I don’t remember how many months ago I bought the Lola Psychedelic Lip Art gloss pot but I know the picture has been sitting on my BlackBerry forever. I took a picture of it in the pot because I knew it would never look this cool or magical ever again. And immediately after I took the picture I stuck my finger in it and the perfection was lost forever. Sigh…

I bought Purple Haze and it comes off as a lovely gold flecked purple/pink shade on my lips. You can wear it sheer or keep applying to build up a bit more color but it isn’t as heavy as lipstick. This is a gloss I keep tossed in my bag because sometimes I just like to change my lip color up randomly during the day and I think it’s so pretty in the pot. I’m a sucker for packaging, I really am.

I also am a sucker for any gloss that isn’t sticky on my lips or feels dry and this doesn’t. I also think I love that the makeup line is called Lola, so you automatically think anything you buy from them will make you a sexy siren.

Am I the only person who has bought something just because it was so pretty? Please tell me I’m not alone…

How To Beat The Heat

I was thinking about doing a post on beating the heat since we’ve been above 90 degrees pretty much every day in July. Don’t get me wrong, I’d take this over the 3 blizzards we had this winter. Well when I went to look in my archives I realized on July 21, 2009 I wrote a post about how to beat the heat with products I still use.

So instead of reinventing the wheel, I thought I’d share it again. I’ve also talked about another primer that I recently fell in love with. Oh and I’m also a fan of lipstains for beautiful summer lips. And if you have any beat the heat beauty tips please share! I love finding out new products or tricks to keep myself shine free when it is blazing hot outside.

For the month of June I decided to do an entire month only using the Luminess Air system I received for review at the Makeup Show in May. Last year I tried their spray tan system and I have to say I was really excited to get to try their makeup system. The first thing that everyone would ask if I mentioned airbrushing on Twitter or in general was: 1. Isn’t it hard? 2. Don’t you look like you spray painted your makeup on?

No and no.

After consistently using this system for 30 days straight, I’m hooked. Seriously.

I watched their short video demonstration on how to operate the system, I was already pretty familiar because of the spray tan system but I wanted to make sure I got my technique down. You drop a few drops of makeup in the well of the airbrush, pull back the trigger and spray a light mist over your face. It tickles at first when you try it but you get over that fairly quickly. I sprayed 2 to 3 coats over my face letting each layer dry for about 30 seconds in between. I found the finish to be pretty flawless. You can make the coverage as heavy or as thin as you like (I’ll also do a separate post about another brand of makeup I tried in the system).

The starter kit comes with primer, highlighter, bronzer, blush and several shades of foundation to choose from. I wasn’t a fan of the primer since I use a primer and a good moisturizer already, so I didn’t need the extra layer. I really like the bronzer and added drops of it to the foundation before applying for a nice all around glow or airbrushed my cheekbones to give them a bit more wow factor. I wish the blush shade I had was a bit deeper, I felt like it disappeared a bit under my skin so I’d use a cream blush on the apples of my cheeks before I applied the foundation.

Here’s what I love about airbrush foundation:

• It’s light. Perfect when you want coverage even on a hot and humid day.
• The makeup doesn’t transfer. Sometimes with bottle foundation I find that I still have to blot with tissues to make sure there isn’t excess makeup getting on a white shirt or someone else. I did not have that problem at all.
• The makeup lasts. I would spray on the foundation and do a light dusting of translucent powder afterwards and it would really hold up all day long.
• The finish is flawless. It really does give your skin a smooth, even, perfectly applied layer of foundation. I got several compliments on how great my skin looked in June and really I owe it to Luminess Air. This applies better than liquid foundation.

The system I received for review is the iLuminess that retails for $229, but they have a few different versions outlined here on their website. This version comes with a compact airbrush system and a sleek silver carrying case. I’ve used the case and traveled with it so it does make it very handy. If you can’t afford this system, the larger version is $169.95. If you wear makeup on a daily basis, this is definitely something to consider investing in, I loved it for the ease and quickness of application. Cleaning it is a breeze and I even had to call Customer Service with an issue and they were delightfully helpful to me.

My next step with the system will be to buy eye shadow, I definitely want to try that out and see what I can do with my eye makeup. Feel free to ask me more questions in the comments, I’ll answer it all. I truly, truly enjoyed this system. It’s definitely worth the investment in my eyes.

Yesterday I got a great compliment from a post on The Coveted, she said I have great skin.  I’ve talked about my naked face before and I’ve gotten a few compliments in the beauty challenge posts but for some reason I’ve never thought of myself as having great skin. In fact, when I turned 30 my goal was to finally start treating my skin with more respect in hopes of looking as good as my mother does now. I know I don’t have bad skin but I’m always surprised by the glowing compliments. Plus I always think if you think my skin is great you should see my sisters.

I attribute my healthy looking skin to genetics (thanks, Mom), diet (water, water, water) and picking the right makeup products to help enhance what I have. That’s the beauty about makeup, you don’t need it but you can use it to enhance what you already have. My latest skin discovery is L’Oreal’s Studio Secrets No. 1 Magic Perfecting Base, or as I like to call it primer.

A few weeks ago I was hanging out with one of my girlfriends and I told her I thought her skin looked flawless, she told me she was wearing this primer. I immediately put it on my list of things I need to buy next time I did a Walgreen’s haul. To my surprise and delight, I received a press sample at the Makeup Show from L’Oreal and I couldn’t wait to get home and test it for myself. When I swiped my fingers in the pot it was a bit heavier than I thought it would be but it slid on smoothly and was light on my skin. What was really impressive is that the shine immediately disappeared and my skin seemed ten times smoother, I was immediately impressed.  I would wear this and no makeup at all, that’s how flawless I felt I looked.

What was more impressive, it kept me from looking a mess after sitting in the hot sun and humidity at a wedding on Sunday. My makeup held up so well I decided to take the pictures from my colorful wedding outfit AFTER the wedding. Normally I try to take a picture before I head out when I’m fresh, but I didn’t do any touch ups or powdering before I snapped those shots. That right there is enough to make me a true believer. I may need to buy stock in this product, I’m that sold on it. Definitely check your local drugstore for it, it’s worth the investment.

Do you have any skin perfecting secrets? Share!

Another round of questions for Friend Friday! If you’re interested in participating, make sure to check out Modly Chic for more details.

Okay, here are my questions and answers for this week. I kind of love the beauty theme.

1. What are the three products you couldn’t live without?
Narrowing things down to 3 is very hard. Right now I’d say Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams – I’m obsessed. Cover FX’s Radiant FX Luminescent Powder gives this fantastic flow to my skin. I also can’t live without Three Custom Color Concealer Foundation. It’s the best concealer I’ve ever used and I can add it to my moisturizer for a great tinted moisturizer.
2. Which products do you never leave home without?
I always have La Mer The Balm, it is honestly the best lip balm I’ve ever had. It is totally worth the price tag. Seriously.

3. When purchasing what is your one big beauty weakness?
I don’t have any big weaknesses. I’m just a beauty junkie so I’m enamored with it all. It’s kind of insane how much makeup I have.

4. Do you have a secret remedy, concoction, family tradition that you use?
I don’t think it’s a remedy, but when all else fails I drink a ton of water and I slather my skin in moisturizers. Right now I’m loving Johnson’s Baby Oil Gel for after shower and Olay Reginerist moisturizer for my face. If I want my skin to glow I have to stay hydrated.

5. When it comes to your face, what area do you usually try to accentuate?
My eyes! I love, love, love eyeliner, shadows, smoky eye – you name it I’ll try it on the eyes. I think I have a nice eye shape and a pretty eye color so I try to do a lot with my eyes. I’m using my 2010 Beauty Challenge to push myself to try bolder lip color since I’ve got my eye makeup down.

Feel free to answer the questions in the comments too! I love to hear what your favorite products are too.