Beach Vacation Style Pick: Affordable Active Swimwear

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 | Fashion, Photos, Style Picks | No Comments

Meilily is on vacation in Kauai this week…
I probably won’t be updating as much when I’m away, and instead hope to do as much snorkeling, hiking, beach-sitting, photo-taking, ooh-ing and aaah-ing as possible…

Meilily Style Pick:  Merona Olive Swim Tankini & Swim Skirt

Meilily Style Pick: Merona Olive Swim Tankini & Swim Skirt

Meilily Beach Vacation Style Pick!

In line with the beach vacation theme, here is a great swimsuit find from… Target (of all places) that works great for active beach vacations. I just tried it out during a day full of snorkeling and wandering about town, so this style pick is tried and true!

While many of you may not consider stores like Target a one-stop vacation wear shop, I found a good-coverage two-piece tankini swimsuit with swim skirt from Target’s Merona clothing line for only $19.99 each piece. Given that all the swimsuits I had been looking at (J.Crew, Athleta, Victoria’s Secret) were either too expensive for my current budget (over $40 per piece), oddly patterned, or too skimpy (think “coming-off-in-the-next-wave“), this Merona swim outfit was a lucky find! It’s perfect for transitioning easily from street to swim, especially since the swim skirt has an attached bikini bottom!

Happy Swimming! from Meilily

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IMATS Haul: Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, Make Up For Ever, Cruelty-Free Brushes & More!

Thursday, June 25th, 2009 | Makeup, Photos, Tools and Brushes | No Comments

Meilily IMATS Haularama!
Just wanted to share my haul from IMATS 2009, the International Makeup Artists Trade Show held in Los Angeles. I was there on Day 2 and picked up a satisfying budget-friendly haul. It’s a small haul by any means, but, I didn’t want to go overboard, given the economy right now! You should be proud!

Meilily: IMATS Makeup Haul

Meilily: IMATS Makeup Haul

Make Up For Ever (MUFE) offered 40% off at the show, and most exhibitors offered at least 20-30% off! So here’s what I picked up:

  • MUFE Diamond Cream in shade 4 Flesh
  • MUFE Empty 3 Pan Palette
  • MUFE Diamond Eye Shadow in 308 Diamond Night Blue
  • MUFE Eye Shadow in 167 True Blue
  • MUFE Eye Shadow in 144 Periwinkle Blue
  • Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Loose Colour in Glisten (”pale peach/coral shimmer”)
  • Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Loose Colour in Burning(”bright coral with subtle violet shimmer”)
  • Mehron Cheek Cream in Bronze (~50% off!)
  • Royal & Langnickel Tri-color Nylon Kabuki Brush - Small Dome (50% off!)
  • Royal & Langnickel Tri-color Nylon Kabuki Brush -Medium Angle (60% off!)

Keep Reading for More Meilily Haul Photos… —› › Continue reading

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IMATS Photos Part 2: The Makeup Show LA

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 | Hot Happenings, Makeup, Photos | No Comments

More Photos from IMATS 2009 (Day 2)…
Continuing the coverage of Meilily’s visit to Los Angeles for IMATS, the International Makeup Artists Trade Show:  Here are more photos from IMATS Day 2, with a focus on film makeup and some disturbing but fascinating oddities from the show!

*Don’t forget to check out Meilily’s Part 1: IMATS Highlights & Photos, with MAC Pro body art!

Note: I placed these photos in order of oddness, starting with a normal makeup photo…

Meilily: Make Up For Ever Display at IMATS

Meilily: Make Up For Ever Display at IMATS

Found lovely little synthetic kabuki brushes for only $6 from Royal & Langnickel’s booth- They totally remind me of my beloved Stript Taklon Kabuki Brush! —› › Continue reading

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IMATS Highlights & Photos: At the Makeup Show LA

Monday, June 22nd, 2009 | Hot Happenings, Makeup, Photos, Sales | 3 Comments

Meilily traveled to Los Angeles for IMATS, the International Makeup Artists Trade Show, and was there for Day 2 of the makeup trade show. There were tons of great brands and supply stores touting their wares, including MAC Pro, Make Up For Ever, Bobbi Brown, Obsessive Compulsive Makeup, and Mehron, as well as Royal Langnickel Brushes, Namies, Nigel Beauty Emporium, and tons of others.

Here are some highlights from IMATS Day 2:

Meilily at IMATS: MAC Pro Body Makeup

Meilily at IMATS: MAC Pro Body Makeup

It was fantastic to see all the body painting and special effects makeovers going on!

Keep reading for more photos from IMATS… —› › Continue reading

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Beauty Around the Web: Total Beauty Web Tour Week of June 15, 2009

Sunday, June 21st, 2009 | General | No Comments

Meilily Beauty Around the Web! Just wanted to keep you posted on what’s going on around the Total Beauty community: Here are some links to keep you busy this week!

[Stay tuned for IMATS makeup show coverage and photos from Meilily up next!]

The Informed Makeup Maven discovers Votre Vu and Terra Firma Cosmetics, talks summer faves and hosts MAC, Stila and Maybelline giveaways.

Beauty Anonymous shares a preview of Jill Stuart’s upcoming 5th Anniversary Collection for fall 2009!

Boutique Flair is offering 2 chances to win some swag. Enter here and here by 06/21/09!

The Beauty Couch shares some ideas for getting that sexy 60’s Star Trek-inspired look.

Meilily talks Fitness Shoe Skepticism: Are FitFlops & MBTs Just Glorified Platform Shoes?

Neon Bible experiments with Japanese nail art

A Little More Beautiful is giving away 1 LUSH Sweetie Stack Gift Set which includes 3 of their most popular soaps.

—› › Continue reading

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Featured ShopStyle Look: Summer Beach Neutrals by Meilily

Sunday, June 21st, 2009 | Fashion, Featured Looks | No Comments

Betsey Johnson at ShopStyle

Welcome to Summer, Northern Hemisphere readers!

Next week Meilily will be on vacation in Hawaii, so check out this neutral beachy look - It’s based around one extremely flattering and travel-friendly dress by Patagonia.

This look includes the following fashion and accessory items:
Morning Glory Dress by Patagonia
Sandals by Boden
Pop Art Large Tote by Betsey Johnson
Blue Tourmaline Mix Necklace by Vanessa Jenik
Fish & Hook Necklace by Betsey Johnson
Hat by Juicy Couture
Jemima Floppy Hat by Melissa Odabash

Enjoy! from Meilily

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Links à la Mode: IFB Fashion Potluck & Hodge Podge

Friday, June 19th, 2009 | Fashion, General | No Comments

Dear readers, Meilily has joined forces with Independent Fashion Bloggers (IFB) to bring you the top 20 editor-selected IFB links this week! Meilily is on the list! Enjoy!

ifb links a la mode

Fashion Potluck

Edited by Dramtis Personae
This week’s Links á la Mode is a fashion potluck, a hodge podge of politics in fashion, interviews with fabulous designers, bloggers, and photographers, flashbacks in to our fashion past, and great shops and designers to check out. I couldn’t make rhyme or theme of the collection, so just sit back & enjoy some of the best the Independent Fashion Bloggers had to offer this week!

Links à la Mode : June 19th

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Lipstick Queen: New Chinatown Glossy Pencils

Thursday, June 18th, 2009 | Makeup, Photos, Stores | No Comments

Why I haven’t written about Lipstick Queen products yet, I don’t know!
Available at high-end department store Barneys New York, the Lipstick Queen cosmetics line by Poppy King seems to have developed from a mixture of luxury noir glamour and tongue-in-cheek vision.  (The line first become known for its fascinating Saint and Sinner lipsticks, light and intense versions of the same lipstick shade.)

Now, the latest example of why Lipstick Queen products so effectively capture our imagination is their new product, the Chinatown Glossy Pencil, inspired by both the Roman Polanski film, Chinatown, and also New York’s Chinatown.  The minute I found out that the pencil has “Lipstick Queen” written on it in Chinese, I knew I had to try it!

The Lipstick Queen Chinatown Glossy Pencils currently come in 5 bright-but-sheer colors, and these jumbo pencils even come with their own sharpener.

More Details, Review and Photos of Chinatown Chase Glossy Pencil —› › Continue reading

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Fitness Shoe Skepticism: FitFlops & MBTs Glorified Platform Sandals & Sneakers?

Monday, June 15th, 2009 | General, Style and Technology | 9 Comments

Specialized toning fitness shoes are popping up all over the place these days.  Originating with curved sole MBT sneakers and semi-wedge FitFlops, these trendy “fitness shoes” are supposed to help tone muscles, improve posture, and more!  Am I going to jump on the leg-toning fitness shoe bandwagon and buy MBT sneakers or FitFlops (or both)?  I think not!

I find the latest trend selling glorified platform sneakers and flip flops as special fitness shoes disconcerting.  The average toning fitness flip flop seems to cost twice as much as the regular platform flip flop sandals that I wear (by Flojos); the average toning fitness sneaker seems to cost four times the price of my beloved Aldo or Nine West platform wedge sandals.  I hope this trend does not mean that my usual platform sandals are going to cost a lot more from now on because they’ve been toning my legs as I walk!

What Fitness Shoes Can Supposedly Do

FitFlop, for example, claims that their fitness sandals can help —› › Continue reading

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Beauty Around the Web: Total Beauty Web Tour Week of June 8, 2009

Sunday, June 14th, 2009 | General | No Comments

Meilily Beauty Around the Web! Hope you all had a great week! Here are some links to recap what’s been going on around the web from the Total Beauty community. I think June is shaping up to be a really interesting month on many fronts! Enjoy!

The Informed Makeup Maven talks Kissable Couture, Genie and gives away Diorshow, MAC, Stila and Maybelline!

Beauty Junkies Unite shares an easy guide to sexy summer legs!

Can you lose weight by eating cookies? eye4style invesigates The Cookie Diet. Nom, nom!

Beauty Anonymous reviews Shiseido’s Maquillage Face Creator 3D!

My Makeup Blog answers one reader’s question and gives tips and tricks on monolid eye makeup. Come and take a look!

Makeup Files wants to know: What is your nighttime skincare routine?

Meilily discusses cosmetics ingredients: are they harmful, safe, or who knows?

addicted to lipstick gives us the rundown for the top 2009 Celebrity summer hairstyles.

Beautè Noire is giving away free Max Factor makeup!

—› › Continue reading

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Sale Alert: Bliss Blowout Sale On Now!

Friday, June 12th, 2009 | Hot Happenings, Makeup, Sales, Skincare, Stores | No Comments

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Meilily Sale Alert!
I highly recommend checking out the Bliss Blowout Sale going on now at BlissWorld.com -You can get up to 50% off hard-to-find beauty products, including those from Rodial, YonKa, Bliss, Chantecaille, MBT, and even Wolford! I’ve personally picked up lots of amazing deals on cosmetics and skincare products during previous Bliss sales. I love a good Bliss sale!

Meilily suggests checking out these sale items…

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Chantecaille Bengali Palette (Was: $117 - On Sale: $58.50)

—› › Continue reading

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Cosmetics Ingredients: Harmful, Safe, or Who Knows?

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 | Beauty and Awareness, General | 1 Comment

Is there lead in your lipstick? Are there harmful chemicals in your skin creams? The answer we all hope for is “No,” but the reality is actually not so simple.

Do we really know what is in our cosmetics? Lead has a sordid history of being used in cosmetics due to its pigment-enhancing properties, but, now despite being known to be a neurotoxin, lead is still making an appearance in cosmetics today.  If you remember the scare over lead in lipstick from a couple years ago, you will understand that we cannot totally rely on cosmetics ingredient labels to tell us everything that is actually in our beauty products.

The lead in lipstick controversy stemmed from a 2007 report, “Poison Kiss,” from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, that tested lead levels in 33 lipsticks, and revealed that lead was detected in two-thirds of those lipsticks, including some made by L’Oreal, Maybelline, and Cover Girl, though lead wasn’t listed as one of the ingredients.  The resulting consumer response to the report and findings of lead in lipstick ranged from fearful outrage to, surprisingly, stiff dismissal.

Those who dismissed the findings as “un-concerning,” cited reasons such as the personal insignificance of the reported lead levels or even a concern that the study was not peer-reviewed by the scientific community. However, it is not hard to understand why many consumers were actually shocked and upset by the findings of lead in popular lipsticks. Regardless of any opinions about the report itself, I’m sure all of us would like to have zero levels of lead in cosmetics rather than some lead, if given a choice.

More on Consumer Choice and Cosmetics Ingredients…

Consumer advocates point out that the US Government —› › Continue reading

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EDUN Spring-Summer Collection Sale + Win $300 from EDUN

Monday, June 8th, 2009 | General | No Comments

EDUN just reduced their Spring/Summer Collection by 30%! Great time to pick up the amazing EDUN Organic Grass Collar Ainsley V-neck Dressicon, which Meilily loves, and other great fair-trade eco-friendly clothing items from EDUN.

If you register at the EDUN website, you could Win a $300 Gift Certificate to EDUN in their monthly drawing! With $300 you could buy some lovely EDUN items like these Meilily favorites from other collections…

EDUN’s Organic Baby Blanket: for you or for baby - organic cotton inscribed with a truly touching poem, Splendid City, about Africa, brotherhood and hope. (On Meilily’s wishlist!)

OR…
—› › Continue reading

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Beauty Around the Web: Total Beauty Web Tour Week of June 1, 2009

Monday, June 8th, 2009 | General | No Comments

Meilily Beauty Around the Web Welcome to June, lovely readers! Here are some links from the Total Beauty community to help you transition into summer…

***

The stars came out for the CoverGirl/MTV Movie Awards event at Byron & Tracey Salon, Beauty Junkies Unite was there!

It’s 3 Custom Color Specialist Week on The Informed Makeup Maven who writes, interviews and reviews 3CCS. Don’t forget to enter IMM’s MAC Pack and Diorshow giveaways, and follow IMM on Twitter.

eye4style has the scoop on Sienna Miller’s totally gorgeous MTV Movie Awards hair! Get the how-to here.

A Beautified Life reviews Summer Shimmer makeup that helps withstand the summer heat!

Boutique Flair features makeup with wonderful waterproof magic.

Meilily is giving away an eyeQuatic waterproof summer makeup set from tarte!

Beauty Anonymous reviews La Mer The SPF30 UV Protecting Fluid.

Celebrate Shawn Johnson’s win on Dancing with the Stars… click here to enter to win a makeup bag full of her favorite goodies over at Beauty in Real Life.

Fabulous Over Forty discusses mens skincare needs and products.

—› › Continue reading

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New Melissa + Vivienne Westwood Lady Dragon II Heels Now at Epaulet!

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 | Hot Happenings, Product Launches, Shoes, Stores | No Comments

Meilily Hot Happenings & New Product Images!

The Fall ‘09 Lady Dragon heels by Melissa & Vivienne Westwood Anglomania are now available, and Epaulet in New York just got an exclusive early delivery! They are apparently the only online retailer in the US to have these right now!!

If you’re familiar with Meilily’s love of the amazing Lady Dragon rubber heart heels by Melissa & Vivienne Westwood, you’ll know that Epaulet is Meilily’s go-to shop for getting these and other hard-to-find Melissa shoes here in the US. (Btw - Epaulet ships free and quickly within the US, and they also ship internationally!)


The New Fall ‘09 Lady Dragon II Shoes

The new Fall ‘09 Lady Dragon II slingback heels are still made with Melissa’s signature scented rubber material (and still run a bit large), but this time they feature a rubber bow in the front instead of a rubber heart. Also for Fall ‘09, these new Lady Dragons come in darker colors, such as black and red. Oooh, who doesn’t like red shoes?!

And… if you prefer cute flats, Epaulet also just got a shipment of the new Melissa & Vivienne Westwood Fall ‘09 Ultragirl flats with bow!

More Product Images of Melissa’s Ultragirl & Original Lady Dragon with Heart…

—› › Continue reading

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Meilily Giveaway: Win a Tarte EyeQuatic Waterproof Summer Essentials Set!

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 | Contests, Free Stuff, Makeup | 58 Comments

[Update June 12, 2009: The winner of this giveaway is Trude! Congrats!]

Meilily Summer Makeup Giveaway! With the popularity of our last giveaway, Meilily.com has now teamed up with tarte cosmetics to give away one tarte eyeQuatic waterproof summer makeup set starting June 3, 2009!  Check back to see who wins!

Win a tarte eyeQuatic Waterproof Summer Essentials Set ($35 value):
- Three lock & roll eyeshadows in new jewel-toned sea-inspired shades: tourquoise, citrine, tanzanite
- A deluxe travel-size lights, camera, splashes! 4-in-1 natural waterproof mascara
- A full-size aquatic-mod head scarf in matching shades
Check out Meilily’s swatches and photos of these summer giveaway items here!

To enter, simply do the following: [One entry per person please]
- Subscribe to the Meilily RSS feed here.
- Post a comment on this post below telling Meilily why you want to win!

All complete entries must be received by June 11, 2009 at 11:59 PM PST.   Giveaway open to US Residents only. (Sorry international readers!  Meilily hopes to include you soon.)  Void where prohibited by law.  A winner will be chosen randomly and notified by email.  The winner must timely respond with their address, so that the prize can be shipped to them by tarte.  Please check out our Privacy Policy before entering.

Good Luck!  from Meilily * Live Beautifully

P.S. Even if you don’t win, you can still score 20% off tarte waterproof items with code WATER20!
P.P.S. Here’s our tarte giveaway link on Prizey!

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Product Photos & Swatches: tarte eyeQuatic Waterproof Summer Essentials Set

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 | Free Stuff, Makeup, Photos, Swatches | 3 Comments

Meilily: tarte eyeQuatic summer makeup set

Meilily Product Photos & Swatches: tarte eyeQuatic
Check out these exclusive tarte eyeQuatic product photos! (Don’t forget to enter to win one of these summer makeup sets from tarte starting June 3 here at Meilily!)

tarte eyeQuatic Waterproof Summer Essentials Set Contains… Three lock & roll eyeshadows in turquoise, citrine, tanzanite; a deluxe travel-size lights, camera, splashes! waterproof mascara; and a full-size aquatic-mod head scarf.

Meilily’s tarte eyeQuatic Product Photos:

Meilily Product Photos: tarte lock & roll cream eyeshadow closeup

Meilily Product Photos: tarte lock & roll cream eyeshadow closeup

(Keep reading for more of Meilily’s photos and swatches…)  —› › Continue reading

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J.Crew Weddings: Dress Sale! Sophia Bridesmaid Dress on Sale!

Sunday, May 31st, 2009 | Sales, Stores, Weddings | No Comments

Meilily Sale Alert & Shopping Tips: J.Crew Sophia Dress!

Spring wedding season is already underway, but if you are still looking for bridesmaid dresses, look no further - J.Crew’s popular silk Sophia dress is currently on sale for only $100 in select colors (and only $59.99 in Kelly Green)! I’ve kept my eye on the price of J.Crew bridesmaid dresses for a friend, and I think now is a fantastic time to stock up on select J.Crew wedding attire!

Read on for more about the J.Crew dress styles on sale and for Meilily’s important tips for shopping J.Crew Weddings.

J.Crew Sophia Short Dress in Silk Tricotine:
Regularly $150, the J.Crew Sophia Short Dress in Silk Tricotine is a great value as an elegant, classy, and pretty dress for bridesmaids or brides. —› › Continue reading

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Beauty Around the Web: Total Beauty Web Tour Week of May 25, 2009

Sunday, May 31st, 2009 | General | No Comments

Hope you’re having a fantastic weekend! Meilily brings you Beauty Around the Web, with the latest links from the Total Beauty Community. Enjoy these reads!

The Informed Makeup Maven reviews Luminess’ at home airbrush tanning system, Avon magix skin perfector; does summer Stila style and is giving away Diorshow Mascara and Maybelline Mineral Power Foundation!

Monique at Beauty Girl Musings shares her experience with the online shoe service, ShoeDazzle. Read about it here!

Boutique Flair reviews the Barielle 60 Second Mani-Pedi.

Meilily reviews Pacifica Avalon Juniper Perfume with exclusive product photos and shopping tips.

Beauty Junkies Unite goes to Kinara, gets a fab St. Tropez faux tan and gabs about it!

A Little More Beautiful has two great giveaways Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin and Max Factor Lash Perfection Volume Couture Mascara ending on May 31st at Midnight and June 20th at Midnight! It’s fast and easy to enter!
—› › Continue reading

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Giveaway Winner: Spring Bridal Makeup from Benefit Cosmetics!

Friday, May 29th, 2009 | Contests, General | 1 Comment

Announcing the winner of Meilily’s Giveaway of Benefit Cosmetics Spring Bridal Makeup

Congratulations to Kathy!

What Kathy won:
- Benefit Creaseless Cream ShadowLiner in Marry Up
- Benefit Silky Powder Eye Shadow in Blushing Bride
- Benefit Silky Powder Eye Shadow in Guess Again
Click here to see exclusive product photos of each Benefit product we gave away!

Thanks for all your thoughtful entries!
Stay tuned for more Meilily giveaways and come back and visit again soon!

Enjoy free stuff! from Meilily

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Product Pick: Pacifica Avalon Juniper Perfume

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 | Fragrance, Photos, Product Picks, Stores | 3 Comments

Meilily Product Pick:  Pacifica Avalon Juniper Perfume

Meilily Product Pick: Pacifica Avalon Juniper Perfume

What do books and natural perfumes have in common? Well, not much, I thought, until I discovered that Borders Bookstores now carry products by Pacifica, a surf-inspired brand of natural fragrances, candles, and body care.

Pacifica has artfully placed their perfumes in the limelight recently, their products garnering a spot near the front of Borders bookstores (and in Sephora stores), no longer sitting meekly on the shelves of small locals-only grocery stores.  Keep reading for more on Pacifica’s latest fragrance, Avalon Juniper.

Meilily Product Review & Photos: Pacifica Avalon Juniper Perfume

I thought I had found my favorite Pacifica fragrance —› › Continue reading

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New MAX Factor: Vivid Impact Lipcolor & 2000 Calorie Extreme Lash Plumper Mascara

Friday, May 22nd, 2009 | Makeup, Photos | No Comments

Meilily Product Testdrive!
Just tried two of the latest makeup items from MAX Factor

MAX Factor Vivid Impact Lipcolor in Rose Rage
Made with shea butter, MAX Factor’s new semi-sheer Vivid Impact Lipcolor comes in a range of pure pigment shades designed by P&G Global Creative Design Director Pat McGrath. According to MAX Factor, “The ultra rich, pure pigment lipcolor offers head-turning looks from classic to bold, but always vivid.”

I tried this lipstick in Rose Rage, a pretty mauve rose shade with a subtle and trendy hint of fuschia. The creamy and moisturizing color starts out a sheer pink, and is buildable for more oomph. If you want to wear the latest bright pink lipstick featured by magazines and on runways but you just want to head to the grocery store, this is a lipstick shade for you.

MAX Factor 2000 Calorie Extreme Lash Plumper Mascara —› › Continue reading

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