Inglot

I hope everyone had a nice Easter. My sister was in town, so I've been M.I.A. for a bit. But we had a great time hanging out and I was reminded of this amazing eyeshadow I found over Christmas. Before I was formally introduced to this brand, Inglot, I had only read about. I spotted it from across the way, its bright, sleek exterior calling out to me. The interior was filled with every color imaginable all lined up in precise rows.

I was immediately drawn to this angelic blue shadow. I'll admit to my strange love of blue eyeshadow. Most people have thoughts of bad 80s videos and endless blue eyeshadow. Moderation is the key here. In small doses, blue is a universally flattering color. And this one is so subtle and powdery blue it's not scary at all.

The silky powder makes application with either a brush or finger a dream. Dare I say, I even go so far as to put a fine line underneath my eye as an alternative to wearing liner.

Inglot has a veritable rainbow of colors to select from. I highly recommend visiting one of their stores if you can. www.inglotcosmetics.com

Get Polished For Easter

With Easter right around the corner, and fond memories of dying eggs vibrant colors, there is not a more suitable time for a candy-colored nail. Actually, candy colors are always suitable.

As you can tell from this blog, I love nail polish. It really is such an easy way to experiment and if you don't love something, simply take it off and try a new color. And all the fun extras like shatter, crackle, and iridescent flakes make it easy to get super-creative.

It is nice when a polish is so great it can stand alone. I've been wearing Essie's Tart Deco and OPI's I Vant to Be A-Lone Star incessantly. Tart Deco is the holy grail of corals, not too pink, not too orange just a perfect combination of the two. I Vant to Be A-Lone Star is a barely-there blue with a touch of silver shimmer. Both are amazingly creamy and apply with no streaking. I only used two coats for full coverage and opacity. And both Essie and OPI have extremely long wear and stand up to my constant typing and horrible habit of picking staples out of papers with my nail instead of taking the time to search for my staple remover. Hey, we all have our things.

What are your favorite spring colors for polish?

Beauty Crew

(image via Lucky Magazine)

(image via NY Mag/The Cut)

(image via Fashionista.com)

Jenna Lyons has become a household name now that she's J. Crew's President and Creative Director. You can tell Jenna's influence is behind the beautiful images in the catalogs. Every beauty fanatic I know was trying to track down the hot pink lipstick used a couple of seasons ago (NARS Funny Face, in case you were still wondering) and now the pages are splashed with coral lipstick, and tousled undone hair straight from the runways.

Not only do I love what she's done with the look of the catalog (and website) but I adore her personal style. Her hair always looks polished but in a very natural way. And her personal makeup selections are equally as enviable as what the J. Crew models are sporting.

Check out some J. Crew beauty secrets here.

Navy Is The New Black

Sometimes black eyeliner is a little too harsh. Say you've had a long night, maybe you stayed out a bit too late, maybe you decided to watch reruns of your favorite sitcom until 2 am because you just couldn't turn the TV off; these are occasions when black liner draws more attention to your bleary-eyed self.

Navy blue is a fun, and more subtle alternative. I've always been a fan of lining my waterline. If I'm running on empty and it's showing in my eyes, a pop of blue fits the bill for a polished but not over the top look.

Elizabeth Arden's Midnight Blue is a dark navy that is just perfection. It enhances the natural green tones in my eyes (hooray), doesn't look too made up for work and can easily transition into evening (just add a little more). It glides on smoothly, and the opposite end does have a rubbery tip that can be used to blend. Though, I prefer using my fingers. Needless to say this multi-purpose pencil is a permanent fixture in my purse.

Bumble and bumble (un)dressing creme

Remember the cool girls in high school, the ones with enviable, perfect hair? I was never able to achieve that effortless, I-just-woke-up-with-this amazing hair. I still have to work at it, and that effortless look takes some, err, effort.

There are so many products out there that aim to give you that sexy-messy, bedhead-y hair. Some work better than others. I love the second day hair look, but sometimes actual second day hair is a bit...blah and lifeless. The fabulous people over at Bumble and bumble have fixed that problem.

I have pretty fine hair and don't like to weigh it down with a ton of product but I also have a natural curl (and some inevitable frizz) so I need something. Bumble and bumble's "(un)dressing creme" is the perfect solution! The cream's texture is a little glue-like, and definitely a bit sticky, but fear not it's easy to work into hair. Use a dime-size amount to start and work it into damp hair, comb through and if needed add a little more. Then you can rumple and tousle your hair and either air-dry or use a diffuser. You're left with gorgeous undone hair with a matte finish. I'm in love.

I'm sleeping with the product in my hair tonight hoping it works just as well and I'll finally wake up with that cool girl hair. Stay tuned.

Watch B&B's stylist in action with the product and pick up a tube here.

FAIRYDROPS Scandal Queen Mascara

Beauty fanatic (and marketer's dream) that I am, I usually try to give new products a test-drive, especially if I've heard or read something particularly good about it. I'm not quite sure what it is, but Japan seems to crank out the most got-to-have-it-now, coveted beauty products. My latest acquisition is no exception.

Wearing mascara creates a look. I feel naked on those days I forget to give my lashes a quick swipe before I whirl like a tornado out the door. It just makes me feel put together, even when I'm clearly not. As I've mentioned, I've been genetically blessed in the lash department but I simply can't resist gussying them up with a lush, inky mascara.

Quite honestly, I don't remember how I heard about FAIRYDROPS. It's a Japanese brand that has recently landed here in the states. Needless to say I stalked Sephora (the only outpost to carry the mascara at the moment). My regular haunt was sold out, only solidifying the fact that I needed this mascara in my life....like yesterday. About a week and a different Sephora later, I was checking out the mascara display when I spotted the shiny gold tube housed in a shiny pink box. I can neither confirm nor deny that I snatched it off the shelf like a selfish grade-schooler in fear that another beauty lover would take the last one before I could get my hands on it.

I don't curl my lashes, but truth be told it's due to sheer laziness. If a mascara wants to do it for me, sign me up. FAIRYDROPS makes good on their word, which is good since they had me at the whimsical packaging. My lashes were perfectly curled after a few passes with the odd yet cleverly-shaped wand. I'm not sure how it does it but the results speak for themselves. Scandal Queen is a dark black color that leaves each and every lash fully coated and super glossy. And even though I'm an eye-rubber, I did not experience the midday raccoon eye or any flaking (which was a complaint amongst some reviewers). I found it's easily removed with warm water, plus it also comes off in almost tube-like pieces if you would rather skip the water. I don't recommend it since an extremely gentle hand is required so you don't pull out lashes. Overall, FAIRYDROPS has moved to my number one slot for a go-to mascara. Check it out and pick one up here.