Beauty Shorts: Orgasm-like Discoveries and Glitter Fallout

I haven't set foot in a Sephora in two weeks. I'm waiting to check out the Too Faced Smoky Eye Palette and Tarte True Blood Shadow Palette. But they aren't on shelves in my neck of the woods, so I'm investigating everything that isn't tied down at the drugstore.





Maybelline released new EyeStudio shadow palettes that each contain five shadows. They are available in a variety of colors. I picked up Forest Fury with three glorious greens, a nude yellow and a "top coat" of sparkle shadow. The "top coat" - my word, not theirs - adds a little bit of sparkle and shine to the already glimmering shadows. In short, greens I tried are gorgeous.





(The sparkle top coat is on the left side.)


But the sparkle top coat will fall off of your lids in a few hours, making you look like you've had a long night out even if you just left the house. If you just use the shadow without the crystal top coat, you'll be fine. And since you're wondering, I did use a primer, a few in fact, and got the same results each time.





Always a sucker for peaches, I had to pick up the Limited Edition of Maybelline's Fit Me Blush in Sweet Melon.





(Wearing Sweet Melon Blush)


This gentle peach isn't overly pigmented, but does give a very light flush to cheeks. It reminds me a bit of Orgasm from NARS, without the sheen or sparkle. It's like Orgasm-lite.



(Peach Fuzz)


Speaking of Orgasm, this new gloss from L'Oreal, LeGloss, reminds me of the Orgasm gloss.




It's really, really similar and nowhere near as sticky. It has the same kind of reflective surface the NARS Orgasm does. It's different - it has an opalescence in the layer that shines. It's really pretty. This wears about the same as the Orgasm gloss as well, so try a lip gloss primer underneath to get the most wear out of it.





Lastly, I'm digging the new Master Drama Eyeliner by Maybelline, in Coal Commander.




It's super soft, very smudgeable and long wearing, with just a hint of sheen. It's just a good as similar much more expensive liners. Definitely check these out!


All of the products featured were purchased by me. They are also all tested on animals. Sorry for the generic links, either my drugstores are way behind or the Maybelline and L'Oreal websites haven't quite caught up to their new releases. 

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Runway to Real Way: The François Nars Downturned Eye

This photo started hitting the web a few days ago, showing a downturned eye at the Marc Jacobs show. Curious as to if a real woman could rock this look, I decided to give it a try.

The look by Nars was very clean, with blush done in a downward position as well. I opted for a slightly blended downward line, with a slight sheen to the lid from a shadow and no crease color. I also didn't extend the line quite as far as Nars did at the show. But in the real world, I'm going to work today, so I wanted to be realistic. When I look in the mirror, I really don't care for it, but when I look in the pictures, I don't see that big of a difference. If anything, it does make my eyes look bigger and very round. But I also think it makes me look slightly sad. Maybe this would work better on someone with almond or doe shaped eyes more than moi?



What do you think? Would you ever wear this? While I'm not making any promises, I am not convinced this look is going into my bag of tricks.

Photo taken from Hair On the Brain.

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Notes, Ponderings and Blather

If you didn't know this about me already, my paid job (what I do when I am not testing stuff or do-gooding with dogs) is a television commercial producer. I am on a tricky job at the moment with almost no time to write. That doesn't stop me from thinking about things I want to tell you. I just don't have the time to flush them out.


1. I am watching the second season of Bones right now, where everyone with lady parts wears the exact same shade of lip color at all times. (Except when Bones goes to the casino and Angel has to fight in the underground fight club.) I like the extreme natural peach of the color quite a bit. I think you can recreate that with Make Up For Ever's 1C lip liner and NARS Love Devotion lip stick. It's pretty darn close, on me, anyways. Now you can live like it's 2006, too.

3. Combining Stila's One Step Makeup and Fresh's Twilight make the most beautiful shade of foundation. It's luminous, without being greasy. Seriously, it's bea-you-ti-ful. Just don't add too much Fresh or it thins out the coverage.

4. Does the InStyler work? Does it get tangled? Do I need one? I am leaning towards trying it. But, like the clipless curling iron I had to have 2 weeks ago, I fear my hair isn't quite long enough yet. Thoughts?

5. Some people should stop trying to be famous. Case in point, here. I said it before and I say it again, C&C Music Factory wants their dancers back.

6. Kerastase Masque Nutri-Thermique is seriously being a life saver. My hair is dried out and it is making the ends stop looking so crinkly. Thanks, Kerastase!

I subscribe to Allure and bought People at the checkout (unusual for me). I bought the Fresh, NARS and the Make Up For Ever. Stila and Kerastase were sent to me for review. I haven't tried the InStyler, hence the question, and I pay for cable, where I sometimes watch RHOWherever. This concludes my FCC statement.

Subscribe and never miss a thing! Disclosure/Disclaimer Statement. Makeup, beauty, skincare reviews & more! Copyright 2009-2010, Gouldylox Reviews. All Rights Reserved.

Primer Wars: Fresh, BE, Hourglass, NARS, Tarina Tarantino, Philosophy and More

Welcome to today's edition of Primer Wars! Not sure what it's all about? Check it out and learn the rules.

The next group of primers to compete are:


Fresh Rose FreshFace Primer vs. Bare Escentuals Original Prime Time

Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer vs. NARS Makeup Primer

Tarina Tarantino Pearl Glow vs. Philosophy's The Present

Perfekt Skin Perfection Gel vs. Too Faced Primed and Poreless Skin Perfecting Primer


Voting for your favorite means they could be granted a stay and live to fight another day, even if they weren't the victor when I tested them.





















Bare Escentuals Original Prime Time beat Fresh's Primer, despite the fact that I love the smell of all Fresh products.

NARS Makeup Primer defeated Hourglass.

Tarina Tarantino Pearl Glow spanked Philosophy into the Present with her pearly undertones and budge proof hold.

Perfekt is a really nice primer that makes your skin look flawless, but Too Faced edged it out by getting makeup to stay on the longest and keep it looking fresh for hours.


Please vote and RT to make sure your favorite brand doesn't get voted out! Voting will be tabulated in seven days. Check back for more Primer Wars soon or click here to see what you missed.



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Summer Tips, Finds and Tricks

Here are some tips I have discovered for the new products that have come out for the summer season (and some reminders about old favorites).


Want to make your eyes pop even more? After you apply mascara, while it's still wet, add Tan Lines, a beautiful bronze shadow from Fusion of Color, to a flat, wide eye shadow brush. Carefully blink your wet lashes into the mascara and voila! Noticeably tan lashes that beam bronze. Try it!


Want to add the appearance of diamonds to the end of your lashes? Save thousands and use Tarina Tarantino's Sparklecity Pure instead. You only need a little bit and it looks really pretty. It's like a little surprise for your lashes!


Check out Dalton's Illuminizing Brightening Wand. With a quick swipe of the pointed tip applicator, you can get a gorgeous bit of glow around your eyes! This color isn't quite white and it isn't quite gold. It's more like a peachy/flesh-toned shimmer with a touch of platinum. I swear it changes color a bit once you apply it.

It doesn't really add a color around your eyes, it is more of a pigment that reflects the light to brighten your eyes. It can work as a shadow or as an easy way to add a shimmery rim around your eyes or play up the inner corner. Keep it in your purse to dot above the bow of your lips- it will make your pout stand out. Beauteous!

While not summer specific, I recently picked up Too Faced's Lip Insurance Lip Primer, which actually extends the life of lip gloss to something respectable. Who doesn't want a perfect pout in the summer? This primer extended the life of my gloss up to two hours (from twenty minutes). It couldn't be easier to be lovely and lax at the same time!



My new lip stick obsession is NARS Love Devotion. I went to Sephora one afternoon intent on finding a lip stick color I don't already own (which is nearly impossible). After about an hour, I settled on Love Devotion.


It's a bright mango color that goes on much more sheer than you would anticipate. It looks beautiful and is a nice change from my other summer colors.


Your hands might just show your age more than any other body part. Protect them by swiping on an SPF each morning for protection during your morning drive. Even better, keep something that is affected by heat, like bareMinerals Natural SPF 30 Sunscreen, in the car (or in your purse) at all times. This SPF and brush combo are a quick way to make sure your hands and décolleté can be protected at all times. Remember, no product in the world will do more to prevent aging than a sunscreen!



(Paul & Joe Beauté Eye Gloss in Celestial, swatched. Gorgeous!)


Be sure to pick up Paul and Joe Beaute' Eye Gloss. The Eye Gloss will give your eyes a shimmery gleam that doesn't fade. This goes perfect with a matte bronzer and a deeply-hued glossy lip for a perfect night out after a day at the beach.

Finally, don't forget about two of my favorite face luminizers from Fresh: Twilight and High Noon. Twilight adds a beautiful platinum sheen to your skin and High Noon adds a tranquil golden color. You can't go wrong with either of these (and they smell fantastic!). They are both perfect for a fast, fresh face!


I purchased all of the above products with the exception of Tan Lines by Fusion of Color and the Dalton Brightening Wand, which were sent to me for the purposes of review.

Subscribe and never miss a thing! Disclosure/Disclaimer Statement. Makeup, beauty, skincare reviews & more! Copyright 2009-2010, Gouldylox Reviews. All Rights Reserved.

Runway to Realway: Fun or Flop?

I just watched one of the worst movies I have seen in a long time (I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell). That Logan kid from Gilmore Girls no longer has a high Q rating with me after those 105 miserable minutes. However, all is not lost. While I was pretending to watch that dreck, I was actually surfing the Sephora blog and came across this Runway to Realway makeover.

Pretty, right? At work (I work at an ad agency as a TV producer), I can get away with more daring looks than say, a banker, but still these electric blues and bright reds are a little bright, even for me. According to the site, to make the look toned down enough for us normal people, ditch the red lip for a dusty pink shade and tone down the blues. There aren't great pics of the Realway makeover on their blog, so I decided to wing it.

Before I share my pics with you, be kind. I am no makeup artist, photographer or model, so keep the flaming to polite. Thanks.

I used the following products:

Bobbi Brown Corrector in light bisque
Three Custom Creme Concealer/ Foundation
Go To Work (silvery taupe shadow) by the now semi-defunct She Space
Tahiti Palette from Cargo
Penny Lane Cream Blush from NARS
Fresh Mascara in Firebird and Supernova
Sephora lipliner in Cool Coral
Vis-a-Vis lipstick in Kissed By An Angel




(My lashes are so short they don't even curl. Errgh.)


Thoughts? Would you wear this look on an average Realway day? I am always really self-conscious about wearing a dark shade on the side of my lid near my nose. It makes me feel as if my eyes are too close together and I am trying too hard.


(My bangs are getting really long!)


But I might kind of like this. Thoughts? Is this look fun or a flop?


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Makeup, beauty, skincare reviews & more! Copyright 2010,Gouldylox Reviews. All Rights Reserved.