OPI's La Collection De France

Eiffel for this Color: A Wine Shimmer
Baguette Me not: Swirl of Cinnamon
Crepes Suzi-ette: Caramel
Yes..I CanCan!:Jeweled shade of Eggplant
We'll Always Have Paris: Rich Coffee Shade
A Oui Bit of Red: Brilliant Red
I'm Fondue of You: Delicious shade of Chocolate
Bastille My Heart: Glimmer of Rich Burgundy
Tickle my France-y: Naughty shade of Nude
You don't know Jacques!: TAUPE!!!
Parlez-vous OPI: Smoky Violet
Louvre Me Louvre Me Not: Royal Purple

Credits: Blogdorf Goodman and a page ripped out of my nail tech's magazine.

Blogdorf Goodman's Drugstore Deals and Steals for June 29th through July 5th 2008

Walgreens

L'Oreal: Buy 1, get 1 FREE on lipcolour or nail polish
Pantene: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on haircare
Maybelline: Volum' Express, Define-A-Lash mascara, Mineral Powder Lip Color, Instant Age rewind Compact or Colossal Volum'Express Mascara is priced at $4.99
Neutrogena: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on cosmetics
Nutra Nail: 50% off on strengthener, hardner and other products
Ponds: 25% off skin care
Sally Hansen: Buy 1, get 1 50% off

Rite Aid

Banana Boat or Neutrogena Suncare or Sunless products are Buy 1, get the 1 for 50% off
Sally Hansen: $2 off on Color quick, Lacquer Shine or Opal Nail color
Buy 1, get 1 50% off on lip color or lip treatments
Almay: All lipcolor is priced at $6.49
Nair: Bleach, Wax or Depilatory is priced at $3.99
Eucerin: Body care, lotion or shower oils are priced at $6.99
Olay: 2 for $12 on skin cleansers and creams
Revlon: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on foundation,powder, blush, concealers, eye shadow, liner or mascara.
Ponds: 30% off of skin care
L'Oreal: Buy 1, get 1 FREE on HIP cosmetics
Target

L'Oreal: Voluminous or Voluminous Naturale mascara is priced at $4.99
10% off on selected L'Oreal face and lip products
True Match blush,powder or foundation is priced at $7.99


CVS

Maybelline: The Colossal Volum' Express Mascara is priced at $4.99 and you will receive $2 extra CVS bucks with CVS card
This is the best deal I have seen on this mascara.
Revlon: Buy 1, get 1 FREE on all foundation, powder, blush or concealer with CVS card
Physicians Formula: Buy 1, get 1 50% off(excludes Mineral Wear Mascara) on cosmetics with CVS card
With a purchase of a Mineral Wear mascara tube, you receive $7.99 in extra CVS bucks with CVS card.
Lumene: Facial Care or beauty drops is priced at $14.99
Ponds: Towelettes or cold cream is priced at $5.99 with CVS card
Bio-Oil is priced at $9.99 with CVS card
Zeno is priced at $149
La Roche-Posay: Buy Anthelios SX and get $5 extra CVS bucks with CVS card
Vaseline: Buy any Vaseline body lotion, cocoa butter or gel oil and get $2 extra CVS bucks with CVS card
skin effects by Dr Jeffrey Dover: Buy $19.99 of any skin effects product and get $5 extra CVS bucks with CVS card
Garnier Nutritioniste: Buy Skin Renew, and you get $5 extra CVS bucks with CVS card

Blogdorf's Freaky Friday Poll


Freakiest Fragrance in your collection: Dinner by Bobo

Odd ball products in your Makeup Stash: Hot Topic nail polish

Rocking This Freakin Lippie: MAC's Blueblood

In The Eye of The Beholder: MAC Cumulus, Your Ladyship Pigment and Feline eyeliner.

Music on The Turntable, Ipod, 8 Track or Whatever:
I am coordinating these polls with my co-workers. Today is Freaky Friday in our office. On the turntable is Prince, R Kelly and Rick James.

Plans for the Weekend: Nail appointment on Saturday and the rest of the weekend will be spent sulking.

"I can't give it my all onstage without my Blake" Amy Winehouse

Bobbi Brown's Blake Mauve Shimmer Ink Long Wear Gel Eyeliner

This is an inky mauve shade infused with bronze and gold pearl pigments. This is not a reddish mauve. This has more smoke and black plum with just a touch of shimmer. It satisfies the sparkle junkie or hater. It is priced at $19.00 and is available at most BB counters. The official launch is July.

Disclosure: A press sample of this product was provided by Bobbi Brown Cosmetics

A Fall Workhorse Palette Bobbi Brown Mauve Face Palette


Bobbi Brown consistently creates workhorse palettes. They might lack the bells and whistles of other brands but they always become a staple in your makeup stash.

The Mauve palette contains three neutral eyeshadows, one dusty rose blush and three lip colors. The shadows are cool toned. Navajo (also featured in the Stonewashed/Nude Palette) is an antique cream shade. Vintage eyeshadow is a taupe. This taupe has less silver than the stonewash shadow in the Stonewashed/Nudes Palette. It has a smidge of shimmer. The third shadow is called Chocolate Mauve. This is a rich brownie shade.

The lippies are more brown based than pink. Dusty Mauve Creamy Lip Color is a sheer rootbeer shade. The Mauve Lip Sheer is a whisper of a garnet shade. It was very similar to my Bobbi Brown Red Plum Lip Crayon. Vintage Mauve Lip Color is a deep red velvet cake shade.

The blush is a matte cool dusty rose shade.

The palette is starting to show up at local Bobbi Brown counters. The official launch is in July. It retails for $55.

Disclosure: A press sample of this product was provided by Bobbi Brown Cosmetics

Blogdorf Throwback Thursday Poll

Fragrance of the Day: Kenzo's Amour Indian Holi

Rocking This Lippie: Shiseido's Shimmering Lipstick Rouge Irise SL14 layered with Pretty Plush Plushglass.

Whats Making You Blush: Bobbi Brown's Mauve blush from the Mauve Palette

In The Eye of The Beholder: Your Ladyship pigment from MAC with Feline eyeliner

Music on The Turntable, Ipod, 8 Track or Whatever: Duffy

Morning Drink: Coffee with Vanilla Nut Creamer

It Keeps Getting Worse....

From Yahoo News:

Shares of several chemical companies fell Tuesday after industry leader Dow Chemical Co. announced its second set of wide-ranging price hikes in less than a month, again trying to offset record costs for energy and raw materials.

Midland-based Dow said it will raise the prices of its products by as much as 25 percent in July after implementing across-the-board price increases of up to 20 percent on June 1.

The company makes everything from the propylene glycols used in antifreeze, coolants, solvents, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, to acrylic acid-based products used in detergents, wastewater-treatment and disposable diapers. Its products are sold in 160 countries.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080624/ap_on_bi_ge/dow_chemical_prices_10

Blogdorf Wild Out Wednesday Poll

Fragrance of the Day: Lancome's Peut Etre. This is the end. I have finished the bottle.

Rocking This Lippie: A hodge podge of pinks. Estee Lauder's Pink Champagne with Ultralight gloss in Pink Light and MAC Dazzleglass in Like Venus.

In The Eye of The Beholder: Lauder's Mocha Cup, MAC's Sweet Sienna and Your Ladyship pigments. Results are mixed. My eyes look tired.

Whats Making You Blush: Carmindy's Ethereal

Music on The Turntable, Ipod, 8 Track or Whatever: Prince's 17 days. I have always believed that this was the best Prince song. Argue with me in the comments or post your favorite Prince song.

Latest Blog Crush: Garance. The photos are beautiful.
http://garancedore.fr/

Favorite FOTD on MUA: Padmita with shadows from Naughty Nauticals
http://www.makeupalley.com/m_78283887

Current Non-Beauty Lemmings: H&M Fall http://www.nitrolicious.com/blog/2008/05/22/christian-diors-diorphone/

Photo Credit: NYTimes

Blogdorf Tantalizing Tuesday Poll

Fragrance of the Day: Parfums Delrae Bois De Paradis

Rocking this Lippie: A concoction of Dior's Ultra-Gloss reflect in Stretchy Brown. This shade is a caramel with hot pink shimmer. I layered it with MAC Dazzleglass in Funtabulous.

Song on Rotation: Cheap and Cheerful by The Kills

Eye Shadow: MAC Trax with Smoke Signal pigment, Fig 1, Sketch and Your Ladyship pigment. I tried to do a smoky plum eye. Results are mixed.

Favorite FOTD on MUA: I loved OSD121 violet eye look. It was my inspiration for this morning.

Current favorite television show until Gossip Girl comes back: Ghost Hunters on SCFI

Favorite Smell: The air before and after a thunderstorm

I wish I was here: NYC or the noodle restaurant that Anthony Bourdain visited in China.

Current lemmings: The Ojon Tawaka "The Ball". It looks like an L'Artisan amber ball...but you rub it all over your body. The Sephora catalog boasts that it has the antioxidant power of 2,834 lbs of blueberries.
http://www.luckyscent.com/shop/category.asp?categoryid=400&section=8
and
http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P205402&categoryId=C8330&shouldPaginate=true

Nail Polish: Zoya's Rose. This is a very sheer iridescent pink. After two coats, I still can not achieve the baby pink shade. This would be lovely for a french manicure.

What are you going to cave on during the Nordstorm Anniversary sale? The So Chanel Illuminating Powder. Must.Have.This.

The Curse of the Black Pearl

I am test driving the new Bobbi Brown Mauve Collection. I am loving everything but one product has managed to capture my heart.
Black Pearl Shimmer Gloss is a silverish heather shade.
It retails for $19 and will be at your local Bobbi Brown counter in July.

While I was in Paris, I became entranced with this mysterious lippie that every female television personality wore. It was this twisted gossamer grayish shade. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. I instantly started the coveting process and went on a fruitless search to find it.
I had no luck until Black Pearl.
It is a cool almost dirty heather gray. The pigment is light and there is only a slight shimmer.
It is both subtle and startling at the same time.
I paired it with a smoky eye and was promptly hooked.

I think this lippie is unique but it might be labeled unwearable by the MUA masses.
This is a lippie that might be an acquired taste.
It is far from bubblegum or coral.
This is a gloomy yet sophisticated lippie.

Credit: Blogdorf Goodman
Disclosure: A press sample of this product was provided by Bobbi Brown Cosmetics

Blogdorf Goodman's Drugstore Deals and Steals for June 22nd through June 28th 2008:

Target

Boots: Protect & Perfect Eye Cream is priced at $17.99
10% off all other Boots skin care and cosmetics

L'Oreal: Skin Genesis is priced at $15.99
10% off all other L'Oreal skin care

CVS

Maybelline: Buy 1, get 1 FREE on Great Lash with CVS card
Buy 1, get 1 50% off on Maybelline products(excludes Great Lash) with CVS card
Neutrogena: Sun Care or Sunless Tanning Spray is priced at $8.99 with CVS card
Coppertone: Buy 2 Coppertone products, get a FREE Coppertone umbrella with CVS card
Tresemme: 3 products for $9.99 with CVS card
Lumene: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on cosmetics and skin care with CVS card
Buy 1, get 1 FREE on sun care with CVS card
La Roche Posay: Anthelios SX is priced at $29 with CVS card
Rimmel: All Rimmel mascara is priced at $5.99 with CVS card
L'Oreal: Buy $20 of skin care and get $5 extra CVS bucks with CVS card
Neutrogena: Save $2 on Anti-Oxident Age Reverse with CVS card
Save $1 on Visibly Even or Visibly Firm with CVS card
Save $1 on Speciality bath, rainbath or body oil with CVS card
Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Intensive is priced at $17.99 with CVS card
Healthy Skin or Healthy Defense is priced at $9.99 with CVS card
*Buy $20 of Neutrogena skin care and get $5 extra CVS bucks with CVS card

Rite Aid

Revlon: Buy 1, get 1 FREE on face makeup, lip color or nail enamel
Neutrogena: 20% off skin or bath care or Triple Moist Hair Care products
CoverGirl: Buy 1, get 1 FREE on Smoothers makeup, lip gloss or eye shadow
Physicians Formula: Buy 1, get 1 50% face powders, bronzers and blush
L'Oreal: Wrinkle De-Crease skin care is priced at $16.99, Age Perfect Pro-Calcium skin care is priced at $19.99 and Skin Genesis is priced at $15.99
Buy 1, get 1 50% off on lipstick, lip gloss or lip liner
Almay: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on eye shadow,eye liner,mascara, or eye makeup removers
c.booth: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on skin care products
Sally Hansen: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on grooming implements

Walgreens

Revlon: Buy 1, get 1 FREE on face or eye cosmetics
L'Oreal: Buy 1, get 50% off on skin care
Buy 1, get 1 FREE on HIP cosmetics
Jane: Buy 1, get 1 FREE on Be Pure Mineral cosmetics
Maybelline: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on cosmetics(Mineral powder,Define-A-Lash,Define-A-Brow, and Define-A-Line
Zeno: It is priced at $129

Prep Time
By Melanie Parker

I love color. Painting is always relaxing to me and I love to see the subtle differences in paint colors when they are viewed in different lighting conditions. I often get my fix by painting my nails, since it is much simplier than painting a room or a piece of furniture. But like any type of painting you may do, you never want to skimp on the preparation. And like any refinishing project, you always want to seal your work to protect from damage. That's where base and top coats come into play on your nails.

If you have access to one specific brand of polish, it is reccomended that you stick with the base and top coat made by the same manufacturer. This especially seems to be true for Zoya and Creative Nail Design (CND). I have no alliance to a certain brand, and all of my reccomendations have been tested with drug store to high end polish brands.

It is important that your fingers be clean of lotions or oils before you apply the base coat. Some technicians reccomend swiping the nail with alcohol before applying a base coat, but I find just washing my hands after removing the previous color is fine. I have found the best base coats for natural nails to be OPI Natural Nail Base Coat, Barielle Nail Camouflage, but my favorite is the Orly Ridgefiller. I don't actually have ridges on my nails, but the ridgefiller and nail camouflage seem to provide more of a sealant against stains. Whereas, I do get yellow stains if I use the OPI base with darker colors. None of these base coats leave my nails dried out or peeling, even though I change colors frequently.

I have experimented with many top coats, and have found that they are a temperamental lot. All of my reccomendations are on the thicker side and will bubble if you use them in a room that is too cold or you are near a strong breeze or under a ceiling fan.

That said, I love a thick, fast-drying product. Back in the day, I used to put my freshly painted nails in a bowl of ice water to set the polish or paint them with cuticle oil. Once the polish is no longer exposed to air, it dries quickly.

However, the benefit of these fast-drying polishes are that they are like adding a layer of glass over your nails to protect the color. These top coats cut my drying time to less than 5 minutes and provide a thick layer of protection against scratches and chipping.

My holy grail of top coats is Poshe Super-Fast Drying Topcoat. It provides a high gloss finish and does not yellow. I have found the only problem with this otherwise perfect sealant is that it gets thick and stringy the more you keep dipping into it. To combat this, I have purchased a 2 fl. oz. refill bottle from head2toebeauty.com. I keep this in a dark cabinet and only open it to pour into an exisitng bottle of top coat that is getting stringy. The bigger bottle does not have a brush and I have used up 2 large bottles without it changing consistency toward the end of the bottle. The smaller bottles with the application brush are also available at Sally's Beauty Supply, Ulta, and even some drug stores that offer a selection of salon brands. They come in a cardboard canister.

The Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat works just as well as the Poshe in terms of drying time and glossy sheen. It's a little bit thinner than the Poshe, so I feel it may not protect the color as well. If you change your color frequently, this may not be an issue for you. This product comes in a red bottle and is packaged in a box, and is readily available at drug stores where other Sally Hansen products are sold.

I hope these reccomendations help you to preserve your paint jobs, too.

Disclosure: All products mentioned in this post were purchased by the reviewer.

Quick Makeupalley Alert:

You have to check out the eye look created with products from the MAC Cool Heat collection!

Judica is a damn genius.

I love the FOTD boards.

http://www.makeupalley.com/m_78789437

Highlighting/Bronzing Blush Duo
Orgasm/Laguna


I am starting to experiment with my bronzer collection again. I have a drawer full of bronzers ranging from shimmering golds to burnt sienna. Many bronzers are leaving my face dirty and persimmon-looking. This is the first time I have played with the Laguna bronzer. This is a cool toned russet shade with some shimmer. It gives a real sun effect without all the potential skin damage.

At first glance, I thought this Nars duo looked eerily similar to my Philosophy's Supernatural Mineral Blush Duo in pink/bronze. That is until I did a side by side test. Nars Orgasm is warmer and more vibrant than the Philosophy's pink shade. This pink shade is actually more opalescent apricot. The bronzers are also vastly different. The bronzer from Philosophy is warmer.

I brought both duos to work yesterday. I tested the Nars on my co-worker Millie. Millie has the most amazing caramelish tan.
A deep tan is not in the cards for me.
I have learned to appreciate my "ghost" pallor and turn to bronzers for my color and oomph.
Orgasm and Laguna looked 1000 times better on Millie.
This killed me.
If I was any kind of friend I would give her my duo.

But I am selfish pale creature with tan envy.

It retails for $37 and is available at your local Nars counter.

Disclosure: A press sample of this product was provided by Nars

Candy-Coated Nails
By Melanie Parker

I know a guy who's tough, but sweet.
He's so fine, he can't be beat.
He's got everything that I desire
Sets the summer sun on fire

I want candy, I want candy!

This summer there seems to be an abundance of bright, candy-colored goodness available for your nails. My favorite polish of the bunch is Lippmann Collection's I Want Candy, which was actually release last Fall, but is still readily available wherever Lippmann Collection polishes are sold. It's got a beautiful watermelon pink jelly finish. The jelly finish has the translucency of a sheer, but a buildable hue that you can increase the saturation level of by layering. I prefer my jelly polishes to reach full saturation like a cube of Jell-O or in this case, a Fruit Jammers gummi bear, so I used 3 thicker coats of color before a layer of Poshe rapid drying top coat.


The OPI Mod About brights collection features six creme finished shades that capture the fun and edginess of the mod 'invasion' of the 60s. There is a red, pink, orange, yellow, but the two that caught my eye and had to come home with me are the blue and the green.

Dating a Royal is a bight primary blue creme. The first time I wore it, I had no trouble finding prints in my wardrobe that matched it perfectly. It is surprisingly wearable on tips , as well as toes, based on this summer's color palette. Unfortunately, when I was wearing it, a friend pointed out that it reminded him of Cookie Monster, and then I kept thinking how much better my hands would look if I had two chocolate chip cookies to hold in them. Not good for the waist line!

All of this food talk brings me to a fun use for the new OPI Green-which Village, which is a verdant pea green creme polish. I added it to the top of my I Want Candy manicure for the rind, then used the dark brown shimmery Sally Hansen Salon Haute Chocolate for the seeds of this "funky French" manicure. This nail art would probably look better as a pedicure worn to a picnic with a pair of flip flops.

credits: head2toebeauty.com and Melanie Parker. "I Want Candy" lyrics as performed by Bow Wow Wow.

Disclosure: All products mentioned in this review were purchased by the reviewer.

MAC Friends and Family

For today only: You can save 15% on all your MAC lemmings with the added bonus of free shipping.
Use code MACFF8.

Do not bother looking for a dazzleglass gloss.
They are long gone.

Blogdorf Goodman's Drugstore Deals and Steals for June 15th Through June 21st 2008

Walgreens

CoverGirl; Buy 1, get 1 FREE on foundation,powder, concealer or blush
Maybelline: The Colossal Volum'Express Mascara is priced at $5.99
Rimmel: 50% off all cosmetics
ROC: $2 off all skin care
L'Oreal: Buy 1 nail color at $4.99 and get 1 FREE(2 for $4.99)
Garnier Nutritioniste: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on skin care
Biore: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on skin care
Curel: 8.5 to 13 oz lotion is priced at $5.99
Yardley: Buy 1, get 1 FREE of soap
Neutrogena: 3 oz to 5 oz assorted formula's of sun care is priced at $9.99
Aveeno: Sunblock is priced at $8.99

Target

Clean & Clear: 6.5 oz Deep action cleanser is priced at $3.99
10% off all other Clean & Clear skin care
Pantene: 12.6 oz Beautiful Lengths or 13 oz Brunette Expressions shampoo is priced at $3.29
10% off all other selected Pantene products

Rite Aid

Maybelline: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on cosmetics
L'Oreal: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on all eye and nail cosmetics
Neutrogena: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on cosmetics
Clean & Clear: 2 for $8 on skincare
Olay: Active Hydrating or Complete Beauty Fluid is priced at $9.99
Almay: A single check rebate of $1.00 is available for any foundation, powder or blush purchase. See store for details.
Revlon: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on nail enamel and nail treatments

CVS

Revlon: Buy 1, get 1 FREE on cosmetics and beauty tools with CVS card
Sally Hansen: Buy 1, get 1 50% off non beauty tools or healing beauty cosmetics with CVS card
If you purchase The Quick Color Quick Nail Color Pen($7.99) you will earn $5 extra CVS bucks.(with CVS card)
Milani: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on all cosmetics with CVS card
Almay: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on all cosmetics with CVS card excluding one coat mascara
If you purchase Almay's One coat mascara, you will earn $5 extra CVS bucks(with CVS card)
La Roche-Posay: Anthelios SX is priced at $29 with CVS card
Buy Anthelios SX and earn $5 extra CVS bucks (with CVS card)
St Ives: Buy $10 worth of St Ives skin care and get $5 extra CVS bucks (with CVS card)
Nivea: Save $1 on all Nivea Body with CVS card
Aveeno: Save $2 on all Aveeno Positively Ageless with CVS card
Sally Hansen: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on all hair removers
(***make sure to read the review for a Sally Hansen Hair remover product on the beauty blog Jack & Hil***)
Olay: Buy $20 worth of Olay skin care and earn $10 extra CVS bucks (with CVS card)

If you see any great beauty deals online or at your area drugstore, let us know in the comments.

Are you sure that's a real spell? Well, it's not very good, is it? (Hermione)

According to the Daily Mirror, this little wizard is the next face to represent the fragrance Coco Mademoiselle.

Read the deets at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1026524/Chanel-casts-3million-spell-Mademoiselle-Hermione.html?ITO=1490

Mascara Bedlam: New Lancome Mascara For Fall

This press release stopped me in my tracks. Lancome is known for their incredible advances in mascara technology but they might have outdid themselves this time. First, notice the brush. It looks like the rubber wand we have come to love with Max Factor's iFX brush and Chanel's Inimitable mascara.
Add some "rabbit-esque" vibrations...and we might have a mascara that will actually transform my lame lashes.
This is the best news I have heard in quite a long time.

Ôscillation, a unique mascara that provides a 360-degree coat around each and every lash. The vibrating brush provides no fewer than 7,000 vibrations per minute for the perfect formula application. Ôscillation has four patents for technology and formula and was created by a team led by Jean-Louis Guéret, the designer of all Lancôme mascara brushes. The King of Mascara, Guéret has been the father of nearly 400 mascaras during his illustrious career.

No other deets available.
Keep your eye out at your Lancome counter. (Credit: Lancome)

Into the Woods: Jo Malone's Kohdo Wood Collection
Lotus Blossom & Water Lily and Dark Amber & Ginger Lily

The local Jo Malone counter suggested layering both of these fragrances to experience a smidgen of olfactory heaven. The Lotus Blossom is a watery fragrance with mandarin, ginger lily,bamboo, amber and aloeswood. Normally I shy away from ozonic fragrances. This one sparkles with ginger and has a slight incense drydown. The lily smells like a cross between a hyacinth and a banana.
The Dark Amber & Ginger Lily fragrance contains notes of cardamon, orchid and kyara wood. Cleopatra was a great fan of cardamon. It is said that she scented her palace with cardamon smoke during her hookups with Mark Antony. This fragrance has a strong cardamon note(green and sweet) along with a brief appearance of something that smells like pencil shavings(cedar-ish). The inital whiff of the fragrance is very masculine but it settles down in the drydown.

The Jo Malone website is sold out of both fragrances. You might have better luck at your local Saks counter.

Let us know what you think of either fragrance in the comments.

Credit: Jo Malone
Disclosure: I did not purchase this product. I tested it at the counter at my local Saks store.

Lancome formally announced and celebrated their new fragrance and muse. Anne Hathaway will be the face of Magnifique. The scent and ad campaign launches in August. The scent was created by master perfumers Olivier Cresp and Jacques Cavallier. Those are the fellows who brought you YSL's Elle. Mr Cresp is the man responsible for my beloved Kenzo Amour and Amour Indian Holi.

Fall looks like it is going to be an exciting time for fragrance.

Credit: Lancome and Madame X(I thought Anne was channeling Virginie Gautreau)

July's Lucky

It has been several months since I flipped for a Lucky issue. In fact I have not used my sticky tabs to mark up the pages. This issue renewed my crush on Lucky and jump started many lemmings.

The first ad that caught my eye was for CoverGirl. Those bright eye shadow palettes look fun and Galliano-ish.

Page 46: The cotton Lesley dress. It made me think of Betsy from Fashion is Spinach.
Page 68: The silk star dress on Zooey Deschanel and the delicate bracelet from Moss Mills.
Page 75: I still have a tester tube for the Armani Face Fabric. I have not tried it yet. I think the powdery finish is scaring me.
Page 76: The new Jo Malone fragrance(Lotus Blossom and Water Lily) is fantastic.
Page 80: Sachajuan Ocean Mist...I must have this! "It mocks the sea salt effect-the roughed-up, lots of body and texture look-without the dryness of other ocean spray"
Page 80: The Jo Malone Vitamin E body treatment. I am into scrubs right now.
Page 82: Chantecaille Vital Essence and Lancome's High Resolution Collaser-5x Anti-Wrinkle Serum(Did they say rice peptides?I love peptides!)
Page 86: I want that darn Tria.
Page 86: I have never even heard of the Softsheen-Carson Magic Shave Shaving Powder! My co-worker stated that this product smells to high heaven but it works.
Page 88: I want Whish Flawless Bump Fighter and Completely Bare Bikini Bump Blaster.
Page 88: The No!No! Zapper. I am following Beauty Addict's posts on this product.
Page 101: The yellow ruffle top from the Gap and the clutch from Express. I have not been in an Express store in years.
Page 103: The baby doll tank from JCPenney. I went searched online with no success.
Page 104: The green skirt from Banana Republic.

The makeup used on Zooey Deschanel was Shiseido.

The shimmering lipstick in SL16,eyeshadow duo in violet glitz, Extra Length mascara in black, and accentuating color stick in S5 Rosy Flush.

I love their choice of covergirl.

I think Zooey is so beautiful. Very Loretta Young-like.

Lucky readers can win the dress that was featured on the cover along with the makeup. 50 readers can win the Accentuating Color Stick in S5 Rosy Flush.

http://www.luckymag.com/breaks/luckysweeps/index/index_20080603

“What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance”
Jane Austen

Summer has finally hit Ohio. It went from a damp and chilly 50 degrees to Hades hot within one week.

I am just not feeling makeup at all.

I have broke out my tinted moisturizers and lip balms. MAC currently has a summer collection of lip balms called Tendertones. They range in pigment power and have just a smidgen of shimmer. The texture is sleek, light and lustrous. This lip balm just feels great on.

They contain SPF12 and are strawberry-kiwi flavored. They taste like Trident gum. I have tested two shades. Tread Gently is a chartreuse shade. It goes on sheer and gives just a warm yellowish cast on the lips. Honey Bare is a salmon color with just a dash of multi-colored shimmer. It applies sheer and just adds a pinkish tint to the lips.

Other shades are:
E-Z Baby is a sheer milky pink
Hot n'Saucy is a soft cherry red
Sweet & Nice is a sheer red grape with red pearl
Take a Hint is a sheer peach with white pearl
Hush Hush is a sheer gold with yellow gold pearl
Sweet Tooth is a sheer coral with white pearl
Pucker is a sheer berry with red pearl Deep Sigh is a sheer grape brown with red pearl

The lip balms are priced at $14.50($17.50 CDN) and are currently at your local MAC counter.

So how hot is it in your neck of the woods?
Has it changed your makeup routine? Let us know in the comments.

Credits: Blogdorf Goodman and MAC

Disclosure: A press sample of this product was provided by MAC Csometics

Blogdorf Goodman's Drugstore Deals and Steals for June 8th through June 14th 2008

Walgreens

Almay: 40% off on cosmetics
Nair: 30% off on hair remover
Banana Boat: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on sun protection lotion or spray
Maybelline: Buy 1, get 1 FREE on lip or nail color
Neutrogena: 40% off on foundation, powder, blush or concealer
L'Oreal: True Match Makeup blush or powder is priced at $6.99 after instant coupon
La Cross: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on grooming tools
Aveeno: Body Wash and Body Lotion are priced at $5.99
Positively Ageless is $17.99, Facial Cleanser is $5.99 and Facial Moisturizer is $12.99
St Ives: Apricot Scrub is priced at $3
Ped Egg is priced at $9.99

Target

Maybelline: Mineral Powder liquid makeup or powder foundation is priced at $6.99
XXL Curl Powder mascara or SuperStay Gloss lip gloss is priced at $5.99
*10% off all other Maybelline face and lip makeup and other selected eye makeup
Neutrogena: Healthy Skin Glow Sheers liquid makeup is priced at $8.99
*10% off all other Neutrogena face and lip makeup

Rite Aid

Homedics: Footbath Bubble Bliss Foot spa is priced at $19.99
L'Oreal: Age Perfect Skin Care is priced at $12.99
Revlon: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on ColorStay makeup
Wet n Wild: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on cosmetics
Maybelline: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on liquid, powder and compact makeup, blush, concealer, eye shadow, eye liner and mascara
Nair: Buy 1, get 1 FREE on depilatories, wax or bleach or Nair for Men
Bonne Bell: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on smackers, petites, chameleons and CQ nail enamel
Sally Hansen: Buy 1, get 1 50% on nail treatments, nail enamel or nail polish removers
Single Check rebate for $1 off on Hard As Nails Color or Wraps, or Extreme or Regular Nail Enamel
Olay: Complete or Active Hydrating lotion(4 oz) and Total Effects Dry Cleansing
Cloths are priced at $7.99

CVS

Banana Boat: $5.99 all banana boat sun care(excludes lip) with CVS card
Lumene: Buy 1, get 1 FREE on Lumene Sun Care with CVS card
Buy $20 worth of Lumene Skin Care and get a FREE trail size kit with CVS card
Be Fine: Buy any Be Fine skin care and get $5 extra CVS bucks with CVS card
PreVentin-AT: Buy any PreVentin-AT skin care and get $5 extra CVS bucks with CVS card
Dove: Buy $10 Dove skin care or deodorant and get $3 extra CVS bucks with CVS card
Biore: Buy $20 of any Biore skin care and get $10 extra CVS bucks
Neutroegna: Buy 1, get 1 FREE on mineral sheer cosmetics
Buy 1, get a 50% off on cosmetics
Buy Neutrogena Wave Power Cleanser kit and get $5 extra CVS bucks with CVS card
Save $1 on Neutrogena moisturizer, Deep Clean Cleanser, scrub or toner,Facial Cleanser or Illuminating, sun care or sunless tanning products with CVS card
Revlon: ColorStay Mineral Eyeshadow is priced at $6.99 with CVS card
Colorstay Mineral Foundation or Blush is priced at $9.99 with CVS card
L'Oreal: Buy 1, get 1 50% off on HIP Lip, Eye or Face products with CVS card
Wrinkle De-Crease or Remodeler is priced at $17.99 with CVS card
Age Perfect is priced at $12.99 with CVS card
Age Perfect Pro-Calcium is priced at $21.99 with CVS card
Borghese Nail Lacquer is priced at $6.99 with CVS card
Buy $19.99 of skin effects and get $5 extra CVS bucks with CVS card
Ped Egg is priced at $9.99

Ashes to Ashes: MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator from the Future Earth Collection

I have been obsessed with volcanic ingredients since Armani released their Crema Nera. The Armani cream was inspired by the thermal baths at Lago Specchio di Venere and his vacation home on Pantelleria . The ingredients are silicon, iron, sodium, and potassium. These ingredients mimic obsidian, a mineral produced by the island's volcanic eruptions thousands of years ago.

The cream felt like heaven and carried a price tag that was jaw dropping.

Fast forward to the new MAC summer collections. They have released two products that boast ingredients straight from live volcanoes. They are formulated from volcanic ashes harvested from the island of Vanuatu.

I tested the Volcanic Ash Exfoliator. This is a combination of ash and sugar. It smells like olives and earth. The texture is clay-like with small sugar granules. It did not foam or lather but was 1000 times easier to work with than a traditional clay body product. It rinsed off easily with just water. That was impressive to me. I expected that I would have to scrub my skin down due to the ink-like darkness of the product.

The end result was pretty marvelous.

My skin feels great and there might be a slight glow.

Besides the fantastic results, this product can boast a great price.

This retails for $19.00( $23 CDN)

The Armani Crema Nera is priced at $225 while the rest of the collection ranges from $60-$80 dollars.

The only drawback so far was the mess in the tub. This product managed to get everywhere.

Luckily it rinsed away with just water.

There was no staining or scrubbing involved.

Post your thoughts on this product in the comments. Let us know what you think!

Credit: Blogdorf Goodman

Disclosure: A press sample of this product was provided by MAC Cosmetics

What was the last product you used up?

Will you purchase it again?

Post your answer in the comments.

I am about to place an order with Beautyhabit to obtain another bottle of Sacrebleu. You can get 25% off your purchase with the code "luckybreaks2" until June 30th 2008.

Other products I have used up:

La Mer foundation

La Mer sample of moisturizing cream

Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Eye Treatment

Hamadi Shea Spray

Prime Time Primer

Paul & Joe Bleu and Blanc fragrances

Sensai Eye Contour Cream

I have repurchased backups of the Paul & Joe fragrances and the La Mer foundation.

I am in the market for a new primer product.