Spring 2016: MAC Cosmetics Flamingo Park Collection.

When I first heard about the brand new MAC Cosmetics Flamingo Park Collection for spring I was immediately excited because A - I read it was pink pink and I love me some pink and B— the theme is flamingo and I am all about the pink flamingo. I travel to South Florida quite often; it's my second home and I've been obsessed with pink flamingos for as long as I can remember. It's as if this spring color collection was made for me. Just one glance at the fun pink shades and you are drawn in and hoping that spring (if not summer) will be here soon. It is very resort-like.

"Plunge into the punchy pleasures of pink in a freshly made batch of scrumptious colours that let you have your cake, and wear it too. Glisten pretty on a sunny day with Powder Blush, a fun way to bring delicious colour to your cheeks. Paint it pink and get your just desserts anytime, but be ready to share!"

The collection is a big one with almost everything pink except for the large nine pan eyeshadow palette that offers some really bright shades to go along with the rest of the look.

Flamingo Park x 9 Eyeshadow Palette - $40

• Bird’s Eye View - Hot magenta (Satin)
• Flock & Roll - Light pastel pink (Matte)
• Sushi Flower - Pinky coral with pink shimmer (Satin)
• Elegant Friend - Dirty lavender (Veluxe Pearl)
• Weirdly Wonderful - Royal blue with light blue pearl (Veluxe)
• Naturally Fabulous - Warm mid-tone brown (Matte)
• Flounce - Chalky white pink (Matte)
• Glamour Light - Soft lemon yellow (Satin)
• Floridazzle - Soft lime green (Satin)

Technakohl Liner - $16.50

• Purple Dash - Intense aubergine
• Raisinette - Brown purple

Pigment - $22

• Rose - Rose with copper sparkle
• Golden Olive - High frosted green-gold
• Tan - Muted pinky brown bronze

Powder Blush - $22

• Life’s a Picnic - Hot reddish pink (Satin)
• Pink Swoon - Soft yellow baby-pink (Satin)
• Let’s Be Friends - Blue hot-pink (Satin)
• What I Fancy - Soft bright apricot (Satin)
• This Could Be Fun - Soft violet-purple (Satin)
• Spring Flock - Light bright coral (Satin)
• Oh My! - Reddish mid-tone coral (Satin)

Beauty Powder - $22

• Pearl Blossom - Light pink with silver pearlized pigments
• Sunny Surprise - Soft peach

Lipstick - $17

• Flocking Fabulous - Bright coral-red (Cremesheen + Pearl)
• Please Me - Muted rosy-tinted pink (Matte)
• Nice to Meet You - Deep pink-red (Cremesheen)
• Be Silly - Hot fuchsia pink (Matte)
• Long Legged & Fabulous - Soft baby pink (Cremesheen + Pearl)
• Silly - Bright white-pink (Matte)
• Saint Germain - Clean pastel pink (Amplified)
• Have Your Cake - Bright magenta (Matte)
• The Fashion Flock - Bright pink-coral (Matte)

Cremesheen Glass - $20

• Such Sweeties - Pastel baby pink
• Look Who’s Here! - Soft pink with blue pearl
• Sweet Tooth - Warm mid-tone pink
• Petite Indulgence - Bright blue-pink
• Playful Petal - Electric magenta

Lip Pencil - $16.50

• Chic Trick - Amped-up fuchsia
• Embrace Me - Vivid pinkish fuchsia
• In Synch - Bright yellow pink

Studio Nail Lacquer - $12

• Miami - Warm pink coral
• Spoonful of Sugar - Soft pink glitter with pink pearl

The lip shades are must haves for me. From the Lipstick to Cremesheen Glass, take your pick, you simply cannot go wrong if you are into any shade of pink.  These are all extremely wearable and complementary for all skin tones.

I have two of the Matte Lipsticks in Be Silly, a matte hot pink, and Have Your Cake, a matte blue-pink, almost purple shade. While these are not my typical shades, I find Be Silly a beautiful fuchsia shade that wears really well for a matte shade. I think I rather one of the lighter pink or coral shades like The Fashion Flock, Long Legged & Fabulous and Please Me, all of which I just ordered.

For the Cremesheen Glass, I just love the formula. This gloss offers just the right amount of shine that lasts longer than your average lipgloss, which one me is probably three to four hours. The formula is really creamy with a nice touch of pigment to it, depending on the color of course. I have Such Sweetness, which is a barely there baby pink that just adds a touch of pink to the lips. I like this one dotted in the center of my lips to add fullness to my put. I also have Petite Indulgence which is a really bright blue-pink. This one looks beautiful layered over Have Your Cake or on its own for a bit of a more sheer brightly colored lip.

For the face I have Pearl Blossom Beauty Powder which is a nice light pink highlighter as it has a bit of silver pearlized pigment in it. If used lightly, it looks pretty when the light catches it.  I am probably most surprised by What I Fancy Powder Blush because I am loving this. It is a gorgeous sort of soft, sort of bright coral shade. It is what I would describe as the inside of a not so ripe watermelon and it looks just so pretty on my skin as long as I use a light hand. I layer it over a bit of bronzer and it is just absolutely stunning. I really cannot express that enough. I can only imagine how nice it will look over self-tanner, tanned or a darker skin tone.

Buy the MAC Cosmetics Flamingo Park Collection now at all MAC stores, counters in Nordstrom, Macy's, etc. and maccosmetics.com.

UD | Gwen Stefani Spring Collection.

The UD | Gwen Stefani Collection is now complete with the release of the rest of the products that make up the spring collection. The second phase of this exciting collaboration with the singer and fashion entrepreneur has had us makeup girls chomping at the bit! Now that these items are here, which include a Blush Palette, eight must-have Lipstick shades and six coordinating shades of 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil along with a Brow Box, they are flying off the shelves. Get these limited edition makeup items while you can.

When I first saw that Gwen was teaming up with Urban Decay late last year, I knew there would have to be lipsticks. Gwen is known for her iconic lip looks. I fell hard for the 15-pan eyeshadow palette and I knew that the rest of the collection would be just as luxe and beautiful — it is!

The UD | Gwen Stefani Collection was a true partnership with Stefani who worked closely with the brand as she went over every detail of the collection. Gwen was involved in creating all of the shades and the packaging and I think it totally comes through. Urban Decay Chief Creative Officer and Founding Partner Wende Zomnir carefully crafted each product with Stefani so that the exact shades Gwen always wished she had in her personal makeup collection came to fruition.

The entire UD | Gwen Stefani Collection:

UD | Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette - $58

Filled with 15 must-have shades, this is a neutral girls dream. Add a pop of color with one of the three bold shades or line with Blackout. My complete review is here: UD | Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette Review + Swatches

UD | Gwen Stefani Blush Palette - $45

Filled with six shades to highlight and define, this blush palette is amazing. Made with Urban Decay's 8-hour Afterglow finely milled formula, these blush, bronzer and highlighting shades go the distance. I like that there are a mix of easy to wear shades here. The palette includes two blush shades, a true bronzer that I think will work well for light to medium toned gals and three shades that are great for highlighting and layering over the blush or bronzer.

UD | Gwen Stefani Blush shades:

• Cherry - Light Pink Satin
• Easy - Deep Rose with Gold Shimmer
• Angel - Champagne-Nude Shimmer
• Lo-Fi - Soft-Bronze Matte
• Hush - Medium Pink with Gold Shimmer
• OC - Soft Pink with Peach Shift

The Palette is itself incredibly packaged similar to the eyeshadow palette, but this one is all sleek white and gold. It opens to reveal the six larger shades of blush, bronzer and highlighter shades. I like Cherry and Easy pretty equally, but tend to use a little shimmer so I've been layering Angel over Cherry. Of course, I use both of these over Lo-Fi which I use first in the hollows of my cheekbones and where I would contour. 

UD | Gwen Stefani Lipstick - $18

After trying over fifty shades, Gwen settled on eight must-have lipstick shades for her collection and I think they are very well suited to her and the collection. From the packaging to the shades themselves, everything about them are exquisite. Featuring Urban Decay's proprietary Pigment Infusion System™, the lipsticks are super creamy in texture with rich color payout.

UD | Gwen Stefani Lipstick shades:

• Ex-Girlfriend - Sheer Nude-Rose with Pink Shimmer
• Firebird - Deep Fuchsia Cream
• 714 - Bright Red Mega Matte
• Rock Steady - Deep Wine Red Cream
• Spiderweb - Satin Red Cream
• Wonderland - Dark Pink-Red Cream
• Phone Call - Sheer Bright Pink (UD exclusive)
• Plaid - Sheer Deep Berry (UD exclusive)

Of course, my favorite is Ex-Girlfriend, but I have been rocking Phone Call just as often (I'm really trying to break out of my nude lip shell!). All of the colors are fabulous and you really can't go wrong with any of them. I have all but the Urban Decay exclusive Plaid which is currently sold out.

UD | Gwen Stefani 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil - $20

To go along with the lipstick shades, Gwen helped to come up with six 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencils. These lip pencils are dreamy as they are creamy and waterproof and seriously last. They line and prime to help lipstick stay in place while helping to maked lipstick go on more smoothluy and prevent feathering.

UD | Gwen Stefani 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil shades:

• Ex-Girlfriend - Nude-Rose
• Firebird - Deep Fuchsia Pink
• 714 - Classic Red
• Rock Steady - Blood Red
• Wonderland - Dark Pink-Red
• Phone Call - Bright Pink (UD exclusive)

UD | Gwen Stefani Brow Box - $30

This is a limited edition Brow Box packaged to match the rest of the UD | Gwen Stefani collection. Made like the rest of the brands Brow Box, this contains two brow powder shades, but these were made just for Gwen so they are called Bathwater Blonde and are a dark and light blonde. The box also includes a wax, mini tweezers and two mini angled brushes to apply the brow powders. What I really like about the brow box, that you might have not known, is that there are two mirrors inside and one is quite magnified. These blonde shades are actually like taupe and pretty universal for medium brown hairs as well.

The entire UD | Gwen Stefani is available now. Buy it at urbandecay.com, Sephora, Macy's, Nordstrom, beauty.com and Ulta.

NARS Spring 2016 Color Collection Nouvelle Vogue.

I love seeing all of the new spring makeup collections because it means that the warmer weather can't be far behind. Even though we haven't had a really touch winter hear, I can't wait for spring and the spring collection really get me excited. The NARS spring color collection, named Nouvelle Vogue, is a pretty one that features a mix of roses and neutrals with a kick of brights in rich textures. It's very resort like and perfect to wear right now.

NARS Nouvelle Vogue contains the following products:

Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow - $29

• Tarvos - Icy Mint
• Cressida - Shimmering midnight blue
• Kari - Soft rose pink

Lip Gloss - $26

• Instant Crash - Soft shimmering apricot
• Vida Loca - Guava

Lipstick - $28

• Rosecliff - Soft rose
• Banned Red - Mulled wine

Duo Eyeshadow - $35

• Hammamet - (L): Matte beige (R): Bronzed rose

Blush - $30

• Impassioned - Pink orchid

The products I have are all pretty neutral, of course. I have the Hammamet Duo Eyeshadow, the Lipstick in Rosecliff and Lip Gloss in Instant Crash and all of them are really me.

The Hammamet Duo Eyeshadow features two shades of shadow, one matte and one shimmery bronze. The matte shade is a nice medium beige tone that looks nice all over the lid. I paired it with NARS' Abyssinia on my brow bone then used the beige shade on the lid. I used the rosey bronze shade from the right side of the compact into the outer corner of my lid and then smudged it into my crease and lower lash line for a romantic smokey look.

Rosecliff Lipstick is the perfect soft rose lipstick. It leaves just a hint of rose, but is like a nude rose with a soft satin finish. I like layering the Instant Crash Lip Gloss over it for sure. Instant Crash is a barely there nude shimmer with a hint of peach to it.

The NARS Nouvelle Vogue Spring Color Collection is available now at narscosmetics.com and in Sephora and all NARS counters in department stores like Nordstrom and Bloomingdales.