2011 BREAST CANCER AWARENESS BEAUTY

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) month and many beauty brands have created special BCA branded products to support breast cancer research. So why not support a worthy cause while scoring some new pink themed beauty products?  And most of these beauty items are Limited Edition so there's even more incentive to start shopping. Here are my top picks:

Stila - Positive and Pretty Palette  ($14)
Specially created for Breast Cancer Awareness month, this palette will leave you looking and feeling beautiful from the inside out. Palette includes:
- 4 eye shadow shades ("Gift", "Passion", "Positive" & "Beauty")
- Cheek color ("Pretty")
- Bronzer/Highlighter ("Empower")
A portion of the proceeds from this Limited Edition pink-themed palette will go to breast cancer research and the betterment of women living with cancer.

Estee Lauder - Evelyn Lauder Pink Ribbon Collection  ($24)
This set features a Limited Edition Pure Color Lipstick in "Wildly Pink", plus a pink croc-embossed clutch. Estée Lauder will donate 20% of the suggested retail price of its Pink Ribbon Collection to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is dedicated to preventing breast cancer and finding a cure in our lifetime by funding clinical and translational research worldwide.

Jane Iredale -  Roses & Lollipops Lip Duo ($30)
A lip duo featuring two new universally flattering lip shades in a keychain locket featuring a pink Swarovski crystal. The locket contains two of Jane Iredale's best-selling products: PureMoist™ Lip Colour ("Roses") – a pigment-rich, creamy lipstick that hydrates with jojoba and grape seed extract; and PureGloss™ for Lips (in "Lollipops") – a sheer, petroleum-free gloss made with green tea leaf extract.
Jane Iredale donates 100% of profits from the sale of this product to Living Beyond Breast Cancer which empowers all women affected by breast cancer to live as long as possible with the best quality of life.

Bobbi Brown - Pink Ribbon Collection  ($44)
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Bobbi has created the Limited Edition Pink Ribbon Collection. The set features "Pink" Lip Color and "Bellini" High Shimmer Lip Gloss, which can be worn individually or layered together. With each purchase, $10 will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, an organization dedicated to preventing breast cancer by funding clinical and translational research worldwide.

Sonia Kashuk - Breast Cancer Awareness Proudly Pink Brush Set ($14.99)
Be beautiful inside and out with this set of professional quality makeup brushes with clean white handles, chic silver trim and plush pink bristles. Housed in a structured silver and pink-lined makeup case, this signature set includes a Powder/Blusher Brush, Crease Brush, Synthetic Foundation/Concealer Brush, Small Eyeshadow Brush and Bent Eyeliner Brush.  A donation of 15% per purchase will be made to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

 CND - Pink Wishes Colour & Effects Duo  ($20)
The CND Pink Wishes Duo helps you continue the fight against breast cancer and show your support of breast cancer survivors. This Limited Edition nail polish set features Pink Wishes Colour, a cotton-candy pink which layers beautifully with Pink Wishes Effect that has a sweet, pale pink pearlescent sheen.

Boots - No7 Intensive Moisture Face Mask  ($19.99)
An intensively quenching treat for softer, smoother skin. With caring vitamins A, C and E, plus invigorating apple extract to brighten your skin. This deliciously soft, lightly whipped gel-cream will leave your skin feeling softer, plumper and looking more youthful.  Boots is donating $2 from every sale of this mask to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, with a guaranteed minimum donation of $25,000, now and during the month of October.

Elemis - Think Pink Beauty Collection  ($55)
The renowned British spa and skincare brand has packaged three of their most popular products (Pro-Collagen Lifting Treatment Neck and Bust cream; Pro-Collagen Marine Cream; and Skin Nourishing Shower Cream) into a super cute pink beauty case. Spoil yourself for a good cause.  A portion of every kit sold will be donated to Breast Cancer Care with the company promising to pledge at least $16,000 to breast cancer research this year.


To learn more about Breast Cancer and the search for the cure , visit the following websites:
www.NationalBreastCancer.org
www.komen.org
www.bcrfcure.org
www.findacure.org

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK: Neutral Eye Palettes

Neutral eye shadows have been around for ages. They are the 'vanilla ice cream' of the makeup world - good but sometimes a little boring. But recently this beauty staple has gotten a new lease on life.  This trend started with Urban Decay's launch of the wildly popular "Naked" Palette which lead to an explosion of eye shadow collections in a neutral range of shades.  Here's my top picks of neutral eye shadow palettes that reflect a variety of price points. Happy shopping my lovelies!

 

Bobbie Brown -  "Sand Tortoiseshell" Eye Palette ($60)
The Tortoiseshell eye palette in "Sand" is for lighter skin tones, with light to dark shadows in flattering warm neutrals. This eye shadow collection let's you go from soft to smoky in no time flat. The eight shadows in this palette are designed to be layered - there’s no blending required. Start with the lightest shade, then layer the darker shades until you get the desired intensity.
* This eye palette is also available in "Bronze Tortoiseshell"  for medium to darker skintones.

Urban Decay  - "Naked" Palette  ($48)
Everybody wants to look good NAKED! Far from a group of boring beige shadows, the Naked Palette's long, lean, seductive case is packed with twelve gorgeous neutrals, including five NEW shades. This palette contains a range of textures: everything from glitter to shimmer to matte. Also included in palette is  the Good Karma eye shadow brush and a travel-size eyeshadow Primer Potion.

Stila - "Natural Eye Shadow" Palette ($39)
A beautiful palette consisting of Stila's award-winning Eye Shadows in wearable, neutral shades for every skintone that can be worn wet or dry and a limited-edition Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner. It also contains an eight-page lookbook with detailed how-to tips and tricks.

NYX - "Nude on Nude" Pallete ($25)
This set contains a classic medley of 20 neutral eye shadows and 10 vibrant lip colors that work for every skin tone and every occasion. What more could a girl ask for?

SLEEK Make-UP - "Storm" i-Divine Palette ($10)
The Storm i-Divine palette is comprised of 12 strong and rich shades perfect for accentuating the eyes and creating natural looks.

E.L.F. - "Essential Beauty School" 32-Piece Eyeshadow Palette ($5)
This 32-color Professional Eyeshadow Palette is the all-you-need eyeshadow assortment, perfect for on-the-go beauty! With endless colors & textures to choose from, this professional eyeshadow palette lets you create your own personal look whenever you wish, wherever you are. 



* Note - the first eye shadow palette featured in this article is Kat Von Dee's True Romance eye shadow palette in "Saint". This product is yet to be released on Sephora.com.

PRODUCT REVIEW - M.A.C._ Semi Precious Collection

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"Imagine the impact, gleam and depth of colour as ethically mined minerals from Brazil work their mystique on Mineralize Skinfinish and Mineralize Blush. Limited edition....Get rich while you can!”

So I made a trip last week to the MAC Pro store to re-purchase a Pro product I ran out of. To my surprise it's been over a year since I last purchased anything from M.A.C. and my Pro card was expired. (Booo!)  But the good news is that I got chance to check out the new Semi Precious collection in person. I'm not a huge M.A.C. aficionado but I have to admit, most of the products in this collection are gorgeous!

Since I was already in the store I decided to play and swatch all the products in the collection....be prepared to fall in love. This collection of products launched online and in MAC stores last Wednesday so if you like any of the colors get out your credit card immediately!

Semi Precious Eyes

Mineralize Eye Shadow ($20.00)

[from left to right, indoor light and natural light]

"Quartz Fusion" - soft pink, silver and deep pink

"Jade's Fortune" - bright yellow, blue, lime and black

"Faux Gold" - coral, gold, lime and bronze

 

"Clarity" - light pink, off-white, green, gold and black

"Mineral Mode" - white base with copper and grey

"Unsurpassable" - green, teal, purple and copper

"Blue Sheen" - navy, black and peach

"Hint of Sapphire" - pink, violet, teal, copper and blue

"Rare Find" - violet, brown and gold

Missing from Display (SOLD OUT):

"Golden Glaze" - pink and gold

"Dark Indulgence" - forrest green and black

"Smoked Ruby" - burgundy and black'

Semi-Precious Colour

 Lipstick ($20.00)

[from left to right, indoor light and natural light]
"Musky Amethyst" - deep plum (Frost)

"One of a Kind" - midtone rosy neutral (Lustre)

"Gem of Roses" - midtone strawberry pink (Lustre) SOLD OUT

"Lush Amber" -light nude beige (Lustre)

Cremesheen Glass  ($18.50)

 

[from left to right, indoor light and natural light]
"Richly Revered" - deep plum brown
"Looks Like Sin" -midtone reddish plum
"Geo Pink" - strawberry pink
"Natural Flare" - light caramel nude
"Pure Magnificence" - light grey pink

Mineralize Blush  ($23.50)

 

[from left to right, indoor light and natural light]
"Warmth of Coral" - coral and peach
"Pressed Amber" - nude, beige and brown
"Feeling Flush" - pink, deep blue pink, and brown SOLD OUT

Mineralize Skinfinish  ($28.50)

 

[colors from left to right - base, inner circle and mixed with indoor light and natural light]
"Semi Precious Crystal Pink" - Base: pink champagne, Inner Circle: pink, dirty green and bronze
"Semi Precious Pearl" - Base: beige champagne, Inner Circle: white, plum and bronze SOLD OUT
 
"Rose Quartz" - Base: rosy pink, Inner Circle: deep blue pink, and brown SOLD OUT 
"Semi Precious Goldstone" - Base: brown, Inner Circle: rosy pink, white, and gold 

Semi Precious Skin

Mineralized Charged Water ($22.00)
Mineralize SatinFinish spf 15 Foundation ($29.50)
Mineralize Face + Body Lotion ($29.50) SOLD OUT

Also part of the Semi Precious collection were two new brushes: # 179 Angled Split Fibre Buffer Brush ($47.00) and Split Fibre Blush Brush ($32.00)


My top picks from the M.A.C. Semi Precious collection are as follows:
Mineralize Eyeshadows in “Blue Sheen”, “Hint of Sapphire”, "Rare Find" and "Clarity"
Mineralize Skinfinishes in “Semi Precious Pearl” and “Semi Precious Gold Stone”
Semi-Precious Lipstick in “Lush Amber” and "One of a Kind"
Cremesheen Gloss in “Natural Flare” and “Geo Pink”
Mineralize Charged Water and Mineralize Face + Body Lotion
 
The only product I didn't like for myself was the Mineralize Blushes - they looked chalky and ashy on my deep skin tone. Not one of the colors worked which was disappointing. I especially loved the the Mineralize Eye Shadows...I tried to duplicate their color and effect using other mineral products but it just didn't work. Guess I'll have to pay full price for those little gems. I also really liked the Mineralize Skinfinishes as well - I would use them as highlighter or layer over blush though, instead of over my whole face.

So what do you think dear Readers? Are any of you planning to buy products from this MAC Limited Edition collection? I've heard through the social network "grapevine" that this is a much anticipated collection and its going fast so if you like anything, I'd advise buying it ASAP my darlings.  Happy shopping!!!

PRODUCT REVIEW - CLEAN_Cotton T-Shirt

Hello my Lovelies,

I know it's been awhile but I'm back and with a new type of product to review - perfume!!!  Yes, it's my first fragrance review on "Karen's World of Beauty" and I'm very happy to share it with you my dear Readers.  Today I'll be reviewing "Cotton T-Shirt" Eau de Parfum, a new fragrance from CLEAN Perfume.

CLEAN Perfume was launched by Fusion Brands Inc. in April 2003. Founder Randi Shinder wanted a fragrance that was reminiscent of pure soap but unable to find such a fragrance, she developed her own…CLEAN! CLEAN is now a lifestyle brand formulated in small quantities to ensure all ingredients are fresh, pure, and of the highest quality.


As my friends can tell you, I'm the type of woman that loves girly-girl, sweet scents like vanilla or florals. But when I received CLEAN Perfume's new scent "Cotton T-Shirt" I decided to keep an open mind and try something different.  I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised.

Fragrance Notes:
Bergamot, Fresh Laundry Accord, Clean Aldehydes, Dewy Freesia, Cotton Flower, Rosewood, Sheer Amber, Warm Musks, Touch of Vetiver


True to their description, it honestly felt like I was smelling a boyfriend's lingering scent on cotton t-shirt he'd just taken it off. It was comforting and warm yet still fresh and clean.  Every time I caught a whiff of the scent it made me smile and say "mmmmm" (inside my head of course!).  Think I'll have to pay a trip to Sephora soon to try a few of CLEAN's other fragrances...it's time to expand my fragrance wardrobe!


The 2.14 oz Eau de Parfum Spray retails for $69 at Sephora and given its fresh yet warm scent it will be appreciated by both men and women.  So give CLEAN's "Cotton t-shirt" a try...you won't be sorry you put it on. 




* Product sample was provided for review but I am not affiliated with the company, nor was I paid to review any of the product(s) mentioned in this blog post.  See my  "Disclosure Policy" for further details.