Runway Ready

Nothing draws me in like a shiny new display of cosmetics... and L'Oreal's Project Runway inspired The Colors Take Flight stopped me dead in my tracks.  These plummage-inspired palettes are the brainchild of makeup artist Collier Strong and are gorgeous enough to chase away any cold-weather blues.

This Limited Edition 20-piece release is split into four sub-collections that includes an eyeshadow quad ($9 each), a lipstick ($7 each), a blush ($10 each) and two nail polishes ($5 each).  L'Oreal supplies little tear-away guides to take the guesswork out of the shadow quad.

Audacious Amazon (bright eye, fusha lip)

Charming Cockatoo (pink/blue eye, burgundy lip)

Watchful Owl (metallic eye, red lip)

Sultry Raven (smokey eye, nude lip).

Stores only got a very limited amount and this collection flew (hah! bird reference) off shelves FAST. I visited a total of 6 drugstores to amass my collection, which consists of the four lipsticks, all the shadows but Audacious Amazon, and 2 of the blushes "watchful owl" and "charming cockatoo".  Pictures really do these shades no justice.  These collections are super wearable and blend fabulously.  The lippys are super creamy and pigmented... I'm a huge fan of Audacious Amazon's gorgeous fusha.  The blushes blend nicely and the beautiful shades are totally buildable.  The packaging itself looks so chic and the blush compacts are super brush friendly.

My love affair with L'oreal never ceases.

Absolutely Lady Like

Normally, I steer clear of the grey/beige/nude shades of polish, but I have to say I am totally digging "Lady like" from Essie's Fall 2011 limited edition "Brand New Bag" line.  This creamy mauve polish is unlike anything I've really seen... a perfectly pretty mixture of dusty pink, taupe, and lilac that's absolutely chic and feminine but not too girly.

2 coats of this Essie polish and you're good to go... and unlike some milkier colors there is no dragging and no streaking.

...and really, the picture doesn't even do it justice.  Go!  Now! Pick up a bottle of this amazing polish before it's too late!

A dewey natural look that's just too perfect not to try yourself

I love, love, loved Olivia Wilde's look in October's Allure.

Super clean, very natural.  There is something so fresh and different about this look even though we've seen it a million times.

To create this soft look, makeup artist Makky P. pressed a shimmery, petal pink shodow on her lids just above the crease.  He then used a peachy bronze highligher down the bridge of her nose and along her chin, (supposedly Revlon's Age Defying Spa Illuminator "bare light") and added a matte pink blush to her cheeks.  To keep the look natural, he used a sheer pink lipstick with a light layer of clear lip balm on top.

I wanted to try my hand at this look, and it certainly seemed easy enough.  Here's my take:

I approached my makeup the same way, but recreated it using makeup I already had rather than run out and purchase the Revlon products that had supposedly been used:
To start: Covergirl's Natureluxe Foundation (light and sheer, totally breathable with a fresh cucumber scent)
On the nose and jawline: Revlon's Age Defying Spa Illuminator "bare light" (light scent and delivers a dewey glow without being greasy)
Blush: L'Oreal's Super Blendable Blush Shade 425 "Charming Cockatoo's Blush (the lightest pink, but totally buildable color)
Shadow: Pixi Fairy Light Solo in Champagne Glow (brightens up your eyes with the swipe of a brush)
Lips: L'Oreal's "Sultry Ravens Pout" Lipstick, (a light nude, with just a touch of pink) topped with chapstick (I used bert's bees mango <3 but anything clear will do)

To brighten the eyes a tad I lined the inner rims of my eyes with a light pink liner