Too Faced LOCKDOWN Ultimate Creaseless Cream Eye Shadow

Too Faced LOCKDOWN Ultimate Creaseless Cream Eye Shadow

Too Faced LOCKDOWN Ultimate Creaseless Cream Eye Shadow includes both eyeshadow base and pigment in a single product. The base works fine, but I don't care for the sparkle in the eyeshadow: Bedroom Eyes (medium brown), for example, has bits of copper glitter.

Too Faced LOCKDOWN Ultimate Creaseless Cream Eye Shadow comes in six shades, each with a salacious name:

* Bedroom Eyes (medium brown)
* Bondage (light brown)
* Dramarama (dark brown)
* I'm Guilty (aqua blue)
* Jailbait (light pink)
* Prisoner of Love (pink)

You may find Too Faced LOCKDOWN Ultimate Creaseless Cream Eye Shadow in Sephora stores and at Sephora.com.

Beauty at Douglas Cosmetics

Parfümerie Douglas is Germany's largest chain of beauty stores. In addition, Douglas has several stores in the U.S. I recently visited the Douglas store at Union Station in Washington, DC.

Douglas used to carry the German brands ARTDECO and BeYu. Even though I found nothing from ARTDECO and BeYu that appealed to me, it was fun to look because these brands aren't readily found in the U.S. Douglas has stopped carrying both brands: in the case of ARTDECO, it was on account of use of certain ingredients. No, the Germans don't always make good stuff! :-)

At Union Station, Douglas has discontinued carrying Universal Colors and blackUp Paris, two lines created for "women of color": odd, given the demographic.

Now Douglas carries only stalwart brands such as Clinique and Estee Lauder. Boring, boring.

So, what's worth checking out at Douglas? Its accessories and implements. It carries its own line of professional cosmetic brushes called Da Vinci, including several brush sets: Classic Look, Nude Look, and Smokey Eyes. I particularly like the flat headed eyeshadow brush in the Smokey Eyes kit: it works better than flat lay-on eyeshadow brushes or fluffy eyeshadow brushes to apply eyeshadow all over or on the lid.

One product that I hadn't seen before is this soap to wash brushes:

It's a gentle soap that doesn't strip oils from natural hair brushes.

By Lauren Luke debuts today

Today (Monday, April 27, 2009), YouTube sensation Lauren Luke begins selling her own line of color cosmetics. If you're not familiar with Lauren, she's from the north of England, speaks with a definite accent, and presents videos on make-up, especially eye makeup. There's nothing flashy about her videos: Lauren captures the video herself, and you can see her adjusting the videocam when she zooms in for a close-up.

Since Lauren started posting her videos in 2007, she has gained a base of 200,000 subscribers. With that clout, no wonder she was approached to create her own line of color cosmetics, which is called By Lauren Luke.

Watch Lauren as she talks about the launch of her cosmetics line:


Lauren's initial offering is a collection of five color palettes: My Fierce Violets, My Vintage Glams, My Sultry Blues, My Luscious Greens, and My Smokey Classics. Each palette includes two shades of eye shadow primer, three eye shadows, eye liner, blush, and two lip colors.

Here's what I'm planning to buy:



My Vintage Glams, which features:

Shadow Primers in Nude Slip Dark and Nude Slip Light
Eye Shadows in Petticoat Pink, Red Wine, and Silver Slippers
Eye liner in Raven Black
Blush in Berry Cream
Lip Colors in Champagne Kiss and Love Bite

There have been a lot of pre-orders already: I hope that I'll get my hands on My Vintage Glams!

Best for less from Wet n Wild

and a few duds.

The Best and Worst Wet n Wild Products

Check out which nail polishes, eye shadows, lipglosses and more our readers love, and, well, love to hate

Buying Wet n Wild is an inexpensive way for us get our beauty fix without hurting our wallets. Heck, half the stuff they sell you could buy with change found in your couch cushions. Check out this guide to what's hot and what's not, and then search those couch cushions or bust open that piggy bank. See products

The Worst: No. 3: Wet n Wild MegaColors Lipstick, $1.99

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 6.4*

It's "just overall really mediocre" they say and feels "icky on ..."

No. 2: Wet n Wild Wild Shine Nail Color, $.99

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 6*

"The finish is just awful-- no smoothness whatsoever, very chunky, streaky and coarse ..."

The Best: No. 9: Wet n Wild Silk Finish Blush Compact, $3.49

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 8.6*

"The pigmentation is dense-- so a little goes a long way" and "it literally stayed on all day ..."

Want to see the rest of the list? Click here!

smashbox PHOTO FINISH FOUNDATION PRIMER SPF 15 & DERMAXYL™

I have a confession to make: even though dermatologists and other skin care experts advise us to wear sunscreen all year long, I wear it only in the spring and summer, when I expect to spend more time in the sun. It's not a practice that I encourage others to emulate.

The truth is that I hate the gunky feel of most sunscreens. That's why I'm glad I found smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15 and Dermaxyl. It has the smooth finish of a foundation primer with chemical (absorber) sunscreens 7.5% Octinoxate (Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate) and 5.0% Octisalate (Ethylhexyl Salicylate). Surprisingly, I haven't had problems with irritation, which is why I usually stick to barrier (reflector) sunscreens such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.


Smashbox's Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15 and Dermaxyl

Many of us like to lighten up on foundation in the spring and summer. Even if you use a tinted moisturizer with SPF 15, I recommend using smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15 and Dermaxyl under your tinted moisturizer to boost sun protection. This product is a must under mineral makeup: even though bareMinerals is rated SPF 15, don't expect a light dusting of loose mineral makeup to provide you adequate sun protection.

Find out what others think about smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15 and Dermaxyl.

You may find smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15 and Dermaxyl at smashbox.com, Ulta, Sephora stores, and Sephora.com.

Total Beauty Weekly Web Tour

Meredith at Daily Dose of Coffee ponders an interesting question: are male and female acne really all that different? Find out more!

Beauty Anonymous brings you Sonia Rykiel Summer 2009 Makeup Collection.

Family portrait in your future? Visit The Beauty Couch for some tips on how to apply makeup for fabulous photos.

Meilily brings you Beauty & Awareness: Check out Meilily's swatches and photos of OPI's Breathe Life lung cancer awareness nail polish!

The Informed Makeup Maven raves about Nude Vs Red lips, Nailene, The Best Bronzers, Softlips; reviews Jenova mascara and invites you to join her facebook group. Most of all IMM really wants your opinion for a chance to score a Covergirl makeup pack !

Jamie and Mother Blogger of Girl-Woman-Beauty-Brains-Blog discovered a plethora of earth-friendly products for Earth Week: Tees for Change, Kiss My Face (plus a giveaway), and much more.

Boutique Flair reviews Vichy's popular Noraderm Anti-Imperfection Hydrating Care lotion.

Good news for fans of Stila! Beauty Junkies Unite finds out after a month of bankruptcy rumors, the makeup brand has been sold and should be back in business soon!

Makeup Files is celebrating its first blog anniversary! Come celebrate with us by entering the huge birthday bash beauty giveaway worth over $100 dollars!

eye4style wants you to get glowing - from the inside out! Click here to enter her Glowelle giveaway.

GIVEAWAY ALERT! The Anti Hair Slave is giving away

the entire Soft & Beautiful StyleProtect Collection all you have to do is leave a comment to be entered.

Looking for the latest giveaway.. Addicted to Lipstick is having a Kiss My Face Giveaway where she's giving away organic lip shines and lip shimmers.

Monique at Beauty Girl Musings reviews the new Olay Pro X Protocol Starter Kit.

See what Fabulous Over Forty product she is so happy she found in NYC!

Butterflydiary has fallen in love with Amala Organic Beauty, a line she feels can cryogenically freeze her skin's age.

Best Face Scrubs-a video blog by Talking Makeup!

Melissa of The Makeup Divas reviews the new Prescriptives Motor-Eyes Instant Action mascara .

Alison aka. Advice Sister Alison of the Advice Sisters offers a follow up on the Avon Clinical Derma-Full X3 Facial Filling Serum It is really a Miracle?

Lipgloss Break has partnered with Noah's Naturals to Giveaway a Selection of Products from their Skincare Line. Enter to Win!

makeup loves me has some news about this next episode of gossip girl! and no, it's not dorota's secret...

Only one week left to enter the giveaway hosted by More than a Pretty Face for all nine shades of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics' newly launched Lip Tar collection. Lip Tar sold out at its launch at The Makeup Show in NYC last month.

The girls over at Beauty in Real Life let you in on Bobbi Brown's new Nautical Collection. Check it out here!! And while you are there don't forget to enter their Pureology Giveaway!!

Beauty Beast reviews both limited edition scents from the new Kohdo Wood fragrance collection by Jo Malone.

Face Candy shows you some makeup brushes that are eco-friendly.

Beauty411 loves Kate Somerville's newest product, ExfoliKate Body Intensive Exfoliating Treatment. Check out her review here!

In honor of Earth Week, Spoiled Pretty is hosting a week's worth of green giveaways. Enter to win eco-chic sunglasses...and beauty booty from Cargo PlantLove, John Masters Organics, Samy, Tarte, Zoya, Kaia, and Burt's Bees!

The Shades Of U is GIVING AWAY prizes from Aminogenesis Dermascyne Wrinkle Arrest and Health Dropz Beverage Booster! Enter to win!

Enter Indian Girl's Complete Skin Care Giveaway : Three lucky readers will receive the complete set of products from Biore Skin Preservation Line. Enter Today !

Temptalia shows you how to create the cat eye

Real-Woman Tutorial: Perfect Eyeliner

Quick and easy tips for a perfect cat eye, liquid liner and more - brought to you by fellow blogger Temptalia

This tutorial is designed to show you step-by-step how to line your upper lash line and wing out the liner subtly, which is typically called a cat-eye. Check out these tips and you'll be on your way to perfectly-lined eyes in no time. See how-to

Total Beauty Weekly Web Tour

Beauty411 loves the new Guerlain Summer Splash Makeup Collection! Get all the fabulous details here!

I Heart Heels suggests how to get Vivacious lips & lashes - the secret's out!

Nur @ I Love Looking Good found a good alternative for NARS Orgasm's fan particularly for beauty addicts in Singapore. MAC Springsheen for NARS Orgasm.

Check out Upcoming and Current Cosmetic Collections HERE at A Little More Beautiful

Looking for the hottest looks of summer. Image and Style news gives us the hottest hairstyles to wear for summer 2009.

Addicted to lipstick gives us the hottest 2009 spring and summer makeup trends

Giveaway Alert! Beauty Blvd. is giving away 2 copies of Mrs. Meyer's Brand New Book! The book gives great beauty related cleaning tips like how to remove mascara from clothes and MORE!

Join the Informed Makeup Maven's facebook group - Followers of the Informed Makeup Maven, read about I heart Nailene, Nude Vs Red lippie, The highlighter showdown and don't forget to enter the lovely lips giveaway and soft lips lip balm bunch giveaway

The rainbow is yours! Boutique Flair brings you the most popular nail colors of the season!

eye4style travels in style with Lisa Hoffman. Check out her review here!

Advice Sister Alison of advicesisters.net hopes you will follow her on Twitter ("Advicesisters") and check out her post this week about how Beyonce believes in Safe Sex, and what she's doing to promote it and with MTV and The Boldy Shop!

The girls over at Beauty in Real Life are having another giveaway!!! Enter to win a copy of both Bobbi Brown's Living Beauty and Charla Krupp's How Not to Look Old. Click here to enter !!!

The Shades Of U shares swatches and her review of MAC's A Rose Romance, the new romantic, dreamy collection of the season.

Beauty Junkies Unite is having a Baby Boomer Beauty Book Giveaway! 5 readers will win copies of Bobbi Brown's Living Beauty and How Not To Look Old By Charla Krupp!

Girl-Woman-Beauty-Brains-Blog is hosting a giveaway from one of their favorite shopping sites - ChickDowntown.com. Enter now to win a Tolani scarf valued at $85.

Meredith at Daily Dose of Coffee has been getting a lot of compliments on her glowing complexion lately! Read more to find out what she's using. PS: it's recession-beauty friendly!

Beauty Blogging Junkie gets a shout-out from Lauren Conrad herself. Check it out here.

Melissa from The Makeup Divas finds another and thinks you will love it to! While you are there, check out all of her giveaways, and enter them today !

Beauty Anonymous brings you Givenchy Summer 2009 Makeup Collection.

Indian Girl brings to you Bollywood's Beauty Secret and the recipe for an at home DIY Face Mask

Makeup Files teaches you how to use colored mascara in many different ways!

Monique at Beauty Girl Musings is having a fabulous giveaway sponsored by Simplicity Bath and Body! Click here and get all the details to enter!

makeup loves me gets you ready for summer travel with sonia kushuk's hidden treasures target line!

Enter to win FLOWERBYKENZO Spring Fragrance Limited Edition at Lipgloss Break!

More Than a Pretty Face is hosting giveaway of the complete collection of Lip Tars from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. This collection of intense colors was introduced at The Makeup Show in LA only last month. OCC sold out of Lip Tar at the event. Enter to win all nine shades from the newly launched Lip Tar collection!

LA Pretty is GIVING away a bottle of Jean Paul Gaultier's new fragrance Ma Dame Eau Fraîche.

Enter to Win a Anastasia Brow Definer at Face Candy.

WIN CARGO blu_ray High Definition Lip Gloss in Halifax-Giveaway By Talking Makeup!

Stop by Origins Do Some Good.

Glossypink tells you how to get the shiniest and best-smelling hair of your life!

Spoiled Pretty is hosting three amazing giveaways this week. Yes, THREE! Enter the Logics Color DNA System giveaway, Proactiv giveaway, and ZannClip giveaway to triple your chance of walking away a winner. Good luck!

OCC Lip Tar giveaway

I've been a fan of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics' lip color from its original Lip Balm in Tarred (black) and Feathered (White) to its expansion of its Lip Balm collection to include five additional shades.

OCC introduced Lip Tar, a new collection of lip color, at The Makeup Show in LA last month. It sold out its supply of Lip Tar at the event, and needed to replenish its supply of NSFW (described as "a vivid, primary scarlet") and Pageant (described as "an intensley bright beauty queen fuchsia"). NSFW and Pageant have since been restocked.


Three shades from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics' new Lip Tar collection

When OCC says that the Lip Tar shades are intense, it's not kidding! Safety Orange, for example, indeed mimics the bright orange of traffic warning signs. These colors are highly pigmented.

The best part is that we're hosting a giveaway of the complete Lip Tar collection! One lucky winner will get all nine shades of Lip Tar. It's exciting to present an exclusive offer for a recent cosmetics launch.

Femme Couture at Sally Beauty Supply

I went to Sally Beauty Supply to shop for plastic cosmetic spatulas (the type packaged with Jolen Creme Bleach), and discovered Femme Couture, a color cosmetics line sold exclusively through Sally Beauty Supply stores and sallybeauty.com.


Femme Couture Mineral Effect Blush in Tuscan Rose

The best of Femme Couture is its Mineral Effects Blush, which comes in six different shades: three for lighter complexions and three for darker complexions. The three blushes for darker complexions - Tuscan Rose, Canyon Earth, and French Roast (a deep, deep red brown) are especially beautiful.


Femme Couture Flawless Touch Undereye Concealer

Also recommended is Femme Couture's Flawless Touch Undereye Concealer, a creamy, easy to blend stick concealer with an inner core that's claimed to minimize the appearance of under eye circles.

So-so is Femme Couture's Ultra Hydrating Lip Color: I would have liked more pigment. Pass up on its oil-free Eye Makeup Remover, a gooey mess which does a poor job of removing eye makeup.

You can get discounts on Femme Couture and other products sold through Sally Beauty Supply by purchasing a membership card. The $5.00 annual fee quickly pays for itself.

Sally's e-newsletters has news about specials. Sally also has a presence on Facebook. To subscribe, visit the home page of Sally Beauty Supply and scroll down to the bottom of the page. You'll find the links to the left.

Caring for your makeup brushes

Here's advice from Shalini Vadhera of Global Goddess Beauty in her e-newsletter that got my attention.

She provides the conventional wisdom about when to discard makeup:

Concealer: Up to 12 months
Powder: 2 years
Cream & gel cleansers: 1 year

Pencil eye liner: 3 years
Eyeshadow: 3 years
Foundation: 1 year
Lip liner: 3 years
Lipstick: 2 years, but if it starts to smell, replace it
Mascara: the fastest of these cosmetics to expire, will last no more than 3 months!

We know that cosmetics last longer than what she quoted: in fact, industry insiders have admitted that cosmetics are good to use five years after purchase.

Shalini then writes,

Here's a trick to keep your cosmetics lasting as long as possible. Use clean brushes, not fingers, for a healthy application. Brushes should be washed every 2-3 months in a mild detergent and laid flat to dry. If they begin to fray or split, replace them in order to ensure the smoothest application.

I was surprised that she recommended 2-3 months between washings. Usually, pros recommend washing brushes every month. This is especially important for eye makeup brushes for hygienic reasons.

Here's what I've learned about caring for makeup brushes:

* It takes about a day for eye makeup brushes to dry after washing.
* For face makeup brushes, it can take up to 2 days to dry after washing.
* Be judicious about using spray-on, tissue-off brush cleaners. These cleaners are a great convenience, but many contain alcohol or other ingredients that strip oils from natural hair bristles.
* If you develop an eye infection, it's essential to wash your brushes. You might want to avoid eye makeup altogether until the eye infection is gone.
* If you use loose mineral powders, clean your brushes often so that color applies true.
* Shampoo is essentially detergent, so you can use shampoo to wash your brushes.

The Solution by Envision Beauty

The Solution by Envision Beauty streamlines skin care. It is a multi-tasking product that replaces night cream, serum, eye cream, and makeup primer. It also advertises itself as a replacement for day cream, but since it's not rated for SPF, I hesitate to call it a replacement for day cream.
The Solution is a lightweight lotion that leaves a non-greasy, non-oily finish. I apply it after washing my face at night, and my skin is so soft and smooth in the morning that I don't need to reapply it to use as a makeup primer.



Envision Beauty was founded by Kimberly Snyder, who has traveled the world learning about botanicals and worked in the beauty industry. The Solution features both natural anti-oxidants and state of the art ingredients.

Kimberly's next introduction will be the brightening cleanser. Given that I'm impressed by The Solution, I'm looking forward to the launch of the brightening cleanser.

You may shop for The Solution and sign up to get news about the launch of the brightening cleanser at the web site for Envision Beauty.

No cosmetics brand inspires such fierce loyalty as MAC

TotalBeauty.com,

The Best and Worst MAC Cosmetics Products

Your shopping guide to this cult-fave makeup brand

Before you buy your next eyeshadow or makeup brush -- check out these unbiased reader reviews. They reveal that of all (and there are thousands) of the MAC products available, the brushes top every makeup-lovers list. But not all MAC products are perfect -- so be sure to steer clear of the ones on our readers' do-not-buy lists. See products

The Worst: No. 4: MAC Green Gel Cleanser, $19.50

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 6.0*

What you said: "It doesn't [have a] rich lather and it doesn't leave my skin feeling fresh. I guess it's ok for..."

No. 3: MAC Prep + Prime Eye, $16

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 5.7*

What you said: "I figured since MAC has such great eyeshadows, they'd obviously have a great primer for them... WRONG!..."

The Best: No. 15: MAC Eye Shadow, $14.50

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 9.4*

What you said: "THE best eyeshadow I have ever used. I will never switch to another brand when it comes to..."

Want to see the rest of the list? Click here!

Josie Maran Cosmetics

Former Maybelline model Josie Maran wanted to create an eco-friendly cosmetics line with glamour and sophistication. Josie Maran Cosmetics are formulated from organic ingredients. Even the packaging (pink-gold metal) is recyclable.

Josie Maran Lipstick

I tried Josie Maran Lipstick and Concealer.

The lipstick went on slick, even wet, spread beyond the lips, and dried down to a lip stain finish, complete with a tingling sensation. I used Mysterious, described as a sheer wine, but it is deeper and more matte than shown on Josie Maran Cosmetics' website. On one hand, Mysterious seemed to shrink the size of my lips; on the other, it was so dark, it looked goth.

The stick concealer is dryer than other stick concealers I've tried. I used Butter, which is indeed yellow, for light skin tones. This spring, Josie Maran has added two additional shades of concealer: Creme for very fair skin tones and Espresso for for rich/deep skin tones.

You may shop Josie Maran Cosmetics online at josiemarancosmetics.com, Vert, or Sephora.com.

New skin care at Walgreen's

My slogan at More Than a Pretty Face is "beauty is where you find it." At one level, that means I search out dollar stores, drug stores, beauty supply stores, mail order catalogues, department stores, specialty stores, and more to discover beauty products. Today I focus on new skin care products sold through Walgreen's.

Walgreen's is now discontinuing its European Beauty Collection of skin care brands, which means that people can now buy these products at discount.

At the same time, Walgreen's has entered into exclusive distribution agreements with Korea's The Face Shop and Italy's Equilibra.

The principal product from The Face Shop is a moist mask sheet that you lay over your face for 20 minutes. The mask sheets is available in a variety of different formulas, including botanical solutions.


Equilibra Perlabella Anti-Aging Retinol Face capsules

The principal product from Equilibra is Perlabella, "pearls" or capsules of face serum in different formulas. You may buy packages containing 28 capsules from walgreens.com or Amazon.com. Packets containing seven capsules may be purchased at Walgreen's stores.