(London) After being awe-inspired by the Halloween cat make up on this lady working at make up counter at Bloomingdale’s in SoHo, NYC last year, I decided to pay her a compliment this year. Imitation is the highest form of flattery after all, isn’t it?

My inspiration:

My ode to her amazing make up: 

What you need for this look:

- Cat eye contact lenses. I used these bought on Amazon.co.uk which were quite comfortable. Cost: £12.60
- Cat ears and tail costume accessories. Just go with the cheapest ones you can find but better if they are fuzzy. Cost: £4.99
- Lots of gel eyeliner to draw the best cat eye make up with and to draw on your nose and whiskers which can be used to draw on the lips as well. I used Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner. Previously owned. Cost: £7.99
- A handful of cotton buds to correct mistakes with the eyeliner as you go.
- For the costume, just wear high-waisted tight black pants and a sexy black tank. I wore my favourite black riding trousers from American Apparel and halter tank from Bebe. Cost: zero if sourced from your own wardrobe.

The new hot summer makeup collection from LORAC is so bronzy, bakey and shimmery that looking at the photos of the products is warming me up, even on this frigid cold day in NYC. It’s like they sprinkled sunshine in the makeup when they made it. I can only dream of warmer weather till is it summer but in the meantime, this collection is warming me up! The name of the collection is helping too (wink). It is called the Touch Me, Tease Me, TANtalize Me Collection.

LORAC Summer 2011 – selfTANtalizer – A body bronzing gradual self-tanner(with pomegranate seed oils!) - $34

Hot off the Red Carpet Collection - 2 shimmering Baked Eye Shadow Duos, a bronzer and 3D Lip gloss which I love! which comes in a bag - $36

3D Liquid Lustre is a shimmering top coat that can be worn over eye shadow or worn alone on eyes and cheeks for a luminous 3-Dimensional sparkle and shine.  The product is paraben-free and long-lasting. I wore a sample of it on my hand to test it throughout the day and it last a good four hours despite me constantly using my hands. I wore it on my bare lids and it added a subtle sparkle that was also dramatic. It sounds contradictory but you can see what I mean in the swatches below.

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As I had mentioned earlier, LORAC founder Carol Shaw did Nicole Kidman’s makeup for the Grammy’s, 2011. Nicole looked happy and stunning in a Jean-Paul Gaultier gown and natural makeup. Here are the steps that Carol Shaw took to create the look:

Complexion:

• Apply AquaPRIME Oil Free Makeup Primer to prepare skin for smooth, long-lasting makeup application
• Smooth Breakthrough Performance Foundation in SMS 1 all over skin for flawless coverage and a youthful radiance
• Give skin a picture perfect finish with Double Feature Concealer / Highlighter in 0.5
• For a flawless look apply Translucent Touchup Powder in TL1

Eyes:

• Prep the eyelid with Behind the Scenes Eye Primer
• Use NEW Multiplex 3D Eye Shadow Palette to highlight eyes and define with the Black shade
• Trace the lash line with Front of the Line Pro Eyeliner in Black
• Create dramatic, voluminous lashes with NEW Multiplex 3D Lashes Mascara
• Apply NEW 3D Liquid Lustre shimmering top coat over eye shadow for subtle sparkle and shine

Brows:

• Fill in brows with Take a Brow and Creamy Brow Pencil in Blonde

Cheeks:

• Brighten skin while giving a natural radiant glow with Perfectly Lit Oil-Free Luminizing Powder in Luminous
• Give cheeks a flushed, rosy pop of color with Baked Matte Satin Blush in Velvet Rope

Lips:

• For a natural soft pink lip use Breakthrough Performance Lipstick in Premiere
• Apply Couture Shine Liquid Lipstick in Haute for a long-lasting glossy finish

Photo courtesy: JustJared.buzznet.com

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(Toronto) On one of my recent trips to my hometown of Toronto, I visit Jacob, a Canadian brand comparable to Ann Taylor Loft in the US. They have recently launched a beauty line and introduced a trio of lip glosses in their stores. I had to pick one up right away out of curiosity and the $10 price tag was even more incentive. Here’s my review of Jacob Care Lip Gloss in the Donna shade.

The first thing you’ll notice about Jacob Care Lip Gloss is that is it tastes deliciously fruity. The shades available are Bella – a soft pink, Donna – a light coral and Cita – a vibrant raspberry.

Left to right: Bella, Donna, Cita

The consistency is thick but not too sticky. The gloss goes on in between sheer and opaque with the right amount of coverage to change the color of your lips, even on dark complexions. There is no plumping action but I found it made my lips look fuller. Below are swatches and samples of the lip gloss in the Bella shade.

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I received some awesome CARGO makeup in the gift bag at Grace Sun‘s SS2011 collection presentation in October. CARGO is a Canadian cosmetics company, headquartered in my hometown of Toronto that has a large fan base around the world. I’ve seen CARGO products at Sephora many times but never tried it for some reason but after testing out the gift bag goodies, I’m wondering why not. CARGO’s TexasLash mascara is made it stay put! We know that everything is big is Texas and this mascara will definitely Texas-ify your lashes. Mine seemed to have tripled in length and thickness after one coat. Don’t believe me? See for yourself after the jump!

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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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Lancome is undoubtedly the best makers of mascara in the beauty world. From grandmas to teenagers, everyone owns a Lancome mascara. To promote their most popular product, the mascara, Lancome opened up its first ever lash and mascara bar in the world at the new and renovated beauty floor at Lord and Taylor in New York City.

The lash bar/mascara bar is complete with samples of every one of their mascaras to try on. You will find all the unique brushes in one time use format as well as various formulas like Hypnose, Virtuose and my current favorite Definicils Precious Cells.

The Lancome experts at the counter are super friendly and will help you as much as you need or leave you alone to try things out by yourself if that’s what you want. The experience is a lot like Sephora where you can play with the makeup before you buy it.

The Lash Bar at Lord and Taylor.

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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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MAC released the new Dare To Wear collection for those who are “loud and proud who daily dare to declare their own individuality”. The Dare To Wear Lipglass is said to have a holographic pearl finish which on top of high voltage color would look amazingly intense. The pop-art colors of the eye shadows will let you create an Andy Warhol portrait right on your face. I can’t wait to try this collection out!