Summer Makeup 2011: Loud and Proud

Summer makeup trends for 2011 include the bright, the glowing, and the bronzed. Foregoing past summer makeup trends of the natural look and “less is more,” this year’s hues are loud, proud, and full of shimmer. Bright matte lipstick screams out to be noticed in popular shades of fuchsia, red, pink and orange. Bold shimmery eyeshadow in green, blue, orange, and pink attract attention to beautifully-shaped eyes. Foundation creates the dewy look of summer glow to contrast the bright matte lipstick and assist the eyeshadow in its mission to shimmer. Silvery tones for fair skin and peachy or golden tones for olive skin make facial shine a positive thing. Finally, summer bronzer is in season to safely highlight or enhance your tan.

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soleil Summer 2011 Makeup Collection

In keeping with the summer 2011 makeup trends, Estee Lauder has introduced a collection that features all of the above styles. Their Bronze Goddess Island Oasis Eyeshadow Palette offers bronzy shimmering metallics, plus a bright teal shade. The compact contains six shades that can be worn alone or together. Their Bronze Goddess Soft Shimmer Bronzer kisses skin with a touch of summer. The ShadowStick Duo includes highly metallic Pink Teal and Gold Bronze, while their Pure Color Gloss comes in color-rich shades of Blazing Coral, Plum Divine, and Sunburst.

MAC Surf Baby Collection for Summer 2011

Summer trends at MAC can be seen vividly in their shades ranging from extremely bold to as shimmery as glitter itself. Their Surf Baby Collection features the very beachy My Paradise Peach pressed powder, which sports a gold tropical hibiscus overspray. Lipsticks include Hibiscus Bright in orange coral and Mocha Peachy in a rich yellow-brown, while Lipglass shades include Strange Potion in soft coral, Krazy Kahuna in warm brown, Good Lovin’ in soft peachy-pink, and Girl on Board in pale white gold. Crushed Metallic Pigment Stacks are available in the more earthy tones of Summer Stash and the bolder hues of Surf the Ocean Frosty. Eyeshadows include the popular bright frosted teal of Surf U.S.A., as well as more laid-back tones of champagne and grey. MAC’s Bronzing Powder comes in the deep orange brown Solar Riche and the gold and soft pearl finish of Refined Golden.

Lancome Bronze Azure Collection for Summer 2011

One sure summer makeup trend for 2011 is to provide customers with a choice between whispering shimmer and screaming color, and often both of these choices are available in one package to suit all tastes. Lancome’s Molten Shore eyeshadow includes beige, brown, and metallic plum but also features a bold teal. Their Artliner comes in both the metallic teal of Beach Gem and the golden sparkle of Scorched Brown. The Color Fever Gloss ranges from Hibis-Kiss in a bright, sparkly pink to Heatstroke, a pinkish taupe with flecks of silver, and Paradise Peach with a shimmer of gold. Color Design lipstick comes in Femme-Fire, a medium pink; Hot Nights, a bright, sparkly pink; and Coral Goddess, a pale peach sheen.

Clinique Bronze Summer 2011 Collection

Sun-conscious as well as fashionable, Clinique’s summer 2011 makeup collection includes Almost Bronzer SPF 15 in a mini-makeup bag. This bronzing duo features a deep and a light shade of bronzer in the same compact. Designed for all skin types, this formula lets the user achieve an array of looks, from a sheer sunny glow to a deep tropical bronze. In keeping with the bright lipstick trend, Clinique’s Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm comes in delicious shades like Mega Melon, Richer Raisin, Whole Lotta Honey, Chunky Cherry, Super Strawberry, and Woppin’ Watermelon. This balm provides much-needed moisturization for the summer with ingredients like shea butter and jojoba seed oil. Both products are available at Nordstrom.com.

All in all, summer makeup 2011 looks to be as bright as tropical fish and as shimmery as a mermaid’s tail. Undoubtedly, the beach gave great inspiration to this season’s palette. With such intense shades, girls should be able to match their eyeshadow to their flip-flops. Whether one goes for champagne shimmer tones or exclusively wears electric teal and fuchsia, the look will owe itself to tropical paradise, wherever the wearer may roam.

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Avoid Makeup Melt With These Top Summer Makeup Tips

From melting and dripping to sticky messes, the summer months can really take a toll on your makeup. As the temperatures rise and summer creeps in, it is important to remember some important summer makeup tips to keep you looking your best, even in the heat. Different makeup products perform differently in the heat, so it pays to know how your makeup will deal with the summer months. By following some simple and easy summer makeup tips, you can still look your best, even in the heat.

Summer Makeup Tip 1: Less is More

One of the easiest things that you can do to avoid melty messes in the heat is to go easy on your makeup. Think about how much time you will be spending outdoors and consider the amount of makeup you usually apply. Apply less makeup for each hour spent outside in the heat. You may want to use a tinted moisturizer instead of your usual foundation. LORAC protecTINT comes in 4 different shades and includes SPF 30 sunscreen. This is not to say that you can’t use foundation, but a small amount of powder foundation can be placed where you don’t feel like using the moisturizer. You may also want to consider a light primer to go on after the moisturizer. A light primer is a perfect summer makeup product in that it helps to keep your makeup in place all day, even in the heat. You can use a primer for eye shadow, as well as blush. Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15 with Dermaxyl Complex is a great way to get the benefits of primer and sunscreen.

Summer Makeup Tip 2: Use Bronzer

In order to keep your eyes bright, you may want to consider applying some powder bronzer to your cheek bones, forehead, nose, and your chin. Apply lightly with a loose brush, so as not to have a dense pattern on your face. Make sure to lightly dust your neck and ears in order to have a uniform look.  For a great waterproof, matte bronzer, check out Tarte’s Waterproof Matte Bronzer. It has been getting rave reviews!

Summer Beauty Tip 3: Consider Eyelash Extensions and Waterproof Eye Liner

When it comes to mascara, a great alternative is to have eyelash extensions applied. Done properly, eyelash extensions can last for weeks and you can swim and sweat all day with no worries of gunky messes.

Waterproof makeup has also made great strides in recent years. Gone are the days of flaky, crumbling messes.

If you are applying eyeliner, you may want to try Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes eyeliners (also see our previous review: Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes Swatches). This award winning line of eyeliners keeps you from turning into a raccoon, in the water or out. Whether you are performing a water ballet or just hanging out at the park, Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes eyeliners are a great choice to keep you looking beautiful all day. Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes eyeliners are completely waterproof, they glide on easily, and come in 25 shades.

Summer Beauty Tip 4: Avoid Heavy Lipstick

Instead of using lipstick, consider using a lipliner topped with some gloss. Find a shade that matches your natural lip color the closest, then apply and use a sheer gloss on top. This will keep your lips looking fresh all day while avoiding the sticky mess that can happen with heavy lipsticks in the Summer.

Summer Makeup Tip 5: Beat the Heat with Blotting Papers and Hydration

For your skin, carry around some blotting papers. From oily skin to light sweat, blotting papers can be a life saver in keeping your skin glowing without being shiny. Remember to keep yourself hydrated in order to keep your skin from drying and getting oily. Hydration will also help keep your makeup fresh and glowing. Also, when packing your makeup, keep in mind that even if your makeup bag won’t be in direct sunlight, the heat can still melt it. Consider using a an insulated carrying case to avoid sticky messes.

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The Mac Surf Baby collection has a summer bronze theme that will work well if you are a bronzer fan. I’m not really loving the eye shadows in this collection except for the teal blue, but it does have two really nice sets of metallic pigments. I also love the lipsticks and balms (which really are tube glosses with spf) in the collection. I have swatches of those up on Girl Gloss here: MAC Surf Baby Lip Swatches.

Below are MAC surf baby swatches. First up are the powder point eye pencil in Gilded White, which is a rather nice soft pencil, and eye shadows in Surf USA, Saffron, and Sun Blonde. I question whether Saffron and sun Blonde would look very good on anyone other than those with rather warm skin tones to begin with. I do love the teal though! It seems like MAC puts out a new teal every summer that just vary from each other slightly. The pigment is quite good on all of the shades.

Next up are swatches of the surf baby crushed metallic pigments. These come in two different four pigment sets. I really like both of them. The Summer Stash set includes shades of Light White Pearl, Light Pink Champagne,  Brown Bronze with gold pearl, and Light Violet with silver pearl.

The pigment set of Surf the Ocean contains shades of Frosty Platinum, Light Yellow Green (I don’t personally see the yellow in this, which is fine by me), Dirty Graphite with silver pearl, and Gold Bronze. The light green is gorgeous and I don’t think the swatch really does it justice.

Also in the MAC Surf Baby collection are three bronzer sticks. These are not sheer by any means! Nor are any of them very light. Even the lightest shade is not going to work for me. They could be rather neat for contouring on darker skin though. Below are swatches of the MAC skinsheen bronzer sticks in the shades Tan-Tint (the lightest shade in the collection) and Billionaire Bronze.

Finally, here is a swatch of the Surf Baby Cheek Powder, which is an interesting shade that I think you need the right skin tone for. It is pretty, but I think it looks a bit garish on my cool toned skin. Also included is a swatch of Gold Go Lightly Bronzing Powder.

MAC lists the surf baby collection as available beginning May 26, 2011. Their collections often pop up a bit early though.

Disclosure: This post is based on products provided by a representative of the company. For more information, please see the disclosure page.

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Lancôme has a couple of nice bronzers in their summer Bronze Riviera collection, along with a new limited edition eye shadow palette that I just love. The bronzers are available as a standard pressed powder, Lancôme ‘Tropiques Minérale’ Bamboo Bronzer Compact , or as a loose powder with a self loading brush, Lancôme ‘Star Bronzer’ Magic Bronzing Brush ,which is my favorite. I love self loading brushes, and Lancôme’s provides a nice sheer look that is very light. If you want more shimmer in your bronzer, go for the pressed compact, which has the bonus of being just plain pretty to look at!

Another limited edition item that is quite nice is the Lancôme Pink, Party, Pretty Palette. This Lancôme color design palette has six great summer eye shadow shades:

Below are eye shadow swatches from the Lancôme palette. Yes, I was chilly when I took the photo! The gold and taupe shades are particularly nice in this set. I have peen pairing them up with the light pink for a natural daytime look that has just a bit of sparkle and pop:

Comparison Shop for Lancôme Cosmetics

Disclosure: This is review is based in part on products provided to me by a representative of the company and includes affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page.

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I am a sucker for neutral/nude shades, and Bobbi Brown is pretty much the best for that stuff, so I just had to order up some items from her Nude Collection. I wasn’t disappointed! The first item I picked out was the  Bobbi Brown Nude Shimmer Brick .

This compact gives a nice sheer shimmering bronze for the cheeks, and the individual strips can also be worn as shimmery eye shades. The color wears well, and the overall bronzing effect was perfect for my pale skin. Below are swatches of the individual strips. The larger swatch at the end are the shades mixed together.

This is a collection, so I imagine that the Nude Shimmer Brick won’t be around forever.

Comparison Shop for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics

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MAC cosmetics has some new Mineralize Skin Finish items out for summer.  I was sent a MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Trio in Triple Fusion, which works quite well with my fair skin.

The trios consist of a couple of bronzer shades and a pinker blush shade. They are fairly adjustable depending on where you sweep your brush. I mix the three shades together for a light bronzer/blush look. The effect is nice for summer where too much blush can look garish. The skin finish shades have a bit of shimmer to them, but are not overdone. So they work for natural looks and for night and day. My MAC Skin Finish Trio has become my go to bronzer/blush,  which is not surprising since I frequently used a different MAC Skin Finish a lot before my trio arrived. It is a quality product with a fairly decent price.

I use a MAC Duo Fibre Face Brush to apply bronzers, which works wonderfully for either a bronzer or blush. Shopping hint: for a limited time, check out the Nordstrom Exculsives MAC 5 Brush Set which also includes this brush with a shorter handle for almost the same price as the single brush. This is a limited edition set, but they put out similar set again at the Holidays).

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Like many mineral makeup companies, Pur Minerals offers a starter kit. I gave one a try, and was generally impressed.

The starter kit comes with the following:

• 4-in-1 Pressed Mineral Makeup:  What I liked right off about this item was that it was pressed. Pressed mineral makeup is much easier to apply than loose powder and it makes much less of a mess. Pur Minerals’ foundation also has fairly high coverage, making it good for covering melasma, acne, or redness. I thought the coverage was much higher than Bare Minerals or Everyday Minerals (including Everyday Minerals’ heavier coverage items). The makeup wore well for me for an entire day and never felt dry or cakey. It also wasn’t obnoxiously shiny like some other brands (especially Bare Minerals) can be. The mineral makeup is free of oil, alcohol, talc, fragrances, preservatives and chemical dyes. It also includes shea butter and vitamin E. However, I did notice bismuth in the ingredient list, so people who are sensitive to that will want to avoid it.
• Mineral Glow:  This is a basic mineral bronzer that looks and wears quite nice. For those who like a bit of bronzer over blush, it is a good choice.
• Universal Marble Powder in Pink: This is a multi-purpose mineral makeup that can be worn as a blush or highlighter. It has a nice flattering pink tone to it. Because it is pressed, it is easy to use and carry.
• The Chisel Makeup Brush: Pur Minerals makes brushes of OK quality. The chisel Makeup Brush is the right size and type for good application of the mineral foundation. Mine occasionally loses hair though, which I would not normally expect in a brush that is sold individually at $22. Regardless, it still is a good applicator.

Pur Minerals starter kits retail for $35 and are a good way to try out the company’s products at a decent value. You can purchase Pur Minerals online at at ULTA Beauty stores.

Shop for Pur Minerals

Comparison Shop for Mineral Makeup

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Nars is releasing a set of short makeup technique videos. In this first one, you can learn how to use Nars foundation, powder, and bronzer.

Nars Makeup Technique Video: A Healthy Radiant Complexion

Note the application of the bronzer in a number 3 movement. This is the best way to apply bronzer and the video shows it very well.

Comparison Shop for Nars Cosmetics

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M.A.C. has a great new collection out that I find very useful. So I declare this a must have product!

M.A.C. New View is a collection of mineralized baked skin finish powders for finish, contour, and highlight. M.A.C. describes New View as follows:

Natural and Shimmer. The split personality of powder now, in NewView combinations with superfine seracite and talc base to sheerly and subtly perfect skin with dimensionality and mineralized starshine. The planes of the face, the contours of the body, made dazzling with a one-two sweep.  Mineralize Skinfinish duos are state-of-the-art simplicity, high-resolution finish.

Each compact contains two forms of SkinFinish—one fairly matte and one shimmery. The beauty of this is that you can use the matte to contour or generally finish your makeup, and use the shimmer for highlight. Or you can mix them together for a luminizing effect. 

I tried one in light and found that it was perfect on my pale skin. There was just a hint of color from the matte to add contour and the shimmer was light and not overwhelming. 

Contouring and highlighting with my complexion has always been difficult. Most products have too much color and end up looking like bronzer of blush. But New View worked perfectly. So pale girls take note! This one works quite well! This will easily become a staple item in my makeup bag.

Comparison shop for MAC Cosmetics

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I have been going through a number of Sonia Kashuk items and will be featuring a few of my favorites. One is the Sonia Kashuk Bare Minimum Pressed Powder Bronzer in Golden, although I recommend it mainly for those with fair skin.

This bronzer is quite sheer, so for a super pale girl like me, it is perfect. I use it for a just a hint of color on my cheeks and forehead, and as a bit of contouring on only my cheeks. It provides a nice tint to the face, without being overwhelming. Because it is so sheer, I don’t know that women with darker skin will have much luck with it though. Even though it appears rather dark in the package, it simply isn’t.

As with other Sonia Kashuk items, the packaging is quite nice. A brush is not included with this, but Sonia Kashuk makes a number of very affordable cosmetic brushes that would work well with the bronzer, such as this Sonia Kashuk Large Contoured/Angled Blush Brush.

Sonia Kashuk products are available at Amazon.com (linked above) and at Target stores.

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