One of the most buzzed about products, if I may be so bold, has to be these palettes from URBAN DECAY. And I totally get why – the colors are really unique, the prices are reasonable for what you get, and most importantly, the quality of the shadows is up to par, with most of the creamy powder colors actually going above par.

What It Is: Vice3 – 20 brand new velvety eye shadow shades all in one palette - $60 @ urbandecay.com. 

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A few months ago a makeup artist friend of mine asked if I knew where she could pick up one of the Shu Uemura (makeup) Remover Pencils. They don’t make it anymore and mine has about 2” of life left to it. I’m not sure why more brands don’t make a pen like it but I haven’t seen any.

Then recently while browsing around the Target beauty section I came across the ELF Makeup Remover Pen from the e.l.f. Studio line. Ok, I’ll try it.

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I think Fall and Spring are my favorite times of year when it comes to beauty launches as I think companies put out their best ones during this time. One brand that’s topping my list is the latest from L’OCCITANE. Their Bonne Mère Collection comes with a lot of what you want (nice scents, pH neutral and hypoallergenic formulas) and stays away from things you don’t want (parabens and phenoxyethanol (a preservative)).

The “Good Mother,” en Francais, collection is made up of shower gels, hand washes and a favorite of my French father, soaps. 

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Another week, another few obsessions!

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How many times have you given yourself a steam facial? I think the only time I have done it is with a pot of boiling water and a towel over my head to keep the steam on my face. And does the shower count? Neither seem to be a great way to do it but up until now I’m not aware of many choices.

Steam can help give skin a deep cleaning by opening up pores to let whatever you are applying afterward really get in there to do its work.

I was sent this PANASONIC Facial Ionic Steamer ($179.95 @ amazon.com) to try out recently and some of the benefits of it are that is uses nano-sized moisture particles to penetrate and gently open pores, so this one gets deeper into the skin than the now seemingly barbaric way of steaming the face that I mentioned, right?

When I first saw the sleek design, I thought you put your whole face into the rose colored part of the machine but no, you don’t. Just sitting in front of it is fine.

It stands a little over 8” tall and about 5” at its widest point so it’s pretty small overall. There is a reservoir that you fill up with water – all the way full will get you 6 minutes and half full will get you 3 minutes of steam.

Is this something you find you could add to your at-home regimen? 

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

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It’s been so hot out the past week in Los Angeles that the last thing I’ve wanted to do was spritz on a heady fragrance so I had to wait on featuring the latest from NARCISO RODRIGUEZ. Well it’s now cooled down a tad and since we’re making the transition out of light and airy fragrances to ones more suited for fall, it’s time to talk about 'Narciso' Eau de Parfum ($95/1.6oz, $112/3oz only @ nordstrom.com).

I know I’ve shown you my fragrance, I guess you would call it a collection at this point, in previous posts but in case you forgot … voila!

I think I end up adding a bottle to my perfume shelf only every few months as I have a pretty discerning nose that likes unique and mostly bold. I’ll give each one I come across a nice trial but if it’s not love, it goes to a friend that can give it some.

So how did this one fare? It’s funny because the first few times I wore it, I was really liking it and then about the 4^th time, I spritzed some on, went out my biz and about 30 minutes later was not in the mood for it. That’s the only way I can describe it!

This is Mr. Rodriguez’s forth scent creation in the marketplace and this one seems to be a beautiful follow to the others, that have done quite well, I might add.

This one is described as a woody musk, with top notes of gardenia and white rose, middle of musk all on a base of vetiver, white cedar extract and cedar. Yes, it’s heavy on the base notes and my nose had a hard time detecting the top notes.

His goal with this fragrance was to create one that was intoxicating and sensual and I think he succeeded and I might goes as far to say that it seems unisex. So does this one go on my perfume shelf? You betcha!

This also comes in a Scented Body Lotion ($54/6.7oz) and a Musc Oil Perfume ($155/1.6oz).

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

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I’ve said it before and I’ll proudly say it again – who better to create a product for the masses than a blogger? They know what works, what doesn’t, and most importantly, what we want to see. Take these Waterliner Intense Color Eye Liners ($18 @ emcosmetics.com) from YouTube sensation MICHELLE PHAN. Adding color to the waterline, or tightlining as it is also know, is a big trend these days so putting out liners just for it is genius. I’m a little late in getting to these since they came out late last year but better late than never!

Colors shown here are Sunshine Yello and Teal Tease.

A few things to keep in mind when choosing a color and why you should be using one in your makeup routine. First, the color can help your eyes look bigger if you use a light color like white or this brand's In the Nude or the Sunshine Yellow. Black if obviously always good if you are going to a total black-out smoky eye look and I love that she has bright color options in the mix too, to add a dash of unexpected color in an unexpected place. Choose from 11 colors total.

So how did these last on the always tough place to hold color, water line? Click after the jump to find out!

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Remember that Seinfeld episode when Kramer is mistaken for a doctor due to the white butcher’s coat he’s wearing and he gives George’s boss, Kruger, a mole check? Well, I had the line stuck on repeat in my head a whole afternoon recently.

It’s something that I don’t look forward to but it needs to be done every year. And what’s that? A mole check. Yeah, sexy and the stats are just as not sexy – according to cancer.org, there will be 76,100 new cases of melanoma in the United States this year and 9,710 deaths from it. So while you can do some things to prevent melanoma, if you do have or see a mole appear, try and remember the ABCDE’s of mole checking so you know what is normal and what is not.  

I’m not a big fan of just having a Dermatologist give my skin the once over with the naked eye as, like us, they’re only human and can miss things. But if you do find one that is questionable, before getting an invasive biopsy, there is now an option that can tell if a mole is cancerous or not.

NIDIskin is the first imaging center devoted solely to Non-Invasive Diagnostic Imaging of the Skin. In other words, they have a machine that can look deep into the skin to see what’s below it. The technology has been around for 10-years and they just opened their first location in Los Angeles.

I was invited to meet with their Imaging Tech, Nicole, to see exactly how it all works. Using the FDA approved VivaCam Dermoscopy system, they can monitor your skin and moles one time or like a mammogram, you can get them all monitored each year and they can compare them from year to year for any changes in size or appearance.

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Another product to review from ARDENCY INN line and this brand seems to knows what … I like! One is really pigmented powders like these MODSTER Mānuka Honey Enriched Pigments and  another is that they’re made with one of my favorite ingredients on the plant, honey! Why honey? To help the formula’s creaminess and staying power. But these don’t just use any honey, they are made with Mānuka Honey, a mono floral produced in New Zealand and Australia from the Mānuka tree. There are twelve gorgeous shades in the collection and the two here are Heaven and Hell. Hmmmm, tribute to Ronnie James perhaps?

See more pictures and swatches after the jump. 

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It seems like every week I get fixated on something I need, want or want/need to do. And it can be triggered by anything! For example, I was cruising through Pinterest a few days ago and while I have seen knuckle rings many times before and even own a set of three that fit on the top part of my ring finger, I saw some that were more than just a single band that I became fixated on!

While I get fixated on beauty products … a lot, I also get obsessed with other things, so I’m starting an on-going feature called This Week’s Fixation! Some will be about or include beauty, some won’t, so stay tuned and please share your current obsession with me in the comments, won't you?

Below is a glimpse into what this week's borderline obsession is! So what is it? Click after the pic.

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