Bare Escentuals 100% Natural Lip Gloss

 

Back to the lip gloss game. I have tried a few of the different kinds of lip glosses from the Bare Esentuals, bareMinerals line. I am a huge fan of the Buxom Lip Glosses (review can be read here), which are hands down my favorite glosses on the market, so I was definitely curious about their 100% natural glosses. 

I like the fact that the cosmetics companies are trying new formulas without all of the harmful materials that have been found to cause serious skin conditions, even cancer. The Bare Escentuals promise is, "without preservatives, parabens and artificial dyes. Our all-natural polish combines 100% pure bareMinerals with delectable ingredients such as Pomegranate Seed Oil and Honeysuckle Flower Extract."

I purchased the natural gloss in Chiffon, a nude sand shine, becasue I was looking for something with gold undertones that would work by itself in the summer when I load on the bronzer, or I could use to gloss over lipsticks to add a bit of shine. The first thing you notice about the gloss is the vanilla scent and flavor. Now, I really like vanilla, but I think it's one of the most over used flavors in cosmetics, especially in the organic lines because vanilla is a naturally occurring flavor. So I was a little disappointed in yet another vanilla flavored product. The gloss comes in the usual lube with small brush applicator, and goes on really smoothly without any stickiness. It has a high shimmer content, but not enough to be disco ball worthy and no glitter is in the formula. And the colors are nice and fresh but very sheer. If you're looking for a lot of pigment, these glosses are going to disappoint. My other complaint is that the gloss doesn't last long. I found myself re-applying more often than I had to with the Buxom glosses. 

They retail for about $15/tube, which is on the higher end for a gloss, but you're paying a premium for the natural ingredients. It's a nice product, but I think I'll stick with the Buxom. If you'd like to read more about it, or to check out the other color of the natural line, visit Bare Escentuals.

Oscars Sans Glow

As I was watching the Oscars and perusing the various celeb-blogs to look at some of the Oscar fashion, one thing really stood out: the lack of faux tan. Think about past award shows, the glamazons of the red carpet would either be sporting awful mystic tans that look so ridiculously orange as to be a close relative of the umpa loompa, or be so tan you wonder if their skin felt as dried as it looked.

For some resaon, the ladies this year deiced to take a page from the Nicole Kidman and Anne Hathaway fashion guide: to put their glorious ivory skin on full display. Such a refreshing change!

Perenial uber-tanners like Demi Moore, Charlize Theron, Cameron Diaz and Nicole Richie were au-naturel, even Miss Jenny from the Block was without her usual bronze glow. It makes me wonder if all of the bad press surrounding tanning beds and the increase of skin cancer has actually made a difference, or if some of the stylists finally said, "enough with the tans, your skin looks like 100 year old leather!"

Unfortunately not everyone got the memo about avoiding the tans this year. Sarah Jessica Parker looked ready for a stay in the local pumpkin patch with her spray on tan, which was only emphasized by the butter yellow Chanel Couture dress she was wearing, not a good combination.

As one of the alabaster skin crowd, I fully support change I saw last night. Look at pale beauties like Rachel McAdams, Sandra Bullock, Kate Winslet and Cary Mulligan, all super fair, and they looked dazzling last night. I'm not saying that tans are bad and that we should all become vampires, only to come out when the sun is gone, but I think it's a nice beauty alternative to the bronzed goddess images that have defined Hollywood for the last decade.

Here are my Oscar best dress picks for 2010, and all of them look so fresh with their fair skin:

Sandra Bullock, Cameron Diaz, Kristen Stewart, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Anna Kendrick.

Getting Back To It!

It's 2010, and it's been a while since my last post. Looking at the blog, I felt a need for a little change to get inspired to start blogging again. You'll notice a slightly different look, and I am going to be experimenting with some new elements as well. But don't worry I'll get back to the beauty and fashion too.

To kick things off, just a short post for today about a gorgeous bag, the Yves Saint Laurent Large Metallic Roady Hobo. If you have seen some of the pictures from differnt spring lines, metallics are all the rage this year, and I like that this bag is metallic with out looking like aluminum foil or a disco globe, it's understated.

The hobo is made of a pale gold metallic leather with tonal piping and is accented with silver hardware. It has a magnetic snap top and the interior is lined with black satin with one zip and three open pockets. It's definitely one of those handbags where you can accumulate so much stuff, you forget what actually hiding in there. If you'd like to read more about it, visit Saks.

That's it for today, but it feels good to be back!