I am totally in love with the Smashbox Cosmetics primer - the stuff that goes on under your foundation. To be perfectly honest, I used to think all that was just hype and marketing ploys to get your extra $25 bucks, but as I get older…omg 37 in less than a month….I now realize that the primer is really the key to making your foundation look how it is supposed to look. Similar to a painting project - if you don’t do your ‘groundwork’ you will end up looking crazy with straight up foundation smeared all over your face and uneven.

Want an even more tasty tidbit? Smashbox Cosmetics is owned by Max Factor - so at least they know their stuff…even though I can’t say I am a fan of anything under the name Max Factor, until now I suppose.

Speaking of Smashbox, I also have a eyeshadow duo from Smashbox, but I don’t really see anything fabulous about it, I’m just going to stick with my MAC for now.

Technorati Tags: eyeshadow, foundation-primer, Make Up, max-factor, Product-Reviews, Smashbox-Cosmetics

woo hoo it’s promo time aka “holiday’ here in the good ol US of A…which means great deals on free shipping and not having to look high and low for that particular shade of whatever that you want to find in your makeup bag!

Here is the first promos to go out from M•A•C (and no, I do NOT get paid for these posts, I just write about what is working good on me at the time) and it is the Fabulous M•A•C Holiday: The Viva Glam Cool or Warm palattes

with the new (IMO a juicy couture knockoff logo attempt) royal graphic logo on the cover. The good part is always saved for last…FREE shipping on every one of these within the US and online ONLY with code VIVA7 at checkout, and every single cent of each purchase goes to the M•A•C AIDS fund to help men,

women and children living with HIV./AIDS. It’s a great program, with a great free shipping incentive, so go glam up and get good.

Promotion ends Nov 10 2007

Technorati Tags: Coupon Codes, holiday-collection, mac-helps-men-women-and-children-living-with-aids/hiv, Make Up, M•A•C, viva-glam

You know those super cute metallic studded hobo bags on all the celebs last season with the skull design? That was the doing of Alexander McQueen, the Tim Burton of the Fashion industry if you will (credit. moi of course). McQueen for MAC is a super cute shocking bright turquoisy, lime & sapphire type blue with fleshy toned lips to brighten your dreary fall day - I cheated and bought the Loreal HIP knockoff color pots in lieu of the MAC prices (yea, I got 6 colors in the same shade for under 20 bucks) BUT here is your chance, and mine, to actually WIN the authentic stuff! It includes limited edition shadows, lippy, mineralize face, eyeliners and a cute McQueen patent leather case with the skull design on it sponsored by Net-A-Porter (who finally invested in a fast server - thank GOD). Anyway, click here to enter - contest ends Dec 8, but hopefully the trend will not be out of style by then! Click here to enter and GOOD LUCK!

Technorati Tags: contests, Coupon Codes, fall-07, lipglass, mac-cosmetics, Make Up, McQueen-for-Mac, mineralize-face

Ok, I am in love. I got a case of brow shadow from Sebastian’s Trucco lHi Brow from the Dollface line/collection - my first time trying anything from that line…but OMG I think I am officially going to break up with Anastasia AND Eliza. My hear belongs to you, Trucco!

Technorati Tags: anastasia-brows, arched-brows, eliza, everything-brows, Eyebrows, high-brow-trio, Make Up, Product-Reviews, sebastian-trucco

I think I’m too old for most of the Benefit stuff…it really sucks too because the packaging is so fun and cute, but with the exception of Benefit F Y Eye, it just doesn’t work. Take for example one of the signature products BeneTint. Conceptually, it is great. In a varnish type bottle, it will give your cheeks and lips instant glow - a very oh so natural glow…unless you are in your mid to late 30’s like me lol. The first thing I did when I got my Benetint home was spill half the contents on my bathroom vanity (it didn’t stain) and then in an attempt to make it all ok, experimented with the tint itself - with disappointing results.

I do think however, that if you have younger supple skin, it would really look amazing. Can someone with that skintype give a better review? Swapping my half-full bottle on MakeUpAlley if interested…

Technorati Tags: Benefit, benetint, blush, macys, Make Up, Product-Reviews, tinted-blush

Staci, Chastity and I got up super early this morning to check out the new fall lineup from all the different lines. It was fun - they served mimosa’s & had little breakfast boxes with fruit, yogurt & muffins and a cute train case full of samples. The makeovers were booked with MAC - and I totally messed up by being a control freak and asking for Russian Red only because I saw it on Kat Von D and thought it super cute, and it is…on her. Not me. blah. Staci’s makeup was way cute and so was Chastity’s - they had the cat eye smokey eye combos with nice sheer lipglass. My mom said she didn’t like my makeup color choices either - I don’t know, it just didn’t match or something. I did end up buying the MAC mineralize foundation though - I will be sure to give a review as soon as I’ve worn it for a bit. Oh! I forgot that they put on some falsies too - AND charged me $11 bucks for some lashes I totally could have bought at CVS for 2 bucks. blah again.

Technorati Tags: fake-eyelashes, foundation, kat-von-d, MAC, macys, Make Up, makeup, pigment, Product-Reviews, red-lipstick, russian-red, smokey-eye, SpaBlog

Once again, MakeupAlley comes thru in hooking up another lovely swapper to hook me up with Benefit’s eye primer. This stuff really is super matte but not drying, and allows your eyeshadow or liner to stick to the lid and not crease by lunchtime (which is important for us 30-somethings!)…but the best part of all? It’s not drying, even though its mattifying.

Kinda strange how that works, but hey, it does so I’m gonna roll with it. It takes a bit more saturation on the cotton swab to remove it completely but that’s really a tiny price to pay for a great working product - especially since where the shadow creases in your 30’s is in your crows eyes too! As soon as I find some deals on Benefit stuff I will let you know - for now I think the only place to get it is at Sephora.

Technorati Tags: Benefit, crows-feet, eyeshadow-creasing, eyeshadow-primer, Make Up, matte-primer, Product-Reviews, sephora

I love this girl - her posts are way informative, funny and down to the bone honest. Check her out:

Technorati Tags: Eyelashes, lashes, MAC-makeup, Make Up, mexilana, Product-Reviews

A tutorial on how to apply false eyelashes:

Technorati Tags: Eyelashes, fake-eyelashes, how-to-apply-false-eyelashes, lashes, Make Up, mascara

This has got to be one of my favorite times of year - the Vogue Fall edition that is encyclopedia huge, and brand new trends for the upcoming season…which is going to be All about Film Noir this year. Think Veronica Lake, Rita Hayworth and Lauren Bacall. Tres Fab…and this month I’m going to be blogging all about it.

Shadows in deep aubergines, plums & smokey grays are going to be HOT, but you can’t forget about your striking lashes - this month is going to be ALL about lashes. Get ready boys…the girls are about to get vampy!

Technorati Tags: Eyelashes, eyeshadow, fall-2007, Make Up, makeup-trends, mascara

My aunt once told me “people with acne should never wear blush” - I was 12, ridden with adolescent zits and had a healthy dose of the cheapest pink blush in the county. I have not ventured into the blush realm since…until recently.

You see, I am 36 years old now, sans acne and somehow, the entire concept of blushing just seems so…young.

And so, the existence of how-to’s with blush come charging into focus. I’m obsessed with finding the perfect blush…and how to apply it. In rotation thusfar on my quest to find the perfect blossoming cheeks, are Bare Escentuals mineral blush, MAC cosmetics, Bobbi Brown, and Laura Mercier.

I bought the Bare Escentuals blush at ULTA and while the salesperson there was extremely nice, she wasn’t very helpful, and I ended up buying totally the wrong color.  Of course, I didn’t realize it was the wrong color until friends  ‘intervened’ and let me know. Fortunately I was able to swap it out successfully on MakeUpAlley.com

I also think the Bobbi Brown color is wrong. I had a professional consultation and makeover at the Macy’s counter, but still, it just doesn’t seem right. I think it’s past the return date, but I still have the box and the receipt so maybe I will see if I can at least exchange it out.

The Laura Mercier blush came in a pack of 4 in a holiday bookset that I was gifted, and while two of the pots seem to make a good bronzer, the other two pinky corals just don’t seem to work.

MAC - well, what can I say? It’s MAC, and it looks ok, but it looks like blush. And I don’t want to look like I’m wearing blush, I want to look younger and blushing.

Now that the colors have all not worked for me, we can move on to blush brushes, which I suppose I can’t really give a fair shot at review until I find the correct shade of blush.

Needless to say, everytime I see a failed attempt at blush, I can hear my aunt’s voice washing over me like a mirage in the desert…but I’m not giving up. I’m going to give it my all until I find the perfect shade for me. And I will look younger, even if I’m old by the time I find it.

Technorati Tags: acne, applying_makeup, bare-escentuals, bare_escentuals, beauty_reviews, best_makeup, bobbi-brown, bronzer, corals, correct_shade, laura_mercier, look_younger, mac_cosmetics, Make Up, makeupalley, mineral_blush, pink_blush, Product-Reviews, professional_consultation, SpaBlog, zits

ok, I promise this will be my last youtube scavenger post for the night. BUT I had to share this because it super-rocks, it has a soundtrack to the PussyCat Dolls (which is much more interesting that listening to someone stumble on works with bad sound quality) and is a cute & quirky presentation on using MAC pigments in application. HoochieEyes in less than 2 minutes!

Technorati Tags: blue-eyeshadow, MAC-makeup, MAC-pigment, Make Up, makeup-tutorials, SpaBlog

I was surfing youtube.com for makeup tutorials (totally didn’t find any that were of any use) but I did find this cute video of a fellow product junkie, such as moi. It feels good to not be alone!

Technorati Tags: Make Up, makeup-addict, SpaBlog

Ok so I totally have to shout out Rosalinda Macias of MakeupbyRosalinda.com for being probably one of the best makeup artists I have ever met, word up. On top of that, she does amazing skintone evening for us darker shade girls, which is almost impossible to come by. I know that I use any number of base foundations depending on 1.) how old I am, 2.) what season it is and 3.) How much money I’ve got at the time. No lie. I’ve worn everything from Covergirl to Shu Uemera and probably everything in between, and have never found anything that ever worked the same two seasons in a row. Maybe some of the other girls can chime in and give some opinions since I have been known to have makeup ADD.

I have GOT to get Rosa to start being active on this site. The brown skin girls need you Rosalinda!!!

Technorati Tags: best_makeup, brown_skin_girls, concealer, covergirl, dark-skin-makeup, foundations, Make Up, makeup-for-ethnic-brown-skin, makeup_artists, Rosalinda, shu_uemera, SpaLinks

Please disregard my tranny friendly brows (courtesy of the Anastasia Brow Stencils prior to Victoria from Anastasia Nordstrom’s Topgana fixing them). Anyway…the photo is me wearing MAC pigments in Rose Gold, Dark Soul and Old Gold with a touch of cocoa. I applied it with a basic mac blending brush (it’s so old that it doesn’t show the number any longer) . Oh! And I used basic water to mix the pigments with - I think that if I had some mixing medium it might have come out looking a bit more tranny-friendly and bright! LOL.

And do you notice that dark dot on my right side of my cheek? Ya. It was a fly tattoo breauty mark that I had inked in at some south central LA nail shop back in 1994 when for whatever reason, I thought it was fly. And now looks like melanoma. Lesson Learn girlies = don’t assume your decisions in your 20’s won’t take the first given opportunity to make you look like a big dummy when your in your 30’s. Just a friendly public service announcement from Spa-View.com

Technorati Tags: Eyebrows, Make Up, Product-Reviews