Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture glossy lip stain

As of late, I have truly become a fan of Yves Saint Laurent’s (YSL) Rouge Volupte Silky Sensual Radiant Lipstick.  This lipstick, which is luxurious, hydrating and has an SPF 15 ($34), actually lives up to it’s name.  So imagine my excitement when YSL launched their new Rouge Pur Couture glossy lip stain ($32).  I never wear lip stains because they make my lips dry, but because this glossy lip stain is YSL and is described as having the texture and shine of a gloss and the long wear of a stain, I figured I would give it a try.  This product actually went on very smoothly but to my disappointment, the finish/dry down was super sticky and tacky.  Can we say # fail?  Feedback on this product has been the same across the board.  The only things I liked about this product are the colors and beautiful packaging which isn’t enough for me to purchase.   So sad.  Better luck next time.

bb cream

In the world of beauty, new products are anticipated, coveted, and generate lots of buzz with promises of revolutionizing our skincare and beauty routines, perfecting our look or correcting some type of misfortune on our faces.  Well, I must say, with the introduction of BB cream to the market, I was less than excited.  Why you may ask?  Well because I didnt understand it’s purpose.  To me it was nothing more than another primer.  So what now?  After doing minimal research (remember I wasnt that interested) I found out that this BB cream, which stands for beauty balm, is all the rage in Asia and was initially used to treat post procedural skin (skin laser surgery) with its skin regenerating benefits.  Ok that’s great but for those of us that arent having any type of surgery in the near future, I was still wondering why I should care about this product.  Then I found out why bb creams are such an amazing product.  BB creams can be used to prime the skin, provide sun protection, control oil and hydrate the skin.  And if someone needs minimal coverage, some of these bb creams such as Dr Jart’s can provide that benefit.

Awesome.  Now another issue arised, well at least for me anyway.  The bb creams that I experimented with initially were for people with fair skin.  What are people with darker skin supposed to use if they want some of this illustrious bb cream?  Problem solved.  There are several brands out there that have shade range and I going to shout out Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream with SPF 35.  Prime. Protect. Perfect.  Hydrate.  Control Shine.  Four shades from fair to dark.  Thanks Smashbox for actually thinking that various skintones could benefit from such a product.  Thank You.   (and the dark is actually kind of dark.  I am dark skinned and this pretty much blended into my skin without looking chalky).  Put a pea sized amount on your fingertips.  Press into the skin.  Foundation is optional if you want more coverage.  Even better is the fact that this particular bb cream has anti aging peptides that will improve skin over time.   Awesome.  Now how’s that for revolutionary beauty!?

Concealers (Part 1 – Applying Under Eye Concealers)

Dark under eye circles is one of the most common issues for women.  For many, it’s hereditary, for others it poor diet or maybe even a long night out partying.  Either way, selecting the correct under eye concealer can be quite a daunting task and instead of making you look refreshed and awake, the wrong under eye concealer can leave you looking quite haggard, bringing more attention to the area you were trying to conceal.  Even though in most cases, the problem will not go away completely, here are a few tips to help you select the best concealer to help improve the appearance of the under eye circles…

• To begin with, find the correct shade by selecting a shade that mimics your skin tone.  Many people like the “brighter under the eye” look, but if done incorrectly, one can end up with that reverse raccoon look.  So again choose a shade that is close to your skin tone.  Now sometimes when concealers dont work, it has nothing to do with the shade selection.  It has more to do with weather or not you corrected the underlying tone before applying concealer.  In cases like this you would need to use a colored/correcting concealer before applying regular concealer.

• Use a light green concealer to cover up redness such as acne scarring or birthmarks. (usually for areas not under the eye)
• Pink shades tend to brighten as well as cancel out blue or gray tones that usually show up under the eyes.
• Yellow based concealers  also brighten as well as cancel out pink tones. Depending on skin tone, sometimes yellow based concealers look chalky so be careful with your shade selection.
• Orange toned concealers are great for darker skintones as the shade tends to cancel out blue tones under the eyes.

• Next prep the area with an eye cream.  Its important to use an eye cream am/pm to treat/hydrate the area under your eyes.   You tend to use less product (conealer) when the skin is not dry and you also avoid mid-day flaking and caking.
• To find out exactly where to apply the concealer, tilt your chin down and look into the mirror.  The deep crease/indentation that you see is where you need to apply the concealer.
• Build coverage and pat gently.  Dont forget to apply the concealer to the inner corner of the eye and down the sides of the nose as these are the areas that tend to get the pretty dark as well.
• Be sure to blend the edges of the application with a crease brush or finger.
• Set with a translucent powder.

Get Your Glow On

Summer is fast approaching and what better time to have delicious, beautifully glowing skin.  There are many products that can deliver that effect, such as body oils and lotions, as well as body bronzers but i especially like the Nars Illuminator  to get my runway glow on because this sheer, luminous product can be used on the body as well as the face.  Use it by itself on the high points of the face, decolletage, and shoulders or mix it with your favorite liquid foundation or body lotion.  It comes in 4 shades:

• Orgasm: a peachy pink which looks best on fairer complexions
• Super Orgasm:  has more of a golden glow and beautifully highlights deeper complexions
• Copacabana: which is pearlescent and can be used as a highlighter
• Laguna: which is a bit more bronze and looks better on medium skin tones

$29 available at Sephora, sephora.com and narscosmetics.com