Beauty Preview: Nordstrom And MAC Present Exclusive Opulash Mascara

"Extra, extra, read all about it!" Behold, MAC's latest mascara and a Nordstrom beauty exclusive....Opulash! With a formula designed to maximize lash volume and curl, Opulash boasts a full wand that tapers at its tip (my favorite brush design!) and promises to coat lashes uniformly without creating the "spider lash" effect. It creates dramatic lashes without clumping.

The new Opulash mascara will be available ONLY at Nordstrom stores and online at www.nordstrom.com where it will retail for $14. While it officially launches on April 22, it is possible to pre-order starting on April 12.

I am very curious to see how this bad boy performs. Thus far, I haven't had any experience with MAC mascaras (though I do have Studio Fix Lash waiting in my beauty drawer to be tried when some of my others have been used up/dried out).

What do you think? Will you try MAC Opulash mascara?

Fade To Black: The Black Lipstick Trend

Black lipstick is not only for the "goths" these days. The black lipstick trend has been popping up everywhere lately. MAC, with its recent Style Black collection, has introduced a black cremesheen lipstick (Black Knight, $14) as well as a black mattene (Midnight Media, $14.50). Poppy King of Lipstick Queen has also made black an option with her Black Tie Optional lipstick ($18) and Shine Gloss ($22). Traditionally, we think of black as a harsh and rather scary shade to smother on our pouts, but these companies, and others, are "bringing black back," giving us ways to wear the color without scaring little children (or adults, for that matter!)

A black lippie can be a great way to deepen up or alter other colors of lipstick that you might already have in your collections. When put over a pink lip color, for example, adding a bit of black over the top can result in a more lavender-toned hue. A sheer black lipstick can also add dimension to any red gloss.

I recently took Lipstick Queen's Black Tie Optional lipstick out for a spin. I'll admit I was a bit hesitant at first. At first glance in the tube the color looks quite intimidating. One thing I noticed, however, when I put the color on my lips, was that the black, in the case of this lipstick, was pretty sheer. This is definitely the way to go, in my opinion, with a black lip product. By itself, the color might make you appear a bit "frozen," but check out the results when I added it on top of a soft baby pink lipstick!

Lipstick Queen Black Tie Optional Lipstick in the Tube

Lipstick Queen Black Tie Optional Lipstick - Alone

Smashbox Lipstick in Pout - Alone

Lipstick Queen Black Tie Optional Lipstick Over Smashbox Pout Lipstick

The black lippie tones down the "bubbleguminess" of the pink lipstick. I kind of like the results! You can purchase the MAC lipsticks and the Lipstick Queen black lip products at http://www.maccosmetics.com/ and http://www.lipstickqueen.com/ respectively.

What are your thoughts on the black lippie? Yay or nay? Have you tried any?

MAC Haul: Style Black And Dazzleglass Creme Collections

This past Thursday, September 24th, MAC officially launched two new collections in their stores and counters, Style Black and Dazzleglass Creme. Of course, yours truly was on hand to check out the new offerings and to pick up a few (OK, maybe more than a few) of the items that caught my eye. This time around, I enlisted the help of my friend, and fellow beauty blogging lady, Nancy (The Informed Makeup Maven), and we headed to Henri Bendel in NYC to check out the goods. Witness the damage that was done....

Volcanic Ash Exfoliator, $19.50

The infamous Volcanic Ash Exfoliator was a big hit when it launched previously with the Future Earth collection in May 2008. Having missed out on it the first time around, I scooped it up with the re-promote. I can't wait to take it for a spin! This is already selling out quickly.

Mineralize eyeshadows, in, from L-R, Cinderfella and Young Punk, $19.50 each

I was originally not planning to purchase any of the eyeshadows from the Style Black collection. When I saw them in person, however, I quickly changed my mind. These mineralize shadows look amazing when used wet (with Fix +, for example) or when layered on top of the Greasepaint Stick (a black base). The glitter just pops! There is some fallout (to be expected).





Greasepaint Stick in Intense Black, $17.50

This crayon can be used as an intense black eyeshadow base or even as an eyeliner. It is a true deep black with a gorgeous, yet subtle, opalescent purple shimmer. It is very smooth and creamy (creamier than a shadestick). I can't wait to use this with the shadows from the collection. This was (aside from the exfoliator), the product I was most looking forward to purchasing.






Mattene lipstick in Night Violet, $14.50

This is my first time trying the mattene formula and I was drawn to the deep purple color immediately (I am quickly becoming obsessed with more bold lip colors for the new season).





Glimmerglass glosses in, from L-R, Bling Black and Blackfire, $18 each

I think these will be best over lipsticks. Blackfire, with its purple sparkle, will look gorgeous over Night Violet mattene. I am excited to try Bling Black over a red lippie. The gold shimmer should really pop the color.






Dazzleglass Creme in Creme Allure, $18

All of these products, as well as other items from these collections, can be found, as usual, at MAC free-standing stores, at MAC counters, and online at http://www.maccosmetics.com/.

Did you haul anything from these or any other recent MAC collections?

MAC Colour Craft - A Look At The Lipsticks And Lip Glosses

MAC's Colour Craft was officially launched today at all freestanding locations and counters. I was pretty excited to see what this collection had in store. Many different products are featured in this collection, including mineralized blushes, mineralized skinfinishes, new mineralized eyeshadow quads, lip products, and a new brush (along with some re-promoted brushes)! I was able to check out the goods at the MAC Pro store in NYC today. Pro stores have had this collection for a week already! I wanted to share some swatches with you, as well as some initial thoughts on the items. In this edition, I'll discuss the lip product selection.

Colour Craft presented us with six shades each of lipstick and a new formula of gloss, the marbleized lipglass. Among the lipsticks, there were five new limited-edition shades and one re-promote, Most Popular, from the Hello Kitty collection. Unfortunately, one of the lipsticks was missing from the display at the store I visited, so I was not able to get a swatch of it.

L-R, top row: Trimming Talk (frost), Made With Love (lustre), Madly Creative (frost), and Ever Embellish lipsticks (lustre)

L-R, middle row: Most Popular lipstick (lustre), Eclectic Edge, Nice Mix Up, Crazy Haute, Miss Marble marbelized lipglasses

L-R, bottom row: Funky Fusion and Pretty Pattern marbelized lipglasses

A closer look at the lipsticks:

L-R: Trimming Talk, Made With Love, Madly Creative, Ever Embellish

Most Popular

*ignore the swatch partially visible at the bottom!

And the glosses....!

L-R, T-B: Eclectic Edge, Nice Mix Up, Crazy Haute, Miss Marble, Funky Fusion, Pretty Pattern

This is a look at the packaging (same as the Tri-Color glosses) and the marbled appearance of the new lipglasses.

In general, I was pretty underwhelmed with the lipstick offerings. While they are pretty colors, nothing really stood out to me as a must-have. I had already picked up Most Popular with the Hello Kitty collection back in February, and I have to say that the special packaging that was available with HK was the only thing that really excited me about this shade. The color is a nice pinky berry, but definitely not one that is particularly remarkable. The only other colors that I might have revisited were Trimming Talk and Made With Love (I'm a sucker for pinks and corals!), but even these didn't excite me enough to warrant a purchase. The other lipstick that was not on the display is Color Crafted, a milky pink with a frost finish. The lipsticks retail for $14.

While I found myself unimpressed with the lipsticks, I was pleasantly surprised with the glosses. These new marbleized lipglasses feature a mix of color (a "marble" lol) that combines, upon swatching/application to deliver beautiful pigmented, sparkly shine. I thought these were going to disappoint me in the way that the Sugar Sweet collection's very sheer Tri-Colored lipglasses did. The gloss that I definitely have my eye on is Eclectic Edge. It is a gorgeous shimmery lavender, that would complement purple-hued lipsticks like Fashion Mews (from Hello Kitty) and Lavender Whip (from the Cremesheen collection) nicely. It would even look great paired with other lavender glosses - perhaps it might give Ever So Rich cremeglass the pick-me-up it needs! I also enjoyed the other color options. The pinks were, of course, beautiful, but I have too many pink glosses to count! Pretty Pattern would look very pretty over a nude lipstick or by itself for a subdued look. The marbelized lipglasses retail for $18, for .16 US oz. of product (dazzleglasses, for comparison, are the same price for .06 US oz.!)

So, there you have it! My swatches and mini review of the lippies and glosses from the new limited edition Colour Craft collection. Have you checked out the collection yet? Anything screaming to you "come and get me"?

Skin Salve: Salvation in a Tin

Even in the summer, my skin can be dry and irritated. Instead of suffering with cracked lips and patches of unwanted flaky skin, I turn to my trusty friends - my skin salves. These multipurpose products are great because one tin has all of your problem areas covered - you can use a salve as a lip balm, to cure dry elbows, or condition those stubborn dehydrated spots on your arms or legs.

I've previously relied solely on Smith's Rosebud Salve, in its traditional rosy pink goodness. The smell is pleasant and the formula contains "cotton seed oil, aromol and essential oils blended in a special petrolatum base." The greasy and waxy texture works well to heal almost any dry skin ailment - it even acts as a great cuticle ointment. I carry a container of Rosebud Salve with me in my make-up bag in the colder months, but as it's prone to melt easily, I leave it at home in the summer.

You can find Smith's original salve at Sephora (for $6), along with some other similar products from the brand. The Minted Rose, Brambleberry Rose and Strawberry lip balms retail there for $7. Urban Outfitters also carries the Mocha Rose Salve for $8. I'm lemming the latter for sure! Mocha?!? Oh, yes...!

Another great product that I purchased more recently was launched as part of MAC's Naked Honey collection last month. The Naked Honey Skin Salve is a wonderful skin soother that has taken its place bedside. A delicious mix of ingredients like sunflower oil and beeswax, this salve smells (and tastes!) like honey (hence, the name ;-) ). The scent also comes off to me as quite "beachy" - very yummy and enjoyable! Lately, I've been using this on my lips before bed-time, and in the morning I wake up to soft and supple, "no-trace-of-dry-skin-here" lips. As with the Rosebud Salve, this product can be used on any part of the body. You can find this, and other items from the Naked Honey collection for a limited time at MAC stores, MAC counters and online at the MAC website. The salve retails for $18.50, and you get a pretty good amount of a product which should last through many uses.

How do you feel about skin salves? Do you use them?

Nordstrom Beauty Exclusives - I've Got My Eyes On You

By now, most of you are probably aware that Nordstrom is going to have a slew of great beauty exclusives available in stores and online beginning July 17th. There will be some really nice special sets and collections from brands we know and love (and from some we've been meaning to try!) Though these beauty exclusives will not officially launch for about another week and a half, you can pre-order your goodies at the Nordstrom website right now.

Here are a few items that are on my wish-list (emphasis on "wish"):

NARS Modern Love Palette, $55

Bobbi Brown 'Best of Bobbi' Set, $75

Dior 'Jazz Club' Eye Palette, $65

MAC 'Fresh Cut' Eyeshadow Palette, $35

MAC 'Graphic Garden' Eyeshadow Palette, $35

MAC 'Sun Siren' Look in a Box, $59.50

Chanel 'Muscat' Glossimer, $27

Couture Couture by Juicy Couture Rollerball, $16

Mario Badescu Travel Skincare Kit, $28

While my available funds certainly won't allow me to purchase all of the items on my list (vigorous head shaking - the side to side kind, of course!), I'm hoping to take a closer look at these products and the other great beauty exclusives at my local Nordstrom store soon.

What about you, my lovely Beauty Chick readers? Are you going to shop the Nordstrom exclusives? Let me know what tickles your fancy and be sure to comment if you do pick up anything!

Getting To Know The Beauty Chick: Cosmetics I'm loving right now

So I thought I would use this post to provide a little insight into my current beauty loves. These are products that I have been using lately on an almost daily basis. I hope you enjoy this intro!

Foundation: I have been abolutely LOVING Revlon's Colorstay Foundation. I picked this up about a month or so ago in the shade Ivory (their lightest shade....yes, I'm a pale gal!) and it has been doing a great job of covering up my redness and any blemishes. The coverage seems to be medium to full (it is nicely buildable). I'm moving through this bottle now and I'm glad I have another waiting for me!

Concealer: Lately I have been alternating between MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in NW15 and Smashbox High Definition Concealer in Fair for my undereye area. The MAC concealer is nice and creamy. With the Smashbox concealer, a little goes a long way! I have found that the tiniest dab of product is sufficient. The great thing about this HD concealer is that it feels super light on the skin. Both are definitely great products! To cover any redness in my skin (around my nose or cheeks, for example) and blemishes I've been using the MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in NC15. The slight yellow undertones work well to conceal any blotchiness.
Powder: My powder of choice right now is MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light. I love the way this powder buffs easily into my skin to set my foundation and concealer. I generally apply this with either the MAC 134 (large powder brush) or the MAC 183 (flat-top kabuki brush).

Blush: There are two blushes in my collection now that I seem to be gravitating toward. The first is the Laura Geller Blush n Brighten in Roseberry. This product gives me the prettiest pink glow. It is gorgeous and just a little bit gets the job done! The other item is a recent addition to my makeup stash, a Beauty Powder Blush in On a Mission, which was released with MAC's latest collection, Style Warriors. This is such a beautiful plummy blush color that applies so smoothly and warms up my cheeks wonderfully.

Bronzer: Bronzer is an absolute must for me, especially in the summertime. The Chanel Bronze Universel Makeup Base and NARS Laguna bronzers are terrific to help me warm up my complexion. I sometimes alternate between the two products (the Chanel bronzer has a cream-type consistency and the NARS bronzer is a typical powder formula), and other times I layer the NARS powder over the Chanel bronzing base to set it.

Eyeshadow: Lately I've been keeping my eye looks clean and simple (I love using color, but my poor eyelids are still recovering from an allergic reaction to something in some of my more intense shadows). On a daily basis I have been grabbing for a neutral and slightly shimmery cream shadow to use as an all-over lid wash. The product of choice has been Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in R.S.V.P., a light shimmery champagne color. It applies smoothly and stays put (especially when I add a little Urban Decay Primer Potion underneath.....another fave!) R.S.V.P. would also make a nice base for other shadows.

Mascara: My go-to mascara has been Clinique Long Pretty Lashes. It is great for an everyday natural look. I have also been trying some colored mascaras lately. Urban Decay Big Fatty Colored Mascaras in Flipside (teal) and Electric Blue are great for adding a pop of color to the eye area, especially when the rest of the eye is left neutral.

Lip Gloss: I have been making my way fairly quickly through the Korres Cherry Lipgloss in 23 Light Purple. This is a great pinky purple color that is a MLBB shade on my highly pigmented lips. It is natural, too (really...all of Korres' products are natural!)

So there you have it! These are the products that have truly been essentials for me as of late. Everything I've mentioned works great together for a perfect everyday look.

If you want any further information on any of the items I have mentioned, please don't hesitate to leave me a comment! I'd also like to know......what are some of your makeup favorites?