I have some goodies to give away.  And I’m not below using it gain new readers!  So this is the deal:

Refer your friends to my blog, either with google connect or Facebook.  Be sure they leave a comment saying who referred them!  They also must sign in to follow my blog.  To win this contest, you must be in the continental U.S., and you must leave a comment as well as to why you love Smashbox makeup.  An email address and name helps too…

Here is what you get:

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If there on product I am fanatical about, it’s concealer. My dark circles have been the source of much “research” when it comes to concealers.  So I continually try new concealers; there are some that I still stand by and I have added some new ones to my favorites list.  With that being said, here is my Blinging Beauty Best in Beauty – Concealers.

Best in Concealers 2010

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Every blogger and fashion editor is blabbing away about what the celebs wore to the Golden Globes — hits and misses, hot or not, yada yada.  Well, I’m one of them and so of course I had to check out all the red carpet photos myself.  I was scanning photos and when I came upon a closeup of Mariah Carey and I was just stuck with how pretty she looked.  I traditionally haven’t thought too much of Mariah’s looks — she’s cute enough — but at the Golden Globe Awards she look absolutely radiant. Her hair was pulled back and her skin was flawless.

Mariah Carey Golden Globe Awards 1/17/2010 Getty Images

I think that Mariah has the perfect look of soft makeup with just a hint of color and eyes defined with lots of lash.  This is such an easy look to achieve and is a refreshing change from the heavily lined smokey look that seems to running rampant among celebrities.

Try these suggestions with Smashbox to get her dazzling pretty look:

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Not so long ago one of my BFF’s told me I should write a piece about makeup for “cougars.” I thought she was being funny, but she was dead serious.  She (like me) prefers her “fellas” a tad younger than her 50 years.  I’m not talking robbing the cradle, but considering statistics that women out live men, having a man a few years younger just makes sense.

Back to makeup.  So Cougar Makeup.  I first had to define a cougar and I just came up with a women who seeks out men substantially younger than herself.  A few famous cougars came to mind…

Cougar Halle Berry

She’s hot, what more can I say.

Halle Berry Getty Images

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One trend that’s here to stay is the smokey eye. And there are several variations of the traditional smokey eye — call it smoldering, sizzling.  Today’s smokey eye can go from day to night — but you have to have a the right tools and the correct application methods to have the perfect smokey eye.  I love Leona Lewis’ look at the 2009 AMA’s.  Her look was more on the smoldering side.  Not the punched-in-the-eye look of Avril Levigne but a luminous smokey eye.  I love it.  Leona wears it well, and so can you.

Leona Lewis 2009 AMA's Getty Images

5 Steps to a Smoldering Smokey Eye

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What’s in your wallet makeup case? Too much no doubt. I’m guilty of having about 20 lipsticks and lipglosses in my makeup bag at any given time, and consciously I know I really don’t need that many.  One lipstick and one lipgloss are plenty.  And I have a ton of other stuff in there that I just MIGHT need, but I know I really don’t.

But there are a few things that are necessary for each and every one of us to have in our personal makeup arsenal at any given moment.  Here are my top 5 makeup bag necessities:

Revlon lipgloss

1.  A luscious lipgloss that enhances your own natural lip  color. I love Revlon Lustrous Lipgloss in Life’s a Peach.  Stock up when it’s a buy one get one free!

Lorac Double Feature

2.  A concealer. With a concealer you can touch up not only under eye circles, but any other place on your face that may need a bit of coverage.  And it’s a lot smaller to pop a concealer in your makeup case than a bottle of foundation.  Try Lorac Double Feature.  I love double-duty products, and Double Feature has your stick concealer on one end and a beautiful highlighter on the other.  I have two at all times.  I love it.

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Rihanna Red Carpet 2009 AMA

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Snapfire Image

So you partied a bit too much over the weekend. Or maybe your sick child kept you up all night. Whatever the case, your face is proof positive that you had a hard night. No worries. Save face with these simple fixes for face fatigue. Remember, fake it till you make it – to bed tonight that is.

1. Dull, lackluster skin.

Whether it’s from too much alcohol or from sheer exhaustion, nothing says night of the living dead like a complexion without life. Don’t cover up with a heavy foundation. Instead infuse life to your skin with a tinted moisturizer. Triple duty products that provide color (check), moisture (check) and SPF (check) you will have instant glow. You can even find tinted moisturizer with illumination.

Brands that work:

• Almay
• Laura Mercier
• Stila

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A couple summers ago, I was renting a car for work, and the agent looked at my license and said “Happy birthday!” I replied, “Oh, thanks, it’s just another day.” Then he looked at me, and looked at the license and said, “Wow, I guess 50 must be the new 30.” Yes, he said 30. Now, I’m sure he was exaggerating a bit, but I’ll say it, I’m 52, but I don’t look a day over 40. Ok, 45. I know a huge factor in my youthful appearance my age defying looks are my genes. My granny is 97 and I don’t think she has a wrinkle. My mom died at 68 with skin that didn’t look older than 50. So I have a slight advantage. But, I do have a few tricks up my sleeve:

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It’s all about the eyes folks.  I’m almost obsessed with keeping my dark circles disguised and aging well-traveled skin luminescent.  So yesterday I got to play with some makeup  from Smashbox at the REIGN event (Valley Fair Nordstrom) and tried out a product that was on my gotta-get-it list.  It’s called Photo Op.  This awesome under eye brightener is a multi-tasker, and you know my love of double-duty products right?  Apply Photo Op prior to concealer and the result is an amazing wake-up call for tired eyes.

So, Why do I love Photo Op?  Hmmm, let me count the ways…

1.  No color choices — one-fits-all.  Perfect for a makeup artist with too much stuff already.

2.  It’s lightweight and sheer.

3.  It adds moisture and good-for-your-skin yumminess like peptides, vitamin E, marine collagen and red wine extract. (Like At the Copacabana  Frederick said, who’d a thunk something that makes you dark and puffy– red wine– would actually do the opposite on the skin??? Sorry for the insider reference there)  So it’s anti-aging too!

4.  It multi-tasks by also taking on highlighting other areas of the skin.  They didn’t have to tell me twice — I had that stuff on every high point on my face — cheekbones, brow bones, down the center of my nose and at the outer corner of my eyes.

Smashbox Photo Op

Photo shoots often start at the crack of dawn when even models and celebs don’t look their best and dark circles loom. That’s why we created this innovative under eye brightener that immediately wakens and brightens skin while adding moisture to prepare for concealer application. Contains lots of skin-boosting ingredients too, like vitamin E, red wine extract, peptides and marine collagen, to help disguise and repair fine lines and wrinkles. PHOTO OP can be used on any area of the face to highlight and add radiance. Winner of Self Magazine Healthy Beauty Award for Best Highlighter.

Before concealer, apply PHOTO OP UNDER EYE BRIGHTENER under eyes and blend out using fingers. For a lifted and youthful appearance, highlight the inner corners of the eye and orbital bone. You can even fake a plump pout by dabbing PHOTO OP on the top of the cupid’s bow.

 

$18.

If you have a chance to check out the lovely ladies at the Smashbox counter in Nordstrom Valley Fair , you won’t be disappointed.  Big props to Amanda who invited me and has great PR skills!  The Smashbox REIGN event is going on today too!

I love Photo Op. It gets a definitely deserves 5 out of 5 blings.