking my reflection (as you can see from the photo below), pouting my lips at my husband, and feeling like I’m channeling a film noire temptress.

How did I discover it? Actually, I didn’t. My friend Jocelyn was over at the house, sipping wine (don’t worry… I had sparkling water but why should she be punished for my bun in the oven?) and raiding the beauty room.  I love introducing friends like Jocelyn (a makeup artist and lash extension stylist) to the beauty room because they actually appreciate the masses of makeup and skincare, and I love sharing it with them!  We were rapidly filling up Jocelyn’s beauty trick or treat bag when we started going through my hoards of makeup.  She took the top off of the Illamasqua lipstick and gave me a quizzical look. I shot her back a look like, “What??”

“Janna, you’ve never used this,” she said as she twisted the lipstick up.

“Um, there are a lot of lipsticks I haven’t used in this room, Jocelyn.”

“Yeah, but this one would look really good on you. Try this on now!” she demanded as she handed me the lipstick.

There was no good reason why I hadn’t tried it except for that I probably have at least 100 lipsticks (no exaggeration) in my beauty room and in various handbags. It’s tough getting through them all! #beautybloggerproblems

I swiped on the lipstick and looked in the mirror. “Wow,” I said to my reflection. Jocelyn was right (and she knew it based on the look on her face). It made my lips look pouty and was the perfect shade of red for my skin tone and eye and hair color. Jocelyn gave me a quick I told you so in the form of, “See! This is going to be your new color!” She’s right.

If you’re ready to get your sex kitten on… the lipstick is a long-lasting matte so make sure you exfoliate your lips first and apply a balm at least 10 minutes before applying.  But once you swipe on the lipstick you probably won’t have to touch up again for the night (unless of course you’re making out for hours on end because the lipstick makes you that irresistible).

Send me photos of yourself wearing the lipstick. I’m dying to see what it looks like on other people!

7-Minute Makeup Routine (Yes, I Timed It)

I know you all think I plop myself down in front of my vanity every morning and spend a good hour putting on my face — using several different concealers to camouflage my puffy eyes, carefully sculpting the perfect winged eye, prepping and painting on the perfect statement lip — ok that’s me on a big night out, but not during the week. I mean come on, I live in crunchy Northern California now so I’ve kind of been forced to embrace the “Fresh Face Look”. The good news? I found that I can actually look surprisingly good after dedicated  5-7 minutes to my makeup routine. And for those of you mommies and worker bees who don’t have more than a few minutes to slap on your makeup in the morning, you are going to love me forever:

Photo courtesy Dogwithbeards via deviantart

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Banished to the Beauty Graveyard: Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar

This was the fastest banishment (in truth I’m sending it straight back to Sephora) in the beauty graveyard’s history.  Usually I don’t make the Sephora return deadline because I like to give a product up for banishment a few chances. Not with the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar ($18). There has been some buzz around this high-pigment liquid lipstick so I was so excited when I first opened the cute little zippered pouch that came with instructions, a tube, and a lip brush. I bought it in Anime - seriously neon fuchsia since fuchsia is such a hot color for Spring.

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7 Days of Smooches Challenge: Day 7 MAC Rebel Lipstick

First of all…  Happy Valentine’s Day, my lovelies!!! May your Valentine’s Day be full of lots smooches and yummy chocolate!

Getting onto the important stuff… I spent the last 7 days torturing my husband by smooching him with various lipsticks, tints, tinted balms, stains, etc. to find out which products are the most kissable. I saved MAC Lipstick Rebel ($15) for last because it’s the lipstick I’ve been wearing pretty consistently for the past few months for all my nights out. I also saved the Rebel for last because I feared it would stain my poor hubby’s lips, putting a dramatic halt to our challenge.

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7 Days of Smooches Challenge: Day 5 Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lip Colour SPF 18

Yes, I’m a bit late on this one (like a day), but with a good excuse, I swear!!  I blame my husband’s boss for this one. My poor hubby didn’t get home from work until 9 pm and I had to let the poor guy eat before assaulting him with my red lips.  Since I went high-end for Day 4 I thought I would dip into the drugstore treasure trove for Day 5.  I’ve been dying to try the Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lip Colour SPF 18 since I heard a lot of good buzz about it so I picked one up in Red Alert at my local Target. I was definitely impressed with how creamy and moisturizing the lipstick was for such a rich pigment.  I also love that it has SPF 18, which makes it ideal for every day use.  But on to the true test…

The True Test

My husband first exclaimed, “sexy” when he saw me pursing my fire engine lips into a pucker.  He changed his position post-kiss when he looked in the mirror and saw that he looked like  Ronald McDonald after a street fight (one which he miserably lost) and I didn’t look much better.  I looked like a cross between Cat Marnell and a street hooker who got roughed up by her John.  In the lipstick’s defense, we did make out a little. (too much information?)

The Verdict

We’ve got another lipstick that I absolutely loved before it went to the smooch battle.  I highly recommend this lipstick for work or for a ladies night out (as long as you don’t plan on having any random hookups) but I certainly would stay away from slicking on this bad boy for date night. I regret to say we have another 0/5 smooches.

7 Days of Smooches Challenge: Day 4 Dolce & Gabbana Monica Voluptuous Lipstick

We’re going high-end lip for Day 4 of our Smooches Challenge with Dolce & Gabbana Monica Voluptuous Lipstick in Magnetic Monica ($33). Let’s face it… nobody screams sexy louder than Monica Bellucci. I can’t promise you’re going to look like Monica when you slick on this voluptuously creamy, pigmented lipstick but you can certainly try channeling her. And don’t think I didn’t try this pose in the mirror several times.  Incidentally, I looked like I was self-massaging a neck cramp.

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Beauty Binge’s Top 5 Beauty Products of 2012

One of the things I love most about being a shameless beauty addict is discovering the kind of  products I can’t stop talking about.  Whether they were just launched this year or have been other peoples’ cult favorites for decades (but newly discovered by me), when it comes to finding quality beauty products age is of no consequence.

Below you will find my most recommended products this past year that have also found themselves in the coveted position of being in my permanent beauty regimen rotation:

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter ($7.49): I’m yet to find a lipstick more hydrating that drops as much pigment as these do.  I love that they come in both sheer and opaque shades which makes them fun to mix and layer.  You can’t imagine how many women have thanked me for introducing these happy little hydrators to their makeup bags.

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Trend Report: The Standouts from the SS2013 Shows and How to Recreate Them

Now that all the shows are over and I’ve exhaustively criticized the “No Makeup Look” and other awful trends, it’s time for me to focus on the positive (yes, I’m capable) and choose the most wearable, flattering trends from all the shows. And, with a little help from celebrity makeup artist Charlie Green, help you achieve these looks at home:

Matte Lips: This look made a star appearance at the London shows, rocking the runways of the likes of Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood, and then encored at the Milan and Paris shows (Moschino, Prada, Gaultier). A bold matte lip is perfect for dressing up a minimal face (luminous skin and a touch of mascara) and can easily be achieve by following Charlie’s instruction:

Finally the end of the ubiquitous oily mouth! I love a cleverly crafted strong lip and its easy to do with a great lip brush. Always ensure lips are free of lip balm before applying color, as the grease causes slippage. Dust a little translucent powder around lip perimeter to prevent the color from bleeding, then apply one coat of  lipstick (like NARS Mascate Pure Matte Lipstick $25 or Bobbi Brown Creamy Matte Lip Color $24), blot, and apply second coat.
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Finding Your New Fall Wardrobe (For Your Pout, Obviously)

Leave the back-to-school shopping for the soccer moms and celebrate Fall by revamping your lipstick wardrobe!  Lipstick can’t make you look fat, remember?  In fact, it can make you feel quite fabulous if you choose the right shade.  The Fall 2012 fashion shows were all about the dark berry lip, but you don’t necessarily need to go all out vamp to be on trend this season.  I mean even Pam wears a nice classic red:

 Gif via Sodahead

I tested 5 gorgeous lipsticks — all varying in color, opacity, and price  – yet they all come from the red berry family.  Now if you’re thinking “Is she f’ing crazy? There’s no way I could pull off a red,” back away from your little safe pink lipgloss haven and trust me.  These flattering shades will add instant sex kitten status, whether you’re blond, brunette, ginger, etc.
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Drugstore Cowgirl Part 2: Best Drugstore Makeup & Cosmetics Buys

Welcome to Week 2 of my thriftathon where I share which beauty products you should be pilfering from the bonanza awaiting you at your local drugstore.  This week I’m focusing on the makeup aisle.  Come on, does’t it bring back memories of that first time you and your girlfriends shopped in the makeup aisle by yourselves?  I was in 6th grade and I was with my very sophisticated friends Meredith and Kim, who were both rocking Madonna floppy lace bows and electric blue eyeliner.  I wasn’t supposed to wear makeup yet but come on, like I was going to obey that rule.  Incidentally the first item Meredith and Kim introduced me to, Wet n Wild Brow & Eye Pencil, appears as #2 on my list since it is still a staple in my makeup bag.

1.  Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter ($7.49):  I am not going to beat an empty Sephora bag here…  I’ve written about these hydrating, long-lasting gems, dramatically sang their praise in a video, and basically spread the gospel to any woman who would listen that these lipsticks are the cats pajamas.  I have them in every color and wear several combinations a day. Enough said.

2. Wet n Wild Brow & Eye Pencil ($.99)  Nothing takes you from boring day makeup to sexy going-out makeup faster than a couple swipes of eyeliner, which is why these pigmented pencils have graced the bottom of every handbag I’ve carried since the days of teasing my bangs and wearing thick bubblegum-hued lip gloss.  The pencil creates a thin opaque line that can be both smudged and applied on the inner rim. And let’s face it, $.99 for 7 inches (same length as a standard #2 pencil) of good eye pencil ain’t too shabby!
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