2009 Spring Makeup Trends

Hopefully spring will be here before we know it so why not get our sights set on the upcoming makeup trends? Ranging from subtle earth tones to intensive brights, spring makeup seems to cover all the bases and offers great looks for those who love a full face of cosmetics and those who go for a more natural look.
Here are 4 major makeup trends for spring 2009.

Earth Tones


Spring '09 beauty trends include lots of gold - bronzed lids and faces. Apply eye makeup in earthy tones; beiges, browns, golds or plums for shadows.



Earth tone natural eye makeup quickie:

1. Use a neutral shadow all over lid in a yellow or bisque shade. Then apply a coordinating earth tone, such as a nutmeg, in the crease and along the lower lid and blend.
2. Apply a soft brown liner at the lash line and bottom lid, keep it subtle. For more impact, add a black liner to the top lash line.
3. Finish off with mascara

Nudes & Purples For Nails

Nude nail colors always tend to be popular as the weather warms up. I like that the spring shades making waves for 2009 aren’t totally transparent, they do have a bit of color depth in them. Try CND in Cocoa or Zoya Amanda.

If and when you get tired of the nudie colors, no need to worry since you aren’t destined to be wearing light pink. Chanel Le Vernis Nail Enamel in Vendetta is a deep dark juicy violet that I will wear for sure!

A Stroke of Light!

Facial highlighters are really hot this spring!
Yves Saint Laurent Teint Parfait Complexion Enhancer is a sheer highlighter that can be freely used to beautify the complexion and reveal its natural glow.
Stila Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer SPF15 offers sheer coverage and slight shimmer, while Estée Lauder's Ideal Bright Brush on Illuminator erases flaws like shadows and spots.

Bright & Bold

We'll be seeing bright, bold colors and "look-at-me makeup".
Think peacock blue, lime and yellow eyeshadow, with cerise cheeks and red or raspberry lips and you get the idea. So start playing with all those bright colors; just please make sure you just don't wear them all at once :)

NOTD: ChG Emotion

Dear readers; may I present to you China Glaze "Emotion" from the 2009 Romantique collection.

This shade resembles a frosty metallic, mauve-ish pink.
It almost has a foil-like finish.
This polish goes on very opaque. I'm an habitual three-coater, but in this case two layers were almost more than enough.

Seche vite as top coat.








That's it for now; I wish you a great day :)

NOTD: ChG Branding Iron

Hello dear readers,

This little gem is China Glaze Branding Iron; like yesterday's NOTD, this one is also from the Rodeo Diva Collection.

This glowing shade can be described as a fabulous browned-burgundy based polish with a considerable amount of red shimmer.
I think it's just gaaawgeous!
I did have some application problems, my bottle was very thick.

This is 3 layers, with Seche Vite as top coat.

Inside, flash

Outside, cloudy, no flash

NOTD: ChG Lasso My Heart

This little beauty is China Glaze Lasso My Heart from the Rodeo Diva Collection, which is a fabulous collection by the way. The colors are great and quite unique; highly recommended!
This particular shade can be described as a pinkish purple/violet with gold shimmer.

This is 3 layers, no top coat. Hassle free application.


That's all for now, see you soon :)

8ty8 package has arrived!

After waiting impatiently for quite some time, my order from 8ty8 finally arrived yesterday. I must say that the turn around time was significantly longer than what I experienced with my H2T order; about 2 1/2 weeks longer. Perhaps they are swamped with orders at the moment.
I've been dying to try Seche Vite for some time now after reading so many glowing reviews of it. Being a busy mom I really hope this will aid in getting those polish layers to dry faster.

Anyway; this is what I got:

L-R: ChG Emotion (Romantique Coll), ChG Branding Iron (Rodeo Diva Coll), Creative Nail Design Baroque, OPI Bastille My Heart (France Coll), Seche Vite Fast Drying Top Coat, Color Club Magic Attraction (Glitter Vixen Coll) and a nail polish clean up pen for those unsightly little mistakes...

ChG Emotion, ChG Branding Iron

CND Baroque, OPI Bastille My Heart

Seche Vite Top Coat, Color Club Magic Attraction
I just love, love, love the multicolored sparkle in this bottle; amazing!

I'll swatch all of these for you ASAP, so please check back.

That's all for now; I wish you all a great day :)

Pigment haul! MAC & Ben Nye

Did a little Net shopping the other day; and look what the lovely mailman brought me today! Yay, more pigments to add to my collection. Or should that be ... to add to my obsession? :)
These are all sample sized as you can see. 1/4 tsp doesn't seem much, but I find they last forever, or at least until I've gotten bored and tired of them and moving on to trying new colors...

I assume most beauty addicts already know about M•A•C pigments.
Ben Nye is originally stage make up, but can be used for every day. The loose pigments are very similar to M•A•C pigments. They are long lasting and super-duper pigmented. Overall, the quality is very impressive in my opinion.

Well; this is what I got...

M•A•C Heritage Rouge
Deep burgundy with red and brown pearl
Limited Edition

M•A•C Deep Purple
PRO Color
Pearled blackened burgundy

M•A•C Mauvement
Cool taupe with gold pearl
Limited Edition


Ben Nye Golden Apricot

M•A•C Jardin Aires

Gilded peach with silver reflect glitter
Limited Edition

M•A•C Teal
Stunning medium shimmering blue/green with pearl

Ben Nye Peacock

Comparison swatch:
M•A•C Teal to the left, Ben Nye Peacock to the right

That's all for now; hope you've enjoyed!

MAC Brunette Blonde Redhead Collection

I början av januari landar ännu en ny M•A•C kollektion i de svenska sminkdiskarna, nåväl; åtminstone i en del sminkdiskar.
Kollektionen heter "Brunette, Blonde, Redhead" och innehåller produkter speciellt anpassade för kvinnor med respektive hårfärg.
M•A•C har gjort det lätt att matcha rätt. Jag tror väl i och för sig inte att man benhårt begränsar sitt köp till just den föreslagna färgkategorin, utan tycke och smak är väl vanligtvis den avgörande faktorn för de flesta när det gäller att välja produkter.

Brunette

Blonde

Redhead

Lipstick

• Marquise D‘ Sandy cream peach (Redhead)
• Blow Dry Pink coral (Redhead)
• B-Babe Rich pink (Blonde)
• All’s Fair Light purple pink (Blonde)
• Chignon Red plum (Brunette)
• What A Do! Neutral pink coral (Brunette)

Lipglass

• Live and Dye Cool pink (Redhead)
• Red Devil Coral orange (Redhead)
• Strawberry Blonde Deep pink red (Blonde)
• Peroxide White pink (Blonde)
• Quick Tease Red purple (Brunette)
• Soft Wave Tan bronze (Brunette)

(Quick Tease missing in this pic)

Eye Shadow

• Flip Bronze gold (Redhead)
• French Cuff Burgundy purple (Redhead)
• 100 Strokes Ice pink (Redhead)
• Pincurl Dusty white (Blonde)
• Knight Dark grey (Blonde)
• Top Knot Deep black purple (Blonde)
• Deep Shade Dusty blue (Brunette)
• Henna Dark gold (Brunette)
• Femme-fi Frosty golden cream (Brunette)

Mineralize Skinfinish

• Redhead Gold to salmon pink degrade (Redhead)
• Blonde Soft Pink to Rose degrade (Blonde)
• Brunette Soft coral to copper bronze degrade (Brunette)

Brushes

• 165 Tapered cheek/highlight ($34.00)
• 214 Short shader ($23.00)
• 226 Small tapered blending ($24.50)

Eye Kohl

• Teddy Dark-eyed bronze (Redhead)
• Phone Number Smudgy charcoal (Blonde)
• Smolder Intense black (Brunette)

Brow Set

• Girl Boy Fawned-over blondette (Redhead)
• Clear Colour-free (Blonde)
• Show Off Full bodied brown (Brunette)

Swatches of the collection to be found here.
Source and photo credit: temptalia.com

NOTD: China Glaze Cranberry Flame

China Glaze "Cranberry Flame".
This is 3 layers, no top coat. Very smooth application.
Me like this color! I can imagine it would be quite easy finding dupes for this one, though.
I'm waiting for a package to arrive containing a nail polish clean up pen, which I'm in desperate need of obviously.
Excuse the ghost-like color of my hands; probably the flash that's playing games... :)

Anatomy of the Nail

Nails protect the tips of fingers and seem to be critical for the finger sensitivity. They can be used as a practical device for scratching, opening fasteners and for picking up small objects.
Although still serving a functional purpose, nails are an intrinsic part of one's appearance today.

What is a nail, then?

The nail is a flexible plate of horny tissue, made up of keratin, i.e. epidermic cells formed in the root of the nail and hardened. Various factors influence the development of this keratin sheet, the largest in the human body : its genetic composition, nutrition, health (nail state is its best reflection), environment, etc.
Besides keratin, there are highly moderated concentrations of mineral salts, such as sulphur, selenium, calcium and potassium.




Principal parts of the nail:

The matrix is the living portion found at the base of the nail. Here is where the new cells develop and push the old, "dead" cells forward to form the nail plate. The overall health and quality of these cells determine the general condition of the nail as it further grows beyond the matrix.


The matrix is supplied by numerous blood vessels and nerves which provide the nourishment necessary for the production and growth of nail tissue.
This is the most sensitive part of the whole nail structure, which can easily be damaged through mistreatment. Accidents and/or abuse can impede normal growth and cause discoloration, ridges or other irregularities to appear on the nail plate. They eventually grow out unless serious injury has resulted in permanent damage to the nail.


Everything that happens to the human body can relate itself through nails and the aftereffects of childbirth or illnesses can be translated by furrows that form on the lunula and gradually grow out with the nail. Even psychological shocks can affect the matrix and appear on the surface of the nail as uneven or deep grooves/ridges.

Cuticle:

The cuticle is the rim of skin framing the nail plate that protects the hardening nail. The cuticle is constantly discarding old cells and producing new ones. This tissue needs to remain soft and pliable, otherwise it can grow onto the surface of the nail where it becomes unsightly, splits into hangnails and can even impede nail growth.



Nail Growth:

The nail originates in the matrix as part of the epidermis, or outer layer of the skin. It hardens and thickens through a process called keratinization, becoming less firmly attached to the nail bed. Depending on individual growth rate, it takes from 3 to 5 months for a nail to grow completely.
Nails generally grow faster and stronger in summer than winter. They grow faster on the right hand of right-handed person, and on the left hand of a left-handed person.
They may also grow more rapid during pregnancy.


Diet and nails:

"You are what you eat" is a popular saying, and it's true that one's fingernails reflect one's diet (the same goes for skin and hair). Dietary deficiencies prevent nails from growing normally, and can also cause weakness and brittleness, two of the most common problems.
Vitamins, calcium and minerals are very important to the growth and maintenance of strong, healthy nails. A vegetarian diet can weaken the nails as it produces imbalance due to the lack of animal proteins. Similarly, a poorly balanced weight-reduction diet is not beneficial to the health of the nails.


Some causes of damaged nails:

-Internal causes:

Any circulatory condition that reduces the supply of blood to the matrix of the nail prevents it from receiving proper nourishment and developing normally. Other health problems that can affect the nails include glandular disorders, poor metabolism, allergies, anemia, deficiencies of calcium, certain amino acids and other essential nutrients.

-External causes:

A healthy nail can be damaged in many ways, including the following :

direct contact with solvents, strong detergents and other cleaning products, over-exposure to sunlight or dry conditions, heavy pressure or strong blow against a hard object, application of nail polish directly to the nail plate, without protection of preliminary base coat.

Source: www.mavala.com