From the time I was allowed to wear makeup…actually even before then, I have always longed to wear red lipstick.  I have always associated red lipstick with being a  grown up as well as as being sophisticated.  I have been experimenting with red lipsticks since I was sixteen years old and have never found a shade of red that I truly, madly, deeply loved and could not live without.  Either they were too light or dark, sometimes after a while the red would start looking bright pink on my lips or worse yet, orange. Sometimes they just had too much shine and I am not particularly keen on shiny red lips…my lips are not Angelina Jolie’s size, but they are still pretty full. Shiny red lips have a tendency to make me look cartoonish or worse yet, like the female Gremlin in Gremlins 2 (just Google it and you’ll see what I mean!)

So for about a decade into my makeup wearing stage I have tried numerous red lipsticks without success and had given up until just recently.  With red lipstick seemingly being the item du jour lately, my longing for that perfect shade of red returned, plus Valentine’s Day is right around the corner so visions of myself in a pink dress with red lips were swimming in my head. I decided to visit my happy place…also known to many as Sephora.

Before heading to Sephora I decided to do some research and Googled the best red lipsticks for my skin tone.  I had already tried a lot of the red lipsticks that came up in my search results, but for some reason had never given NARS a try. I wanted a matte red lipstick that would look great on my brown skin.It actually did not take me very long to find the lipstick I craved…OK actually it ended up being a lip pencil.  Once I tried NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella I knew my search was finally over.  The Velvet Matte Lip Pencil is a lip pencil and lipstick combined into one very easy to apply crayon.  The color is absolutely beautiful and I do not need to line my lips before applying it nor does it bleed.  I love that there is absolutely no shine to this lip pencil so my lips end up with a velvety look and texture…almost like a rose.

Since I bought the lip pencil I have been wearing it on a consistent basis…not just out at night, but also during the day with just jeans and a t-shirt and my red lips never manage to look out of place.  I cannot wait to wear this on Valentine’s Day…with or without the pink dress I had in mind.  Oh and did I mention that I have since returned to Sephora and purchased the Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Bahama and Dolce Vita…methinks I have finally been cured of my addiction to lip glosses! If you have been struggling with finding the perfect red lipstick, I highly suggest to head to your nearest Sephora and give any one of the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils in red a try.

Gail Lewis

Gail is at times a model, most of the time a blogger, but always a beauty junkie.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

I have mixed feelings about Bobbi Brown’s new ‘Neons & Nudes‘ collection. Mainly because I do love wearing nude makeup shades, but just about every beauty brand right now already has the same obsession (with Urban Decay knocking it out of the park with their 2-part Naked palette of course!) In other words, it’s hard for me to be impressed by yet another series of not-so-blah neutrals.

The neons, on the other hand, totally intrigue me. I’m not one to regularly incorporate many not-seen-in-nature colors into my daily beauty routine, but I’m always open to experiment, and the more “adventurous” side of Bobbi’s new collection is definitely inspiring me to dabble outside my comfort zone! Some of my favorite collection highlights include the three punched-up lip gloss additions – now in Citrus, Cosmic Pink, and Ultra Violet – which are fun and spring-festive but sheer enough to not appear costume-y or kitschy.

I also adore the new eyeshadows, in Ultra Violet Shimmer Wash and the stunning cobalt Blue Bell. Of course, I realize that these shades aren’t for everyone (and they require a very skilled hand to wear them chicly), so what do you think – gorgeous or gimmicky?

- Alexandra Gambardella

*Guest beauty post from my friends at TheFind.com.

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

 It’s been said by passionate careerists time and time again – if you love your job, you’ll put your blood, sweat, and tears into it. Now, beauty lovers can apply the same mentality (well, maybe not literally) to their beauty regime thanks to Rain Cosmetics.

The Vegas-based beauty brand has a lot to live up to. The line was inspired by the city’s glamorous nightlife, and they even refer to themselves as “The Sexiest Makeup in the World”….so when I tested out their Blood, Sweat, and Tears lip trio, I was hoping to be nothing less than amazed.

Naturally, each product in the trio serves a different purpose. While you can definitely wear each of the shades alone, I prefer using the three together for the best effect.

Blood: Blood is a red lip stain. Stains can be tricky, but this one is an awesome product for first-time users because it isn’t too dark upon first application. I prefer a darker lip, so I put on about 2 or 3 coats. TIP – Make sure you exfoliate your lips before applying ANY lip stain! If your lips are dry, you’ll wind up with uneven color that is hard to remove.

Sweat: A shimmery champagne sparkle, Sweat adds some needed dimension to Blood. I found that when wearing alone, this product wears off pretty quickly…so for best results pair with Tears to lock the sparkle in.

 Tears: Tears is a standard, slick high gloss. The sheen lasted longer than other clear glosses and added the finishing touch to Blood and Sweat  that will make your lips pop.

Here I am testing out Blood, Sweat, and Tears lip trio from Rain Cosmetics.

I was very pleased with the collection and it has officially been added to my daily beauty routine – a girl can never have too many red lip stains! The set retails for $30.00. Check out  www.raincosmetics.com to learn more about other products in the collection.

Have you tried Rain Cosmetics products before? What was your experience?

Amanda Huggins

Amanda is a PR and communications girl living and working in the NYC area. She is a firm believer in the powers of a strong cup of coffee and fire-engine red lipstick.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

Over the years I’ve come to learn that amazing beauty products are not only found in traditional beauty/cosmetics stores, but in out of the way places you wouldn’t normally consider.  My most recent great findis Mitsuwa Marketplace.  This place was recommended to me by Ji Cho, owner of Nami Restaurant in Minneapolis, MN and beauty product guru…seriously the woman is insanely knowledgeable about every and anything beauty related.  Mitsuwa Marketplace is the largest Japanese Supermarket in the U. S. They are mostly located in California with one in New Jersey and the one I visited in Chicago. This place is awesome and carries a wide variety of Japanese groceries, general items, electric appliances and beauty products.  They even have a bookstore as well as a food-court with fantastic Japanese food.

I went to Mitsuwa Marketplace with the intention of getting a deep conditioning treatment and a cream for my ends…I came out with shampoo, conditioner , conditioning hair treatment, cleansing face oil and brow pencil and this was after I decided to put some products back on the shelf!  The selection of cosmetics and beauty products were just amazing.  They had products for your hair that I never even knew existed.  The shampoo and conditioner that I bought were both from Shiseido and they’re absolutely wonderful, very moisturizing and an absolute steal!  I paid just $18.99 for both 550ml bottles (they were on special that day.)  The conditioning treatment is also pretty amazing, the brand is called IchiKami and that is about all I can decipher because everything else is in Japanese.  I love the cleansing face oil, it’s very gentle on my skin but still thoroughly cleans my face without making it feel dry.  I keep the brow pencil that I bought from there in my make-up bag at all times.  It has two sides, one side is your traditional brow pencil with a much finer tip for a really precise application and the other side is more like a liquid liner…but for your brows.  The pencil  fills in my brows, but they never look overdone and I have to wash my face to remove it because I’ve been to the gym a few times after having applied the brow pencil and it stayed put through my entire workout…and my workouts are pretty intense ones that produce buckets of sweat.

I regret not getting some of the other products I had my eyes on, like the liquid liner (my beauty guru Ji said that the Japanese liquid liners have a finer more precise tip than their American counterparts, she also suggested the fake eyelashes which are apparently pretty great.) I did discover that  Mitsuwa Marketplace does have an online store which made me pretty ecstatic, but the selection of beauty products available online is kind of limited compared to the store, lucky for me I will be spending this summer in Minnesota which means I will have plenty of opportunity to try every product  I had my eye on. Have you been there and discovered some great beauty brands yourself?

Gail Lewis

Gail is at times a model, most of the time a blogger, but always a beauty junkie.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

I have a friend named Felicia who can rock a red lipstick like nobody’s business. Have you secretly always wanted to wear red, but just didn’t think you could pull it off? I sure have. So when someone from Cake Plate Boutique approached me to review a line of cosmetics they carried in their Napa Valley store, I took the chance to ask her to pick a color she felt would best suit me. I was told 29 Cosmetics’ Wine Critic, a red, would look great on me. I took a big gulp and felt worried.

Wine Critic, from 29 Reserves Moisturizing Lipstick Collection (SPF20), utilizes grape seed extract, an anti-oxidant that smoothes, softens and prevents aging, straight from regional grapes. More powerful than Vitamin E and 20 times more efficient than Vitamin C, the extract is said to have the ability to keep lips looking young, vibrant, and stylishly smooth. Although, for me, the lipstick didn’t feel very moisturizing. Additionally, the colors are named in honor of the Napa Valley region–hence Wine Critic.

Wine Critic is rich and vibrant. I personally love it and there is something about wearing this color that just makes you feel sexy. Like most lipsticks, the color doesn’t stay put very long if you are eating/drinking.

Here’s a shot of me wearing it, what do you think?

29 Cosmetics can be found in-store at Cake Plate Boutique at 1000 Main Street in Downtown Napa.

*Disclosure

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

Oh how I love me some sparkly lip gloss. With the UV rays not as intense in the winter as they are in the warmer months, I think it is safe to break out the shine on my lips.

Pleasure Principle, Glitter and Ice, Spanking Rich, Love Alert

MAC Cosmetics Dazzleglass, Glitter and Ice, is just what I need for some shimmer…especially since this winter has practically been snow-less and nothing else seems to be glistening around here. OK, maybe the lake in front of my house is…but I don’t want to make you jealous.

The colors in Glitter and Ice are just small pops of color with lots of dazzle and naturally, most of them are currently sold out on the website with the exception of Love Alert. Did you scoop them up before they disappeared? You can also call your local MAC store to see if they have them in stock local to you. Love the colors? Let me know in the comments!

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

Holiday party season is officially here, and if you’re opting to go the subtle route fashion-wise by avoiding ultra-sparkly cocktail dresses and glitter heels at all costs, there’s still plenty of ways to add some celebratory glitz to your seasonal party look! Instead, try focusing the festiveness on your makeup. Metallic silver liner adds just the slightest dash of holiday vixen appeal that makes a surprisingly gorgeous impact. It’s like tinsel for your eyes… which is way less painful than it sounds!

Try not to go too 90s-fabulous with the trend (that whole frosty lid look might make you look dated), and instead stick to just the corners of your eye and the inner rim. Similar to how white pencil makes peepers appear wider and brighter, silver liner will make eyes sparkle with a sexy metallic sheen. Also, make sure you pick an easy-glide, extra-bright chrome silver – darker gunmetal shades just won’t have the same tinselly effect!

Pictured above: Milani Liquif’Eye Metallic Eyeliner Pencil in Silver, L’Oreal HiP Chrome Eyeliner in Silver Lightning, Stila Smudge Stick in Silverdollar, and Bobbi Brown Dual Ended Eyeliner in Jet/Chrome.

Guest post for A Girl’s Gotta Spa! from my friends at TheFind.com.

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

NO JOKE. I seriously just got my hands on Urban Decay’s most freaked-about product ever, the Naked Palette (I know, two years late – I’m pathetic), and the makeup geniuses have already released its sequel! However, unlike The Hangover 2, The Godfather Part III, and the endless Land Before Time sequels that refused to die, the Naked 2 Palette seems like one of those rare sequels that won’t disappoint. As excited as I am about this, it admittedly doesn’t look too different from the original Naked Palette, so unless you’re an Urban Decay super-fan like me or are still too exhausted from tracking down the first one, you might be okay sitting this one out. (Ugh, did I really just say that?!) But its new sister palette does incorporate some pretty tawnier shades and russet reddish-browns as opposed to the first one’s sparkly champagnes and shimmery bronzes. And that’s different enough to justify a purchase on my part! Unfortunately, if you weren’t one of the lucky 5,000 to snag one up on Urban Decay’s short-lived presale, you’ll likely be out of luck until who-knows-when… but it doesn’t hurt to keep it on your shopping radar… or letter to Santa!

- Alex Gambardella

Guest beauty post for A Girl’s Gotta Spa! from my friends at TheFind.com.

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

Thanks to the brilliant idea of my friend Karla Sugar, I’m once again contributing to the auction going on at BeautyBloggers.org to benefit Doctors Without Borders. Last year we raised $5K and this year we have already topped that amount and the auction has only been live for a few days! There are so many great beauty bloggers involved and if you want to pick up an awesome beauty treat at a steal AND help a really great charity, definitely head over and check it out!

My auction items are from MAC Venomous Villains. These are new and unused, although the cases may have a few fingerprints on them since I had to take them out of the box to snap a picture.

The items included are:

• Briar Rose Beauty Powder (from Maleficent/Sleeping Beauty)
• Violetta lipstick (Amplified Creme, from Maleficent/Sleeping Beauty)
• Toxic Tale lipstick (Satin, from the Evil Queen/Snow White)
• Hot House lipglass (from the Evil Queen/Snow White)

At the time of this post, the highest bid is only $68 for these limited edition items…know someone this would make a good gift for? Check it out at BeautyBloggers.org; the auction lasts until December 12th!

Ps. For more great holiday gift ideas, make sure to check out A Girl’s Gotta Spa! Holiday Gift Guide!

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

If you survived Black Friday and are still in need of some holiday gift ideas for the family or friend who loves beauty products, then I know you’ll find our Holiday Gift Guide useful. Amanda, Gail and I put together some of our best and most favorite gift ideas (i.e. gifts we’d like to see under the tree) into a 13 page catalog. We opted not to create a multitude of holiday gift posts and thought a handy catalog that you can browse through and link directly to the product would make for a great all-in-one-place guide.

Here’s what we covered: Hair care, skin care, bath & body, holiday kits, cosmetics, gifts that give back and spas and spa treatments that we love. There’s some nail polish mentioned in there too!

Many thanks to Kelli & Co. for creating the cover for our Holiday Gift Guide. When reading it, make sure you view it at 100%; it is a downloadable PDF.

Enjoy the catalog and please feel free to pass onto your friends! Download it by clicking this link: Holiday Gift Guide

Disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links and 2 brands mentioned are clients.

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts