Pixi Fall 2014

Mesmerizing Mineral Palette-Rich Gold - $12

Pixi is sending quite a few new items to Target's shelves this fall.  Two new eye palettes and  an  Endless Silky Eye Liner  ,   one of the best eyeliners out there, among them.

Here's a look at several of the new items. Not shown are new Fairy Dusts, Nail Polishes , Combo Crayon & Quick Fix Powder.

Mermserizing Mineral Palette- Silver Sky- $12

Concealing Concentrate- $ 12

Endless Silky Eye Pen-Glimmery Black - $ 12

Tinted Brilliance Balm- Soft Sienna - $ 14

Sun Bum Suncare

The name Sun Bum conjures up carefree beach days with the breeze blowing as you wade into the surf.

Whether you're  a beach person or not, more than ever we need to get that SPF on.  So why not  be a Sun Bum every day  ?

This full line of sunscreen  has sprays, lotions and  balms.  And I love the retro look of the  Moisturizing Sunscreen Lotion bottle. Takes me right to childhood. It also happens to have that old school coconutty tropical scent .  The lotion is very creamy and lightly hydrating with SPF 15.  This chemical SPF also comes in SPFs 30, 50 and 70. ( $ 15.99)

The Lip Balms are SPF 30 and come in delish flavors like  banana , mango and pink grapefruit , shown. It has a very strong flavor too, at first and cocoa butter  for good moisture.  ( $ 3.99)

Rounding things out are a physical zinc and titanium dioxide  based Premium Endurance Stick ,part of their Pro line  for all over water resistant coverage ( $ 14.99) and Continuous Spray , a chemical  based SPF 50.  ( $ 15.99).

All Sun Bum products are available at www.trustthebum.com 

AG Hair Smoothing Balm

AG Hair has a new helper if you have the hair frizzies or just want to tame flyaways.

Smoothing Balm, made from 90 % natural ingredients is an lightweight but emollient cream  with organic Argan , Marula and Mongongo oils  , that polishes and smoothes hair.  AG says that it is light enough to be reapplied when needed throughout the day even.

You can find AG at Ulta  and AG Hair Smoothing Balm is $22 for a 2 oz tub.

L'Oreal Pop Balm

Get a punch of lip color with L'Oreal's new  Color Riche Pop Balm.

In the vein of their  original Color Riche Balm, Pop Balm is very moisturizing ( jojoba oil and shea butter)  and creamy with a slight sheen on lips but different from Color Riche , Pop has deeper pigment and  semi opaque coverage.

Electric Pink, Wild Lily, Bold Blush, Fiery Red

There are six new shades in all, I have four here. All give a nice  bright lip look but nothing too bold.  As a fan of any tinted balm, and  of the Color Riche ones, I easily loved these. While I like all balms, the deeper the tint the better to me.

 Perfect for quick burst of color now, and when Winter does come, these are just the kind of lip product for cold days. You get good color and moisture  in one.

One shade Caring Coral came in the older balms as well.   I have the original one but not the Pop , so can't compare, but  in general Pop Balms have much more color than my older ones.  (There were also one or two other versions, but somehow I missed those.)

L'Oreal Color Riche Pop Balm is 7.99 and available now.

Sally Hansen Color Frenzy Nail Polish

Color Frenzy is a fairly new collection from Sally Hansen of fun glitter and texture polishes.

Of the three I have there are varying sizes of glitter or pieces and each goes on a bit differently. Candy Drops is a barely there look while the others  are more but still need a couple coats  to get all the texture.

These make a fun , easy look or a cool topcoat.

Shown are Candy Drops, Sea Salt and Fruit Spritz .

L'Occitane Roses et Reines

Things look extra rosy on July 30th. That's when L'Occitane's newest rose scent launches, Roses et Reines.   You may recall the previous Roses 4 Reines. This is the same with a new name .

As a rose lover, I'm naturally inclined to love this, but even the Dad thought it smelled lovely and he's not exactly a rose guy.

Roses et Reines combines four rose  varieties from Grasse, Bulgaria, Morocco and Turkey.  All the best roses , basically, extracted using a new variation on the traditional enfleurage method.

The scent is light and obviously very rose, but also has hints of citrus and blackberry with  musk  at the drydown . It's easy to wear, soft  and seasonless. It will work now as well as when the temperatures drop.

Roses et Reines comes in a full complement of products including the iconic L'Occitane shea hand cream, EDT , Solid Perfume, Body Milk , Soap , Bath Gel  and more.

Prices range from $ 8 for the Extra Gentle Soap to $ 25 for The Beautifying Body Milk .

All at http://usa.loccitane.com/

Stila Eyes Are The Window Shadow Palettes- Fall 2014

Body

On August 1st, Stila Fall lands . Included are four new eyeshadow palettes with 

 12 shadows in each. 

SOUL- Features 12 matte & shimmer shadows in a range of

wearable neutrals.

MIND- Features 12 modern matte eyeshadows

BODY-Features 12 colorful jewel inspired shades

SPIRIT- Features 12 of Stila’s original, iconic shades over the last 20 years

Soul

Mind

Spirit

My Melt Proof Summer Staples

It's in the 90s again today. You know, the melting heat that makes your lipstick suddenly feel like you have gloss on instead?

High temps, oil and sweat work against keeping that makeup on but  I have worked and tested to find hot weather staples that go the distance against melting heat. Since I have even more melt than most people, these really made the grade.  (Links to  previous reviews included if applicable.)


Lips-  Hourglass Aura Lip Stain-   Unlike a lot of lip stains this doesn't feel dry  on lips and  isn't  sheer. It also doesn't melt in the heat . With medium pigment and a waterlight feel it lasts longer than gloss and leaves no sticky mess behind when it does begin to wear off.

Foundation - Many might skip foundation  in  the heat.  I'm not one of them. I want a base and need it to help keep the oil at bay .  Ones that are the most meltproof, with the least wear off have been Shiseido's  UV Protection Liquid ,  Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder  and Cover Girl's new Ready ,Set Gorgeous, which says it is humidity resistant and has really surprised me with  how well it holds up.


Waterproof Mascara- When the humidity and dewpoint skyrocket , mascara goes down, down your eyes that is. Keep those lashes strong with a waterproof, budge proof mascara. The ones that work best for me ? MAC Extended Play ,   Cover Girl Last Blast Fusion Waterproof and  Clinique's new Lash Power Feathering

Eyes- Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow -  These long wear creams  are  a saver in Summer. Easy to apply  and long lasting, grab a  beige or golden shade for a wash of color  that even if it does wear off, doesn't leave behind a streaky mess. MAC's Paint Pots also do really well.

Cheeks-  The  NARS Mulitple -Creams are easier to apply to sticky skin without streaks but many , at least on me , are too creamy and fade fast. The Multiple dries to a powdery finish  but it's still easy to blend.  My fav shades ? Puerta Vallarta and South Beach.

Amarte Aqua Lotion & Aqua Cream

 Having really liked previous offerings from Amarte, I was happy to try out their newest, ready for hot weather, lightweight  products Aqua Cream & Aqua Lotion.

When it's hot I , and probably you, don't want to put thick creams on my face. If you have very dry skin you kind of have to , but for those us with oily, or normal skin, lightweight formulas are a great option.

Amarte packs plenty of skincare into their products  , and these two new ones are especially good for brightening.

Aqua Lotion is thin but not runny and is water based.  It's nicely hydrating with argan oil, glycerin and allantoin  but feels very refreshing on skin and sinks in fast  with a barely there feel. It has natural arbutin for lightening  as well as antioxidants .  It's been a  perfect Summer choice to keep skin in shape without heaviness, and can be used day and night.

Aqua Cream has 1% retinol in addition to many of the ingredients mentioned in Aqua Lotion.  This helps  even skintone and smooth , making it a good nighttime companion to the Aqua Lotion.  It is a thicker cream , but still not  heavy or greasy.

Amarte Aqua Lotion is $ 75
Amarte Aqua Cream is $ 93

Available at www.amarteskincare.com

NYC Sun N'Bronze Bronzing Powder

NYC's City Samba collection includes this  multi shade bronzer , Sun N' bronze in two shade combos, Rosa Rio, and Coral Samba ( shown).

At first look , this seems super bold and bright, but on skin it's  light and brightening/bronzing but not too deep. 

It's large enough to use just the bronzes or corals separately or blend together. Blended it makes a nice blush as well as all over color. There is shimmer but not tons so you won't look  pixie dusted. 

Works well on decollete as well. 

NYC Sun N' Bronze Bronzing Powder is $4.99 . 

Chanel New Tisse Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow

There are eight new , beautiful Chanel quads out just now in a reformulated  Les 4 Ombres .

The new shadows inspired by the tweeds of the House of Chanel , are more pigment rich and are a baked powder formula. In addition to these new quads, six existing favorites remain in the permanent line  in their original formula.

While these are all rather nice, I am loving Tisse Venitien the most . That rich green  is simply gorgeous  in the model shot.

Chanel Les 4 Ombres  Multi Effect Quadra Eyeshadow are $ 61

TISSÉ VENDÔME -Copper, Peach Beige,
Intense apricot , Grey brown

TISSÉ GABRIELLE- Soft Grey, Iridescent white gold,
Grey mauve, Velvet Grey

TISSÉ CAMÉLIA- Grey lilac , Rosy white,
Lavender pink, Eggplant brown

TISSÉ CAMBON- Iridescent mauve, Pale pink,
Bright pink, Deep Violet

TISSÉ MADEMOISELLE-Intense beige, Satin gold,
Luminous Beige, Khaki brown

TISSÉ VÉNITIEN-blue green, Silver pink,
Platinum khaki, Intense green

TISSÉ RIVOLI-Golden taupe , Light rose beige,
Rose -Gold beige, Red brown

TISSÉ RIVIERA-Metallic blue , Light pink,
Shimmering Grey, Deep Navy Blue

Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide Foundation

There's a new  matte foundation out - Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide. This is a liquid companion to one of my big favorites, Smooth Finish Foundation Powder. 

Where Smooth Finish Powder provides full coverage , Smooth Fluide is a lighter foundation.  It's thin two part liquid ( shake to mix) that blends in easily and feels barely there. The coverage here is light to medium , buildable ,  it perfects and smoothes but doesn't cover spots and imperfections overly well. I do love the true matte finish . Skin is matted but soft looking.

Wear time  is good, it's listed as long wear,  humidity and water resistant and sweat proof.  It lasted well on me even in the  heat . There was wear by early evening, but that's with serious sweat.  Minus that, it should go much longer.

Color selection is large with 24 shades. I have Vanille , shown. It is oil free and for normal to oily skins.

Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide Foundation is $ 48 and available now at Sephora and Laura Mercier.com.

Clarks Un Judge Sandal

My go to Summer sandal is this studded , comfy one from Clarks ,  Un Judge.

I try  to find shoes that are comfortable but also stylish. I don't like to give up style. That's not always easy but it's getting better as brands realize how much of a market there is. When I started having some heel pain I went to Clarks  sandals and while I wear  my fancier ones too, even heels on occasion, when I need comfort for all day or more on feet time  , that's where I go.

My long search  for a new pair of Clarks since my fav Ella style was dc'd , ended up at Un Judge.  I loved the studding that's not too much but gives them an edge along with that little bit of heel . They work with skirts, pants and shorts.

So far these have been nothing but comfort out of the box.  I got a good deal and now they're even cheaper so I just ordered another color.  That almost never happens except with my adored Tretorn sneakers.


Clarks Un Judge are available on Amazon  for $55 and under currently.

L'Occitane Verbena Frisson Collection

Verbena is one of those refreshing scents. A little citrus, a little herby ,  a little masculine ( it's quite unisex really).  For Summer it makes  a nice way to get a  lift during the day or a cooling burst of scent in the evening.

L'Occitane's new Verbena Frisson Collection brings  us a  lightly scented group of products using organice Verbena to keep us going all day long.  I particularly love the idea of Cooling Body Gel . Chilled it would be even better.  I had a similar gel  from another brand  about 5 years ago and loved it.

New here also is a Hand Cream Gel ,  not as thick as their legendary shea butter hand creams , this one  moisturizes nicely  with a good whiff of Verbena but isn't sticky or heavy.

The full collection details :

        Verbena Frisson EDT ($55): The invigorating scent of Verbena leaves blended with the freshness of spring water.

      Fresh Shower Gel ($20) Formulated to gently cleanse skin.

       Cooling Body Gel ($25): This ultra-hydrating gel is formulated to keep skin feeling moisturized & revitalized all day long.

       Refreshing Body Mist ($16): This mist delivers an intense burst of freshness in a travel-size bottle .         

      Ice Gel for Legs &  Feet ($22): Designed with an easy roller ball applicator, this ice gel is a great way to cool off and relax muscles .

      Hand Cream Gel ($12): Enriched with Mint Essential Oil, this hand cream gel actively works to restore and hydrate skin, while leaving hands incredibly soft and smooth.

    Frisson Verbena Bath Salts ( $24) - Relax in the Verbena scent.

Also on July 17th at L'occitane stores, stop in  for a Verbena infused cocktail with any $ 25 purchase and a free gift with a $ 55 purchase.

Talika Zero Stretch Marks

 If you're trying to beat stretch marks,  Talika has a new treatment cream to help fade them.

Talika realized after reading a Univ. of Pennsylvania study that stretch marks aren't scars and need to treated differently. According to the company "Stretchmarks are caused by a contraction of the fibroblasts which then produces dysfunctional collagen and elastin giving the skin a grooved effect."

Zero Strech Marks has a patented ingredient, D- Stretch, which has Saw Palmetto to relax the fibroblasts  and help to get them back to their original collagen level and hopefully reverse the marks.

I , luckily, don't have any stretch marks so I can't tell you how this works, but if you are having issues with them, it's certainly worth a look.  The French take their skincare very seriously.


Talika Zero Strech Marks is $64 at www.dermstore.com