Is it possible to fall in love with a nail polish?  I might have said no, but that was before I got a look at Black Amethyst, by Estee Lauder.  It’s part of Estee’s Lauder‘s Sensuous Gold Collection, a limited edition collection of cosmetics for Fall 2009, available in stores this September.  With a palette of sparkly purples and rose golds, it’s on my go-to list for this coming season!

Inspired by the ease and sensuality of the season’s fashions, Estée Lauder has created Sensuous Gold – a uniquely feminine, luxurious new color collection for Fall 2009.  The collection uses soft nuances of color incorporating rich tints, tones, and washes.  Sensuous Gold gently brings out an inner radiance and reveals the softer side of every woman.  Skin is luminous, warm and radiant in a soft veil of golden tones.  Eyes are delicately defined in soft shades of golden amber and peach accented by rich, regal amethyst.  Lips are luxuriously dressed for the season in sateen finishes of coppery nudes and supple plums.

The distinctly modern and luxurious rose golden packaging is a complement to the sophisticated luxury and femininity of the collection.  The eyeshadow quads, shimmer powder, nail color, lipstick, and lip gloss all incorporate Fall 2009′s hottest metallics and shades of purple.

As my summer glow begins its inevitable fade, I love the shimmer powder.  It gives me just the right amount of glow without being overkill (a problem I sometimes have with bronzers).  The eyeshadows come in either the Rose Gold or Rose Amethyst quads.  I really like the Rose Amethyst for my complexion but I was happy to see that the Rose Gold looks great too!  I love the pattern on the eyeshadow when you open the compact, but its shape disappears with the shimmery top layer once you apply.  Not to worry though, it does not lessen the impact or intensity of the colors.

The Multi-Shimmer Lip Gloss blends three hues together to make a perfect shade in Rose Gold or Amethyst.  You can wear them alone or over the lipstick in this collection (or any of your favorite lipstick colors!).  The Rose Gold is a little lighter and golden, whereas the Amethyst has a darker, more pink hue.

The limited edition lipstick Hydra Lustre Lipstick with Gold Shimmer comes in Terracotta, Cinnamon, Rose Amethyst and Plum Amethyst.  As with most Estee Lauder Lipstick, it is creamy and luxurious, but it does have a taste and a smell.  It’s not overpowering, but if you’re sensitive to lipstick with a scent or a taste, definitely try before you buy.  The funny thing for me is that while I usually gravitate to purple in my eye makeup, I am loving the Terracotta and Cinnamon on my lips.  Good thing that collection works well enough that you can mix it up and find what works for you.  

Getting back to the Sensuous Gold nail colors, you can choose from Rose Gold or Black Amethyst.  The colors are rich and cover well.  I did a manicure last week using Black Amethyst (I know it isn’t Fall, but I was in love and I couldn’t wait), and it lasted an entire week.  I chip most nail polish by day three, so this was a nice surprise.  If you love these colors, hurry up and get to your Estee Lauder counter.  They are Limited Edition and the Rose Gold nail color is already sold out online!

Is anyone else super excited for Fall now?  I can’t wait to break out my boots and sweaters and rock my Black Amethyst manicure.

Who’s in love with the Mad Men series? I am! I am! Who’s in love with M·A·C Cosmetics? I AM! Well if you love both like I do, you’ll enjoy the Q&A with Mad Men’s lead makeup artist, Lana Horochowski, that our friends at M·A·C sent along.  Get a peek into how Lana achieves the Mad Men looks!

Q&A with Lana Horochowski

Mad Men, Makeup Department Head

Q: You’re the new department head at Mad Men for Season 3, will you be making any changes to any characters makeup?

A: Since we are moving a little forward into the future, we have changed up the color palette for each character to go along with the time period.

Q: When you were preparing for this season, did you do any research for inspiration? If so, what most inspired you?

A: Weeks and weeks of meetings and research. I love looking through the old magazines. They are a great reference and a huge source of inspiration; however, we do try to keep the characters looking like real people that do their own makeup and not like movie stars with a makeup artist standing by. Magazines and old movies are a great guideline for a basic look and color selection.

Q: How would you describe the looks of each one of the characters? How do they differ?

A: Joan Holloway- always put together, very sassy and sexy

Betty Draper- although she is a housewife she is an ex model, so her makeup is clean but very current for the period

Peggy Olson- Peggy is a young and fresh faced business woman of that period, she is a very clean natural makeup

Q: What are your key products for creating the makeup looks for the main female characters?

A: Joan Holloway- We do a heavier eye on Christina, so the key products would be eyeliner and strip lashes.

Betty Draper- Betty has 2 distinct looks, her at home look and her going out/evening look. For home she is very natural, basically a sheer foundation, think black eyeliner and mascara. Evening Betty goes a little thicker on the liner and a brighter lipstick, but aalways coordinated with her clothing.

Peggy Olson- Since the key to Peggy’s look is to appear as though she is wearing no makeup, a great foundation is super important. Also, a natural cheek and lip stain is applied to give her a little color.

Q: What are your favorite M·A·C products for each character?

A: Joan Holloway- Cream Colour Base in Virgin Isle, Fluidline in Blacktrack and Rich Ground, brown and black, and Eye Shadow in Soft Brown.

Betty Draper- Cream Colour Base in Virgin Isle, Blushcreme in Posey, and Lipsticks in Vegas Volt, Lip Pencil in Redd and Cherry

Peggy Olson- Eye Shadow in Orb, Vanilla, and Soft Brown and Blot Powder

Q: Everyone always notices the lips on the show, but brows seem to play a very important part to the look. Can you talk about the brows on the show?

A: Women of the 60′s had a stricter code of style and etiquette, so people tended to follow the trends closer to the book. Nowadays, women have a variety of different brow styles so we are constantly tweezing, shaping, and filling the brows to recreate the look of the period.

Q: Each character has the most perfect lashes framing her eyes. What are your favorite lashes to use to get that perfectly plump line of lashes?

A: We love the M·A·C individual lashes as well as the traditional strip lashes.

Q: Do you collaborate with the hair and costume departments when coming up with a look?

A: Absolutely! We have at least 3 meetings per episode to create the look as a unit. I could not do this show without Lucia Mace (hair), Janie Bryant (costumes), and my fabulous key Ron Pipes!

Q: There seems to be a lot of making out on the show, how many times do you have to redo those red lips? Does it get messy?

A: We do what we can to seal the lip color, but we still have to go in every take to perform a minor clean up.

Q: What can real women take away from the show’s look and incorporate into their everyday look?

A: Well, a great start would be lining the top lash line only with a gel liner like M·A·C Fluidline. We love this product for recreating the perfect 60′s eye. Also, replacing gloss and sheer or shimmer lipsticks with matte reds, bright pinks, and corals help create a more retro look. Lastly, instead of a powder blush try using creme in pinks and corals to create a flushed looking cheek. For evening, strip lashes are always a bonus.

“Every Face is a Canvas.”

That is what James Gager, Senior Vice President/Creative Director at M·A·C said. I can’t help but think of how true this is, especially with MAC makeup. MAC Cosmetics is an innovator when it comes to treating makeup application as art. Faces and bodies are clean canvases waiting for the artist’s brushstroke, the detail and color that paint a lovely picture. The makeup artists at MAC get to express their vision through makeup on walking, talking, living, breathing canvases.

Artists are often influenced by other artists, in all mediums – so it makes perfect sense for MAC to team up with three great artists for their Fall ’09 collection: painter Richard Phillips, illustrator Maira Kalman, and photographer Marilyn Minter. “We are M·A·C … Make-Up Art Cosmetics. Every face is a canvas to us, a glorious chance for spectacular transformation. It’s nice to be pretty, but it’s so much more fabulous and interesting to be a persona, something once out-of-grasp that has, through the power of art, become thrillingly real,” Gager said. “In keeping with our art heritage, it made sense to ask these three artists to participate in a unique collaboration with us for fall. Working in their individual mediums – drawing, photography and painting – each applied a different colour palette to a portrait, with inspired results.”

Gordon Espinet, Vice President, Makeup Artistry adds, “Art has no boundaries. Art appeals to ‘all ages, all races, all sexes! Art is ultimately all about individual expression. M·A·C makes no distinction between the fine artist and the makeup artist and gives every artist the power to tell their story with makeup.”

Painter Richard Phillips

Richard Phillips surprised even himself with this project. Using the expert skills of a photo-retoucher, he subjected his own painting to a M·A·C makeover with the new eye shadows, blushes and lipsticks. Andy Warhol did a cameo on The Love Boat in 1985…and in the same spirit, Richard Phillips’ 1998 painting, Spectrum, made its debut on an episode of the scandalous Gossip Girl – a sign of the times! Recycled and re-imagined ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s advertisements and images, and every colourful issue ever considered when pondering the question of “identity” is what Richard Phillips is all about. His bold and beautiful portraits are highly technical, a refinement of precise, academic painting, so relevant to everything M·A·C artistry is all about. A collection of Eye Shadow quads, Lipsticks, Lipglass, and The Perfect Cheek Blush just leap off the canvas!

I had the chance to check out some of the colors in the Richard Phillips collection for M·A·C. You can check out the looks on at www.maccosmetics.com, where it is described as, “Racy, hyper-glam images revved-up in a modern take on vintage magazine pages, transformed into a super-vixen collection of colour for eyes, lips and cheeks. Paint it bigger-than-life with style and sensuality.”

For lips, I tried the Lustre Lipstick in “Lovin It,” and there are no better words to describe the color. It’s a great match for my skin tone and has just the right amount of sparkle. Like all MAC Lipsticks, it goes on easily and doesn’t dry out your lips. I also tried the Lipglass in “New Spirit” and “On Display.” New Spirit is a great color to transition into Fall with. I love Lipglass because it stays on and I love this fresh color. What I loved about On Display is that it’s a purple color, which is so hot for cosmetics this Fall, but also that you can put on a light coat for just a bit of color, or layer more on for a real punch of purple. It looks so sexy on! Lipglass also goes great over the Lipstick. I liked New Spirit over Lovin It to add even more shine!

Also in the Richard Phillips color collection is Powder Blush. I tried “Notable,” which is a warm brownish red that goes well on my light but olive-toned skin. With MAC’s Powder Blush, a little goes a long way, and I loved how easily and evenly it went on my skin. It’s also blend-able, which is great if you need or want to do some contouring.

The Eye Shadow X 4 I sampled in “Notoriety” which was rich browns and bronze-y colors, and “In the Gallery,” a study in purple. (I love the names!) I love having MAC Eye Shadow in colors that are coordinated with each other. These tones are also so hot for fall and Notoriety coordinates great with the New Spirit Lipglass and On Display goes great with the In the Gallery quad.

Illustrator Maira Kalman

Famous for her whimsical visual diaries, illustrator Maira Kalman performed some magic with her contribution to this collection with new Technakohl Eye Liners and Eye Shadows in eye-popping shades. MAC Make-Up Art Cosmetics Fall ‘09 As Seen by Maira Kalman is “Cheeky, witty, always amusing, Maira’s style is cute and colourful, wonderfully child-like…and sophisticated all at once. Technakohl Liners and magical Eye Shadows full of cock-eyed optimism, with just the tiniest smidge of city-girl-snobbism. Simply sublime!” In one word? FUN!

The bright colors in this collection put an immediate smile on your face! At first I was hesitant to try the new Technakohl in “Obviously Orange.” I like it on either the top or bottom lash line – not both. The result is so fun and artistic and strikingly high fashion.

The Eye Shadows I tried in “Violet Trance” and “Maira’s Mood” are highly-pigmented powder. An intense violet and fuchsia pink, they are fun and bright. The color applies evenly and blends well, but you can apply it in varying degrees. For just a hint of color, I applied with a loose dry brush. To bump up the intensity, I applied it wet with a flat brush and blended.

Photographer Marilyn Minter

Marilyn Minter, equally at home in art and fashion, has a penchant for iridescence that made her a perfect candidate for MAC’s glitter pigments, putting them to utterly seductive use. Minter’s erotic imagery zooms in on a succulently wet, red lip, a dappled, sequined eye, or a silverized stiletto splashing in the mud. The Whitney Biennial Artist says she’s “Never met a model who actually thinks she’s beautiful,” and that observation goes a long way to explain how she connects to what M·A·C wants to say about all-inclusiveness – we’re ALL beautiful sometimes. Minter’s collection for MAC includes Pigments in Push the Edge and Copper or Gold Glitter have the power to make anyone feel like they WILL be seen – and desired.

Minter says, “The glamour industry is the central source for my art. I feed off it like a parasite!” I felt that when I tried pigment in “Push the Edge.” Instant. Glamour. (Yup, glamoUr with a U.)

Pigment is a highly concentrated loose color powder that contains ingredients to help it adhere to the skin. Create a subtle wash of color or an intense effect. You can also apply them wet, but I recommend tapping some of the powder out onto a clean palette or using one of MAC’s travel jars to mix it, as you don’t want to ruin your whole jar. I love this deep purple color!

Celebrating the Artist

MAC is all about the artist and everything at MAC is built around the idea that anything is possible when self-expression is honored, exalted, allowed to rise to its ultimate aria. This season M·A·C celebrates the idea of the Artist in every shade and stripe…makeup as art form. MAC has selected three individuals who exemplify this idea through both the subjects they choose, and the wildly individual styles and colours used to convey them. Bold, heroic, big; giggly, playful, clever; dramatic, original, abstract: Fall ’09 as seen by Richard Phillips, Maira Kalman, and Marilyn Minter.

The MAC Fall ’09 collection is available in stores August 20, 2009. Be inspired!

It’s all about contouring if you want to make your face a bit more slimming.  To achieve that look, let me give you the “skinny” on Darac Feature Focus. In just one quick and easy application, you can easily brighten your skin, open your eyes, slim your nose, and define your jaw line and cheek bones!  It even has a portable facial silhouette which adheres to any mirror to help you make your look perfect. Darac beauty just thinks of everything to make makeup application effortless!  This is especially helpful when you had a long evening the night before and cannot be bothered to actually think about putting on a flawless face.

What I absolutely love about Darac‘s cream gel makeup is that you can show off your best features, enhancing them and adding just the right amount of light versus dark in those areas.  By doing so you can also hide your not so favorite ones (I could easily name a few!) by down-playing them.  Oh and by the way I am absolutely obsessesed over Darac Beauty‘s Tourquam 3-D Face Sculpting Brushes which I’ll tell you more about later!