Author: Cold Cream 'n' Roses

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

Candy Paint from Carol’s Daughter

Cold Cream 'n' Roses1 Comment

In my review of Trish McEvoy’s Be Prepared Pink Compact, I promised a subsequent post on Candy Paint lip gloss from Carol’s Daughter. Carol’s Daughter is a line of bath, body, hair, and skin care products founded by Lisa Price (she’s Carol’s Daughter). Products are formulated with plant oils. I want to try Carol’s Daughter Leave-in Conditioner in Khoret Amen, after reading Beauty Addict’s review – I love woodsy scents.

Candy Paint lip gloss is the first foray that Carol’s Daughter is making into color. As with other Carol’s Daughter products, it’s formulated with plant oils – a little natural peppermint oil for flavor makes it taste like butter mints.

Sugah Glaze is a clear gloss with shimmer (I hate the name, however, it’s as phony as the accent that Oprah adopted when she told the audience why she was supporting Obama over Hillary), Park Avenue Pink is a pink that’s not cloying or precious, and Hot Mocha is a deep brown.

A portion of the proceeds of sales of Candy Paint go to the Lupus Foundation of America. Lupus is an autoimmune disorder that affects African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans disproportionately. One of my classmates in college had lupus flares that forced her to drop out two semesters: because of the lockstep nature of the engineering program in which we were enrolled, she effectively lost two years of college. So I understand what lupus can do. It’s a worthy cause that Carol’s Daughter is supporting.

You may find Carol’s Daughter Candy Paint at Sephora.com.

Finds from World Market

Cold Cream 'n' Roses3 Comments

I love shopping World Market. It’s what Pier 1 used to be, long before Pier 1 began aping Pottery Barn. I especially enjoy browsing the cookware, fashion accessories, and food departments: Katjes Yoghurt Gum candy from Germany is my current favorite!

I picked up the smaller of these two vases on my last visit to World Market:

It’s ceramic and features the geometric designs characteristic of the Shipibo tribe of Peru. Most examples of Shipibo design feature an off-white background with the designs in black. Some are done on backgrounds of saffron or henna shades. This green is unusual, and beautiful.

On a previous visit, I bought the rectangular sushi plate, below. Instead of using it on the tabletop, I use it to contain my necklaces and bracelets. It’s made in Japan, but the colors and design make me think of mehndi.

Do you get the idea that I like ethnic design motifs?

Pocket reads

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

Every now and then, I like to get away from the topic of beauty and write about something else. Here, I’d like to share three series of books that don’t require major commitments of time to reading and that you can readily fit into your purse.

Very Short Introductions

Very Short Introudctions from Oxford University is a series featuring 160 titles that cover topics in history, philosophy, religion, science, and the humanities. These books feature covers with ombre watercolor illustrations and measure 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches (about 160 pages).

Discoveries

Discoveries is a series of books from publisher Harry N. Abrams, Inc. These books measure 7 x 5 x 0.5 inches and also run about 160 pages. Unlike VSI, however, Discoveries contains many color photographs and other images. A book on Gandhi has other features, such as appendices with his speeches, writings, and commentaries by others.

I found separate kiosks for VSI and Discoveries at a Borders store in St. Louis. You may shop VSI and Discoveries at Amazon.com.

BüK is probably the most unusual series of the three. This series consists of pamphlets that measure 5 x 7 inches and run only about 16-32 pages – according to the web site, reading that can be done in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee. You have to visit the web site to see the odd selection of titles. BüK even offers its pamphlets as hotel room amenities: imagine! Something other to read than the Gideons Bible!

I found a BüK kiosk at a Whole Paycheck, er, Whole Foods Market in St. Louis, but the kiosk would be ideal for point of purchase at a coffeehouse. And how’s this gift set for Valentine’s Day:

BüK Collector’s Kit I

It features a slipcase featuring six BüKs, a package of Hawaiian-grown and roasted coffee beans, and a bright red mug with the BüK logo.

Beautyblender

Cold Cream 'n' Roses
Beautyblender Gift Set

I’ve long been curious about this egg-shaped makeup applicator – will it really improve my makeup application, or is it just a gimmick? I resisted buying this product, as twenty dollars was an absurd amount of money to spend on a makeup sponge. Finally, I decided to buy Beautyblender. After the New York Times published an article saying that we beauty bloggers do what we do for freebies, I want it known that I spend hundreds of dollars on products for review on The Style Page blog.

I’m here to tell you that this is a great product (although I’m waiting for knockoffs that work just as well). The wider end is great for tapping or stippling makeup on one’s checks. The narrow end is great for applying makeup around the eyes and sides of the nose (although Matin, as excellent as his advice was, discouraged this practice). I’ve usually avoided liquid, cream, or stick concealers, as I get frustrated blending them. However, Beautyblender does a great job of blending concealer. BTW my favorite concealer is L’Oreal True Match Concealericon: the brush on the wand is tiny, allowing for precise application.

You may shop for Beautyblender at Amazon.com.

NYX

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

I’m loving this brand of affordable cosmetics, especially for its eye-popping selection of eyeshadows ($5 singles, $7 trios).

NYX is actively courting the Hispanic market by engaging Mexican singer/telenovela actress Maite Perroni as its “face.” (Similarly, MAC had a limited edition lipstick Rubia designed for la chica dorada de Mexico “The Golden Girl of Mexico”Paulina Rubio). But its marketing shouldn’t dissuade non-Hispanics from sampling NYX. Although I have a light complexion and I have a strictly European background, I love sampling cosmetics from lines such as Iman, which are targeted to “women of color.” I’ve always regarded “women of color” strictly as a marketing construct. We are all women of color!

NYX is available through Ulta and various beauty outlets.

Futurenatural

Cold Cream 'n' Roses2 Comments

I received an email from Organic Glamazon alerting me about Futurenatural, which aims to be Sephora for organic and natural beauty products. This online shopping site has been live for less than 2 months.

Brands include Jo Wood Organics (from the wife of Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood), Kimberly Sayer, Mod Skin Labs, Marseilles de Savon, Tsi-La, Suki, Farmaesthetics, Hamadi, and Malie.

As for me, I’m coveting these multi-taskers from Sukicolor:


Suki Pure Cream Stain in Clay

Be Prepared

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

You wouldn’t have guessed that women are eschewing lip gloss for lipstick through the introduction of new products from Trish McEvoy and Carol’s Daughter. This post will deal with the Be Prepared Pink Compact from Trish McEvoy; a subsequent post will deal with Candy Paints from Carol’s Daughter.

Be Prepared Pink Compact from Trish McEvoy

Trish McEvoy is a New York-based makeup artist with an eponymous makeup line. She’s already shrunk makeup palettes to the size of a credit card. Now she’s squeezed eight different shades of lipgloss into this 2″ x 1″ compact. The shades range from faintly there neutrals to bright pinks like Sparkling Pink and Tropical Pink (flamingo pink) … in other words, a whole wardrobe of shades for every mood and outfit. You can carry this compact with you in your purse and “be prepared” for any occasion.

The real meaning of “Be Prepared”? Net proceeds from sale of this compact support Girl Scouting! You can forego Girl Scout cookies (with the exception of Thin Mints and Samoas, my favorites) for this less caloric means of supporting Girl Scouting.

Girl Scouts was the best thing I did while in grade school and possibly in my entire life. Shoutout to my friend Tina:

Tina, if you find this blog, I appreciate all the work that your Mom did as a Girl Scout leader, particularly when she invited me to accompany another Girl Scout troop on its weekend camping trip. Thanks to your Mom, I completed requirements for five merit badges that weekend.

Color them red (or pink or rose brown)

Cold Cream 'n' Roses1 Comment
I’ve already mentioned Bobbi Brown’s advice that the most flattering lip color is two shades darker than your natural lip color. The continuum between light and dark is referred to as value.

This article Color them red (or pink or rose brown) from the San Jose (California) Mercury News deals with another aspect of color, namely hue. The article cites various lip colors such as coral, fuchsia, and red, but Laura Mercier and Linda Wells, Editor-in-chief, Allure agree: the most foolproof color is rose brown.

American Beauty Enduring Beauty™ Longwear Lipcolor

My favorite rose brown? American Beauty Enduring Beauty™ Longwear Lipcolor in Chestnut Rose, sold exclusively at Kohl’s. I wasn’t smitten with American Beauty when it first came out, even though Ashley Judd is the face of American Beauty. I seldom go to the movies and I don’t even have a Netflix membership, so the only time I get to watch movies is on cross-country or overseas flights. Ashley invariably stars in the feature film, whether it’s a tearjerker like Simon Birch or potboilers like Double Jeopardy and High Crimes. It’s almost like she’s become a traveling companion.

Back to the lipstick … it goes on like a cream, that dries to a semi-matte and compares very well with favorite lipsticks such as Besame’s Enchanting Lipstick and MAC’s Satin Lipstick. While I like experimenting with lip glosses and lip stains, these are the lipsticks I like the best.

Three from Laura Mercier

Cold Cream 'n' Roses2 Comments

I’ve always had a soft touch for Laura Mercier. When other cosmetics brands were going for gimmicky products, she’s remained true to making women look beautiful. More to the point, I had a very positive experience at a Laura Mercier counter, when the makeup artist commented that I must be very diligent about sunscreen, as my face didn’t have any lines. Then I told her about my upcoming birthday, and she was amazed!

Anyway, here are product reviews for three of her recent introductions:


Laura Mercier Brow Definer Soft – I get my brows tinted when I go to the salon to get my hair done. However, the brows are resistant to taking color. I’m always on the lookout for products that tint the brows. I’ve become dissatisfied with LORAC’s Brow Wax, as it’s too hard, so I was interested in this product. The Brow Definer is described as an “innovative wax/gel formula,” but I couldn’t find anything innovative about it. It looks and feels like a gel eyeliner, which is no longer a new innovative product.

I purchased this product at bluemercury. I thought that I should use the Warm (brunette) shade, but the saleswoman was adamant that Soft (deep blonde/soft brunette) was right for me. Regardless, the best solution I’ve found to date is taking a cue from the guys: I use moustache wax to define the brows (use a brow brush to brush them into place first); then I apply a brown-black eyeshadow with a stiff angled brush to color the brows.

Laura Mercier Lip Stain Mulberry – This lip stain is a red-plum. When I tried it at bluemercury, I swiped it over my lips. It was bright! The saleswoman told me that the best application is by patting the color onto the lips: in that way, you can build color to your desired intensity.

As with other lip stains I’ve reviewed (Underground by Rimmel, Revlon), well-conditioned lips are necessary to making lip stain feel comfortable on the lips.


Laura Mercier Kohl Eye Pencil Black Gold (not pictured) – I was intrigued by the color. I love metallics, but not pure silver or gold shades. Instead, I prefer pewter shades to silver or bronzy shades to gold. This pencil seemed right up my line.

However, I find eyeliner pencils (except for retractable ones) a nuisance. Is the pencil too hard to use? Then run hot air from a blow dryer over it. Too soft to sharpen? Put in it the fridge or freezer. Then there’s the mess of keeping your sharpeners clean (I used cotton swabs soaked in rubbing alcohol). This pencil is no different, and at $19.00, it’s no bargain, either.

Let’s stop glamorising pregnancy out of wedlock

Cold Cream 'n' Roses6 Comments


Pregnant and unmarried

Call me old-fashioned, but I’m getting tired of the endless parade of celebrities getting pregnant out of wedlock. Beauty Addict has run a series of posts showing magazine covers of pregnant celebrities:

  • Jessica Alba (unmarried)
  • Lily Allen (unmarried)
  • Halle Berry (unmarried)
  • Jennifer Lopez (married!)

No, I am not suggesting that we go back to the days when Ingrid Bergmann left the U.S. because of the relentlessly hostile press she had for conceiving out of wedlock. Media has simply gone too far on the other side of the pendulum, and it’s time to go back to the center. One can’t escape these magazines – these magazines are point of purchase items when one checks out at the cashier.

What sort of example is this giving to young women that pregnancy out of wedlock is desirable? OK, I take marriage seriously – I’ve held to my heart what my father-in-law wrote to me prior to my marriage – that marriage is a sacrament, not merely a contract.

I received negative replies when I posted my opinions on Beauty Addict. Kristen herself said my comments about Halle Berry were “insensitive.” I know Halle Berry’s story: her family abandoned by her father and two wrenching divorces (the first from baseball star David Justice, the second from singer Eric Benet). No wonder that she’s bummed on marriage. Still, this is not reason to emblazon her picture on magazine covers such as InStyle and People (does her publicist have an “in” with Time Warner, which owns both magazines?). Is Halle Berry seeking validation from the magazines’s audiences for her choices?