Beauté Spotlight: Z Palette Introduces New Colors

credit: ZPalette.com

If you’re a makeup artist or makeup lover, you have probably heard of Z Palette. It’s the “ultimate customizable makeup palette” with an open magnetic base to fit any size shadow, blush, bronzer and some foundations. I especially love that you can condense makeup from different brands into the palettes, which come in two sizes: small ($14) and large ($20). And just in time for the holidays, Z Palette has added two new colors. Fabulous Pink and Zebra. These super cute additions will be available mid-November in the large size only.

Here are some other reasons to get excited about ZPalette:

• Sleek and slim

• Made of high quality matte paper which is easy to clean and 70% recyclable

• Eco friendly because you don’t have to  purchase product in plastic or metal packaging

• Cost effective because refills made for palettes are much cheaper than the shadows in pots

• You can see the contents when the lid is closed, so no guesswork or digging for a single colors

And if you have de-potted shadows, blushes or bronzers that were not meant for magnetic palettes, Z Palette has you covered with pre-cut adhesive back magnetic squares. Just peel & stick onto the back of the pans.

“Life is complicated enough. Why not simplify things when you can.” — Zena Shteysal, makeup artist and ZPalette creator

I couldn’t agree more!

Cutting-Edge Eyes?

I love fantasy eyelashes but not the way supermodel Agyness Deyn wore them for the ACE Awards in New York Tuesday night. The  eye-stopping look was created using Shu Uemura’s Black Velvet Feather False Eyelashes ($25). I hear Deyn, known as “the fashion industry’s next great supermodel” stole the limelight on the red carpet with this look. I’m sure she did as in “What was she thinking?” “Agyness is a cutting edge girl,” said Deyn’s makeup artist Frances Hathaway. “I needed a fashion forward lash with an architectural influence.” What’s Hathaway’s tip for pulling off such a look? “When making such a big statement, keep it simple; just make one lash.” Umm I think I’ll pass.

Estee Lauder TurboLash Mascara with Gold Effects

Holiday collections from all the major cosmetic companies are out in full force. One product that immediately caught my eye from Estee Lauder’s Ultimate Red collection is the motion mascara with sparkling Gold Effects ($32). It’s the ever-popular vibrating mascara where the “brush does it all” and your lashes “shimmer dramatically with flecks of gold,” so says Estee. If you’ve tried one vibrating mascara, you’ve tried them all in my opinion, but the shimmering gold flecks is what I was curious about. Va va va voom? Not even close. The mascara did nothing for my lashes. No volume, thickness or length. I wasn’t surprised, honestly. Out of all the vibrating mascaras I’ve tried, not one delivers even two out of the three. And the sparkle, shimmer, twinkle on my eyes? Subtle and unnoticeable. I really wanted to like this mascara but as the saying goes, all that glitters is not gold.

Blended Beauté rating: Wink (at least the packaging is cute!)

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Beauté Spotlight: Cinema Secrets Brush Cleaner

A reader asked what my brush cleaner of choice is and hands down it’s Cinema Secrets for three reasons. First, it cleans my brushes thoroughly. Second, it sanitizes and conditions them. Thirdly, it dries very quickly so that I can use my brushes without waiting for them to dry. This is especially important when in between makeup jobs or doing multiple faces.  Cinema Secrets is the best in extracting makeup from brushes. You see it working immediately, and it’s quite simple to use.

1. Remove all excess makeup from brush by wiping it on a cloth of towel.
2. Pour a small amount of brush cleaner into a jar or tin can.
3. Place only the tip into the Brush Cleaner.
4. Remove, wipe and repeat.
5. Allow the brush to dry for about a minute.

Note: Do the same for larger brushes like powder and blush. You will have a longer drying time for larger brushes but they will be clean and completely free from bacteria.

Once a week, I also shampoo my brushes with antibacterial hand soap. Even baby shampoo works wonders. Here are a few helpful steps.

1. Squirt a small amount of soap onto the bristles and lightly massage. (Don’t scrub which will result in bristle breakage).
2. Place brush on its side and allow to sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Rinse under hot water.
3. Lightly squeeze bristles from the base to the tip to remove any excess water or soap. Repeat until all the residue is removed.
4. Take a washcloth/towel and lightly squeeze around the brush to get rid of excess water.
5. To dry, lay flat on its side. Never stand up to prevent water from damaging the handle or loosening the bonding.

Here’s to clean cosmetic brushes!

http://www.cinemasecrets.com/support/newsletter.html

Beauté Spotlight: BeautyTicket.com

If you love premium beauty brands but tired of paying premium prices, point and click your way to BeautyTicket.com where you can get top beauty brands up to 85% off retail! A Blended Beauté reader messaged that she was looking for a lip liner but so over paying $14 or more for one. Enter BeautyTicket.com. This site has everything from makeup, skin care, bath & body to hair, fragrance, gift sets & kits. You are certain to find some of your favorite brands as well: Smashbox, Stila, Vincent Longo, Trucco, Yves Saint Laurent, Iman, Too Faced and more. There are plenty of special offers, deals and steals. Shop by brand, category, price or spotlighted items. A free gift comes with any purchase of $35 or more. Happy shopping!

Product Review: Shu Uemura Eyebrow Gel

I spent a lot of time with Shu Uemura’s Eyebrow Gel since ordering it in August and was excited about the concept. If you missed my previous writeup, click here. I initially ordered seal brown since I had dyed my hair, but the color was not what I was expecting. It was an ashy brown (not the reddish brown I was hoping for) and it looked chalky on my brows. So I exchanged it for forest black. I’m still not in love with the color (it’s more of a grayish black). I used a small angled brow brush to apply the gel. Shu Uemura also recommends their natural badger brush, but for $29, my small angled brow brush was just fine. The gel has a fine, smooth texture but kinda clumps and crumbles. I used short, feathery strokes when applying as if mimicking actual brow hairs. The color payoff is sheer, almost too sheer in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like overly drawn in, hard-looking brows, but you have to layer this product to build color so it takes extra steps. The only thing I liked about this gel is its staying power. It’s not going anywhere! It’s waterproof and resistant to sebum. I have oily skin so it stood up to that. Again, the concept is great, but it didn’t out-perform my tried and true method of enhancing brows: a fine-point brow pencil, translucent powder and clear mascara. I’ll stick with that.

Blended Beauté rating: 1/2 winks

Beauté and the Beltway: Fashion Beauty Lifestyle Expo

I had a great time at WDCW’s Fashion Beauty and Lifestyle Expo on Oct. 10th at the Grand Hyatt in Washington DC. The one-day expo was filled with fabulous fashion finds, make-overs…, seminars and chic runway fashion shows every hour on the hour that included national fashion brands Betsey Johnson and Ed Hardy. I was the key makeup artist for the runway shows and worked with a fabulous team of makeup artists. We banged out sultry smokey eyes and sexy lips on 18 models! Much love to fellow MUAs Michelle Perdue, Karen Sidbury, Kim Reyes, Monae Everett and Tia White. I couldn’t have done it without these lovely, talented ladies. Click on their names to view more of their work! From the show Top Model, Saleisha (Cycle 9 winner), Sandra (Cycle 13) and Isis (Cycle 11) were among the models that rocked the runway. Uptown Girl Entertainment hosted the official beauty suite for the expo and provided complimentary makeup and mini-manicures. At the end of the day, I was broke down and tired (LOL!!) But I had fun, so it was worth it! Here are a few pics from the event.

Behind the scenes at the expo.

Michelle Perdue after doing makeup for Top Model winner Saleisha.

Karen Sidbury does makeup for Bianca from Top Model.

Models ready to hit the runway.

Michelle and Sandra from Top Model.

Hair and makeup artist James Cornwell of PR at Partners readies hair for the fashion shows.

Hairstylists from PR at Partners work on a model's hair.

Karen changes a model's look for another show.

Makeup: Michelle Perdue

Model's rocked smokey eyes and muted cheeks and lips. Makeup: Kim Reyes

Makeup: Tia White

Makeup: Tia White

Beauté Cosmetics Liqui-Gel Stains for Cheeks & Lips

I do a lot of weddings as a makeup artist so it’s important that the products I use have serious staying power for my brides and their wedding party. Weddings are an all-day affair and the makeup has to last. There are tricks to painting a lasting pucker, but the lip color is still usually the first thing to go. I’ve tried many lip colors and stains and found similar problems with most of them: They were either very drying or I needed to use gloss repeatedly for shine and moisture. I had given up searching for the ultimate lip stain that really will last all day and not dehydrate your lips until I tried something from Beauté Cosmetics (pronounced Bow-tay) that has me excited.

Liqui-Gel Stains for Cheeks and Lips ($29) are amazingly pigmented and might intimidate you upon first glance because of their depth and brightness. Two of the stains look like neon liquid in a bottle, but they are absolutely gorgeous on. Less is more with this product, so you definitely want to apply it sheer. How?

If wearing it as a lip stain, dab it on your lip and blend quickly with a brush, swab or disposable lip applicator across the lips. It blends smoothly because of the special formula that allows you to create silky sheer color or to keep building for a richer tone. You can even mix the stains with lip gloss or lip color for added staying power. And guess what? They contain hydrating ingredients, so no dry lips!

When applying to your cheeks, use a fine brush or small sponge applicator and apply a nickel-sized dot of stain onto each cheekbone. Apply in a circular motion gently smearing the stain from your cheek bones up towards your temples — just as you would apply powder blush with a large makeup brush.

Liqui-Gels are available in four colors:

• Flouron – Sheer vividly flourescent pink
• Neon – Sheer neon orange, enhances olive and tanned skin beautifully
• Fever – Sheer fevered red, provides a romantic neo-classical flush to the skin and lips
• Harlot – Sheer berry, beautiful on both pale and dark skins

Thanks to Beauté for allowing Blended Beauté to try Fever and Flouron. Flouron in the tube is a bright neon orange but I used it during a bridal trial and it changed to a soft natural pink on my client’s cheeks. And Beauté didn’t cut any corners on the packaging, which is sooo pretty! It’s a shining lucite that is very classy and substantial in weight. It really has an upscale feel. Gorgeous and beaut-E-ful!

I also tried Luminous Volume Gloss ($26) in Paramour (a metallic dusty rose with a hint of gold shimmer). Love that the gloss is not super sticky, gooey or goopy. In fact, the day I wore it, one of my close friends said “I LOVE that color you’re wearing. What is it?” That’s a pretty good reaction for wearing a product the first time.

I’m sold!

Visit Beauté Cosmetics at www.BeauteCosmetics.com

MAC Magic, Mirth and Mischief Holiday 2009 Collection

I got a chance to preview MAC’s 2009 Holiday collection and it was maddening! Not the collection, but the store where the event was held. Waaaay too small for the number of people that turned out for a sneak peek and to buy. It was hard to really spend time with the collection without bumping into someone or getting accidentally elbowed! Sigh. Despite being smooshed, squished and pushed, I got a good feel of what we can expect. And my only let downs? More mineralized eye shadows and the fact that a lot of the collection is repromotes. Bah, Humbug!

MINERALIZED EYE SHADOW DUO I think I’ve had my fill on these, but MAC is giving us more of them for the holiday. The eye shadow duos will come in the following colors:

• Devil-May (light violet)
• Crescent (silver)
• Under Your Spell Base (light yellow peach pink)
• Crescent: (rich copper)
• Mayhem Base (dirty brown gold)
• Crescent (silver)
• Midnight Madness Base (dirty grey brown)
• Crescent (gold)
• It’s A Miracle Base (deep blue burgundy)
• Crescent (gold)
• Blue Sorcery Base (bright turquoise)
• Crescent (silver)

PUCKER UP Get ready to paint your pout with holiday lipsticks, dazzleglasses and cremesheen glasses.

Holiday 2009 lipsticks:

• Pervette (soft bright pink with violet opalescent shimmer)
• Utter Fun (fuchsia cherry pink)
• Surprise Me (mid-tone peach)
• Total Wow! (blue pink berry) LOVED this color!

Holiday 2009 Dazzleglass:

• She-Zam Sheer (silver with silver and red pearl)
• Jingle Jangle (sheer yellow peach)
• Phiff! (yellow pink with red and sapphire pearl)

Holiday 2009 Cremesheen Glass:

• Ever So Rich (sheer lilac)
• Partial to Pink (light creamy yellow pink w/light gold pearl)
• Boy Bait (light neutral beige with pearl)

There’s also Softsparkle Eye Pencils:

• Iris Accents (pale violet with silver pearl)
• Nightsky (true black with silver pearl)

I was a little more excited about the palette and gift set selections. The packaging is too cute! Stay tuned.

Think Pink: Raising Awareness for Breast Cancer

“Breast cancer is the second most prevalent cancer worldwide and is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women. The good news is that mortality rates are declining. This is believed to be the result of early detection.”

My mother is a breast cancer survivor and early detection was key in her beating the disease. I count my blessings every day because she is still here. In support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Blended Beauté is going “Pink” to show our support for this worthy cause. Many of my favorite cosmetics companies are also showing their support by offering limited edition items.

The Pink Ribbon Collection ($40) from Bobbi Brown is a limited-edition lip set featuring an exclusive new shade, Blush Pink Creamy Lip Color and a limited-edition Pink Crystal Glitter Lip Balm, in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Your purchase of this collection contributes to Bobbi Brown’s donation of $35,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). It ships for free all month as their thank you for your support.

Prescriptives mixed three best-selling shadows, two flattering blushes, and an exclusive eye color to get the Pink Ribbon Palette ($48.50). Purchases support the brand’s $20,000 donation to BCRF.

Clinique has created a limited-edition Great Lips, Great Cause Lipgloss Key Chain ($18.50) featuring a pink ribbon charm, Clinique “C” charm and three mini Long Last Glosswear SPF 15 in Air Kiss, Kissyfit and Whisper. $10 of each purchase of Great Lips, Great Cause will be donated to BCRF during October. The key chain is available exclusively at Sephora.com.

Blended Beauté is also supporting BCRF through the sale of the Artemis Woman Microdermabrasion system ($50). A portion of the profits already supports alternative treatments and screenings for women’s cancers. But in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Blended Beauté is going to donate $10 from the sale of each unit to BCRF. Read more about the system here. Simply complete the form below to place your order.

For more information on other companies going “Pink,” visit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

“Go Pink. Get Screened.”

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