MeltProof Makeup, Pt 3

This is the third and final installment of my MeltProof Makeup series! After this, I should hear no more complaints about makeup fading mid-day. ; ) Let's get to it, shall we?

Ok, so once you've got a good base for your makeup, and applied beauty products that have substantial staying power, you've done most of the work. All that's left now is to find a little something to "set" the look, keep it fresh and vivid all day long. This is the job of a good face powder. Loose or pressed, it's your choice-- I have always preferred pressed as it's more compact and easier to tote around, but I think it all comes down to personal preference. Once your makeup has been applied, a dusting of powder will take care of nay leftover shine, and help set your makeup so it won't budge. My current fave is Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blends Transluscent Oil Control Powder ($10.99 at drugstore.com). Many people also swear by Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil ($19).


While perusing the latest Benefit catalogue I came accross an interesting beauty tool- She Laq ($28), a liquid "sealant" that can be brushed over eyes or lips after makeup aspplication to seal in your makeup and keep it in place. It comes with a nifty brush set so you can easily apply the stuff over your eyeliner, shadow, mascara, or lipcolor. I have not tried this stuff and am not sure what to think of it-- I'd love to hear reviews from any of you who may have tried it.

Well, ladies, that's all I've got. I hope this post series has been helpful to some of you. As always, let me know if you've got extra tips for us! Other than that.... have a safe and happy halloween, everyone. =)

Meltproof Makeup, Pt 2

We've already taken a look at how to prep your skin in order to help your makeup stay put longer. Now let's take a look at the kinds of makeup items themselves that have great staying power.

Eyes

Let's start with the eyes. I find that a cream-to-powder eyeshadow formula tends to have better staying power than regular powder shadows. I don't have particular recommendations for this category, so I invite you to leave yours as comments! I know Revlon also has a line of Colorstay eyeshadows that may be worth a try.

For eyeliners, liquid or gel liners are almost completely budge-proof. I have yet to master the art of liquid liner application, but adore MAC Fluidline ($14.50) and Bobbi Brown Long Wearing Gel Liner ($18). Depending on the kind of brush (and color) you use to apply, you can make the line thick and dramatic, or fine and subtle.

Cheeks

I've heard claims that powder blush stays better than cream, and vice versa, so this is a bit more trial and error (and may have more to do with the texture and oiliness of your skin). But if you really want flushed cheeks that last, your best bet by far is a stain. Benetint($28) by Benefit is amazing. Another good choice that's a bit mor economical is Sonia Kashuk's Lip and Cheek Tint($7.99 at Target stores). Be careful when using either of these, they're called stains for a reason. Also, be sure to start out with just a little bit (a dot or 2 on the apples of the cheeks) and blend quickly. You can always add more color if you want a deeper flush.

Lips

If you want subtle color that lasts, dab a bit of Benetint (or any other stain) onto your lips. This will be more of a rosy look. But if what you crave is true color that stays put all day long, your best bet is a long-wearing lipstick such as Cover Girl Outlast Double LipShine ($8) or American Beauty Super Plus 10-Hour Lipcolor ($16.50, though currently on sale for $13.20). These can be a bit drying on the lips, so keep the accompanying gloss (or your favorite gloss or balm) on hand for touch-ups. It may also help to put on some lip balm about 5-10 minutes before you apply the lip color.

To help your regular lipstick stay on better, find a lipliner that either matches your lipstick or your natural lip color and fill in your lips entirely with it. This will give your lipstick a little something to cling to. Then apply lipstick with a lip brush. Go for thin coatings of lipstick, and more of them, rather than slathering on a thicker coat. I've been impressed by Revlon ColorStay Soft & Smooth Lipcolor (approx $8 or $9 at drugstores) and MAC lipstick($14).

MeltProof Makeup, Pt 1

Discom asked how to keep makeup from fading. In typing an answer, I realized it was going to be a long one, so.... she has inspired what will be a 3-part post on how to keep your makeup from melting by mid-day. Today we will take a look at prepping your face for makeup by using primer and foundation. Part 2 will look into long-wearing makeup products, and finally part 3 will be about powders and other products meant to keep makeup in place once it has been applied.

So, let's get on with it!

First off: Primer. This is a new concept to me, and still seems a relatively new idea in the makeup world (or, well, it was only recently that I started hearing about it). Primers are meant to smooth out your face, filling in any lines and wrinkles, so as to create a smooth working surface for your foundation and other makeup. They help absorb oil, to help keep your skin matte and shine-free (oil is often a culprit in makeup melt-down, as it's harder to make makeup stay on a slippery surface). Many primers also have vitamins in them to help keep your skin healthy and happy. I have already blogged about my experience with Philosophy's The Present clear makeup ($25), but I'm definitely curious about trying other brands as well and seeing how they work. I've heard wonders about Benefit's Dr. Feelgood ($26), and Smashbox's Photo Finish Color Correcting Face Primers ($38) look very intriguing.

Second: Foundation. A good foundation will even out your complexion, hide imperfections, but still keep your skin looking "real." It will also provide a great base for your makeup, to help keep it in place. Put a bit of foundation directly onto your eyelids or lips before applying lipstick or eyeshadow to give them a bit more lasting power. Foundations come in liquid, cream, and powder formulas. It's best to go to Sephora or your favorite department store makeup counter for your foundation-- you need to be able to talk to someone about what kind of formula is best for you, what kind of coverage you want, and, most importantly, be able to test the colors to find the one that best matches your skintone. A popular pick is BareEscentuals bareMinerals Powder Foundation ($25, though I strongly suggest getting the Get Started Kit for $60), and Benefit's Some Kind-A Gorgeous ($26) is supposed to be amazing.

That's what I've got. If any of you have suggestions about certain products or experiences to share, please feel free to leave comments with them! And stay tuned for next week, when I'll be posting parts 2 and 3 of my Meltproof Makeup Series. ; )

Wishlist: MAC Holiday Collections

After reading TheMakeupGirl's review of MAC's new holiday gift sets, I think I just may have to run out and get some! I think my favorites are the Lip Kits (in fringe, pleat, beaded, and ruffle). Two lipsticks and a lipglass and a cool clutch for $32?? How do you say no to that?

There's also a Viva Glam lip palette ($32) with all 6 Viva Glam colors in it. I actually remember hearing about this when they had it last year but when I tried to buy it they had already sold out. Perhaps I will make another try at getting my hands on it this year.

Boy, my makeup tastes have been expanding onto more expensive territory, and my wallet ain't gonna be very happy with me...

Wishlist: Holiday Gift Sets!

Ok, so as I was looking through the Sephora website for yesterday's post, I stumbled upon all sorts of new, incredibly yummy-sounding goodies that Philosophy is offering as Holiday Gift sets. And... I want them all!!!

Let's see, first there's The Ski House ($35), which includes a 4 oz Double Rich Hot Cocoa ultra rich, award-winning 3-in-1 shampoo, shower gel, and bubble bath, a 2 oz Marshmallow Body Souffle, and a .5 oz Kiss Me Pink peppermint lip balm. I mean, my god, who doesn't want that? If I had Hot Cocoa body wash and marshmallow lotion, I don't know if I'd ever leave the bathroom. Ever.

Then there's Holiday Rescue ($25), complete with an 8 oz 3-in-1 shampoo, shower gel, and bubble bath, plus a 3.5 oz Exfoliating Hot Salt Scrub. Another reason not to ever leave your shower.

And let's not forget some of the men that can make the holidays so sweet... Like The Ice-Cream Man, The Milk Man, and The Gingerbread Man. Each kit contains an 8 oz 3-in-1 shampoo, shower gel, and bubble bath, a 2 oz Pampering Shimmer Body Souffle, and a .5 oz. Delicious High-Gloss Lip Shine, for $38. If you're not a one-man kind of wioman, there's always A Few Good Men ($25), a lipgloss trio including one lip gloss in each of the scents above.

I've already added a few of these to my Amazon.com wishlist, and am considering getting them as gifts for friends and family. They just look too cute (and sound way too yummy) to pass up!

No Time Like The Present

I've been hearing a lot about makeup primers lately-- they're supposed to help mattify the skin, and keep your makeup from fading throughout the day. I wasn't quite sure how much to believe these claims. But then a couple weeks ago I couldn't resist and wound up bringing home Philosophy's The SchoolBook kit($35), and when I tried The Present clear makeup ($25 on its own)... I was amazed.

I actually didn't even take note of the difference at first, which, looking back, is amazing in itself. It was only later in the afternoon that I noticed that my normally shiny forehead was not shiny at all. The next morning I used The Present again, and after waiting the 2 minutes to let it sink in I looked at my face and, sure enough, the shinyness that had been there, that was normally there, was completely gone. I was left with beautifully matte skin, that lasted all day long. I didn't even need any powder at all, as there was no shine to try to cover up with it.

This is my first foray into the world of makeup primers, and I'm curious as to what other brands are like. But Philosophy definitely has me very impressed so far!

Psssssst!

I read about Psssssst Instant Spray Shampoo ($5.49) in InStyle over the summer-- supposedly Ken Paves uses this on Jessica Simpson's hair to get extra volume out of it. I've been on a quest for a dry shampoo for a while, yet was unwilling to shell out the big bucks for Bumble & Bumble's version (especially after reading mixed reviews online). So you bet my ears perked up a bit at hearing about this supposed wonder-product that cost a mere $5 bucks!

Before trying it, I did some research online... and I found several reviews that complained that, while this product was pretty amazing, the bottle seemed to be faulty and most of the product would leak out after the first use. Eventually, I decided to try it out anyway. And, well, my experience pretty much echoed the reviews I read at the time-- it worked great at de-greasing my roots, but the 2nd time I tried to use it hardly anything came out at all.

However, tonight as I was looking for a link I found some newer reviews on drugstore.com from the past couple months and they claimed that their bottle last through several uses, so I'm tempted to go buy another bottle and try it out again. I think I can spare another $5 on the hope that they'll have fixed the leakage problem.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I've been noticing some very cute coats and jackets lately, especially over at Old Navy (one of my favorite stores). And as it turns out, they're having a sale on their jackets already! So go check out some of their winter goodies here. My two favorites are the Women's Cropped belted Trench Coats ($58, left) and the Long Belted Trench Coats ($68).

Target also seems to have some really great coast online, for even better prices! I like the Mossimo® Black: Wool-Blend Coat with Portrait Collar ($49.99, right)-- get it in basic black, charcoal, or khaki, or for a fun kick go with Venetian Red! I'm also loving the Wool-Blend Tailored Pea Coat, though unfortunately at $99.99 the price isn't quite so cute.

For some more warm-and-fuzzy outerwear options (such as the Emma Coat, $78) head over to Delias.com, or for some edgier, funkier options (such as this Faux-Leather Military Jacket, $48) check out Kohl's (stores probably have a better selection than the website).

Cover Girl Lash Exact Mascara

I've been hearing so much about this amazing new mascara (and brush) by Cover Girl-- the brush is apparently made from a different type of plastic and desgined so that it's virtually impossible to get clumps on your lashes. Really?? hmmm. A quick google search found many raves, but also a few angry rants about this product. Well, there's noyl one way to find out whether this beauty breakthrough really is as fantastic as everyone claims it is!


The verdict? I'm in love! My lashes looks long and luscious (my sister has commented on my mile-long lashes each time I've used it). I have gotten a couple teensy clumps, but nothing like with most thick, lenthening mascaras. I kept staring at my lashes all day long yesterday, amazed at how long and natural they looked. And I haven't had any flaking or eye irritation, which has been a problem with other mascaras. This may replace my trusty Neutrogena Lash Tint as my daily mascara... (and that says a lot).

Cover Girl Lash Exact is available at drugstore.com for $6.89. I'm telling you, gals... this stuff is worth trying.

Benetint and BadGal Lash and Dandelion... Oh My!

I was at Sephora yesterday (bad Marcy! You know only bad things, and spending too much money, come of this!) and found this adorable and awesome gift set of The Best of Benefit. You get Dandelion (a "ballerina-pink facial luminizer", $26), Benetint (a rose cheek and lip stain, $28), and BadGal Lash mascara ($19), ALL in an adorable little keepsake box. This is a $73 value, folks, for (wait for it) all of $42!!! (Also available at www.BenefitCosmetics.com)

How was I expected to resist this?? ; )

Ok, so I had already been contemplating buying Dandelion, and I bought Benefit's PocketPal a while back so I know of the wonders of Benetint (and am starting to run out, by the way) so this really was a great value.

I used Dandelion today, as part of a neutral and light pink makeup day, and I have to say it is quite nice. Gives a very soft hint of pinkness. On those with medium to darker complexions it might be too light to show up well as a blush, but it might still work well as an all-over face powder, lending that hint of a pink glow that warms up your whole face. I think I'm much more likely to use Dandelion as an all-over face powder (as opposed to Dallas, which I use more strictly as a blush since I don't think the color is that great for a full-on bronzer. BTW check out the incredibly adorable limited-edition Dallas makeup palette! $28).

I must admit, I'm almost a bit scared of trying the BadGal mascara. That wand is huge! lol It's definitely a mascara for big nights out on the town. But my best gal friend and I are going to Vegas for a long weekend in November, so I will definitely be putting it to good use then!

Perceptions

Oh my gosh... I saw this over at The Beauty Brains, and it's amazing. I've seen before/after pics of celebrities once or twice from photo shoots, but it's still amazing, espceially the part where they photoshopped her. It's like models can't even say it's their own face or body anymore. This video was made by Dove as part of their Campaign for Real Beauty, which I am a HUGE fan of. Yay Dove!



(YouTube link)

Revlon Colorstay Soft & Smooth Lipcolor

With my affinity for Revlon lip products, I have to say I was a bit curious about this new set of Revlon Colorstay lipsticks that hit the market recently. So I broke down last week and bought Revlon Colorstay Soft & Smooth (non-sheer, in the black tube) in Mocha Silk at Target. I apologize that I do not have a price to go along with it, I can't remember exactly what it was and all I could find online was a walgreens website that claims it was $9, but i swear it was cheaper than that at Target... but anyway.

When I applied the lipstick, I noticed that it was indeed quite smooth and soft and creamy. I liked it. The color is a nice soft brown, great for fall. I was also quite pleased at how well it stayed on. The color wasn't quite as true or strong as with other long-wearing lipsticks (generally the kind with the gloss to go along with them), but I had a nice subtle color to my lips all day long, and my lips never felt dry or uncomfortable at all. I found an article online explaining the new SoftFlex™ Comfort technology behind this marvelous little lipstick, which is what allows it to stay on but feel comfortable as it does so.

Bottom line, I think I'll be investing in some more of these little lipsticks.

Lend Me a Hand

My hands always get dry and chapped every winter. I mean, they get bad-- to the point that putting lotion on stings. It must be a combination of the cold weather, heaters, and washing my hands every 10 minutes at work every day. Thus every winter I'm faced with the struggle to find a hand lotion that could work small miracles for me, but usually to no avail-- I still end up with chapped, cracked hands.

Last year I made a startling discovery though-- Hemp Hand Protector ($6 for 1.25oz) from The Body Shop. When I spread some of the tester onto my chapped hands, I felt immediate relief, that lasted. I used it constantly after that, though by then temperatures were already rising again and I was needing it less and less.

Well, as of this month I started noticing my hands feeling dryer again. I tried to put hand lotion on after each time I washed my hands at work (Bath & Body Works Hand Repair Healing Hand Cream, $12 or buy 3 get 1 free) which helped, but couldn't do enough. Then I re-discovered my Hemp lotion, and started using it every night before I went to bed-- and immediately I noticed a difference in my hands. Now I hardly even need to use lotion during the day, even after washing my hands so often. I'm amazed, to say the least. Now, this hand lotion can feel a bit greasy after I put it on, but that's why it's perfect for beditme-- I let it sink in overnight, and I get to enjoy soft, happy hands all day long!

Hemp Hand Protector, you are my savior.

Discount Retailers Setting Up Shop in NY!

Hey gals, check out this article-- great news for frugal fashionistas! =)

(Thanks, Sales Rack Raider)

CoverGirl Outlast Double LipShine

A girlfriend of mine recommended I try CoverGirl's new Outlast Double LipShine ($8 at drugstore.com). Always up for a new beauty item to play with, I soon ran out to Target to buy me one. I have to say, I wasn't immediately impressed with the ad campaign-- the signs in the store advertised this lipstick as lasting "5x longer than the leading lipgloss!" Which made me wonder "what does that even mean??" We all know lipgloss, as fabulous as it is, isn't know for its staying power.

Alas, I wanted to follow up on the recommendation and bought it anyway (in Rose Quartz, a fun. somewhat bold pink color). I tried it the next day, and, well.... I'm not sure it'll be come a favorite. Yes, it did stay on all day long, and didn't rub off onto anything. I mean, this stuff stayed put!

However, it also made my lips feel dry. When I put it on, as soon as the color dried I felt it on my lips-- that feeling of something kinda thick on them, making them feel dry and parched. Even with the gloss applied on top I could feel the drynes underneath (I don't know if that makes sense, but yeah). All afternoon I had perfectly pink lips, but really I was itching to get home and take the stuff off. Maybe I've gotten too used to just wearing light lipgloss, I just didn't like the feel of this long-wearing product on my lips.

So, if you're looking for something that will stay put all night long no matter what, try CoverGirl Outlast Double LipShine. But if you're a girl who prefers having soft, free lips and don't mind reapplying every so often, find yourself something else.

PS- Hop on over to Lipstick, Powder 'N Paint to check out what's in my beauty bag (scroll through past entried from this week to uncover the beauty secrets of other blogging fashionistas)! And have a great Friday 13th, y'all. ; )

Revlon Super Lustrous Goodies

I've been a fan of Revlon's Super Lustrous Lipstick ($7.99 at drugstore.com) for ages. I've had at least a couple tubes of it in my makeup bag ever since I started accumulating makeup (my current faves are Smoky Violet and Plum Baby). It's smooth, creamy, has beautiful colors to choose from, and has great staying power. What's not to love?

So really, it should be no real surprise that when I finally got around to trying their Super Lustrous Lipgloss ($6.19 at drugstore.com), I fell in love with it, too! I'm not sure why I hesitated for so long... maybe because of my ability to immediately become incredibly undecisive when faced with several color choices when trying a new product? I don't know. Anyway, I finally bought it (in Shine City), and I love it! Very light and non-sticky. I think this may be my new favorite lipgloss. I've been considering going out and buying another tube, just so I can keep one with my makeup at home and one in my purse. Which, at $6, won't break the bank... something I always appreciate in makeup! ; )

Back to Basics

Sometimes the most brilliant beauty solutions are the simplest ones. I have to send a bit Thank You! to The Beauty Brains for reminding me of what a useful little product good ole petroleum jelly can be, and pointing me over to this site full of pointers for how to use it. Such as....

Moisturize your lips and more--If you don't want to pay a lot for expensive lip balm, makeup remover, or even facial moisturizer, then your answer is a tube of petroleum jelly. It can soothe lips, take off foundation, eye shadow, mascara, and more. It will even act as a moisturizer on your face. (I've also heard it can be great as a conditioner for your eyelashes).

Lengthen the life of perfume--You've picked out a great scent to wear on your night out, but it's got to last. Worry not. Dab a bit of petroleum jelly on your pulse points. Then spray on the perfume. Now you can dance the night away and not worry about your perfume turning in early.

Soften chapped hands--If you're constantly applying hand lotion to your tired, chapped hands, but then taking it off again so you can get more work done, try this tip. Apply a liberal amount of petroleum jelly to your hands just before you go to bed. By morning, they'll be soft and smooth.

No more messy manicures--During home manicures, it's hard to keep the nail polish from running over on your cuticles. Petroleum jelly can help your manicures look more professional. Dab some along the base of your nails and the sides. If polish seeps off the nail during the manicure, all you do is wipe off the petroleum jelly and the sloppy nail polish is gone.

Smooth wild eyebrow hairs--If you have runaway eyebrows -- the ones where the hairs won't lie flat but curl up instead, control the wildness with some petroleum jelly. Rub a dab into your brows. They'll calm down and behave.

Stop hair dye runs--There's nothing more embarrassing than a home hair color job gone awry. Imagine finishing applying that new auburn shade to your tresses when you notice that you've dyed your hairline and part of your forehead too. Next time, run a bit of petroleum jelly across your hairline. If dye seeps off your hair, the petroleum jelly will catch it.

Heal windburned skin--You've just had a glorious hike through the countryside in autumn. And as much as you enjoyed the changing colors of the season, the hike has left you with an unpleasant souvenir: windburn. Grab a jar of petroleum jelly and apply it liberally to your face or wherever you've been chapped. The jelly helps relieve the pain.

Click here to see even more uses.

I actually feel silly realizing that I don't have any Vaseline in my home at the moment, but I think I'll have to go out and buy a tub of it.

Neutrogena Mineral Sheers for Eyes

Several weeks ago I bought Neutrogena Mineral Sheers for Eyes in Shell ($7.99). I swear, I have used it almost every day since then! I LOVE the lighter color of the duo, I apply it to my lips and they instantly looks perked up, more awake, yet it's natural enough that it could potentially pass as no makeup at all. Last week I went ahead and bought another Mineral Sheers eyeshadow, in Stone (a purpleish duo) and have been very pleased with it, as well.

The colors are true to their name-- they are very sheer. But it's kinda nice that way, they just give a nice, light wash of color. And the staying power is pretty decent-- I put my makeup on at 8am and it's still there by mid-afternoon, and later.

I'm also partial to the packaging, with the slide-out cover. It's quite cute. ; )

Neutrogena Body Clear Body Scrub

There was a time when I had little faith in Neutrogena products. Since then, I have been proven wrong many times, and am now a Neutrogena convert. I love their sunscreen, their powder, their mascara, etc etc etc. So it was with high hopes that I bought their Body Clear Body Scrub($5.99 at drugstore.com).

I was pretty happy with this scrub at first. It smelled nice, it felt nice and thick, it gave a satisfyingly clean feeling. But aftr a few uses I noticed that it was harder and harder to get the scrub to squeeze out of the bottle.

Turns out that when they designed this bottle, they gave this thick scrub a teeny tiny little hole to come out of at the top! Which means that it gets easily plugged up, and is hard to squeeze out after a while. I had to unscrew the cap and rinse it out in water for a few minutes to clear it back out.

As a result, I find I don't use this scrub very often. It's a fine product, but someone really needs to re-engineer the cap so that the opening is a bit wider and the product doesn't become all gummed up (ya hear that, Neutrogena?).


BTW, Ellen over at Lipstick, Powder 'N Paint will be doing special posts all week long looking at what products different beauty bloggers have in their makeup bags. I am quite honored to be one such beauty blogger. =) So be sure to head on over to her site and check out what I and other beauty bloggers use as our favorite products!

Make-Up Remover on the Go

This is brilliant!!

Every time I travel I debate whether I should throw my eye-makeup remover in with my toiletries, but I usually decide not to-- the bottle is bulky, I have nothing else to put just a few day's worth of the solution in, etc. So I figure I'll just have to make my face wash do double duty for the weekend (or however long I'm travelling). Which usually means that I end up with hard-to-remove mascara smudges under my eyes the morning after a big night.

Well, now I'm gonna have to get my hands on these travel makeup remover wipes ($4.50- $5 at VictoriasSecret.com) from Brittish company girl2go! They come in 2 different packs, containing 10 and 15 wipes each, and are said to "deep clean at the same time they soothe and repair skin with lavender and allantoin, a healing, moisturizing agent, which stimulates healthy tissue formation."

Sounds pretty sweet, huh? Perfect for tossing in my travel bag, and I'll finally be able to wear heavy makeup while travelling without having to worry about fighting raccoon eyes the next morning!

Think Pink!

Here's a couple more links to products and items that will not only beautify you, but help fight breast cancer!

Lipstick, Powder 'N Paint has a post on Bare Escentuals' limited edition Pink Passion Rose Radiance Collection. All profits go to the Nation Breast Cancer Foundation.

Check out Red Envelope's Think Pink collection of items. Ten percent of the proceeds will go to the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Womens Cancer Research Fund. Here's the link to the pink bracelet pictured at left.

Happy shopping! =)

Fit to a T

Every fall/winter, I always feel like my winter wardrobe is lacking. A big factor in this is that I have a very hard time finding long-sleeve tops that I like-- either the fit is bulky, the sleeves are too short, the lnegth is too short, etc etc etc.

Well, I think I've found my perfect fit this year. And where else would I have found it other than at Target? =P

I was shopping there the other day and happened upon a stand full of their Mossimo Black long-sleeve t-shirts, both crew-neck and V-neck styles, $9.99 each. The shirts aren't *quite* as fitted as I'd like them to be, but otherwise they're nearly perfect-- the material is soft, the sleeves are nice and long the way I like them, the hemline comes down far enough to cover the waist nicely, and each style comes in several different colors, from plain ole white and black to royal blue or plum. I've already stocked up on a few, and they'll be very much a part of my basic winter wardobe for this year!

While you're shopping for your long-sleeve T's at Target, also keep an eye out for their Mossimo Black Ultra-Soft sweaters, also available in crew neck and V-neck styles, for $17.99. I fell in love with those, too!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Lots of beauty brands, big and small, have been launching special editions of their products to help fund Breast Cancer research. I was going to put together a post full of such products that I've come accorss, but then found that other blogs have already done so-- and possibly done a much better job than I could! So here are links to some great posts highlighting products that support breast cancer research.

Lipstick, Powder 'N Paint

Beautiful Makeup Search (this looks like it'll be an ongoing series of posts, so be sure to check back over the course of the month)

The Product Girl

If I find others along the way, or if I spot products that aren't already spotlighted in any of the above, I'll be sure to mention them here. Shop to your hearts' contents, gals, it's all for a good cause!

VS Very Sexy Makeup

Victoria's Secret recently launched its own makeup line, Very Sexy. I had a $10 off coupon I recieved for my birthday recently, so I went to my local Victoria's Secret Beauty store and checked some of their new products out.

I have a mosaic eye shadow kit that I bought from VS before they had their own official makeup line, and I adore it. So I was curious about some of their new mosaic compacts-- they have eye shadow, bronzer, and blush (left) powder mosaics, plus mosaic lip palettes ($18 each). If you like playing with blush, you may really like these-- they had a good variety of different shades in their mosaics that looked very fun. I liked the shadows-- they go on surprisingly sheer, and the colors are very pretty.

I also spent a good bit of time looking at their eye shadows ($12), and was very temped to buy Blindfold (a pale lilac) and No Strings (a darker, shimmery purple). They would have gone great worn with their sparkling eyeliner ($10) in lilac flash. I actually was very tempted by these eyeliners, they would be so fun to wear for a night out on the town!

The loose shimmer powder ($18) looked cool, too, but it didn't seem to come with a built-in applicator meaning I'd have to buy a separate brush for it. For $18 I'd rather it be a complete package. I also liked the gel eyeliner duos ($12, right), gel liner is such a great way to achieve a dramatic look that's much easier to use than liquid liner.

As for lips, they had a fun selection of lip gloss($12) and lip lacquer($12, left). I liked the lacquers, particularly Crush and Get Lucky, though these also did not come with any sort of applicator so you'd have to use a separate lip brush or your fingers. There's even a lip plumper (I'd expect no less from VS) for $18. It apparently has "Self-adjusting pigment [that] reacts with skin's pH to enrich natural lip color." Hmm.. asounds interesting. Perhaps I should've tested this one....

In the end I settled for an eye liner ($10) in Exotic Plum. I like that these eyeliners have a built-in smudger at the end.