Exporting to Wordpress

If you follow me on twitter, you'll know that I've decided to export my blogger to wordpress. It should import EVERYTHING to the new url and automatically redirect you but if not, the URL is:

lavieenbeaute.wordpress.com

Hope to update w/ new information soon!

Review: Harajuku Lovers Music

Well, this is my first fragrance review...but we all have to start somewhere! I'll give it my best shot.

Harajuku Lovers retail for 30$ (.3 oz) and 45$ for 1 oz.

For the amount you get though and the price, it's okay. I wish they would give a bit more because it looks tiny without the Harajuku Girl cap. (See picture above--it's just the clear base).

Description from Zappos:
"Enter the world of Harajuku Lovers™! Pick the girl that fits your personality or get them all and share with friends! Each Harajuku Lovers girl has her own personality. Music is tough with attitude.

Music is delicate floral. She has notes of sparkling clementine, sweetpea, honeysuckle and creamy vanilla.

Listed Ingredients: Alcohol Denat., Aqua/Water/Eau, Parfum/Fragrance,Butylphenyl Methylpropional,Benzyl Salicylate, Hydroxycitronellal, Limonene, Citronellol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Linalool, Geraniol, Benzyl Alcohol, Citral, Acrylates/Octylacrylamide Copolymer,Hydrolized Jojoba Esters.

This is the regular version of the scent (not the Beach Bunny version) and it's very sweet. I love it because it really is fruity but delicate with the slight florals I can smell in it.

However...It doesn't really last. Halfway through a school/work day (5 hours) I can't even discern a wisp of it.

I love the smell, but the lasting power (or lack thereof) doesn't endear itself to me. I'll gladly use what I have up but I won't repurchase.

MAC decides not to ship RODARTE Collection

Link here.

From the MAC Facebook Page:

"

M·A·C Decides Not to Ship M·A·C Rodarte Makeup Collection Out of Respect for Women & Girls of Juárez and their Families

This decision will not impact M·A·C 's commitment to donate all of its projected profits from the collection to benefit the women and girls of Juarez.

Out of respect for the people of Mexico, the women and girls of Juarez and their families, as well as our M·A·C Mexican staff and colleagues, M·A·C has made the decision not to ship the M·A·C Rodarte limited edition makeup collection. This decision will have no impact on M·A·C's commitment to donate all of its projected global profits from this collection to local and international groups that work to improve the lives of the women and girls of Juarez. We are currently conducting due diligence to ensure we donate to organizations with a proven record of directly supporting the women and girls of Juarez.

M·A·C and Rodarte are deeply and sincerely sorry and we apologize to everyone we offended. We have listened very closely to the feedback of concerned global citizens. We are doing our very best to right this wrong. The essence of M·A·C is to give back and care for the community and Rodarte is committed to using creativity for positive social change. We are grateful for the opportunity to use what we have learned to raise awareness on this important issue. "

I think this is a bit overboard...they already said they'd donate all the money they are projected to earn. It really doesn't do much good if they're just going to trash all the products they've already made (assuming that's where the products will go)...And what if they would've sold much more than ''projected''? Hm.

EOTD: Shu Uemura ME471

Blech, this is before I threaded my brows of course. Excuse them...

Used:
shu uemura ir900Y all over lid/highlight
Shu uemura ME471 in crease/lid

EOTD: Taupe & Blue

An EOTD from awhile ago...see how messy my brows are? I'm cringing! I just threaded them, will do a post on that soon! (threading HURTS! mainly stinging now!)

EOTD:
Lid: shu uemura me850
Bottom lash: MAC Sea & Sky solid half and Rebel Rock's blue pigment

Happy 2nd Birthday

This is the second year of my blog! Last year I celebrated with a giveaway, but it seems like it'd be pointless to have a giveaway when so many of my followers didn't cross over to La Vie En Beaute from thoughtsofeverythingandanything.

Anyways, happy anniversary bloggie (:

*post is a little late, anniversary was on July 22.

Review: Revlon Self Adhesive False Lashes

I tweeted that this review was long overdue--and it is! Revlon sent me these LAST OCTOBER for review! But I wanted to review them thoroughly, and that meant extensive testing--for a girl who really doesn't have much occasion to wear false eyelashes. HOWEVER..here we are!


Revlon says:

"Revlon Fantasy Lengths Maximum Wear eyelashes are a revolutionary way to go from Plain Jane to Naturally Fantastic instantly. Without messy glue to fumble with-you can have perfect lashes that stay where you want them to- even in water!

To remove: Use oil based eye makeup remover to gently peel off and remove. Wash with water to remove excess glue on eyelid." (Note: I don't think that's necessary for the self adhesive lashes, probably from their regular line of false eyelashes)

Ingredients:

Adhesive: terpene resin, styrene-Isoprene Copolymer, Petroleum oil, Isobutylene-Butene Copolymer, Microcrystalline Wax, Hydrocarbon Resin, Styrene-Ethylene-Butylene-Styrene Copolymer

Lash: polyvinyl chloride, polyester thread, coated polyester flake"

My own false eyelashes experience is literally zero. Before these, I'd never tried them before so please keep that in mind when reading the review!

Revlon sent me 2 styles: Defining (Lashes roughly the same length) and Intensifying (Alternating shorter and longer lengths).

Defining:
Intensifying:

What comes in the box...the plastic thing is for pressing the lashes closer to your eyelid
It also comes with a 2nd line thingy (I don't know how to get technical here) so when the first adhesive starts wearing out, you can peel it off the actual lashes and put on the 2nd. And when the 2nd wears out, you can use it as normal false eyelashes..if they aren't too grimy by then haha)
Anyways, I can wear these for about 3x each self adhesive 'band' before they lose their sticky ness. I really like these! It's really as simple as pushing them in place, no glue (obviously) needed. Revlon really hit the nail on the head with these.

I don't know if they last through water as I didn't exactly go swimming with them on but they didn't wilt through a light rain.

Defining lashes are sold for 5.48$ on Amazon, so at drugstores I'd assume around 6$.

*disclaimer: Revlon representatives sent these to me for consideration only. Please refer to my disclaimer for more information.

Review: Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream 02

(image from sephora)

Aqua creams were the biggest craze this summer, setting off launches of other cream shadows from many brands. Cream shadows in pots were around before, though....so why all the hype for Aqua Cream?

Its the intense colors, budge-proof and waterproof-ness, the ability to be used for eyes cheeks or lips depending on the color all packaged in a little plastic pot for 22USD$. (0.21 oz).

For reference, Shiseido Hydropowders are 25$ for .21 oz and MAC Paint pots are 16.50 for .17 oz.

Something to note: Make up for ever doesn't seem to name these shades, instead calling them 01-22. Sephora seems to be the one who names them [02 Steel]. Names seem to be on the box and not the product itself.

Anyways, MUFE says this about the Aqua Creams:

What it is:
An ultra-pigmented, long-lasting waterproof cream.

What it does:
Aqua Cream combines the highest-quality pigments with mother of pearl particles to give immediate rich color payoff with a luminous finish in just one application. It's long-lasting formulation will not crease or smudge under the most extreme conditions and its creamy and elastic texture allows for easy blending.

Exclusively carried by Sephora.

What else you need to know:
Available in shades ranging from soft neutrals to pure bright tones, you can find the perfect color for any purpose.
Shades #5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 are formulated for the Lips & Cheeks.
Shades #1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, and 22 are formulated for the Eyes & Cheeks.

The Aqua creams are indeed very pigmented and creamy. I chose the shade 02 Steel, because its such a gorgeous taupey color.

You will be tempted to rub your finger in it alot but don't! It's too pigmented and will go on thickly if you do. These dry very quickly and thin layers are better if you want to deepen the intensity. As for fingers vs. brushes on these, I use a brush because they dry too quickly for my finger to blend properly (coming from a girl who ALWAYS uses fingers!)

Do these smudge? Hold up in the hot sweaty Chicago summer? Crease?
No, they don't smudge. They're pretty waterproof as well [Waterproof assuming you don't keep rubbing your eyes]. However...they do crease on me after about 8 hours.
However, at the time in question it had been an extremely hot humid day [in the 90s] and I had been outside for 6 of the 8 hours, sweating.

On a normal day, 6 hours, it's perfectly fine and it lasts until I take it off with cleansing oil.

Layering other eyeshadows over it is no problem and it doesn't crease with the powder over it after a school/work day either.

I know some bloggers have been experimenting with it as eyeliner but this particular shade isn't really dark enough to define effectively. I did try it on my lower lashline but it takes a lot of layering for this shade to show up and it was hard to tell whether I still had it on an hour later. Perhaps with a darker more vibrant shade it'd be more effective.

Aqua Creams were created for use with each other but I don't know if you'd use a bright grassy green or crimson very often. Even though they have those intense colors though they also have a nice selection of neutrals.

All in all, I'd recommend these for anyone looking for a stay put eyeshadow! Click here for the link to Sephora. I think I have my eye on 8 Red, 20 Intense Blue, and 15 Taupe next!
The packaging looks nice and utilitarian but my main gripe with it is that its plastic. I don't have a great experience with plastic pots as I find they usually crack easily; I would have much preferred glass.

Great Blog Find

I've noticed throughout my trawls throughout the blogosphere that there seems to be a serious lack of women of color bloggers. There's just not many of them; and this is extremely inconvenient for those women who religiously follow bloggers who are different toned than they are.

I have especially noticed this for Indian women. But have no fear, Indian Makeup & Beauty Blog is here.

Written by a collection of women in India, they cover a lot of subjects such as makeup, fashion, etc. It's a very detailed site run by Rati and Rima (I do believe) and they have many contributors.

Oh yes, did I mention they have a rather fantabulous giveaway going on right now?

Yup, they are giving away MAC, Chanel, Inglot and Estee Lauder products. Go on and have a click to see!

Giveaway Winner

Congratulations Kristine Michelle, as the winner of the CSN giveaway! I will email you shortly and then give your email address to a CSN representative so you can claim your prize.


Thank you to all who entered!

Coming Soon From Urban Decay

Gosh these photos are beautiful. (Source)
All Neutral palette:
Please see the source for more pictures (:.

Information on MAC Venemous Villians

Pictures from Painted Dolly (If you click on them you'll get links to see them larger)

Some people aren't fans of the packaging but I like it! As long as they aren't stickers I'm fine. THE biggest part of the collection though is HERE at Temptalia!

I am lemming so so much. Here's my pre-eliminary list:

Heartless Cherry red (Amplified) (Limited Edition) lipstick
Hot House Deep raspberry with pink pearl (Limited Edition) (Repromote from Strange Hybrid) lipglass
Bite of an Apple Soft coral pink (Matte) (Limited Edition) blush
My Dark Magic Deep pink with pink pearl / Deep plum with purple pearl (Limited Edition) MES
She Who Dares Deep navy with blue pearl / Deep forest green with lime pearl (Limited Edition) MES
French Quarter Black green with multi-colour pearl (Limited Edition) Greasepaintstick

And this stuff also looks tantalizing!

Magically Cool Liquid Powder

• Truth and Light Sheer shimmer reflects silver and pink (Limited Edition)
• Cajun Sheer bronze reflects gold (Limited Edition)

What are you lemming? Let me know in the comments!

Check out your Lancome CCOS!

PLEASE do! Now that shu uemura is pulling out of the US (sniff) I found tons at my CCO. EL CCO is great as usual.

W hat i got:
shu uemura fleur de source palette (summer 08)
MAC gold rebel lipglass (may 09)
MAC tropic glow slimshine (june 08)

Pretty Things

I'm going to be branching out from just makeup talk on the blog from now on. I won't be posting clothes reviews or anything but I'll occasionally point some things I like out.

Such as...Urban Outfitter's Suede & Canvas pumps.

The suede is the coral, and the canvas is the taupe. They're available in a multitude of other colors here and here. UO describes it as
"Essential pump with canvas uppers and a chunky wrapped heel. Cushioned footbed; rubber strikes at the sole. Exclusive to Urban Outfitters. Imported. Spot clean.
* 3.5" heel
* Fits true to size
* Cotton canvas"

I love them so much and they're really comfortable. The only thing is that its 48$. Eeek! Maybe if it goes on sale sometime.

What d'you think? & what do you think of my decision to branch out of makeup?

EOTD: French Grey

Please excuse the brows, I cleaned them up a few days ago. Anyways, one of my favorite French Grey EOTDs, very simple.

I used:
MAC french grey
MAC carbon
Shu uemura seal brown H9 hard brow pencil
UDP

News Update

Wow, I don't even know what to do anymore. I finally found a good template but now that I have time to post, I think most of my readers must've unsubscribed or something, or the followers App isn't working because I changed URLs.


Anyways point of the rant is that I had a great blog going and then I changed the URL and now its back to anonymity, effectively wasting the nearly 2 years I'd spent working for it. Ugh.

Back to makeup--I hope to be posting more regularly now. Any requests for reviews?

Beauty Stats

Hair: Black, thick, currently shoulder-length.

Skintone: MAC NC20, Asian, Very yellow toned, Shu Uemura Face Architect 774, RMK Creamy / Liquid Foundation 102, Kanebo Lunasol Water Cream Foundation YO03. Generally called fair-medium.

Eyes: Very dark brown, looks black in some light. I have a hidden crease.

Lips: Medium pigmented and full. Natural color is sometimes rosey, sometimes mauve.

Skin Type: Combination, generally more oily on my T-zone and pores tend to clog on my forehead.

Holy Grails: UDPP. That's all I've found so far :D.

Disclaimer

Everything I review is reviewed honestly after a trial period. As of October 8 2009, companies have begun contacting me for product reviews. Please note that I will always disclose when I have received something from a company free of cost, and the product is sent for consideration only.
All that I write here is my own opinion, my own words, unless otherwise stated.

Copyrighted! Do not steal.

Giveaway Time!

I'm lucky to have the opportunity to host a giveaway with CSN stores! If you've never heard of CSN stores, they're a chain of mostly furniture items which range from pet items, fitness equipment, tv stands, office supplies and the regular home decor.

What's up for grabs?

A 40$ gift card for any product you find here. Personally, my favorite site is this one, All Modern, but definetly have fun browsing.

Rules:
One comment per person. Leave a comment with a URL of what you'd like to purchase with the gift card and make sure to leave an email that I can contact you with.

I will select the winner based on a random number generated by an outside site.

However, for more than one entry, you can post about this giveaway on your own blog and post the URL as a separate comment.

This contest will end on July 1 at midnight GMT Central US/Canada time. That gives you two weeks to enter!

*please note: by entering my contest, I now reserve the right to give your name, email and mailing address to CSN store representatives. This is not unwarranted, because they are the ones who will mail your prize. Giveaway sponsored by CSNstores. Open to US & Canadian residents only.

Currently Lemming: Stila Smudge Sticks (Swatches)

What Stila Says:
"Obsessed for Smudge Pots? You'll go crazy for Smudge Sticks! This highly pigmented, waterproof eye liner glides on to deliver intense, vibrant color with staying power.

These easy to apply, eye liners have it all:

* Long Lasting
* Waterproof
* Easy to apply
* Several shimmer intense shades to make eyes stand out
* Vibrant colors
* Self sharpening propel pencil
Shades:
stingray- Black
lionfish- Brown with Shimmer
purple tang- Purple with Shimmer
moray- Olive with Shimmer
koi- Metallic Gold
silverdollar- Metallic Silver
peacock- Cobalt Blue
blue ribbon- Navy Grey"
(Source)

Lets see. We'll go through this one by one.
Long lasting? Yes, they lasted on my hand through a nap and halfway through a shower (Will elaborate on this later).
Easy to apply? Yes, these are incredibly creamy and set within 15 seconds.
Shimmery, intense, vibrant shades? CHECK! LOVE these colors!
Waterproof? Erm. Remember when I said halfway through a shower? They began fading once the hot water spattered on my hand and when I rubbed lightly, they disappeared even more and were completely gone with one good rub. Now, I realize that Stila doesn't claim these to be rub proof, but the colors lose their vibrant shades once the water hit the swatches. I don't recommend that you wear these to the beach.





stingray- Black. This seemed more of a satin black than a matte black--its got a bit of a sheen.
lionfish- This looks cool in the photos but its really more of a dark brown brown with golden undertones. Seems to be metallic rather than with shimmer.
purple tang- SO GORGEOUS. Deep metallic blue purple.
moray- Olive, there's really nothing more to it. Pretty shade.
koi- This is a very brassy gold...However, this and Silver Dollar are much more metallic than the others.
silverdollar- Pure silver.
peacock- Not really what I'd call 'cobalt blue', I think its more teal. Also a little more matte and satiny than metallic.
blue ribbon- Murky middle blue-grey. Also very pretty!

MAC For Disney Villians CONFIRMED!

And this time it's real! Head over to Temptalia here to read up on it!

Basics:
Venomous Villians
Released in September everywhere
-clip featuring villians HERE
-From WWD:

"MAC Cosmetics is teaming up with Disney to create a limited edition color collection, intended to launch globally in late September in all MAC locations. The products will feature four Disney characters, on which the brand is keeping mum at the moment — although with a collection name of Venomous Villains, it is assumed that we’re not talking Donald Duck and Minnie Mouse here. Lipstick, powder, lip gloss and blush shades will be sold, ranging in price from $12 to $29.50."

SO EXCITED!!!

MAC Coral Lipstick Comparision

With the release of MAC's Spring Colour Forecast collection in February and Lancome's Chris & Tell [the latest in the line of Pret-A-Porter series that included Peter Som's PS Kiss, and Thakoon's Pixel Pink], coral lipsticks have been extremely popular. And with summer coming up, coral is bound for a welcome back into the makeup world. [Let's check out Chanel's Rouge Allure in Genial shall we? Can I say gorgeous?]

Anyways, Spring Colour Forecast included Fresh Salmon. This is the color that is supposed to dupe Chris & Tell. But wait, didn't MAC release Lollipop Loving not too long ago? How do they compare?






Here you go :). Better late than never!

EOTD: MAC French Grey + Carbon

A simple EOTD that I promised I'd take a photo of for an MUA'er. It's very simple.

Products Used:
UDPP
Shu Uemura seal brown pencil on brows
MAC French Grey all over lid
Carbon in crease

NOTD: China Glaze Recycle

With the release of the Nubar Fortress collection, it's been proven that grey is very on trend at the moment. Let's revisit an old favorite...China Glaze Recycle, released a few years ago.


Old photos that I only just got around to posting. Hoping to be able to post more often! I'm so very sorry, dear readers.

New: Tom Ford Lipstick

Okay, I know, I know, I'm a horrible blogger. Honestly, though, I've been bogged down with things to do (bad excuse I know).



But I thought you all would like the news that Tom Ford is releasing a line of 12 lipsticks. Yes, the same Tom Ford known for his racy, sex charged ads and perfumes. Bellasugar has the deets:

"The Private Blend Lip Color collection will be, in Tom's words, his interpretation of 12 classic colors."I took the most universally flattering colors that a woman can wear, and then I reimagined them in a modern and authoritative way," he told WWD.

Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Bergdorf Goodman will carry Tom Ford lipstick when it launches Stateside on June 1. Each shade will come in a chic ivory and gold case, and the formula contains moisturizing murumuru butter and soja seed. What's most exceptional about the collection, though, may be the price. At $45 a tube, you have to be a serious Ford devotee (or on a seriously large beauty budget) to have this luxury on your lips."

What do you think? Will you be plopping down the dough for a Tom Ford lipstick? I think I would, but the price point hurts a bit. Perhaps as a luxurious gift for someone, don't you think?

Lush: Valentine's Day Goodies

Extremely belated I know. However, if you can get your hands on any of these, go for it!

Source.

Anyways, I am so hyped up on shrooms XP with Lush Magic Mushroom Bath Bar ($4.95). It's the only scent which I've loved like this (sorry Lancome Tropique, Harajuku Lovers Music). It combines one part Vanillary in the white part and two parts fruity Yummy Yummy in the red cap. Mm, the vanilla works perfectly with the fruity-ness. I think I'll have to get some Vanillary and Yummy Yummy on my own, because it's no sure bet that LUSH will keep repromoting Magic Mushroom. LOVEEEEEEEEEE! This bubbles up quickly ( I only use around 1/4 each time) and leaves the water reddish pink and foaming with bubbles. Whoever said bubble baths were for kids?
If the water didn't cool down and the bubbles left relatively quickly, I think I might stay in there forever...



Source.
Or there's Lush The Ex Factor ($4.95) Bath Bomb. "Shaped like the cult favorite Gingerman this little guy smells like Lush Butterball and leaves your skin silky smooth!" Shaped like Gingerman but scented like Butterball. I like this scent too but I love the Magic Mushroom so much more. I think I'll repurchase Butterball though because it leaves my skin smooth & soft! This leaves the water blue, and the SA rec's using a whole one per bath but I use 1/2 per bath as I have a more shallow tub.

Anyways, do you like Lush bath products? Have you tried the Magic 'Shroom or The Ex Factor? What's your take?

Review: Kanebo Freshel Moist Lift W Cream

Kanebo jumped on the BB cream bandwagon too with their line Freshel. This is the first time I've gotten to try Freshel, but hopefully won't be the last. When I was in Taiwan, I'd been looking for it, but hadn't found it (most of my family members don't wear makeup and don't know 95% of the brands...I must say that my aunt has been picking some brand names up off me though! lol)

Anyways, a friend in Taiwan sent me this as a thank you for a favor I did her recently, and I was delighted to try it. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term BB cream, it's something that originated in Germany, became very popular in Korea / spread to the rest of Asia. It's pretty much a tinted moisturizer, with sunscreen usually and supposed to be good for your skin (in my opinion all just hype. There's no proven research that it's good for you but it certainly is good for marketing).

This particular BB cream is marketed as being more moisturizing and dewy. It comes packaged in a gold and bronze metallic tube and a brown twist off cap, which I find looks classy.

Moist Lift W cream has UV SpF23 PA++, which I find enough for the winter in Chicago at the moment. However as summer arrives, I definetly would recommend using a sunscreen with this product.


The opening is okay, but I dislike the space around it where the product can collect (the photo illustrates it for you...). It's decently packaged for the price.

The product only comes in one shade which works for my NC20 skin. It's supposed to be sheer coverage but I think its almost medium coverage since I only have to use a little to cover up uneven bits of pigmentation and redness around my nose. It's a creamy product that is easy to blend in (I usually use a kabuki brush).

My skin has been a bit dry recently (even with my using a new Holy Grail moisturizer, to be reviewed later) and this makes my skin feel soft & smooth. It hasn't broken me out, though my skin isn't exactly sensitive. I use this alternating with my Kanebo Lunasol Water Cream foundation, of which this color is slightly more peachy and brightening.


As I said before, this was sent to me as a gift from a friend in Taiwan (who does not work for any makeup companies...) and she had crossed off the price in Taiwanese dollars. However, this is available from adambeauty.com for 99Hong Kong dollars (~12.75 USD) and the retail price on the box is listed as 1600 Japanese Yen (about 18 USD) for 50 g.

With all said, I'd definetly recommend this product if you have the skintone that it's marketed to. I find it a great product and one that I'd definetly repurchase.