Nicki and Ricky for MAC’s VIVA GLAM – $14.50 – Nordstrom

Available February 2012

THIS FRIDAY, PLEASE VISIT YOUR LOCAL MAC COUNTER OR STORE AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT BY EITHER PURCHASING A VIVA GLAM PRODUCT OR DONATING TO THE MAC AIDS FUND! AND JOIN IN ON THE COUNTDOWN TO OUR REVEAL OF THE NEW VG SHADES TO COME IN FEBRUARY…

Inspired by none other than Nicki Minaj and Ricky Martin. It’s  NICKI AND RICKY for VIVA GLAM!

WWW.MACAIDSFUND.ORG

The oh, so chic Miss Piggy, for M.A.C.

via: stuff.co.nz

Fashion brands are cashing in on a pig ahead of the lucrative Christmas trade period.

Miss Piggy of The Muppets fame is set to become the hottest commodity of the fashion industry thanks to her new film role.

The blonde-haired, pink skinned diva will return to the big screen late November in the upcoming film The Muppets, where she will star as the plus-size editor of Vogue Paris.

Cosmetics giant M.A.C seized the opportunity to collaborate with Miss Piggy.

As well as having a wardrobe overflowing with shoes designed by Christian Louboutin, American designer Zac Posen has created 12 costumes for the stylish swine as she prepares to reprise her role as Kermit the Frog’s love interest.

“It’s the role I was born to play,” states her character biography.

“Moi plays a high-powered, confident, charismatic, gorgeous, scene-stealing star that saves the day and wins her frog’s heart,” she continued.

While I’m sure there are people out there (Anna Wintour, anyone?) who might be offended by this campaign, my feeling is M.A.C. is making great strides in glamor AND seeing to it that we stop taking ourselves so seriously and have a little FUN once in awhile.

The Timeless Bombshell, Miss Piggy

Viva Glam, indeed.

Fergie, from The Black Eyed Peas, wearing orange eye shadow and…LEGOS

Yeah, I know.  I can’t get past the Lego suit, either, but I won’t get into that right now.   So, yeah.  Orange.  All the rage?  Or just too Halloweeny?  I know just how horrible I would look wearing the sunshiney tones…I can’t even wear orange clothing.  My skin turns a lovely shade of Kermit the Frog-green.  Purrrr-deee.

Estee Lauder – Orange Crush – $20

Then we have the lip color.  I really do appreciate fashion-forward make-up.  I’m just terrified of the orange on ME.

Orange LIPS!

Morange (Loudmouth Orange) – MAC – $14.50

Tell me.  Would you be able to rock the orange?

I must say, Lady Gaga looks a bit like how Donatella Versace tries to look. (I’m not sure that came out correctly…)

Viva Glam VII – Nordstrom – $14.50

I know we’ve been chatting about the new Viva Glam campaign quite a bit in the past week, but given what a fantastic charitable cause the MAC AIDS Fund is, it bears mentioning once again.

We now have Lady Gaga’s commercial (or mini-film, as the case may be) for MAC’s Viva Glam.

I’m loving the beautiful-scariness of this commercial. It’s light and airy, but something darker is lurking underneath.

How do you feel about this advertisement?

via ABC:

As most of us who love MAC cosmetics, we are familiar with the tremendous outreach and philanthropy that is such a huge part of what this line stands for in terms of HIV/AIDS awareness with their MAC AIDS FUND.

Photos: MAC COSMETICS

Lady Gaga for MAC Cosmetics

Viva Glam Gaga 2 and Lipglass – $14.50 each

via MACCosmetics.com:

“No Bad Romance here. We’re unveiling a hot new shade inspired by Lady Gaga and her passions, in both Lipstick and Lipglass. And by now you know every cent from the sale of M∙A∙C VIVA GLAM goes toward the M∙A∙C AIDS Fund.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to do my level best to get my hands on this subtle nude/taupe lipstick.

Oh, and Viva Gaga, for being such a hands-on activist in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Three guesses which one I have a long-term relationship with…I’ll wait.

Yep, someone out there knows.  It’s DIVA by MAC.

Diva – MAC Cosmetics – $14.50

Honestly, if they ever discontinues this shade, I’ll take the entire MAC counter hostage with my cheap lip-liner as my sissy weapon of choice. Speaking of cheap inexpensive lip-liners,  I never–repeat–never buy an expensive lip-liner.  Here’s why:  A nice, nude-tone liner is always the best shade to use, no matter the color your actual lipstick.  Every drugstore should have a good selection.  I use Revlon’s Colorstay in “Nude”.

Revlon Colorstay in Nude – $7.99

One more thing:  Line your lips AFTER applying your lipstick.  This technique will correct slight imperfections made around the lines of your lips as well as prevent “bleeding”.  This is especially true when using bold lipstick shades.

What lipstick do YOU hang onto like a pitbull?

So. Extensions. I fell in LOVE with eyelash extensions from 2008 to early 2010. They were bloody GORGEOUS.

I do miss my extensions, I ain’t gonna lie.  They were wonderful.  Waking up and having lush, glam lashes first thing in the morning was a dream.  Then after about a year, I began struggling with them.  I think it was because I wear (or wore) contacts, combined with my eyes being extremely sensitive.  It broke my heart.

We did test after test, but in the end I do feel it was all MY problem.  Dina (whose salon is THE crème de la crème shop in Seattle), and her Staff were amazing…concerned, even to the point of calling me at home to check on me.  Now, THAT’S service.

When choosing an eyelash salon, do your research.  I’ve heard too many horror stories of inexperienced technicians causing horrendous pain and infections because they haven’t been trained properly or aren’t ultra-sanitary, so please be careful.  (These are prices that you can expect from most reputable salons.)

• Dina S. Good Salon*

• Real Mink lashes are a cruelty free product. The lashes are gathered by brushing the mink, then sterilizing the lashes, sorting the lengths and then they are affixed to a tray for sale.

• We are proud to be the first salon in the Northwest to feature REAL Mink lashes instead of the Synthetic lashes.

Eye Lash Extensions Full Set – $185 – $200

Partial set ( 30 lashes per eye )- $99Fills $58 – $68

Extended Fill $90Real Mink Eye Lash Extensions – $350
limited time offer – regularly $450

Partial set Mink ( 30 lashes per eye )- $199Mink Fills $120

* The Beauty Stop is in no way compensated for mentioning The Dina S. Good Salon

Sigh.  No more extensions for me…BUT, I stopped by the MAC counter at Macy’s in San Francisco and a lovely young woman walked me right through the process of applying their fake lashes properly.  They looked great, and it wasn’t nearly as terrifying as I once thought to apply the lashes on my own.  I made the following purchase:

MAC False Eyelashes – Available at Macy’s – $15

• 2 sets of MAC false lashes, which run around $14 a set at major department stores.  I do not sleep in the lashes; they should always be removed before going to bed.  If you are careful, you can certainly use them a few times.

DUO Eyelash Adhesive – Target – $5.49

• Duo Eyelash Adhesive – $5.99 -$8 per tube.  (You can find this product at better drugstores or discount retailers such as Target or Walgreen’s, for less than at department stores.)  This eyelash adhesive is world’s best selling waterproof strip lash adhesive.  I love it.

Once you’ve had a hands-on lesson and made your purchase, I suggest you watch online tutorials for more details instructions.  This YouTube video is amazing and so very helpful.  Take a look!

WSITN: False Eyelash Tutorial

I KNOW, right?? This boy is tremendous.  And that English accent? Darling. (He’s prettier than some girls I’ve seen!)  Be sure to add him to your “favorites” for future reference.

Now. My secret. I don’t spend $14 on eyelashes. The way I go through them, I need to save a buck…or TEN. I found a great buy on Ardell False Eyelash Strips — for $3.69 per set.

Now get goin’ and try this yourself!  It’s not that hard!

Disclosure: The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of (product).  Product was purchased by The Beauty Stop; no compensation was received in exchange for this review.

Disney has been extending their brand, offering a maternity line and a couture collection. Now they’ve partnered with MAC cosmetics to offer a makeup line based on the baddest of Disney villains.

The collection is based on four Disney bad guys – Cruella DeVille, Maleficent, The Evil Queen, and Dr. Facilier. Well, I get the choice of beautiful but deadly Maleficent, and the flamboyantly stylish Cruella, but Dr. Facilier seems a little bit odd for women’s makeup.

The collection features bold, strong colors and metallic finishes. You’ll also find the cartoon characters covering the compacts and lipstick tubes, which could become a status symbol or be a little too second-grader, depending on the trends.

The Venomous Villains collection will hit MAC stores on Sept. 30.

If you ever thought that beauty and fashion bloggers couldn’t have a swift and important impact on the industries about which we write, think again.

As we told you recently, MAC and Rodarte have been under fire recently for their upcoming collaboration inspired by the women of Juarez, Mexico. Juarez is a border town whose economy thrives on manufacturing, and it’s also notorious for its high levels of abuse toward and violence against women.

Blithely basing a makeup collection on beaten and murdered women seems pretty crass to us, and so many other people responded similarly across the web that MAC has now cancelled the collection, according to Fashionista.com.

As for the money MAC promised to give to charity from the collection, the company says that it will still donate the projected profits from the line to organizations dedicated to helping the women of Juarez. Cancellation is a step in the right direction, as is a large charitable donation, but this controversy still leaves a bad taste in my mouth about the brand.

When I first heard that my favorite cosmetics brand and one of my favorite design teams were teaming up to launch a Rodarte for MAC capsule collection, I was thoroughly excited. When I realized what the collection was based on, my excitement waned a bit.

Rodarte for MAC, much like Rodarte’s most recent clothing collection, is based on the women of the border town of Juarez, Mexico. For those who aren’t aware of the situation in Juarez, it’s a manufacturing center that plays host to an egregious amount of poverty and, in particular, violence against women. To have MAC and Rodarte theme a makeup collection on such disgusting violence without doing anything to simultaneously speak out against it seemed insensitive at best, and at worst, totally tone-deaf and cruel.

Luckily the intrepid bloggers over at Temptalia were able to get MAC and Rodarte’s reactions to the widespread criticism over the Juarez-themed collection, which included promising $100,000 in aid to the women of Juarez. Is it too little, too late? Perhaps. The whole idea of makeup based on beaten women still turns my stomach.

We all know that high-quality brushes are an important part of makeup obsession and that a good brush can make a huge different in how makeup looks after applied, but it seems as though one part of the brush world is usually ignored: travel brushes.

Not only are kits like the MAC Apply, Line and Define Eye Brush Set great for when you’re out of town and planning on attending an event or having a special dinner that requires a glam look, but they’re also a great solution for beauty mavens with limited storage space.

A makeup collection can take up an exceptionally large amount of room in your bathroom, and if you don’t have a great deal of space in which to store an entire MAC brush collection, then petite travel brushes are a great way to get everything you need to create almost any look without overcrowding your vanity or breaking the bank. Five MAC eye brushes can run you about $100 if individually purchased, but this set costs half that.

Nordstrom, $49.50.

If you love bright cosmetics as much as I do, Alice + Olivia’s capsule collection for MAC is right up your alley.

The contemporary clothing and accessories designers collaborated with MAC’s makeup geniuses to come up with a set of pigments, nail polishes and Dazzleglass lip glosses in a technicolor palette that will likely please many twentysomethings. The selection is limited, but if you’ve been looking to add something bright and fun to your collection, look no further.

Shop via MACCosmetics.com!