Waterproof Make-Up

I grew up with a pool in my backyard. My parents still have a pool, my apartment building has a pool, and I live right on Lake Shore Drive so the beach is just footsteps away. As much as I love the water, if I'm not wearing waterproof make-up then forget it. Now, obviously when I'm at my parents house or even my apartment and just feel like spending the day lounging around in the pool, I don't even bother with make-up. As much as I love make-up, I'm not one of those people who refuse to leave the house without it. But what about those times when your going to a party at a friend's who has a pool...like there's not a chance someone will got tossed in the pool unexpectedly??? If that someone is me, I don't want to go into the pool looking totally normal and come out looking like Alice Cooper with runny eye make-up. In these situations, water proof make-up is a must.

A few people have been emailing and asking me for some suggestions for waterproof make-up. In my opinion, eye make-up is what you really need to be concerned with when thinking water-proof. Blush and lipgloss usually just wash off and don't leave you with a streaky mess. Mascara and eyeliner, on the other hand, can leave you looking like an extra in a horror movie. A lot of make-up brands offer much of their eye mak-up in both regular and water-proof varities. If you have a favorite brand of eye make-up that you just couldn't live without, just check and see if they offer a water-proof version. If you are looking for something new and waterproof, check out some of my latest finds.

CARGO Swimmables Summer Beach Collection - I came across this set on HSN.com earlier this week. This is an HSN exclusive. This kit is just too cute. I love the name...Swimmables! You get water-proof mascara and eyeliner as well as a lip tint in a handy sports case making it easy to toss into your beach bag. Both the mascara and eyeliner are in shades of black and the lip tint is a berry shade. I just bought this kit for a friend of mine getting married in July (she's a 7-7-07 Bride) who is honeymooning in Hawaii and plans on spending a lot of time on the beach. This kit is available for only $25 with FREE SHIPPING!

Tarte Lights, Camera, Splashes! Waterproof Mascara Black - I first tried Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! about a year ago and fell in love with it. I was overjoyed when about two months ago I learned that Tarte had finally come out with a water-proof version. The mascara brush has tons of tiny "lashes" that are able to get in between each and every eyelash and give them a nice even layer. The packaging is adorable too...a very chic denim wrap is adorned with a little anchor patch. Available for $18.

Dior Eye Show - If you're looking for a waterproof eye shadow, Dior Eye Show is your best bet. This cream shadow packs a lot of punch in its color contains just the right amount of shimmer. It's texture is smooth and feels so lightweight you won't even realize you have it on. Available in 6 great shades for $30.

Bourjois Intensely Luminous Waterproof Cream Eyeshadow - This is another great choice for water-proof shadow, especially if the $30 price tag on the Dior Eye Show is just too much for your wallet. These shadows are packed full of pigment, but appear irredescent when applied to your lids. These shadows also stay put without creasing. I absolutely love the Electric Beige shade. It also serves as a great base for layering shadows. Available in five shades for only $13.

Another thing to keep in mind as summer approaches, water-proof make-up is also helpful for those who tend to sweat a lot...especially, obviously, on your face. Now I know most women do not want to admit that they sweat a lot, but come on, we all sweat. In Chicago, where the summers are full of 90 plus degree heat and 1000% humidity, I sometimes sweat just sitting in the shade! Don't be afraid to reach for water-proof make-up when you're off to a BBQ or a fundraiser walk.

Bronzer Palettes

Someone posted a comment about their love of the Clinique bronzer palette and asked if I have any product similar to that which I love. First, let me say that I too love the Clinique bronzer palette. I love all of the Clinique checker palettes, as I like to call them. Clinique always seems to hit the nail on the head when it comes to selecting multiple colors that when blended together create the perfect color and shading. But there are quite of few other bronzers that I truly enjoy using too.

Laura Geller Bronze - N - Brighten Bronze & Brighten - This is the first Laura Geller product I ever used and the one that I have loved the most. Not only is this a bronzer but it also contains color corrective pigments to help even out skintones. For me, that's what makes this product superior. I don't have to worry about layering on concealers and foundations if I have a bad blemish day. This baby does it all! Laura Geller creates these masterpieces by selecting 5 complimentary colors, mixing them together, and then having them bake on terra cotta sheets for 24 hours. The color on my skin is so natural. Perfectly sunkissed without a hint of orange.

Cargo BeachBlush - Miami Beach - Cargo's BeachBlushs come in 5 varieties, but Miami Beach is my favorite bronzer. Take a big face brush, swirl it around in all 4 strips of color and go crazy. The nice thing is that these strips of color are big enough that if you find that you need a little more of the darkest shade or a little more of a medium shade, you can simply swipe your brush through that shade only and add it to your face. This is a plus for anyone who likes to change their look up. Just a hint of a sunkissed face for day, but add a little more of the darker shade for a stunning tan for night.

LORAC Caribbean Heat - This a newbie. I came across this product about 2 weeks ago, but I already love it. I love it for all the reasons that I love the Cargo BeachBlush. And let's face it...it's from LORAC. Who doesn't love LORAC??? I swear, when I put this on it feels so soft and velvety on my face. It's nice and light and feels like I'm wearing nothing. The key component of this product is the rose bronze shade. A rose shade is essential to creating a great, natural looking bronzer.

Givenchy Prismissime - Face & Eye Powder 34 Sunset - Okay, so I don't own this one...at least not yet. It's a little pricey, and since I've been spending money like I've got money trees growing in my backyard lately, I've had to have some self control and pass on this one. But I still love it. I swear, this has to be made out of velvet. George Costanza would love it. 9 gorgeous, summertime shades fill this compact. Shades include: matte bronze, soft pink with golden shimmer, soft matte light brown, pink with pink shimmer, bronze with gold shimmer, coral with coral shimmer, soft matte suntan, pale pink with gold shimmer, and a rich, matte suntan. This is great because you can choose between shimmer and matte within the same compact. I am definately a shimmer kind of girl, but I know that many people are anti-shimmer. I don't know how anyone can be against light reflecting pigments that draw attention away from fine lines and blemishes, but to each her own!

Save 15% Off Sephora At HSN

Last week, HSN had another Sephora day. Thankfully, this day was a lot better than there first one where they sold out of most the products in the first airing. Due to my horrible schedule, I didn't have time to post about it when it was on, but no worries...Most of the products are still available on HSN.com and there's even more products than last time. Products from Dior, Urban Decay, Cargo, Korres, Juice Beauty, Murad, Lip Fusion, and many more are available and what's even better is that most products have FREE SHIPPING!!! How great is that??? I also came across a great coupon code for first time customers to HSN (which unfortunately leaves me out). New customers to HSN can save 15% with coupon / promo code C56574. That coupon is good until March 31. Happy Shopping!!!

Pink Eyes

Pink eye shadow is taking over the cosmetic world by storm. One of my friends was particularly taken with this look. She ran out and bought some new pink shadow to wear for a night out on the town. The results were not pretty. Instead of creating a soft and pure look, my friend created an Academy Award worthy looking eye disease. The pink shadow made her eyes look puffy and sickly. So, the question is, how do you pull off pink eye shadow without looking like your two steps away from death?

The problem that my friend had was that she used only one shade of shadow. By using only one color, she was unable to blend and create contours. Using multiple shades of pink is good, using pink with other colors is even better. The first time I was introduced to pink shadow was about three years ago when I tried Clinique's Strawberry Fudge. The duo included a shade of pink and a shade of brown. Now, I must admit, when the Clinique girl suggested the duo I thought she was nuts, but I quickly fell in love with the look. I used the pink shade to color my entire eyelid up to just above the crease. I never wear pink all the way up to the brow. If you are one of those girls who likes to wear shadow up to the brow at all times to highlight the area, for this look I suggest Bare Escentuals Nude Beach. It offers a neutral looking color with just the right amount of shimmer to catch and reflect the light. I then took the brown shade and used it almost as a liner, creating a thick line about my lashes that I then blended into the rest of my eye. The good thing is that many cosmetic companies realize the fantasticness of this pink and brown duo and have created palettes pairing the two together. And let's face it, it's so much easier to simply buy a palette that is made up of compatible colors.

My other suggestion with pink shadows is to not, I repeat NOT, use it under your eye. I know there are a lot of people out there who don't like using shadow under eyes to begin with, however, I believe that there are certain shades (silvers and whites) that really make your eyes pop when you do. Pink is not one of those shades. The reason being that by spreading the pink shadow out, both up to your brow and below your eye, you are creating the sickly look!

Oh, and another thing, when wearing pink eye shadow, particularly when you are using only various shades of pink, be aware of the shade of blush you are wearing. You do not want your shadow and your blush to be the same color because then your look will just blend right into each other, thus risking the sickly look again. My suggestion is to go with either a darker shade of pink, a shade of plum or a shade of peach on your cheeks. I recommend Benefit Georgia or Tarte Cheek Stain Blushing Bride.