Manolo for the Beauty

So you’ve got an especially well-endowed set of lips?  Most women would be panting with jealousy, as there are bajillions (seriously, bajillions) of products designed to make your lips appear larger than they really are.

However, let’s say that you aren’t comfortable with your lip size, and possibly for certain occasions, would like to minimize their appearance rather than highlight them.

Glinda is here for you.

I’ve done a bit of research for you so that you don’t have to wade through articles that tell you to commit to an exercise routine for your lips so that you can get rid of their extra fat.  Yes, someone actually DID write that.

Anyhoo, for those times when you would rather your lips not take so much of the spotlight, here are some tips:

1) Use matte colors, no shine.

2) Try applying foundation on your lips before lip color application.  This can help reduce their outline a little bit.

3) Soft neutral colors rather than dark or intense ones.

5) Highlight another part of your face to draw some attention away from the lips, but don’t overdo it.  It’s a fine line, to be sure.

There seems to be some disagreement about the use of a lip liner, and I myself am torn.  Usually a lip liner is used to make lips larger, but I could see that it could help define a smaller lip when using the foundation trick.

Good luck!

It was almost a three-way tie! 33% of you said that a french manicure is a timeless classic, while the exact same amount said it was never all that to begin with.  32% said it was passe.  So, if you add up the two “negative” categories, I’m afraid it isn’t looking too good for the french manicure.

Would you be willing to try the candy supplement beloved of Brazilian supermodels?  Beauty candy, that is? These “candies” contain vitamins and collagen, for starters.

A little while ago I read a beauty tip that caused me to pull a Homer Simpson.

Forgive me for forgetting the source, but the article suggested that if you have a fancy schmancy facial cleanser that contains fancy schmancy ingredients, that you should leave it on your skin for a minimum of thirty seconds.

Because of course you want your skin to have the maximum exposure time to those special ingredients, and if you just apply it and quickly wash it off, then you aren’t really giving the product a chance to work in the way it was intended.

I tried it out while using my glycolic acid cleanser, and by golly, I did see a difference in the performance of the cleanser.

Should have been a no brainer, right?

Beauteous reader Klee sent in the following question:

I’ll be vacationing with the new BF and was curious about lash extensions.  Will they last 6 weeks? My lashes are naturally blond, do they dye my lashes first to match? Is it worth it? Any insight on the decision would help.

Well, I was able to do some research on lash extensions, and here are the pros and cons I came up with.

Pros: 

By pretty much all accounts, they look absolutely gorgeous.  Like, breathtakingly gorgeous.

Those that had lash extensions done appreciated not having to fuss with the whole mascara routine.

Cons:

The application process is a long one, about two hours or so.  Many people found it difficult and somewhat claustrophobic.

It is possible to have an allergic reaction to the adhesive.

Depending on the skill of the technician, the lashes can last from two to three weeks.

Upkeep on extensions is very expensive, if you intend to keep them longer than three weeks.

You must be selective with eye makeup, and eyeliner is frowned upon.

One unanticipated side effect for some was that the extensions would actually brush against sunglasses/glasses and they found that to be an uncomfortable sensation.

Exposure to sweat and water can reduce the effectiveness of the adhesive.

You must be careful in choosing the type of lashes that are to be applied, it can be too much of a good thing if they are too long or too thick.

As for matching your natural lashes, I didn’t see anything that implied any dyeing beforehand.  I’m guessing that is either a separate procedure, or possibly unnecessary due to the awesomeness of the fake ones.

To me, the pros are outweighing the cons.  I could see getting them for a very special occasion such as a wedding, but unless your bank account can stand a steady draining, then I’m not sure they are worth it.  Although it might be easy for me to say that as I have fairly decent lashes.

But on the other of the hands, (as the boss would say) the results are said to be fairly stunning.

Anyone else have thoughts?  Anyone had them done?  Or know someone that has?

I’m pretty sure that the picture I used in this post is showing metallic foils instead of a straight-up metallic nail polish.

But, here is a nice little tutorial from annaversary on how to make regular old metallic nail polish pop a bit more than normal.

I used to be a skeptic of flash sale sites, but I became a convert when I started subscribing to one for children’s items.

Now, I think I’m in on at least seven, and I just might be addicted.  Some of them didn’t even have beauty products when I first signed up, but branched out into them eventually.

My husband is not necessarily pleased.

But seriously, a Three Custom Color eye palette specifically formulated for green eyes that retails for almost $70.00 was to be had for less than $30.00 on HauteLook.  How could I possibly resist? Er, or the retractable lip brush for a measly five bucks? Fine, and I’m not proud of the lipstick that is normally over twenty but for which I paid ten bucks.

They have all kinds of makeup and especially skin care, the expensive stuff.  It’s still expensive, just not necessarily prohibitively so.  As for makeup, I’ve seen everything from e.l.f to Stila.

Another site for makeup/skincare worth a look is My Habit, which if you have an Amazon account, you’re already hooked up.

I think the key to these sale sites is knowing exactly what you want before you go on, and promising yourself to stick to that.  So if you are the type who doesn’t mind taking a bit of a risk with your makeup, this might just be the thing for you.   Return policies are pretty generous, though.

Now, if only I could take my own advice.

*I did not use my personal “invitation code” for these links, so no, I’m not making any money off of you! 

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but if you have makeup and you want to use it to its best advantage, then you’ve gotta have the right tools.

Sure, you can buy Bare Escentuals foundation, but if you don’t have one of the kabuki brushes, then forget about it.

Want to do a smokey eye?  Well, then you will need a large shadow brush and a crease brush at the very minimum.

How about using eye shadow as an eyeliner?  Helps a lot if you have an angled brush to apply it with.

I know that my personal go-to beauty tools are my regular kabuki brush, my large domed brush, my large shadow brush and crease brush, my large angled contour brush, and my eyelash curler and my eyelash separator.

Wow.

No wonder people who don’t use a lot of makeup find it intimidating.

And I don’t even consider myself to be someone who has a lot of tools and brushes.

What I do find is that it’s worth it to pay a bit for your tools, but you don’t have to go top of the line to get something decent that will last and not shed on your face every time you use it.

How about you?  What are your indispensable tools?

INTO a pot, to be exact.

You see, I am one of those people who tends to leave a lipstick in the car at all times so that I may have one on hand whenever needed.  Because sometimes I take my big purse, sometimes I take my small purse, and sometimes I take no purse at all.  So, I just like to have one there in case of an emergency.

Uh, yeah, being lipstick-less DOES qualify, thankyouverymuch.

Anyhoo, wouldn’t you think I would remember some silly fact like it is summer and the car gets superhot?  As in, melting-my-lipstick hot?

Well, I didn’t remember and now one of my Dior Addicts is all mooshy and I hate mooshy lipstick. I also have a Benefit one that somehow got broken, probably because I forgot to take it out of my pocket and it went into the washing machine. I do that a lot, too.

Enter the helpful ladies of this forum discussion at Spektra.

It seems you can melt your mooshy/broken lipsticks into an empty lip balm container and as long as you don’t mind using a lip brush, you are good to go.  In case you don’t read all the way down, it is possible to put the whole thing in a microwave instead of melting above an open flame.

Now, why didn’t I think of that?

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!

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.