Tried + Tested: Tarte 4 Day Stay Lash Stain

The other night BFF Emilia Diamante called me in a panic. She was on her way to gay Paree for a month of long lunches, fine wine, unpasteurized cheeses and beaucoup days of *travaille* (that's work to all you non Francophiles).

And gasp-at the last minute-she realized her trusty mascara was past its prime. The exchange rate being what it is, she just couldn't bring herself to purchase a new tube while abroad. That's where I come in.

I agreed that she could try my single tube of the new Tarte 4 day stay lash stain ($18), which debuted in May, if she agreed to iPhone me (is that a verb yet?) a review of her road test. And voila, here's an account of the textersation*.

TO: JENNA
Bonjour. The weather is great. Trying to get in as many Pilates classes as
possible, but we're working a ton. You know the sit. lots of mtgs, lunches
and late dinners with the fash. kids. There's lots of champers and vino, but
not so much sleep.

TO: EMILIA
Pilates rules.too bad you are working so much..things here are normy.what's
the word on the mascara?

TO: JENNA
Pardon moi for not saying sooner. This stuff is great! Goes on smooth and
easy, and honestly, no clumping. It's kind of unbelievable.

TO: EMILIA
coolio. any word on the last-ability.according to the co. this polymer-rich
lash extender is packed with mineral pigments that stay put for up to 4
dayz.

TO JENNA:
Oui Oui. Not only does the color stay-put, it also doesn't itch or irritate.
I look like I've had some serious beauty sleep, when unfot. we all know the
sad truth.

TO EMILIA:
Sa-weet to hear.the itch-free factor is thanks to the fact that the formula
is fashioned (lol) from lots of agua and provit.B5. Plus, it's synthetic
dye-, mineral oil-, sulfate- and fragrance-free...totes bonuosity.

TO JENNA:
4 Sure. Je A'dore. I'm going to stock up on it when I'm stateside. See you
soon. Let's hit the flea mark. when I get back. *E

TO EMILIA:
totes. champs on me. xoxoxj

*Busted. The texersation may be fictionalized but the deets and review are
all true-blue. - Jenna Mahoney

The ColorOn Video: Now Watch The Pros

It was amateur hour last week when Jennifer A. and I posted our very own video of us applying ColorOn's new press-on eyeshadow appliques. But still!! Amateur or not, did you see how easy and how professionally applied our results turned out? I could not be prouder. It almost makes you want to go drum up a hot date just so you've got a reason to be swanning around town.

So now that you've seen your average makeup-obsessed girl press on a ColorOn, how about watching the pros do it?


Oh, but we're not done with these yet! Stick around next week as we bring you more Sephora employees trying on ColorOn!

Tried + Tested: The ColorOn Press & Peel Test

Our Product Patroler, Jennifer Appenrodt, recently blogged about the arrival of ColorOn, a press-on mineral cream eyeshadow that, just like the name sez, is applied by pressing on a shadow-filled sticker, then peeling off the back.

Skill level: Think temporary tattoo, only without the sponge & water part. But can eyeshadow really be that easy? More importantly, is the end result something you'd leave the house wearing? I needed answers - so I volunteered Jennifer's lids as the stars of my First Official ColorOn Video.

Watch her press 'em & test 'em!

End result:




















Not bad! For this original test, we picked a soft smoky brown set (the bottom deep brown color).

Because it's cream shadow, the kit also comes with a tiny vial of powder and mini-brush for dusting over lids (the powder helps set the shadow).

ColorOn comes in a ton of shades, ranging from soft to sultry to outright wild. And after seeing it, now I'm a tiny bit obsessed with how easy (and strangely fun) this is to get suddenly-smoky and presto! press-on shadow.

Which means STAY TUNED as I film more of our testers styling it up (and yes, we'll be bringing you footage of the zebra).

Inside SOS: Eyes, Brows, Cheeks & Lips!

Yesterday's Science of Sephora trainings were all about makeup! (Apologies to my partner for the amateur applications I did on her all day. Seriously.) Despite my lack of expertise of doing other people's makeup, I did learn a ton. Here's a roundup of my ah-ha! moments.

-If you wear glasses and the lenses make your eyes look smaller, wear light, frosty shades. This will make them look bigger. If the lenses make your eyes looks bigger, use dark, matte shades. This will make them appear smaller.

-Mascara can double as an eyeliner! Just use a flat, synthetic brush to apply.




-When filling in eyebrows, blondes should use a powder/pencil/wax that's 1-2 shades darker than their natural color. Darker hair colors should go 1-2 shades lighter.

-Another brow-defining tip: Use a soft color on the inner part of the brow and a deeper color on the outside to create perfect balance.




-For perfect blush placement, place two fingers next to your nose, and apply the product outside of them, extending no further downward than the tip of the nostrils.








-Lips don't have oil glands, so prep them with a balm before adding color.

-The tips of your fingers are the closets color match to your lips. Test lip colors on tem to see what they shade will look like on.

The Stiletto Lash: Fringe As Fierce As A Fendi

The Stiletto Lash.

It's the style of lash you're batting when you march into the corner office of the boss of your boss' boss to demand a salary hike because dammit, you're worth every penny.

Or the kind of lash you wear when ordering a diiiirty martini for the hot boy at the bar - the one you brazenly marched up to even though he was surrounded by a pack of pals so thick you had to crunch some toes to get to him.

Stiletto lashes were created by Sephora Beauty Pro Emily Massa for ladies who don't mess around. "Stiletto lashes are those long, thick, separated lashes," she says. "To really be a stiletto, you need major length."

For this look, "First, you gotta work the brush," she says. "Get it right into the lash line and work the brush back and forth, starting from the lash base and moving the brush all the way to the top."

Next up, her picks. She's got two that'll do the trick:


I-mju Fiberwig Mascara







Dior Diorshow Mascara








These lashes aren't for the shy or timid...if the shy or the timid are still reading this post. For the rest of you - go be beautifully bold.

Photo courtesy of beaut.ie

Trend Alert: Teal & Bronze

Hot new couple spotted! Teal Liner and Bronze Eyeshadow hooked up for the summer, and have been seen making eyes all over the most glamorous faces in town.

TeRonze coupling is an easy look to pull off, too. It looks like the work of a pro, but thanks to a heap of new matchy-matchy summer palettes, you can make this your favorite summer fling without a second thought.

True stuff! This summer lover is for all eye shades - not just blue. Teal makes every eye color pop - if you've never ventured into teal territory before, you're in for a major treat when you see what it does for your peepers!

Our favs? Glad you asked:


Smashbox Oasis Shadow & Liner Quad







Stila Eyeshadow Palette







Sephora Colorful Eyeshadow Palette



More! More! More! Are you a pencil & shadow kinda gal? Prefer your pigments loose? Or how about teal with a mineral twist? We've got more Teal & Bronze picks at Sephora.com.

Brows on Ice

A little wow for your brow: Apparently the secret to perfectly-penciled eyebrows lies in your frosty refrigerator. According to ALLURE, chilling soupy-soft eye pencils in the fridge for a half-hour or so will revive them, making them easier to sharpen. (So, move over, butter stick.) But the next order of brow business? Using a quality sharpener. "Sue Devitt has the finest blade I've found," ALLURE's editor says. After all, how many sharpeners can boast a double-edged blade and a hinged lid, right?

Backstage Beauty: Feather Lashes

Want long, bird-like lashes with dramatic flutter? Meet your new best friend: Make Up For Ever Eyelashes Ref 25116. Our makeup artist, Jorge Serio, used them on our shoot Friday, creating a creative, incredibly eye-popping look. Again, probably not one for the office—the model insisted blinking was an endeavor with these babies—but if you just want to look Moulin Rouge-esque for a night out: 1. Cut the feathery lashes into small pieces, about 1-2 inches wide. 2. Use a tweezer to dip each piece, one by one, into the included eyelash glue. 3. Next, press each lash as close to the baseline of your real lashes as possible, pressing for a few seconds until the glue starts to dry. “Really fill in the top, outer lash area to make eyes pop,” Jorge says. 4. After each lash is in place and the glue has had a minute or two to dry, trace your eyes gently with Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes in Black Mat 0L—to disguise the glue spots—and follow gently with Make Up For Ever Lengthening Mascara in Black 1 to blend your real and faux lashes. 5. Bat those beauties around!

African Queen

The New York Times Style Magazine just created a fashion slide-show called African Queen, which shows a regal, powerful African influence that commanded the runway this season. (Lower left-hand corner, "Afrocentric.") The tweed coats, vintage beaded belts and silk caftans aren't what caught my eye though—it was the brilliant use of dark eye makeup under the eye. If only our eyes could get this stunning effect when our mascara runs, huh?

amazing stencil courtesy of mangapnk.com.

Save the best for Lash

Japanese makeup artist Shu Uemura is to Japan what Coco Chanel is to France. It's no surprise, then, that the Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler is all the rage in the Japanese beauty industry, used by fashionistas and everyday women alike. But why exactly? Designed with a special silicone pad that creates a 45-degree curl, this particular curler can curl "even the thick, naturally straight lashes typical among Japanese women," WWD says. It's doing some quality curling this side of the Atlantic, too, of course: Beauty retailers are buzzing about it, Allure's editors named it a beauty best and, funny enough, it even got a name drop in a recent big-time blockbuster movie.

Backstage Beauty: 60's, Mod Eyes

Goin' for that really hip, old school Edie Sedgewick look? Jorge created a 60's-inspired cat-eye look today, using nothing more than some concealer, black liner, white shadow and a whole lot of lashes. "I wanted to make the eye very mod, but to give it a little bit of rock and roll mixed in it, too," he said. "It's a really fierce look." How to get this knock-out look yourself: 1. Dab concealer around your entire eye, making a "canvas" for your work. Just make sure it's 2-3 shades lighter than your normal concealer, Jorge says, because you want to start with a really pale eye. 2. Dust a white shadow (like Make Up For Ever Star Powder in Pearl Gold 902) over your eyelids. 3. Apply long, fluttery false lashes to your lash line. 4. Outline your eyes all the way around with liquid black liner (Make Up For Ever Black 25), making it especially dark below your lower lash line. Then, outline above the white shadow, above the crease of your eye. Verdict: This labor-intensive look definitely isn't one for everyday wear—the very patient model winced that her eyes felt "heavy"—but it's fabulous nonetheless.

Turn Back The Beauty-full Clock

Trying to look older is a cinch when you’re little: Doll up in Mom’s pearls, slip on some of her waaaay-too-big-for-you heels and carry a doll around like it’s the apple of your eye. But now that we’re older and (ironically) trying to look younger? Not such an easy task. Thankfully, here are a few tips from ELLE to take years off that pretty mug:

1: Curl your lashes. Curling lashes opens up your eyes, says makeup artist Lisa Garner, who works with big-time celebs. Follow with mascara. For thicker lashes that don't clump, apply a primer first.

2: Use an illuminizer. Give your eyes an instant lift by dabbing illuminizer on the center of the brow bone under the arch of the eyebrow, says Turnbow.

3: Brighten your smile. Take years off by whitening your teeth. You can do it yourself at home, says New York-based cosmetic dentist Marc Lowenberg. Mix baking soda and hydrogen peroxide into the consistency of toothpaste. Brush your teeth in circular motions and the paste will remove surface stains.

4: Dab on blush. A moist, creamy blush will light up your face, says Turnbow. Use a neutral pink on cheeks and lips for no-fuss natural beauty.

5: Take care of your skin. Good skincare is more important than makeup, insists Garner. A few musts for beautiful skin: "Drinking lots of water, eating a healthy diet, not smoking and not drinking alcohol excessively."

6: Get your beauty zzz's. In addition to many other benefits, 8 hours of sleep a night reduces tired, puffy eyes, says Dr. Kathryn Frew, a dermatologist at New York's JUVA Skin and Laser Center.

7: Shampoo less, condition more. Use as little shampoo as possible, says star stylist Abell at John Frieda in New York. When you do shampoo, use a mild formula. Also, moisturize with a deep-conditioning treatment once a week.

Turn Around, White Eyes

We have our eyes (literally) on a hot new trend over here: white shadows and liners. Sure, white nails are getting a lot of press lately, but this is such a white hot upgrade! Just imagine the shimmery snow bunny effect as you bat those beautiful eyes at the boys now. Sephora’s shelves are already stocked with hues de blanche: Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Polyester Bride, Urban Decay Glitter Eye Gel in Power Ballad, Benefit Mr. Frosty Eyeliner, Dior Eye Show in White Light Disco, MUFE AquaEyes Waterproof Eyeliner in 14L and MUFE Pearly Waterproof Eye Shadow Pencil in 1P. So, make way for the ivory-eyed beauties!

The Beautiful Waiting Game

Good things come to those who wait—gorgeous things come to those who don't. The New York Times reported that in-store shipments of Benefit's bestsellers are en route, sure, but we see you're still impatiently tapping that stiletto. So don't look so blue just yet: As BADgal Blue—a brightening, blueish version of Benefit’s Bad Gal Lash— treks its indigo self to counters this month, you can buy yours earlier online. Similarly, there's already a store waiting list for the second shipment of Big Beautiful Eyes, a kit of Boi-ing Concealer and three neutral eye shadows, so watch for your big, beautiful supply online. Just be warned: Last fall's shipment was a huge success and sold out in stores in just three weeks, so there's no time to dawdle!

Spring '07 Beauty: Vincent Longo

We just got a sneak peak at Vincent Longo’s spring collection and things are lookin’ fresh and sparkly, sparkly, sparkly. This year, products à la Mr. Longo (right) are all about beautiful innovation—spill-proof bronzers, iridescent lip stains and the like—all thanks to new cosmetic technologies. A few soon-to-be stars we can’t stop babbling about:

*Casatta Body Bronzer: A partially handmade bronzer compact, pressed with little flecks that keep the powder from crumbling all over when you use it.
*Savannah Fresh: A new mocha-like shade of Longo’s water canvas blush, made from 75% Microwater and 100% natural botanicals. The texture is incredible—like a dolphin’s squishy, wet skin.
*My Sunshine: A new, shiny, peachy-red shade of Longo’s budge-proof lip stains.
*Everbrow Micro Pencil: Creamy, smudge-proof eyebrow color in the cutest, thinnest pencil ever. It comes in 4 shades—Blonde, Auburn, Brunette and Black—and even with its own itty-bitty sharpener.

Backstage Beauty: Marchesa

By Dara Fleischer, Contributing Writer
SHOW: Marchesa
ARTIST: Talia Shobrook for Stila
MODEL: Natalia Gotsii (Ford)
THE LOOK: To complement the show-stopping silhouettes showcased at Marchesa (read: floor-sweeping, off-the-shoulder chiffon gowns), Talia created a very clean, contoured look. “Since the clothes represent a very confident woman, the models didn’t require a full face of make-up. It was all about letting the make-up shine through along with the collection,” said Talia. The end result was very neutral, with contoured cheeks and hint of highlighter added around the eyes and Cupid’s bow.
GET IT: Stila Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 (Sephora exclusive), Stila Puppy Eye Shadow, Stila Kitten Eye Shadow, Stila Vanilla Mint Plumping Lip Glaze (new for spring 2007).

Eye on the De-Puffed Prize

Puffy should describe a pillow, not your eyes. But if you have big bags under your eyes—so big, in fact, you don't really need that purse—that's just not the case. Luckily, ALLURE just gave a shout-out to two bestselling under-eye concealers, Clinique All About Eyes and LORAC Undercover Lover. Both are made with ingredients that fight puffiness, inflammation, and the general raccoon rings under your once-sparkling eyes. [Insert wild, hopeful applause.] So time to finally ditch that drowsy look, fellow bag ladies. Things are lookin' up.

Turn Around, Dry Eyes

This morning, like most mornings, I walked into work squinting and straining and rubbing my eyes. (See: sleepy groundhog, opening his eyes to the sun.) Just another factor of this wonderfully bone-dry weather? Maybe. But I’m sure the security guards think I’m testing out some new Zoolander pose, so something needs to change. Sure enough—according to SHAPE MAGAZINE—a million factors can cause Sahara-dry eyes. Indoor heating … irritating contacts … antihistamines … antidepressants … birth control pills … even too much time on la computadora. (We blink about 22 times a minute. In front of a computer? 7 times!) But before you cry about it—although, you know, that might help—consider some remedies. Adding a humidifier to a super-dry bedroom can work wonders, as can eye-drops (of course) and simply rinsing your contacts more often. No dice? Try an omega-3 supplement, which restores the lipids in your eyes that make tears. Sounds a bit involved, sure, but if it can save these (very dry and smudgy) windows the soul? Count me in

How Now, Big Brow?

Arch envy—it's not pretty. After laboring for hours on your poor brows, penciling and plucking and penciling some more, you still look nothing like those perfectly-arched, bushy-eyed models you see in the glossies. In fact, with all the penciling, you look more like Bert from Sesame Street. Well, no more. Nú Brow—a line created by Anastasia Soare, the celebrity brow guru native to the 90210 set—has created a Brow Enhancing Serum that grows A-list arches for you. It's a clear, gel-based herbal treatment—packed with conditioning vitamins and proteins—that promises fuller, thicker, healthier brows in just 4-6 weeks. Too good to be true? Maybe, maybe not. But before you raise an eyebrow at this one, give it a try. After all, Anastasia has a five-month waiting list at her brow salon in Beverly Hills. Coincidence? I think not.

I spy with my gorgeous green eye...

I hope you understand, that greeeeeen eyes, yeah the spotlight shines upon you …. More green today! But this time, it’s all about scoring beautiful, emerald eyes with green shadows and liner – a trend that’s all over the runways and magazines already. (For those who aren’t already blessed with the sassy, sage color, of course.) Now we don’t want to toot our own horn here, but we so called this one in September – see “Green Room” – when makeup-master Laura Geller was already goin’ green. Green offsets redness in the eyes, Geller said, making the whites of your eyes look whiter and brighter. So to get that jade, cat-eye look yourself, try Urban Decay’s grassy shadow or Pop Beauty’s green-eye kit. No contest: you’ll be turning heads in no time.