Author: Cold Cream 'n' Roses

#beauty #cosmetics #makeup #skincare #fashion An eclectic collection of #music posted on #Mondays
Cold Cream 'n' Roses
Total Beauty Web Tour

The Informed Makeup Maven raves about Stila’s #5 brush, Covergirl Smoothers Pressed Powder and Bobbi Brown’s Custom Palettes.

Visit The Beauty Couch to enter the Softlips PURE Giveaway for a chance to win one of four Softlips PURE organic lip balms. Contest expires May 12th at 12am EST.

Beauty Anonymous takes a look at Lavshuca’s new Lip Gloss.

Beauty Strokes was so pleased with the success of the previous giveaway of its brush collection at More Than a Pretty Face that it’s provided a complete set of its Mineral Optics brushes for a new giveaway! Mineral Optics brushes are great for applying loose mineral powders. The prize consists of six brushes, including three optic brushes with natural and synthetic bristles, and a nylon brush roll. Enter now!

Meilily reviews and swatches Gabriel Cosmetics Lipstick with 100% natural ingredients.

Monique at Beauty Girl Musings is giving away 15 (yes, fifteen) Beautyfix 2 kits! Click here to enter!

Hurry on over to The Makeup Divas blog and enter to win Barielle Sugar Rush Nail Polish Collection.

Fabulous Over Forty talks with dermatologist Dr. Doris Day about what we really need for skincare.

Check out Beauty in Real Life for a fabulous neuLash and Anastasia giveaway!

Head on Over to A Little More Beautiful to check out the Great Skin for Spring/Summer series as well as Tips to Prevent and reduce the signs of aging!

Girl-Woman-Beauty-Brains-Blog has the answers to your Mother’s Day Gift dilemma.

Beauty Banter teaches you how to get Kate Hudson, Katie Holmes and Beyonce hair!

Boutique Flair reviews the Sunsilk Captivating Curls line.

Alex McCord, Luanne Delesseps, Ramona Singer and Jill Zarin from the Real Houseives of NYC, Mario Cantone, Simon Doonan, and Allure’s Linda Wells are all in the Advice Sisters Post of the Cosmetics Executive Women (CEW) Awards with links to all the winning products.

eye4style is giving away a gorgeous pair of Current Elliott Boyfriend Jeans. Enter now to win!

Daily Dose of Coffee is giving away five copies of the tip-filled anti-aging book How Not to Look Old by Charla Krupp. Enter now for your chance to win!

Beautè Noire Blog gives Halle Berry’s new haircut two thumbs up!

image and style news dishes on all the 2009 summer makeup collection

Addicted to Lipstick Shows us swatches from the Mac A Rose Romance Collection.

Beauty Junkies Unite shares supermodel Alek Wek’s look by Lancome from the Met Ball!

Beauty411 shares the details on the new Guerlain Terracotta Mineral Collection for summer bronze beauty!

LA Pretty is giving away a pair of lucy activewear short shorts. Pants are so 2008!

Beauty Blogging Junkie scored an exclusive interview with Star Trek Makeup Department Head Mindy Hall. Click hereto read it!

Spoiled Pretty is partnering with Bath & Body Works for a giveaway – to protect you from Swine Flu. Three winners will receive Anti-Bacterial Gentle Foaming Soap, Foaming Sanitizer, and PocketBac Deep Cleansing Hand Gel.

Butterflydiary is giving away a bottle of Lancome’s Genifique and Charla Krupp’s book “How Not to Look Old” to one incredibly lucky winner.

Hot Beauty Health is sharing the best beauty products from Self Magazine’s Healthy Beauty Awards.

Silicones

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In planning stories about Belegenza Extraordinary Hair Care and LivingProof No Frizz hair products, it became evident that I should address the use of silicones in hair and cosmetics products.

What are the characteristics of silicones?

In her ingredient dictionary, Paula Begoun describes silicone in this way:

… The unique fluid properties of silicone give it a great deal of slip, and in its various forms it can feel like silk on the skin, impart emolliency, and be a water-binding agent that holds up well, even when skin becomes wet.

Silicones 101, an article from the Coarse Hair Diary blog, notes that silicones build up on the hair and prevent moisture from entering. Dimethicone, an article from Christopher Drummond’s blog, notes the occlusive (barrier-forming) properties of dimethicone, which is a type of silicone. Essortment, in its article, How to control frizz in curly hair, notes that silicone seals hair.

Silicones give face primers their slip, and I’ve become a believer in face primers. Unlike Christopher and some people who have commented on his article, I have not have problems with breakouts. I suspect that’s because I apply primer to my cheeks, which are not prone to breakouts.

On the other hand, silicones have not worked for me in preventing frizz, which is a problem for me in DC’s humid climate. In addition, silicones weigh my hair down, no matter how little I use. Some say that using silicones leads to hair loss. I’ve been experiencing hair loss, but I don’t know if silicones are to blame: maybe it’s “The Change.” (I don’t know whether to laugh or cry)

Both Belegenza and LivingProof No Frizz are formulated without silicones. In articles planned for next week, I’ll review products from these brands.

Beauty Strokes Mineral Optics brush collection giveaway

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Beauty Strokes was so pleased by the success of our previous giveaway that it has donated a complete Mineral Optics brush collection for another giveaway.

Mineral Optics Beauty Brushes

There are six brushes in the Mineral Optics collection. Three are optic brushes, two are finishing eye brushes and the last, a brow groomer. The optic brushes have two types of bristles: natural goat hair (black) and synthetic (white). They include an all-over brush, a face brush, and an eye brush. These optic brushes are great for applying loose mineral powders.

The prize consists of the six brushes and a nylon travel roll. The six brushes are individually packaged with application tips.

http://contestmachine.com/embed/survey_js/86BDEXQBAZ

YourBeautyStrokes.com is a leading supplier of Beauty Strokes and Mineral Optic cosmetic brushes. YourBeautyStrokes.com offers professional cosmetic brushes, makeup, and gifts for the most discerning of shoppers. Beauty Strokes cosmetic brushes are the finest quality professional cosmetic brushes, with detail techniques to help you look your very best. Beauty Strokes provides professional techniques for professional results.

Purchase the complete Beauty Strokes brush line or try the individual brushes. All Beauty Strokes brushes are offered at 30% off MSRP! Beauty Strokes brushes can be found on Amazon.com and YourBeautyStrokes.com. Shop now and save today!

You can help yourself to an extra 5% off Beauty Strokes brushes for a 35% discount off retail prices at yourbeautystrokes.com. Use coupon code STYLEPAGES. Good through the end of 2009.

For more information visit: http://www.yourbeautystrokes.com/.

Too Faced LOCKDOWN Ultimate Creaseless Cream Eye Shadow

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Too Faced LOCKDOWN Ultimate Creaseless Cream Eye Shadow

Too Faced LOCKDOWN Ultimate Creaseless Cream Eye Shadow includes both eyeshadow base and pigment in a single product. The base works fine, but I don’t care for the sparkle in the eyeshadow: Bedroom Eyes (medium brown), for example, has bits of copper glitter.

Too Faced LOCKDOWN Ultimate Creaseless Cream Eye Shadow comes in six shades, each with a salacious name:

* Bedroom Eyes (medium brown)
* Bondage (light brown)
* Dramarama (dark brown)
* I’m Guilty (aqua blue)
* Jailbait (light pink)
* Prisoner of Love (pink)

You may find Too Faced LOCKDOWN Ultimate Creaseless Cream Eye Shadow in Sephora stores and at Sephora.com.

Beauty at Douglas Cosmetics

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

Parfümerie Douglas is Germany’s largest chain of beauty stores. In addition, Douglas has several stores in the U.S. I recently visited the Douglas store at Union Station in Washington, DC.

Douglas used to carry the German brands ARTDECO and BeYu. Even though I found nothing from ARTDECO and BeYu that appealed to me, it was fun to look because these brands aren’t readily found in the U.S. Douglas has stopped carrying both brands: in the case of ARTDECO, it was on account of use of certain ingredients. No, the Germans don’t always make good stuff! 🙂

At Union Station, Douglas has discontinued carrying Universal Colors and blackUp Paris, two lines created for “women of color”: odd, given the demographic.

Now Douglas carries only stalwart brands such as Clinique and Estee Lauder. Boring, boring.

So, what’s worth checking out at Douglas? Its accessories and implements. It carries its own line of professional cosmetic brushes called Da Vinci, including several brush sets: Classic Look, Nude Look, and Smokey Eyes. I particularly like the flat headed eyeshadow brush in the Smokey Eyes kit: it works better than flat lay-on eyeshadow brushes or fluffy eyeshadow brushes to apply eyeshadow all over or on the lid.

One product that I hadn’t seen before is this soap to wash brushes:

It’s a gentle soap that doesn’t strip oils from natural hair brushes.

By Lauren Luke debuts today

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

Today (Monday, April 27, 2009), YouTube sensation Lauren Luke begins selling her own line of color cosmetics. If you’re not familiar with Lauren, she’s from the north of England, speaks with a definite accent, and presents videos on make-up, especially eye makeup. There’s nothing flashy about her videos: Lauren captures the video herself, and you can see her adjusting the videocam when she zooms in for a close-up.

Since Lauren started posting her videos in 2007, she has gained a base of 200,000 subscribers. With that clout, no wonder she was approached to create her own line of color cosmetics, which is called By Lauren Luke.

Watch Lauren as she talks about the launch of her cosmetics line:

Lauren’s initial offering is a collection of five color palettes: My Fierce Violets, My Vintage Glams, My Sultry Blues, My Luscious Greens, and My Smokey Classics. Each palette includes two shades of eye shadow primer, three eye shadows, eye liner, blush, and two lip colors.

Here’s what I’m planning to buy:

My Vintage Glams, which features:

Shadow Primers in Nude Slip Dark and Nude Slip Light
Eye Shadows in Petticoat Pink, Red Wine, and Silver Slippers
Eye liner in Raven Black
Blush in Berry Cream
Lip Colors in Champagne Kiss and Love Bite

There have been a lot of pre-orders already: I hope that I’ll get my hands on My Vintage Glams!

Best for less from Wet n Wild

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

and a few duds.

TotalBeauty.com
The Best and Worst Wet n Wild Products

Check out which nail polishes, eye shadows, lipglosses and more our readers love, and, well, love to hate
The Best and Worst Wet n Wild Products

Buying Wet n Wild is an inexpensive way for us get our beauty fix without hurting our wallets. Heck, half the stuff they sell you could buy with change found in your couch cushions. Check out this guide to what’s hot and what’s not, and then search those couch cushions or bust open that piggy bank.

See products

The Worst: No. 3: Wet n Wild MegaColors Lipstick, $1.99

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 6.4*
The Worst: No. 3: Wet n Wild MegaColors Lipstick, $1.99

It’s “just overall really mediocre” they say and feels “icky on …”

No. 2: Wet n Wild Wild Shine Nail Color, $.99

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 6*

No. 2: Wet n Wild Wild Shine Nail Color, $.99

“The finish is just awful– no smoothness whatsoever, very chunky, streaky and coarse …”

The Best: No. 9: Wet n Wild Silk Finish Blush Compact, $3.49

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 8.6*

The Best: No. 9: Wet n Wild Silk Finish Blush Compact, $3.49

“The pigmentation is dense– so a little goes a long way” and “it literally stayed on all day …”

Want to see the rest of the list? Click here!

smashbox PHOTO FINISH FOUNDATION PRIMER SPF 15 & DERMAXYL™

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

I have a confession to make: even though dermatologists and other skin care experts advise us to wear sunscreen all year long, I wear it only in the spring and summer, when I expect to spend more time in the sun. It’s not a practice that I encourage others to emulate.

The truth is that I hate the gunky feel of most sunscreens. That’s why I’m glad I found smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15 and Dermaxyl. It has the smooth finish of a foundation primer with chemical (absorber) sunscreens 7.5% Octinoxate (Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate) and 5.0% Octisalate (Ethylhexyl Salicylate). Surprisingly, I haven’t had problems with irritation, which is why I usually stick to barrier (reflector) sunscreens such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.


Smashbox’s Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15 and Dermaxyl

Many of us like to lighten up on foundation in the spring and summer. Even if you use a tinted moisturizer with SPF 15, I recommend using smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15 and Dermaxyl under your tinted moisturizer to boost sun protection. This product is a must under mineral makeup: even though bareMinerals is rated SPF 15, don’t expect a light dusting of loose mineral makeup to provide you adequate sun protection.

Find out what others think about smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15 and Dermaxyl.

You may find smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15 and Dermaxyl at smashbox.com, Ulta, Sephora stores, and Sephora.com.

Total Beauty Weekly Web Tour

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

Total Beauty Web Tour

Meredith at Daily Dose of Coffee ponders an interesting question: are male and female acne really all that different? Find out more!

Beauty Anonymous brings you Sonia Rykiel Summer 2009 Makeup Collection.

Family portrait in your future? Visit The Beauty Couch for some tips on how to apply makeup for fabulous photos.

Meilily brings you Beauty & Awareness: Check out Meilily’s swatches and photos of OPI’s Breathe Life lung cancer awareness nail polish!

The Informed Makeup Maven raves about Nude Vs Red lips, Nailene, The Best Bronzers, Softlips; reviews Jenova mascara and invites you to join her facebook group. Most of all IMM really wants your opinion for a chance to score a Covergirl makeup pack !

Jamie and Mother Blogger of Girl-Woman-Beauty-Brains-Blog discovered a plethora of earth-friendly products for Earth Week: Tees for Change, Kiss My Face (plus a giveaway), and much more.

Boutique Flair reviews Vichy’s popular Noraderm Anti-Imperfection Hydrating Care lotion.

Good news for fans of Stila! Beauty Junkies Unite finds out after a month of bankruptcy rumors, the makeup brand has been sold and should be back in business soon!

Makeup Files is celebrating its first blog anniversary! Come celebrate with us by entering the huge birthday bash beauty giveaway worth over $100 dollars!

eye4style wants you to get glowing – from the inside out! Click here to enter her Glowelle giveaway.

GIVEAWAY ALERT! The Anti Hair Slave is giving away

the entire Soft & Beautiful StyleProtect Collection all you have to do is leave a comment to be entered.

Looking for the latest giveaway.. Addicted to Lipstick is having a Kiss My Face Giveaway where she’s giving away organic lip shines and lip shimmers.

Monique at Beauty Girl Musings reviews the new Olay Pro X Protocol Starter Kit.

See what Fabulous Over Forty product she is so happy she found in NYC!

Butterflydiary has fallen in love with Amala Organic Beauty, a line she feels can cryogenically freeze her skin’s age.

Best Face Scrubs-a video blog by Talking Makeup!

Melissa of The Makeup Divas reviews the new Prescriptives Motor-Eyes Instant Action mascara .

Alison aka. Advice Sister Alison of the Advice Sisters offers a follow up on the Avon Clinical Derma-Full X3 Facial Filling Serum It is really a Miracle?

Lipgloss Break has partnered with Noah’s Naturals to Giveaway a Selection of Products from their Skincare Line. Enter to Win!

makeup loves me has some news about this next episode of gossip girl! and no, it’s not dorota’s secret…

Only one week left to enter the giveaway hosted by More than a Pretty Face for all nine shades of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics’ newly launched Lip Tar collection. Lip Tar sold out at its launch at The Makeup Show in NYC last month.

The girls over at Beauty in Real Life let you in on Bobbi Brown’s new Nautical Collection. Check it out here!! And while you are there don’t forget to enter their Pureology Giveaway!!

Beauty Beast reviews both limited edition scents from the new Kohdo Wood fragrance collection by Jo Malone.

Face Candy shows you some makeup brushes that are eco-friendly.

Beauty411 loves Kate Somerville’s newest product, ExfoliKate Body Intensive Exfoliating Treatment. Check out her review here!

In honor of Earth Week, Spoiled Pretty is hosting a week’s worth of green giveaways. Enter to win eco-chic sunglasses…and beauty booty from Cargo PlantLove, John Masters Organics, Samy, Tarte, Zoya, Kaia, and Burt’s Bees!

The Shades Of U is GIVING AWAY prizes from Aminogenesis Dermascyne Wrinkle Arrest and Health Dropz Beverage Booster! Enter to win!

Enter Indian Girl’s Complete Skin Care Giveaway : Three lucky readers will receive the complete set of products from Biore Skin Preservation Line. Enter Today !

Temptalia shows you how to create the cat eye

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TotalBeauty.com
Real-Woman Tutorial: Perfect Eyeliner

Quick and easy tips for a perfect cat eye, liquid liner and more – brought to you by fellow blogger Temptalia

Real-Woman Tutorial: Perfect Eyeliner

This tutorial is designed to show you step-by-step how to line your upper lash line and wing out the liner subtly, which is typically called a cat-eye. Check out these tips and you’ll be on your way to perfectly-lined eyes in no time.

See how-to