I Found a Super Cool Website!

I've done a few of those websites where you can upload your picture and then put different hairstyles and haircolors on your head. Those mostly haven't ended up being all that helpful because I couldn't ever get them to fit my face very well.

I found an incredibly cool website that not only is easy to use, but it doesn't just do your hair - it does your makeup, too! There are literally thousands of ways to do it, and it actually lets you pick the makeup you put on your picture by brand if you want. There are hundreds of colors of foundation, blush, eyeshadow, lipstick, lip gloss, and other cosmetics you can put on your picture. It's AMAZING what you can do to your picture on this website. It's www.taaz.com. You can look at other people's makeovers, and if you check out the gallery, you can see where people have uploaded random pictures they've DRAMATICALLY made over. This way, you can try out some crazy bright blue eyeshadow or hot pink lipstick without doing it in a department store where people can watch or spending money on it and hating it when you get home and try it on. Here are a few of my favorite makeovers I found (mostly a little wild, of course!). Go to the website and check out the original versions of these pictures.

Fragrances I LOVE

I don't just adore makeup - I love perfume, too, and that's a part of the whole cosmetics realm. I want to introduce you to some of my favorite fragrances!

I'm currently constantly wearing Viva La Juicy from Juicy Couture ($65-$95). Its top notes are wild berries and mandarin orange, while the heart of the fragrance is honeysuckle, gardenia, and jasmine. After it's dried down on the skin, it settles on the base notes of amber, caramel, vanilla, sandalwood, and pralines. It retains a lot of the fruity top note's scent on my skin, which I love. I'm constantly getting asked what I'm wearing, which I love.

I really like the newest fragrance from Yves Saint Laurent, Parisienne ($39-$85), with notes like Damask rose, violet, peony, cranberry, blackberry, musk, sandalwood, vinyl, and lacquer. It's a unique fragrance (like most from YSL) that's light and seductive.

Idole d'Armani ($35-$75) is the newest fragrance from Giorgio Armani. It's feminine and floral, with top notes of bitter orange, ginger, and juicy pear. At the heart of the fragrance is rose loukoum (a sweet Turkish confection), jasmine, and saffron absolute. Idole d'Armani dries down to a base of patchouli and vetiver. I've always been kind of leery of most Armani fragrances because they're usually sweeter than I like, but their newest launch has the perfect balance of sweet and spicy.

I'm particularly a fan of most Chanel fragrances (my dog's name is Coco Chanel!). One that I've loved for a long time is Allure Sensuelle, which has been discontinued unfortunately (it was only launched in 2006). It was a heavier, warm, almost powdery fragrance with notes of iris, bergamot, pink pepper, jasmine, candied fruits, French vanilla, amber, patchouli, and frankincense. My replacement favorite Chanel fragrance is Chance Eau Fraiche ($50-$90), which is a bright floral with notes of cedar, pink pepper, water hyacinth, jasmine, teak wood, and white musk, among others. This is another fragrance that I get a lot of compliments on.

I've also recently been trying out Dolce and Gabbana's Light Blue ($45-$82) with mixed reviews. My husband wears the men's version, which smells incredible on him. The ladies' fragrance is very light, and an interesting, unique smell that doesn't remind me of anything else I've tried. It has notes of Granny Smith apple, bluebell, jasmine, bamboo, white rose, amber, and Sicilian citron. It's definitely one to give a try if you're looking for something truly different from all the rest.

Gwen Stefani's "L" L.A.M.B. ($40-$72) is one of my favorites, too. It smells like sweet roses on me personally (not in a creepy funeral-home kind of way, though). It also has notes of jasmine, lily of the valley, orange blossom, peach, and heliotrope, making it a light, lovely floral.

My final, all-time favorite that I've worn since 2003 (I was 16 when I started wearing it!) is Estee Lauder's Beyond Paradise ($39.50-$69.50). It's a very bold floral fragrance with notes of blue hyacinth, Jabuticaba fruit, orange flower Templar, Laelia orchid, crepe jasmine, pink honeysuckle, natal plum blossoms, ambrette seed, Zebrano wood, and mahonia japonica (a bunch of crazy things most people have never heard of, basically). Beyond Paradise gets some pretty crappy reviews usually - I've read many saying it reminded them of a graveyard with rotting flowers in the summer or stagnant flower arrangement water. Those are definitely not good reviews! But for some reason, it seems to smell the best on me of any fragrance I've tried. The oils mix with everyone's body chemistry differently and change the smell, so maybe that's why it works on my skin. Every single time I wear this, no matter where I go, someone stops me to tell me that I smell amazing. It's really been my signature scent. I was wearing it when my husband and I first met and when we first started dating, and to this day, he hates when I wear other perfumes usually. He has a soft spot in his heart for Beyond Paradise, just like I have a soft spot for Giorgio Armani's Armani Mania that he wore back then.

These are just a few fragrances I've been wearing a lot of lately, and that usually changes with the season (or sometimes just my mood). Spring is when a lot of companies launch new fragrances so I'll do a review of my favorite new ones when that time rolls around.

Red Lips - Finding the Right Shade For Your Skin Tone

Red lipstick is a great way to add a punch of color to your look while still looking very chic and classic. It can be hard to find the perfect shade of red for your skin tone, so here are some recommendations I have for each shade.

If you have a medium, warm skin tone (gold undertones), wine reds can be the most attractive. Sephora Brand's Lip Attitude Lipstick in Raspberry Red 29 ($12) is a great option, as is Laura Gellar Creme Couture Soft Touch Matte Lipstick in Bordeaux ($18, pictured below).

Shiseido's Perfect Rouge Lipstick in Dragon ($25) is another great choice.

Women with a fairer skin tone (usually cool, meaning it has pink undertones) look best with a blue-based true red. If it goes on too pink, brown, or coral, it's doesn't always work. Lancome's Color Design Lipstick in Red Stiletto ($22) is a creamy true red that looks flattering on pale skin.

Kat Von D's Painted Love Lipstick in Hellbent ($18) is a rich blood red that I love, also (actually, I love just about everything from Kat Von D's makeup line, available at Sephora).

Women with olive or dark skin usually look best with a warm red with orange or brown undertones. Nars Lipstick in Heatwave ($19) is a gorgeous semi-matte creamy red with orangey undertones.

Sephora's Lip Attitude - Star in Capricious Red 14 ($12) is shiny, shimmery mix of lipstick and lip gloss.

Vincent Longo's Velvet Riche Rejuvenating Lipstick in Carnelian Whisper ($23) is a deeper, creamy brick red that flatters darker skin tones.

Sephora's Maniac Long Wear Lipstick in 10 ($12) is a creamy, warm brownish-red that also flatters deep skin tones.

Always remember that you need a great lip liner with red lipstick to help hold it inside the lip lines and help prevent it from feathering. My favorite is one I've mentioned before - DuWop's Reverse Lip Liner ($19) which is matte and is intended to be applied just outside the lip line. The great thing about it is that you won't get a harsh outline around your mouth and you can also wear it with any lip color other than your reds.

That's all for red lipsticks for now. If I don't get a chance to post anything in the next two days, have a very Merry Christmas (if you celebrate) and no matter what you celebrate, be safe!

My Favorite Eyeshadows

My number one favorite type of eyeshadow is Lancome's Color Design Eyeshadow ($16.50). They come in dozens of different colors and can be matte, sheen, shimmery, metallic, or intense. They give great color payoff and hold incredibly well throughout the day.

Volcano, which is a shimmery taupey-gray color is one of my favorites. When paired with warm neutrals, it looks more brown, but when paired with cool colors like blacks and silvers, it looks more gray. I love having that option of transition.

The New Black is a metallic true black packed with tons of silver glitter. I love to use this all over the lower eyelid for a very dramatic look, or blended in at the lashline for a soft, smoky look.

Filigree is a pale, shimmery cream color that can be used with literally just about anything. It's perfect as an all-over starting color, as a highlighter up on the brow bone, or just smudged a little in the inner corner of the eye (doing this brightens the whole eye area).

Personal Style (left) is a shimmery pale aqua that looks amazing with The New Black for a dramatic eye. Fashion Forward (right) looks especially pretty with pale pink in the spring for a candy colored look.

The Fall 2009 Declaring Indigo Color Collection brought us the Indigo Charm color quad. This one was hard to find once it launched because of unbelievable popularity. It has two shades of indigo, both intense, one with gold glitter in it and one with it. The other two shades in the quad are a lighter metallic gold and a darker, almost dirty gold that's also metallic. Paired with red lips, this look was innovative, fresh, and unique.

A few last shades I love are Makeover (a pale shimmery pink), Impress (a metallic chocolate brown), Statuesque (a matte true black), Faux Pas (a matte medium brown), and Designer (a metallic olive green).

This one is Makeover.

This one is Faux Pas.

This is Designer.

Another brand of eyeshadows I love are MAKEUP FOREVER's Singles ($19). They come in matte, semi-matte, and iridescent and have an extensive range of colors. They're soft and easy to blend, but not crumbly.

My favorites are Lavender 9 (a vibrant matte lavender), Neon Pink 75 (a bright matte fuchsia), and Rust Orange 36 (a matte apricot-orange). These are pictured in order below.

MAC's Eyeshadow Singles ($14.50) some of my favorites, too. They are smooth, fine powders that apply evenly and blend easily. I particularly love Chrome Yellow (a matte, vibrant yellow), Beauty Marked (a deep burgundy-ish black with sparkle), and Plumage (a deep, matte teal).

Sephora's Sephora Brand Colorful Eyeshadows ($10-$12) are available in a matte finish, pearl finish, chrome finish, and their newest mono finish that has more intense, bold color. These definitely deserve a mention because they are oustanding - they have a wide range of colors, they're pressed and don't break up easily, and they all blend well. Another honorable mention as far as drugstore brands go would be Cover Girl's Eye Enhancers line ($3.14-$4.84) - they have recently come out with fantastic shades in singles, duos, trios, and even quads, and the quality is really great. The JK Jemma Kidd line (sold exclusively at Target) also has fantastic eyeshadows, running from $16-$29.

I love eyeshadow, and I love lots of bold color. All of these brands I've mentioned have a long list of colors to choose from, and they're all great quality products and I wouldn't recommend them otherwise. Have fun with color - try it in new ways, try out shades you wouldn't normally dare to, and wear it confidently!

Pale Pink Lips? Not Just For Spring

How amazing does Katy Perry look here? Her pale pink lips are a perfectly soft, girly balance to her dramatic dark eyeliner. Usually we wait until spring to pull out the pale pinks but I think this is a fresh way to brighten up your look this winter. Here's some tips on how to get Katy's pretty, ladylike look. Start with a good base, concealer, and powder of course. Katy has a perfectly matte finish to her skin, something that can be achieved with MAKEUP FOREVER Duo Mat Powder Foundation ($32), a pressed powder that provides a full, shine-free coverage.

A sheer pink blush brushed below the cheekbones angled back toward the ear contours the face perfectly. I like Lorac Blush in Desire ($19) which is a slightly shimmery pink.

Now, for the eyes. After applying whichever eyeshadow base you prefer, you'll want to put a pale pinky-skintone color all over. Urban Decay's Eyeshadow in Chopper ($16) is the perfect shade for this.

Then, from the lashline up into the crease and even just a tiny bit above the crease, you'll want to put a deep plum shade that's either faintly shimmery or matte. If it's too glittery, it will blow the whole look out of proportion and make it childlike instead of grown-up girly. Smashbox's Single Eyeshadow in Cabernet ($16) is a deep burgundy with a soft shimmer to it that works perfect for this look.

For the eyeliner, you'll want to either use a liquid or brush on gel or cream form. I'm picky about liquids, I really only like them if they have a felt tip applicator. The brush on eyeliners give that same liquid liner look but I find the brush is often easier the handle than most liquid liners. Smashbox's Cream Eyeliner ($22) is great because once it sets, it's completely smudgeproof. For this look, I'd go with that in Caviar, a true black.

If you're more of a fan of traditional liquid eyeliners, I'd recommend Lancome's Artliner in Noir ($28) because it is easily applied with the felt tip. It dries quickly and doesn't flake like some other liquid liners.

Katy's lashes are super thick and dark, making the eyes perfectly dramatic. If your lashes are particularly sparse, you may want to try fakes - MAKEUP FOREVER has an AMAZING line of false eyelashes, ranging from natural-looking ones to rhinestoned and feathered ones. If you want to skip that and go straight for mascara, I recommend Dior's DiorShow Mascara ($24). It comes in waterproof and non-waterproof and doesn't flake or clump up like many thickening mascaras do. Apply it over Lancome's Oscillation Powerbooster Lash Primer ($39) for the fullest, longest lashes. An added bonus: Oscillation Powerbooster conditions and treats your lashes so they grow in longer, thicker, and healthier all around. Since starting to use it in July, I've noticed my eyelashes don't fall out nearly as much!

Finally, we come to the whole purpose of this post - the pretty pink lips! Start out by lining the lips with DuWop's Reverse Lipliner ($19). This is my FAVORITE lip liner of all time. It's a colorless, matte liner that you can literally use with absolutely any lipcolor. You apply it just on the outside edge of the lip, where it will fill in any fine lines to hold your lipcolor in place and keep it from bleeding out around the lips.

Next, you'll want to fill in your lips with a pretty pink lipstick. I love Lancome's Color Fever Lipstick in S.O.S. Pink ($25) - it's a shiny, creamy pink that doesn't have any sparkle or shimmer, which keeps the bubblegum pink color from looking too childish.

Yves Saint Laurent's Pure Lipstick in Pink Celebration ($30) and Shiseido's Perfect Rouge Lipstick in Ariel ($25) are a couple of other great options.

On a side note - my hair cut/color turned out great! I'll be proud to post some pictures as soon as I get a chance!