MAKEUP - FASHION - BEAUTY


Tuesday, June 30, 2009

City!

So I'm a Long Island girl, but I don't get to go into the city as much as I would like... but I'm going to tomorrow! I'm catching an early train into Penn Station with my girlfriend who goes to New York University (NYU) and we're going to walk around and shop. I'm excited and will post pictures and whatever I buy! :)

Monday, June 29, 2009

Summer Essentials: Dove Clinical Protection Deoderant


A good deodorant, besides blot paper and blot powder is probably on the top of my list for summer's most essential item. Those hot days and humid weather are what can ruin a perfectly cute outfit with pit stains. The best deodorant to combat that? Dove Clinical Protection. It might be a bit more expensive than your average antiperspirant, since costs about $8-9 USD but it is completely worth it. There are several scents you can get: Wild Rose, Cool Essentials and the original Solid, Original Clean.

Believe me, I have looked for ages and ages for a good deodorant, as I was blessed with the gene to be able to sweat. Disgusting, I know, but I have found it.


The deodorant twists up and the applicator is shown above. One click will do the trick, two turns is how much comes out in the picture. Two is already too much, so it should last quite a long time.




The deodorant is a strange texture. It's not a gel, but it's not a roll on liquid. It's like a light lotion. The above picture is what is looks like rubbed onto my hand, and then when you rub it in, it almost disappears to flesh tone, but you can see it leaves a really slight, white overtone.

It dries quickly, it doesn't stain my clothing and is little black dress friendly, so I highly, highly recommend this deodorant. It is really everything it says it is. It is stopped me from getting those god awful pit stains and I am not worried about having any body odor anymore. So especially for summer, when B.O. can be at it's worst... Dove's Clinical Protection will come in handy. It is can purchased at any drug store for under $10 USD so I would definitley give it a go!

Nars Haul: Blush/Bronzer Duos

Don't forget to enter my contest!!


In light of summer I picked up these two Nars blush/bronzer duos at Sephora. Now they are quite pricey at $37 USD each, but I am hoping they are quite worth it. I didn't swatch them for you, because each time I did, they wouldn't show up on the camera, but they are very true to the color you can see. You can click the pictures to see them full size and get a better idea of the richness in pigmentation.


(Orgasm/Laguna)

The above duo has the infamous Orgasm blush which is a peachy-pink shimmer and the Laguna bronzer which is a sheer light brown shimmer. If you don't own Orgasm already, this might be the perfect way for you to pick up both the blush and bronzer for an extra ten dollars.

(Sin/Casino)

The Sin blush is a berry color with specks of gold, which I am unsure of at this point. I really am not a fan of blushers with glitter in them, because it accentuates all my blemishes and makes me look even shinier than I already am, so I might like the other duo better. But the Casino bronzer is a darker brown with gold shimmer and that looks gorgeous.

There is a third duo in Hungry Heart which is a irridescent gold ivory and a pink sand with a golden sheen, but that one seems to light for my NC40 skin tone. I will report back in a week or two with a review of both and which I like better!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Contest!


So I have a contest for you today! All you have to do is the following:

1. Subscribe to my blog- click follow on the side bar.
2. Send an email to thebergdorfbrunette1@gmail.com with your name, address and your blogspot username (so I can check you subscribed).

And that's it! I'm going to randomly pick the winner in July 25th.

In the picture above are all the goodies the winner is going to get. I am probably going to do a second and third prize too, but I don't know what they are going to be yet. In the first prize are:

  • Clinique Happy to Be Roll on Perfume
  • LUSH Honeybun Bath Bomb
  • Necklace
  • Clean and Clear Blot Papers
  • Dolice Nailpolish
  • Missha Nailpolish
  • Crabtree & Evelyn Wisteria Body Lotion
  • Balance Shampoo
  • Prestige Browliner in Earth Brown
Enter!! Anyone can enter, you can live anywhere in the world. You don't have to live in the US!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Sephora Haul 2


Hey girls! So this is my Sephora Haul 2 for you today. I got:
  • Ojon Dry Shampoo
  • Clinique Line Smoothing Concealer in Medium Honey
  • Laura Mercier Eyeshadow Quad in Mediterranean Sea
  • Nars Eyeshadow Duo in Key Largo
  • Makeup Forever Mist and Fix
  • DiorShow Mascara in Noir Black (waterproof)
  • Juice Beauty Sensitive Green Apple Face Peel

(Laura Mercier Eyeshadow Quad in Mediteranean Sea)

This quad is absolutely gorgeous. I'm sure you have seen is tons of times on all the beauty blog, but I just picked it up. I actually really wanted the Sahara Sun quad, but they were sold out. I think the colors on that quad are more wearable for me, as I'm not too sure how often I will actually use this!


(Nars Eyeshadow Duo in Key Largo)

This is my third Nars eyeshadow duo. They are quite pricey, but soo worth it. The pigmentation on their shadows is amazing too. I absolutely love the right side color- it is a sandy, goldish brown, I should really swatch that for you. This duo is perfect for summer!

Anyway, I haven't used the other products or really any of them yet from this haul, so I can't really discuss or review them. But I will soon!

Mascara Challenge

How many mascaras do you have that are opened and still barely used? Me? I have 7. Now mascaras are not supposed to have a long shelf life either? I think it's sixth months then you throw it away. So who am I to buy yet another mascara- a back up of my favorite Dior Show when I still have seven mascaras I haven't even finished?

Well, my Mascara Challenge is to finish ALL of the opened mascaras before opening my brand new, Dior Show. I tag anyone else who wants to try this to do so and let me know how it goes! Wish me luck!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Change in Sephora Return Policy

Don't you love how you can return products- new or used without a receipt and get store credit back without a problem now? Well that's about to change a bit...

When I went to Sephora the other day, I asked the girl who was ringing me up about the change in the return policy. It hasn't been instated yet, but she informed me that it will be quite soon. When their new policy is put into play, to make a return without a reciept, they are going to scan and record your drivers license. This is to prohibit you from making multiple returns without a reciept. If you don't do this often, this shouldn't affect you, but for the vast majority of Sephora go-ers, I would start saving your receipts. I'm not sure why they were starting this up, but I can guess it is due to the economic times and I would assume a small percentage of the items that are returned are simply stolen from the store. Just a heads up ladies!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Victoria's Secret Haul

I went to the mall yesterday for the first time in a bit, and I picked up a few goodies from Victoria's Secret. I was more than pleased when I left, because they were having their annual Summer Clearance, and almost everything was at least 75% off.


The first thing I picked up as the Body Double Mist in Slice of Heaven on the left. There are two layers of a 'skin conditioner' and a layer of 'fragrance' which results in a rather quite nice body splash. The scent is really sweet and reminds me of cookie dough. Originally it is $12, but with 75% off... you do the math. On the right, we have the Body Drink Lotion in again, Slice of Heaven. I haven't used this yet, but it smells nice too. The scent is not as strong as the body mist, but it is very sweet. The lotion cost only $3 with the clearance!



Next, I picked up the swim bottom. I already had the top, but I never bought the bottom. I was actually just going to go to Old Navy and get a white bottom, but the matching one was only $9.99 on clearance so I snatched that up. And they even had it in my size :)


I didn't even see these till I had already paid for my previous items and I was leaving the store. Now these are probably my favorite things I got yesterday- they are called Lip Butters. They were such a bargain. Each one was only $2 from $8 and the original price is not even that bad. The shades are really gorgeous- I opened the Fresh one, and it's a pink/nude lip and is really moisturizing too. I'm thinking of going back to get a ton of these just to have. On the Victoria's Secret website, they have a 3 for $21 deal going on, but I would check your store first... you can get 3 for $6. Anyway, you can still check them out here if your store is sold out of them already.

I bought some things in Sephora too, so look out for that post tomorrow!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

MAC Sale! 25% Off


Yes, yes it is true! Get 25% off your entire MAC shopping cart online. Just use the code: SAVE25. The only exceptions are Viva Glam products, gift cards and e-gift cards. This offer is available only through June 16- June 18 so start shopping!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Oily Skin Essentials: MAC Blot Powder

So summer is finally here.. and so is the humidity and stickiness. I don't know about you, but that means oily skin and my makeup falling off of my face for me! It is a terrible time of year for those blessed with oily skin so my two essential products for keeping your oily skin matte during the summer are: blot powders.

(MAC Blot Powder in Light -left- and Medium Dark -right-)

My favorite blot powder to use is by MAC- they are $21 USD each and can be purchased on the MAC website here. They come in 5 different shades, ranging from Light, shown above to Deep Dark. The blot powder contains Mica and Silica which absorbs the excess oil on the face and it helps reduce the shine on the surface of the skin. The blot powder comes with a puff, but throw it away, it is useless. My recommendation is to use a kabuki brush- I use the Bare Escentuals Full Coverage Kabuki Brush, while others really like the MAC 182 Buffer Brush. Anything brush that has a dense, packed bristles should work.

(Light swatch -left- and Medium Dark swatch -right-)

The Light blot powder is white, but on contact with the skin has no coloration. I had to really swatch both a lot to get even the faintest hint of color shown above. Honestly, when I put either on my face, I can't tell the difference of what shade it is. For reference, I am NC40 and I expected the Medium Dark to be a lot darker than what it is. However, it works perfectly fine, so purchasing a darker shade is not necessary in my opinion.

Do you love MAC Blot Powder too? Or have you had a bad experience? Let me know how you get on!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Stila Eye Trio- Champange and Gold Glow Reviews


I absolutely love these Stila Eye trios. The left one is called Champagne Glow and the right one is called Gold Glow. They are baked to get a "sheer, never chalky application" according to the Stila site. The three shades are supposed to be used as a base, crease shadow and eye liner. All of them can be used wet, but the middle shade on each is the eyeliner shade.

(Gold Glow, click for bigger picture of swatches)

(Champagne Glow, click for bigger picture of swatches)

The color payoff on both is amazing. They are richly pigmented and well worth the hefty price tag of $28 USD. That might seem like a lot, but I don't think I will ever run out of either shadow. I've had Champange Glow for over a year now, and I've only made a slight dip in the middle shade. The stay power is really great also, I use them on top of Urban Decay Primer Potion. If you have dry lids, the shadow could be a problem, because it is baked, but my lids are really oily so I haven't had a problem yet. All in all, I highly recommend both of these trios, and I lemming the third, which is called Bronze Glow. These are honestly, perfect for summer- you don't need a lot of makeup over that gorgeous tan and these shades are the perfect compliment! They can be purchased at the Stila website or Sephora.