Think We're Getting Maui'ed...
Just got back from a location scouting trip to Maui, and I am going through some serious beach withdrawals. At least I know if all goes well, I'll be back on that beautiful island in a year for my wedding. And at least I'll always have my pictures when I start to miss this view:
Beaches call for a truly tailored makeup routine, given the sweatiness and saltiness of it all. I lived in 2 coats of mascara, gloss and the occassional sweep of bronzer the entire 8 days I was in Hawaii. I snapped this picture for my Instagram (@gloss_e) and was asked what lip color I was wearing - it's Buxom lipgloss in Sugar. This is my fool-proof go-to gloss - it looks great ANYwhere you wear it. From the Beach to the Ballroom, it just works.
Because I'm going through my beach withdrawals, I spent the entire afternoon trying to recreate this look and recapture that vacation feeling with three new gloses that are included in
Sephora's "Give Me Some Lip" collection (which is back in stock!!). I played with:
- Bite Beauty Lip Shine in Vintage (sheer mauve)
- Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Baby Doll (soft pink shimmer)
- Tarte LipSurgence Natural Matte Lip Tint in Hope (warm rose)
This Bite Beauty Lip Shine had a faint cherry Starburst smell when I first applied it to my lips - I loved it! It's a slight shade darker than my natural lipcolor, and had a nice shine to it.
Laura Mercier's Lip Glace in Baby Doll had more sparkles than the Bite gloss, so it looks more shiny in pictures.
The Tarte LipSurgence color is matte - I'm a gloss girl, but this formula would probably be fabulous on a windy beach. It has great staying-power and hasn't dried my lips out yet. I've had it on for four hours, and that's usually enough time for my lips to acheieve Sahara Staus.
Sad to say this little exercise didn't help me feel like I was in Maui again, but I was psyched to finally dig into this box. It's been sitting on my bathroom counter tormeting me with its pretty shiny packaging. Was definitley worth the wait, and I'm looking forward to trying out the rest of the lippies.
Labels: Bite, Laura Mercier, Sephora, Tarte
My Latest From Sephora
Two of my most recent (and most coveted!) Sephora purchases are pictured here. I'm so excited to dive into their latest
Give Me Some Lip collection. Sephora, Bite, Laura Mercier, Hourglass, Tarte AND Fresh all in one package?! Give me some lip NOW! I've been dying to experiment with some of these brands, and love the ones that I've already tried. Given my addict status, I'm super proud of myself for holding out on opening all of these, but I have one too many Buxom glosses to finish up :)
The other product I'm featuring in this post (in the first picture, with my doggy brother, Hercules :) is
Korres' Volcanic Minerals Mascara. This stuff ROCKS (pun intended). It makes my lashes super dark and super thick. I haven't experienced the curl ability that other reviewers have been raving about, but its' other abilities more than make up for it. In the picture above, I'm wearing 2-3 coats on my top and lower lashes, and not much else. When a mascara defines your lashes this well, you don't need much more to draw attention to your eyes.
I love this picture of Hercules and I, by the way. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram (@gloss_e), you know that I'm a certified crazy dog lady. Dogs just love you so much and so unconditionally, I think we can all take a queue from them. On that note, I'm gonna go take mine for a quick walk, otherwise, we'd be like this all day:
Labels: Bite, Fresh, Hourglass, Korres, Laura Mercier, Sephora, Tarte
Glossed up for Grandma's!
Close-Up of Tonya on my lips:
My boyfriend's grandma celebrated her 90th birthday this past weekend - how amazing is that?! She's one of the funniest, toughest, most blunt people I know and I just hope I have an ounce of her personality when I'm 90. Her party colors were brown and pink, so I thought it was most appropriate to celebrate with pink gloss. Buxom is my absolute favorite line of gloss (for its moisturizing, plumping and coloring powers) and I chose the color Tonya for this party. Check it out/buy it
here. It's described as a 'hot pink sparkle' on Sephora's site, but it's actually more mild on. Very wearable, but still super fun.
Labels: Buxom, lipgloss, Sephora
Delux Beauty: An Oldie But Goodie
So I KNOW there are rules on how long you should keep your makeup, and the majority of my stuff is used up or thrown out well before their expiration date, but there are some products I just can't bear the thought of letting go of.
Do any of you remember Delux Beauty? It was the brainchild of Jillian Dempsey (yes, McDreamy's wifey) and also the brand that kicked off my addiction to lipglosses (McDAMN you!). Eight years ago, I stumbled on their pocket-sized glosses on my first trip to Sephora Times Square and fell madly in love with their portability and shineability. I had to have it in every shade, and pretty much succeeded with the endeavor. And though none of the glosses remain in my collection (I used 'em up!), I've managed to hold on to this little lip/cheek stain from the line:
I collected this on my first trip to Sephora Miami 4 years ago. It's funny how Sephora is always a point in my travel itineraries, even though I frequent the San Francisco stores like every other week...but I digress...what I love about this stuff is it's cute, compact and colorful. Plus it's a lip/cheek product so it's multi-talented. It's everything I want to be in makeup form!
And I'm really good at keeping the surface clean and anti-bacterialized. But to prove how old it is, check out the encrusted liner from sharpeners that have busted open in my makeup bags against my will through the years. Beauty battle scars, as I like to call them.
Anyway, I just can't let go of you, little one. You impart the perfect just-pinched glow from a perfect pint-sized package. And even though your line no longer exists, so you're technically extinct and that makes you a dinosaur in beauty terms, you'll always have a place in my heart (or rather, on my cheeks and sometimes on my lips).
Labels: Delux, Sephora
Put A Ring On It
Lately, I've been on the lookout for cool turquoise rings. Along with my new-found openness to brighter hued glosses, I think it's just another side effect of severe summer fever. This weekend was a gorgeous one in the SF East Bay, and I felt especially inpsired. To embrace my inner sun goddess, I experimented with stacking these two rings (long one is vintage, teardrop is from Target) and trying on a new eyeliner look. This is
Sephora's Nano liner in Silver Green, courtesy of their Birthday freebies for Beauty Insiders. Paired with my new rings, it has a cool, sea-breezy effect. I'm also still experimenting with my Stila Smile in Style set. In these pictures, I'm sporting the Fruit Punch color.
Labels: Sephora, Stila
More Fun with Bronzers
I wanted to take a minute to explain my last post, in case it seemed random and more self-indulgent than usual. No, I haven't fallen in love with ginormous, close-up photos of myself! I had to employ the "extra large" option on Blogger to get a better quality shot of the everyday smokey eye that I do. I posted it on Sephora's blog because they were having a contest. Don't think I won, but it's all good!
So on to today's makeup adventure -- I'm still spending quality time with the Best in Bronze kit and the next item I experimented with was the Korres bronzer in sunglow light. I already own the darker shade, so I was curious to see how this compared. I like this lighter shade better. To give you an idea of how the color applies, here's a before and after.
All pasty w/no bronzer, but w/earphones. (Sarah & Vinnie on 97.3 are my favorite morning show right now! Can't go a day without tuning in ... thank God for the Nano radio!)
And here I am with the bronzer on:
It just adds a touch of warmth and does a great job of reducing my pinkiness. Nothing overdone, perfect for work. Plus this powder formula is actually moisturizing. I've never broken out from using the darker shade, so as far as I'm concerned, this stuff is awesome.
Here's hoping mother nature will take a break from crying over the Bay Area soon so I can get an ACTUAL tan on! I'm off to LA in two weeks, and I want to look like I belong!
Labels: Korres, Sephora
Smokey for Sephora!
I do a smokey eye with greys and plums that's heavier on the lids/lighter on the lower lashline than a traditional smokey eye. Instead of heavy shadows for the lower lashline, I use a kohl liner. The result is polished enough for a big meeeting, but edgy enough to stand out. I use Korres and Too Faced shadows, plus Make Up For Ever liners for this look.
tools of the smokey trade:
Labels: Korres, Make Up For Ever, Sephora, Too Faced
Sephora's Bronzer Buffet
I love it when it feels like a product was designed specifically with me in mind.
Sephora's Best in Bronze Deluxe Sampler is the embodiment of the EXACT way I like to consume makeup: in small, affordable batches. Unless I'm madly in love with a product (like I am with Too Faced Lock Down), I never go through an entire thing. I'd rather sample a whole bunch of products, it's just more fun that way. And while we're on this subject, this is basically how I like to go about consuming life in general: I like to get a sampling taste of everything, keeps things fresh. This will all make sense in September :)
But more on that later. Take a look at all the goodies housed in this Bronzer Buffet:
On Saturday, I tested out two of the items and they lasted all day long on a tourista-inspired excursion through San Francisco with my sis. Will post more on that as soon as I get her pictures. Here's the Tarte EmphasEYES Waterproof Clay Shadow Liner in Bronze. I put it all over my lid for a heavy liner look:
Like I said, it lasted all day running around in SF, with alternate windy/misty/muggy/down-right HOT weather, depending on what part of the city we were in (gotta love our microclimates)
Here's the Too Faced Pink Leopard Bronzing Powder, with little Domino peeking out from behind it. He is a curious little soul:
I thought this was pretty on first application (it has a gorgeous luminous effect), but it settled into my fine lines by the end of the day. Also, warning to all the sensitive gals out there, this has a rose fragrance, so if you're allergic, steer clear! The Pink tones in this product were pretty pronounced on my face, so I would peg this as more of a deep blush than a bronzer:
I'm excited to try out the rest of the kit -- and you'll see it all documented here in case you were wondering about getting it.
Labels: Sephora, Tarte, Too Faced
Weekend Prep
This weekend I get to help my friend with a SUPER exciting new project. She asked me to model (so flattered!!!) for a vintage clothing website she's launching in a few weeks. You can get a sneak peak at a few of the items and close-ups of patterns here:
http://goldengrey.tumblr.com/
And though I'm digging the non-retouched trend taking over the glossies (a la Jessica Simpson's Marie Claire cover & spread), I'm planning to beg her to photoshop the hell out of my stomach. Unless I can figure out a solution by the photoshoot on Sunday. Akkkkk! Do you sassy ladies know of any de-bloating tricks?
On a lighter note, I might consider getting a mani/pedi in preparation for the shoot. The last one I had was in August of last year, so it's been a while. It's probably necessary at this point. Currently, my tosies are done up in OPI x Sephora's Under My Trenchcoat, wonder if this color is too dark for the shoot? Shoot, shoot, shoot - I can't say that word enough! I'm so excited!
On another lighter note, I finally saved up enough MAC to do a trade-in. I chose a Dazzleglass Creme - Soft Dazzle. What do you think? Since gloss tends to get everywhere fast, I probably won't bring this to the ... shoot ... but it just seemed like a color that needed to become a part of my collection.
Labels: MAC, Opi, Sephora
My Sephora VIB Wish List
Awwwww yeah!!! Look what came in the mail yesterday. Guess someone's going shopping this weekend.
It's dangerous for me to step foot into a Sephora without a set agenda, so I'm making this a premeditated shopping trip. Observe le liste:
-
NARS So Famous set
-
NARS Lipgloss set ... been eyeing this since last Holiday
-
Korres Lip Butter in Jasmine - one of my staples
-
Tarte MultiplEYE Lash Enhancer
- More colors of
Benefit's Creaseless Cream Shadows. During Easter weekend, I bought my first color, Get Figgy (kept calling it 'Get Figgy With It' at Macy's). I'm using it as both an eyeshadow and a contouring blush today.
Obviously, my wish list needs some editing. And after it's been edited, my list will need a fat reality check. I can realistically afford 1 - 2 things on here ... I'm open to suggestions on what to pick up and what to forget, my lovelies.
Labels: Benefit, Korres, Nars, Sephora, Tarte
Under My Trenchcoat
On Valentine's Day, I picked up my first bottle of OPI x Sephora polish in
Under My Trenchcoat. It's a shame that I don't actually own a trenchcoat, because this post could've been A LOT more fun, if ya catch my drift ;) Instead you'll have to settle for these attempts to take UNDERcover pictures of my nails ...
while in a meeting.
en route to the gym.
and on the platform waiting for my train.
It's a cool khaki grey color with little bits of gold shimmer. Kinda fun, but I think I'd like it better on my toes. Given that open-toe shoe season feels months and months away, I'll have to save that for another post.
Labels: Nail Polish, Opi, Sephora
VIB Status
Thanks to my VIB (Very Important Beauty Insider) status at Sephora, I spent my entire Sunday shopping for gorgeous Christmas presents for my VIP friends. All VIBs received a code/coupon for 20% off at Sephora & Sephora.com (TWENTY percent!!) I LOVE special-invitation shopping events. Am a sucker for them ... so rest assured I went to town. I can't reveal everything I bought, because like I said, l bought a ton of presents, but I made sure to pick up a few stocking stuffers for myself:
MAKE UP FOREVER Khol Pencil in Black 1. I've been wanting to experiment with a more smudged liner look, and I think the kohl pencils are the best tools of the trade for this. I've heard great things about Chanel's kohl pencil, but because of my affinity for MUFE's Aqua Eyes, I feel I owe to the brand to give their kohl a shot. So excited!
Tarte Crown Jewels Lipgloss Multi-Gift Set: I've been eyeing this forevs. It's a set of 15 glosses (FIFTEEN!!!) crowned with Sephora's Natural Seal of approval. I never dissect the list of ingredients before purchasing a lipgloss, but I'd like to start making this a habit. Think about how long that stuff sits on our lips and how much of it we accidentally ingest. It might as well be non-toxic. On a happier note, these beauties are packaged five to a box, so I technically have 2 sets to give away and 1 to keep for myself. I plan to mix & match my gift boxes so my friends get a nice collection of neutrals, berries and glitter shades. I'm going to be the BEST Santa EVER!!
Too Faced LOCKDOWN Ultimate Creaseless Cream Eye Shadow in Bedroom Eyes. You've seen this product in so many past entries, surely you know I'd jump at the chance to stock up at a discount. I didn't buy more than one tube though, for two reasons:
1) 1 tube lasts a century, so the unused tubes would sit idle and when this happens ... (continue to #2!)
2) the formula tends to "separate" when not in use. The oilier ingredient separates from the pigment and you have to shake the tube before it's wearable. It's sort of a pain, so one tube for now ... still juiced though!!
Expect a full report when the goods come in.
Labels: Make Up For Ever, Sephora, Tarte, Too Faced
Need this Now!
It's
Givenchy's Gloss Interdit Ultra-Shiny Color Plumping Effect. I checked out the product in-store, but decided to wait on the purchase until I had a chance to read the reviews online. Now I'm kicking myself because consumers love the hell out of this gloss!
An open letter to Sephora --
Dear Sephora,
If you're out there reading this, I think you should find a way to feed online customer reviews in your brick & mortar stores. You know the majority of the reviews are positive, so this won't be destructive to your business. Many times, your employees don't have an opinion on a specific product that customers are interested in. (Me: Can you tell me anything about this Givenchy gloss? Sephora Rep: Well I don't use it personally, but I've heard good things ...) It's nothing against your staff -- there are a million products out there, it's hard for even addicts like me to keep up! It would just be really helpful to be able to reference other consumer's perspectives in the store.
I remain your loyal devotee and you, my house of worship,
EBoogie
Labels: Givenchy, lipgloss, Sephora
Blush My Blues Away
I've gotten a few compliments on my blush today - so it was super easy to pick today's topic. I'm wearing
Cargo Plant Love Blush in Peony. It's part of the Sephora Naturally Gorgeous kit that I talked about in my last post.
I'm sort of going through a rough patch at work, but my MO has always been look good, feel good. So, shallow as it seems, I put my best face forward with shimmery, apricot dusted cheeks. And it's actually making a difference!
Labels: Plant Love, Sephora
Napa Day
Just spent the entire day in Napa with my boyfriend celebrating our 11 year anniversary. I love knowing I'm 30 mins away from a place that feels a world away from home. We ate at
Bouchon, enjoyed some wine tasting at
Merryvale Vineyards and shopped it up at the
Napa Premium Outlets.
I made out like a bandit at The Cosmetics Company Store. Check out the goods:
Picked up a pair of
MAC 7 lashes ($8.50 vs. $13 full price!) and
Bobbi Brown Cream Shadow in Galaxy ($15.50 vs. $22 retail).
I got dolled up with almost all the products in
Sephora's Naturally Gorgeous kit (I am pretty loyal to that kit right now). You can't really see the result of all that great product, but here's a picture of me & the mister:
Labels: Bobbi Brown, MAC, Sephora
