I have a couple of MAC lipsticks – Plum and Bourbon from the limited edition Beauty Icon 3 collection – Catherine Deneuve. These lipsticks are demi-matte in their finish and have a tendency to “grab” and not apply smoothly. I remedied this problem by applying face primer to my lips – it gives “glide” to the application.
When applying lipstick, I finish by swiping lipstick inside my lower lip for a polished look. It also makes lips look fuller.
Korres has its roots in the first homeopathic pharmacy in Athens, Greece. It has since had broad distribution in the United States, particularly through Sephora retail stores and Sephora.com.
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Illuminating Powder contains burnished rose, ivory rose, and gold rose reflective minerals. I use it as a highlighter on top of the cheekbones. To apply:
According to the press materials,
… the rose used to be white until Aphrodite, hurrying to save the dying Adonis, injured herself on thorns and turned the white petals red with blood. Since then, roses are thought to be Aphrodite’s flowers, and they’re symbolic of life, love, the heart and soul.
This is one myth that I didn’t know. I thought that myrtle was Aphrodite’s flower.
The fine print: The PR firm representing Korres provided me with a sample of Korres Wild Rose Mineral Illuminating Powder me. It also provided me with a sample of Korres Colour Lip Butter in Mango, a tinted balm with shea butter and rice wax emollients.
The New York Times had a feature on Bare Escentuals’ much ballyhooed “Be a Force of Beauty” advertising campaign: Beauty Might Not Be Blind, but the Casting Call Was.
According to the NYT:
To find models that represented the elusive notion of beauty, the company held a blind casting call for women ages 20 to 60. Representatives from Bare Escentuals did not see the women who applied until they were selected for the campaign. Instead, they asked more than 270 women to complete a questionnaire about who they were and what they were like.
“My agent wouldn’t even tell me who the company was,” said Keri Shahidi, 42, one of the women chosen for the campaign, because the agent did not want the knowledge to affect her answers. The list was then whittled to 78 women, who were chosen based on their answers to the survey and brought in for interviews with casting agents. That list was reduced to 26 women, and after an a additional round of interviews, five women made the final cut.
Not seeing the women before they were chosen, Ms. Blodgett said, was a bit nerve-racking. “Do you know what a huge risk that is? What if all five of them were blonde, blue-eyed and 30?”
The follow-up trailers suggest that the casting agents screened the women by answers to questionnaires and audio interviews alone – sight unseen. I have a hard time believing that these attractive women were selected through answers to questionnaires and audio interviews alone.
Salma Hayek has made the transition from being a Mexican telenovela actress to being a force to reckon with in Hollywood – nominee for Best Actress Oscar for Frida and producer for Frida and Ugly Betty, which itself was based on a telenovela.
Now she’s rolled out Nuance Salma Hayek, a line of skin, hair, and body care products and cosmetics for CVS. The cover story for the September 2011 issue of Allure gave her an opportunity to promote her line (the line between editorial and advertising in beauty and fashion magazines is razor thin).
Buy one get one 50% off specials, CVS ExtraCare rewards, and $5 rewards for $50 spent on beauty products at CVS provided incentives to buy Nuance Salma Hayek cosmetics.
I tried Color Vibrance Lipstick in My Favorite (a pinky shade) and Paprika. While My Favorite went on smoothly, Paprika had poor color payoff (I seek color payoff when it comes to red lipstick), was uneven in its application, and the color wasn’t true. I returned Paprika to CVS. My husband was surprised that CVS accepts returns on cosmetics.
I’m a sucker for standout packaging, and the Beautiful Blends Eye Quad and Perfect Lips Lip Quad are packaged in a unique pod in which you open the “petals”:
Other interesting products are:
The packaging is adorned with delicate long-stemmed flowers – certainly not the bold designs of her talented brother Sami!
I discovered another use for the YBF Automatic Eyebrow Pencil, but it could work with any taupe-colored pencil. I use it to fill in gaps on my lower eyelashes – simple dot on the eyebrow pencil in the gaps of your eyelashes.
What I’m wearing:
My makeup:
Fashion Fair Cosmetics Appoints Celebrity Makeup Artist Sam Fine as Creative Makeup Director.
This is welcome news. Some while ago, I posted an link on Facebook to a news item about Fashion Fair’s plans to make over its brand. One person said, “About time!”
I had the pleasure of interviewing Sam Fine for this blog: see Part 1 and Part 2 of my interview.
Distributors for Arbonne and Motives by Loren Ridinger are also abusing discussion forums for self-promotion.
Makeup artist and beauty entrepreneur AJ Crimson has worked on projects with many artists and celebrities, including Fergie (more about her in the interview), Sean “Diddy” Combs, and Missy Elliott. His work is featured in fashion and lifestyle magazines worldwide. He is also founder and designer of Kissable Couture, a line he founded in association with co-creator and business partner Keisha Whitaker.
Of all things I do on the blog, I derive the greatest satisfaction from interviewing makeup artists and other creatives in the beauty business. I am pleased to present AJ’s responses to my questions:
1. Could you tell our readers more about your life than what is provided on your website (http://www.ajcrimson.com/)? For example, where did you grow up? Several other makeup artists whom I’ve interviewed told me that growing up in a family of women fostered their interest in makeup. Did your family inspire your interest in makeup?
I grew up in Detroit, but think this may be common knowledge; I have quite a few siblings. Although I was raised as an only child for many years. I have a really great family who are a lot of fun! I have always been imaginative, creative, and analytical. So the mix of creativity and business comes natural to me. I never set out to be a makeup artist but I do believe it was and still is a natural progress for me when compared to the many positions I have held within the entertainment industry. It all plays a role in the overall goal to be one of the leaders in business to revolutionize a new way of execution and delivery of personal interest services.
2. Your website says that you were “creatively self-taught” in the art of makeup. Tell us how you got involved in makeup and taught yourself how to do makeup.
After working for years as an artist development assistant, I often found myself in an art directing capacity. In that role, I need to make sure the vision for the shoot or project was coming to life. This sometimes meant re shopping for the stylist or asking that makeup changes be made. Eventually I went on to work as a stylist then makeup where I found the most relaxation and peace. I was just creating in silence. I never really had to speak which was calming, I became better at it and it grew to be a passion of mine. To transform someone into a striking beauty is an amazing journey from start to finish. The key is allowing the person to still shine through. I really have mastered it. You will see the difference with and without makeup but you will always see the client’s true self.
3. What do you consider to be your first big break as a makeup artist?
The first job that I keyed was with Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas for “Where is the Love.” I learned so much on this project from negotiating fee, hiring hair and makeup staff, working on set, learning to please the artist and the label all at once. Sometimes it can be hectic because everyone has opinions on what the visual should be.
4. Which is your favorite: editorial, celebrity, or video? Why?
I would have to say my 10 page story in Vogue. What a great experience to be on set with the greats in fashion. Anne Leibovitz, Gucci Westman, Grace Coddington, Natalia Vodianova, and Sean “Diddy” Combs. I respect them all so much for their contributions. Their stories and legacy in the industry is living history. I was a part of that moment. My credit in inscribed in a piece of history.
In Part 2 of the interview, AJ talks more about Kissable Couture and his other activities.
Cold Cream 'n' Roses 
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