Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Color

Tom Ford's new Private Collection Lipstick has had us beauty fanatics dreaming since we first got wind of the line. Then they came out, we saw images, we acquired and now they are selling out fast.

Yes it is a $ 45.00 lipstick. So are a few others I dearly love and I dearly love this one. I have Warm Sable, a medium nude/brown. The minute I put it on my lips, I felt more elegant and soignee. Not a bad thing at all. Although using it and marring the carved TF logo was hard. For now I am using the back part only.

Pigment here is high, and it covers the lips with precision and looks and feels great on. It's creamy with a tiny, tiny bit of shimmer . It's a true cream and it lasts well on the lips for one so moisturizing ( there's shea butter and Brazilian murumuu butter in there ).

The case is white trimmed in gold and is very French Riviera chic looking with Tom Ford on the gold cap.

There are 12 shades in all, some as I said look to be already sold out online.

Available at Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus both in store and online.

Burn Notice- Fiona's Makeup

Summer TV is back and with it Burn Notice. I enjoy the show but one of things I always seem to pay most attention to is how great Fiona's makeup is.

She rocks a perfect nude lip almost every episode and of course being in Miami, has a golden glow. I was thrilled , then, to see an article in the most recent issue of On Makeup magazine on the show's makeup and interview with head artist Erin Koplow.

So if you too have wondered what goes into the look, wonder no more.

Koplow uses Origins Tinted Moisturizer topped with La Bella Donna Mineral Foundation in Umbria. Over that she uses either NARS Muliple in Orgasm or Origins Sunny Disposition to create a glow that comes from within. She lines her eyes with Le Clerc Topaz liner and smudges.

Lips are lined with Le Clerc Subtil or Chantecaille lip definer in Nuance and topped with a sheer coat of MAC Slimshine in Bare or Chantecaille Sari Rose. Mascara is Chantecaille.

Koplow calls Fiona's look " Hot" and a "California brunette beach sex kitten". She tries to make her luminous without products sitting on top of the skin. Gabrielle Anwar herself does up the all over body glow Fiona sports most days.

Burn Notice new season starts June 3.

All information : On Makeup Magazine Spring 2010

Sunscreen Safety Article

There's been a lot of new information coming about sunscreens and their safety. It's all a little confusing, and a little worrisome. Rather than me try to make sense of the data for you , The Philadelphia Inquirer had a great column Monday that really disseminated a lot of the information. Worth a read if you have a minute.

But before you click away , my own addendum: With these findings, it makes me ask again , why has it been made so hard for sunscreens to use Mexoryl here ? We finally have one type available in some high end brands , but the second isn't approved. Europe has pretty high standards and as far as I know both Mexoryls have a solid track record, and they work better than anything else( this I can attest to) . If some that have been FDA approved all these years now show even the smallest possibility of being bad, then having both Mexoryls in the US should be considered more seriously. Personally I am not waiting for more info . I am weeding out the ones who have the potentially offending ingredient- oxybenzone. I am using these less often, and reading labels more. I am no expert by far, and this could all be no big deal . Hopefully it isn't.

Article link : http://www.philly.com/philly/living/green/95244069.html

Image via Life’s Photo Archive hosted by Google

Sebastian Volupt Collection

I call Sebastian hairsprays " the gold standard" I just told a fellow beauty blogger that 2 weeks ago when she asked about great hairsprays and said she had never ( gasp) tried Sebastian.

Their Shaper Plus, Shaper Fierce and Re-Shaper are all staples for me and mine . I like Shaper Fierce and Plus the best, but the Mom uses all 3 plus regular Shaper. I suspect over the past 15 years she may be the one keeping the company going. Then last week, the Dad ran out of his cheaper spray, grabbed her Shaper Plus, got chastised that night, but noted " That's good stuff, my hair didn't move all day". And he works outside . Do they sell company stock ?

So now there is Volupt. The line is a spray , volume- boosting shampoo and volumizing conditioner.

The Volupt spray is a leave in spray- gel that gives great root lift and overall volume . Spray in, style and vavoom volume, epecially if used with the coordinating shampoo/conditioner . All are meant to give that volume while keeping hair soft and weightless.

To celebrate the launch Sebastian teamed up with vertical thrillist Rose Mallare from Fuerza Bruta and a special 4 piece set was put together. You get all 3 hair products plus a makeup bag for $ 40.00 ( This is a good deal). Find it at Sebastian salons as well as individual product.

Also, a contest is going on to win a trip to NYC to see Fuerza Bruta and more.

The "Big in NYC Volupt Sweeps" runs through June 30th.

You can win:

2 round-trip plane tickets
2 tickets to see Fuerza Bruta
3-day, 2-night stay at the W Hotel
$500 shopping spree

Enter here or read more about all Sebastian: http://www.sebastianprofessional.com/en_US/volupt_sweeps/