Gloss Menagerie: Holiday Lip Color Rotation

Yes, it's a super crappy pic, but I wanted to give you a quick run-down of my current gloss rotation. I've provided links to those I've reviewed previously. The ones I haven't fully discussed include a bit of info.

Murad Soothing Skin and Lip Therapy

Clinique Long Last Lipstick in Beach Coral

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment

Lipstick Queen in Medieval (a Betty Page-esque sheer red)

Custom Blend Prescriptives Gloss I'd asked for a nudish pink - more nude than pink. My Px mixologist mixed these base shades: 2 clear, 2 rose, 2 pink base with 1 white modifier, 1 fuchsia and 1 pink shimmer and bellini flavoring. Yum, yum, yum.

Stila Pomegranate Crush

NARS Lip Gloss in All Night Long Lionel would agree that this sheer, glossy plum would precipitate "dancing on the ceiling."

DuWop Venom Rocks in Garnet

The Body Shop Shea Lip Care Stick Comes in a "one for me, one for you" package to encourage your selfish ass to share. Softens snaggy dry lip skin in a flash and tastes subtly divine.

Can't get enough of the Gloss Menagerie series? Click here to read two more installments.

LA Readers Listen Up: Head to Stila's Warehouse Sale!

Enjoy!

My New Fave Holiday Lip

Hi, girls! (And boys, because at my reunion last night, SEVERAL dudes in my graduating class 'fessed up to reading BBJ. LOVE it!)


How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was PHENOM. I ate far too much turkey. I received the best gift from my BFF AE Lee, an ENORMOUS Twilight poster (featuring JUST Edward) that my roommate and I have taped up in our kitchen. Yes, I know we're both 28. But that's just where it had to live.

Also, at my ten-year reunion last night, my friend Dana B asked about hair product recommendations. I nearly screamed that she MUST familiarize herself with MoroccanOil. Stay tuned for SO many more details about it. I'm obviously dedicating an entire post to this miracle hair elixer. The copywriting claims it produces "striking shine," and that it does. It's my new holy grail product.

In other hair news, Trish, my high school friend who opened her own FAB salon in Ambler , PA is apparently doing everyone's hair from the class of 1998. Seriously. Every time I complimented someone's highlights, the response was that "Trish did it!" If you live in the Philly area, I HIGHLY recommend you check it out. You can also buy MoroccanOil there. Run, don't walk. Here are the deets on the salon:
Barberella Hair (do you LOVE the name as much as I do?)
215-643-40663
3 Forest Avenue
Ambler, PA 19002

Oh, and also? I am just SO hungover from the reunion. Still. The bar was serving BIG GULP-sized vodka sodas, mmkay? And apparently, I needed like, seven, to party like it was 1998. Also necessary when reuning? Using people's first and last names EVERY time you address them. Also, facebook has rendered reunions totes anti-climactic. Nearly every convo I had went like this:

"Mazel tov on your wedding/new child/job, [FIRST NAME LAST NAME]! I saw it on facebook. I promise I'm not creepy. Saw it in my newsfeed."

Using full names is vital in a reuning situ. But most vital of all was my secret weapon - my lip stain/gloss combo I've named The Holiday Lip. Here's what you need to achieve it.


Stila Pomegranate Crush Lip & Cheek Stain
($50 for the Step Out and Shine Set)


Okay. This TO DIE stain isn't out until February. BUT, you can get a sneak preview, if you will, if you purchase Stila's fantastic Step Out and Shine set (more on that later in my holiday gift guide... stay tuned.) The set includes, among other things, a mini version of the stain which yields a deep, popsicle red stain that lasts forev. And tastes like a cocktail. Yum, yum, yum.

DuWop Venom Rocks Mini Gloss in Garnet ($21)
Garnet (pictured, last gloss on the right) is a sheer, deep berry with gold flecks and is one of three mini glosses that comes in the limited edition set. The two other colors are Amethyst and Pink Quartz. It plumps your pout to pillowish proportions with a bit of a sting, but after my second vodka soda, I felt nothing. It was phenom. This set would also make a fantastic stocking stuffer for any beauty junkie.

Get 20% Off and Free Shipping at stilacosmetics.com

Get yourself to stilacosmetics.com, dolls! The brand is offering 20% off and free shipping on any purchase of $30 or more when you enter code ECYX12 at checkout from now until December 16. Enjoy!

Cast Your Beauty Ballot: Stila Eye Shadow in Kitten vs. Urban Decay Eye Shadow in Midnight Cowboy

Happy election week, dolls!

Today, I'm presenting you with sets of two similar beauty products. After reading through reviews of both products, you'll be tasked with casting your beauty ballot by voting for one of the two using the poll service below. The first vote to rock? Stila Eyeshadow in Kitten vs. Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Midnight Cowboy!

Stila Eye Shadow Pan in Stila ($18)
This full-coverage nude pink shadow is more shimmery than glittery. It even glints a bit gold in certain light. Stila's high quality formula and texture (for which the brand has won awards from Allure and In Style) can be worn both wet and dry. P.S. It comes in Stila's Celebrate and Shine Holiday Gift Set, a $114 value, will set you back only $40.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Midnight Cowboy ($16) really IS the perfect equivelant of Kitten. This pink champagne-hued shadow infused with lots of silver glitter is Urban Decay's best selling shadow. A bit more sheer than its Stila counterpart, this powder can also be worn wet or dry. Its sheer subtlety is tempered by its glitteriness, however. Can even be swept onto cheeks as a highlighter or collarbones for definition.

Which one are you more likely to buy? Or, if you've tried both, tell me which one tickles your fancy more.

poll by twiigs.com

Grey's My Favorite Color... I Felt So Symbolic Yesterday

Adam Duritz and I both adore grey.

The newest addition to my whore drawer at work are grey eye makeup items that produce a non-strumpety smoky eye in a flash for post-work drinks. A round-up of my fave products of late:

CARGO Plantlove Eye Shadow in Finch ($20) is a mauve taupe shimmer that looks grey on lids. It's made with only natural and organic ingredients and is free of parabens, phthalates, petrochemicals, and synthetic dyes and fragrances. Its high pigmentation yields incred stay-true color.

Stila Smudge Pot in Gray ($18) goes on smoothly and will take you from day to night in a flash. I like to use a shadow brush and blend it all the way to the crease for (Johnny) drama.

DuWop EyeCatcher Pencil ($18.50) in black is TECHNICALLY a black pencil, but it's sort of a flat, lighter black. I apply a line close to the lashes (obv) with a light hand and it looks more deep grey than noir. I like that the chubby pencil is easy to handle.

Tell me in the comments: what's in your whore drawer?

Stila Stimulus Sale

Stila is offering a 20% shopping discount & free shipping on any order you place on their site from now until April 11! No minimum orders, no red tape. Just 20% off and free shipping! Enter code STIMULUS at checkout on www.stilacosmetics.com.

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Fashion Week: BBJ Backstage at Lela Rose

Just as Brodie of Mallrats fame "love[s] the smell of commerce in the morning," I love the smell of Fashion Week in the morning. It's the only thing that gets me out of bed before 8am on a Sunday. I headed to the tents at the ripe hour of 8:45 to interview the hair and makeup artists behind Lela Rose's phenom look.

Behold, a model rocks out on her iPod whilst being made up.
Check the elongated, waternymph-esque eye.

My first stop was Tina Turnbow for Beauty.com/Stila Cosmetics. The inspiration was quite unexpected: The shell of a beetle mixed in with a rain forest motif. Tina used a graduation of color of dark into light to achieve the look. Greens with undertones of yellow and honey abounded. Tina elongated the eye to look much like that of an insect itself.

Remember studying insects in Science class? Along with learning about their exoskeletons and thoraxes, I always remember learning about their disproportionate ENORMOUS eyes and how they're actually compound eyes. They consist of tiny, lens-capped optical units known as ommatidia. But I digress.

Tina worked Stila Sheer Color tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 into the models' complexions along with Stila Perfecting Concealer and Pressed Powder dusted on. Eyeshadows used were the Stila Princess Pearl Palette's gold and green shades. Constellation and Venus shadows were also swept on as finishing touches over brows and cheekbones. Venus is a beigey shimmer which actually manages to look wet, like dew on leaves. "Very rainforest," Tina joked. Stila Kajal Eye Liner in Emerald was used for definition, along with Stila Smudge Pot in Jade, a shimmering green touched onto the lashes. Lashes were natural, simply swept with mascara. Lips were glossed with Stila Praline Glaze, a neutral honeyed nude. To work this look into real life, Tina recommends imparting shine on one area of the face, as opposed to lips, eyes and cheeks.

The magical Ted Gibson headed up the hair team. I LOVE this look. It's one of my faves I've seen thus far. Ted wanted to "create a really beautiful texture." Ted loves beetles and wanted to channel what a beetle would look like in human form. He created a youthful ponytail with volume at the crown with a center part. Ted KNOWS from volume, let me tell you. He then twisted the ponytail and set it with a blow dryer (see pic below). Ted used Ted Gibson products (for volume) and Build It and Tame It Shine Lotion for smoothness.

A stylists roughs up the texture with a blow dryer.

A slightly off-kilter pony! Love.


Ted does some serious back-combing to get super voluminous roots.




Nails were painted with a fairy-esque light green polish from Butter LONDON. Very sprightly for Fall!

Image credit: Beauty Blogging Junkie
#NYFW

Stila Introduces Limited Edition Backstage with Lela Rose and Beauty.com Makeup Collection

I love this collab between Stila and Lela! Haven't you always wanted to have your own runway ready makeup available TO YOU in your own boudoir? Now you can. The Stila Backstage with Lela Rose and Beauty.com collection contains four key products used by every artist backstage at the Spring 2009 show.

Stila Sun Shade 01 was used to bronze the models’ cheekbones. This bronzer is known for its buildable color, which makes it a makeup artist favorite season after season. Cranberry Lip Glaze glossed up the models’ pouts.

For the eyes, Starlight Eye Shadow let the lids shimmer with a champagne glow, and a coating of Major Lash Mascara in Brown helped to create a balanced, feminine face.

This wearable modern look is sophisticated in its simplicity, a must in order to complement the vibrant kaleidoscope of colors with a funky tribal twist fashions that paraded down the Lela Rose runway. BT dubs, here's the interview I did with Ted Gibson regarding the hair for that show at #NYFW last season.

Price: $34, exclusively at beauty.com starting February 2009.

I'm a Barbie Girl... in a Barbie WORLD

WHAT: BARBIE LOVES STILA MAKE MAKEOVER EVENT
Make your childhood dreams of being Barbie come true, by getting a Barbie makeover from Stila Pro Artists.

WHEN: Saturday, February 14th & Sunday, February 15th from 12pm – 6pm

WHY: Because you’re a Barbie girl in a Barbie world… let it out!

WHERE: Sephora 5th Avenue – 597 5th ave. between 48th & 49th


BARBIE LOVES STIA BEAUTY CANS
To celebrate 50 years of beautiful, Stila is launching four collectible Barbie Loves Stila Beauty Cans this Spring in time for Fashion Week and Barbie’s birthday. Each limited edition Beauty Can features the look of an iconic Barbie doll from the past five decades, and inside each can is everything you need to get that beautiful Barbie doll’s signature look. The Barbie Loves Stila paint can also includes a "Barbie Look Book" that includes a history of each top-selling Barbie doll over the last five decades.

These limited edition items bring Barbie’s looks through the decades to life including:
· #1 Ponytail Doll (1959)
· Malibu Doll (1971)
· Foxy Doll (1980)
· Jewel Doll (2000)

Price: $40, available exclusively at Sephora 5th avenue store New York, NY and Sephora.com

Barbie Loves Stila Cans: You Can Still Buy Them

As you know (because I told you), the Barbie Loves Stila collection has been posted on Sephora.com since January 14th. BUT, the beauty cans were listed as “Temporarily Out of Stock.”
The glitch has been resolved and the beauty cans are now available for purchase on Sephora.com! Yay for happy endings.

In other news, I know I've already shared this, but I CONTINUE to love Remi (my Remington Airwave Blow-dryer). As Tamar and I joke (except this time, I'm serious), "I feel like? I'm obsessed with it." Some tips I've figured out as I've become more famil with Remi:

1. Don't be afraid to put way more than an inch of hair into the tunnel. Remi can handle it. (Can't you, Remi?)

2. Lean your head in the direction of the dryer to minimize frizz

3. Get your part situated before sectioning off and drying the top/crown part of hair

My roommate is also totes obsessed. In her words: "It's like this. It's one of the best things to come out of technology. You have the Internet. And then you have THIS BLOW-DRYER. And then there's DVR. That's it."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Barbie Loves Stila Beauty Cans: Uber Limited Edition

There is SO MUCH beauty news today dolls, that I'm actually getting nerve about having a chance to cover it all. Between the Golden Globes, the new NARS collection, and now the Barbie Loves Stila collection... I'm experiencing sensory overload. I love me some Stila and I love me some Barbie (though I have little to no tolerance for Barbie hand), so you and I KNOW I'll be rocking some of this come spring.



The collection includes the Malibu Barbie can, the Ponytail Barbie can, the Foxy Girl Barbie can, and the Barbie Talking Palette.











The Barbie Loves Stila beauty cans are pre-launching on Sephora.com on Wednesday, January 14 and they will sell out quickly, no doubt. Each beauty can is numbered and the brand will not be producing more than 10,000 of any one can.











I'm like, about to sweat - Wednesday can't arrive quickly enough. I need that Malibu Barbie can (pictured, left) in my posession, stat.