New Book of Shadows: Alice in Wonderland Edition

In honor of Tim Burton's upcoming Alice in Wonderland, Urban Decay will launch a magical Book of Shadows on December 28, 2009! Urban Decay is well known for launching great limited edition makeup palettes.

In each book you'll find wonderful surprises and highly pigmented colors -- which makes this collabo a perfect match. Included in this makeup wonderland will be 16 best-selling eyeshadows - with animated names like White Rabbit, Jabberwocky, and Oraculum. Also, you'll receive a travel-size Primer Potion and two 24/7 Eye Pencils. And the kicker: the top opens to reveal a pop-up scene of Alice in the mushroom forest, which flourishes with tall mushrooms and a very peculiar, hookah-smoking caterpillar. This will be a great addition to your makeup collection or post Christmas present to yourself!

"Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration"

Suzanna

LashControl's New Mascara Makes A Difference You Can Really See CONTEST CLOSED

Thick, clumpy, gooey mascara is the bane of every girl’s cosmetic existence. For me, finding that perfect tube with a magical wand that will perfectly coat your lashes is nearly impossible. And there is nothing I hate more than spending my hard earned money on one of these tiny tubes, only to get home and find out that my eyes look like they’re sprouting furry spider legs. Are full, dark, natural looking lashes really too much to ask for?

These past few months, I have become quite complacent in my morning beauty ritual. But just recently, I tried out new mascara by LashControl and was flabbergasted by the amazing results! Each tube is equipped with a rubber wiper sleeve so you can control the amount of mascara on the brush. Honestly, why has no one thought of this innovation sooner? Now, you no longer have to keep an arsenal of tissues handy to wipe off all the excess of mascara (which is a major waste of time and money, if you ask me).

The trick to achieving perfectly coated lashes is all in how you squeeze the colored rubber section. The more pressure you apply, the less mascara will be on the brush, and vice versa. This allows you to create your own desired look. Use the wiper to clean the brush and then you can further separate lashes and eliminate clumps. The built-in wiper also serves as an extra barrier to air and dirt, which makes the mascara last longer and keep from drying out.

I tend to be more of a makeup minimalist in my daily routine, so I love that now the control is in my own hands! I can achieve the perfect, barely-there look for daytime and then easily increase the intensity for a great evening look! And there are literally NO clumps. Who knew one mascara tube could be so versatile?

LashControl is currently available in three formulas, each named for the colored wiper sleeve. Blue Squeeze is a water resistant formula that is available in sheer black. Purple Squeeze, which is the tube I tried, is a length and conditioning formula with a brush that gives lashes 2x the volume. Pink Squeeze is lengthening and conditioning formula in black.

Fashionwithfifi.com is giving you the chance to win LashControl’s mascara in Purple Squeeze (2x Black Volumizing Brush with Length and Conditioning formula). Trust me, this is one product that you will love so enter now!

Official Rules:

1) Contest is open to everyone. First you must be a member of the free to join "Fashion Circle" and be subscribed to Fashionwithfifi.com. Click Here: If you aren't already a free subscriber. Email subscription must be confirmed. There will only be one winner.

2) Next you'll need to leave a comment on this post telling us about your favorite mascara.

3) Shipping is Free for all participants in the U.S. Winner from a country outside of the U.S. will have to pay for shipping. Shipping to P.O. Box is fine.

4) Contest runs from now, Monday, October 19, 2009 until Sunday, October 25, 2009. Winner will be announced on Monday, October 26, 2009 at Fashionwithfifi.com.

5) You must be 18 years or older to enter. Contestants under 18 will need a parent's consent in order to participate. Be sure to enter and good luck!

"Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration"

Erin

Beauty Solutions: Hissyfit- Complete Skin Care Solution

Protect. Renew. Perfect. That is the goal that Louise Dobson and Sue Smethurst set out to accomplish when they launched hissyfit, a new line of skin care products that are packed with powerful ingredients to protect your face and body from the damaging effects of sun and heat. The Australian duo knew how important it was to protect their skin and, after growing tired of sorting through a sub-par assortment of beauty and skin care products, decided to create their own products to give women the sensible sun protection they need without sacrificing luxury or beauty.

hissyfit offers four great skin care products that all boast three powerful benefits in one skin treatment. Combining anti-aging ingredients with advanced sun protection and sophisticated cosmetic formulas, hissyfit offers complete body coverage with foundation, lip balm, hand cream and body lotion. Each product has a uniquely delicious scent and even has added vitamins and botanical ingredients like vitamin e, aloe and jojoba oil.

I can definitely sympathize with Dobson and Smethurst’s dilemma. Although I did not grow up under the harsh Australian sun, my pale skin forces me to shrink under the nearest umbrella at the first sign of natural sunlight. My fears of skin cancer, premature aging, and wrinkles make me religiously apply sunscreen everywhere I go. But I have always found the smell of sunscreen to be utterly repugnant. Who wants to reek of SPF every time they set foot outside?

I got to test out the body lotion, hand cream and lip balm myself, and let me tell you, I could not even tell I was wearing any sunscreen! That is one of the reasons I love hissyfit’s products. The scent of each product beautifully masks the odor of the SPF. You would never even know you were wearing sunscreen!

Handy Work, the anti-aging hand cream, goes on smooth and absorbs quickly with just the lightest scent of orange mint. I love that the scent is not overpowering because when I am wearing my favorite perfume, the last thing I want is for my hand cream to overpower it. Since our hands are one of the first places that show signs of sun damage, it is important to protect them. Handy Work has SPF 30 plus antioxidants like vitamin e, so at $29 for a 1.8 oz. bottle, you can look forward to years and years of younger looking skin!!

Body Double, the anti-aging body moisturizer, has SPF 30 and the most beautifully unusual scent. Vanilla, almond, orange and grapefruit all combine to give this lotion a deep aroma with a hint of citrus. There is no sticky residue or icky sunscreen smell, just a quick absorbing, smooth formula that smells great! And it is also packed with ‘cehami’, a native Australian daisy that has anti-inflammatory properties and aids in cell renewal. At $45 for a 4.2 oz. bottle, it is a wise investment for those of us who value our skin and want to keep looking youthful for years to come.

And lastly, I tried Lip Service, the anti-aging lip balm with SPF 50 and ingredients like shea butter and jojoba oil that protect against the sun and help to hydrate and replenish lips. Sometimes our lips are the easiest thing to forget about when applying sunscreen, but the skin here is just as susceptible to sun damage as the rest of our body. hissyfit’s lip balm comes in five different shades: clear, plum, guava, toffee and berry. It goes on sheer and keeps your lips super glossy. It is $20 for .37 oz. and the benefits are definitely worth the price!

"Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration"

Erin

Pencil Me In for Beautiful Eyes Contest!!!

'Antioxidant' has become quite a buzzword in the cosmetic world these days - and rightfully so!! The benefits that antioxidants can give your skin are absolutely astounding. Our skin takes a lot of abuse these days; especially from pollution and heavy sun exposure. Antioxidants can help reduce the effects and in some cases reverse the damages. You can get antioxidants in a variety of forms: in food, vitamins, moisturizers and now, even cosmetics!


Created by Linda Eisner, Pencil Me In Cosmetics offers a unique collection of eye pencils that are packed with vitamins and antioxidants that will help improve your skin. No longer do you have to add yet another step to your morning routine. All you have to do is replace your old eye shadows and liners with one of these eye pencils. simultaneously provide your body with some more necessary ingredients to fight all those nasty chemicals out there!


For those of us who need comprehensive cosmetic assistance (believe me, I know how daunting those makeup counters can be!), Pencil Me In makes it so easy to find the perfect color to compliment your personal style. Just pick the category that best fits you. From hair color to skin tone, to preferred look - Pencil Me In Cosmetics will offer you a list of liners that will suit all your beauty needs!


Fortunately, I had the opportunity to try out their eye pencils so I can personally attest to their greatness! The eye pencils have this amazing, creamy consistency which allowed for a smooth application and was perfect for smudging (Picture a brilliant smoky eye look). There's a wide selection of shades to choose from and each one was true to color; a characteristic that I'm really fond of. Each pencil cost $6.99 and came with a pencil sharpener built right into the cap! How perfectly simplistic was that?? Here were three of my favorite colors:



Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz would have loved this green eye pencil that's appropriately named Emerald City. I love how vibrant Emerald City looked against my pale skin. Every redhead should get this color immediately! I sharpened it until it formed a really sharp tip and then swept it across my upper lid for a thick, dramatic line. Then I used my finger to blend it across the rest of my lid, creating a really intense and unique color. I definitely see this as being a show-stopping color this fall!









Next, to get a great daytime look I used Sky. It is a heavily pigmented light, icy blue that will look wonderful during the winter months but also reminded me of a sweet robin's egg; making it a great spring shade as well.

To create a great evening look, I used Lapis. The pencil's creamy texture made it easy to apply and allowed me to get a really thick, even line across my lid. I used my fingers to blend the color across my lid which allowed me to control the intensity of the shade. What I loved most about this look was that it instantly allowed me to glam up my outfit for an evening out.




Thank goodness for this new cosmetic innovation! Finally, we can get a great look and still have peace of mind knowing that we're putting some much needed ingredients back into our bodies!

Fashionwithfifi.com is giving you a chance to win a set of free eye pencils from Pencil Me In Cosmetics!

Simply leave a comment stating why you would like to win and one lucky Fashion Circle Subscriber will win 6 free eye pencils (in Char-kohl, 24 Karat, One Cent, Champagne Sparks, Buff, and Mint Sparks) valued at $41.94.

Official Rules:

1) Contest is open to everyone. First you must be a member of the free to join "Fashion Circle" and be subscribed to Fashionwithfifi.com. Click Here: If you aren't already a free subscriber. Email subscription must be confirmed. There will only be one winner.

2) Next you'll need to leave a comment on this post telling us why you would like to win Pencil Me In's eye pencils.

3) Shipping is Free for all participants in the U.S. Winner from a country outside of the U.S. will have to pay for shipping. Shipping to P.O. Box is fine.

4) Contest runs from now, Tuesday, September 8, 2009 until Tuesday, September 15, 2009. Winner will be announced on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at Fashionwithfifi.com.

5) You must be 18 years or older to enter. Contestants under 18 will need a parent's consent in order to participate.

Be sure to enter and good luck!

Product reviews and contests

"Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration"

Erin

Victoria’s Secret Beauty

Gets FIERCE with Christian Siriano

Victoria’s Secret Beauty is revamping its Very Sexy cosmetic collection with the first beauty venture with none other than Christian Siriano himself. Victoria’s Secret wanted to get in on this FIERCEness as well! I am thrilled with excitement and can’t wait for this launch; being that I’m a huge Siriano fan and own a lot of the Very Sexy beauty collection. The collection will be branded Christian Siriano for VS Makeup (in august and Very Sexy makeup will also be rebranded as VS Makeup).

“We’ve freshened the line to be more comprehensive, with more shades and more finishes,” said Jean Gordon, vice president of brand development, noting that the redone collection will launch in August with 180 shades. “A big influence comes from working with professional makeup artists — like Charlotte Tilbury and Polly Osmond during the New York fashion shows — and formulating professional yet easy to use cosmetics by tapping into their techniques. We’ve also listened to our consumers and broadened our shade range, so there are products for women of every shade.”

Damn Homey!?!?: They refuse to give sales projections but industry insiders say estimates that it could sell between $55-60 million in its first year!

Who want it?!: Victoria’s Secret chose Christian because “he’s really establishing a close following, and we think he resonates with our consumer,” Gordon said. “His collection for us coincides with some of the looks he’s doing for his fall apparel collection — the blue of the Nile, for instance.”

Competition, Please!: Shashi Batra, president of Victoria’s Secret Beauty is quick to point out Siriano’s project won’t muscle Heidi Klum’s makeup aside. “Heidi’s makeup has been a bestseller for us, and we will pulse those in as well,” he said. “We’re experimenting in various areas. That’s the advantage of being both the developer and the retailer.” Maybe Heidi put in a good word for him. The more the merrier.

Price: This limited edition collection will be somewhat higher than the VS main line. The collection includes five shades of eye shadow, each $14; black eyeliner, $12; three lip gloss shades, each $14; a bronzer-highlighter trio, $24; a face brush, $32, and a ruffled cosmetics bag, $16.

Packaging: items will be packaged in gold compacts with the Christian Siriano for VS Makeup logo engraved on top.

The good news just doesn’t stop for this guy and I love it ……. I’ll keep you posted with the updates!