Fabulous Over Forty – Where Beauty Is Ageless

Happy weekend everyone!   What big plans do you have as the summer is winding down?   I’m spending my first weekend all summer as an empty nester and I’ve yet to decide what to do with my time.  Maybe nothing, and enjoy the last of the lazy days of summer!    In the meantime, enjoy some of the best in beauty and fashion around the web.

Whether it’s back-to-school time or you just want to save big on clothes, check out The Budget Fashionista to see how you can get a big discount on your purchases at Gap, Old Navy and more.  But hurry, the sale ends August 29th!

Charlestongirl of Best Things in Beauty is a lover of all things Bobbi Brown.  Last week she was fortunate enough to attend a Bobbi Brown Master Class.  She’s sharing the latest beauty tips she learned and see the newest in Bobbi products, too!

Tragedy struck the fashion world this spring with the news of Alexander McQueen’s death.  Butter London nail polish pays homage to him with their new shade All Hail McQueen.  Gaia from The Non-Blonde shares her thoughts on this honorary shade.   

Are you ready for the Emmy’s this weekend?  Anne from BeautyXposé is giving us easy to use at-home tips on how to get a gorgeous white smile, just like the ones we’ll see on the Emmy’s red carpet. 

Do you want to make your pores and fine lines disappear?  We all want that flawless face before applying makeup and Kelly from Gouldylox Reviews shares with us a Jouer product that gives her that flawless look. 

We love products that give us a flawless face, but sometimes we need to learn how to use the products to get the look we want.  Makeup artist Victoria Stiles will be doing ”Flawless Faces Web Series”.  See Makeup Artist Backstage to learn about the series.

The economy may be putting us in a grey mood, but Sabrina from The Beauty Look Book shows us all things beautiful in grey.  From nail polish to handbags and everything in between, there’s a grey you may fall in love with!

Sadly, there have been times when we’ve all overdone it in the sun.   Carla from Product Girl tested a Caudalie product for her sunburn.   Did she get the relief she needed?

What are some of the hot color trends this fall?  Purple is one of them, and I share with you some of my favorite purple beauty products.  Could there be a purple in your future?   And don’t forget to sign up for my Perricone giveaway!

Image from Fishing Lanier

I was recently introduced to this new lash serum by Dior called DiorShow Maximizer Lash Plumping Serum.   We all know that lashes are the craze these days.  With the discovery of Latisse’s “side effects” of longer lashes on glaucoma patients, it’s now available with a prescription.  Many other companies jumped on the band wagon as well, such as NeuLash, RevitaLash and others.   But, at well over $100 a pop for those they are cost prohibitive to many and some have side effects like changing your eye color!  Scary!

I’ve tried NeuLash and I do see results, but at $150 a tube its just too expensive to keep buying and as soon as you quit, the results diminish.  

Dior’s Maximizer Lash Plumping Serum is a much more affordable alternative.  I’m seeing in just a few short weeks the same results I had with NeuLash, which is more than four times the price of Dior’s Maximizer Serum!

Dior’s Iconic mascara was one that I used to use as a primer under my volumizing mascara.   Iconic lengthens, separates and curls the lashes, where the Dior Extase mascara adds tons of volume.   The combination gives me “wow” lashes!   The Maximizer Serum uses the same brush as Iconic mascara, but this can be used in a few ways.

Wear it daily under your mascara to give your lashes the “boost” in volume along with the lengthening and curling most everyone desires.   It goes on white, but dries clear in a very short time. It doesn’t leave your lashes dry or flaky. It’s easy to apply your daily mascara over the Maximizer Serum.

Wear it at night.  Yes, you heard me right – wear it at night!  The serum contains an exclusive active ingredient and hylauronic acid which over time gives you longer, thicker and stronger lashes.   As I said previously, I’ve noticed results in a few short weeks!

Currently, Dior Maximizer Serum is available at Sephora and soon it will be available wherever Dior mascaras are sold.  $28.50

Image from Dior

Fabulous Fall Shades

As summer comes to a close and fall begins to open its doors, we think of changing leaves, football season and beautiful rich fall colors in makeup too.   Being I’m from Minnesota, we have what we call “Purple Pride” for our beloved Vikings team.   Since I’m not a huge football fan, my purple pride is in the beautiful purple makeup shades that have emerged for fall.  So many rich variances of purple too, like its little sister lavender and cousin aubergine.   Fabulous!

I’ve picked out some of my favorite purple fall shades that are on the counters now.  But remember, so many companies bring out limited editions for the seasons, so once they’re gone, they’re gone!

Top Left:  Dior’s 5 palette #844 Misty Mauve is a gorgeous range of purple shades from pale pink to a taupe purple to a darker heathered purple in shimmers and matte textures.  This Dior palette struck a chord with me and I find it irresistible.  These shades very wearable from a lighter day look to a soft smoky evening look.

Top Right:  From the Lancome French Coquettes Collection there are several pieces that have the beautiful purple or its cousin shade aubergine.   This L’Absolu Rouge lipstick shade in Parisian Attraction is the epitome of Ooh la la!  If you’re afraid to wear red like the French are so acclaimed for, then try this deep plum/aubergine shade.

Middle Right:  Chanel seems to come out with a nail shade that is coveted every season and this fall is no exception.   Paradoxal is a mushroom shade with purple infusion.   If you don’t like wearing the really dark purple nail shades or the kind of off-kilter mushroom shade, this is a beautiful compromise that will keep you in trend without seeming to be too youthful.  I can almost guarantee you will be asked several times ”What is your nail polish?!”

Middle Far Right: Estee Lauder’s new Fall Collection Blue Dahlia actually has a palette that I prefer over the blues.   This one is Surreal Violet.    You can read my thoughts on this palette on Fab Over Forty.

Bottom Right:  Chanel’s Fall Collection includes this quad eyeshadow palette called Enigma.   The quad ranges from light to dark in shades and these are again a softer version of purple with some of the shades almost a greyed/brownish purple.   I find when purple is muted like these shades it makes it more wearable for those that have a difficult time wearing purple.  Lovely!

Bottom Middle:  Smashbox has come out with the Masquerade Collectionand it includes the 9 eyeshadow palette with 1/3 of the palette having various purple shades.  This wonderfully varied palette is perfect if you like more intense fall colors and with such a huge range of shades you can create countless looks!

Center: Jouer’s SPF 15 Lip Sheers are the newest addition to the cosmetic line.   This Positano shade is a deep wine color but so sheer that anyone can swipe it on with ease and get a beautiful polished look.   And don’t forget, just because the temperature goes down doesn’t mean the sun isn’t as strong, so the SPF 15 is an added bonus.

Bottom Left:  Have a little fun with your mascara and top off your lashes with Chantecaille Faux Cils mascara in Viola.  Your lashes will pop with the shade and with the volume.   What a fun way to top off the purple shadows!

I picked up some of my pre-ordered beauty buys at Nordstrom earlier this week.   They are pieces I purchased that are specially priced and packaged just for Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale that begins today.    This is the Dior Fall Ready to Wear Palette.    I think it is so versatile and wearable for many skin tones, one of those palettes that you would wear on many occasions.

This palette includes a blush (top left) a bronzer trio (top right) four neutral eye shadows (middle row) and two lip colors.  To get an idea about the size of the colors in the palette, the blush and bronzer are about 1″ high and a tiny bit wider for each one.  Smallish, but still workable.    I will never use the powder brush that is included or the sponge applicator – just not a fan of either one.   The lip brush I will use though.

This is a classy, easy to take with you anywhere palette in a tortoise style case, very Dior classy.   The images above are very true to the colors in the palette.  The blush is a warm light brown rose tone and the bronzer is probably a little deeper in tones than what it is coming across in the photo. Both have just the slightest of shimmer.  For the bronzer a milk chocolate shade on the left, a medium tan in the middle strip and a medium bronzer on the far right.  I actually swatched these on my arm, but when I downloaded the photos on the site they looked really “muddy” so I decided it best not to include them as it was not a good representation. 

The eye shadows all have the slightest bit of shimmer, more like a satin finish rather than matte or shimmer.    The left shadow is a good basic cream base, the 2nd shadow is a peachy/rose shade, the 3rd shadow is a golden yellow shade and the last shadow is a taupe brown shade.   A variety of combinations can be used to create different looks.   Using a fluffy brush, these are all pretty sheer shades. 

The lip glosses are your typical wonderful Dior glosses, creamy and non-tacky.   The one on the left actually went on a little more brown than I had anticipated.   I thought it looked more like a rosy/brown lip shade that would be pretty close to my natural lip color.  I was wrong, it came across with more brown in it than rose on my lips.   The gloss on the right is a great shade to top on a darker gloss or lipstick for a dimensional look.  It may be too whiteish/silver to wear alone, depending on your natural lip tone.

It must have been a hot seller on pre-order online because I no longer see it available. (Just checked this morning and it’s back online)   But if you’re interested in purchasing, ($54) try Gena at Nordstrom Dior counter at 952-883-2121. 

On Friday I attended at Dior Master Class at my local Minneapolis Macy’s.   Rodderick Gregg was the Dior National Artist in town for the event, and what a fun time we all had!    Rodderick has done makeup on celebrities such as Sharon Stone, Beyonce and so many more, but he can make you look like a celebrity too by sharing his beauty application secrets!   Macy’s had a great stage set up for Rodderick and tables for all the “students” to sit at with our own mirrors and utencils for applying product as we followed along with his instructions.

First he gave us all a little history lesson on Dior the Fashion House and how it correlates with Dior the Cosmetics line.  He also taught us about the Dior skin care line and what products he would recommend for us to use, and gave a good lesson on how to actually use the products.   Important things such as proper quantities, when to use which product and how and where to apply them.  All important factors into good skin care and maintenance.

We then all stripped our faces of any makeup so we could follow along with using the products on our own faces.   They also had several makeup artists placed throughout for guests, making sure that if anyone needed guidance they were there to help.   We all prepped our faces with the luxurious skin care products in order to get a flawless makeup application.

The “theme” of our makeup application was “Daytime Natural” and then he also showed us how to take the look to evening.   He first began using the DiorSkin AirFlash spray foundation.   There are a few ways to apply it – either spray directly on your face in a “Z” formation or spray it onto a brush and apply that way.   Most of us went for the brush application.  Then he took the Dior Bronze Vapo Powder – a bronzer in a spray can, and sprayed it on a brush and applied it to the face.

Filling in the eyebrows was the next step.   He used the Dior Brow Styler for that.  I use mine daily and I love how it works and looks so natural.  Then onto the eye shadows.   Rodderick used the  5 shadow palette Incognito #030.  I was so happy he used this palette as I already own it and love to learn new ways in which to use the colors.   Three colors were used, the lightest under the brow, the grey on the middle of the eye downward to the lash line and the pink shade directly above the middle.  He then used a plum shade liner along the upper lash line.   He first topped the lashes with Dior Iconic mascara sweeping downward on the top of the lashes and then upward on the bottom side of the upper lashes, then topping the lashes with DiorShow if you wanted more volume.

Then he applied softly a Dior Bronze Sunshine Tone Blush to the cheeks for a subtle flush.    It was then that he applied the concealer to the under eye area using SkinFlash.  This prevents you from having to start over with concealer if any eye shadow falls onto the under eye area.

Lips were lined with a natural waterproof pencil and topped with their newer glosses Dior Addict Lip Polish Spin-On Lacquer.  They are all pretty nude tones and sheer.  I love how the applicator spins across your lips – it makes application super easy.

Now you are set to face the day!   

To get into the night mode, remove your eye shadow from the day by taking a triangle makeup sponge and rub to remove the makeup.  His suggestion for night time was to use the palette # 970 Stylish Move.  Take the lightest shade and apply under the eyebrow area and then the darkest plum shade and apply from the middle of the eye across the eye and downward to the lash line and blend.   Then above the middle of the eye apply the medium shade and blend.   Add a touch darker lip and you are smokin’ hot for the night!  

Here are a few more photos from the event.   A group of women from Twin Cities Hip Chicks were in attendance having a blast!  They’re in the group photo with Rodderick.    Rodderick also was there to answer any one on one questions afterwards, too.   If you ever get a chance to go to one of the Dior Master Classes, I strongly recommend attending!

Twin Cities Hip Chicks

One on one consultation.

It’s nearing that time of year again, Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.   And do you know what that means?   Super buys on beauty!  Again, there are some incredible deals of pre-packaged sets or large sizes with a special price, and the beauty companies pull out all the stops for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.    This year they are doing it so much smarter than in the past.   It used to be that you could pre-order what you wanted to purchase and then wait till the sale and pick it up.   But, if you were one of the unlucky ones and didn’t pre-order, your chances of getting the goods when the sale day started were very slim to none.   Now you can go in store or online and pre-order and it is shipped to you from their warehouse, even before the sale actually starts on July 16th.   Or if you can’t seem to get it together before that, you can go into the store and the stores will have good stock.  I wouldn’t wait too long though – no guarantees!

Here are a few of my favorites of the many, many wonderful deals to choose from.  Be sure to check online for more specials available.   Decisions, decisions…

This Dior deluxe palette is so much more gorgeous in person than how it looks here.   It includes a soft pink blush, a three tone bronzer,  four beautiful eye shadows, two lip glosses and a mini brush.    $54.00   There’s a Dior Addict Ultra Gloss lip gloss that’s exclusive too.  Fabulous!

Trish McEvoy always has wonderful value sets and this is no exception.  The “Must Have” collection for eyes is a $175 value for $85   It includes an “emergency card” which is credit card sized palette of 8 eye shadows, a dual ended makeup brush, a travel sized Eye Base Essential in Bare,  Instant Eye Lift, travel size Lash Enhancer, travel size Mascara, all in a mesh pouch to fit in your petite size planner. 

Giorgio Armani make beautiful brushes.  In this set you get a mini blush brush, a mini blender brush (I use the blender brush every single day) a mini eye shader brush and a mini eye contour brush all in a travel pouch.     These aren’t tiny mini brushes either, they are really nicely sized ones.  Individually these would sell for $167 and are being sold for $75.

This Bobbi Brown set is incredibly priced!   The products are all full-sized and would sell for $139 if purchased separately.   They’re selling the set for $75!   This Chocolate and Navy set includes a 5 pan eyeshadow palette including a new navy shade, an Everything mascara, Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Caviar Ink along with an ultra fine liner brush, a Brownie shade lipstick and Pink Blossom lip gloss.   

Not to be outdone, Lancome has this Hypnose lash set for $42, valued at $99.  It includes Hypnose mascara in full size, a full sized Ink Artliner in Brun Elegance, a full sized Cils Booster XL, BiFacil makeup remover and a smudge brush #1 in a satin pouch.

Jo Malone fragrance sets are always divine and of course this one is no exception either.   This is a $135 value for $85 and you get an Orange Blossom Cologne (I wear this a lot), Grapefruit scented travel candle, Lime Basil and Mandarin Bath Oil and Pomegranate Noir Body Creme.  I’m in fragrance heaven already.

For the botanical skin care lover, Chantecaille has this set for you.  A $209 value for $135.  You get a Pure Rosewater, a Rice and Geranium Foaming Cleanser and a Vital Essence all in this pink drawstring nylon bag.    

And last, but certainly not least in my list of favorites is this Laura Mercier Portable Beauty Set for $65 with nearly $100 savings off the $164 value.  The set includes a split pan eye shadow duo, a dual ended brush, a split pan cheek color duo, a dual ended Lip Glace along with a mascara in this cosmetic bag. 

Deals this good only come around once a year, so be sure to check out all of them.  I’m sure I missed some that might be your favorites.  If you want to talk with a sales associate if you don’t have a Nordstrom near you, call 952-883-2121 and tell them Fab Over 40 sent you.  They’ll be great at assisting you in what you need.