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Archive for May, 2008

Weekly Beauty Read 5/31/08

By on May 31, 2008
in Weekly Beauty Read with 2 Comments

Here you go my lovelies, the best reads of the week from my pals at the Beauty Blog Network

The faux tan has never been easier – The Daily Cookie finds a fool-proof self-tanner she loves!
Bionic Beauty found freebies just for you! Including Aveda skincare, Gillette body wash, and TiGi haircare.

A Touch of Blusher presents Lilting Lilac Part 2.

Beauty Anonymous is loving the Foot Relief Cream and Body Exfoliator from Belli!

Christine, from Beauty in Real Life, let’s you in on the brilliance that is Max Factor’s Colorgenius Pressed Powder…it’s amazing.

The Muse gives you the lowdown on Stila Kitten Silk Eyeshadow Wash and Stila Kitten Silk Shimmer Gloss!

Raging Rouge discovers an easy way to shiny hair, and it’s chemical-free!

makeup loves me gives you the secrets behind sjp’s look in this weekend’s most anticipated release, sex & the city: the movie.

Beauty Blogging Junkie gives you the scoop on Denise Richard’s fave makeup items she’s been rocking on her new show, It’s Complicated.

StyleBell shows how you can get fantastic super sexy summer hair . Get ready for the summer!
Makeup Moxie agonizes over her MAC Tendertone Lip Balm.

It’s beauty on a budget at Girl Gloss, with skin swatches and a review of two great Sonia Kashuk sheer lipcolor and gloss duos!

Would you like those fine lines to disappear?The Makeup Divas tells you how you can wipe away the years with this new skincare line.

Sci-Fi goddess! Check out our newest member Roselyn from Makeup Makes Me Happy as she does a gorgeous tutorial featuring the latest Neo Sci-Fi collection from M.A.C. that she has been raving about!

Toya at “The Life of A Ladybug” continues in her search for the best “Bronzers for Brown Girls!” In this edition, the Sephora Bronzing Essentials Kit!

Kitiya from Mischo Beauty shares a lesson on serums in her “Mischo Beauty School: Serums 101” post!

It’s time to update your summer makeup and Beauty411 shares the details on the new Bobbi Brown Bronzed Pink Collection. You won’t be able to resist!

Getting married and looking for your wedding day fragrance? Glossypink found one you’ll adore!

How does Fergie keep her tresses in top form while on tour? Here’s a hint…it involves PAM Cooking Spray. Visit Spoiled Pretty for the answer!

Face Candy looks at the new beauty products from Korres.

Pursebuzz.com shows you how to create a super simple French Twist in 6 minutes. All you need are bobby pins and a mirror :P Perfect for everyday, weddings and those special events.

Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog shows you how to create a purple smokey eye using pigments from MAC Cosmetics.

Beauty Banter reveals the very best BRONZERS for summer face!

You could be one of All Lacquered Up’s THIRTY winners in the Estee Lauder Pearls of Light Giveaway.

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic shows you what to do for your sunburn.

My LA LA Land Adventure: Recap

By on May 30, 2008
in News with 9 Comments

I told you that I was heading to sunny Los Angeles for a beauty blogging summit hosted by Total Beauty. Well, if you’ve been dying to know what I was up to I’ll be sharing more details over the next week but here’s a little recap of my 5-day weekend adventure.

Thursday
Land at LAX and get hit in the face with furnace-like heat. Quite a change from the 40 degree gloom I left in the land of Cleves. Grab my rental car and have first experience with LA traffic. Seriously, don’t these people work during the day? Traffic starts at 2pm? WTF people! Thank you Garmin for getting me through it.

The trek to Santa Monica to have lunch with friends takes 45 minutes longer than it should have. Have a lame celeb sighting, Clay “The Gaykin” Aiken, experience Yummy Cupcakes (delish) and browse the 3rd Street Promenade. Check into the gorgeous Ayres hotel and take a a few moments to breathe before the madness begins.

Get an amazing scalp massage (from Nelson Chan himself), conditioning treatment and manicure at the Nelson J Salon in Beverly Hills. Hang out and chat with fellow bloggers and Total Beauty staff while having my hair blown out to perfection. Seriously, getting my nails and hair done at the same time makes me feel like a total diva. I’m so getting a glam squad when I win the lottery.

Grab a late dinner and drinks with BBN founder Elke and bloggers Ellen and Nancy.

Friday
The LA Beauty Tour organized by Total Beauty. Stops include the Kate Somerville Skin Clinic, the L’Oreal Paris Store in the Beverly Center, a visit with eyebrow expert Anastasia and last but not least a tour of the Murad Inclusive Health Center and Medical Spa. Make a pit stop at the Total Beauty offices for lunch, a hair and makeup touch up for our professional head shots and a look at the Total Beauty Beauty Closet.

Recharge and change shoes (heels were a BAD call) before heading to a cocktail party at the Intelligent Beauty offices. First sight – dancers in shadow boxes and a fully stocked bar (in their offices).

Grab dinner in Manhattan Beach with Jamie (my roomie), Jeanne, Lilan and Paul (pictured right with Tammy and Anne). Lilan is sent to snag “the boy” since we’re all so fascinated by the idea of a male beauty blogger. Turns out he’s wizard smart about all the tech stuff yet still has a grasp on the beauty world (sorry girls, he’s got a girlfriend). Head back to the hotel with Jamie and contemplate scaling the pool fence and jumping in fully clothed. Security cameras and good judgement intervene.

Saturday
Total Beauty Summit hosted by Intelligent Beauty. An all day extravaganza including guest speakers from SENSA, RAW Natural Minerals, Kronos Haircare, iQDerma, Redpoint Cosmetics and Lisa Hoffman Skincare. Healthy Child Healthy World makes a special presentation including a donation from Total Beauty. Attend different panels and breakout sessions geared at beauty blogging throughout the day.

Run to In-N-Out burger to see what the fuss is about. My “ketchup n pickle only” burger eating self wasn’t uber-impressed. Sorry I like Wendys, judge me! Head back to the Ayres for a BBN cocktail party on the second floor veranda. Take off with Jamie, Jeanne and Lilan for the Sunset Strip to meet up with Jamie’s high school/college buddies. Drink an El Compadre flaming margarita and scarf down their fabulously spicy salsa.

Sunday
Sleep in (finally!), eat brunch with my fellow bloggers and attend more blogger workshops. Head off to an interview with a celebrity manicurist (coming soon), grab Jamie for some much needed pampering at the Bliss Spa in the W Hotel, meet up with friends for dinner at Houston’s in Santa Monica and walk the pier. Then comes the fun task of trying to figure out how to stuff everything back in my bags. I HATE luggage weight restrictions and paying for extra bags but it’s a necessary evil.

Monday
Drop Jamie at the airport (so sad!) and scoot on over to El Segundo for brunch with the team from China Glaze. Eat yummy apple stuffed pancakes at Marmalade Cafe while chatting about all things polish. Drop my jaw at the most incredible, gorgeous, stunning nail polish I’ve ever seen and clutch on to it for dear life (you’ll see it soon).

Stop at the MAC store and pick up Love Alert Dazzleglass and Lollipop Loving lipstick (can you believe they still had it!!) before returning my rental and flying back home. Luck out with an empty seat next to me and random celeb sighting, Chrissie Hynde. Plant hugs and kisses on The Boyfriend and head home for some much needed rest.

Are you as tired from reading all that as I was after doing it? I swear, it took me a whole week to recover.

images: All Lacquered Up, Total Beauty, Steven Barston

Massive Estee Lauder Nail Polish Giveaway

By on May 29, 2008
in Estee Lauder, Giveaway with 13 Comments

Thanks to the amazing people at Estee Lauder, All Lacquered Up is launching its biggest giveaway to date. Thirty (30), that’s right THIRTY lucky ALU readers will win a set of Estee Lauder Pure Color nail lacquers from the Pearls of Light collection. That’s over $1000 worth of polish for all you fabulous people.

Use the entry form below for your chance to win!

If you haven’t seen the polishes, check out my swatches:
Estee Lauder Pearls of Light

Giveaway open to US residents only. One entry per person. All Lacquered Up is not responsible for lost or stolen items. Entries accepted though June 9, 2008 at 11:59 P.M. EDT.

Estee Lauder Pearls of Light Summer 2008

For Summer 2008 Estee Lauder released two color collections, Pearls of Light and Bronze Goddess. Pearls of Light is soft and glowy, filled with lustrous pinks and champagnes including two sparkling but subdued Pure Color nail lacquers.

I’ve never used Estee Lauder nail polishes before so I jumped at the chance to test them out. The bottles have always intrigued me, they’re so luxe with a great weighty feel. Don’t you just adore how the sphere of polish is encapsulated in the square glass? Or is it just me?

EL polishes have a flat brush that makes application a breeze. I really love that so many brands are using that style of brush. And the formula, well I’m super impressed with the formula’s staying power. I gave my Mom a set to try out, they’re very much her kind of shades, and when I realized she hadn’t done a polish change in two weeks I gave her a scolding. Much to my surprise, she showed me her nails and can you believe that with the exception of one massive thumb nail chip the rest had just some tip wear. TWO WEEKS LATER. Unreal! Holy staying power Batman!

Champagne Pearl‘s metallic quality gives it a duo-chrome appearance. It fluctuates between a champagne metallic and a reddish shimmer and feels very water-washed beachy. The multi-colored shimmer is what keeps both these shades from being another boring color. Is it me? Not so much. It’s not “pretty ugly” enough for me.
Pink Pearl is a bit more sheer as you can see in the pic. I used two coats with both shades yet I can still see the line of my whites through Pink Pearl. This is a very soft girly pink. Very work appropriate, even with all the fun shimmer.

So either Mom read my layering post or she just didn’t feel like redoing her nails and added more polish on top because she layered champagne pearl over pink pearl to create her own unique shade. I tried layering both ways and the results are pretty similar to the camera’s eye but in person they really are different. I think the Pink Pearl over Champagne Pearl is my favorite. The pinkness really stands out with the opaque nudish base underneath.
Estee Lauder’s Pearls of Light collection is available for purchase on the EL website however Pink Pearl is unfortunately sold out. Fear not fellow fanatics, you can still snag a bottle of your own. How? Stay tuned!

Do You Loathe Wearing Sunscreen?

By on May 28, 2008
in Uncategorized with 3 Comments

Sunscreen? What? This is the nail polish blog, right? Don’t fret you’re in the right place. I haven’t jumped ship I’m still the same nail polish fanatic you know and love (or just like a lot). But being a beauty product junkie, I have interests outside of the nail world. Blasphemy, right?

Well, thanks to Total Beauty I had the opportunity to expand my writing horizons and take on the challenge of creating a quiz. Totally fun, right? Well I hope it’s just as fun to take as it was to write. So hop on over to Total Beauty, take the quiz and let me know what you think.

Hey, while you’re at it why not enter to win a hybrid filled with beauty products or one of the many other great beauty prizes Total Beauty is giving away. Just write a product review (seriously that’s it) and you could be the big winner.


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