Shakeup Your Makeup

I received a sample tube of the new Lancome Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate in my order from HauteLook.com last week. I had heard of this new product from Lancome, but based on the $78.00 retail, I didn't think I would be trying it in the near future!



As you can see below, the drop of concentrate on my skin looks very similar to water - which is truly the case! When I had read about this product, I figured it was a thicker serum, similar to some of the concentrates that Avon has on the market, but instead, this is a clear, very light, and liquid concentrate. One drop goes as far as to really soak into half of my face...so a little goes a long way.

The benefits of the product, from the Lancome website are as follows:


Today, for every woman, Lancôme creates our 1st Youth Activator - GÉNIFIQUE.
- See visibly younger skin in just 7 days.
- Drop by drop, skin is infused with life.
- Vibrant with youth, skin looks as if lit from within - breathtakingly radiant.
- Skin's youthful quality returns: cushiony soft and velvety to the touch.
- Skin's tone is astonishingly even; its texture dramatically refined.


I will admit, I've only been using this a week, but I have noticed a smoother texture and softer feel to the skin. It doesn't tighten the skin, as some serums/concentrates do, and instead seems to infuse the skin with moisture without being greasy. I'm anxious to see what long term use will do!


The product details from Lancome are below:
Lancome Genifique - Youth Activating Concentrate

Youth is in your genes. Reactivate it. Discover the skin you were born to have.
Lancôme invents our first skincare that boosts the activity of genes.
At the very origin of your skin's youth: your genes. Genes produce specific proteins. With age, their presence diminishes.

Today, for every woman, Lancôme creates our 1st Youth Activator - GÉNIFIQUE. Now, boost genes' activity and stimulate the production of youth proteins.
See visibly younger skin in just 7 days.


Activate skin's youthful look.
In-vitro test on genes.
Clinical study on skin proteins, associated with young skin - France.

Overall, if you have the opportunity to try this out, I would say from my week+ use, this has had some great benefits for my skin, including smoothing out the texture, adding softness and refining the overall look of the skin. The price tag can give some "shell shock", but a sampler is a great way to test out this product and see if you have the same type of results. Based on the reviews I have read online, people either love it or leave it, so maybe, with the holidays coming, there will be an opportunity to try this in their gift with purchase?

For those of you Twilight lovers out there, your makeup dreams have come true! The newly opened, TwilightBeauty.com is now open for business! You can choose from the Luna Twilight, Twilight Beauty Unveiled, or Volturia Twilight collections, all having their distinct colors and looks.

Click the link above to browse the sight - I can already tell you I'll be shopping!!

I think one of my favorite colors of recent purchases is Bare Escentuals Drama. I'm actually mad at myself for not purchasing it earlier! This color has been so versitile for me. It's a cooler shade, but has warm shimmer, so it is flexible enough to work some warm toned eyeshadows in with it. Below I played around with Drama, Bourjois Ombre a Paupieres Noir Emeraude, and MAC Frost to create a smokey eye, that I hope I can create again in the future! All three colors blended so well into eachother, that I almost look like I know what I'm doing! :)

Below is a quick and dirty EOTD using the Urban Decay Smog and Graffiti eyeshadow I received in the mail from Hautelook.com earlier this week. (I didn't do any blending or anything, as I was just playing with the colors before I washed my face for bed.)

I used MAC Frost all over my lid, Smog in the crease and Graffiti on the outer corner, as well as on the lower lashline. Again, these colors are so smooth and pigmented. I am in love with Smog - it is the perfect brown/gold in my opinion, particularly for coloring.

A while back, Hautelook.com had Urban Decay up for the day, which gave me the opportunity to buy some much desired liquid eyeliners and eyeshadows! I have been looking at the Roach eyeliner and Smog eyeshadow in the store for months, and now I know why I never bought it - a better deal was on the way!

I have never tried anything of Urban Decay's outside of their Primer Potion, which I live for. I have read numerous reviews on how great the texture, pigmentation and color selection is for their eyeshadows, and these reviews couldn't have been any more correct. Once I finally got my hands on these shadows, I can see what I've been missing!



Graffiti is a beautiful, bright green eyeshadow with frost. Not only is the package awesome, but the texture is smooth, the pigmentation is great and the staying power is strong as well.


Smog is one of Urban Decay's most popular colors, and I can see why. This is a deep coffee brown with golden shimmer. Again, the pigmentation and texture is fantastic. This shadow blends effortlessly into your skin. It can be used as a crease color, liner, or for darker complexions, this would be a great lid color to create a smokey look.



The Urban Decay liquid eyeliners are definitely intense. One stroke and and you were able to line your entire eye. The colors I ordered were Shattered (a bright lime green), Roach (a deep brick/purple/brown with hint of glitter) and Lucky (a gorgeous copper).

Urban Decay allows you to step outside of your comfort zone with colors, so if you are feeling a outgoing - definitely give them a try!

Bare Escentuals has made it easy to do just that - heal your acne, and then conceal it! Pairing up with their highly-popular Rare Minerals line, Bare Escentuals has come out with their "Heal & Conceal" kit, which includes Rare Minerals Blemish Therapy treatment, the Bare Escentuals Multi-Tasking in "Bisque", two brushes, and a convenient carrying case.


What is it?
(www.sephora.com)

bareMinerals® Heal + Conceal - Light
What it is: A mineral-based skincare kit that destroys and conceals blemishes on the spot.
What it does: The first and only natural, mineral-based skincare kit, the Heal & Conceal fix-it-quick remedy set contains two powerful, award-winning cure-alls for getting rid of pesky blemishes and troublesome acne. The potent, powder treatment and a weightless concealer come complete with two application brushes, so you can keep your skin in check wherever you are.

This set contains:- 0.035 oz RareMinerals Blemish Therapy- 0.04 oz bareMinerals Bisque SPF 20 Multi-Tasking Concealer- Heal & Conceal Brush- Mini Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush- Heal & Conceal Bag

What it is formulated WITHOUT:- Parabens (all)- Sulfates (all)- Synthetic Fragrances (all)- Synthetic Dyes (all)- Phthalates(all)- Petrochemicals (Bisque SPF 20)

Even better? The kit only costs $25! The size of each of the products is that of a regular Bare Escentuals eyeshadow, which when applying to your typical breakout will last such a long time!

Below is a picture of the Rare Minerals Blemish treatment - as you can see, this looks like your typically multi-tasking or foundation color, but this is formulated with potent minerals to help fight against your blemishes and make them disappear!

Follow up with the Bare Escentuals Multi-Tasking Bisque, and you are good to go for the day!

This product comes in two colors - Light and Medium. I chose the light, because it is easier to blend into my pasty-white complexion. The medium comes with the "Summer Bisque" multi-tasking product.

I have used this several times and couldn't be happier with the results. I love that it comes with two brushes - one for the treatment and the other for the coverage. Not only does it help my breakouts face in a day or two, but it also gives me the ability to cover up the acne while it's there. I have found that because I use mineral foundation, a lot of the topical solutions and gels that are typically used to help fight against a breakout cause the my foundation to flake, cake, or not even adhere at all. Being that I am a Bare Escentuals girl, this fit into my arsenal perfectly, but will work great under any type of foundation - mineral or liquid.

I would definitely give this one a try for the $25...or, wait for the Sephora Friends and Family sale this fall - either way, I don't think you will be disappointed!

Sephora has a new set of colors in their Colorful Mono Eyeshadow collection, that look specifically appealing for fall. While wandering through the mall last weekend, I decided to give one of these a try! As the website says, these are "a new generation of highly-pigmented, long lasting, exclusive eyeshadows that reinvent color", so I was immediately intrigued.

I have to say, I am loving these LA Splash eyeshadows. I tend to be drawn into loose shadows, and when they are shimmery, versatile, and easy to use, that is always an added plus!

In order to give these guys a test drive, I decided to work with Nude Diamonds, Regal, and En Enchanted Forest. Nude Diamonds makes the most beautiful all over color, especially up against the brown bone as a highlight. It is a pearly, ivory, with a hint of peach (just a hint!), so it blends well into the skin without looking chalky or overly-white. Regal, the beautiful deep chocolate/copper brown makes the perfect crease color. I had originally purchased this to use wet as an eyeliner, but decided to try it out in the crease. It blended beautifully into the other colors, didn't have much fall out, and lasted all day. Finally, I used Enchanted Forest as my liner, applying it wet with Bare Escentuals Weather Everything eyeshadow-transformer. Finish it off with some Lash Blast mascara, and there you go!

For those of you who do not know what Hautelook.com is, it's a great way to save some hard earned cash on your favorite brands!

Talk about a deal!

I just saw the second New Moon trailer, which focuses on the relationship between Bella and Jacob, and it's great!

Have any of you ever heard of L.A. Splash Cosmetics? (Their website is up, but not officially running yet). I'll be honest, I had not heard of these until I found some at my Ulta, as well as my local Meijer store. They come in a variety of colors, very similar to the size of a Bare Escentuals eyeshadow.

Each of these are very shimmery, and some have a hit of very fine glitter in them. The colors are very bold, pigmented, and can be used as a shadow or liner, depending on if you use them wet or dry. For approximately $5 a piece, these are very affordable, and versatile.

Below there are pictures of each shadow, as well as wet and dry swatches.

Golden Smoke: A chalky black with golden shimmer.


Enchanted Forest: A beautiful deep emerald green with iridescent green/blue and gold shimmer.


Supurb: Deep sapphire blue with shimmer.

Unsolved: A beautiful garnet red and platinum color, with hints of golden/beige.

Nude Diamonds: A very warm ivory with crushed pearl shimmer.

Regal: Deep copper with golden shimmer. (the color does not show through correctly in the picture below).

Platinum Sand: Beautiful, shimmery beige - just as the name says!

Dragon Dust: Very deep black with tons of golden shimmer.

The Bare Escentuals boutique at my local mall was running a special on eyeshadows a few weeks ago - it was 3/$35.00, which saves a little bit off the regular $13 / shadow price. I decided to buy a few colors that I have been eyeing for such a long time - Queen Linda, Brocade (liner/shadow) and Drama.

Drama is a beautiful golden taupe with lots of iridescent shimmer. I initially thought this would make a pretty neutral smokey eyeshadow, but I find that this color is so versatile - it can be used as a liner, a lid color, and of course a crease. I love the shimmer and iridescence this color has!

Brocade is a beautiful deep plum/grey color with hints of green, gold and blue, depending on the angle you look. I originally got this in one of the i-Quads, and went through it so quickly, I knew I needed a full size! Although this is a liner/shadow, it makes a beautiful crease color as well. It is more of a matte with glimmer, as opposed to the extreme shimmer/sparkle of drama.

Queen Linda is one of the most beautiful golden-ivory colors I've seen. Not only does it have some iridescence to it as well, but this color creates such a beautiful base to work on, and can be used with browns, taupes, greens, blues...you name it! I would highly recommend this for anyone who likes ivories, and is looking for something a bit more elegant to have in their collection.

Below you can see each swatches for these beautiful colors!

No, it's not a flashback to the '80's...believe it or not, there are some good artificial nails out on the market. I will admit, I was hesitant at first, but after reading some rave reviews about Revlon's Runway Collection (click here to visit Scrangie's reviews!), I thought I'd give their Naturally Chic line a try. I'm a sucker for a good French manicure, and there are numerous lengths, colors, and styles available through Revlon's line, which run anywhere from $5-7.99 for the set. Each box includes anywhere from 24-36 nails, depending on the style, which have a variety of sizes and half sizes to fit your nails, a buffer file, a cuticle stick and nail glue.

After you use nail polish remover to ensure there is no residue on your nail, buff and size your artificial nail to your nail bed. I was pleased with the flexibility and the various sizes available. In the past (and I mean way past!), I don't think there was this much variety for your typical "press on nail". Add a drop or two of glue to your nail, press for 20 seconds to ensure no air bubbles, and you're good to go!

I couldn't believe how nice these looked! If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought I had gone to the salon a manicure and acrylics, spending close to $40-50!! Even more impressive, these nails wear like iron. I am pretty hard on my hands/nails, and I've had these on a week without budging!

Doing my weekly grocery shopping at Walmart this past week, I of course took a walk through the cosmetics aisle to see if there was anything new. I found an end cap that actually was in stock of the new L'Oreal HIP Color Chrome Eyeliners! Every time I go into a CVS or Walgreens, they are out of stock, and I have ready very good reviews of these products on blogs and boards.



As you can probably tell by the picture, these are a very creamy texture, and practically melt onto your skin when you apply. There is no tugging or pulling, and even more miraculous, they stay put! I had some trouble washing these off with just water, so this was a good sign that they wouldn't "slide" down under my eye or in the outer corner like most eyeliners do on me.



These are gorgeous colors, and there is also a navy, purple, black, and silver. I will definitely have to pick those up too. I have worn these twice now, and both times they wore like iron. You can even apply some eyeshadow over them before they set, just to add a little *umph* to your look!