Bloomingdale's Beauty Box

When I lived in London I used to travel to New York once or twice per year. I loved it. I would go to Broadway shows, spend hours at the MoMa and the Met, walk all over the city, eat at fabulous food joints, and shop.
I loved going back to London with cool clothes and shoes that no one else had. I would spend hours and small fortunes at Bloomingdale's, and then get a huge kick out of walking around with their shopping bags, and back in London being able to say "Oh this? I bought it at Bloomingdale's in New York". 

Bloomie's has always held a certain magic for me.

I was so excited to hear that the Rakuten Affiliate Network and Bloomingdale's had chosen my blog as one of only 30 blogs to receive a pre-Christmas Bloomingdale's Beauty Box. Bloomingdale's!!!

I was supposed to wait until my birthday to open it, but I was too excited, and I couldn't wait.
It's fabulous!

Here is what blew me away. They didn't just put a bunch of excess beauty products into a box and ship them out. They clearly researched me and my blog, and then curated a box specific to things that I would fall over loving.

The beauty box also has a very french-girl approach to beauty, a timeless aesthetic that I am just obsessed with.


Let's start with hair. If you follow this blog you already know that I swear by Bumble and Bumble hair products. Among other things I use the Invisible Oil Primer, Bb Straight Blow Dry, and the Thickening Spray every time I'm blowing my hair out smooth. 
In my gift box I got a huge bottle of Bumble and Bumble Thickening Spray.

I have super thick hair anyway, but I swear by this product! My hairdrsser turned me onto it at the beginning of this year.
When you have a ton of hair like I do it gets really heavy and flat. I spray the thickening spray through the roots and first 3 or 4 inches of damp hair immediately prior to blow drying. It gives my hair fabulous volume and makes it bouncy. 
I'm sure it was created for people with thin hair, and I'm probably using it incorrectly, but sometimes that's the best way, don't you think?

You know me, so you already know that I love big, thick fabulous lashes. I am so fully invested in mascaras, and my beauty box gave me two to play with. 
Lancome Grandiose Extreme takes mascara to an entire new level.
When you want exceptional volume, maximum length and incredible lift, this is the mascara for you!

Check out the wand! The swan neck shaped wand lets you roll the mascara all around the lashes and get all the way to the base of the lash. It has dual brushes to super load your lashes - a short row to put product on and a long row to really pull the product through.
The mascara itself is super inky black.

Clarins Supra Volume mascara gives you full, fat, voluminous lashes. It contains Cassie flower wax to strengthen and protect your lashes, and is super pigmented.

This is a gorgeous, everyday mascara. You can use it as part of your total eye makeup, or, if you are channeling your inner french girl, skip the shadows apply a couple of coats of Clarins Supra Volume, and then set the world on fire with a swipe of the most killer red lip ever.

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You know that I have blogged about MAC Ruby Woo lipstick many, many times. Ruby Woo is a classic blue based red. 

To me Ruby Woo is old Hollywood. Timeless, perfect, robust but so incredibly wearable. If you are in the mood for jeans, a white tee and a black blazer, this is your red lip. If you feel like going all out in your most sensational LBD, this is the red for you. If you are going for a look anywhere in the middle, this is the red for you!

Red lips can be tricky to wear, especially if they are slip-sliding around your mouth. Ruby Woo stays put and wears really, really well.
(As a side note, last time I was in Paris my daily look was minimal base, groomed brows, glossy black mascara and Ruby Woo, rubbed in with my finger. I love Ruby Woo!)

No party or big night out is complete without lashes.
My gift box had MAC lashes. I use MAC strip lashes all the time. They are perfectly shaped, flex well with your eyelid and are the perfect length - the enhance the eye rather than collapsing it. L.O.V.E.

Love Relentlessly eau de Parfum by Tory Burch.

Honestly?? Okay, so she had me at the name. Regardless of how this fragrance smelled I was in, boots and all! 

Tory Burch's new fragrance, Love Relentlessly is pure romance.
It's pink pepper and rose, folded into ambertonic and patchouli. 
It is beautiful, it is intensely feminine, it is luscious and warm. 
I am wearing it everyday. It is a lovely year round fragrance, but for right now it makes me think of a winter white cashmere sweater and curling up on an overstuffed sofa in front of an open fire, with a gorgeous man. This perfume is loooove! 

The packaging is beautiful, and don't you just love the bottle?

Thank you so much Rakuten Affilate Network and Bloomingdales!
These are just wonderful gifts and I adore them all.
XO 

All images by Kristina Beth Photography

Christmas Red - The Best Red Lips For The Season

I am all about a bold red lip at Christmas time.

Actually, I am all about a bold red lip most of the time.

I wear Julie Hewett Rouge Noir - the perfect true red - almost every day at the moment, and it has been my go to red lip since it first came out back in the 90's. I wonder how many tubes of it I have gone through over the years?? It's either scary to think about, or glorious. Not sure which!

If you are shopping for a new red, or looking for a great stocking stuffer, here are my all time favorite red lipsticks. (with online shopping links)

1.MAC Ruby Woo

This has got to be one of the greatest red lipsticks ever. Period.

It has a blue base, so if you are a blue-red girl don't even question it, just get it. It's fabulous.

Order online here

Ruby Woo

2. This next one is my personal red lipstick  

Julie Hewett Rouge Noir.

A perfect true red lip.

Order online here

Julie Hewett Rouge Noir

3. Lime Crime Red Velvet

I'm pretty obsessed with this velvet finish, deep red lip. It's a cult classic, and there's nothing quite like it out there.

Order online here

4. Makeup Forever Rouge Artist Intense M8
Another really fantastic red lip. Intensely pigmented, this one gives color with a punch, and it lasts and lasts.
Order online here

5. Not a blue-red girl? Well if you are an orange-red girl then this is a fantastic, vibrant lipstick for you.

MAC Lady Danger

Order online here

Lady Danger

6. Nars Jungle Red 

This one is a 1950s, silver screen movie star red lip. Muah.

Order online here

7. Inglot Perfect Red Lips Number 126
Order online here

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Christmas Party Makeup Tips

 I absolutely love Christmas parties! 

Or to be politically correct, holiday parties.

With party season in full swing here are some tips for the perfect Christmas party makeup.

 1. It all starts with your complexion.
Make sure your skin is exfoliated and well hydrated, and then use a silicone based foundation to give the skin a lumious quality. Powdery foundations and crushed mineral foundations seldom make the skin glow - they normally make it dull.

2. Add a little luminizer.
Run a small amount of luminizer along the top of the cheekbone and up through the temple area. They idea is to give light something to pop off, not to make the skin look glittery or frosty.

Catarina Lopez by Eric Cassee
Makeup Corinna Cooke
Hair Will Zecco

3. Accent the brow.
Add some definition and accent to the brow, to waken the eye and add some drama.
NOTE: this does not mean do an instagram squared brow. They look ridiculous. Need a good brow model to emulate? Look at Dita Von Teese - girlfriend invariably gives good brow.

Dita gives good brow...

4. Line your upper eyelid.
A winged eyeliner is perfect for a Christmas party. Use a cream/gel formula and a crisp, precise brush to create a defined eye. Finish your look with multiple coats of mascara and some outer corner lashes.

5. Choose a matte red lip.
Offset your glowing complexion, defined brow and gently accented eye with a full blown gorgeous, bold red matte lip. 
I love blue based reds at Christmas time, such as MAC Ruby Woo or Lime Crime Velveteen Red Velvet
If you can't wear a blue based red, use your regular red lipstick, but give it some extra depth by using a darker liner.

Valentine's Day Makeup Look # 3 ~ In With Skin

I recently shot a series of makeup tutorials

for The Beauty Room at In With Skin, 

exclusively using MAC cosmetics 

All the products used are from the MAC permanent line,

so no matter where you are in the world, and no matter when you are watching these tutorials, you can order the colors we've used.

In With Skin MAC makeup tutorial, Valentine's Day Look 3
image by Bill Christ

The look for Valentine's Day makeup 3

is for going out on a chic, more dressed up date, 

where your look is a little more sleek and stylized.

We went with a soft yet defined eye with a winged liner,

and a fierce red mouth.

On model Kimmy Vu's eyes I used

the MAC Paint Pot in Painterly, 

doubling it up as both an eyeshadow base and 

as an all over color from the lashline to the brow.

Next I used eyeshadow Blanc Type all over the eye.

To give the eye some very soft dimension I used a fluffy brush

and an eyeshadow called Wedge, 

which I applied through Kimmy's crease.

Fluidline in Blacktrack was used to create a simple cat eye,

followed by tons of mascara 

and some additional outer corner lashes.

Kimmy's look was completed with s super strong,

 uber sexy red mouth.

I used MAC Cherry lip liner, 

then filled in Kimmy's lip 

with the one and only Ruby Woo lipstick.

Here is the video