The Year In Beauty: These Are My Favorite Things, Part 5

Without further ado, here's the fifth and final installment of my and Beauty Blogging Junkie Amber's favorite beauty products of 2010. I figured 2011 is as good a time as ever to... post the last post in our series. Which I should've done in 2010, but whatever. I was busy watching "Hoarders" and not making resolutions.

Here are the beauty products we discuss. As you can tell, I veered off course and discussed my seashell shoes and a Marc Jacobs pen that looks like lipstick. Kinda counts, right?

Me: LA Looks Cashmere Curls Gel (the holy GRAIL of curly hair products), Lancome 020 Le Rouge L'Wren Scott Nail Polish (which is highly sold out, unfortunately -- I got the last one in all of Saks), Haus of Price Shoes,  Marc By Marc Jacobs Lipstick Pen, and MOR Cosmetics bath and body products

Amber: Sally Beauty Supply Femme Couture Mascara Set (with glitter mascara!), Beverly Hills Skin Care Advanced Youth Recovery Cream, Philosophy The Supernatural Superbeautiful Foundation SPF 20.

 

The Year In Beauty: These Are My Favorite Things, Part 4

Welcome back!

You, like me, are probably sitting around in your sweatpants, so what better time to check out the fourth installment of my and Beauty Blogging Junkie Amber's favorite beauty products of 2010. I've been writing about beauty every week for Naag.com, so there are plenty of lipsticks, perfumes, eyeshadows, mascaras and wine to cover.

Let's get right to it.

Here are the beauty products we covered in this video:

Me: Davines Number 1 Finest Oil Non Oil For Wizards (a miraculous anti-frizz serum), Revlon Retro Fire and Ice nail polish in Siren, Miss Pucci Perfume and Tom Ford Black Orchid Nail & Lip Set.

Amber: Keratin Complex Serum, Immunocologie Skin Care, and CND Effects Line polish.

 

Watch Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

The Year In Beauty: These Are My Favorite Things, Part 2

Yesterday Beauty Blogging Junkie's Amber and I "unveiled" -- because OBVIOUSLY you were unable to sleep due to the overwhelming suspense -- our favorite beauty products of 2010. And now here is part two for your bemusement. Get it? Because "bemusement" sounds like "beauty" a little!

The products I was all in a tizzy about are: Stila Raspberry Crush lipstain, Clarins' new Barocco holiday eyeshadow trio, and Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance polish. (Check out Matthew Siskin's awesome Gaga graphic that ran with my Naag review of the polish!)

Meanwhile, Amber reviewed Paul and Joe's palette, Chanel nail polish in Riva, and Carmindy All Over Brightener.

(Credit: Matthew Siskin/ Designed Memory for Naag.com)

At Arm's Length: What's On My Wrist And In My Bag?

I usually don't take and post my own photos. I'm a HORRENDOUS photographer, and I'm not the world's most photogenic girl. The camera doesn't hate me, and it doesn't love me. It's more like "eh?" Indifferent. I'm an adult. I know and accept this about myself. But I was kinda into my bangle selection and nail polish the other day, so I snapped a quick pic, which of course, my dumb cat Rory jumped into. The camera loves him. Anyway, here's what was going on:

+ Green polish: Avon Nailwear Pro in Jade -- This was my first-ever foray into Avon nail polishes, and WOAH, Johnny. This is one of the best polishes I've used in forevs + 1 day. The formula is smooth, and streak- and clump-free AND it dries quickly. Perhaps most satisfying of all, unlike most polishes which chip off after one shower, this one was going strong for days. And the muted, vintagey green apple shade is, um, so a-ppealing if you'll pardon the horrible pun. Look for Avon Nailwear Pro's Jade shade coming soon.
+ Beige polish: Revlon's new Grey Suede from their Daydreamer Collection. I love the grey-brown beige shade (as well as Daydreamer's Peach Petal color), and I'm currently wearing it on my toes and nails, but the formula was really gloopy and clumpy. Boo.


+ Top bangle: Jessica Kagan Cushman's wonderful engraved resin scrimshaw bracelet. This one says "Pay No Attention To That Man Behind The Curtain." Perfect metaphor for so many moments of my waking hours that I can't control. Appropriately, her "Never Never Never Never Give Up" bracelet seems like the perfect complement. And it goes without saying that the "Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner" bracelet is probably the greatest statement ever engraved onto anything, in the entire history of engraving. (I'd even venture to leverage that statement against the stone cold tablets of the 10 Commandments, but I'm all about the golden rule, so I won't push it.)
+ Middle gold bracelets: They're not at all real gold, but the first one is from a Brooklyn flea market. I think I paid $10 for it. Worth every cent. The other is a fake-gold ID bracelet engraved with name, with a heart punched out. I got this when I turned 13 and lived in Florida. I never take it off.

($60, Steven Shein, Shopstevenshein.com)

+ Silver bangle: Steven Shein flecked bracelet in silver! This was a recent acquisition and I love it more and more every day. It's made of resin and wood, and it's laser cut to absolute perfection. I keep taking it off and marveling at the handiwork.
+ Animal print bangle: Ted Rossi. It's snakeskin, the perfect size for stacking, and it's gotten better as it's been lived in, typed in, clattered and clanged upon. (Check out Ted's black denim tye-die bracelets. Increds!)

Now, onto what's in my bag!

The fabulous and inimitable Dina Fierro, who founded and masterfully executes Eye4Style, does her usual exhaustingly thorough and straight-up smart job of style blogging on the regulars. We also have shockingly similar taste in jewelry. (Just yesterday we shared a moment, dreaming of forearms stacked with Jessica Kagan Cushman bangles, discretion be damned!) I allowed her to rifle and rummage through my handbag for her "What's In HER Bag" blog series. Enjoy a look into my life. Or at least my bag.

+ Disclosure: The Avon and Revlon polishes and the Ted Rossi and Jessica Kagan Cushman bangles were all gifts.

Going Green

I'm never the girl with the It bag, or the It shoe, but apparently I'm the girl with the It nail polish. Over the past couple days I've been borderline assaulted with amazed gasps accompanied by some version of the question, "Is that the Chanel polish?" This has happened countless times (two). Luckily, it is not the runway-famous Chanel polish, because that would mean I'd paid a ridiculous sum for green nail polish on eBay. It's sold out, see. This is the must-have in question:



An apparently good approximation, for those interested in such things: Ko's Liberty shade. The polish is too thick and is ultra matte (gross...I added a topcoat because I'm just not edgy enough), but hey, it'll get you pistachio green fingernails. Which is fashionable! Check me out:



You're welcome!

FABULOUS FashionBinge News! 25% Off Pop Beauty Nail Glam Polishes

Yes, that's the news, but if you've used Pop Beauty Nail Glam polishes, you know that's BIG news. HUGE!

Get 25% off Pop Beauty's super-summery Nail Glam polishes at PopBeauty.co.uk through July 1, 2009 with promo code "Beautyticket."

It's a British site, but U.S. and Canada shoppers, you only pay domestic shipping rates, so put a DONK ON THAT.

+ More of FashionBinge's love affair with Pop Beauty.

OMG HUGE NEWS: Pop Beauty Nail Glam Nail Polish Now Available In The States At Beauty 360!

Okay, so remember how almost a year ago to the DAMN DAY, I went to London and, while at the Oxford Circus Topshop, I paid WAY too much for some Pop Beauty Nail Glam nail polish, but it was worth every penny because it's my favorite nail polish ever, and then I got all drama face when I got home and discovered that Pop Beauty wasn't selling their polishes in the States, and it was like, either make it last or bribe someone abroad to buy me some from Topshop or Asos.com (they won't ship it to the States! Boo!) and ship it?

WELL... Pop Beauty Nail Glam nail polish is NOW AVAILABLE IN THE STATES! Not widely available... yet..., but they are available at CVS Beauty 360 stores -- sort of like CVS' answer to Sephora, and I ain't mad at that, and it's still closer than London (well, at least the DC location is.)

Apparently the same colors as in the UK are available in the US:

Berry- Soft berry
Black- Intense ink
Black Grass- Fluro green
Icing- Pale pearlised pink
O'Boy- Perfectly nude
Ocean- Irridescent sea blue
Orange- Fluro Orange
Pinky- Hot,Hot pink
Platinum- Iridescent
Silver Sparkly- Metallic sheen pink
Strawberry- Classic orange red
Tomato- Classic blue red
Turquoise- Fluro Blue
Violetta- Fluro purple
Wine- Velvet burgundy
Xmas- Ruby red with red glitter

There are only two Beauty 360 stores so far -- one in Washington DC at 1350 Connecticut Avenue NW in Dupont Circle, and the other at 25272 Marguerite Parkway in Mission Viejo, CA. I'm not totally sure if you can buy online, but I'll supersleuth it.

BTW, below is a list of the other brands available at the Beauty 360 stores -- I'm most stoked for the Dr. Brandt, Laura Geller, Borba, Fusion Beauty and the Juicy Couture fragrances. Also, it looks like more 360 stores are in the works this year. (CVS people, if you're reading this, Court Street in Brooklyn could so use one!) Yay for affordable beauty, no? And YAAAAAAY for more Pop Beauty Nail Glam!

Dr. Brandt Skincare
Laura Geller
Paula Dorf
Freeze 24.7
Borba
ModelCo
Canyon Ranch
Fusion Beauty
Blinc
Bloom
Clarins Fragrance
Caron Paris
Clean
Coty Fragrance
Elizabeth Arden Fragrance
It Cosmetics
Juicy Couture Fragrance
Japonesque
Lavera
Me Bath
Tini Beauty
Mineral Essence
Payot
Perlier
P&G fragrance
Sampar
Stendhal
StriVectin
Supersmile
Talika
Zirh
Pop Beauty
Ahava

OPI's Tickle My France-y Polish = J'Adore!

My relationship with nail polish is kind of random and unhealthy -- I seek out a few here and there once in a while and then become transfixed, sort of like a stalker. (Ever see Assassins?) Right now, my idée fixe is OPI's Tickle My France-y from their Fall/ Winter 2008 La Collection De France, which is made up of le mysterioso violets, browns and neutrals, like the one I tried on below. (Oh, and by the way, there are bloggers out there who actually buy/ acquire EVERY SINGLE polish in a collection. That level of commitment blows my mind. Who has that kind of time? Actually, I probably do, but I've been spending it watching the same two episodes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta over and over again. NeNe 4ever! Actually... 4Never...)

Anyway, more savvy polish addicts probably know that OPI collection's been around a few months, but I'm glad I finally got my hands, so to speak, on Tickle My France-y, because it's the perfect au naturel neutral -- sort of boudoir chic meets the color of Band-Aids and character shoes. And since I like to wear a lot of ridiculously bold and bright makeup, jewelry and clothes and stuff, it's a lovely, downplayed neutral that helps keep me from looking like a bowl of Lucky Charms from head to toe.


I received mine in a gift bag, but when purchasing OPI, I like eBay sellers cbbeauty -- I bought Baguette Me Not per Beauty Blogging Junkie Amber's glowing review -- and Nail Treatments -- I just bought You Don't Know Jacques there. Now go forth and paint, because, as they say in France, Il vaut mieux faire que dire. Er something.

Pop Beauty Nail Polish Coming to the States!

($13, Asos.com)

Yes, $13 is, to me at least, an absurd amount of money to pay for one bottle of nail polish, and that's what I thought too when I paid almost exactly that while at the Oxford Circus Top Shop over the holidays. But $20 is a lot to pay for nail polish too, and laydeez be plunkin' that down for Chanel nail polish like it's their Goddamn vocation!

So after spending 13 bones on UK line Pop Beauty's nail polish in turquoise, shown above, and trying it out, I did a little happy dance of superficiality and beauty products around my hotel room, because this is, (hands and nails) down, the best nail polish I've ever used. It's strong, thick (in the good way), absolutely opaque and barely chips even after days. It ends up looking more like paint than polish -- zero streaks, lumps, bubbles or squeaks.

And while you can buy Pop Beauty cosmetics at Sephora here in the States, they don't have their nail polish here - BOOO - however, I recently read that they're about to bring the polishes here too -- YAY! Step on it, Pop! I've got more superficial nail polish dances to do!


Want:

And...

Also want:

($42, Pop Beauty, Sephora)

A treasure trove of 24 eye shadows in a cute silver palette!

Happy Hooker Heels For Valentine's Day

I know they've got a touch of the hook to them, but Valentine's Day, like Halloween = embrace your inner tramp. Accordingly, these candy-pink heels are fun. And hi, they're only $26. Plus, Lulu's has a 15% off coupon code, y'awl: VDAY.

($26.50, Lulu's)

Parfait con...

($9, Bourjois, Sephora)

And speaking of polish(ed):

($52, Pink, Lulu's)

A lovely alternative to "FM" hooker heels, for those of you more Rive Gauche than Paris Hilton.

More Things For To Buy

K, here's some stuff I want, all of it, of course, random:

($328, Juicy Couture, Saks Fifth Avenue)
So demure, yet it's also got a great Alice In Wonderland-meets-Betsey Johnson vibe.

($325, See By Chloe, Frankeys.com)

Do I love these, OR, are they too Bonnaroo circa 2003? They might be a wee bit TOO Joss Stone. Though they could look great with a fitted, tucked-in black long-sleeved shirt and MAYBE these shoes:

($66, Asos.com)
These would also look ruling with some black tights, paired with these...





($88, French Connection, Asos.com)
PERRRRfecto bag for fall, y'all!



($43, Argento Vivo, Bluefly)
Muy elegante, but the length makes 'em sorta not-boring, which is good.



($6, OPI, Goddess-within.com)

This season, I am DETERMINED to figure out how to wear midnight dark nail polishes without looking like the pop-goth chick from Evanesence. That it is all.