However, the downside has always been the availability factor and the lack thereof. You just couldn’t get it locally on a whim. But that has now changed with the release of the MAC Charged Water Cleanser and the NARS Makeup Removing Water.

Both of these cleansers are clear, except MAC has a tint of blue, but not noticeably on the cotton round. They are mostly odorless and tasteless – there is a hint of something that distinguishes it from water, but nothing really perceptible. And they both work really well in removing makeup.

Now, I can’t speak to how they remove waterproof mascara, since I don’t wear it to try it out, but it did remove my regular makeup like a breeze. The main difference that I see is in the bottling – the NARS comes in a 6.7oz squeezable bottle and the MAC comes in a 3.4oz shakeable bottle. I’m used to squeezing to get my cotton round soaked, but, yes that can be wasteful, so some may appreciate the ability to regulate just how much you get out at one time from the MAC bottle. I really feel like this may come down to a brand preference for some.

Both are on counters now. The MAC runs $23USD and the NARS runs $28USD.

What say you – have you tried cleansing waters? Are you more likely to try one now that brands you recognize locally are making them?

*Disclaimer: I received this product from the company’s for editorial consideration.

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When I was growing up, the only kind of blush I ever used, or was even introduced to, were powder blushes. I have come to learn that there are so many variations besides powder now, that I want to make sure you know, too.

In this video I mention several different types of blushes/brands. They are:

• Three Custom Colors Crème to Powder Blush in “Morning After” (*PR provided)
• tarte Cheek Stain in “True Love” (*discontinued – boo! – GWP)
• Clinique Blushwear Cream Stick in “Shy Blush” (*mine is a mini-tube GWP)
• MAC Blushcreme in “Florida” (*PR provided)
• Benefit “Posie Tint” (*from a gift bag)
• NARS Cream Blush in “Penny Lane” (*from a giveaway)

I forgot to mention a couple of brands/products that def deserved to be shown, too. The first is the Sue Devitt Starbrights Lip & Cheek Gel in “Capella” (*got in a gift bag). This cheek gel scared me when I first saw it becaus it is *purple*. But after the lovely MUA put it on my cheeks and showed me how pretty it could be on my skintone, I was hooked.

The second one that should have been in the video is the Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless Sculpting Blush. Besides being a creamy blush that goes on easily, it is also the only blush that incorporates Olay’s Regenerist Serum into the mix – making it not only pretty, but good for your skin, too. (*of course, I can’t help but to mention that I was lucky enough to have celebrity MUA Jake Bailey apply it on me and it looked *good*). (*warning: I may be biased).

Like I said in the video, the colors are going to look more intense in the package, but with a light touch, you make just about any color work for you. Also, don’t forget what I said about layering – you can start with an alternate type of blush, finishing off the top with your powder blush for a longer lasting cheek.

Let me know if you have tried any of these, or if you have heard of another blush type that I didn’t list here. I would love to hear about it.

I kind of did that again when I read that someone had actually worn the AM shoes in public, on a Red Carpet, and hadn’t needed anything to assist in walking in them. I had to find out who this creature was and see proof of them out in the real world. Turns out it is the rich “couture collector”, Daphne Guinness.

I had no idea who she was, so I did some googling and found out some things:

• • She is the daughter of Johnathan Guinness, of the Guinness Brewery family – making her an heiress.
  • She spent part of her childhood in an artists’ colony in Spain, where she used to swim in Salvador Dali’s lobster-filled swimming pool.
  • She says that her weird obsession with armour “might have come from the Surrealists” that were there.
  • In the 80′s, she lived in NYC with her sister, and hung around with the likes of Andy Warhol, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, the owners of Studio 54 and Fred Hughes, the editor of Interview magazine, while playing wih the idea of being an opera singer.
  • At 19, she married Spyros Niarchos, son of the Greek shipping billionaire Stavros Niarchos, whom she had 3 kids with and divorced in 1999 with a (disputed) $40mil settlement.
  • Her trademark skunk colored hair was “accidental”. She “..glue(s) bits on to it and this is how it turns out.”

All of that is just background to the woman she has become. She can be described as many things: “a designer, stylist, writer, filmmaker, collector and now a perfumer with a scent called Daphne”, but she can not be called boring, that’s for sure. In fact, some of her quotes crack me up:

Discussing why she created her own scent:

“She dismisses most perfumes, describing being sprayed with scent in a department store as ‘disgusting’, like being covered with mosquito repellent”.

Or when discussing how she didn’t fit in St. Tropez, while she was married:

“I remember, for example, going to that ghastly place in St Tropez, Cinquante Cinq, with all these people at the table eating in their bikinis and getting sprayed by those horrible hoses they’ve got in the canopy above, and there I was in full riding gear. Well, I didn’t want to be half naked in front of all these ghastly, repulsive pink people in their horrid little floaty dresses getting sprayed with water, did I?”

Gawd, so pretentious, but you can see how she completely wouldn’t think that – maybe that’s why it cracks me up.

 So, there she was, walking the Red Carpet with François Nars (NARS Founder and Creative Director) for the launch of the NARS 15X15 Project. The project is a celebration of the 15th Anniversary of NARS and the centerpiece of the project is the “15X15″ book, in which Daphne is included. There is only a limited edition run of 1500, with the full $80 purchase price being divided between 15 different charities. However, there are indivdual portraits available for purchase, too.

Man, I love learning about creative people and things. Don’t you?