Recently in Cosmetics: Eyes Category

Let's face it: the recommended eight hours of sleep we should all get every night is sometimes hard to come by. This lack of Zzzzs usually shows up all over our faces, particularly in puffy eyes with dark circles. 

Bold eyes on starlets and Hollywood sweethearts is certainly nothing new, but how they wear these deep or bright shadows and liners is something anyone should take note of when replicating. 

When I saw Makeup Forever's Aqua Cream long-lasting, waterproof eye cream, I just about died. It's available for $22 at Sephora. And while that might seem pricey for just one product, it is so breathtakingly pretty. Plus, you know that it will last just about forever.

And I know you're thinking, Wow, that's bright! But this color will complement any skin tone and make any shade of eye-color seem just a bit more vivid and intense. So get ready to pretty up your peepers, with just one swipe of this perfect summer-shade on your lids for a cute, refreshing look (but don't go above the crease).

I love playing with eyeshadow. Matte, shimmering, sparkling--I want and wear them all! They are fun and whimsical, and are an easy way to change up your look. But lately, no matter what eyeshadow I am wearing, I start to see it fade around midday. So, I finally gave in and purchased Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Sin. It's a lovely shimmering-champagne color - I had to get the shimmering version, of course! It's great under eyeshadow, and can also be worn alone if you're in a rush. The best part? It makes a great highlighter too. You can get yours at sephora.com.

There's nothing more opulent than a little gold in your makeup and mani! Chanel's new Orient Extreme collection inspired us to add some drama to our beauty bag. Not too much gold, just some highlights around the eyes, the lips and even the body (think...glittery Décolletage). Not into gold makeup? Then opt for gold nails  -- Chanel's Gold Lamé polish is the best.

We're crushing over these must-haves (gold nuggets not for sale):

Q. I have really bad dark circles and have tried every eye cream to get rid of them. I use a heavy Mac concealer to hide them but still not satisfied. Do you recommend anything that can get rid of them or brighten them? I want the under eye area to glow like all the models on the magazines. Do you have any recommendations?

A. In a perfect world we'd all get enough sleep and always look fresh and rested. Of course that almost never happens, so we did some research for you.

First, the basics- make sure you stay well hydrated, get as much rest as you can (but not TOO much!), and reduce salt intake... after all, bags are really just fluid retention around the eye area that causes swelling, which in turn crates shadows and "darkness". In most cases the dark circles are blood vessels that can be seen through the skin, and nothing short of laser procedures to break up the pigmentation are going to get rid of them.

You can MASK them with concealer, and also with products made to reduce puffiness caused by lack of sleep, illness, or allergies-- all of which cause the eye area to swell which in turn draw attention to the dark areas. For these, you don't need anti-aging eye creams loaded with wrinkle reducers... a simple, lightweight cream or gel with caffeine (caffeine constricts blood vessels, making them appear less prominent) should do the trick. We really like rollerballs, like the Garnier Nutritioniste Anti Puff Eye Roller. The bonus of the roller ball  is that it gently massages the area, breaking up the pocket of collected fluid and alleviating the darkness.

To conceal, we swear by Lancomes Effacernes. Highly pigmented, thin and buildable so it never cakes, and best of all- WATERPROOF. A bit pricey for some at almost $30 a tube, but you use so little to get great coverage that a tube seriously lasts a year or more. If you need something heavier, check out this post we did last week on SmartCover. It seriously covers EVERYTHING.

(On a side note, anemia can also cause darkness under the eye, so if you're feeling tired all of the time-- it may not be lack of sleep. It might be worth it to have a check up and ask the doctor to check your iron levels.)

Hope that helped!

You may recall our recent post on Butter London's new plum-colored polish 'Marrow'. That was just a tease: there's much more purple to go around -- and we're not just talking nails!  Lipsticks, shadows, liners and even mascaras are hot this spring, in many different shades o' purple. Get your purple fix with some of our favorites:
Lips: Mac Lipstick in Violetta, $14, MacCosmetics.com Lashes: Benefit BadGal Plum Mascara, $19 Sephora, Eyes: Dior 5-colour eyeshadow $58 Sephora Lids: Tarina Tarantino Magic Hour Cream Shadow in Purple Violet,  $19 Sephora Nails: OPI 'Purple With a Purpose,' $5.23 Amazon


Disclaimer: we don't recommend wearing all these items at once. It might be a little much.

What's your sign? No, seriously, what's your sign? It might help when picking out one of Napoleon Perdis' new Astro Girl Eye Shadow Quads. The Australian make up artist references astrology in his new collection of eye shadow quads based off the zodiac signs Fire, Earth, Air, Water. We're total astrology buffs so we couldn't resist giving this new product a chance -- fire to be exact. Even though we don't consider ourselves characteristic Leos, this 'take charge' (their words not ours) palette worked wonders. The iridescent copper, gold, pink and deep purple compliment each other very well. The firey tones blend together smoothly and boast just the right amount of shimmer.

For $35 a set, get your reading online at NapoleonPerdis.com.