fruitybeauty

The post that never ends.

Get this. Almay  just sent me over the entire collection of their insanely appropriate Intense i-colors because they felt it would be criminal for me not to see that everything I was saying, they had already cottoned onto a long time back, and then had gone so far as to create entire 'eye colour complementing' makeup ranges too. Each has a mascara, a shadow palette and a liquid liner.  And as they're Almay, they're hypoallergenic. (Contact kids? You're good to go.)

See? Here they are. And here too. And they start at $16.95 and end at $18.95.   

I've laid them out for you guys in the respective eye colours (I failed to mention hazel before. Sorry my hazely fruits. I mean no discrimination) so that you can see that I was pretty much almost not lying in my previous post. I think I may have mentioned this very clever range before, but it was SILLY of me not to mention it in such a fitting post. I mean really. (One of you guys did though, well done.)

Probably the best part of the range? That the colours are all very wearable. No scary, I-can't-possibly-wear-that-I"ll-look-like-a-tramp, shades, just lovely earthy, gentle tones for all ages and all fruits.

Oh! Look! Meowbert has arranged himself in a completely non-posed fashion that is both humorous and human-like!

Meowbert wasn't sure if Spencer was telling the truth about that late night phone call. He sure hoped Heidi knew what she was doing...

As Paula Abdul and an animated cat once said: Opposites attract.

It would be remiss of me, after seeing the comments below, not to let you in on the best/most flattering/utterly subjective eye shadow to iris combinations.

I've heard mild variations from make up artists over the years, but generally, it goes a little something like this:

The Eye Shadow Tones That Will Make Your Eye Colour Scream With Beauty and Allure and the Deepest Most Lovely Possible Shade of Your Iris:

Blue eyes: Browns, coppers, golds.
Green eyes: Plums, purples, lilacs, lavenders.
Brown eyes: Deep cobalt blue, baby blue, aqua, emerald green.

But don't think it needs to be a full eyelid of shadow. Oh gosh no. Even a swipe of coloured liner or mascara does the trick. Subtlety is always on the menu, fruits.

See Visual Aid for green eyes popping with purple shadow.

And now for something completely different.

I have a new job! I am now the Editor in Chief of a definitely excellent beauty portal called Primped. (Primped.com.au). We launch in July. And suffice to say, if you love beauty, you will love it more than that moment when you FINALLY get to take off your high heels after standing/dancing/walking to McDonalds and then waiting for a taxi for 45 minutes.

Yes, leaving magazines/paper for online/computers was a big decision, but I figured someone had to begin implementing Lycra unitards and flying cars or we'll never get there.

When celebrities disobey the rules of eye shadow.

I have a few comments on this image of Kristen Bell at the Baby Mama premiere.

1. I love Gossip Girl much. She narrates it. So, I pretty much love her too. (Not love love, xoxo love.)

2. She has some sweet-ass skin. Look at it! So luminous and glowy and plumpy! (Without a doubt the 'After' shot of a girl who has enjoyed a pre-red carpet facial within the last 10 hours.)

3. She is doing green on green. That is, green eyeshadow on green eyes. I am a fan of this, even though I know that really, the most flattering eye shadow shade is the opposite colour to your iris colour, not the identical one. (It also tends to be slightly more flattering when it's matte and is teamed with rosy cheeks and a slight pink lip, all fun and Spring like. But big, polished thumbs up to her for experimenting.) If you extract the disco-y, shimmery elements of this creation, do you like it? Or, do you think she should've stuck to browns/charcoals (or even the lilacs as per the Iris Accentuation Guidelines.)

Update: The outfit. Which is, as one fruit said, very relevant. (And look! It's green. Which prompts a whole new question: Is it right to match makeup to outfits in this manner? Or is it a little bit Miss Universe? I say it depends on how good you are at applying makeup...)

Insect legs in your sink.

If I find myself talking about A Product at a dinner party, then I know it's good fodder for my fruits. And so, last week, as I was joyously slurping on some soup (Thai-style pumpkin featuring more Chili than TLC) I found myself discussing the merits of finding insect legs in your sink.

Explanation: Clinique's new-ish Lash Power mascara.

It was made for humid climates, you know, those places where your mascara runs all by itself, with no assistant from tears, sweat or flecks of rogue paper bark in your eye. Hot. Muggier than south central LA. Stickier than.... sticky tape.

For all those who have ever looked at cosmetic packaging and thought, 'Pfft I could do that.'

This is a good competition for you to enter.

Download final_kit_design_award_media_release_april_08.pdf

Kit, that wonderful little mecca (literally) of beauty fun is offering you the chance to design packaging for some limited edition products they're doing. Which, should you win, is a very excellent way for you to start shimmying your way into... whatever the name of the industry is that pertains to designing packaging. (Landscaping? Podiatry?)

As well as winning the luxury of having stuff you've created in shops and online, you also win ten hundred dollar bills and a thousand dollar Kit voucher so that you can buy things featuring packaging that are inferior to your totally amazing designs.

Go here for more details on this competition.
Go here for more details on Jessica Wakefield.
Go here for more details on Croatian Airlines.

Makeup? Me? Please: Obviously I A) just woke up and B) sat by my open fire for a moment.

This is LisaNova. Big deal on SpewTube and with good reason: she's a funny, funny girl. Destined for SNL.
But then! Today I see her latest clip (in the top ten most viewed, as usual) and gone is the ponytail! Gone is the t-shirt! It's just her looking all seductive and rumpled. (Interestingly her usual fans responded with fear, shock and rage at the sexy new Lisa. I must admit the glimpses of cleavage and bare shoulder teamed with the limp attempts to pull up her cardigan seemed sliiiightly contrived. But she's funny and has good hair, so who cares.)

This is the kind of intensely styled, I Just Woke Up But Definitely Don't Have Bad Breath or Sleep in My Eyes, look makeup artists, hair stylists and fashion designers flog happily each season, both in their shows and campaigns. (Cue Country Road's latest campaign.) I am a big fan. Especially in Winter.

Incidentally this is not a funny video. The whole point is that she's creating a new channel because she's now trying vlogging, as well as her regular skits. BUT. That's not the point, you don't even need to put the sound up or listen to a word she says: just focus on the makeup and hair, fruits.

Key points of interest if you would like to try this look. (If you are a Calvin Klein model, probably you don't need to read this as this is your natural state.)

Messy, texturised hair. Achieve this by using root lifter and a LOT of spray in texturiser/sea salt spray on damp hair, then blow drying with a big round brush, pulling the hair up and out for lift, and then down and forward to get the face-framing thing happening. Go a centre part, of course. Get it 90% dry then go to bed. Wake up, ghd the front bits and any cowlicks into place (again, pulling down and forward so it frames the face) and scrunch and texturise the mid-lengths to the ends with more product. I like L'Oreal Professional's new Play Ball texturiser.

High, flushy blushy cheeks. Please note where her blush is sitting. On the apples. And high. It looks as though she's been sitting in front of a lovely warm fire. (And possibly on a bear skin rug. With a dashing young man. But let's leave that there for now.) Creme blush is best for this look. Bloom, Becca or Bobbi: the choice is yours.

No mascara, or very little. Makes you look younger and fresher. (Seriously.) Curl lashes, though so your eyes are opened up.

Nudey/pinky lip gloss. I'm enjoying VIP Gloss by Benefit for this at present.

Falling down cardigan, flirtatious voice and come hither eyes optional extras.

Lily Allen goes blonde: Claims she's now having more fun*

Little Lily's dropped the dark mop and switched it up for a light, toffee-caramel blonde.

I don't mind it, actually. It's kind of believable. (And kind of impressive on the colourist's behalf: going that dark to that blonde and making it look even remotely natural is an art, fruits. An ART.)

It's more believable than this, anyway. (Which isn't saying much as this is obviously pretty believable.)

*That's a lie. I can't back that up. Lily and I haven't spoken in weeks.

Aesop: Pretty easy to recommend.

I get asked: What's a good skin care product? a lot. It's a kind of insane question, as everyone's skin is different and has different needs, but I have found myself, for the sake of simplicity, advising Aesop B Triple C Facial Balancing Gel lately, which smells and feels a little, uh, strange, but which my skin is very very much enjoying. (Of course, you need sunscreen on top or in your tinted moisturiser afterwards.)

Aesop, a Melbourne based brand, has been around for over 20 years, and I've always loved their body products, (Qualia in Hamilton Island and The Prince Hotel in Melbourne both feature their hair/face/body products. Yes, they were pinched.) But it wasn't til recently I gave their face stuff a nudge. My sister, who lives in the UK, still only uses Aesop after being there four years (it is a hugely successful brand overseas) and she's got, like, all of London's best organic/biodynamic skin care on offer.

I should warn you that if you love creams, thick, luxurious creams, this probably is not going to be sitting on your sink anytime soon.