Shakeup Your Makeup: February 2012

Spotted: New Nabi Crackle Polishes at Walgreens

11:31 AM

I saw this display of new crackle polishes (yes, all of them are crackles) at Walgreens last week. I thought I snapped a picture of the brand, but obvioulsy missed the boat on that one! Whoops! Do you know what the brand is? Although I don't wear a lot of crackles, the color selection is the best I've seen yet!

**Update** The brand is Nabi - thank you to Annette for having the details!

10 Professional

A quick NOTD: 10 Professional Nail Lacquer in Moonlight

10:17 AM

As you can see by the sticker on the lid, I got this little gem 75% off at the CVS sale last month. This is 10 Professional Nail Lacquer in Moonlight. With the flash, it looks like a muddy, almost gray taupe, but in natural light (below) it has a more yellow undertones, and doesn't enhance the redness of my skin. Obviously, these pale gray/taupes are on trend right now, but finding one that compliments your skin tone is the challenge.

This 10 Professional line definitely has a broad spectrum of colors, mostly work safe and basic, but even this little guy allows you to wear a more trendy shade but still be neutral enough for every day. Have you tried any of these yet?

EOTD Smokey

EOTD: Laura Geller's Spumoni/Sinful Praline Baked Eyeshadow and Essence Gel Eyeliner "London Baby"

9:32 AM

Last week I posted some closeups and swatches of the essence Gel Eyeliners in London Baby and Berlin Rocks. I have a soft spot for taupes, although I don't wear much of them. Since I finally found a beautiful taupe gel eyeliner that actually looks taupe on, I thought I'd post an EOTD with it.

The picture above is without mascara, just so you can see how the color glides on and actually looks like a rich taupe on the lashline. Below, a snapshot with mascara. It's dark enough of a color to add definition to the lashline, but it's not black. Essence London Baby would be a great option for someone looking for an eyeliner with some color, but afraid to step away from the basics of black or brown. And, at $3.49, it's easy on the wallet!

For the look, I used:

Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy - all over lid

Laura Geller's Baked Eyeshadow in Spumoni/Sinful Praline - Spumoni on the inner corner, Sinful Praline on the outer v and crease

MAC Vanilla Pigment - highlight

Essence Gel Eyeliner in London Baby - lashline

Mally Volumizing Mascara - Black

essence

Swatches of Essence Gel Eyeliners in London Baby and Berlin Rocks

10:45 AM

Over the holidays I popped into Ulta to pick up some stock stuffers and gift toppers, as well as see all the new items that have come out from drug store to premium brands. A little brand I always forget about in the drugstore section is essence, which is a cute little brand that hugs an end cap at the Ulta I visit most often. Every once in a while I'll pick up a nail polish or lipgloss, but this time something caught my eye: Gel Eyeliners. At $3.49 a piece, I figured I'd pick a couple up and give them a try.

The two shades I picked were Berlin Rocks (a deep frosty purple) and London Baby (a warm graphite). Both come in glass pots with screw top lids. There are 0.1 oz in each pot. There are three total colors to choose from - the one I didn't pick up was Paris at Night, which was black.

A closeup of Berlin Rocks. This is a royal purple shimmer, with the slightest hint of blue and pink, depending on how you turn it in the light.

London Baby reminds me of Chanel Graphite or Revlon's Carbonite nail polish. It is definitely a deep steel color, but there is a bit of gold shimmer running underneath - just enough to warm up the shade and take it away from silver.

A couple of swatches below - one in natural light and one with a flash. The product itself is extremely smooth. It was so easy to pick up on my liner brush out of the pot - one dip and one swipe was enough. The product lasts all day as well. We're talking hours and hours. I swatched this and washed my hands 3 times before it all came off. I had no problem removing this from my eyes with my normal Olay face wash, though.

What do you think? Have you seen these yet? Picked them up and give them a try? I'm actually quite impressed. I hope they come out with other colors because I love gel eyeliners, and these were one of the easiest sets I've used - I'd definitely consider these right up there with my favorites: Physician's Formula's Shimmer Strips Gel eyeliner trios.

As I mentioned, these are $3.49 at Ulta. If you don't have an Ulta near you, these are available for purchase online here.

CVS

Spotted at CVS: New Milani Baked Eyeshadows and Nail Polishes

9:23 AM

Hello Spring! I spotted some new shades from Milani at CVS the other day, and several are now on my lemming list. I did buy the eyeshadow above (618) which is a swirl of greens, blues and pink. I'm excited to try this one out!

Some new nail polishes for spring, in a collection called Color Play. Bright pastels (sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it?), including teal, a periwinkle, pastel pink and violet - they remind me of the color of conversation hearts. Gorgeous!

An updated display, below, of the Jewel FX and One Coat Glitters. I know there are several more shades out there or coming, but they weren't at my store. There are closeups of the display as you scroll down.

Last up, the three new shades in the Runway Eyes eyeshadows. These are gorgeous beach shades, which are appropriately named as such. I picked up Antigua (the far left) which is a pale taupe with an iridescent shimmer to it - I can't tell if it's just sprayed on top or not, but regardless I was drawn into it. I love these Runway shades - Lilly White is one of my all time favorites that I use constantly as a high light.

Have you seen any of these new colors from Milani? What did you get?

Laura Geller

Laura Geller on HauteLook.com

11:52 AM

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you probably know how much I love Laura Geller's makeup. Well, today she is on HauteLook.com!

Check it out over at HauteLook, and if you don't have a membership, click here (Note: I do recieve credit if you purchase).

Some of my favorite items are up at an extremely good price: Blush 'n Brighten's + the brush for $21! That's fantastic! The Vanilla Nudes set I've swatched here - $34.50! Take a look at my swatches and looks for Laura Geller here.

CVS

Spotted at CVS: New from Salon Grafix: Cleansing Conditioner - a Wen dupe?

9:37 AM

I love WEN. I use it every day. I got on the "No Poo" or "Low Poo" bandwagon about 2-3 years ago by trying WEN out. Over the past 6 months, I've started to see several entries into the WEN or cleansing conditioner category in some of the drugstores around me. Most recently would be the Salon Grafix Healthy Hair Nutrition Cleansing Conditioner and Intensive Hair Repair Masque. Both were tagged at $8.99 at my CVS. The Cleansing Conditioner had a necker on it which called out WEN - the reason I noticed and purchased it.

Have you seen these yet? Have you tried them? I will review the cleansing conditioner after I've had some time to try it out.

Back to normal...(I hope)

8:14 AM

Seriously...why does this always happen when I get on a roll with blogging?

Anyways, now that my computer is back from the "hospital", I will be back to regular blogging. Thanks for your patience.

Bonne Bell

Girl Scout Cookies? LipSmackers says "Why not?"

10:07 AM

It's the time of year again - little girls will be knocking door to door, while their parents hunt down their friends in the office, all for one thing...Girl Scout Cookies. Well, if the 6 boxes you ordered from your neighbor doesn't suffice, head on over to your favorite Lip Smacker retailer, or shop online here, and pick out your favorite flavor to smack your lips with.

I spotted the following display at Meijer. Cute packaging, although I'm not sure I want to taste a Tagalong all day long. I'd be willing to try out the Thin Mint or Trefoil, though. Chocolate mint and sugar cookie sound like they might be ok.

Have you seen these? What do you think?

Meijer

Spotted at Meijer: New Physician's Formula HD Youthful Wear and pH Matchmaker Collections

12:46 PM

Physician's Formula has a few more new items to speak of for the new year - their Youthful Wear collection, which is Cosmeceutical Youth Boosting makeup. This collection is supposed to make you look up to 10 years younger. I'm interested in their concealer - between dark circles and the onset of fine lines, I could use a little help there!

Youthful Wear
Cosmeceutical Youth-Boosting Makeup
Look up to 10 years younger instantly!*
The high-performance formulas help undo the visible signs of aging, restoring firmness and elasticity and improving skin’s appearance instantly and long-term.

Youth-Boosting Concealer

Combines two concealers and a blending tool to deliver flawless coverage.
95% felt their under-eye circles & puffiness seemed to disappear instantly!*
12 hour wear

Youth-Boosting Foundation + Brush

Breakthrough perfecting formula melts into skin, instantly evening out skin tone and texture.
12 hour wear and SPF 15

Youth-Boosting Powder

Invisibly blends into skin, instantly evening out skin tone and refining skin surface for a smooth skin texture with a flawless youthful-looking finish.
Works to extend the wear of foundation so your complexion remains flawless.

Next up, the pH Matchmaker collection. This set is supposed to react to light and your personal pH to maintain the perfect match. Interesting!

pH Matchmaker
pH Powered Makeup
Introducing the first ever pH powered makeup that adapts to the pH of your skin and your lighting environment to create the perfect shade for you in less than 60 seconds.

Makeup Powered by You!

pH Power Complex transforms into your perfectly personalized hue:

Flourescein Based Dye – senses the pH level of your skin & adjusts within 60 seconds to create your perfect shade.
Photochromic Powders – light adjusting pigments adapt to your environment so color looks the same indoors and outside.

Look Your Best in Every Light!

LED-powered packaging lights up for touch-ups anywhere and everywhere!

Have you seen these new sets from PF yet? I'm definitely intruigued!

Spotted at Walgreens: New from Essie "Go Overboard" Collection

9:00 AM

I spotted Essie's new spring collection for 2012 - Go Overboard. A set of 3 new shades and 3 repromoted colors, I have closeups of them below. The colors are warmer and deeper than I had expected, with the exception of Play Date and Meet Me at Sunset, which are both very bright shades.

(Play Date, Smokin' Hot, and Sand Tropaz)

(Go Overboard, Armed and Ready and Meet me at Sunset)

Go overboard is a rich teal creme, and Armed and Ready is a green with a hint of grey, and golden shimmer. Reminds me of camouflage, and is absolutely gorgeous. The picture above certainly doesn't do it justice, so Google it for swatches.

Shakeup Your Makeup