Beauty Blog Link Love

Have you ever tried epilating? Well, now Rae has -- and she just loves her new Emjoi Emagine!

Vote NOW on what Makeup Series you'd like to see next on Betty Girl Makeup. Poll closes Friday, August 6th @ 11:59pm.

Jellyminx shows a summery golden pink look and features a surprise guest!

Kim Porter swatches products from the MAC In The Groove Collection to show you what it looks like on NC50 skin.

Krasey Beauty has exclusive swatches of the new Make Up For Ever Lab Shine Collection.

Rachel's been trying out new mineral makeup from Lily Lolo over at Queen of Turquoise.

Hot Beauty Health shares a list of the top 10 virtual hairstyle and makeover sites to try out a new look!

Musicalhouses makes Illamasqua's Beg blush wearable in her latest FOTD.

Find out everything about Summer 2010 makeup trends in the Makeup4All on-line beauty magazine.

Joeybunny over at the PinkSith blog tells us what worked and what didn't during her testing of Raw Minerals Makeup and Brushes.

Jolie Laide Girl gets all hot and bothered playing with the Urban Decay Naked Palette.

Check out what makes Guerlain's Meteorites Perles primer so special on Beauty Addict.

Fed up of struggling to access your new makeup? Yeah... Lipglossiping is, too!

Christelle from Beauty Crazed learns that multiple X's are not always inappropriate... sometimes they mean mascara!

I Heart Cosmetics has become totally obsessed with the Clarisonic.

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Retrodiva is giving away the brand new Sampar's Good Weekend Kit, a new travel-friendly kit for urban skin survival.

Win an Infiniti by Conair You Curl curling iron from Audrey Dao.

There's still time to enter the Summer Smooth Skin Giveaway at The Gloss Menagerie!

Got troublesome skin? Enter Hellcandy's skincare giveaway for the chance to win some B-Liv products!

Do you want a new traincase? CSN stores is giving one Spiced Beauty reader a $40 gift card!

The Naked Palette Makes Me Wanna Go Nekkid

When Urban Decay get it right, they get it really right. And this is one of those times that a product is just oh-so-good. For a start, it's fricking huge!!! It's about 7 inches long and 2 inches wide. It's in a brown velvet casing which feels pretty nice to touch, and the palette, despite it's cardboard interior, feels nice and resilient. It has a small mirror on the inside as well.

Yeah, yeah, get on with the colors, girl!! What are the colors like?

Urban Decay are not a brand known for their amazing neutrals - they usually leave that space to MAC and Bobbi Brown. However, the twelve colors they've put out in this are going to make you rethink that image.

Left to Right: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar

Virgin is a pale, slightly shimmery nude, in the same vein as MAC's Vanilla. It is smooth to apply and would work as a wash on your lids or a highlighter.

Sin is a permanent color that I've come across in Alice in Wonderland. It is up there as all-time most awesome Urban Decay shadow ever. It's a pinky-peach toned shimmery neutral, and incredibly versatile. Again, swatched nicely, with decent pigmentation.

Naked is a matte light brown - dirt brown I'd call it - but something more pleasant. Even though it's a matte, it swatches nicely, giving off a good, smooth color.

Sidecar is a shimmery light bronze. It actually has some glitter thrown in there, so for me I'd be a little more careful with using it, but it's not like Midnight Cowboy Rides Again or anything like that.

Left to Right: Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse

Buck is a matte mid-tone brown. It's good to swatch as well.

Half Baked has been in every Urban Decay palette I've ever bought. It's nice, but really? Okay, for the 12 people in the world who have never seen Half Baked, it's a rich, shimmery, golden bronze color. I will give UD credit - it is an incredibly pretty shade.

Smog is a darker bronze shimmery shade with yummy pay off. For those MAC dupers out there, this looks like a great dupe for Bronze if it was on your must have list.

Darkhorse is a coffee brown shimmery color flecked with coppery-bronze. This color was incredibly rich - gorgeous but go with a light hand!

Left to Right: Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

Toasted is like a darker version of Sin. It's a pinky-brown shimmer.

Hustle was the only one which gave me an uneven swatch. It's a purple-brown color with a slight shimmer.

Creep is a dark grey with a touch of glitter.

Gunmetal has also been in a couple of other palettes. It's a deep shimmery great with shimmer and some glitter. It can take up the color of base coats quite well and appear more pink toned or teal toned, depending on what it's playing with.

12 colors of awesomeness, I'm tell you. They all place nicely with each other, they can be dressed up, dressed down - I love it. The kit also comes with a mini Primer Potion (I have about 7 of those now!) and a Zero 24/7 pencil and a  Whiskey 24/7 pencil. I particularly loved how the pencil is double ended, because, although I have heaps of mini Zero's around my make up, I am always losing them because they are mini.

The palette retails at $44 and is available from ULTA Beauty, and Sephora. There's a lot of hype about this product, so grab it while you can!

Glamorize With Matte Eyes

That rhyme is not very good, is it? Sorry for that one! I put together this look recently while testing out some of the Elf Mineral Eye shadows I picked up during their 60% sale. I got a couple of matte colors, and while I was swatching they were very uneven and not at all nice. I haven't got a whole lot of experience with matte colors, but I have played with them enough to know that matte colors can sometimes play nasty in the swatching, but nice on the eyes. These ones turned out pretty nice after all. I was very surprised at how easy they blended out, and ended up with a 60s style look - a little more Twiggy than Mad Men though!

Eyes:
Base: Elf Shadow Primer
Lid: Elf Mineral Shadow in Innocent
Crease: Temptress
Crease: Seductive
Liner: Elf Liquid Liner

Elf Lip Shines Give Good Gloss

A couple of weeks ago ELF ran a 60% sale, and I was rather exuberant in taking part in this offer. I bought a lot of eyeshadows and lipglosses, reviews of which will be coming up over the next week. The first products that I'll be taking a look at are the Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF15.

For those unfamiliar with ELF, they are a drugstore / budget brand whose products are frequently versions of various high-end brands. The Super Glossy Lip Shine can most easily be compared to Lancome's Juicy Tubes. However, in the 10 years that Juicy Tubes have been on the market, multitides companies have brought out their own version, so I'm not going to get too worked up on the comparison here.

They come in a clear squeezy tube with an angled top for application, and packaging wise, it's fine. Nothing amazing, nothing terrible. I picked out 4 colors: Candlelight (a shimmery peach), Watermelon (a shimmery deep pink), Honey Do (a reddish coral jelly),  and Juiced Berry (a pink jelly). All of the glosses have a grape vanilla scent, which I found incredibly sweet and cloying unfortunately. They do have a slight stickiness to them, but they are not as sticky as MAC's Lipglasses. I found I got about 2-3 hours wear from these. They also have SPF 15 which is a nice extra.

Left to Right - Juiced Berry, Honey Do, Watermelon, Candlelight

Juiced Berry had the least color of the 4. As you can see from the swatch, there is barely any pigmentation, and it just showed up as a clear gloss on my lips.

Honey Do gave my lips a slightly rosier color, along with the high shine gloss.

Watermelon was my favorite of the bunch. It gave my lips a pink, slightly shimmery gloss. The shimmer was pretty subtle, and really just enhanced the shine more than anything else.

Candlelight was the most problematic of the 4. I had a hard time getting it to go on evenly for a start. Once I had a good application, the color sheered way down leaving a slightly shimmery, sheer, frosty finish, which was actually quite pretty. It didn't seem to give off as much shiny gloss as the others, perhapy because the shimmer is so high.

So, whats the final verdict on these? I actually like them. I think that at a $1 a go, having a couple of these in your purse is great. They don't have a lot of color to them, so if that's what you are looking for in a gloss you will be disappointed. For me they do pretty much what I'd expect, and I like them for it.

Summer Sunsets FOTD

This is my favorite look that I've done all summer I think. There's something about the golden eyes mimicking the gorgeous summer sun colors. I haven't used my Elf Candid Coral blush that often since I got it, and looking at these pictures, I really regret it. It's moving to the top of my blush pile rapidly!

Eyes
Goldmine all over
Cranberry inner crease
Amber Lights outer lid
Twinks outer crease

Face
Elf Candid Coral blush

Lips
MAC Ever Hip

New Super Product: Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream

I have been meaning to try the Make Up Forever Aqua Creams for a couple of months now, but for some reason have been managing, for the most part, to keep my credit card in my wallet and be strong with my purchasing instincts. However, it all got a bit too much for me and so I finally caved and went to Sephora on Sunday and picked up a pot. There are two types of Aqua Creams – ones that are suitable for eyes and cheeks, and ones that are suitable for cheeks and lips. After much, much deliberation, I picked out an eyes/cheeks pot in #16 – Pink Beige. When I swatched it in store, it appeared to be a pinky gold, but whenever I came home, it was much cooler than I had thought. Typical Sephora lighting. Honestly, that store kills me with its crowded aisles, manky testers, lack of product (stock I mean), and weird lighting. All is usually forgiven for its awesome returns policy and huge breadth of choice.

As I was a little disappointed when I tested the shade as it wasn’t quite what I had been expecting, I did not have particularly high hopes for this product. People, I was wrong. The color is really quite beautiful in a cool, shimmering, kind of way, which I can imagine looking fresh both in summer and winter. The cream has quite a thick consistency, so you should be careful with your brush when you pick it up in case you get too much. However, it applies like a gorgeous, rich, frosting and so, so smooth. I found it super easy to blend as well. The finish is not for the faint-hearted – these little pots pack a shimmer! I can imagine the brighter colors like aqua and teal might be quite hard to wear, but this pretty, shimmery cool pink was actually surprisingly neutral. I was really expecting it to make me look ill or strange, but instead got a pretty, shimmering bright effect. They can take a minute or two to set, and during this period the creams can feel a little tacky to the touch, but once they are set, they sit in place for hours and hours, although came off quite easily with my Neutrogena wipes. 

My particular pot is suitable for either eyes or cheeks. I did try it on my cheeks as well, but the shimmer is just too much for me to be comfortable wearing, to be honest, and if I want a wearable amount of shimmer, the color is incredibly sheer. The lips and cheeks colors look like they would be more suitable for multi-tasking to be honest.

I have heard of people getting addicted to collecting these little pots of goodness, and now that I’ve tried one, I can see why. They truly are little pots of magic. I’m already debating which colors to pick up next.

Sparkly Eyes During the Day

This is a super simple look that works for both day and night when you want something a little sparkly, but not over the top. I wear this quite a lot when I don't know what I want to wear! I think that everything in this look is super pretty, but nothing is too over the top. Okay, maybe the glittery eyeshadow is a little attention grabbing!

Eyes:
UD Sin
UD Stardust in midnight cowboy
Mascara: Maybelline Full N Soft

Face:

Tinted Moisturizer
MAC Ripe Peach

Lips
MAC Lipglass in Perenially High Style

Sorry about the weird photo - I really struggled to get one where I look vaguely normal. I even have one where I was mid sneeze. Gross. 

Beauty Blog Link Love

Have you tried Ellis Faas yet? Rae's reviewing a few of these super-luxe, super-chic products, starting with Ellis' Milky Lips line!

Armani Blushing Fabric Second Skin Blushers have caught Louise's eye.

No bruises here! Check out Maggie's soft pink and purple face of the day over at The Polka-Dotted Apple.

When do Lego's and cosmetics have something in common? When Jouer comes to town, that's when. Watch Jeweled Thumb act 5 and play with a recent haul!

Butter LONDON has some fabulous new nail shades for Autumn 2010 - come check them out on Lipglossiping!

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed gets up close and personal with the Burberry Beauty line!

Hell Candy attends the Edward Bess UK launch and is blown away by the beauty of everything (the make up AND the man!)

Jolie Laide Girl gets silky soft with Kiehls Lightweight Body Lotion.

Sarah from IHeartCosmetics shows you how to get rid of spots,simply and easily.

Dry skinned and on a budget? Eyelining thinks Boots may have a bargain solution!

Looking for a perfect red nail polish for summer? Take a look at Illamasqua's Alarm at Makeup4All.

Lipgloss86 conquers all fears and grabs for the epilator in a bid for fuzz free legs.

The Lip Print discovers the sweetest nail shades for spring and has a chat with Orly's Creative Director about what's hot for nails!

There’s a new mascara in town! Check out Tsahi’s review on Revlon’s new Luscious Grow Mascara.

Madame B Fatale talks about a product that supports a great cause!

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Be sure to enter Phyrra's Summer Giveaway! Two winners, great prizes, open worldwide!

It's Pink Diva Beauty's birthday and you receive the presents! Have you entered?

Ever wanted to try LA's Prtty Peaushun? Now you can - Beautywoome is giving it away this month!

Reviva Labs wants to protect and prettify you with their Summer Skincare Giveaway on Prime Beauty.

The Pink Sith is celebrating her second Blog Anniversary with a Purple and Silver giveaway!

L'Oreal Instant Bronze Self Tanner

It’s the time of year when we start to bare our winter skin to the general public. While I now live in New York, I grew up in Ireland, where sunshine was but something we experienced during our 2 week vacation in France or Spain in July, or this thing we saw on television. It didn’t actually happen in Ireland. Therefore I have pale skin, and almost blue legs! Even if staying out in the sun for months at a time wasn’t a huge cancer risk, it would barely make a dent in my milk bottle limbs. Therefore it’s important that I scope out some serious fake tan skills to make my legs palatable to the general public. I do admire those who are proud of their pale skin, and I also think that it can look gorgeous, but with my coloring and build, a little bit of color goes a very long way. 

I picked up L’Oreal’s instant Bronze Gel Sunless Tanner last year. It is a self-tan (or sunless tanner in the US) product that also has a bronze instant tint so you can wear it straight away. For me, the only thing that is good about the tint is that you can see where you have applied the gel. The color was a strange, sheer brown that clashed with my natural blue in a way that looked far away from sun and more like coffee stains. Plus, it has shimmer. I don’t want my legs to shimmer, glitter, or shine. I know this comes as a shock to many firms, but I want my fake tan products to look natural, and shimmer, pretty as it can be, is not natural. This drives me crazy! As it is a gel, I worked very quickly to apply it, as gels dry more quickly than lotions or creams. It did have a fake tan scent, which, when combined with the glitter, did not make me super comfortable about wearing the tint straight out in public. Oh, that and the weird color. So instead I put it on at night and let it dry. I think it probably took about 10 minutes before I felt comfortable walking around, and 30 minutes before I felt it was totally dry. I went to bed on white sheets and had no issue with color transferring to the sheets which was pretty good. 

So, what’s the color like? I think it’s pretty dark – at least 3 shades darker than my natural skintone. On my skintone it gives me a warm, buttery toast color (hmmm, that might be too much of a Brit reference!), similar to that of Amber Lights by MAC, but without the shimmer (once I’ve washed the gel tint off!). It’s not exactly the color that I go naturally, but it’s not a crazy orange color either. I would give the color a 7 out of 10 - definitely an improvement on my natural bright white, but not quite Caribbean glow.

Let's Have a Romance By Candelight

There's been a lot of talk about MAC's Mineral Skin Finishes with the recent launch of the In The Groove collection. I have to admit that I don't exactly see what the fuss is about. I have one, which I do love, but it doesn't make me rush out and buy more. Weird, no?

Anyway, I decided to build out this look around by only MSF, By Candlelight, which I picked up in the Warm and Cozy collection that came out late last year. It's a gorgeous pinky golden glow, strangely suitable for both summer and winter. I used a bunch of other Warm & Cozy products to put together a warm, neutral look. My husband's reaction was, "ooooh! you look so pretty. You should do that all the time!". I think that's a good thing.


All products MAC unless otherwise stated:

Eyes:
Base: Elf Shadow Primer
Base: MAC Shadestick in Nurture
Inner lid and highlight: Camomile
Middle Lid: Expensive Pink
Outer Lid: Modellete
Crease: A Little Folie
Liner: UD Lucky

Face:
Smashbox Primer
Tinted moisturizer mix
MAC MSF in By Candlelight

Lips
Perfectly Unordinary

Pop of Teal EOTD

A pop of color on the upper or lower lid is one of my all time looks. It's easy, fun, and not so over the top that you feel self-conscious wearing it.

All products MAC unless otherwise stated:

Base: Elf Shadow Primer
Lid All Over: Ricepaper
Liner: Urban Decay Cover Liner
Shadow Over liner: Gorgeous Gold
Mascara: Maybelline Falsies

Beauty Skills or Lack of Them ....

I am absolutely all about celebrating beauty in all forms, and making the most of who you are. Jolie Laide even means “unconventional beauty”. However, I’m also all about being honest, and today I’ve decided to write about the things that I find difficult in the world of making myself look amazing and gorgeous, or at least playing around with my look. I’m sure there are part of the beauty world which either freak you out, you try and just can’t do, or you just cannot get your head around.

1.       My eyebrows!!! Ohmigoodness my eyebrows. They are troublesome children for sure. Generally bushy and shapeless, and frequently taking on a life of their own. I do go and get my brows shaped reasonably regularly at Anastasia, and then they look good for an afternoon. But even the next day – right back to their (slightly less) furry caterpillar selves! I do a very average job of evening them out with Elf’s Brow Kit, but no one is ever going to heart my brows. I do not know why, I just cannot get take control of them!  I could go to Anastasia every 2 weeks to keep them closely in check, but I don’t want to dish $34 plus tips for that! Instead, I’ve just come to terms with my misbehaving brows!

Example of my bushy brows!!

2.       Sunless Tanner. You know what? I think every single girl has had numerous sunless tanner accidents. I am far too much of a scaredy cat to let it near my face (or at least, not without the guidance of a professional!), but try to do my legs once a week. Every so often the next morning I’ll catch a glimpse of the underside of my arm during yoga to see a random orange splodge. Or, like last week, when I was in a rush and did it straight after the shower and then my wet hair dripped onto my legs and now I have random lines down my tan. Or the almost inevitable orange smudges around my ankles and the tops of my thighs. Yep, whatever fake tan disaster exists out there, I’m pretty much sure to have encountered it. Right now I am using L’Oreal’s Instant Bronze Tint and Tanner, which, despite the above issues which are really all about me and less about the product, I’m a big fan of. Still, the perfect tan really is the holy grail, so if you can suggest something that is idiot proof, I’m all ears.

3.       Tightlining. Even the thought of it gives me heebie jeebies. It looks amazing. I wish I could do it. Every so often I try. Then my skin gets all itchy crawly and I have to stop and revert to my tight-lining lite approach of lining the very base of the lashes. Not as effective. But doesn’t make my skin crawl.

4.       False eyelashes. Okay, I’m not going to lie here. I haven’t even tried. But glue? Eyelashes? EEEEEEK!!!!! And then I worry about them coming unglued when I have had a few too many cocktails and people laughing at my because it looks like I have a spider crawling down my face. Paranoid much? 

5.       Contouring. I’ve never really done much research into this. Maybe I’ll put it on my summer “to do” list. Learn to contour and give my round little face cheekbones.

I guess there’s a real worry here that as I post this list of things I am completely mystified by, I end up losing my blogger credibility. I hope not. By publicizing that there are things I am not good at. Maybe this list will force me to learn, and I’ll share the ups and downs with my lovely, lovely readers. Apart from tightlining most likely. I probably won’t be able to get around that feeling!

Blue and Green Eye Look

Aaaah!! I really tried to get the photos right for this one, and I don't know why, but I just couldn't. It was much fresher than this!

All products Urban Decay unless otherwise stated
Eyes:
Base: UDPP in Sin
Inner Lid: Polyester Bride
Middle Lid: Maui Wowie
Outer Lid: Home Grown
Crease: Painkiller
Highlight: MAC Shroom
Mascara: Maybelline Full N Soft

Face:
Korres Rose Primer
MAC Blush: Ripe Peach

Lips:
Nothing

Saving Money Online With Ebates.com

Despite the fact that I live in one of the great shopping meccas of the world, I am a huge fan of online shopping. Part of it is a control issue, in that I won’t be quite as tempted to go and wander around Sephora and Intermix trying things I didn’t know I wanted, and another significant part of it is convenience. I order something, and 3 days later I have it, without having had to deal with crowds of people. There is obviously nothing nicer than wandering around a nice air-conditioned store (can you tell we’re baking here in the city?!), touching and trying things on, but for sheer convenience, online has it every time for me.

About 9 months ago, I was introduced to www.ebates.com which basically pays you to shop! Ebates gives you cashback for shopping at their affiliated partners, and their affiliated partners are just about everyone you would already be shopping with. I have earned between 4 and 8% back on my drugstore.com, beauty.com, sephora.com, and other major websites like shopbop.com, gap.com, and the like. Almost everybody who I was already going to shop with, I have found as a partner with Ebates. Every quarter, I get a nice check (for somewhere between $30 and $50) for shopping online – for basically making purchases that I was going to be making already. It’s like money for nothing! It even gives me money for things like Travelocity and Expedia where you can end up spending a lot, so it does really add up.

Clicking here will sign you up for ebates. I will be completely honest – for anyone I refer, I get rewarded from ebates, but even if I didn’t, you should still sign up. Money for nothing is no bad thing.

Summer Lip Favorites Part 4

The final installment!!! And really, my absolute favorites - my glossy gold and corals. These colors lift up anyone's face and really make for the most perfect summer look.

From right to left: Liberated, Silly Girl, Gold Dust, Flurry of Fun Kumquat, Perennial High Style

1. Liberated came out in last summer's Style Warriors. It's a sheer yellow. It might look a little scary in the tube, but it acts more like a neutral on pigmented lips, providing a gorgeous, bright glow.

2. Silly Girl came as part of the Holiday 2009 sets. It's a classic bright coral with shimmer. It's quite sheer, so can either be worn alone or layered with other colors.

3. Gold Dust is from Spring Color Forecast. TRACK THIS COLOR DOWN!! Oh, I love it! It is a gorgeous rich gold, making my lips so golden and rich. Luscious.

4. Flurry of Fun is from To The Beach. It's a similar color to Silly Girl, but the glitter is much bigger, brighter, sparklier, and also a contrasting blue/purple in tone. A fun summer color. Not one for the board room.

5. Kumquat is a rich, pigmented bright coral gloss. It has some shimmer, but it's main feature is packing a coral punch. Bright and gorgeous.

6. Perennial High Style is really more pink than coral. It's an amazingly flattering shade, and so simple to wear. This is a simple, no fail look. It's a color that I never need to think about when I put it on - it just works, ya know?

So, there we have. 21 glosses and lipsticks later, my entire summer lips collection. I'm sure I left one of your favorites out! Hit me up in the comments and let me know what you think.

YogaWorks For Me

Today’s post is a little bit out there in terms of what normally goes on a beauty site, but I am a firm believer in mind, body, and self being beautiful, and right now, I’m getting that kick through one of my latest obsessions: yoga.

I am such a late starter when it comes to yoga. In all my 28yrs, and worldly travels, I really only started it a couple of months ago, when I randomly decided to try it out after reading an article in the NY Times called the Yoga Manifesto. It was one of the comments in the sections that really spoke to me. It basically was that you are the most important person in the yoga studio, and the most important thing to do in the yoga studio is simply be. It doesn’t matter if you can’t touch your hands the floor, or if your downward dog is more like an arthritic pug than a graceful whippet, but simply turning up, and focusing, is enough. If you think about it, that is incredibly powerful, and yet, takes away all the fear and trepidation a yoga newbie might feel. Simply be.

It is with this mantra that I approach each class with. There are some things I am good at (my upward dog is pretty damn good), and some I am not (anything requiring flexibility, standing on one leg, balance etc), but every single time I go to class, I can feel myself slow down, focus on the moment, focus on my body, my breathing, and simply try. In each class, I can feel myself growing taller, stronger, longer, leaner. I can feel my back strengthen, and the tension in my shoulders release. I can feel my legs literally become straighter, and my balance improve. Some days are good, and some not. Some classes are harder (my Thursday night sessions is a beginner intermediate rather than standard beginner, and it is haaard, but I keep going to push myself), and some easier. Some days will be more rewarding than others. But everytime I go, my body and my mind thank myself for taking me to class and focus my mind on doing something good for my body, even just for an hour.

I go to yogaworks, who have studios in California and New York. They have a range of classes and levels, depending on your ability. I am a solid beginner, and the beginner classes are focused on getting the form and structure of each pose right, now just in the pose, but getting in and out of the pose. YogaWorks focuses working through a number of related poses to build up your capabilities and YogaBlend has more emphasis on moving between poses at a greater speed. YogaBlend definitely gets your heart racing as you move between downward dogs planks, upward dogs, and the like. The instructors are clear in their instructions and offer many modifications for both easier and harder versions of the pose, and although the classes are graded by ability, there is usually a couple of people on each end of the scale. By the end of the class, I’m always feeling challenged and like I’ve worked my body in a very good, beneficial way.

If you had asked me 6mths ago about what I thought of yoga, I would have written it off as a thing that women with too much time on their hands and an excess of flexibility do. Now, it’s become a part of my regular routine and I literally count the hours until I get a chance to stretch back out on my mat and challenge my body and my mind again.

Guess what? You too can experience the benefit of Yoga Works. Leave your email in the comments and I’ll send you a voucher for a week of free yoga.

Summer Lip Favorites Part 3

I know - quite the saga, this whole summer lip favorites series! I hope you guys had an excellent July 4th weekend (I went to Cape Cod, and this is actually written before and post-dated). Anyway, onto the shiny shiny lip colors!!!

This post is actually all about my favorite lipsticks that evoke that hot, summer sun feeling.

From l-r we have Beachbound, Ever Hip, Fresh Salmon, Sandy B, and Victorian. All MAC

As you can see, I'm a major sucker for the recent limited edition lipsticks!!!

1. Beachbound Glaze came out in the recent MAC To The Beach collection. It's an incredibly sheer, shimmery gold-bronze-melon color. It adds a touch of golden shimmer to your lips without much color. It's an effect that needs some getting used to, and is not super over the top. 
2. Ever Hip is a fabulous pink-coral that came out in the Liberty of London collection. Amazing on it's own, but so not overwhelming you can't wear other make up as well. 
3. Fresh Salmon came out with Spring Color Forecast. It's pretty similar to Ever Hip, I must admit. A sweet, pinky coral that brightens up your face no end!
4. Sandy B - the only permanent color I've included here. It's a shimmer, sheer, bronze that is easy to wear to the beach or cocktails. I don't think that this color gets enough love, to be honest. 
5. Victorian - maybe my favorite color that MAC has brought out this year! It's pink, with gold shimmer and orange undertones, giving an almost duochrome effect. The epitome of fun and flirty. Delicious. 

Any pinks I've missed? 

Beauty Blog Link Love

Rae has a sneek peek (with swatches and reviews!) of The Body Shop's fall collection over at theNotice.

Phyrra compares ten eye shadow primers. Find out which ones are her favorites!

The Pink Sith performs a public service by warning you about the new Sephora: Kat Von D High Voltage Eye Primer.

Jellyminx creates a pictorial showing the look she wore in her first "live" Youtube video.

Hot Beauty Health shares a simple trick for soft and beautiful feet in 4 easy steps!

LilBiuty shares her first colorful look using only Sugarpill makeup!

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed wonders if there are any sweeter words then "Limited Edition Dior"!

Kim Porter shares advice given directly from celebrity MUA Sam Fine on how to become a makeup artist.

Retrodiva has discovered a great new hair treatment by Brazilian Blowout that she is anxious to try. Best part? No hair downtime!

See what Madame B Fatale thinks about Clarins Everlasting Foundation.

No need to struggle with frizz. Lipgloss86 has the perfect product to sort you out.

Glitter Geek has MAC alice + olivia on her mind with this turquoise and purple look. So. much. fun!

Pretty, Pink and Sparkly? Yes, please! The Lip Print discovers a new favourite gloss

The Gloss Menagerie urges you to say NO to uni-taskers with Cover FX primers!

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Summer Lip Favorites Part 2

Yesterday I showed you some of my favorite bright lip colors. Now I'm showcasing my softer pinks. I get that these pinks might usually be more associated with Spring, but sometimes I just want something light and sheer and pretty in summer, and these are my go-to grabs for those days.

So, from left to right we have Elf Lip Shine in Pink Kiss, MAC Dazzleglass in Perfectly Unordinary, and MAC Lip Glass in Virgin Kiss.

1. Elf Lip Shine in Pink Kiss - this lipgloss feels slightly tacky and has a sweet scent. It's a sheer, slightly milky pink with silver shimmer. At only a buck, I think that this gloss is a great deal, as it's the sort of color everyone needs at least one of.

2. MAC Dazzleglass in Perfectly Unordinary - gorgeously pretty pink, gold sparkly shimmer - what is there not to love? Apart from MAC do come out with this shade ALL THE TIME!!! It does have a slightly gritty feel to it which isn't wonderful, but it's worth it for the pretty pretty shine.

3. MAC Lip Glass in Virgin Kiss - this came out in the Rose Romance collection last summer. Confession - I wore this at my wedding, so it will always have a special place in my heart. Apart from that, I think it's a gorgeous, cool, shimmery, baby pink. Again, a classic that's always going to make you feel pretty.

Any simple, pretty pinks I've left out or should try?