.:: CybeleSays ::.

I’ve come to pretty much expect some products to do double-duty and I’m adding makeup primers to that list. And this one is really doing triple-duty so it’s raising the bar! COVER FX BritePrep FX Brightening Foundation Primer & Photo-Aging Defense ($45/1oz @ coverfx.com) is not only a primer but contains a SPF 50 - A SPF 50 PEOPLE! - as well as those properties that blur lines and pores using what they call Dermaveil. And they’ve also added Bearberry Extract to help with skin discoloration, which I think we can all use help with.

Have you jumped on the primer bandwagon yet? There’s still room, ya know!

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided for review purposes.

NAPOLEON PERDIS NP Set Calming Pre-Foundation Primer ($29/1.7oz @ target.com) – now that colder temps are here, your skin might want to act out. Keep redness away with this green primer. The formula also contains aloe and cucumber extracts to make skin feel great.

NARS Concealer ($22 @ sephora.com) – now available in a stick form, this smooth formula is available in 10 shades.

MIRACLE SKIN Transformer SPF 20 To Go ($18/.85oz @ sephora.com) – yeah a tinted moisturizer with SPF. This new size is perfect for the purse and contains micas, Saw Palmetto Extract, CO Enzyme Q10 among others to give skin a shot of anti-aging ingredients. Choose from seven shades.

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.

OMG, it is already September 21^st and I’m not even half way through featuring all the new fall beauty products so I’m going to stretch this Fall Beauty Pick feature into October. After all, fall is one of my favorite seasons – the colors, the textures and of course the temperatures! Here are some that are singing my tune right now.

Clockwise left to right:

MAKE UP FOR EVER Smoky Lash in #6 Plum ($22 @ sephora.com) – this one claims to curl and lo and behold, I think it did! A great complement when wearing their Crayon Kohl Pencil in new shade 10k, a deep eggplant sheen.

NYC COLOR In A New York Color Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish in Scenestealer Grey ($1.99 @ drugstores nationwide) – metallic grey is a hot color for fall and it goes with so many different looks.

NAPOLEON PERDIS NP SET False Eye Lashes in Manchester ($10 @ Target or target.com) – if you just want a little emphasis on your eyes, this style will do it subtly. If a strip is too hard for you to maneuver, there’s also Copenhagen, individual lashes.

PACIFICA Island Vanilla Perfume ($22/1oz, $12/roll-on @ pacificaperfume.com) – Tahitian vanilla, vanilla absolute, honey-jasmine and a touch of fruit and tea make up this totally wearable made from pure grain alcohol scent.

POP BEAUTY Face Magnet Primer ($26/1.18oz @ dermstore.com) – this makeup primer not only keeps your makeup on but it has UV protection, caffeine and anti-aging ingredients. Gotta love double triple duty products.

NARS Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Rue de Rivoli ($25 @ narscosmetics.com) – this metallic forest green will complement any eye color. Very smooth application and it has a sharpener built in the backend.

CLINIQUE Lipgloss/Lipstick Duo in Black Honey ($21 @ sephora.com) – check out what all the hubbub is about with their cult favorite Black Honey shade. It’s their best seller for a reason and now they have it in a combo Lip Gloss and Lipstick.

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

These are really helping me enjoy summer this year! Have you made any adjustments due to the heat and humidity? Give these ones some consideration.

ELIZABETH ARDEN Pure Finish Mineral Cheekcolor in Sunkissed Coral ($28 @ elizabetharden.com) – If this one could talk, it would say, "I am the color of the decade!" Coral again is a big summer color and it's so gorg on the skin and really enhances a nice tan.

ORLANE Super-Moisturizing Tinted Cream ($75/1.7oz @ neimanmarcus.com) – it’s way too hot to put on a full mask of foundation so why not use a two-fer like this? It combines a deeply moisturizing face cream with a slight tint. Available in 3 shades.

NYX COSMETICS Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Sky Blue and Extreme Green ($4.50 @ nyxcosmetics.com) – colored liquid liners are hot these days and these do like the Michael Jackson/Paul McCartney duo and “Stay, Stay, Stay.” (I know it’s Say, Say, Say but Stay works better for this piece!).

LUSH 'Dirty' Springwash Shower Gel ($9.95/3.3oz, $17.95/8.8oz, $26.95/16.9oz @ lushusa.com) – I really wasn’t feeling their Dirty collection of products but this shower gel seems like a lighter version of the rest, according to my nose and it has a hint of spearmint oil in it.

SMASHBOX Photo Finish Luminizing Foundation Primer ($17 @ smashbox.com) – who wants their makeup to slide after applying? Summertime is great for this one as it gives a nice sheen, whilst helping makeup stay, stay, stay! And this one has some good-for-skin ingredients like grape seed extract and vitamins A, C and E.

VICTORIA’S SECRET Sheer Love Ultra-Moisturizing Hand and Body Cream from the VS Fantasies Collection ($12/6.7oz @ victoriassecret.com) – a scented cream is the perfect way to kiss the skin with fragrance without overdoing it. This one is a mix of fresh white cotton and luminous pink lily and contains avocado, zsweet almond oil and my favorite ingredient, honey.

The Victoria's Secret item contains mineral oil, which is seen by some as an ingredient of concern. The Lush product contains Sodium Laureth Sulfate, which is seen by some as an ingredient of concern. Read more about these and other ingredients here.

Read my ingredient disclaimer here.

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.

From the man that I credit with pretty much creating the first makeup primer on the market, NAPOLEON PERDIS, comes his new ROCK ON! Collection. And this one has a new kind of primer, a powder form!

This is Mr. Perdis’s venture into the mineral makeup world and I actually kind of surprised it took this long for him. Here are the deets:

Mattifying Mineral Primer ($29) – this one can be used before and after foundation. A yellow powder? Don’t worry, it’s translucent but do you remember Urban Decay’s Nirvana Universal Loose Powder? It was yellow. Or I could be really dating myself by mentioning the other yellow powder I remember - T. LeClerc’s Banana Loose Powder? Also yellow and had quite a cult following.

Anyway, I found using a medium sized flat top brush like this one most effective when applying it before(it) the foundation and a bigger domed brush when applying it as a finishing powder.

And one tip about the container – he created it so that the sifter mechanism will measure out (click-click) just enough primer for one application. Genius!

Advanced Mineral Makeup SPF 15 ($59) – available in 6 shades, this one contains those light diffusers (pretty much a must-have inside any foundation these days), and also antioxidant ingredients and the aforementioned SPF. It gives medium matte coverage and a little goes a long way. I tried this one with a makeup brush and a sponge and found the sponge worked best. Let’s hear it for another winning liquid mineral foundation on the scene.

He was smart about these first two products by including antioxidants and sodium hyaluronate, which is a key anti-aging ingredient, in both of these. Love a multi-tasker! Both @ napoleonperdis.com. 

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.

When I first laid eyes on BH COSMETICS’ 88 Color Palette of Standard Matte Eyeshadows, memories of being a teen on Christmas morning came rushing back. Waking up and racing to my stocking nailed to the living room mantel to see what was inside. I would plop on the floor to turn it over and dump out the contents excited at what I might find. Inside were usually various chocolates and candies, a pair of fun earrings, some shiny new pens for school and then the big stuff, a hair bow or some new barrettes, some Chapstick and the obligatory makeup palette. The palette was usually from Walgreens or some other drugstore and the quality was always “eh” at best. Yes, the thought was nice (thanks Santa!) but I was getting to an age where quality was what I was after, so you can probably understand my hesitation with this one from BH Cosmetics.

What I liked just looking at it: the black lacquered container, the sizable mirror inside with two applicator sponges, a ‘best before’ date stamped on the back (I know, how often do you see that on eye shadow?) and the size of each shadow. How many times have you actually used up a whole shadow color? It doesn’t happen that often so I like that they make each about the size of a dime to fit more colors inside.

So now the big reveal. How’s the quality? See for yourself on my fingertips in the picture. Nicely pigmented! So now when I’m looking at a tutorial on YouTube from gurus like JennisseMakeup, QueenofblendingMUA or MichellePhan, I don’t have to worry about not having a color similar to one they are using.

And the price? At $15.16, this is very purse-friendly. If you love makeup, you owe it to yourself to own every color in the rainbow! See this one and more of their palettes @ bhcosmetics.com.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided for review purposes.

GIVENCHY hit it on the head with this Le Prism Eyeshadow Quartet in Candide Garden from their Spring 2011 Collection. The 3 pastels are so spring and the chocolate brown is a nice contour shade that blends with each beautifully. $56 @ sephora.com.

I am such a lip stain fan and always have been. And while I really like this SMASHBOX Limitless Lip Stain & Color Seal Balm, why the roughness of the pen on the stain application side? I mean, does it help with the application of staying power? This is not the first marker-type stain I have used but the ouchie part seems to be a trend. It feels like a low-grade sandpaper!
Anyway, this one comes in 6 different colors and is good one for when you are on your way to the mall to try on clothes. Who wants to worry about lipstick or gloss when pulling something with the tags attached over your head? Color picks Berry (muted raspberry) and Guave (bright coral orange). $23 @ sephora.com.

So what is CHANEL Rouge Coco Shine Hydrating Sheer Lipshine exactly? It’s not a lip gloss and a little bit sheerer than a lipstick so if just a touch of color is more your thing, you may want to try these out. They come in 18 shades. $32 @ chanel.com.

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.

I go in an out of wearing what they call complexion enhancers like this next one. Some come in the form of a face primer like this one or this one and some are in the form of a powder. For the most part, most that I’ve come across are just too shimmery for someone my age to wear with the exception of the few I just  mentioned. One I will be adding to my list of keepers(color) is this JEMMA KIDD Mannequin Skin Complexion Enhancer in Canvas from the JK line. This reflective pearl beigey shimmer seems suitable for most skin tones and adds just a small kick the eyelids, as a primer, top of cheekbones, anywhere really. $24 @ target.com.

And be sure to check out the Jemma Kidd Make Up School making its debut on QVC on March 4^th @ 10pm ET. She will showcase her Long Wear Eyeliners and more!

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.

Packaging is everything when it comes to beauty. If you have a female in your life that really gets into the whole process of beauty and makeup, why not give them TOO FACED Enchanted Glamourland ($49 @  sephora.com) this season. It’s everything they will need to create multiple looks, a $145 value for a lot less, and oh what fun this one is to open up and use. It’s like a fairy tale makeup book! It includes 15 high-pigment shadows, Shadow Insurance Eye Shadow Primer, La Vie en Rose Blush, Snow Bunny Bronze and Glamour Gloss in Pillow Talk.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.

I really like to shop online but sometimes what you see on the monitor is not what you get so you have to get used to doing your research on just about every aspect of a product, especially color. What I really like about COVER FX’s new The Big Cover Up 3 Step Essentials ($75 @ sephora.com) s there really isn’t a way to mess it up as all you have to do is choose from four color kits. FOUR!

What it is - a complexion perfection kit and it contains 5 items to help you get it right:

• Skinprep FX – primer and anti-aging serum
• Cover FX – Total Coverage Cream Foundation (3 different shades)
• Setting FX – Translucent Setting Powder
• Their #170 Precision Foundation Brush (this normally sells for $36!)
• How-to Instructional video

You know my love of all-in-ones when it comes to beauty and the compact that houses the cream foundations and setting powder is in one container!

The overall kit really is a novices dream come true and shop with confidence online when it comes to this product.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.