I know I am not the only one that thinks a black smoky eye is just too heavy for them. Well, I love the fact that we are not limited to *only* black for a smoky eye, but can use other shades in the same style. Luckily, brands are hip to this and work to help us lovelies out. Take for instance, tarte. They have teamed up with Sephora to create the new, limited-edition Beauty in a Box: Bronze Smoky Eye kit.

"Be bronzed and beautiful with this Sephora exclusive kit packed with best-sellers and brand new products featured in new shades; all of which are waterproof or water-resistant for a look that will last morning 'til night! From lids to lips, each longwearing must-have perfectly complements each other for an overall bronze glow topped off with a modern take on an old favorite: the bronze smoky eye. Unlike the traditional charcoal smoky eye, this look is flattering on a wide variety of skin tones and can easily be worn day to night."

Sephora exclusive kit includes:

• full size lock & roll 12-hour eyeshadow, burnt bronze
• full size emphasEYES™ waterproof clay shadow/liner, plum (*you KNOW I'm dying for this *PLUM*!!)
• full size rise & shine lip gloss and stain, nude
• full size clean slate natural face primer
• deluxe mineral powder bronzer, park ave princess
• deluxe lights, camera, splashes! natural waterproof mascara

These products also contain "skinvigorating™" ingredients:

• rice bran wax: natural wax that helps lengthen lashes
• carnauba wax: emollient, natural wax ensures smooth application
• provitamin B5: vitamin B derivative that treats and thickens lashes
• vitamin C: antioxidant that fights free radical damage and prevents oxidative stress and premature signs of aging

This limited edition set is supposed to be available from Sephora from August thru October 2010, but it looks like it is available on the website already.

Is there anything in this set that you want, besides "all of it"? I am lemming that Plum liner so much - the hunt for the perfect Plum continues!!

I hate wearing shoes. Seriously. If I could be barefoot all the time, I would be a happy girl. Heck, I could be the "Barefoot Bandit"'s girlfriend if it wasn't for the whole "stealing" thing he had going on. Of course, running around barefoot doesn't make for the prettiest of tootsies. In fact, it makes my heels pretty dang callusy and hard.

Since it's summer, and I have to leave my house sometimes, I tend to throw on some flip-flops, which doesn't hide the heel horror that I sport. So, I need some heavy duty help to make them presentable. After trying many things, I have narrowed it down to two things that help a lot.

First, I use:

• Sally Hansen "Just Feet" Deep Callus Remover - This gel is powerful at cutting thru dried calluses with its second ingredient: Potassium hydroxide (*first being water), but it has the added benefits of Shea Butter, Aloe Vera, Chamomile and Lavender to help sooth the skin after its exfoliation. The instructions say, "Squeeze a small amount onto callused skin for 60 seconds and rub gently. Wash hands immediately and thoroughly. Wash away excess immediately and thoroughly with warm, soapy water. Do not leave on longer than 1 minute." (*I told you it was powerful.) It really does slough off the skin - I usually use a pumice stone to help it along, but that is because I have heels like an armadillo's back - you shouldn't need to do that. (*I picked my bottle up at Target for around $7, but you can get it at any drugstore or mass market store for around the same amount.)

After I get my feet smoother, I like to moisturize and make it softer, so then I use:

Yep, I know I'm late posting up the winners to the Robert Jones book, "Looking Younger", and Three Custom, "Morning After" blush giveaway. However, the winners know who they are, and should be getting their prizes very shortly, as they have already been sent to them.

So, if you haven't heard from me, I'm sorry, you didn't win this giveaway. But, I know that you will want to join me in congratulating Dawn, Elena and Phyllis, right?

Thanks to all of you for entering and good luck to you in my next giveaway, that should be coming up soon. :)

On Thursday, July 22nd Estée Lauder will kick off its largest sampling program to date – America’s Night to Repair. For 4 synchronized hours – from 5:00pm – 9:00pm (all local times) – Estée Lauder Beauty Advisors will be distributing a total of 360,000 deluxe samples. Customers can choose either a 10-day supply of NEW Advanced Night Repair Eye Synchronized Complex or Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex at ALL Estée Lauder department and specialty store counters nationwide – one sample per customer while supplies last. Customers can visit Advanced Night Repair for additional information.

You guys might know that I seemed to be very lucky in my teen years and not have an over abundance of acne issue, and hardly any in my 20s, either. Maybe it was my birth control. or just lucky genetics, but it was even less of problem then. Welp, here I am almost out of my 30's (*Wow, already??) and it's an entirely different thing. It's not so much that I have it all the time, just when I do, it's more centrally located and usually cystic - which is NOTHING i ever dealt with growing up. I still get the random whitehead or so, which is more than I had before, but at least I thought I knew what I was doing with those. But it still seems different. So, I turned to Mario Badescu Skin Care for their thoughts on why my acne now seems so much different than when I was younger.

Why is adult acne different than teen acne?

Acne, regardless of the age at which we are experiencing it, can be frustrating and hard on our self esteem. For those of us suffering with adult acne the frustration is compounded because we feel like the acne that we experience now seems to be different than what we experienced as a teen. For some the methods that helped years ago don’t seem to work or cause irritation now. So is there a difference? Should adults use different products than teens to fight acne?

As it turns out the cause of acne whether in teens or adults is the same. Hormones cause an over secretion of sebum in the skin. This sebum along with dead skin cells and bacteria get caught in a pore to cause a plug which can lead to a deep painful pimple, whitehead, or blackhead.

The difference isn’t what is causing the acne but the skin itself and how it changes as we mature. As we age two things happen. Firstly, pores become larger which can make skin oily. Secondly, the skin becomes less able to retain water. It’s this strange juxtaposition that makes it more difficult to maintain a good moisture balance in adult skin. This is also why using products designed for the very oily skin that acne prone teens are prone to may not be a good solution.

While we may still use some of the same products that a teen would use in your battle against blemishes there are some things to keep in mind when choosing an adult acne regimen:

Even now that we are armed with this information it is still important to understand that everyone’s skin is different and your skin care regimen must be created to work for your individual skin type. Not sure how to get started? Fill out our free online skin care analysis to receive a free personalized sample skin care regimen.

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So, it's case of "it's def me, not you" in this case. I haven't tried any of the rec's, yet, but I am definitely going to look in to them more. Have you guys tried any of these? Or have you even noticed a difference in your acne, if you get any? Lemme know, I'd like to know that I'm not the only one that notices these things.

These two things have nothing to do with each other. At all. So, when I saw this post on MAC and Rodarte, I had to wonder what the writer was thinking. (*Okay, it's apparent in the article what she's thinking, but, I still think she's blowing this up.)

Here's my opinion, and of course, only MY opinion. Naming products is a tricky game, I would think. It has to be witty, descriptive and sometimes provocative, but still representative of the product. Collaborations with outside artists/people can be even trickier, as you have to include their "vision", too. I hear that the collection was inspired by Mexico's colors/locations/culture/etc. One of the "places" was Juarez - of which they named the nailpolish.

Now, Juarez is known for it's violence - that is no secret, what with the movies, books, numerous news articles, etc that can tell you all about how it earned it's nickname of "the most dangerous place in the world". However, it also happens to just be a city in Mexico, nothing more than that in this instance. Sure, it may be an unfortunate name if you look into the history of the City, but if you take it at face value, it fits into the theme of the collection.

Do I agree with violence towards women (*or hell, anyone for that matter)? Of course not. Do I think that MAC does? Hell no. I also don't think they were deliberately trying to bring attention to, and raise awareness of, the murdering of women problem in that town, either. MAC isn't the only company to name something after somewhere with a violent history. Take for example Bond No. 9 - they have a fragrance called "Little Italy". Do you think they named it that because Little Italy, Manhattan is known for it's Mafia connections? No, that's dumb - they named it that because Little Italy is a part of NYC, which is what their collection is about. Just like this nailpolish is to the MAC/Rodarte collection based around Mexico - a name that ties together. Nothing more, nothing less.

But, if you are moved to help the murdered women's families, and efforts, in and around the Juarez area, contact Amigos de las Mujeres de Juarez to see how you assist down there. I will also remind you that while (*I don't believe they do) MAC doesn't assist directly to this cause, they DO continue to help people worldwide affected by HIV/AIDS via their MAC AIDS Fund.

*UPDATE*:MAC and Rodarte have both issued official statements that Christine from Temptalia.com has posted and I will repost here:

Temptalia has reached out to MAC for comment on the collaboration with Rodarte, and if and when we receive more information, we will be certain to share with you. We received official statements from MAC and Rodarte @ 11AM (pst), which we share below:

STATEMENT FROM M·A·C COSMETICS ON THE M·A·C RODARTE COLLECTION
We understand that product names in the M·A·C Rodarte collection have offended some of our consumers and fans. This was never our intent and we are very sorry. We are listening carefully to the comments posted and are grateful to those of you who have brought your concerns to the forefront of our attention. M·A·C will give a portion of the proceeds from the M·A·C Rodarte collection to help those in need in Juarez. We are diligently investigating the best way to do this. Please be assured that we will keep you posted on the details regarding our efforts.

STATEMENT FROM RODARTE ON THE M·A·C AND RODARTE COLLECTION
Our makeup collaboration with M·A·C developed from inspirations on a road trip that we took in Texas last year, from El Paso to Marfa. The ethereal nature of this landscape influenced the creative development and desert palette of the collection. We are truly saddened about injustice in Juarez and it is a very important issue to us. The M·A·C collaboration was intended as a celebration of the beauty of the landscape and people in the areas that we traveled.

On twitter the other day, my good friend, Meredith from Retrodiva's Beauty Bar, (@retrodiva) was complaining about her thin nails, after removing her acrylics. When I suggested she give Duri's "Rejuvacote" a shot, I remembered that I hadn't ever told you guys about this stuff.

I'll tell you, sometimes I am kinda dumb and don't always follow the directions. Like, I have been known to not continue using something because it's "good enough" or I just get lazy, results be damned. Such is the case with Rejuvacote Nail Growth System. I swear, I don't know what it is (*truly, I don't) but my thumb nails split. As in, I can press another fingernail in between the layers (*of which I surely DON'T do - nuh uh). I can't understand why those particular fingernails split, but none of my other ones do. I was luckily able to have a chance to try some Rejuvacote to help with that. It's recommended to use as your base coat/top coat and every night for a week then start all over again.

Yeah, I haven't usually had the attention span to keep up with that sched, BUT, I can tell you that when I do use it - it stops the splitting. Done. Which is where my dumbness comes in, because that is where I usually go "Okay, cool, problem solved" and then stop. That then allows the nails to split again and there we are back on the merry-go-round.

Don't be me. If you have splitting or thin nails, you should really try Rejuvacote (*which contains keratin and calcium, btw) and stick with their rec's for application. I really think it will make a difference to your nails. I'm not the only one that thinks that, as it has been mentioned in many magazines and even won an Allure "Best of Beauty" award, too. It runs $14 and can be picked up on Duri's website.

Have you guys tried this? And did you keep to their rec'd schedule in using it? I'm curious how your nails fared using it the "proper" way.

Bond No. 9's motto is "Making Scents of New York", and boy do they ever. All of their 40+ fragrances are all named after something/someplace in New York.

This fall, they will be adding two new scents to their "neighborhood" of fragrances: "Cooper Square" and "Washington Square".

I don't really have any info on what the scents smell like, or their "notes", but we all know I don't really know much about those anyway, right? So, I'll just say that the bottles look pretty cool - esp the "Washington Square" one with the arch on it.

"Cooper Square" launches September 1st, 2010 and "Washington Square" launches November 1st, 2010 at your local Saks Fifth Avenue Bond counter, any of the 4 NYC retail locations or online. I don't know exact pricing but I am sure it will run along the same lines as the others, between $45 to $300+, depending on size. I know it's not exactly budget, but, Bond's packaging (*and scents, of course) can almost make a collector out of anyone.

So, you guys remember when I was talking to you about all of the different kinds of blushes that aren't powder there are out there? One of the ones I mentioned was the "Morning After" Crème to Powder from Three Custom Colors Specialists. Have you heard of this company? If you haven't, make it your business to get informed.

Three Custom was started by Trae, Scott & Chad out of Scott & Chad's apartment in 1997 with 15 lipsticks, 10 lipliners and a custom blending service. It has now expanded to over 250 products and their custom blending archive has over 9,000 discontinued colors dating back to the 1930's. It's pretty dang amazing, right?

One of the other cool things they do are collaborations with great artists and company's for special edition products. That is where "Morning After" Crème to Powder blush came from - a signature collection with makeup artist, and best-selling author, Robert Jones. Robert is the author of "Looking Younger", a book to help the "maturing" lovely camouflage wrinkles, sagging eyelids, etc while teaching practical and easy tips to play up their best features.

Well, I'm happy to say that I am able to give you 3 of you lucky (*US only) readers a copy of "Looking Younger" AND your own "Morning After" Crème to Powder blush. All you need to do is enter your name and email address in the box below (*fyi, you will be signed up for 3C's monthly email with tips, discounts & samples, but you can opt-out any time) between now and MidnightCST on Monday, July 19th for your chance to win.

Have any of you already tried Three Custom? What's your favorite color matched product? Let me know. :)

Welp, we are back home from our pretend vacay to the City of Lights. We have to go back to work tomorrow and resume our normal lives, which isn't nearly as fun. I hope you've had as much fun as I have on this pretend trip. This series was a ton of fun for me to write and I want to thank BellaSugar (*twice!), KarlaSugar (*Ha! No relation.), OnSugar Blog (*Okay, related to the first Sugar), Karen, from Makeup and Beauty Blog (*can we be related? please?) and even the Ethiopian Review (*whaa?) for sharing it with their readers, too.

I told you there would be souvenirs at the end, and there are for these 10 lucky folks:

• OneGreatSmile
• Anna
• Robin
• DJ
• Dana
• rcnmail
• woodgirl
• Shelli
• Valerie
• In Her Makeup Bag

They have all won a tube of Talika Lipocils Expert. I have passed all of their info on, save for one (*looking at you rcnmail!), so they should be getting a chance to try it out for themselves shortly.

Again, thanks for playing and I hope you stick around to see what else I can ramble on about. Bisous!

*In case you missed any of our Pretend French Vacay, take a look at what we did:
• Pt. 1: Vacation lashes & giveaway souvenir's, too
• Pt. 2: The people that you meet
• Pt. 3: A brush with greatness
• Pt. 4: The History of Beauty - Le Rouge Baiser - "Red Kiss"
• Pt. 5: The History of Beauty: Chanel No. 5
• Pt. 6: A Book to Bring You Home