Goldie{HipMama}B and The 3 BB Creams: A Quest for the One Thats JUST RIGHT

BB Creams (beauty balms) are ALL THE RAGE. I first heard about them last year (or the year before?) with all the talk of the high-price Korean imports that touted being "The. Best. Make-Up. Ever." Creams that do it all - heal, conceal, cover and correct your skin all in one bottle. But I gotta tell you - I'm a hard sell. I'm picky on texture, color and coverage. I've been wearing Dior Skin Foundation for years, and hard as I try, I can't find anything else that I like.

But still the lure of the perfect make-up/skin care combo had me trying and testing... Here's the story of my quest. 

Dr. Jart Premium Beauty Balm: This One's Too Oily 

This is the one that you read about in Allure and celebrities tell you is the only thing they will put on their faces. I was excited when it came in my Birchbox a few months ago, as for some reason I always thought of it as a high-end product. Whatever, it didn't matter. It sat on my face in a slick mess. My chin looked shiny and I felt the universal color did nothing for me. The second time I tried it I actually washed my face and reapplied make-up half way through the day because I hated it so.

Too Faced Air Buffed BB Cream: This One's Too Cakey

With this one I totally fell for the marketing promises. According to the packaging it was supposed to even my skin tone and BANISH imperfections. The soft brush was supposed to give you an air brushed look and it was supposed to be a fuller coverage than other BB Creams offered. What it was was thick and cakey. The brush didn't do much but slow down the application process, and I found myself still using my fingers to blend... and blend, and blend and blend... I tried to pretend I liked it, then I got a look at myself in the rear view mirror and packed that baby up and returned it the next day. 

Naked Skin Beauty Balm: This One Is JUST RIGHT

I had given up. I wasn't even looking at BB Creams anymore. The $75 Sephora gift card that had been burning a hole in my wallet since Christmas was going to a new NARS bronzer, the Viktor&Rolf Flowerbomb perfume rollerball and a new brush head for my Clarisonic Mia. As I was checking out I was offered a sample of the Naked Skin BB Cream, so I took it. What they hey, it was a free sample. And? It was love at first application. 

From the Sephora website:

Blur flaws in seconds and get serious antiaging benefits in just eight weeks. This lightweight, velvety, oil-free miracle works instantly and over the long term. Naked Skin Beauty Balm is invisible on your skin (zero rub-off): the universal shade glides on and dries down to a translucent, flawless finish that works on most skintones. While many beauty balms are tinted to provide coverage, Naked Skin diffuses light with high-tech pigments to give you amazing, natural, naked-looking skin that keeps getting better every week. Unlike a lot of beauty balms, Naked Skin delivers measurable antiaging benefits—and the claims to prove it.

This? ALL TRUE. I can wear it to work-out and it doesn't come off when I wipe my brow. It give my skin a blurry, Alexis Carrington filtered glow. The color is perfect and it feels like I have nothing on. And if I see anti-aging benefits in 8 weeks ALL THE BETTER. 

Have you tried BB Creams yet? Which one do you like? 

The Red Lipstick Experiment, Can A New Lipstick Make You Happy?

So, I've been working on this thing called HAPPINESS. 

This doesn't mean that I'm unhappy, or that I'm sad per-se, it means that I'm working towards a positive mental and physical state for my life. I, my friends, was in a funk -  and needed to do SOMETHING. So over the past month, I've made a few changes to help ME be a better ME.

Mental and physical go hand in hand, so some of what I'm doing is for body, while some things may just be simple, everyday things. What I'm looking to find is that key combination... that elusive word "balance". Not just in my life, but in my body and soul. 

I'm calling these "Happiness Experiments;" Something I try out to see what, if any, affect it has. After attending a "Happiness Bootcamp" last month, I realized the main reason that habits don't change and resolutions don't stick for me is because I throw them all out there at once. I'm also keen to declare FAILURE when the outcome isn't what I envisioned it looking like. With "experiments" there are no passes, no fails. You are trying something out. Taking it out for test drive. Trying it on for size. Some things may stick, while others don't. 

Which brings me to Lipstick. 

{Yes, you were wondering how I was going to get back around to make-up, huh?} 

It is a proven fact that new lipstick makes you happy. This has been a phenomenon tracked in women since World War 2. Lipstick is an inexpensive, non-permanent change that can spice things up. 

This particular experiment was inspired (and enabled) by my good friend, Romy of RomyRaves. Romy is the queen of fun accessories and make-up, and she's lucky enough that she's channeled this into an amazing online presence and working relationship with top beauty brands. A few weeks ago when she came down and spent the weekend with me, not only was she sporting this super hot new lipstick, she brought some for the rest of us to try. I mentioned my current love affair with Avon's Totally Kissable line a few weeks ago - but the shade I was loving over was a very pretty, but very neutral pink color: totally right in my comfort zone. 

But there was Romy - rocking this red hot lip (in Avon's Make-Out Red) that made people stop and stare. And honestly, I was in awe by her bravery and ability to work that shade. Over the next week or so I kept trying on the same color that Romy wore, only to wipe it off a few seconds later. It wasn't doing it for me - it wasn't right. Digging into my bag of Avon goodies that Romy brought for me (she knows a way to my heart is through my make-up bag!) I finally got up the nerve to try another color - Red Embrace. 

WAY better for my coloring, this red is more of a coral-red, rather than the pink-red Romy was wearing. While bright and eye-catching, with minimal other make-up I actually wore it in the daytime... and loved it. It gave my casual jeans and shirt look a kick, but it wasn't too much. It was way different than what I normally wear, but every time I caught my reflection I kept thinking how much I liked it. 

This experiment was deemed a success! I'm throwing this lipstick into heavy rotation and going to wear it with a smile.  

Make-Up Look I Love! Julianne Hough @ Safe Harbor Premier

While I'm really not a fan of Nicholas Sparks books or movies, I actually can't wait to see Safe Harbor. I ended up with the book as part of my BlogHer '12 swag and almost read the whole thing on my flight home. To me, books like this have a special time and place - delayed flight home after 6 days drinking and eating and running around NYC? PERFECT TIMING for a Nicholas Sparks book. 

Needless to say, I'm already planning a night out with a girlfriend to go and cry over this sappy tale as it plays out on the big screen. 

Also? I'm a little obsessed with how adorable Julianne Hough is. And if I can connect myself to her by one degree (or item?) ... she wore my favorite Votre Vu eyeliner and mascara to the premier of Safe Haven. 

“Her entire look was inspired by her Alberta Ferretti dress which was a very sheer, nude color with beautiful, subtle detailing and shimmering pieces.  We wanted to keep the makeup in line with that magical, ethereal feeling, nothing too strong.

I started by prepping Julianne’s skin with the Votre Vu Attentive Skincare Line for sensitive skin.  She was extremely happy with the result from the products and the pick-me-up they immediately provided for her skin. The product that I liked the most was the Attentive Crème du Jour, which I applied with a foundation brush in order to get a very even veil.

We wanted to focus to be her eyes, so we went with a very natural face.  I applied the Votre Vu Love Me Deux in Provence all over to give her skin a youthful, luminous, lightweight look.

Then to give her a little color back, I took the Vu-On Rouge in Bouquet Rose and used my fingers to warm it up on the back of my hand, then blended it onto the apples of her cheeks.  This skin-on-skin application made it softer and sheerer.  Then I took a lip brush and applied the Vu-On Rouge in Bouquet Rose directly onto her lips with it.  The brush gave greater control and a heavier application for denser color. I finished her lips off with a pale nude gloss to give it a bit more moisture and then set her face with the Belle Poudre HD Sheer Face Powder in Medium.

Next, I used the Beauté en Bronze duo and used a larger powder brush to give her a little kiss of sun and then an angled brush to sculpt the sides of the face, cheek bones, neck and jawline. Then I took the blush and applied it right on the apples of the cheeks.  Placement was key with this duo to get the dynamic quality of them playing off of each other.

Now for her eyes, the focus of the face.

I prepped her lids with a nude shadow base.  Then took the Le Joli Crayon in Aubergine and smudged it into her upper lash line.  Then using a trio of eye shadows from Face Atelier, I created an iridescent look of pale silver, pink/gold, and deep brown.

Lastly, I curled her lashes, applied the Eiffel Power mascara and then finished off with her brows using the Arch de Triumphe in Fair. To set her face for the night, I used the À Votre Santé Refreshing Spray.

When she got into the dress, it was apparent that the look had come together perfectly. “

- Celebrity makeup artist Spencer Barnes for Votre Vu

What do you think? Do you prefer a smoky eye and nude lip or less eyemake-up and bold lip?