Category: Bobbi Brown

Holiday Beauty Loot

Leave a comment

Merry day after Christmas! I was very lucky this year and received a lot of fabulous beauty products from my mother- all of which were a surprise. Check out my links below as to what I got!

Bobbi Brown Beach Collection

As I’ve written before in my favorite scents blog post, I have four scents that I wear regularly and Bobbi Brown Beach is one of them. Last year my mom also got me a collection gift like this one but it didn’t have the shower gel or body scrub that this one does. I can’t wait to use it! (Not pictured a bag of mini Bobbi treats from mascara, face oil and eye cream shadow).

Clinique Long Last Glosswear in Tenderheart

I’m going to be honest – I was surprised to see this as I haven’t worn Clinique in a while (although I think they are a great brand). I was recently eyeing their 100 point gift of a mini gloss in Black Honey at Sephora and was bummed that I didn’t have enough points to use it. My mother nailed it with the color choice for me – this pretty, natural but polished color looks like my lips just a little more pretty. Great job, Kathy!

Lollia hand cream in Wish

Best stocking gift ever. Like Beach perfume, this is one of my four regular scents and I have both a tube of this hand cream and the mini perfume at my desk. Every time I use it, two things happen. My coworker immediately asks if she can use it and I start hearing “Something smells like the beach” from several people. I love everything about this product, from the scent to the packaging, which is dainty and demure. It reminds me of the little boutique on the Cape where my mother bought it for me, which sells french-decor, jewelry and all the Lollia products. Whenever I’m out of my perfume or hand cream, I try and stop in there to buy it there. There is something about buying this type of product in a boutique rather than online that just makes it a special experience.

by Nature Coconut & Ocean Minerals Body Butter

I’ve actually never heard of this product or brand, but I’m a sucker for anything involving Coconut. I use pure coconut oil as my face moisturizer of choice and love to slather it on my hands before bed. This body butter smells like vacation and really sinks in to the skin nicely. I will be doing research on this brand once I start using it a bit more!

Moroccan Oil Light Oil Therapy

This is such a great product for smoothing hair as well as treating it. I have to use the Light version as I have fine hair and I’m so happy my mom remembered! I used to use this all the time as I love the way it smells and makes my hair feel – I’m glad to see this favorite back again! Once my Drybar products are out I may be shifting back to this…FullSizeRender

Cosmetic and beauty products are hard items to buy for someone but my mother did a fantastic job this year. She picked some really great items based on knowing what brands and scents I like along with my lip shade. She even got my husband some luxurious Sea Salt soap!

What beauty products did you get for the holidays?

Maureen

How to turn a bold lipstick nightmare into an everyday dream

1 Comment

February 8, 2015

Have you ever wanted to try a brave lipstick trend like a classic red lip or a dark wine pout? I’ve been there too.  Sometimes you get just the right color and you think “I am so glad I did this-it’s exactly the change I needed”. More often than not though your response is “Why did I think I could pull this off?” or “Where would I wear this?”. Yep, been there too. This holiday season I was determined to rock the bold classic red lip that was featured in Bobbi Brown’s email. The model was fair, like me so I thought if she could pull it off, I could too. When I actually tried the look out, it didn’t look bad but it just wasn’t me. I’m a more natural but polished kind of girl and I just felt uncomfortable. Before I went to return it, however I tried some tricks in order to make it more “me” and voila, I salvaged the lipstick and now I have a new rosy lip look. If you have had the same sort of experience with a lip color that just didn’t turn out how you wanted, before you return it, try the below tricks to see if you can make it fit into your lifestyle.

1. First make sure your lips are nice and smooth to start with. The cold has reeked havoc on everyone’s skin, especially our lips. Try exfoliating them and then applying a nice balm after on a regular basis (nightly if you like). You can buy lip exfoliants from brands like Fresh and Sara Hipp but its really easy to make it at home. Mix a little oil and sugar in your hand and then rub over lips after wetting them with warm water for about 30 seconds. Wash off with warm water and then apply your balm. Don’t have any sugar? An old toothbrush will also work. This step is important because the more chapped your lips are the more they will stand out (in a bad way) when you apply a statement color lip.

2. Apply a muted lipstick. I have one that I like from Maybelline that I wear on its own called Raw Reveal. If you don’t have a muted lipstick that’s ok (but consider getting one-they are really great when you want to create a feminine look. I love big lashes and muted lips) you can use a cream or liquid foundation or a concealer. This purpose of this step is to tone down your color but it will also help your color adhere to your lips. Bonus!

3. Apply your color choice. I like to apply with a lip brush as you have more control in putting the color exactly where you want it. If you don’t have one, you can apply right from the tube but GO EASY. Do not put a lot of pressure on the lip as you did with your muted lipstick. Apply until you feel comfortable with the color depth and then finish by rubbing your lips together to blend step 2 and 3 together. Your color should resemble the one in the tube but should be a softer, less aggressive version.

4. If you like your look feel free to call it a day and be done. I personally love to end the look with a pearly, brightening lip gloss. The gloss does a few things for this look. It makes it less “I’m on the way to the Oscars” and more “I’m running to a meeting and look pretty” which makes it appropriate to wear in everyday situations. It also brightens the look up with a white color and it gives it sheen. My favorite (surprise, surprise) is Bobbi Brown’s Brightening Lip Gloss in White. It lasts forever, is applied with a lip brush and smells like vanilla. I wear this over almost anything as well as on its own.

So what do you think-want to give it a go? Hopefully this helps you feel a little bit more comfortable about going out of your lip comfort zone.

IMG_0211

All I wanted for Christmas is to be beautiful!

Leave a comment

December 28, 2014

Good evening and welcome back from the holidays! I admit I have been lacking on the blog posts in the past month or so with the hustle of the holidays but I am back and resolve this year to publish more posts on the regular so stick with me. Besides whipping up some home-made body scrubs for some ladies, here are some beauty treats I gave and received on Christmas.

To my darling mother I gave my most recent mascara purchase which she test drove at Thanksgiving ( I apologize for not blogging about this stuff – its pretty amazing stuff). It is by a cosmetics company called Younique and the product is called Moodstruck. Its almost exactly like Too Faced Better than False Lashes (a step mascara with fibers) except the fibers in Moodstruck are black, not white and the effect is much more “pow”. If you decide to purchase you just have to choose a salesperson (pick anyone at random) to give the commission to.

Moodstruck

For my soon to be mother in law (by the way the six month count down began yesterday!) I was asked to put together a box of cosmetics, which I did very happily! Some items included Too Faced Better than Sex mascara, mascara guide, Garnier BB Cream, ELF Lip colors, brushes as well as the Bare Minerals eye shadow and cheek pallette below. I can’t wait until she uses it!

72518-0

Lastly, I was a lucky lady this year and received some Bobbi Brown treats as well as some Essie polishes. Recently I saw Bobbi’s email for red lips and decided to really go for it so I asked Kathy for lip liner, lipstick and gloss all in scarlet and all made their way to my stocking. I also received two surprise Essie nail polishes from my future mother in law on Christmas Eve. I can’t wait to try them all out- see below.

IMG_1344

What beauty treats did you give and receive?

Maureen

My Favorite Brands… Bobbi Brown

1 Comment

November 9, 2014

I originally was going to write one post about my four favorite brands but I decided I wanted to keep each one separate in order to give each one the attention it deserves (as well as keep you in suspense!) Also, that would be a really long blog post and I don’t want to do that to any of you. So here goes – let’s begin this blog series with the Queen – BB, B Squared, Bobbi, whatever you want to call her, she is Bobbi Brown.

Where.To.Start. When I was 23 entering my second job (with the first being HORRIBLE) I had a wonderful boss who was stylish, hilarious and quirky. Not to mention obsessed with Bobbi Brown. I admired this woman and she was a wonderful mentor for me as I started my career in corporate retail. I don’t remember how she got me started with Bobbi Brown but she was definitely the influence. At 23 I was making pennies but I remember managing to purchase a product here and a product there and at Christmas and my birthdays she would buy me Bobbi treats so I could add to my growing collection. Slowly I started reading more about Bobbi myself and becoming a fan on my own, not just because my manager was.

Why I love the line: In two words – polished and pretty. Bobbi comes out with new products each season obviously just like the other cosmetic lines but her brand and face remains true not trendy and I think that’s what I most admire. The Bobbi face is clean, classic but modern, and can never be accused of trashy or overdone. Even her packaging is classic – I love the black with the thin white writing – still do this day when I see a woman pulling out a Bobbi product I immediately think she is smart for choosing Bobbi.

As I started getting older I started getting my mother into Bobbi as well and little by little she also became a convert. Now besides a suggested mascara from myself or her staple Lancome lipstick, she only wears Bobbi. See below for her makeup drawer – (I got my father to sneak a couple of pictures for this post). Seriously – how amazing is that drawer full of Bobbi? When I come visit I’m like a kid in a candy store. I too have my own Bobbi collection (obviously as I’m writing this post about her) and my mother is very generous in treating me at Christmas to beautiful pallets of eye shadow and lip color as well as as the ever popular Beach perfume and lotion.

BB

Yes, she’s pricey but yes she is worth it. You will have these products forever and the colors never go out of style. These are like classic investment pieces for your wardrobe – you only need a few to really change up your look. Be careful though – you too will become a convert. Thinking of trying Bobbi out? Here are some of my favorite picks that she is known for:

 

Shimmer Brick – comes in a handful of color ranges but this is the bronze. You use this for highlighting your upper cheeks, forehead and bridge of nose. Oh and bonus? You can use all those colors as eye shadows!

bb_prod_E1F6_290x315_0

 

Bronzer – yep, I just plopped $40 down about a month ago for this but you know what? This is only the second one I have ever bought and its the best bronzer I have ever used. Its so natural looking, not muddy and blends well.

BB Bronzer

 

Long-wear cream eye shadow – this came out years ago and started the cream shadow craze. Its absolutely gorgeous on and the best part is there is no shadow fall like you get from powder shadow.

BB Eye Shadow

 

Long-wear gel eyeliner – yep she started this craze too. Apply with a brush to create a beautiful line and make it either dramatic or soft.

BB Eye liner

 

Rouge pot for lips and cheeks – I used this on my friend when I did her makeup for her wedding and ended up using it on her mother as well as myself. Such a great product and very versatile.

BB Rouge Pot

Ok these are it for now but really every Bobbi Brown product is beautiful – there are really too many to list individually. And don’t even get me started on how beautiful her new Scotch on the Rocks collection is – I want all of it (Kathy, I hope you’re reading this – Christmas is coming- just saying 😉

XOXO

Maureen