I know a lot of you are feeling the recession this year, but we can’t let that affect us from buying a new eye shadow color or sexy new lip gloss. So this weekend, I went to the drugstores to give you all the 411 on what’s out there. I decided to go to the L’Oreal section to see what’s new and close to some of my favorite makeup lines; Nars, Stila, Smashbox and M.A.C.
What I ended up buying was products from the L’Oreal HIP line. The HIP line has high intensity pigments that are very similar to those of NARS and M.A.C. L’Oreal has 5 new metallic eye-shadows this fall and they are AMAZING and great for Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties. Their loose pigments are also a must and they are highly pigmented allowing for very rich with bold colors. Another must have item from the HIP line is the cream eyeliner, also comes in 5 colors, my favorites colors are black, midnight blue, and teal and they come with a small angle brush. I love that the cream eyeliner goes on smooth and easy, and can be smudged for a smoky look.
They also have two great lip products; the jelly balm and the lip gloss. The jelly balm kept my lips moist and non-sticky, giving me a sheer lip color to use by itself or on top your favorite lipstick. The best part was my hair did not get stuck to my lips. The hip gloss is better for the evening because it gives more color and I didn’t have to put on a lip pencil, a lipstick and lip gloss. I didn’t have to carry so many items with me, and both lip products have vanilla in them so they smell and taste great.
So, don’t like the stress of the recession effect you staying fabulous. Check out L’Oreal and any of the other brands like Cover Girl, Revlon and Maybelline. They will make great stocking stuffers for your girlfriends.
There is a hidden gem located in “The Big Easy”. Celebrity Makeup Artist Brandy Gomez-Duplessis. Brandy may not be a native New Orleanian, but this tough skinned east coaster has always loved makeup. She flirted with makeup, hair, and fashion as a young girl and this was something that kept her occupied being an only child. Because her parents are from Honduras she felt that they didn’t understand her hunger for beauty and fashion She watched old classic Hollywood movies and read fashion magazines (with Vogue being her favorite) and what she loved was seeing women looking beautiful, polished, perfectly combed hair, lots of lashes with red lip stick, and lots of gorgeous gaudy jewelry. Many days Brandy would go to the thrift stores and then walk to Mood Designer Fabrics go home, lock herself in her room to redesign the items she purchase. She would take all of her ideas and sketch figures and faces. Her favorite looks made it to her walls. Her walls were covered in collages of drawings, tear sheets, and articles not knowing that she was creating a personal look book.
