Smoothies for Your Eyes

Clinique's new Lid Smoothie Antioxidant 8-Hour Eye Colour  promises a long-wearing cream shadow that delivers rich, crease-resistant colour that stays put for eight hours. We were a bit skeptical at first. But we tried it on the hottest day on record-- 100 degrees and the A/C broke. The eye colour held up impressively. Everything else may have been melting but the eyes looked cool.

Ingredients such as an antioxidant-rich blend that includes extracts of Vitamin E. Broccoli, Carrot. Blueberry and Spinach, along with Cucumber, Aloe, and Caffeine all help make this product do what it promise. And beautifully. And you thought this eye magic got its Smoothie name by chance.

The shades--Currant Affair, Pinko Biloba,  Salt and Pepper to name just a few are convincingly beautiful--even the green (Cute-cumber) and blue (Impromptu-blue) shades are taken down enough notches so that they look amazingly natural.

When this comes out in August, visit the Clinique counter and try  it out.

www.clinique.com

A Case for Runway Eyes

The Iman Eye-Con Collection is an absolutely fabulous complete kit of eye-makeup. It is what the Kindle or the Nook is to books. Truly compact, with a magnetized closure, mirror, eyebrow pencil, eye pencil, a two-sided applicator and 4 palettes of eye shadows :

Classic Smoky (the legendary smoky eye that Iman has made famous on the red carpet)

                   Golden Romance (warm “goddess” copper, gold and brown tones)

                   Edgy Emerald (sexy jewel tones in forest greens and golds)

                   Cool Violet (sultry amethyst & plum/wine tones)


The IMAN Cosmetics Eye Con Kit is available as an exclusive limited-edition item at drugstore.com.

Suggested Retail Price: $35.00

This slim volume will help you make you eyes speak volumes and is so neat and portable you can take it with you for quick touch-ups.

http://www.imancosmetics.com/

http://www.drugstore.com/search/search_results.asp?N=0&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&Ntk=All&Ntt=iman

New for Spring from Avon

Here are a few items definitely worth your attention—Avon’s ANEW REVERSALIST Night Renewal Cream –couldn’t we all use a little help taking a few steps back in time to help our complexions look a bit more youthful? Use this at night and the companion ANEW REVERSALIST Day Renewal Cream SPF 25  during the daylight hours. It visibly reverses wrinkles with Activinol Technology while helping to protect skin with SPF 25 UVA/UVB.

And for an eye-makeup that is so new it still isn’t available as of this writing—you should grab a few of Avon’s SuperSHOCK Vivid Liquid Eyeshadow. It only sounds like an eye make-up that Lady GaGa would wear onstage. The color is so sheer and subtle that all you have is a beautiful veil of shimmering color highlighting your eyes. If you want a more bold look, just apply another layer. Or two. Shades include Chromed Cocoa, Garnet Flash, Pink Reflects and Twinkling Snow and at $7.00 each, you can buy a couple.

www.avon.com

Easy Eye Make-Up Application

 Over the years—our own and time in general—the colors, shades and textures of eye shadows my change, but the basic application technique is the same. As with all make-up, unless you are preparing for a saunter down the catwalk or to be seen from the last row in a theater-- less is always more.

Whether you choose minerals, crème, or powder, it is best to start with a clean, dry eye lid. Use a base if you like. If you curl your lashes, take care of that before you apply the shadow.

Start with the medium shade on the lid itself. Use a light hand—you can always add more later. The darker shade (which can also double as a powder eyeliner if it is not too loose) goes in the crease of the eyelid—where the lid meets the area under the eyebrow. You can add a fillip of darker shade to a small portion of the outer area of the lid, taking care to blend. In fact blending is an important part of the application process. Just under the brow is where the lightest shade is applied, again, with t light hand. Some eyeshadows come in a palette of four shades, allowing you to be more creative. As for what color works best with your eye color, the choice is up to you. Also consider the whole picture—your skin tone and hair color and if you are not sure what shade is best, stay with neutral shades.

As make-up artist supreme Kevyn Aucoin stated in his book The Art of Make-up, “The main principle to bear in mind with eyeshadow (and with the shadowing techniques…) is that dark colors deepen or hollow an area and light colors bring it forward.”

A very helpful and easy to use site with shadow application tips is Covergirl’s http://www.covergirl.com/makeup-tips/eye-makeup-tips/  where you can also find the useful application tips for deep-set eyes, wide-set eyes, close-set eyes, for eyeglass wearers, for Asian eyes. Another is from Avon  http://www.avon.com/1/1/3766-jillian-dempsey-avon-professional-eyeshadow.html  and, for help choosing a shadow color for your eye color and skin tone, take a look at  Maybelline’s http://www.maybelline.com/mca/index.aspx

(thanks to http://www.freepixels.com/  for the photo)

Sparkling Holiday Accents

                                      

When it comes to holiday  makeup, subtle glitter and glimmer is the way to shine. Avon’s Limited Edition Holiday Color Collection includes eyeliner is silver or gold that allows you to be as understated as you want or a bit more daring. The narrow brush allows you to daub a hint of gold or silver or artfully a bit of each.

    Your lips can be a part of the holiday glow with Ultra Rich 24K Gold Lipstick in shades like Chocolate Gold, Golden Rose, and Golden Wine, to name a few.  

    You can also add sparkle to your nails—if you are too shy about gilding your face you can at least dip your nails in gleaming color.

   But since this holiday dazzle is very affordable, and you can apply these products like a pro, you might want to indulge in all of them.

www.avon.com

  

Smokey Eyes and Lush Lips

There are two shades that are difficult to pull off when it comes to eye shadow. Blue and Green. Then there is Teal, a blend of both worlds--part green, part blue and all drama. Avon has given us Tribal Teal, a very wearable solution. Choose from two palettes—one primarily for day and the other more for evening or for more the more adventurous, day as well. Each mirrored compact has four shades and a sponge tip applicator that will let you apply just the right hue to just the right area of the eye to give the illusion of a hint of teal and this season’s perfect smoky smoldering eyes. This is color that stays where you put it and glides on easily. You can do this.

Come November, you can complement the look with their Perfect Wear Plumping Lip Color in shades like Enduring Terracotta, Forever Wine, Always Mocha, to list just a few. One side of the tube is filled with rich, moist color and the other side of the tube holds a clear gloss that is formulated to promote circulation. The color goes on very smoothly and stays put and the gloss feels just right--not sticky or gloppy. Nice shades, too. Very stimulating and very lovely.

www.avon.com

Think Bamboo Pink!

The Bamboo Pink Collection from Clinique offers lovely variations on the theme of fresh-picked softly glowing flowers.

The collection, exclusively from Clinique, takes its name from Bamboo Pink, one of
Clinique's best-selling lipstick shades - a wearable and subtly seductive hue.

The collection includes:

Fresh Bloom Allover Color-- A beautiful pressed floral powder compact that combines three powder shades to create a soft, luminous glow. This long-wearing powder offers versatility, sheer coverage and a beautiful finish for the entire face.

Colour Surge Eye Shadow Quad-- a gorgeous grouping of super and soft shimmer shades to create looks that range from subtle and soft to more sexy and sophisticated.

Butter Shine Lipstick -- One of Clinique’s best-selling lipstick shades is now available in a revolutionary gel formula that delivers the shine of a gloss and the comfort of a lipstick. Butter Shine Lipstick drenches lips in moist, lush color that glides on buttery-soft and feels luxuriously smooth.

Long Last Soft Shine Lipstick

Provides up to eight hours of beautiful color that won’t feather or dry out.

Powder Brush—a luxurious, natural-hair brush designed with a large dome for easy application of pressed and loose powder providing a smooth and even look. The brush uses a unique anti-bacterial technology that protects the brushes from mold, fungus and bacteria.

A lovely collection, indeed. A Perfect Pink.

Make-Over for Make-Up

Have you been to www.avon.com lately? They have recently made-over their entire make-up line and the results are impressive.

Avon Color is debuting updated shade palettes housed in

new compacts, tubes and bottles, as well as upgraded

formulas for True Color Eyeshadow and Nailwear

Pro Nail Enamel. As they state themselves, "We wanted to take our classic products and give them a modern twist. With upgraded

formulas, updated shade palettes and chic new packaging, you’ll love the new formula."

The hype is correct. The lip and eye colors are up there with the best of them. Take the Ultra Color Rich lip color. With a center core that moisturizers and plumps lips and an outer layer of fabulous color with real staying power, these really should be a staple in any cosmetic case.These lipsticks are absolute perfection.

Nailwear Pro nail enamel has a new customized flat brush with triangular bristles provide a smooth, even, streakfree application with high-shine and a glossy finish. There is no messy overflow, and the unique channeled rod helps distribute product evenly onto nails especially in hard-to reach corners and sides for the look of

a professional manicure. If that sounds like much ado about a brush—it is. And it works. The polish is a new formula that now contains acrylic for strength, protection, and brilliant high gloss that lasts up to 10 days.

The eyes also have it. Avon enhanced its core eyeshadow with an improved formula and new packaging. With more intense pearl, metallic and matte finishes, the color bond technology delivers crease-proof buildable color that stays true all day. The new square single and quad compacts feature domed shadows and new applicators. The quad compact also includes a larger mirror and liner applicator to help create a flawless look. The new dome shape allows for a for quick color pickup with the new bigger brush. And some lovely new shades have been added.

Add in the new Ideal Shade Pressed Powder, Cream To Powder foundation, powder and concealer all in one and True Blush and what more do you need? Here you have affordable and impeccable make-up. Why pay more?

Easy on the Eyes

There are a good number of eye make-up removers that say they do not sting the eyes. They may say it, but the reality is that most of them do irritate the eyes.

Here is one that lives up to its promise: Olay Regenerist Eye Make-Up Remover. Not only is it truly gentle on the skin around eyes, there is a bonus in that is soothes and hydrates to in effect regenerate the skin’s appearance around the eyes, so it acts as an anti-wrinkle treatment.

The creamy formula is dispensed through an easy-to-use pump onto a washcloth, soft tissue, or cotton square. Apply it to each eye and it goes to work to gently dissolve grime, oil and make-up, all while regenerating the skin’s appearance around the eyes. For maximum hydration you can wipe off the cream or if you prefer, rinse off for a light clean feel.

Sugg. Retail price $8.99 for a generous 6.7 ounces.

Into the Barely-There Blue

This should be the only blue eye color allowed to be anywhere near your eyes. Avon’s mineral make-up collection includes a smooth mineral eyeshadow in a shade called “Pixie Dust.” It is one of the lightest mineral powders around and allows for a flawless and foolproof application. The inner cap has a small opening that permits just enough of the shadow to adhere to a small brush. (The outer cap keeps the powder firmly in place when not in use.) When the mineral powder is dusted on the eyelids the effect is a light sprinkling of highlights with the merest, most subtle hint of blue.

This Avon eye makeup is blue eyeshadow that is not blue eyeshadow. It is more like a soft kiss of a dusting of the palest, barely- blue. Wear it now to put you in the mood for Spring or to complement the snowy difts of Winter.

Perfection in a Small Package

It is coming into the holiday season, and nothing, not even dreadful economic news, can change that. Leave it to Lancôme to come up with a selection that is sure to lightly thrill any woman on your list and also have them wondering how you knew what would be the perfect gift.

The collection is--C’est Magnifique, and it really is…...

Gothique Chic --If the gift recipient you have in mind is the one who stood on line at midnight to see the premiere of Twilight and pre-ordered Aaron De Mey’s black lip gloss – Lancôme suggests Le Vernis Nail Polish in Midnight Glam or Artliner in Midnight Glam. Both are a dark navy blue shade that’s right on trend for the holiday season!

Glamour Girl – Maybe the person you are shopping for would never even dream of leaving the house without her lipstick and nail polish on –--very Mad Men—then Lancôme suggests Le Vernis Nail Polish in In All Her Splendor. This is a beautiful, classic red that’s perfect for this festive season. Or perhaps one of the Color Design Eye Shadow Quads: Glamour Premiere creates a subtle, natural look, while Hollywood Seductive creates a more intense, dramatic look

Then there is Miss Fashionista – we all know at least one. The first to have the new issues of Vogue and Allure and always knows what is hot, even before you do. Lancôme suggests Juicy Tubes, which come with a special seasonal design and in an array of seasonal colors like Pretty in Pink, Luminous in Lace and Showered in Diamonds

These are all perfect manifestations of your good taste and also speak volumes about your knack for knowing exactly what to give.

Purely Alima

Alima Pure, a quiet company based in Portland Oregon is making inroads in the mineral cosmetics realm. Alima Pure offers more than truly lovely 250 products with 60 foundation shades, making it easy to find a perfect match. Their items are available online and at select boutiques and spas nationwide.

Alima Pure is offering Holiday Collections that feel as good on the skin as they make the skin look.

Act 1: Four coordinated shadows for smoky eyes:
Lana (a shimmer of pink), Ingrid (a pearly taupe), Ava (sterling silver) , Bette (a deep, velvety blue) [if you have to ask who those first names belong to, never mind.]

Act. II: Light minerals to create classic contoured cheekbones:
Harlow ( soft pearled highlighter), Garbo ( matte neutral brown for depth), Leigh (a neutral rose, almost matte but with a hint of copper shimmer)

Each Holiday Gift Collection is $25 (a $36. value), and $2 from the sale of each will be donated to the Global Fund for Women

www.alimapure.com

Holiday Gifts that Make Beautiful Sense

Sephora has been a leading source of fabulous cosmetics in Europe for a long time. The company was founded in France in 1969 and acquired by Paris-based LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world's leading luxury products group, in 1997. Sephora basically revolutionized the global beauty industry with its unique retail concept based on a very savvy combination of brand and product assortment, distinctive store design and the beauty expertise of its sales consultants.

Sephora has been celebrating their 10th Anniversary in America this year. (The company operates more than 220 stores in the United States and Canada, and the world’s top beauty website, Sephora.com. In Europe Sephora has more than 500 stores within 12 countries and has established 30 locations in China.)

With choices of more than 200 classic and emerging beauty brands across a broad range of product categories including skincare, makeup, fragrance, bath & body, hair care, smile care and tools, as well as the company’s own private label, it should be easy to find a holiday gift.

One idea might be a lip gloss set from Kat Von D that looks like very Hedwig in the tube but appears almost conservative—but still fun-- when applied. The Lightening Lipglosses Mini Set of 5 is $26. Shades include Gunshine, Stormy, Fierce Red, Bam and Saint.

This would be a perfect present for a more reserved friend you think could use a slight edgy touch. It is wild in the tube but a little bit more tame on the lips.

Another choice for a special yet practical gift and a great buy is Sephora’s selection of palettes— such as the 360˚ Palette ($38) – or the 360˚ Palette Beauty Insider Exclusive ($30) – Both are ideal for those who want to streamline their beauty routine or are just starting out in makeup.

Or there is the Body Butter Sampler ($22) – Sephora’s luxurious body butters all in one package. Choose from Home for the Holidays (Cinnamon Nutmeg, Chocolate Espresso and Apple Dumpling) and Island Holiday (Guava Passion, Coconut Cream and Tropical Jasmine).

Or perhaps a Super Shimmer Lip Gloss Set ($28)

There are also a great selection of clutches, starting at around $16. –some holiday sparkly and others a bit more subdued, but all perfect to give or to use. They work as make-up bags or evening bags.

Between the down-to-earth prices and the heavenly products it might be difficult to decide what to keep and what to give.

Mascara Madness

Mascara has come a long way over the recent years. The choices are dizzying—do you want to lengthen? Plump up? Be waterproof? Be able to remove with soap and water—something that should bring tears to most eyes--?, curl while you color? ? ? ?

Now there are at least two types—Double Extend by L’Oreal, which promises a “lash extension effect” and The Colossal Volum’ Express (with collagen) by Maybelline that swears you will get 9 X the volume in one coat and no clumps.

Double Extend has “beauty tubes technology” and has two applicators. The first step is to apply a nourishing base coat. Then the Ultra Lengthening Tube Top Coat is applied.

Testing will commence shortly.