Buzzworthy: Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder

I was in search of finding the perfect setting powder when I stumbled upon the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder. This was my first Laura Mercier product, and after hearing raves about this line I had to try this. I was looking for a setting powder that would minimize pores, mattify my skin and really hold my makeup in place. This powder does all that and so much more! Retailing at $34, this setting powder really gave me a flawless finish. My blush and foundation really held up in terms of longevity and he powder kept the shine under control. If your skin is prone to being shiny or oily, this powder is a great remedy for you. I cannot rave enough about this powder. The 1 oz container seems to be large enough to last quite some time, as you don't need to apply an excess of this product to see maximum results. Bottom line? Amazing! Worth every penny! Pictured below is my FOTD, using my favorite new setting powder!

the Buzz on Chapped Lips

One big beauty DON'T this year is dry and peeling lips.  I've compiled a few pointers to keep your lips hydrated and fabulous. Protect your pucker from whatever Spring throws at you this season- the cold, the sun, the the wind- and keep them looking their best at all times. 

• Drink plenty of water. Dehydration is a huge factor in chapped lips so make sure you keep yourself hydrated.
• Make sure you are not allergic to anything in your lipsticks. If you notice extra dryness after applying your favorite MAC lippie, find out what exactly is irritating your lips and toss it!
• Avoid licking your lips. This does not- repeat does not!- moisturize your dry and chapped lips. It only just further irritates them.
• Apply lip balms with bees wax, petroleum and/or SPF!

I've noticed that some glosses, especially Chanel glossimers and Chaneticalle,  often leave my lips feeling moisturized and soft but nothing cures a chapped lip better than my bedside best friend Burt's Bees lip balm.  Check out their latest addition to the Burt's Bees family, their new Tinted Lip Balm which offer up a range of shades from neutrals to berries. Pictured below are my moisturized and soft lips slathered with Burt's Bees tinted lip balm in Tiger Lily. What's your favorite remedy to chapped lips? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Dupe this Look: Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra

On Wednesday, the world said goodbye to a beauty legend. Elizabeth Taylor was a screen siren, glamor queen and knighted philanthopist. We mourn the loss of a true Hollywood icon. Known for her impeccable acting talent, cosmetic ventures notably in her White Diamonds fragrance line, her generous contributions to charity, and those unmistakable violet eyes, Dame Elizabeth Taylor was one of a kind. I decided to pay tribute to Ms. Taylor's most famous role, Cleopatra with my own interpretation of the look. I used plenty of Urban Decay's Kiddie Pool eyeshadow, and a lot of blacktrack fluidline! My NYX eyebrow palette definitely came in handy as well! Though I can never even hope to be in the same league as the legend herself, I hope I did her some justice. Rest in peace, Ms. Taylor...

"When people say she's got everything I've got one answer- I haven't got tomorrow." -Elizabeth Taylor, 1932-2011

Buzzworthy: Crown Brushes Mini Badger Set

As I have been taking quite a few weekend trips as of late, I started to get tired of packing my entire brush set along with me. When Crown Brushes went on sale at Hautelook a few weeks back, I decided to pick up their travel badger set, which is usually $35 and was marked down to just $20. Crown brushes have a good reputation with me. These badger hair brushes are soft, the perfect size for traveling, and don't have a lot of fall out or shedding. They seem to pick up pigment nicely as well. While I find my MAC brushes the best in quality for my everyday face as well as what I use on my clients, this mini  badger set is perfect for a weekend getaway and tucks nicely into my carry-on case! You can purchase these brushes on the Crown Brush website.

The Look for Less: NYX Champagne and Caviar 10 Color Palette

If you are a beauty babe on a budget, NYX's 10 color eyeshadow palette in Champagne and Caviar is the perfect buy for you. I managed to grab this palette while Ulta was having a BOGO sale so it cost me around just $5! While I love the quality and range of my Urban Decay Naked palette, this is a good wallet-friendly alternative, as NYX serves up a pretty palette of neutrals and browns in Champagne and Caviar. I created a dramatic smokey eye, perfect for date night or a wedding, using the gold nudes and the dark browns, and the white as a brow highlighter. The color payoff is hit or miss, with some colors like the dark brown being very pigmented, while others like the golds need to really pack on to get your desired color. And while the blending is not as smooth as say, MAC or Urban Decay, this palette really is a great deal at just around $8. Bottom line? This is a great palette for a great price for all you frugal honey bees! Pictured below is my FOTD along with a product breakdown.

Face: Maybelline Foundation in Fit Me!, MAC Mineralize Blush in Dainty

Eyes: NYX Champagne & Caviar palette, MAC Penultilmate eyeliner in Rapidblack, Maybelline Falsies Mascara in Black Drama, Ardell False Eyelashes

Lips: Revlon Colorburst lipstick in Soft Nude and Pixie lipgloss in Trixie

Helping is a Beautiful Thing

In light of the recent earthquake and tsunami devastation in Japan, beauty companies all over the world are doing their part to contribute to those in need of our help the most. Listed below are contributing companies reaching out a helping hand to relief funds in Japan. Look beautiful and heal the world? Sounds like a win/win to me...

• Tatcha Japan Benefit Box-  A traditional-crafted Japanese box that holds 15 sets of blotting papers. $165- with proceeds going to the SavetheChildren.org/japanquake
• International Cosmetics and Perfumes has already donated their reusable tote bags and will donate profit from its online sales of their frangrance brands to the American Red Cross.
• Temptu Airbrush Makeup will be donating $100 of each AIRbrush Makeup System to the American Red Cross from now until the end of March.
• Shishedo has already donated 100,000,000 Japanese Yen to the earthquake relief efforts as well as dry shampoo, hand soap and disinfectant. Show your support for this Japanese-based company.
• Lady Gaga has created a support wristband written with "We Pray For Japan" in both English and Japanese. The $5 wristbands entire profit will benefit relief efforts for the earthquake and tsunami.
• For my Southern California friends- Tokidoki will be hosting a Relief Run in Santa Monica March 27, 2011 at 11:00 AM. For more details, please visit the Tokidoki website here.
• Benefit will be donating $10 for every order made today, March 21, 2011 to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Spring Trend: Neon Eyeshadow

Dior Spring '11

Break out your brights, honey bees, because this spring neon eye shadows are making a stunning statement. As seen on runways like Dior's spring collection, the neon eyes come in all shades of shocking- including bright green, yellow and my personal favorite, neon blue. To do this trend justice, I broke out my Pop Beauty Lid Neon palette and used color number 5 on top of NYX jumbo pencil in Pacific. I patted on Urban Decay's Heavy Metal Glitter in Air Guitar and finished off with black liner and falsies. To make this runway look more wearable, keep the rest of the look toned down with a nude blush (I used MAC's Garb) and a nude lip (Lancome's B-List covered in Chanel's Insouciance gloss). Will you be rocking this bold trend? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Weekend Haul: Lancome Bronzer in Pouder de Soleil in Bronze Riche + 5 Free Lipsticks

Thanks to fellow beauty blogger, MissBrittanyBoo's posting, I stumbled upon Lancome's most recent gift-with-purchase! Spend $35 and Lancome will send you 5 free lipsticks! I've been dying to try out the bronzing powder from Lancome, which retails at $36 so I settled on the Bronze Riche shade, typed in code MARCHBDAY, and in just three days, the bronzer and the five lipsticks were on my doorstep. They also sent me a free sample of eye makeup remover! The bronzer is beautiful, extra-pigmented and the color reminds me of gorgeous red clay you would find in the desert. I didn't get to choose the lipsticks they sent to me, but ironically Lancome sent me 5 colors of nude pinks ranging from really nude to really pink and everything in between. The Color Design lipsticks included shades in Pink Attitude, The New Pink, "It" Girl, Natural Beauty and B-List. The lipsticks are surprisingly creamy, packing a lot of pigment in gorgeous shades. Pictured below is my LOTD in Pink Attitude, a shimmery light pink with micro-glitter. This gift with purchase ends March 31, 2011 so there is still time to steal this deal while you still have a chance to! 

LtR: Pink Attitude, the New Pink, It Girl, Natural Beauty & B-List

Spring Trend: Orange Lips

Bar Refaeli on Russian Elle

Everywhere I look lately, I've been seeing bold orange lips! As the sun comes out and spring rolls in, brighter bolder makeup is showing up on runways, editorials and magazine covers. As seen on super-hot Supermodel Bar Refaeli on the cover of Russian Elle, orange lips are making a statement all across the globe. An orange lip is a great alternative to red lips and I just love the way it warms up the face! Pair this loud mouth with a more subdued cheek, sticking to bronze and nude tones. I created my orange lip with MAC's prolongwear lipstick in Good to Go! and Nice to be Nice lip glass. Will you be following this spring trend? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Buzzworthy: MAC's Supreme Sheen Lipstick in Gotta Dash! and Ultra Darling

Thursday marked the release of a new Sheen Supreme lipstick collection from MAC Cosmetics. The lipsticks, which are supposed to pack major moisture and finish like a gloss, are being added to MAC's permanent collection. Retailing at $14.50 per tube, I picked up one in Gotta Dash!, a a gorgeous peach, and Ultra Darling, a beautiful coral- 2 colors that are giving me absolute SPRING FEVER! The feel of these lipsticks are moisturizing and feel slick on the lips. The surprisingly comfortable and light lipstick have a beautiful shiny finish! The color is sheer and creamy, but is still pigmented enough to make a statement. Now these lipsticks are something to rave about! The range of colors are a little on the limited side but hopefully MAC decides to add on to this collection because the formula is great. Bottom line? These are a Honey B must-have... what color should I pick up next?!

Buzzworthy: Sonia Kashuk Blending Sponge

I had been eyeing this Sonia Kashuk Blending Sponge for quite sometime and at my recent trip to Target, I finally convinced myself to buy it. It looks like the younger, smaller and blue little sister of it's original counterpart, the Beauty Blender... and for HALF the price! The SK Blending Sponge is good competition for the Beauty Blender. Its shape is a little friendlier to hold and the application goes on beautifully. If you own the Beauty Blender, you'll know that it's tiny pink shape swells about 2 times in size after being wet. Since the SK blending sponge is more dense, it does not swell in size. It is more firm in the hand than the Beauty Blender but it does give the skin a beautiful natural finish. The SK beauty sponge's biggest drawback is it's difficulty to get clean. After one or two uses, the sponge is stained with foundation that is almost impossible to get off. The pictures of my blending sponge are after cleaning with baby shampoo and water, and you'll notice- still stained! It makes me wonder about the overall longevity of this product. While the shape and application are above average, can this blender stand the test of time, wear and tear? If it only lasts a few weeks then $9.95 is certainly not worth it. My best advice to save time and to keep you from buying this product over and over again is to apply your foundation with a regular foundation brush and then go over and blend it with the blending sponge. Bottom line? This is a good tool to have in your arsenal, if you have the time to apply with it and the money to burn on it.

How to Take A Good License Photo

After losing my driver's license this last weekend, I enlisted a little help from the beauties over at Makeup Alley to compile a list of tips to get the best look in what is often your most unflattering photo (that you show ALL the time!). I guess I will know how well these tips worked out when I get my replacement! Here are a few tricks of the trade to get a glamorous-as-possible picture. 

• Avoid makeup with SPF. The unnatural light of the flash can wash you out.
• Stick to mattes! This goes for eyeshadow, blushes, and foundation. Anything shimmery will reflect light and make you look too shiny and no one wants to look like the Tin Man in their ID picture.
• Wear a pretty and soft lip color. Try to avoid anything too bold or too trendy to keep from looking clownish.
• Keep your brows natural and soft.
• Define your eyes, and maybe more than you normally would. It won't look cartoon-ish in the photo.
• Think of something funny when you smile- it will create a genuine grin on your face!

Pictured below is my FOTD for my date with the DMV. I kept it really simple, using a dark brown eyeshadow from my Smashbox artist palette and MAC eyeliner in Feline. I used a matte peachy blush (Rock and Republic's Bedroom) and swiped on Makeup Forever's lipstick 32 with Chanel's Star glossimer on top.