NARS Angelique Pure Sheer SPF Lip Treatment

Backed when I owned NARS Exhibit A blush, I always had the most difficult time coordinating a lip look with it. On my the blush had rosy, red, and peachy orange tones that harmonized well, but were difficult to replicate in a lipstick. For those that have and wear Exhibit A, NARS Pure Sheer SPF Lip Treatment in Angelique is the perfect counterpart.

The Pure Sheer SPF Lip Treatments are slim, waxy tinted balms with SPF 15 and moisturizing mango butter. All of the shades (there are 6 total) are quite sheer, with Angelique having the most color. It's described as sheer strawberry and to me is a rosy red with just a hint of orangey coral. It's perfect for summer! The downside is that it is quite sheer and quite expensive for a tinted balm at $25. Sephora only seems to have 4 of the 6 shades, but Nordstrom and Blue Mercury have the full lot.
And just for fun, here is my eye look of the day:

• Becca Satin lash to crease
• Becca Tweed in the outer 3/4 of the crease
• Lancome Black Coffee to line close to the lash liner and on the waterline
• Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara

Favorite Bronzers and Highlighters Part 2

Clockwise from top: Becca Mermaid Loose Shimmer Powder, Bare Escentuals A Little Sun, Chantecaille Lumiere de Rose Highlighter, Bare Escentuals Bare Radiance. Click on the picture to enlarge and really see the detail.

Becca Mermaid Loose Shimmer Powder ($20)- This loose powder comes in a small eye shadow pigment sized container. I was attracted to it because it's such an unusual shade--a grayish green with heavy gold shimmer. It sounds like it would be hideous on the skin but surprisingly it's not! It looks neutral adding a silvery gold 'flash' on the cheek bones. It also looks great on the eyes, but it's light pigmentation requires it to be packed on.

Bare Escentuals A Little Sun ($18)- this looks orange in the pot but has a healthy dose of pink on the skin. It gives a true 'sunburnt' coppery rose color. I like to wear it not only on my cheeks, but applied with a fan brush across the bridge of my nose and along my hairline--the spots the sun would naturally hit and bronze.

Chantecaille Lumiere de Rose Highlighter ($36)- This is a pearly shell colored highlighter that I've been wearing frequently lately. The texture is very soft and the glow it gives is subtle but definitely apparent. I've been wearing it on top of matte blushes in addition to using as a highlighter. In the picture above, the pinky overspray has been rubbed away. This is how it looks brand new:
Bare Escentuals Bare Radiance ($18)- I generally wear this iridescent nude shimmer powder over blushes and love the soft-focus look it imparts. Your skin just looks softly luminous and the shade and shimmer level are appropriate for daytime wear.

From left to right: Becca Mermaid, Bare Escentuals Bare Radiance, Bare Escentuals A Little Sun, Chantecaille Lumiere de Rose

Favorite Bronzers and Highlighters Part 1

Admittedly, I have a real thing for bronzers and highlighters. Most of the time I embrace my natural paleness, but often times I crave the effortless starlet look--sunkissed cheeks with a dewy glow. The problem is that I'm fish-belly white with rather flat cheekbones and so this face takes a lot of finesse and great products to achieve. I need bronzers that won't turn me too dark or orange and highlighters that actually show up (a pale product on pale skin is generally invisible) and make me look like I'm glowing, not greasy. I like to have a variety of formulations depending on the look I want and the other products I'm using that day.

Becca Shimmering Skin Protector in Opal ($41)- known for their skin-perfecting products, it's not surprising that Becca Cosmetics would produce a lovely highlighter. This is a delicately opalescent liquid with SPF 20 and antioxidants in a large pump bottle. It is a spendy product but the bottle is so large I can see it lasting basically forever if it's used as I choose to use it--as a spot highlighter. I pat it onto the high planes of my cheekbones and it really does create a lovely glow, notably when the light catches it. Being a liquid it's easy to apply and blend and looks natural. I have read of people using this product all over their face for both the SPF benefits and highlighting, but in my opinion it would be way too over the top all over, especially if worn without foundation.
Laura Mercier Gilded Garden Mosaic Shimmer Bloc ($38)-this product has the same level of shimmer and frost as Laura's regular Shimmer Blocs, but with a pretty embossed flower pattern. Lke the others, it features 4 shades that can be used alone or blended to achieve a custom color. Swirling the colors in this palette together creates a frosty light pink that's youthful and not at all 80s. I usually apply this with a fan brush over a cream blush for a touch of added color and radiance. This was limited edition but is still available on Laura Mercier's website.
Lancome Color Design Blush in Freeze Frame ($27)- this creamy product is a golden candlelight beige shade with a touch of peach. It's a slightly drier cream that lasts all day and I love the case with the adorable sliding lid. Lancome doesn't get a lot of love but I find their products to be high quality and this one is no exception.

Face Stockholm Highlighter in Radiance ($25)- Face Stockholm isn't widely available with only 4 boutiques in the US, all of which are located in New York. The line is based out of Sweden and is made up of high quality basics and their highlighter in Dignity is often listed by renowned makeup artists as a favorite product. Luckily, there is a website if you can't make it to New York. This highlighter is a pale shimmery pink cream, though the product is available in a whopping 11 shades, a very broad range for a highlighter. Dignity, mentioned above, is a white-gold shade that's pretty dramatic and definitely red carpet worthy. Radiance is more subtle and adds a slight pink flush in addition to the shimmer. This product is very dewy and does not set, unlike the Lancome.
More to come, but in the meantime you can click on the pictures to enlarge the images.

Becca Grapefruit Beach Tint

I've been looking for a cheek and lip stain for quite a while now. I am one of those people who, despite countless magazine articles insisting that everyone looks good with a just-in-from-the-cold flush, cannot wear pink of berry blushes. This greatly limits my cheek stain options since while deep rose hues abound, peachy pinks are a rare breed. I found bronzes, I found oranges, I even found a deep burnt coral and plum, but alas no stain to suit my coloring.

Then I stumbled upon Becca Beach Tint in Grapefruit. While not a traditional liquid or gel stain, this product does act like a tint for all day indelible wear and lo and behold, Grapefruit is a beautiful peachy pinky coral (similar to Makeup For Ever HD Blush in 6) that flatters my pale skin. I like a stronger cheek and so I apply 2 layers to build the color, but if you crave subtly one will be just fine. It does have a strong grapefruit smell which I neither understand nor care for, but it dissipates in a few minutes. A few Duane Reades in the city now carry the line if you'd like to check out the Beach Tints--there are several lovely shades from which to choose including a peach (another hard to find stain shade).