MAC HUG ME- A WARM & WONDERFUL NUDE FOR FALL

While makeup shopping with a friend about two years back, I came to the sudden conclusion that I should buy more tan-nude lipsticks to add to my collection. I've always been a fan of wearing a warm beige nude all over my lips then applying a lighter shade to just the center of my lips. The sales associate picked out a handful of more "tan nudes" that I purchased without even trying on. They looked good in the store, and fortunately I was happy with all of them :]

At first, I though this color was little too dark for me. Honestly though, it kind of just blends into my skin-tone. It's probably a shade or so darker than my NW30 complexion, but it doesn't look gross-brown on my lips at all, fortunately. It's a lot better than having concealer lips. It's a really pretty pinkish-tan nude that gives you that J.Lo/Kim K look. It looks amazing on, I love how warm it is. It looks even better if you have a tan :] Being a Lustre, it's super-creamy and rich and feels very luxe on the lips. To me, it really feels like a YSL Rouge Volupte, so silky-buttery smooth. It's not drying at all, in fact it's the complete opposite. It feels just like a lip-balm on. It's pretty versatile, you could wear it with any look, although I do prefer wearing Hug Me when I have an extremely dramatic smokey eye going on. I would recommend this color to everyone, except the super-pale, because it might show up as brown on someone with a very light complexion. SO, who here uses Hug Me lipstick!? Is it something you reach for often? Or does it sit in your "do-not-use" makeup drawer? If you DO wear Hug Me, what kind of looks do you tend to wear it with? Just wondering :]

BEAUTYMARKED EYESHADOW. CREATURE OF THE NIGHT.

Beautymarked is one of my favorite eyeshadows from MAC's permanent collection, if not my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE. It's a gorgeous velvety black eyeshadow with LOTS of reddish burgundy glitter. I remember first buying it many years ago because I saw it sitting on the eyeshadow display at the MAC counter and thought to myself that I'd never really seen anything like that at all. Since then, Over the years, I have used copious amounts of this smoldering color. To this day, I have not found a similar eyeshadow that's as intensely pigmented, rich, gorgeous and glittery as this beautiful color. I've seen lots of eyeshadows slightly similar, but no other company has really been able to duplicate it. I've always been drawn to dark colors. The darker, the better. I'm terribly addicted to black eyeshadows, and I just cannot resist a black eyeshadow that contains shimmer or reflects. I love richly pigmented vampy shades that look amazing when used to create a smokey eye. Beautymarked is extremely pigmented. It is easily grabbed by eyeshadow brushes, and yes, it shows up exactly on the eye as it does in the pan. I've found, however, that if you want all of the red reflects to show up on your eyes, you have to use a sticky eyeshadow base or else the glitter will get eaten by your brush instead of adhering to your eyelid. In the past, I've had some trouble with fallout from Beautymarked, but after a while of using this color, you'll learn how to apply it in a way that avoids creating fallout. I've seen that a lot of people will use this color to line their eyes, or they'll wear it in the crease or to smoke out their outer V. Personally, my favorite way to wear it is all over my lid, from lashline to crease, then blended out very well. It looks good with just a little big of a shimmery silver or white color on the inner corner, and I usually don't care to wear a highlight color on my brow-bone. Sometimes too much highlight can take away from the effect of a dramatic smokey eye. Is anyone else completely obsessed with this color? Anyone have it but not use it very often? Tell me about your experience with Beautymarked... How do you like to wear it?

TAJ MAHAL ALL FALL.

The other day I went to the NARS counter at the Nordstrom in Fashion Valley in San Diego. I needed to stock up on some of my everyday basics because my local Nordstrom unfortunately doesn't carry NARS. I picked up my fave powder foundation, some blushes, and a lip gloss. I was glad to see Taj Mahal blush on display because I heard that it'd been discontinued and could only be purchased on the acutual NARS website. Taj Mahal is a rich burnt orange color. It's kind of like a very ripe tangerine, and it has gorgeous golden micro-shimmer in it. There really aren't any other blushes this color out on the market right now, and I hear that Francois Nars actually created it especially for Naomi Campbell. Of all my NARS blushes, this one is currently my favorite and I'm sure I'll wear it all Fall. It's just such a rich and vibrant color that gives you the perfect flush of luminous color that really warms up the face without looking overdone. Is anyone else obsessed with Taj Mahal right now?!!? :]

MAC MYTH. THE PERFECT NUDE?

I have always been on the hunt for the perfect nude lipstick. I wear a dramatic smokey eye every night, so of course I need a very neutral lip that will help balance out my face when I have a lot going on with my eyes. I always wanted a peachy beige tone that would nude out the pigmentation in my own lips, without looking too much like concealer. I've literally purchased dozens of nude lipsticks, if not hundreds. Although I don't think Myth is the PERFECT nude for me, I do absolutely LOVE this color and use it very often. Myth is described as a "pale, flesh-toned slightly peach-pink tinged nude." That being said, I am not pale. When I wear this color on it's own, I look dead, or very cold. That's usually not the look I'm going for, so I usually wear another nude lipstick a shade or two darker underneath of Myth. Then, I put a nude gloss over this :] Myth is a gorgeous lipstick with a satin finish, and happens to be very pigmented. It can show up as opaque on your lips with very little effort, that's probably one of the reason why I love it so much. And it shows up great in photos :] You can pile it on for a dramatically pale nude lip, or wear it with other lippies to neutralize them a bit. If you aren't eating or drinking, it stays on for about 4 or 5 hours, which makes me happy. So, has anyone else tried Myth? Or use it on a daily basis? Let me know what you think about it :]

GAGA'S MEAT DRESS AT THE 2010 VMA'S: OFFENSIVE OR AVANT GARDE?

Watching the VMA's the other night, I was bored by pretty much everyone, with the exception of Mother Monster, Lady Gaga. Of course we didn't expect her to wear a simple Little Black Dress like everyone else. We saw her wearing some pretty gorgeous couture pieces, most of which must have taken hundreds of yards of material and thousands of hours of hand-sewing. They were all amazing, dream-like pieces, and actually very elegant and sophisticated, including giant, voluminous skirts with perfectly constructed bodices. Though they were all beautiful, the one look that REALLY stood out to me was her meat dress made by Franc Fernandez. The dress was very carefully draped onto her body and sewn together, and she also wore a pair of wedge booties covered in meat. She had a 40's style headpiece as well, and a bejeweled meat clutch that she asked Cher to hold when she accepted her award. Of course, this is Lady Gaga. She is known for always wearing the most outrageous, perfectly draped, voluminous, gravity-defying wearable works-of-arts ever. Personally, I can't really tell if I like it, or if I find it to be completely repulsive. I love the fact that she expresses herself so well through what she wears, and is never really bored to look at. She takes chances, she'll wear something she likes whether other people like it or not. But has she possibly crossed into the territory where she is just doing it for the shock factor? Did she wear this dress because she thought it was a gorgeous piece and really wanted to make a statement? Or did she just want people to stare in amazement and be disgusted that she was wearing a dead cow? I love the fact that she will never bore us. She's grabbed our attention for years now. She's inspired millions of her "little monsters" to take their own fashion risks and be comfortable in anything they wear. But do you think it was just vile of her to wear raw meat as a dress? Think about it. It's the flesh of a dead animal. That's pretty unsanitary. No one else has ever done it. I doubt anyone else ever would. What do you think of Gaga's dress? Would you tell her to wear that steak-dress with pride? Or to put it in the fridge and save it for a BBQ?