New Beauty For The New Year

January brings a New Year and with it lots of new beauty.  High end brands all have their Spring collections coming and drugstore brands do major launches now as well.

NARS Spring 2014

I hope to have more individual looks at many of these new launches in the coming weeks, but to whet your appetite or help you spend those gift cards here's a quick round up of some of what will be hitting stores January into February .

Chanel 

Chanel- Spring collection, Notes de Printemps is already on counter and I will have product reviews a few days after the new year. Also in March or possibly February is a new foundation  I previewed here.

NARS - The Spring collection is loaded with brights and brings a new Muliple -Napali Coast. The new Matte Multiples then arrive a little later .  Also a separate pink line called Edge of Pink will debut as well . No exact date yet here, UK is Feb. 1st for Spring.

Cover Girl- The Bombshell line already out in most areas. You can read about the new mascara here and Bombshell Shine Eyeshadow here

YSL Gloss Volupte

YSL-  New Gloss Volupte is on site now and looks delicious.

Laura Mercier

Laura Mercier- Spring Renaissance is up on the website filled with pastels and nudes.  The star product is the Enlightenment Eye and Cheek Palette.

L'Oreal- I just saw some new releases at Rite Aid today. Extraordinaire Lipstick is a high pigment, gloss finish  liquid lipstick . Also new is Super Liner Silkissime Eye Liner . Extraordinaire is up at  www.lorealparisusa.com

Pantene- Just named Gisele as their new spokeswoman and she will front the new Damage Detox Collection.


MAC- Rihanna is the new Viva Glam spokeswoman and there will be a new gloss & lipstick  shade.

Ellis Faas Hot Lips

Want power packed lip color ? New from Ellis Faas are super pigmented Hot Lips.

Hot Lips are housed in the Faas long bullet tube and have a sponge tip applicator.

They have bold, deep pigment, a satin finish , almost but not quite matte and leave lips feeling pretty soft. There's rice seed and castor oil for moisture so while these aren't moisturizing per se, they are not dry either nor are they sticky.

I went with two of the lightest colors  in the line which still pack pigment . The L409 is a medium chocolate brown, and the L408 is a slightly pink tinged coral that really brightens you up. You only need a little with these for a full application.  Lasting power is good,  About 3 hours on me. That said, lip products generally last less long on me than most people.

There are nine shades and international pricing is  €25 / £22 / $35.

Available at Net A Porter, http://www.ellisfaas.com/ , and more stores listed on their website.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas .  I hope everyone has a wonderful, blessed holiday full of all the best things- family, love , friends , goodwill .




To get  even more into the spirit here's the holiday ad from UK department store John Lewis. It's just adorable.

I'll be taking  a holiday blog break for the next few days to enjoy all the festivities . I'll be back posting on the 27th or 28th most likely. Thank you for reading my beauty ramblings  , I look forward to a "beauty" full 2014.

MAC Huggable Lipstick- Swatched

The New Year brings a new lipstick formula from MAC- Huggable.

Huggable comes in a tube similar to Sheen Supreme but it's steel grey instead of black.

Huggable Lipstick is gel base with really good pigment and light moisture. One swipe will give you full color and  shine.  It's not quite a lip butter but a distant relation. What's odd is that being moisturizing , it's not super creamy on lips. There is some drag and pull when applying. But once on, it feels good on lips and they stay hydrated .

MAC says these are meant to be long wear , up to six hours. On me like most lippies I got average wear. Lipsticks on me seem to fade faster lately  so I got about one hour with little wear, and a second hour left a stain behind. Huggable lasted longer than a straight lipstick. My buddy The Muse got four hours wear , so it's really going to vary person to person I think.

The high point of these new lipsticks is the mix of pigment and  moisture. There are twelve shades and they will be on counter Jan. 2 for $20.

MAC Magnetic Nude Lipsticks- Morning Rose and Close Contact

If you like nude then you you'll like MAC's Magnetic Nude collection. Part of it is a line of nude lippies and in general it's all very me .

Two of the new lipsticks are Close Contact and Morning Rose.

Close Contact is a pale, caramel beige Amplified lipstick.  It's a bit of a  Mod shade and  looks on my lips much lighter than it shows in the pictures.

Morning Rose , a Cremesheen, is not the kind of shade I'd naturally gravitate towards but I love it . Even though it's rose it's a warmer one ( MAC calls it cool but  it doesn't look overly cool on me ) and looks rosy but with a burnish to it for the "nude" aspect along with some shimmer.

Both of these shades along with two more will hit counters on Dec. 26th.

MAC Magnetic Nude Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Fairly Precious & Blush in Autoerotique

Since it's launch MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinish has been a favorite product. The deeper metallic ones like Glorify get a lot of use here.

With the new Magentic Nudes collection there are  two new shades and one repromote ( Superb).

One of the new ones is Fairy Precious , and it's quite lovely. Fairly Precious is a shimmery peach that goes on light but on my paler skin definitely shows up. It works for me as a highlighter or over or under a deeper blush. I can almost use it a blush but I need a little more color. If you are very pale then it may work as blush for you.

Autoerotique is one of three new  Extra Dimension blushes . This  pretty coral shade has a lot of color payoff , more than past blushes of this type I've used and really brightens you up.  It makes for warm looking winter cheeks and mixes well with Fairly Precious to blend it a bit. I'm still deciding if the color is really right on me but I  do like it. For me, it's not like any of my other blushes at the moment.

The full Magnetic Nudes line will be on sale Dec. 26th

MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinish is $ 30
MAC Extra Dimension Blush is $ 25

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet Foundation- Spring 2014

When the Chanel Metiers d'Art Paris-Dallas show went  down the runway last week we got a sneak peek at some new makeup as well as fashion.

Perfection Lumiere Velvet is a new foundation  and a sister product to Perfection Lumiere Foundation already available. I have no other details but from the gorgeous finish on the models faces and the name I would say it's is a matte or satiny semi- matte type foundation .  This has my name on it.

I love how these models look, so many times on the runway it's all dewy faces, skin showing through. I'm all about a perfected , non shiny look . Nothing heavy but not so light as to be barely there.  Keeping in mind of course that backstage all kinds of tricks are used and these ladies have been powdered as well with Poudre Universelle Libre, amazing in it's own way, for the full look.

Look for it sometime in March , possibly a bit sooner.


Model photos:Vincent Lappartient
Foundation photo: Vogue France

Cover Girl Bombshell Shine Shadow by Lash Blast

The new shadow that's part of Cover Girl's new Bombshell collection is Shine Shadow ( see new Bombshell Volume Mascara here) .

Shine Shadow is a cream shadow in a tube that goes on somewhat sheer but not transparent. It has light to medium pigment and leaves a wash of shimmering color on lids that does have a sheen or shine to it. It's  a dewy look to the eye, something often popular backstage at fashion week, but not easily duped at home.

Color Me Money,Copper Fling, Platinum Club

Shine Shadow is easy to blend , not thin but not thick and two coats gives best coverage. The deeper shade like Platinum Club has the most coverage.  They can be used on their own or over a powder shadow.

 I was surprised by the wear time. Cream shadows that aren't uber long wear generally don't last on me at all, but these held up about 3 hours. For me that's really good with this type of shadow, well with many shadows. For those who don't have eye makeup melt issues, you might do better.  Cover Girl does say they are long wearing for up to 12 hours. No shadow lasts on me for 12 hours, so I can't say how true that is.

These are fun for a little eye makeup update , maybe when you're headed for drinks or dinner and need a touch up, or want something you can swipe and go with .

There are six shades  and retail is $ 6.99 - 8.99.

Cover Girl Bombshell Volume By Lash Blast

The newest addition to the Lash Blast line from Cover Girl is Bombshell Volume. You may have already seen the ads for it in some of the magazines or drugstore ads.

New Bombshell Volume is a dual sided mascara. One side for mascara or bottom coat, one for a darkly tinted top coat.

The mascara side has a very large brush like many of the Lash Blasts. Being that each wand is attached to the middle piece, it's also a short-ish wand. The other brush end is  smaller , a  more normal mascara size.

The size of the wand does make this a little harder to work with, at least for me, but working with it was worth it as I got major length. Length is what I want most from mascara, I think most want volume, obviously both are good. My own lashes are somewhere in between. Not overly long but not short and not

While this is called " Volume" I think it does more for length and there was good definition. No clumping and lashes were separated well. There is some volume but not tons.

The formula is fairly wet, but doesn't smudge easily. Basically you do your lashes with the mascara , as many coats as you want ( I did three with no problems) and then add the top coat. That top coat is also black not clear and adds a little more deeper color to lashes while also sealing them according to Cover Girl. That only needs one coat.

Cover Girl Bombshell Volume by Lash Blast is sugg. retail $9.49- 11.99 and comes in Very Black, Black (shown), Black/Brown and Brown.

It should be in stores any time now as December is the release date.

Holiday Nail Files by Trim

One of my favorite budget buys that I've seen is this cute nail file set. I think I might have mnetioned them as well last year or the year before.

For 2.49 you get a trio of themed nail files, the perfect stocking stuffer or little gift.  Pretty much every girl can use an extra file or two , all the more fun when they have snowflakes  or owls . I pick up ones like these whenever I see them.

These were at Rite Aid, by Trim.

All The Holiday Gift Posts

Since we've been talking holiday since October , I thought I'd do a reminder where all the gift posts are. Many have this logo on them, but a clicking on the Holiday 2013 tag at the bottom of this post or any holiday post will take you to all of them should you want  to see them for updates, gift ideas, etc.

Elie Saab Le Parfum Holiday Gift Sets

Elie Saab Le Parfum is a longtime favorite here. It's an elegant, refined  and pretty woodsy floral.

I've highlighted them both before, the  EDP here  and EDT here for more scent information.

Holiday has brought gift sets in each version and these are very much holiday gift approved.

The Elie Saab Le Parfum Eau De Parfum Deluxe Gift Set has a
3.3 oz EDP and 5.1 oz body cream in a deluxe case  for $ 158

The Elie Saab Le Parfum Eau de Toilette Gift Set- contains a 3 oz EDT, a 10 ml purse spray and 1 oz body lotion for $ 108.


Available at Nordstrom, Saks and Bloomies.

Herbal Essences Naked Collection

Herbal Essences  wants you to #getnaked with the new Naked line for volume.

The line includes styling products as well as shamp/conditioner.

It will be available shortly in stores but tomorrow at 10PM EST you can buy a product bundle for $ 12.99 . Click over to HerbalEssences.com for the details. 

If you plan on tuning into the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, Herbal Essences is the hair sponsor and using the #getnaked tag you can get product updates at @HerbalEssences during the show. 

The Herbal Essences Naked Collection:

·         Naked Volume gives hair light, touchable volume with the invigorating scent of white grapefruit and mint extracts to leave you with soft, full, bouncy hair

·         Naked Moisture provides lightweight hydration with a stimulating herbal and mint infusion for sensationally nourished, smooth hair

·         Naked Shine revitalizes strands with white tea and mint extracts for a brilliant silky shine, just as nature intended

The Herbal Essences Naked Collection Stylers:

·         Naked Dry Shampoo transforms lifeless, oily hair into fresh, touchable hair, whether you need a quick styling touchup or a boost of extra volume

·         Naked Flexible Hold Spritzer delivers a lightweight, flexible hold for shiny, soft, touchable hair

·         Naked Volumizing Soufflé gives hair a boost of natural volume you can run your fingers through

·         Naked Cleansing Conditioner is a low-lather, multi-tasking cleanser that combines the conditioning properties of a nourishing oil with gentle cleansing

·         Naked Sheer Shine Mist nourishes hair from root to tip to leave behind luscious, shiny locks

Bottega Veneta Scented Shimmering Body Powder

For those who love body powder, as I do, it can be the desert out there finding any , especially new ones. Thank the people behind Bottega Veneta for a new shimmering box of scented powder just in time for giving or getting. 

The body powder has a light shimmer, nothing glittery or too much and is richly scented.  Bottega Veneta the fragrance is a grown up woman's scent with  oakmoss , jasmine , patchouli and a bit of leather.

It comes a in muted pink vanity ready box with the outline of the brands signature intrecciato leather weave pattern and a puff inside. 

Bottega Veneta Shimmery Body Powder   3.5 oz   is   $70 
Exclusive to Nordstrom.

FRAAS Metallic Zebra Scarf

This new scarf/wrap from FRAAS sparkles and shines it way through the holiday season and more.

It's a pretty muted  zebra print with metallic threads throughout. Measuring at 12 x 80 inches  and made from acrylic viscose blend ,  it comes three colorways of gold, black or silver.

Retail is $ 35 at select stores . Some styles available at amazon and www.fraas.com