Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Stainy Day

While the J.Lo nude look is definitely gorgeous in the summer, I get a little sick of it being dragged out year after year. That's why this year I took a hint from Evangeline Lilly on season 1 of "Lost" and Keira Knightley in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" and looked for something to replicate the vibrant but naturally subtle punchy lips they used to rock before their makeup artists went over to the dark (or rather drab) side of nude lips.



The obvious choice to replicate her look is a lip stain- you don't want to add any texture really, just color- so off to Sephora I went. After making my rounds, Lorac's Sheer Wash emerged as the clear winner. Where Benefit's Benetint wasn't pigmented enough (read: no staying power) and Vincent Longo's Gel Stain had a limited range of overly orange and overly purple shades, Sheer Wash comes in a gorgeous range of colors that last me from 9 to 5 (although not through an oily 3 course meal with drinks, which isn't surprising). The genius rollerball packaging also preempts spills and controls how much product comes out, which is a life saver considering you need maybe a scant drop of stain for perfect rosy lips. I recommend giving your lips a soft rub down with a warm wet washcloth before application- this will deeply stain any flakies as sadly the bloody lip look isn't in vogue this year. I'm in love with the shade Sheer Emotion, a raspberry pinky red that's similar to Benetint which should theoretically flatter pale, tan and olive skinned ladies. Bonus: as Benefit's insanely overpriced Benetint lip balm was used on Keira Knightley in "Pirates," a swipe of shiny balm on top of this shade will give you her look (I recommend mark. Kiss Therapy in Sheer Rose) and you'll want to do so anyway because all lip stains are a little drying. Just be sure to give the stain about two minutes to set first. Those with yellow or olive toned skin might also try Sheer Luck- it's a gorgeous red that unfortunately looked quite ruddy on me. Either of these shades looks stunning with mascara, a bit of eyeliner, and clean polished skin. The travel size retails for $17.50 at Sephora, a great investment considering this bottle should last for a decade.

Light My Fire


Candles are a four billion dollar industry in the US, which comes as no surprise if you read Lucky magazine regularly. But before you get ready to shell out $50 or more on their candle du jour, check out Pacifica's line of clean burning soy candles. I really dig the ultramodern Art Nouveau vibe of the packaging paired with a minimalistic glass vessel that won't disrupt your decorating scheme. The Pacific Northwest company's scents range from light florals and fruity notes to deep and spicy scents. My absolute favorite is Bergamot Amber Rose, but I can't get enough of Blood Orange and Mediterranean Fig either. And at under $10 for a 5.5 oz candle that burns for 50+ hours, you'll have plenty left in your wallet for some of Lucky's other extravagant splurges.