Manolo for the Beauty

My, that is such a service-y type of title isn’t it?

I figured that since it is mid-June, it is probably time to start discussing the ways in which we change our beauty routines when the hot and sometimes humid weather kicks in.

I am fortunate to live in a fairly temperate climate.  Sure, we’ll get hot here, but humidity is rarely a huge factor.  Not that I’m far from the ocean, but for some reason the days in which the heat and humidity are positively unbearable are few.

So, my beauty tips for hot weather, limited as they are, are as follows:

-Figure out a flattering way to wear your hair up and get your hair off your neck.  You’ll be at least five degrees cooler, I promise.  Or, if you are the type that doesn’t mind, get a short haircut and fugeddaboudit.

– Powder is your friend.

– As are blotting papers.  And in a pinch, did you know that the ubiquitous toilet seat covers found in public restrooms make fantastic blotters?  Uh, straight from the dispenser, which goes without saying.

– Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen.  We all know this, but it bears repeating.   Be even smarter than you already are and combine powder and sunscreen together. My very fair-skinned sister uses this handy portable powder sunscreen and swears by it.

– And even with sunscreen, I’ve lately become very fond of hats in hot weather.

– Even though it also sounds obvious, go for light washes of color rather than dramatic statements.   Well, dramatic statements can be saved for nighttime, anyway.

– Fake some color with a great bronzer.

All right ladies, step up and share your best hot weather beauty tips!  We are dying to know!

I remember when M.A.C (short for Makeup Art Cosmetics) first came out. It was sometime in the early nineties and I was in my early twenties.  The biggest thing that stands out in my mind was the very large difference between the typical M.A.C salesperson and say, the Estee Lauder salesperson.  Where the Estee Lauder lady was a vision of elegance and refinement, the M.A.C salesperson most likely had a green mohawk and multiple piercings.

Despite the fact that I usually have no problem with the unorthodox (hell, in 1987 my hair looked a lot like this [link fixed now!]) I never managed to partake in the M.A.C craze.  Maybe it’s because they are from Canada.  I”m so totally kidding, Canadiens, you know I love you. 

Anyhoo, despite proclaiming myself to be a beauty junkie, I have never ever purchased anything from M.A.C.

It seems at this point, I am just doing it for the sheer orneriness of it.  I’ve gone twenty years or so without M.A.C, so why start now?  The more slavish the praise, the more I think that people are just drinking an awful lot of Kool-aid.

I’m sure I’m wrong.

Right?

Is there any famous brand you’ve managed to so far avoid for no good reason?

56% of you are against scented products, except for ones that you specifically wish to be scented.  You know, like perfume and body lotion.  15% enjoy scented stuff, and 28% of you are sittin’ on the fence.  I have to admit that I enjoy scented beauty products of all kinds, especially lipsticks.   Then again, I don’t have allergies.   I particularly like Aveda lipsticks because they smell minty.

Speaking of scents, how do you get your scent on?

I was on the lookout for a daily treatment that would help even out my skin tone and possibly quicken some skin cell turnover.   I decided that ultimately I wasn’t totally happy with the Boots I had been using, and sometimes I like to change it up for no good reason.

So I found myself purchasing the  Bare Escentuals Skin Rev-er Upper, (Which is a pain to type, by the way. Also, each time I have typed it out, I spelled it Sin Rev-er Upper so maybe there’s something wrong with me) and have been very happy with the results.  Since I use Bare Minerals as my foundation, I figured it was worth attempting, as this product is also meant to act as a sort of primer for the powder.

I’ve used it for about three weeks now, and have noticed a bunch of wonderful things.  My pores are a bit less noticeable, I have fewer breakouts and anything that happens to crop up is gone the next day, and my skin tone is more even. It is light, non-oily, and even seems to control my shiny tendencies, perfect for the upcoming hot months.

I have absolutely no drawbacks to to discuss about this product.

Add the fact that this item is not a bank-breaker, and I think I’ve found The One.

Is this Children of the Corn slash Stepford Wife look going to become all the rage?

God, I hope not.

WANT!

WANT! WANT! WANT!

I love everything about this color palette from Bobbi Brown, from the packaging to the colors. It will be part of a tortoiseshell collection, including a palette with lighter colors, lipstick, and some tortoiseshell brushes coming out in July for fall 2011.

via

When I recently wrote a product review of Guerlain Meteorites, wildflower asked:

I’ve also seen the pressed powder equivalent of this–where the colors are discrete, and you swish the brush over all of them to get a blend of them all.

What is the purpose of either of these? Why not blend the powder together before packaging it?

And I thought to myself, damn, that is an excellent question.

Now, if I only knew the answer.

I kicked around on the intertubes for a bit, but couldn’t find what I was looking for. Then the other day, my daughter grabbed the box that the Meteorites come packaged in off my bathroom counter, and lo and behold, a product pamphlet!

This is what Guerlain had to say about why they make the Meteorites in pearl form (and as mentioned, pressed powder with discrete colors)  rather than as a pre-mixed pressed powder:

For this unique creation, Guerlain took its inspiration from the way light separates into a spectrum of colour. When white light is split through a prism, it transforms into a myriad of different colored rays. Conversely, when these colours are brought together, a single ray of absolute white light is formed. Meteorites reproduce absolute white light to enhance your complexion by blending together small multicolored pearls, creating that sought after perfect radiance.

So, there you have it straight from the manufacturer’s mouth.

Is it true?

I am no scientist.

But I do know that the product does indeed work.

Only 11% of Manolo Beauty readers consider themselves beauty snobs, and 22% don’t consider themselves one in the slightest.  66% of you, however, are content to mix both high and low end products.

Today’s post will be short and sweet, and I want to know how you feel about fragranced products.

Pros: Great shine, easy to hold, inexpensive, easy to use, lasts a long time.

Cons: None I can think of.

Verdict: If you don’t polish your nails, this is a fantastic alternative.

Good lord, I just don’t have enough hours in the day.

I already have a hard enough time keeping my feet and hands properly moisturized, much less making sure my teeth are an “acceptable” pearly white. Because the whitening industry would have you believe that anything less than that is just gross.

I don’t even use a whitening toothpaste.  The horror!  I do use a SonicCare toothbrush, which makes me feel a bit better about it, though.

During the run-up to my nuptials, I admit to using Crest Whitestrips for about a month.  I was concerned that my teeth might look bad in the photos when compared to my dress, and I was afraid that for all eternity, there would be photographic proof that I had horrible yellow teeth.

Of course, I didn’t really think I had horrible yellow teeth, I was just concerned in general that I needed to look good for my wedding photos, because I was only going to get one shot at them.  And I was paying enough money that those suckers were going to turn out perfect if it killed me.

Whitening strips aren’t the only way of getting whiter teeth, there are a number of different ways, most of them expensive.

I know that you can use baking soda, but it isn’t recommended as a long-term solution, as it can wear away your enamel.  You can also use hydrogen peroxide, but I’m always afraid I’m going to swallow it, and it’s one of those things that the more I think about NOT swallowing it, the more I feel like I’m going to. 

Yes, I might need to speak to a professional about that.

Mabye in a few years when my toddler isn’t quite so dependent upon me, I can get back to the slog of trying to coax my teeth to their whitest shade, but not right now.

It does sort of make me annoyed that we see celebrities with these perfect white teeth, but the reality is that almost all of them have veneers, which at a minimum of $500 per tooth, is pretty much out of my reach.

Do you whiten your teeth?  Or is a “whitening” toothpaste the farthest you’ll go?