We’ve been told by our Mom’s and have had the same Mother’s tale proven to us by doctor’s that dry chapped lips are a sure sign of dehydration. Whether you’re parched from too many ice teas (yes, the sweet ones from the South or the strong ones from Long Island), combat those lips with extra water AND a good lip balm or lip conditioner.

And more great news! We just added a HUGE line-up of new eye shadows. We’re proud to present the 3 eye shadow lines by Bare Escentual that are individually unique on their own but work harmoniously with one another.

Eye Shadow Line (Matted Texture): The most opaque eye shadow that has an incredible creamy color with a rich, velvety finish.

Glimpse Shadow Line (Sheen Texture): Satiny soft and sheer with a touch of glow. Wear it dry for whisper effects, or wet for a more opaque sheen.

Glimmer Shadow Line (Glimmer Texture): High intensity shimmer that can worn softer and more translucent when worn dry. For the highest intensity shimmer, wear it wet and watch your glimmer shadow become an opaque wash of high sheen that we like to call the “foiling-when-worn-wet-look.”

The Twilight camp has teamed up with an LA beauty firm, the same folks who recently acquired DuWop AND Lola to name names, to launch a make up line, including 2 called Luna Twilight and Volutri Twilight. Our friend, Temptalia, brought up this WWD article to question ask a good point….would you support something so mainstream that has already made millions (possibly billions) of dollars off our our recession suffering nation? OK! Those were more our words and interpretation of her blog post, but it’s that’s what we got out of it.

On the other hand, when times are tough, don’t you think that it is the little things like Volturi make up that bring a smile to our face. It’s so random and fun that we temporarily forget that our economy might be suffering from this financial turmoil for decades more to come. So, why not put on a happy face and sometimes focus on the happy things to help get through those tough times?

We think it’s “worse” when mega Fashion Houses reach out of their realm and step into the make up world and use their established brand to expand industries. Why don’t they, those Mega Fashion Homes, do what they do best and design brilliant clothes, rather than think they can do it all. HA!

Funny I say this as my guilty pleasure lip gloss is made by Chanel. I only say guilty as no matter how strapped I am for cash, I always  find a few shiny coins to refill my favorite Chanel Lip Glossimer Gloss (and now they want to introduce more delicious make up delights –

CRÈME GLOSS LUMIÈRE STYLO BRILLIANCE LEVRES BRUSH-ON CRÈME LIP COLOUR). Then, again, those Mega Fashion Houses could do what the House of Louis Vuitton did and re-brand their make up business. Did you know Louis Vuitton owns Sephora?

Penny for your thoughts! Comment on our blogs or follow us on Twitter to stay updated and receive special information on sales and discounts.

Have you noticed that a good eyeliner paired with the perfect mascara can make your eyes pop that you don’t even need to focus on applying make-up on the rest of your face? I only say this as there are days that I run out of time (or am just having a lazy day) to do make-up and found this less is more approach does work and still looks great. Test it out on a day you know you’ll have a lot of down time and see how comfortable you get with this minimal look. Be sure to let us know what you think, too.

The redesigned Kits still include a travel size (mini) of your favorite 2 shades of foundation, 1 mineral veil and warmth. And the redesigned Kits now include a few of their “new” foundation colors. This may be sad news for those who enjoyed the former Fairly Light/Light Kit as that Kit has been replaced by 2 different Kits (Fair Kit: Fair & Fairly Light and Light Kit: Light & Golden Medium foundation colors).

Brushes in the redesigned kits are almost all the same. Instead of a Kabuki Brush, you will get a nice long handle Full Flawless Face Brush. AND last but not least, the Skin Rev-er Upper has been replaced with a handy dandy brush conditioning “shampoo”. Tell us what you think of the new kits. Write us a review or comment on our blog.

Tah-tah for now.

Some of our loves (and most of them all-natural, bio-friendly & green of course!):

• Anthony Logistics Sun Spray (SPF 15): Made for men, but the women here use it & just love it. It not only protects from the sun but has vitamins (A, C & E) to nourish your skin AND Aloe Vera to soothe your skin, in case it does burn a tad (sensitive and pale skins know this story).
• Aubrey Saving Face Spray (SPF 10): Always all-natural and made of the most purest ingredients. Made with Witch Hazel & Vegetable Glycerin to freshen & condition the skin and the Sweet Almond Oil & Organic Aloe work to soothe & hydrate!
• Decleor Protective Hydrating Spray (SPF 30): A french favorite that protects your face and body. It is even enriched with a Activ’ Bronze Complex to ensure you tan evenly!
• Jack Black Sun Guard Ultra-Light Spray Sunscreen(SPF 25): All-Natural & Vegan and NO DEET! Made with Natural Citronella, Lemongrass and Spearmint. Another one that is made for men, but it’s too good that it should be shared!
• Peter Thomas Roth Continuous Sunscreen Mist (SPF 30): Made for this face and body and a true delight as it has vitamin E to protect the skin.

What it is: Make up cleaners come in all shapes and sizes to essentially do the same thing of cleaning your make up brushes. You have your spray cleaner that can temporarily clean away your make up (great for when you’re on the go or sharing your brush with a friend in need). There are foamy or gel shampoo types that wash your brush and take a day or so to completely dry out your brush. Then we have the wipes that look like face or baby wipes that work much like the sprays.

Recessionista Substitutes for Make Up Brush Cleaners, Conditioners…

• The Wipes: Use what you have! If you like cleaning your make up brushes with make up brush specific wipes, then keep on trucking. Using your facial wipes and/or baby wipes to do the same trick.
• The Spray: Honestly, we really don’t know how this stuff actually cleans anything. But a good do-it-yourself (DIY) substitute is adding water in a spray bottle with a sprinkle of Tea Tree oil. The smell will be potent as Tea Trea oil  has a very unique smell. But adding it is simply marvelous as Tea Tree oil works as a great antiseptic so it is a great thing to include in your first aid kit, medicine cabinet, cleaning cupboard….
• The Gel-Type, Foaming-Up Cleaners: This stuff is wonderful if you decide to buy it especially made for cleaning Make Up brushes. However, we ask you this….why can’t you just use a facial cleanser or shampoo? We say, YOU CAN use facial cleanser and/or shampoo and stretch that dollar by not wasting it on Make Up Brush Cleaner!
• Make Up Brush Conditioner: Some make up brushes are so delicate that they need conditioner to help preserve their longevity. Our recessionista tip is to just use your own hair conditioner.

VOILA pretty penny saved and mission accomplished (for us that is). Toodles until next time!

We’ve usually get a high frequency of emails and phone calls from customers regarding Highly-Demanded products that are out of stock. Or if you ever notice your favorite make-up item is out-of-stock or just plain ol’ missing, please feel free to shoot us an email or give us a ring on the phone. We truly love the efforts of communication our clients and customers provide and thoroughly encourage.

When the unfortunate occurs and we run out of stock of a product, we reorder it and try to have it back in stock within days. Sometimes the manufacturer is back-ordered (meaning their supply in their warehouse is out and they are waiting for more to be made). In the midst of all the waiting, we try to inform you as soon as possible and as often as possible of any updates on the product’s status.

And when we have an out-of-stock item or product that is back in-stock, we will let you know via personal email, phone call, blog, Twitter Tweet and/or Facebook update. 

As always, feel free to let us know how we can improve this process (or any other of our processes) to improve your shopping experience.

On that note, HAPPY SHOPPING!

That then begged the question of “SO WHAT?” and “Why are there so many Mineral Veils?”
And now we give you the low down…

Mineral Veil
Also known as: The Original Mineral Veil
Color: Colorless and completely sheer
Benefits and Use: Like all mineral make-up, this versatile one can be worn alone to help control oily skin or to prime other make-up and/or skin-care that you are applying.

Tinted Mineral Veil
Also known as: Tinted Mineral Veil
Color: Almost sheer with a bronze tint (a blend of Warmth all-over face color and the Original Mineral Veil)
Benefits and Use: Adds an extra added level of depth to your skin and can be worn alone (used as foundation) or used to create a fake tan! Perfect to apply when you are in-between foundation colors, too.

Illuminating Mineral Veil:
Also known as: Feather Light Mineral Veil
Color: Colorless and completely sheer with a slight glimmer that leaves your skin with a luminous glow.
Benefits and Use: The ultimate make-up highlighter that goes on very super fine, leaving your skin looking natural with a matte finish and provides long-lasting coverage.

NEW Hydrating Mineral Veil
Also known as: Hydrating Mineral Veil
Color: Colorless and completely sheer.
Benefits and Use: A mineral veil that also hydrates your skin through it’s unique water-based formula. We are not huge fans of this newbie (yet) as we’ve heard mixed reviews about this product. Some love it and some who don’t say it has a weird sticky feeling. Your thoughts?