.:: CybeleSays ::.

Product As Art

This piece has actually been a while in the making. I have been compiling products that are too pretty to touch as in, I can’t bear to break the seal and run a brush over the colors. Does anyone else have this issue?

Something like (4.MAC’s limited edition Colour Forms Cool Eyes x 5 ($38 only @ nordstrom.com) shown here practically sends me into spasms! Not only are the color blocks pretty but can you imagine keeping each color in their designated area? Ok, I’m a little obsessed with that too. There’s nothing more skin crawling than seeing a dirty palette.

Since palette or shadow art has become so hot and so pleasant to look at, I’ll highlight some of my favorites each season. While every product that appears on Cybelesays is tried and tested by us, this on-going feature will feature ones that we might not have tried and tested, just fawned over. How do you like that?

So purchase them or not, here are a few that just took our breath away.

1. CHANEL Multi-Use Make-Up Palette ($85 @ chanel.com)

2. DiOR ‘Impression Cuir Leather Couture’ Eyeshadow ($55 @ nordstrom.com)

3. GUERLAiN ‘Mereorites’ Illuminating Press Powder ($65 @ nordstrom.com)

5. ESTEE LAUDER Pure Color Swirl Gloss ($18 @ esteelauder.com)

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Quick Pick - Nars Lip Lacquer

I’ve always been a fan of NARS Lip Lacquer ($24 @ nordstrom.com). I love feel of the large pot, unscrewing the top, and even planning where to stick my fingertip to get a dab o’ color. My latest fave has been the dark brick red shade of Diablo. I just wish it came with some kind of application brush. I never know what to do with the leftover gloss on my finger after I’m done applying it!

Which Too Faced Palette Speaks To You?

Leave it to TOO FACED to come out with some new unique and fun palettes. Here’s the 411:

The Bronzed and the Beautiful ($35) – Three of their best-selling bronzers, Snow Bunny, Pink Leopard Bronzer, and Sun Bunny. Also in the box is their cutesy Flatbuki Brush.

Smoky Eye Palette ($32) – Create three different smoky eye looks using step-by-step instruction cards. Palette also includes two dual-ended sponge tip/brush applicators in a cute little drawer.

Both @ sephora.com
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Getting Cheeky With Kimiko Beauty

We previewed this next line last year and finally got our hands on some. Now I’ve used packaging similar to this KIMIKO BEAUTY Lifting Puff Blush ($38 @ kimikobeauty.com) but a bigger version. I’m not really a fan of using my fingers to apply makeup because it gets under nails and blah, blah, blah, just not a fan. So using this poofy brush with built in blush? Fun! And it comes in four different shades. It is a little pricey but don’t you think it’s worth having one you can totally take with you in your purse without the risk of it breaking open and spilling inside? These days, piece of mind has a price. The name says it has a Hydra-FirmaLift ingredient to it and while I didn’t notice any lifting with the naked eye, I’ll continue to use it because of the packaging and nice colors. And the top has a mirror for applications on the run!

Me By Mezhgan ... For Me And You

We love discovering new lines, especially when they knock our socks off and this next line’s product did. A little about the line – Mezghan from ME BY {ME}ZHGAN (pronounced mish-gone) has worked her way up the ladder and is now one of the chief makeup artists on a little show called American Idol. She wanted to create a line for everyday people like you and me and the result is a full line of cosmetics for lips, eyes, cheeks and face. My first pick of the litter is her  Luminous {Me} – Primer and Foundation ($49). It’s a 2-in-1makeup primer on one side and foundation on the other. So it’s perfect for traveling. I thought this might be one of those, I like one but not the other but not the case. Pump the left side for the gel primer that fills the nooks and crannies on your face and the pump of the right side for the foundation. It’s available in Light, Medium, Tan and Dark and their site even shows pictures so you can match your tone. I’m pretty sure this is one of those self-adjusting foundations because I thought my tone fell in between Light and Medium and the Medium actually seemed to work on my skin tone.
This time of year, I usually sway towards using mineral powder for my foundations but I have to say that this liquid didn’t feel heavy at all and it gave a medium coverage. Nice!

When I have ventured into liquid foundation territory in the past few months, which as been pretty infrequently overall, I’ve been liking the makeup-brush-to-apply method instead of a sponge. Their takelon-haired Foundation Brush ($20) helps you apply the formula like the makeup artist you are. Both @ mebymezhgan.com

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Have you tried any new lines lately? What were your results? Leave us a comment!

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Enlighten Your Life With A Little Tarte & BriteSmile

Now this is the most unique one we’ve seen all month – TARTE’s new Enlightenment BriteSmile Whitener & Tarte Lipgloss ($26 @ tartecosmetics.com) is a gloss on one end and teeth whitener on the other. Huh? First, choose from either Radiant Red or Pearly Pink gloss. And these ain’t no everyday ones. Each is infused with their t5 super fruit. Super fruit? A mixture of the following: goji, acai, maracuja, acerola and pomegranate. These are all knows to be loaded with anti-oxidants and vitamins. How cool is that? The other side of the click-pen is BriteSmile teeth-whitening formula so you can whiten while you walk or whiten while you work.

Product Picks From The New MAC Collections

MAC came out with the Starflash collection last week and while we love us some MAC with all the cool colors, I seem to get most excited when they release a new product altogether like the Eye Shadows ($14.50) in this collection. There are twelve new shadow colors to wet your whistle and what’s different about these? What I mainly noticed was no residue. What I mean by this is when you swipe a makeup brush through any powder, you have some residue that does not adhere to the bristles. Swiping and swishing the brush through the shadow and I got no residue, just color on the bristles. Pretty cool that there’s no waste.

Each color has a slight pearly finish and the colors are totally buildable, which I like. Color picks: Sunset B. (frosty clean midtone pink), Star By Night (frosty midnight blue), Grand Entrance (frosty neutral peach beige). Will these end up being a staple part of the collection? Time will tell.

Want to see what else I am loving from the MAC line these days? Click below to read more...

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You Read It Here First ...

We have a new one to introduce from ANASTASiA and we’re tickled pink to bring it to you first. Brow Pen ($21 @ sephora.com in mid-August) is a brow tint in the form of a super thin marker. The formula clings to both skin and hair and looks oh-so-natural. I always seem to use a pencil or powder that is too dark for me but this color, which is called Universal, is not too dark and not too light and totally buildable. So if you need a darker shade, you can do it with this one. Great product.

Prescriptives Gives Texture - Fall 2008 Color Collection

All the beauty lines are on the fall collections so let’s give you one to look forward to even though putting on a warm jacket is the last thing on my mind. PRESCRiPTIVES is getting courageous with their Daring Fall 2008 Color Collection. You can go soft or dramatic with any of these colors. Two that are stand outs for me at the Fall Dimensions Eye Color Quad ($42) and the Fall Dimensions for Cheeks and Eyes ($35). They are almost too beautiful to use. Let’s look at the eye quad first. My color quad for my skin tone is the R/O, which is the limited edition shade of Cobalt, Pongee, Relic and Malt Sparkle. For the cheeks, we also have some limited edition shades, and they are also textured powders. So use these to sculpt and give your look a kick. These ones really do look better in person than in the picture. All @ prescriptives.com

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And this got us thinking, there are so many products out there that look just too good. As in too good to try. Look for a feature about this next week.

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Making Good With Minerals

I had a couple of readers write in about skin irritating ingredients in mineral makeup, foundation specifically. So many different lines are popping up these days that it’s starting to get confusing. So here’s what I thought we’d do – over the next two months, we’ll examine mineral lines on the rise, the kinds of ingredients they use and what that means for you. We’ve featured most of them on these pages before but let’s really get to the bottom of each.

And let’s really try and put the myth to bed that mineral makeup is actually good for your skin. Remember how everyone is throwing the word “natural” around these days? Well these companies are too and some of the ingredients can be just as irritating and un-natural as their non-mineral-based competition. This info from the Cosmetic Cop is worth the read. Don’t mistake this thinking we are not fans, as we are especially when it comes to the glimmer shadows from BE. *sigh*

Ok, onward. First up, the EVERYDAY MiNERALS line and their line which includes Foundations, Finishing Powders, Pressed Powders. Created by an ultra-busy Mom, the Founder was one of the first estheticians in California making headway into the area of all-natural and organic in the area of beauty.

Ingredient breakdown of powders:

Mica – transparent mineral mined from the earth that provides light reflection (think of those liquid foundations that contain ingredients to lessen the look of wrinkles to the naked eye)

Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide - sunscreens

Iron Oxide – a natural color without dyes or animal ingredients

(some of the shades contain) Ultramarine Blue – ingredient used in blue and purple shades (the cool shades)

What we like about this line:

* Besides having a vast array of foundation shades, they really go the extra mile in getting it exactly right with warm vs cool complexions.

* Doesn’t contain some of the well-known skin irritating ingredients.

* The packaging has some thought behind it. What I mean by that is I’m really not enticed by some of the Mom and Pop mineral makeup brands out there. Sorry but I need good-looking packaging too. So shoot me.

* The prices are very reasonable and most of them come in these three sizes: $2.50/sample, $6/mini, $12/big

* 100% money-back guarantee.

What we feel can be improved upon:

* The website is not the easiest to navigate.

* Sizes do not give you exact measurement of product. Did I miss this on the site?

So do you currently wear mineral makeup? Why do you like it? Check out this line @ everydayminerals.com