Z is for...Zac

Surprisingly enough my first favorite collection on the Spring 2012 Runway is a little spinoff brand, Z Zpoke by Zac Posen.  In what can only be described as a collaboration of genius, Zac's frothy, witty, vintage-worshipping frocks are modeled by the incomparable Coco Rocha, who grins, laughs, poses, preens and pouts like a fairy-tale princess version of Betty Boop.  Adorable!  I want every one of these dresses....

 

Beauty Bargains: Black Radiance Purple Passion

Black Radiance Purple Passion (5004) Lipstick $1.99 your local drugstore

Is there such a thing as a true beauty bargain?  It's a staple beloved of fashion magazines, who always show us the "luxe" version and the "less" version, and usually the "less" version is actually very much less desirable than the unbelievably expensive version.  However, I am going to spill some true beauty bargains in this blog...bargains which I feel live every bit and morsel up to their more expensive counterparts.  

My first beauty bargain is Black Radiance "Purple Passion" Lipstick.  I wore this lipstick today for two auditions and got lots of compliments!  It's fuchsia, but don't panic gentle readers, fuchsia lips have been resurrected from their poor 80's reputation.  If you wear fuchsia lips with a clean face or a smoky eye, they look quite wondrously fresh.

Don't believe me?  A little extemporaneous proof:

Pink lips on the Giles Spring Runway 2013 (also I need these sunglasses!  Perfect for all those times I want to be inconspicuously incognito)

Rochas Spring 2013 Runway, a pot of magic pink

Emily Blunt, rocking fuchsia and green, you are my hero

Black Radiance lipstick must be the biggest bargain of all.  I've had mine for more years than is hygienic to admit, and it has stayed fresh, non-drying, and incredibly lustrous.  Purple Passion is a shade that's a little hot pink, a little fuchsia, and a whole lot bold and sexy and fresh (or rather sweetly cow-maiden on the heath if you were it with clean skin and pink cheeks).  It looks great on porcelain skin as well as dark skin.  If you layer it with red lip gloss, it makes a beautiful, jewel-worthy pink-red.  It stays and lasts more than most lipsticks, and it is $1.99.  $1.99!  That's my parking meter change!

Black Radiance Purple Passion (5004) Lipstick $1.99 your local drugstore

OR

Nars Lipstick in Funny Face $24.00 Sephora.com

The closest shade I could find to my beloved Purple Passion is Nars Lipstick in Funny Face...its's a similar hot pink/fuchsia and it's $24.00.  Total savings with Black Radiance: $22.00.

An Outfit for Every Occasion

As we all know, there must be a proper, practical outfit for every occasion, as this quick scan of the Spring Ready-to-Wear Runway 2013 proves...

Paco Rabanne Spring 2013

The perfect outfit when I need to throw on something to walk to my corner Bristol Farms to buy some soy milk..

Ann Demeulemeester Spring 2013

 Absolutely essential for my next audition as a vampire queen....

Julien Macdonald Spring 2013

A very good ensemble for pysching myself up to overcome my dental phobias and finally go to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned...

Libertine Spring 2013

Two all-purpose outfits for celebrating friend's birthdays and arguing with landlords about rent.

FREE Korres Lip Butter!

Tell your friends and spread the word...the next 50 new followers of my blog will be entered into a drawing to win a FREE Korres lip butter glaze in the color of her choice!  This award-winning, eco-friendly, moisturizing lip butter comes in gorgoeus colors and is perfect for dry lips in this hot weather.  In order to win, your friend must become a follower of my fabulous (tooting my horn here) blog and send me an email at amandacallas@hotmail.com.  I will notify the winner by email.  Stay tuned!

Luscious and Long-Lasting Lips for Fall

Ava Gardner, resplendent as always, in the perfect fall face (or anytime face, really!)

Summer refuses to do die this year, hoarding its final blasts of hellish heat until the last, as we all limp along and wonder when can we finally start wearing our fall clothes?  Our cunning tweeds, our sentimental lace, our school-girl skirts and our beloved boots?

It is only in our makeup that we can embrace a little of the crisp, jewel-pure tones that we normally love to wear in the early days of fall.

Everyone knows I am completely addicted to red lipstick, especially this time of year.  I'm always trying to convert friends and clients into realizing how glamorous and easy and flattering it is, with a shade for every skin tone and mood.  The only flaw in red is how quickly it fades; how eager it is to share itself with your napkins and glasses and friend's cheeks, until there's little left but that What-Happened-To-Baby-Jane-ish reddish-pink smear. 

So off to Sephora I go, exploring some staple and some brand-new long-lasting and utterly luscious reds...at least my lips are ready for fall!

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso $22.00 Sephora.com

Stila's All Day Liquid Lipstick comes in a thick texture that it is somewhere between a stain and a gloss.  It's an utterly ravishing color, incredibly brilliant, in a true red shade that recalls those glorious, rich, Technicolor shades of the 1930's-1950's.  It's my favorite color of all the reds I tried.  It has remarkable staying power.  It's only downside, like many long-lasting reds, is that it does feel a bit drying.  I applied a little lip balm over it which helped add a little moisture.

Kat Von D Foiled Love Liquid Lipstick in Hellbent $19.00 Sephora.com

Of all the liquid lipsticks, this one definitely earns points for originality.  It goes on wet and then in a minute or so transforms into a dry, powdery finish.  It has a completely metallic, foil-like texture with a hint of gold, that looks as if you painted your lips.  Hellbent (what a glorious name for these brutally hot days!) is a very deep, burlesque-dancer red with a whisper of maroon.  It's marvellously artificial and rather sinful.  VERY drying.

Urban Decay Lip Envy in Greedy-Berry $17.00 Sephora.com

This is a red that has deep notes of berry and cabernet and purple, and it colors your lips the most extraordinary shade that is an instant conversion to goth.  The moment I put this on I looked ten shades paler and rather glam in a dark sort of way.  It has a strange, appealing fragrance, and a very willful staying power.  It's a true lip stain, and it's medium drying.

Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Raven $28.00 Sephora.com

This one is very, very similar to the Stila liquid lipstick, with a medium-thick texture and a stain-like brilliance and depth of color.  It's more of an orange-red than a true red.  It's a tad more drying than the Stila.

per-fekt Lip Perfection Gel in Hollywood $24.00 Sephora.com

Saving the best for last, this lip gel is from the cult-line per-fekt, which the Beverly Center Sephora has recently started stalking (oh, all right, stocking!).  Per-fekt is a celebrity favorite, and you can see why: their products are about understated, long-lasting beauty with a glow.   This lip gel is something between a lip gloss and a liquid lipstick, and it's a very rich shade for its moist texture.  Of all these products, it is the least drying, but it has an impressive staying powder.  It's a lovely, ultra-flattering true red, not as a brilliant as the Stila shade, it's a bit more "natural" looking and would probably suit more occasions and complexions.  My lips are so parched in this weather and they loved, loved this product.