Come see me at City Girl Lifestyle, where I try to find beauty, creativity and balance amid the hectic. For now, no new content will be added to Beauty Musings, but City Girl Lifestyle will have beauty content, including Beauty Mondays!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
So it was more like an extreme makeover....
I have decided to expand the concept of Beauty Musings.
You may have sensed from some of my posts that I wanted to broaden Beauty Musings ....one could say I was becoming a frustrated blogger.
So the makeover was more like a total complete redo.
Meet City Girl Lifestyle - I will still write a lot of beauty products content, but City Girl Lifestyle will be a lot broader. Check out this first post to see what I mean.
Like I said -- there will still be lots of beauty content. Mondays will always be Beauty Monday -- the first one will be August 4 featuring Bobbi Brown's new metallic shadows. I foresee beauty content being more regular than weekly -- at least biweekly and maybe more depending on the week.
In fact, there will be three weekly features: Beauty Monday, What's Cooking Wednesday, and Fashion Friday. Yes, writing about beauty was not enough.
Think of the new blog as still a lot of beauty talk, and bonus content AND less mystery about who lipglossina is. Though I am still writing under a moniker (no name or pictures or any information about my employer) -- I am definitely writing more about myself in this blog. And I am going to sound more like my in-real-life opinionated self -- the truth is, it's hard to get really opinionated about beauty products -- if something really sucks, well then you just kind of ignore it and don't write it, unless, of course, it's really really bad.
That said, it's a lot easier to have strong opinions about things in fashion or other topics -- my more opinionated posts will be more like my first Fashion Friday post rather than addressing beauty products.
I do hope you will follow me in this transition! I will continue to leave this blog up though -- I think the content is still useful and, I will want to link some of my City Girl posts back to stuff here.
You may have sensed from some of my posts that I wanted to broaden Beauty Musings ....one could say I was becoming a frustrated blogger.
So the makeover was more like a total complete redo.
Meet City Girl Lifestyle - I will still write a lot of beauty products content, but City Girl Lifestyle will be a lot broader. Check out this first post to see what I mean.
Like I said -- there will still be lots of beauty content. Mondays will always be Beauty Monday -- the first one will be August 4 featuring Bobbi Brown's new metallic shadows. I foresee beauty content being more regular than weekly -- at least biweekly and maybe more depending on the week.
In fact, there will be three weekly features: Beauty Monday, What's Cooking Wednesday, and Fashion Friday. Yes, writing about beauty was not enough.
Think of the new blog as still a lot of beauty talk, and bonus content AND less mystery about who lipglossina is. Though I am still writing under a moniker (no name or pictures or any information about my employer) -- I am definitely writing more about myself in this blog. And I am going to sound more like my in-real-life opinionated self -- the truth is, it's hard to get really opinionated about beauty products -- if something really sucks, well then you just kind of ignore it and don't write it, unless, of course, it's really really bad.
That said, it's a lot easier to have strong opinions about things in fashion or other topics -- my more opinionated posts will be more like my first Fashion Friday post rather than addressing beauty products.
I do hope you will follow me in this transition! I will continue to leave this blog up though -- I think the content is still useful and, I will want to link some of my City Girl posts back to stuff here.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Pink Sugar Marshmallow Goodness
Today, I received an order from one of my favorite indie etailers, Cleanse Your Soul. You might recall she has some great Pink Sugar blends - I really liked her Pink Almond Cream body cream, so I asked her for a new blend -- Pink Sugar + Marshmallow Cream (which is actually a blend of marshmallow fluff AND whipped cream). Essentially the Pink Almond Cream minus the almond. And the verdict is: Pink Marshmallow Cream is AWESOME. I am so glad I got this blend in both a body cream and a foaming scrub. They both smell scrumptious and the drydown of the body cream is lovely -- like an airy version of Pink Sugar.
I had other scrummy products in my order, including emollients in Baked Vanilla and Vanilla Bean. Both smell lovely but need to cure a bit -- along with the foaming scrubs in Carina (a lovely buttercream) and Vanilla Bean. I will do a CYS Vanilla scents post in a couple of weeks.
In the meantime, I must go use my lovely new Pink Marshmallow Cream scrub.
I had other scrummy products in my order, including emollients in Baked Vanilla and Vanilla Bean. Both smell lovely but need to cure a bit -- along with the foaming scrubs in Carina (a lovely buttercream) and Vanilla Bean. I will do a CYS Vanilla scents post in a couple of weeks.
In the meantime, I must go use my lovely new Pink Marshmallow Cream scrub.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Beauty and Chocolate,
After a ho-hum day at work, I decided to head to Soho to go to Vosges for some chocolate. But before chocolate, I had a beauty stop to make. Since I got to Soho just before 7pm, I rushed to check out Space NK. I never seem to be in Soho when the store is open -- and closing at 7pm is just so unpractical for ladies (like me) who most decidedly don't lunch. I had heard many wonderful things about the Space NK store -- especially that it stocked natural and/or paraben-free brands that other stores don't carry. So I had been wanting to check it out for a while.
Overall, I was left a bit cold by the store -- it's beautiful, yes -- and it stocks brands like Ren, Dr. Hauschka, and Jurlique. While it is useful to have all of those in one beautiful store, I don't think that's the draw of the store. Nor was I especially enthralled by their Space NK brand bath and body products -- the scents all were very floral. I think for me the biggest draw of the store is that has many of brands that are not usually sold together under one roof -- for example, Sephora carries Ren, but not Dr. Hauschka, and so forth.
And the setting is really gorgeous -- it's spare and airy and just a lovely place to shop. That said, unless you don't shop at a variety of stores, I can't say Space NK is a must-visit stop in Soho -- well, unless you have a design aesthetic. Then it is must-see.
Regardless of who you are though, Vosges is a must-visit stop in Soho. Vosges approaches chocolate shopping in a boutique way. It's the same concept as, say, a Lindt store - BUT - it's so much more. There's a tall marble bar/table to your left when you come in, inviting you to linger with a cold hot chocolate (they carry three flavors of hot chocolate, and they can be served hot or cold). The flavors are diverse and lovely. The Naga truffle (which also comes in chocolate bar form) is my hands-down favorite -- curry and coconut in rich milk chocolate. My husband really likes the applewood bacon Mo chocolate bar (which occasionally comes in truffle form) though he would chide me if I did not mention that the bacon chocolate bar is much better cold as opposed to at room temperature. The macha green tea bar is lovely too. The boutiquey feel is underscored by the fact flavors are actually collections and also by the attentive service. Shopping there is truly an experience. And I encourage you to try it - or online if you are not in New York.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to go put the three bars I purchased in the fridge so that I am not tempted to dig into them until the weekend.
Overall, I was left a bit cold by the store -- it's beautiful, yes -- and it stocks brands like Ren, Dr. Hauschka, and Jurlique. While it is useful to have all of those in one beautiful store, I don't think that's the draw of the store. Nor was I especially enthralled by their Space NK brand bath and body products -- the scents all were very floral. I think for me the biggest draw of the store is that has many of brands that are not usually sold together under one roof -- for example, Sephora carries Ren, but not Dr. Hauschka, and so forth.
And the setting is really gorgeous -- it's spare and airy and just a lovely place to shop. That said, unless you don't shop at a variety of stores, I can't say Space NK is a must-visit stop in Soho -- well, unless you have a design aesthetic. Then it is must-see.
Regardless of who you are though, Vosges is a must-visit stop in Soho. Vosges approaches chocolate shopping in a boutique way. It's the same concept as, say, a Lindt store - BUT - it's so much more. There's a tall marble bar/table to your left when you come in, inviting you to linger with a cold hot chocolate (they carry three flavors of hot chocolate, and they can be served hot or cold). The flavors are diverse and lovely. The Naga truffle (which also comes in chocolate bar form) is my hands-down favorite -- curry and coconut in rich milk chocolate. My husband really likes the applewood bacon Mo chocolate bar (which occasionally comes in truffle form) though he would chide me if I did not mention that the bacon chocolate bar is much better cold as opposed to at room temperature. The macha green tea bar is lovely too. The boutiquey feel is underscored by the fact flavors are actually collections and also by the attentive service. Shopping there is truly an experience. And I encourage you to try it - or online if you are not in New York.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to go put the three bars I purchased in the fridge so that I am not tempted to dig into them until the weekend.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Bobbi Brown Fall Collection is Here
Bobbi's Mauve collection is up on the website. I love the blush in the palette -- it reminds me of Nars Madly (minus the shimmer), which is one of my favorite blushes -- it's a lovely neutral mauve. I am not one hundred percent happy with the Bobbi Mauve collection overall though -- there is a lot of gray in it, which can be hard to wear and bring out undereye shadows. I will have to check it out in the next couple of weeks and see how I like it in person. If you beat me to it, do post in the comments section!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Stila -- Changing Directions?
I was wading through my emails tonight, and one of them was entitled Stila's 4 Simple Steps to Complexion perfection -- and when I linked to the 4 Steps, I got a little sad. One of the reasons I had moved to Stila (and Bobbi Brown) from Laura Mercier was that they did not push the flawless face concept, but rather what I call the realistic face concept.
Some background: six years ago, Laura Mercier's 4 step flawless face was a big deal -- and it was true that with a combination of primer, 2 different kinds of concealer, foundation (mixed with tinted moisturizer as recommended by the LM artists) and loose powder, one could have a flawless face. Better yet, it would last and last. But even when very proficient and quick, Laura Mercier's flawless face took a good 20 minutes to get the airbrushed look.
Then I started using Stila and realizing that I could get a near-flawless face in 5 minutes -- because they had a great tinted moisturizer and a pressed powder foundation -- together the two were fast to apply and gave great results. More than the products though, I loved both Stila and Bobbi Brown for not pushing a flawless face campaign. And now the Stila page looks like an echo of Laura Mercier perfection.
The other thing that made me sad was the Stila Hydrating Powder in "One Shades Fits All" -- having done makeup on myself and many others over the years, I can say unequivocally that that's impossible. Stila has always cut corners and not had enough of a range of shades, but this is just unacceptable.
So overall, I am a little disappointed with one of my favorite brands and where it is heading.
Some background: six years ago, Laura Mercier's 4 step flawless face was a big deal -- and it was true that with a combination of primer, 2 different kinds of concealer, foundation (mixed with tinted moisturizer as recommended by the LM artists) and loose powder, one could have a flawless face. Better yet, it would last and last. But even when very proficient and quick, Laura Mercier's flawless face took a good 20 minutes to get the airbrushed look.
Then I started using Stila and realizing that I could get a near-flawless face in 5 minutes -- because they had a great tinted moisturizer and a pressed powder foundation -- together the two were fast to apply and gave great results. More than the products though, I loved both Stila and Bobbi Brown for not pushing a flawless face campaign. And now the Stila page looks like an echo of Laura Mercier perfection.
The other thing that made me sad was the Stila Hydrating Powder in "One Shades Fits All" -- having done makeup on myself and many others over the years, I can say unequivocally that that's impossible. Stila has always cut corners and not had enough of a range of shades, but this is just unacceptable.
So overall, I am a little disappointed with one of my favorite brands and where it is heading.
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