Category: Beauty

Makeup lessons from Di Kennedy – Updated

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Di Kennedy has excellent detailed lessons online on Color Theory and Smoky Eye Technique.

I wholeheartedly agree with Di that:

In make up we need to consider the context of the colour we are using and take all factors into account. Clothing, hair colour, eye colour, surroundings, season, lighting, the list is endless are all part of the context of our colour choices when applying make up. How a colour is perceived is dependent on the context.

However, I’m not smitten with the emphasis that the face charts give to selecting colours on the basis of eye colour. In addition to the factors that Di cited, complexion (fair to deep) and skin undertones (warm, cool, or neutral) matter much more than eye colour.

Here’s a photo from Di’s web site of Australian beauty queen Sabrina Houssami wearing the classic smoky eye:


Sabrina Houssami

Debuts and retirement

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I received notice that the official U.S. site for YSL Beauté has been launched. Shop for beauty editors’ favorite TOUCHE ECLAT concealer and Opium fragrance. Matt Touch Foundation is a web site exclusive. As for me, I’m interested in the colored mascaras (especially in burgundy). This eyeshadow palette inspired by Opium is beautiful:

OPIUM COLLECTOR PALETTE
For Eyes and Complexion

Online shopping has been launched for Le Métier de Beauté, but only for its Shear Brilliance Lip Gloss. The web site also states that Le Métier de Beauté will launch at Henri Bendel (NYC) in May and at Neiman Marcus (which I fondly call “Needless Markup”) in Atlanta in April, but then it said that the line would be available last month.

Australian cosmetics company Di Kennedy Cosmetics, which I profiled in November 2005, is closing down, as Di is pursuing another venture in cosmetics and beauty consulting. Cosmetics are on sale: get them before they’re gone.

New nail product introductions

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Nail lacquer by Borghese

Those of you who prowl the cosmetics aisles of your local Walgreen’s, CVS, or Rite-Aid might have been surprised to discover a countertop display of nail polishes (with unusual dual brush heads) by Borghese, which had been known as a prestige brand. The beyond 40 beauty blog (found through my BlogRush widget) has done a little research to discover that Borghese has partnered with Del Labs, the parent company for Sally Hansen, to market this line. Similarly, Borghese has a line sold exclusively through Costco called Kirkland Signature™ by Borghese Collection.

On a related subject, Wal-Mart will introduce a line of nail polishes from Italy’s Deborah Group.

North American certification for natural and organic cosmetics

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From Cosmeticsdesign.com comes this article Natural and organic certification developed specifically for cosmetics. Canadian organization Certech Registration Inc. announces certification of cosmetics products as “organic.” The certification rules have the same requirements as those provided by Ecocert, a certification body based in France.

Currently, the only products that Certech Registration Inc. has certified are eaurganic products from Canadian company d’Avicenna. This does not mean other products do not meet Certech’s requirements; it might mean that other companies have not submitted their products for certification. It would be interesting to know what certification costs: for example, a CEO of a small independent cosmetics company told me that one pays $10,000 per year for the Skin Cancer Foundation’s Seal of Recommendation. Certification or recognition therefore would be prohibitive for small companies such as hers.

NSF International, another product certification body, plans to roll out its own rules for organic products this spring, if these rules are agreed upon.

For other articles on The Style Page blog about organic cosmetics, see Who Needs Soy Lecithin? ‘S.T. Lawder,’ Naturally – WSJ.com and Work Initiated on American National Standard for Organic Personal Care Products.

In a subsequent article, I’ll review Organic wear™ 100% Natural Origin Tinted Moisturizer from Physicians Formula. The Organic wear™ line advertises itself as the first Ecocert certified Organic Line of Makeup in the U.S.

Buzz on the OPI India Collection

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While I thought it was ignorant on the part of OPI to use an ad showing a model holding a huge turkey sandwich for its India Collection, I have to agree that the shades are very pretty:



OPI India Collection

It’s also worthwhile to note the buzz that this collection has been getting:

Beauty Anonymous (found through my BlogRush widget) writes:

Lunch at the Delhi looks quite rosy-pink red in the bottle. It delivers a glossy red finish on the nails with pink and coral undertones. Surprisingly, I found the color reflects a warm tone of red shade under natural lights or indoor lights. Unlike the sexy, dominant power of deep reds, bold reds or true reds, Lunch at the Delhi is a soft, sweet tone of red with a girly woman characteristic. I have tried many kinds of red nail colors before from different brands. Lunch at the Delhi is one of the few that suits my complexion nicely, and is appealing to me.

Edwina Ing-Chambers, beauty columnist for FT (which, like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, has discovered the value of lifestyle reporting) writes:

Besides, it turns out that this stuff [blue nail polish] is flying off the shelves. When O.P.I. launched its “Russian Navy” shade of varnish in November, one Manhattan boutique sold 1,800 pots of it in 24 hours and since it launched in the UK it has sold out three times. Plus its new “Yoga-ta Get this Blue” shade – more indigo-ish for spring – is already trotting out of the door.

Ing-Chambers then waxes rhapsodic about Chanel’s Blue Satin, the “it” shade of nail polish for the season. Another blue she likes is Essie’s Aruba Blue (which is unfortunately named, in view of Aruba’s mismanagement of the Natalee Halloway disappearance case):

She describes this as “lighter, brighter, kind of Renaissance tone; Botticelli would probably have loved it.”

Mineral madness

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I was shopping at the mall, when I discovered a kiosk for BellaPierre mineral cosmetics. A young man called out to women asking if they would like makeovers. Most shook their heads and walked on. As editor of The Style Page who’s always on the lookout for a story, I chose to stop.


Promotional material from BellaPierre
scanned by The Style Page

The young man showed me stacks of mineral powders (Pure Colors and True Colors also sell these stacks) and how one could use them for eye shadow, eye liner, lip color, and even nail color, with the help of mixing products such as eye shadow base, lip gloss, and clear nail polish.

Bare Escentuals is the leader in loose mineral powder cosmetics. How could BellaPierre distinguish itself from Bare Escentuals? For one thing, Bellapierre’s powder foundation doesn’t contain bismuth oxychloride, which the young man described as irrtating. Is this true? Check out Paula Begoun’s Special Report on Mineral Makeup, which states:

bismuth oxychloride can cause slight skin irritation (Source: http://www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Bismuth_oxychloride-9923103). Although talc has the same potential for slight irritation, bismuth oxychloride is more likely to cause an allergic contact dermatitis due to its pearlescent nature (Source: http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic502.htm). This is more of a concern when bismuth oxychloride is the main ingredient in a cosmetic, as it is for many mineral makeups.

So maybe there’s something to BellaPierre’s claims, but it seems that its claims are overwrought. I noticed some irritation on my eyelid soon after using BellaPierre’s shimmering mica powders, and wondered if it had to do with the mica particles, but the irritation went away in a day, after I had cleaned all my eyeshadow brushes and applied a little opthalmic ointment to my lid.

Bare Escentuals has associated “mineral” with “pure,” and it’s something that other cosmetics companies have picked up on to market their products. The term “mineral” had referred to loose powders, but now it’s being associated with products such as lipstick, liquid foundation, and pressed powders that contain other ingredients in addition to minerals. Thus, all cosmetics can be considered mineral cosmetics! Be critical, and recognize that “mineral” is just another marketing construct.

I walked away from the BellaPierre kiosk with a stack of 9 shimmering powders – 3 pinky browns of different intensities (great for eye shadow), 1 dark brown, 1 coppery shade, 1 gold, 1 red (great for lip color), 1 white, and 1 black – and two itty-bitty cubes of lip gloss and eye shadow base. The young man claimed that I was getting an additional 5 for the cost of 4, but I attributed that to bogus discounting of already overpriced products. Sixty dollars for 4 tiny cubes of color would be obscene, but sixty dollars for nine at least makes it comparable to the price of $55 that True Colors and Pure Colors charge for a stack of eight. I’m having fun playing with the loose powders, which can be very soft.

Candy Paint from Carol’s Daughter

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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.

Beautyblender

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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

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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

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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