Until very recently, I thought a brow pencil was just a brow pencil. I've tried a handful of different brands, and found them all to be more or less the same — which is not a bad thing! But I just tried Tom Ford's brow pencil, and it's so much better that I'm afraid I'll never be able to

There are about a dozen categories of makeup (foundation, powder, lipliner, etc.) — and we all have categories we skip. For a long time, I ignored brow stuff. I didn't really have any complaints about my brows, so I paid no attention to pencils, waxes, gels, and powders.

One day (curiosity killed the cat), I decided to dip

Another little quickie collection from MAC: a sextet of limited edition powder blushes. Now I LOVE blush, but somehow this collection didn't set my heart racing. (Am I the only one?)

Immortal Flower is a matte warm pink (even though it's a Satin finish). Modern Mandarin is a satin tangerine-persimmon with a silver sheen/shimmer. Lovecloud is a

I'm feeling extremely jetsetting, readers. Lucky Magazine just hosted the first "west coast edition" of their Fashion and Beauty Bloggers (FABB) conference in L.A., so I made my first trip to the city of angels. It was a pretty quick trip, but I managed to squeeze in a pilgrimage

Tremendous thanks to AlexandraRC of Sparkly Vernis for her guest swatches of a very topical color: Lillibet's Jubilee from Butter London.

"Lillibet" was Queen Elizabeth II's childhood nickname, and 2012 marks her sixtieth year on the throne. Who wouldn't want to celebrate the monarch's Diamond Jubilee?  (England's second such celebration! Elizabeth II's reign is exceeded

MAC's Reel Sexy collection is a flashback to last summer's Nordstrom anniversary collection, Cinematics (and the widely available Colourizations). Just about everything is limited edition.

Eyeshadow duos are back, though they're $27.50 now. As with last summer's duos, MAC doesn't identify individual shade names or finishes.

Dynamic Duo 1

In a move that was absolutely brilliant for both brands, Sephora and Pantone teamed up to create a collection celebrating Pantone's color of 2012: Tangerine Tango.

Pantone was a commercial printing company that became famous for their color standards. To make a long story short, they created books of color swatches and a system by which any

Now this is just unsubstantiated musings on my part, but it sometimes seems like Estee Lauder Corp. shares product innovation among its brands. Estee Lauder has been making such a splash with their Illuminating Powder Gelee (which has appeared as both eyeshadow and face powder), and MAC just released a new (limited edition) "liquid-powder hybrid formula, a

If you've seen the display for Guerlain's new Shine Automatique lipstick, you may have wondered which shade model Natalia Vodianova is wearing. Fortunately, I have answers! She's wearing 263 A La Parisienne (swatched here).

She's also wearing Meteorites Pearls Primer, Lingerie de Peau Compact 03 Beige Naturel, Terracotta Light 01 Blondes, Noir G

When I first heard that Guerlain was coming out with a companion formula to their Rouge Automatique (which I love), I was worried. When I heard the shades were shimmery, I was relieved — perhaps I would not feel compelled to buy all of them.

I tried 240 Pamplelune on at the counter and it's much less sparkly on the

I've never really harbored longstanding crushes on movie stars. I don't swoon for musicians. But, it seems, I do fall in love with makeup artists (which surely reveals some kind of deep-rooted narcissism).

I recently had my first-ever makeover with Chantecaille's charming, adorable, extremely knowledgeable, and sublimely talented Fernando Cadavid. Yes, readers, I might, maybe, have a

Chantecaille has a new spring collection out. Their theme (and charity) this time is Coral Reefs — so everything is coral, and yes, of course I love it.

The last few Chantecaille collections have centered around a four-pan palette, so let's start with that. The limited edition Coral Reefs palette is $79, and includes three full-sized eyeshadows

Tremendous thanks to AlexandraRC of Sparkly Vernis for her latest Butter London swatches, Tart with a Heart. This shade launched for holiday 2011, a clear base packed with dense golden shimmer, super teeny black microshimmer, and silver-holographic glitter, making it an excellent topper — but dense enough to wear alone in ~3 coats, for more

You guys already know I’m a fan of Stephanie Johnson bags. And since I usually do my beauty shopping with you (in the form of blogging), I thought I’d share the latest object of my obsession: her Malibu pattern.

This fabric doesn’t look that flashy on her website (and it’s not available in every store, to see in person), but

Tremendous thanks to Lauren Clark, blogger and makeup artist extraordinaire, for taking the time to swatch and share MAC's selection of pro-only eyeshadows (how has Ground Brown eluded me 'til now??). These photos were taken indoors, with flash, on ~NC20 skin.

Unsure how to use one of the colors you see here? Definitely check