Gleam Supreme:Topshop Sunrise Highlighter

Topshop Sunrise Highlighter

Sunrise Highlighter swatch with no Flash

Sunrise Highlighter Swatch with Flash

As you may or may not know, highlighters and bronzers are two things I covet when it comes to cosmetics. I think it's because I was too young to appreciate the contouring of the Eighties! I guess now its time to shine!

Topshop brings a highlighter that is part of its permanent makeup line that is truely made for everyone. Sunrise Highlighter can be used as either a cheek lighter or a bronzer, I use it interchangibly as the copper tone of the baked mineral powder works as a highlighter between the apples of my cheek and my temple and for the body, it gives a warm toasty tone of my clavical and shoulders. The product looks baked and the compact fits in the palm of your hand. I know Topshop is opening new stores soon, but not soon enough! You can check this out online at Topshop.com

Oribe Supershine Moisturizing Cream

Hey There! Its officially summer and I'm ready to get busy with lots of reviews on some beloved products that can keep you looking scorching hot without feeling the wrath of the sun!
Up first for summer is my new favorite once a week leave-in conditioning cream and my favorite beauty mistake, Oribe's Supershine Moisturizing Cream!
While traveling in LA in March, I stopped by Fred Segal's  New Beauty Apothecary to browse and ended up enamored with all the ranges of products! The sales assistant there was helpful as I told her that I was traveling without any hair products to use while in town and was preparing for a night out with my friends in West Hollywood. She pointed me in the direction of Oribe and picked up the Supershine Moisture cream and said that a little goes along way. I rubbed a bit in my hands and then added to my hair and was in love with the lightly floral/fruity fragrance. She then told me that the 5 oz. bottle was $24. So, I decided to get it- as I thought that the price was pretty good. Well, this was the mistake because as the sales guy rang me up, the price was actually $49. I think my jaw dropped, had I been looking to purchase this before hand, I would have done some research on the price but as I was in the area and was looking for a great product- this was steep!
Luckily, the sales guy who was listening to our hair engagement all along told me about the misquote and rang me up for the mentioned $24. Looking back on this experience has made me think, if I run out of my cream now, I would probably buy another, price-tag or not. This cream is an excellent moisturizer and provides great shine!
Where to find: Fred Segal Beauty, C.O Bigelow.com, Bloomingdales

DIY Beauty: Lacroix's Obsession

In light of MAC's Blogger Obsessions collection launching on June 21st, I figured it was time for me to create a new beauty product, even though my confection won't be available to the masses, it should inspire you to take what you've got and make what you want with it.
 With that, I present to you, Shangri-La Multi-Glow.

Shangri-La with Flash

Shangri-La with no flash

The color, a hot mustard honey-yellow with gold and peach subtle shimmer was inspired by Shangri-La, the mythical place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon,  an earthly paradise isolated from the outside world. Shangri- La was also briefly conceptualized in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

This multi-functional color was created with some of the following ingredients:
MAC Goldenrod Eyeshadow
YSL  Palette Fauve yellow-orange eyeshadow
MAC Fresco Cream Color Base
Smith's Rosebud Salve 

Shangri-La be used as a luminizer on the face or as a lip color. I recently used it as a lip color and love the result. Swatches to come!

Launching June 21st- MAC's Blogger's Obsessions

In April, MAC invited 9 bloggers to create their very own Lipglass and Eyeshadows for us to enjoy! Among the nine are Patrice from Afrobella.com; Wendy from Nitrolicious.com and Karen from Makeupandbeautyblog.com who contributed some lipglass shades that are already creating a buzz on other beauty and fashion blogs as well as the Twitterverse!
The launch is exclusively online for the US and Canada.
I hope I'm able to get my hands on lipglass creations!
In the meantime, I think I am due to create my own cosmetic confection...

Jewelry to kick-start your Summer Style

Eddie Borgo at JCrew- The 2011 CFDA award winning Accessories Designer launched the much anticipated JCrew collaboration. The collection brings pearls and gold studs to nude hued cuffs, necklaces and bows to perfectly enhance JCrew t-shirt, jeans and khaki aesthetic.

Pamela Love for Topshop- The 2011 CFDA nominated and purveyor of nature in jewelry has debuted a collection with Topshop that's as cool as her Talon Cuffs ( and cheaper). Pamela Love for Topshop features dream catcher inspired necklaces and earrings alongside other southwestern us inspired jewelry.

Promise Rings from MyJewelryBox- 2011 Grads, promise your friends, loved one's ,Grandmother's that you will be close to their hearts with promise rings. Whether they are for your BF, GF or your BFF you can wear them on your fingers or add some chain to rock as a necklace. Just had to add" put a ring on it".


Colorful Beaded Bracelets from Forever 21- Bring out the most in your wardrobe vibrant beaded bangles. With Colorblocking being this season's hottest trend, striking beaded jewelry can spruce up the tertiary colors for your look.

disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.

Custom Bronze! Dior Self -Tanner Natural Glow

My journey with self adjusting color cosmetics is much like the extremes of a pendulum. The products are either a(n) " Epic Fail" (like Dr. Perricone's No Foundation and L'Oreal's True Match) or "Practically Custom Fit" ( like Maybelline's Fit Me and MAC's Hyperreal Foundation). I'm happy to announce that Dior Bronze Self- Tanner is in the latter category.
Dior Bronze is a gel-cream self tanner that adjusts to your pH level to give you a natural bronze that you would otherwise get from staying out in the sun.
As a test, I rubbed about a dime-sized thin layer of the gel-cream on my inner arm to see if 1. I would have an allergic reaction and 2. to see how long it would take for the change to take effect. The result, thankfully there was no allergic reaction and it took about 20 minutes for the color to appear. The color toneage was spot- on to what would happen to me if I were exposed to the sun for about 2 hours ( minus the sunburn and skin peel). The color has lasted for about 2 days. The only down side to this product is that it doesn't have SPF, which you will need to add yourself.
As a Bronzer for the Bronzed sun worshiper, I'm excited for a new product like this because my beloved powders, sticks and liquid bronze products leave me sticky in NYC's humidity and on the beaches of California. A plus for Dior Bronze is that I can use this during the day and not have to worry about staining my clothing! and save my othe bronzers for when its cool in the evening.

Review: Kimble Haircare Leave-in Conditioner

 

We are practically at the home stretch with spring and summer is next week. I've spent the last 2 months researching and testing some great hair gems that I'll be sharing here. 

A few months ago, I ran out of my trusty Pantene Relaxed and Natural Leave-in hair spray and I've looked all over for this commodity in NYC. While in Target, I took a chance on Kimberly Kimble's Leave-in Conditioner  as I've heard great things about her products. 

Kimble's Leave-in conditioner is light yet conditions well ( I use it 2-3x a week). The first three ingredients are : Water, Cetyl Alcohol and Cetrimonium Chloride and includes Brazilian Nut, Acai Berry and Shea Butter.

I like to use leave-in conditioners when I'm detangling my hair before blowdrying and have found that it moisturizes so well that I can apply to my wet hair, twist my hair into buns and sleep on it and awaken to frizz and tangle- free curls!

I'm now prepared for Summer Hair Heaven!

DIY: 4 Homemade Household Beauty Remedies

What beauty lies within your cabinets and pantries? Here are 4 products that can help you from head to toe without even stepping out of the house.

Baking Soda
Purpose: Absorption and Exfoliation.

-Blemish treatment- Create a paste with a pinch of Baking Soda and a tiny bit of water and apply to your pimples for 15 minutes to minimize your breakout.
- Facial Scrub and/or Speedy Pedicure - Baking Soda can be used as an exfoliator for your face and your  feet when in a hurry. Scrub with a handful of baking soda and a cap full of water.
- Spill solver- Absorbs oils on clothing, just sprinkle a dime size amount onto your spill and rinse the affected area.


Lemons
Purpose: Lighten and Brighten.
 
In a previous post, I touched a bit on how Lemons are effective as an all natural deodorant but they can also be used to lighten your locks and nails.
- DIY Ombre Hair- use lemon to bleach the tips of your hair with this mixture: 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 1/2 cup of water and 1/4 cup of vinegar. Afterward, to condition your hair, use olive oil to protect your new color.
- Whiten your nails by rubbing lemons on the tips and follow-up with soaking in warm water for 15 minutes.
- Create a brightening facial with a mix of honey, lemon, oatmeal and water. All these mixed together can create a moisturizing and brightening mask. Recommended time to leave on, 15 minutes.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Purpose: Clarifying, Detangling and Dandruff-free.

- Detangler- A mix of 3/4 water to 1/4 Apple Cider Vinegar is my favorite post shampoo mix. Just this bit of ACV detangles my hair and gets rid of any post shampoo bubbles and product buildup. If the smell is too strong for you, when making your mixture, boil Rosemary , Lavender or Mint into the water to get rid of the sour smell.

Baby Powder
Purpose: Oil Absorbing.

- Dry Shampoo- Sprinkle a bit of Baby Powder onto sections of your hair that are full of product. Then take a Bristol brush and brush the powder out. This gets rid of some of the product but just make sure that you brush the remnants out or you will look like Beetle Juice ( for those with dark hair).


Read more about cleaning tips at Reader's Digest.ca

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post

The Avant Garde Wedding Veil

 So, while at my friends wedding last month, I came up with this Avant Garde Veil idea. Maybe its the Sci-fi geek in me over thinking creative future concepts, I don't know. But I had a "vision" nonetheless, what if a bride had a veil that was like a thin tulle bird cage as she walked down the isle. The "cage veil", if you will, would start at the waist and go over her head ( with her arms inside) and would stay until she got to the alter. Once at the alter, the veil can be peeled like flower petals and inverted so that the tulle can create an extra sheer layer to the lower half of the wedding gown.
I pitched the idea to friends who said, I should try this.. I did have a clear picture however, communicating this was.. challenging.. haha and my sketching is well, poor. Also, as you can tell from my sketch, I'm not a designer.

I started by thinking about how I was going to start this project and remembered back to one Easter where my family made paper mache baskets, only we replaced paper with yarn. Then the veil idea started to come together on a mini scale.
This project highlights a mini- veil from my neck to the top of my head to test and to see if a larger one would work , maybe utilizing the same materials so that it can eventually look kinda like the one in my sketch.

What's in your Makeup Bag- June 5th

I don't change my makeup bag often but couldn't pass up this cute red floral kitsch clutch from Forever 21 that was $4.90. 

So, what's in the bag for Sunday, June 5th? Seeing as I am going to see Tony Kushner's Off-Brodway play this afternoon, I'm keeping it minimal. Plus, who wants to hoard a bunch of products in their bag? am I right?.. I only carry about 6 lipglosses on me ( ok, ok  I carry 7).

- Eyeko Big Eyes Mascara- this is my revisited favorite. They used to carry the line at Ulta but now they have the mascara in Urban Outfitters, on my latest visit I got it on sale for a cool $4.99.

- Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Coromandel 72- my new favorite red. The color is a vibrant red blood orange that's flattering and easy to use as a stain with some gloss or applied full and amplified.

- YSL Touche Eclat- when it comes to a highlighter and concealer, this is the one that gets me through when I am in a pinch- mirror or non.

What's in your makeup bag for this week?