The Shades Of U

Hair and Makeup Shortcuts Inspired by New York Fashion Week

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Hair and Makeup Shortcuts Inspired by New York Fashion Week

Beauty experts share the timesaving tricks that they use backstage on models

This is a TotalBeauty.com make up article

From flat ironing in a flash to using one key makeup product, experts backstage at NYFW give us the CliffsNotes for getting pretty in a pinch.

See shortcuts

China Glaze Holiday 2010: 'Tis The Season To Be Naughty and Nice

CHINA GLAZE INTRODUCES

“TIS THE SEASON TO BE NAUGHTY AND NICE”

Celebrate the Holiday Season with Sugar, Spice and Everything In Between

Los Angeles, CA – (September 2010): Ring in the holidays this year with 16 brand new colors from China Glaze that are sure to bring festive cheer to your hands and feet!

Naughty and Nice: Deeply rich wine crème.
Sugar Plums: Plum shimmer.
Mommy Kissing Santa: Deep cherry red shimmer.
Phat Santa: Red crème.
Ruby Deer: Bright red crème.
Mrs. Claus: Red glitter.
Party Hearty: Green, gold and red chunky glitter.
Mistletoe Kisses: Green glitter.
Jolly Holly: Forest green shimmer.
Peace on Earth: Olive green shimmer.
Little Drummer Boy: Navy blue shimmer.
Jingle Bells: Champagne shimmer.
Midnight Kiss: Gold shimmer.
Cheers to You: Silver shimmer.
Frosty: White frosty shimmer.
Snow: White crème.

Certain colors will also be available in the following gift sets (Get ready!!! These are SO adorable!!):

Celebrate in Style Collection: Includes Little Drummer Boy, Peace on Earth, Mommy Kissing Santa, Jingle Bells and a holiday necklace.

Merry Mint Set: Includes Naughty and Nice, Mrs. Claus and a complimentary China Glaze Peppermint Oil.

Rejoice Set: Includes Mistletoe Kisses, Mrs. Claus and a special red holiday candle.

Cheers to You: Includes Midnight Kisses, Cheers to you and a China Glaze shot glass.

Dreamin’ of a Green Christmas: Includes Mistletoe Kisses, Midnight Kiss and Jolly Holly.

Oh, Ruby Deer: Includes Sugar Plums, Ruby Deer and a stuffed animal.

Peppermint Kisses with Holiday Wishes: Includes Mrs. Claus, Phat Santa, Snow and Frosty.

The 16 seasonal colors will be available for a limited time only, so catch them fast before the holidays are over.

China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde.

China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze

China Glaze is a division of American International Industries.

About American International Industries

For nearly 40 years, AII has been the leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of innovative, quality beauty and skin care products for men and women. Our product lines include Ardell, Andrea, Body Drench, Bye Bye Blemish, Checi, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Clubman/Pinaud, Duo, European Secrets, EzFlow, Fright Night, Gena, GiGi, Gypsy Lash, IBD, Jeris-Lustray, No Tweeze/Micro Tweeze, 'N Rage, Prolinc, RAW, Seche, SuperNail, Surgi-Care, Waterworks, Winning Nails, Woltra, Woody’s, and Youthair. For more information, visit our website: www.aiibeauty.com.

Caviahue Thermal Mud Review

I love mud masks. Mask? Masque? Whatever. For the sake of this review, I will use the more ornate-looking word "masque". I have acne-prone skin and thus I feel that I have the pressing need to deep-clean my pores regularly. I have tried different masks and recently, I have had the opportunity to try Caviahue Thermal Mud from the AcquaEssentials online store of spa products. AcquaEssentials is a portal to a wide variety of thermal-based cosmetics. Most of their products originate from the most distinctive spas in Europe and Latin America. It makes these products available exclusively online for us international consumers.

LOUISE GRAY
“This is playful makeup...nothing serious! I took inspiration from Louise’s collection and from my own travels, art and memories. It’s fun makeu p that’s become hot and shifted slightly .”
James O’Riley

EYE
Waveline Fluidline – applie d all arou nd the eye from lashline to the socket and on the lower lid using a brush but kept rough around the edges.
Clear Lipglass – added on top for a wet look finish.
Blacksplash Mascara – used as a base for contrasting lashes.
M·A·C PRO Hi –Def Cyan ChroMACake mixed with M·A·C PRO Lash Mixing Medium –packed onto lashes using a 263 brush.

LIP
Chromagraphic Pencil NW 25/NC 30 – drawn over the entire lip with a precise
coat of Clear Lipglass applied on top for a plastic wet look.

FACE
Studio Fix Fluid Foundation – buffed onto skin with 129 brush.
Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium Dark – for a minimal contour under the cheekbones.

Daks
“Shes a 1930s English school girl bunking off school to visit Camber Sands…It’s about wind blown summer skin and a just flushed cheek.”
Val Garland

EYE
Fascinating Eye Kohl – in the water lines.
Beguile Brow Set– brushed upwards for well-defined brows.

LIP
Posey Blushcreme – in the centre of the mouth for a bitten lip effect.

FACE
Moisturelush Moisturiser – on the cheekbones for a satin dewy texture.
Select Moisturecover Concealer – where needed.
Posey Blushcreme – to give the cheeks a flush.

House of Holland
“The look was inspired by Brooke Shields in Blue Lagoon but pushed fur ther with a stro g concentration on the cheeks.”
Lucia Pica

EYE
Clear Lip Conditioner – dabbed over the eyelids.
Clear Brow Set – bru shed up through the brows.
Impeccable Brow Marker – sketched through the brows in an upward motion.

LIP
Clear Lip Conditioner – patted onto lips.

FACE
Pro Longwear Concealer and Studio Moisture Fix Foundation – mixed together and sheered on to the skin.
M·A·C Pro Pigment Neo Orange mixed with Gesso Eye shadow – applied onto the apples of the cheeks and blended out and in toward the nose.
Frankly Scarlet Powder Blush – added to the centre of the cheek to give intensity.
Medium Dark Mineralize Skinfinish Natural – applied on top of the base to warm up the skin and blend out blush.

A Skin Care Guide for Women with Zero Time

Use these quick, easy tricks for your AM and PM routine

This is a TotalBeauty.com skin care tips article

If you have no time for a lengthy skin care routine, then this is the guide for you. Experts share simple skin care tips for the busy woman.

Read guide

Eyeko Nail Polish Swatches and Review: Chi-Chi and Tea Rose

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Shade

I find Eyeko polishes so adorable. I bought these polishes that came in a limited edition 4-pack called All The Pinks. These pinks are totally up my alley because I am such a girly girl. I applied Tea Rose as a base- it is a very pretty soft pink cream, like an old rose shade. I layered Chi-chi polish over it, which is actually a pink glitter top coat. Super cute!

Eyeko polishes come in smaller bottles but the packaging is just darling. I like the scrapbook-like labeling of the bottles as well.

This bad girl combination stayed on my tips for 5 whole days without chipping. Amazing! I am impressed with the staying power. Of course I used a good base (Orly Bonder over a nail strengthener), and wiped down my nails with pure acetone before polishing to take off natural oils that may compromise the staying power of the polish.

Stay tuned for more Eyeko polish swatches!

The Shades Of U Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Myths About Fillers and Botox -- Can You Spot Them?

Take this true/false quiz to see if you can separate fact from fiction

This is a TotalBeauty.com skin care advice article

Expert skin doctor, Dr. Derek Jones, debunks the popular myths about cosmetic injectables. Test your knowledge now.

Take quiz

MAC Venomous Villains Look and Tutorial: Vainglorious, De-Vil and Bite Of An Apple

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Here is an eye look featuring some of the products from the MAC Venomous Villains collection, like Vainglorious and De-Vil:

De-Vil

Vainglorious

I also used Lithe pigment from the Fabulous Felines collection:

Lithe pigment on the left

I used my Pro Longwear lip creme in Sweet Ever After (middle).

Bite Of An Apple

I also used the very popular Bite of An Apple blush.

Since Bite Of An Apple is very pigmented, I used my MAC 136 brush, a paddle-shaped brush that picks up the slightest whisper of color which is perfect for pigmented blushes.

I mentioned in my Charm Pro 21-Piece Makeup Brush Set Review that I am going to be using the Charm brushes in my tutorials. Get ready to see these pretties in action.

Here's a step-by-step. All eye products MAC unless otherwise stated.

Apply Urban Decay primer potion in Sin all over lid, browbone and lower lashline. Using a stiff shader brush like the Charm Pro eye shader brush (MAC 239 dupe) apply Lithe pigment on lid foiled using Fix+.

Using Charm Pro tapered blending brush (MAC 222 dupe) blender brush, apply De-Vil on outer V and crease.

Liz Claiborne New York Outlet Store Sale Up To 70% Off

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Liz Claiborne New York Outlets. All opinions are 100% mine.

The cooler morning breeze, shorter days and the changing of leaves' colors (and even the color of our bermuda grass) all herald the coming of fall. After going through a long, arduous, scorching summer especially in where I live, I always look forward to fall. I love the beautiful choices for fall clothing that I see available in stores in September. I especially love donning jackets, boots and even scarves. I am not very trendy in the way I dress because I want simple, clean, classic silhouettes. Fall is the perfect time to showcase my fashion style because I don't get bogged down by the heat, and fall clothing is usually more romantic, classic, and elegant.

Fall is the time of year when designers unveil their new collections and the fashion world follows. Every fashionista, young and old, reads her September issue of Vogue magazine and dreams of being able to afford the beautiful clothes. Every woman dreams that they will be as elegant as Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn. Well, now you can with the timeless fashions of Liz Claiborne.

Liz Claiborne New York Outlets are selling their entire inventory at a discount! Everything must go! 40% - 70% off!

Even the new Fall fashions are available for sale - up to 40% off. It's time to go shopping!

If I were to set foot inside a Liz Claiborne New York Outlet store (the one nearest me would be the Casa Grande one), I would definitely snag their Seamless Camis. I can never have enough camis. I wear them under my jacket or blazer and they can even be used as loungewear. The Spandex blend gives them a smooth, contoured shape.

The Jackie pants are very chic, elegant, casual and timeless, all round into one. I would be getting those too.

Finally, these shirts are my staple shirts at work. They can be worn anywhere and I love to spruce these up with my pearl earrings and pearl necklace for a classic yet professional look. I also like that they are wrinkle resistant because I hate ironing my clothes.

Visit your nearest Liz Claiborne New York Outlets (there's a Store Locator on the website) for classic, chic fall attire all at 40% to 70% off.

Visit my sponsor: Calling all Fashionistas!

Unusual Beauty Products That Work

Monday, September 27, 2010

Unusual Beauty Products That Work

From lip pumpers to heated eyelash curlers -- check out these wacky products

This is a TotalBeauty.com beauty tips article

Many beauty products have unusual names, ingredients and purposes, but do they work? Well, Total Beauty readers can attest that most of the wacky products on this list actually work.

See products