Older Girl Beauty

Look Like Them: Amy Adams, Met Ball 2012

Paula — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:47:11 +0000

“After seeing Amy’s gorgeous Giambattista Valli cream colored gown, I was inspired to transform her into a classic, “Old Hollywood” movie star.”-celebrity makeup artist Steven Sollitto

Makeup-Complexion
·To begin Steven used tarte’s clean slate flawless™ 12-hr brightening primer to prep Amy’s face.
· Using tarte’s airbrush finish bamboo foundation brush, he buffed in tarte’s Amazonian clay 12-hour full coverage foundation with Broad Spectrum SPF 15 in light for a perfect satin finish.

Makeup-Cheeks
· Next, Steven swirled tarte’s Amazonian clay 12-hour blush in blushing bride on Amy’s cheeks, followed by a light layer of tarte’s maracuja blush & glow brightening luminizer and cheek tint in candlelight on her cheek bones to create radiance and a subtle sheen.

Makeup-Eyes
· Steven started with a soft wash of shimmering golden peach from tarte’s neutralEYES eye shadow palette volume II on Amy’s lids.
· To add further definition, he applied tarte’s Amazonian clay waterproof cream eyeshadow in plum smoke along her lashlines and into her creases.
· He finished by lining her eyes with tarte’s multiplEYE™ clinically-proven lash enhancing liquid liner and drawing outward to create a cat-eye.
· For extra volume Steven applied of two coats of tarte’s lights, camera, lashes!™ 4-1in-1 clinically-proven mascara.

Makeup-Lips
· To finish Amy’s look, Steven filled in her lips with tarte’s glamazon™ pure performance lipstick in wild to make her lips pop. (*out exclusively at Sephora in July 2012)

May is Melonoma Awareness Month

Paula — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:31:41 +0000

My friend Abby has a big scar on her leg now, but at least that is all she has. Earlier this year, her vanity caused her to get a spot on her chest checked out, but they also checked out a darker mole on her leg, which turned out to be a melonoma. She tells her story in “Lessons From Melanoma”.

A big part of this story resonates with me because I, too, am a pale, freckled beauty that slathers on the sunscreen. Thankfully, I have a doctor that keeps tabs on any of my moles that look suspicious, and I try to be as diligent as I can in keeping an eye on them between visits. Abby’s story makes me check them more, that’s for sure.

Have any of you guys had a melonoma scare? Do you check your own moles? If not, this month is a great time to get started.

Pledge to “Fight The Powder” with Mally Beauty

Paula — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:02:00 +0000

You guys know I have been PREACHING to you about the wonders of the Mally Beauty Poreless Face Defender for almost 2 years now. And I’ve convinced several of you (*Retrodiva) to give up the powder and make the switch. But for those of you that are still on the fence about it (*how could you be?!?), I have a couple of opportunities for you to try to check it out.

For those of you lovelies in NYC on Tuesday, May 8th, Mally and her “Fight The Powder” team will be outside Grand Central Station during rush hour (6:30AM – 9:30AM and 4pm – 7pm) to give the first 50 women who take the pledge to give up their powder a Face Defender, with a pink mirror that has a QR code that will link to a video with exclusive tips & discounts from Mally.

And for those of you not in NYC, you can sign the pledge on the Mally Beauty Facebook page for a chance to be one of 10 weekly winners of a Face Defender, and maybe even the Grand Prize winner of a 30min Skype session with Mally & the products she rec’s for the winner in the chat. (*This promotion goes on until June 7th).

So, have I convinced you to make the switch? I would love to know if you have or if you are going to make the pledge.

Beauty Spotlight “What’s in my…” – My Mom’s Turn

Paula — Sat, 05 May 2012 13:43:39 +0000

In honor of Mother’s Day in the US next weekend, I thought I would give you a peek into my lovely Momma’s bathroom cabinet. As you can see, there are many MANY brands that are available on QVC – my mom is the one that introduced me to ~~my dirty little secret~~ the shopping channel.

Some of her favorites, including some not purchased from the tv, are:

Dr. Denese SPF 30 Defense Day Cream

Philosphy “Amazing Grace” Spritz, but really anything in that scent

Elizabeth Arden “Red Door” – this has been her go to scent for I don’t know how many years now

RoC Skincare Deep Wrinkle Serum

Laura Geller Tinted Under Make-Up Primer, and she also loves the Balance N Brighten, too (*not shown)

Lierac Gentle Cleansing Water No-Rinse Formula for Face and Eyes (*no longer available, but now she keeps sneaking peeks at my new “Velvet Cleanser”)

Philosphy “The Oxygen Peel”

Kate Somerville Quench Hydrating Face Serum (*pretty sure this was my bottle that Mom swiped after she finished hers)

I would like to point out the DIY pencil/brush holder I made for my mom with beads and a rectangle vase from Hobby Lobby. My mom has neuropathy in her hands, so it is very difficult for her to pick small things up off of flat surfaces. This holder makes it so much easier for her to grab her brushes and her eye products, as she is NOT giving any of those up. Especially these:

RevitaBrow – (*remember when I told you about my mom and RevitaBrow?)

Laura Geller Brow Marker

Smashbox Brow Tech To Go

Mally Beauty Automatic Eyeliner in “Black Cherry” (*of COURSE there is Mally in there, and I was *wondering* where that color went…)

So, I don’t think it is too hard to figure out where I get my love of beauty products (and QVC), do you? Tell me – do you get your love of beauty from your Momma, or has she picked up a few tricks from you?

Foreign Beauty Friday: Skinfood Lettuce & Cucumber Water Drop Essence

Paula — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:06:50 +0000

*I am lucky enough to know people overseas that send me things. I also have friends and family that travel, so I ~~harrass them~~ make sure they bring me back goodies.

My BFF brought me back this Skinfood “Lettuce & Cucumber Water Drop Essence” from Korea. This brand has been around since 1957 with their natural line of products based on fruits and vegetables, basically. It didn’t seem that odd to me, as I had used the Burt’s Bees Wild Lettuce Complexion Soap a few years ago, before it was discontinued. (*shakes fist impotently).

Anyway, this essence isn’t heavy enough to be a moisturizer, nor light enough to be a serum. It kind of reminds me of a primer, really. It’s good for really dry skin days, or after too much sun. It just seems to put more fluid in your skin to rehydrate, than to regularly moisturize, in my opinion. It has a really light scent and I keep it in the fridge so I get a cool shot of it when I apply it after a day outside.

Have you ever had a chance to try anything from Skinfood? Or even a product based on lettuce before?

Beauty Spotlight 4/15/2012

Paula — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 16:28:29 +0000

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed hits up the expects for their tips on cuticle care in hopes that her nail swatch pictures will stop scaring small children. Check it out and feel free to offer up tips of your own for everyone’s sake!

Layla Cosmetics have taken the nail polish world by storm and polish insomniac shows you why!

The Pink Sith says the Too Faced Cosmetics Better Than False Lashes Nylon Lash Extension System may be just right for your special snowflake like lashes!

Pretty pinks and wearable nudes, Visionary beauty has a look at some of the newly released Chanel lipstick shades.

Another new MAC collection? We may find these appear too often but sometimes they come out with a winner. Beauty Info Zone wants to show how you can go the Extra Dimension.

Prime Beauty embraces the bright trend with 5 bold lip looks for spring and summer!

To celebrate the return of Le Metier de Beaute to the UK, Modesty Brown shares some of her favourite items from the brand.

Shannon at Lipstick Musings joins the ranks of the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with the help of the famous Touche Eclat . Come see why this concealer and illuminator is so famous!

Pammy Blogs Beauty finally got to see the Hunger Games movie! Check out the Hunger Games-inspired manicures that she created with Pure Ice Nail Polish.

London MakeUp Girlcompares the new and old formula of Kevyn Aucoin’s Expert Lip Tint in Samilke. Has the shade changed? See if you can spot the difference she swears she sees Kevyn Aucoin Samilke – old versus new version.

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic discovered the favorite beauty products of makeup artist Brandy Gomez-Duplessis. Which drugstore mascara is her favorite?

Zuzu*s Petals wonders if facial exercises could be a worthy addition to her pro-youthful beauty arsenal. Come read about it at Everyday Beauty.

Perilously Pale decided it was time to find out what all the hype was about with the new YSL Glossy Stains. Check out her review of Corail Aquatique and find out why she thinks everyone MUST try these!

Ideas to Spring Clean Your Beauty Closet

Paula — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:29:45 +0000

Do you get the urge to clean out all of your closets, drawers, nooks and crannies this time of year? To get a fresh start, but afraid of getting rid of too much stuff, too? I’m the worst at that – afraid that I might need something in the future, so I’ll hang on to it, instead of replacing it with something more efficient.

Celebrity makeup artist Mickey Williams shows off some Procter & Gamble products that are space saving, multi-purpose and one that can even make your hair salon soft, but without the cost.

How about you – are you spring cleaning? Or are you ignoring it all, in hopes the cleaning elves will come to you house when you sleep?

Hillary, Me and Scrunchies Make Three

Paula — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:20:25 +0000

Much to many of my friends horror *cough*StyleIt*cough*, I wear a scrunchie in my hair. Now, not on the daily or anything, but, yes, I have been known to go out in public in one, recently. Like, Saturday. Look, when I’m just running errands (*ie, going to Walmart), I am not going to be fixing my hair, so the easiest thing is to throw my hair up in a ponytail. And a soft scrunchie won’t leave a line in my hair, if I have managed to wash it that day (*ie, “around” that day).

So, when I read that the Peacekeeper of the Free World, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, still rocks scrunchies in her hair, it made me happy. If it’s good enough for her, then it’s good enough for me. They will pry my scrunchies from my cold, dead hair. That is all.

Tell me, are scrunchies your secret shame? Or will you rock them with the bravest of us?

Beauty Spotlight “What’s in my…” – Visionary Beauty

Paula — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 03:15:36 +0000

For this week’s Beauty Spotlight teaser, Visionary Beauty shows us what’s on her dressing table. We’ll see the items she reaches for daily as she turns the spotlight on her attempt at makeup organization. So race over to Visionary Beauty to see ‘What’s On Her Dressing Table.’

RoC Skincare – You and Improved Challenge

Paula — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 23:11:06 +0000

This just in from RoC Skincare:

What if looking ten years younger was possible with the click of a mouse? The good news is, it is!

RoC® Skincare is offering folks the opportunity to get ten years back to the look of their skin with a complete transformation through its “You and Improved” Challenge.

Starting today, people can watch the evolution of four everyday women who have already taken the challenge to make a change in their lives, starting with their skin (and the RoC® RETINOL CORREXION® line of products) in a series of short videos on the RoC Facebook page. From there, they can enter for a chance to be one of four women who win a trip to New York City to experience their very own head-to-toe makeover and photo shoot with celebrity fashion stylist Marcellas Reynolds and New York City dermatologist Dr. Erin Gilbert.

Entering the challenge is simple – we want women to tell us why they want to look ten years younger by submitting either a video or written essay with photo by *May 17th*. RoC® will announce 25 finalists in June with the winners being determined by RoC® Facebook fans’ votes.

So what are you waiting for? We encourage people to visit the RoC Facebook page to learn more and take the first step on their journey to becoming You and Improved!