We spend hundreds of dollars each year on mascaras and some of us spend way more on lash extensions and treatments like Latisse. The easiest, least fussy and most subtle new option on come on the market just may be LashDip.

In the most simple definition, LashDip is a semi-permanent mascara that last up to 6 weeks. It has to be applied by a certified professional and currently there is only one place in Manhattan where you can get this treatment, with makeup artist Christian Zamora, at Cournet Akai Lash Boutique in Midtown. With a price tag of $200, it is definitely a luxury treatment and you can trust your lashes completely at Christian’s expertise.

LashDip coats your individual lashes, root to tip and adds volume, fullness, and definition so you get the perfect mascara application. It is completely waterproof and will stay put even through a serious swim session (I’ve put it through the test). It can be used on bare lashes or on lashes with extensions.

I was given the privilege to sample LashDip at Christian’s expert hands and instantly fell in love with it. I got to try lash extensions as well which have been popular for a while but I’d always been nervous to try. When it comes to extensions, it is all about skill since each strand has to be attached to single lashes one by one. The lash extensions also cost $200; as I said, “Luxury item”!!! When I asked Christian how average girls afford it, he told me that many of his client’s find ways of saving up for them because they become addictive. And I agree. I was addicted as soon as I saw my lashes in the mirror after the two hour long application process of the extensions and the LashDip.

The convenience of having LashDip is just amazing. Waking up with your mascara fully done? Yes please! In my experience, the pros of LashDip are: the convenience, the definition and the time saved. The cons are: you may see a little flaking in the first week, it can feel weird to go to sleep thinking you have makeup on but that’s more psychological than discomforting. If you do get extensions under your LashDip however, it is really weird to adjust to them at first. Without realizing, I would touch or press my eyes hard which is not pleasant when wearing extensions because the fibers will hurt your lids.

Overall, my experience with LashDip and extensions have been amazing! Now if only it was within my arms reach in terms of cost, I would fully indulge my new obsession. Since it is not, I will leave that to my luckier readers.

Me with lash extensions and LashDip.

Contact Courtnet Akai Lash Boutique to try LashDip: www.CourtneyAkai.com

For many, Halloween is just a time to act on their inner demons or promiscuous fantasies and for many others, its time to bring out their creativity. Homemade costumes take the cake for me specially because they are just so hard to to make. Cool makeup that is not just loads of face paint but creating costumed looks with actual makeup that wont wreck your skin, gets extra points. The eerie and spot on cat look below, seen on a YSL beauty artist at the Bloomingdales in SoHo was the best Halloween Makeup I saw this year. She created this cat-like look with real makeup, using lots of liquid eyeliner on her nose and eyes, pencil eyeliner on her lips and cheeks and eye shadows to created depth. She got funky colored contacts from a beauty supply store in SoHo which completes the look to give it a creepy creature-like effect. She definitely gets my best Halloween look award!

I am a self professed sample sale addict and slowly and begrudgingly becoming more and more of an online shopper too. The mix of the two naturally leads to an addiction to online sample sales (oh no!). I’ve bought makup on Ruelala before and was not disappointed so I’d like to spread the word about this huge Lorac online sale on Hautelook.com.

The collection available on Hautelook.com has been hand-picked by celebrity makeup artist, Carol Shaw and is available for 50 – 85% off regular prices.  The sale begins on Wednesday, October 27th at 11am EST and ends on October 29th at 11am EST.

Items included in the sale:

• Baked Matte Satin Shadows
• Lipsticks
• Full Face Collections
• Palettes
• On Screen Due (Cream shadow and liner with highlighter)

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Lord and Taylor on 5th avenue in New York City recently gave it’s Beauty Floor a facelift, revamping and expanding the counters of some top beauty brands like Lancome, Chanel, Clinique and Shiseido. Shiseido, the famous Japanese beauty and hair brand now offers it’s best selling skincare and makeup at the expanded counter at L&T.

Shiseido counter at Lord and Taylor in New York City.

I received a Shiseido lipstick at the press preview for the L&T Ultimate Facelift that has made it into my daily routine, so I had to feature it on this blog. The stick of Perfect Rouge Almond Pink BR702 that I am obsessed with is the nude shade that I have always searched for but never found. It’s hard to find a shade that is not transparent yet nude on almost all skin tones but this one does it. Get it in store or online for $25.

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My MTV VMAs viewing party was almost one month ago and I’m seriously overdue for this post, but here it is! I held a viewing party at my apartment, sponsored by Proactiv, to watch the MTV VMAs with some girlfriends so we could chat about the craziness that may occur (think Kanye West’s stunt last year) real time instead of dishing about it the next day and tweet about it as it happened.

My bloggy bestie, Sammy Davis joined me to watch/tweet/blog and cheer on Proactiv spokespeople Justin Bieber and Katy Perry while munching on some delicious vegan food and sip some wine on September 12th when the VMAs aired. We were really excited with Justin Bieber won a Moonman! Due to a soggy and rainy day there were some last minute cancellations but we made the most of it.  Here are some photos from the night.

Proactiv products for the guest to take home! Continue Reading

I stumbled upon Roberto Cavalli’s Official Facebook Fan Page and was sort of blown away by this amazing photo album I found in there of the models backstage getting their makeup and hair done. The gorgeous girls were made up in a rocker chick meets California blond look with copper smokey eyes and flat-ironed hair. The eyes had the perfect copper tone with lash to brow heavy shadow and a touch of wet looking shimmer on the lids. The lips were mainly a matte nude with a few girls wearing light lip tint. Below are some of my favorite photos from the album.

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Andy and Debb, are two Korean designers who met in NYC while studying at Pratt Institute, fell in love and married before moving to Seoul to start their own line. They have been steadily growing in popularity and have been showcasing at New York Fashion Week since 2008 where they presented their SS 09 collection.

This year, Andy and Debb collaborated with Shu Uemura, the Japanese hair and makeup brand for beauty at their SS 2011 show at the Mecedes-Benz Fashion Show. Matthew Morris, was the lead stylist from Shu Uemura Art of Hair, who gave the models a frizzy candy floss pony tail to complement the collection.

Matthew Morris touching up the models' hair

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Bobbi Brown has a long history in makeup. In addition to having a degree in stage makeup, I admire her for being the CEO of her very successful brand and for the use of “real girls” in her ad campaigns. Her messages is that makeup doesn’t create beauty, but enhances it, which I find is a very healthy way of looking at cosmetics.

Lord and Taylor held a launch to celebrate her newly released book on called Beauty Rules on Friday, September 24, 2010 where lucky shoppers had a chance to meet Bobbi for a book signing and get a free makeover with a customized face card.

Beauty Rules book launch event at the new Bobbi Brown counter at Lord and Taylor

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Dark under eye circles are something that affects a lot of women, 53% of all women to be exact, according to a study done by Clinique in 2006 (cited in NYTimes.com). More than half of the world’s women have to deal with dark circles and bags under their eyes which are caused primarily by genetics and can be made worse through lifestyle choices like staying up late and eating salty food that make your body retain water. Whatever the reason might be, dark circles are not fun and I’m constantly looking for makeup and products to that will make them go away or be less visible.

After years of searching, I did find the perfect concealer from Make Up Forever, but still feel the need to improve my under eye regimen. Enter Elizabeth Grant’s The Socializer.

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If you have passed by the deodorant section of the drugstores recently, you must have noticed the tiny spritzer bottles alongside the deodorant sticks. So far, I’ve seen mists from Secret and Dove and have tested out the Dove one.

I’m the girl that owns four bottles of perfume and about a dozen sticks of deodorants and antiperspirants (including some men’s deodorants as well!) so I was eager to try Dove’s Body Mist in the Revive scent.

Revive is scented with pomegranate and lemon verbana and promises to deliver a crisp and awakening experience and deliver a bit of moisturization that is a trademark of Dove. I found the scent to be refreshing but didn’t exactly benefit from the moisture since I used it more as an on-the-go spritz during the day and sprayed it all over while I was dressed.

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