Author: Cold Cream 'n' Roses

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

LongerThickerBetter Part IV

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This article Mad for Mascara: Latest and Greatest from Fashion Wire Daily (via Yahoo!) critiques some of the mascara innovations already discussed on this blog (LongerThickerBetter Part I, Part II, and Part III) such as the oscillating mascaras from Estee Lauder and Lancome.

Also reviewed are Imju’s FiberWig, tube mascaras such as Kevyn Aucoin Volume mascara and Too Faced’s new Lash Injection Pinpoint, and Givenchy Phenomen’eyes with its spherical wand (supposedly for coating each eyelash).


Givenchy Phenomen’eyes mascara

Most intriguing is the advice about Maybelline’s Great Lash mascara. Although Allure has put Great Lash mascara in its cosmetics Hall of Fame, I find Great Lash a terrible mascara, as it smears. Makeup artist Craig Jessup recommends “aging” Great Lash by waiting two or three weeks after opening to let it dry some.

Give ’em the boot

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Boots

As I promise myself every summer that I’ll get a pedicure, every fall/winter season, I promise that I’ll get a pair of boots to wear with my below-the-knee length skirts. Here’s a selection of favorites that I posted to ThisNext.

Alas, the Prada degradé riding boot is out of my budget.

Any of these boots would provide a counterbalance to the heft of Utilikilts!

butter LONDON pedi

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

Every summer, I promise myself that I’ll get a pedicure, but the summer goes by and no pedicure. Until this summer. I was in Seattle, boarding the Monorail at Westlake Center, where I noticed a butter LONDON salon. Sensing a beauty story, I decided to go in and get that pedicure while I was in Seattle.

The butter London pedi doesn’t involve soaking the feet. Instead, the technician wiped my feet clean with a spray and disposable cloth. More hygienic, she said. She then applied Rock Off callous remover on my heels, and then wrapped my heels in Saran wrap. No shaving of calloused skin. She also applied Melt Away Cuticle Eliminator to my toes. After those treatments were complete, she removed the Saran wrap and wiped my feet clean.


butter LONDON 3 Free Lacquer in The Full Monty

I was now ready to have my toenails painted. First, the technician applied the beige-y Nail Foundation Base Coat. I eschewed the faddish blue nail polishes and instead went for a shimmery opaque antique-y gold shade (it goes beautifully with my bronze leather NAOT sandals). Finally, the technician applied Hardwear P.D. Quick Topcoat.

I was so smitten, I bought Rock Off, Melt Away, Stiletto Stick, and Lemongrass Sage Hand & Nail Cream. butter London has nail salons in the U.S., including at SeaTac airport in Seattle and Dulles Airport near Washington, DC. You may also shop butter London at Beauty.com.

Scooped!

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Beauty411 scooped this item:

Jemma Kidd, Napoleon Perdis & Pixi Cosmetics now at Target!
You can now shop for the new cosmetics lines online at target.com. Apparently, the products are already available at some Target stores (another tribute to Target’s erratic stocking). I checked yesterday at the Target store in Reston, VA where I shop and found that two shelves were cleared, presumably making way for the new lines.

The Makeup Divas published this item before I had a chance to blog on it:

CVS To Open Beauty 360 stores
These stores will feature high-end brands. The first is due to open later this year. I’ll wait and see if this concept is a success. Boots had a similar concept in the UK called Pure Beauty and it crashed and burned.

UTILIKILTS! How would you style your outfit?

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Last week, when I was in Seattle, I visited the UTILIKILTS store near Pioneer Square. Utilikilts have gotten a lot of media attention. These are kilts for men, but instead of plaid tartan kilts, these kilts come in utilitarian fabrics such as cotton twill, denim, and heavy canvas, such as that used by Carhartt. Utilikilts also feature a lot of cargo pockets and other features.


Workman’s Utilikilt

Utilikilts aren’t designed for women, although women do buy them and wear them. Utilikilts are cut straight, so you have to wear them low on your hips. What would you style around a Utilikilt?

Oh, and BTW the Utilikilts store doesn’t have any dressing rooms. The salesman (OK, I can use gender-specific language) told me to wrap and fasten the Utilikilt over my jeans and then “drop trou”! Hoot mon!

LORAC Double Feature

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Concealers are the most frustrating cosmetics product for me. I’ve been on a quest to find a concealer that both covers dark circles around my eyes and blends easily so that I have that bright-eyed bushy-tailed look. Am I asking too much? Are these requirements mutually exclusive?

I’ve already reported on wet n wild Color CorRx Eye Brightening Concealer and using beautyblender to blend L’Oreal True Match Concealer. Here’s the latest product that I’ve tried:


LORAC Double Feature Concealer/Highlighter

The concept of LORAC Double Feature is ingenious. It contains a stick concealer with a unique rollerball for blending. It also contains a liquid highlighter using a lip gloss type of wand. All this in one tube.

So how does it perform? The stick concealer is good, but the stick can’t get into the nooks and crannies: for example, the bluish skin between my nose and the inner corner of my eye. I end up dabbing some on the concealer with my ring finger around that location. The rollerball is a novel way of blending concealers that works.

I’m not smitten with the highlighter. I’ve sooner have the control of a powder (either pressed or loose) with a tiny brush or the control of a pencil (for example, the Lightwand Eyebrightener from Mally Beauty) for the inner corner of the eye. A powder and large angle brush are great to highlight the cheekbones, as is NARS The Multiple in Orgasm stick, blended with the fingertips. As a rule, I avoid highlighter on my browbrone, as my eyes are somewhat deep-set.

New line from infomercial queen

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She pioneered the informercial format (in fact, she’s married to Bill Guthy of Guthy-Renker), thus leading the way for the likes of Leslie Blodgett (Bare Escentuals). Then she started a retail line Lola Cosmetics. Now she’s back with a third line, this time sold through direct sales (a la Mary Kay).

Victoria Jackson

She’s Victoria Jackson. So help me, the kits from her latest line remind me of those Pupa sets one sometimes finds at duty-free.

Victoria Jackson Survival Kit
Victoria Jackson Vanity Set

I’ll pass on these.

Jouer relaunched … for real!

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Jouer relaunched

As followers of The Style Page blog know, I’m a fan of Jouer and its unique interlocking compacts. For months, I’ve been eagerly anticipating its relaunch. Now, finally, the wait is over. You can almost hear me breathe a sigh of relief.

Jouer has changed its packaging from white to a more glam black. Moreover, it has greatly expanded its product range to include lipstick, face products, and brushes.

Jouer’s website still has the interactive makeovers featuring women of various ethnicities, for which it was nominated for a Webby Award. Visit http://www.jouercosmetics.com/ to play with the makeovers and view Jouer’s new product range.