So many great beauty reads, so little time!

Jelly Pong: Pong Nude And Improved - Raging Rouge explains how “this handy little pencil isn’t just a primer, but can act as a concealer too!”

Purely Cosmetics - Pure Bionic Goodness! - Bionic Beauty discovers a wonderful mineral makeup line. “The biggest difference when I applied the Pure Silk Mineral Foundation was the feel.”

Sally b’s Skin Yummies - Lemon Sage Sugar Scrub - DecoDiva cannot get over how wonderful her skin smells and feels after using Sally B’s Lemon Sage Sugar Scrub.

CARGO HOLIDAY NIGHTS! SATURDAY AT SEPHORA! - Kate might still be building her wardrobe, but one thing she has down pat, Kate knows a great makeup palette when she sees one!

90s Ladies Week: Clueless About Foundation? As If! - I laughed all the way through this post about the 90’s. Spoiled Pretty’s new favorite, Make Up For Ever’s HD Invisible Cover Foundation!

Sneek Peek: MAC Hello Kitty Part Deux… The Makeup Girl posts about newly announced release dates for MAC’s Hello Kitty Colour Collection and Hello Kitty Kouture! Meow!

New Posts from Mythbuster Beauty:

• Urban Decay’s Urban Essentials Giveaway (hurry, the deadline is 11.26!)
  
• DecoDiva: The Right Tools for Liquid, Gel, or Powder Eyeliners
• FGW: Timelapse Wands, skin smoothing in a stick?
• Sally B’s Skin Yummies: Such a Treat!
• Beauty Bubble: Using your skincare products in the right order.

It’s taken me many years to figure out that the right tools really do make applying makeup a snap. For the longest time I thought that any sort of brush will do to apply liquid or gel eyeliner. So I’d use the brush that came with the product, and it would be very difficult to apply eyeliner so that it looked flattering. In fact, I’d often give up on the product and write it off, when it wasn’t really the product that was bad, it was my application method and tools.

Well, one day, I found the Sonia Kashuk bent eyeliner brush. This thing is my HOLY GRAIL of eyeliner brushes. It makes applying an eyeliner easy! It doesn’t matter if it’s gel eyeliner, wet or dry eye shadows or minerals, liquid eyeliner, etc. it will help you apply a nice thin line that you can keep thin and subtle or thicken for a more dramatic look.

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BIG NEWS FLASH!  All fans or wanna-be fans of Urban Decay, now is your time to save 30%!

Now through 11.18.08 enter “FFH30″ at checkout to receive 30% off your entire order at Urban Decay!!!

Why did I not know this when I purchased “The Travel Set of FIVE - VIP” Urban Decay Glide-on 24/7 Eye pencils last week for $29 at Ulta!?  WHY!!!  This set would have cost me a mere $21.30 (significant savings) if I could only have waited.

And although my Sunday School teacher may disagree, “LUST” (an electric purple eyeliner) is sooooo worth it! 

If you need any Urban Decay advice or suggestions, we’d be happy to help.

Urban Decay Loves Purple, Do YOU? - some fantastic ways to go purple

FGW: Urban Decay has new stuff!! - the new Urban Decay that Mo is gushing about

Bionic Beauty has another incredible giveaway going on until November 23rd, 2008.  You have two chances to win a Dazzle Dry Quick Dry Nail Polish System.

“Your Dazzle Dry nail polish system set will include: Nail Prep (1 oz.), Base Coat (0.5 oz), Dazzle Dry top coat (0.5 oz), and 3 different nail polish colors (0.5 ounces each). It’s the perfect-o kit for your at-home manicures and pedicures! And for the record, Dazzle Dry never tests their products on small n’ fuzzies (i.e. no animal testing).”

How do you enter this wonderous contest?   Follow this link over to Bionic Beauty and enter, that’s how!

Since I got into mineral makeup, I’ve discovered it pays to shop around for certain items that you like, to see if other companies carry a similar or the same product at a lower price.

I discovered mineral makeup in April, and found my two favorite brands in May. One of the sites, Aromaleigh, carries more traditional style makeup in addition to mineral makeup. I noticed that they carried a great ‘indelible gel eyeliner‘ product that looked very similar to MAC Cosmetic’s Fluidline. Of course I bought some to try! I loved it, and then I went back to Aromaleigh’s website to learn a bit more about the product.

I noticed that Aromaleigh carried this product by customer request and that it was made by a third party company that supplies it to any company that wants to carry it, in the same colors and same formula.

So I did some digging online, and saw that it is indeed carried on many different sites, for wildly different prices! The prices range from $7.70 to $25.00

Companies I found that carry the Indelible Gel Eyeliners (this is by no means a comprehensive list):
Spa Private Label - $7.70
Mad Minerals - $8.99
JW Cosmetics - $8.99
Headcovers unlimited - $9.99
Catwalk Cosmetics - $12.50
Aromaleigh - $14.75 (these go on sale rather often for $11.06)
Studio Direct - $14.99
Urban Apothecary - $15.00
MAC Cosmetics - $15.00 (added as a price guideline)
Loose Lips NY - $20.00
Indelible Gel - $25.00 (more…)

That’s right, it’s Sephora’s birthday. Happily enough, my birthday is this month too. But, while Sephora is only turning 10, I’m turning the big 3-0. In celebration of both fabulous events, I’m highlighting a few limited edition offerings that would be great for you or someone you adore.

Philosophy- Classic Cookbook ($40)

10 2 ounce bottles of Philosophy’s famous shampoo/shower gel/bubble bath. Includes my favorites, Pumpkin Pie and Cinnamon Buns. I have loved these for years and recommend giving them a try. A fantastic and delicious way to start your day.

Stila- Stila Loves Sephora 10^th Anniversary Can ($40)

A collectable paint can filled with 5 fantastic Stila products. Even though the mascara and illuminating moisturizer are smaller than full size (think deluxe sample) it’s still an exceptional value. (more…)

Being a hazel-green eye gal myself, I have always been drawn to the purple and plum hues. And it’s only natural to be drawn to those colors. In a basic Art 101 course you are taught the concept of the color wheel and complimentary colors. The perfect compliment to green is purple. Have you ever noticed the great contrast these two colors have in a painting or in a stripe pattern on fabric?

So how smart of Benefit to launch a new shade of mascara to compliment hazel, brown, and green eye colors: Benefit’s Badgal Plum Mascara ($19)!

Intensify your natural eye color with BADgal plum. This rich, luxurious plum mascara brings out any eye color! If you wear brown mascara, this is your new brown! It’s the same famous BADgal lash formula & voluminous brush for lavishly long lashes.

Tips and tricks: Not sure what kind-a BADgal you were born to be? We’ll help you decide. If you want to warm up & intensify your pretty peepers, BADgal plum is for you. Can’t live without your black mascara? Add pretty plum to the tips of your lashes for a sweet & sexy lash look.

And no worries for you blue-eyed beauties, BADgal mascara in plum can also compliment your baby blues! However, now you have the three BADgal mascara colors to choose from: classic black, blue, and now ze plum! Lucky brown-eyed gals can look gorgeous in any of these shades too.

And don’t forget, you can receive free shipping now with any Benefit BADgal purchase, just enter BADGAL08 at checkout! If you spend over $50 you can also receive FREE US Standard Shipping, just remember to enter the promo code PRETTY50 at checkout.

How about a simple yet new way to increase your lash depth & dimension?  By using a copper-tinted mascara on the tips of your lashes, your blue & green eyes will pop, hazel eyes shimmer, & will frame brown eyes in a stunningly sexy shade.

If you aren’t familiar with the Sukicolor line, I would highly recommend trying her organic, wonderfully gentle for sensitive skin cosmetics.  Sukicolor’s rich pigment mascara in copper brown is Suki’s personal favorite shade & a long-time secret of makeup artists.

“we’ve replaced the irritating chemicals and synthetic fibers found in conventional mascaras with a 100% natural, hypo-allergenic formula infused with organic rose hip, evening primrose and potent botanicals that nourish long term — providing your lashes with care and color at the same time. pure organic rose wax protects the petals of the delicate floral, as it will protect and enhance your lashes.”-sukicolor

Until September 15th, you can purchase Sukicolor’s rich pigment mascara in copper/ brown for $22 (reg. price $33.95) using the coupon code, copper at checkout.

Okay people, sit up and pay attention, because you may never hear the following from me again: I found something from Urban Decay I’m not thoroughly in love with. I know, I’m just as freaked out as you are, but if you bear with me we might all make it through okay.

I have no major gripes with Urban Decay’s brand new lipstick, don’t get me wrong.  In fact, I was ecstatic when I heard they were bringing lipstick back their line up. It was one of their original products and I’ve missed it for some time now. It has returned triumphant with a few tweaks to bring it up to date. I’m happy to see Gash in the lipstick as well since it’s an Urban Decay classic, though I miss X, which was a beautiful golden peachy pink that I remember being quite flattering. They can’t make a color just for me though can they?  Calling it plain old lipstick falls a little flat for Urban Decay in my opinion. I would’ve expected something spunky like Lip Laminate (lame yes, but I’m making it up as I go along) from the company that brought us XXX Shine and Lip Gunk. *sigh* I suppose we all have to grow up sometime.

First, the texture. Smooth and creamy, but nice and light.  Not at all waxy or thick. I tried a full coverage and a semi-sheer, but they also offer sheer colors. Or you can choose by texture; cream, sheen, or shimmer. The color was surprisingly long lasting, after several hours of chasing little ones my friend commented on the color and I happily noticed it was still in place.  And that was the semi-sheer! Some of the staying power may have been due to the exceptional lip liner I chose, but since I lacked the Bratz doll “liner only” look my best guess is that it’s a really good lipstick.

Of course there are the little touches that make it UD-riffic. The Urban Decay logo is etched right onto the lipstick, and the sturdy metal tube means you won’t be accidentally leaving it in a pocket any time soon. That’s mostly because the small gunmetal dagger sticking from the bottom of the tube poses a risk of injury and the slightly larger than average size tube is hard to fit in small spaces. The crème caramel flavor and fragrance leaves a bit to be desired.  In Revolution, a rich true red, the flavor is irritating at first though manageable as it fades, but in Vinyl, a beautiful plum, it tasted chemically and bitter.  Maybe not such a big deal, but if you happen to expend your nervous energy by licking your lips, it can get old really fast.  Who knows if it’s the semi-sheer formula or the purple color or simply my tastebuds, but it was enough to make me reconsider my desire to purchase 8 of the 22 available colors. However, with the family and friends special (ending on the 28^th) and the “Love it or Leave it” guarantee I think it’s a worthwhile risk to take. I can’t decide between Gash and Gravity though, what do you think?

Lest you think It’s  all depressing news on the Urban Decay front I’d like to mention 2 other new UD products for fall.  24/7 Glide On lip pencil and concealer. Staying true to the supple texture of the eyeliner we all adore, the lip pencil is available in 6 shades, including the all purpose clear.  Naked is a bit dark to be an all purpose nude, but Heavy is lighter with a touch of shimmer and would work well for almost anyone. This lip pencil lasts and lasts and is jam packed with all the good stuff you’d expect, like Jojoba oil and vitamin E.

The 24/7 concealer is simply amazing. This formula feels light but covers almost anything. It lasts so well that after an unexpected crying jag my eyes were still free of dark circles. I have sworn by my current concealer for years but I think I’m going to have to give it the old heave ho. The real selling point for me though is that they have a shade that is perfect for me, no small feat even in the huge cosmetics market of today.  The pencil is certainly handy for storage on the go, but being caught without a sharpener could be disastrous.  All in all a good showing for fall from Urban Decay.  They chose to keep it simple by focusing on ony a few products with superb results.

Quick thanks to all of you and to Jen for the great thing I get to be involved with here. I have had so much fun over the last months and I’m thankful for all the support I get. It’s wonderful to share the things you learn and the things you love with others. It may be a long year sans husband for me, but at least I get to share it with you!!!

To emphasize a bold dark lip, you wouldn’t want to go too strong with your eye color.  One or the other, but not both.  To compliment the dark lip (or in my case a semi-dark lip), a neutral gray eye seems to be the the perfect match.   I also love the way the right shade of gray can brighten and add light to your eyes. 

This fall I have “my eyes on” the following gray/silver eye palettes:

Stila’s Backstage Beauty Eye Shadow Palette - The Red Carpet or Front Row Look, a three-pan gray and pewter eyeshadow palette with a Kajal Eye Liner.

Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow in Gunmetal (gunmetal gray silver micro glitter)

NARS Eyeshadow Duo in Paris (silver shimmer/ matte gray)

e.l.f.’s Brightening Eye Color in Drama (4 color quad for $1)

Loose Lips NY Mineral Eyeshadow in Chrome ($13)

Aromoleigh’s Gray/Heather Toned Eyeshadows (wonderland, lilith, or lola) $8.50

NP’s Set Show Loose Dust Duo -  Target stores started carrying Napoleon Perdis’ Set Line, and I was intrigued with their Russia Silver/Gray duo.  I purchased this for $26 (not cheap), and will put this formula to the eye lid test today.

Here is my attempt at a beautiful, subtle gray eye using Aromaleigh’s Le Mystere #63 mineral eyeshadow and Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-on Eyeliner in Gunmetal.   I find these grays create a subtle brightness to my eyes, as well as enhance my eye color.  Grays can be gorgeous with any color eye, but you might want to go with a cooler/bluer gray if you have a blue, green or hazel eye like mine, or go with a warmer hue of gray for hazel brown, or deep chocolate or amber brown eyes.

I will have to get to the MAC counter and try their new quad eyeshadow compacts that are meant to compliment their Cult of Cherry collection.  I would probably go for the “Shadowy Lady Eye Shadow” quad, although their “Spiced Chocolate” quad is GORGEOUS!