Beauty Chat with Allure Magazine at the HBA Global Expo

The Allure Team and Rebecca of Naomi and Jean, Me, Carla of Fashion Maven Mommy , Diana, and Elaine

HBA 2012 Beauty Enthusiast Panel with Jill Steinbach Friedson

A few weeks ago, I was hand selected by Allure Magazine (the Beauty Bible!) to not only be a Beauty Enthusiast but also to participate on a panel at the 2012 HBA Global Expo last week.
I mean, who gets to sit around and dish on your favorite beauty products in front of your favorite magazine?! Well, I did! I also met fellow Beauty Enthusiasts Carla of Fashion Maven Mommy, Rebecca of Naomi and Jean, Diana and Elaine! I felt like I was at a slumber party but in broad day light! We all are so passionate about beauty products, the energy was nothing short of amazing!

We all gushed over our favorite cosmetics of the moment, why we love them and how we go about seeking our Holy Grail (HG) beauty product. It was so comforting to know that these ladies, like me, want the 411 on new product from our favorite brands ASAP and working with Allure, we were able to spill our secrets on what makes us feel good about your beauty products.

To note, Carla loves Givenchy's Mister Lash Booster, Rebecca loves Youngblood Cosmetic's Luminous Cream Blush in Rose Quartz, Diana loves Dior's Diorshow Mascara, I love Chanel's nail colors and YSL's Touche Eclat and Elaine loves Benefit's Stay Don't Stray.

Special Thanks to the Allure Magazine Team: Jill, Jennifer and Cathleen for the amazing experience!

Summer Hair Switch-up: Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay and Tresemme Naturals

For the past few months I've been prepping my summer regimen for my hair. I have a few boundaries:
- zero fuss and zero frizz
- lots of moisure
- light in texture
- little-to-no heat , just to name a few.
But thanks to Amazon's genius purchasing algorithm, I was intrigued by a product recommendation- Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay and upon further investigation (YouTube and Google), I've come to experience this ah-mazing product. Last Sunday, I mixed 1 cup of the clay with an equal amount of vinegar to create a smooth paste that I applied to my scalp and hair that then dried. Please note, this was terrifying... I just kept thinking of the scene in BeetleJuice when the Lydia had to get married to the B-man and the Maitlands were rapidly aging... anyway here is the scene.

Not this dry

Ok ok, the drying was a bit weird but not too bad once I started to rinse the mask out. My hair and scalp felt like nothing I've ever experienced before when using a hair mask! My hair was so clean that I didn't need to shampoo, I went to my other summer hair saver- Tresemme Naturals Moisture Conditioner.

so. great.

I haven't used Tresemme since high school but once I heard about their Naturals line being free of Silicone, I jumped at the chance to try and I'm loving it!
What are you doing for your summer hair care?

Fab Fuchsia Fun with L'Oreal Color Riche Caresse 173

I think that I've successfully found the THE lip product consistency that I have been looking for for like.. EVER! While hitting up my Target this week, I discovered an almost bare  L'Oreal Color Riche (or Caresse) lipstick. The new colors may be an extension to the Color Riche Balm, but the wider range of colors ( vibrant orange and cherry tones)  has this ahhmazing consistency, its like buttah. Seriously!
 I have had high hopes for other lipcolors when it came to consistency but these take the cake. I picked up #173 Velvety Fuchsia and it wore for at least 2 hours and a cheese burger when I applied 2 swipes with no problem! I really hope that the Rouge Caresse line is a permanent fixture, the display that these lippies were in was demolished! As if there was a memorial day haul in the L'Oreal section and I didn't get the memo!

Anyway, snap these up if you can, I got mine for $7.99 and its going to serve me well for this punchy lip summer.

My date with Revlon at NYC Internet Week

Revlon at Internet Week New York 2012

Before

Revlon Kiss Me Coral Colorburst Lipstick and Brown Sugar Lipbutter

After

Ok, so its not an actual date per se, but I made a date with Revlon yesterday in SoHo at Internet Week New York 2012. My conference intent was to learn but when there is a makeup booth in the building, I'm in line! Revlon just so happened to be a sponsor of the conference and I got in the seat. I requested a "fresh, coral-ly look" and I got more than that. Needless to say, I am sat-is-fied!
I haven't used Revlon in a looong while, I think the last time I used the brand was for their Vixen nail color over 10 years ago. Now knowing that the colors are pigmented without the chalkiness, I think I'll spend a bit more time at their displays.
The MUA used Revlon's PhotoReady Airbrush Mousse in Caramel in the middle of my face and PhotoReady Makeup in Mocha on the exterior. Then I got a rubdown on my cheeks with PhotoReady Cream Blush in Coral Reef on the lips Colorburst Lipbutter in Brown Sugar and Colorburst Lipcolor in Kiss Me Coral.

Thakoon for NARS 2012- Lal Mirchi Nail polish

Thakoon for Nars- Lal Mirchi

I'm wearing Lal Mirchi for brunch at Juliette in Williamsburg.

Last week, I headed over to the west village to check out NARS' Summer collection but ran into some playful friends named the Thakoon for NARS Nail polish collection!  Initially, I didn't think I would like the colors as I thought the blue's were more like the Chanel Denim color palette but I was wrong. These colors are really bold and the polish requires no more than 2 coats.  I was tossed up between one of three colors that I really loved but decided on Lal Mirchi, the "mandarin red" colored polish. The color is true to form and errs slightly on the orange side but not your orange-coral seen all around NYC. As far as wear goes, I've had this on for a week and no chipping as of yet. I just used a clear base and two coats and I was done.