Older Girl Beauty Blog

Take me away.... MAC "To the Beach" collex

oldergirlbeauty — Thu, 13 May 2010 13:00:00 -0500

MAC's upcoming collection, "To the Beach" is packed with so many summer products, including a LOT of bronzing options. They are in colorful lime-ish green and orange packaging & have a highlighter that it just too pretty to use, in my opinion. I mean, look at it over there <---.

I'm not kidding when I say it is a big collection - I tried to show you as many of the prods, that I had a chance to try, as I could in my video, but it still seemed a bit rushed. Please let me know if you have any questions about anything and I'll be sure to slow down a bit and answer you. :)

Company's can care, too

oldergirlbeauty — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 09:26:31 -0500

Corporate Responsibility: "The concept that an organization has obligations not just to conduct its business and adhere to legal guidelines, but also to look out for the welfare of its employees, the community, and society at large."

So often we don't hear about what a company does to give back to society, it's generally handled internally and everyone moves about their business. Luckily, in the beauty arena, we get to hear about some of the great things that companies do to help out in their communities, states, countries and even overseas. There are two programs going on right now that I want to spotlight: MAC and Elizabeth Arden.

MAC Cosmetics established their "Viva Glam" campaign in 1994 - it supports the MAC AIDS Fund, which supports men, women, and children living with HIV and AIDS. It does this by donating all monies from the selling price of their Limited Edition "Viva Glam" lipsticks & glosses each year. They have featured many famous people to be their spokesperson (*from Fergie to Dita Von Teese & RuPaul, to name a few). This year's spokepeople were Cyndi Lauper and Lady Gaga, each with their own shade. You can check out what they look like in my video, if you haven't seen them yet. You can pick them up at any MAC counter or online for $14.

Marking their 100 years beauty innovation, Elizabeth Arden is releasing a new Limited Edition Anniversary lipstick - "Red Door Red" - "a universally flattering, sheer lipstick, the Red Door Red hue stylishly represents strength and femininity – a beautiful way to pay tribute the Elizabeth Arden woman". This lipstick is packaged in a luxurious gold case, and offers a triple-emollient moisturizing formula that contains vitamins A, C and E, along with aloe. It can be picked up at counters , where available, and online for $20.

Miss Arden believed in total beauty and in honoring that, all of the proceeds from the sale of this lipstick will go to benefit "Look Good...Feel Better". "This organization helps to improve the self-image, appearance and quality of life for people undergoing cancer treatments by teaching beauty techniques, which help them to cope with the beauty-related consequences of cancer and boost their self-confidence."

Please consider supporting these programs by treating yourself to a new lippie - it will give you another reason to smile.

The History of Beauty: Ungaro is NOT Lindsay Lohan

oldergirlbeauty — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:12:00 -0600

Nowadays, when you hear "Ungaro" you think of the dismally received fashion show fronted by "artistic designer", Lindsay Lohan. Thankfully, it has not always been that way.

Emanual Ungaro, born in 1933, took to sewing, as his father had done. So much that by the time he was 22 he moved to Paris, & 3 years later he was designing for the House of Cristobal Balenciaga. He stayed there for 3 years before moving on to design for André Courrèges. Only 4 years later, in 1965, he opened his own fashion house - having his first Prêt-à-Porter collection and opening his first stores in 1968.

For the next 30 years, he expanded stores and licensing agreements. Along the way, he created perfumes - Diva (1983), Senso (1987), Ungaro (1991) and Emanuel Ungaro For Men (1991). In 1997, Emanuel Ungaro partnered with Salvatore Ferragamo and Bulgari to create a new company: Emanuel Ungaro Parfums. This company produced the fragrances Fleur de Diva (1997), Desnuda (2001) and Apparition (2004).

Keeping with the history of creating scents, in 2008, Ungaro teamed with Avon to create two new frangrances: Avon U by Ungaro for Her and Avon U by Ungaro for Him. The sucess of these fragrances led Avon and Ungaro to collaborate again - this time with color cosmetics - "U by Ungaro Color Collection".

This Limited Edition collection contains 8 pieces, ranging from $10 to $20. It includes 3 lipsticks (*including one in the iconic Fuscia color "Ungaro Pink"), 3 eyeshadows and 2 face shimmer powders.

I've had a chance to try some of these, and I gotta say that I like the pink packaging - looks very luxe. The only thing I didn't care for, was the lipstick case. It looks nice and sleek, but the top to pull out the lipstick is small and the tube itself is slick, making it difficult to open. It has a sheer ribbon on top, and while it may just be there for decoration, it became my go to way to open it. But, once it was open, I liked the texture.

So, when I tell you this is Limited Edition, I mean it - it's only going to be around until December 31st. Then *poof*, it's gone. So, hit up Avon.com or your local Avon representative and take a look at this collection with a pedigree for yourself.

Recipe for your own fabulousness

oldergirlbeauty — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:56:00 -0500

Yeah, I'm not sure if that word exists, but, it means what it means. The latest thing to come around, and help a girl like me, who might or might not have a problem with too many lip products in their purse at one time, is mix your own color glosses.

First up is the L'Oréal HiP Color Presso. This dual-chamber gloss allows for you to dispense a single color or both colors mixed in whatever ratio you want. However, you have to press down on each side simultaneously to get both colors out at the same time. AFTER you have figured out how to open the darn thing. Seriously. It took me several minutes messing with it to figure out how to pop the lid open, and then it broke off. Ugh. So, yeah, downside to that one. Now, it must be said that the glosses themselves are not bad, it's just the delivery system that fails. Oh, and it retails for $13, which is a bit much for a drugstore gloss, to me, esp one that's such a pain to use.

Next up we have Avon's SpectraColor Lipstick. This is also a dual-chamber package, but in a round, contained tube, with a selector dial on the bottom. This selector allows you to choose between 7 different shades of color, ranging from the individual light color, 5 shades of mixture and the dark individual color. Once you have selected which color you want, you click the bottom of the tube and it is dispensed thru a vented, slanted top. But, be warned, when it comes out, it looks like a greasy mess, but it is not. It is just a glossy finish "lipstick". I say that with quotes, because I found this to wear so much more like a lipgloss than a lipstick. While it can be buildable, it still has that lipgloss feel to it.

I really like the ideas behind both of these. And, while I prefer the delivery system of the SpectraColor, I like the flavor (yes, flavor) of the Color Presso. But, Avon's price point of $9.50 (on sale for $7.99 right now) makes a world of difference to me. Either way, at least we are starting to have options of different colors in one container to keep in our little pocketbook (yes, I said pocketbook because I am old) as we go from day to night, instead of toting around all of our favorites.

Total Beauty Quiz: "What is Your Ideal Glam Lip Color?"

oldergirlbeauty — Sun, 10 May 2009 12:01:00 -0500

I tend to be more of a lipgloss than a lipstick kind of girl. However, there are times I want to look pulled together a bit more, with a bit more "stay" to my lip color and I need a lipstick. I do tend to pick the same kinds of colors each time, just due to the fact that I get hesitant about picking a color that just won't work. Maybe I put too much thought into it. Ha!

Max Factor and Total Beauty have teamed up with a fun quiz to help me (and you) to find out which lipstick shade matches our personalities. They say:

"Soft on the inside yet bold on the outside, highly pigmented lip colors can speak volumes about your personality -- before you've uttered a word. Find out which shade of the beauty editor- and consumer-favorite MAX Factor Vivid Impact Lipcolor you should be wearing."

After taking the quiz, the color it picked for me wasn't something I would have picked up for myself at first, but I will def take a look at it when I go to the store, as I *do* love a mauve:

Your ideal Vivid Impact Lip Color: Ms. Terious
Some might describe you as demure, but if they really knew you, they'd see the fire within. A die-hard romantic, you prefer to express your emotions through your eyes, and on most occasions, a sultry smokey eye. Keep this mauve-y nude shade, one of 20 highly pigmented colors, on hand for muted (yet soft and kissable) lips.

Go on and take the quiz and let me know what color it says about you. I would love to know if you agree with it, or if it gives you an idea of something new to try.