Manolo for the Beauty

In the history of blog titles, I never thought I would write that one.

But there it is.

And here are the pictures, originally posted at Jangsara,  via Geekologie:

Patricia Schmid for Marie Claire China.

I am truly digging her hair color here.  Also, I wish I could do green eyeshadow.

I’m trying to get behind these shots of model Simone, but for the most part, I can’t.  Something about her looks consumptive, even though the editorial does a good job highlighting some of the spring 2012 makeup trends.  I think I might like the last one best, mostly because of the hair.

That some people have such a, ah, passion for nail art.

OK, I actually think this one is pretty cool.

This, though, might be a bit much.

Athletic footwear-inspired nails is a thing, eh? Good to know.

I don’t know what it is about this particular shape of nail, but it creeps me the hell out.

Not my cup of tea.

via

In so many ways…

Nusja Jone-Our Bride from Kosovo 2.0 on Vimeo.

While I must say not all of these looks are exactly practical, I find myself loving the vinyl-black eyeliner from Shiseido and the Tom Ford lip gloss used as eyeshadow.  I also covet almost all of those nail polishes, even though I don’t really do nail polish.

46% of you were intrigued by the idea of magnetic nail polish, but thought that sixteen bucks was a bit much to have to shell out for it.  38% flat out said no way, and only 16% wanted to go for it.  I guess I’m with the 46% in thinking that I don’t want to pay that much for something I’m not sure will work right.

However, today is Halloween!

This set of reusable stencils, highlighting pens, and different colored metallic sprays looks pretty great.  They can be used on the face and body.  I can see this being appropriate for quite a few different costumes, sexy or not.  Because it seems like almost every costume is all about the sex-ay these days.  I once went as Alice in Wonderland and I was sexy as hell, but it had nothing to do with the costume itself, but because I felt great in it.

However, the set is a bit pricey.  One of the commenters on Sephora’s website recommends splitting the cost with a buddy, which sounds completely reasonable to me.

Kevyn Aucoin was the first makeup artist to show up on my radar way back when in the mid-80′s.  Hey, way-back time machines are fun, no?

He was a talented man, and one of the first (and best) to showcase and share his techniques so that “normal” women could get similar looks.   Here are some stunning transformations from his bestselling books Making Faces and Face Forward.

And people wonder why I love makeup.

Martha Stewart as Veronica Lake

Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins as Josephine Baker

Calista Flockhart as Audrey Hepburn

Demi Moore as Clara Bow

Christina Ricci as Edith Piaf

Celine Dion as Maria Callas

Gina Gershon as Sohpia Loren

Your views on beauty marks were pretty much an overwhelming, “meh.”  41% don’t care about them at all, and 25% said it depends on where they are located.  22% said they can add to someone’s beauty, while 8% disagreed.

Today’s poll is about a new place called Blushington that has opened up not too far from me, as described in this article.  Basically, it’s a place where you can go to get a professional makeup application without the pressure of a beauty counter.  They charge $35 per session, and have seven different options such as “sun-kissed beauty” to launch off for your personalized look.