Category: cosmetics

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.

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.

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

Be Prepared

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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)

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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.