skinDEEP

GLITZ & GLAM AT THE GLOBES

Award show season has finally begun! It’s time for the stars to bring their A game for the red carpet. Honestly, who really cares about the actual award show? My favorite part is watching the pre-show and seeing what stars are wearing and who they are with. If you follow my tweets (couldn’t stop tweeting during the show!), you would know that I had some pretty strong opinions on the stars choices of the night. 

Some not so favs:

• Sarah Michelle Gellar: I’m not down for that fluffy/swirly prom dress look.
• Emma Stone: I know people loved it but eh…
• Freida Pinto: The hair, the makeup, and even the Prada (yes, I said it!) wasn’t impressive. Seriously, I really really want to root for her, but she makes it so hard sometimes. I’m waiting for the day she wow’s me on the red carpet!

Some favs:

• Paula Patton: I loved the yellow on her skin, but I think I just love HER so anything she wears is automatically perfect.
• Sofia Vergara: Vera+ Sofia= masterpiece
• Mila Kunis and Charlize Theron: J’adore Dior..enough said!

The stars above definitely impressed, but there were two show stoppers of the night that I have to highlight. They literally took my breath away. Here they are: 

ANGELINA JOLIE

Not many people can pull off that high of a slit and still look like pure class. The red accent on her Atelier Versace dress went perfectly with her crimson Christian Louboutin clutch and scarlet lip color. Her skin looked like porcelain, and I love the way she did her top eye liner. It was just the perfect amount to keep the focus on her plump lips. She went simplistic with Lorrain Schwartz jewelry, well that is, if you count 25 carat earrings and a 12 carat ring as simple…

BTW, did anyone else notice how Lorrain Schwartz was the clear celeb favorite of the night? I felt like every other person on the red carpet was wearing her jewelry this year. 

LEA MICHELE

I hate to admit this because I think this girl is so ridiculous on a red carpet with her posing. I’ve never seen a celeb scold, pucker, and swing as much as her, but I have to give credit where credit lies. Lea Michele killed it in this Marchesa dress. It’s so different and bold, but at the same time so elegant. Her hair and makeup definitely topped off the look. By putting her hair up, we were able to focus on the beauty of the dress and her stunning makeup. Love the contouring, love the smouldering eyes, and love love love the nude lips. Shout out to fab Lancome makeup artist Melanie for a job well done!

P.S I’m really annoyed that Kim Kardashian and I have the same two favorites of the night. Really Kim, couldn’t you have picked any other two people to love?! Click here to see Kim talking about her thoughts on being called out during the monologue of the award show and why Angelina and Lea Michele were also her favorites. 

Who were YOUR Golden Globe favs? Do you have the same ones as me?

OVERRATED VS. UNDERRATED: MASCARA EDITION

Being the makeup addict that I am, I have tried all sorts department store and drug store mascaras. I am def a sucker for a good marketing campaign.  L’Oreal Paris, CoverGirl, and Revlon have some great commercials and brand ambassadors that draw me to their product (I wonder if the celebs endorsing the products actually use them?). I’m also a sucker for glam packaging which most of the luxury mascaras dominate over the cheapo mascaras (YSL, how are you SO beautiful?). 

Although ads and packaging are fun and great, a mascaras quality is what truly matters. Everyone is generally looking for a mascara that 1)thickens 2)lengthens and 3)curls their lashes. Here is just a few I’ve tried and my thoughts:

• Clinique High Impact Mascara- The formula was WAY too dry for me.
• Maybelline Falsie- It clumps my lashes together and hard to get off.
• Maybelline Great Lash- This mascara is always in magazines as a celeb/beautician fav. and is also super affordable.
• MAC Zoom Fast Black Lash- You would think for a brand that was known to be dramatic, they would produce one quality mascara!
• L’Oreal Paris Voluminous- It used to be my fav. but I realized it clumped my lashes more than making them voluminous.
• Revlon Grow Luscious Waterproof- I am NOT a fan of waterproof mascaras.
• YSL Volume Effect Faux Cils- What perfect packaging right? The whole idea behind this mascara is the “fake lash” look but doesn’t do much for thickening of lashes and focuses on lengthening. I think it is way too expensive too!
• Urban Decay Big Fatty Mascara- I tried it because a friend suggested it and didn’t think it gave me length or volume. All this mascara gave me was a headache because it wore off super fast!
• Lancome Hypnose-I’m a fan because it makes my lashes look even longer than they already are, but for the price? No thanks.
• Lancome Definicils-It separates lashes well, but I would use Hypnose before Definicil.

Everyone reacts to mascaras in different ways depending on the type of lashes they have. That being said, I think it’s important to describe my lash type before sharing my picks for most overrated and underrated products. I have long, thin lashes so when I am in search of a mascara I look for one that will make my lashes more voluminous. It’s important to pick a mascara that caters to YOUR individual lash needs and NOT just by what your friend or favorite celeb wears for the best results. 

OVERRATED: DIORSHOW BY CHRISTIAN DIOR

It’s not that I don’t think this is a good mascara, it’s just that I don’t think it is worth the price. DiorShow is more about showing off the Christian Dior brand name than anything. Also, the mascara dried out fairly quick within the tube (so annoying). Although this mascara doesn’t flake or smudge, I find it useless for lash thickening. All in all, this product has been way too hyped up by magazines and the world. I just don’t get/agree with the obsession. 

UNDERRATED: LASH BLAST BY COVERGIRL

Not in a million years did I think that I would find my fav. mascara from my local CVS. CoverGirl Lash Blast mascara perfectly separates my lashes, thickens them, and gives just the right amount of curl. It is SUPER affordable and doesn’t dry up easily. The formula is wet but not runny at the same time. It doesn’t smudge and is not a pain to get off. For those of you who have the same issue as me and need a mascara that will thicken your lashes without leaving any sort of clump, this is the one! P.S I’m not a fan of the waterproof version because it is much harder to get off. If you are trying this product for the first time, make sure to get the original one (NOT the waterproof) and see if it meets your needs.

COMING SOON: 5 MUST-KNOW TIPS WHEN APPLYING YOUR MASCARA

What mascara works for YOUR lash type? 

NUDE LIPS: THE SAFE, SEXY WAY

Everyone has that lip color that they love and usually resort to when nothing else looks right. It’s that color that makes you feel confident and ready for a night on the town. My go to lip color is the neutral look with a little gloss. It goes with every outfit and compliments heavy eye makeup well. My routine is usually to do a nude lip stick and top it off with a gloss. **BEAUTY TIP** For those of you who usually just put on a little gloss before going out, I recommend you try this out! It brings the right amount of attention to the lips and accents the rest of the face well. Here is my usual lip routine:

1. Pick my favorite neutral lipstick color: Lancome Color Design Pale Lip
2. Apply from left to right on both bottom and top lip. 
3. Pick my favorite neutral lip gloss color: MAC Florabundance A80
4. Apply to the middle of bottom lip and dab lips together spreading the gloss evenly across both the bottom and top lip. This allows the gloss to feel goopy on your lips (especially important for MAC glosses because they are so thick).                                 

LIPSTICK: I’ve been through several MAC VIVA Glam shades, and they work great too! I wanted to experiment so I tried out a new brand, and there was  something about the pigmentation of the Lancome Color Design that I loved. I don’t like using shiny or shimmery lipsticks; I believe that is the job of the gloss (not really a fan of glitter on lips anyways). The lipstick should just provide a base coat and be matte. 

LIP GLOSS: What I love about the MAC lip gloss is how thick it is. You only have to use a little bit and it goes a long way. It stays on a long time too! The annoying thing about lip gloss is that we all want to take it with us when we go out. When we look in our purse the next morning, it’s usually gone. I hate when that happens after spending almost 20 bucks on a lip gloss. That is why I’ve learned to take a cheapo lip gloss out with me. I know the idea sounds annoying because you don’t feel like it gives the same impact as the MAC gloss, but I really think it’s the smart thing to do (after losing 10 too many). My favorite cheapo lip gloss is L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Soft Nude. It comes on very light compared to the MAC lip gloss but the color matches PERFECTLY with the Lancome lipstick I use. 

Favorite celebs rocking the nude lip color. You can see how the nude lip adds the perfect shine but brings the attention to other features of the face (like the eyes)!

SIDE NOTE: Instructional videos coming soon!

What’s YOUR go to lip color?