The Great Debate

There seems to be a generational lipstick/lip gloss gap.  I'm pretty sure anyone over the age of 30 refuses to wear lip gloss, and anyone under the age of 30 refuses to wear lip stick everyday.  My mom thinks gloss is too sticky and too shiny, and I think lipstick is too heavy for everyday use.  ILIA Pure Lip Care has addressed this concern with a "Lip Conditioner."  ILIA has the feel of a lipstick but moisturizes like a balm and goes on smooth like gloss.  It comes in a variety of colors, but my favorite is Arabian Nights, a berry shade that is surprisingly wearable due to the fact that it's a tint and not a lipstick.  My mom's favorite is Nobody's Baby, a light pink that she can wear everyday.  They all go on very different than standard lipstick, and I would highly suggest ordering at least one, even if it's just to try it.

Perfume Leather Jacket

At first glance it's pretty difficult to believe that the packaging above from CoSTUME NATIONAL comes from a company with a website like this.  The clean, black bottle with the sans-serif font looks pretty fancy (dare I say corporate?) at first, but after you smell the inside, you realize that it's no flair, stripped-down, every-great-think-about-punk-rock-in-a-bottle.  Stronger than almost any other perfume I've tried (barring the overly floral ones that make me smell suspiciously like my grandmother), CoSTUME NATIONAL SCENT INTENSE really deserves its CAPS LOCK lettering and claim to being "a punk rock no-holds-barred amber and woods beast".  I put it on.  It smelled great.  It lasted all day.  It's my new leather jacket of perfumes.

Mother's Day

The hardest person to shop for in my life is without a doubt my mother.  She's picky and seems to have everything she needs.  She's threatened to throw away any more knickknacks we buy her and owns almost everything from Sur La Table.  This Mother's Day I decided to buy her stuff she likes and has run out of or owns in a different color.  Here is a list of mom-approved things:

Top Row
1. Bliss Glamour Gloves - This is one of those presents that I end up buying two of because I just can't get enough of it!  They're especially nice if your mom does a lot of gardening in the summer.
2. ILIA Nobody's Baby - This is my mom's favorite lipstick because it's not really a lipstick, but a lip conditioner.  This shade is also sheer and perfect for everyday wear.
3. Beauty Blender - This is a nice addition to any gift basket.  It makes putting on foundation or tinted moisturizer so much easier and faster.
4. Lollia Calm Shea Butter Handcreme - My mom keeps this on her nightstand.

Bottom Row
1. Lollia In Love Sea Salt Sachet - Perfect gift of relaxation for after the Mother's Day festivities.
2. Mathias Paris Freezia/ Freesia Candle - My mom doesn't own this one yet, but I loved it enough for the both of us.  Seriously though, can you ever really go wrong with venetian-inspired hand blown glass?
3. Pevonia lumafirm Repair Cream Lift & Glow - Word on the street is that this is some pretty amazing stuff.  We gave samples to the hairdressers across the street and their clients started coming into the shop to buy it because they were so impressed!  Pevonia says that 100% of participants in a recent study were satisfied with the immediate lightening effect and felt their complexion looked uniformly smoother and visibly brighter, and I believe it!
4. Bliss Softening Socks -  These are the same deal as the Bliss Glamour Gloves, and I love them!  They're even more important to my mom in the summer because she wears sandals or goes barefoot most of the time.

Breakfast Club Bag

I love getting compliments.  I think it's why we buy half of the stuff we do.  Today I was complimented on my Jessica Kagan Cushman bag.  Since it was filled with all of my clothes for cycling later that day, I struck up a conversation and made a new friend.  I think that's what a good bag is all about.  That and being big enough to fit enough of your stuff in so you can pretend you're Allison Reynolds from the Breakfast Club.  I mean, you never know when you have to jam.

OK, I'm Sold

So I've been trying to apply liquid foundation for about five years now with mixed results.  I only wear it on special occasions (I wear either powder foundation or tinted moisturizer.) so it's always a little more difficult for me and takes a little longer to do than putting on mascara or everything else I do everyday.  (You definitely don't want to watch me put on fake eyelashes, people.  Seriously, they're my white whale.)  A lot of people have told me to put foundation on with my fingers, but it looks streaky and uneven. I ended up settling on sponges, but I find they're difficult to use near my nose.  I know half of you beauty geniuses are rolling your eyes like I'm one of those infomercial ladies who say things like, "Is your stove too difficult to use?" but it seriously took me an entire week to adjust to my new ghd flatiron.  Point being nothing is too easy for me in the world of beauty that I can't make it difficult.  I've had a beauty blender sitting in my drawer for a few weeks, but I had never had the chance to use it.  I bought Ellis Faas's Skin Veil, and I tried to apply it with my fingers.  My skin was so dry it sucked half of it up, and, not surprising, what was left was a blotchy mess.  I made a phone call to my beauty experts and they asked me if I was using moisturizer everyday and if I had tried my Beautyblender yet.  I said no, applied some moisturizer and tried the Beautyblender.  (All while I was on the phone I might add!)  It ended up working great!  I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to use, especially around the nose.  My moisturized skin also didn't suck up the makeup in the same way, allowing me to apply it more evenly.
My tips for easy liquid foundation application are:
1.) Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize
2.) Make sure you're using the right color (duh)
3.) Use an application method that works for you (for me it's the Beautyblender)

For the Bridesmaids

Shopping for bridesmaids can be just as difficult as shopping for a bride I'm told.  Having never been married I consulted some of my recently married friends, bridesmaids and Maids of Honor for their favorite gifts to give and receive.  A few of the brides I talked to said they gave their bridesmaids spa baskets by filling a bag (Jessica Kagan Cushman's "Don't Touch My Junk" Tote is perfect for your Annie and Helen.) with a certificate to a local spa, bubble bath, a candle, lip balm and moisturizing balm.  A bridesmaid said that she really appreciated a "Bridesmaid Pack" that the thoughtful bride created for the Vegas bachelorette party including sparkly glitter eyeshadow, fake eyelashes and everyone's favorite chick flick Bridesmaids.  One Maid of Honor said that her best friend gave all of her bridesmaids matching bracelets from Tiffany & Co.

For the Bachelorette

It seems like every spring a stack of wedding invitations arrives in the mail and even though finding wedding presents for the happy couple is as easy as buying some of the 5,000 towels they registered for, finding presents for the bride for the events leading up to the wedding can be difficult.  My friends who currently are or have recently been Maids of Honor or bridesmaids have found this task particularly daunting.  They felt obligated to bring the bride something for the bachelorette party.  Nothing major, but something small and authentic to show that they were thinking about her in addition to the boas and tiaras and Ke$ha amounts of glitter.  I thought, "What could be better than a bag of fun makeup goodies for a last hot night out?"  TokyoMilk Dark Lip Elixir not only goes with the red hot theme, but is Cherry Bourbon flavored and scented with notes of cherry brandy, whisky, aged wood and clove.  Scotch Naturals in Kiltlifter may be bad girl red, but you don't need to feel badly about buying it because it's non-toxic (it doesn't contain any of the chemicals found in traditional polish or the chemical smell) and eco-friendly.  You really can't go wrong with lashes named "Flair" for any kind of night out.  Also, I included a great mascara to wear under the fake lashes because it will make them look even better.  TokyoMilk Dead Sexy is perfect for a last hurrah because it lives up to its name, yet it's subtle enough to wear everyday.  (Seriously, I wear it almost everyday.)  And - drumroll please - the pièce de résistance is a Jessica Kagan Cushman bag.  I can't think of any tiara or boa that says "Do you have any idea who I am?" quite as well as this bag, and that's what the bachelorette party is all about, right?