I'm Going Wild for This Radiant, Hypnotic Color

I was walking in the mall when the arresting picture on Sephora's window was alluring me in. It was a captivating purple, one that draws you in with its beguiling charm. Sephora presented the Radiant Orchid collection, an enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple, and pink undertones.

PANTONE® a global paint company, declared Radiant Orchid as the Color of the Year and Sephora has teamed up to create a makeup collection inspired the coveted color of 2014.

This collection is setting a hypnotic tone for spring, its vivid yet soft; from petal-sheer luminosity to wildly rich pigments. It's is the perfect purple-pink. Falling into the middle of the color spectrum—not too warm or too cool, meaning it's universally flattering to any skin tone.  

Right- Sephora's Radian Orchid Collection, Middle - Benefit's Lollitint, Left - Myself in an Orchid Blossom look. 

I'm obsessed with the the Liquid Luminizer, that features a soft Radiant Orchid-hued shimmer for an angelic petal glow. As well as the Cream Blush with a variable coverage. You can goo boldly, or tint softly, as you add a ravishing glow.

Other products I LOVE:

Benefit's Lollitint, a candy orchid-hued tint, that is poised to reinvent blush. Benetints are water-based tints, but Lollitint is an emulsion. It contains a different blend of ingredients—a copolymer that creates a matte film locking in color on lips and cheeks. It's a beautiful violet-pink tint with remarkable stain power. I apply it with my fingertips.

The poster on Sephora's window; makes me want to color my hair in an Orchid tone!!

Mac's Amplified Lipstick in Up the Amp A72. I love, love love!! this buildable color. I wear it lightly, or boldly according to my outfit and mood.


Wishing you a bright day,

My Silky Hair Concoction (Literally!!)

I'm a girl who loves her hair serums. They keep my hair healthy, despite the harshness of highlights and frequent abuse of heat styling for work on set.

Because of my involvement in the cosmetic filed, I can get a stash of free hair serums from different companies, but I would never replace this little recipe that completely transformed my hair. It has the ability to change my hair texture from damaged and frizzy to soft and silky, without being oily, only shiny. And the scent is dreamy!!

 

Sometimes the Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts 

Biosilk soften like no other,  while So Sexy kicks all other shine serums I've tried to the curb, but together - together they are completely unmatched!!

Biosilk, Silk Therapy Hair Serum is made with Ethyl Ester of Hydrolyzed Silk; an esterified version of small units of silk proteins (from silk worm cocoons). Regular esters are amphoteric - they can be positive or negative in products - whereas these esters are always positive, or cationic, which means they have a high affinity to our negatively charged hair. Thus, Ethyl Ester of Hydrolyzed Silk form a film on the hair, which have a sealing effect; filling in cracks in the hair shaft, binding in moisture, and making the shaft feel smooth. They replenishes, reconstructs, repair, smooth, and protect hair, making it TRULY silky soft.

Victoria Secret's So Sexy Smoothing Hair Serum is a thin silicone oil hair serum. It's consistency is runnier than other products of this type, which is great because it translates to feeling light in the hair adding glossy shine whiteout being oily. It gives my hair a great sheen as it provides leave-in moisture.

I mix small amounts of both of in my palms and apply on wet hair, let it air dry, and then apply more before working using hot tools to style. The result is satiny strands with a deep glossy shine that somehow manage to make my fried hair feel really healthy.

And the scent …oh so very sexy!!

The pair blend into a vibrant and sensuous aroma, like a perfume for my hair and the smallest breeze or shift of my hair makes its presence known. It is fresh and sweet at the same time. Clean, yet sensual and alluring.

Biosilk, Silk Therapy Hair Serum is like a high end musk, yet refreshing, light, clean and powdery. Victoria Secret's So Sexy is like florals swimming in a bath of cucumber musk water. It's a mixture of light white musk, fresh peony, crisp cucumber and a hint of freesia.

Together it's a blend of floral, musky, ozonic, aquatic and green accords, that smell like sex on hot summer days, sex in the shower. Clean and very fresh aquatic floral, yet sophisticated and sweet.

Wishing you a fabulous hair day,

Scoop Alert!! Exclusive Interview with Kat Lieberkind, Makeup Artist to the Stars, and the Unconventional Tricks She Used on Her Oscar Nominated Client

I'm lucky, very luck!! I met talented Kat Lieberkind, makeup artist to the stars while working on a photoshot with a renown photographer several years back, and now I have a beauty insider access to the makeup tricks she employed for the Oscars. Kat is an expert at making starlets look not just beautiful, but flawless. She worked with Pink, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Cindy Crawford, and Sharon Stone. Mentored by legendary celebrity makeup artist Billy B, who has created some of the most iconic looks on the biggest stars in the last 25 years, Lieberkind worked on editorial for international magazines such as vogue, Elle and Harper's Bazar as well as commercials for Dior, Victorias Secret and Bebe to name a few. This past Oscar weekend Billy B created Pink’s makeup for her performance while Kat worked on Beau Borders, who was nominated for Best Sound (Lone Survivor).

 

 

With perhaps the highest concentration of cameras anywhere in the world, the Oscar’s red carpet is where style-setting stars are celebrated and hair and makeup trends are established.
 

"At the 2014 Oscars I noticed a lot of emphasis on the cheekbones with blush and highlights. In order to create that look successfully, blending the colors is very VERY important." Instead of using Blush directly on the apples of the cheeks, and bronzer to create a strong line under the cheekbone, Lieberkind  likes "MIXING the cheek color with a bronzer" creating a more natural healthy glow that blends seamlessly.  "I love the cheek colors from Bobbi Brown, they are very close to the colors of naturally flushed cheeks. Benefit also has a great matte natural looking bronzer named, Hoola. It looks great on almost everyone with exception of the fairest complexions."

Clarins Rouge Eclat Lipstick in Juicy Clementine

The 86th Annual Academy Awards was a bold moment for lip colors!! Instead of the typical parade of bright red, we saw many memorable, rich lip hues. "I saw some gorgeous bright lips on the red carpet. At the moment I’m completely in love with Clarin’s orange-red lipstick, Juicy Cementine".

Clarins Rouge Eclat Lipstick in Juicy Clementine is a gorgeous bright orange that (true to it's name) adds a juicy splash of color and screams spring with fun vibrancy!! Read Major Trend Alert for this Spring!! It's opaque formula, has a strong color pay off, yet unlike most high pigmented lip colors, it feels creamy and moisturizing and has a satin finish.
It's being touted by Clarins as 'the first age-defying lipstick' that offers more than just
vibrant color. Looking at the ingredient list, I do find it to be the case, as the formula includes a triple action:

    •    Intense nutrition, suppleness and comfort in an instant thanks to a combination of 100% plant waxes: Mimosa, Jojoba and Sunflower, Cocoa Extract as well as Shea Butter.

    •    Phytosphingosine, a type of lipid that occur naturally in the outermost layers of skin, reinforces the skin's protective barrier, protects against dehydration. Research shows it is effective in regulating damaged epithelial cells and it seems this ingredient can also be a cell-communicating ingredient (Source: Journal of Investigative Dermatology, October 2003, pages 1135–1137).

    •   Palmitoyl Oligopeptide - an innovating peptide boosts collagen synthesis (look out for a full in depth post about this ingredient in skin care in the near future).

Clarins lip products made major headlines this Oscars ceremony, after Best Supporting winner, Lupita Nyong'o, pulled a tube of HydraQuench Moisture Replenishing Lip Balm out of her clutch and drops it into Ellen's 'tip hat', during the pizza tip gag.

"When I do makeup for celebrities I focus on bringing out the features, making the eyes “pop” and skin look flawless" Says Lieberkind.

"A black liquid eyeliner and small individual flare eyelashes and, of course, mascara are my favorites to emphasize the eyes without looking like you are trying to hard. It’s timeless and ageless."

"One of my new favorite products to create flawless skin is L’Oreal Miracle Blur, a colorless creamy product that I like to apply on the skin as the last finishing touch. It works as Photoshop’s ‘blur- tool” in a bottle. I will describe it, as if you look at the skin through a frosted window; it minimizes how much you notice details such as imperfections, redness or wrinkles. On guys I use it without foundation and it looks like there is no makeup at all."

L'Oreal Revitalift Oil Free Miracle Blur

Unlike a primer, Kat uses Miracle Blur AFTER foundation. According to L'oreal; 'It's Not a Moisturizer.  It's Not a Foundation.  It's More Than a Primer. It's an instant skin smoothing finishing cream.  Miracle Blur was specially formulated with a distinctive cushiony texture that instantly blurs lines, wrinkles, pores and uneven texture.

Opti-Blur Technology diffuses light on skin for a soft-focus effect, with Dimethicone Crosspolymer, a silicone elastomer that's
non- comedogenic,  leaving a velvet-soft matte finish.  

The first thing I did after this interview was to get my hands on L'Oreal's Miracle Blur. For those of you who are familiar with the trick of using a chafing relief cream as a primer (crazy, I know, but it works!!), It's very similar to Monistat Soothing Powder Gel. However, I do find it to be a little more blurring, perhaps because it's slightly more concentrated with Dimethicone.

The very second thing…was to get Clarins Lipstick in Juicy Clementine. LOL!!
Now all I want is a fancy reason to put some hot lips on ;)

Wishing you glamorous spring nights,

How the Stars Get Ready For The Oscars

Tonight is the biggest night of the year in Hollywood. When it comes to pre-oscars beauty rituals, celebs go to some crazy extremes in order to keep themselves looking flawless. Here’s a look at some of the secret tricks to the stars Red Carpet beauty routine.

 

Getting that Red Carpet Glow

Tonight's host, Ellen DeGeneres, as well as stars such as Charlize Theron get a series of facial over a period of three weeks, at the Ole Henriksen Day Spa in Los Angeles. Henriksen designed a Red Carpet Complexion Treatment -  the 80 minute treatment incorporates three pieces of equipment: HydraFacial- for exfoliation and hydration, LED lights - for fine lines & wrinkles and to minimize surface bacteria, microcurrent for facial contouring, lifting and firming and a finishing oxygen system to calm, infuse antioxidants, and bind deep hydration to the skin.

Chalize Theron loves the Power Peel with microdermabrasion. She likes the treatment so much that she requested that the company produce a kit of products that would let her get similar results while traveling; The enzyme peel was born.

Ole Henriksen Blue/ Black Berry Enzyme Mask

You can give yourself a "Star Facial" using Ole Henriksen's products, available at Sephora.. The day before a big event, you want to get the benefits of exfoliating, but you don't want your skin to be red.
I opt for his delicate peel - Blue/ Black Berry Enzyme Mask - it's very cooling gel with Lavender, Papaya Enzyme (papain), Blueberries and blackberries. I didn't feel like is was doing much as far as exfoliating, but boy it's so soothing and extremely hydrating!! So far I've only used it once, but watch out for a more in depth review as this has the potential of becoming a favorite.

Fitting Perfectly in to Designers Luxurious Gowns

In a new interview with The Daily Mail, Oscar-nominee, Cate Blanchett, reveals "In the morning I've been taking chlorophyll with my son, so that's been fantastic. I also love grapefruit juice and I don't eat a lot of red meat. Hot water and lemon as well," she shares.

I love starting my day with hot water with lemon. The magic properties of drinking a juiced lemon in warm water each morning is rooted in a seed of truth. It improves digestion - Citric acid in lemons support an optimal acidic environment in your stomach for enzymatic activity and the heat speeds up reactions for an excelarated digestion. The vitamin C found in lemon juice has been shown to enhance mineral absorption. Detox - lemon has an antioxidant called d-limonene, which is also found in oranges and is most highly concentrated in the peels of lemons or oranges. D-limonene has been shown to activate enzymes in the liver that are part of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 detoxification processes. These processes take compounds present in the liver that are toxic to cells and convert them to non-harmful or less harmful versions.

Sipping on water with Apple Cider Vinegar is another celebrity favorite. Megan Fox is just one in the list of celebrities who shared this trick. " Water and raw apple cider cleanses out your system entirely, I'm not one for dieting or exercising, because I'm lazy and I have a really big sweet tooth, so I have to do cleanses every once in a while 'cause of the amount of sugar I take in." she said in an interview with the Herald Sun.
In a research conducted in Japan, acetic acid, found in apple cider vinegar, was shown to switch on genes that manufacture fatty-acid oxidizing enzymes. These little miracle workers were shown to break down and eliminate nearly 10 percent of body fat in six weeks. (Kaga, 2009 American Chemical Society) And in a study at Australia's University of Sydney, subjects who consumed 2 Tbs of apple cider vinegar daily had steadier blood sugar and consumed 1,400 fewer calories per week than those in the control group.

Vibrant Cleanse Lemonade

Spicy Lemonade is another star detox weapon - a cocktail of lemon juice, Cayenne pepper and Maple syrup. The antioxidant d-limonene in lemon bolster the liver's ability to break down fat, while pepper's capsaicin revs metabolism and maple syrup's sugars prevent the breakdown of calorie-hungry muscles. In a research conducted in Aarhus University in Denmark discovered that capsaicin consumption was associated with an increase in thermogenesis, which boosts body temperature and the metabolism, according to research reported in the August 2008 issue of the “Journal of Biological Chemistry. Researchers from Daegu University in South Korea published in the July 2010 issue of the "Journal of Proteome Research," subjects fed the high-fat diet with capsaicin experienced greater decreases in body fat compared to the non-capsaicin group. Researchers found that capsaicin enhanced the activity of proteins inside fat cells that help break down fat. In addition, capsaicin also reduced the activity of enzymes that are responsible for synthesizing fat, thereby preventing the development of mature fat cells.

I didn't fast but I did add it to my diet in a convenient powder form -  Vibrant Cleanse Lemonade Diet, that I mixed with water. I loved the boost of energy. 

Wishing you a glamorous day,