Review: Lavera Sunscreen & Organic Cosmetics

Earlier this year at the PrettyCity.com's Green & Gorgeous event, I was introduced to Lavera sunscreen. Did you know that they are the #1 sunscreen in Europe? After using this for the past 2 and a half weeks, I know why! This natural formula feels light and not sticky at all. It contains titanium dioxide and zinc oxide to provide you SPF, this physical sunblocker does its job and is all-natural!

If there's one "beauty" related task you should do everyday, it really is to protect your skin and wear sunscreen. The Lavera Anti-Aging Facial Subscreen is easy enough to apply everyday and one that I am not allergic to! Hallelujah! Will I be stocking up on this? You bet- I can't risk getting a tomato-face burn after spending hours in the sun. :)

Lavera also has great natural, cosmetics that are paraben-free. Highly recommend these products b/c they contain organic ingredients and they work well! Especially lovee the glosses!

Lip glosses- These glosses are moisturizing and non-sticky. They don't have the chemicals that will make your lips feel icky, heavy and make you wonder what exactly is going into your system when you lick your lips. The clear gloss I tried made my lips look naturally shiny- nothing over the top, but gorgeous enough to wear everyday. The brighter red color in #6 will leave your lips berry stained and gorg!

Volumizing Mascara- The brown Volumizing Mascara really made my lashes thicker and stand out. I used this a few times without even curling my lashes though and although this mascara didn't give me volume with "curls" it did make it look thicker. Great formula that lasts all day without smudging! Eyeliner- This pencil eyeliner in Navy color is perfect to make your blue eyes pop, or to mix up your usual black/brown eyeliner routine. I found these to be pretty blendable so you can use it to create a smokey eye. I do have to say that if you have oily lids, you will need a primer! Also, it helps to set it with eyeshadow to make the color last longer.

(Disclaimer: I received this product from this company's PR agency to test, try and share my thoughts with my readers.)
Check out more blogs @ TotalBeauty.com

BECCA Cosmetics: Glossy Lip Tint in Bellini

Hello Divas!

I hope you are having a beautiful day!  It is GORGEOUS in Atlanta with clear blue skies. Love it!

Remember when I previously wrote about Becca Cosmetics?  Well I am loving the products and have tons of pics to share of me wearing them.  However, I particularly am in love with the Glossy Lip Tint.  This lip gloss glides on smooth.  The texture is creamy not sticky.  It smells like strawberry parfait .  Plus the shine is super insane.  I just love it! Luxe baby loves it too. 

Becca Cosmetics Gloss Lip Tints come in a wide range of colors and have the most adorable names like Bellini, Champagne, Mimosa, Caipirinha, and Amaretto..Yes these glosses are named after the most Diva drinks of all time!  All of which I do love. 

The gloss lasts pretty much all day.  I only have to re-apply it once.  Becca Cosmetics lip glosses retail for $23 dollars and can be purchased online here.


Toodles!

LORAC: 3-D Lip Gloss in Brilliant A Levres

Hello Divas!


I hope you are having a fab week!  I am enjoying being home and relaxed!

While at Blogher, I ran into the fab people at Hautelook.  Hautelook sponsored a lounge for beauty and fashion bloggers during last year's fashion week and it was a great place to learn about new products, blog between shows and relax.  And if you don't know Hautelook is a sample sale shopping site that offers between 50%-75% off designer brands.

Hautelook was featuring their site and also giving full size samples of LORAC's Multiplex 3-D lip gloss.  See I have been eyeing this lip gloss since DE of Beautylogicblog featured it on her site.  I had actually went into Sephora trying to find the perfect shade and none of them looked good on my skin tone.  Well the Hautelook representative gave me the Brilliant A Levres color.  She stated she thought it would look good on me and boy was she right!  It is a sparkly bronze and just like that.... Bingo!  I found my perfect match.  Apparently LORAC just launched this shade and I am so glad they did.  The colors stays all day and it glides on very smooth.  It is medium sticky, but the shine is insane! Plus the 3-D effect is pretty awesome.  It ranges from bronze to peach!

This color looks gorgeous on my skintone!  Check it out!

Me, Funkidivagirl, and Angela of Hanging with Mrs. Cooper

The only complaint I have about have about the gloss is that it smells like Amoxicillin, the antibiotic.  Not cool.  I know the smell because I have two small kids and the doctor always prescribes it to clear infections. LOL!

LORAC 3-D gloss comes in a range of colors to basically compliment any skin tone and it retails for $22. You can find it at Sephora.

Toodles!

Disclaimer:  Product was complimentary via Hautelook.  However my opinion is my own.

Softlips PURE 100% Natural line

Looking for soft, luscious lips this summer? Get it naturally with Softlips! Best known for their lip care products in skinny tubes, Softlips have come out with their PURE 100% Natural line- including flavored lip balms, lip tinted balms, lip tinted glosses, a lip butter and a lip polish! With their variety of products and flavors, there is something that you can definitely use to get your best summer lips yet!

With every beauty routine, you need to start off with a clean slate. Use their Lip Polish ($6 USD), to slough off dead skin cells, made with organic coconut flakes (smells yummy!) and sugar to get your lips super soft. I haven't tried a lip scrub before but I think this is necessary to keep them healthy looking and keeping your lipsticks look smooth without any flakiness. Tip: Use once a week for smooth lips! To win all these products mentioned, enter the Celebrate Summer giveaway until June 20, 2010!

To get sun protection naturally, you have to try their tinted lip glosses or lip tints balms($4-5 USD). They come in three colours- Coral Charm, Natural Honesty, and Shell Pink. So depending if you like gloss for shine or tints for the balm-effect, they will both give you the sun protection you need from Iron Oxides, great natural colour to show off your sexy, natural pout, and the non-stickiness goo they many other companies' glosses feel.

The gloss and tints do not contain any synthetic ingredients that are harmful to your health,( so no parabens or artificial colours!), because it's literally 100% Natural. The natural moisturizers made my lips felt moisturized with the perfect shine for the summer!

If you're looking for more Sun Protection for your lips, check out the SPF20 lip balms. (These are contained in the original skinny tubes.) They come in several great flavors such as Cherry, Vanilla, Strawberry, Raspberry with Green Tea extract, new Mint and new Wildberry.

The Softlips PURE lip conditioners are probably the most popular since they have great flavors with the new formula of their original lip conditioners. I have fallen in love with these (carry them in all my purses/bags and even keep one by my nightstand!) These lip conditioners contain organic oils, beeswax, shea butter and vitamin E that are USDA-certified organic so I know even if I lick my lips, it's ok!

If you're looking for a lightly flavored lip balm to moisturize, try their Softlips Lip Conditioners- in new flavors such as Peppermint, Acai Berry, Papaya and Chai Tea! One of the first ones I opened up (which is why it is missing) is the Pomegranate flavor! Smells light and fruity!

To win all these products mentioned, enter the Celebrate Summer giveaway until June 20, 2010!



(Disclaimer: I received this product from this company's PR agency to test, try and share my thoughts with my readers.)

Check out more blogs @ TotalBeauty.com

Hot Item! LORAC Co-Star Lip Color and Gloss in French Kiss

Hello Divas!

Long time no see!  I have been busy busy busy. 

As you Divas recall, I won some beauty products at the Sephora Pampering Event.  One of the products I won was a tube of Lorac Co-Stars lip color and lip gloss.  This product includes a long wearing lip color on one end and a shiny lip gloss on the other.  Here is a pic.

I must admit that I love the color French Kiss.  It is a pinkish mauve color and it works very well on my skin tone.

On skin:

The lip color is smooth and creamy and it glides on like a dream.  This color is a perfect compliment to a natural look or with a more dramatic look while keeping the lips toned down.  The product claims that the lip color lasts for 8 hours.  Well I did not find that to be true.  The color lasts for about 4 hours without any smudges or fading in color.  After 4 hours it is a distant thing of the past.

You can wear the color alone or underneath the lip gloss.  The lip gloss does produce high glossy shine and it slightly dilutes the color for a more pale version of the original color.  I absolutely love the gloss.  It has high shine, but is not sticky.  This gloss is a winner!

Overall I love this product.  I like that you get a beautiful lip color and gloss in one.  I can wear it with or without lip gloss depending on my mood or where I am going.  And the price is not bad either.  You get two products for $20.  In the luxury cosmetics business, that is a steal.

You can purchase LORAC Co-Stars lip color and lip gloss in a range of gorgeous colors here or at any Sephora.  I am actually going to grab a couple of these to add to my beauty arsenal.  They are so worth it!

Toodles!

Hot Drugstore Find of the Week: Milani Glitzy Glamour Gloss in Lady Like

Hello Divas!

Remember Life is Beautiful! Live it to the fullest!

I have always heard great things about Milani Cosmetics.  Milani is a drugstore cosmetics line that features deep pigmented colors that works for all skin tones.  What I have noticed about the line is that the colors seem to work fantastic on women of color.  I had never tried any of their products until a friend of mine purchased a tube of the Glitzy Glamour Gloss.  I was intrigued by the tube's shape and color of the gloss.  So while in CVS this weekend, I decided to finally give it a try.  I chose the Lady Like shade because it is a bronze gloss with a hint of peach.  Love it!

The first thing I noticed about the gloss is it has a rich caramel smell.  I love lip products that smell good! Yummy!  The color is very pigmented and is very true when applied to your lips.  The gloss glides on smoothly, but I didn't particularly like the thickness of the gloss.  The color is beautiful, but the shine is very subdued almost matte.

But I received tons of compliments on the color.  It is pretty and looks gorgeous on my skin tone. 

Milani Glitzy Glamour gloss comes in 10 shades so there is a color that will look good on ANY skin tone.  The gloss retails for $6.49 and you can purchase it any CVS.

Have you tried Milani Cosmetics?  If so, what are your favs?

Toodles!

Christian Siriano and Victoria Secret Beauty

Hello Divas!

I hope you had a wonderful Wednesday! Only two more days and then we all can just relax!

Today's post will conclude my New York Fashion Week coverage. One of the "hottest" shows around was the Christian Siriano show. As you Divas know, Christian Siriano was an instant hit on Project Runway and since he won the grand prize he has become a major celebrity and fashion designer. I tell you backstage and the line to get into his show was insane! Plus he did not disappoint. The clothes were GORGEOUS!!

I had the opportunity to interview Polly Osmond, the Lead Make-up Artist for Victoria Secret Beauty. Polly said her inspiration came from Siriano's collection which derived from his love of the beach and water. Polly also stated her inspiration came from the Almafi Coast which is Christian's favorite beach in the world! Nice!

To create the look for the show, Polly used Christian Siriano for Victoria Secret Beauty products! Yes, Christian has created a make-up line for Victoria Secret! She used Black Mascara, White eye pencil, bronzer and a highlighter for shading and pale lip gloss. I was particularly fascinated with the lip gloss. The color is called Embrace and it is a pale champagne color.

Here is the look

Polly working her magic

Here are the clothes!




Toodles!

Napoleon Perdis NP Set Makeup Palettes

Hello Divas!



I hope you are having a great day!



As I previously blogged, Napoleon Perdis has introduced a new NP Set line at Target and the colors are just fantastic and the make-up is functional! I am such a fan of functional make-up because as a woman on the go, I need functionality.



Napoleon Perdis sent me a sample of their new NP Set make-up palettes and I just had to share them with you guys because they are gorgeous and so easy to use. First of all check out the packaging.



The palettes come in the cutest little compact cases. They are compact enough to fit inside any purse. Plus the designs are adorable.



These sets contain 5, yes 5 eye shadows, 3 lip glosses, and a blush. You also get two NP Set brushes for application. The colors in the make-up palettes are based on a specific style. For instance, if you are a rocker-chic Diva, the Denim Set is for you. This sets contains a beautiful violet, apricot, and lilac eyeshadow. Plus there are 3 hip lip glosses ranging from bronze to a shimmery pink.


The Sweater Set is for the a nice warm pink glow during the winter months! I call her the Winter Diva...she is dressed in her fly warm clothes but still glowing. This set contains a very pink blush, bronze, purple and gold eye shadow, with true pink and apricot lip glosses.



Lastly, the Career Set, is for the Career Diva. The woman on the go handling business! The colors in this palette best match my skin tone. This set contains a deep purple, light bronze, and gold eye shadow. There is also a bronze, pink, and coral lip glosses with a bronzy rose blush. Actually the blush reminds me of my fav NARS blush, Lovejoy.



The palettes come with step by step instructions on how to apply the make-up for a day or night look. So even if you are a novice, you can't go wrong with these palettes! They are only $29.00 bucks at Target! Considering the amount of product in the palette, this is a true steal!



Toodles!

Lancôme Piha Black Lipgloss! Quick Giveaway

Hello Divas!

I hope all is well in your world!

I have a quick giveaway. I have an extra Lancôme Cover Fever Piha Black lipgloss to give away! Piha Black is a sheer sparkly black lip gloss that is all the rage. You can't even purchase it anymore. I personally have layered it over Revlon's Dark Cherry Lipstick, my drugstore Vamp, and it is insane! It is perfect for fall and winter. My girl Bionic Beauty also wrote a fantastic post on how to wear Piha Black lip gloss. Well if you are a "daring diva" and want to try this lip gloss, simply leave a comment telling me what is my favorite Lancôme product. I mean, I talk about it all the time! The first person to answer correctly wins! Contest is only open to U.S. residents. Check out the photos! Gorgeous right??!!!



Piha Black layered over Revlon Dark Cherry lipstick. It makes the lipstick very shiny and sparkly! I am also wearing Lancome Kajal eye pencil in Golden Blaze and Lancome Defencils Mascara.

Toodles!

Lancome's Juicy Tubes Pure: Gorgeous and Green

Hello Divas!

I hope you had a fantastic weekend! The weather was perfect in Atlanta!

As you Divas know, I love Lancome's Juicy Tubes. Read my previous review here. Recently, I was given the opportunity to try their new line of Juicy Tubes, Juicy Tubes Pure. Juicy Tubes Pure is Lancome's new Organic version of their Juicy Tubes lip glosses. What is so wonderful about this lip gloss? First it is 95% all natural. The gloss contains shea butter, natural oils, and is paraben free. In addition, the flavor of the lip gloss is 100% natural! I love it! I have the Wild Berry color/flavor and the color is a beautiful wine and it tastes like berries. So yummy! And Lancome created this organic product without sacrificing the quality of the original Juicy Tubes glosses. The shine is amazing. The formula is not sticky. And the color is very intense and gorgeous! Plus Juicy Tubes Pure comes in a host of beautiful shades. Divas if you love organic beauty products, Juicy Tubes Pure is a must try! Juicy Tubes Pure retails for $18 and you can purchase Juicy Tubes Pure at any Sephora or online here.

Toodles!

FREE Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss!

Hello Divas!

I hope you are having a superb day! The temps have inched up a bit, so it is not so cold. Yeah! Divas frequently I get notices about awesome beauty sales that I love to share with my beautiful readers. So when I received an email that Clinique is giving away a full size tube of their Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss, I was estatic! As you know, I am a HUGE fan of Clinique's Superbalm. Read my review here. In honor of Valentine's Day, Clinique is giving away its Superbalm in Currant with a $35 or more purchase. Currant is a sexy deep lavender color. It is perfect for V Day! To take advantage of this offer simply click the below text!

Get a FREE Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss in Currant plus FREE Standard Shipping with any $35 clinique.com purchase! Use code SUPERBALM. Offer valid 1.15.09–2.15.09

Toodles!

Benefit Cosmetics: The Gloss!

Hello Divas!

I hope your weekend was fabulous! This weekend my best girlfriends and I had our annual Christmas get together and it was so much fun! One of my friends, who is a true beauty junkie like me, gave me a really sweet gift...a box of Benefit Cosmetics! Woot! I love Benefit Cosmetics! I love the packaging, the creative product names, and the quality of the products. The eye bright pencil is a must have! Well in this box I received The Gloss. The Gloss is a super moisturizing lip gloss that has tons of shine. I have been wanting to try The Gloss for awhile, so you can imagine my excitement! This lip gloss does live up to the hype. The shine is insane plus it smells like apricot! The Gloss comes in 8 versatile shades. I have the shade Curfew and it looks great with my MAC Chesnut lip pencil! The Gloss retails for $16 and you can purchase it online here or at any Sephora.

Tune in tomorrow for a list of fantastic last minute beauty gifts for $20 and less!

Toodles!

Another fabulous lip gloss! Lancome Juicy Tubes

Hello Divas!

I hope your day is fantastic! My good girlfriend, Renee S. wanted me to be sure to tell my readers about the fabulousness of Lancome Juicy Tubes. Her exact words are: "I am hooked on Lancome's Juicy Tubes! It is wonderful when one's lips feel good, smell good, and taste good all from the same tube!" And I agree. Juicy Tubes come in an array of fabulous colors that compliment any skintone. The shine is outstanding! They also smell sooo good! Based on which collection of Juicy Tubes you purchase, each tube will have a scrumptious smell based on the theme or name of that lip gloss. For example, Juicy Tubes Chic Delights Collection has a Caramel Praline lip gloss that smells and taste like praline candy. See my grandma used to make caramel praline candy from scratch so this lip gloss brings back memories. Yummy! Plus the lip gloss will keep your lips moist all day long. Lancome's Juicy Tubes lip glosses retail for $18.00. You can purchase them at Sephora.com. I know Divas so many glosses...but my philosophy is you can never have enough lip gloss!

Toodles!

Nars Long Lip Gloss Set

Hello Divas!

I hope your day is awesome! Yesterday, I shared with you Divas my love for Nars lip glosses. Well, Nars has a Lip Gloss Gift Set that is a great way to try several Nars lip glosses for one low price. This lip gloss set includes three of Nars' most popular lip glosses. It includes Harlow, a silvery mauve; Sweet Dreams, a gorgeous pink with gold flecks; and Bilitis a brownish pink. I am salivating right now. LOL! This set is only $45! What a deal considering the lip glosses are $24 a piece! I am placing my order right now! And with free shipping on any purchase over $40, what are you waiting for? Visit Narscosmetics.com for more details.

Toodles!

Nars Cosmetics: My Illicit Love Affair

Hello Divas!

I hope your Monday is filled with happiness and purpose! It is cold, cold, cold. Lots of Starbucks Refresh Tea for me! Today I am going to discuss my love affair with Nars Cosmetics. I say it is a love affair because the cosmetics are gorgeous but expensive. It is especially expensive when you buy 2 Nars blushes and an eyeshadow duo once a month! Ouch! But what can I say, I absolutely adore Nars. The colors are so highly pigmented, you don't have to use a lot of the product to achieve the color. So the product lasts longer. And unlike other cosmetics brands, you don't need a primer to make the color last all day. Nars blushes, eyeshadows, and bronzers just last! Lastly, the colors ROCK on any skin tone. So your skin tone can be ivory or dark mocha and the colors just work. Um did I say how much I love Nars? LOL! Now I have previously blogged about my fascination with Nars' blushes here and the Multiple here. But Nars has other fabulous products that I must share with you Divas. Today, I want to feature Nars lip glosses. Fantastic! The lip glosses are nourishing, highly pigmented, and the colors are gorgeous. I am absolutely loving Turkish Delight. Turkish Delight is a current cult fav! It is a sheer pink gloss that is perfect layered over a neutral or nude lipstick or alone with a great lip pencil. It creates the perfect nude lip and looks great on every skin tone. Now Nars' lip glosses retail for $24 but are so worth it! Currently, Nars is offering free shipping on any purchase of $40.00 or more. So you can buy two of their beautiful lip glosses and not have to pay for shipping. Fantabulous!

Toodles!

Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Lip Gloss

Hello Divas!

I hope your day is wonderful! I have so many lip glosses and lip balms that I really can't wear them all. LOL! But there are a few lip products that I just keep coming back to and Clinique's Superbalm Moisturizing Tinted Lip Gloss is one of them. I just love this lip gloss. It is super super moisturizing. It is not sticky..very smooth. Plus it contains antioxidants to protect your lips. And the smell is just so yummy. I have the Superbalm lip gloss in Raspberry. It smells like a piece of Raspberry candy and it has a nice berry color. I love wearing this lip gloss while running errands or hanging out with the kids. Clinique's Superbalm lip glosses retail for $13.50 and you can purchase them online here or at any Sephora.

Toodles!

Hot Drugstore Find of the Week: Cover Girl Queen Collection Pearl Peach Lip Gloss

Hello Divas!

I hope your week is fantastic! Mine is hectic! I am frantically preparing for a conference I have to attend later this week! But I had to tell you guys about this fabulous lip gloss that creates the PERFECT peach lips. Now if you have been reading my posts on New York and Hautelanta Fashion Week, you know that peach lips, eyes, and cheeks are in for Spring 09. So of course I went on the hunt to find the perfect peach lip shade.

Well divas, I definitely found it in the Cover Girl Queen Collection lip gloss in Pearl Peach. This lip gloss has tons of color, a rich shine, and it smells sooo nice. Plus it is so smooth and not sticky at all! And this peach shade looks great on all skin tones. Now one of my loyal readers Chamele asked me how to create the perfect peach lip. Like a lot of women of color, Chamele stated that her lips are different shades. The top lip is dark and the bottom lip is light. Well I have the same issue! What I did to create an even peach lip is line my lips with MAC's lip liner in Chestnut (a cult fav). However, I also used a lip brush to blend the lip pencil on my bottom lighter lip. I then applied the Peach Pearl lip gloss and the perfect peach lips was created. Awesome! I am getting so many comments on this lip gloss! You can purchase this lip gloss at CVS or online here. It retails for $6.00.

Toodles!

Hot Drugstore Find of The Week: Wet N' Wild's MegaSlicks Lip Gloss

Hello Divas!

I hope you are having a beautiful day! My hot drugstore find of the week is Wet n' Wild's MegaSlicks Lip Gloss. As you know I am a true fan of Wet n' Wild cosmetics. I have been using this brand since my teenage years. Wet n' Wild is super affordable and the cosmetics are a good quality. I really like their MegaSlicks lip gloss because it has the same consistency of MAC's lipglass and the colors pretty much match any skintone. Plus it contains Vitamins A and E, so my lips are soft and moisturized all day long. I always purchase the Megaslicks lip gloss in Sheerly Cocoa. It is a PERFECT match for my skintone and it also creates the perfect nude lip for me. This lip gloss retails for only..$2.50! Of course you can always buy Wet n' Wild products at CVS or you can purchase this fantastic lip gloss on line here.

Toodles!

Hot Drugstore Find of The Week: Revlon Mix & Mingle Lip Palette

Hello Divas!

How is your hump day going? I hope fantastic! My hot drugstore find of the week is Revlon's Mix & Mingle Lip Palette. This lip palette is the bomb! It contains 3 lip gloss shades. You can apply one of the shades or you can use one shade as a liner and another shade as a filler. You can also layer all three shades for a multi-dimensional look. The gloss is super creamy and it has a nice fragrance. I purchased the Hello Honey lip palette that contains a bronze, peach, and sheer pink color. I love this gloss because the palette is pretty to look at and it looks great on my skintone. Revlon has several other color combinations, so regardless of your skintone you will find a color that looks great on you! The Mix & Mingle lip palettes retail for $8.99 and you can purchase them here or at CVS!

Toodles!

Urban Decay's Baked: Love this gloss!

Hello Divas!

I hope your Monday started off with a bang! Today I must gush about one of my absolute favorite lip glosses. Urban Decay's XXX Shine Lip Gloss in Baked. I learned about this lip gloss in 2003 when I got a makeover at Sephora in preparation for a charity ball. The make-up artist used Baked on my lips and I was instantly in love. It is a beautiful bronze color with flecks of gold. The color is so rich, I only need to use a little bit of lip pencil when applying. Plus, the gloss is super shiny, so your lips will look fantastic all day long. And as an added bonus, the lip gloss is minty so your lips will tingle and your breath will smell fresh! This lip gloss looks great on ALL skin tones. It retails for $16.00. You can purchase Urban Decay's Baked at Sephora or Sephora.com.

Toodles!