Author: Cold Cream 'n' Roses

#beauty #cosmetics #makeup #skincare #fashion An eclectic collection of #music posted on #Mondays

Napoleon Perdis is going upscale!

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

In a surprising move, Napoleon Perdis is going upscale with his self-named line (not to be confused with his NP Set line that is exclusive to Target).  The Napoleon Perdis line is carried by Ulta and Dillard’s.  More recently, Nordstrom has picked up his line.

Now comes news that Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus have picked up his line.   His first limited edition collection exclusive for BG/NM (really, one company) is the Swan Lake collection, inspired by his collaboration with the Australian Ballet:

Napoleon Perdis Swan Lake LE collection Bergdorf Goodman/Neiman Marcus exclusive
Napoleon Perdis Swan Lake limited edition collection exclusive

The Swan Lake LE collection consists of:

  • a smokey eye Prismatic Eye Quad
  • Luminous Lip Veil gloss in ballerina pink – of course!  🙂
  • two full size brushes

The Swan Lake LE collection debuts this month and retails for $80.oo through bergdorfgoodman.com and neimanmarcus.com.

NARS 413 BLKR Multiple

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

NARS 413 BLKR collection is named in tribute to the NARS flagship boutique at 413 Bleecker Street in NYC’s West Village. The latest addition to this collection is the Mulitple, in a rich burgundy shade.

NARS 413 BLKR Multiple
NARS 413 BLKR Multiple

I look forward to trying the 413 BLKR Multiple. Years ago, the company sent me two samples to try: Orgasm and Tuomota bronzer. I loved how smoothly the Multiple went on, straight from the stick, and how seamlessly it blended into my skin. The girl at Sephora showed me how to tap color from the Multiple onto my cheeks.  I was so impressed that I became a paying customer, when I bought the Multiple in G Spot.  NARS could make a killer stick foundation if it wanted to.

The 413 BLKR Multiple joins the other items in the 413 BLKR collection:

  • 413 BLKR eye shadow (dove grey)
  • 413 BLKR eye shadow duo (shimmering amethyst / black with red pearl)
  • 413 BLKR Larger Than Life Lip Gloss (red)
  • 413 BLKR Velvet Matte Lip Pencil (fuchsia)
  • 413 BLKR Pure Matte Lipstick (warm rose brown)

The 413 BLKR collection is sold exclusively at the NARS 413 Bleecker Street boutique and the NARS boutique at 8412 Melrose Ave. in LA and through narscosmetics.com.

StumbleUpon for #beauty bloggers

Cold Cream 'n' Roses1 Comment

I’m a member of the StumbleUpon for beauty bloggers on Facebook.  It works like this:

  • You must be an active beauty blogger who publishes at least once a week.
  • Off topic posts will be deleted.
  • For every post you submit to the group, you must stumble (or thumb up) FIVE other posts. One post allowed per day.
  • For every post you stumble, please “like” the post here in this group so we know you stumbled it. Be sure to stumble first, and then like the posts. Please only submit a link if you can stumble 5+ links (preferably on the same day).

To date, I’ve stumbled 170 posts from other beauty bloggers.   Discover posts from other beauty bloggers at My Likes | StumbleUpon.com.

Which blog do you prefer? Blogger or WordPress?

Cold Cream 'n' Roses2 Comments
I had heard a lot about WordPress being a superior platform to Blogger.  It wasn’t until my husband set up his first blog in WordPress that I made the jump to WordPress.

I found that WordPress had a friendlier interface for blog administration; in addition the “Press This” button enabled me to “riff” on web pages.

I asked for quick impressions from Halifax of Sparkled Beauty (whom I consider my BBF – best blogging friend) and my husband about which design they liked better: this blog or the WordPress blog, The Style Page | Off the beaten beauty path.  Both said that they liked the format of the new WordPress blog.

Which do you prefer: the design of this blog or the WordPress blog?  Submit your comments on this article or send me an email at thestylepage [at] yahoo [dot] com.

Flower by Drew Barrymore #beauty at Walmart

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

I made a couple of calls to nearby Walmarts to see if they had Drew Barrymore’s highly anticipated cosmetics line Flower.  Customer service wasn’t very helpful (there was a language barrier), so I swung over to Walmart after shopping at Costco. There was a Flower display at the front of the store, but the selection was disappointingly small.  All that was there were a couple of mascaras (but not the dial-a-lash mascara),  some lip colors, and nail polishes.

I was looking for the Petite Fleurs stacking sets of 3 different “bullets,” the dial-a-lash mascara, and the “true” BB Cream.

Flower Lip Service Lip Butter, LB7 Sheer Snapdragon
Flower Lip Service Lip Butter, LB7 Sheer Snapdragon

Nonetheless, I came away with Lip Service Lip Butter ($7) in Sheer Snagdragon.  I’ve given it a single try, and it seems creamier and longer lasting than Revlon’s Lip Butters.

Twitter chat with @itsMatin @LauraMercier

Cold Cream 'n' Roses2 Comments

Today, 1-2 PM Eastern time @LauraMercier hosted a Twitter chat with her global artistic director Matin Maulawizada with hashtag #LMAskMatin.

I’m inept with shadowing the crease.  Matin recommended:

  • Laura Mercier Eye Canvas as a primer – of course 🙂
  • eye shadows 1-2 shades deeper than your skin tone.  Avoid dark tones.
  • a pony tail brush (?)

Read my 3-part interview with Matin at thestylepage.blogspot.com.  He has an amazing life story!  And you’ll want to read all 3 parts to learn about his charity Afghan Hands.  Matin had the distinction of being named a finalist for CNN Heroes in 2007.

LuMESH #beauty from Costco

Cold Cream 'n' Roses2 Comments

The Style Page is all about finding beauty in unexpected places: see my past features on Beauty from Aldi and Bed Bath and Beauty. Costco, the members-only warehouse club that can literally take care of you from cradle to grave, has teamed up with makeup artist Lu Camarena Meshulam of LuMESH Cosmetics to market two sets of lip glosses.

Coming from a Latin background, Lu found that finding colors that flattered her skin tone was next to impossible. She had clients of many different ethnicities with the same complaint. Thus, her lip glosses are designed to flatter a variety of skin tones.

LuMESH lip gloss 3-fer set
LuMESH lip gloss 3-fer set

The Style Page purchased the blister pack containing the following LuMESH lip glosses:

  • Kathlene – Peachy pink that flatters women with fair to medium skin tones. Works on women with Latin, Mediterranean, and light African American skin tones.
  • Kim- this looks scary-bright pink in the container, but it’s a light pink. It would lift the complexions of South Asian and Hispanic women.
  • Taffi is a universal shade. When light/dark African American women wear it, it appears to look like a beige nude color. I’m of western European heritage, with a light complexion, and Taffi gave me a “like my lips, but only deeper” (and glossier and better) look. It was my favorite shade of the three lip glosses, while Kathlene was my second favorite and Kim was my least favorite. I agree with Bobbi Brown’s advice that the best lip color is about 2 shades deeper than your natural lip color.

There is another blister pack, which contains the following LuMESH lip glosses:

  • Min – baby doll frosty pink that suits Fair, and Medium skin tones, particularly Asian skin tones.
  • Trischa – shimmery sunset radiance that suits fair and medium skin tones.
  • Magaly – shimmery universal shade that suits Fair, Medium, and light African American complexions.

I liked the LuMESH lip glosses. After the initial glossy finish fades, the color remains. Vitamin E makes the lip gloss emollient, and there is a mild non-irritating cooling lip plumper. LuMESH lip glosses are free of parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and synthetic fragrance. Plus, each lip gloss tube has a mirror on it – very convenient. Just don’t forget to remove the protective film!

A list of Costco locations that carry LuMESH lip glosses is available on request; however, I found my set at a Costco that wasn’t listed. LuMESH is not available on Costco.com.