BE eyeshadows come in convenient pre packaged kits including, “meet the browns” and “meet the nuts” and are also available individually. The kits are great if you have difficulty selecting shades that go well together. They can be worn wet (for a more dramatic/intense look) or dry (for a lighter look). I recommend using the BE eye shadow primer before application. The primer neutralizes redness above the eye and provides a perfect base for your shadow. Using the primer will ensure your color lasts all day.

The finishes are anywhere from light glimmer to extreme shimmer. Stick with the less shimmery shadows for day and consider adding a more shimmery shadow for evening. They are highly blendable and buildable so no need to take off and re-apply. Go ahead and add a more dramatic color or finish for evening.

The line is inspired by “Britain’s stormy skies and gently glowing sun and textures that reflect the lightweight protection of the brand’s iconic trench coat.” The advertising campaign includes three models that represent three types of women’s beauty: revolutionary, classic and conventional.

I spent about an hour taking a close look at the line’s offerings. They have a complete line comprised of: lipstick, gloss, lip liner, eye shadow, foundation, powder, mascara, compact foundation, eye liner, blush and bronzer. The packaging is stunning with heavy dark nickel magnetic cases for the eyeshadows and solid square casing for the lip gloss and eye liner. The line exudes luxury.

The brand identity is very clear. They have stayed true to their British roots with the shade selections and have managed to intertwine classic colours that look good on almost everybody with a modern take on what true beauty is. By using three women to represent their line instead of one (which is what most cosmetic companies do) they make the brand appealing to different types of women. I think it is especially brilliant that Burberry managed to tie in their cosmetics line with their clothing line.

One thing I always use to judge a brand’s quality is the pigmentation of the eye shadow. If it doesn’t transfer well on to your finger then it won’t transfer well with a brush. Their eye shadow passed this test with flying colours. The eye shadow is highly pigmented and has a beautiful creamy/buttery finish. I bought Gold Trench and Almond. I particularly like the warm muted brown shade of almond.

Then I carried out my second test. A brand’s quality can also be judged by how easily the eye liner transfers to the back of your hand. I was pleasantly surprised that the eyeliner transferred on to my hand with a very gentle application. I bought midnight brown and I love it. It lasts all day and is an absolutely beautiful, slightly shimmery dark brown. Perfect for my warm, green eyes.

I tried the foundation on the back of my hand it seemed very thick so I didn’t buy it. I prefer foundation that is sheer because I like to see some of my skin showing through.

Burberry’s line is flawlessly marketed and the products are of very high quality. It is very expensive with two eye shadows and a eyeliner costing me just under $100.00 but the eye shadows are very large (about twice the size of MAC’s) and they are of such high quality that I was able to justify the purchase.

If Burberry decides to offer a makeup artist discount, I’ll be buying more products in the future.

I haven’t been posting product reviews because in mid-June, my husband and I decided to move to San Francisco a month early. We were going to move August 1st but a house we really wanted was available July 1st and were afraid that if we waited then someone else would scoop it up.

During the last week of June me, Arthur, Slurpee (our sheepdog), Grizzley (our brown persian cat) and Lulu (our himalayan) drove through 11 states from Boston to San Francisco. It took 4.5 days of driving for about 10 hours a day. The scenery doesn’t get good until Wyoming where the eastern edge of the rockies begin. After that it’s an unbelievably beautiful drive along the I-80.

Once we got into San Francisco we had 4 days to settle in (without our furniture which was with Allied Van Lines). Allied was supposed to deliver our furniture during that 4 day time period but didn’t. Don’t ever hire Allied Van Lines for a cross-country move. They couldn’t have been worse.

Anyway, after 4 days of getting to know the Marina District of San Francisco (our new neighborhood) we went up to Vancouver for 2 weeks with a couple we know from Boston. Julia and David had never been to the west coast of Canada so we decided to show them what British Columbia can offer.

We started our trip in Vancouver and then spent three days on Hernando Island which is about a half hour boat ride from Lund on Vancouver Island. After that we drove from Vancouver to Summerland for three days of waterskiing, wakeboarding, tubing and kneeboarding (awesome). Then we took them to the Capilano suspention bridge, Grouse Mountain and of course we couldn’t leave out Whistler. We drove up the Sea-to-Sky and rode the peak-to-peak chair. It was awesome to see how much Whistler had changed after the olympics. It’s still just as beautiful.

After our friends left Vancouver we spent a couple of days visiting friends and attended an amazing wedding on Bowen Island. My friend Alix Elworthy got married in the most fantastic outdoor ceremony on a rock over looking the ocean. Her reception was at a beautiful farm, it was a very special wedding. I had the pleasure of doing the makeup for her and her four bridesmaids. They’re all stunning to start with but I like to think I made them look extra beautiful.

Just before I left Boston I was hired by an east coast based creative talent agency to do hair and makeup. I am their only west coast makeup artist and I’m really looking forward to beginning work for zero2sixtycreative!

So that’s about it. I’m in San Francisco gearing up to get back into makeup artistry after a 2 month vacation. I might try to squeeze in a bit of kiteboarding before I start, we’ll see:)

There is a really simple way to disguise bluish tint around your eyes and it starts with understanding the basics of color theory. Any color that is warm (red based) will neutralize or disguise any cool (blue based tones). So, the first step is to apply this warm shade over any bluish areas. There are two products that I know of that will do this well. Bobbi Brown’s correctors and Laura Mercier’s Secret Camouflage dual concealer.

Applying this warm color is just half the battle. You never want any redness to be showing around your eyes so you’ll need to cover up the warm tint you applied with a cool one. Laura Mercier’s secret camouflage contains two colors, one warm and one cool that will allow you to do this easily. If you prefer Bobbi Brown products, you’ll need to get the corrector (warm based) and a concealer (cool based).

Pat each concealer color on your eye with your ring finger. This will allow for delicate and precise application. You may wish to set these two layers of concealer with a power. Yellow based powders (and foundations) will neutralize redness.

It has a faint natural smell and goes on easily. Non-greasy and not sticky. It has a nice whitish/green tint but goes on clear.

The best part about this stuff is that it keeps you moisturized all day no matter how dry your skin is. It’s a staple that I always travel with.

Highly recommended!

Tan Towel is just that…a towel that tans you. You can buy a small towelette size that will cover some of your body or a towel size that is supposed to cover your entire body. It doesn’t say anything about body size though. If you are bigger than average (whatever average is) the towel might not tan all of you adequately.

The towel looks exactly like a baby wipe. It’s a damp, whitish towel. It’s really easy to apply, easier than cream or gel and takes less time. It doesn’t cause a mess like creams or gels and it doesn’t streak. However, it doesn’t seem to work very well. I usually respond well to self tanners but this one took 2 separate applications (2 towels) to show up at all. I have light skin and I chose to apply the formula for med/dark skin so if that didn’t show up after one application, I would forget the light formula if you have light skin.

So, if you’re OK with applying 2 towels to get your tan then this product is great. If you’d like your product to work after one application, I’d stick with Clarins Auto Bronzante. My all time tanning favorite.

Face Atelier is a Canadian makeup brand that offers a full line of cosmetics including eye pencils, eye shadows and silicone-based foundations. I found out about them from a makeup artist in Boston who works at Shu Uemura. I ordered a sample online in my color and I’m absolutely hooked. I don’t think I’ll ever use anything else on my skin. I also just purchased one in every colour because I’m going to start using the line on my clients instead of using Bobbi Brow’s stick foundation.

Because the foundation is silicone based, it glides on to the skin and doesn’t sink in so it won’t fade like water based foundations. Once it dries it won’t smudge on to your clothes and stays true all day. I’ve read some reviews online that claim it clogs pores but it hasn’t clogged mine yet and I don’t think it will. As long as you wash your face really well (with either a wash cloth or the Clairisonic vibrating brush) you shouldn’t break out.

This product is definitely on my “revolutionary” list along with one other product, Bare Escentuals’ Bare Minerals.

If you are going to purchase this product online, please but it from www.whiterabbitbeauty.com. They sell cruelty free makeup and a portion of their proceeds is donated to animal related causes.

When I bought Jemma Kidd’s “Make-up Masterclass” I was assuming I would have a similar experience that I had with the other books. I would take away a few tips and the book would sit on my desk looking pretty but I was mistaken. This book is filled to the brim with excellent, usable, do-able makeup tips and goes well beyond the basics to provide easy to understand and easy to carry-out makeup tips from the candid and honest, Jemma Kidd.

Jemma Kidd is a well known English makeup artist who has worked with notable fashion designers and celebrities for many years. She was the spokesperson for Max Factor and Rimmel and her work has been featured in the worlds most popular fashion magazines including, Elle, GQ and Vanity Fair. She founded an academy in London to train professional makeup artists in 2000 and offers a wide range of workshops. She also has three different makeup brands sold internationally.

Her knowledge of makeup is contained in this beautiful, well organized and easy to read book. If you are someone who wants to learn more than just the basics of makeup, I highly recommend this book. I refer to it constantly and it finds its way off my bookshelf and on to my desk almost daily.

What it does: I never use a washcloth on my face. I always use my hands and I’ve been aware for some time that I’m probably not getting all the sunscreen and foundation off my face with just face cleanser and my hands. So, recently I bought Philosophy’s micro delivery exfoliant and that has been great for removing all the stuff that’s on my skin and getting it really clean however, I don’t want to use it everyday…enter Clarisonic.

The Clarisonic is great for everyday use because it’s gentle and effective at getting all the foreign “stuff” off your face including sunscreen, foundation, and pollutants that exist in our environment both in and out doors. I’ve been using the product for about two weeks and after the first few days I didn’t notice a difference but after a week, I did.

I noticed that my skin was much softer and my impurities (little brown spots, the odd pimple etc.) were beginning to look less noticeable. Because I don’t use a washcloth and I don’t exfoliate everyday, my complexion was looking a little dull and impurities were beginning to show. The Clarisonic took care of all that. I now use it every night (after removing my eye makeup with an eye makeup remover (that’s something I never use to do either. I used to use my cleanser to remove eye makeup but it’s much easier and quicker to remove makeup with a remover) and in the morning I just splash warm water on my face, moisturize and apply sunscreen and makeup. This regime is working for me so far.

The cost of the Clarisonic is pricey. It’s $200 so if you don’t wear a lot of makeup and use a lot of sunscreen on your face then it might not be worth it. If you do use a lot of products and you want to brighten your complexion, then I would recommend this product. I do have to say though, that it’s possible a damp washcloth could have the same effect but it’s not nearly as much fun.

What it promises

What it does: Generally, any product with an SPF of over 15 is very thick, non-absorbing and streaky but this stuff is different. After it soaks in (about 10 minutes) you really can’t see or feel it on the skin which makes makeup application easy and I like that it has broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection.

The sun protection factor comes from its chemical sunblock ingredients. Chemical sunblock ingredients absorb UVA or UVB (sometimes both) rays whereas physical sunblock ingredients such as Zinc and titanium dioxide reflect them and do not require “soak in” time.

Below is a summary of the ingredients in this product. After some research, I was very surprised at what the ingredients actually were, especially the last one:

Homosalate: a UV absorbing compound (5%)

Octisalate: ingredient penetration enhancer (5%)

Avobenzone: a good UVA absorber but degrades in sunlight (3%)

Oxybenzone: absorbs UVB and short-wave UVA rays. This highly controversial ingredient may cause increased free radicals in the skin and therefore is likely to be a photocarcinogen. It is a derivative of benzophenone which can attack DNA when illuminated. The British Medical Journal showed that there may be a possible link between malignant skin cancer and Oxybenzone. For more information about this ingredient, see the following link:

http://www.natural-health-information-centre.com/paba-oxybenzone.html

before this blog entry, I didn’t know about the difference between physical and chemical sunscreens or that Oxybenzone is potentially harmful. Going forward, I am going to be very careful about what kind of SPF I use. I’ve decided that it’s not worth using the chemical sunscreens (that this product uses), I’m going to use physical blockers (zinc and titanium dioxide) from now on.