Archive for June, 2008

Kryolan Trio Blusher Set

Kryolan makes professional and theatrical makeup, but it can be a great source for personal cosmetics as well. Something I particularly like is the new Trio Blusher Set. It contains three quite different, but all useable shades. Also nice is the Lip Rouge Set. Available in five different color combinations, the pallets contain five lip shades that are fairly opaque, with a large amount of pigment. I found them good for when a lot of color is desired.

Kryolan products are sold at various locations throughout North America and Internationally. Interested readers can call 800.KRYOLAN to find a nearby retailer.

Popularity: 6% [?]

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L’Oreal Sublime Bronze Pro-Perfect Self Tanner

Last year, I wrote about how impressed I was with L’Oreal Sublime Bronze Self Tanning Spray (Read Review). Now L’Oreal has updated the product with ProPerfect Sublime Bronze.

I gave it a try and interestingly, I liked the old version better. This one came out more orange on me than the one I tried last year. With that said, I got perfectly acceptable results and I will happily use up the can. Streaking was minimal, and I like the spray at any angle feature.

Shop for L’Oreal Skin Care Products

Popularity: 5% [?]

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MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator

MAC Cosmetics has come out with one heck of a good exfoliator. MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator is truly wonderful stuff, and I predict that it will make my best of 2008 list at the end of the year. I find the MAC product description to be quite accurate, so here it is:

A highly effective, dual-purpose, foaming and exfoliating scrub blending natural Volcanic Ash with fine sugar crystals from the islands of Vanuatu. Adds moisture: leaves skin feeling soft and comfortably clean. Mineral-rich. Good for absorbing skin’s natural oils. May be used on any part of face or body. Rinses off with warm water.

The scrub is pretty coarse, which I like, but the foaming action tones it down a bit, It also leaves the skin feeling moisturized–something I find pretty impressive for a scrub. The one odd point though is that it is black in color. So it seems a bit weird scrubbing this jet black goo all over your face. I suggest avoiding use of it while wearing white or with white washcloths. I don’t know if it would stain and I wasn’t keen to test that! Personally, I use it in the shower.

Comparison shop for MAC Cosmetics

Popularity: 2% [?]

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Pre-order Available for Nordstrom Beauty Event Items

I’m a big fan of the annual Nordstrom Beauty event. Now you can pre-order your items! From my email inbox:

On July 18th through August 3rd, shoppers nationwide will rise with the sun and rush to their nearest Nordstrom. This ritual signifies the beginning of the two week period where the limited supply of coveted Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Beauty Exclusive items become available. So, what is the best way to guarantee a successful shopping mission? The answer is easy: PRE-ORDER!

Beginning June 23rd, Nordstrom is pre-selling your favorite exclusives both in stores and online at Nordstrom.com, allowing consumers to reserve these limited-edition offerings from their favorite brands. On July 18th the race to the cosmetic department will begin, as devoted beauty junkies can seize the opportunity to get a hold of these unique items.

This year, over 100 beauty brands are participating. Some highlights include MAC, Chanel, Juicy Couture, NARS, Kiehl’s, Laura Mercier, Marc Jacobs, Dior, Bobbi Brown and Philosophy.

Personally I have my eye on the Dior Gaucho Palette that is pictured. It looks amazing! There is also a neat looking Trish McEvoy palette, some nice looking items from Bobbie Brown, the highly anticipated MAC Colorforms collection, and much more.

Popularity: 3% [?]

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New E-Book! Leon’s Anti-Aging Beauty Secrets

A fellow Splendicity beauty writer has come out with a really great e-book full of all natural anti-aging secrets and recipes. Leon’s Anti-Aging Beauty Secrets by Leon Rao is full of information, from suggestions for an anti-aging diet, to recipes for various skin care serums and lotions.

The diet chapter contains some great information and chart of antioxidant foods that I found quite handy. There is also neat list of various ethnic anti-aging foods. But what really shines are the multitude of recipes in this book. There is a section on Ayervedic recipes and then additional chapters coving cleansers, toners, masks, exfoliators, serums and more. There is even a recipe for lip balm and a chapter dedicated to an eyebrow and eyelash booster.

Throughout the book, Leon explains the purpose of the ingredients and provide clear direction for each recipe. For the do-it-yourself makeup and skin care fanatic, this book is a must have.

The e-book is 60 pages in color pdf format and is now available for $15—a great price for the wealth of information provided. Visit the purchase page to view chapter summaries and order.

Popularity: 5% [?]

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The New Clinique Insiders Program

If you love Clinique as much as I do, something that is a must to check out is the new Clinique Insider’s Club. Here is the nitty gritty from my email:

Clinique will be selecting 20 women from the submitted applications to be “Clinique Insiders.” As “Insiders” the women will get an exclusive sneak peek at the latest Clinique Skincare, and Makeup products and will have the opportunity to give product reviews and opinions which will be seen, heard and read on Clinique.com! Insiders will also have access to special upcoming events and will receive a special welcome kit which includes full-size Clinique products and a Flip Video digital camcorder!

All interested candidates should apply here.

Popularity: 4% [?]

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Redpoint Foundations and Powder: Sheer, Beautiful Makeup

I have been playing with some Redpoint Cosmetics and have been impressed with everything that I tried. In the area of foundations, I tried two foundations: The DermaLift Foundation and the Transformative Dual Foundation. I also tried the HydraBoost Firming Powder.

The DermaLift Foundation is formulated with peptides and moisturizers for anti-aging and is mineral oil-free. The addition of such things is always welcome to me, but what really impresses me about this foundation is how light it feels–yet it still provides sheer to medium coverage.

Dermalift Foundation feels quite a bit like a light tinted moisturizer. This stuff is so lightweight that it simply feels great and blends very well. There are only three shades available though, which is a bit of a downside. But when a foundation is as blendable as this one is, fewer shades are needed because the makeup is more versatile. Nonetheless, I would like to see a few more shades, even though the light shade worked just fine with my fair skin.

Redpoint Transformative Dual Foundation is listed as a full coverage foundation, but I found it to be more medium in coverage. The foundation comes in a compact with two shades for a custom blend. Application is with a sponge. I liked the dual shade option because it allowed me to customize coverage a bit based on areas of pigmentation. It also allows for some use of the foundation as a highlight or contour color. I also found that it was nicely buildable. So,while overall coverage is medium, it can be closer to full with extra application. This is a good one for people who want some flexibility in their makeup.

The HydraBoost Firming Powder is good way to top off your foundation, or wear it alone for some light coverage and shine control. The powder is formulated to minimize fine lines and wrinkles, and feels quite nice. I loved it both as a finishing powder and as a stand alone product. For some reason, this one seemed to help tone down reddness for me a bit better than other powders, so rosacea sufferers might be particularly interested in it.

Redpoint cosmetics are available through the links above and at other online sources.

Want to learn about Redpoint’s lipgloss? Take a look at my review on Girl Gloss.

Shop for Redpoint Cosmetics

Popularity: 4% [?]

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Weekend Reading From Splendicity

For your weekend reading, here are some great posts from the Splendicity Network.

SHOPPING

CelebLOOK tells you where to get the fab tee, for charity no less, that Courtney Cox has been sporting.

ShopDiary has invites to a Rue La La, an exclusive invitation only shopping site whose past sales featured Chloe, Prada, Hanky Panky, Juicy Couture and more.

Her Accessories has just launched a new jewelry blog, Gleaming Things - come and check it out!

Glamour Gift Guide talks about the Miu Miu Dragonfly Clutch.

FASHION

Come test your luck! NY Spender is giving away a beautiful Amelia Rose necklace worth more than $500!

Tops 2 Bottoms welcomes the new Black. Explore style options with Navy as it makes its comeback in the fashion scene.

Check out what Sasha wore to the Philippine Fashion Week over at Style Manila.

Style…a work in progress experiences monomania when she takes a look at Louis Vuitton’s latest collaboration with Takashi Murakami.

Shoe Blitz shows you the Christian Louboutin suede booties with tonal leather stripes.

Viva Woman shares with you the DIY way to store and organize your hook earrings.

BEAUTY

Beauty and Fashion Tech reviews two good acne treatment products, the Bioelements and DDF Acne Treatment Masks.

Beauty Bento Box invites you to join the conversation on makeup and Asian skin and get the chance to win Artistry goodies!

Beauty Secrets Revealed asks Is Wine An Anti-aging Potion?

Krizia from Beauty Match discovers UnDamage free beauty samples specifically created for smoker’s skin

Cinnamon Kitten launches a string of upcoming contests with a contest giveaway for a goodie “box” stuffed with beauty products!

Popularity: 4% [?]

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