Preview: Urban Decay’s Summer of Love 2010

Embrace your inner hippie with Urban Decay’s Summer of Love 2010 collection, available online today and in stores on May 1.

The collection includes a versatile eyeshadow palette, nail kit, 24/7 eye pencil in Eldorado, tinted moisturizers, setting sprays, and a mattifying gel. Also being released are two new Pocket Rocket Lip Gloss shades.

Summer of Love Eye Palette, $29

This palette offers four of Urban Decay’s favorite neutral eyeshadow shades including Copper, Maui Wowie, Smog, and Flash, a 24/7 Eye Pencil in Bourbon, and a travel-sized Sin Eyeshadow Primer Potion.

Summer of Love Nail Kit, $28

The nail kit comes with seven mini nail colors in a reusable bronze and purple faux suede case.

All the colors are formulated without harsh chemicals including toluene, formaldehyde, or DBP.

24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Eldorado, $17

Urban Defense Tinted Moisturizers SPF 20, $32

Makeup Setting & Moisturizing Sprays, $26-$29

De-Slick in a Tube Mattifying Gel, $28

Pocket Rocket Lip Gloss, $19

The popular Pocket Rocket Lip Gloss collection will grow by two new shades: Colin and Max.

All these products can be found on urbandecay.com as of today.

Furthermore, beginning May 1, they will be available online and in stores of ULTA, Sephora, and Macy’s.

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Be Healthy and Beautiful with Vapour Organic Beauty (GIVEAWAY)

If you’re searching for natural cosmetics that are both healthy and beautifying, look no further. Vapour Organic Beauty does it all.

Made from food-grade, certified organic ingredients, Vapour products are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Compared to conventional, chemically-based cosmetics, Vapour is non-toxic and completely free of synthetic chemicals such as parabens, petroleum, and artificial dyes.

Furthermore, Vapour is cruelty-free, a must on my list.

All these benefits did not sacrifice Vapour’s main function to color you beautiful.

Let’s take a look:

Siren Lipstick, $19

Moisturizing and long-wearing, the Siren Lipstick is available in 5 shades that will flatter all skin tones.

Containing no harmful chemicals or petroleum additives, Siren lipsticks give you lovely colors while protecting and moisturizing your lips.

Stratus Instant Skin Perfector, $44

Another multi-tasker, the Stratus Instant Skin Perfector serves as a face primer, highligher, moisturizer, and corrector.

Use alone or with other makeup to achieve an even, natural, glowing look.

As with most other Vapour products, it comes in a convenient cream stick tube. Take it with you and apply whenever you want a little brightness and refreshment.

Vapour Giveaway!
I’m excited to announce that Vapour Organic Beauty has graciously offered to give 5 Cruelty-Free Beauty Examiner readers sets of Siren Lipstick and Stratus Instant Skin Perfector. Click HERE for details on how to win!

Entries will be accepted through Monday, April 5th. Winners will be chosen at random. Please check back later that week to see who won. Good luck!
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Essential Cruelty-Free Drugstore Cosmetics

I’m a big fan of drugstore makeup products; they’re affordable and some are of excellent quality.
Below is a list of my current favorite cruelty-free, drugstore cosmetics that are in my opinion superior than many top brand-name products.

1. Revlon Colorstay Makeup with SoftFlex SPF6, $11: One of the best liquid foundations around! Available in various shades for all skin types, this liquid foundation provides medium to full coverage for a natural, beautiful look. It feels comfortable on the face and lasts all day long.
2. wet n wild COLORICON Eyeshadow Palettes, $4.99: These palettes are extremely pigmented and easy to blend.
Available in four sets: Greed, Pride, Lust, and Vanity, each palette comes with six beautiful colors including three matte and three shimmery shades.

3. Almay One Coat Nourishing Mascara, $8: This mascara will give your eye lashes more volume while maintaining their curls. It comes with a uniquely-shaped applicator that has a strip of long bristles on one side to help you better coat your eye lashes evenly and completely while preventing mess to the rest of your eye area.
4. Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner, $6.50: Many people’s favorite eyeliner, it goes on smoothly, shows up vibrantly, and has a great staying power.

5. Revlon Colorstay Liquid Liner, $7.50: One of my favorite liquid eyeliners, it comes with a felt-tip applicator for easy and smooth application. The color is very pigmented and stays in place throughout the day.
6. Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Bronzer, $11.95: Available in six palettes, each bronzer comes with five shades, which blend together for a beautiful tan glow.
The product has a silky smooth texture and is very versatile. Besides using it as a bronzer, I also use each shade individually as shimmery eye shadows.

7. NYX Lip Smacking Fun Colors, $3.50: These lipsticks are very creamy and moisturizing for the lips. Available in over 120 rich colors, it’s easy to find your perfect shade.

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Urban Decay Disney Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows

Two months after its highly-anticipated and celebrated release, the Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows by Urban Decay continues to delight makeup lovers everywhere.

Created for Tim Burton’s adaptation of Alice in Wonderland for Disney, this palette offers 16 of Urban Decay’s bestselling eyeshadow shades, two 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencils, and the much-loved Eyeshadow Primer Potion.

Inspired by Alice’s journey through the mushroom forest (featured in the palette’s pop-up scene) , the eyeshadows are re-labeled with topsy-curvy names such as Curiouser, Mushroom, and Jabberwocky.

There’s a wonderful mix of colors in this palette, from shimmery highlighters like the White Rabbit to sparkly eyeshadows like the Midnight Tea Party.

You can be creative and makeup a number of different looks using this palette.

For example, to create a neutral look, apply Drink Me, Eat Me (a light rosy champaign color) all over your eye lid, and then define your crease and outer corner with Mad Hatter (a rich chocolate brown color).
If you’ want a more intense, dramatic look, try Absolem (a silky, crisp green color) on your eye lid, dress that up with a touch of Oraculum (a lovely medium copper color) in the crease, and add more depth and definition by smoking out your outer corners with Jabberwocky (a slick, shimmery black color). Finish off the look by highlighting your eyebrow arch and the inner eye corners with White Rabbit.

Two travel-size 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencils in Zero (black) and Flipside (turquoise teal) as well as a eye primer potion complete the palette.

The Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows is available for $52 online and in stores (Macy’s, ULTA, and Sephora).

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Simple Steps to Create a Dewy, Glowing Look

One of the hottest looks today is described as dewy, as seen on many celebrities. But you don’t have to spend tons of money or hire a professional makeup artist to achieve this look. Read on for my simple, inexpensive, and as always cruelty-free instructions to look luminous, fresh, and beautiful.

Cruelty-free products: M.A.C Studio Fix Fluid liquid foundation, Noah’s Naturals All Day Moisture with SPF15, M.A.C shimmery pigment, synthetic foundation brush, M.A.C. Fix+ spray. M.A.C. Select MoistureCover Concealer. These are cruelty-free products I use, of course you can substitute and use others, choose between oil-free or moisture-rich products depending on your skin-type.
Step 1: Clean and moisturize your face. For oily skin, you can skip the moisturizer for now. Apply concealer to your “problem” areas such as blemishes and under eye dark circles.

Step 2: Mix together small quantities of the liquid foundation, moisturizer, and shimmery loose powder. For easy blending/mixing, try to choose a moisturizer that has a thin or liquid-like consistency. You can use any shimmery loose powder in light shades such as white, beige, or pink. You only need a tiny amount of shimmer in this step.

Step 3: Apply mixture to your face with the foundation brush. Blend well.

Step 4: For an illuminating glow, highlight your features by applying a shimmery cream or the loose powder used in previous steps to the top of your cheekbones above where you apply blush. You can also apply some shimmer to the bridge of your nose and your cupid’s bow. This will brighten up your face, giving you a soft, subtle sheen. Product recommendation: Hard Candy Spotlighters All Over Highlighter.

Step 5 (optional): Apply bronzer to the areas under your cheekbones below where you apply blush to contour your face. Product recommendation: Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Bronzer. Blend well.
Step 6: Apply makeup to the rest of your face (cheeks, eyes, and lips) to complete your look. Set your face with finishing spray, which will ensure a dewy, moisture-rich look without appearing greasy or shiny.

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Everyday cruelty-free makeup tips and products for a natural, beautiful look

One of many women’s favorite makeup looks is the one that doesn’t appear overdone and enhances our natural beauty.

To achieve this look, all you need are some quality, cruelty-free cosmetics and a few minutes to apply them correctly by following these simple steps below.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy and inexpensive to look luminous and beautiful.

1. Apply foundation on your freshly cleaned and moisturized face. If you use a sponge, try wetting it with water and then squeezing out all the liquid before putting liquid foundation on it. This will prevent the sponge from soaking up too much foundation and help the product go on more smoothly. Don’t apply too much foundation to avoid looking heavy or “cakey”. Product: Revlon PhotoReady SPF20 liquid foundation, $13.99.

2. Apply concealer to “problem” areas such as under the eyes. If you have dark circles, try using a concealer that’s just a shade lighter than your foundation to even out your skintone and brighten up your eyes. Product: Hard Candy Nobody’s Perfect Concealer Palette, $8.

3. Brush on a small amount of powder over your entire face to set the liquid foundation/concealer you just applied. The powder will help mattify the liquid products and prevent you from looking “shiny”. This is especially important if you have oily skin. Product: e.l.f. Translucent Mattifying Powder, $3.

4. Define your eye brows. Try using a color that’s a bit lighter than your natural hair color. Product: Sonia Kashuk Brow Kit Arch Alert Palette, $9.99.

5. Dress up your eyes. Use a eye shadow brush and apply a shimmery, light color all over your lid and brow bone. This color will help highlight and brighten up your eyes. Next apply a darker, matte color to the crease to give your eyes more depth and definition. Blend well so there’s no sharp distinction between the two colors. Product: e.l.f. Duo Eyeshadow in Butter Pecan, $1.
6. Line your upper eye lids as close to the lash line as possible. This will make your eye lashes appear thicker and longer. For your bottom lash lines, lightly line the outer halves (from the outer corner to the middle of the eye). Product: Clinique Quickliner in Really Black or Dark Chocolate, $14.50.

7. Curl your eye lashes. Product: Shu Uemura eye lash curler, $19.

8. Apply mascara to your lashes. Product: Almay One Coat Triple Effect Mascara in Black, $8.

9. Using a blush brush, apply some peachy pink blush to the apples of your cheeks, blending outward toward the temple areas. Product: N.Y.C. Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder in Pink Cheek Glow, $4.99.

10. Apply lipstick or lip gloss. A pink or peach shade slightly deeper than your natural lip color will help you look natural and beautiful. Product: NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in French Kiss, $5.

Done! By investing in some quality, cruelty-free beauty products and a little time, you can look and feel your best, naturally.

LUSH makes wash time fun and delicious

There has been a bit of a big fuss over LUSH soaps in the beauty community recently.

That’s right, good old soap bars.

You may wonder what’s so interesting about soaps, which many of us have long abandoned for a wide variety of fancy gels and creams, but LUSH is making them over!

Fun colors and unique shapes, LUSH offers a wide selection of sweet-smelling, handmade soaps.

All LUSH soaps are handcrafted from organic, fresh ingredients such as fresh ginger, honey water, and coconut oil with little or no preservatives.

Each soap is given an interesting name such as Honey I Washed the Kids Body Soap, which smells like delicious honey and looks like a piece of cake.

Many of LUSH’s products are vegan.

Not only is LUSH cruelty-free, the company campaigns against animal-testing by asking for the replacement of outmoded, cruel animal experiments.

LUSH is also trying to stop the use of animals in Europe’s largest animal testing program, REACH, and working to ensure the full implementation of the European Union (EU) Cosmetics Directive, which calls for a ban on all animal testing for finished cosmetic products and ingredients.

Finally LUSH is Eco-friendly by using responsible, minimum packaging and promoting green-living.

I will be reviewing a series of LUSH products in the upcoming months, so please stay tuned.

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For more info on LUSH, visit its website.

Peta2 cruelty-free beauty Libby Awards goes to…

The votes have been counted so let’s meet the fabulous, compassionate winners of Peta2 Fourth Annual Libby Award.

Many animal-loving candidates competed for the prestigious awards but there could only be one winner in each category.

There were a total of three beauty categories and here are the winners:

The award for Best Cruelty-Free Hair Product went to Kiss My Face Upper Management Medium Hold Styling Gel.

LUSH None of Your Beeswax Lip Balm wins the Best Vegan Lip Balm award.

Finally the winner of the Best Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Company is Aveda.

Congratulations to these winners and every nominee because being nominated and recognized as an animal-friendly, cruelty-free company by Peta2 alone is an achievement worth celebrating.

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Beauty of the white eyeliner

The white eyeliner is a versatile beauty tool, a must-have in every makeup bag.

One of the popular uses of a white eyeliner is on the inside rim (or waterline) of the lower eyelid.

The white color acts like a highlight and will wake up tired eyes by making them appear bigger and brighter.

Another way to brighten up the eye area is by applying white to the inner corners. With even blending, the soft white spots will help open up the eyes and create a fresh and bright look.

Moving on to my favorite white eyeliner use: defining the eyebrows.

That’s right; besides beautifying the eye area, the white eyeliner can help shape your eyebrows.

Simply trace the lower sides of your eyebrows with a white eyeliner, then blend out the sharp white lines and voila, now you have beautifully defined, arched eyebrows.

If you think white is too intense and prefer a softer look, try using an off-white color that’s closer to your skin tone such as cream or beige.
Some of my cruelty-free white eyeliner recommendations are:

1. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Metallic White, $17.

2. NYX Eyeliner in White or White Pearl, $3.

3. M.A.C. Eye Kohl pencil in Fascinating, $14.50.

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Cruelty-Free Beauty Tip: Expiration Dates on Cosmetics

Unlike food products, cosmetics usually don’t come with a precise expiration date. But there is a simple way to know the approximate safe period of time to keep and use makeup products.

“Period After Opening”, or PAO, is a type of expiration date that is printed on some cosmetics.

It looks like an open jar and can usually be found on the back, bottom, or side of the product packaging.

Inside the open jar symbol is a number followed by a letter, which is an indication for the length of time that the product is deemed safe to use from the date it was first opened.

For example, on a bottle of Giovanni Vitapro Fusion Leave-In Hair Treatment (see photo), the open jar symbol is accompanied by “24M”.

This means that this product is safe to use for 24 months or 2 years after its opening date.

PAO symbol only serves as a general guide for consumers and is not found on all cosmetics.

The PAO labeling is required on all cosmetics sold in the European Union (E.U.), which passed a law requiring such labeling in 2003 as part of the European Cosmetic Directive.

In the U.S. the PAO labeling is printed on any imported products or U.S. cosmetics that are manufactured by international companies that follow the E.U. requirement.

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