Signs of Spring

If you are anywhere near the DC Metropolitan area like I am, you are craving any hint of spring. I just spent the last 4 days being burried in and digging out of the blizzard of 2010 or what has been affectionatly trended on twitter as #snOMG and #snotoriousBIG. Spring cant get here fast enough for me, especially since we are expecting another storm tomorrow. So I was just on MAC’s website and their new Spring Colour Forecasts are out. Of course there is a color palate to compliment any MAC girl. Spring Colour Forecast one is filled with beautiful pink shades and forecast 2 is perfect for the girl who loved coral. My friend Erica (who I mention often) is one of those girls. Corals just seem to come to life when she wears them. They are a perfect match for her hair and skin tone. Of course I am completely partial to Colour Forecasts 3 and 4. Forecast 3 is filled with plums and burgundies which I just adore. There is a limited edition eye shadow palate containing shades like Pink Mink, Bruised Plum, Black Tulip and Jungle Moon. Forecast 4 is filled with golden hues of amber and pearl. Of course these shades excite me to no end considering how much I love to incorporate golden tones into everyday wardrobe. There is a fabulous Nail Lacquer called Abalone Shell which I am DYING to get my hands on. You can pick up your own M∙A∙C Spring Colour Forecast Feb 11th, 2010 – April 2010.

In addition we all know that Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (no longer in Bryant Park) starts next Friday February 12 to Friday, February 19, 2010. I have only been to Fashion Week once, and it certainly is an experience. MAC has paired with some of their supporters to release MAC & Milk which is an exclusive runway-ready collection of makeup essentials suited to every shade of skin (their words not mine) that I am positive will make for a versatile, face in a flash combo for Fashion Week makeup artists. Great nude and earthy shades of foundation, Mineralize Skinfinish and lipsticks are all present, as well as fabulous bases and skin preparations to enhance any runway look.

I Wonder…..

I love OPI polish, and you guys already know this just from the numerous posts I have done over the years on their products. This morning I was reading my daily news online and there was a feature on NBC Washington about the new Alice in Wonderland inspired OPI colors. OPI is teaming up with Disney and their remake of Alice in Wonderland (by none other than Tim Burton) starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, Anne Hathaway and Mia Wasikowska as Alice. There is a sweepstakes on OPI’s site that you can enter to win all sorts of OPI goodies and JCPenney Salon Gift Certificates too.

There are four fun Alice inspired colors to choose from. Absolutely Alice, Mad as a Hatter, Thanks so Muchness and Off with Her Red! You can even use the virtual “Try it on” program on the OPI website that lets you change your nail length and skin tone so you can get a good idea of what each shade might look like on you. I am personally interested in Mad as a Hatter with its confetti colors and purple undertones. Of course they are only around for a limited time so hurry down the rabbit hole and don't be late! You'll be grinning like a Cheshire cat.

I'm Going In for 2010

Okay folks I am starting this thing back sort of slow so just bare with me here while I knock off the cobwebs. First I would like to say Happy 2010 and sorry I have been MIA for better than a year. My work life is crazy and I make no promises about continuing to update, but there are some products I feel like I just must address. I have broken the short reviews into two categories. Stuff that works and Stuff that sucks. Sorry but I have limited time and you know I hate BS reviews so here we go.

Stuff that works

WEN by Chaz Dean Fig Cleansing Conditioner

Yeah I know I am tardy for the party on this one, but I love my WEN Fig Conditioning Cleanser. It only took me like 6 months to love it though and I will tell you why. Getting used to the idea of washing my hair with something that would not lather was beyond difficult. I couldn’t imagine it was cleaning anything and in all honesty I just kept using my old shampoo and used the WEN as a conditioner. Well you don’t get results like that and my hair was officially giving me the finger for mixing products. My hair was lifeless, limp, brittle and just downright unruly. So I didn’t start using the stuff in earnest until I ran out of my shampoo. Then I cut my hair and colored it and suddenly WEN became my new best friend. It didn’t strip the color, my hair wasn’t brittle and crazy looking, the frizz completely died down and it honest to god started to shine on its own. I think it was a combination of cutting off all the damage and really using it the way it was intended. My friend Erica was telling me how she likes it as a conditioner but won’t stop using her regular shampoo, and I told her my story. She has the gigantic pump bottle of WEN tea tree and I told her to stop fooling around and use it full time. She promised that she would, so we will see what happens in the near future. I haven’t tried anything else from the styling line yet, but I hope to, oh and you get the best deals on the big bottles on QVC. I have short hair now so it lasts a long time for me, but I can see how if you are rocking a head full of long hair it might not go as far. I highly recommend it and if you do the math you will see that you are probably paying more in shampoo and conditioner than you would for the one bottle of WEN. 32 oz for $44.82 over at QVC.

LOLA by Marc Jacobs

You already know how difficult it is to find a scent that works with your body chemistry right? Some of the fragrances I like seem to disappear the minute I put them on, and other seem so overpowering I just can’t stand myself. I love Lola by Marc Jacobs. Light, floral, complex, wears all day and isn’t the type to make me want to wash my wrists in the bathroom sink at the office. I don’t think perfume should punch anyone in the face should they encounter it, so I always air on the side of less is more. Well, especially since that coworker incident years ago where she was applying 15 sprays every hour. Will this work for you? Maybe, I say go take a sniff and test it out. It’s worth looking into

Sally Hanson Insta-Dri Nail Color

I was highly skeptical of this stuff to start but it works like a charm. Actually if you have someplace to be and you need your nails to look cute in a flash then keep this stuff handy. They have some pretty decent colors (not enough variety though IMO) so I am sure you can find something you like. I actually put it to the test going to work (Job 2) the other day. I managed to put on two coats and roll out in 10 minutes without so much as a chip or a smudge. It held up to the rigors of retail furniture sales and still looked great when I got home 8 hours later. I think of course you could really seal the deal with a great top coat, but you already know that is going to add to the drying time. If you aren’t pressed for time a half hour wait on a top coat isn’t that big a deal and I think it’s a pretty fair trade for not having to wait at all on the polish to dry. This stuff does require you to be pretty quick and neat with it. No fussing and touching up the same nail over and over okay? It just wont work and you will wind up with weird coverage and little globules on your nails. Just paint and move on. You can clean up mistakes on the second swipe I promise. My favorite color is Wine. It would be wouldn’t it? I love all things wine and I guess this is no exception. Its $4.99 at Walgreens and other drugstores. Not too shabby. Next on my list...

Stuff that sucks

Dove Deep Moisture Nourishing Body Wash with NutriumMoisture

I hate to have to do it, because I tell you that I wanted nothing more in this world than to love this stuff but that did not happen. Dove Deep Moisture Nourishing Body Wash with NutriumMoisture is a no thanks. I will pass. Why? Well I picked it up in a trip to Target one day because I was running out of my Olay Body wash. Why lord didn’t I just grab the same stuff I have been using with success for almost a year? I guess being the product junkie I am I couldn’t resist the idea of trying out something new that professed to hold in my skins moisture. It is winter in DC people, so extraordinary measures must be taken to ensure that dry skin does not creep up on you. In its defense (or maybe because I am slow and so busy I don’t know which way is up) I didn’t realize there was a problem for 3 weeks. I guess I was just slightly itchy. I hadn’t changed my detergent, my lotions, my eating habits or used any new perfumes so I was confused. On week three, when I finally couldn’t take the scratching that was leaving raw, I connected the new body wash with my discomfort. I promptly chucked the half filled bottle into the trash and went out and repurchased my Olay. While I was in the store I was chatting with a friend on the phone and told her about the itchy body wash. She has SUPER sensitive skin, and she said that she couldn’t use that stuff at all. I didn’t think it was odd until I came to work and I relayed the itchy body wash story to a coworker, who said “hey, that stuff made me itch too!” okay granted we could have similar skin PH and tolerance but when my told my boyfriend about it he said “I thought it was just me”. Apparently, he hadn’t packed his soap for an overnight stay and had used my “plain looking” Dove in a pinch. I then told this story to my coworker (at the second job) Erin who proceeded to tell me about the rash she got from the same product. Okay so that’s five separate individuals who can’t tolerate this Nutrium stuff. I gotta wonder if they are getting complaints. So, for my purposes Dove with Nutrium is out. I can’t have itchy skin that I want to attack all day and night. I will go back to what I know. I just hope that Dove doesn’t begin to add it to all their body wash products. I really love their products and I know you've seen me write about them here again and again. I am a huge fan of their Go Fresh line and their antiperspirants as well as so many of their other products so I am not down on Dove, I am just down on Nutrium. Sorry Dove, but Nutrium and I are not friends.

Gimme...Gimme: MAC Holiday 2008

I know I have been MIA recently and I do sincerely apologize but the job that pays the beauty bills has been really kicking my tail!! So I'm back with a huge review of all holiday things MAC!! The leaves are just starting to fall outside but don't let that fool you, the holiday season is on its way! Check out these new MAC Holiday collections on counters now because you simply must scoop them up as fast as you can (no seriously....go).

If you are familiar with MAC's holiday collections, you know that the beautiful compacts filled with rich fabulous colors are snapped up quickly. Let me give you a little preview of what is coming your way this month.

The Passions of Red collection of Lip and Eye compacts are beautiful inside and out. There are 5 eye compacts each glossy and adorned with a sparkling faux jewel are filled with the holiday season's most wearable, fashionable colors.

Devoted Poppy: 6 Classic Eyes

Intriguing Scarlet: 6 Warm Eyes

Infatuating Rose: 6 Cool Eyes

Fascinating Ruby: 6 Smoky Eyes

I love Little Darlings Three Lip and Lustreglass collections, two pigments and an eye pencil collection all dressed up for holiday wear!

5 Coral Lipglass/Lustreglass

5 Pink Lipglass/Lustreglass

5 Neutral Lipglass/Lustreglass

5 Warm Pigments/Glitter

5 Cool Pigments/Glitter

5 Softsparkle/Eye Pencil

I love the Neutral collection which includes the oft sought but rarely found Languish.

The Adoring Carmine collection is a great gift worthy group presented in sleek red satin bags. Choose from three lip color sets or three brush sets to make your holiday season bright.

3 Red Lips

3 Neutral Lips

3 Rose Lips

5 Basic Brushes

4 Face Brushes

5 Eye Brushes

The face brush set even includes a small Duo Fibre Brush which is one of my all time favorites and a makeup case must have. These fabulous collections coupled with the retro chic Red She Said line is sure to bring smiles to the faces of you and your friends. Check out the new Mineralize Eyeshadow Trios and Dazzleglass collections. I am loving Ms. Dynamite Dazzleglass!

Every collection is in your MAC store right now, but you have to hurry before some lucky holiday minded lady scoops them up before you do!